Leviticus 4-7

Chapter 4
After free-will offerings come offerings given in response to sin. Here the blood was not simply poured or sprinkled on the side of the altar, but was smeared on the horns of the altar and sprinkled before the sanctuary veil. The fat and kidneys were burned, as in the other offerings, but the flesh was not burned or eaten there at the altar. Instead it was taken outside the camp and burned and disposed of there. In the same way, Jesus, our sin offering was taken outside the camp. It might not be a stretch to say his fat was flayed off in his flogging in the Antonia fortress, right next to the temple, close to the altar. Then his flesh was taken outside and disposed of (Hebrews 13:11-13)

If the high priest sinned, a bull was offered in this way (vss 3-12); if the whole congregation, also a bull (13-21); if a ruler, a male goat (22-26); if any person, a female goat or lamb (27-35). The body of the animal was only taken outside the camp for the first two cases (priest or congregational sin), indicating the wide scale of sin for which Jesus was sacrificed outside the camp.



Chapter 5
Here are detailed some sins which would require the sacrifices described in 4:22-35. They are largely inadvertent and rash sins.

Vss 7-13 gives new information regarding what the poor who sinned could offer: 2 turtledoves or pigeons, or 1/10 ephah of fine flour, without oil or incense. The priest would keep the flour offering, after burning a handful, as with the grain offering.

Verse 14 begins a new section, reviewing sacrifices given with restitution payments. I'm not clear on this but it appears to apply to holy things either stolen or defiled that can no longer be used in the tabernacle/temple. The defiler would then pay to replace the object, plus 1/5 penalty, and with a sin sacrifice of a ram.


Chapter 6
1-7: this is parallel with 5:14-19, only with offense to neighbor instead of to God in view. We are to love God and our neighbor, and so sins against each are dealt with in turn. Same ram, valuation by priest of what was taken, plus 1/5 is given.


Moses now turns from focus on obligations of the lay Israelite in bringing an offering, to the duties of the priests in administering the sacrifice.

8-13 - burnt offering
The fire on the altar had to burn perpetually, the ashes cleaned out and replaced with wood every morning

14-23 - grain offering
The grain offered by the people was given to the priest, except for a handful which the priest burned on the altar. Every day, 1/10 ephah of what the priests took was burned on the altar, as the priests' offering to God.

24-30 - sin offering
Apparently, though the priest's and congregation's sins resulted in a sacrifice that was not eaten, the ruler or laity's sin offering could be eaten by the priest, as regulated here. Extra measures of holiness were obligated on the vessels in which the meat was boiled, for instance.


Chapter 7
1-10 - trespass offering
Same as sin offering. Only new element here is that the priest who receives and administers the sacrifice can personally have what belongs to the priest.

11-21 - peace offering
With the animal/blood, was given unleavened grain, and leavened bread. The priest received an unleavened cake (14), and the sacrificer received his meat to eat by the third day (see peace offering notes below under Lev 1-3). THe only restriction was that the eater be ritually clean when eating (19-21).

After a brief parenthesis reminding us not to eat the fat or blood of any sacrifice or any animal, for that matter (22-27), the priest is given his portion of the peace offering (28-36): the breast and right thigh.