The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible

Numbers5:5–10

Confession and Restitution

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Numbers 5:5–10 — Confession and Restitution. 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.

5“And the LORD said to Moses,”+

5And the LORD said to Moses,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

Yah·weh way·ḏab·bêr ’el- mō·šeh lê·mōr

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Where the English smooths the original

  • וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר BSB's "said" renders way·ḏab·bêr (H1696), the Piel of dâbar — not the casual ʼâmar ("say") but the weightier, formal "to speak, declare." It is the verb of legislative pronouncement; the LORD does not merely remark to Moses, He delivers a word. John Gill hears the seam: "Or continued to speak to him at the same time."
  • לֵּאמֹֽר׃ BSB folds lê·mōr (H559) into the comma; the Hebrew keeps it — literally "to say," the infinitive of quotation that opens the cited speech. It marks everything that follows in vv. 6–10 as the LORD's own dictated words, not Moses' summary. The English ends the verse; the Hebrew leans it forward into the law.
Word by word5 · parsed+
יְהוָ֖הYah·wehAnd the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
Yah·weh (H3068), the covenant Name, stands first in the Hebrew clause as subject — the law of restitution does not arise from Moses' wisdom but is spoken by the LORD Himself, the very party against whom the trespass of v. 6 is committed.
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רway·ḏab·bêrsaidH1696
√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way·ḏab·bêr — Piel of dâbar, the formal verb of divine speech that opens each new legislative block in Numbers (cf. 5:11). The waw-consecutive ("and") binds this fresh oracle to the camp-cleansing of 5:1–4: holiness inside the camp, now justice between neighbours.
אֶל־’el-toH413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
מֹשֶׁ֥הmō·šehMosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
mō·šeh (H4872), Moses the mediator — the word comes through him to Israel, as it does throughout the Pentateuch; he receives, he does not originate.
לֵּאמֹֽר׃lê·mōr. . .H559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
lê·mōr (H559), "saying" — the infinitive construct of ʼâmar, the standard formula introducing direct divine speech. Its presence guarantees that vv. 6–10 are quotation, the LORD's ipsissima verba.
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Or continued to speak to him at the same time: saying; as follows.
Gill reads the formula as continuation, not a new occasion — the restitution law flows on from the camp-purity command of vv. 1–4.
✦Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834
The law of restitution: a passage supplementary to Leviticus 5:5 , etc., Leviticus 6:5 , etc.
Barnes names the whole unit at a stroke and points to its parent text — this is the law of restitution, supplementing Leviticus 5–6.
✦Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871
Nu 5:5-10. Restitution Enjoined.
JFB's heading for the unit: the single theme of vv. 5–10 is restitution commanded.
6““Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully …”+

6“Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

dab·bêr ’el- bə·nê yiś·rā·’êl kî ’îš ’ōw- ’iš·šāh lim·‘ōl ma·‘al Yah·weh ya·‘ă·śū mik·kāl ḥaṭ·ṭōṯ hā·’ā·ḏām ha·hi·w han·ne·p̄eš wə·’ā·šə·māh

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Speak to the sons of Israel: A man or a woman, when they commit any of the sins of mankind, to act unfaithfully against the LORD — and that person becomes guilty —

Where the English smooths the original

  • לִמְעֹ֥ל BSB's "acts unfaithfully" renders lim·‘ōl ma·‘al (H4603/H4604) — a cognate construction, verb and noun of the same root: literally "to act treacherously a treachery," "to commit a covenant-breach." Keil & Delitzsch mark the root's weight ("maʻal, see Leviticus 5:15"): mâʻal is the technical word for sacrilege, the same charge laid against Achan (Josh 7:1). The English flattens an emphatic Hebrew figure into a single adverb.
  • חַטֹּ֣את ḥaṭ·ṭōṯ (H2403) with hā·’ā·ḏām reads literally "the sins of mankind" — a genitive the voices fight over. Keil & Delitzsch: "one of the sins occurring among men, not 'a sin against a man.'" Matthew Poole argues the reverse, that it is "a genitive case of the object" — sins against men. BSB's "any sin against another" silently chooses Poole's reading; the Hebrew genitive is genuinely ambiguous, and the choice is interpretive.
  • וְאָֽשְׁמָ֖ה BSB's "is guilty" renders wə·’ā·šə·māh (H816, ʼâsham). Benson and Poole insist the verb means more than bare legal liability: "shall be sensible of his guilt, convicted in his conscience" (Benson) — otherwise, Poole notes, the clause is "a mere tautology." The Hebrew names the awakened conscience, not just the objective state of debt; the English leaves the inward turn implicit.
Word by word18 · parsed+
דַּבֵּר֮dab·bêrTellH1696
√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeVerbPielImperativemasculine singular
אֶל־’el-. . .H413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
בְּנֵ֣יbə·nêthe Israelites thatH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
יִשְׂרָאֵל֒yiś·rā·’êl. . .H3478
√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular
כִּ֤יkîwhenH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
אִ֣ישׁ’îša manH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
’îš (H376) ... ’iš·šāh (H802), "a man or a woman" — the law is deliberately gender-inclusive, binding both equally to confession and restitution; the parent statute in Leviticus 6:1–7 frames the offender simply as nephesh ("a soul"), and Numbers makes the inclusion explicit by naming the woman, widening the net beyond any reading that would confine the duty to men.
אֽוֹ־’ōw-orH176
√ ʼôw — desire (and so probably in Proverbs 31:4)Conjunction
אִשָּׁ֗ה’iš·šāhwomanH802
√ ʼishshâh — a womanNounfeminine singular
לִמְעֹ֥לlim·‘ōlactsH4603
√ mâʻal — properly, to cover upPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
lim·‘ōl (H4603), "to act unfaithfully" — Qal infinitive of mâʻal, properly "to cover up"; the root names treacherous concealment, the breach of trust that turns a private fraud into sacrilege against the LORD.
מַ֖עַלma·‘alunfaithfullyH4604
√ maʻal — treachery, iNounmasculine singular
ma·‘al (H4604), "unfaithfully" — the cognate noun (a rare word, 29 verses) heaped on its own verb for emphasis; this maʻal is the same charge that defiles Achan (Josh 7:1) and Israel in exile (Ezek 18:24). The Verifier finds it in only 29 verses, making it a near-fingerprint of the trespass-law family.
בַּיהוָ֑הYah·wehagainst the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodPreposition-bNounpropermasculine singular
Yah·weh (H3068), "against the LORD" — the theological hinge of the unit. Cambridge: "To sin against one's fellow men involves breaking faith with God." A wrong to a neighbour is reckoned a breach of covenant with God Himself.
יַעֲשׂוּ֙ya·‘ă·śūby committingH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine plural
מִכָּל־mik·kālanyH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholePreposition-mNounmasculine singular construct
חַטֹּ֣אתḥaṭ·ṭōṯsinH2403
√ chaṭṭâʼâh — an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiationNounfeminine plural construct
ḥaṭ·ṭōṯ (H2403, chaṭṭâʼâh), "sin" — feminine plural construct, "sins of"; the common word for missing the mark, here bound to hā·’ā·ḏām in a contested genitive (sins of / against mankind).
הָֽאָדָ֔םhā·’ā·ḏāmagainst anotherH120
√ ʼâdâm — ruddy iArticleNounmasculine singular
hā·’ā·ḏām (H120), "mankind / another" — ’âdâm, the generic human. Whether the sins are those committed by men (K&D) or against a man (Poole, BSB) turns the verse's whole sense; the article makes it the human race or the human victim.
הַהִֽוא׃ha·hi·wthatH1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)ArticlePronounthird person feminine singular
הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁhan·ne·p̄ešpersonH5315
√ nephesh — properly, a breathing creature, iArticleNounfeminine singular
han·ne·p̄eš (H5315, nephesh), "person" — literally the breathing soul (a word so common, 683 vv, that it can mean self, life, appetite, or the dead body); here it is the whole living self, not a legal abstraction, that "becomes guilty." The same nephesh is the link-word the Verifier finds shared with Leviticus 5:15, the parent trespass law: it is the soul itself, not merely the act, that the breach of faith implicates.
וְאָֽשְׁמָ֖הwə·’ā·šə·māhis guiltyH816
√ ʼâsham — to be guiltyConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person feminine singular
wə·’ā·šə·māh (H816, ʼâsham), "is guilty" — the verb (32 verses) carries both the objective guilt and, the older voices argue, the felt conviction of it; the trespass-offering (ʼâshâm) takes its name from this root.
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
the wrong committed was not to remain without restitution, because such crimes involved unfaithfulness (מעל, see Leviticus 5:15 ) towards Jehovah.
K&D fixes the root: the crime is restored because it is maʻal — covenant-treachery against Jehovah — pointing back to Leviticus 5:15 where the same word governs.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
in acting unfaithfully towards Jehovah. To sin against one’s fellow men involves breaking faith with God; cf. Leviticus 6:2 .
Cambridge states the unit's governing theology in one line: a wrong to a neighbour is a breach of faith with God.
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
And that person be guilty , i.e. shall be sensible of his guilt, or be convicted in his conscience of his sin; for otherwise this might seem a mere tautology, if it were only meant of being really guilty of sin, which was expressed before in those words, when one shall commit any sin , i.e. be guilty of any sin.
Poole reads ʼâsham as the awakened conscience, not bare liability — else the clause merely repeats itself.
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
Such wrongs, perhaps because they were considered legitimate as long as they were not found out, were taken up by the Lord himself as involving a trespass against his own righteousness.
The Pulpit Commentary names the moral stakes: the secret, socially-tolerated fraud is claimed by God as an offence against His own righteousness.
✦Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871
as it is called "a trespass against the Lord," it is implied, in the case supposed, that the offense has been aggravated by prevaricating—by a false oath, or a fraudulent lie in denying it, which is a "trespass" committed against God, who is the sole judge of what is falsely sworn or spoken
JFB adds the dimension the other voices leave implicit: what makes a fraud a trespass against the LORD is the lie that covers it — the false oath in God's hearing, where He alone judges what is falsely sworn.
7“and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full res…”+

7and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution, add a fifth to its value, and give all this to the one he has wronged.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·hiṯ·wad·dū ’eṯ- ḥaṭ·ṭā·ṯām ’ă·šer ‘ā·śū wə·hê·šîḇ ’eṯ- ’ă·šā·mōw bə·rō·šōw yō·sêp̄ wa·ḥă·mî·ši·ṯōw ‘ā·lāw wə·nā·ṯan la·’ă·šer ’ā·šam lōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

then they shall confess their sin which they have done, and he shall restore his guilt in its full sum, and add its fifth to it, and give it to the one to whom he is guilty.

Where the English smooths the original

  • וְהִתְוַדּ֗וּ BSB's "must confess" renders wə·hiṯ·wad·dū (H3034, yâdâh) in the Hitpael — the reflexive: "to confess of oneself, to acknowledge openly." The root's base sense is "to throw, cast"; confession casts off the concealment that maʻal (v. 6) had built. Benson: "They shall not continue in the denial of the fact, but give glory to God, and take shame to themselves." The English "confess" is right; the Hebrew stem makes it self-accusing, voluntary, out loud.
  • וְהֵשִׁ֤יב BSB's "make full restitution" renders wə·hê·šîḇ ... ’ă·šā·mōw bə·rō·šōw — literally "and he shall return his guilt at its head" (shûb, H7725, Hifil; ʼâshâm, H817; rōš, H7218). Cambridge exposes the idiom: "lit. 'restore his guilt,' abstract for concrete; he shall restore that which he guiltily holds." One returns the very guilt — the thing wrongly held — "at its head," i.e. the principal, in full. The English unpacks a striking Hebrew metonymy.
  • וַחֲמִישִׁת֖וֹ wa·ḥă·mî·ši·ṯōw (H2549, chămîyshîy), "and its fifth" — the added twenty percent. Poole reads the surcharge two ways at once: "both as a compensation to the injured person ... and as a penalty upon the injurious dealer to discourage others." BSB's "add a fifth to its value" is exact; the fifth is the precise, legislated measure of penitent repair — restoration plus a fifth, not approximate amends.
Word by word16 · parsed+
וְהִתְוַדּ֗וּwə·hiṯ·wad·dūand must confessH3034
√ yâdâh — physically, to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or awayConjunctive wawVerbHitpaelConjunctive perfectthird person common plural
wə·hiṯ·wad·dū (H3034, yâdâh), "and they shall confess" — Hitpael, the reflexive self-confession; the same stem and root used in Leviticus 5:5 and (with national force) Leviticus 26:40. Confession is the indispensable first act; Gill records the rabbinic form of words spoken aloud.
אֶֽת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
חַטָּאתָם֮ḥaṭ·ṭā·ṯāmthe sinH2403
√ chaṭṭâʼâh — an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiationNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine plural
ḥaṭ·ṭā·ṯām (H2403), "their sin" — the specific transgression, now named and owned, not the general sinfulness of v. 6; confession is concrete.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר’ă·šerH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
עָשׂוּ֒‘ā·śūhe has committedH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural
וְהֵשִׁ֤יבwə·hê·šîḇHe must make full restitutionH7725
√ shûwb — to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
wə·hê·šîḇ (H7725, shûb), "he shall restore" — Hifil of the great verb "to return/turn back"; the same root yields ham·mū·šāḇ ("the restitution") in v. 8. Repentance (turning) and restitution (returning) are one verb.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
אֲשָׁמוֹ֙’ă·šā·mōwH817
√ ʼâshâm — guiltNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
’ă·šā·mōw (H817, ʼâshâm), "his guilt" — abstract for concrete (Cambridge); he returns not an idea but the wrongly-held property the guilt attaches to.
בְּרֹאשׁ֔וֹbə·rō·šōw. . .H7218
√ rôʼsh — the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itcPreposition-bNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
bə·rō·šōw (H7218, rōš), "at its head" — i.e. the principal sum, the capital amount; K&D: "according to its sum (bᵉrôʼshô, as in Leviticus 6:5)."
יֹסֵ֣ףyō·sêp̄addH3254
√ yâçaph — to add or augment (often adverbial, to continue to do a thing)VerbHifilImperfect Jussivethird person masculine singular
yō·sêp̄ (H3254, yâçaph), "he shall add" — Hifil jussive; the additive verb that introduces the penalty-fifth, the same construction as Leviticus 5:16.
וַחֲמִישִׁת֖וֹwa·ḥă·mî·ši·ṯōwa fifthH2549
√ chămîyshîy — fifthConjunctive wawNumberordinal feminine singular constructthird person masculine singular
wa·ḥă·mî·ši·ṯōw (H2549, chămîyshîy), "its fifth" — the fixed twenty-percent surcharge; Cambridge lists its parallels (Lev 5:16; 22:14; 27). Penalty and compensation in one measure.
עָלָ֑יו‘ā·lāwto its valueH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionthird person masculine singular
וְנָתַ֕ןwə·nā·ṯanand give all thisH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
wə·nā·ṯan (H5414, nâthan), "and he shall give" — the property goes back to the wronged party, the horizontal restitution that confession to God (vertical) must produce.
לַאֲשֶׁ֖רla·’ă·šerto the oneH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPreposition-lPronounrelative
אָשַׁ֥ם’ā·šamhe has wrongedH816
√ ʼâsham — to be guiltyVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
’ā·šam (H816, ʼâsham), "he has wronged / to whom he is guilty" — the root sounds a third time in the unit; the guilt-verb names both the offence and the offended.
לֽוֹ׃lōw
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s
They shall confess their sin — They shall not continue in the denial of the fact, but give glory to God, and take shame to themselves by acknowledging it.
Benson reads confession as the end of denial: glory given to God, shame taken to oneself.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
make restitution for his guilt ] lit. ‘restore his guilt,’ abstract for concrete; he shall restore that which he guiltily holds in possession ; and similarly in Numbers 5:8 .
Cambridge unpacks the metonymy: "restore his guilt" means restore the very thing guiltily held.
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
The fifth part thereof is added both as a compensation to the injured person for the want of his goods so long, and for his trouble for the supposed utter loss of them, and as a penalty upon the injurious dealer to discourage others from such attempts.
Poole reads the added fifth as both compensation to the victim and deterrent penalty on the offender.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof; paying the whole of whatsoever he had in any manner defrauded his neighbour of, to which he was to add a fifth part of that
Gill states the arithmetic plainly: the full principal plus a fifth, paid over to the defrauded neighbour.
8“But if the man has no relative to whom restitution can be made f…”+

8But if the man has no relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest along with the ram of atonement, by which the atonement is made for him.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’im- lā·’îš ’ên gō·’êl lə·hā·šîḇ hā·’ā·šām ’ê·lāw hā·’ā·šām ham·mū·šāḇ Yah·weh lak·kō·hên mil·lə·ḇaḏ ’êl hak·kip·pu·rîm ’ă·šer yə·ḵap·per- bōw ‘ā·lāw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

But if the man has no kinsman-redeemer to whom the guilt may be returned, the guilt that is restored belongs to the LORD, to the priest, besides the ram of the atonements by which atonement is made for him.

Where the English smooths the original

  • גֹּאֵ֗ל BSB's "relative" renders gō·’êl (H1350) — far more than a kinsman: the kinsman-redeemer, the gôʼēl who buys back a relative's sold land, redeems him from slavery, and avenges his blood. Cambridge: "A technical term of considerable importance in Israelite law." It is the office Boaz fills for Ruth and that Scripture lays on God for Israel. "Relative" loses the redemptive weight the Hebrew carries; the law assumes the wronged man is dead and asks who stands in his place.
  • לַיהוָ֖ה la·YHWH lak·kō·hên — literally "to the LORD, to the priest," two datives in apposition without a connective. Cambridge: "lit. 'shall be for Jehovah for the priest.' The priest shall receive it as the representative of Jehovah." The restitution that can find no human claimant does not vanish — it ascends to God, and God's representative receives it. The English "belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest" adds the conjunction the Hebrew omits.
  • הַכִּפֻּרִ֔ים hak·kip·pu·rîm (H3725, kippur), "of atonement" — a strikingly rare word, only 8 occurrences in all Scripture (the Verifier confirms), the same plural that names Yôm hak-Kippurîm, the Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27–28). The "ram of the atonements" sets this private restitution beside the nation's holiest covering. Cambridge: "The guilt-offering described in Leviticus 6:6." Money repairs the man; only the ram covers before God.
Word by word18 · parsed+
וְאִם־wə·’im-But ifH518
√ ʼim — used very widely as demonstrative, lo!Conjunction
לָאִ֜ישׁlā·’îšthe manH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personPreposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular
אֵ֨ין’ênhas noH369
√ ʼayin — a non-entityAdverb
גֹּאֵ֗לgō·’êlrelativeH1350
√ gâʼal — to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative's property, marry his widow, etcVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
gō·’êl (H1350, gâʼal), "kinsman-redeemer" — the participle of the verb "to redeem, act as next-of-kin." Cambridge details his duties: to buy back land (Lev 25:25; Ruth 4), to redeem an enslaved kinsman, to receive restitution due the dead, to avenge blood. His absence here implies the wronged party has died.
לְהָשִׁ֤יבlə·hā·šîḇto whom restitution can be made forH7725
√ shûwb — to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point)Preposition-lVerbHifilInfinitive construct
lə·hā·šîḇ (H7725, shûb), "to make restitution" — the same return-verb as v. 7; the property still seeks its rightful return, even when no one remains to receive it.
הָאָשָׁם֙hā·’ā·šāmthe wrongH817
√ ʼâshâm — guiltArticleNounmasculine singular
hā·’ā·šām (H817, ʼâshâm), "the guilt / the wrong" — again abstract for concrete: the restored debt itself. The same root will name the ram (ʼayil) as a guilt-offering in v. 8b's parallel, Leviticus 6:6.
אֵלָ֔יו’ê·lāw. . .H413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionthird person masculine singular
הָאָשָׁ֛םhā·’ā·šāmvvvH817
√ ʼâshâm — guiltArticleNounmasculine singular
הַמּוּשָׁ֥בham·mū·šāḇthe restitutionH7725
√ shûwb — to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point)ArticleVerbHofalParticiplemasculine singular
ham·mū·šāḇ (H7725), "that is restored" — Hofal participle of shûb, "the thing caused to be returned"; the restitution-payment, now homeless, is named by the same verb of return that drives the whole law.
לַיהוָ֖הYah·wehbelongs to the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
la·YHWH (H3068), "to the LORD" — the ultimate owner; the unclaimed restitution reverts to the covenant God, who was the offended party all along (v. 6).
לַכֹּהֵ֑ןlak·kō·hênand must be given to the priestH3548
√ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestPreposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular
lak·kō·hên (H3548, kôhên), "to the priest" — God's deputy. Benson: "Whom God appointed as his deputy, to receive his dues." The Pulpit Commentary: "the priest was the visible representative of the invisible majesty."
מִלְּבַ֗דmil·lə·ḇaḏalong withH905
√ bad — properly, separationPreposition-m, Preposition-lNounmasculine singular construct
אֵ֚יל’êlthe ramH352
√ ʼayil — properly, strengthNounmasculine singular construct
’êl (H352, ʼayil), "the ram" — the male animal of the guilt-offering; properly "strength." Money cannot atone; the ram of Leviticus 6:6 must still be brought.
הַכִּפֻּרִ֔יםhak·kip·pu·rîmof atonementH3725
√ kippur — expiation (only in plural)ArticleNounmasculine plural
hak·kip·pu·rîm (H3725, kippur), "of atonement" — rare (8 vv), the plural of covering; the word of the Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27–28; 25:9) here naming the guilt-offering ram.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר’ă·šerby whichH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
יְכַפֶּר־yə·ḵap·per-the atonement is madeH3722
√ kâphar — to cover (specifically with bitumen)VerbPielImperfectthird person masculine singular
yə·ḵap·per (H3722, kâphar), "makes atonement" — Piel, "to cover, to expiate." Barnes renders the closing clause "which shall clear him of guilt as to it" — the ram clears what the restitution alone cannot.
בּ֖וֹbōwfor
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
עָלָֽיו׃‘ā·lāwhimH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionthird person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
kinsman ] Heb. gô’çl . A technical term of considerable importance in Israelite law. A man’s next of kin was (1) a full brother, (2) failing him, an uncle on the father’s side, (3) failing him, a first cousin on the father’s side, (4) failing him, any near kinsman. His duties were manifold.
Cambridge lays out the gôʼēl in full — brother, uncle, cousin, near kinsman — the redeemer-office whose absence the verse presupposes.
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
The wrong-doer must in no case be the gainer by his own wrong, and if the trespass could not be "recompensed" to man, it must be "recompensed" to the Lord, who was as it were joint-plaintiff in the cause.
The Pulpit Commentary names the principle: the offender never profits; if no human claimant remains, the LORD Himself — "joint-plaintiff" — receives the debt.
✦Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s
To the priest — Whom God appointed as his deputy, to receive his dues, and take them to his own use, that so he might more cheerfully and entirely devote himself to the ministration of holy things.
Benson explains why the priest receives it: as God's deputy, freed for the ministry of holy things.
✦Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834
Whereby an atonement shall be made for him - literally, "which shall clear him of guilt as to it," i. e. as to the trespass.
Barnes recovers the literal force of kâphar: the ram clears the man of guilt as to the trespass — what restitution alone cannot do.
9“Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest sha…”+

9Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·ḵāl qā·ḏə·šê tə·rū·māh lə·ḵāl ḇə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl ’ă·šer- yaq·rî·ḇū lak·kō·hên yih·yeh lōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And every contribution of all the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his.

Where the English smooths the original

  • תְּרוּמָ֞ה BSB's "contribution" renders tə·rū·māh (H8641) — the heave-offering, from a root "to lift up, lift off." Cambridge: "that which is lifted off from a larger mass, and separated or contributed for sacred purposes." The Pulpit Commentary keeps the older "heave offering." It is the portion raised out of the whole and set apart to God; "contribution" is accurate but loses the lifting gesture the Hebrew names.
  • קָדְשֵׁ֧י qā·ḏə·šê (H6944, qôdesh), "holy things" — the sacred things, set apart from common use. Geneva glosses "things offered to the Lord, as first fruits." The phrase "sacred contribution" stacks two holiness-words; what is given is not ordinary property but already God's, and the priest receives it from God's hand.
  • יִהְיֶֽה׃ yih·yeh ... lōw (H1961), "shall belong to him" — literally "it shall be to him." Jamieson, Fausset & Brown: "Whatever was given in this way ... irrevocably belonged to the priest." The simple verb "to be" plus the dative makes a law of permanent transfer: once lifted to God and brought to His priest, it is the priest's, not reclaimable.
Word by word11 · parsed+
וְכָל־wə·ḵālEveryH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct
wə·ḵāl (H3605, kôl), "and every" — the comprehensive "all"; the rule sweeps in every such sacred gift without exception, a deliberate generalization appended to the restitution law.
קָדְשֵׁ֧יqā·ḏə·šêsacredH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingNounmasculine plural construct
qā·ḏə·šê (H6944, qôdesh), "holy things" — set-apart gifts; the unclaimed restitution of v. 8 belongs to the wider category of sacred dues that fall to the priest.
תְּרוּמָ֞הtə·rū·māhcontributionH8641
√ tᵉrûwmâh — a present (as offered up), especially in sacrifice or as tributeNounfeminine singular
tə·rū·māh (H8641, tᵉrûwmâh), "contribution / heave-offering" — a present lifted up and offered (63 verses); Cambridge surveys its range, from firstfruits to the Levites' tithe to tabernacle materials.
לְכָל־lə·ḵāl. . .H3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholePreposition-lNounmasculine singular construct
בְנֵי־ḇə·nê-the IsraelitesH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
ḇə·nê- (H1121, bên) ... yiś·rā·’êl (H3478), "the sons of Israel" — the people as a whole bring; the priestly portion is drawn from all Israel's sacred giving.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לyiś·rā·’êl. . .H3478
√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular
אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-H834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
יַקְרִ֥יבוּyaq·rî·ḇūbringH7126
√ qârab — to approach (causatively, bring near) for whatever purposeVerbHifilImperfectthird person masculine plural
yaq·rî·ḇū (H7126, qârab), "they bring" — Hifil, "cause to draw near"; the cultic verb of approach. What is brought near to God at the sanctuary passes to His priest.
לַכֹּהֵ֖ןlak·kō·hênto the priestH3548
√ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestPreposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular
lak·kō·hên (H3548), "to the priest" — the recipient; the same word as v. 8 and v. 10, binding the priest's-portion theme across the close of the unit.
יִהְיֶֽה׃yih·yehshall belongH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
yih·yeh (H1961, hâyâh), "shall be / belong" — the verb of being made a verb of possession by the following dative; the gift becomes, permanently, the priest's.
ל֥וֹlōwto him
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
every heave-offering] every contribution. The Heb. terûmâh is derived from a root signifying ‘to lift up, or off,’ and denotes that which is lifted off from a larger mass, and separated or contributed for sacred purposes.
Cambridge gives the etymology of tᵉrûwmâh: the portion lifted off the whole and set apart as sacred.
✦Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871
every offering … shall be his—Whatever was given in this way, or otherwise, as by freewill offerings, irrevocably belonged to the priest.
JFB states the law's force: such gifts pass irrevocably to the priest.
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
Those offerings, or portions of offerings, which were not consumed on the altar, but "presented" at the altar. Having been offered, they were the property of the Lord, and were given by him to the priests.
The Pulpit Commentary traces the title: presented to God, the heave-offerings become the LORD's, and the LORD gives them to His priests.
✦Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599
Or, things offered to the Lord, as first fruits, etc.
Geneva's marginal gloss identifies the "holy things" as gifts offered to the LORD, such as firstfruits.
10“Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to th…”+

10Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’îš ’eṯ- qo·ḏā·šāw lōw yih·yū ’ă·šer- ’îš yit·tên lak·kō·hên yih·yeh lōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And every man's holy things shall be his own; whatever any man gives to the priest, it shall be his.

Where the English smooths the original

  • קֳדָשָׁ֖יו qo·ḏā·šāw (H6944), "his holy things" — the same qôdesh as v. 9, now with the suffix "his." Benson and Poole insist these are not sacrifices ("not of the sacrifices ... but of such other things as were devoted to God") — a consecrated house, dedicated firstfruits. BSB's "sacred gifts" is right, but the voices fight to keep the category precise: dedicatory gifts, not altar-victims.
  • ל֣וֹ BSB's "are his own" renders lōw yih·yū ..."they shall be to him" — but whose "him"? The first lōw means the giver retains discretion: Gill, "these are at his own dispose, to give to what priest he will." The second lōw (clause's end) means the priest. The English's "his own / the priest" disambiguates a Hebrew that twice says only "to him" and leaves the referent to context.
  • יִתֵּ֥ן yit·tên (H5414, nâthan), "gives" — the same giving-verb as the restitution of v. 7 (wə·nā·ṯan). The unit closes on the act of giving: what a man freely gives the priest becomes the priest's personally. Gill: "his personally, who officiates ... not to be divided among the other priests." The verb ties the closing rule back to the restitution it concludes.
Word by word11 · parsed+
וְאִ֥ישׁwə·’îšEach man’sH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular
wə·’îš (H376, ’îš), "and each man's" — the individual; the rule turns from the collective "sons of Israel" (v. 9) to the single giver and his personal dedications.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
קֳדָשָׁ֖יוqo·ḏā·šāwsacred giftsH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
qo·ḏā·šāw (H6944, qôdesh), "his holy things" — Benson: "not of the sacrifices ... but of such other things as were devoted to God" — a consecrated house, a vow, firstfruits; gifts that could not be offered on the altar.
ל֣וֹlōware his own
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
lōw (H0), "are his own" — the first "to him": the giver keeps the right to choose which priest receives. Gill: "at his own dispose, to give to what priest he will."
יִהְי֑וּyih·yūH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine plural
אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-[but] whateverH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
’ă·šer- (H834), "whatever" — the relative opening the second, decisive clause: once given, the gift's ownership is fixed.
אִ֛ישׁ’îš[he]H376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
יִתֵּ֥ןyit·têngivesH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
yit·tên (H5414, nâthan), "gives" — the giving-verb that also drove the restitution of v. 7; the unit ends as it turned, on what is handed over.
לַכֹּהֵ֖ןlak·kō·hênto the priestH3548
√ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestPreposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular
lak·kō·hên (H3548), "to the priest" — the recipient named a third and final time; the priest's portion is the thread that stitches vv. 8–10 to a close.
יִהְיֶֽה׃פyih·yehwill belong toH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
yih·yeh (H1961, hâyâh), "will belong" — "it shall be to him"; the gift becomes the officiating priest's own, the Pulpit Commentary's "general principle ... confirming the previous rules."
ל֥וֹlōw[the priest]
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s
Every man’s hallowed things — Understand this not of the sacrifices, because these were not the priest’s entirely, but part of them was offered to God, and the remainder was eaten by the offerer as well as by the priest; but of such other things as were devoted to God, and could not be offered in sacrifices; as, suppose a man consecrated a house to the Lord, this was to be the priest’s.
Benson keeps the category exact: these are dedicatory gifts (a consecrated house), not sacrifices shared at the altar.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his; his personally, who officiates, or to whom the gift is given, and is not to be divided among the other priests in the course.
Gill reads the closing clause narrowly: the gift is the officiating priest's personally, not shared out among the priestly course.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
every man’s holy things shall be his ] i.e. the priest’s. The verse gives a general description of all priestly dues; (1) every holy thing that is, from any cause, due to Jehovah, shall go to the priest as His representative, and (2) every gift which a man may make to any particular priest shall belong to that priest.
Cambridge reads the verse as the general charter of priestly dues — both what is owed to Jehovah and what is freely given to a particular priest.
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
There was probably a strong tendency amongst the people to cheat the priests of their dues, or to represent their claims as exorbitant. It is in the spirit of covetousness which underlies all such conduct that we are to find the connection between these two verses and the rest of the paragraph.
The Pulpit Commentary supplies the unit's hidden seam: the same covetousness that defrauds a neighbour (vv. 6–8) would also cheat the priests of their dues.
✣

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.

⚙Grand Commentary — the unit, read wholesynthesis · verify+

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The word spoken — a law dictated by the offended party — 5, 6

The unit opens with the full formula of divine legislation: way·ḏab·bêr Yah·weh ’el-mō·šeh lê·mōr — "the LORD spoke to Moses, saying" (v. 5). John Gill reads it as continuation — "Or continued to speak to him at the same time" — binding the restitution law to the camp-cleansing of vv. 1–4: first holiness within the camp, now justice between neighbours. The Name stands first; the law of restitution is not Moses' jurisprudence but the LORD's own word. And that placement is the whole theology of v. 6. When a man or woman lim·‘ōl ma·‘al — "acts treacherously a treachery" (the cognate construction the Hebrew piles up for force) — the wrong against a neighbour is reckoned as maʻal against the LORD. Cambridge states it in a line: "To sin against one's fellow men involves breaking faith with God." Keil & Delitzsch fixes the root's weight — "such crimes involved unfaithfulness (maʻal, see Leviticus 5:15) towards Jehovah" — the same rare word (29 verses, the Verifier confirms) that names Achan's sacrilege and Israel's exile-guilt. The Pulpit Commentary exposes the moral edge: these secret frauds, "considered legitimate as long as they were not found out, were taken up by the Lord himself as involving a trespass against his own righteousness." God makes Himself the plaintiff in every defrauded neighbour's cause.

ii. Confession before restitution — the conscience that casts off concealment — 6, 7

The remedy moves in a fixed order, and it begins inside the man. The trespass-verb wə·’ā·šə·māh ("and is guilty," v. 6) is read by Matthew Poole not as bare liability but as awakened conscience: "shall be sensible of his guilt, or be convicted in his conscience ... for otherwise this might seem a mere tautology." Then comes the open confession: wə·hiṯ·wad·dū (v. 7), the Hitpael of yâdâh — to acknowledge of oneself, aloud. Joseph Benson: "They shall not continue in the denial of the fact, but give glory to God, and take shame to themselves." Only then the material repair: wə·hê·šîḇ ’ă·šā·mōw bə·rō·šōw — literally "he shall return his guilt at its head." Cambridge exposes the idiom: "lit. 'restore his guilt,' abstract for concrete; he shall restore that which he guiltily holds in possession." The same verb shûb ("return") that everywhere means repent here means refund — turning of heart and returning of property are one word. And the measure is exact: the principal plus a fifth. Poole reads the surcharge two ways at once — "both as a compensation to the injured person ... and as a penalty upon the injurious dealer to discourage others." Matthew Henry gathers the whole into one sentence that judges every age: "restitution in that case is not enough without faith and repentance ... While that which is wrongly gotten is knowingly kept, the guilt remains on the conscience, and is not done away by sacrifice or offering, prayers or tears."

iii. When no claimant remains — the redeemer, the LORD, and the priest — 8

Verse 8 supplies the case Leviticus 6 left open: what if the wronged man is dead and has no one to receive the debt? The Hebrew turns on gō·’êl — not merely "relative" (BSB) but the kinsman-redeemer. Cambridge calls it "a technical term of considerable importance in Israelite law," the office that buys back sold land and enslaved kin and avenges blood — the office Boaz fills for Ruth, and that Scripture lays upon God for Israel. The Pulpit Commentary draws the principle the verse exists to protect: "The wrong-doer must in no case be the gainer by his own wrong, and if the trespass could not be 'recompensed' to man, it must be 'recompensed' to the Lord, who was as it were joint-plaintiff in the cause." The unclaimed restitution ascends: la·YHWH lak·kō·hên, "to the LORD, to the priest" — Cambridge, "The priest shall receive it as the representative of Jehovah." Benson explains the deputizing: the priest receives God's dues so that "he might more cheerfully and entirely devote himself to the ministration of holy things." Yet money is never enough. Besides the restitution stands "the ram of the atonements" — hak·kip·pu·rîm, a rare word (8 verses) that also names the Day of Atonement — "whereby an atonement shall be made for him," which Barnes renders literally "which shall clear him of guilt as to it." Repayment squares the human account; only the blood of the guilt-offering covers before God.

iv. The priest's portion — and the covetousness it answers — 9, 10

The appended rule of vv. 9–10 looks at first like an unrelated note on priestly dues — every tᵉrûwmâh ("heave-offering," the portion lifted off the whole, as Cambridge traces from the root "to lift up, or off") and every man's dedicated qôdesh belongs to the priest. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown states the law's force: such gifts "irrevocably belonged to the priest." The Pulpit Commentary finds the hidden seam that joins this to the restitution law: "There was probably a strong tendency amongst the people to cheat the priests of their dues ... It is in the spirit of covetousness which underlies all such conduct that we are to find the connection between these two verses and the rest of the paragraph." The same grasping that defrauds a neighbour (vv. 6–8) would also defraud the priest and, behind the priest, the LORD. Benson keeps the category exact — these are dedicatory gifts ("suppose a man consecrated a house to the Lord"), not altar-sacrifices shared by the offerer. The unit that began with treachery against God's righteousness ends by guarding God's own portion from the same heart.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Held under the rule that Scripture alone is final — and offered as a reading to be tested, not a verdict to be trusted — three things press out of these six verses. First, there is no such thing as a merely horizontal sin. The whole law hangs on v. 6: to defraud a neighbour is maʻal — covenant-treachery — against the LORD. The rare word the voices keep returning to (Keil & Delitzsch, Cambridge) is the same one that names Achan's sacrilege and the exile's guilt. God enters every fraud as the offended party; The Pulpit Commentary is right that He makes Himself "joint-plaintiff in the cause." That collapses the modern partition between private ethics and piety: you cannot wrong a man and be right with God. Second, confession and restitution are inseparable, and confession comes first. The order is fixed — conviction of conscience (v. 6), open self-confession (v. 7, the Hitpael of yâdâh), then the return of the principal plus a fifth. Matthew Henry states the permanent principle without flinching: "restitution in that case is not enough without faith and repentance ... While that which is wrongly gotten is knowingly kept, the guilt remains on the conscience, and is not done away by sacrifice or offering, prayers or tears." Repentance that keeps the stolen goods is not repentance; and giving back the goods without a broken heart is not faith. The same verb (shûb) means both turn and return. Third, repayment is necessary but never sufficient. Verse 8 will not let restitution stand alone: "besides the ram of the atonements." The fifth squares the ledger with man; the ram covers (kâphar) before God. The law itself confesses that money cannot atone — pointing past every guilt-offering ram to the blood that finally can. The Berean test applies even to this reading, and to the places the voices leave genuinely open: whether ḥaṭṭôʼṯ hā·’ā·dām means sins committed by men (Keil & Delitzsch) or sins against a man (Poole, BSB) — the Hebrew genitive does not finally decide, and the choice quietly shapes how wide the law reaches.

There is no merely horizontal sin: to cheat a neighbour is to break faith with God — and no fifth-part, no ram, no tear cancels what the hand still grips.

⚙Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripturecross-refs · verify+

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

maʻal — the rare word that turns fraud into sacrilege verbal / quotation — confirmed

The hinge of the whole unit is one rare verb-and-noun pair: lim·‘ōl ma·‘al (v. 6), "to act treacherously a treachery" (H4603 / H4604). The Verifier finds the noun maʻal in just 29 verses and the verb mâʻal in 35 — rare enough to be a fingerprint of the trespass-law family. Keil & Delitzsch ties this verse explicitly to its parent: "unfaithfulness (maʻal, see Leviticus 5:15) towards Jehovah." The Verifier confirms the verbal dependence across the cluster: Numbers 5:6 shares the rare maʻal/mâʻal pair with Leviticus 5:15 and Leviticus 6:2 (the guilt-offering law this passage supplements), with Leviticus 26:40 (the confession of covenant maʻal in exile), and with Ezekiel 18:24 (the righteous man who turns to maʻal and dies in it). The same word names a man defrauding his neighbour, a nation breaking covenant, and Achan keeping devoted spoil — all of it treachery against the LORD.

Numbers 5:6 · Leviticus 5:15 · Leviticus 6:2 · Leviticus 26:40 · Ezekiel 18:24

basis: Verifier-computed rare shared lexemes: H4604 maʻal (in 29 vv) and H4603 mâʻal (in 35 vv) for Numbers 5:6 ↔ Leviticus 5:15, Leviticus 6:2, Leviticus 26:40, and Ezekiel 18:24 (with H2403 chaṭṭâʼâh added for Ezek 18:24; H5315 nephesh and H176 ʼôw for the Leviticus pairs). The 29- and 35-verse frequencies make the link verbal, not merely thematic — maʻal is the trespass-law's keyword.

Confess, restore, add a fifth — the guilt-offering law of Leviticus 5–6 structural / thematic — confirmed

Every voice says it: this is not new legislation but the law of Leviticus 5–6 renewed and supplemented. Albert Barnes heads the unit "The law of restitution: a passage supplementary to Leviticus 5:5, etc., Leviticus 6:5, etc."; Cambridge and Keil & Delitzsch trace it clause by clause to Leviticus 6:1–7. The Verifier weighs the weave honestly, link by link. Only one strand is rare enough to call verbal: the fifth-part penalty of v. 7 shares the uncommon chămîyshîy ("fifth," 44 vv) with Leviticus 5:16, alongside ʼâshâm ("guilt," 41 vv) — the legislated surcharge is a near-fingerprint of the trespass law. The other two strands are real but built on common cult-vocabulary, so they tier structural: the confession-and-guilt of v. 7 shares only ʼâsham (32 vv) and yâdâh ("confess," 111 vv) with Leviticus 5:5, and the "ram of the guilt-offering" of v. 8 shares ʼâshâm (41 vv), ʼayil ("ram," 170 vv), and kôhên ("priest," 653 vv) with Leviticus 6:6 — the shared institution of the guilt-offering, not a rare quotation. Because a single badge governs all four refs and only the fifth-part link rises to verbal, the whole thread is tiered structural to avoid over-claiming. Numbers 5:5–10 is Leviticus 6 carried forward and completed for the case of the dead claimant.

Numbers 5:7 · Numbers 5:8 · Leviticus 5:5 · Leviticus 5:16 · Leviticus 6:6

basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes. Verbal-grade sub-link: H2549 chămîyshîy (44 vv) + H817 ʼâshâm (41 vv) for Numbers 5:7 ↔ Leviticus 5:16 — the rare "fifth" makes that one strand verbal. The other refs share only common cult-words and are structural: Numbers 5:7 ↔ Leviticus 5:5 shares H816 ʼâsham (32 vv) + H3034 yâdâh (111 vv); Numbers 5:8 ↔ Leviticus 6:6 shares H817 ʼâshâm (41 vv), H352 ʼayil (170 vv), H3548 kôhên (653 vv) — the shared guilt-offering institution, not a rare quotation (the Verifier itself tiers this pair structural). The badge takes the floor tier of its refs to under-claim rather than over-claim.

The ram of the atonements — kippur, the rarest word in the unit verbal / quotation — confirmed

Verse 8 sets the private guilt-offering ram beside the nation's holiest day by a single rare word: hak·kip·pu·rîm (H3725), "the atonements." The Verifier finds kippur in only 8 verses of all Scripture — and they are the great covering-texts: the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27, 23:28), the jubilee proclaimed on the day of atonement (Leviticus 25:9), the atonement-money of the census (Exodus 30:16), and the sin-offering bull "for atonement" (Exodus 29:36, 30:10). The Verifier confirms Numbers 5:8 shares kippur (8 vv) with these, often paired with the verb kâphar ("to cover," 94 vv) that closes our verse — "by which atonement is made for him." The rarity is the point: the same word that crowns Yom Kippur names the ram a private defrauder must bring. Barnes reads the closing clause literally — "which shall clear him of guilt as to it." Restitution settles the human debt; only this covering settles the account with God.

Numbers 5:8 · Leviticus 23:28 · Leviticus 25:9 · Exodus 30:10 · Exodus 29:36

basis: Verifier-computed rare shared lexeme: H3725 kippur (in only 8 vv) for Numbers 5:8 ↔ Leviticus 23:28, Leviticus 25:9, Exodus 30:10, Exodus 29:36, paired with H3722 kâphar (94 vv) at Leviticus 23:28 and Exodus 30:16. The 8-verse frequency of kippur — confined to the great atonement texts — makes the link verbal, not merely thematic.

The priest's portion — the heave-offering (terûmâh) across the priestly dues structural / thematic — confirmed

The appended rule of vv. 9–10 — every tᵉrûwmâh and dedicated qôdesh belongs to the priest — connects to the wider law of priestly maintenance. Cambridge surveys the range of tᵉrûwmâh from firstfruits to the Levites' tithe to tabernacle materials; Poole points to Exodus 29:26–28 and Leviticus 6:16 for the priest's share. The Verifier shows Numbers 5:9 shares tᵉrûwmâh ("heave-offering," 63 vv) and qôdesh ("holy things," 382 vv) with Numbers 18:8, the charter of priestly dues where the LORD gives Aaron "the charge of My heave-offerings." Tiered honestly: both shared words are relatively common (63 and 382 verses), and the link is the shared institution of priestly portions rather than a rare quotation — so the Verifier tiers it structural/thematic, not verbal. The same heart-issue the Pulpit Commentary names — covetousness toward sacred dues — runs from the defrauded neighbour of v. 6 to the defrauded priest of vv. 9–10.

Numbers 5:9 · Numbers 5:10 · Numbers 18:8 · Leviticus 6:16

basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes: H8641 tᵉrûwmâh (in 63 vv) + H6944 qôdesh (in 382 vv) for Numbers 5:9 ↔ Numbers 18:8. Both lexemes are common; the link is the shared institution of priestly dues, not a rare verbal quotation — tiered structural to avoid over-claiming.

Restoring fourfold — Zacchaeus and the law fulfilled in joy flagged — verify source

The restitution-plus-a-fifth of v. 7 finds its New Testament echo in the tax-collector who, met by Jesus, stands and says, "if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount" (Luke 19:8) — and hears, "Today salvation has come to this house." Zacchaeus does what Numbers 5 requires and more: confession, restitution, and a self-imposed surcharge that exceeds the legislated fifth. Matthew Henry, on this very unit, already binds the law to the heart it presses — restitution "springing from faith in Christ, will make way for inward peace." The connection is genuine and doctrinal: the gospel does not abolish the restitution law but produces it freely in a changed man. Held honestly: this is a New Testament Greek text and a Hebrew one — they share no original-language lexeme (Greek↔Hebrew cannot share a Strong's number), so the link cannot be called verbal. It is a thematic and theological correspondence, flagged for the reader to weigh.

Numbers 5:7 · Luke 19:8 · Luke 19:9

basis: Greek↔Hebrew link: no shared original-language lexeme is possible (the Verifier cannot match Strong's across Testaments). The connection is thematic — confession and restitution-with-surcharge fulfilled in Zacchaeus — argued, not asserted, and flagged so the reader weighs the source.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify+

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The kinsman-redeemer with no kinsman left ancient/widely-held

Verse 8 turns on the gō·’êl, the kinsman-redeemer — and on his absence. Cambridge lays out the office in full: the next of kin who buys back sold land, redeems an enslaved relative, and receives the restitution due the dead. The law of Numbers 5:8 is written for the moment there is no redeemer left, and the debt must ascend to the LORD Himself. The ancient and widely-held reading hears in the gôʼēl the figure of Christ: the Redeemer who, when humanity had no kinsman able to buy it back, became kin to redeem — "since the children share in flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity" (Heb 2:14), our near-of-kin who pays what we cannot. Where Numbers 5:8 sends the unclaimed debt up to God, the gospel sends God down to become the kinsman. Honestly held: this is a Greek↔Hebrew, typological reading — no shared Strong's lexeme — but the gôʼēl figure is read of Christ throughout Scripture (cf. Job 19:25, "I know that my Redeemer lives"), and the reading is ancient.

Numbers 5:8 · Hebrews 2:14 · Job 19:25

The ram of atonement — what restitution cannot do ancient/widely-held

The law itself confesses a ceiling: the defrauder repays the principal and a fifth, and still must bring "the ram of the atonements ... by which atonement is made for him" (v. 8). Barnes renders kâphar literally — the ram "shall clear him of guilt as to it" — what the repayment alone cannot. The figural reading the church has long heard runs straight to the cross: every guilt-offering ram pointed past itself to "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), the once-for-all sacrifice that does what no animal and no money ever could. Matthew Henry, over this unit, presses the same logic backward — the guilt "is not done away by sacrifice or offering, prayers or tears" while the wrong is kept; the only sufficient covering is the one that produces real repentance, "springing from faith in Christ." The rare word kippur (8 vv), shared with the Day of Atonement, makes the ram of Numbers 5:8 a miniature of the great covering — and the great covering a shadow of Christ. Honestly held: the link to the New Testament is typological, not a shared-lexeme claim across Greek and Hebrew.

Numbers 5:8 · John 1:29 · Hebrews 10:4

Confession, restitution, and the peace that follows novel

The unit's order — own the sin, give back what was taken, and only so find rest — is the very shape of the gospel's call to repentance. Matthew Henry reads the whole law as detecting hypocrites and directing "the tender conscience to proper conduct, which, springing from faith in Christ, will make way for inward peace." The novel-but-fair extension is this: the Numbers 5 confessor must hand back his ill-gotten property to be at peace; the believer, met by Christ, finds the same heart wrought freely — Zacchaeus restoring fourfold (Luke 19:8) is the law fulfilled not under threat but in joy, because "salvation has come to this house." The Christ who is both the Redeemer-kinsman and the true guilt-offering is the one who finally makes the confessing, restoring heart possible. Attestation: the typological frame (law fulfilled in Christ) is ancient and widely held; the specific Zacchaeus application is a more particular, defensible reading rather than a universal patristic commonplace, and is offered as such.

Numbers 5:6 · Numbers 5:7 · Luke 19:8 · 2 Corinthians 7:10

Apparatus & Provenance

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:

This unit (Numbers 5:5–10) is a supplement to the trespass/guilt-offering law of Leviticus 5–6, and its commentary stream behaves accordingly. Keil & Delitzsch print one long section-comment verbatim across every verse in the public-domain source (vv. 5–10); it is excerpted here only at the clause it actually explains (the maʻal root at v. 6). Matthew Henry's concise note covers the whole block (5:1–10) and is likewise quoted to the point it bears. Matthew Poole has "No text from Poole on this verse" at v. 5; he is quoted only where he genuinely comments (vv. 6, 7, 8, 10). Spurgeon's Treasury of David is a Psalms work and so does not appear in this Numbers unit's sources. Two honest disagreements are surfaced rather than smoothed: (1) the genitive ḥaṭṭôʼṯ hā·’ā·dām (v. 6) — Keil & Delitzsch reads "one of the sins occurring among men, not 'a sin against a man'"; Poole argues precisely the opposite, "a genitive case of the object" (sins against men), and BSB's "any sin against another" silently follows Poole. The Hebrew is genuinely ambiguous; both readings are named. (2) The double lōw of v. 10 — the first "to him" means the giver retains discretion over which priest receives (Gill), the second means the priest; the English disambiguates what the Hebrew leaves to context. Cross-reference honesty: two threads earn the verbal tier outright, grounded in rare shared Strong's lexemes computed by the Verifier — the maʻal trespass-family (maʻal/mâʻal, 29/35 vv) and the kippur atonement cluster (only 8 vv). The Leviticus 5–6 restitution thread is more mixed and is tiered structural on purpose: only its fifth-part sub-link to Leviticus 5:16 (the rare chămîyshîy, 44 vv) is verbal, while its links to Leviticus 5:5 (confession) and Leviticus 6:6 (the guilt-offering ram) rest on common cult-words — ʼâsham/yâdâh and ʼayil/kôhên — which the Verifier itself tiers structural; since one badge governs all the refs, we take the floor tier rather than over-claim. The priest's-portion link to Numbers 18 shares only the common words tᵉrûwmâh (63 vv) and qôdesh (382 vv), so the Verifier tiers it structural, and we follow it. The Luke 19 (Zacchaeus), Hebrews 2, and John 1 links are Greek↔Hebrew and therefore cannot share a Strong's number — they are tiered flagged or argued as thematic/typological, never claimed as verbal quotation. Frequencies cited in the bases are the Verifier's whole-Bible counts, and they are what make the rarest links "confirmed."

✦ = 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)