6.13 A perpetual fire. The sacrifices offered up at the inauguration of the public cult were consumed miraculously by a divine fire (9.24), and it is this fire that is not allowed to die out, so that all subsequent sacrifices might claim divine acceptance (see Philo, On the Special Laws 1.286).
6.14 The grain offering, the raw type described in 2.1–3.
6.18 Anything, but not anyone. The priestly legists have limited what is subject to contagion to things.
6.20 On the day, or “from the time.” The high priest’s grain offering is sacrificed every day.
6.27–30 Paradoxically, the purification offering, though it is most holy, pollutes objects that it contacts because it absorbs the impurities it purges. If, however, it purges severe impurity, i.e., one that polluted the shrine, it must be eliminated by burning.
LEVITICUS 7
1This is the ritual of the guilt offering. It is most holy; 2at the spot where the burnt offering is slaughtered, they shall slaughter the guilt offering, and its blood shall be dashed against all sides of the altar. 3All its fat shall be offered: the broad tail, the fat that covers the entrails, 4the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which shall be removed with the kidneys. 5The priest shall turn them into smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to the LORD; it is a guilt offering. 6Every male among the priests shall eat of it; it shall be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.
7The guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is the same ritual for them; the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it. 8So, too, the priest who offers anyone’s burnt offering shall keep the skin of the burnt offering that he has offered. 9And every grain offering baked in the oven, and all that is prepared in a pan or on a griddle, shall belong to the priest who offers it. 10But every other grain offering, mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron equally.
Further Instructions
11This is the ritual of the sacrifice of the offering of well-being that one may offer to the LORD. 12If you offer it for thanksgiving, you shall offer with the thank offering unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of choice flour well soaked in oil. 13With your thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being you shall bring your offering with cakes of leavened bread. 14From this you shall offer one cake from each offering, as a gift to the LORD; it shall belong to the priest who dashes the blood of the offering of well-being. 15And the flesh of your thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being shall be eaten on the day it is offered; you shall not leave any of it until morning. 16But if the sacrifice you offer is a votive offering or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that you offer your sacrifice, and what is left of it shall be eaten the next day; 17but what is left of the flesh of the sacrifice shall be burned up on the third day. 18If any of the flesh of your sacrifice of well-being is eaten on the third day, it shall not be acceptable, nor shall it be credited to the one who offers it; it shall be an abomination, and the one who eats of it shall incur guilt.
19Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burned up. As for other flesh, all who are clean may eat such flesh. 20But those who eat flesh from the LORD’s sacrifice of well-being while in a state of uncleanness shall be cut off from their kin. 21When any one of you touches any unclean thing—human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean creature—and then eats flesh from the LORD’s sacrifice of well-being, you shall be cut off from your kin.
22The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 23Speak to the people of Israel, saying: You shall eat no fat of ox or sheep or goat. 24The fat of an animal that died or was torn by wild animals may be put to any other use, but you must not eat it. 25If any one of you eats the fat from an animal of which an offering by fire may be made to the LORD, you who eat it shall be cut off from your kin. 26You must not eat any blood whatever, either of bird or of animal, in any of your settlements. 27Any one of you who eats any blood shall be cut off from your kin.
28The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 29Speak to the people of Israel, saying: Any one of you who would offer to the LORD your sacrifice of well-being must yourself bring to the LORD your offering from your sacrifice of well-being. 30Your own hands shall bring the LORD’s offering by fire; you shall bring the fat with the breast, so that the breast may be raised as an elevation offering before the LORD. 31The priest shall turn the fat into smoke on the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons. 32And the right thigh from your sacrifices of well-being you shall give to the priest as an offering; 33the one among the sons of Aaron who offers the blood and fat of the offering of well-being shall have the right thigh for a portion. 34For I have taken the breast of the elevation offering, and the thigh that is offered, from the people of Israel, from their sacrifices of well-being, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel. 35This is the portion allotted to Aaron and to his sons from the offerings made by fire to the LORD, once they have been brought forward to serve the LORD as priests; 36these the LORD commanded to be given them, when he anointed them, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel throughout their generations.
37This is the ritual of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the offering of ordination, and the sacrifice of well-being, 38which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, when he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.
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7.1–6 Since one liable for a reparation offering was expected to bring its monetary equivalent to the sanctuary (5.15), the procedure for the sacrifice is given here in the administrative unit addressed to the priests (6.8–7.38) rather than in the didactic order addressed to the laity (1.1–6.7). Once the lay offerer purchases the requisite reparation animal from the priest, the latter makes certain that the proper sacrificial procedure is followed.
7.7–10 The priestly prebends belong to the officiating priest. The sole exception is the raw grain offering, which is divided equally among all the priests, a development that probably reflects the Jerusalem temple and its large priestly corps (see also vv. 31–33).
7.11 That one…LORD, an admission that it is permitted to eat the meat of pure, nonsacrificial animals.
7.12–21 You. All second-person pronouns here and in vv. 28–32 are actually third person in the Hebrew.
7.13, 15 Thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being. P’s conflation of two sacrifices, the thanksgiving offering and the well-being offering, which H treats as distinct sacrifices (22.21, 29). On P and H, see Introduction.
7.16 Votive offering, brought following the successful fulfillment of a vow (e.g., 2 Sam 15.7–8; Prov 7.14). Freewill offering, brought as the spontaneous by-product of one’s happiness, whatever its cause (e.g., Num 15.3, 8; Ezek 46.12).
7.18 It shall not be acceptable. The sacrifice retains its holiness until the time of its elimination.
7.20, 21, 25 Cut off from their/your kin, extermination of the line by God. In consonance with the sacrificial system, which clearly recognizes the principle of intention (chs. 4–5), it must be assumed that if any impure person inadvertently, not deliberately, eats sacred food, his wrong will be expiated by a purification offering.
7.21 Unclean creature, any of the eight quadrupeds singled out in 11.29–31 whose contact is defiling.
7.22–27 This passage differs from the rest of the chapter by employing the second person in the Hebrew rather than the third. Furthermore, the banning of the suet of all sacrificial animals differs from P, which allows for profane slaughter, and is a telltale sign of H (cf. 3.16–17; 17.3–5). On P and H, see Introduction.
7.28–32 You. See note on 7.12–21.
7.30 The elevation offering transfers the object from the offerer to the deity (represented by the priest). Thus the hands of both the offerer and the priest are placed under the offering in the performance of this rite.
7.31–33
The breast belongs to the entire priestly corps, whereas the right thigh is awarded the officiating priest, the latter prebend probably reflecting the older custom prevailing in any of the small sanctuaries attended by a single priestly family (e.g., Shiloh).
7.37 The offering of ordination. The mention of this offering before the sacrifice of well-being suggests that a section based on Ex 29 originally preceded 7.11.
LEVITICUS 8
The Rites of Ordination
1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2Take Aaron and his sons with him, the vestments, the anointing oil, the bull of sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; 3and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 5Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the LORD has commanded to be done.”
6Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward, and washed them with water. 7He put the tunic on him, fastened the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. He then put the decorated band of the ephod around him, tying the ephod to him with it. 8He placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. 9And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden ornament, the holy crown, as the LORD commanded Moses.
10Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its base, to consecrate them. 12He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. 13And Moses brought forward Aaron’s sons, and clothed them with tunics, and fastened sashes around them, and tied headdresses on them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
14He led forward the bull of sin offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bull of sin offering, 15and it was slaughtered. Moses took the blood and with his finger put some on each of the horns of the altar, purifying the altar; then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar. Thus he consecrated it, to make atonement for it. 16Moses took all the fat that was around the entrails, and the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and turned them into smoke on the altar. 17But the bull itself, its skin and flesh and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the LORD commanded Moses.
18Then he brought forward the ram of burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 19and it was slaughtered. Moses dashed the blood against all sides of the altar. 20The ram was cut into its parts, and Moses turned into smoke the head and the parts and the suet. 21And after the entrails and the legs were washed with water, Moses turned into smoke the whole ram on the altar; it was a burnt offering for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
22Then he brought forward the second ram, the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23and it was slaughtered. Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 24After Aaron’s sons were brought forward, Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet; and Moses dashed the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar. 25He took the fat—the broad tail, all the fat that was around the entrails, the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat—and the right thigh. 26From the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD, he took one cake of unleavened bread, one cake of bread with oil, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh. 27He placed all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and raised them as an elevation offering before the LORD. 28Then Moses took them from their hands and turned them into smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. This was an ordination offering for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the LORD. 29Moses took the breast and raised it as an elevation offering before the LORD; it was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, as the LORD commanded Moses.
30Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his vestments, and also on his sons and their vestments. Thus he consecrated Aaron and his vestments, and also his sons and their vestments.
31And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I was commanded, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it’ 32and what remains of the flesh and the bread you shall burn with fire. 33You shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day when your period of ordination is completed. For it will take seven days to ordain you; 34as has been done today, the LORD has commanded to be done to make atonement for you. 35You shall remain at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, keeping the LORD’s charge so that you do not die; for so I am commanded.” 36Aaron and his sons did all the things that the LORD commanded through Moses.
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8.1–10.20 In chs. 8–10, which follow logically and chronologically upon Ex 35–40, the priests are inducted into service after the priestly vestments and the tabernacle are completed. It is not Aaron, however, but Moses who dominates the scene. He conducts the inaugural service, consecrates the priests, and apportions all tasks, while Aaron is clearly answerable to him (see 10.16–20). Strikingly, the Priestly document insists upon the superiority of prophet over priest.
8.1–36 To ordain you (v. 33), lit. “to fill your hands.” In scripture this phrase is used exclusively for the consecration of priests (Ex 32.29; Judg 17.5, 12; 1 Kings 13.33), but in other ancient Near Eastern texts it refers to the distribution of booty. Thus, the Hebrew idiom indicates that installation rites officially entitle the priests to their share of the revenues and sacrifices brought to the sanctuary. As the LORD commanded Moses concludes each phase of the consecration ceremony, a reminder that this chapter is a repetition of the instructions in Ex 29.
8.7 Ephod, a garment, shaped like an apron, covering the loins and suspended from two shoulder-pieces (Ex 28.6–14). It must be distinguished from the linen ephod attributed in nonpriestly sources to the ordinary priest (1 Sam 2.18; 22.18; 2 Sam 6.14) and from the oracular ephod (1 Sam 23.6, 9; Hos 3.4).
8.8 The Urim and the Thummim, a form of oracle placed inside the pocket-shaped breastpiece worn by the high priest on his chest. Their shape and function are still undetermined.
8.9 Ornament. The Hebrew word means “flower.” Possibly it took the shape of a plate (so the Septuagint) containing a floral decoration. The plate was suspended from the high priest’s turban by a blue cord. Because of its inscription “Holy to the LORD” (Ex 28.36), it had the power to “take on…any guilt incurred in the holy offering that the Israelites consecrate as their sacred donations” (Ex 28.38). In other words, any inadvertent impurity or imperfection in the offerings to the sanctuary would be expiated by the plate.
8.10 Anointing oil. For consecration see vv. 10–13, 30; Ex 30.23–24. Tabernacle. See note on 1.3.
8.11 Sprinkled…seven. See note on 4.6.
8.16 Turned…into smoke. See note on 1.9.
8.23–24 In the ancient Near East, incantations recited during the ritual smearing of persons, statues of gods, and buildings testify that its purpose is purificatory and apotropaic: to wipe off and ward off the incursions of menacing forces. Always it is the vulnerable parts of bodies (extremities) and structures (corners, entrances) that are smeared with magical substances.
8.27 Elevation offering. See 7.30. Because the right thigh is given directly by its offerer to the officiating priest without the benefit of a ritual (7.32–33), it is imperative that it undergo the rite of elevation to indicate that it no longer belongs to the offerer, but now belongs to God and must be offered
up on the altar.
8.28 Ordination offering. In 7.30, this sacrifice stands between the most holy offerings (burnt, grain, purification, reparation) and holy offerings (well-being). Like the most holy offerings, it is eaten only by male priests in the sanctuary court (v. 31; cf. 6.16, 26; 7.6); the priestly prebends of the well-being offering may be eaten by the priest’s family at any pure place. Of the three kinds of well-being offering (7.11–16), it resembles most the thanksgiving offering in that it is also accompanied by bread offerings (v. 2; cf. Ex 29.2; Lev 7.12) and is consumed on the same day. It is a transitional offering and corresponds with the transitional nature of its offerers, the priestly consecrands, who are passing from the realm of the profane to the realm of the sacred.
8.29 Moses receives the breast as his prebend (from God but not from the offerers, the priests), but not the thigh, lest that make him in the people’s eyes a priest (see 7.34).
8.30 Whereas the blood daubing is for purification (vv. 23–24), the blood sprinkling is for consecration (16.19).
8.33, 35 The seven-day priestly consecration is a rite of passage from the profane to the sacred sphere, a liminal state fraught with peril for initiates.
LEVITICUS 9
Aaron’s Priesthood Inaugurated
1On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. 3And say to the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering; a calf and a lamb, yearlings without blemish, for a burnt offering; 4and an ox and a ram for an offering of well-being to sacrifice before the LORD; and a grain offering mixed with oil. For today the LORD will appear to you.’” 5They brought what Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting; and the whole congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. 6And Moses said, “This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.” 7Then Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and sacrifice the offering of the people, and make atonement for them; as the LORD has commanded.”
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