But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The most striking detail is that all parts of this sin offering – flesh, skin, and even dung – were burned outside the camp. This wasn't just about disposal; it signified that the sin itself, represented by the bull, was so offensive to God that it had to be completely removed from the community and utterly consumed, far from where God's presence dwelt.
But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse is part of the detailed instructions for consecrating Aaron and his sons as priests. Following the initial ritualistic washing and clothing, a young bullock is sacrificed as a sin offering. The burning of its flesh, skin, and dung outside the camp signifies its complete removal and represents the impurity that the priests must be set apart from.
Why would the flesh, skin, and dung of a bull be completely destroyed by fire outside the camp?
This bull was a sin offering, designated to absorb the impurity of sin. The act of burning it entirely outside the camp, rather than being eaten or buried within the community, powerfully symbolized the complete removal and separation from God that sin brings.
The consecration ceremony involved a sin offering for the priests themselves. What does this tell us about those who serve God?
The bull being sacrificed here was specifically for the sin of the priests, Aaron and his sons. This is a crucial part of their consecration, showing that even those chosen to mediate between God and people were not inherently sinless.
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Understand the original words
chattat · Hebrew Noun
A ritual sacrifice designated to make atonement for sins or ritual impurities. It involves the removal and bearing away of guilt, thereby restoring the relationship between the worshiper and God.
This passage describes the same ritual for a bullock sin offering for the anointed priest, specifying that its flesh, skin, and dung must be burned outside the camp, reinforcing the 'sin offering' nature and its segregation.
Hebrews 13:11This New Testament passage directly alludes to the burning of the sin offering outside the camp, explaining its symbolic meaning that Jesus also suffered outside the city gates for our sins.
Leviticus 16:27This verse details the sin offering for the Day of Atonement, where the bull and goat are burned outside the camp, highlighting the theme of removing sin and impurity from God's people.
Numbers 19:5This passage describes the burning of a red heifer for a purification offering, with its flesh, skin, and dung to be burned outside the camp, showing a similar ritualistic separation of impurity associated with sin atonement.
gillExodus 29:14: "But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering."
But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung,.... The several parts and members of him, head, legs, feet, &c. and the skin taken off of him, and the dung that comes from him. Aben Ezra observes, that the flesh comprehends the head and the pieces, and may be interpreted in a way of conjecture, that he washed it, and afterwards burnt it; all repre…
clarkeExodus 29:14: "But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering."
It is a sin-offering - See Clarke's note on Genesis 4:7 ; See Clarke's note on Genesis 13:13 ; See Clarke's note on Leviticus 7:1 , etc.
The most striking detail is that all parts of this sin offering – flesh, skin, and even dung – were burned outside the camp. This wasn't just about disposal; it signified that the sin itself, represented by the bull, was so offensive to God that it had to be completely removed from the community and utterly consumed, far from where God's presence dwelt.
This verse is part of the detailed instructions for consecrating Aaron and his sons as priests. Following the initial ritualistic washing and clothing, a young bullock is sacrificed as a sin offering. The burning of its flesh, skin, and dung outside the camp signifies its complete removal and represents the impurity that the priests must be set apart from.
This verse is part of the detailed instructions for consecrating Aaron and his sons as priests. Following the initial ritualistic washing and clothing, a young bullock is sacrificed as a sin offering. The burning of its flesh, skin, and dung outside the camp signifies its complete removal and represents the impurity that the priests must be set apart from.
"But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering." — The most striking detail is that all parts of this sin offering – flesh, skin, and even dung – were burned outside the camp. This wasn't just about disposal; it signified that the sin itself, rep…
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Last reviewed October 2026