Lev 5:15 | TNotes | STEP | 5:15 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 ), no means was specified for its atonement. No devout believer would defiantly continue in sin (see 1 Jn 3:9 ). • 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.

bNum 15:30-31►

c1 Jn 3:9►

‏ Leviticus 5:15

5:15 ^a 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 ^b), no means was specified for its atonement. No devout believer would defiantly continue in sin (see 1 Jn 3:9 ^c).

• 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.