Leviticus 1:2-12

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.)

6 And when the skin of the sacrifice is drawn away, they shall cut the members into gobbets, (or into pieces);

7 and they shall put under the altar the fire, and they shall make an heap of wood ready before; (and they shall put a fire on the altar, and put wood on the fire;)

8 and they shall ordain above that wood those things that be cut, that is, the head, and all things that cleave to the maw, (and on top of that wood they shall put those things that be cut, or be carved, that is, the head, and the suet, or the fat,)

9 when the entrails and the feet be washed with water; and the priest shall burn those on the altar, into burnt sacrifice, and to sweet odour to the Lord. (and after the innards and the feet be washed in water, the priest shall burn all these things offered on the altar, for a burnt sacrifice, to make the sweetest aroma to the Lord.)

10 That if the offering is of little beasts, a burnt sacrifice of sheep, either of goats, he shall offer a male beast without wem, (And if the offering is of small beasts, that is, a burnt sacrifice of sheep, or of goats, he shall offer a male beast without blemish, or without fault,)

11 and he shall offer that at the side of the altar that beholdeth to the north, before the Lord. Soothly the sons of Aaron shall pour the blood thereof on the altar by compass (And the priests, the sons of Aaron, shall throw its blood against all the sides of the altar),

12 and they shall part the members, the head, and all things that cleave to the maw (and they shall cut the members, the head, and the suet, or the fat), and they shall put them on the wood, under which the fire shall be set;

Leviticus 1:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS

This book is commonly called by the Jews Vajikra, from the first word with which it begins, and sometimes Mynhk trwt, "the law of the priests" {a}; and this is its name in the Syriac and Arabic versions: by the Septuagint interpreters it is called leuitikon, and by the Latins, Leviticus, or the Levitical book, because it gives an account of the Levitical priesthood, as the apostle calls it, Heb 7:11. It treats of the sacrifices under the Levitical dispensation, and of the priests concerned in them, and of the times and seasons in which they were offered, and of many other rites and ceremonies. That it was wrote by Moses is not only generally believed by the Jews, but is affirmed in the New Testament; see Mt 8:4, Joh 8:5 compared with Le 14:2, 20:10 from whence, as well as from other citations out of it in other places, the authority of it may be concluded. The matter of it was delivered to Moses, and very likely by him then written upon the erection of the tabernacle, which was in the second year of the Israelites coming out of Egypt, in the first month, and the first day of the month, Ex 40:17 and it was on the same day that the Lord spake to Moses out of it, and delivered to him the laws concerning sacrifices, recorded in the first seven chapters; see Nu 1:1 compared with Le 1:1 and on the eighth day of the same month, and some following days, the remainder of it was given to him, and written by him, see \Le 8:1 12:1 16:1\ to which agrees the Targum of Jonathan on Le 1:1.

``when Moses had made an end of erecting the tabernacle, Moses thought and reasoned in his heart, and said, Mount Sinai, its excellency was the excellency of an hour, and its holiness the holiness of three days, it was not possible for me to ascend unto it, until the time that the Word was speaking with me; but this tabernacle of the congregation, its excellency is an excellency for ever, and its holiness an holiness for ever, it is fit that I should not enter into it, until the time that be speaks with me from before the Lord; and therefore the Word of the Lord called to Moses, and the Word of the Lord spake with him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying;''

and to the same purpose the Jerusalem Targum. It was written in the year from the creation of the world 2514, and about 1490 years before the coming of Christ. The various sacrifices, rites, and ceremonies made mention of in it, were typical of Christ, and shadows of good things to come by him: there are many things in it, which give great light to several passages in the New Testament, and it is worthy of diligent reading and consideration.

{a} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 103. 2.

\\INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 1\\

This chapter contains certain laws and rules concerning sacrifices, particularly burnt offerings, which were delivered by the Lord to Moses, Le 1:1,2 what those offerings should be of, Le 1:3,10,14 what rules should be observed, what actions should be done, first by the persons that brought them, Le 1:3,4 and then by the priest that offered them, with respect to the burnt offering of the herd, Le 1:5-9 and to the burnt offering of the sheep and goats, Le 1:11-13 and to the burnt offering of fowls, Le 1:15-17 all which, when offered aright, were of a sweet savour to the Lord, Le 1:9,13,17.