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clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar” (Gen. 8:20). Its second nuance
appears in Lev. 1:4, where it represents the “thing being offered”:“And he shall put his
hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make
atonement for him.”
This kind of “offering” could be made with a bull (Lev. 1:3-5), a sheep, a goat (Lev.
1:10), or a bird (Lev. 1:14). The offerer laid his hands on the sacrificial victim,
symbolically transferring his sin and guilt to it. After he slew the animal (on the north
side of the altar), the priest took its blood, which was presented before the Lord prior to
being sprinkled around the altar. A bird was simply given to the priest, but he wrung its
neck and allowed its blood to drain beside the altar (Lev. 1:15). This sacrifice effected an
atonement, a covering for sin necessary before the essence of the sacrifice could be
presented to God. Next, the “offering” was divided into sections. They were carefully
purified (except those parts which could not be purified) and arranged on the altar (Lev.
1:6-9, 12-13). The entire sacrifice was then consumed by the fire and its essence sent up
to God as a placating (pleasing) odor. The animal skin was given to the priest as his
portion (Lev. 7:8).
The word
was listed first in Old Testament administrative prescriptions and
descriptions as the most frequent offering. Every day required the presentation of a male
lamb morning and evening—the continual “whole burnt offering” (Exod. 29:38-42). Each
month was consecrated by a “whole burnt offering,” of two young bulls, one ram, and
seven male lambs (Num. 28:11-14). The same sacrifice was mandated, for each day of
the Passover-Unleavened Bread feast (Num. 28:19-24), and the Feast of Weeks (Num.
28:26-29). Other stated feasts required “burnt offerings” as well. The various purification
rites mandated both “burnt” and sin “offerings.”
The central significance of
as the “whole burnt offering” was the total surrender
of the heart and life of the offerer to God. Sin offerings could accompany them when the
offerer was especially concerned with a covering or expiation for sin (2 Chron. 29:27).
When peace offerings accompanied “burnt offerings,” the offerer’s concern focused on
fellowship with God (2 Chron. 29:31-35). Before the Mosaic legislation, it appears, the
“whole burnt offering” served the full range of meanings expressed in all the various
Mosaic sacrifices.
(
2
, 801), “fire offering.” Sixty-two of the 64 appearances of this word
occur in the sacramental prescriptions of Exodus-Deuteronomy. The other two
occurrences (Josh. 13:14; 1 Sam. 2:28) bear the same meaning and sacramental context.
All legitimate sacrifices had to be presented before God at His altar, and all of them
involved burning to some degree. Thus they may all be called fire offerings. The word
first occurs in Exod. 29:18: “And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it
is a burnt offering unto the Lord: it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the
Lord.”
(
, 817), “guilt offering; offense; guilt; gift of restitution; gift of
atonement.” The noun
occurs 46 times in biblical Hebrew; 33 of its occurrences
are in the Pentateuch. The most frequent meaning of the word is “guilt offering”: “And he
shall bring his trespass [guilt] offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned …”
(Lev. 5:6). This specialized kind of sin offering (Lev. 5:7) was to be offered when