Bible Commentaries
Leviticus 6

Verses 1-7

E.—TRESPASS OFFERINGS

Leviticus 5:14 to Leviticus 6:7

Note.—In the division of chapters in the Hebrew Bible this section is rightly all included in Leviticus 5:0.

14And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 15If a soul commit a trespass [do a wrong1], and sin through ignorance [inadvertence2] in [taking from3] the holy things of the Lord; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with [according to4] thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering; 16and he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done [sin that he hath committed5] in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.

17And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. 18And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with [according to4] thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance [inadvertence2] 19wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the Lord.

Leviticus 6:1-2.And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul sin, and commit a trespass [do a wrong1] against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbour, in that [and deny to his neighbor that6] which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship [or a pledge7] or in [omit in] a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived [oppressed8]his neighbour; 3or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it [denieth it6] and sweareth falsely: in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 4then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully [oppressively8] gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.9 6And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with [according to10] thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: 7and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord: and it shall be forgiven him for anything of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL

Leviticus 5:15. תִמְֹעל מַעַל. The word being different from the אָשָׁם so frequently recurring in this chapter in a technical sense, it is better to change the translation. Otherwise commit a trespass is a sufficiently good translation, as no English word embodies the idea of secrecy or stealth conveyed by the original.

Leviticus 5:15. בִּשְׁגָגָה = through inadvertence. See Note 1 on Leviticus 4:2.

Leviticus 5:15. מִקָּדְשֵׁי יי֞ a constructio prægnans = taking, or diminishing from the holy things.

Leviticus 5:15. בְּעֶרְכְּךָ. The preposition often has the sense given in the A. V. with but according to (as in the next word but one) seems here the better rendering. The evident sense is that the ram was to be of a certain value, and this was to be determined by an estimation. The restitution for the harm done, with its added fifth, is prescribed in the following ver., and does not come into view here. The Sam. text preserves the exact form of the Hebrew, but all the ancient versions, while changing the form of expression, give the sense according to; they also neglect to translate the ךָ = thy.

Leviticus 5:15. בְּעֶרְכְּךָ. The preposition often has the sense given in the A. V. with but according to (as in the next word but one) seems here the better rendering. The evident sense is that the ram was to be of a certain value, and this was to be determined by an estimation. The restitution for the harm done, with its added fifth, is prescribed in the following ver., and does not come into view here. The Sam. text preserves the exact form of the Hebrew, but all the ancient versions, while changing the form of expression, give the sense according to; they also neglect to translate the ךָ = thy.

Leviticus 5:16. This is the only place in Lev. in which חטא is rendered by any other word than sin in the A. V. This should be conformed to the usage.

Leviticus 6:2. כִּחֵשׁ construed with a double ב of the person and of the thing, = to deny a thing to a person. The word means to lie (Leviticus 19:11, etc.), but the other rendering expresses more exactly the sense here, and is the more usual.

Leviticus 6:2. אוֹ־בִתְשׂוּמֶת יָד= a thing given in pledge, a pawn, different from the trust just before. The construction is with the same verb, and is sufficiently expressed without the special translation of ב, so that the in of the A. V. may be omitted throughout.

Leviticus 6:2. עָשַׁק lit. to press, to squeeze, hence to oppress. A new verb being hero introduced the construction with the series of ב ends. The derived noun עשֵׁק, Leviticus 6:4, bears the same sense = that which has been oppressively obtained.

Leviticus 6:5. The Heb. word meaning either trespass or trespass offering, the marg. of the A. V. is hardly accurate in writing “Heb. in the day of his trespass.”

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

The general distinction of the trespass from the sin offering has already been pointed out: in the trespass offering the idea of the harm done was more prominent, in the sin offering that of the sin committed. Accordingly the trespass offering was usually accompanied by “amends for the harm”—a fifth (a double tithe) being added as penalty. In case the person against whom the wrong was done was already dead without a kinsman to receive the compensation, the amends and penalty were to be paid to the priest (Numbers 5:8). The ritual differed in several respects from that of the sin offering: the blood was treated as in the burnt and peace offerings; the only victim here allowed was a ram; there was no gradation either in the victim or the ritual according to the rank of the offender; nor were any alternative offerings allowed in case of poverty. The reason for the last provision results necessarily from the nature of the offering. Elsewhere we find the same trespass offering prescribed for unchastity with a slave (Leviticus 19:20-22), and in later times offered by those who, on the return from the captivity, had taken strange wives (Ezra 10:19); the same also (not a “he-lamb,” as in the A. V.) is commanded with a some what different ritual on occasion of declaring the cleansing of a leper (Leviticus 14:12; Leviticus 14:21), and also with a ram of a year old for the victim in case of unintentional defilement by a dead body during a Nazarite vow (Numbers 6:9-12).

Three cases are specified which demand a trespass offering—the first two having reference more directly to wrong done towards God (Leviticus 5:15-19), and the third, including several varieties of offence, having reference to wrong done to men (Leviticus 6:2-7).

Leviticus 5:14. And the LORD spake.—This formula marks a fresh communication and distinctly separates the trespass offering from the sin offering which has occupied the whole of the previous communication from Leviticus 4:1. The whole law of the trespass offering is not, however, contained in this communiction, but only that part of it relating to wrongs done toward God. Wrongs done toward man are the subject of a separate communication (Leviticus 6:1-7).

Leviticus 5:16-17. The first case of the trespass offering.

Leviticus 5:15. Through inadvertence, as in Leviticus 4:2; Leviticus 4:13; Leviticus 4:22.

In taking from the holy things.—See Textual note 3. The holy things were the first-fruits, tithes, or gifts of any kind connected with the service of the sanctuary or the support of its priests, by the withholding of which the Lord is said to suffer loss. The restitution and penalty are mentioned Leviticus 22:14 without mention of this offering, which is presupposed.

A ram.—The invariable trespass offering (except in the special cases Leviticus 14:12; Numbers 6:12) which does not at all appear in the list of victims for the sin offering in Leviticus 4:1 to Leviticus 5:13.

According to thy estimation.—See Textual note 4.—The pronoun thy must be considered as used impersonally; or if it be taken personally, then it is addressed to Moses, and of course to any one to whom this duty should afterwards belong in his place.

Shekels.—The Vulg. and many commentators understand the plural to stand for two, as the A. V. has explained the plural in Ezekiel 47:13; others, as Aben-Ezra, Abarbanel, etc., understand it less definitely as meaning at least two shekels. The notion of Oehler (p. 478) and Keil (in loc.) that the value of the ram was purposely left indefinite, that there might be room to vary it according to the gravity of the trespass, although advocated by Michaelis (Art. 244), is clearly wrong. It is opposed to the fundamental idea of all sacrifice, which excludes such correlation; and is entirely unnecessary, since the compensation and forfeit (Leviticus 5:16) were separately required. Moreover, the variation in the value of the ram would be very small in comparison with the variation in trespasses. The text was intended to fix the lowest limit of the value of a ram that could be allowed, and the estimation was for the purpose of determining whether he came up to the standard. “The plural is plainly to be understood as meaning two shekels, or at least two shekels.” Knobel.

Shekel of the Sanctuary.—See Exodus 30:13; Exodus 38:24, etc.

Leviticus 5:16. And he shall make amends.—He shall give the first-fruits or tithes, or whatever he had withheld or taken from sacred dues, or its value. And shall add the fifth part thereto as a penalty or forfeit.—Theodoret here refers to the example of Zaccheus. The justice of such additional payment is everywhere recognized in the Hebrew and all other laws. It is in this, and not in the ram, that the penalty is proportioned to the offence. This having been done, and reparation made, then, with the ram, the priest shall make an atonement.

On the ritual of this sacrifice see Leviticus 7:1-6.

Leviticus 5:17-19. The second case of the trespass offering.

This second case probably differed from the first as sins of commission differ from those of omission. The formula by which the trespass is expressed is substantially the same as in Leviticus 4:22; Leviticus 4:27 in regard to the sin to be expiated by the sin offering. From its connection, and from its being expiated by the trespass offering, it is supposed to include all those transgressions against the theocratic law which could be compensated by money or other payment; yet in this case alone no mention is made of compensation, partly because it was evident from the foregoing that it was required when it could be given, and partly because it included also cases in which pecuniary compensation could not be given, but punishment must be inflicted in some other way. (See Leviticus 19:20.) Lange, however, urges that this omission is a serious difficulty against the view of the trespass offering which has here been given. He considers that the trespass offering relates to participation in guilt in contradistinction to an original offence, and thinks this is indicated by the description of these sins as “sins of ignorance.” He says “these sins of ignorance belong specifically to the category of participation in guilt.” It must be remembered, however, that all sins for which any offering was allowed were “sins of ignorance,” or rather of inadvertence.

Leviticus 6:1-7. The third case of the trespass offering.

From the formula of Leviticus 6:1 this appears as a separate divine communication, on account of the different character of the sins enumerated. All sin is indeed against God, yet those which follow belong to that class of offences against Him which also work harm to men.

The first three verses contain an enumeration of specific wrongs; Leviticus 6:4-5 provide for amends for the harm done with the added penalty; and Leviticus 6:6-7 for atonement by means of the trespass offering. This communication bears the fame relation to the foregoing which Leviticus 5:1-13 bears to chap. 4.

Leviticus 6:2. If a man deny to his neighbor that which was delivered him.—פִּקָדוֹך is a deposit, a thing entrusted to be kept. The sin in this case would consist either in denying the receiving it at all, or denying that it was received in trust, or refusing to restore it.

A pledge.—This differs from the former in not being simply a trust, but a security, a pawn. It is not separately mentioned in Leviticus 6:4.

Leviticus 6:3. Sweareth falsely.—When he denies that he has found a lost thing, and is put upon his oath, he swears to his lie, עַל־שָׁקֶר. This false swearing refers also to all the wrongs mentioned before, and the guilt of the false oath, added to the wrong done, brings the offence into the category of sins against the Lord.

Leviticus 6:5. In the day of his trespass offering.—The amends for the wrong done was to be made to the person wronged at the same time that the offender sought the divine forgiveness. The penalty for the wrong and the ritual of the offering are the same as in chap. 5.

In Exodus 22:1-9 a series of wrongs is enumerated much like those here mentioned with the general law that the restitution should be double (Leviticus 6:4; Leviticus 6:9), while in particular cases it rose to four and five-fold. The distinction between the penalty as given there and here appears to lie in the fact that there the offender was only brought to any restitution by a conviction “before the judges” (Leviticus 6:9); while here, although it is not distinctly so declared yet, every thing implies that the acknowledgment of the wrong is voluntary. There is no mention of conviction, and the whole connection is with sins of inadvertence or impulse which were afterwards acknowledged, and for which forgiveness was sought by the offender.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

I. From the law of the trespass offering it is clear that guilt was not removed by the mere act of compensation (with penalty added) for the harm done; nor, on the other hand, could an atonement be offered for that guilt until such compensation had been made. Here are brought, out the two principles which everywhere, under the old and the new dispensation alike, are concerned in the forgiveness of transgression. There must be both the desire, as far as possible, to make amends for the harm done; and there must be also the sacrifice divinely appointed for “the covering” of the sin. Neither of these can avail alone, because both are essential to that state of holiness, that conquest over the evil, by which alone man can be at one with God. The sacrifice of Christ is all-sufficient for the forgiveness of sin; but the sinner can only avail himself of its benefits when, Christ-like, he himself seeks to conquer the evil.

II. Wrong done to man is itself sin against God. It is impossible to separate the command to love God from that of loving our neighbor also. 1 John 3:20-21.

III. In those sins against others for which atonement was provided in the trespass offering, there was the additional sin of a false oath. This was certainly a moral offence—a sin in the full sense of the word. In view of this, it is impossible to look upon the offences for which sacrifices were appointed as mere ceremonial or theocratic offences. They everywhere appear as true sins, moral transgressions, and this is most clearly shown by including the false oath among them.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

There is no true repentance for wrong done to man which is not accompanied by restitution—and none for having taken from the things of the Lord, or for having failed to give all that should have been given to Him, except in restoring it in overflowing measure; yet while this may make amends for the harm done, forgiveness of the sin must still be sought through propitiation.

In the trespass offering the ritual of the blood was like that of the burnt or the peace offering—inferior to that of the sin offering. This shows that while wrong must of necessity involve sin, yet it does not, in itself considered, stand on the same footing as sin; the moral element in transgression is always the more important. One cannot indeed really offend against man without also offending against God; yet the offence which has God directly for its objective point must necessarily be more serious, since it involves a deeper tort than that which is directed only against man.
The sin offering was lessened by successive stages for the poor, and the very poor, that it might be brought within the reach of all; for all must have propitiation for sin; but the trespass offering is unvaried, the same for all; because if one cannot make amends for the wrong he has done, it must, be let alone,—an inferior gift cannot set things right.
Wrong, like sin, may be committed through inadvertence. Still it must be atoned for. Good intentions will not repair the wrong.
For sin done “with a high hand,” presumptuously, no sacrifice was provided, because the offender deliberately set himself in opposition to God; but for offences against man, such as those here enumerated, some of which must have been done deliberately, a sacrifice is allowed, because even such intentional wrongs do not constitute the same attitude of opposition to God. They may be done, through passion or covetousness, without reflection upon their moral bearings. Therefore, on repentance, restitution, and propitiation, they may be forgiven.
Origen applies the law of trespass in abstracting from sacred things to the faithfulness required of the Christian minister in regard to gifts for holy uses committed to his trust; and then further to the hearing of God’s word as a sacred gift, for the use of which men are responsible, and for the misuse of which they become guilty.

Footnotes:

Leviticus 5:15; Leviticus 5:15. תִמְֹעל מַעַל. The word being different from the אָשָׁם so frequently recurring in this chapter in a technical sense, it is better to change the translation. Otherwise commit a trespass is a sufficiently good translation, as no English word embodies the idea of secrecy or stealth conveyed by the original.

Leviticus 5:15; Leviticus 5:15. בִּשְׁגָגָה = through inadvertence. See Note 1 on Leviticus 4:2.

Leviticus 5:15; Leviticus 5:15. מִקָּדְשֵׁי יי֞ a constructio prægnans = taking, or diminishing from the holy things.

Leviticus 5:15; Leviticus 5:15. בְּעֶרְכְּךָ. The preposition often has the sense given in the A. V. with but according to (as in the next word but one) seems here the better rendering. The evident sense is that the ram was to be of a certain value, and this was to be determined by an estimation. The restitution for the harm done, with its added fifth, is prescribed in the following ver., and does not come into view here. The Sam. text preserves the exact form of the Hebrew, but all the ancient versions, while changing the form of expression, give the sense according to; they also neglect to translate the ךָ = thy.

Leviticus 5:16; Leviticus 5:16. This is the only place in Lev. in which חטא is rendered by any other word than sin in the A. V. This should be conformed to the usage.

[6]Chap. 6. Leviticus 6:2. כִּחֵשׁ construed with a double ב of the person and of the thing, = to deny a thing to a person. The word means to lie (Leviticus 19:11, etc.), but the other rendering expresses more exactly the sense here, and is the more usual.

Leviticus 6:2; Leviticus 6:2. אוֹ־בִתְשׂוּמֶת יָד= a thing given in pledge, a pawn, different from the trust just before. The construction is with the same verb, and is sufficiently expressed without the special translation of ב, so that the in of the A. V. may be omitted throughout.

Leviticus 6:2; Leviticus 6:2. עָשַׁק lit. to press, to squeeze, hence to oppress. A new verb being hero introduced the construction with the series of ב ends. The derived noun עשֵׁק, Leviticus 6:4, bears the same sense = that which has been oppressively obtained.

Leviticus 6:5; Leviticus 6:5. The Heb. word meaning either trespass or trespass offering, the marg. of the A. V. is hardly accurate in writing “Heb. in the day of his trespass.”

Leviticus 6:15; Leviticus 6:15. בְּעֶרְכְּךָ. The preposition often has the sense given in the A. V. with but according to (as in the next word but one) seems here the better rendering. The evident sense is that the ram was to be of a certain value, and this was to be determined by an estimation. The restitution for the harm done, with its added fifth, is prescribed in the following ver., and does not come into view here. The Sam. text preserves the exact form of the Hebrew, but all the ancient versions, while changing the form of expression, give the sense according to; they also neglect to translate the ךָ = thy.

Verses 8-30

SECOND SECTION
Special Instructions chiefly for the Priests

Leviticus 6:8 to Leviticus 7:38

“Standing Sacrificial Rites and Duties—especially of the Priests.”—Lange

A.—FOR BURNT OFFERINGS

Leviticus 6:8-13

8, 9And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command1 Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It2 is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar [This, the burnt offering, shall be upon the hearth upon the altar3] all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. 10And the priest shall put on his4 linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put5 upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering [ashes to which the fire hath consumed the burnt offering6] on the altar, 11and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.7 12And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in [on] it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it: and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. 13The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

B.—FOR OBLATIONS (MEAT OFFERINGS). Leviticus 6:14-23

14And this is the law of the meat offering [oblation8]; the sons of Aaron shall offer9 it before the Lord, before the altar. 15And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering [oblation8], and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering [oblation8], and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord. 16And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with [om. with] unleavened bread [om. bread] shall it be eaten in the [a] holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the 17[om. the] congregation they shall eat it. It2 shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. 18All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings of the Lord made by fire: every one that [whatsoever10] toucheth them shall be holy.

19, 20And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the Lord in the day when Hebrews 11:0 is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for12 a meat offering [an oblation8] perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.13 21In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baken [fried14], thou shalt bring it in: and the baken15 pieces15 of the meat offering [oblation8] shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the Lord. 22And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute forever unto the Lord; it shall be wholly burnt. 23For every meat-offering [oblation8] for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.

C—FOR SIN OFFERINGS. Leviticus 6:24-30

24And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 25Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the Lord: it is most holy. 26The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the [a] holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the [om. the] congregation. 27Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou16 shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the [a] holy place. 28But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brazen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water. 29All the males among 30the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy. And [But] no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the [om. the] congregation to reconcile [make atonement17] withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.

Footnotes:

Leviticus 6:9; Leviticus 6:9. צַו. The Sam. has צוי, a form which occurs in MSS. with the pointing צִַוִּי.

Leviticus 6:9; Leviticus 6:9; Leviticus 6:17-18; Leviticus 6:22. הוא. The Sum. and many MSS. have the later form היא indicated by the Masoretic punctuation. This frequent variation will not hereafter be noticed. The conjectural emendation of Houbigant, הוי in the imperative, although expressing the sense, is unnecessary.

Leviticus 6:9; Leviticus 6:9. The suggested translation is that given by most critics; of its general correctness there can be no doubt; but the sense of מוֹקְדָה (which occurs only here) may be either that of hearth, or of burning. The masculine form, מוֵֹקד (which is found only Psalms 102:4 (3), and Isaiah 33:14), is translated in both ways in the A. V., but should have only the latter sense. The weight of authority as well as the context make hearth the preferable translation here. Knobel would make הוא the verb to be in the imperative; but this is not sufficiently supported.

Leviticus 6:10; Leviticus 6:10. מִדּוֹ. For the suffix on a noun in the constr. Knobel refers to Leviticus 26:42; Exodus 26:25; Jeremiah 9:2 (Leviticus 8:23); 2 Samuel 22:33, however, reads מדי.

Leviticus 6:10; Leviticus 6:10. The Sam. for יִלְבַּשׁ has יִהְיוּ as in Leviticus 16:4, which scarcely affects the sense.

Leviticus 6:10; Leviticus 6:10. The propriety of this correction is obvious. Bp. Horsley’s emendation: take up the ashes of the fire which hath consumed—does violence to the Heb.

Leviticus 6:11; Leviticus 6:11. The Vulg. has this curious addition: usque ad favillam consumi faciet.

Leviticus 6:14; Leviticus 6:14, etc. מִנְחָה= oblation. See Leviticus 2:1, Text. and Gram. Note (2). The Sam. has here “the law of the oblation of the drink offerings,” whence the Vulg.: lex sacrificii et libamentorum.

Leviticus 6:14; Leviticus 6:14. הַקְרֵב, Infin. Abs. as in Leviticus 2:6; Exodus 13:3.

Leviticus 6:18; Leviticus 6:18. כֹּל אֲשֶׁר might be understood either as every one that, as in the A. V., or as every thing that; but as the latter is the necessary translation of the exactly parallel clause in Leviticus 6:27 (as in the A. V.), it is better to keep it here also.

Leviticus 6:20; Leviticus 6:20. The Syr. here has the plural.

Leviticus 6:20; Leviticus 6:20. The prep. לְ, not in the Heb., is supplied by the Sam. and many MSS.

Leviticus 6:20; Leviticus 6:20. The paraphrase of the Sam. בֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם=between the evenings, expresses the connection of this oblation with the evening sacrifice.

Leviticus 6:21; Leviticus 6:21. מֻרְבֶּכֶת a word of very doubtful meaning, but should certainly have the same translation as in Leviticus 7:12, where see note.

Leviticus 6:21; Leviticus 6:21. תֻּפִינֵי, a word ἁπ. λέγ. to which different significations are attached according to its supposed derivation. Fürst, deriving it from תּוּף, gives the sense of the A. V. Gesenius also, deriving from אָפָה, gives the sense of cooked. Others derive it from an Arabic root, and give the meaning broken. So Targ. Onk. (which points תּוּפִינֵי) and the Sam.

Leviticus 6:27; Leviticus 6:27. עָלֶיהָ תְּכַבֵּם. The sudden change of person, and the feminine suffix in reference to a masculine noun, are both avoided by the Sam. reading עליו יכבם.

Leviticus 6:30; Leviticus 6:30. לְכַפֵר. There may be but little difference in the sense of the two renderings; but it is better to retain the same form always. Other instances of variation in the A. V. in Lev. are Leviticus 8:15 and Leviticus 16:20 only.