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LEVITICUS 3

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV  NJB
The Law of the Peace Offering The Peace Offering Offerings of Well-Being Fellowship Offerings The Communion Sacrifice
3:1-11 3:1-5 3:1-5 3:1-5 3:1-5
3:6-11 3:6-11 3:6-11 3:6
3:7-11
3:12-17 3:12-17 3:12-16a 3:12-17 3:12-16a
3:16b-4:2 3:16b-17

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

  1. This offering (i.e., Lev. 3:1) is the most common of all ANE types of sacrifice.

  2. This chapter describes the freewill offering of individuals who seek communion with God, symbolized by a sacred meal.

  3. The chapter specifies these types of animal sacrifice (male or female).
    1. from the herd, Lev. 3:1-5
    2. from the flock (sheep), Lev. 3:6-11
    3. from the flock (goats), Lev. 3:12-16

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 3:1-11
  1"Now if his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he is going to offer out of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without defect before the Lord. 2He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slay it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar. 3From the sacrifice of the peace offerings he shall present an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. 5Then Aaron's sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire; it is an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 6But if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord is from the flock, he shall offer it, male or female, without defect. 7If he is going to offer a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord, 8and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slay it before the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 9From the sacrifice of peace offerings he shall bring as an offering by fire to the Lord, its fat, the entire fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 10and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. 11Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire to the Lord."

3:1 "peace offerings" There were three kinds of peace offerings.

  1. the thank offering (Lev. 7:11-15; 22:24-30)
  2. the vow offering (Lev. 7:16-18; 22:21-25)
  3. the freewill offering (Lev. 7:16-18; 22:21-25)

The peace offering symbolizes a fellowship meal with Deity. Because the burnt offering, grain offering, and peace offering were all voluntary, they showed the attitude of a human heart toward God. God symbolically ate with the offerer (cf. Lev. 7:11-18), which denoted his/her acceptance. See SPECIAL TOPIC: SACRIFICIAL SYSTEMS OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST, V. C.

The NOUN "peace offering" (BDB 1023) is from a root with several meanings. Note the following translations.

NASB, NKJV, Peshitta  "peace offering"
NRSV, JPSOA  "well being"
TEV, NIV  "fellowship offering"
NJB, Ronald deVaux  "common sacrifice"
NJB, REB  "shared offering"
LXX  "deliverance"
Josephus (Antiq. 3.9.2)  "thank offering"

The root, שׁלם (BDB 1022) can mean

  1. NOUN - be complete or sound (BDB 1022)
  2. VERB - completeness, soundness, welfare, peace
  3. NOUN - sacrifice for alliance or sacrifice for friendship (BDB 1023)
  4. VERB - be in covenant of peace
  5. ADJECTIVE - complete, safe, at peace (BDB 1023 I)
  6. NOUN - recompense (BDB 1024)

See SPECIAL TOPIC: PEACE (OT) and SPECIAL TOPIC: PEACE (NT).

Because of the basic meaning of the root (i.e., complete), some scholars suggest it denotes a concluding sacrifice after other offerings (Wenham, Leviticus, pp. 76-77) from Ugaritic root.

▣ "male or female" In the burnt offering of Leviticus 1 it had to be a male but here, either.

▣ "without defect" See SPECIAL TOPIC: WITHOUT BLEMISH.

▣ "before the Lord" From Lev. 1:3 it is specified that this phrase means at the "door of the Tabernacle." YHWH dwelt with His people over the ark of the covenant (see SPECIAL TOPIC: ARK OF THE COVENANT) in the Holy of Holies (see SPECIAL TOPIC: TABERNACLE OF THE WILDERNESS).
For "Lord" see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D.

3:2 "lay his hand on the head" See note at Lev. 1:4.

▣ "sprinkle" See full note at Lev. 1:5.

▣ "the altar" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ALTAR OF SACRIFICE.

3:3-4 "the fat" See full note at Lev. 1:8.

3:5 "a soothing aroma" See SPECIAL TOPIC: A SOOTHING AROMA.

3:6 Note the distinction between

  1. the herd of Lev. 3:1 (i.e., bull or cow)
  2. the flock of Lev. 3:6 (i.e., sheep or goat)

▣ "without defect" See SPECIAL TOPIC: WITHOUT BLEMISH.

3:8 "lay his hand on the head" See full note at Lev. 1:4.

▣ "sprinkle" See full note at Lev. 1:5.

3:9 "the entire fat tail" The sheep of Palestine store their fat in their tails instead of on their intestines.
They are called "fat-tailed sheep." This fat was a symbol of the health and vigor of the animal that was reserved for God (as was the blood).

3:11 "as food" This was the ANE view of sacrifice (see SPECIAL TOPIC: SACRIFICIAL SYSTEMS OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST), but for Israel it is imagery (i.e., Ps. 50:7-15). The sacrifices were seen as

  1. a way to gain or restore favor (Leviticus 1-3)
  2. a way to deal with sin (Leviticus 4-5)
They are called "food" (cf. Lev. 3:11,16; Num. 28:2) and "the Bread of God" (Lev. 21:6,8,17; 22:25). The "soothing aroma" is also idiomatic for YHWH's acceptance of the persons and their offerings, not food (i.e., Gen. 8:21-22). The concept of "food" in Israel was because the peace offering involved a fellowship meal involving
  1. the offerer
  2. the officiating priest
  3. YHWH (cf. Lev. 7:11-18; 19:5-8; 22:21-30)
The LXX even changes "as food" in Lev. 3:11,16, to "an odor of fragrance," showing that the translator saw it as symbolic.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 3:12-17
  12"Moreover, if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord, 13 and he shall lay his hand on its head and slay it before the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 14From it he shall present his offering as an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 15and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. 16The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire for a soothing aroma; all fat is the Lord's. 17It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall not eat any fat or any blood."

3:12-16 The ritual procedures for an animal from the flock parallels the ritual for animals from the herd.

3:17 "It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations" This is a recurrent phrase in the book of Leviticus. It may be the author's way of dividing his book (cf. Lev. 7:36; 10:9; 16:29,34; 17:7; 23:14,21,31,41; 24:3). Be careful of reading the English definition of "perpetual" into the OT. See SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam).

▣ "you shall not eat any fat or any blood" The fat was excluded because it represents health and vigor which belongs to God; the blood was excluded because the life was in the blood and the life belongs to God (cf. Gen. 9:4-7; Lev. 7:23,26).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. What does the term "peace offering" imply?
  2. How is it unique in what happens to the flesh of the sacrificial animal?
  3. Why is the fat on the intestines and internal organs given to God?
  4. Why is the injunction (i.e., consume no fat or blood) of Lev. 3:17 not repeated other places?

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