The sin offerings in this passage atoned for the common people, including leaders and other Israelites. These offerings could be eaten, unlike those in Leviticus 4:3–21, and involved smaller animals. They disposed of the blood in the tabernacle courtyard, not the Holy Place.
Like the peace offering in chapter 3, they burned the fat and certain internal organs on the altar. The priest and his male family members ate the rest of the meat in a holy place (6:29; 6:26; compare 10:16–20). A lay leader offered a male goat (4:23), while a common person could offer a female goat or lamb.
The smaller size and cost of the animal reflected that the common person had less influence. It probably related to their financial situation as well. Those who were poor could bring a pair of doves or young pigeons (5:7–8; 12:6, 8; compare Luke 2:24). The very poor could offer two quarts of flour (Leviticus 5:11).