Sin and Atonement: Lessons from the Pentateuch

Abstract This essay explores atonement in the Pentateuch, focusing especially on Exodus–Numbers. Because the means of atonement differs according to the category of sin being addressed, I begin by describing the number and nature of these categories. I then consider which categories may be atoned for by means of sacrificial atonement, which categories may be atoned for by other means, and what lessons about sin and atonement are being communicated in each instance.