Later text
Psalm 19:12BSB
Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
Intertextuality Pair
Psalm 19:12 → Leviticus 4:2
Allusion
Earlier text
"Tell the Israelites to do as follows with one who sins unintentionally against any of the LORD's commandments and does what is forbidden by them:
+ 1 more earlier text
Earlier text
Also, if one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the person who erred by sinning unintentionally; and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven. You shall have the same law for the one who acts in error, whether he is a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.
Significance
David's prayer "Who can discern his own errors (שְׁגִיאוֹת, shegi'ot)? Cleanse me from my hidden faults (נִסְתָּרוֹת, nistarot)" employs vocabulary cognate with Leviticus 4's provision for the one who "sins unintentionally" (בִשְׁגָגָה, bishgagah). The two nouns come from by-form roots, not one root: shegi'ah (H7691) from שָׁגָה (H7686), shegagah (H7684) from שָׁגַג (H7683) — both "to stray, err." David acknowledges that his sins exceed his self-awareness—he cannot confess what he does not perceive. Yet he trusts that God's gracious provision for the inadvertent sinner (Leviticus 4) extends to the "hidden faults" concealed even from his own eyes. This OT-to-OT development shows the Levitical sin-of-ignorance category being internalized into personal piety: what the law provided ritually, David claims devotionally.
- Found via
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
- Reference Type
- Allusion
- Connection Method(s)
- Longitudinal Theme
Weight of the link (supporting / thematic, not critical): the connection is real as shared situation and by-form cognate vocabulary, but it is not a demonstrable citation — Psalm 19:12 and Leviticus 4:2 hold no lexeme in common, and the pair is unattested in the catalogues of OT-in-the-OT use. The shared content is the situation (sin beyond the sinner's awareness), not a citation. Its true weight lies downstream: the NT answer comes in Hebrews 5:2, where the High Priest "is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and misguided"—the same mercy David sought, now secured in the perfect High Priest who atones for sins we will never know we committed.
Linked Mentions 1