Commentaria in Leviticum
Chapter 4
The fourth species of sacrifice is described, namely the victim for sin, and that for sin committed through ignorance. This victim was fourfold: first, for the sin of the high priest, which was a calf, verse 3; second, for the sin of the people, which was a calf, verse 13; third, for the sin of a prince, which was a he-goat, verse 22; fourth, for the sin of a common man, which was a she-goat, verse 28, or a sheep, verse 32.
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2. Say to the children of Israel: The soul that sinneth through ignorance, and doth any thing of all the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded should not be done: 3. If the priest that is anointed shall sin, making the people to offend, he shall offer to the Lord for his sin a calf without blemish; 4. And he shall bring it to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony before the Lord, and shall put his hand upon its head, and shall immolate it to the Lord. 5. He shall take also of the blood of the calf, bringing it into the tabernacle of the testimony. 6. And having dipped his finger in the blood, he shall sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary. 7. And he shall put some of the same blood upon the horns of the altar of the sweet incense most pleasing to the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the testimony: and all the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the foot of the altar of holocaust, in the entry of the tabernacle. 8. And he shall take off the fat of the calf for the sin, as well that which covereth the entrails, as all that is within: 9. The two little kidneys, and the caul that is upon them near the flanks, and the fat of the liver with the little kidneys, 10. As it is taken off from the calf of the sacrifice of peace-offerings; and he shall burn them upon the altar of the holocaust. 11. But the skin and all the flesh, with the head, and the feet, and the entrails, and the dung, 12. And the rest of the body, he shall carry forth without the camp into a clean place, where the ashes are poured out: and he shall burn them upon a pile of wood: they shall be burnt in the place where the ashes are poured out. 13. And if the whole multitude of Israel shall be ignorant, and through ignorance do that which is contrary to the commandment of the Lord, 14. And afterwards understand their sin, they shall offer a calf for their sin, and shall bring it to the door of the tabernacle. 15. And the ancients of the people shall put their hands upon its head before the Lord. And the calf being immolated in the sight of the Lord, 16. The priest that is anointed shall carry of its blood into the tabernacle of the testimony, 17. And, having dipped his finger, shall sprinkle it seven times before the veil. 18. And he shall put of the same blood upon the horns of the altar, which is before the Lord in the tabernacle of the testimony: and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the foot of the altar of holocaust, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. 19. And all its fat he shall take off and shall burn upon the altar: 20. So shall he do with this calf as he did also with the former: and the priest praying for them, the Lord will be merciful to them. 21. And he shall carry the calf itself out of the camp, and burn it as he did the former calf, because it is the sin of the multitude. 22. If a prince shall sin, and through ignorance do any one of the many things which the law of the Lord forbiddeth, 23. And afterwards come to know his sin, he shall offer a sacrifice to the Lord, a he-goat without blemish. 24. And he shall put his hand upon its head: and when he hath immolated it in the place where the holocaust is wont to be slain before the Lord, because it is for sin, 25. The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the victim for sin, and touching the horns of the altar of holocaust, shall pour out the rest at the foot thereof. 26. And the fat he shall burn upon it, as is wont to be done in the victims of peace-offerings: and the priest shall pray for him and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. 27. And if any one of the common people shall sin through ignorance, and do any of those things which by the law of the Lord are forbidden, and offend, 28. And come to know his sin, he shall offer a she-goat without blemish. 29. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the victim that is for sin, and shall immolate it in the place of holocaust. 30. And the priest shall take of the blood on his finger, and touching the horns of the altar of holocaust, shall pour out the rest at the foot thereof. 31. And taking off all the fat, as is wont to be taken off from the victims of peace-offerings, he shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour to the Lord: and he shall pray for him, and it shall be forgiven him. 32. But if he offer of the flock a victim for his sin, to wit, a sheep without blemish, 33. He shall put his hand upon its head, and shall immolate it in the place where the victims of holocausts are wont to be slain. 34. And the priest shall take of the blood thereof on his finger, and touching the horns of the altar of holocaust, shall pour out the rest at the foot thereof. 35. And taking off all the fat, as the fat of the ram is taken off, which is immolated for peace-offerings, he shall burn it upon the altar for an incense of the Lord: and he shall pray for him and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
Verse 1. And the Lord spoke to Moses.—It is uncertain whether at the same time at which He spoke what was prescribed in chapters 1, 2 and 3, or at another; for that the word “spoke” is repeated here can argue only a newness of matter, not of time. So Abulensis.
Verse 2. The soul—man. See what was said on chapter 2, verse 1.
That sinneth through ignorance,—whether of law and right, or of fact, and that gross and culpable. For “ignorance” the Hebrew is shegagah, which more recent writers render error and a lapse from passion, for instance from vehement anger. But shegagah properly signifies ignorance, and so the Chaldee, Philo, St. Jerome and others render it. And doth any thing of all the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded should not be done.—“Of all,” therefore, as well natural as ceremonial and judicial commandments; as well affirmative as negative. So Ribera against Abulensis, who thinks that only ceremonial ones are treated of here. The reason is that error can fall upon absolutely all things, at least of fact, which was to be expiated by sacrifice. For if anyone had violated, not through ignorance but knowingly, what is commanded in the Decalogue, and it had been public, this fault would have been dealt with not by sacrifice but by the penalty and fine inflicted by the judge, as is plain from Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 12 and the last, and elsewhere: whence it follows that here is treated a secret sin, not a public one, as Josephus teaches, book 3, chapter 10, and from him Ribera; for a public one would have been punished by the judge; for the judge would not have admitted the excuse of ignorance: since in judgment, when a crime is in question, the accused is presumed to have known the law and the nature of his deed, unless he himself prove the contrary.
Commandments—that is, things forbidden by some commandment.
Hence follows: “which he commanded should not be done”; for as the Hebrews often put the act for the object, as love for the thing loved, fear for the thing feared (in which way God is called our love and our fear, see Canon 21), so likewise they put the law or commandment for the thing which is forbidden by the law or commandment. So Cajetan.
Which he commanded should not be done.—The Hebrew is, “which shall not be done,” that is, which by God’s law ought not to be done, as if to say: Whoever shall do anything forbidden by the law, or shall have done anything against the law and sinned, either by commission or omission: for not only negative precepts but affirmative also, as they command the thing they enjoin, so they forbid its contrary and its omission; for example when it is said, Honour thy father, the honour of the father is commanded, and at the same time contumely and the omission of honour due to the father is forbidden.