Leviticus 1:3

3 "If his gift is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to bring an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting so that he[a] may be accepted by the Lord.[b]

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 Then the Lord summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting:
2 "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the Lord from the livestock, you may bring your offering from the herd or the flock.
3 "If his gift is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to bring an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting so that he may be accepted by the Lord.
4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
5 He is to slaughter the bull before the Lord; Aaron's sons the priests are to present the blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Or it
  • [b]. Lv 22:18-22; Dt 15:21; Heb 9:14; 1 Pt 1:19
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