Leviticus 1:3

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.)

Leviticus 1:3 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 1:3

If his offering [be] a burnt sacrifice of the herd
So called, because consumed by fire, see ( Leviticus 6:9 ) even all of it except the skin, and therefore its name with the Greeks is "a whole burnt offering", as in ( Mark 12:33 ) its name in Hebrew is (hlwe) , which comes from a word which signifies to "ascend" or "go up", because not only it was carried up to the altar by the priest, which was common to other sacrifices, but being burnt upon it, it ascended upwards in smoke and vapour; it was typical of Christ's dolorous sufferings and death, who therein sustained the fire of divine wrath, and his strength was dried up like a potsherd with it. Jarchi on ( Leviticus 1:1 ) says, there were in the burnt offerings mysteries of future things:

let him offer a male;
and not a female, pointing at the Messiah's sex, and his strength and excellency, the child that was to be born, and the Son to be given, whose name should be Immanuel:

without blemish;
or [perfect], having no part wanting, nor any part superfluous, nor any spot upon it, see ( Leviticus 22:19-24 ) denoting the perfection of Christ as man, being in all things made like unto his brethren, and his having not the least stain or blemish of sin upon him, either original or actual, and so could, as he did, offer up himself without spot to God, ( Hebrews 2:17 ) ( 9:14 ) ( 1 Peter 1:19 ) :

and he shall offer it of his own voluntary will;
not forced or compelled to it, or with any reluctancy, but as a pure freewill offering; so our Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life of himself, and freely gave himself an offering and a sacrifice, and became cheerfully and readily obedient unto death:

at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord;
it was to be done openly and publicly, and in the presence of the Lord, to whom it was offered up; showing, that Christ's sacrifice would be offered up to God, against whom we have sinned, by which his law would be fulfilled, his justice satisfied, and wrath appeased, and that his death would be public and notorious; see ( Luke 24:18-20 ) .

Leviticus 1:3 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.