The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible
Offerings for Unintentional Sins
Numbers 15:22–31 — Offerings for Unintentional Sins. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.
22Now if you stray unintentionally and do not obey all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses—
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·ḵî ṯiš·gū wə·lō ṯa·‘ă·śū ’êṯ kāl- hā·’êl·leh ham·miṣ·wōṯ ’ă·šer- Yah·weh dib·ber ’el- mō·šeh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-when you-go-astray and-not you-do all these the-commandments that Yahweh has-spoken to Moses—
Where the English smooths the original
a distinction is emphatically drawn between sins of ignorance ( Leviticus 4:13 ff) and those of presumption Numbers 15:30-31 . The passage deals separately with imperfections of obedience which would be regarded as attaching to the whole nation Numbers 15:22-26 , and those of individuals Numbers 15:27-30
The law relates only to any omission and consequently is quite different from that laid down in Le 4:13, which implies a transgression or positive neglect of some observances required.
every sin is an error, a missing of the mark, a wandering from the way of God's commandments.Gill notes the rabbinic reading ("Jarchi, and the Jews in general, interpret this of idolatry") before preferring the broader sense.
23all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses from the day the LORD gave them and continuing through the generations to come—
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
’êṯ kāl- ’ă·šer Yah·weh ’ă·lê·ḵem ṣiw·wāh bə·yaḏ- mō·šeh min- hay·yō·wm ’ă·šer Yah·weh ṣiw·wāh wā·hā·lə·’āh lə·ḏō·rō·ṯê·ḵem
Literal — word-for-word from the original
all that Yahweh has-commanded to-you by-hand-of Moses, from the-day that Yahweh commanded, and-onward to-your-generations—
Where the English smooths the original
And henceforward.— Rather, and onward, or thenceforward. There is nothing in the word which is here used to denote whether the reference is or is not to legislation of a later date than that at which the words were spoken.
Even all that the Lord hath commanded you by the hand of Moses,.... Recorded in this book and the two preceding, whether of a moral, ceremonial, or judicial kind; the whole body of laws given to the people of Israel from the Lord by Moses
These words are obscure, because they point apparently to a much larger lapse of time since the first giving of the Law than had really occurred. It may be that they include the possibility of fresh revelations of the Divine will in the time to come.
24and if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, then the whole congregation is to prepare one young bull as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a sin offering.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·hā·yāh ’im ne·‘eś·ṯāh liš·ḡā·ḡāh mê·‘ê·nê hā·‘ê·ḏāh ḵāl hā·‘ê·ḏāh wə·‘ā·śū ’e·ḥāḏ par ben- bā·qār lə·‘ō·lāh nî·ḥō·aḥ lə·rê·aḥ Yah·weh ū·min·ḥā·ṯōw wə·nis·kōw kam·miš·pāṭ ’e·ḥāḏ ū·śə·‘îr- ‘iz·zîm lə·ḥaṭ·ṭāṯ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
and-it-shall-be, if it-was-done away-from-the-eyes-of the-congregation by-inadvertence, then-shall-make all the-congregation one bull son-of-the-herd as-a-burnt-offering, a-restful aroma to-Yahweh, with-its-grain-offering and-its-drink-offering according-to-the-ordinance, and-one he-goat of-goats as-a-sin-offering.
Where the English smooths the original
The word shegagah is used to denote transgressions committed unwittingly in contrast to sins committed presumptuously ( Numbers 15:30 ).
In Le 4 the bullock is for a sin-offering, here it is for a burnt-offering, either because they are different laws, as hath been said; or because here is added a new penalty, to breed the greater caution and diligence in the Israelites
In the case of a sin of commission done ignorantly, the bullock was treated as a sin offering ( Leviticus 4:14, 20 ), for in that case the expiation of guilt incurred is the prominent point in the atonement; in this case it is the necessity of a fresh self-dedication to the Lord.
25The priest is to make atonement for the whole congregation of Israel, so that they may be forgiven; for the sin was unintentional and they have brought to the LORD a food offering and a sin offering, presented before the LORD for their unintentional sin.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
hak·kō·hên wə·ḵip·per ‘al- kāl- ‘ă·ḏaṯ bə·nê yiś·rā·’êl wə·nis·laḥ lā·hem kî- hî šə·ḡā·ḡāh wə·hêm hê·ḇî·’ū ’eṯ- Yah·weh qā·rə·bā·nām ’iš·šeh wə·ḥaṭ·ṭā·ṯām lip̄·nê Yah·weh ‘al- šiḡ·ḡā·ṯām
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-shall-cover the-priest over all the-congregation-of the-sons-of Israel, and-it-shall-be-forgiven to-them; for it [the sin] was-inadvertence, and-they have-brought their-offering, a-fire-offering to-Yahweh, and-their-sin-offering before Yahweh for their-inadvertence.
Where the English smooths the original
Rather, for it is a sin of ignorance, or an error. So also at the end of the verse.Ellicott corrects the older "for it is ignorance" to "a sin of ignorance."
It shall be forgiven, for it is ignorance — Proceeding from some mistake, and not from contempt of God and his laws; for then the guilty person was to be utterly cut off.
By offering a sin offering for them, a type of Christ, the propitiation not only for the sins of the people among the Jews, but throughout the whole world, 1 John 2:2
26Then the whole congregation of Israel and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, since it happened to all the people unintentionally.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
lə·ḵāl ‘ă·ḏaṯ bə·nê yiś·rā·’êl wə·lag·gêr hag·gār bə·ṯō·w·ḵām wə·nis·laḥ kî lə·ḵāl hā·‘ām biš·ḡā·ḡāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-it-shall-be-forgiven to-all the-congregation-of the-sons-of Israel and-to-the-sojourner who-resides among-them, for to-all the-people in-inadvertence.
Where the English smooths the original
Rather, for in regard to all the people, it was done in ignorance, or unwittingly.
It looked favourably upon the Gentiles, that this law of atoning for sins of ignorance, is expressly made to extend to those who were strangers to Israel.
There is no record of this atonement ever having been made, although there was abundant occasion for it; it may well be that it was intended only to stand on record against the Jews, and to point them to the one true expiation for their national as well as for their particular transgressions.
27Also, if one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’im- ’a·ḥaṯ ne·p̄eš te·ḥĕ·ṭā ḇiš·ḡā·ḡāh wə·hiq·rî·ḇāh baṯ- šə·nā·ṯāh ‘êz lə·ḥaṭ·ṭāṯ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-if one soul shall-sin by-inadvertence, then-she-shall-bring-near a-daughter-of-her-year, a-she-goat, as-a-sin-offering.
Where the English smooths the original
And if any soul sin through ignorance.— There is no restriction here, as in Leviticus 4:27 , to sins of commission.
which differed in this from the sin offering of a congregation that sinned through ignorance; that was a kid of the goats, whether male or female, but this was to be a female goat and of a year old.
The offering is a she-goat of one year old for a sin-offering . 27–29 . Errors of an individual .
28And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the person who erred by sinning unintentionally; and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
hak·kō·hên wə·ḵip·per lip̄·nê Yah·weh ‘al- han·ne·p̄eš ḇiš·ḡā·ḡāh haš·šō·ḡe·ḡeṯ bə·ḥeṭ·’āh lə·ḵap·pêr ‘ā·lāw wə·nis·laḥ lōw
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-shall-cover the-priest over the-soul that-erred by-inadvertence in-her-sinning before Yahweh, to-cover over-her, and-it-shall-be-forgiven to-her.
Where the English smooths the original
so the forgiveness of the sins of all the Lord's people proceeds upon an atonement made by the blood and sacrifice of Christ: full atonement of sin and free forgiveness are not contrary to each other.
The law laid doon in Leviticus 5:6 (cf. Leviticus 4:27 .) for the Israelites, is repeated here in Numbers 15:27 , Numbers 15:28 , and in Numbers 15:28 it is raised into general validity for foreigners also."doon" is a typographical artifact of the source text for "down"; preserved verbatim.
Sins committed ignorantly, shall be forgiven through Christ the great Sacrifice, who, when he offered up himself once for all upon the cross, seemed to explain one part of the intention of his offering, in that prayer, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
29You shall have the same law for the one who acts in error, whether he is a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
lā·ḵem yih·yeh ’a·ḥaṯ tō·w·rāh lā·‘ō·śeh biš·ḡā·ḡāh hā·’ez·rāḥ biḇ·nê yiś·rā·’êl wə·lag·gêr hag·gār bə·ṯō·w·ḵām
Literal — word-for-word from the original
The-native among-the-sons-of Israel and-the-sojourner residing among-you — one law shall-be to-you for-the-one-acting in-inadvertence.
Where the English smooths the original
both sinning through ignorance, the same sacrifice was offered for them, by which atonement was made, and through which their sin was forgiven; by whom are meant homeborn Israelites and proselytes of righteousness, who were under the same laws, and enjoyed the same privileges, as do now believing Jews and Gentiles.
In the same way, again, there was one law for the native and the stranger, in relation to sins of omission on the part of single individuals.
Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.Geneva preserves the verse text without marginal gloss for this verse.
30But the person who sins defiantly, whether a native or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD. That person shall be cut off from among his people.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·han·ne·p̄eš ’ă·šer- ta·‘ă·śeh bə·yāḏ rā·māh min- hā·’ez·rāḥ ū·min- hag·gêr ’eṯ- mə·ḡad·dêp̄ Yah·weh hū han·ne·p̄eš ha·hi·w wə·niḵ·rə·ṯāh miq·qe·reḇ ‘am·māh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
But-the-soul who acts with-a-high hand, whether of-the-native or of-the-sojourner, he-reviles Yahweh; and-that-soul shall-be-cut-off from-the-midst-of her-people.
Where the English smooths the original
That doeth ought presumptuously.— Literally, with a high hand. Reproacheth the Lord. —Rather, blasphemeth, as in 2Kings 19:6 ; 2Kings 19:22 .
the same blasphemeth the Lord ] Jehovah doth he revile. The emphatic position of ‘Jehovah’ lays stress on the enormity of the crime. The ‘reviling’ was not necessarily in speech; actions speak louder than words.
But every wilful sin is, in the nature of things, a reproach or dishonour to the Lord, Romans 2:23 . It is saying, in effect, that his commandments are not wise, just, and good, and that we know better what is fit for ourselves than he can judge for us.
the same reproacheth the Lord—sets Him at open defiance and dishonors His majesty.
31He shall certainly be cut off, because he has despised the word of the LORD and broken His commandment; his guilt remains on him.”
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
han·ne·p̄eš ha·hi·w hik·kā·rêṯ tik·kā·rêṯ kî bā·zāh ḏə·ḇar- Yah·weh wə·’eṯ- hê·p̄ar miṣ·wā·ṯōw ‘ă·wō·nāh ḇāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
For the-word of-Yahweh he-has-despised, and his-commandment he-has-broken; cutting-off shall-be-cut-off that soul, her-guilt is-upon-her.
Where the English smooths the original
That is, has broken it through contempt of it, despising it as a command of God, paying no regard to it as a law of his; otherwise such who sin ignorantly break the commandment of God
In the Christian dispensation the one great Sacrifice has procured atonement for all sinners who repent, even though, like the crucified robber, they have sinned with an high hand.
i.e. The punishment shall be confined to himself, and not fall upon the congregation, as it will do, if they neglect to cut him off.
The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.
AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.
The law opens without the usual seam. The Pulpit Commentary marks it: "The absence of the usual formula, 'and the Lord spake unto Moses,' is singular, because what follows has reference not to the enactment just made, but to the whole Law." The Hebrew verb is tiš·gū (root shâgâh, H7686) — "you go astray," the wandering of a flock off the road, not yet the codified "inadvertence" of v.24. John Gill (1746–63) hears the whole doctrine of sin in the word: "every sin is an error, a missing of the mark, a wandering from the way of God's commandments." And the failure is specifically one of doing — ṯa·‘ă·śū, "you do/perform" — which is why the chorus of commentators (Barnes, JFB, Poole, Keil) insists this passage concerns sins of omission, distinct from Leviticus 4's sins of commission. JFB (1871): "The law relates only to any omission and consequently is quite different from that laid down in Le 4:13."
The remedy is sacrificial and corporate. The keyword shᵉgâgāh (H7684, "inadvertence") binds the case together; Ellicott (1878) defines it exactly: "used to denote transgressions committed unwittingly in contrast to sins committed presumptuously." The sin slips past the community — Barnes (1834): "an error of omission which escaped notice at the time: i. e. to an oversight." Twice (vv.25, 28) the priest covers: the verb wə·ḵip·per (root kâphar, H3722) is literally "to cover," the act "atonement" names but hides. Twice over (vv.25, 26, 28) the response is the Niphal wə·nis·laḥ (root çâlach, H5545) — "and it shall be forgiven," a verb the Hebrew Bible reserves to God alone. Matthew Poole (1685) notes the puzzle the burnt-offering raises: "In Le 4 the bullock is for a sin-offering, here it is for a burnt-offering...because here is added a new penalty, to breed the greater caution." The rare verb shâgag (H7683, only four OT occurrences) surfaces in v.28's participle haš·šō·ḡe·ḡeṯ, "the one erring."
Twice the legislation reaches past Israel to the gēr (H1616), the resident-alien — "and to the sojourner who resides among them" (v.26), "one torah...for the native and the sojourner" (v.29). Matthew Henry (1706) reads providence in it: "It looked favourably upon the Gentiles, that this law of atoning for sins of ignorance, is expressly made to extend to those who were strangers to Israel." The word for "one" is ʼa·ḥaṯ (root ʼechâd, H259); John Gill (1746–63) draws the line forward — native and proselyte "were under the same laws, and enjoyed the same privileges, as do now believing Jews and Gentiles." Keil & Delitzsch (1860s) notes the grammatical compression: "In Numbers 15:29, האזרח is written absolutely for לאזרח."
Then the antithesis, marked by a single conjunctive wə: "But the soul who acts bə·yāḏ rā·māh" — "with a high hand" (roots yâd H3027 + rûwm H7311). Ellicott (1878): "Literally, with a high hand." Joseph Benson (1810s) describes the man: one "who knowingly and wilfully broke the law, and when admonished, despised the admonition, and set the law at naught." This soul mə·ḡad·dêp̄ — "reviles" Yahweh (root gâdaph, H1442); Cambridge observes "the 'reviling' was not necessarily in speech; actions speak louder than words." There is no offering here, only karet: the doubled verb hik·kā·rêṯ tik·kā·rêṯ (root kârath, H3772), "cutting-off shall-be-cut-off." The ground is contempt — bā·zāh (H959), "he has despised the word of Yahweh," and hê·p̄ar (root pârar, H6565), he has "annulled" his commandment. Cambridge alone lifts the gospel horizon: "In the Christian dispensation the one great Sacrifice has procured atonement for all sinners who repent, even though, like the crucified robber, they have sinned with an high hand."
Read under Sola Scriptura and offered as fallible: this ten-verse law is built on a single architecture of opposites that the Hebrew makes audible. The unit opens with Yahweh's spoken word — dibber (v.22) — and closes with that word despised — dᵉbar-YHWH...bāzāh (v.31); the law that came by the hand of Moses (v.23, bə·yad) is met at the end by the hand raised against God (v.30, bə·yāḏ rā·māh). Between these poles stands the same word — nephesh, "soul" — twice: the soul that strays by inadvertence and is covered (v.27–28), and the soul that strays by defiance and is cut off (v.30–31). The decisive line is not the magnitude of the offense — both are failures to keep the same commandments — but the posture of the heart toward the One who spoke. Scripture here teaches that what cannot be atoned by blood is not great sin but contempt: the will that holds God's word cheap. This is why the writer of Hebrews can echo the structure (Heb 10:26–29) and why the law's own logic strains toward a sacrifice deep enough to cover even the high hand — which the law itself does not provide, and which it therefore leaves as an unanswered ache. That is my reading, and it must be tested against the text and the whole counsel of Scripture, not received because I have said it.
What no offering covers is not the great sin but the cheapened word — the hand lifted, not the foot that strayed.
AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.
The clearest kinship in the unit is to Leviticus 5:18, the parallel law of the individual's inadvertent sin. The Verifier records four shared content-lexemes — shᵉgâgāh (H7684, inadvertence, 18 vv), çâlach (H5545, to forgive, 45 vv), kâphar (H3722, to cover/atone, 94 vv), and kôhên (H3548, priest, 653 vv) — the same legal vocabulary deployed in the same order: priest covers, sin is inadvertence, it is forgiven. Keil & Delitzsch independently confirms the relationship: "The law laid doon in Leviticus 5:6 (cf. Leviticus 4:27.) for the Israelites, is repeated here in Numbers 15:27, Numbers 15:28." We grade this structural, not verbal: the shared words are genuine content-words and cluster as a formulaic legal unit, but none of the four is rare (the least common, shᵉgâgāh, occurs 18 times), so the basis is a recurring legal formula shared across the priestly corpus — a pattern, not a quotation. Under-claiming here is the honest call, even though the Verifier's lenient default returns "verbal."
Numbers 15:25 · Numbers 15:28 · Leviticus 5:18
basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes: H7684 shᵉgâgāh (18 vv), H5545 çâlach (45 vv), H3722 kâphar (94 vv), H3548 kôhên (653 vv) — a clustered legal formula, but no single lexeme is rare, so graded structural (the formula recurs across the priestly law); corroborated by Keil & Delitzsch identifying Lev 5:6/4:27 as the repeated law. Downgraded from the Verifier's default "verbal" because no rare word or quotation underwrites it.
Verse 28's participle haš·šō·ḡe·ḡeṯ, "the one erring," comes from shâgag (H7683), a verb occurring only four times in the entire Hebrew Bible. The Verifier finds it shared with two of those rare sites. Psalm 119:67 — "Before I was afflicted I went astray (shâgag), but now I keep your word" — turns the law's third-person provision into first-person confession: where Numbers legislates the priestly covering for the one who strays, the psalmist owns the straying and finds his cure in the kept word, the very word the high-handed sinner despises in v.31. The other site, Job 12:16, doubles the figure, pairing shâgag with its cousin shâgâh (H7686, 19 vv — the verb that opens this unit in v.22): "the deceived and the deceiver are his" — both the one who errs and the one who misleads belong to God's sovereignty. The rarity of shâgag (4 occurrences) lifts these above common-word coincidence: the same scarce lexeme runs from cultic provision (Numbers) to personal repentance (Psalm) to the mystery of misled and misleader under God (Job).
Numbers 15:28 · Psalm 119:67 · Job 12:16
basis: Verifier-computed shared rare lexeme: H7683 shâgag (only 4 vv in the canon) links Num 15:28 to Psalm 119:67 and Job 12:16; Job 12:16 also shares H7686 shâgâh (19 vv), the straying-verb of Num 15:22. A genuinely rare verbal link, not a common-word coincidence — the soundest verbal thread in the unit.
The unit's repeated inclusion of the gēr (resident-alien) under the same law of inadvertence (vv.26, 29) is echoed structurally in Numbers 35:15, where the cities of refuge are appointed equally for native, sojourner, and settler "that everyone who kills a person by inadvertence may flee there." The Verifier records shared lexemes shᵉgâgāh (H7684), gēr (H1616, sojourner, 83 vv), and tâvek (H8432, midst). The link is the shared motif — one standard of mercy for native and alien in cases of unwitting wrong — rather than a quotation; the offering-law and the refuge-law are two applications of a single principle, so the basis is structural/thematic, not verbal.
Numbers 15:26 · Numbers 15:29 · Numbers 35:15
basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes: H7684 shᵉgâgāh, H1616 gêr (83 vv), H8432 tâvek — shared motif (one law of inadvertence for native and sojourner), not a quotation.
Numbers 15:29's ’a·ḥaṯ tō·w·rāh...lā·’ez·rāḥ...wə·lag·gêr — "one torah...for the native-born...and for the sojourner" — is the same formula that seals the Passover law in Exodus 12:49: "One law (tôrāh ’aḥat) shall be for the native and for the stranger (gēr) who sojourns (gûr) among you." The Verifier confirms the shared vocabulary: ʼezrâch (H249, native, 17 vv — relatively scarce), gēr (H1616), gûwr (H1481), tôwrâh (H8451), and the word ’echâd (H259, "one") itself. The link is structural — the same fixed legislative formula reused, not one text quoting the other — but it is a strong pattern-match: the law that admits the alien to the Passover (Exodus) and the law that admits him to atonement for inadvertence (Numbers) speak with one voice. Where the gēr is welcomed to the redeeming meal, he is welcomed also to the covering sacrifice; the one-torah principle binds the two great inclusions together.
Numbers 15:29 · Exodus 12:49
basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes: H249 ʼezrâch (17 vv), H1616 gêr (83 vv), H1481 gûwr (94 vv), H8451 tôwrâh (214 vv), H259 ʼechâd (739 vv) — the fixed "one torah for native and sojourner" formula reused, a structural pattern-match, not a quotation.
Numbers 15:22 deliberately diverges from Leviticus 4:2 — the great congregation-of-Israel sin-offering law. The Verifier finds the verses share mitsvâh (H4687, commandment, 177 vv) but the connective tissue is thematic and grammatical, with the rest being function-words (dâbar, kîy, lôʼ). The commentators are unanimous that the texts are deliberately distinguished: Keil & Delitzsch — the sin here is "not...'doing one of the commandments of Jehovah which ought not to be done,' but as 'not doing all that Jehovah had spoken through Moses'"; the Pulpit Commentary — "this contemplates sins of commission, while this contemplates sins of omission." Because the shared content-lexeme (mitsvâh) is common and the relationship is one of contrast rather than quotation, the link is structural.
Numbers 15:22 · Numbers 15:24 · Leviticus 4:2 · Leviticus 4:23
basis: Verifier-computed shared lexeme H4687 mitsvâh (177 vv) plus the goat-offering vocabulary (H8163 sâʻîyr, H5795 ʻêz, H2403 chaṭṭâʼâh with Lev 4:23); related by deliberate legal contrast (omission vs. commission), not quotation.
Joseph Benson (1810s) and the Cambridge Bible both connect the high-handed, unatonable sinner of vv.30–31 to Hebrews 10:28–29: "He that despised Moses's law died without mercy...Of how much sorer punishment..." The conceptual parallel is exact — the deliberate spurning of God's word for which no sacrifice remains. But this is a cross-Testament link (Greek New Testament to Hebrew Pentateuch): the Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme, because Strong's-number sharing cannot bridge Hebrew and Greek. Hebrews does not quote Numbers 15 verbatim; it argues a fortiori from the Mosaic principle. We therefore flag this: the connection is real and ancient but rests on conceptual argument and a provenance (which OT text Hebrews has in view) that is debated, never on a verbal match.
Numbers 15:30 · Numbers 15:31 · Hebrews 10:28
basis: Cross-Testament (Greek↔Hebrew): Verifier finds no shared lexeme — Strong's numbers cannot bridge the languages. The link is conceptual (the despiser of the law for whom no sacrifice remains), asserted by Benson and Cambridge, not a verbatim quotation; provenance debated.
AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.
Matthew Henry (1706), reading vv.22–29, makes the explicit figural move: "Sins committed ignorantly, shall be forgiven through Christ the great Sacrifice, who, when he offered up himself once for all upon the cross, seemed to explain one part of the intention of his offering, in that prayer, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The law's sin-offering for the one who strays in inadvertence is read as type; the antitype is the once-for-all offering of the cross, with the Lukan prayer (Luke 23:34) as its self-interpretation. John Gill (1746–63) names the same: the sin-offering is "a type of Christ, the propitiation...throughout the whole world, 1 John 2:2." This is a widely-held patristic-to-Reformation reading of the inadvertence laws.
Numbers 15:25 · Numbers 15:28
The unit's repeated extension of atonement and one torah to the gēr (vv.26, 29) is read by Henry and Gill as anticipating the gospel's reach to the nations. Matthew Henry: "It looked favourably upon the Gentiles, that this law of atoning for sins of ignorance, is expressly made to extend to those who were strangers to Israel." Gill draws the line to its terminus: native and proselyte are figures of "believing Jews and Gentiles" under one sacrifice. The same "one torah for native and sojourner" formula already governs the Passover (Exodus 12:49; see Threads): the gēr who is admitted to the redeeming meal is admitted equally to the covering sacrifice — one law of inclusion runs from the night of deliverance to the rite of atonement. The single offering that covers Israelite and alien alike prefigures the one atonement in Christ in whom "there is neither Jew nor Greek" — a typological reading the older commentators hold as the law's forward-looking intent, though the NT application (Eph 2; Rom 4:9, cited by Gill) is the interpreter's argument, not the OT text's claim.
Numbers 15:26 · Numbers 15:29 · Exodus 12:49
Verses 30–31 declare that for the high-handed sinner who despises God's word, no offering remains — only being cut off. The Cambridge Bible reads this against the gospel as deliberate foil: "In the Christian dispensation the one great Sacrifice has procured atonement for all sinners who repent, even though, like the crucified robber, they have sinned with an high hand." The law erects a boundary the Levitical system cannot cross — defiant sin lies beyond sacrificial reach — and so points, by its very limit, to a sacrifice of greater depth. This reading is more novel in its specific application to the penitent thief (Luke 23:40–43); we mark it as such, an interpretive extension rather than an ancient consensus, offered for testing.
Numbers 15:30 · Numbers 15:31
The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.
Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:
Honesty notes specific to this unit. (1) Verbatim integrity: every voice excerpt above is a contiguous substring of the raw commentary in input.json; ends are trimmed to a point but no words are altered, reordered, or stitched. The Keil & Delitzsch excerpt on v.28 preserves the source's typo "doon" (for "down"); this is the source's error, flagged in the editorial note, not ours. (2) Tiering restraint: the Leviticus 5:18 link (thread 1) has been downgraded from the Verifier's lenient default "verbal" to structural: its four shared lexemes cluster as a legal formula but none is rare (the least common, shᵉgâgāh, runs 18 vv), so it is a recurring priestly-law pattern, not a quotation. Under-claiming is the honest call. The genuinely verbal thread is Psalm 119:67 / Job 12:16, resting on the rare shâgag (only 4 occurrences in the whole canon). The Numbers 35:15 and Exodus 12:49 threads are honestly structural — fixed legislative formulae reused, not quotations — though Exodus 12:49 carries the relatively scarce ʼezrâch (H249, 17 vv) and the "one torah" word ’echâd. (3) The flagged cross-Testament link (Hebrews 10:28) cannot use shared Strong's numbers — Hebrew and Greek do not share the index — so it is flagged regardless of how compelling Benson and Cambridge find it; we record it as conceptual, not verbal. (4) The Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 mandate does not apply: this unit is Numbers 15:22–31 and contains no Joshua 1:5. (5) Parse fidelity: the literal renderings follow the supplied Berean/Strong's parses; where the BSB smooths grammatical gender (the feminine nephesh and its verbs in vv.27–28, 30) the divergences name the underlying Hebrew rather than contradict the parse. (6) A standing caution: the Pulpit Commentary's observation that "there is no record of this atonement ever having been made" is the commentator's historical inference, not a textual datum; it is reported as his, not asserted as fact.
✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)