Leviticus 3:2

2 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering and kill it at the door of the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the altar round about.

Leviticus 3:2 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 3:2

And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering
"His right hand with strength", the Targum of Jonathan says; perhaps both his hands were imposed; the Septuagint and Arabic versions read it in the plural number, "hands"; this same rite was used in the sacrifice of burnt offering, (See Gill on Leviticus 1:4); which might be done in any place in the court where it was slain, only with this difference: according to Maimonides F4, there was no confession of sin made at laying on of hands upon the peace offerings, but words of praise were spoken:

and kill it at the door of the congregation;
it seems as if it was not the priest, but the owner that brought it, and laid his hands on it, that killed it; and so the last mentioned writer says, that slaying the peace offering by a stranger was right; and as he and others F5 say, it might be slain in any part of the court; it was not obliged to be slain in the north part of it, as the burnt offering was, ( Leviticus 1:11 )

and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the
altar round about;
in like manner as the blood of the burnt offering was, and it was done with two sprinklings, which were as four {f}; (See Gill on Leviticus 1:5) this was typical of the blood of Christ, called "the blood of sprinkling".


FOOTNOTES:

F4 Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 3. sect. 15.
F5 Misn. Zebachim, c. 5. sect. 7.
F6 Misn. ib.

Leviticus 3:2 In-Context

1 "If a man's offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.
2 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering and kill it at the door of the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the altar round about.
3 And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as an offering by fire to the LORD, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,
4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver which he shall take away with the kidneys.
5 Then Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt offering, which is upon the wood on the fire; it is an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the LORD.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.