John Gill Commentary Leviticus 4

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying .
] Continued to speak to him, or, after some pause made, proceeded to speak to him, and give things in commandment concerning the sin offering, what it should be, and for whom, as follows.

Speak unto the children of Israel, [saying]
For this law concerning the sin offering, as the rest, only belonged to them, and such as were proselyted to them:

if a soul should sin through ignorance ;
sin is from the soul, though committed by the body; it is the soul that sins, (Ezekiel 18:4)

it includes, as Aben Ezra observes, both Israelites and proselytes; who sinned through ignorance either of the law, that such things were forbidden, or of having committed them, they being done unobserved, and through inadvertency; or were forgotten that they were done, or were done through error and mistake; these sins are what the apostle calls the errors of the people, their strayings out of the way through ignorance and inadvertency, (Hebrews 5:2) (9:7) such sins as a man is overtaken with unawares, and is drawn into at once through temptation and the prevalence of corruption; these are the errors and secret faults which David distinguishes from presumptuous sins, (Psalms 19:12Psalms 19:13) :

against any of the commandments of the Lord ([concerning things]
which ought not to be done .
The Jewish writers ^F13 distinguish the commandments of the Lord into affirmative and negative, and make their number to be six hundred and thirteen; two hundred and forty eight are affirmative, according to the number of bones in a man's body, and three hundred sixty five are negative ones, according to the number of the days of the year; and they observe ^F14 , it is only the transgression of negative precepts that is here meant, and for which a sin offering was to be brought:

and shall do against any of them ;
it must be something done, and not merely said: hence the Jews ^F15 say, that as the neglect of circumcision, and of the passover, does not come under this law, because they are affirmative precepts; so neither blasphemy, because there is nothing done, only something said:

of these sins of ignorance, they give instances as follows; if any man eats the fat that is about the kidneys, thinking it is the fat that is about the heart; or that lies with a woman forbidden by the law, thinking her to be his wife; or that commits idolatry, by bowing to the idol, thinking that the law forbids sacrifice, incense, and libation, but not bowing; or that profanes the sabbath, thinking it is a common day ^F16 .

FOOTNOTES:

• F13: T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 23. 2.
• F14: Maimon. in Misn. Horayot, c. 2. sect. 3. Bartenora in Misn. Ceritot, c. 1. sect. 1. Gersom in loc.
• F15: Misn. Ceritot, c. 1. sect. 2. & Bartenora in ib. Maimon. Hilchot Shegagot, c. 1. sect. 2.
• F16: Maimon & Bartenora in Misn. Ceritot, ib.

If the priest that is anointed do sin
That is, the high priest, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and the Septuagint version, render it; who in after times was only anointed, though at first Aaron's sons were anointed with him; so an high priest is described in (Leviticus 21:10) and such an one was liable to sin, and often did; which shows not only that the greatest and best of men are not without sin, but proves what the apostle observes, that the law made men high priests which had infirmity, even sinful infirmities, who needed to offer for themselves as well as for the people; by which it appeared that perfection could not be had by the Levitical priesthood, and that it was proper it should cease, and another priesthood take place, (Hebrews 7:11Hebrews 7:12Hebrews 7:18Hebrews 7:19Hebrews 7:27Hebrews 7:28) :

according to the sin of the people ;
committing the like sins of error and ignorance as the common people, to which he was liable as they; or "to make the people guilty"; as the margin reads; to which agrees the Septuagint version, "so that the people sin"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "making the people to sin"; either by his doctrine or example, and both through ignorance, heedlessness, and inadvertency: the Targum of Jonathan is,

``when he offers the offering of sin for the people, not according to its manner'' or rite; as if his sin lay in erring while he was offering; but be it in which way it may, whether by any unadvised inadvertent action of his own, or ignorant instruction of the people, so causing them to err, or any ignorance or mistake in offering the sacrifices of the people:

then let him bring for the sin which he has sinned ;
in either way:

a young bullock ;
not an ox which was three years old, nor a calf which was but of one year, but a bullock which was of two years; so Maimonides ^F17 observes, that wherever it is said a calf, that is a young one of the first year, but a bullock it is a young one of the second year.

As are men's characters, so are the aggravations of their sins, and sacrifices were proportioned thereunto; the high priest was obliged to bring the same offering as the whole congregation did in a like case; see (Leviticus 4:13Leviticus 4:14)

without blemish ;
a type of the sacrifice of Christ offered up without spot to God, as it follows;

unto the Lord ;
against whom sin is committed, and therefore sacrifice both in the type and antitype must be brought and offered up to him, by whom it is accepted, and to whom it is of a sweetsmelling savour, namely, the unblemished sacrifice of Christ:

for a sin offering ;
or "for sin": the sin offering is called sin itself, and so is Christ the antitype of it, (2 Corinthians 5:21) Christ is most holy in himself, had no sin in him, nor knew any, nor were any committed by him; yet he appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh, took the place of sinners, and was their substitute, has all their sins laid upon him, and was by imputation made sin itself, and became an offering for it, and so fully answered the type of the sin offering.

FOOTNOTES:

• F17: Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 1. sect. 14.

And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord
As the bullock of the burnt offering; (See Gill on Leviticus 1:3):

and shall lay his hand on the bullock's head ;
the Targum of Jonathan says his right hand; (See Gill on Leviticus 1:4):

and kill the bullock before the Lord ;
at the door of the tabernacle, that is, in the court, as Gersom observes; according to the above Targum, the butcher killed it, and not the priest: (See Gill on Leviticus 1:5) all this is typical of the imputation of sin to Christ, and of his death.

And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's
blood
Let out and received into a basin; this he did himself, and not another, for he offered for himself, and the blood was to make atonement for him:

and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation
out of the court where the bullock was slain, into the holy place, where were the vail that divided between the holy of holies, and the altar of sweet incense, after mentioned.