Leviticus 4:23

Lev 4:23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish:

Ver. 23. Come to his knowledge.] As David’s did, {2Sa 24:11} who saw such volumes of infirmities, and so many erratas in all that he did, that he once cried out, "Who knoweth the errors of his life? Oh, cleanse me from secret sins." {Psa 19:12} This he knew was the import of all these Levitical cleansings.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4:23 The male goat offered by a lay leader was a lesser offering than was required for the priest (a bull) but more than was required for a common person (4:28, 32). However, like all offerings used for securing atonement, the animal could have no defects (see 1:3).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, the male goat of the fold.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(23) Or if his sin.—That is, if on his failing to see it himself, his sin is shown to him by another person.

A kid of the goats.—The expression here used (sâêr) properly denotes the rough, shaggy-haired he goat, and is distinguished from athud (literally, ready, vigorous), which occurs in conjunction with it (Num_7:16-17; Num_7:22-23), and which is also translated goat in point of age. The sâêr, or the shaggy or longer haired he-goat, here used is the older buck of the goat, whose hair has become long with age; whilst the athud is the same animal, younger and more vigorous. Hence the former was never killed for food, or used for burnt or thank offerings at the festivals (Lev_16:9; Lev_16:15; Lev_23:19; Num_28:15; Num_28:22; Num_28:30; Num_29:5; Num_29:11; Num_29:16), and at the consecration of the priests and sanctuary (Lev_9:3; Lev_9:15; Lev_10:16), whilst the latter was killed for food (Deu_32:14; Jer_51:40), and hence, like the bull, the ram, and the lamb, was regularly presented as burnt and thank offerings (Num_7:17; Num_7:23; Num_7:29, &c.; Isa_1:11; Isa_34:6; Eze_39:18; Pss. 1. 9, 13, Ixvi. 15). It will be seen that the first difference in the sin offering of a prince is that he is to bring a longhaired he-goat, and not a bull.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. a goat] lit. a shaggy one of goats, i.e. a hairy goat, an expression used of female goats (Lev_4:28) as well as males. The phrase occurs, with the exception of Gen_37:31, exclusively in Lev. and Ezek. of the animal brought as a Sin-Offering. Whether a particular breed with long hair is meant, or whether the long hair is due to age, seems doubtful, but the rendering of A.V. ‘kid of the goats’ is misleading.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat,.... His right hand, as the Targum of Jonathan; See Gill on Lev 1:4.

and kill it; not the prince, but the priest after mentioned, or the butcher, as the same Targum:

in the place where they hill the burnt offering before the Lord; in the court on the north side of the altar, see Lev 1:11,

it is a sin offering: an offering for his sin of ignorance, or "sin"; so Christ our offering is said to be, Co2 5:21.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or if his sin - Rather, And if his sin.

Come to his knowledge - i. e. when he had become conscious of his sin.

A kid of the goats - A shaggy he-goat, in distinction from a smooth-haired he-goat. It was the regular sin-offering at the yearly festivals Lev 16:9, Lev 16:15; Num 28:15, Num 28:22, Num 28:30, and at the consecration of the priests Lev 9:3; while the smooth-haired goat appears to have been generally offered for the other sacrifices Psa 50:9; Isa 1:11.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The disjunctive or is here put for the copulative and, as it is 1Co 12:13; 13:8; 15:11; for it is evident that he speaks of the same person, and of the same sin.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

או הודע is the same as “IF” (אם‎) [THE THING] WAS MADE KNOWN TO HIM — There are many passages where או is used in the sense of אם, and again where אם stands in the place of או. A similar instance is: (Exodus 21:36) “או נודע כי שור נגח הוא”, which means “if it was known that the ox was wont to thrust” (cf., however, Rashi on that verse and our Note thereon).

הודע אליו IT WAS MADE KNOWN TO HIM — when he committed the sin he was under the belief that it was something permissible, afterwards it became known to him that it was a forbidden thing.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.