Numbers 5:6 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Numbers 5:6
Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;
perhaps properly · verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
children
בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵל֒Yis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
man
אִ֣ישׁ'ish
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
woman
אִשָּׁ֗ה'i.Shah
H802
a woman · noun, common feminine singular absolute
commit
יַעֲשׂוּ֙ya.'a.Su
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
sin
חַטֹּ֣אתcha.Tot
H2403
an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness) · noun, common feminine plural construct
men
הָֽאָדָ֔םha.'a.Dam
H120
ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
commit
לִמְעֹ֥לlim.'Ol
H4603
properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
trespass
מַ֖עַלMa.'al
H4604
treachery · noun, common masculine singular absolute
LORD
בַּיהוָ֑הba.Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · preposition + proper noun, a title
person
הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁha.Ne.fesh
H5315
properly · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
guilty
וְאָֽשְׁמָ֖הve.'a.she.Mah
H816
to be guilty · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Leviticus 5:1-4 And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he sha…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 5:1-10
Here is, I. A command for the purifying of the camp, by turning out from within its lines all those that were ceremonially unclean, by issues, leprosies, or the touch of dead bodies, until they were cleansed according to the law, Num 5:2, Num 5:3.
1. These orders are executed immediately, Num 5:4. (1.) The camp was now newly-modelled and put in order, and therefore, to complete the reformation of it, it is next to be cleansed. Note, The purity of the church must be as carefully consulted and preserved as the peace and order of it. It is requisite, not only that every Israelite be confined to his own standard, but that every polluted Israelite be separated from it. The wisdom from above is fi…
RESTITUTION ENJOINED. (Num 5:5-10)
When a man or a woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord--This is a wrong or injury done by one man to the property of another, and 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 (Act 5:3-4).
and that person be guilty--that is, from the obvious tenor of the passage, conscience-smitten, or brought to a sense and conviction of his evil conduct. (See on Lev 6:2). In that case, th…
Speak unto the children of Israel,.... Put them in mind of the following law, that they observe it; and which is here repeated, because of two new things in it, as Jarchi observes, the one relates to confession, teaching that there is no fifth part nor trespass offering by witnesses, till a man confesses the thing; and the other is, concerning taking anything away by violence from a proselyte, which is to be given to the priests; see the original law in Leviticus 6:1,
when a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit; or, "any of the sins of men" (e), which are commonly done by men, and men are subject to through the infirmity of the flesh, and the temptations of Satan; or "any sin a…
The Church Fathers
What does this mean: "if any man or woman commits one of all the human sins"?Scripture call the smaller sins human. It is not possible for human nature, subject to change as it is, to be delivered from every sin. For "no one is clean from filth, even if his life is one day long." This is why holy David says, "Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no living man will be justified." Only Christ the Lord, both as God and as man, is blameless. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this and said, "He committed no transgression, nor was deceit found in his mouth." For this reason he took upon himself the sins of others, for he had none of his own. For Isaiah also says, "He bears our sins, and he is afflicted for us." And the great John says, "Behold the lamb of God, who bears the sins of the world." For this reason he is also called "free among the dead," since he suffered death unjustly. The divine law teaches how those who have sinned moderately are to be healed. For the law commands that he who has done wrong in a matter of contracts should first confess the sin and then give back what was taken to the one he wronged, adding one fifth to the principal. If it happens that the one wronged dies before the sinner repents of his sin, he should pay the amount to the man's nearest relative. The law names as his nearest relative the one related to him by generation. The order of generation is this: first his son, then his daughter, then the brother of his father, then the brother of his grandfather. If there is none of these, then it should be another close kinsman. If no kinsman can be found, the law declares that he should offer the stated sum to God. For the law says this: "If the man has no near relative, so that the sinner can give him what he owes, then the debt is paid to the Lord in the person of the priest, except for the ram of expiation, through which expiation is made for him." The law mandates that the priests should eat the first fruits that are offered. For the Levites were the first fruits of the people, and the priests were the first fruits of the Levites. As first fruits, then, they acquire the first fruits.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Trespass offering — (Heb. ‘asham, “debt”), the law concerning, given in Lev. 5:14-6:7; also in Num. 5:5-8. The idea of sin as a “debt” pervades this legislation. The asham, which was always a ram, was offered in cases…
Confession Of Sin · Should be accompanied with: Restitution — Should be accompanied with: Restitution
Penitent · PROMISES TO — PROMISES TO
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Numbers 5:5-7
5. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
5. Loquutus est Jehova ad Mosen, dicendo:
6. Speak unto the children of Israel, when a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty;
6. Alloquere filios Israel, Vir sive mulier quum fecerint ex omnibus peccatis hominum, transgrediendo transgressione in Jehovam, et deliquerit anima illa:
7. Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.
7. Fatebuntur peccatum suum quod fecerunt: et restituet delictum…
Restitution in Case of a Trespass. - No crime against the property of a neighbour was to remain without expiation in the congregation of Israel, which was encamped or dwelt around the sanctuary of Jehovah; and the wrong committed was not to remain without restitution, because such crimes involved unfaithfulness (מעל, see Lev 5:15) towards Jehovah. "If a man or a woman do one of the sins of men, to commit unfaithfulness against Jehovah, and the same soul has incurred guilt, they shall confess their sin which they have done, and (the doer) shall recompense his debt according to its sum" (בּראשׁו, as in Lev 6:5), etc. האדם מכּל־חטּאת, one of the sins occurring among men, not "a sin against a ma…
Doing something wrong to another human being is the same as betraying—literally breaking faith with—the Lord (cp. 5:8). A right relationship with God produces right relationships with people; a wrong relationship with others shows a wrong relationship with the Lord.
Rashi on Numbers 5:6
למעל מעל בה׳ [WHEN A MAN OR WOMAN SHALL DO ANY OF THE SINS AGAINST MAN,] TO ACT DECEITFULLY AGAINST THE LORD — Here, you see, Scripture writes down again the section dealing with a person who robs by violence from another, and swears falsely regarding it, — it is the same section that has already been stated in the Sedrah ויקרא (Lev 5:21), “[If a soul sin], and commits a trespass against the Lord, and deny unto his neighbour etc.” The reason why it is repeated here is because of two new points which are contained in it. The one is that it (Scripture) writes here, “and if they confess” which teaches that one is not liable to payment of the fifth (in addition to the capital; cf. Leviticus 5:24…
