Leviticus 5:3 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 5:3 mean?

Leviticus 5:3 describes someone who touches a source of human uncleanness without realizing it at the time. Once the person learns what happened, the law treats the person as guilty and in need of the response described later in the passage.

“Uncleanness” here concerns a person’s condition under Israel’s laws for approaching holy things. The phrase “it be hid from him” pictures a fact outside the person’s awareness, rather than something deliberately concealed.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 5:3

• “uncleanness” — טֻמְאָה (tum’ah): This word refers to a condition of being unclean under Israel’s laws. Leviticus uses it for conditions associated with bodily processes as well as other sources of uncleanness.
• “guilty” — אָשֵׁם (’ashem): This word can carry the sense of being liable or responsible. Here, it marks the person as answerable under the law when the contact becomes known.

Why Leviticus 5:3 matters

• Human uncleanness could come from several sources. The broad phrase “whatsoever uncleanness it be” covers more than one kind; Leviticus 15 gives examples involving bodily discharges.
• The passage gives a response for the person who becomes aware of guilt. Leviticus 5:5–6 calls for a confession and an offering, showing how the person is to address the situation.
• Contact with human uncleanness was not automatically treated as a hidden offense in every case. Leviticus 15 also describes ordinary periods of washing and waiting after contact with certain sources of uncleanness.