(Leviticus 6:8) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (9) “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.'"
The Lord spoke to Moses, turning to a new subject. He told him to command Aaron and his sons, because they were the appointed priests, about the law of the burnt offering. This was the continual burnt offering spoken of in Exodus 29:38 in the Consecration of the Priests. It was called a burnt offering because of the burning on the altar all night long. It was not a burnt sacrifice put on the altar all at once to be burned up at once. We can reasonably assume that the priest had to sit up the whole night slowly feeding the fire with portions of the offering, or with wood as in verse 12 below, until the time in the morning when that sacrifice was then offered. It probably wouldn't have been as necessary to slowly feed the fire during the day because there may have been a constant succession of sacrifices in the day. The biggest danger of the fire going out was during the night when no other offerings were made, and that is why only that time is stressed here.
(10) "'And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his flesh, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.'"
The priest was to put on his linen garment. The original word translated as "garment" was "mad", and that more completely included "extent, height, measure", implying that this particular garment was exactly the measure of his body and fit closely to his body as a shirt might. He was also to put linen trousers "on his flesh", to cover his nakedness as said in Exodus 28:42. He was to take care of the ashes of the eternal burnt offering by taking them up and putting them beside the altar.
(11) "'And he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.'"
The priest was then to take off the close-fitting garments and was to put on other garments, possibly garments particularly for this type of dirtier work. He was then to carry the ashes outside the camp, but as the ashes of holy things, they were to be placed in a clean place, that is, one that was free from dung, dead carcasses, or any unclean things.
(12) "‘And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. (13) The fire shall ever be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.'"
Although the ashes were removed from the altar, the fire was to be kept burning; it was not to be put out. The priest was to burn wood on the altar every morning to keep the fire going until time to place the burnt offering on it. From Leviticus 3:3-5, we learned that the fat of the peace offering was the fat that covered the inwards of the sacrificial animal, its two kidneys and the fat on them, and the caul above the liver, and this was to be burned "on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is on the wood that is on the fire" (Lev. 3:3). I believe burning the peace offering "upon the burnt sacrifice" referred to burning it on this continual burnt offering that was never allowed to go out.
(14) "'And this is the law of the grain offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar.'"
The Lord now began to give Moses instructions for grain offerings, which he had covered in Leviticus 2, but that had more to do with instructions for how the people were to offer their sacrifices, and this more about instructions for the priests. The grain offering, having been brought to the priests, was to be offered to the Lord by the priests at the altar.
(15) "'And he shall take of it his handful of the flour of the grain offering, and its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the grain offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma, as a memorial to the LORD.'"
In Leviticus 2:1, we were told that the grain offering was to be of fine flour, with oil poured on it, and frankincense on it. The priest was to take a handful of the offering and was to burn it on the altar as a memorial of the entire offering to the Lord, and as a sweet aroma to the Lord, acceptable to Him as a suitable sacrifice for atonement of sin.
(16) "‘And the remainder of it Aaron and his sons shall eat; with unleavened bread it shall be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of meeting they shall eat it.'"
The remainder of the offering was given to Aaron and his sons, the priests, to eat. In this way, God provided for His ministers. The flour was to be eaten unleavened, and it was to be eaten within the holy place in the court of the tabernacle. The very eating of it was a sacred rite, by which they were to honor God, and it was done with a holy reverence and confined to the holy place.
(17) "‘It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering and as the trespass offering.'"
The remainder of the fine flour offering that was given to the priests was not afterward to be baked with leaven either. The Lord gave this portion of His offerings to the priests for their maintenance. But as His offering, it was most holy and had to be treated as such, as with the sin offering and trespass offering.
(18) "‘All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings made by fire to the LORD; everyone who touches them must be holy.’”
Only the males among the children of Aaron were to eat this portion, probably because it was to be eaten in the holy place, and only the males were priests who were allowed to eat it there. It was to be a statute forever concerning the offerings made by fire to the Lord, that is, until the Messiah would come as the ultimate and true offering, and the bread He gave was His flesh, and he that eats of it shall not die, but live forever (John 6:27). None should touch or eat the offerings, but consecrated persons--priests or their sons.
(19) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (20) “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons which they shall offer to the LORD in the day when he is anointed, one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a daily grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it at night."
The Lord then proceeded to instruct Moses on the offering Aaron was to give on the day that he was anointed high priest. I believe "and his sons" refers to the time at which each in succession was anointed high priest. That seems to be the general consensus of most of the commentaries that I usually study. He was to offer one tenth of an ephah of fine flour, which was an omer. Exactly what that was seems to vary among "experts", but it was generally understood to mean what a person could eat in one day. The high priest was to offer this daily, from the day he was anointed for as long as he lived or was in the priest's office. He offered half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening.
(21) “It shall be made in a pan with oil, and when it is baked, you shall bring it in; and the baked pieces of the grain offering you shall offer for a sweet aroma to the LORD."
The flour was to be baked in a pan with oil, and once baked, was brought in as an offering. It was then cut or torn in pieces which were offered for a pleasing and acceptable offering to the Lord.
(22) "And the priest of his sons who is anointed in his place shall offer it; it is a statute forever to the LORD; it shall be wholly burned."
The anointed high priest and the son that succeeded him should forever offer this daily sacrifice until the Messiah came who was the ultimate and true sacrifice. The baked flour offering was to be wholly burned in contrast to the common grain offering where only a handful was burned and the rest was the priest's.
(23) “For every grain offering for the priest shall be wholly burned; it shall not be eaten."
Every grain offering that the high priest himself offered was wholly the Lord's and was to be entirely burned, and was not to be eaten by the priest or anyone.
(24) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (25) “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before the LORD; it is most holy.'"
The Lord continued instructing Moses on what to tell Aaron and his sons. He said the law of the sin offering as it pertained to the priests was that it was to be killed in the same place where the burnt offerings were killed, that is, the north side of the altar (Lev. 1:11). I have read that some think this typified the crucifying of Christ on mount Calvary, which was on the north side of Jerusalem. This was a most holy offering to the Lord, sacred and accepted by Him.
(26) "‘The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it; in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.'"
The priest who offered the sin offering for the people (or person) was to eat it in the holy place within the court of the tabernacle. It is said later in scripture that the priest, by eating the sin offering of the people, was considered as bearing their sin, removing it from them, and making atonement for it (Lev. 10:17), as a type of Christ who bore the sins of His people in His own body on the cross.
(27) "'Whatever touches its flesh must be holy; and when its blood is sprinkled on any garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled in the holy place.'"
Whatever touched the flesh of the offering, referred primarily to whomever touched it who must be holy. None but holy persons, those devoted to holy services, the priests and their sons, might touch and eat of the flesh of the sin offering. It also referred to the blood of the sacrifice, that if was sprinkled on and therefore touched his garment, was to be washed out with reverence to the blood sacrifice, as typical of the precious blood of Christ, within the holy place, never taken out and washed elsewhere.
(28) "‘But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken; and if it be boiled in a bronze pot, it shall be both scoured and rinsed in water.'"
The vessel in which the flesh of the sin offering was boiled must be broken if it was an earthen one, as porous unglazed pottery would absorb some of the juices of the meat. However, if it was a bronze vessel, that being more valuable and also not porous, that vessel was to be thoroughly scoured and rinsed.
(29) "'All the males among the priests shall eat it; it is most holy.'"
As with the grain offering in verse 18, only the males among Aaron and his sons, the priests, were to eat of the sin offering. Again this was a most holy offering to the Lord, sacred and accepted by Him.
(30) "'And no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation, to make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten; it shall be burned in the fire.'"
Every offering, including every sin offering, was killed in the court of the tabernacle on the north side of the altar, and the blood of some of them, as on the day of atonement, was carried within the veil and sprinkled on the mercy seat for reconciling the holy place and making atonement for it. The flesh of those such sin offerings was not be eaten by the priests (though the others might), but was to be burned in the fire outside the camp (Lev. 4:12, Lev. 16:27).
(Leviticus 7:1) "‘Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering; it is most holy.'"
As the Lord was still speaking to Aaron and his sons through Moses, I consider chapter 7 to be a continuation of the instructions for the priests concerning the sacrifices. He now began the topic of the trespass offering, which was also most holy, wholly devoted for sacred use.
(2) "‘In the place where they kill the burnt offering they shall kill the trespass offering; and its blood he shall sprinkle all around on the altar.'"
The trespass offering, as was the sin offering, was to be killed in the place where they killed burnt offerings, which was on the north side of the altar (Lev. 1:11). The priest was to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice all around on the altar.
(3) "‘And he shall offer from it all its fat; the fat tail and the fat that covers the inwards, (4) And the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he remove. (5) And the priest shall burn them on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD; it is a trespass offering.'"
All the fat was to be offered, which was considered to be the fat tail (the tails of the eastern sheep were said to be very large and fat, alone weighing 15 pounds or more); and all the fat on the "inwards", the two kidneys and their fat, and the caul above the liver, basically, the "gut" or middle section of the animal. The priest was to burn the fat on the altar as an offering to the Lord. It was a trespass offering to make atonement for a trespass committed.
(6) "‘Every male among the priests shall eat it; it shall be eaten in the holy place; it is most holy.'"
That is, every male among the priests could eat of the flesh of the trespass offering, after the fat had been taken off and burned on the altar. It was considered most holy and only to be eaten by those sanctified people devoted to holy services, and it could only be eaten in the holy place, not taken out and carried home to be eaten by their family or anyone else.
(7) "'As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering; there is one law for them both: the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it.'"
The same law applied to the sin offering and the trespass offering; that is, the priest who took the offering and made atonement for the offerer was to have what remained after what was burnt on the altar. It was the priest's, but no doubt it was his to offer to his sons or to other priests on duty, as scripture said "every male among the priests shall eat it", which more precisely meant "may" eat it if offered by the priest making the atonement.
(8) "‘And the priest who offers any man’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered.'"
In a burnt offering where the flesh was wholly burnt, and nothing remained but the skin, the priest offering the burnt offering was to have the skin for himself. What is meant here is the priest offering someone else's burnt offering. In Leviticus 4:11, when the priest offered for his own sin the skin was also to be burned.
(9) "'And all the grain offering that is baked in the oven and all that is prepared in the fryingpan and in the pan, shall be the priest's who offers it.'"
All the grain offerings, prepared one way or another, baked in the oven or in a pan or pan-fried, were to be the priest's who offered it, except for the portion burned as an offering to the Lord (Lev. 2:9).
(10) "'And every grain offering, mingled with oil or dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as the other.'"
In verse 9 the grain offering was prepared and hot and to be presently eaten by the priest offering it. However, if the grain was offered as dry flour or flour mixed with oil, then it was to be equally divided among the sons of Aaron.
(11) "'And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer to the LORD: (12) If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, or cakes of fine flour mixed with oil and fried.'"
As discussed previously at the end of The Law of the Peace Offering, the peace offering was a voluntary offering made to God that appears to have been either in thanksgiving for peace and prosperity, or as a vow to make peace and reconciliation with God, the latter to be further explained in this chapter. The Lord began his instructions for peace offering sacrifices with the one offered as thanksgiving. If the offering was a thank offering for mercies received, then the offerer was to offer, along with his sacrifice (described in chapter 3 of Leviticus as an animal of the herd or of the flock), unleavened cakes mixed with oil. The cakes could be prepared in various different ways--baked cakes of flour mixed with oil, thin wafers spread with oil, or pan-fried cakes of flour mixed with oil.
(13) "‘Besides the cakes, he shall offer as his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering.'"
Besides the unleavened cakes, leavened bread was also to be offered with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering. It should be noted that leavened bread was never to be burned on the altar, as that was forbidden (Lev. 2:11), but was given to the priest to be eaten.
(14) "‘And from it he shall offer one cake from the whole oblation as a heave offering to the LORD, and it shall be the priest's who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering.'"
One cake from the whole offering of cakes was to be offered as a "heave offering" to the Lord. A heave offering was one that was literally heaved up, so one cake was to be heaved or offered up to the Lord, and then became the portion for the officiating priest.
(15) "'And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.'"
Having given directions about the cakes and bread that went along with the peace offerings, offered in thankfulness for mercies received, instructions were next given about eating the flesh of the offering. It was to be eaten in the same day that it was offered, and none of it was to remain until the next morning. In such a hot country, the flesh would be likely to putrefy, and as it was considered holy, it would have been improper to expose that which was consecrated to the Lord to be exposed to putrefaction. Most of the commentaries I study agree that this was also intended to make the priests generous to their friends and family and to the poor. Because it had to be eaten before morning, there was no room for miserly conduct and the storing up of it. As Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, stated it, "The flesh of the peace-offerings was God's treat...", and He would have the priests be generous with it.
(16) "'But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day also the remainder of it may be eaten; (17) But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.'"
I have a hard time understanding the difference in the various types of offerings mentioned here, but this one is distinguished from the peace offering of thanksgiving from verse 11 and 12 above. This peace offering involved a vow which may have been made that if God granted a particular benefit or outcome, then he would offer such a sacrifice. The verse says "if the sacrifice...is a vow or a voluntary offering"; all peace offerings are voluntary, so the only thing I can figure that is meant is any other voluntary offering that is not a peace offering of thanksgiving. The flesh of the sacrifice of a peace offering for thanksgiving had to be eaten the same day it was offered, but these other types of voluntary offerings could be eaten within two days. Any left beyond that time was to be burned with fire.
(18) "‘And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, nor shall it be imputed to him who offered it; it shall be an abomination and the person who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.'"
If any of the flesh of the sacrifice was left to the third day and eaten on that day, that sacrifice would not be accepted by the Lord and it would not be counted as a righteous action. Not only unacceptable, but it would be considered an abomination; and the one who ate of it would bear his iniquity, not only from doing what was forbidden in this act, but as his sacrifice was not accepted by God, he would also bear the iniquity for any sin for which he had offered the sacrifice.
(19) "'And the flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. And as for the flesh, all who are clean may eat of it.'"
If any of the flesh of the sacrifice touched any unclean thing, it was not to be eaten, but burned with fire. Suppose in carrying it from the altar to the place where it was eaten, a dog touched it, or it touched a dead body, an unclean person, or any other unclean thing, it was then unfit to be used in a religious feast, and was to be burned with fire. As for the flesh that was considered clean, all who were clean could eat of it.
(20) "'But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, while he is unclean, that person shall be cut off from his people.'"
An unclean person who ate of the flesh of the peace offering sacrifice was to be cut off from his people. Whether this was to be disfranchised as an Israelite or disbarred from the privileges of the sanctuary, or to be cut off by death, I am not sure. Whatever pertains to the Lord is sacred, and must be used with great reverence and not with unhallowed hands. We are told in 1 Corinthians 11:29 that those who eat and drink unworthily in the supper of our Lord, eat and drink damnation to themselves.
(21) "'Moreover the person who touches any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the Lord, that person shall be cut off from his people.’”
A person who might have been otherwise clean, at the moment he touched any unclean thing, was considered unclean himself, and could not partake of the flesh of the offering. If he did, he was to be cut off from his people.
(22) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (23) “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘You shall not eat any fat, of ox or sheep or goat.'"
The Lord continued speaking to Moses, but now told him to address the people, telling them they were not to eat any fat of ox, sheep, or goat. A general prohibition against eating fat or blood was made back in Leviticus 3:17, but it is more completely explained here and in the next few verses.
(24) "‘And the fat of a beast that dies naturally, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use, but you shall by no means eat it.'"
The Lord is speaking of the same kind of beast as in the verse before, ox, sheep, and goat. Even if those animals were not used in sacrifice, but died naturally, or were torn by a wild beast, the fat was not to be eaten. The fat could be used for other things--lubricants, making candles, probably medicines, etc., but it was forbidden to eat it.
(25) "‘For whoever eats the fat of the animal of which men offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, the person who eats it shall be cut off from his people.'"
Whoever ate the fat of an animal which men offer as a sacrifice to the Lord would be cut off from his people. There is much discrepancy among the commentaries that I study as to exactly what fat is prohibited. Did this particular verse refer only to the specific beast that was at that time being offered as a sacrifice? Or did it mean all ox, sheep, and goats, that were the particular animals that were used in sacrifice? If I continue with the same succession of the same "any fat, of ox or sheep or goat" from verse 23, then I would assume this would refer to the fat of all oxen, sheep, and goats, because those were the animals that were used in sacrifices to the Lord. It would seem that the fat of other animals was allowed which would include the fat of clean beasts like deer. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, argued that this passage must only refer to the animals when they were offered as sacrifices, or perhaps only to that mid-section of fat that was described in the rules for sacrifices, and could by no means include all fat because fat was one of the special blessings God gave His people:
"So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and you drank the pure blood of the grape." - Deuteronomy 32:12-14
I have to disagree with Mr. Clarke because there is too much symbolism in this passage. Why would you at the same time assume that sucking honey out of a rock, fat kidneys of wheat, and blood from a grape were symbolic, but the fat of lambs, etc., was literal? All these terms obviously refer to the richness and abundance of the food mentioned.
(26) "‘Moreover you shall not eat any manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.'"
Whereas the prohibition of fat was restricted to animals that were used in sacrifice, the people were forbidden to eat any manner of blood. Whether it came from birds or beasts, even if it was consumed in their own dwellings far from the altar of the tabernacle, still it was not to be eaten. Blood made atonement for the soul and was a picture of the blood of Christ to come, and required greater respect and reverence.
(27) "‘Whoever eats any manner of blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.’”
A person who ate any blood was to be cut off from his people, which probably meant he was to be excommunicated or cut off from the people of God, and so deprived of any part of their inheritance or blessings. There were instances when this meant cut off from life, but at this point, I am not certain when life was given for these type of offenses.
(28) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (29) “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the LORD shall bring his oblation to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. (30) His own hands shall bring the offerings made by fire to the LORD; the fat with the breast he shall bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD.'"
The Lord continued to tell Moses what to tell the people. Whoever offered a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord was to bring his offering "from the sacrifice of his peace offerings" with his own hands. He was to bring with his own hands the parts of the peace offering that were to be burnt with fire and also the breast that was to be waved as a wave offering to the Lord. Matthew Henry stated it this way, "he might signify thereby his cheerfully giving it up to God, and his desire that it might be accepted. He was with his own hands to lift it up, in token of his regard to God as the God of heaven, and then to wave it to and fro, in token of his regard to God as the Lord of the whole earth, to whom thus, as far as he could reach, he offered it, showing his readiness and wish to do him honour."
(31) "‘And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.'"
The priest was to burn the fat on the altar, but the breast was to be Aaron's and his sons', it having been waved before the Lord for a wave offering, was the Lord's, and so was given to his priests to eat.
(32) "'And the right shoulder you shall give to the priest for a heave offering from the sacrifices of your peace offerings.'"
The priest was also given the right shoulder of the peace offering for a heave offering. Whereas a wave offering was in a gesture to and fro from side to side, the heave offering was heaved or offered up and then back down. Early Biblical scholars pointed out that these motions indicated a cross, and pointed to the coming Messiah who would die for us on a cross.
(33) "‘He among the sons of Aaron, who offers the blood of the peace offering and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part.'"
The priest who officiated and offered the blood and the fat of the peace offering was to have the right shoulder for his portion. It would appear that the breast was given to all the priests, but the shoulder was given only to the officiating priest.
(34) "'For the wave breast and the heave shoulder I have taken from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons by a statute forever from among the children of Israel.'"
The breast that was waved and the right shoulder that was heaved the Lord had taken from the sacrifices of the people's peace offerings and had given them to Aaron and his sons, the priests, by an everlasting statute as long as the priesthood lasted, to the coming of the Messiah, in whom all these sacrifices would have their accomplishment and their end. John Wesley, in his Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, wrote, "The breast or heart is the seat of wisdom, and the shoulder of strength for action; and these two may denote that wisdom, and power, which were in Christ our high-priest, and which ought to be in every priest.'"
(35) This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister to the LORD in the priest's office; (36) Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute forever throughout their generations.
This was to be the portion of the offerings that was to be given to Aaron and his sons who were anointed as priests. In the day they were ordained to that priestly office this provision was made for them by God, and was to be a statute forever that they should bring these offerings according to the rules prescribed and cheerfully give the priests their share out of them until the coming of the Messiah.
(37) This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the consecrations, and the sacrifice of the peace offering, (38) Which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day when He commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations to the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai.
With the Lord no longer speaking, this is a summary statement by Moses of the laws of the different types of offerings detailed in chapters 6 and 7 above--the burnt offering (6:9), the grain offering (6:14), the sin offering (6:25), the trespass offering (7:1), the consecrations of Aaron and his sons to the priest's office (6:20), and the sacrifice of the peace offering (7:11). It appears these laws were given to Moses when he was on the mount with God, or perhaps at it, when He called to Moses out of the tabernacle of the congregation (Lev. 1:1), and began instructing the children of Israel on how to offer their oblations to the Lord in the tabernacle which they made for Him in the wilderness of Sinai. As I, myself, get confused by the different types of sacrifices, I am including parts of a summary made by Adam Clarke of "a general account of them, and a definition of the original terms, as well as of all others relative to this subject which are used in the Old Testament, and the reference in which they all stood to the great sacrifice offered by Christ." The list format and ideas are Clarke's, of which I only included some, but the words are generally mine and not exact quotes:
1. Asham - Trespass Offering - From "asham" meaning "guilt". I couldn't help but note the similarity to our word "ashame". In this sacrifice guilt was considered as being transferred to the animal offered up to God, and the offerer was redeemed from the penalty of his sin. Christ is said to have made His soul an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10).
2. Chattaah - Sin Offering - From "chata" meaning "to miss", to miss the mark, to sin. The sin offering was an acknowledgement of guilt in having missed the mark of God's and also of the sinner's intent to return to God.
3. Minchah - Grain Offering - Although I did not see this specifically when I studied the word origin, Clarke said that this came from the word "nach", meaning "to rest, settle after toil". He suggested it may have its name from that rest from labor or toil which a man had when the fruits of the harvest were brought in.
4. Nedabah - Free Will or Voluntary Offering (Lev. 7:16) - From "nadab" meaning "to be free, liberal". This offering was not commanded, but was given in gratitude to God for special mercies, or for some vow voluntarily taken.
5. Olah - Burnt Offering - From "alah" meaning "to ascend", because this offering, being wholly consumed by fire, ascended to God in smoke and vapor. Clarke pointed out this "was a very expressive type of the sacrifice of Christ, as nothing less than his complete and full sacrifice could make atonement for the sin of the world. In most other offerings the priest, and often the offerer, had a share, but in the whole burnt-offering all was given to God."
6. Shelamim - Peace Offering - Clarke said the word for the peace offering was "shelamim", but I see it in verses 11 and 37 as "shelem", from the root "shalam" meaning "to be completed, made whole". By these offerings that which was lacking or broken by sin was made whole. The sinner could again be at peace in a covenant of peace with his Lord. Ephesians 2:14 says that Christ is our peace; He was the ultimate peace offering that healed the breach between God and man.
7. Tenuphah - Wave Offering - From the root "nuph" meaning "to wave". It was an offering to God, waved before Him, back and forth, from right hand to the left, in an expression and acknowledgement of God's providential goodness.
8. Terumah - Heave Offering - From "rum", "to lift up". This offering was lifted or heaved up to heaven. The wave offering was waved from left to right, and the heave offering up and down. As has been suggested before, these motions formed a cross and were symbolic of the coming Messiah who would die on a cross.
