Types of Offerings in the Old Testament Table

3:1 fellowship offering The significance of the Hebrew phrase zevach shelamim used here is uncertain, leading to a wide variety of potential translations, such as “peace offering,” “well-being offering,” “fellowship offering,” and “repayment offering.”

from the cattle As with the burnt offering, the regulations for the peace (fellowship) offerings are repeated for each type of acceptable animal. The order of presentation reflects the relative value of the different animals. A herd animal (bull or cow) was more valuable than a sheep or goat.

whether male or female The peace offering could be either male or female, but the burnt offering had to be a male animal. For the sin offerings, the sex of the animal varied but it was specified for each scenario (see Lev 4:1–35).

without defect As with the burnt offering, the sacrificial animal had to be complete and without physical defect (1:3). See note on Exod 12:5.

3:2 He must lay his hand on the head of Symbolically associating the offerer with the offering. See note on Lev 1:4. The ritual actions in v. 2 are essentially the same as those required for the burnt offering (compare 1:4–5). The worshiper lays a hand on the animal’s head and slaughters it. The priests sprinkle the blood all around the altar.

on the altar all around The blood ritual for the burnt offering and the peace (fellowship) offering involved the blood being sprinkled all around the alter (in Hebrew, al-hammizbeach saviv). Following Jewish tradition, this is commonly understood to mean the blood was sprinkled against the sides of the altar.

3:3 fat covering the inner parts The fat that is to be offered to Yahweh is listed out explicitly for the peace (fellowship) offerings and the first sin offering (vv. 3–4, 9–10, 14–15; 4:8–9). The fat portions are primarily the fat around the organs including the entrails, liver, and kidneys, not the fat attached to or mixed in the muscle (the consumable flesh) of an animal.

3:4 loins The rare Hebrew word used here, kesalim, most likely refers to sinews like tendons or ligaments from the area of the lower back or vertebrae.

lobe on the liver Refers to a finger shaped appendage on the liver known as the caudate lobe. The Hebrew word yothereth (“lobe”) used here literally means “remainder.”

3:5 in addition to the burnt offering The peace (fellowship) offering was probably placed alongside the burnt offering, not on top of it. Depending on context, the Hebrew preposition al used here can have a variety of senses, such as “with,” “beside,” or “upon.”

3:6 from the flock May refer to either sheep or goats.

3:9 entire fat tail In addition to the fat portions mentioned in v. 3, the sheep had a “fat tail” or “broad tail.” The type of sheep raised in the southeastern Mediterranean and Arabia are known for their exceptionally broad, fatty tails. The broad tail may weigh 15 pounds or more.

3:11 a food The Hebrew phrase used here is lechem isheh, not just isheh as in similar occurrences (1:9; 3:3, 9, 14; see note on 1:9). Lechem means “bread” or can be generic for “food,” so the phrase used here supports the interpretation of isheh as “gift.”

3:12 a goat The same general process is followed if the peace offering is a goat, except that the fatty portions offered on the altar do not include the fat tail as with a sheep (see note on v. 9).

3:16 all the fat is an offering made by fire as an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh The fat and the blood from the sacrifice belonged to Yahweh. This meant that all domestic animals slaughtered for food had to be brought as sacrifices so that the priests could offer their fat on the altar (compare Deut 12:20–24).

3:17 you must not eat any fat or any blood The prohibition against eating blood is repeated in Lev 7:26–27. In Ezekiel 44:7, the fat and the blood are identified as Yahweh’s food.