Sin Offering - Etymology

Etymology

The Hebrew noun hatta'at "sin" comes from the verb hata' (חָטָא) "to sin." The first use is in the sentence "sin lies at your door" to Cain in Genesis 4. The noun hata'at can mean "sin," or also by metonymy in phrases such as "the bullock... it is sin," or "a bullock for a sin, for atonement," it can also stand for sin offering. The high priest was instructed to "lay his hand upon the head of the sin (rosh ha-khatta't רֹאשׁ הַֽחַטָּאת), and slay the sin in the place of the burnt offering" (Leviticus 4:29). To avoid confusion the more explanatory term korban khatta'at "a sacrifice of sin" (Hebrew: קרבן חטאת ) is found in rabbinical commentaries.

In the Septuagint the Hebrew term "sin" is sometimes directly translated as "sin" - either by the Greek feminine noun hamartia ("sin" ἁμαρτία), or less commonly by the neuter noun hamartemata ("result of sin," "sinful thing" ἁμάρτημα) thereby duplicating the metonymy in the Hebrew text. More often the Greek paraphrases the Hebrew with expressions such as "that which is for sin" (peri hamartias περὶ ἁμαρτίας) or "for sins" (hyper hamartion ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν)- since the Greek noun hamartia does not have the double meaning of the noun khatta'at in Hebrew.