Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The fourth kind of sacrifice is described, namely the sin offering, and that for a sin committed through ignorance. This sacrifice was fourfold: first, for the sin of the high priest, which was a young bull, verse 3; second, for the sin of the people, which was a young bull, verse 13; third, for the sin of a ruler, which was a he-goat, verse 22; fourth, for the sin of a common person, which was a she-goat, verse 27, or a sheep, verse 32.
Vulgate Text: Leviticus 4:1-35
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2. Speak to the children of Israel: When a soul shall have sinned through ignorance, and shall have done anything concerning all the commandments of the Lord which He commanded not to be done: 3. if the anointed priest shall have sinned, making the people to offend, he shall offer for his sin an unblemished young bull to the Lord; 4. and he shall bring it to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony before the Lord, and shall lay his hand upon its head, and shall sacrifice it to the Lord. 5. He shall also take some of the blood of the young bull, bringing it into the tabernacle of the testimony. 6. And when he has dipped his finger in the blood, he shall sprinkle it seven times before the Lord against the veil of the Sanctuary. 7. And he shall put some of the same blood upon the horns of the altar of incense most pleasing to the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the testimony. And all the remaining blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of holocaust at the entrance of the tabernacle. 8. And he shall take away the fat of the young bull for sin, both that which covers the entrails and all that is within: 9. the two kidneys with the fat by which the flanks are covered, and the caul of the liver with the kidneys; 10. as it is taken away from the victim of the sacrifice of peace offerings; and he shall burn them upon the altar of holocaust. 11. But the skin and all the flesh, with the head, and the feet, and the intestines, and the dung, 12. and the rest of the body, he shall carry forth outside the camp into a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and he shall burn them upon a pile of wood; at the place where the ashes are poured out they shall be burned. 13. And if the whole multitude of Israel shall be ignorant, and through ignorance shall do that which is against the commandment of the Lord, 14. and afterward shall understand its sin, it shall offer a calf for its sin, and shall bring it to the door of the tabernacle. 15. And the elders of the people shall lay their hands upon its head before the Lord. And the calf being immolated in the sight of the Lord, 16. the priest that is anointed shall carry of the blood into the tabernacle of the testimony, 17. and shall dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, against the veil. 18. And he shall put of the same blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord, in the tabernacle of the testimony; and the rest of the blood he shall pour at the base of the altar of holocaust, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. 19. And all the fat thereof he shall take off, and shall burn it upon the altar; 20. doing with the calf as he did also before; and the priest praying for them, the Lord shall be merciful to them. 21. But the calf itself he shall carry forth outside the camp, and shall burn it as he did the former calf; because it is for the sin of the multitude. 22. If a prince shall sin, and through ignorance do any one of the things that the law of the Lord forbids, 23. and afterward shall come to know his sin, he shall offer a sacrifice to the Lord, a he-goat without blemish; 24. and he shall lay his hand upon the head thereof. And when he has immolated it in the place where the holocaust is usually slain before the Lord, because it is for sin, 25. the priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the victim for sin, touching the horns of the altar of holocaust, and pouring out the rest at the base thereof. 26. But the fat he shall burn upon the altar, as is usually done with the victims of peace offerings; and the priest shall pray for him and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. 27. And if any one of the people of the land shall sin through ignorance, doing any of those things that by the law of the Lord are forbidden, and offending, 28. and shall come to know his sin, he shall offer a she-goat without blemish. 29. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the victim that is for sin, and shall immolate it in the place of the holocaust. 30. And the priest shall take of the blood with his finger, and shall touch the horns of the altar of holocaust, and shall pour out the rest at the base thereof. 31. But taking off all the fat, as is usually taken off from the victims of peace offerings, he shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor to the Lord; and he shall pray for him, and it shall be forgiven him. 32. But if he offer of the flock a victim for sin, to wit, a ewe, without blemish, 33. he shall put his hand upon the head thereof, and shall immolate it in the place where the victims of holocausts are usually slain. 34. And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and shall touch the horns of the altar of holocaust, and the rest he shall pour at the base thereof. 35. All the fat also he shall take off, as the fat of the ram that is offered for peace offerings is usually taken off; and shall burn it upon the altar, as a burnt offering to the Lord; and the priest shall pray for him and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
Verse 2: Concerning All the Commandments of the Lord
THE COMMANDMENTS -- that is, by some prohibitive commandment. Hence follows: "Which He commanded not to be done;" for just as the Hebrews often use acts for objects, such as love for the thing loved, fear for the thing feared (in which way God is called our love and our fear, see Canon 21): so likewise they use law or commandment for the thing which is forbidden by law or commandment. So Cajetan.
Because error can befall absolutely all things, at least error of fact, which had to be expiated by sacrifice. For if anyone had violated not through ignorance but knowingly those things which are commanded in the Decalogue, and this had become public, the fault would not have been expiated by sacrifice but by punishment and a fine inflicted by a judge, as is clear from Deuteronomy chapter 19, 12 and the last chapter, and elsewhere. Hence it follows here that the discussion concerns a hidden sin, not a public one, as Josephus teaches, book III, chapter 10, and from him Ribera; for a public sin would have been punished by a judge; for the judge would not have admitted the excuse of ignorance, since in a trial when a crime is at issue, the defendant is presumed to have known the law and the nature of his deed, unless he himself proves the contrary.
Which He Commanded Not to Be Done
WHICH HE COMMANDED NOT TO BE DONE. -- In Hebrew it is, which shall not be done, that is, which by God's law ought not to be done, meaning: whoever does something forbidden by law, or whoever does something against the law, and has sinned, either by commission or by omission; for not only negative precepts but also affirmative ones, just as they command the thing they mandate, so they forbid its contrary and its omission -- for example, when it says: Honor your father, the honor of one's father is commanded, and at the same time contempt and omission of the honor due to one's father is forbidden.
Verse 3: If the Anointed Priest Shall Have Sinned
3. IF THE PRIEST WHO IS ANOINTED SHALL HAVE SINNED. -- "Priest," that is, the high priest; for the Septuagint has archiereis, and the Chaldeans, the great priest; for his sin, on account of the dignity of his person, was the greatest. Hence it is placed here in first position, and is commanded to be expiated with the greatest victim, namely a young bull.
Who Is Anointed
WHO IS ANOINTED -- after he has been consecrated. So the Septuagint, who translate it ho kechhrismenos; for if the designated high priest had sinned before he was consecrated, then the victim of a commoner or a prince would expiate him. So Ribera.
Making the People to Offend
MAKING THE PEOPLE TO OFFEND. -- In Hebrew: If he sins to the sin of the people, that is, so that by his sin he scandalizes and causes the people to sin. It can secondly be translated: if he sins according to the sin of the people, or as the people is accustomed to sin; by which the law tacitly signifies that it is not the high priest's role to sin, but the people's; for it is the high priest's role to intercede for the sins of the people.
Moral Application -- The Humility of the High Priest
Morally Origen says: The high priest is admonished here of his weakness, so that he may humbly acknowledge and understand his sin; for he who does not think he has sinned never corrects himself. At the same time he is taught to readily forgive sinners; for as Dido used to say: Not ignorant of misfortune, I learn to help the wretched.
Verse 4: And He Shall Immolate It to the Lord
4. AND HE SHALL IMMOLATE IT TO THE LORD. -- Namely, the very high priest who sinned, as was stated above; for no other inferior priest is named here to do this, as was named in chapter 1, verse 5, in the sacrifice of a layperson, about which however there was less doubt that it should be done by Aaron and his sons. Again, the high priest who had sinned was obliged to lay his hands on his victim, as follows, and to immolate it himself; for all these things tend to the same end and refer to the same high priest who sinned. So Ribera from Philo, against Abulensis.
Verse 6: He Shall Sprinkle Seven Times before the Lord
6. He shall sprinkle (with the blood of the young bull immolated by him and for himself) seven times before the Lord toward the veil of THE SANCTUARY -- namely toward the veil of the Holy of Holies, where God manifests His presence in the propitiatory. By sprinkling blood before the veil of the Holy of Holies, he was said to sprinkle it before the Lord.
Note on the Number Seven
Note: "He shall sprinkle seven times," so that a perfect expiation may be made. For by the number seven, perfection is signified: thus the seven capital sins comprehend all sins.
Peculiarities of the Sacrifice for the High Priest
Note that many things were peculiar in this sacrifice, as also in the sacrifice for the sin of the whole people, as is clear to one reading and comparing the text, and this was for the purpose of signifying through them the gravity of sin both of the priest, or high priest, and of the whole people.
Verse 7: At the Base of the Altar at the Entrance
7. At the base (near the base, as is clear from verse 18) OF THE ALTAR (which is) AT THE ENTRANCE (near the entrance) OF THE TABERNACLE.
Verse 8: And He Shall Take Away the Fat
8. AND HE SHALL OFFER THE FAT OF THE YOUNG BULL. -- Correct it to: he shall take away, namely from the young bull, so as to offer and burn it to God. So the Hebrew, Chaldean, Greek, and Roman texts.
Both That Which Covers the Vital Organs
BOTH THAT WHICH COVERS THE VITAL ORGANS, AND ALL THAT IS WITHIN -- meaning: he shall take away and offer all the fat, both that which covers the vital organs, namely the heart and the internal organs, and that which is inside the vital organs themselves and the entrails. So the Hebrew.
Verse 10: As It Is Taken Away
10. AS IT IS TAKEN AWAY. -- Correct to: it is taken away, according to what I said at verse 8.
Verses 11-12: The Rite of the Victim for the Sin of the High Priest
11 and 12. BUT THE SKIN AND ALL THE FLESH, WITH THE HEAD, AND THE FEET, AND THE INTESTINES, AND THE DUNG, AND THE REST OF THE BODY HE SHALL CARRY FORTH OUTSIDE THE CAMP INTO A CLEAN PLACE, WHERE THE ASHES ARE USUALLY POURED OUT, AND HE SHALL BURN THEM. -- Note: This was the rite of the victim for the sin of the high priest. First, the high priest himself brought his victim to the altar, namely the young bull, and laid his hands upon it, as if calling down and placing upon it his sin. Second, he slaughtered and immolated it there. Third, he caught its blood in a basin, which he brought into the tabernacle, sprinkling the veil opposite the Holy of Holies with it seven times, and with the same anointing the horns of the altar of incense; the remaining blood he carried back into the court, and poured it out near the base of the altar of holocausts. Fourth, on the altar of holocausts he burned the fat and the kidneys of this victim, namely the young bull. Fifth, the rest of the victim, namely the entire young bull, with the skin, intestines, and dung, he carried outside the camp, and burned all of it in a clean place where the ashes of victims were usually poured out.
Why the Victim Was Burned Outside the Camp
One may ask why God commanded this young bull offered for the sin of the high priest, as also the young bull offered for the sin of the whole people, to be entirely burned with its skin, not on the altar, but outside the camp?
I answer: The literal reason for this ceremony was, first, to arouse in the Jews an immense hatred and horror of sin; for it tacitly signified that just as the victim for sin was burned outside the camp, so much more the sin itself and the sinners were to be burned outside the world in hell. Second, no one, says Philo in his book On Victims, is more eminent than the high priest or the whole people, who could be brought forward as an intercessor with God for one who sins, so that by this arrangement, according to the law prescribed here in chapter 6, verse 26, he might eat their victims for sin; it remains therefore that those victims be burned outside the camp. Theodoret adds, Question III, that the whole victim is burned with the skin to demonstrate that the priest, or high priest, has dedicated not partially but his whole self and all his possessions to God of all, and since through sin he has taken something of himself away from God, he therefore consecrates and immolates the whole young bull to God for himself. Third and properly, this ceremony was a tacit prayer by which the high priest asked God that those sins of the high priest, or of the whole people -- that is, the punishments due to their sins -- might not touch or harm the people themselves, but that with the victim of the goat and the young bull they might be, as it were, offered, burned, and abolished outside the camp of the people.
The Sins of the High Priest Equated with Those of the People
Note here that the sins of the high priest, as being a public person and the head of the whole people, were equated with the sins of the whole people; for the victim for the sin of the high priest, like the victim for the sin of the people, had to be burned outside the camp, to signify that the sin of the high priest, as the head, contaminated the whole camp of the people. For other sins of private individuals were expiated by a victim immolated within the camp itself and in the court of the tabernacle itself, and were not considered to contaminate, stain, or pollute the whole camp.
Allegorical Reason -- Christ Outside the Camp
The Apostle gives the allegorical reason for this ceremony in Hebrews 13:12, namely that by this ceremony it was signified that "Christ outside the camp," that is outside the gate of the city of Jerusalem (for the camp had its own gates, and was like a city with its tabernacle and temple walking and moving through the desert), was to be tortured on the cross, and that after abolishing the tabernacle and temple of the Jewish camp, He was to establish by His death the Church of the Gentiles to be spread throughout the whole world. For this is what St. Leo says in Sermon 9 On the Passion: "Not within the walls of the city that deserved to be destroyed for its crime, but outside and beyond the camp was Christ crucified, so that with the mystery of the old victims ceasing, a new victim might be placed on a new altar, and the cross of Christ might be the altar not of the temple but of the world." Whence also St. John, chapter 11, verse 53, says that Christ was destined for death "for the nation" of the Jews, "and not only for the nation, but that He might gather into one the children of God who were" scattered throughout the whole world among the Gentiles. Finally, the blood of victims expiating the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, as is clear from chapter 16, verse 15, signified that Christ by His blood would expiate the Church and heaven itself -- not as if heaven were in itself unclean, but because it was legally and symbolically considered unclean and as though stained by a kind of sprinkling of sin (for sin by a kind of moral estimation is considered, and in Scripture is said, to contaminate the very earth, the heavens, and the whole world), and therefore closed, just as a polluted temple is closed. Christ therefore, by expiating our sins with His blood, is considered to have in a certain way expiated and reconciled even heaven itself, as though contaminated by our sins, when He opened and unlocked it for us. So Radulphus here in chapter 16.
Tropological Reason -- Going Forth Outside the Camp
The Apostle gives the tropological reason for this ceremony in Hebrews 13:13, namely that this ceremony signified that all of us who desire to approach Christ, the Eucharistic altar, must go forth "outside the camp" of pomp, pleasures, luxury, and the laws of the tabernacle, that is of this perishable and transient world, so that we may bear the reproach of the cross of Christ -- by imitating and voluntarily embracing Christ's ignominy, poverty, abstinence, humility, contempt, persecutions, torments, and martyrdom. For by these words the Apostle exhorts the Hebrews to bravely endure the persecutions, insults, and all terrible things of the Jews for the faith of Christ, and to glory in them, as those who go forth with Christ outside the camp of Judaism and worldly prosperity, bearing the reproach of His cross. Thus "the Apostles went away rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were counted worthy to suffer insult for the name of Jesus." Let us therefore go forth, heaped with reproaches, spat upon, and filled with a thousand insults, bearing our cross with Christ. Let us go forth, I say, joyful, confident, and courageous, with so great a leader as Christ going before us, and let us say with Paul: "The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." So Procopius and Cyril, book 15 On Adoration, and also Theodoret, St. Thomas, Anselm, and Theophylactus on Hebrews chapter 13.
Anagogical Reason -- No Lasting City
Paul gives the anagogical reason in the same place, verse 14, namely that by this ceremony it was foreshadowed that in this life and world we do not have a lasting city, but that we live in it as in camps and tents, so that we may know that we are here pilgrims and soldiers, who ought to seek the future city in heaven, and to fight generously against the flesh, the world, and the devil for its sake, and to strive and exert ourselves toward it with all our strength. Bede adds: Christ, he says, was offered in heaven as a gift for the Angels and the Blessed, whom He blesses with the vision of His humanity and divinity; but on earth He was offered for sin, that is, He suffered outside the camp of the Angels and the Blessed, of whom Jacob said: "These are the camps of God," Genesis 32:2.
Verse 12: He Shall Carry It Forth into a Clean Place
12. HE SHALL CARRY IT FORTH OUTSIDE THE CAMP INTO A CLEAN PLACE. -- For although this sacrifice was for the sin of the high priest, and therefore the victim was burned outside the camp, yet because this expiatory sacrifice was holy and clean, therefore a clean place was chosen for it, and the ashes of the victim, as relics of the sacrifice, were to be placed in a clean location, lest they be trampled by the people or treated irreverently.
Where the Ashes Are Usually Poured Out
WHERE THE ASHES ARE USUALLY POURED OUT. -- Note: The ashes of victims were first poured out in the court, near the altar of holocausts, and from there were carried to the clean place, which is discussed here, outside the camp, in which this young bull slain for the sin of the high priest is commanded to be burned.
Tropological Meaning -- The Sins of Priests
Tropologically this signifies that it is not lawful to cast the sins of priests into public, nor into an unclean place, that is into the assemblies of detractors and onto profane and cursing tongues, but that care must be taken that they confess them, and that all their remnants be consumed by the fire of charity and covered by perpetual silence, so that nothing remains that could be drawn into an example. So Ribera, book 4 On the Temple, chapter 7, who applies all the rest tropologically and adapts it point by point.
Verse 13: But If the Whole Multitude of Israel Shall Be Ignorant
13. BUT IF THE WHOLE MULTITUDE OF ISRAEL SHALL BE IGNORANT. -- Meaning: if the whole people of the Jews, or certainly the greater part of them, shall have sinned through ignorance. This is the second victim for sin, namely for the whole people.
Note on the Same Victim and Rite
Note: The same victim was prescribed for the sin of the people as was prescribed for the sin of the high priest, namely a young bull. And the rite of immolating both was the same, which I described at verse 11, except that in the sin of the people, it was not the high priest but the elders of the people who laid their hands on the victim for the whole people.
Verses 15-16: The Anointed Priest Shall Bring In
15 and 16. And when the young bull has been immolated in the sight of the Lord, THE PRIEST WHO IS ANOINTED SHALL BRING IN -- namely the high priest; for the sin of the whole people was very grave; hence the high priest alone expiated it; especially because this sacrifice for the sin of the people was a type of the expiation of the guilt of the whole human race, which Christ our High Priest alone was able to accomplish.
Verse 18: Of the Altar Which Is before the Lord
18. OF THE ALTAR WHICH IS BEFORE THE LORD -- namely the altar of incense, which in the Holy Place faced the propitiatory, in which God resided. WHICH IS AT THE DOOR (at, that is, near the door) OF THE TABERNACLE.
Verse 20: The Lord Shall Be Propitious to Them
20. With the priest (high priest) praying for them, THE LORD SHALL BE PROPITIOUS TO THEM -- meaning: the Lord, appeased by this sacrifice, will not bring upon the people punishment in this life, which He would otherwise have inflicted; for as to the guilt and punishment of the next life, these were not removed by sacrifice or the prayer of the priest, but by the contrition of those who had sinned; the sign and profession of which contrition was this sacrifice, which they offered for their sin.
Verse 21: He Shall Carry the Young Bull Outside the Camp
21. BUT THE YOUNG BULL ITSELF HE SHALL CARRY FORTH OUTSIDE THE CAMP AND BURN IT, BECAUSE IT IS FOR THE SIN OF THE MULTITUDE -- meaning: if this victim had been offered for the sin of a prince or a private person, it would not be burned outside the camp but in the customary manner on the altar of holocausts. Again, its blood would not be brought into the tabernacle to sprinkle the altar of incense; for these two things were done only for the sin of the high priest and the whole people. And this is what the Apostle says in Hebrews 13:11: "The bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holy Place for sin by the high priest are burned outside the camp." See what was said at verse 11.
Verse 22: If a Prince Shall Have Sinned
22. IF A PRINCE SHALL HAVE SINNED. -- This is the third victim for sin, namely that of a prince. "Prince" here means one who was the leader, head, and first in a family, or tribe, or army; for this is what the Hebrew nasi signifies, that is, "elevated one," who stands out among his own in dignity, as is clear from Numbers 1, verse 4, and chapter 7, verse 2.
The Law for Princes -- They Are Human
God here established a special law for the sin and victim of a prince, so that princes may know they are human beings, that they can err and sin, and say: I am a man, I consider nothing human foreign to me; and therefore if they have promised something wrongly, let them break that promise; if they have commanded something evil, let them retract it, and not stubbornly persist in what they once decreed, whether it be lawful or unlawful. Thus Agesilaus, king of the Lacedaemonians, to one urging the word of the king and saying: You gave your assent, replied: "I certainly gave my assent, if the matter is just; but if not, I spoke indeed, but I did not give my assent." And to one replying: But "it is fitting for kings to fulfill what they have nodded assent to," he answered: "No more than it is fair that those who approach the king should ask and say just things, considering what the occasion and the dignity of the king require." Thus Cato the Elder used to say: "I prefer to receive no gratitude for a benefit conferred than not to impose punishment for an offense; and I pardon all who sin, except myself alone." Thus Agesipolis, son of Cleombrotus, to one objecting that though he was king he had been given as a hostage: "Because," he said, "it is just and right that we ourselves pay for our own sins." So Plutarch in his Apophthegms.
Verse 23: A He-Goat from the Goats
23. HE SHALL OFFER A VICTIM TO THE LORD, A HE-GOAT FROM THE GOATS -- In Hebrew: a he-goat of she-goats, that is, a he-goat that is the offspring of some she-goat. Here there is a double Hebraism: the first, that the plural number is used for the singular, namely "she-goats" for "she-goat"; the second, that by this phrase the Hebrews signify a young he-goat still following its mother. For when a feminine plural genitive is added to any animal, then it signifies that the animal is young, so that it has not yet been separated from its mother. Hence Alexander the Macedonian, because he was young, is called a he-goat of she-goats, Daniel 8:21. Similar usages are found in Genesis 37:17; 1 Esdras 6:17; Psalm 113:4; Ezekiel 45:23, in the Hebrew.
The Septuagint Translation
The Septuagint, for he-goat and she-goat, translates chimaros and chimarra, that is, kids of the goats born in winter, that is, winter-born; for goats give birth twice a year, once in summer and once in winter. Through winter and the winter she-goat, penance seems to be signified. So Hesychius and Radulphus.
Tropological Meaning -- Prince and Commoner
Again, a prince, that is a holy and heroic man, offers a he-goat for sin, that is, he undertakes a strong and harsh penance; but a soul from the people of the land, that is a weak person who is from the flock or dregs of mankind, offers a she-goat for sin, that is, he undertakes a light, mild, and as it were feminine penance that he can sustain. So Radulphus.
Verses 24-25: The Priest Shall Dip His Finger in the Blood
24 and 25. And when he shall have immolated it (not the prince, but the priest whose task it is to immolate), because IT IS FOR SIN, THE PRIEST SHALL DIP HIS FINGER IN THE BLOOD OF THE VICTIM FOR SIN, TOUCHING THE HORNS OF THE ALTAR -- meaning: if it were not a victim for sin, the priest would not dip the horns of the altar in blood; for that anointing was done only in sacrifices for sin. For the altar represented God, and so the priest anointed it with blood, as if signifying that in this victim he was giving to God the blood of the sinner that was owed to God, and that God was thereby appeased.
Note on the Name "Sin"
Note that in this verse and in verses 3, 25, and 26, the victim for sin is called in Hebrew chattat, in Greek hamartia, that is, "sin," by metonymy; for the sin of the person was, by the laying on of hands upon the victim, as it were morally transferred. Thus Paul, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, last verse: "Him who knew no sin (Christ), He made sin for us (that is, a victim for sin), that we might become the righteousness (the righteous ones) of God in Him (through Him)."
Verse 27: If a Soul of the People of the Land Shall Have Sinned
Verse 27. BUT IF A SOUL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND SHALL HAVE SINNED THROUGH IGNORANCE. -- "A soul of the people of the land" means a common, ordinary, and rank-and-file person. This is the fourth victim for sin, namely that of a commoner; his victim was a she-goat.
Tropological Meaning -- The Soul That Sins
Tropologically Bede says: The soul that sins is from the people of the land, because it craves earthly goods; for the soul that does not sin is from those of whom it is said: "Our conversation is in heaven."
Verse 32: But If from the Flocks
32. BUT IF FROM THE FLOCKS -- from the smaller livestock (see what was said on chapter 1, verse 10), namely from sheep; for goats have already been treated above. Hence the Hebrew clearly has: If he shall bring a sheep as an offering for sin, a female, he shall bring it without blemish.
Philo on Male and Female Victims
Philo notes that a prince offers a he-goat for sin, while a commoner offers a she-goat, which is a victim of lesser value, because the male befits a magistrate and the female a commoner; for a commoner has less manliness and wisdom than a prince. Again, the she-goat and the sheep tacitly admonished the offerers to pursue innocence in the future and to take care to benefit by every means those whom they had harmed by some injury or by their example; for thus sheep and goats benefit everyone with their milk, wool, flesh, and hide.
Verse 33: In the Place of the Holocausts
33. He shall immolate it (through the priest) in the place, etc., OF THE HOLOCAUSTS -- namely near the altar where holocausts are usually immolated. So the Septuagint.
Verse 35: He Shall Burn It upon the Altar
35. HE SHALL BURN IT UPON THE ALTAR AS AN OFFERING MADE BY FIRE TO THE LORD -- that is, as the Hebrew has it, the priest shall burn them among the offerings made by fire (or upon the offerings) to the Lord, so that they may be offerings made by fire to the Lord. And so, just as in peace offerings, so also in the victim for sin, only the fat with the kidneys and the blood accrued to God. What is to be done with the flesh of this victim for the sin of a commoner, as also of the victim for the sin of a prince, Moses will say in chapter 6, verse 26.
Note on Salt and Libations in the Sin Offering
Note: In the sacrifice for sin, as in every other sacrifice, salt was placed on the victim, as prescribed in chapter 2, verse 13; but not the other libations of wine, oil, and grain, for these were added only to the holocaust and the peace offering. The reason for this difference I shall assign in Numbers 15:3. Hence it follows that frankincense was also not placed on the victim for sin. For frankincense was placed not on the victim but on its libation, namely the grain, as is clear from Leviticus 2:1. But the sacrifice for sin had no grain libation, as I have already said; therefore no frankincense either. Indeed, if when a victim was lacking, fine flour or grain were to be offered for sin, frankincense was not placed on it, as God expressly commands in chapter 5, verse 11.
The Ten Miracles of the Sacrifices
Finally, hear here the ten miracles in the sacrifices which the Jews relate: the first, they say, was that when at the set feasts an innumerable crowd of people streamed to the temple, no one ever lacked lodging; the second, when they stood in the temple they pressed against each other; but when they fell to the ground to make their confession of sins, all had sufficient space, so that no one might hear another confessing his sins -- there needed to be four cubits; the third, the fire of the sacrifices, though in the open air, was never extinguished by rain; the fourth, no winds could deflect the smoke of the victims, but it always rose straight up to heaven; the fifth, no evil occurrence ever befell the high priest on the day of expiation; the sixth, no defect was ever found in the showbread or the firstfruits; the seventh, no pregnant woman ever miscarried on account of the smell of the sanctified flesh; the eighth, sanctified flesh never became putrid; the ninth, no fly was ever seen in the place where the victims were slaughtered; the tenth, no one was ever harmed by a serpent or a scorpion. But let us leave these crude miracles to those fabulists.
Mystical Meaning: The Sacrifice for Sin Is Penance
Mystically, the sacrifice for sin is penance and contrition. Psalm 50: "A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit; a contrite and humbled heart, O God, You will not despise." Baruch 2:18: "The soul that is sorrowful over the greatness of evil, and goes bent and weak, and the eyes that fail (from tears, fasts, and vigils), and the hungering soul shall give You glory and righteousness, O Lord." Daniel 3: "With a contrite heart and a spirit of humility let us be received, as in a holocaust of rams, etc., so let our sacrifice be." "For doing penance," says St. Augustine in On Penance, "it is not enough to change one's ways for the better, unless one also makes satisfaction for what has been done, through the pain of penance, through the groaning of humility, through the sacrifice of a contrite heart, with almsgiving cooperating." Let Luther and the Innovators take note of this, who acknowledge no other penance than repentance and a new life. St. Augustine adds: "O humble tear, yours is the kingdom, yours is the power; you do not fear the gaze of the judge; when enemies accuse, you impose silence. You alone enter to the King, but you do not depart alone: you conquer the unconquerable and bind the Almighty." St. Gregory, book 21 of the Morals: "The more abundantly," he says, "sin is wept over, the higher the knowledge of truth is attained, because for seeing the inner light, the conscience long since polluted is renewed, baptized by tears." And shortly after: "The force of compunction opens the pores of the heart and produces the wings of virtues; and when the mind zealously rebukes itself for sluggish oldness, it grows young with eager newness." The same author, book 3 of the Dialogues, teaches that this compunction springs first from fear of hell, then from love of God and His kingdom: "He who at first," he says, "wept lest he be led to punishment, afterwards begins to weep most bitterly because he is kept from the kingdom."
St. Bernard: The Three Ointments
St. Bernard, Sermon 10 on the Song of Songs: "There is," he says, "an ointment of contrition, an ointment of devotion, and an ointment of piety. The first is pricking, causing pain; the second is soothing, easing pain; the third is healing, expelling disease."
St. Chrysostom, in his book On Compunction of Heart: "Compunction alone," he says, "is what makes the soul shrink from purple, desire sackcloth, love tears, and flee laughter. Just as it is impossible for fire to be kindled in water, so it is impossible for compunction to flourish in pleasures. For the former is the mother of weeping, the latter of laughter; the former constricts the heart, the latter dissolves it."
Compunction of the Saints
We know how pleasing to Christ was the sacrifice of compunction of St. Mary Magdalene, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Matthew, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Pelagia the penitent, and St. Thais, who as a penitent enclosed herself in a cell for three years and said: "I call God as witness that from the time I entered here, I have placed all my sins like a bundle before my eyes, and I was always weeping while gazing upon them." Whence Paul, the disciple of St. Anthony, saw a precious couch prepared for her in heaven, which three virgins with shining faces were guarding. Her humble penance merited this, by which, following the instruction of Blessed Paphnutius, she did not dare to name God, nor to stretch out her hands toward heaven, but her only utterance was this: "You who formed me, have mercy on me."
Rightly did that holy Abbot say: "As a shadow follows the body, so let compunction accompany you everywhere." And another said: "The children of Israel after forty years entered the promised land. Tears are the promised land; if you have reached them, you will no longer fear war."
Well known is the contrition of Arsenius, who wept continually, and of Fabiola, who did penance publicly, in St. Jerome, and of another in Rufinus, book 2, chapter 1, who enclosed himself in a tomb and, as one buried alive, continually emitted the groaning and sighing of his heart as from hell; whence he heard demons crying: "You have conquered, you have conquered." Truly therefore Damascenus says in the Life of Barlaam that contrition "is a fountain of tears and a baptism." Palladius narrates in the Lausiac History, chapter 46, about a certain fallen monk, who having come to himself enclosed himself in a cave, spread sackcloth and ashes under himself, and did not rise from the ground nor cease weeping until he heard an angel saying: "God has accepted your penance and has had mercy on you; see that you are not deceived henceforth."