Leviticus 3:2

2 Lay your hand on the head of your offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron's sons, the priests, will throw the blood on all sides of the Altar.

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 your offering is a Peace-Offering and you present an animal from the herd, either male or female, it must be an animal without any defect.
2 Lay your hand on the head of your offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron's sons, the priests, will throw the blood on all sides of the Altar.
3 As a Fire-Gift to God from the Peace-Offering, present all the fat that covers or is connected to the entrails,
4 the two kidneys and the fat around them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver that is removed along with the kidneys.
5 Aaron and his sons will burn it on the Altar along with the Whole-Burnt-Offering that is on the wood prepared for the fire: a Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.