Leviticus 1:2

2 Speak thou to the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, A man of you, that offereth to the Lord a sacrifice of beasts, that is, of oxen and of sheep, and offereth slain sacrifices, (Speak thou to the Israelites, and thou shalt say to them, A man of you, who offereth to the Lord a sacrifice of beasts, that is, of oxen or of sheep, and offereth slain sacrifices,)

Leviticus 1:2 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 1:2

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them
For unto no other was the law of sacrifices given; not to the Gentiles, but to the children of Israel:

if any man;
or woman, for the word "man", as Ben Gersom observes, includes the whole species:

of you;
of you Israelites; the Targum of Jonathan adds,

``and not of the apostates who worship idols.''

Jarchi interprets it of yours, of your mammon or substance, what was their own property, and not what was stolen from another F4, see ( Isaiah 61:8 ) :

bring an offering unto the Lord;
called "Korban" of "Karab", to draw nigh, because it was not only brought nigh to God, to the door of the tabernacle where he dwelt, but because by it they drew nigh to God, and presented themselves to him, and that for them; typical of believers under the Gospel dispensation drawing nigh to God through Christ, by whom their spiritual sacrifices are presented and accepted in virtue of his:

ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, [even] of the herd, and
of the flock;
that is, of oxen, and of sheep or goats. The Targum of Jonathan is,

``of a clean beast, of oxen, and of sheep, but not of wild beasts shall ye bring your offerings.''

These were appointed, Ben Gersom says, for these two reasons, partly because the most excellent, and partly because most easy to be found and come at, as wild creatures are not: but the true reason is, because they were very fit to represent the great sacrifice Christ, which all sacrifices were typical of; the ox or bullock was a proper emblem of him for his strength and laboriousness, and the sheep for his harmlessness, innocence, and patience, and the goat, as he was not in himself, but as he was thought to be, a sinner, being sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, and being traduced as such, and having the sins of his people imputed to him.


FOOTNOTES:

F4 Vid. T. Bab. Succah, fol. 30. 1. & not. Abendana in Miclol Yophi in loc.

Leviticus 1:2 In-Context

1 Forsooth the Lord called Moses, and spake to him from the tabernacle of witnessing, saying, (And the Lord called Moses, and spoke to him from the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, saying,)
2 Speak thou to the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, A man of you, that offereth to the Lord a sacrifice of beasts, that is, of oxen and of sheep, and offereth slain sacrifices, (Speak thou to the Israelites, and thou shalt say to them, A man of you, who offereth to the Lord a sacrifice of beasts, that is, of oxen or of sheep, and offereth slain sacrifices,)
3 if his offering is burnt sacrifice, and of the drove of oxen, he shall offer a male beast without wem at the door of the tabernacle of witnessing, to make the Lord pleased to him. (if his offering is a burnt sacrifice, from the herd of oxen, he shall offer a male beast without blemish, or without fault, at the entrance to the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, to gain the Lord's acceptance.)
4 And he shall set his hands on the head of the sacrifice, and it shall be acceptable, and profiting into the cleansing of him. (And he shall put his hands upon the head of the sacrifice, and it shall be acceptable, and profiting into his cleansing.)
5 And he shall offer a calf before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, [the] priests, shall offer the blood thereof, and they shall shed it by compass of the altar, that is before the door of the tabernacle. (And he shall offer a calf before the Lord, and the priests, the sons of Aaron, shall offer its blood, and they shall throw it against all the sides of the altar, that is in front of the entrance to the Tabernacle.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.