"1560 Geneva Bible, Leviticus 4: Can you ‘sin’ unwittingly?"

“In this chapter, YHWH continues to explain how to “near” Him via offerings. This time, He introduces to Moses and the Children of Israel the amazing idea—one we have largely abandoned—that one can transgress without knowing. Equally mind-altering is the notion that an entire community can transgress and need to seek reconciliation with, and forgiveness from, YHWH (which is always forthcoming if we do our part).

The implications are immense: think back on your own life and consider transgressions of which you may have been unaware at the time. And think of the present—whole communities—doctors, public health officials, political leaders, our entire society—have transgressed in many ways over the past few years. According to YHWH, “We did not know at the time” is no excuse to stop short of group atonement.

We also look at the words translated as “sin” (‘chet’) and “guilt” (‘ashema’). These could be better understood as “missing the mark” and “the state of having offended.” This mistranslation—or rather, skewed translation—reveals the difference between the Hebrew Bible’s (and Judaism’s) understanding of “sin” and “guilt” versus that of many Christian denominations. In the Hebrew Bible, and even for orthodox Jews today, ‘chet’ is a state of having transgressed that is temporary if you atone and make things right. It is not a damnation to Hell, and we are not born with “original sin,” a concept introduced much later in Catholic theology.

Similarly, “guilt” is the state of not having atoned for a transgression and reconciled with YHWH. It, too, is not a permanent or existential state in this tradition.

Lastly, YHWH’s forgiveness—if one “nears” to YHWH (and makes it right with one’s neighbor) and atones for one’s having “missed the mark”—is guaranteed. Again, there is no intermediary in the Hebrew Bible for this absolution and forgiveness: the priest here is just a helper. It’s the individual and the community whom YHWH encourages to come to Him directly to ask forgiveness, atone, reconcile, and be forgiven.

I am not making value judgments, but these two definitions of the word translated in modern Bibles as “sin” really represent—and also structure in our minds and societies—two completely different worldviews, and two totally different ideas of both humanity and God.”

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