Leviticus 7:11

(11) And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings.—That is, the rites to be observed in connection with this sacrifice. As in the case of the sin offering (Lev_4:24-31 with Lev_6:24-30) and the trespass offering (Lev_5:1-13 with Lev_7:1-10), so here (Lev_7:11-21), we have more specific and fuller directions given to the priests with regard to the peace offerings, about which orders had previously been given to the people (Lev_3:1-15).

Which he shall offer.—That is, he who feels it his duty to offer it to the Lord. This common Hebrew idiom of using a verb with he in it without an antecedent is better expressed in English by the impersonal, which one shall offer, or by the passive, which shall be offered. (See Lev_7:20-29.) Three classes of peace offerings are specified—(1) an acknowledgment of mercies received, (2) as a vow offering, (3) as a freewill offering.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev 7:11 And this [is] the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD.

Ver. 11. Sacrifice of peace offerings.] Or, pay offering. See Psa 116:14. "I will pay," or, I will perfect. Fitly; for a vow, till paid, is an imperfect thing.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev_7:11-18

The law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings.

The peace-offering

I. Characteristics.

1. The animal offered might be a male or a female--differing in this from the burnt-offering.

2. It was not to be wholly consumed as the burnt offerings.

3. If for a thanksgiving offering, unleavened cakes, mingled with oil, as well as leavened, might be offered.

4. If for a vow or a voluntary offering, the parts to be eaten must be eaten on the same or the following day.

5. No ceremonially-unclean person could eat of the peace-offering.

II. Significance.

1. The peace-offering, as the name implies, presents to us our Lord Jesus as our peace (Eph_2:14).

2. This is the key to this symbolic offering, by which may be unlocked, with certainty, some, at least, of its rich treasures.

(1) The parts consumed--representing the most excellent parts, the inward parts, the hidden energies--were offered on the altar unto God the Father--in which He was well pleased.

(2) The other parts eaten by the priests representing the true believer feeding on Christ as his Peace, having laid his hand of faith on Him; the sprinkled blood being the ground of peace.

(3) The wave-breast representing the love of Christ, and the heave-shoulder His all-power, give the two leading elements in Christ on which the believer feeds with joyous delight.

(4) The unleavened cakes, representing the new nature of the believer, being mingled with oil, the oil representing the Holy Spirit, show the necessity for even the regenerated to be assisted by the power of the Spirit for profitable communion with God in Christ, and to enter into the fulness of the love and power of Christ.

(5) Leavened bread, signifying evil, was to be offered as well as unleavened, to signify that our sinful nature should be recognised in our sacrifice of thanksgiving--not for condemnation, but for joy that it is judged. The sin in us should not hinder our communion with God in Christ, if we have no sin upon us.

(6) The ceremonially-unclean could not eat of the wave-breast or heave-shoulder, to signify that sin unconfessed, and therefore unpardoned, is an insurmountable hindrance to fellowship with God in Christ. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)

The peace-offering

I. THE PEACE-OFFERING A SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING. Three forms of it are specified--

1. The offering of thanksgiving, i.e., for some special blessing.

2. The vow, the fulfilment of a promise to God.

3. The voluntary offering, made from a principle of gratitude, when, with no special occasion, the worshipper called upon his soul and all within him to praise and bless Gods holy name. It was a peace-offering, a national thanksgiving, which Solomon made at the dedication of the Temple. It is this sacrifice which is so frequently referred to in the Psalms. In connection with the celebration of the Passover there were two peace-offerings. The former of these is continued in the Lords Supper, which is a feast of thanksgiving for Gods greatest gift to men. We should thank God at the sacramental table for all special exhibitions of the Divine goodness.

II. The peace-offering is a sacrifice of fellowship. This, taken with thanksgiving, is its characteristic idea. The feature peculiar to it was the sacrificial meal; the partaking of that which was offered by the worshipper. The priests shared in what was offered in the meat and sin-offerings. The worshipper also partook of the peace-offering. The sacrifice was an act of holy communion. Also a social meal.

III. The basis of communion in the peace-offering is sacrifice; and in the sacrifice, the shedding of blood. The shedding of the blood in this particular sacrifice does not represent, as in the sin-offering, the act of atoning for sin. The bleeding Christ as our Peace-offering is not our sin-bearer. But His blood in this offering also declares that an atonement has been made, and that the sole ground of fellowship with God is the reconciling blood of the Lamb (Eph_2:13-14).

IV. The peace-offering requires holiness in the worshipper. This fact is expressed in the provision that unleavened bread should be offered as a part of the sacrifice. Yeast, or leaven, was a symbol of corruption. The principle of corruption must be carefully excluded, if our offering is to find acceptance. Is there old leaven of sin in your life?

V. In the peace-offering the sinfulness of a nature partially sanctified is confessed. The curse of sin is no more on us, but it is in us. (G. R. Leavitt.)

Thanksgiving and thanksgiving

It is most interesting to find, here among the sober directions that Moses was commissioned to deliver to the Israelites, one which assumes a constant recognition of Gods love and bounty. The peace-offering seems to have for its definite end the earnest inculcation of a perpetual exercise of devotion, without any special occasion, as well as with some which are carefully mentioned. Perhaps the best account of the whole ordinance is given in the familiar words of Kurtz: A state of peace and of friendship with God was the basis and the essential of the presentation of the peace-offering; and the design of the presentation, from which its name was derived, was the realisation and establishment, the verification and enjoyment, of the existing relation of peace, friendship, fellowship, and blessedness. It may be well for us just to pick out the particulars of this form of description.

I. In the peace-offering there was inculcated a spirit of tranquil trust. When one made the sacrifice, it signified that he was in the state of reconciliation with God. The law had lost its curse; sin was in process of being subdued; the soul of the glad believer simply rested upon the promises of redemption, and waited for its salvation. Among the severe passes of the Scottish highlands, it is memorable always to mention Glencoe; for no one who has ever climbed the fatiguing steeps can forget that, after the weary way had led him up and on, and beneath the shadow of the grotesque Ben Arthur, past many a disappointing elevation which he thought surely would be the last, he finally reached that mossy stone, by the winding wayside, on which are written the welcome words, Here rest, and be thankful! There, sitting down in peace, one sees the rare prospect of beautiful hill and vale, rock and loch kindling and shadowing each other, far away towards the blue horizon; and just beside him, at the turn of the road, is also the long path by which he came. Such spots of experience there are on the mountains of life, when the forgiven sinner, now a child, pauses to say to himself, Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. In the original verse this reads resting-places.

II. In the peace-offering there was inculcated also a spirit of heartfelt gratitude. This service is called the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Psa_116:17). How many mercies have been given us! How many perils have been averted! How many fears have been allayed I How many friendly communions have been granted l How many anticipations have been kindled! How many hopes have been gratified! Per contra, just a serious thought might likewise be bestowed upon the other side of the ledger. Said old Christmas Evans, in an unusually lengthened period of reminiscence, Thy love has been as a shower; the returns, alas I only a dewdrop now and then, and even that dewdrop stained with sin! At this point the suggestion which this ceremonial makes concerning permanency of devout acknowledgment is welcome. Thanksgiving is good, said the venerable Philip Henry to his children, but thanksgiving is better. We ought not to seek to exhaust our gratitude upon any single days exercise. It is better to live our thanks through all our lifetime. A happy, grateful spirit is the Christians best offering to God, morning, noon, and night.

III. In the peace-offering there was likewise inculcated a spirit of faithful consecration. There are always two sides to any covenant. When we plead Gods promises, we certainly have need to remember our own. God expects a Christian who has been favoured to be un-forgetful. Alexander Severus is reported to have made an edict that no one should salute the emperor on the street who knew himself to be a thief. And it must be unbecoming for any one to praise or pray who remembers that his life contains the record of some vow made once but still unkept. Hence it sometimes happens that one part of our history will give help to another, for it quickens the zeal of our love to call to remembrance a day in which Gods love drew forth our engagement. It is related of the famous Thomas Erskine, before he was a Christian man, that once when wandering in a lonely glen among the mountains of his own land, he came across a shepherd pasturing his flock. Do you know the Father? asked the plain man, with unmistakable gentleness of devotion. The proud scholar vouchsafed no reply, but the arrow struck. He was never easy again till he found peace with pardon of his sins. He would have been glad to thank his modest unknown benefactor. So he went forth along the same path for many a useless day. Years afterwards, he saw him almost in the identical spot. I know the Father now, he said, with sweet, grave greeting.

IV. In the peace-offering there was inculcated a spirit of lively joy. We find this in the very unusual ceremony of waving a portion of the sacrifice in the air. There is no explanation given of this; what could it have meant but the holding up of ones whole heart in the offering in the fall sight of God? It makes us think of the significant gesture of courtesy the world over, the swing of ones hand when his wish is keen and his happy heart longs still to send it aloft, while the distance is too far for speech. A Christian, waving the offering of his gratitude before God, ought to be the happiest being on all the earth.

V. In the peace-offering there was inculcated a spirit of confident supplication. Near a hundred years after this, it is recorded (Jdg_21:4) that the men of Israel, bewailing the desolation of Benjamin, offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the same altar. That is to say, they mingled their prayers with gifts of appropriate penitence. So again., after a disastrously lost battle (Jdg_20:26). And even down in Davids time, almost five hundred years later, the same conjunction of the two sacrifices is to be observed. He stayed the plague by his penitence in a burnt-offering, and he received relief in answer to his prayer in a peace-offering (2Sa_24:25). Nothing can be more attractive than this artless trust in the Divine mercy. To give thanks for grace already received is a refined way of begging for more.

VI. Finally, in the peace-offering there was inculcated a spirit of affectionate solicitude. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

Thank-offerings, vows, and freewill-offerings

It is easy to connect the special characteristics of these several varieties of the peace-offering with the great Antitype. So may we use Him as our Thank-offering; for what more fitting as an expression of gratitude and love to God for mercies received than renewed and special fellowship with Him through feeding upon Christ as the slain Lamb? So also we may thus use Christ in our vows; as when, supplicating mercy, we promise and engage that if our prayer be heard we will renewedly consecrate our service to the Lord, as in the meal-offering, and anew enter into life-giving fellowship with Him through feeding by faith on the flesh of the Lord. And it is beautifully hinted in the permission of the use of leaven in this feast of the peace-offering, that while the work of the believer, as presented to God in grateful acknowledgment of His mercies, is ever affected with the taint of his native corruption, so that it cannot come upon the altar where satisfaction is made for sin, yet God is graciously pleased, for the sake of the great Sacrifice, to accept such imperfect service offered to Him, and make it in turn a blessing to us, as we offer it in His presence, rejoicing in the work of our hands before Him. But there was one condition without which the Israelite could not have communion with God in the peace-offering. He must be clean; even as the flesh of the peace-offering must be clean also. There must be in him nothing which should interrupt covenant fellowship with God; as nothing in the type which should make it an unfit symbol of the Antitype. (S. H. Kellogg, D. D.)

Why the law of the peace-offering is given last of all

It is interesting, to observe that, although the peace-offering itself stands third in order, yet the law thereof is given us last of all. This circumstance is not without its import. There is none of the offerings in which the communion of the worshipper is so fully unfolded as in the peace-offering. In the burnt-offering it is Christ offering Himself to God. In the meat-offering we have Christs perfect humanity. Then, passing on to the sin-offering, we learn that sin, in its root, is fully met. In the trespass-offering there is a full answer to the actual sins in the life. But in none is the doctrine of the communion and worship unfolded. The latter belongs to the peace-offering; and hence, I believe, the position which the law of that offering occupies. It comes in at the close of all, thereby teaching us that, when it becomes a question of the souls feeding upon Christ, it must be a full Christ, looked at in every possible phase of His life, His character, His Person, His work, His offices. And, furthermore, that, when we shall have done for ever with sin and sins, we shall delight in Christ, and feed upon Him throughout the everlasting ages. It would, I believe, be a serious defect in our study of the offerings were we to pass over a circumstance so worthy of notice as the above. If the law of the peace-offering were given in the order in which the offering itself occurs, it would come in immediately after the law of the meat-offering; but, instead of that, the law of the sin-offering, and the law of the trespass-offering are given, and then the law of the peace-offering closes the entire. (C. H. Mackintosh.)

Shall be eaten the same day that it is offered

The priest that sprinkled the blood was to eat the pieces of this peace-offering the same day that it was offered. Some say this rule prevented covetousness arising in the priests; no one had it in his power to hoard up. Others say this rule was fitted to promote brotherly love; for he must call together his friends, in order to have it all finished. But these uses are only incidental. The true uses lie much nearer the surface. Israel might hereby be taught to offer thanksgiving while the benefit was still fresh and recent. Besides this, and most specially, the offerer who saw the priest cut it in pieces and feast thereon, knew thereby that God had accepted his gift, and returned rejoicing to his dwelling, like David and his people, when their peace-offerings were ended, at the bringing up of the ark (2Sa_6:17-19). The Lord took special notice of this free, spontaneous thank-offering, inasmuch as He commanded it to be immediately eaten, thus speedily assuring the worshipper of peace and acceptance. The love of our God is too full to be restrained from us one moment longer than is needful for the manifestation of His holiness. (A. A. Bonar.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev 7:11. This is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings — These are the only sort of offerings to be spoken of. There were several sorts of them, which required various rites. The first was a gratulatory offering, or a sacrifice of thanksgiving, so called because it was offered to God for some particular benefit received, Lev 7:12. Such sacrifices were accompanied with feasting, and sometimes with high demonstrations of joy, 1Sa 11:15; 1Ki 8:6. Of these the psalmist speaks, when he says, Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing, Psa 107:22. The second was a votive-offering, or vow, being also a sacrifice of thanksgiving, but offered in consequence of a vow, or religious oath, whereby the party obliged himself to offer to God such a sacrifice, in case of receiving some particular benefit. The third was a voluntary offering, being a sacrifice freely made beforehand, in the nature of a prayer for obtaining some future blessing, Lev 7:16; or, as Le Clerc explains it, a voluntary offering was a sacrifice offered, not for any particular benefit either received or expected, but merely from the overflowing of a heart grateful to God for his goodness in general. We find this oblation plainly distinguished from a votive-offering, Lev 22:23.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

LAWS OF THE PEACE OFFERING, Lev_7:11-21.

11. The law of… the peace offerings — See chap. 3, notes. There are added to the description given there the chief elements of the bread offering, namely, unleavened cakes and oil. Both offerings are eucharistic, affording an expression of gratitude to Jehovah for the peace which he gives to the obedient, and of fellowship with all the children of Israel. Here the peace offering appears under three divisions, the todha, or thanksgiving; the nedher, or vow, and the n’dhabha; the freewill. The last was quite inferior, since a defective victim might be sacrificed.

Lev_22:23. The three are thus distinguished — the first is an outgushing of praise for spontaneous tokens of Jehovah’s goodness; the second is an obligatory requital for some act of Divine beneficence done in consideration of a vow; and the third has regard to no special benefaction, but affords a method of taking the initiative in seeking God.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THANK OFFERINGS, VOWS, AND FREEWILL OFFERINGS

Lev_7:11-21

"And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which one shall offer unto the Lord. If he offer it for a thanksgiving then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour soaked. With cakes of leavened bread he shall offer his oblation with the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving. And of it he shall offer one out of each oblation for a heave offering unto the Lord; it shall be the priests that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his oblation; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. But if the sacrifice of his oblation be a vow, or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow that which remaineth of it shall be eaten: but that which remaineth of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire. And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity. And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire. And as for the flesh, everyone that is clean shall eat thereof: but the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from his people. And when anyone shall touch any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean beast, or any unclean abomination, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that soul shall be cut off from his people."

According to this supplemental section on the law of the peace offerings, these were of three kinds; namely, "sacrifices of thanksgiving," "vows," and "freewill offerings." The first were offered in token of gratitude for mercies received; as in Psa_116:16-17, where we read: "Thou hast loosed my bonds; I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving." The second, like these, were offered also in grateful return for prayer answered and mercy received, but with the difference that they were promised before, upon the condition of the prayer for mercy being granted. Lastly, the freewill offerings were those which had no special occasion, but were merely the spontaneous expression of the love of the offerer to God, and his desire to live in friendship and fellowship with Him. It is apparently these freewill offerings that we are to recognise in the many instances recorded where the peace offering was presented in connection with supplication for special help and favour from God; as e.g., when {Jdg_20:26} Israel supplicated mercy from God after their disastrous defeat in the civil war with the tribe of Benjamin; and when David entreated the Lord {2Sa_24:25} for the staying of the plague in Israel.

With not only the thank offering, but all peace offerings, as is clear from Num_15:2-4, a full meal offering, consisting of three kinds of unleavened cakes, was to be offered, of each of which, one was to be presented as a heave offering, with the heave shoulder of the sacrifice, to the Lord. {Lev_7:12} For the sacrificial feast, in which the offerer, his family, and friends were to partake, he was also to bring cakes of leavened bread, which, however, though eaten before God by the offerer, might not be presented unto God for a heave offering, nor come upon the altar (Lev_7:13).

From what we have already seen, the spiritual meaning of this will be clear. Thus in symbol the Israelite offered unto God, with his life, the fruit of the labour of his hands, in gratitude to Him, and expressed his happy consciousness of friendship and fellowship with God through atonement, by feasting before Him. The leavened bread is offered simply, as Bahr suggests, as the usual accompaniment to a feast; though regard is still had to the fact, never once forgotten in Holy Scripture, that leaven is nevertheless an element and symbol of corruption; so that however the reconciled Israelite may eat his leavened bread before God, yet it cannot be allowed to come upon the altar of the Most Holy One.

Two slight differences appear in the ritual for the different kinds of peace offerings. First, in the case of the freewill offering, a single exception is allowed to the general rule that the victim must be without blemish, in the permission to offer what, otherwise perfect, might have "anything superfluous or lacking" in its parts; {Lev_22:23} a circumstance which could not affect its fitness as the symbol of spiritual food. For a vow (and, we may infer, for a thank offering also) such a be victim, however, could not offered; evidently because it would seem peculiarly unsuitable, where the object of the offering was to make in some sense a return for the always perfect and most gracious gifts of God, that anything else than the absolutely perfect should be offered. In the case of the thank offering, again, an exception is made to the general regulation permitting the eating of the offering on the first and second days, requiring that all be eaten on the day that it is presented, or else be burnt with fire. {Lev_7:15} We need seek for no spiritual meaning in this. A sufficient reason for this special restriction in this case is probably to be found in the consideration that as this was the most common variety of the offering, there was the most danger that the flesh, by some oversight, might be kept too long. The flesh of the victim offered to God, the type of the Victim of Calvary, must on no account be allowed to see corruption; and to this end every needed precaution must be taken, that by no chance it shall remain unconsumed on the third day.

It is easy to connect the special characteristics of these several varieties of the peace offering with the great Antitype. So may we use Him as our thank offering; for what more fitting as an expression of gratitude and love to God for mercies received, than renewed and special fellowship with Him through feeding upon Christ as the slain Lamb? So also we may thus use Christ in our vows; as when, supplicating mercy, we promise and engage that if our prayer be heard we will renewedly consecrate our service to the Lord, as in the meal offering, and anew enter into life-giving fellowship with Him through feeding by faith on the flesh of the Lord. And it is beautifully hinted in the permission of the use of leaven in this feast of the peace offering, that while the work of the believer, as presented to God in grateful acknowledgment of His mercies, is ever affected with the taint of his native corruption, so that it cannot come upon the altar where satisfaction is made for sin, yet God is graciously pleased, for the sake of the great Sacrifice, to accept such imperfect service offered to Him, and make it in turn a blessing to us, as we offer it in His presence, rejoicing in the work of our hands before Him.

But there was one condition without which the Israelite could not have communion with God in the peace offering. He must be clean! even as the flesh of the peace offering must be clean also. There must be in him nothing which should interrupt covenant fellowship with God; as nothing in the type which should make it an unfit symbol of the Antitype. For it was ordered, {Lev_7:19-21} as regards every possible occasion of uncleanness, thus: "The flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire. As for the flesh, everyone that is clean shall eat thereof; but the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from his people. And when anyone shall touch any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean beast, or any unclean abomination, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that soul shall be cut off from his people."

In such cases, he must first go and purify himself, as provided in the law; and then, and then only, presume to come to eat before the Lord. And so Israel was ever impressively reminded that he who would have fellowship with God, and eat in happy fellowship with Him at His table, must keep himself pure. So by the spirit of these commands are we no less warned that we take not encouragement from Gods grace, in providing for us the flesh of the Lamb as our food, to be careless in walk and life. If we will use Christ as our peace offering, we must keep ourselves "unspotted from the world"; must hate "even the garment spotted by the flesh," remembering ever that it is written in the New Testament, {1Pe_1:15-16} with direct reference to the typical law of Leviticus: "As He which called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy."

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

All this relates to the peace-offerings: it is the repetition and explication of what we had before, with various additions.

I. The nature and intention of the peace-offerings are here more distinctly opened. They were offered either, 1. In thankfulness for some special mercy received, such as recovery from sickness, preservation in a journey, deliverance at sea, redemption out of captivity, all which are specified in Ps. 107, and for them men are called upon to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, Lev 7:22. Or, 2. In performance of some vow which a man made when he was in distress (Lev 7:16), and this was less honourable than the former, though the omission of it would have been more culpable. Or, 3. In supplication for some special mercy which a man was in the pursuit and expectation of, here called a voluntary offering. This accompanied a man's prayers, as the former did his praises. We do not find that men were bound by the law, unless they had bound themselves by vow, to offer these peace-offerings upon such occasions, as they were to bring their sacrifices of atonement in case of sin committed. Not but that prayer and praise are as much our duty as repentance is; but here, in the expressions of their sense of mercy, God left them more to their liberty than in the expressions of their sense of sin - to try the generosity of their devotion, and that their sacrifices, being free-will offerings, might be the more laudable and acceptable; and, by obliging them to bring the sacrifices of atonement, God would show the necessity of the great propitiation.

II. The rites and ceremonies about the peace-offerings are enlarged upon.

1. If the peace-offering was offered for a thanksgiving, a meat-offering must be offered with it, cakes of several sorts, and wafers (Lev 7:12), and (which was peculiar to the peace-offerings) leavened bread must be offered, not to be burnt upon the altar, that was forbidden (Lev 2:11), but to be eaten with the flesh of the sacrifice, that nothing might be wanting to make it a complete and pleasant feast; for unleavened bread was less grateful to the taste, and therefore, though enjoined in the passover for a particular reason, yet in other festivals leavened bread, which was lighter and more pleasant, was appointed, that men might feast at God's table as well as at their own. And some think that a meat-offering is required to be brought with every peace-offering, as well as with that of thanksgiving, by that law (Lev 7:29) which requires an oblation with it, that the table might be as well furnished as the altar.

2. The flesh of the peace-offerings, both that which was the priest's share and that which was the offerer's must be eaten quickly, and not kept long, either raw, or dressed, cold. If it was a peace-offering for thanksgiving, it must be all eaten the same day (Lev 7:16); if a vow, or voluntary offering, it must be eaten either the same day or the day after, Lev 7:16. If any was left beyond the time limited, it was to be burnt (Lev 7:17); and, if any person ate of what was so left their conduct should be animadverted upon as a very high misdemeanour, Lev 7:18. Though they were not obliged to eat it in the holy place, as those offerings that are called most holy, but might take it to their own tents and feast upon it there, yet God would by this law make them to know a difference between that and other meat, and religiously to observe it, that whereas they might keep other meat cold in the house as long as they thought fit, and warm it again if they pleased, and eat it three or four days after, they might not do so with the flesh of their peace-offerings, but it must be eaten immediately. (1.) Because God would not have that holy flesh to be in danger of putrefying, or being fly-blown, to prevent which it must be salted with fire (as the expression is, Mar 9:49) if it were kept; as, if it was used, it must be salted with salt. (2.) Because God would not have his people to be niggardly and sparing, and distrustful of providence, but cheerfully to enjoy what God gives them (Ecc 8:15), and to do good with it, and not to be anxiously solicitous for the morrow. (3.) The flesh of the peace-offerings was God's treat, and therefore God would have the disposal of it; and he orders it to be used generously for the entertainment of their friends, and charitably for the relief of the poor, to show that he is a bountiful benefactor, giving us all things richly to enjoy, the bread of the day in its day. If the sacrifice was thanksgiving, they were especially obliged thus to testify their holy joy in God's goodness by their holy feasting. This law is made very strict (Lev 7:18), that if the offerer did not take care to have all his offering eaten by himself or his family, his friends or the poor, within the time limited by the law, or, in the event of any part being left, to burn it (which was the most decent way of disposing of it, the sacrifices upon the altar being consumed by fire), then his offering should not be accepted, nor imputed to him. Note, All the benefit of our religious services is lost if we do not improve them, and conduct ourselves aright afterwards. They are not acceptable to God if they have not a due influence upon ourselves. If a man seemed generous in bringing a peace-offering, and yet afterwards proved sneaking and paltry in the using of it, it was as if he had never brought it; nay, it shall be an abomination. Note, There is no mean between God's acceptance and his abhorrence. If our persons and performances are sincere and upright, they are accepted; if not, they are an abomination, Pro 15:8. He that eats it after the time appointed shall bear his iniquity, that is, he shall be cut off from his people, as it is explained (Lev 19:8), where this law is repeated. This law of eating the peace-offerings before the third day, that they might not putrefy, is applicable tot the resurrection of Christ after two days, that, being God's holy one, he might not see corruption, Psa 16:10. And some think that it instructs us speedily, and without delay, to partake of Christ and his grace, feeding and feasting thereon by faith today, while it is called today (Heb 3:13, Heb 3:14), for it will be too late shortly.

3. But the flesh, and those that eat it, must be pure. (1.) The flesh must touch no unclean thing; if it did, it must not be eaten, but burnt, Lev 7:19. If, in carrying it from the altar to the place where it was eaten, a dog touched it, or it touched a dead body or any other unclean thing, it was then unfit to be used in a religious feast. Every thing we honour the holy God with must be pure and carefully kept from all pollution. It is a case adjudged (Hag 2:12) that the holy flesh could not by its touch communicate holiness to what was common; but by this law it is determined that by the touch of that which was unclean it received pollution from it, which intimates that the infection of sin is more easily and more frequently communicated than the savour of grace. (2.) It must not be eaten by any unclean person. When a person was upon any account ceremonially unclean it was at his peril if he presumed to eat of the flesh of the peace-offerings, Lev 7:20, Lev 7:21. Holy things are only for holy persons; the holiness of the food being ceremonial, those were incapacitated to partake of it who lay under any ceremonial uncleanness; but we are hereby taught to preserve ourselves pure from all the pollutions of sin, that we may have the benefit and comfort of Christ's sacrifice, Pe1 2:1, Pe1 2:2. Our consciences must be purged from dead works, that we may be fit to serve the living God, Heb 9:14. But if any dare to partake of the table of the Lord under the pollution of sin unrepented of, and so profane sacred things, they eat and drink judgment to themselves, as those did that ate of the peace-offerings (Lev 7:20) and again (Lev 7:21), that they pertain unto the Lord: whatever pertains to the Lord is sacred, and must be used with great reverence and not with unhallowed hands. "Be you holy, for God is holy, and you pertain to him."

4. The eating of blood and the fat of the inwards is here again prohibited; and the prohibition is annexed as before to the law of the peace-offerings, Lev 3:17. (1.) The prohibition of the fat seems to be confined to those beasts which were used for sacrifice, the bullocks, sheep, and goats: but of the roe-buck, the hart, and other clean beasts, they might eat the fat; for those only of which offerings were brought are mentioned here, Lev 7:23-25. This was to preserve in their minds a reverence for God's altar, on which the fat of the inwards was burnt. The Jews say, "If a man eat so much as an olive of forbidden fat - if he do it presumptuously, he is in danger of being cut off by the hand of God - if ignorantly, he is to bring a sin-offering, and so to pay dearly for his carelessness." To eat of the flesh of that which died of itself, or was torn of beasts, was unlawful; but to eat of the fat of such was doubly unlawful, Lev 7:24. (2.) The prohibition of blood is more general (Lev 7:26, Lev 7:27), because the fat was offered to God only by way of acknowledgment, but the blood made atonement for the soul, and so typified Christ's sacrifice much more than the burning of the fat did; to this therefore a greater reverence must be paid, till these types had their accomplishment in the offering up of the body of Christ once for all. The Jews rightly expound this law as forbidding only the blood of the life, as they express it, not that which we call the gravy, for of that they supposed it was lawful to eat.

5. The priest's share of the peace-offerings is here prescribed. Out of every beast that was offered for a peace-offering the priest that offered it was to have to himself the breast and the right shoulder, Lev 7:30-34. Observe here, (1.) That when the sacrifice was killed the offerer himself must, with his own hands, present God's part of it, that he might signify thereby his cheerfully giving it up to God, and his desire that it might be accepted. He was with his own hands to lift it up, in token of his regard to God as the God of heaven, and then to wave it to and fro, in token of his regard to God as the Lord of the whole earth, to whom thus, as far as he could reach, he offered it, showing his readiness and wish to do him honour. Now that which was thus heaved and waved was the fat, and the breast, and the right shoulder, it was all offered to God; and then he ordered the fat to his altar, and the breast and shoulder to his priest, both being his receivers. (2.) That when the fat was burnt the priest took his part, on which he and his family were to feast, as well as the offerer and his family. In holy joy and thanksgiving, it is good to have our ministers to go before us, and to be our mouth to God. The melody is sweet when he that sows and those that reap rejoice together. Some observe a significancy in the parts assigned to the priests: the breast and the shoulder intimate the affections and the actions, which must be devoted to the honour of God by all his people and to the service also of the church by all his priests. Christ, our great peace-offering, feasts all his spiritual priests with the breast and shoulder, with the dearest love and the sweetest and strongest supports; for his is the wisdom of God and the power of God. When Saul was designed for a king Samuel ordered the shoulder of the peace-offering to be set before him (Sa1 9:24), which gave him a hint of something great and sacred intended for him. Jesus Christ is our great peace-offering; for he made himself a sacrifice, not only to atone for sin, and so to save us from the curse, but to purchase a blessing for us, and all good. By our joyfully partaking of the benefits of redemption we feast upon the sacrifice, to signify which the Lord's supper was instituted.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings--Besides the usual accompaniments of other sacrifices, leavened bread was offered with the peace offerings, as a thanksgiving, such bread being common at feasts.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

11. which one shall offer] i.e. anyone who desires to bring this kind of offering; where there is no emphasis on the subject, the passive is generally employed in English, ‘which may be offered.’

The Peace-Offering comes in this collection of toroth after the Sin and Guilt-Offerings, either because the ‘most holy’ things are placed first, or because the Peace-Offering is treated at greater length than the others. The text is not above suspicion; the omission by the LXX. in Lev_7:12 is noticed below, and the frequent occurrences of the Heb. prep. ‘al, translated ‘for’ and ‘with’ in Lev_7:12, and ‘with’ twice in Lev_7:13, are noted by Wellh., who remarks (Hist. of Isr. p. 69, note 1): ‘the suspicion very readily occurs that Lev_7:12 is an authentic interpretation prefixed, to obviate beforehand the difficulty presented by Lev_7:13, and that similarly the first ‘al in Lev_7:13 is also a later correction which does not harmonize well by any means with the second.’ This criticism is endorsed by Berth. KHC Lev. p. 22, and Bibl. Theol. d. A. T. ii.P.350.

The Peace-Offering may be brought for three reasons:

(a) For thanksgiving (Lev_7:12), to commemorate deliverance from sickness or danger. In Psalms 107, after mentioning perils out of which the Lord delivers man, the Psalmist says ‘let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving’ (Lev_7:22). These are quoted in Tal. Bab. Berǎchoth 54 b as occasions on which the Lord must be openly praised (cf. Lev_7:22; Lev_7:32 of the Ps., and Psa_56:12).

(b) In fulfilment of a vow (Lev_7:16, cp. Psa_56:12; Psa_66:13-14; Psa_116:12-19), when a man promises to bring an offering to the Lord, if He deliver him out of his distress.

(c) As a freewill offering (Lev_7:16, cp. Psa_54:6) when the heart is moved by the remembrance of God’s tender mercies (Psa_95:1-2; Psa_103:1-5) to bring an oblation. Offerings for vows and freewill offerings are mentioned in Lev_22:18; Lev_22:21; Lev_22:23; Num_15:3; a sacrifice of thanksgiving in Lev_22:29. On the distinction between the three kinds see note on Lev_22:23.

(6) The Peace-Offering (11–21)

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which ye shall offer unto the Lord. Some other laws and rules respecting the oblation of them: in Lev 3:1 an account is given of what they should be, both of the herd and flock, and of the burning of the fat of them; and here the several sorts of them are distinctly observed, what should be offered with them, and the part the priest should have of it, and when the flesh of them should be eaten.

an account is given of what they should be, both of the herd and flock, and of the burning of the fat of them; and here the several sorts of them are distinctly observed, what should be offered with them, and the part the priest should have of it, and when the flesh of them should be eaten.

Leviticus 7:12

lev 7:12

lev 7:12

lev 7:12If he offer it for a thanksgiving,.... Which Jarchi restrains to the wonderful deliverances of seafaring persons, of travellers, and of such as have been confined in prison, or have laboured under violent diseases and disorders of body; and so Aben Ezra seems to understand it only of thanksgivings on account of being delivered out of distress; but it might be for the common mercies of life, or any particular mercy or instance of divine goodness a man was sensible of, and thought proper in this way to make an acknowledgment of it:

then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving; which, if of the herd, was either a bullock or a cow; and if of the flock, was either a lamb or a goat:

unleavened cakes mingled with oil; ten of them, according to the Jewish writers; the measure of flour, of which they were made, were, as Jarchi says, five Jerusalem seahs or pecks, which were six of those used in the wilderness, and made twenty tenths or omers, an omer being the tenth part of an ephah (d); the oil they were mingled with, as to the quantity of it, was half a log (e); a fourth part of it was for the cakes, hastily baked, (said in the latter part of this verse to be fried,) an eighth part for those baked, (intended in this clause,) and an eighth part for the wafers next mentioned:

and unleavened wafers anointed with oil; these were a thinner sort of cakes, made without leaven as the others, but the oil was not mixed with the flour in the making of them, but put upon them when made, and therefore said to be anointed with it; there were also ten of these:

and cakes mingled with oil of fine flour fried; these were such as were hastily and not thoroughly baked, Lev 6:21 or, as Jarchi and Ben Gersom, they were mixed and boiled with hot water, as much as was sufficient; or, according to Maimonides (f), were fried in oil; and there were ten of these, in all thirty,

(d) Vid. Misn. Menachot, c. 7. sect. 1. & Bartenora in ib. (e) Maimon. Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 9. sect. 20. (f) In Misn. Menachot, c. 9. sect. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

See Lev. 3:1-17. What is here added, relates to the accompanying מנחה mı̂nchāh Lev 2:1, the classification of peace-offerings into:

(1) thank-offerings,

(2) vow-offerings and

(3) voluntary-offerings, and the conditions to be observed by the worshipper in eating the flesh.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This. Here the Roman, Septuagint, Junius, &c., commence the 7th chapter.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Vers. 11-21. Further ritual of the peace offering. (see note on Lev_3:1) There are three sorts of peace offerings thank offerings (verses 12-15), votive offerings, and voluntary offerings (verses 16-18). Of these, the thank offerings were made in thankful memorial for past mercies; votive offerings were made in fulfillment of a vow previously taken, that such offering should be presented if a terrain condition were fulfilled. Voluntary offerings differ from votive offerings by not having been previously vowed, and from thank offerings by not having reference to any special mercy received. The thank offering must be eaten by the offerer and his friends, on the same day that it was offered; the votive and the voluntary offerings, which were inferior to the thank offering in sanctity, on the same day or the next. The reason why a longer time was not given probably was that the more the meal was delayed, the less would a religious character be attached to it. The necessity of a quick consumption also took away the temptation of acting grudgingly towards those with whom the feast might be shared, and it likewise precluded the danger of the flesh becoming corrupted. If any of the flesh remained till the third day, it was to be burnt with fire; if eaten on that day, it should not be accepted or imputed unto him that offered, that is, it should not be regarded as a sacrifice of sweet savour to God, but an abomination (literally, a stench), and whoever ate it should bear his iniquity, that is, should be guilty of an offense, requiring, probably, a sin offering to atone for it. The bread gift accompanying the animal sacrifice was to consist of three kinds of unleavened cakes, and one cake of leavened bread, and one out of the whole oblation, that is, one cake of each kind, was to be offered by heaving and then given to the officiating priest, the remaining cakes forming a part of the offerer"s festive meal. If any one took part of a feast on a peace offering while in a state of Levitical uncleanness, he was to be cut off from his people, that is, excommunicated, without permission to recover immediate communion by offering a sin offering. St. Paul joined in a votive offering. (Act_21:26)

Vers. 11-18, 30. Four thoughts on sacred service.

We gather from these words

I THAT THERE IS A JOYOUS AND SOCIAL ELEMENT IN SACRED SERVICE. There were not only sin and burnt offerings, but also meat and peace offerings, in the Hebrew ritual. Those who were reconciled unto God might rejoice, and might rejoice together, before him. They might hold festive gatherings as his servants and as his worshippers; they might eat flesh which had been dedicated, to him, and bread, even leavened bread (verse 13), and they were to "rejoice in their feast". (Deu_16:14) The prevailing tone of the true Christian life is that of sacred joy. Even at the remembrance of the Saviour"s death humility and faith are to rise into holy joy. "Around a table, not a tomb, He willed our gathering-place should be. When going to prepare our home, Our Saviour said, "Remember me.

Whether in ordinary worship, or at "the table of the Lord," or in any other Christian festival, we are to "rejoice before the Lord." together.

II THAT THERE IS A SPONTANEOUS AS WELL AS A STATUTORY element in sacred service. "If he offer it for a thanksgiving then he shall offer," etc. (verse 12). "If the sacrifice... be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten," etc. (verse 16). God"s Law says, "thou shalt," but it finds room for "if thou shalt." There are many things compulsory, and we have nothing to do but cheerfully and unquestioningly obey. There are also many things optional, and we may allow ourselves to act as devotional and generous impulses may move us. The mind which is constitutionally legal should cultivate the spontaneous in worship and benefaction; the impulsive must remember that there are statutes as well as suggestions in the Word of God.

III THAT THERE MAY BE NOT ONLY FUTILITY BUT EVEN GUILT in connection with sacred service. Disregard of the prohibition to eat on the third day entirely vitiated the worthiness of the offering: in such case it would "not be accepted," neither "imputed unto him that offered it;" it would be counted "an abomination," and the soul that so acted was to "bear his iniquity" (verse 18). The service we seek to render God may be:

1. Wholly vitiated so as to be entirely unacceptable, and draw down noblessing from above; or may even be:

2. Positively offensive in the sight of God, and add to our guilt, if it be

a. unwilling, grudging;

b. unspiritual, soulless;

c. slovenly, careless, the offering of our exhaustion instead of our energy;

d. ostentatious or (still worse) hypocritical;

e. much mixed with worldly, or vindictive, or base thoughts.

IV THAT PERSONAL SPIRITUAL PARTICIPATION IS NECESSARY in sacred service. "His own hands shall bring the offerings" (verse 30). God would be approached by His people themselves, and though he had graciously granted human mediation in the form of a sacrificing priesthood, yet he desired that every Israelite who had an offering to present should bring it with his own hand to the door of the tabernacle. Religion is a personal thing. We may accept human ministry, but we must come ourselves to God in direct, immediate devotion and dedication. Every man here must bear his own burden. (Gal_6:5) There is a point beyond which the most ardent affection, the most earnest solicitude, the most burning zeal cannot go for others. They must, themselves, approach in reverence, bow in penitence, look up in faith, yield in self-surrender, present daily sacrifices of gratitude, obedience, submission. C.

Vers. 11-21. The peace offerings and thank offerings.

The unleavened bread and the leavened bread, both offered. The offerings must be quickly eaten, and all uncleanness must be avoided as iniquity. Thus are taught

I THE DUTY OF THANKFULNESS.

1. It should be cheerful, glad, pure, speedy.

2. It should be religious, expressed towards God as the Author and Giver of every good gift.

3. It should be social, recognizing both the house of God and family life.

II THE NECESSITY OF HOLINESS in all things and at all times. Thanks vows voluntary offerings; in all there must be separation to God, and from the corrupt and unclean.

1. In nothing more need of vigilance than in expressing the heart"s more joyful feelings. Possibility of prolonging the joy till it becomes corrupt. Hilarity overbalancing the soul. Intemperance in enjoyments.

2. The uncleanness of the world is apt to cling to us. We should especially watch against carrying the impure spirit into the sanctuary. The mind should be free, the heart calm, the soul hungering and thirsting alter spiritual delights, when, on the Lord"s day, we enter the courts of his house to offer sacrifice.

3. Fellowship with God"s ministers and his services. One voice, but many hearts. True mediation when all alike by faith depending on Christ. R.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Law of the Peace-Offerings, "which he shall offer to Jehovah" (the subject is to be supplied from the verb), contains instructions, (1) as to the bloodless accompaniment to these sacrifices (Lev 7:12-14), (2) as to the eating of the flesh of the sacrifices (Lev 7:15-21), with the prohibition against eating fat and blood (Lev 7:22-27), and (3) as to Jehovah's share of these sacrifices (Lev 7:28-36). - In Lev 7:12 and Lev 7:16 three classes of shelamim are mentioned, which differ according to their occasion and design, viz., whether they were brought על־תּודה, upon the ground of praise, i.e., to praise God for blessings received or desired, or as vow-offerings, or thirdly, as freewill-offerings (Lev 7:16). To (lit., upon, in addition to) the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Lev 7:12, "sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace-offerings," Lev 7:13 and Lev 7:15) they were to present "unleavened cakes kneaded with oil, and flat cakes anointed with oil (see at Lev 2:4), and roasted fine flour (see Lev 6:14) mixed as cakes with oil," i.e., cakes made of fine flour roasted with oil, and thoroughly kneaded with oil (on the construction, see Ges. 139, 2; Ewald 284 a). This last kind of cakes kneaded with oil is also called oil-bread-cake ("a cake of oiled bread," Lev 8:26; Exo 29:23), or "cake unleavened, kneaded with oil" (Exo 29:2), and probably differed from the former simply in the fact that it was more thoroughly saturated with oil, inasmuch as it was not only made of flour that had been mixed with oil in the kneading, but the flour itself was first of all roasted in oil, and then the dough was moistened still further with oil in the process of kneading.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

peace-offerings

In the "law of the offerings," the peace-offering is taken out of its place as third of the sweet savour offerings, and placed alone, and after all the non-sweet savour offerings. The explanation is as simple as the fact is beautiful. In revealing the offerings Jehovah works from Himself out to the sinner. (See Scofield "Exo 25:10"). The whole burnt-offering comes first as meeting what is due to the divine affections, and the trespass-offering last as meeting the simplest aspect of sin-- its injuriousness. But the sinner begins of necessity with that which lies nearest to a newly awakened conscience--a sense, namely, that because of sin he is at enmity with God. His first need, therefore, is peace with God. And that is precisely the Gospel order. Christ’s first message is, "Peace" Joh 20:19 afterward He shows them His hands and His side. It is the order as 2Co 5:18-21 first "the word of reconciliation," Lev 7:19, then the trespass- and sin-offering, Lev 7:21. Experience thus reverses the order of revelation.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Of Peace-offerings. —

v. 11. And this is the law of sacrifice of peace-offerings which he shall offer unto the Lord. The peace-offerings were made for the purpose of establishing and maintaining the fellowship with the covenant God, and may be divided into offerings of thanksgiving and into vow or voluntary offerings.

v. 12. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, in grateful acknowledgment of some special favor shown him by the Lord, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavene Lev 2:4-5.

v. 13. Besides the cakes, which were unleavened, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace-offerings.

v. 14. And of it, of the entire gift as presented to the Lord, he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave-offering unto the Lord, one of each kind of cakes, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace-offerings, the rest being returned to the worshiper for the sacrificial meal. The heave-offering was taken into the hands and waved up and down before the altar, but not placed upon it.

v. 15. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. This provision applied specifically to this form of the peace-offering: the sacrificial meal was to be held the same day.

v. 16. But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow or a voluntary offering, brought whenever a believer felt the need of cementing the fellowship between himself and the Lord, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice; and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten, two days being allowed in this case for consuming the flesh of the sacrificial animal;

v. 17. but the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire, and thus be destroyed completely.

v. 18. And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings be eaten at all on the third day, in violation of God’s will, it shall not be accepted, the entire sacrifice would be made in vain, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it, that is, as a sacrifice which is well-pleasing to the Lord; it shall be an abomination, hateful and nauseating to God, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity, not only the worshiper immediately concerned, but also the members of his family and his friends who might partake of the meal.

v. 19. And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten, in such event it must be discarded at once; it shall be burned with fire; and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof, that is, of the clean flesh of the sacrifice.

v. 20. But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings that pertain unto the Lord, that have been consecrated to Him by the offering, having his uncleanness upon him, any form of Levitical defilement, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

v. 21. Moreover, the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, Cf chaps. 12-15, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings which pertain unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. The abomination spoken of here included all the unclean fishes, birds, and smaller mammals, and the defilement of unclean animals was confined to their carcasses, carrion being considered especially filthy. The Lord indicates here that He wants pure hands and pure hearts in His service. But to this day true sacrifices of thanksgiving and the paying of vows are acts well-pleasing to the Lord, if they are done in true faith and love toward Him, Psa 50:14.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

of cakes made without yeast, but mixed with oil

This can be translated in active form. AT: "of cakes he made without yeast but mixed with oil" (See: Active or Passive)

cakes ... mixed with oil

Here "cakes" refers to a thick bread.

of cakes made without yeast, but spread with oil

This can be translated in active form. AT: "of thin cakes he made without yeast but spread with oil" (See: Active or Passive)

cakes ... spread with oil

Here "cakes" refers to a thin bread.

of cakes made with fine flour that is mixed with oil

This can be translated in active form. AT: "of cakes he made with fine flour mixed with oil" (See: Active or Passive)

cakes made with fine flour

Here "cakes" refers to a thick bread. It is similar to the first type of bread except it is made with the finest flour.

translationWords

law, laws

sacrifice

peace offering

Yahweh

yeast

oil

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.