Lev 5:14-6:7 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Lev 5:14-6:7: 5:14–6:7 The guilt offering (Hebrew ’asham , “guilt”) dealt with property loss and damages, whether sacred (5:14-16 ) or secular (6:1-7 ). It involved restitution as well as compensation for the loss (5:16 ; 6:5 ). It could be called a “penalty offering,” because the ram was a penalty, or perhaps a “restitution offering,” because of the need to make restitution for the loss before the ram was offered. In the guilt offering (5:14–6:7 ), the loss involved was not only a failure in God’s sight, as with the sin offering, but also a loss of property to another person or to the sanctuary. Cp. Matt 5:23-24 .

Summary for Lev 5:14-6:7: 5:14–6:7 ^a The guilt offering (Hebrew ’asham, “guilt”) dealt with property loss and damages, whether sacred (5:14-16 ^b) or secular (6:1-7 ^c). It involved restitution as well as compensation for the loss (5:16 ^d; 6:5 ^e). It could be called a “penalty offering,” because the ram was a penalty, or perhaps a “restitution offering,” because of the need to make restitution for the loss before the ram was offered. In the guilt offering (5:14–6:7 ^f), the loss involved was not only a failure in God’s sight, as with the sin offering, but also a loss of property to another person or to the sanctuary. Cp. Matt 5:23-24 ^g.
5:15 ^h unintentionally defiling: Damage to sacred property was distinguished from damage to secular property. The sacrifice was effective only if the damage to sacred property had been committed accidentally. Deliberate damage, such as vandalism, to something sacred was blasphemous. As with other deliberate sins (Num 15:30-31 ⁱ), no means was specified for its atonement. No devout believer would defiantly continue in sin (see 1 Jn 3:9 ^j).

• The sanctuary shekel was not a coin but a standardized unit for measuring weight. It was used to evaluate the ram being offered. Some scholars suggest that this text permits the substitution of the appropriate amount of silver for the ram.
5:16 ^k The surcharge of an additional 20 percent provided compensation to the owner for loss or damage to property. The surcharge for sacred property was paid directly to the priests. Accidental damage to sacred property occurred when a person unintentionally ate the sacred offerings (22:14 ^l) or omitted the tithe (27:31 ^m). A similar surcharge was involved in redeeming an animal (27:13 ⁿ, 27 ^o).
Summary for Lev 5:17-19: 5:17-19 ^p This paragraph provides general principles for the guilt offering. Even if unaware of the infraction, an individual was guilty and had to provide the appropriate guilt offering. This applied to both sacred and secular property (5:14-16 ^q; 6:1-7 ^r).

‏ Leviticus 6:1-7

6:2 ^s sins against your associate ... unfaithful to the Lord: For believers, there really is no such thing as a “secular” sin. All sin involves God, even sin directed against another person or group. In the sins requiring a guilt offering, God’s forgiveness was needed, but restitution to the injured individual had to be made first (6:5-7 ^t; cp. Matt 5:23-24 ^u). Unlike offenses against sacred property (Lev 5:14-16 ^v), both accidental and intentional offenses against secular property could be forgiven.
6:5 ^w The instructions for the guilt offering assumed that a person’s conscience would induce voluntary reparation; when restitution was voluntary, the surcharge for loss of use to the owner was always 20 percent. Penalties were more severe in other cases (cp. Exod 22:1-15 ^x). There is a clear difference between voluntary confession and simply admitting sin after being caught.
6:7 ^y will purify you before the Lord, making you right with him: God graciously gave his people a way to atone for their sins. See also study notes on 1:4; 4:20.