What is the meaning of Leviticus 16:27?

The bull for the sin offering

• The bull represents the substitute that bears the priest’s own guilt (Leviticus 4:3-12).

• Only the highest-value animal was acceptable, emphasizing the costliness of sin (2 Samuel 24:24).

• Hebrews 9:7 recalls that the high priest could not enter the Most Holy Place “without blood,” underscoring the necessity of this bull’s sacrifice.

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and the goat for the sin offering

• Two goats were taken on the Day of Atonement—one for the LORD, one as the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:5-10).

• This goat, offered “for the LORD,” typifies Christ bearing the people’s sins (John 1:29; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

• Both the bull and the goat show that atonement covers priest and people alike (Hebrews 5:1-3).

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whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement

• Leviticus 16:15-16 describes the blood sprinkled on and before the mercy seat, satisfying God’s righteous demands (Romans 3:25).

• Life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11); shedding it affirms that sin deserves death (Romans 6:23).

• Hebrews 9:12 links this act to Jesus, who “entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

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must be taken outside the camp;

• Sin is removed from the community’s midst, illustrating separation from God’s holiness (Numbers 5:2-3).

• Exodus 29:14 required the same practice for the ordination offering, confirming a consistent pattern.

• Hebrews 13:11-12 applies the principle to Jesus, who “suffered outside the gate” to sanctify believers.

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and their hides, flesh, and dung must be burned up.

• Nothing of the sin offering is eaten; total destruction pictures complete judgment on sin (Leviticus 4:12; 6:30).

• Burning the refuse prevents contamination and reminds Israel that sin leaves no room for compromise (Joshua 7:13).

• Psalm 103:12 celebrates the result: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

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summary

Leviticus 16:27 shows that the bull and goat, once their atoning blood had entered the Most Holy Place, carried the community’s sin outside the camp to be wholly consumed by fire. The ritual highlights the seriousness of sin, the necessity of a substitutionary death, the removal of guilt from God’s people, and the complete judgment that sin warrants. Ultimately, the verse anticipates Christ, whose blood truly cleanses, whose body was taken outside the city, and whose sacrifice forever puts away sin for all who trust Him.