Mercy

“Words for mercy do not appear in pentateuchal ritual law. YHWH grants forgiveness when his own preconditions are met through performance of expiatory activities that he has legislated. Narrowly speaking, YHWH shows fidelity in this context rather than mercy, which would not be legislated. However, in a broader sense YHWH’s legislation shows mercy in relation to the lofty standard of his holiness. In spite of the gap between his holiness and faulty Israel, he condescends to dwell with his people in the sanctuary (Lev 16:16b) and to provide remedies for their faults so that this intimate relationship can continue. The fact that forgiveness is not automatic (nip`al of סלח in Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35) and the ritual remedies are so minor when compared with the consequences of not performing them (Num 19:11–20; cf. Lev 5:1, 5–6) indicates that they do not fulfill the full demands of justice. Rather, they are tokens that YHWH accepts, but he “takes up the slack”—that is to say, he is merciful.”—Cult and Character, pages 320-321

<idle musing>
Interesting observation; I hadn't realized before that words for mercy weren't there. I guess I read the Torah/Pentateuch through the eyes of the prophetic books and the New Testament too much to see what is there. I'll be chewing on this one for a while...
</idle musing>