The Sin Offering האטח-Hataat

In this Lesson we are going to discuss the sin offering. In Hebrew it is called Hatta’at. Up until now, the first three sacrifices that we have looked at, the Olah, the minchah, and the Zevah Shelamim, were not connected to a specific sin or sins committed, rather their purpose was to make us acceptable to G-d due to our sin nature. As a quick review, the Olah was to obtain G-d’s attention and be made acceptable in G-d’s eyes, after achieving acceptability, the Minchah, a grain offering, was given as a ransom, and the Zevah Shelamim established peace. What these three sacrifices had in common was that they were all burned up on the brazen altar.

With the sin offering, we are now moving into a class of sacrifice that is designed to atone for acts of sin. Although it may seem like I am splitting hairs, I need to explain that the actual objective of this particular sacrifice is not dealing with payment for the sinful act or behavior; it’s about purifying the person who has become infected by sin.

Building on everything that we have learned up until now, let’s see if I can present an effective analogy. For the purpose of discussion, let’s say that somebody has to visit a doctor because he has contracted a sexual disease. Now from a biblical perspective, there is only one way to contract a sexual disease; by sinning. If all of mankind had followed G-d’s prescription of restricting sex to the marriage bed, we may never have heard of such things as aids, herpes, syphilis etcetera. Now continuing on, let’s further say that out of all of the existing sexual diseases out there, some are curable and some are incurable. This fits in perfectly with what was mentioned in Lesson Twenty Nine regarding there being two classes of sins; those that can be atoned for and those that can’t. So if the person has an incurable disease, he’s done for. There is no “sacrifice” that can save him. He’s a goner. However, let’s say that due to his sin, he luckily only contracted a curable disease. So he presents himself to the doctor to get rid of whatever nasty infection has appeared. This is exactly what the hatt’at sacrifice is about. It’s not about making amends for wrongdoing. It’s about getting treated for what happened to you because of your wrong doing.

Another example, let’s say you got into a fender bender because you ran a red light. As a result, you broke your leg and you have to pay a traffic violation. This sacrifice is about getting treated for your broken leg. The traffic violation of which there is no way around must also be paid but that is a different sacrifice.

Hence, in this sense, the translation “the sin offering” can be misleading because it’s not about paying for a sin; it’s about being treated for sin. Hence, some bible scholars have adopted the term “purification offering” which is a much more accurate reflection of what this sacrifice is about.

Now there are four different categories of the hata’at as follows:

If the High Priest Sins
Requires a young bull. After slaughtered, its blood is sprinkled seven times on the vale separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies and also on the horns of the altar of incense. The rest of the blood is poured out at the base of the brazen altar. Only the fat is to be removed from the animal’s organs and burned up on the brazen altar. The rest of the animal is to barbequed to a crisp OUTSIDE THE CAMP!

If the Whole Congregation Sins:
Same as above except the age of the bull is different. The bull sacrifice for the High Priest was generally older (at least 3 years old) than the sacrifice for the whole congregation and thus it was more valuable. This sacrifice must be performed by the high priest

If a tribal leader sins:
Must sacrifice a male goat without defect. However, instead of the high priest officiating, a common priest oversees the procedures. In addition, no blood is sprinkled anywhere inside the tent sanctuary. Blood is only sprinkled on the horns of the brazen altar and the rest of the blood is poured out at the base of the altar. Finally, as verse 26 states “He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the zevah shelamim offering.” This means that certain parts of this sacrifice are given to the priests as food. The following steps down in required holiness can be observed:

Bull→Male Goat

High Priest→Common Priest

Total annihilation by fire outside the camp→Priests eat remainder

If a common individual sins:
Same as above (tribal leader) except a female goat or a female lamb is used.

Again, in studying the sacrificial system, the multi-faceted nature of sin is brought home to us with increasing clarity. A sin is not just a sin. The penalty for a sin differs depending on what the sin was, who committed the sin, and under what circumstances the sin was committed etcetera.

L-rd,

Thank you for the book of Leviticus which so strongly impresses on our minds how serious sin is in Your eyes.

Amen