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What does "Sin" mean in the Bible?

Sin is the transgression of the law of God. All unrighteousness is sin. Sin appears in 241 verses across 32 books of the Bible.

The Bible uses the name Sin for 2 different entries. All 2 are below, each with its own passages.

Sin in Leviticus

SIN, Gen 4:7, is the transgression of the law of God. 1 John 3:4. All unrighteousness is sin. 1 John 5:17. The word is sometimes used for a sin offering, as in Hos 4:8;Rom 8:3; 2 Cor 5:21. In the text first cited reference is had to the eating, either from greediness or in violation of the Law, of that which was brought as a sin offering. The Bible traces the introduction of sin to the fall of our first parents. There is none sinless. But sins differ in enormity. John distinguishes the "sin not unto death" and "the sin unto death." 1 John 5:16. The verse teaches that a man can drive out God's Spirit from his heart and cut himself off from all intercession. There is also an "unpardonable" sin. Matt 12:31-32. This is the result of absolute resistance to the operation and influence of the Holy Spirit upon the heart; it is final impenitence, excluding the possibility of conversion, and hence of forgiveness. SIN (mire), a city of Northern Egypt, known to the Greeks as Pelusium. It was "the strength," or stronghold, "of Egypt." Eze 30:15-16. The city was situated upon the most easterly mouth of the Nile, only a few miles from the sea. A Sallier papyrus records a great battle at Sin between Barneses and the Sheta, and the reputed wonderful deliverance of Sethos from Sennacherib - when mice gnawed the Assyrian bowstrings and shields by night, rendering the arms of the Assyrians useless - took place near this town. Herodotus reports a statue of Sethos with a mouse in his hands standing in Vulcan's temple, probably in commemoration of this deliverance by mice. Ezekiel's prophecy, "Sin shall have great pain," was fulfilled by the great cruelty inflicted upon the Egyptians by Cambyses, who conquered them near this city. The site of Sin, or Pelusium, may be marked by some mounds at el-Farma, though some suppose it is at Aboo Kheeyar, west of the old Pelusiac branch of the Nile.

Definition text: Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible · 1898. Public domain.

Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.

Sin in Exodus

Sin, also known as the Wilderness of Sin, was a desert region located between Elim and Mount Sinai, through which the Israelites passed during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. The Israelites arrived at the Wilderness of Sin on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from Egypt (Exod. 16:1). It was in the Wilderness of Sin that God first provided manna and quail for the Israelites to eat (Exod. 16:4-36). The people had been grumbling against Moses and Aaron due to the lack of food, and God responded by miraculously supplying them with sustenance. The manna, described as a fine, flake-like substance, appeared every morning except on the Sabbath, and the Israelites were instructed to gather only as much as they needed for each day. The Israelites left the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink (Exod. 17:1). Once again, the people complained against Moses, and God instructed him to strike the rock at Horeb, which miraculously provided water for the entire congregation (Exod. 17:5-7). In the list of the Israelites' campsites recorded in the Book of Numbers, the Wilderness of Sin is mentioned between the campsites of Dophkah and Alush (Num. 33:11-12). The experiences of the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sin, including the provision of manna and water, served as important lessons about God's faithfulness, providence, and the importance of trusting in Him. These events also foreshadowed the spiritual sustenance that God would provide through Jesus Christ, the true bread from heaven (Jhn.6.31-35).

4 verses: Exodus 16:1, Exodus 17:1, Numbers 33:11, Numbers 33:12

Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.

What is the Hebrew word for Sin?

Hebrew · H2403

חַטָּאָה

chat.ta.ah

sin

TBESH, STEPBible, licensed CC BY 4.0.

Where does Sin appear in the Bible?

Sin is referenced in 241 verses across 32 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

Showing the first 24 of 241.

Open all 241 references in Protos

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Sin.

Common questions

How many people in the Bible are called Sin?

Sin refers to 2 different entries in the Bible: Sin in Leviticus; Sin in Exodus.

How many times does the Bible mention Sin?

Sin appears in 241 verses across 32 books, most often in Leviticus, which accounts for 47 of them.

Which books of the Bible mention Sin?

Leviticus, Numbers, Romans, Ezekiel, Hebrews, John, Exodus, Psalms, and 24 more.

Where can I read every verse about Sin?

This page lists 24 of them. Protos carries all 241, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.

Read it in context

Read Leviticus with "Sin" explained on the verse.

Tap any name, place, or word you do not recognize and the background opens on the verse you are reading. No second tab, no search, no losing your place.

The Protos reader open on Genesis 1 with the How to Read Genesis background sheet raised over it

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