Leviticus · Chapter 2

V. 1. A meal-offering-(Not meat-offering, an ancient false print, which has run thro’ many editions of our bible.) This was of two kinds, the one joined with other offerings, Numbers 15:4,7,10, which was prescribed, together with the measure or proportion of it: the other, of which this place speaks, was left to the offerer’s good will both for the thing, and for the quantity. And the matter for this offering was things without life, as meal, corn, or cakes. Now this sort of sacrifices were appointed,

1. because these are things of greatest necessity and benefit to man, and therefore it is meet that God should be served with them, and owned and praised as the giver of them.

Verse 1. Meat-offering] hjnm minchah. For an explanation of this word see Clarke’s note on “Genesis 4:3”, and Lev. 7. Calmet has remarked that there are five kinds of the minchah mentioned in this chapter.

1. tls soleth, simple flour or meal, Leviticus 2:1.

2. Cakes and wafers, or whatever was baked in the oven,

Leviticus 2:4.

3. Cakes baked in the pan, Leviticus 2:5.

4. Cakes baked on the frying-pan, or probably, a gridiron, Leviticus 2:7.

5. Green ears of corn parched, Leviticus 2:14.

All these were offered without honey or leaven, but accompanied with wine, oil, and frankincense. It is very likely that the minchah, in some or all of the above forms, was the earliest oblation offered to the Supreme Being, and probably was in use before sin entered into the world, and consequently before bloody sacrifices, or piacular victims, had been ordained. The minchah of green ears of corn dried by the fire, &c., was properly the gratitude-offering for a good seed time, and the prospect of a plentiful harvest. This appears to have been the offering brought by Cain, Genesis 4:3; See Clarke’s note “Genesis 4:3”. The flour, whether of wheat, rice, barley, rye, or any other grain used for aliment, was in all likelihood equally proper; for in Numbers 5:15, we find the flour of barley, or barley meal, is called minchah. It is plain that in the institution of the minchah no animal was here included, though in other places it seems to include both kinds; but in general the minchah was not a bloody offering, nor used by way of atonement or expiation, but merely in a eucharistic way, expressing gratitude to God for the produce of the soil. It is such an offering as what is called natural religion might be reasonably expected to suggest: but alas! so far lost is man, that even thankfulness to God for the fruits of the earth must be taught by a Divine revelation; for in the heart of man even the seeds of gratitude are not found, till sown there by the hand of Divine grace.

Offerings of different kinds of grain, flour, bread, fruits, &c., are the most ancient among the heathen nations; and even the people of God have had them from the beginning of the world. See this subject largely discussed on Exodus 23:29, where several examples are given. Ovid intimates that these gratitude-offerings originated with agriculture. “In the most ancient times men lived by rapine, hunting, &c., for the sword was considered to be more honourable than the plough; but when they sowed their fields, they dedicated the first-fruits of their harvest to Ceres, to whom the ancients attributed the art of agriculture, and to whom burnt-offerings of corn were made, according to immemorial usages.” The passage to which I refer, and of which I have given the substance, is the following:— “Non habuit tellus doctos antiqua colonos:

Lassabant agiles aspera bella viros.

Plus erat in gladio quam curvo laudis aratro:

Neglectus domino pauca ferebat ager.

Farra tamen veteres jaciebant, farra metebant:

Primitias Cereri farra resecta dabant.

Usibus admoniti flammis torrenda dedere:

Multaque peccato damna tulere suo.”

FASTOR., lib. ii., ver. 515.

Pliny observes that “Numa taught the Romans to offer fruits to the gods, and to make supplications before them, bringing salt cakes and parched corn; as grain in this state was deemed most wholesome.” Numa instituit deos FRUGE colere, et MOLA SALSA supplicare, atque (ut auctor est Hemina) far torrere, quoniam tostum cibo salubrius esset.-HIST. NAT. lib xviii., c. 2. And it is worthy of remark, that the ancient Romans considered “no grain as pure or proper for divine service that had not been previously parched.” Id uno modo consecutum, statuendo non esse purum ad rem divinam nisi tostum.-Ibid.

God, says Calmet, requires nothing here which was not in common use for nourishment; but he commands that these things should be offered with such articles as might give them the most exquisite relish, such as salt, oil, and wine, and that the flour should be of the finest and purest kind. The ancients, according to Suidas, seem to have made much use or meal formed into a paste with milk, and sometimes with water. (See Suidas in maza.) The priests kept in the temples a certain mixture of flour mingled with oil and wine, which they called ugieia Hugieia or health, and which they used as a kind of amulet or charm against sickness; after they had finished their sacrifices, they generally threw some flour upon the fire, mingled with oil and wine, which they called qulhmata thulemata, and which, according to Theophrastus, was the ordinary sacrifice of the poor.

Verse 1. When any will offer a meat-offering — The word hjnm, mincha, which we render meat-offering, signifies generally a simple oblation or gift. In this chapter and elsewhere it signifies an offering of things inanimate, in opposition to animal sacrifices, described in the former chapter. The word meat-offering (which is supposed by some to have been an ancient false print, that has run through many editions of our Bible, for meal-offering) conveys a quite different idea to the English reader. It certainly would be better rendered meal-offering, or wheat-offering. It was of two kinds: the one which, being joined with other offerings, (Numbers 15:4, 7, 10,) was particularly prescribed with the measure and proportion of it. The other, which is here spoken of, was left to the offerer’s good-will, both for the thing offered and the quantity. As to the matter of these minchas, or offerings of things inanimate, it was of such things as were of great use to the support of human life, namely, flour, bread, wine, salt, &c. Now this sort of sacrifices was appointed, 1st, Because these are things of the greatest necessity and benefit to man, and therefore it is meet that God should be served with them, and owned and praised as the giver of them. 2d, In condescension to the poor, that they might not want an offering for God, and to show that God would accept even the meanest services, when offered with a sincere mind. Some of these offerings were for the whole congregation, as the waved sheaf, (Leviticus 23:11,) and the two waved loaves, Leviticus 23:17. Some, again, were for private persons; among which were that for the poor sinner who could not afford the more expensive sacrifices, Leviticus 5:11, that, for the suspected woman, Numbers 5:15; besides the voluntary ones. He shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon — To make a sweet odour in the court of the tabernacle, which otherwise would have been very offensive, by reason of the blood that was sprinkled and the flesh that was burned there daily. Besides, the pouring oil, and putting frankincense thereon, signified its being grateful and acceptable to God. And therefore in the offering of jealousy, when guilt was supposed, and sin brought to remembrance, no oil nor frankincense was to be put on the oblation. Now both these things were emblematical of spiritual blessings; the oil of the graces of the Holy Spirit, which are compared to oil and to anointing therewith, (Psalm 45:7; 1 John 2:20,) and are necessary to make any offering acceptable to God; and the frankincense of Christ’s atonement and intercession, compared to a sweet odour, Ephesians 5:2. And the intention of all these offerings being fully answered by the mediation of the Messiah and the blessings of his gospel, it was proper they should cease upon his death, as is thought to have been expressly foretold, Daniel 9:27.

Verse 1. When any (Hebrews nephesh) soul; to denote that true religion is seated in the heart. Offer a meat-offering (Hebrews mincha) which Aquila renders, a gift of wheat to the Lord.

1. Meat offering — Our word meat has undergone a contraction in its meaning. It once signified food of any kind; but now its popular use is restricted to flesh. On account of this mutability in words, so beautifully portrayed by Horace in his Art of Poetry, every version of the Bible, after a few generations, needs a revision. The American Bible Union and Professor Murphy have adopted the oblation as a translation of the mincha, the food offering — a general term applied to a particular offering, and always needing explanation. Let us go back to the original intent of our English translators and call it food offering, or more exactly, bread offering, since it was made of bread or breadstuff. Fine flour — This was produced from wheat ground in hand mills and sifted. Only the wealthy could afford to make it a constant article of diet. The quantity is not here specified. In the case of individuals the quantity may have been left for the offerer to determine, as an exercise of his benevolent feelings. When the feast of firstfruits was celebrated, the quantity of fine flour was prescribed — “two tenth deals of flour,” Leviticus 23:13, equal to about six and a half quarts. Shall pour oil upon it — This is the oil of pressed olives. Animal oil was forbidden for food. Leviticus 7:23. Olive oil is much used in the preparation of food in Palestine. It takes the place of butter and lard in the diet and cookery of the western nations. Bread baked in oil is reputed to be particularly sustaining. Wheat boiled and eggs fried in oil are common dishes for all classes in Syria. Since oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual lesson conveyed by this ingredient is, that all the offerings of our hearts to God must be through the unction of the Holy Ghost, and all our devotional exercises must be inspired by him, whether of prayer, (Jude 1:20,) or song, (1 Corinthians 14:15,) or speaking, (Acts 2:4.) Frankincense — This is a vegetable resin, brittle, bitter, glittering, and white when obtained from the first incision of the tree, the arbor thuris. It is produced in Arabia, (Isaiah 60:6,) especially in Sheba. The statement that it is still uncertain by what tree it is produced, is not complimentary to botanical science. The disagreement of modern writers is as great as that of ancient authors. Professor Murphy asserts that the Boswellia thurifera, or libanus, of the natural order Burseraceae, a tree of India and Arabia, produces this gum. Frankincense is chiefly used for sacrificial fumigation. The incongruity of putting this inedible substance upon the bread offering is explained in the next verse, in which the priest is directed to take all the incense and a handful of the flour and oil and burn it upon the altar.

2. In condescension to the poor, that they might not want an offering for God, and to shew that God would accept even the meanest services, when offered with a sincere mind.

Verse 2. His handful of the flour] This was for a memorial, to put God in mind of his covenant with their fathers, and to recall to their mind his gracious conduct towards them and their ancestors. Mr. Ainsworth properly remarks, “that there was neither oil nor incense offered with the sin and jealousy offerings; because they were no offerings of memorial, but such as brought iniquities to remembrance, which were neither gracious nor sweet-smelling before the Lord.” Numbers 5:15; Leviticus 5:11.

In this case a handful only was burnt, the rest was reserved for the priest’s use; but all the frankincense was burnt, because from it the priest could derive no advantage.

Verse 2. He shall take — That priest to whom he brought it, and who is appointed to offer it. The memorial — That part thus selected and offered; which is called a memorial, either, 1st, To the offerer, who by offering this part was reminded, that the whole of that which he brought, and of all which he had of that kind, was God’s, to whom this part was paid as an acknowledgment. Or, 2d, To God, whom (to speak after the manner of men) this did put in mind of his gracious covenant and promises of favour, and acceptance of the offerer and his offering. A sweet savour unto the Lord — And so are our spiritual offerings, which are made by the fire of holy love, particularly that of alms-giving. With such sacrifices God is well pleased.

2. The memorial — This is a sacrificial term peculiar to the bread offering. It is descriptive of either that which brings the offerer to the remembrance of God, or of that which brings God to the grateful recollection of the sacrificer. In the New Testament it is used in the former sense. See Matthew 26:13; Acts 10:4, notes. The same term is applied to the pure incense (in vases) set out with the showbread, (Leviticus 24:7,) and which, according to Josephus, was also burnt upon the altar.

3. These were necessary provisions for the feast which was to be presented to God, and for the use of the priests, who were to attend upon these holy ministrations. He shall pour oil-This may note the graces of the Holy Ghost, which are compared to oil, and anointing with it, Psalm 45:7, 1John 2:20, and which are necessary to make any offering acceptable to God. Frankincense-Manifestly designed Christ’s satisfaction and intercession, which is compared to a sweet odour, Ephesians 5:2.

V. 2. He shall take-That priest to whom he brought it, and who is appointed to offer it. The memorial-That part thus selected and offered; which is called a memorial, either

1. to the offerer, who by offering this part is minded, that the whole of that he brought, and of all which he hath of that kind, is God’s to whom this part was paid as an acknowledgment. Or

2. to God, whom (to speak after the manner of men) this did put in mind of his gracious covenant and promises of favour, and acceptance of the offerer and his offering. A sweet savour unto the Lord-And so are our spiritual offerings, which are made by the fire of holy love, particularly that of almsgiving. With such sacrifices God is well-pleased.

V. 3. Sons-To be eaten by them, Leviticus 6:16. Most holy-Or such as were to be eaten only by the priests, and that only in the holy place near the altar.

Verses 3-6. Shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ — To be eaten by them, Leviticus 6:16. Most holy — Or such as were to be eaten only by the priests, and that only in the holy place near the altar. In the oven — Made in the sanctuary for that use. In pieces — Because part of it was offered to God, and part given to the priests.

3. The remnant… shall be Aaron’s — Abundant provision was made for the support of the priesthood out of the tithes and offerings. St. Paul insists that Christianity is not surpassed by Judaism in this particular. 1 Corinthians 9:13, 14. Hence, when, through the decline of piety and the growth of avarice, the offerings are withheld, the service of God’s house languishes, and the ministers at the altar are driven to secular employments. Nehemiah 13:10. A thing most holy — Everything offered to Jehovah was holy, but the portion reserved for his representatives, the priests, was most holy, and it must not be burnt, (Leviticus 10:17,) but eaten either in the holy place by the priests alone, or in a clean place by their families. Leviticus 6:25, note; 10:14. Eating by the priests symbolizes the complete acceptance of any thing on the part of Jehovah. Consuming by the altar-fire, is another mode of acceptance.

V. 4. In the oven-Made in the sanctuary for that use.

Verse 4. Baken in the oven] rwnt tannur, from rn nar, to split, divide, says Mr. Parkhurst; and hence the oven, because of its burning, dissolving, and melting heat.

Verses 3-6. Shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ — To be eaten by them, Leviticus 6:16. Most holy — Or such as were to be eaten only by the priests, and that only in the holy place near the altar. In the oven — Made in the sanctuary for that use. In pieces — Because part of it was offered to God, and part given to the priests.

4. Oblation — The Hebrew korban. It is a general term for offering, and is so translated in Leviticus 1:2. Baken in the oven — There is no in in the original. Hence we infer that the oven was of the kind used by the Arabs, a great stone pitcher heated by a fire within it. To the exterior of this, thin cakes or wafers are applied, which are instantly baked. Unleavened cakes — Leaven is expressly forbidden in the bread offering. See verse 11. The ground of this prohibition is, that the fermentation of the leaven is incipient decay, and the bread is rendered impure. This is the testimony of modern chemistry and hygiene, which has led to the attempt to substitute aerated and salt-raised bread for that corrupted by leaven. Our Lord Jesus and St. Paul always regarded leaven as a symbol of moral putrefaction. Matthew 16:6; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. Thus, according to St. Paul, unleavened cakes are emblematical of “sincerity (pureness) and truth.” Leaven in food was not forbidden except in the passover week. Because the bread of the peace offering was eaten and not burned, (Leviticus 2:11,) leaven was permitted in that peace offering. Leviticus 7:14.

Verse 5. Baken in a pan] tbjm machabath, supposed to be a flat iron plate, placed over the fire; such as is called a griddle in some countries.

Verses 3-6. Shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ — To be eaten by them, Leviticus 6:16. Most holy — Or such as were to be eaten only by the priests, and that only in the holy place near the altar. In the oven — Made in the sanctuary for that use. In pieces — Because part of it was offered to God, and part given to the priests.

5. Baken in a pan — This was a flat iron plate or griddle. It is still used by the Arabs.

V. 6. In pieces-Because part of it was offered to God, and part given to the priests.

Verses 3-6. Shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ — To be eaten by them, Leviticus 6:16. Most holy — Or such as were to be eaten only by the priests, and that only in the holy place near the altar. In the oven — Made in the sanctuary for that use. In pieces — Because part of it was offered to God, and part given to the priests.

6. Part it in pieces — This was for the convenience of the priest, who was to cast one piece well oiled upon the altar fires, and to eat the rest himself, or to share it with his colleagues.

Verse 7. The frying-pan] tvjrm marchesheth, supposed to be the same with that called by the Arabs a ta-jen, a shallow earthen vessel like a frying-pan, used not only to fry in, but for other purposes. On the different instruments, as well as the manner of baking in the east, Mr. Harmer, in his observations on select passages of Scripture, has collected the following curious information.

“Dr. Shaw informs us that in the cities and villages of Barbary, there are public ovens, but that among the Bedouins, who live in tents, and the Kabyles, who live in miserable hovels in the mountains, their bread, made into thin cakes, is baked either immediately upon the coals, or else in a ta-jen, which he tells us is a shallow earthen vessel like a frying-pan: and then cites the Septuagint to show that the supposed pan, mentioned Leviticus 2:5, was the same thing as a ta-jen. The ta-jen, according to Dr. Russel, is exactly the same among the Bedouins as the rhganon, a word of the same sound as well as meaning, was among the Greeks. So the Septuagint, Leviticus 2:5: if thy oblation be a meat-offering, baken in a pan, (apo thganou,) it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.

“This account given by the doctor is curious; but as it does not give us all the eastern ways of baking, so neither does it furnish us, I am afraid, with a complete comment on that variety of methods of preparing the meat-offerings which is mentioned by Moses in Leviticus 2:1-16. So long ago as Queen Elizabeth’s time, Rauwolff observed that travellers frequently baked bread in the deserts of Arabia on the ground, heated for that purpose by fire, covering their cakes of bread with ashes and coals, and turning them several times until they were baked enough; but that some of the Arabians had in their tents, stones, or copper plates, made on purpose for baking. Dr. Pococke very lately made a like observation, speaking of iron hearths used for baking their bread.

“Sir John Chardin, mentioning the several ways of baking their bread in the east, describes these iron plates as small and convex. These plates are most commonly used, he tells us, in Persia, and among the wandering people that dwell in tents, as being the easiest way of baking, and done with the least expense; the bread being as thin as a skin, and soon prepared. Another way (for he mentions four) is by baking on the hearth. That bread is about an inch thick; they make no other all along the Black Sea from the Palus Mæotis to the Caspian Sea, in Chaldea, and in Mesopotamia, except in towns. This, he supposes, is owing to their being woody countries. These people make a fire in the middle of a room; when the bread is ready for baking they sweep a corner of the hearth, lay the bread there, and cover it with hot ashes and embers; in a quarter of an hour they turn it: this bread is very good. The third way is that which is common among us. The last way, and that which is common through all Asia, is thus: they make an oven in the ground, four or five feet deep and three in diameter, well plastered with mortar. When it is hot, they place the bread (which is commonly long, and not thicker than a finger) against the sides, and it is baked in a moment.

“D’Arvieux mentions another way used by the Arabs about Mount Carmel, who sometimes bake in an oven, and at other time on the hearth; but have a third method, which is, to make a fire in a great stone pitcher and when it is heated, they mix meal and water, as we do to make paste to glue things together, which they apply with the hollow of their hands to the outside of the pitcher, and this extremely soft paste spreading itself upon it is baked in an instant. The heat of the pitcher having dried up all the moisture, the bread comes off as thin as our wafers; and the operation is so speedily performed that in a very little time a sufficient quantity is made. “Maimonides and the Septuagint differ in their explanation of Leviticus 2:5; for that Egyptian rabbi supposes this verse speaks of a fiat plate, and these more ancient interpreters, of a ta-jen. But they both seem to agree that these were two of the methods of preparing the meat-offering; for Maimonides supposes the seventh verse speaks of a frying-pan or ta-jen; whereas the Septuagint, on the contrary, thought the word there meant a hearth, which term takes in an iron or copper plate, though it extends farther.

“The meat-offerings of the fourth verse answer as well to the Arab bread, baked by means of their stone pitchers, which are used by them for the baking of wafers, as to their cakes of bread mentioned by D’Arvieux, who, describing the way of baking among the modern Arabs, after mentioning some of their methods, says they bake their best sort of bread, either by heating an oven, or a large pitcher, half full of certain little smooth shining flints, upon which they lay the dough, spread out in form of a thin broad cake. The mention of wafers seems to fix the meaning of Moses to these oven pitchers, though perhaps it may be thought an objection that this meat-offering is said to have been baked in an oven; but it will be sufficient to observe that the Hebrew words only signify a meat-offering of the oven, and consequently may be understood as well of wafers baked on the outside of these oven pitchers, as of cakes of bread baked in them. And if thou bring an oblation, a baked thing, of the oven, it shall be an unleavened cake of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. Whoever then attends to these accounts of the stone pitcher, the ta-jen, and the copper plate or iron hearth, will enter into this second of Leviticus , I believe, much more perfectly than any commentator has done, and will find in these accounts what answers perfectly well to the description Moses gives us of the different ways of preparing the meat-offerings. A ta-jen indeed, according to Dr. Shaw, serves for a frying-pan as well as for a baking vessel; for he says, the bagreah of the people of Barbary differs not much from our pancakes, only that, instead of rubbing the ta-jen or pan in which they fry them with butter, they rub it with soap, to make them like a honeycomb.

“Moses possibly intended a meat-offering of that kind might be presented to the Lord; and our translators seem to prefer that supposition, since, though the margin mentions the opinion of Maimonides, the reading of the text in the sixth verse opposes a pan for baking to a pan for frying in the seventeenth verse. The thought, however, of Maimonides seems to be most just, as Moses appears to be speaking of different kinds of bread only, not of other farinaceous preparations.

“These oven pitchers mentioned by D’Arvieux, and used by the modern Arabs for baking cakes of bread in them, and wafers on their outsides, are not the only portable ovens of the east. St. Jerome, in his commentary on Lamentations 5:10, describes an eastern oven as a round vessel of brass, blackened on the outside by the surrounding fire which heats it within. Such an oven I have seen used in England. Which of these the Mishnah refers to when it speaks of the women lending their ovens to one another, as well as their mills and their sieves, I do not know; but the foregoing observations may serve to remove a surprise that this circumstance may otherwise occasion in the reader of the Mishnah. Almost every body knows that little portable handmills are extremely common in the Levant; movable ovens are not so well known. Whether ovens of the kind which St. Jerome mentions be as ancient as the days of Moses, does not appear, unless the ta-jen be used after this manner; but the pitcher ovens of the Arabs are, without doubt, of that remote antiquity. “Travellers agree that the eastern bread is made in small thin moist cakes, must be eaten new, and is good for nothing when kept longer than a day. This, however, admits of exceptions. Dr. Russel of late, and Rauwolff formerly, assure us that they have several sorts of bread and cakes: some, Rauwolff tells us, done with yolk of eggs; some mixed with several sorts of seed, as of sesamum, Romish coriander, and wild garden saffron, which are also stewed upon it; and he elsewhere supposes that they prepare biscuits for travelling. Russel, who mentions this stewing of seeds on their cakes says, they have a variety of rusks and biscuits. To these authors let me add Pitts, who tells us the biscuits they carry with them from Egypt will last them to Mecca and back again.

“The Scriptures suppose their loaves of bread were very small, three of them being requisite for the entertainment of a single person, Luke 11:5. That they were generally eaten new, and baked as they wanted them, as appears from the case of Abraham. That sometimes, however, they were made so as to keep several days; so the shew-bread was fit food, after lying before the Lord a week. And that bread for travellers was wont to be made to keep some time, as appears from the pretences of the Gibeonites, Joshua 9:12, and the preparations made for Jacob’s journey into Egypt, Genesis 45:23. The bread or rusks for travelling is often made in the form of large rings, and is moistened or soaked in water before it is used. In like manner, too, they seem to have had there a variety of eatables of this kind as the Aleppines now have. In particular, some made like those on which seeds are strewed, as we may collect from that part of the presents of Jeroboam’s wife to the Prophet Ahijah, which our translators have rendered cracknels, 1 Kings 14:3. Buxtorf indeed supposes the original word µydqn nikkuddim signifies biscuits, called by this name, either because they were formed into little buttons like some of our gingerbread, or because they were pricked full of holes after a particular manner. The last of these two conjectures, I imagine, was embraced by our translators of this passage; for cracknels, if they are all over England of the same form, are full of holes, being formed into a kind of flourish of lattice-work. I have seen some of the unleavened bread of the English Jews made in like manner in a net form. Nevertheless I should think it more natural to understand the word of biscuit spotted with seeds; for it is used elsewhere to signify works of gold spotted with studs of silver; and, as it should seem, bread spotted with mould, Joshua 9:5-12; how much more natural is it then to understand the word of cakes spotted with seeds, which are so common in the east! Is not twbbl lebiboth, in particular, the word that in general means rich cakes? a sort of which Tamar used to prepare that was not common, and furnished Amnon with a pretence for desiring her being sent to his house, that she might make some of that kind for him in the time of his indisposition, his fancy running upon them; see 2 Samuel 13:2-8. Parkhurst supposes the original word to signify pancakes, and translates the root bbl labab to move or toss up and down: ‘And she took the dough, (vwltw vattalosh,) and kneaded (bbltw vattelabbeb, and tossed) it in his sight, lvbtw vattebashshel, and dressed the cakes.’ In this passage, says Mr. Parkhurst, it is to be observed that bbl is distinguished from vl to knead, and from lvb to dress, which agrees with the interpretation here given.

“The account which Mr. Jackson gives of an Arab baking

apparatus, and the manner of kneading and tossing their cakes, will at once, if I mistake not, fix the meaning of this passage, and cast much light on Leviticus 11:35. “I was much amused by observing the dexterity of the Arab women in baking their bread. They have a small place built with clay, between two and three feet high, having a hole in the bottom for the convenience of drawing out the ashes, somewhat similar to that of a lime-kiln. The oven, which I think is the most proper name for this place, is usually about fifteen inches wide at top, and gradually grows wider to the bottom. It is heated with wood, and when sufficiently hot, and perfectly clear from smoke, having nothing but clear embers at the bottom, which continue to reflect great heat, they prepare the dough in a large bowl, and mould the cakes to the desired size on a board or stone placed near the oven. After they have kneaded the cake to a proper consistence, they pat it a little, then toss it about with great dexterity in one hand till it is as thin as they choose to make it. They then wet one side of it with water, at the same time wetting the hand and arm with which they put it into the oven. The side of the cake adheres fast to the side of the oven till it is sufficiently baked, when, if not paid proper attention to, it would fall down among the embers. If they were not exceedingly quick at this work, the heat of the oven would burn their arms; but they perform it with such amazing dexterity that one woman will continue keeping three or four cakes in the oven at once, till she has done baking. This mode, let me add, does not require half the fuel that is made use of in Europe.” See more in HARMER’S Observat., vol. i., p. 414, &c., Edit. 1808.

7. Fryingpan — The Hebrew word is found in only one other place in the Bible, Leviticus 7:9. Gesenius and Furst define it as a kettle for boiling. Others think that it is still to be found among the Bedouins in the form of a shallow earthen vessel called a tajen, a word which sounds much like the thganon of the Seventy, the pan of verse 5. Maimonides suggests that the translation of these two utensils in verses 7 and 5 should be reversed.

Verse 8. Thou shalt bring the meat-offering] It is likely that the person himself who offered the sacrifice brought it to the priest, and then the priest presented it before the Lord.

8. Thou shalt bring… unto the Lord — The entire preparation of the offering was to be made by the offerer. This variety in form not only suited the convenience of the people, but it afforded some change to the priests who were to eat the oblation. There were five forms in which it might be brought: fine flour unbaked, to be cooked by the priest, baked on a plate, in a fryingpan, in an oven, and made into wafers. In every case oil is to be added. The frankincense is mentioned only with the first. It was probably an accompaniment of all the other forms.

V. 11. No leaven-Namely, in that which is offered of free-will; for in other offerings it might be used, Leviticus 7:13, 23:17. This was forbidden, partly to mind them of their deliverance out of Egypt, when they were forced thro’ haste to bring away their meal or dough (which was the matter of this oblation) unleavened; partly to signify what Christ would be, and what they should be, pure and free from all error in the faith and worship of God, and from all hypocrisy, and malice or wickedness, all which are signified by leaven. Nor any honey-Either,

1. because it hath the same effect with leaven in paste or dough, making it sour, and swelling. Or,

2. in opposition to the sacrifices of the Gentiles, in which the use of honey was most frequent. Or,

3. to teach us, that God’s worship is not to be governed by men’s fancies and appetites but by God’s will.

Verse 11. No meat-offering-shall be made with leaven] See the reason of this prohibition in the note on Exodus 12:8. See Clarke “Exodus 12:8”.

Nor any honey] Because it was apt to produce acidity, as some think, when wrought up with flour paste; or rather because it was apt to gripe and prove purgative. On this latter account the College of Physicians have totally left it out of all medicinal preparations. This effect which it has in most constitutions was a sufficient reason why it should be prohibited here, as a principal part of all these offerings was used by the priests as a part of their ordinary diet; and these offerings, being those of the poorer sort, were in greater abundance than most others. On this account, the griping, and purgative quality of the honey must render it extremely improper. As leaven was forbidden because producing fermentation, it was considered a species of corruption, and was therefore used to signify hypocrisy, malice, &c., which corrupt the soul; it is possible that honey might have had a moral reference, also, and have signified, as St. Jerome thought, carnal pleasures and sensual gratifications. Some suppose that the honey mentioned here was a sort of saccharine matter extracted from dates. Leaven and honey might be offered with the first-fruits, as we learn from the next verse; but they were forbidden to be burnt on the altar,

Verse 11. No leaven — Namely, in that which is offered of free-will; for in other offerings it might be used, Leviticus 7:13; 23:17. This was forbidden, partly to remind them of their deliverance out of Egypt, when they were forced through haste to bring away their meal or dough (which was the matter of this oblation) unleavened; partly to signify what Christ would be, and what they should be, pure and free from all error in the faith and worship of God, and from all hypocrisy, and malice or wickedness, all which are signified by leaven. Nor any honey — Either, 1st, Because it hath the same effect with leaven in paste or dough, making it sour, and swelling. Or, 2d, In opposition to the sacrifices of the Gentiles, in which the use of honey was most frequent. Or, 3d, To teach us that God’s worship is not to be governed by men’s fancies and appetites, but by God’s will.

11. Burn no leaven — See note on verse 4. Nor any honey — This prohibition is surprising. There must be a good reason. We cannot accept that assigned by Fairbairn, that it was “to indicate that what is peculiarly pleasing to the flesh is distasteful to God, and must be renounced by his faithful servants.” This contains the essence of all asceticism — abstinence from a harmless thing simply because it is pleasing. A sufficient ground for excluding honey from the altar is suggested by its mention with leaven. It is capable of fermentation, turning sour, and even forming vinegar. Hence the active principle of corruption is in its very nature. It was also a wild product, and did not involve the notion of property which was requisite to sacrifices. As an article of food it was lawful, but it does not suit every one’s taste, nor conduce to the health of all persons. This may be another reason why it was prohibited. The priest should be required to eat only perfectly healthful food.

V. 12. Ye may offer them-Or either of them, leaven or honey. They shall not be burnt-But reserved for the priests.

Verse 12. Ye may offer them — Or either of them, leaven or honey. They shall not be burnt — But reserved for the priests.

12. Firstfruits — This oblation was to be made publicly by the nation at the three great annual festivals, but individuals could make it at any time. On the morrow after the passover sabbath a sheaf, usually of barley, was waved before the altar. Before this no harvesting could be begun. Fifty days afterwards, as the word pentecost implies, two loaves made from the new flour were to be waved in like manner. The feast of ingathering, or the feast of tabernacles, was itself an acknowledgment of the gift of fruitfulness. Individuals brought the first dough for a heave offering, and a basket of firstfruits, and set it down by the altar and repeated the story of Israel in Egypt. Though the law required the offering of the firstfruits of all the harvests, only seven kinds of produce in their natural state were by usage liable to oblation — wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. The minimum oblation fixed by custom was one sixtieth part, aside from the tithes, and the corners or borders of the field left for the poor. Seven sorts of firstfruits, prepared for uses, were not required to be taken to Jerusalem, but probably to designated depositories — wine, wool, bread, oil, date-honey, and preparations of onions and of cucumbers, from a fortieth to a sixtieth of the whole product. The offerings, not only those at the altar, but those laid up elsewhere, were perquisites of the priests. Jews in foreign lands sent their firstfruits to the Holy City.

V. 13. Salt-To signify that incorruption of mind, and sincerity of grace, which in scripture is signified by salt, Mark 9:49, Colossians 4:6, and which is necessary in all them that would offer an acceptable offering to God. Or in testimony of that communion which they had with God in these exercises of worship; salt being the great symbol of friendship in all nations is called, either,

1. because it represented the perpetuity of God’s covenant with them, which is designed by salt, Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5. Or, 2. because it was so particularly required as a condition of their covenant with God; this being made absolutely necessary in all their offerings; and as the neglect of sacrifices was a breach of covenant on their part, so also was the neglect of salt in their sacrifices.

Verse 13. With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.] SALT was the opposite to leaven, for it preserved from putrefaction and corruption, and signified the purity and persevering fidelity that were necessary in the worship of God. Every thing was seasoned with it, to signify the purity and perfection that should be extended through every part of the Divine service, and through the hearts and lives of God’s worshippers. It was called the salt of the covenant of God, because as salt is incorruptible, so was the covenant made with Abram, Isaac, Jacob, and the patriarchs, relative to the redemption of the world by the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ. Among the heathens salt was a common ingredient in all their sacrificial offerings; and as it was considered essential to the comfort and preservation of life, and an emblem of the most perfect corporeal and mental endowments, so it was supposed to be one of the most acceptable presents they could make unto their gods, from whose sacrifices it was never absent. That inimitable and invaluable writer, Pliny, has left a long chapter on this subject, the seventh of the thirty-first book of his Natural History, a few extracts from which will not displease the intelligent reader. Ergo, hercule, vita humanior sine Sale nequit degere: adeoque necessarium elementum est, ut transierit intellectus ad voluptates animi quoque. Nam ita SALES appellantur omnisque vitæ lepos et summa hilaritas, laborumque requies non alio magis vocabulo constat. Honoribus etiam militiæque inter ponitur, SALARIIS inde dictis--Maxime tamen in sacris intelligitur auctoritas, quando nulla conficiuntur sine mola salsa. “So essentially necessary is salt that without it human life cannot be preserved: and even the pleasures and endowments of the mind are expressed by it; the delights of life, repose, and the highest mental serenity, are expressed by no other term than sales among the Latins. It has also been applied to designate the honourable rewards given to soldiers, which are called salarii or salaries. But its importance may be farther understood by its use in sacred things, as no sacrifice was offered to the gods without the salt cake.” So Virgil, Eclog. viii., ver. 82: Sparge molam.

“Crumble the sacred mole of salt and corn.”

And again, Æneid., lib. iv., ver. 517:—

Ipsa mola, manibitsque piis, altaria juxta.

“Now with the sacred cake, and lifted hands,

All bent on death, before her altar stands.”

PITT.

In like manner Homer:—

Passe dJ alov qeioio, krateutawn epaeipav.

Iliad, lib. ix., ver. 214.

“And taking sacred salt from the hearth side,

Where it was treasured, pour’d it o’er the feast.”

COWPER.

Quotations of this kind might be easily multiplied, but the above may be deemed sufficient.

Verse 13. Salt — To signify that incorruption of mind, and sincerity of grace, which in Scripture is signified by salt, (Mark 9:49; Colossians 4:6,) and which is necessary in all them that would offer an acceptable offering to God. Or in testimony of that communion which they had with God in these exercises of worship; salt being the great symbol of friendship in all nations and ages. The salt of the covenant of thy God — It is so called, either, 1st, Because it represented the perpetuity of God’s covenant with them, which is designed by salt, Numbers 8:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5. Or, 2d, Because it was so particularly required as a condition of their covenant with God; this being made absolutely necessary in all their offerings; and as the neglect of sacrifices was a breach of covenant on their part, so also was the neglect of salt in their sacrifices.

Ver. 13. Salt of the covenant must not be lacking, as is often noticed. The rabbins, as well as the primitive christian doctors, seem agreed that salt here signifies incorruption, and the good savour of piety. Salt preserves flesh, and the alkali in limestone ranges will preserve fish; salt is therefore a figure of the fidelity of the promises of God to man.

13. Season with salt — Salt, from its antiseptic quality, is suggestive of that moral purity and fidelity required of all true worshippers. It was applied to the bread offering for another reason — because it symbolized the existence of an inviolable friendship between the host and the guest. It was to the Hebrew a perpetual memorial of the bond of union between Jehovah and Israel. Numbers 18:19. Hence the injunction, “Thou shalt not suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking.” With all… offerings… offer salt — The typology of this requirement is explained by our Lord Jesus: “For every one shall be salted (purified or punished) with fire, (God’s holiness,) as every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.” See Mark 9:49, note.

V. 14. First-fruits-Of thine own free-will; for there were other first-fruits, and that of several sorts, which were prescribed, and the time, quality, and proportion of them appointed by God.

Verse 14. Green ears of corn dried by the fire] Green or half-ripe ears of wheat parched with fire is a species of food in use among the poor people of Palestine and Egypt to the present day. As God is represented as keeping a table among his people, (for the tabernacle was his house, where he had the golden table, shewbread, &c.,) so he represents himself as partaking with them of all the aliments that were in use, and even sitting down with the poor to a repast on parched corn! We have already seen that these green ears were presented as a sort of eucharistical offering for the blessings of seed time, and the prospect of a plentiful harvest. See Clarke’s note on “Leviticus 2:1”; several other examples might be added here, but they are not necessary.

The command to offer salt with every oblation, and which was punctually observed by the Jews, will afford the pious reader some profitable reflections. It is well known that salt has two grand properties. 1. It seasons and renders palatable the principal ailments used for the support of life. 2. It prevents putrefaction and decay. The covenant of God, that is, his agreement with his people, is called a covenant of salt, to denote as we have seen above, its stable undecaying nature, as well as to point out its importance and utility in the preservation of the life of the soul. The grace of God by Christ Jesus is represented under the emblem of salt, (see Mark 9:49; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 4:6,) because of its relishing, nourishing, and preserving quality. Without it no offering, no sacrifice, no religious service, no work even of charity and mercy, can be acceptable in the sight of God. In all things we must come unto the Father THROUGH HIM. And from none of our sacrifices or services must this salt of the covenant of our God be lacking.

LEVITICUS

Verse 14. First-fruits — Of thine own free-will; for there were other first-fruits, and that of several sorts, which were prescribed, and the time, quality, and proportion of them appointed by God.

14. Green ears of corn — This refers chiefly to wheat and barley, the heads of which are called ears. Indian corn was unknown. Dried by the fire — In order to be broken into groats by grinding, as the Seventy have rendered it, the green grain first harvested for the oblation must be dried. Says Adam Clarke: “As God is represented as keeping a table among his people, so he represents himself as partaking with them of all the ailments that were in use, even sitting down with the poor to a repast on parched corn!” Corn beaten out — The scorched grains or grits were to be separated from the straw. The bread offering, as a whole, is a type of the Son of God, who is the bread of life, to be appropriated by all who have first been cleansed from the guilt of sin by the blood of sprinkling shed by our great Sin Offering. The risen Jesus is our Bread of Life. Because he lives and sends up the incense of his prayers, and sends down the oil of gladness, the Anointing Spirit, we live also.

V. 16. Made by fire-The fire denotes that fervency of spirit, which ought to be in all our religious services. Holy love is the fire, by which all our offerings must be made: else they are not of a sweet savour to God.

Verse 16. Made by fire — The fire denotes the fervency of spirit which ought to be in all our religious services. Holy love is the fire by which all our offerings must be made; else they are not of a sweet savour to God.