Leviticus 7:38

Which the Lord commanded Moses in Mount Sinai,.... Or "by" or "near" (t) Mount Sinai; for the above laws were not given to Moses when on the mount, but after the tabernacle was erected, and out of

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; This is the law of the burnt offering.

Verse 38. In the wilderness of Sinai.] These laws were probably given to Moses while he was on the mount with God; the time was quite sufficient, as he was there with God not less than fourscore days in all; forty days at the giving, and forty days at the renewing of the law. As in the course of this book the different kinds of sacrifices commanded to be offered are repeatedly occurring, I think it best, once for all, to give a general account of them, and a definition of the original terms, as well as of all others relative to this subject which are used in the Old Testament, and the reference in which they all stood to the great sacrifice offered by Christ. 1. אשם ASHAM, TRESPASS-offering, from אשם asham, to be guilty, or liable to punishment; for in this sacrifice the guilt was considered as being transferred to the animal offered up to God, and the offerer redeemed from the penalty of his sin, Leviticus 7:37. Christ is said to have made his soul an offering for sin, (אשם), Isaiah 53:10. 2. אשה ISHSHEH, FIRE-offering, probably from אשש ashash, to be grieved, angered, inflamed; either pointing out the distressing nature of sin, or its property of incensing Divine justice against the offender, who, in consequence, deserving burning for his offence, made use of this sacrifice to be freed from the punishment due to his transgression. It occurs Exodus 29:18, and in many places of this book. 3. הבהבים HABHABIM, ITERATED OR REPEATED offerings, from יהב yahab, to supply. The word occurs only in Hosea 8:13, and probably means no more than the continual repetition of the accustomed offerings, or continuation of each part of the sacred service. 4. זבח ZEBACH, a SACRIFICE, (in Chaldee, דבח debach, the ז zain being changed into ד daleth,) a creature slain in sacrifice, from זבח zabach, to slay; hence the altar on which such sacrifices were offered was termed מזבח mizbeach, the place of sacrifice. See Clarke on Genesis 8:20. Zebach is a common name for sacrifices in general. 5. חג CHAG, a festival, especially such as had a periodical return, from חגג chagag, to celebrate a festival, to dance round and round in circles. See Exodus 5:1; Exodus 12:24. The circular dance was probably intended to point out the revolution of the heavenly bodies, and the exact return of the different seasons. See Parkhurst. 6. חטאת CHATTATH and חטאה CHATTAAH, SIN-offering, from חטא chata, to miss the mark; it also signifies sin in general, and is a very apt term to express its nature by. A sinner is continually aiming at and seeking happiness; but as he does not seek it in God, hence the Scripture represents him as missing his aim, or missing the mark. This is precisely the meaning of the Greek word ἁμαρτια, translated sin and sin-offering in our version; and this is the term by which the Hebrew word is translated both by the Septuagint and the inspired writers of the New Testament.

Conclusion (35–38) The summary in Leviticus 7:35-36 refers to the priestly dues, either to those just mentioned in Leviticus 7:31-34, or more generally to those prescribed in the section Leviticus 6:8 to Leviticus 7:34.

wilderness of Sinai - Compare Exodus 19:1.