Imamat 3:1

Peace Offering Regulations: Animal from the Herd

3:1 “‘Now if his offering is a peace offering sacrifice, ¹  if he presents an offering from the herd, he must present before the Lord a flawless male or a female. ² 

Imamat 21:6

21:6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane ³  the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts, ⁴  the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy. ⁵ 

Imamat 22:22

22:22 “‘You must not present to the Lord something blind, or with a broken bone, or mutilated, or with a running sore, ⁶  or with a festering eruption, or with a feverish rash. ⁷  You must not give any of these as a gift ⁸  on the altar to the Lord.

[3:1]  ¹ sn The peace offering sacrifice primarily enacted and practiced communion between God and man (and between the people of God). This was illustrated by the fact that the fat parts of the animal were consumed on the altar of the Lord but the meat was consumed by the worshipers in a meal before God. This is the only kind of offering in which common worshipers partook of the meat of the animal. When there was a series of offerings that included a peace offering (see, e.g., Lev 9:8-21, sin offerings, burnt offerings, and afterward the peace offerings in vv. 18-21), the peace offering was always offered last because it expressed the fact that all was well between God and his worshiper(s). There were various kinds of peace offerings, depending on the worship intended on the specific occasion. The “thank offering” expressed thanksgiving (e.g., Lev 7:11-15; 22:29-30), the “votive offering” fulfilled a vow (e.g., Lev 7:16-18; 22:21-25), and the “freewill offering” was offered as an expression of devotion and praise to God (e.g., Lev 7:16-18; 22:21-25). The so-called “ordination offering” was also a kind of peace offering that was used to consecrate the priests at their ordination (e.g., Exod 29:19-34; Lev 7:37; 8:22-32). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:1066-73 and 4:135-43.

[3:1]  ² tn Heb “if a male if a female, perfect he shall present it before the Lord.” The “or” in the present translation (and most other English versions) is not present in the Hebrew text here, but see v. 6 below.

[21:6]  ³ sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

[21:6]  ⁴ sn Regarding the Hebrew term for “gifts,” see the note on Lev 1:9 above (cf. also 3:11 and 16 in combination with the word for “food” that follows in the next phrase here).

[21:6]  ⁵ tc Smr and all early versions have the plural adjective “holy” rather than the MT singular noun “holiness.”

[22:22]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “a wart” (cf. NIV; HALOT 383 s.v. יַבֶּלֶת, but see the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 358).

[22:22]  ⁷ sn See the note on Lev 21:20 above.

[22:22]  ⁸ sn This term for offering “gift” is explained in the note on Lev 1:9.