Unintentional Sin and Presumptuous Sin
Numbers 15:22-31
Num.15.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכי: CONJ
- תשגו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- תעשו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- המצות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 15:27-31 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same regulation: procedures for unintentional sin and the contrasting penalty for deliberate ('high hand') sin.
- Leviticus 4:2 (verbal): Prescribes sin offerings when a person sins 'unintentionally/through ignorance,' paralleling the concern with inadvertent failure to keep commandments.
- Leviticus 5:15 (thematic): Gives rules for restitution and sacrifice when leaders or individuals commit sins unwittingly—same theme of unintentional transgression and remedy.
- Psalm 19:12-13 (thematic): Petition for forgiveness of 'hidden faults' and deliverance from presumptuous (willful) sin, reflecting the biblical distinction between inadvertent and deliberate sin.
- Hebrews 10:26 (allusion): New Testament contrast between willful/knowing sin and its consequences, echoing the Torah's differentiation between inadvertent failures and deliberate transgression.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if you err and fail to observe any of all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses,
- If you err and do not carry out all these commandments that the LORD spoke to Moses,
Num.15.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- אשר: PRON,rel
- צוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אליכם: PREP+PRON,2,pl
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מן: PREP
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- צוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- והלאה: CONJ+ADV
- לדרתיכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Numbers 15:16 (verbal): Same chapter/section stressing that the law given through Moses applies 'throughout your generations' and is the same for natives and resident aliens — repeats the idea of continuing obedience.
- Deuteronomy 4:2 (allusion): Admonition not to add or take away from the word the LORD has commanded through Moses — underscores fidelity to the commandments given 'this day' for future generations.
- Deuteronomy 6:7 (thematic): Instructs Israel to teach God's commandments diligently to their children — connects the command's transmission 'to your generations' and the obligation to preserve and pass on the instruction.
- Exodus 12:24-27 (thematic): The Passover ordinance is to be observed and explained to future generations; exemplifies the pattern of obeying a divine command received through Moses and passing it on.
- Deuteronomy 31:12-13 (structural): Commands a public reading of the law to all — 'your little ones, and your wives, and the sojourner' — so that present and future generations learn to fear the LORD and observe the statutes given by Moses.
Alternative generated candidates
- all that the LORD commanded you by the hand of Moses from the day the LORD gave the command onward for your generations,
- whatever the LORD commanded you through the hand of Moses from the day the LORD commanded it onward, throughout your generations,
Num.15.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- אם: CONJ
- מעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,1,sg
- העדה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- נעשתה: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- לשגגה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ועשו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
- כל: DET
- העדה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- פר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- לעלה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לריח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ניחח: ADJ,m,sg
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- ומנחתו: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,prsuff:3ms
- ונסכו: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUFF,3,m,sg
- כמשפט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושעיר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עזים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- לחטת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 4:13-14 (verbal): Prescribes that when the whole congregation sins unintentionally they shall bring a young bull for a sin offering and the priest shall make atonement—close verbal and ritual parallel to Num 15:24.
- Leviticus 4:22-26 (thematic): Gives the procedure for a leader's unintentional sin and the corresponding sin‑offering and atonement—parallels the differentiated sacrificial responses to communal versus individual unwitting sin.
- Leviticus 4:27-31 (thematic): Regulates the sin‑offering when an ordinary member of the people sins unintentionally (a female goat), showing the same priestly atonement logic and sacrificial categories found in Num 15:24.
- Leviticus 16:6-10 (structural): Yom Kippur rites in which the high priest offers a bull for the sin offering for the people and dispatches goats—parallels communal atonement language and the use of bull/goat motifs for dealing with corporate sin.
Alternative generated candidates
- if the offense of the congregation is committed unintentionally and the whole congregation has erred, they shall bring one young bull for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering.
- and it comes about that the congregation as a whole errs unintentionally and the whole congregation presents a young bull as a burnt offering—a pleasing aroma to the LORD—with its meal offering and its libation according to the statute, and a male goat for a sin offering,
Num.15.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכפר: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הכהן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- עדת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונסלח: CONJ+VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- שגגה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- והם: CONJ+PRON,3,m,pl
- הביאו: VERB,hiphil,imperat,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- קרבנם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- אשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- וחטאתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,3mp
- לפני: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- שגגתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,pl
Parallels
- Leviticus 4:13-21 (verbal): Prescribes the sin‑offering for the whole congregation and states that the priest makes atonement for the assembly for unintentional sin—very close language and ritual function to Num 15:25.
- Leviticus 4:27-35 (thematic): Gives the procedure for an individual's sin of ignorance and the role of the priest in atonement; parallels the concept of forgiveness for unintentional sin and the required sin offering.
- Leviticus 5:5-6 (thematic): Addresses confession and guilt offerings for sins committed in ignorance, linking confession, sacrificial payment, and forgiveness—the same moral-ritual logic as Num 15:25.
- Numbers 15:22-28 (structural): Immediate context of 15:25 that lays out the rule for communal sins committed unintentionally and repeatedly; verses 26–28 repeat that the priest shall make atonement for the congregation.
- 1 Kings 8:33-34 (thematic): Solomon's temple prayer asks that when the people sin and pray toward the temple, God would hear and forgive—reflects the theme of corporate sin, petition, and divine forgiveness mediated through cultic presence.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it was inadvertence, and they shall present their offering before the LORD, their sin offering for their error.
- then the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it was an unintentional error, and they have presented their offering to the LORD and their sin-offering before the LORD on account of their error.
Num.15.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונסלח: CONJ+VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
- לכל: PREP
- עדת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולגר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- בתוכם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- לכל: PREP
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בשגגה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 4:13-14 (verbal): Specifies the sin offering for the whole congregation when they sin unintentionally and states that atonement is made—closely parallels Numbers 15:26's declaration of forgiveness for the congregation and resident alien.
- Leviticus 4:27-35 (verbal): Gives the procedure for a private individual's sin offering for unintentional sin and the resulting atonement; parallels Num 15:26's concern with forgiveness for sins committed unwittingly.
- Numbers 15:27-29 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same chapter outlining the sin offering for one who sins unintentionally and contrasting it with willful sin; expands and repeats the theme of forgiveness in v.26.
- Leviticus 16:21-22 (thematic): The Day of Atonement ritual transfers the sins of Israel onto the scapegoat and removes them—a communal atonement motif related to Num 15:26's grant of forgiveness to the whole assembly.
- Leviticus 5:17-19 (thematic): Treats cases of guilt and the required offerings/restitution for sins (including inadvertent ones); thematically connected to the idea that unintentional sin can be atoned for and forgiven.
Alternative generated candidates
- And it shall be forgiven to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel and to the sojourner who sojourns among them, for it was an unintentional matter for the whole people.
- It shall be forgiven to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and to the resident alien who dwells among them; for the whole people erred unintentionally.
Num.15.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אחת: NUM,f,sg
- תחטא: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- בשגגה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והקריבה: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,f,sg
- עז: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- שנתה: NOUN,f,sg,cons,3,f
- לחטאת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 4:27-28 (verbal): Gives the parallel prescription for a sin offering when an individual sins unintentionally—same category of unintentional sin and similar offering (female goat).
- Leviticus 5:17-19 (thematic): Deals with sins committed unknowingly and prescribes restitution and offerings; relates to the broader sacrificial responses to inadvertent wrongdoing.
- Numbers 15:28 (verbal): Immediate continuation of the same law: describes the priest’s role in making atonement for the unintentional sinner, completing the procedural sequence begun in 15:27.
- Numbers 15:30-31 (structural): Contrasts the law for unintentional sins (vv.27–28) with punishment for presumptuous/high-handed sin, highlighting two distinct legal-theological categories.
- Psalm 19:12-13 (thematic): Expresses the human need for cleansing from unknown or hidden sins; thematically parallels concern for sins committed unwittingly and the desire for atonement.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if one person sins unintentionally, and he brings a female goat of its first year for a sin offering,
- But if one person sins unintentionally and brings a female goat of its year as a sin offering,
Num.15.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכפר: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הכהן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- הנפש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- השגגת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בחטאה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בשגגה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לפני: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לכפר: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- ונסלח: CONJ+VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 4:27-31 (verbal): Prescribes the sin‑offering procedure when an ordinary person sins unintentionally; the priest makes atonement and the person is forgiven—language and legal outcome parallel to Num.15:28.
- Leviticus 4:20 (verbal): Speaks of the priest making atonement for an unintentional sin (of the congregation/priest), using similar terminology (‘the priest shall make atonement’) and the result of forgiveness.
- Numbers 15:30-31 (structural): Provides the direct contrast within the same law corpus: willful (presumptuous) sin is treated as unpardonable by the sacrificial procedure that atones for unintentional sin in v.28, highlighting the boundary of sacrificial forgiveness.
- Hebrews 9:7 (thematic): New Testament reflection on the high priest’s entry and offering to make atonement for the people’s sins; thematically echoes the priestly atonement role described in Num.15:28 and Levitical law.
Alternative generated candidates
- then the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally by his sin, before the LORD, to make atonement for him; and he shall be forgiven.
- then the priest shall make atonement for the person who errs unintentionally, and it shall be forgiven him.
Num.15.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- האזרח: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בבני: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,const
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולגר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- בתוכם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- תורה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אחת: NUM,f,sg
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- לעשה: PREP+VERB,qal,ptcp,ms,sg
- בשגגה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exodus 12:49 (verbal): Uses the same formula: 'one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you' — establishing uniform legal treatment for Israelites and resident aliens.
- Leviticus 24:22 (verbal): Repeats the identical injunction that there shall be one law for the stranger and the native, underscoring legal parity in the community.
- Numbers 15:15-16 (structural): Immediately parallel within the same chapter: earlier verses state the same principle concerning sin offerings and communal obligations, framing the general rule restated in 15:29.
- Leviticus 19:34 (thematic): Commands that the sojourner be treated as a native and loved as oneself — thematically linked to the principle of equal law and status for resident aliens and Israelites.
Alternative generated candidates
- A single law shall be for you for the native in Israel and for the sojourner who sojourns among them, as to the one who sins unintentionally.
- The native among the sons of Israel and the resident alien who dwells among them shall have one law with reference to the one who sins unintentionally.
Num.15.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והנפש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מן: PREP
- האזרח: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ומן: CONJ+PREP
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- מגדף: PART,piel,act,ms,sg
- ונכרתה: CONJ+VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- הנפש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- מקרב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Num.15.29 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same pericope contrasting the treatment of the common Israelite/sojourner (v.29) with the willful/high‑handed offender (v.30).
- Lev.24.16 (verbal): Both texts treat speech against God—'blaspheme the Name' / 'reviles the LORD'—and prescribe severe communal punishment (death/cutting off).
- Deut.17.12 (thematic): Prescribes capital sanction for one who acts presumptuously and disobeys priestly or judicial authority, echoing the 'high‑handed' (presumptuous) offender motif.
- Deut.21.18–21 (thematic): The law concerning the stubborn/rebellious son links defiant, willful rebellion with communal execution—paralleling the high‑handed sinner's removal from the community.
- Ezek.18.20 (thematic): Expresses the principle that the soul who sins shall die/ be cut off, resonating with Num 15:30's formula that the willful offender 'shall be cut off from among his people.'
Alternative generated candidates
- But the person who acts with a high hand, whether native or sojourner, that person blasphemes the LORD; that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
- But the person who acts with a high hand—whether native or resident alien—that one has blasphemed the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Num.15.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בזה: PREP+DEM
- ואת: CONJ
- מצותו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- הפר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הכרת: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- תכרת: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- הנפש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- עונה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 4:2 (thematic): Sets up the law for unintentional/ignorant sin (sin offerings) that is contrasted with Numbers 15’s treatment of willful or presumptuous transgression.
- Deuteronomy 17:12 (verbal): Uses the language of acting 'presumptuously' and prescribes decisive removal/punishment for failing to obey appointed authority—paralleling Numbers 15’s penalty for despising God’s word.
- Joshua 7:11–15 (thematic): Narrative example (Achan) where a private act of disobedience to divine command brings communal crisis and leads to the offender’s removal—illustrating the severe sanction for violating God’s command in Numbers 15.
- Ezekiel 18:20 (thematic): Affirms individual responsibility for sin—'the soul that sins shall die'—echoing Numbers 15’s focus on personal culpability and the liability of the one who breaks the command.
- Hebrews 10:26–29 (allusion): New Testament warning about deliberate/willful sin after knowledge of truth and the severe judgment that follows; develops the same distinction between inadvertent and presumptuous sin found in Numbers 15.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the LORD has spoken concerning this; and His command—whoever scorns it—shall be cut off. The guilty soul shall bear the guilt.
- For the LORD has declared this and his commandments: the soul that violates them presumptuously shall be cut off; the guilt of that person is upon him.
If you err and fail to do all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses,
all that the LORD commanded you by Moses' hand, from the day that the LORD commanded it onward throughout your generations.
When the error of the congregation is committed and the whole congregation has erred, the congregation shall present a young bull as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering.
Then the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it was an inadvertent sin, and they shall bring their offering and their sin offering before the LORD on account of their error. And it shall be forgiven to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel and to the sojourner who dwells among them; for it is for the whole people when it is unintentional.
If one person sins unintentionally and brings a female goat of a year old for a sin offering,
the priest shall make atonement for the person who erred by an unintentional sin before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven.
The native-born among the sons of Israel and the sojourner who dwells among them shall have one law concerning the one who sins unintentionally. But the person who acts with a high hand, whether native or sojourner, who defiantly profanes the name of the LORD—he shall surely be cut off from among his people.
For the LORD has spoken concerning this matter; and his commandment—that person who breaks it shall be utterly cut off; his soul shall be cut off for his transgression.