The Trespass Offering (Leviticus 5:14–6:7)

There are similarities between the situations when a sin offering and a trespass offering was the necessary response from an Israelite. On occasions, both were offered in connection with unintentional sins and such sins are detailed in Leviticus 5:14-19. Yet there are differences because the trespass offering was required of individuals who had sinned on purpose and some examples are given in Leviticus 6:1-7. Further, the trespass offering was always an individual action whereas the whole congregation could offer a sin offering through its representatives (such as the elders of the community described in Leviticus 4:15).

The trespass offering is also described in Numbers 5:5-8: ‘And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him.’

A variety of sins required a trespass offering. In Leviticus 5:14-16, the sin is connected to an unintentional breach of the activities at the tabernacle (‘the holy things of the Lord’); in 5:17-19, the sin involves breaking unintentionally a commandment of the Lord in daily life; in 6:1-7, the sin involves a deliberate sin against one’s neighbour and several possibilities are mentioned – financial deceit, theft and false witness.

Different responses were required as a trespass offering. The response demanded for a breach of the tabernacle activities was an animal sacrifice plus a financial payment. The offender had to locate a suitable animal (a male lamb or ram), discover what it was worth according to the value system of the tabernacle, add a fifth (a double tithe) of the amount as restitution payment, and give the animal and the shekels to the priest. The animal was used for his atonement and the money helped the finances of the temple (5:14-16).

The response for a general disobedience of the law involved discovering that it had been broken, with an accompanying sense of guilt for the disobedience. The remedy was to bring a ram without blemish as a guilt offering (5:17-19). The response for deliberate sins against one’s neighbour involved restitution of the loss plus one fifth of its value, along with the required animal sacrifice for an atonement (6:1-7).

It is obvious that a distinguishing feature of the guilt offering was the creation of debt, either to God’s place of worship when it was offended against or to any of God’s people when such were sinned against. The debt made a person guilty before the Lord and it was required that the offender arrange for both an animal (a ram) as an atonement and also the financial payment of the debt.

The trespass offering indicated clearly that sin was serious in God’s estimation and that a costly atonement was required before forgiveness was available. The details speak to us about our need of the work of Jesus on the cross.