Leviticus 1:11

11 He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar.

Leviticus 1:11 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 1:11

And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward
before the Lord
This is a circumstance not mentioned in the killing of the bullock: Maimonides F7 says, there was a square place from the wall of the altar northward, to the wall of the court, and it was sixty cubits, and all that was over against the breadth of this, from the wall of the porch to the eastern wall, and it is seventy six cubits; and this foursquare place is called the "north", for the slaying of the most holy things; so that it seems this being a large place, was fittest for this purpose. Aben Ezra intimates, as if some respect was had to the situation of Mount Zion; his note is, "on the side of the altar northward", i.e. without, and so "the sides of the north", ( Psalms 48:2 ) for so many mistake who say that the tower of Zion was in the midst of Jerusalem; and with this agrees Mr. Ainsworth's note on ( Leviticus 6:25 ) hereby was figured, that Christ our sin offering should be killed by the priests in Jerusalem, and Mount Sion, which was on "the sides of the north", ( Psalms 48:2 ) crucified on Mount Calvary, which was on the northwest side of Jerusalem; as by the Jews' tradition, the morning sacrifice was killed at the northwest horn of the altar F8:

and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle the blood round about
upon the altar; (See Gill on Leviticus 1:5).


FOOTNOTES:

F7 In Misn. Zebachim, c. 5. sect. 1.
F8 Misn. Tamid, c. 4. sect. 1.

Leviticus 1:11 In-Context

9 but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
10 'If his offering is of the flocks--of the sheep or of the goats--as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male without blemish.
11 He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar.
12 And he shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar;
13 but he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.