What is sin?
When I think of sin, I usually think of intentionally committed actions which are in direct violation of God's laws. This verse reminds us that this definition of sin is too narrow. The true definition of sin is estrangement from God. In the books of Moses, God is laying out His standards for holiness. Many of those standards are related to "cleanliness" or what we may refer to as hygiene or sanitation. In this verse, we see that the priest has sinned simply by accidentally being near a dead body. It wasn't even his fault, but it was still considered sin.
By being in the presence of a corpse, the priest became unclean. Because he was unclean he had therefore become estranged from God in His holiness. That is, the priest had sinned.
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