1 And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:
2 And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD:
3 And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.
4 And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
5 And if thy oblation be a meat offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.
6 Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering.
7 And if thy oblation be a meat offering baked in the frying pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.
8 And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the LORD: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar.
9 And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
10 And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.
11 No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.
12 As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savor.
13 And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.
14 And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.
15 And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering.
16 And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
1 And when any H5315 will offer H7126 a meat H4503 offering H7133 unto the LORD, H3068 his offering H7133 shall be of fine flour; H5560 and he shall pour H3332 oil H8081 upon it, and put H5414 frankincense H3828 thereon:
2 And he shall bring H935 it to Aaron's H175 sons H1121 the priests: H3548 and he shall take H7061 thereout H8033 his handful H7062 H4393 of the flour H5560 thereof, and of the oil H8081 thereof, with all the frankincense H3828 thereof; and the priest H3548 shall burn H6999 the memorial H234 of it upon the altar, H4196 to be an offering made by fire, H801 of a sweet H5207 savour H7381 unto the LORD: H3068
3 And the remnant H3498 of the meat offering H4503 shall be Aaron's H175 and his sons': H1121 it is a thing most H6944 holy H6944 of the offerings H801 of the LORD H3068 made by fire. H801
4 And if thou bring H7126 an oblation H7133 of a meat offering H4503 baken H3989 in the oven, H8574 it shall be unleavened H4682 cakes H2471 of fine flour H5560 mingled H1101 with oil, H8081 or unleavened H4682 wafers H7550 anointed H4886 with oil. H8081
5 And if thy oblation H7133 be a meat offering H4503 baken in a pan, H4227 it shall be of fine flour H5560 unleavened, H4682 mingled H1101 with oil. H8081
6 Thou shalt part H6626 it in pieces, H6595 and pour H3332 oil H8081 thereon: it is a meat offering. H4503
7 And if thy oblation H7133 be a meat offering H4503 baken in the fryingpan, H4802 it shall be made H6213 of fine flour H5560 with oil. H8081
8 And thou shalt bring H935 the meat offering H4503 that is made H6213 of these things unto the LORD: H3068 and when it is presented H7126 unto the priest, H3548 he shall bring H5066 it unto the altar. H4196
9 And the priest H3548 shall take H7311 from the meat offering H4503 a memorial H234 thereof, and shall burn H6999 it upon the altar: H4196 it is an offering made by fire, H801 of a sweet H5207 savour H7381 unto the LORD. H3068
10 And that which is left H3498 of the meat offering H4503 shall be Aaron's H175 and his sons': H1121 it is a thing most H6944 holy H6944 of the offerings H801 of the LORD H3068 made by fire. H801
11 No meat offering, H4503 which ye shall bring H7126 unto the LORD, H3068 shall be made H6213 with leaven: H2557 for ye shall burn H6999 no leaven, H7603 nor any honey, H1706 in any offering H801 of the LORD H3068 made by fire. H801
12 As for the oblation H7133 of the firstfruits, H7225 ye shall offer H7126 them unto the LORD: H3068 but they shall not be burnt H5927 on the altar H4196 for a sweet H5207 savour. H7381
13 And every oblation H7133 of thy meat offering H4503 shalt thou season H4414 with salt; H4417 neither shalt thou suffer the salt H4417 of the covenant H1285 of thy God H430 to be lacking H7673 from thy meat offering: H4503 with all thine offerings H7133 thou shalt offer H7126 salt. H4417
14 And if thou offer H7126 a meat offering H4503 of thy firstfruits H1061 unto the LORD, H3068 thou shalt offer H7126 for the meat offering H4503 of thy firstfruits H1061 green ears H24 of corn dried H7033 by the fire, H784 even corn beaten H1643 out of full ears. H3759
15 And thou shalt put H5414 oil H8081 upon it, and lay H7760 frankincense H3828 thereon: it is a meat offering. H4503
16 And the priest H3548 shall burn H6999 the memorial H234 of it, part of the beaten corn H1643 thereof, and part of the oil H8081 thereof, with all the frankincense H3828 thereof: it is an offering made by fire H801 unto the LORD. H3068
1 And when any one offereth an oblation of a meal-offering unto Jehovah, his oblation shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:
2 and he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests; and he shall take thereout his handful of the fine flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn `it as' the memorial thereof upon the altar, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto Jehovah:
3 and that which is left of the meal-offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of Jehovah made by fire.
4 And when thou offerest an oblation of a meal-offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
5 And if thy oblation be a meal-offering of the baking-pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.
6 Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meal-offering.
7 And if thy oblation be a meal-offering of the frying-pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.
8 And thou shalt bring the meal-offering that is made of these things unto Jehovah: and it shall be presented unto the priest, and he shall bring it unto the altar.
9 And the priest shall take up from the meal-offering the memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto Jehovah.
10 And that which is left of the meal-offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of Jehovah made by fire.
11 No meal-offering, which ye shall offer unto Jehovah, shall be made with leaven; for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, as an offering made by fire unto Jehovah.
12 As an oblation of first -`fruits' ye shall offer them unto Jehovah: but they shall not come up for a sweet savor on the altar.
13 And every oblation of thy meal-offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meal-offering: with all thine oblations thou shalt offer salt.
14 And if thou offer a meal-offering of first-fruits unto Jehovah, thou shalt offer for the meal-offering of thy first-fruits grain in the ear parched with fire, bruised grain of the fresh ear.
15 And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meal-offering.
16 And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the bruised grain thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto Jehovah.
1 `And when a person bringeth near an offering, a present to Jehovah, of flour is his offering, and he hath poured on it oil, and hath put on it frankincense;
2 and he hath brought it in unto the sons of Aaron, the priests, and he hath taken from thence the fulness of his hand of its flour and of its oil, besides all its frankincense, and the priest hath made perfume with its memorial on the altar, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah;
3 and the remnant of the present `is' for Aaron and for his sons, most holy, of the fire-offerings of Jehovah.
4 `And when thou bringest near an offering, a present baked in an oven, `it is of' unleavened cakes of flour mixed with oil, or thin unleavened cakes anointed with oil.
5 `And if thine offering `is' a present `made' on the girdel, it is of flour, mixed with oil, unleavened;
6 divide thou it into parts, and thou hast poured on it oil; it `is' a present.
7 `And if thine offering `is' a present `made' on the frying-pan, of flour with oil it is made,
8 and thou hast brought in the present which is made of these to Jehovah, and `one' hath brought it near unto the priest, and he hath brought it nigh unto the altar,
9 and the priest hath lifted up from the present its memorial, and hath made perfume on the altar, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah;
10 and the remnant of the present `is' for Aaron and for his sons, most holy, of the fire-offerings of Jehovah.
11 No present which ye bring near to Jehovah is made fermented, for with any leaven or any honey ye perfume no fire-offering to Jehovah.
12 `An offering of first-`fruits' -- ye bring them near to Jehovah, but on the altar they go not up, for sweet fragrance.
13 And every offering -- thy present -- with salt thou dost season, and thou dost not let the salt of the covenant of thy God cease from thy present; with all thine offerings thou dost bring near salt.
14 `And if thou bring near a present of first-ripe `fruits' to Jehovah, -- of green ears, roasted with fire, beaten out `corn' of a fruitful field thou dost bring near the present of thy first-ripe `fruits',
15 and thou hast put on it oil, and laid on it frankincense, it `is' a present;
16 and the priest hath made perfume with its memorial from its beaten out `corn', and from its oil, besides all its frankincense -- a fire-offering to Jehovah.
1 And when any one will present an oblation to Jehovah, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense thereon.
2 And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests; and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial thereof on the altar, an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour.
3 And the remainder of the oblation shall be Aaron's and his sons': [it is] most holy of Jehovah's offerings by fire.
4 And if thou present an offering of an oblation baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
5 And if thine offering be an oblation [baken] on the pan, it shall be fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.
6 Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is an oblation.
7 And if thine offering be an oblation [prepared] in the cauldron, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.
8 And thou shalt bring the oblation that is made of these things to Jehovah; and it shall be presented to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar.
9 And the priest shall take from the oblation a memorial thereof, and shall burn it on the altar, an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour.
10 And the remainder of the oblation [shall be] Aaron's and his sons': [it is] most holy of Jehovah's offerings by fire.
11 No oblation which ye shall present to Jehovah shall be made with leaven; for no leaven and no honey shall ye burn [in] any fire-offering to Jehovah.
12 As to the offering of the first-fruits, ye shall present them to Jehovah; but they shall not be offered upon the altar for a sweet odour.
13 And every offering of thine oblation shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thine oblation: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.
14 And if thou present an oblation of thy first-fruits to Jehovah, thou shalt present as the oblation of thy first-fruits green ears of corn roasted in fire, corn beaten out of full ears.
15 And thou shalt put oil on it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is an oblation.
16 And the priest shall burn the memorial thereof, [part] of the beaten corn thereof, and [part] of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: [it is] an offering by fire to Jehovah.
1 "'When anyone offers an offering of a meal offering to Yahweh, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it.
2 He shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests; and he shall take his handful of its fine flour, and of its oil, with all its frankincense; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it on the altar, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to Yahweh.
3 That which is left of the meal offering shall be Aaron's and his sons'. It is a most holy thing of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire.
4 "'When you offer an offering of a meal offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
5 If your offering is a meal offering of the baking pan, it shall be of unleavened fine flour, mixed with oil.
6 You shall cut it in pieces, and pour oil on it. It is a meal offering.
7 If your offering is a meal offering of the frying pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.
8 You shall bring the meal offering that is made of these things to Yahweh: and it shall be presented to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar.
9 The priest shall take from the meal offering its memorial, and shall burn it on the altar, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to Yahweh.
10 That which is left of the meal offering shall be Aaron's and his sons'. It is a thing most holy of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire.
11 "'No meal offering, which you shall offer to Yahweh, shall be made with yeast; for you shall burn no yeast, nor any honey, as an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
12 As an offering of firstfruits you shall offer them to Yahweh: but they shall not come up for a sweet savor on the altar.
13 Every offering of your meal offering you shall season with salt; neither shall you allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your meal offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.
14 "'If you offer a meal offering of first fruits to Yahweh, you shall offer for the meal offering of your first fruits grain in the ear parched with fire, bruised grain of the fresh ear.
15 You shall put oil on it, and lay frankincense on it: it is a meal offering.
16 The priest shall burn as its memorial, part of its bruised grain, and part of its oil, along with all its frankincense: it is an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
1 And when anyone makes a meal offering to the Lord, let his offering be of the best meal, with oil on it and perfume:
2 And let him take it to Aaron's sons, the priests; and having taken in his hand some of the meal and of the oil, with all the perfume, let him give it to the priest to be burned on the altar, as a sign, an offering made by fire, for a sweet smell to the Lord.
3 And the rest of the meal offering will be for Aaron and his sons; it is most holy among the Lord's fire offerings.
4 And when you give a meal offering cooked in the oven, let it be of unleavened cakes of the best meal mixed with oil, or thin unleavened cakes covered with oil.
5 And if you give a meal offering cooked on a flat plate, let it be of the best meal, unleavened and mixed with oil.
6 Let it be broken into bits, and put oil on it; it is a meal offering.
7 And if your offering is of meal cooked in fat over the fire, let it be made of the best meal mixed with oil.
8 And you are to give the meal offering made of these things to the Lord, and let the priest take it to the altar.
9 And he is to take from the meal offering a part, for a sign, burning it on the altar; an offering made by fire for a sweet smell to the Lord.
10 And the rest of the meal offering will be for Aaron and his sons; it is most holy among the Lord's fire offerings.
11 No meal offering which you give to the Lord is to be made with leaven; no leaven or honey is to be burned as an offering made by fire to the Lord.
12 You may give them as an offering of first-fruits to the Lord, but they are not to go up as a sweet smell on the altar.
13 And every meal offering is to be salted with salt; your meal offering is not to be without the salt of the agreement of your God: with all your offerings give salt.
14 And if you give a meal offering of first-fruits to the Lord, give, as your offering of first-fruits, new grain, made dry with fire, crushed new grain.
15 And put oil on it and perfume: it is a meal offering.
16 And part of the meal of the offering and part of the oil and all the perfume is to be burned for a sign by the priest: it is an offering made by fire to the Lord.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Leviticus 2
Commentary on Leviticus 2 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The first kind consisted of soleth , probably from סלה = סלל to swing, swung flour, like πάλη from πάλλω , i.e., fine flour; and for this no doubt wheaten flour was always used, even when חטּים is not added, as in Exodus 29:2, to distinguish it from קמח , or ordinary meal ( σεμίδαλις : 1 Kings 5:2). The suffix in קרבּנו (his offering) refers to נפשׁ , which is frequently construed as both masculine and feminine (Leviticus 4:2, Leviticus 4:27-28, Leviticus 2:1, etc.), or as masculine only (Numbers 31:28) in the sense of person, any one. “ And let him pour oil upon it, and put incense thereon (or add incense to it).” This was not spread upon the flour, on which oil had been poured, but added in such a way, that it could be lifted from the minchah and burned upon the altar (Leviticus 2:2). The priest was then to take a handful of the gift that had been presented, and cause the azcarah of it to evaporate above (together with) all the incense. קמצו מלא : the filling of his closed hand, i.e., as much as he could hold with his hand full, not merely with three fingers, as the Rabbins affirm. Azcarah (from זכר , formed like אשׁמרה from שׁמר ) is only applied to Jehovah's portion, which was burned upon the altar in the case of the meat-offering (Leviticus 2:9, Leviticus 2:16, and Leviticus 6:8), the sin-offering of flour (Leviticus 5:11), and the jealousy-offering (Numbers 5:26), and to the incense added to the shew-bread (Leviticus 24:7). It does not mean the prize portion, i.e., the portion offered for the glory of God, as De Dieu and Rosenmüller maintain, still less the fragrance-offering ( Ewald ), but the memorial, or remembrance-portion, μνημόσυνον or ἀνάμνησις (Leviticus 24:7, lxx), memoriale ( Vulg .), inasmuch as that part of the minchah which was placed upon the altar ascended in the smoke of the fire “on behalf of the giver, as a practical mememto ('remember me') to Jehovah:” though there is no necessity that we should trace the word to the Hiphil in consequence. The rest of the minchah was to belong to Aaron and his sons, i.e., to the priesthood, as a most holy thing of the firings of Jehovah. The term “most holy” is applied to all the sacrificial gifts that were consecrated to Jehovah, in this sense, that such portions as were not burned upon the altar were to be eaten by the priests alone in a holy place; the laity, and even such of the Levites as were not priests, being prohibited from partaking of them (see at Exodus 26:33 and Exodus 30:10). Thus the independent meat-offerings, which were not entirely consumed upon the altar (Leviticus 2:3, Leviticus 2:10, Leviticus 6:10; Leviticus 10:12), the sin-offerings and trespass-offerings, the flesh of which was not burned outside the camp (Leviticus 6:18, Leviticus 6:22; Leviticus 7:1, Leviticus 7:6; Leviticus 10:17; Leviticus 14:13; Numbers 18:9), the shew-bread (Leviticus 24:9), and even objects put under the ban and devoted to the Lord, whether men, cattle, or property of other kinds (Leviticus 27:28), as well as the holy incense (Exodus 30:36), - in fact, all the holy sacrificial gifts, in which there was any fear lest a portion should be perverted to other objects, - were called most holy; whereas the burnt-offerings, the priestly meat-offerings (Leviticus 6:12-16) and other sacrifices, which were quite as holy, were not called most holy, because the command to burn them entirely precluded the possibility of their being devoted to any of the ordinary purposes of life.
The second kind consisted of pastry of fine flour and oil prepared in different forms. The first was maapheh tannur , oven-baking: by תּנּוּר we are not to understand a baker's over (Hosea 7:4, Hosea 7:6), but a large pot in the room, such as are used for baking cakes in the East even to the present day (see my Archäol. §99, 4). The oven-baking might consist either of “ cakes of unleavened meal mixed (made) with oil, ” or of “ pancakes of unleavened meal anointed (smeared) with oil .” Challoth : probably from חלל to pierce, perforated cakes, of a thicker kind. Rekkim : from רקק to be beaten out thin; hence cakes or pancakes. As the latter were to be smeared with oil, we cannot understand בּלוּל as signifying merely the pouring of oil upon the baked cakes, but must take it in the sense of mingled, mixed, i.e., kneaded with oil (pefurame'nous lxx, or according to Hesychius , μεμιγμένους ).
Leviticus 2:5-6
Secondly, if the minchah was an offering upon the pan, it was also to be made of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened. Machabath is a pan, made, according to Ezekiel 4:3, of iron-no doubt a large iron plate, such as the Arabs still use for baking unleavened bread in large round cakes made flat and thin (Robinson, Palestine i. 50, ii. 180). These girdles or flat pans are still in use among the Turcomans of Syria and the Armenians (see Burckhardt, Syr. p. 1003; Tavernier, Reise 1, p. 280), whilst the Berbians and Cabyles of Africa use shallow iron frying-pans for the purpose, and call them tajen , - the same name, no doubt, as τήγανον , with which the lxx have rendered machabath . These cakes were to be broken in pieces for the minchah , and oil to be poured upon them (the inf. abs. as in Exodus 13:3; Exodus 20:8, vid., Ges. §131, 4); just as the Bedouins break the cakes which they bake in the hot ashes into small pieces, and prepare them for eating by pouring butter or oil upon them.
Leviticus 2:7
Thirdly, “ If thy oblation be a tigel - minchah , it shall be made of fine flour with oil .” Marchesheth is not a gridiron ( ἔσχαρα , lxx); but, as it is derived from חרשׁ , ebullivit , it must apply to a vessel in which food was boiled. We have therefore to think of cakes boiled in oil.
The presentation of the minchah “made of these things,” i.e., of the different kinds of pastry mentioned in Leviticus 2:4-7, resembled in the main that described in Leviticus 2:1-3. The מן הרים in Leviticus 2:9 corresponds to the מן קמץ in Leviticus 2:2, and does not denote any special ceremony of heaving, as is supposed by the Rabbins and many archaeological writers, who understand by it a solemn movement up and down. This will be evident from a comparison of Leviticus 3:3 with Leviticus 4:8, Leviticus 4:31, Leviticus 4:35, and Leviticus 7:3. In the place of ממּנּוּ ירים in Leviticus 4:8 we find מזּבח הקריב in Leviticus 4:10, חלב חוּסר כּאשׁר חוּ in Leviticus 4:31 and Leviticus 4:35; so that מן הרים evidently denotes simply the lifting off or removal of those parts which were to be burned upon the altar from the rest of the sacrifice (cf. Bähr, ii. 357, and my Archäologie i. p. 244-5). - In Leviticus 2:11-13 there follow two laws which were applicable to all the meat-offerings: viz., to offer nothing leavened (Leviticus 2:11), and to salt every meat-offering, and in fact every sacrifice, with salt (Leviticus 2:13). Every minchah was to be prepared without leaven: “ for all leaven, and all honey, ye shall not burn a firing of it for Jehovah. As an offering of first-fruits ye may offer them (leaven and honey, i.e., pastry made with them) to Jehovah, but they shall not come upon the altar .” Leaven and honey are mentioned together as things which produce fermentation. Honey has also an acidifying or fermenting quality, and was even used for the preparation of vinegar (Plin. h. n. 11, 15; 21, 14). In rabbinical writings, therefore, הדבישׁ signifies not only dulcedinem admittere , but corrumpsi, fermentari, fermentescere (vid., Buxtorf, lex. chald. talm. et rabb. p. 500). By “honey” we are to understand not grape-honey, the dibs of the Arabs, as Rashi and Bähr do, but the honey of bees; for, according to 2 Chronicles 31:5, this alone was offered as an offering of first-fruits along with corn, new wine, and oil; and in fact, as a rule, this was the only honey used by the ancients in sacrifice (see Bochart, Hieroz . iii. pp. 393ff.). The loaves of first-fruits at the feast of Weeks were leavened; but they were assigned to the priests, and not burned upon the altar (Leviticus 23:17, Leviticus 23:20). So also were the cakes offered with the vow-offerings, which were applied to the sacrificial meal (Leviticus 7:13); but not the shew-bread, as Knobel maintains (see at Leviticus 24:5.). Whilst leaven and honey were forbidden to be used with any kind of minchah , because of their producing fermentation and corruption, salt on the other hand was not to be omitted from any sacrificial offering. “ Thou shalt not let the salt of the covenant of thy God cease from thy meat-offering, ” i.e., thou shalt never offer a meat-offering without salt. The meaning which the salt, with its power to strengthen food and preserve it from putrefaction and corruption, imparted to the sacrifice, was the unbending truthfulness of that self-surrender to the Lord embodied in the sacrifice, by which all impurity and hypocrisy were repelled. The salt of the sacrifice is called the salt of the covenant, because in common life salt was the symbol of covenant; treaties being concluded and rendered firm and inviolable, according to a well-known custom of the ancient Greeks (see Eustathius ad Iliad . i. 449) which is still retained among the Arabs, by the parties to an alliance eating bread and salt together, as a sign of the treaty which they had made. As a covenant of this kind was called a “covenant of salt,” equivalent to an indissoluble covenant (Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5), so here the salt added to the sacrifice is designated as salt of the covenant of God, because of its imparting strength and purity to the sacrifice, by which Israel was strengthened and fortified in covenant fellowship with Jehovah. The following clause, “upon (with) every sacrificial gift of thine shalt thou offer salt,” is not to be restricted to the meat-offering, as Knobel supposes, nor to be understood as meaning that the salt was only to be added to the sacrifice externally, to be offered with or beside it; in which case the strewing of salt upon the different portions of the sacrifice (Ezekiel 43:24; Mark 9:49) would have been a departure from the ancient law. For korban without any further definition denotes the sacrificial offerings generally, the bleeding quite as much as the bloodless, and the closer definition of על הקריב (offer upon) is contained in the first clause of the verse, “season with salt.” The words contain a supplementary rule which was applicable to every sacrifice (bleeding and bloodless), and was so understood from time immemorial by the Jews themselves (cf. Josephus, Ant. iii. 9, 1).
(Note: The Greeks and Romans also regarded salt as indispensable to a sacrifice. Maxime in sacris intelligitur auctoritas salis, quando nulla conficiuntur sine mola salsa . Plin. h. n. 31, 7, (cf. 41).)
The third kind was the meat-offering of first-fruits, i.e., of the first ripening corn. This was to be offered in the form of “ ears parched or roasted by the fire; in other words, to be made from ears which had been roasted at the fire. To this is added the further definition כּרמל גּרשׂ “rubbed out of field-fruit.” גּרשׂ , from גּרשׂ = גּרס , to rub to pieces, that which is rubbed to pieces; it only occurs here and in Leviticus 2:14 and Leviticus 2:16. כּרמל is applied generally to a corn-field, in Isaiah 29:17 and Isaiah 32:16 to cultivated ground, as distinguished from desert; here, and in Leviticus 23:14 and 2 Kings 4:42, it is used metonymically for field-fruit, and denotes early or the first-ripe corn. Corn roasted by the fire, particularly grains of wheat, is still a very favourite food in Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. The ears are either burnt along with the stalks before they are quite ripe, and then rubbed out in a sieve; or stalks of wheat are bound up in small bundles and roasted at a bright fire, and then the grains are eaten ( Seetzen , i. p. 94, iii. p. 221; Robinson, Biblical Researches , p. 393). Corn roasted in this manner is not so agreeable as when (as is frequently the case in harvest, Ruth 2:14) the grains of wheat are taken before they are quite dry and hard, and parched in a pan or upon an iron plate, and then eaten either along with or in the place of bread (Robinson, Pal. ii. 394). The minchah mentioned here was prepared in the first way, viz., of roasted ears of corn, which were afterwards rubbed to obtain the grains: it consisted, therefore, not of crushed corn or groats, but only of toasted grains. In the place of קלוּי אביב we find קלי (Leviticus 23:14), or קלוּי (Joshua 5:11), afterwards employed. Oil and incense were to be added, and the same course adopted with the offering as in the case of the offering of flour (Leviticus 2:2, Leviticus 2:3).
If therefore, all the meat-offerings consisted either of flour and oil-the most important ingredients in the vegetable food of the Israelites, - or of food already prepared for eating, there can be no doubt that in them the Israelite offered his daily bread to the Lord, though in a manner which made an essential difference between them and the merely dedicatory offerings of the first-fruits of corn and bread. For whilst the loaves of first-fruits were leavened, and, as in the case of the sheaf of first-fruits, no part of them was burnt upon the altar (Leviticus 23:10-11; 17, 20), every independent meat-offering was to be prepared without leaven, and a portion given to the Lord as fire-food, for a savour of satisfaction upon the altar; and the rest was to be scrupulously kept from being used by the offerer, as a most holy thing , and to be eaten at the holy place by the sanctified priests alone, as the servants of Jehovah, and the mediators between Him and the nation. On account of this peculiarity, the meat-offerings cannot have denoted merely the sanctification of earthly food, but were symbols of the spiritual food prepared and enjoyed by the congregation of the Lord. If even the earthly life is not sustained and nourished merely by the daily bread which a man procures and enjoys, but by the power of divine grace, which strengthens and blesses the food as means of preserving life; much less can the spiritual life be nourished by earthly food, but only by the spiritual food which a man prepares and partakes of, by the power of the Spirit of God, from the true bread of life, or the word of God. Now, as oil in the Scriptures is invariably a symbol of the Spirit of God as the principle of all spiritual vis vitae , so bread-flour and bread, procured from the seed of the field, are symbols of the word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3; Luke 8:11). As God gives man corn and oil to feed and nourish his bodily life, so He gives His people His word and Spirit, that they may draw food from these for the spiritual life of the inner man. The work of sanctification consists in the operation of this spiritual food, through the right use of the means of grace for growth in pious conversation and good works (Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12). The enjoyment of this food fills the inner man with peace, joy, and blessedness in God. This fruit of the spiritual life is shadowed forth in the meat-offerings. They were to be kept free, therefore, both from the leaven of hypocrisy (Luke 12:1) and of malice and wickedness (1 Corinthians 5:8), and also from the honey of the deliciae carnis , because both are destructive of spiritual life; whilst, on the other hand, the salt of the covenant of God (i.e., the purifying, strengthening, and quickening power of the covenant, by which moral corruption was averted) and the incense of prayer were both to be added, in order that the fruits of the spiritual life might become well-pleasing to the Lord. It was upon this signification that the most holy character of the meat-offerings was founded.