Leviticus 6:5 — Community Reflections

LEVITICUS 6:5 — KING JAMES VERSION 1 0

“Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.”

Or anything else about which they have sworn falsely. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. The full restitution plus twenty percent must be paid to the wronged party on the same day as the guilt offering is brought to God. The simultaneity of the financial restitution to the neighbor and the offering to God communicates that both must happen together: the vertical dimension of the guilt offering (atonement with God) and the horizontal dimension (restitution to the neighbor) are inseparable. Matthew 5:23–24 says leave your gift before the altar and first go be reconciled to your brother — Jesus' instruction is the New Covenant application of Leviticus 6:5's principle.

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Tobias van der Berg (test user)5h ago

The role of community — Leviticus 6

The imagery here is agricultural — the original audience would have immediately understood the metaphor of sowing, waiting, and harvesting.. Now I understand why — it's a daily declaration of dependen...