Leviticus 7

This chapter finishes the instructions for the offerings begun in chapter 1. It explains who receives which portions: the priests, the worshipper, and the LORD. It also sets rules for eating the peace offering, bans eating fat and blood, and closes by naming all the offerings given at Sinai.

Leviticus 7:1-2

The guilt offering is called most holy. It is killed at the same spot as the burnt offering, on the north side of the altar. The priest throws its blood against the altar on every side. Wrongs that damaged someone, or God’s holy things, were dealt with in the place of sacrifice.

BSA: holy (“set apart, sacred”): This offering belongs wholly to God, so it is handled with special care. blood (“symbol of life, atonement”): The blood stands for a life given, and that is how the wrong is covered.

Hebrew: אָשָׁם (asham, H817) — “guilt, and the offering that repays guilt.” One word covers both the guilt itself and the offering that makes it right. The idea is of damage that needs repair.

See also: Isaiah 53:10.

Leviticus 7:3-5

All the fat of the animal is burned on the altar, with the fat tail, the fat over the inner organs, the kidneys and the liver lobe. These are the richest parts, and they are given to God. The priest burns them, and the offering is complete.

BSA: fat (“the richest or best part”): Israel gave God the best portion first, not the leftovers. burn (“make a perfume, offer as a fire-offering”): The burning sends up a rising smoke that God receives as a pleasing offering.

Hebrew: הִקְטִיר (hiqtir, H6999) — “to turn into rising smoke.” The word is about smoke going up, as with incense. The offering goes up to God, not merely into the fire.

See also: Leviticus 3:16.

Leviticus 7:6-7

The male priests may eat the meat of the guilt offering, but only in a holy place. The same rule applies to the sin offering, and the officiating priest receives the portion. God provided for His servants from the offerings of His people.

BSA: atonement (“covers, reconciles”): Atonement covers the wrong and restores a right relationship with God.

See also: 1 Corinthians 9:13.

Leviticus 7:8-10

The priest who offers a burnt offering keeps its hide. Grain offerings baked or cooked belong to the priest who presents them. Dry grain offerings are shared among all of Aaron’s sons. The priests have no land, so their living comes from what the people bring to God.

BSA: equally (“to all alike, as a shared portion”): No priest’s family is left out of the provision.

Hebrew: עֹלָה (olah, H5930) — “that which goes up.” The burnt offering is named for its smoke rising to heaven. It is given wholly to God, and only the hide is kept.

Leviticus 7:11-12

Now come the rules for the peace offering. When it is a thanksgiving offering, three kinds of unleavened bread go with it, all rich with oil. This is a meal of joy and gratitude shared with God, not a sacrifice for sin.

BSA: thanksgiving (“as a praise-offering, with gratitude”): This sacrifice is a way of saying thank you out loud before God.

Hebrew: תּוֹדָה (todah, H8426) — “thanks, praise.” The same word is used for songs of thanks in the Psalms, so this offering is worship in action.

See also: Psalm 107:22; Psalm 116:17.

Leviticus 7:13-14

Loaves of leavened bread are also brought with the thanksgiving offering. They are for the worshipper’s meal and are not burned on the altar. One of each kind of bread is set apart for the priest who sprinkles the blood.

BSA: contribution (“a gift, an oblation”): It is a portion lifted up and given over to the LORD and His servant.

Hebrew: שְׁלָמִים (shelamim, H8002) — “peace offerings, wholeness offerings.” The word is related to shalom, meaning well-being and completeness. It points to a meal of fellowship between God and His people.

Leviticus 7:15

The thanksgiving meat must be eaten the same day, with nothing kept until morning. Thanks is to be given and enjoyed now. The offering was a feast to share with family and friends, not something to store away.

BSA: morning (“break of day, new beginning”): By the next dawn, the time for this thanksgiving meal is over.

Leviticus 7:16-18

A vow offering or freewill offering may be eaten for two days. Whatever remains on the third day must be burned. Eating it then brings no acceptance and is called an abomination. God wanted His holy food treated with respect, not left to spoil.

BSA: vow (“a solemn promise, a pledge to God”): A vow offering fulfills a promise made to God. credited (“reckoned, imputed”): The offering would no longer count in the worshipper’s favor. bear (“lift, carry”): The person must carry the weight of his own wrong.

Hebrew: פִּגּוּל (piggul, H6292) — “a foul, rejected thing.” The word names an offering that has become unfit and refused by God. It is a strong word for something that spoils worship.

Leviticus 7:19-21

Holy meat that touches anything unclean is burned. Only a clean person may eat the rest. Anyone unclean who eats it is cut off from his people. Fellowship with a holy God is a privilege that must be approached carefully.

BSA: unclean (“spiritually impure, defiled”): Uncleanness is about being unfit to come near what belongs to God. cut off (“separated, expelled”): The penalty is losing a place among God’s people.

Hebrew: נִכְרְתָה (nikretah, H3772) — “she/it shall be cut off.” The verb karat means to cut. Scripture does not spell out exactly what this punishment looked like. It clearly means serious separation from the community.

Leviticus 7:22-25

The LORD speaks again. The fat of an ox, sheep or goat may never be eaten, because it is the part given to Him. Fat from an animal that died naturally may be used for other things, but still not eaten. Eating fat from an animal that could have been offered is punished by being cut off.

BSA: fat (“the richest part”): The richest part belongs to God, so no one else may take it.

Leviticus 7:26-27

No Israelite may eat blood from any bird or animal, wherever he lives. The ban is for homes, not only for the tabernacle. Blood was set apart as holy because it stands for life, and God gave it for atonement.

BSA: blood (“the liquid essential for life”): Blood stands for life itself, which belongs to God.

Hebrew: דָּם (dam, H1818) — “blood.” In the Old Testament, blood means life poured out. That is why it is treated as sacred and kept for the altar.

See also: Leviticus 17:11; Acts 15:20.

Leviticus 7:28-30

The worshipper must personally bring his peace offering to the LORD. With his own hands he carries up the fat and the breast, and he waves the breast before the LORD. Worship is meant to be hands-on and personal, not done for you by someone else.

BSA: breast (“front of the animal, especially in sacrifices”): The breast is a choice cut presented to God before the priests receive it.

Hebrew: תְּנוּפָה (tenufah, H8573) — “wave offering.” The word means something moved back and forth or lifted before God. It is a gesture of giving it to Him, and He hands it back to His priests.

Leviticus 7:31-34

The priest burns the fat. The breast goes to Aaron and his sons, and the right thigh goes to the officiating priest. God says He has given these portions to the priests as a lasting share. Priests lived by God’s provision through the people’s gifts.

BSA: contribution (“a gift or offering to God”): The thigh is first lifted up as a gift to God, then given to His priest. permanent (“lasting, eternal”): The priests’ share was meant to continue, not to be a one-time gift.

Hebrew: תְּרוּמָה (terumah, H8641) — “a lifted-up contribution.” The word comes from lifting up. What is raised is set apart for God and then given to His servants.

See also: Deuteronomy 18:1-3.

Leviticus 7:35-36

These shares have belonged to the priests since the day they were anointed and presented to serve. The LORD commanded the people to give them, and the command stands for all generations. Their ministry was supported by a divine ruling, not by favors.

BSA: anointed (“with sacred oil, appointed to their office”): Anointing set the priests apart for their work, and the offerings supported that work.

Leviticus 7:37-38

This sums up the laws of the offerings: burnt, grain, sin, guilt, ordination and peace. God gave them all to Moses at Sinai. They show how a holy God lets sinful people draw near to Him with forgiveness, gratitude and fellowship.

BSA: ordination offering (“for setting, installing priests”): This offering marked the installation of priests, as seen at Aaron’s consecration.

See also: Hebrews 10:1.