Leviticus 7 Study Notes

7:1 On especially holy, see note at 6:25.

7:2 The blood splattered on all sides of the altar was also part of the rituals for the burnt and fellowship offerings (1:11; 3:2,8,13) but not the sin offering (see note at 6:25).

7:3-7 These instructions are similar to those for the sin offering (4:1-35; 6:25-30).

7:8 The gift of the hide to the officiating priest of the burnt offering is new information, not mentioned in chap. 1; the skin of the sin offering was burned (4:11).

7:9-10 The officiating priest received his due, but provision of grain was designated for all the priests, whether they officiated at offerings or not. This included priests with physical defects (2:3; 6:18,29; 22:21-22).

7:11-21 Three subtypes made up the fellowship sacrifice: thanksgiving (vv. 12-15), vow, and freewill offerings (vv. 16-18). Since the fellowship offering was voluntary and it was shared with family and guests, the offering demonstrated the generosity of the giver, who made his offering as an expression of praise. On the fellowship sacrifice, see chap. 3.

7:12-13 Thanksgiving (Hb todah) offerings were typically associated with a song of joy (Neh 12:27; Ps 42:14; 50:14; 69:30; 100:1; 116:17). This was the Israelite’s response to answered prayer and a proclamation to others of God’s goodness; the worshiper in similar fashion was generous toward others by sharing his meal with guests. A grain offering of three bread products accompanied the thanksgiving animal (chap. 3). One of the cakes had to be made of yeast (leavened bread), a departure from the typical practice. The inclusion of yeast was appropriate since this sacrifice was an offering of joy.

7:14 The bread offering belonged to the officiating priest of the blood sacrifice who represented its acceptance by the Lord. Contribution (Hb terumah), traditionally known as the “heave offering,” was not necessarily lifted up in the ritual. It is related to the word “to remove” (Hb herim), which describes a dedicatory portion that was set aside especially for the Lord (2:9; 6:15). It probably means a dedicated “gift” made to the Lord.

7:15 Eating the offering on the day he offers it showed its special holiness; any delay removed the offering from the act of sacrifice and increased the possibility of its defilement. The participants in the communal meal witnessed the immediate acceptance of the offering by the Lord through eating the freshly roasted meat.

7:16-17 The vow offering was a grateful response to the completion of a vow, and the freewill offering was a general expression of joyful thanksgiving by the worshiper. The freewill gift was often given in conjunction with the establishment of community worship (Ex 35:29; Nm 29:39; 1Ch 29:6; Ezr 2:68). The psalmist depicted them as offerings of praise (Ps 54:6; 119:108).

7:18 The word credited (Hb chashav) refers to the act of counting or evaluating (25:27). If the meat was not eaten or burned up within the required time, the offering was repulsive, meaning tainted and desecrated (19:7; Ezk 4:14).

7:19 The general principle regarding the purity of the meat was the threat of defilement through contact. The clean must eat only clean meat, or the consequences were severe.

7:20-21 If the person who ate this sacrifice was ceremonially unclean, he was cut off, which meant either excommunicated from worship (22:3) or premature death by the intervention of God (17:4). This stern warning was given because of the communal nature of the fellowship offerings. First Corinthians 11:27-32 contains a similar warning against those who took the Lord’s Supper unworthily. The categories of defilement are human . . . animal, and abhorrent creature (Hb sheqets), which is the same term that designated unclean food (11:10; 20:25) or an idol (Dt 7:26).

7:22-27 An offering’s fat and blood belonged to the Lord, and they could not be eaten (3:17; 17:6). The fat was the best portion, and the blood represented the life of the animal that had been surrendered to God. The blood was to be properly drained from the sacrifice before the meat was eaten (Dt 12:23; cp. Ac 15:29).

7:24 Animal fat that came from a source other than a sacrifice could be used for household purposes (e.g., oil), but the blood from an animal could never be consumed (3:16-17; 17:13).

7:26 Wherever you live refers to any domestic dwelling place, setting apart the people’s homes from the sanctuary (3:17; 23:3,21; Ex 12:20; Nm 35:29).

7:28-36 After detailing the procedure about the laity and the disposal of the bread and meat, the passage focuses on the portions of the fellowship offering presented to the Lord—that which belonged to the priests.

7:30-31 His own hands refers to the individual layperson, emphasizing that the gift came voluntarily from the owner. Since the fat belonged to the Lord, it must be burned up, and the breast was given to the priests collectively, symbolizing that the sacrifice had been accepted by the Lord. The expression presented as a presentation offering, traditionally known as the “wave offering,” describes the (Hb) tenuphah offering (v. 34; 8:27; 9:21; 10:14-15; Ex 29:24; 35:22). Rather than waving the offering, the worshiper presented it as a dedicatory gift (“elevation offering”) to the Lord. This symbolized the transfer of the gift portion from the owner’s possession (Jacob Milgrom).

7:32-33 The officiating priest received the right thigh (cp. Nm 18:18-19) as a contribution (Hb terumah; see note at v. 14). The breast and thigh were meaty portions that provided a regular stipend for the priestly families, showing the generosity of the Lord. The owner first burned the fat on the altar to the Lord. Then the owner apportioned the meat as a gift from the Lord to his servants, his priests.

7:35-36 The distribution of portions of offerings to the priests began with the ordination of Aaron and his sons (8:25-28; Ex 29:22-26).

7:37-38 This summary statement points back to the setting described in 1:1.