Vayikra 5:1 · unit 2

Complete Passuk

וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי־תֶחֱטָא וְשָׁמְעָה קוֹל אָלָה וְהוּא עֵד אוֹ רָאָה אוֹ יָדָע אִם־לוֹא יַגִּיד וְנָשָׂא עֲוֺנוֹ׃

Source Citation

Torah Temimah cites Kerisos 9a.

Core Text — Kerisos 9a

שְׁבוּעַת הָעֵדוּת, מְנָלַן? דְּתָנוּ רַבָּנַן: בְּכוּלָּן נֶאֱמַר ״וְנֶעְלַם״, כָּאן לֹא נֶאֱמַר ״וְנֶעְלַם״ – לְחַיֵּיב עַל הַשּׁוֹגֵג כְּמֵזִיד.

From where do we derive shevu’as ha-eidus? The Sages taught: In all of them it says “and it was hidden,” but here it does not say “and it was hidden” — to obligate for inadvertent violation as for deliberate.

The absence of “vene’elam” on shevu’as ha-eidus distinguishes it from the other oleh ve-yored offerings and creates liability for both intentional and inadvertent violation.

What Is Learned: Unlike shevu’as bitui and tumas mikdash, shevu’as ha-eidus obligates the offering for intentional as well as inadvertent violation of the oath of testimony. The verse’s silence on “vene’elam” is the textual basis for this expanded liability.