Verse 2

shall burn the memorial--rather, "for a memorial"; that is, a part of it.

Verse 3

the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons'--The circumstance of a portion of it being appropriated to the use of the priests distinguishes this from a burnt offering. They alone were to partake of it within the sacred precincts, as among "the most holy things."

Verse 4

if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in the oven--generally a circular hole excavated in the floor, from one to five feet deep, the sides of which are covered with hardened plaster, on which cakes are baked of the form and thickness of pancakes. (See on Gen 18:6). The shape of Eastern ovens varies considerably according to the nomadic or settled habits of the people.

Verse 5

baken in a pan--a thin plate, generally of copper or iron, placed on a slow fire, similar to what the country people in Scotland called a "girdle" for baking oatmeal cakes.

Verse 6

part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon--Pouring oil on bread is a common practice among Eastern people, who are fond of broken bread dipped in oil, butter, and milk. Oil only was used in the meat offerings, and probably for a symbolic reason. It is evident that these meat offerings were previously prepared by the offerer, and when brought, the priest was to take it from his hands and burn a portion on the altar.

Verse 11

ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord--Nothing sweet or sour was to be offered. In the warm climates of the East leavened bread soon spoils, and hence it was regarded as the emblem of hypocrisy or corruption. Some, however, think that the prohibition was that leaven and honey were used in the idolatrous rites of the heathen.

Verse 12

the oblation of the first-fruits--voluntary offerings made by individuals out of their increase, and leaven and honey might be used with these (Lev 23:17; Num 15:20). Though presented at the altar, they were not consumed, but assigned by God for the use of the priests.

Verse 13

every . . . meat offering shalt thou season with salt--The same reasons which led to the prohibition of leaven, recommended the use of salt--if the one soon putrefies, the other possesses a strongly preservative property, and hence it became an emblem of incorruption and purity, as well as of a perpetual covenant--a perfect reconciliation and lasting friendship. No injunction in the whole law was more sacredly observed than this application of salt; for besides other uses of it that will be noticed elsewhere, it had a typical meaning referred to by our Lord concerning the effect of the Gospel on those who embrace it (Mar 9:49-50); as when plentifully applied it preserves meat from spoiling, so will the Gospel keep men from being corrupted by sin. And as salt was indispensable to render sacrifices acceptable to God, so the Gospel, brought home to the hearts of men by the Holy Ghost, is indispensably requisite to their offering up of themselves as living sacrifices [BROWN].

Verse 14

a meat offering of thy first-fruits--From the mention of "green ears," this seems to have been a voluntary offering before the harvest--the ears being prepared in the favorite way of Eastern people, by parching them at the fire, and then beating them out for use. It was designed to be an early tribute of pious thankfulness for the earth's increase, and it was offered according to the usual directions. Next: Leviticus Chapter 3

Verse 1

And when any man will offer a meat offering unto the Lord,.... Or, "when a soul", and which Onkelos renders "a man", so called from his more noble part; and, as the Jews say, this word is used because the Minchah, or meat offering here spoken of, was a freewill offering, and was offered up with all the heart and soul; and one that offered in this manner, it was all one as if he offered his soul to the Lord (s): there were some meat offerings which were appointed and fixed at certain times, and were obliged to be offered, as at the daily sacrifice, the consecration of priests, the waving of the sheaf, &c. Exo 29:40 but this was a freewill offering; wherefore it is said, "when any man will offer"; the Hebrew word "a meat offering", may be derived from "to bring" or "offer", and so is a name common to offerings of any sort; or from to "recreate" and delight, it being of a sweet savour to the Lord, as other offerings were; others derive it from a root not in use, and in the Chaldee language signifies a gift or present, in which sense this word is used, Gen 32:13. his offering shall be of fine flour; of flour of wheat, Exo 29:2 for, as the Jews say, there is no fine flour but wheat, and this was for the meat offering, Ch1 21:23 and this was to be of the finest of the wheat; for all offerings, whether private or public, were to be of the best, and to be brought from those places which were noted for having the best; and the best places for fine flour were Mechmas and Mezonicha, and the next to them were Caphariim, in the valley; and though it might be taken out of any part of the land of Israel and used, yet it chiefly came from hence (t); and according to the Jewish writers (u); the least quantity of fine flour used in a meat offering was the tenth part of an ephah, which was about three pints and a half, and a fifth part of half a pint: Christ was prefigured by the meat offering; his sacrifice came in the room of it, and put an end to it, Psa 40:7 whose flesh is meat indeed, the true meat or bread, in distinction from this typical meat offering, Joh 6:55 the fine flour denotes the choiceness, excellency, and purity of Christ; the dignity of his person, the superiority of him to angels and men, being the chiefest, and chosen out of ten thousand; the purity of his human nature being free from the bran of original corruption, and the spotlessness of his sacrifice: and fine flour of wheat being that of which bread is made, which is the principal part of human sustenance, and what strengthens the heart of man, and nourishes him, and is the means of maintaining and supporting life; it is a fit emblem of Christ, the bread of life, by which the saints are supported in their spiritual life, and strengthened to perform vital acts, and are nourished up unto everlasting life, and who, as the meat offering, is called the bread of God, Lev 21:6 Joh 6:33. and he shall pour oil upon it; upon all of it, as Jarchi observes, because it was mingled with it, and it was the best oil that was used; and though it might be brought from any part of the land of Israel, which was a land of oil olive, yet the chief place for oil was Tekoah, and the next to it was Ragab beyond Jordan, and from hence it was usually brought (w); and the common quantity was a log, or half a pint, to a tenth deal of fine flour, as Gersom asserts from the wise men, and to which Maimonides (x) agrees; and Gersom on the place observes, that it is proper that some of the oil should be put in the lower part of the vessel, and after that the fine flour should put in it, and then he should pour some of it upon it and mix it: the oil denotes the grace of the Spirit poured out upon Christ without measure, the oil of gladness, with which he was anointed above his fellows, and from whence he has the name of Messiah or Christ, or Anointed; and with which he was anointed to be prophet, priest, and King, and which renders him very desirable and delightful to his people, his name being as ointment poured forth, Psa 45:7. and put frankincense thereon; on a part of it, as Jarchi's note is; and according to him, the man that brought the meat offering left an handful of frankincense upon it on one side; and the reason of this was, because it was not to be mixed with it as the oil was, and it was not to be taken in the handful with it (z); and the quantity of the frankincense, as Gersom says, was one handful: this denoted the sweet odour and acceptableness of Christ, the meat offering, both to God and to his people: it is an observation of the Jewish writers, that the pouring out of the oil on the fine flour, and mixing it with it, and putting on the frankincense, might be done by a stranger, by any man, by the man that brought the meat offering, but what follows after the bringing of it to the priest were done by him (a). (s) Jarchi, Aben Ezra, & Baal Hatturim, in loc. (t) Misn. Menachot, c. 8. sect. 1. (u) Jarchi & Gersom in loc. (w) Misn. Menachot, c. 8. sect. 3. (x) Hilchot Maaseh, Hakorbanot, c. 13. sect 5. (z) Vid T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 14. 2. (a) T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 9. 1. & 18. 2. & Pesachim, fol. 36. 1. & Jarchi in loc.

Verse 2

And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests,.... And this is all that he did with it; he left it with the priest, who carried it to the altar, to the southwest horn of it (b): the order of bringing it, according to Maimonides (c), was this,"a man brings fine flour from his house in baskets of silver or of gold or of other kind of metals, in a vessel fit to be a ministering vessel; and if it is a meat offering of fine flour, he puts it into a ministering vessel, and sanctifies it in a ministering vessel;''then did what follows: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof; as mixed together: the Jews say (d), this was done with the right hand, which is very likely, that being generally used in this way: the Talmudists thus describe the manner in which the handful was taken; the priest stretched out his three fingers over the palm of his hand, and gathered the handful in the plate or pan, and parted it off with his thumb above, and with his little finger below; and this was the most difficult piece of service in the sanctuary (e): though Maimonides (f) rejects this notion of difficulty, and says it was done in the common way, in which men take up a handful of anything: but Bartenora says (g), it was not in the usual way, but much as before described: the priest put the sides of his fingers into the flour, and gathered the flour with the sides of his fingers within his hand, and took of the flour only three fingers' full, upon the palm of his hand, and no more; and that it might not be heaped or go out, he pared it off, above with his thumb, and below with his little finger; and this he affirms, according to the Gemara, and what his masters had taught him, was one of the hardest pieces of service in the sanctuary: with all the frankincense thereof; this was not taken along with the handful of flour and oil; for if there was ever so small a quantity of frankincense in the handful it was not right (h); for the frankincense, when brought, was put on one side of the fine flour, and when the handful was taken, then that was taken altogether, and put upon it: and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar: that is, he was to burn the handful of fine flour and oil with the frankincense, as a "memorial"; either to put the Lord in mind of his lovingkindness to his people, and of his covenant with them, and promises unto them, to which the allusion is, Psa 20:3 or to put the offerer in mind of the great sacrifice of Christ, who was to be offered for his sins, and to be a meat offering to him: this was the part the Lord had in this offering, and which related to his worship, as the word used sometimes signifies, as De Dieu has observed: to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord; See Gill on Lev 1:9. (b) T. Bab. Sotah, ib. & Meaachot, fol. 8. 2. (c) Hilchot Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 13. sect. 12. (d) Misn. Menachot, c. 1. sect. 2. (e) T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 11. 1. (f) In Misn. Menachot, ib. (g) In ib. (h) Misn. ib. & Jarchi in loc.

Verse 3

And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons',.... Which not only shows the care taken by the Lord for the maintenance of the priests, from whence the apostle argues for the support of ministers of the Gospel, Co1 9:13 but denotes that such who are made priests unto God by Christ, have a right to feed upon Christ the meat offering by faith; who is that altar and meat offering, which none but such have a right to eat of: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire; some offerings with the Jews were only holy things, or, as they call them, "light" holy things, comparatively speaking; others were heavy holy things, or most holy; or, as it is in the original, "holiness of holiness", the most holy of all.

Verse 4

And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in an oven,.... This is another kind of meat offering, or in another form; the former was only fine flour and oil mixed together, and frankincense put on it, but this was made up into cakes, and baked in an oven, and not in anything else, according to the Jewish tradition (i); he that says, lo, upon me be a meat offering baked in an oven, he may not bring that baked otherwise; and this meat offering was made into cakes and wafers, and then baked, as follows: and it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil; which according to the Jews were made after this manner (k); the priest put the oil into a vessel before the making of it, then put the fine flour to it, and put oil upon it, and mixed it, and kneaded it, and baked it, and cut it in pieces, and put oil upon it, and mixed it, and again put oil upon it, and took the handful, and it was the fourth part of an hin of oil that was divided into the several cakes; the cakes, they say, were obliged to be mixed, and the wafers to be anointed; the cakes were mixed, but not the wafers the wafers were anointed, and not the cakes. The oil denoted the grace of the Spirit of God in Christ, and in his people; and being unleavened, the sincerity and truth with which the meat offering, Christ, is to be upon. (i) Misn. Menachot, c. 5. sect. 9. Maimon. & Bartenora in. ib. (k) T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 75. 1.

Verse 5

And if thy meat offering be an oblation baken on a pan,.... Which had no edge or covering, and the paste on it hard, that it might not run out: it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil; signifying the same as before.

Verse 6

Thou shalt part it in pieces,.... This answered to the dividing of the pieces of the burnt offering, Lev 1:6 and signified the same thing; See Gill on Lev 1:6, Lev 1:12 All meat offerings, it is said (l), that were prepared in a vessel, were obliged to be cut to pieces; the meat offering of an Israelite, one (cake) was doubled into two, and two into four, and then divided, each piece was about the quantity of an olive: and pour oil thereon; after parted into pieces; see Gill on Lev 2:4. it is a meat offering; as well as that of fine flour, or that which was baked in an oven. (l) Misn. Menachot, c. 6. sect. 4. Maimon. Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 13. sect. 10.

Verse 7

And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in the fryingpan,.... It is asked (m), what difference there is between the pan, and the fryingpan? the fryingpan has a cover, but the pan has no cover; the fryingpan is deep, and its works (or paste) flow, or are thin, but the pan is extended, and its works (or paste) are hard or stiff; which Maimonides (n) explains thus, the fryingpan is a deep vessel, which has a lip or edge round about it, and the paste which is baked in it is thin and flows; the pan is a vessel which has no lip or edge, and therefore its paste is hard or stiff, that it flow not: now all these acts of mixing the flour, and kneading, and baking, and frying, and cutting in pieces, as well as burning part on the altar, signify the dolorous sufferings of Christ when he was sacrificed for us, to be both an atonement for our sins, and food for our faith: it shall be made of fine flour with oil: as the other sort of meat offerings before mentioned. (m) Misn. Menachot. c. 5. sect. 8. (n) Misn. ib. & Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 5. sect. 7. Vid. Jarchi & Gersom & Ben Melech in loc.

Verse 8

And thou shalt bring the meat offering, that is made of these things, unto the Lord,.... Either to the tabernacle, the house of the Lord, or to the Lord's priest, as it follows: and when it is presented to the priest; by the owner of it: he shall bring it unto the altar; to the south west horn of the altar (o). (o) Jarchi & Gersom in loc. T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 14. 2. Menachot, fol. 8. 2. Zebachim, fol. 63. 1.

Verse 9

And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof,.... That is, an handful of it; as of the fine flour, Lev 2:2 so of the pieces of that which was baked, whether in the oven, or pan, or fryingpan: and shall burn it upon the altar; the memorial or handful: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord; See Gill on Lev 1:9.

Verse 10

And that which is left of the meat offering,.... Not burnt with fire: shall be Aaron's and his sons'; the high priest took his part first, and then the common priests: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire; See Gill on Lev 2:3.

Verse 11

No meat offering which ye shall bring unto the Lord shall be made with leaven,.... It might be used in peace offerings, and in the wave loaves, Lev 7:13 but not in meat offerings; not only in the handful that was burnt, but in the rest that was eaten by Aaron and his sons; for so is the rule (p),"all meat offerings are kneaded in hot water, and are kept that they might not be leavened; and if what is left of them be leavened, a negative precept is transgressed, Lev 2:11.''It denoted in Christ, the antitype of the meat offering, freedom from hypocrisy and all false doctrines, which were the leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees, Luk 12:1 and in his people that feed upon him by faith, that they should be clear of malice and wickedness, and of communion with profane and scandalous persons, Co1 5:6 so the Jews (q) say, the corruption of nature is like to leaven, and therefore forbid: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire; as leaven was used in some offerings, so honey was brought with the first fruits, Ch2 31:5 but neither of them might be used in offerings made by fire; they are forbidden to be burnt: the reason why they were forbidden, some think is, because they were used by the Heathens in their sacrifices, so Maimonides (r), whose customs were not to be followed; and certain it is that honey was used in Heathen sacrifices: Homer speaks of honey as the sweet food of the gods (s), and what they desire; and so Pausanias (t) relates of the Eleans, that, according to an ancient custom, they used to offer on the altar frankincense, and wheat mixed with honey: Porphyry (u) observes, that the ancient sacrifices with most were sober, the libations of water; after these, libations of honey, ready prepared by the bees, the first of moist fruits, next libations of oil, and, last of all, libations of wine; the Egyptians used honey in their sacrifices (w); or the reason is, because it was much of the same fermenting nature with leaven, as Aben Ezra, and when burnt gave an ill smell, which was not proper in offerings made by tire, of a sweet savour to the Lord; or rather because a symbol of sin and sinful pleasures. Baal Hatturim on the place says, the corruption of nature is sweet to a man as honey, and intimates that that is the reason of its prohibition: it denotes unto us that such as would feed by faith on Christ ought to relinquish sinful lusts and pleasures; and that those that will live godly in Christ Jesus must not expect their sweets, but bitters, even afflictions, reproaches, and persecutions, for Christ's sake, in this life. (p) Misn. Menachot, c. 5. sect. 2. (q) Baal Hatturim in loc. (r) Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 46, p. 481. (s) ----- , &c. Hymn. in Mercur. prope finem. , &c. Batrachomyo. (t) Eliac. 1. sive l. 5. p. 316. (u) De Abstinentia, l. 2. c. 20, 21. (w) Herodot. Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 40.

Verse 12

As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the Lord,.... Or "in" or "with the oblation", as some render it; that is, along with the oblation of the firstfruits leaven and honey might be offered: the Arabic version is very express, "but for a sacrifice of firstfruits ye" shall offer both to God; as they might be, as before observed; so the Targum of Jonathan,"for the leavened bread of the firstfruits shall be offered, and dates in the time of the firstfruits; the fruits with their honey shall be offered, and the priest shall eat them:" but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour; which they could not make, and besides were to be the portion of the priests.

Verse 13

And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt,.... Which makes food savoury, and preserves from putrefaction; denoting the savouriness and acceptableness of Christ as a meat offering to his people, he being savoury food, such as their souls love, as well as to God the Father, who is well pleased with his sacrifice; and also the perpetuity of his sacrifice, which always has the same virtue in it, and of him as a meat offering, who is that meat which endures to everlasting life, Joh 6:27 and also the grave and gracious conversation of those that by faith feed upon him, Mar 9:50. neither shall thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering; this seems to suggest the reason why salt was used in meat offerings, and in all others, because it was a symbol of the perpetuity of the covenant, which from thence is called a covenant of salt, Num 18:19 namely, the covenant of the priesthood, to which these sacrifices belonged, Num 25:13 hence the Targum of Jonathan,"because the twenty four gifts of the priests are decreed by the covenant of salt, therefore upon all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt:" with all thine offerings thou shall offer salt, even those that were not to be eaten, as well as those that were; as the burnt offering of the herd, of the flock, and of fowls, and their several parts; all were obliged to be salted that were offered, excepting wine, blood, wood, and incense (x); hence there was a room in the temple where salt was laid up for this purpose, called , "the salt room" (y); and which was provided by the congregation, and not by a private person (z); our Lord has reference to this law in Mar 9:49 the Heathens always made use of salt in their sacrifices (a). (x) Maimon. Issure Mizbeach, c. 5. sect. 11. (y) Misn. Middot, c. 5. sect. 2. (z) Maimon. Issure Mizbeach, c. 5. sect. 13. (a) Ante Deos Homini, &c. Ovid. Fastor. l. 1. Vid. Horat. Carmin. l. 3. Ode 23.

Verse 14

And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord,.... This, according to Aben Ezra, was not any of the offerings of the firstfruits, which they were obliged to, as at the passover or pentecost, or feast of tabernacles, but a free will offering; but Jarchi thinks it is to be understood of the meat offering of the Omer, Lev 23:13 and so Gersom, which was offered up on the sixteenth of Nisan; and this is the general sense of the Jewish writers (b): thou shalt bring for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire; these were ears of barley, which began to be ripe in the month Abib, which month had its name from hence, and is the word here used; these were dried by the fire, being green and moist, or otherwise they could not have been ground; for, according to Gersom, these were afterwards ground into fine flour: even corn beaten out of full ears; and so made the finest flour: the firstfruits were a type of Christ, who is so called, Co1 15:23 the beating of the ears of corn, and drying of them by the fire, and the grinding of them, denoted the sufferings of Christ. (b) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Menachot, c. 10. sect. 4.

Verse 15

And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon,.... Either on the ears of corn dried, or on the fine flour of them when ground; in like manner as the oil and frankincense were put upon the fine flour of wheat, and upon the cakes and wafers baked, Lev 2:1. it is a meat offering; one sort of it, and like the rest.

Verse 16

The priest shall burn the memorial of it,.... That which is taken out of it for a memorial, the same with the handful of fine flour and cakes of the meat offering: part of the beaten corn thereof; or that which was ground in a mill: and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; as was done in the other meat offerings: it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord, see Lev 2:2. Next: Leviticus Chapter 3

Verse 4

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 (Hos 7:4, Hos 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 Archol. 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). Lev 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 Eze 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 Exo 13:3; Exo 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. Lev 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.

Verse 12

The presentation of the minchah "made of these things," i.e., of the different kinds of pastry mentioned in Lev 2:4-7, resembled in the main that described in Lev 2:1-3. The מן הרים in Lev 2:9 corresponds to the מן קמץ in Lev 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 Lev 3:3 with Lev 4:8, Lev 4:31, Lev 4:35, and Lev 7:3. In the place of ממּנּוּ ירים in Lev 4:8 we find מזּבח הקריב in Lev 4:10, חלב חוּסר כּאשׁר חוּ in Lev 4:31 and Lev 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. Bhr, ii. 357, and my Archologie i. p. 244-5). - In Lev 2:11-13 there follow two laws which were applicable to all the meat-offerings: viz., to offer nothing leavened (Lev 2:11), and to salt every meat-offering, and in fact every sacrifice, with salt (Lev 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 Bhr do, but the honey of bees; for, according to Ch2 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 (Lev 23:17, Lev 23:20). So also were the cakes offered with the vow-offerings, which were applied to the sacrificial meal (Lev 7:13); but not the shew-bread, as Knobel maintains (see at Lev 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 (Num 18:19; Ch2 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 (Eze 43:24; Mar 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).)

Verse 14

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 Lev 2:14 and Lev 2:16. כּרמל is applied generally to a corn-field, in Isa 29:17 and Isa 32:16 to cultivated ground, as distinguished from desert; here, and in Lev 23:14 and Kg2 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, Rut 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 (Lev 23:14), or קלוּי (Jos 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 (Lev 2:2, Lev 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 (Lev 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 (Deu 8:3; Luk 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 (Mat 5:16; Pe1 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 (Luk 12:1) and of malice and wickedness (Co1 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.

Verse 1

There were some meat-offerings that were only appendices to the burnt-offerings, as that which was offered with the daily sacrifice (Exo 29:38, Exo 29:39) and with the peace-offerings; these had drink-offerings joined with them (see Num 15:4, Num 15:7, Num 15:9, Num 15:10), and in these the quantity was appointed. But the law of this chapter concerns those meat-offerings that were offered by themselves, whenever a man saw cause thus to express his devotion. The first offering we read of in scripture was of this kind (Gen 4:3): Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering. I. This sort of offerings was appointed, 1. In condescension to the poor, and their ability, that those who themselves lived only upon bread and cakes might offer an acceptable offering to God out of that which was their own coarse and homely fare, and by making for God's altar, as the widow of Sarepta for his prophet, a little cake first, might procure such a blessing upon the handful of meal in the barrel, and the oil in the cruse, as that it should not fail. 2. As a proper acknowledgment of the mercy of God to them in their food. This was like a quit-rent, by which they testified their dependence upon God, their thankfulness to him, and their expectations from him as their owner and bountiful benefactor, who giveth to all life, and breath, and food convenient. Thus must they honour the Lord with their substance, and, in token of their eating and drinking to his glory, must consecrate some of their meat and drink to his immediate service. Those that now, with a grateful charitable heart, deal out their bread to the hungry, and provide for the necessities of those that are destitute of daily food, and when they eat the fat and drink the sweet themselves send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared, offer unto God an acceptable meat-offering. The prophet laments it as one of the direful effects of famine that thereby the meat-offering and drink-offering were cut off from the house of the Lord (Joe 1:9), and reckoned it the greatest blessing of plenty that it would be the revival of them, Joe 2:14. II. The laws of the meat-offerings were these: - 1. The ingredients must always be fine flour and oil, two staple commodities of the land of Canaan, Deu 8:8. Oil was to them then in their food what butter is now to us. If it was undressed, the oil must be poured upon the flour (Lev 2:1); if cooked, it must be mingled with the flour, Lev 2:4, etc. 2. If it was flour unbaked, besides the oil it must have frankincense put upon it, which was to be burnt with it (Lev 2:1, Lev 2:2), for the perfuming of the altar; in allusion to this, gospel ministers are said to be a sweet savour unto God, Co2 2:15. 3. If it was prepared, this might be done in various ways; the offerer might bake it, or fry it, or mix the flour and oil upon a plate, for the doing of which conveniences were provided about the tabernacle. The law was very exact even about those offerings that were least costly, to intimate the cognizance God takes of the religious services performed with a devout mind, even by the poor of his people. 4. It was to be presented by the offerer to the priest, which is called bringing it to the Lord (Lev 2:8), for the priests were God's receivers, and were ordained to offer gifts. 5. Part of it was to be burnt upon the altar, for a memorial, that is, in token of their mindfulness of God's bounty to them, in giving them all things richly to enjoy. It was an offering made by fire, Lev 2:2, Lev 2:9. The consuming of it by fire might remind them that they deserved to have all the fruits of the earth thus burnt up, and that it was of the Lord's mercies that they were not. They might also learn that as meats are for the belly, and the belly for meats, so God shall destroy both it and them (Co1 6:13), and that man lives not by bread alone. This offering made by fire is here said to be of a sweet savour unto the Lord; and so are our spiritual offerings, which are made by the fire of holy love, particularly that of almsgiving, which is said to be an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God (Phi 4:18), and with such sacrifices God is well pleased, Heb 13:16. 6. The remainder of the meat-offering was to be given to the priests, Lev 2:3, Lev 2:10. It is a thing most holy, not to be eaten by the offerers, as the peace-offerings (which, though holy, were not most holy), but by the priests only, and their families. Thus God provided that those who served at the altar should live upon the altar, and live comfortably.

Verse 11

Here, I. Leaven and honey are forbidden to be put in any of their meat-offerings: No leaven, nor any honey, in any offering made by fire, Lev 2:11. 1. The leaven was forbidden in remembrance of the unleavened bread they ate when they came out of Egypt. So much despatch was required in the offerings they made that it was not convenient they should stay for the leavening of them. The New Testament comparing pride and hypocrisy to leaven because they swell like leaven, comparing also malice and wickedness to leaven because they sour like leaven, we are to understand and improve this as a caution to take heed of those sins which will certainly spoil the acceptableness of our spiritual sacrifices. Pure hands must be lifted up without wrath, and all our gospel feasts kept with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 2. Honey was forbidden, though Canaan flowed with it, because to eat much honey is not good (Pro 25:16, Pro 25:27); it turns to choler and bitterness in the stomach, though luscious to the taste. Some think the chief reason why those two things, leaven and honey, were forbidden, was because the Gentiles used them very much in their sacrifices, and God's people must not learn or use the way of the heathen, but his services must be the reverse of their idolatrous services; see Deu 12:30, Deu 12:31. Some make this application of this double prohibition: leaven signifies grief and sadness of spirit (Psa 73:21), My heart was leavened; honey signifies sensual pleasure and mirth. In our service of God both these must be avoided, and a mean observed between those extremes; for the sorrow of the world worketh death, and a love to the delights of sense is a great enemy to holy love. II. Salt is required in all their offerings, Lev 2:13. The altar was the table of the Lord; and therefore, salt being always set on our tables, God would have it always used at his. It is called the salt of the covenant, because, as men confirmed their covenants with each other by eating and drinking together, at all which collations salt was used, so God, by accepting his people's gifts and feasting them upon his sacrifices, supping with them and they with him (Rev 3:20), did confirm his covenant with them. Among the ancients salt was a symbol of friendship. The salt for the sacrifice was not brought by the offerers, but was provided at the public charge, as the wood was, Ezr 7:20-22. And there was a chamber in the court of the temple called the chamber of salt, in which they laid it up. Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? God would hereby intimate to them that their sacrifices in themselves were unsavoury. The saints, who are living sacrifices to God, must have salt in themselves, for every sacrifice must be salted with salt (Mar 9:49, Mar 9:50), and our speech must be always with grace (Col 4:6), so must all our religious performances be seasoned with that salt. Christianity is the salt of the earth. III. Directions are given about the first-fruits. 1. The oblation of their first-fruits at harvest, of which we read, Deu 26:2. These were offered to the Lord, not to be burnt upon the altar, but to be given to the priests as perquisites of their office, Lev 2:12. And you shall offer them (that is, leaven and honey) in the oblation of the first-fruits, though they were forbidden in other meat-offerings; for they were proper enough to be eaten by the priests, though not to be burnt upon the altar. The loaves of the first-fruits are particularly ordered to be baked with leaven, Lev 23:17. And we read of the first-fruits of honey brought to the house of God, Ch2 31:5. 2. A meat-offering of their first-fruits. The former was required by the law; this was a free-will offering, Lev 2:14-16. If a man, with a thankful sense of God's goodness to him in giving him hopes of a plentiful crop, was disposed to bring an offering in kind immediately out of his field, and present it to God, owning thereby his dependence upon God and obligations to him, (1.) Let him be sure to bring the first ripe and full ears, not such as were small and half-withered. Whatever was brought for an offering to God must be the best in its kind, though it were but green ears of corn. We mock God, and deceive ourselves, if we think to put him off with a corrupt thing while we have in our flock a male, Mal 1:14. (2.) These green ears must be dried by the fire, that the corn, such as it was, might be beaten out of them. That is not expected from green ears which one may justly look for from those that have been left to grow fully ripe. If those that are young do God's work as well as they can, they shall be accepted, though they cannot do it so well as those that are aged and experienced. God makes the best of green ears of corn, and so must we. (3.) Oil and frankincense must be put upon it. Thus (as some allude to this) wisdom and humility must soften and sweeten the spirits and services of young people, and then their green ears of corn shall be acceptable. God takes a particular delight in the first ripe fruits of the Spirit and the expressions of early piety and devotion. Those that can but think and speak as children, yet, if they think and speak well, God will be well pleased with their buds and blossoms, and will never forget the kindness of their youth. (4.) It must be used as other meat-offerings, Lev 2:16, compare Lev 2:9. He shall offer all the frankincense; it is an offering made by fire. The fire and the frankincense seem to have had a special significancy. [1.] The fire denotes the fervency of spirit which ought to be in all our religious services. In every good thing we must be zealously affected. Holy love to God is the fire by which all our offerings must be made; else they are not of a sweet savour to God. [2.] The frankincense denotes the mediation and intercession of Christ, by which all our services are perfumed and recommended to God's gracious acceptance. Blessed be God that we have the substance of which all these observances were but shadows, the fruit that was hid under these leaves.

Verse 1

2:1-16 The grain offering (Hebrew minkhah, “gift, present”) was a way to express worship to the Lord through a gift, recognizing him as Lord over the life of the worshiper. The grain offering was to accompany each whole burnt offering (Num 28:3-6, 12-13), sin offering (Num 6:14-15), and peace offering (Lev 9:4; Num 6:17). The grain offering supplied the priest with bread for his daily sustenance, because no farmland was allocated to priests.

2:1 Choice flour was fine wheat flour (in contrast with common barley flour). See also 1 Kgs 4:22; Ezek 16:13, 19. • Israelites used olive oil as shortening in their cooking, as lamp fuel, and for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Accordingly, it was associated with the rich produce of the land and with God’s provision (Deut 8:8). • Like choice flour, frankincense was frequently connected with the Tabernacle (Exod 30:34; Lev 24:7) or the Temple (1 Chr 9:29). This fragrant tree resin was also used by individuals on special occasions (Song 3:6; Matt 2:11). It was a primary ingredient of the holy incense burned in the Holy Place as a tangible expression of worship (Exod 30:34-38).

Verse 2

2:2 The representative portion of the grain offering was burned on the altar to remind the worshiper that the whole offering belonged to God.

Verse 3

2:3 rest of the grain offering: A portion of the fire offerings was generally reserved for the priest as food (see 6:16-17). Exceptions included the whole burnt offering (the priest received only the hide; see 7:8), offerings given by the priest for himself (4:3-12; 6:19-23), or offerings made for the entire community (4:13-21). In these cases, the offering was to be entirely burned. The grain offering provided the priests with bread for their diet. • most holy (Hebrew qodesh qodashim, “holy of holies”): Both God and what belongs to him are holy. “Most holy” designates the priestly share as taken from the holy offering and reserved for a special function. This description is used for the priest’s share of any gifts dedicated to the Lord (Num 18:8-10).

Verse 4

2:4 A large ceramic oven was placed in a hole, and around it a fire was kindled. Once the oven was hot, the flat bread baked against the inside of its wall. • without any yeast: See study note on 2:11; see also Exod 12:8.

Verse 5

2:5 A griddle was a flat stone or clay surface propped above a fire and heated. Later griddles were made of metal (Ezek 4:3).

Verse 7

2:7 Dough prepared in a pan was fried with oil until crisp.

Verse 11

2:11 yeast: The bread commonly eaten in biblical times was comparable to modern sourdough. The substance that is often called “leaven” consisted of wild yeast spores mixed into moist dough or a flour mixture. The yeast would grow and cause the dough to ferment, souring and raising it. A reserved portion of the sour dough would be kneaded into subsequent batches (Matt 13:33). Unleavened bread was required for the Passover (Exod 12:8), in remembrance of Israel’s bondage in Egypt (Deut 16:3) and their speedy departure from that land (Exod 12:34; 13:3). Following the Exodus, unleavened bread acquired the status of altar bread. Leavened bread was not to be burned on the altar. • honey: The Hebrew word (debash) can also refer to fruit nectar. The reason for its exclusion is not stated, but perhaps the frequent use of honey in pagan offerings, particularly to gods of the underworld, was a contributing reason. If the word refers to fruit nectar, its association with wine and fermentation may have linked it with yeast, making it ineligible to be burned on the altar. However, both honey and yeast were allowed as part of an offering of first crops (Lev 2:12). Loaves of bread made with yeast were to be presented with thank offerings (7:13) and as a gift to the priest in the Festival of Harvest (23:17). In the New Testament, yeast becomes a spiritual metaphor, playing on its sour taste and on its tendency to spread (Matt 16:6, 11, 12; 1 Cor 5:6-8; cp. Matt 13:33).

Verse 12

2:12 offering of the first crops: This offering (called “firstfruits” in many translations) was brought from the first part of the harvest (23:15-21; Num 28:26-31). Like the representative portion of the grain offering, this offering acknowledged that the entire harvest belonged to God (Lev 23:10-11; Exod 22:29; 23:19; 34:26; Num 15:18-20; Deut 18:4-5; 26:1-2). It further recognized that the land itself, not just its products, belonged to God; Israel was merely the tenant (see Lev 25:23).

Verse 13

2:13 In ancient times, salt represented permanence because it preserved food. A covenant of salt (see study notes on Num 18:19; 2 Chr 13:5) denoted an enduring covenant that was renewed with successive generations.