19 And ye shall sacrifice one buck of the goats for a sin-offering, and two he-lambs, yearlings, for a sacrifice of peace-offering.
And if his offering be a sacrifice of peace-offering, -- if he present [it] of the herd, whether a male or female, he shall present it without blemish before Jehovah. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and slaughter it at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood on the altar round about. And he shall present of the sacrifice of peace-offering an offering by fire to Jehovah; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is on the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the net above the liver which he shall take away as far as the kidneys; and Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt-offering which [lieth] on the wood that is upon the fire: [it is] an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour. And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace-offering to Jehovah be of small cattle, male or female, he shall present it without blemish. If he present a sheep for his offering, then shall he present it before Jehovah, and shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and slaughter it before the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about. And he shall present of the sacrifice of peace-offering an offering by fire to Jehovah; the fat thereof, the whole fat tail, which he shall take off close by the backbone, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is on the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the net above the liver which he shall take away as far as the kidneys; and the priest shall burn it on the altar: [it is] the food of the offering by fire to Jehovah. And if his offering be a goat, then he shall present it before Jehovah. And he shall lay his hand on the head of it, and slaughter it before the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof on the altar round about. And he shall present thereof his offering, an offering by fire to Jehovah; the fat that covereth the inwards and all the fat that is on the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the net above the liver which he shall take away as far as the kidneys; and the priest shall burn them on the altar: [it is] the food of the offering by fire for a sweet odour. All the fat [shall be] Jehovah's. [It is] an everlasting statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings: no fat and no blood shall ye eat.
if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge, he shall bring his offering, a buck of the goats, a male without blemish. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and slaughter it at the place where they slaughter the burnt-offering before Jehovah: it is a sin-offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out its blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering. And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him [to cleanse him] from his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. And if any one of the people of the land sin through inadvertence, that he do [somewhat against] any of the commandments of Jehovah [in things] which should not be done, and be guilty; if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge, then he shall bring his offering, a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.
And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offering, which [a man] shall present to Jehovah. If he present it for a thanksgiving, then he shall present with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and fine flour saturated with oil, cakes mingled with oil. Besides the cakes, he shall present his offering of leavened bread with the sacrifice of his peace-offering of thanksgiving. And of it he shall present one out of the whole offering as a heave-offering to Jehovah; to the priest that sprinkleth the blood of the peace-offering, to him it shall belong. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offering of thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is presented; he shall not let any of it remain until the morning. And if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or voluntary, it shall be eaten the same day that he presented his sacrifice; on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten; and the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire. And if [any] of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offering be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, it shall not be reckoned to him that hath presented it; it shall be an unclean thing, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.
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Commentary on Leviticus 23 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 23
Le 23:1-4. Of Sundry Feasts.
2. Speak unto the children of Israel, … concerning the feasts of the Lord—literally, "the times of assembling, or solemnities" (Isa 33:20); and this is a preferable rendering, applicable to all sacred seasons mentioned in this chapter, even the day of atonement, which was observed as a fast. They were appointed by the direct authority of God and announced by a public proclamation, which is called "the joyful sound" (Ps 89:15). Those "holy convocations" were evidences of divine wisdom, and eminently subservient to the maintenance and diffusion of religious knowledge and piety.
3. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest—(See on Ex 20:8). The Sabbath has the precedence given to it, and it was to be "a holy convocation," observed by families "in their dwellings"; where practicable, by the people repairing to the door of the tabernacle; at later periods, by meeting in the schools of the prophets, and in synagogues.
4. These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons—Their observance took place in the parts of the year corresponding to our March, May, and September. Divine wisdom was manifested in fixing them at those periods; in winter, when the days were short and the roads broken up, a long journey was impracticable; while in summer the harvest and vintage gave busy employment in the fields. Besides, another reason for the choice of those seasons probably was to counteract the influence of Egyptian associations and habits. And God appointed more sacred festivals for the Israelites in the month of September than the people of Egypt had in honor of their idols. These institutions, however, were for the most part prospective, the observance being not binding on the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness, while the regular celebration was not to commence till their settlement in Canaan.
Le 23:5-8. The Passover.
5. the Lord's passover—(See Ex 12:2, 14, 18). The institution of the passover was intended to be a perpetual memorial of the circumstances attending the redemption of the Israelites, while it had a typical reference to a greater redemption to be effected for God's spiritual people. On the first and last days of this feast, the people were forbidden to work [Le 23:7, 8]; but while on the Sabbath they were not to do any work, on feast days they were permitted to dress meat—and hence the prohibition is restricted to "no servile work." At the same time, those two days were devoted to "holy convocation"—special seasons of social devotion. In addition to the ordinary sacrifices of every day, there were to be "offerings by fire" on the altar (see Nu 28:19), while unleavened bread was to be eaten in families all the seven days (see 1Co 5:8).
Le 23:9-14. The Sheaf of First Fruits.
10. ye shall bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest—A sheaf, literally, an omer, of the first-fruits of the barley harvest. The barley being sooner ripe than the other grains, the reaping of it formed the commencement of the general harvest season. The offering described in this passage was made on the sixteenth of the first month, the day following the first Passover Sabbath, which was on the fifteenth (corresponding to the beginning of our April); but it was reaped after sunset on the previous evening by persons deputed to go with sickles and obtain samples from different fields. These, being laid together in a sheaf or loose bundle, were brought to the court of the temple, where the grain was winnowed, parched, and bruised in a mortar. Then, after some incense had been sprinkled on it, the priest waved the sheaf aloft before the Lord towards the four different points of the compass, took a part of it and threw it into the fire of the altar—all the rest being reserved to himself. It was a proper and beautiful act, expressive of dependence on the God of nature and providence—common among all people, but more especially becoming the Israelites, who owed their land itself as well as all it produced to the divine bounty. The offering of the wave-sheaf sanctified the whole harvest (Ro 11:16). At the same time, this feast had a typical character, and pre-intimated the resurrection of Christ (1Co 15:20), who rose from the dead on the very day the first-fruits were offered.
Le 23:15-22. Feast of Pentecost.
15. ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath—that is, after the first day of the passover week, which was observed as a Sabbath.
16. number fifty days—The forty-ninth day after the presentation of the first-fruits, or the fiftieth, including it, was the feast of Pentecost. (See also Ex 23:16; De 16:9).
17. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals, &c.—These loaves were made of "fine" or wheaten flour, the quantity contained in them being somewhat more than ten pounds in weight. As the wave-sheaf gave the signal for the commencement, the two loaves solemnized the termination of the harvest season. They were the first-fruits of that season, being offered unto the Lord by the priest in name of the whole nation. (See Ex 34:22). The loaves used at the Passover were unleavened; those presented at Pentecost were leavened—a difference which is thus accounted for, that the one was a memorial of the bread hastily prepared at their departure, while the other was a tribute of gratitude to God for their daily food, which was leavened.
21. ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein—Though it extended over a week, the first day only was held as a Sabbath, both for the national offering of first-fruits and a memorial of the giving of the law.
22. thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, &c.—(See on Le 19:9). The repetition of this law here probably arose from the priests reminding the people, at the presentation of the first-fruits, to unite piety to God with charity to the poor.
Le 23:23-25. Feast of Trumpets.
24. In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath—That was the first day of the ancient civil year.
a memorial of blowing of trumpets—Jewish writers say that the trumpets were sounded thirty successive times, and the reason for the institution was for the double purpose of announcing the commencement of the new year, which was (Le 23:25) to be religiously observed (see Nu 29:3), and of preparing the people for the approaching solemn feast.
27-32. there shall be a day of atonement … and ye shall afflict your souls—an unusual festival, at which the sins of the whole year were expiated. (See Le 16:29-34). It is here only stated that the severest penalty was incurred by the violation of this day.
34-44. the feast of tabernacles, for seven days unto the Lord—This festival, which was instituted in grateful commemoration of the Israelites having securely dwelt in booths or tabernacles in the wilderness, was the third of the three great annual festivals, and, like the other two, it lasted a week. It began on the fifteenth day of the month, corresponding to the end of our September and beginning of October, which was observed as a Sabbath; and it could be celebrated only at the place of the sanctuary, offerings being made on the altar every day of its continuance. The Jews were commanded during the whole period of the festival to dwell in booths, which were erected on the flat roofs of houses, in the streets or fields; and the trees made use of are by some stated to be the citron, the palm, the myrtle, and the willow, while others maintain the people were allowed to take any trees they could obtain that were distinguished for verdure and fragrance. While the solid branches were reserved for the construction of the booths, the lighter branches were carried by men, who marched in triumphal procession, singing psalms and crying "Hosanna!" which signifies, "Save, we beseech thee!" (Ps 118:15, 25, 26). It was a season of great rejoicing. But the ceremony of drawing water from the pool, which was done on the last day, seems to have been the introduction of a later period (Joh 7:37). That last day was the eighth, and, on account of the scene at Siloam, was called "the great day of the feast." The feast of ingathering, when the vintage was over, was celebrated also on that day [Ex 23:16; 34:22], and, as the conclusion of one of the great festivals, it was kept as a sabbath.