06 July 2014

EJ&T: Leviticus 7 - Trespass, wave, and heave offerings, plus how to eat your sacrificial animals

In the Every Jot and Tittle project, I am listing all of the Bible's commandments from Genesis to Revelation, in accordance with Jesus's words in Matthew 5:18-19. I have no idea how many commandments I'll find, but Jewish tradition claims there are 613. See here for a list of those that I've found so far.

  1. The law of the most holy trespass offering
  2. Kill the trespass offering in the same place that you killed your burnt offerings. Sprinkle the blood round about the altar, and burn on the altar the fat, rump, the fat that covers the internal organs, the kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the lower part of the liver. This is the most holy trespass offering.

    All the priests shall eat the trespass offering in the holy place after cooking it in the oven and/or frying pan. It is most holy. The priests also get to keep the skin of the trespass offering. They are to share the skin and the meat equally among themselves.

    This is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy. In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar. And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, 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 take away: And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering.

    Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy. As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it. And the priest that offereth any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered. And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest's that offereth it. And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another. Leviticus 7:1-10

  3. Rules for eating sacrificial animals
  4. A peace offering must be eaten the same day that the animal is killed. No leftovers are allowed.

    If the sacrifice is a vow or voluntary, you can eat some of the animal on the day it is killed and whatever is left over the next day.

    If any of the flesh of your peace offering touches any unclean thing, it shall not be eaten. Burn it with fire. But whatever is clean must be eaten.

    Don't eat any of the flesh from your peace offering if you have your uncleanness upon you, like the uncleanness of man, or an unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing. If you do, you will be exiled.

    And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. If any remains after the second day, it must be burned. If you eat any of the meat on the third day, God will reject your peace offering. It is an abomination to God you even try to eat any on the third day, and anyone who does so will be punished.

    But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten: But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire. And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.

    And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.

    But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. Moreover the soul that shall touch 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 pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. Leviticus 7:15-21

  5. The wave offering
  6. When you make your peace offering, wave the breast for a wave offering by holding the breast above your head waving it from side to side. After your done with that, the priest will burn the fat and eat the rest.

    Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings. His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD. ... For the wave breast ... have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel. 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 unto the LORD in the priest's office. Leviticus 7:29-34

  7. The heave offering
  8. Save the right shoulder of your peace offering for a heave offering. This is performed by holding the right shoulder above your head while moving it rapidly up and down. When you're finished with that, the priest will burn the fat and eat the rest.

    And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. ... The heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel. 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 unto the LORD in the priest's office. Leviticus 7:32-34

    More instructions on heave offerings are given in Numbers 15.

    When ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering unto the LORD. Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering: as ye do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, so shall ye heave it. Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations. Numbers 15:19-21

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