Monday, October 24, 2011

Leviticus 1-9

Today I start Leviticus.  I don't know what to expect in terms of the story (other than more of the same).  If you had asked me what was in Genesis or Exodus before I read them, I could have given you the broad strokes (while likely underestimating the atrocities); but with Leviticus, I have no idea.

Okay, for these first 9 chapters, it's all just about killing animals.  Seriously.


Skeptic's Annotated Bible

1:1  And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
1:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.
1:3  If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
1:4  And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

What about just saying a few Hail Mary's or something?  Why does atonement require killing?


1:5  And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Yuck.  Bloody, bloody yuck.


1:6  And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

Is this a sanctuary or a butcher shop?


1:7  And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:
1:8  And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:
1:9  But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.

Mmm, the sweet, sweet smell of burned animal flesh.  That should make God happy.


1:10  And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.
1:11  And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.
1:12  And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:
1:13  But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.

The author of this chapter really likes the description of slaughtering and sacrificing animals.  It's almost a word-for-word repetition of how to handle sacrificial cattle.


1:14  And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.
1:15  And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar:
1:16  And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes:
1:17  And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.

And a third detailed, gory description of the murder and mutilation of an animal.

Look, I'm not an animal rights activist (though I am a vegetarian, but for purely dietary reasons).  I understand that animals get killed for food all the time, and that's just the way of the world.  I would hope it's done in a humane way, and I know that's not always the case.

But this is different.  This is the senseless, wasteful slaughtering of animals so that the carcass can be burned, because God likes the smell of burning animal flesh.  And while we're on the subject, does that even make sense?  If he likes something, it implies that he goes from one state to a happier state when he experiences it; or in other words, he's less happy without it, and more happy with it.  But then you have to accept that God, a "perfect" being, can be less happy or more happy.  How can a perfect being be unhappy, or be made more happy by something?  Doesn't make any sense to me.

And, leaving the philosophical issue aside, why on earth would God choose something like the mutilation and burning of animals as the thing that will make him more happy?  Why not a offering of daffodils?  Or a pretty picture?  (Oh right, God hates art.)  Or a song from the heart?  What kind of a monster takes pleasure from such a gory scene?

Okay, reading ahead, it turns out it's not just this chapter, but the first 9 chapters of Leviticus that go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about how to kill and butcher animals, what to do with their blood and fat, and how to burn the carcasses.  This is just really horrifying stuff.  Here it is:

2:1  And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:
2:2  And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD:
2:3  And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.
2:4  And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
2:5  And if thy oblation be a meat offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.
2:6  Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering.
2:7  And if thy oblation be a meat offering baked in the frying pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.
2:8  And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the LORD: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar.
2:9  And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
2:10  And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.
2:11  No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.
2:12  As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savor.
2:13  And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.
2:14  And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.
2:15  And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering.
2:16  And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

3:1  And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.
3:2  And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
3:3  And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
3:4  And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
3:5  And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
3:6  And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto the LORD be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish.
3:7  If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the LORD.
3:8  And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar.
3:9  And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
3:10  And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
3:11  And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the LORD.
3:12  And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD.
3:13  And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about.
3:14  And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
3:15  And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
3:16  And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor: all the fat is the LORD's.
3:17  It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.

4:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
4:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:
4:3  If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.
4:4  And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.
4:5  And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:
4:6  And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary.
4:7  And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
4:8  And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
4:9  And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away,
4:10  As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering.
4:11  And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,
4:12  Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.
4:13  And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
4:14  When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.
4:15  And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.
4:16  And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:
4:17  And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail.
4:18  And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
4:19  And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar.
4:20  And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
4:21  And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.
4:22  When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;
4:23  Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish:
4:24  And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering.
4:25  And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.
4:26  And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
4:27  And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;
4:28  Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.
4:29  And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.
4:30  And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.
4:31  And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor unto the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
4:32  And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish.
4:33  And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.
4:34  And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar:
4:35  And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

5:1  And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
5:2  Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcass of an unclean beast, or a carcass of unclean cattle, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.
5:3  Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.
5:4  Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.
5:5  And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:
5:6  And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.
5:7  And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering.
5:8  And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and wring off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder:
5:9  And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin offering.
5:10  And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the manner: and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
5:11  But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon: for it is a sin offering.
5:12  Then shall he bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it, even a memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: it is a sin offering.
5:13  And the priest shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him: and the remnant shall be the priest's, as a meat offering.
5:14  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
5:15  If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.
5:16  And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.
5:17  And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.
5:18  And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him.
5:19  It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.

6:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6:2  If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbor;
6:3  Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:
6:4  Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found,
6:5  Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.
6:6  And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest:
6:7  And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.
6:8  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6:9  Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.
6:10  And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.
6:11  And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.
6:12  And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.
6:13  The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
6:14  And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar.
6:15  And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor, even the memorial of it, unto the LORD.
6:16  And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it.
6:17  It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering.
6:18  All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy.
6:19  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6:20  This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the LORD in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.
6:21  In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baked, thou shalt bring it in: and the baked pieces of the meat offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savor unto the LORD.
6:22  And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute for ever unto the LORD; it shall be wholly burnt.
6:23  For every meat offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.
6:24  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6:25  Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy.
6:26  The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.
6:27  Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place.
6:28  But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brazen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water.
6:29  All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy.
6:30  And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.

7:1  Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy.
7:2  In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar.
7:3  And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards,
7:4  And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away:
7:5  And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering.
7:6  Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy.
7:7  As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.
7:8  And the priest that offereth any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered.
7:9  And all the meat offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is dressed in the frying pan, and in the pan, shall be the priest's that offereth it.
7:10  And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.
7:11  And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD.
7:12  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, fried.
7:13  Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.
7:14  And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.
7:15  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.
7:16  But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:
7:17  But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.
7:18  And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all 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.
7:19  And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.
7:20  But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
7:21  Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, 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.
7:22  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
7:23  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.
7:24  And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it.
7:25  For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.
7:26  Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.
7:27  Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
7:28  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
7:29  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.
7:30  His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD.
7:31  And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'.
7:32  And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.
7:33  He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part.
7:34  For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.
7:35  This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest's office;
7:36  Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations.
7:37  This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings;
7:38  Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.

8:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
8:2  Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;
8:3  And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8:4  And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8:5  And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done.
8:6  And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
8:7  And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.
8:8  And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.
8:9  And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.
8:10  And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.
8:11  And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.
8:12  And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.
8:13  And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses.
8:14  And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering.
8:15  And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it.
8:16  And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar.
8:17  But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses.
8:18  And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
8:19  And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
8:20  And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat.
8:21  And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savor, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
8:22  And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
8:23  And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.
8:24  And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
8:25  And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:
8:26  And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:
8:27  And he put all upon Aaron's hands, and upon his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the LORD.
8:28  And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savor: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
8:29  And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before the LORD: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses' part; as the LORD commanded Moses.
8:30  And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
8:31  And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it.
8:32  And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire.
8:33  And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you.
8:34  As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.
8:35  Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.
8:36  So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

9:1  And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;
9:2  And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.
9:3  And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering;
9:4  Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the LORD will appear unto you.
9:5  And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.
9:6  And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you.
9:7  And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.
9:8  Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
9:9  And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:
9:10  But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the LORD commanded Moses.
9:11  And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.
9:12  And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about upon the altar.
9:13  And they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.
9:14  And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar.
9:15  And he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.
9:16  And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner.
9:17  And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning.
9:18  He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about,
9:19  And the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver:
9:20  And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar:
9:21  And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD; as Moses commanded.
9:22  And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.
9:23  And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.
9:24  And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

Okay, to summarize:


  • If you bring an offering, make it of the cattle, the herd, or the flock.  Bring a male without blemish (whatever that means).
  •  You can also bring cooked meat.
  • To make a peace offering, either a male or female animal will do.
  • If you sin from ignorance, then you must bring a bullock.
  • If you hear someone swear, or touch an unclean animal or the uncleanliness of man, or swear an oath, then you must bring a female goat to sacrifice.
  • If you tell a lie (especially about the whereabouts of something), then you must bring a ram as a sacrificial offering.
And the rest of it is just the gory, bloody descriptions about how to kill animals, separate the skin and fat, burn the flesh, handle the internal organs, and so on.  It reads like a Wes Craven / Stephen King collaboration.  Horrid stuff.  I think I'm going to be sick.

No comments:

Post a Comment