Numbers 5:5

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 man" (Luther, Ros., etc.). The meaning is a sin, with which a מעל was committed against Jehovah, i.e., one of the acts described in Lev 6:3-4, by which injury was done to the property of a neighbour, whereby a man brought a debt upon himself, for the wiping out of which a material restitution of the other's property was prescribed, together with the addition of a fifth of its value, and also the presentation of a sin-offering (Lev 6:4-7). To guard against that disturbance of fellowship and peace in the congregation, which would arise from such trespasses as these, the law already given in Lev 6:1 is here renewed and supplemented by the additional stipulation, that if the man who had been unjustly deprived of some of his property had no Gol, to whom restitution could be made for the debt, the compensation should be paid to Jehovah for the priests. The Gol was the nearest relative, upon whom the obligation rested to redeem a person who had fallen into slavery through poverty (Lev 25:25). The allusion to the Gol in this connection presupposes that the injured person was no longer alive. T…

In this chapter we have, I. An order, pursuant to the laws already made, for the removing of the unclean out of the camp (Num 5:1-4). II. A repetition of the laws concerning restitution, in case of wrong done to a neighbour (Num 5:5-8), and concerning the appropriating of the hallowed things to the priests (Num 5:9, Num 5:10). III. A new law made concerning the trial of a wife suspected of adultery, by the waters of jealousy (Num 5:11, etc.).

5:5-10 Guidelines regarding confession and restitution for wrongdoing emphasize the strong Hebrew concern for morality (Lev 6:1-7).