When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;
When a ruler hath sinned. Whatever was the form of government, the king, judge, or subordinate was the party concerned in this law. The transgression of such a civil functionary being less serious in its character and consequences than that either of the high priest or the congregation, a sin offering of inferior value was required - "a kid of the goats" х sª`iyr (H8163) `iziym (H5795), a goat-buck]; and neither was the blood carried into the sanctuary, but applied only to the altar of burnt offering; nor was the carcass taken without the camp-it was eaten by the priests in waiting.
The name given to the goat, says Bahr, will afford a clue to the design contemplated in the selection of that particular kind. [It is called sª`iyr (H8163) on account of its long shaggy hair.] From this the garments of the mourners and the preachers of repentance were commonly manufactured (cf. Zechariah 13:4 with 2 Kings 1:8). [Among the mourners such a garment was called saq (H8242), sakkos (Isaiah 20:2).] That these garments possessed a significant character needs no proof. With the mourners they were the direct signs of sorrow. With the prophets they indicated that he who was thus clad proclaims sin and repentance-a sermo propheticus realis. [The sª`iyr 'aziym, as the sin-offering, had a similar reference to sin, and the mourning necessary for it-namely, repentance.]
Very suitable, then, was the appointment of this animal for those offerings chiefly which had to do only with sin; and this was the more appropriate in case offerings, especially burnt offerings, were brought at the same time. That this selection had not to do with male goats as such, is shown by the simple circumstance, that not male goats in general, but only this species of the same, were selected for the sin offerings, and never the other species [`atuwdiym], which were employed in the peace or thank offerings (Numbers 7:7). Other reasons for the choice of the particular goat so called, are given by Bochart and Knobel.