Leviticus 1:16

And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers,.... Or "with its meat", or "dung", as Onkelos renders it, meaning that which was in its crop; and so the Jerusalem Targum interprets it, "with its

And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons. If the burnt sacrifice ... be of fowls.

With his feathers, or, with its dung or filth, to wit, contained in the crop, and in the guts. On the east part, to wit, of the tabernacle. Here the filth was cast, because this was the remotest place from the holy of holies, which was in the west end; to teach us, that impure things and persons should not presume to approach to God, and that they should be banished from his presence. By the place of the ashes; the place where the ashes fell down and lay, whence they were afterwards removed without the camp. See 6:10,11 8:17.

Leviticus 1:16 And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes:Ver. 16. His crop with his feathers.] Or, The maw with the filth thereof - that is, the guts which receive the filth sent unto them from the maw - was plucked out, and the blood strained at the side of the altar. This signified those clots of blood wrung from our Saviour before his oblation upon the cross.

(16) His crop with his feathers.—Just as in the case of quadrupeds the skin was flayed off the victim before it was put on the altar fire, so the feathers were removed from the bird before its body was placed on the altar. This is the natural sense which is to be expected from the context, since it can hardly be imagined that the victims would be burnt with the feathers, and thus cause an intolerable smell. The rendering, however, given in the margin, “with the filth thereof,” is now adopted by the greater number of expositors. As the two words filth and feathers resemble each other in Hebrew, it is probable that one of them has dropped out of the text. The maw, therefore, with its contents, as well as the feathers, were removed to the eastern side of the altar, where the ashes from the altar were thrown (Leviticus 6:3).

Verse 16. Pluck away his crop with his feathers] In this sacrifice of fowls the head was violently wrung off, then the blood was poured out, then the feathers were plucked off, the breast was cut open, and the crop, stomach, and intestines taken out, and then the body was burnt. Though the bird was split up, yet it was not divided asunder. This circumstance is particularly remarked in Abram's sacrifice, Genesis 15:10. See Clarke on Genesis 15:10. See Ainsworth. WE have already seen, on Leviticus 1:2, that four kinds of animals might be made burnt-offerings to the Lord. 1. Neat cattle, such as bulls, oxen, cows, and calves. 2. He-goats, she-goats, and kids. 3. Rams, ewes, and lambs. 4. Pigeons and turtle-doves; and in one case, viz., the cleansing of the leper, sparrows or some small bird. All these must be without spot or blemish - the most perfect of their respective kinds, and be wholly consumed by fire. The RICH were to bring the most costly; the POOR, those of least price. Even in this requisition of justice how much mercy was mingled! If a man could not bring a bullock or a heifer, a goat or a sheep, let him bring a calf, a kid, or a lamb. If he could not bring any of these because of his poverty, let him bring a turtle-dove, or a young pigeon, (see Leviticus 5:7); and it appears that in cases of extreme poverty, even a little meal or fine flour was accepted by the bountiful Lord as a sufficient oblation; see Leviticus 5:11. This brought down the benefits of the sacrificial service within the reach of the poorest of the poor; as we may take for granted that every person, however low in his circumstances, might be able to provide the tenth part of an ephah, about three quarts of meal, to make an offering for his soul unto the Lord. But every man must bring something; the law stooped to the lowest circumstances of the poorest of the people, but every man must sacrifice, because every man had sinned. Reader, what sort of a sacrifice dost thou bring to God? To Him thou owest thy whole body, soul, and substance; are all these consecrated to his service? Or has he the refuse of thy time, and the offal of thy estate? God requires thee to sacrifice as his providence has blessed thee. If thou have much, thou shouldst give liberally to God and the poor; If thou have but little, do thy diligence to give of that little. God's justice requires a measure of that which his mercy has bestowed. But remember that as thou hast sinned, thou needest a Saviour. Jesus is that lamb without spot which has been offered to God for the sin of the world, and which thou must offer to him for thy sin; and it is only through Him that thou canst be accepted, even when thou dedicatest thy whole body, soul, and substance to thy Maker.

16. take away its crop with the filth thereof] i.e. the bird is drawn as when made ready for cooking. The rendering of R.V. mg. (and so LXX. and Vulg.), as well as the Tal. Bab. (Zebaḥ ?im 64 b), describes the removal of the feathers. It is probable that the bird was both cleaned and plucked. on the east part, in the place of the ashes] The ashes to which the fire has reduced the Burnt-Offering (Leviticus 6:10).

His crop with his feathers - The weight of authority is in favor of the marginal rendering. It is most probable that the feathers were burned with the body, and that the wings, mentioned in Leviticus 1:17, were not mutilated.

16. Crop with his feathers — The Hebrew may be so rendered, but in the estimation of the best scholars it does not here signify feathers, but filth in the crop and connected viscera. Place of the ashes — Rather, fat-ashes.