What Does Leviticus Teach about Ritual Sacrifice?
The practice of ritual sacrifice predates the wilderness wanderings and the writing of Leviticus. We read first about Abel, son of Adam, offering a sacrifice to God (Gen 4:4). Nine generations later, Noah offered a sacrifice after the Flood (Gen 8:20). The patriarchs Abraham (Gen 22:2-3, 6-8, 13) and Jacob offered sacrifices (Gen 31:54; 46:1), and so did Job (Job 1:5; 42:8). Centuries later, Moses’ repeated request for Israel to sacrifice to the Lord served as the impetus for the Exodus (Exo 3:18; 5:3, 8, 17; 8:8, 25-29; 10:25).
Most importantly, sacrifice featured prominently in the Passover observance (Exo 12:27; 13:15), and Jethro (Moses’ father-in-law) offered a sacrifice after God delivered Israel from Egypt (Exo 18:12).[i] Despite these noteworthy instances, no codified, systematic approach to ritual sacrifice emerged until Moses wrote Leviticus.[ii] As such, Leviticus provided the nation of Israel with an amplified, nationwide approach to ritual sacrifice that allowed them to fellowship with a holy God.
This study will survey this amplified approach within Leviticus (1) by tracing the various types of sacrifice mentioned, (2) by highlighting special considerations regarding these sacrifices, and (3) by explaining the purpose and significance of these sacrifices.
Types of Sacrifice
Leviticus uses at least ten different words to portray ritualsacrifice. אִשֶּׁה was “an offering made by fire.” אָשָׁם was a “guilt offering, an atoning sacrifice.” זֶבַח was a “an offering killed and presented as an act. of worship,expiation or propitiation to a deity.” חַטָּאת was a “sin offering.” מִנְחָה was a “gift offered to God as a religiousactivity, whether grain, fruits, animal or other offerings.” נֶסֶךְ was a “an offering of a valuable or sacred liquid to a deity.” עֹלָה was a “burnt offering of the entire part of a sacrifice that was cleanand acceptable for sacrifice.” קָרְבָּןwas an “a gift to deity of a general kind.” שֶׁלֶם was a “fellowship offering for alliance or friendship in fulfillment ofa promise or vow.” תְּרוּמָהwas an “offering given or set aside as aspecial, voluntary contribution to a person, deity, or cause in worship.”[iii]Altogether, “the words offering and sacrifice appear over ninety times” throughout Leviticus.[iv]These varied terms for ritualsacrifice highlight a variety of nuances, some of which refer to sacrifice ingeneral, while others describe primary categories of sacrifice, while stillothers describe secondary sacrifices associated with the primary categories.
Regarding primary categories, theopening chapters of Leviticus (1-7) prescribe detailed protocol for five such majorkinds of sacrifice: burnt offerings (1:1-17), grain offerings (2:1-16), peaceofferings (3:1-17), sin offerings (4:1-5:13) and guilt offerings (5:14-6:7).[v]Burnt offerings (cf. 6:8-13) consumed the entire animal (whether a bull, sheep,goat, dove or pigeon). Grain offerings (cf. 6:14-23) consisted of fine flour orunleavened bread mixed with oil, of which some would be burned with incense,after which the rest would be given to the priests for food. Peace offerings(cf. 7:11-35) consisted of animals from the herd or flock, of which selectpieces would be burned, while the rest would be eaten by the priests and theofferer together; this sacrifice could also include thanksgiving (7:12),freewill (7:16) or wave offerings (7:30). Sin offerings (cf. 6:24-30) followeda graded approach which consisted of (1) a bull for priests or for an entirecommunity, (2) a male goat for a prominent leader, (3) a female goat or lambfor other Israelites, (4) two doves for those who could not afford otherwise,and (5) grain for those who were even poorer. Finally, guilt offerings (cf.7:1-10) consisted of flock animals, of which select pieces were burned, whilethe rest was eaten by the priests.
Special Considerations
Close examination of the sacrificial system prescribed by Leviticusreveals informative insights. For instance, though the five main kinds ofsacrifice were distinct from one another, they all consisted of burning someportion of the offering on the altar “to the Lord” (1:17; 2:16; 3:11; 4:35; 6:7).[vi]They also followed a generally similar pattern: an Israelite would (1) offer a premium,healthy specimen, (2) lay his/her hands on the head of the animal, (3) kill theanimal near the altar in the courtyard of the tabernacle, and then (4) thepriest would sprinkle some of the blood on the brazen altar or on the altar ofincense, and then (5) they would burn all or part of the offering on the brazenaltar.[vii]Furthermore, though the priest, the offerer or both would eat some of theoffering in certain cases, they would always refrain from eating any fat orblood (3:17, cf. 3:16; 17:10-12). Furthermore, these sacrifices always requiredthe intermediary assistance of the priest (1:17; 2:16; 3:8; 4:35; 5:13; 6:7)and could only occur at the tabernacle (17:8-9).
Upon further study, other special considerations also appear. For instance, though not explicitly prohibited, the book neither calls for nor supports human sacrifice in any way. In conjunction with this omission, offering children as sacrifices to Molech, a pagan deity, is expressly forbidden (18:21; 20:2-5). God also forbade the use of any incense mixture in sacrificial worship apart from what he had formerly prescribed (10:1-2; cf. Exo 30:9, 30-34).[viii] Yet when Israelites would offer an appropriate sacrifices to the Lord, he described them as “a sweet aroma” (1:9, 13, 17; 2:2, 9, 12; et al.). Altogether, God intended for the sacrificial system of Leviticus to permeate Jewish life, calling for appropriate sacrifices to accompany confession of sin, voluntary worship, the consecration priests (8:14-30), recovery from ritual uncleanness (12:6-7; 14:10; et al.), and all their holy festivals (16:3; 23:8, 12, 18, et al.). Furthermore, though he required that sacrifices be offered according to his divine specifications, he also required that Israelites offer their sacrifices voluntarily and not out of ritualistic obligation (22:19, 21, 29).
PurposefulSignificance
The sacrificialsystem delineated in Leviticus provided sinful Israel with a way to draw near toa holy God (20:7-8; 22:32).[ix]According to this arrangement, a person who offered the sacrifices the way thatGod required would receive forgiveness from God for the sin that was in view(cf. 4:26, 31, 35). Furthermore, Zuck suggests that this sacrificial system was“designed to demonstrate the subservience of Israel” to Yahweh.[x] This suggestioncorresponds well with the divine command, “You shall keep My commandments, andperform them: I am the LORD” (22:31). As such, the sacrifices of Leviticus madepossible a close and submissive relationship of Israel to God.
In a ritualistic way, Wolf observes that the death of sacrificialanimal[s] served as “a ransom to save the life of the offerer, who reallydeserved to die for his sin,” signified by the way that God required theoffered to lay his hands upon the animal being offered (1:4, et al.).[xi] Ultimately,this substitutionary arrangement offered reconciliation to every person in thenation. Sin offerings, for instance, were required of citizens (4:1-2), priests(4:3-12), the entire community (4:13-21), and prominent leaders (4:22-26); noone was exempt, for everyone was culpable of sin. Even so, forgiveness did notcome without cost. All five categories of sacrifices detailed in Leviticus 1-7required the personal expense of offering the Lord valuable personal resources whichcould sustain physical life (with the guilt offering being the most expensive),leaving you more helpless and reliant on the Lord as a result.[xii]This also encouraged humility, since the offending party offered his sacrificesin a public way.
Finally, the sacrificial system of Leviticus portrayed the fellowship of friendly hospitality.[xiii] Just as the tabernacle served as the house (or “dwelling place”) of the Lord, so did the fiery altar serve as the table upon which the repentant Israelites would be able to offer their best meat and bread to the Lord, even pouring expensive wine on the side in some occasions (Lev 23:13, 18, 37). Despite all this, God did not need such sustenance as other pagan gods supposedly did. Yet, “in a poor peasant culture, where animals were your long-term savings, sacrificing them to God was a mark of great generosity, devotion and penitence. That is why they are frequently said to be a ‘pleasing aroma to the LORD’, not because God was hungry! (Lev. 1:9, 13, 17 etc.).”[xiv] Beyond this, sacrifices like the sin offering (from which the offerers and priests would eat the meat or bread of the sacrifice together, cf. 7:11-18) and like the grain, sin, and guilt offerings (from which the priests would eat), demonstrated that restored fellowship with God also yielded restored fellowship with one another as God’s people. In this way, the sacrificial system enabled Israel not only to maintain close fellowship with God, but to maintain closeness with one another as well.
Conclusion
The sacrificialsystem of Leviticus provided thenation of Israel with a detailed and distinctive arrangement whereby they wouldbe able to maintain a close relationship with the God who had delivered themfrom Egypt (Lev 22:32-33). The various types of sacrifices mentioned throughoutthe book demonstrate the thoroughness of this system and God’s comprehensiveclaim to every aspect of their lives. Special considerations regarding thesesacrifices highlight the theological and devotional significance of thisintensive approach, which underscores God’s ultimate and deliberate purpose.Not only did he deliver Israel from social bondage in Egypt, but he intended tobring them into fellowship with him. Though not the end of his plan, thesacrificial system of Leviticus served as a strategic step forward in the divineprogram to transform Israel into a holy nation who would reflect the holinessof the Lord (11:44-45).
[i] Beyond theseexamples, Genesis and Exodus record other instances in which people erectedaltars to worship the Lord, which may also refer to animal sacrifice. Theseinstances include: Abraham (Gen 12:7-8; 13:4, 18), Isaac (Gen 26:25; Jacob (Gen33:20; 35:1, 3, 7); and Moses (Exo 17:15).
[ii] In addition,the previous instances of ritual sacrifices did not involve a prescribedlocation (e.g., the tabernacle) or an intermediary priesthood. From this pointforward, Israel would no longer offer sacrifices at random locations on theirown accord; they would do so at the house of the Lord through the mediation ofa priest (1:3-5).
[iii] All thesedefinitions derive from James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages withSemantic Domains Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos ResearchSystems, Inc., 1997).
[iv] James E. Smith, The Pentateuch, 2nd ed., Old TestamentSurvey Series (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1993), 349.
[v] Whereas theseinstructions served as a guide for the person who would offer the sacrifice,they conclude with a set of instructions for the priests who would assist themin doing so (6:8-7:38). Gordon Wenham, Exploring the Old Testament: ThePentateuch, Vol. 1 (Chicago: InterVarsity, 2003), 85.
[vi] In contrast,God forbade sacrifices to any other spiritual being (17:5).
[vii] Herbert Wolf, AnIntroduction to the Old Testament Pentateuch, Kindle ed. (Chicago: Moody,1991), loc. 3814.
[viii] Wolf, AnIntroduction to the Old Testament Pentateuch, loc. 3930.
[ix] One of thebasic words for “offering” (qorbān) is derived from the verb to bringnear. When sacrifices were offered, man came near God, with the hope thatthe sacrifice would be accepted and sin atoned for. Wolf, loc. 3795.
[x] Roy B. Zuck, ABiblical Theology of the Old Testament, electronic ed. (Chicago: MoodyPress, 1991), 57.
[xi] Wolf, loc.3814.
[xii] Paul R. House, Old Testament Theology, Kindle ed. (Chicago:Intervarsity, 1998), 130-131.
[xiii] Wenham, Exploringthe Old Testament: The Pentateuch, 86.
[xiv] Gordan J. Wenham,Exploring the Old Testament, The Pentateuch, Vol. 1 (Chicago: InterVarsity,2003), 86.
