Sacrifices and Offerings

The first sacrifices mentioned in the Bible were brought by Cain and Abel. Genesis also records that Noah and all the Patriarchs offered sacrifices, while the Exodus from Egypt was marked by the first paschal sacrifice.

According to the traditional sources, whenever there was a centralized location for worship, sacrifices could only be brought to that place. Thus, during the existence of the Sanctuary in the desert, no sacrifices were allowed elsewhere.After the Israelites entered Canaan, the permanent Sanctuary was established in Shiloh. During the brief periods when this was not in existence, sacrifices were offered in various bamot, or High Places. Finally, when Solomon's Temple was completed, the recourse to high places was permanently forbidden (Zev. 18b, 112b).

Various explanations have been given for the bringing of sacrifices. The Hebrew for sacrifice, korban, implies "bringing closer," and the sacrifices have been seen both as drawing man closer to God and God closer to man. Maimonides, in his Guide for the Perplexed, sees the sacrifices as a way of weaning the Israelites away from the common practice of sacrifices prevalent in the region, by having them brought to God Himself rather than used for idolatrous purposes. (The sacrifice of Isaac [Akedah] may even be meant to denounce the evidently common practice at the time of sacrificing human beings.) Scholars are divided as to whether this was indeed Maimonides' position, or whether it was merely his answer to the rationalists to whom his volume was addressed. Evidence of a contrary view by Maimonides may be seen in his Mishneh Torah, where he dwells at great length on the various laws governing sacrifices after stating in his introduction to this work that he had omitted all laws which were not applicable for all time. This seems to indicate that he envisioned the restoration of the sacrificial cult in the Temple.

Naḥmanides and many other medieval rabbis disagree with the view expressed by Maimonides in the Guide. They see the sacrifices as having great spiritual and symbolic value and an intrinsic importance in themselves, and, as such, applicable wherever the circumstances permit. The guilt-offering, for example, is regarded as serving to impress upon the person bringing the sacrifice the enormity of his sin, to the extent that whatever happened to the animal that was sacrificed should by rights have happened to the sinner.

Initially, meat was only eaten following a sacrifice. As the meat of certain sacrifices was eaten by the people bringing the sacrifices and by their families and friends, all of whom had to be ritually pure, some see these types of sacrifices as being primarily directed at elevating the mundane act of eating meat into the worship of God. In this, the act parallels many others in Judaism which serve that end.

Some have claimed that many of the Prophets rejected the sacrificial cult and wished to replace it with a superior moral code of ethical values. Others have argued that a careful reading of the verses indicates that the prophets were not rejecting the practice itself but the facile manner in which sacrifices were brought, as if they themselves were sufficient atonement for sins. To the prophets, a sacrifice brought without the proper intent of Repentance was an abomination.

The sacrifices may be divided into three broad categories: sacrifices brought as a sign of submission to God; those brought as thanks; and those brought as part of the repentance for a sin committed inadvertently, through negligence. A guilt-offering may not be brought for a sin committed deliberately, for in such a case the offering does not serve to atone for the sin. This proviso effectively blocks the possibility of sinning with the intention of later bringing a sacrifice to atone for the sin. Sacrifices may also be divided into those which are obligatory, such as the daily morning and afternoon sacrifices, and those which are voluntary, offered by individuals for various personal reasons.

In a way paralleling the sacrifices of Cain and Abel, the sacrifices and offerings, as described by the Bible, consist of either animals or grain. Certain basic guidelines applied to both types (as offered in the Second Temple). All sacrifices and offerings had to be brought to the Temple, although each was assigned a specific place within it. There were four types of animal sacrifices, with subcategories within each. These were: the olah, "burnt offering"; the shelamim, "peace" or "well-being" offering; the ḥatat, "sin offering"; and the asham, "guilt offering."

Animal sacrifices required the animal to be free of any physical blemish; sacrifices of fowl, however, lacked this restriction. Animals which might be used included bulls, cows, sheep, and goats, while only turtle doves and pigeons could be used for an offering of fowl. Certain sacrifices required animals of a particular sex and there were also age limitations on the animals brought. Animals were slaughtered with a slaughtering knife, while birds were killed by a priest pinching their necks with a specially sharpened thumb nail. Except for burnt offerings or peace offerings brought on behalf of the entire nation, all animal sacrifices required the laying of two hands with all one's strength on the animal's head before slaughter. Some view this as a means for the bearer to identify the sacrifice with himself. In all cases, the blood of the slaughtered animal or fowl was either sprinkled or poured according to a specified ritual. All parts of any animal or fowl offered as a sacrifice had to be disposed of within a certain limited number of days. For these purposes, unlike the general law in Judaism that a new day begins at night, the day would begin at dawn. Thus, a sacrifice which had to be disposed of within one day would have to be eaten before dawn of the day following the sacrifice.

In the case of sacrifices brought by individuals, the person sacrificing the animal could perform all the actions up to the sprinkling or pouring of the blood by himself, including laying his hands on the animal, lifting it, slaughtering it, flaying the hide, dissecting the carcass, and washing the parts. All subsequent actions, including sprinkling or pouring the blood at or near the altar, arranging the wood on the altar, and burning those parts that were to be burned, were carried out by a priest. The priest who sprinkled or poured the blood was entitled to any priestly portion of a particular sacrifice.

Olah ("burnt offering"). No fewer than 14 types of sacrifices were included in this category, including the daily morning and afternoon (tamid) sacrifices; the ram brought by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement; the burnt offering of a woman who had given birth, of a zav or zavah (people who had suffered an abnormal bloody genital emission), of a Nazirite who was at the end of his term or whose term was interrupted by his having become ritually impure through contact with the dead, of the metsora (a type of skin disease, possibly leprosy), of a convert, and a freewill burnt offering by any individual.

Only male animals (bulls, rams, or he-goats) could be used for the burnt offering, but a fowl might be of either sex. In the case of an animal, the hide belonged to the priest, while the rest of the animal was burned on the altar; in the case of a fowl, the entire fowl was burned.

Shelamim ("peace offering"). The animal used for a peace offering could be of either sex. The imurim (certain portions of the innards, including ḥelev (fat), the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver) were burned on the altar, while the meat of the animal was eaten. There were four kinds of peace offerings: a) shalmé tsibbur, the "community peace offering," brought on Shavu'Ot; b) shalmé ḥagigah and shalmé simḥah, the "festival peace offering" and the "festive peace offering," brought by an individual, the former as a way of celebrating a festival, the latter as a way of expressing thanks to God; c) shelamim of a neder or nedavah, a peace offering which had been pledged, either in the form of "I will bring a sacrifice" or in the form of "I will bring this particular animal or fowl as a sacrifice"; d) shalmé nazir, the peace offering brought by a Nazirite at the end of his term. In the first case above, the priests ate the meat, while in the other three the person bringing the sacrifice ate it with his family and friends. Similarly, in the first case the hide belonged to the priests, while in the others it belonged to the person bringing the sacrifice.

Ḥatat ("sin offering"). This sacrifice was brought when a person or an entire community, through negligence, violated a commandment, where the punishment for the deliberate violation would have been Karet (being "cut off" from the community). Depending on the specific ḥatat involved, a bull aged two or three years, a year-old he-goat, a year-old female sheep or goat, or a fowl was offered. Where the ḥatat was to atone for a sin committed by the High Priest or by the entire community, the animal or fowl was burned outside the Temple. In all other cases, the priests ate the meat.

Asham ("guilt offering"). There were six types of guilt offerings. a) Asham gezilot, the "guilt offering of theft." If a person denied falsely under oath that he owed another person money, he had to return the amount owed plus an additional fifth, and bring this sacrifice, consisting of a two-year-old ram. b) Asham me'ilot, "the guilt offering of desecration." If a person inadvertently benefited illegally from any of the possessions of the Temple, he had to repay the amount involved to the Temple plus an additional fifth, and to bring this sacrifice, a two-year-old ram. c) Asham shifḥah ḥarufah. If a man had sexual relations with a woman who was half a slave and half free (e.g., if she had been owned by two partners and one had given her her freedom), and who was betrothed to a Jewish slave, he had to bring a two-year-old ram. d) Asham nazir, the guilt offering brought by a Nazirite who had became ritually impure during the period his vows were in force by contact with the dead, consisting of a one-year-old sheep. e) Asham metsora, the guilt offering of the metsora, brought on the day that he became ritually pure. A rich person had to bring a one-year-old sheep while a poor person had to bring a turtledove or pigeon. f) Asham talu'i, "the doubtful guilt offering," brought by a person who was not sure if he had transgressed a prohibition in a case in which, had he indeed done so and had certain other conditions been present, he would have had to bring a ḥatat. In such a case, the person had to bring a two-year-old sheep. In each of the above cases, the animal had to be male, and its flesh was given to the priests to eat.

Offerings This category includes all the different offerings consisting of grain. Six of the nine were known as various types of minḥah, or "grain offering". Of the nine grain offerings, all except two were made with fine wheat flour. Some of these offerings had to be Matzah, or unleavened, while others were leavened. With certain exceptions, all were composed of grain, oil, and frankincense. All meal-offerings, like other sacrifices, were seasoned with salt (Lev. 2:13). These offerings included: a) minḥat ha-omer, "the Omer grain offering," consisting of the barley harvested on the second day of Passover, which was eaten by priests in the Temple courtyard; b) sheté ha-leḥem, "the two loaves" brought on Shavu'ot, without either oil or frankincense; c) leḥem ha-panim, "the Showbread," 12 loaves, which did not contain oil, that were placed on a special table in the Temple each Friday, where they would remain until the following week; d) minḥat ḥavitin, a type of matzah brought daily by the High Priest; e) minḥat ḥinnukh, "the grain offering of dedication," brought by a priest on the first day he entered the Temple service; a minḥat nesakhim, "the libation grain offering," which might be brought by an individual or on behalf of the entire community, and which did not include frankincense; g) minḥat Sotah, "the grain offering of the [suspected] unfaithful wife," which consisted of barley without either oil or frankincense; h) minḥat ḥoté, "the grain offering of the sinner," brought without oil or frankincense; and i) minḥat nedavah, "the freewill grain offering," brought by an individual.

The sacrifice of animals was always accompanied by a libation (nesekh) of wine and a meal-offering. The Bible specifies the quantity of wine and of grain for each species of animal sacrificed. The meal-offering could consist of flour by itself, of thin wafers baked in an oven or prepared in either a flat or a deep pot. The latter three meal offerings were made of flour and oil, and, in most cases, frankincense. The wine was poured at the corner of the altar, while a handful of the meal-offering was placed on the altar and the rest was consumed by the priests. Although it was permitted to bring a meal-offering by itself, there was no such provision for an independent offering of wine.

There was also a twice-daily Incense offering, burned on a special incense altar in the Temple.

Each special day, such as the Sabbath and the days of each of the festivals, had its own list of sacrifices as prescribed in the Torah. A detailed list of these is to be found in Numbers 28-29.

A different form of sacrifice was that of the First Fruits, consisting of the Seven Species for which Erets Israel is praised: wheat, barley, grapes, pomegranates, figs, olives, and dates. The species were carried in a joyful procession to Jerusalem, especially for Shavu'ot, but could be brought until ḥanukkah. Each person who brought his first fruits to the Temple had to make a declaration before a priest, the text of which is recorded in Deuteronomy 26:5-10. Of the six Orders of the Talmud, one entire Order, Kodashim, is devoted almost entirely to the sacrificial system.

Although Prayer had become part of the ritual even during the Temple period, once the Temple was destroyed it replaced the different sacrifices, in accordance with the interpretation of Hosea 14:3: "Instead of bulls we will pay [the offering] of our lips." To this end, the preliminary Morning Service includes an account of the daily sacrifices which were offered in the Temple. On Sabbaths, festivals, and on the New Moon, the Additional Service (Musaf) is said, which describes the additional sacrifice (musaf) brought on each of these days.

Orthodoxy regards the replacement of the sacrifices by prayer as temporary, so that the Amidah prayer contains references to the eventual restoration of sacrifices in the Temple. The Reform movement, on the other hand, has removed all such references from its prayers, as it regards sacrifice as no longer relevant to Judaism.

The standard Conservative prayer books, including the most recent editions of the High Festival and Sabbath and Daily Prayer Books, put all references to animal sacrifices in the historic past and have omitted all expressions of anticipation of the restoration of the Temple and animal sacrifices. This is in accordance with mainstream Conservative theology, which does not accept the notion of a Third Temple and sacrifices as applicable to modern Judaism.

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An act of worship expressing submission to the deity and seeking his favor; in the biblical context the sacrificer was also atoning for his sins. The Hebrew word for sacrifice comes from the root meaning "to approach" and signified that which is brought near, or offered, to God. The nations surrounding the Israelites made human sacrifices but the story of Isaac was to show God's displeasure with such practice. Sacrifice is first mentioned in the story of Cain and Abel while for Noah and the patriarchs, it was an accepted form of worship. In those times, every religious cult included sacrifice and until the time of the Deuteronomic code, the only animals slaughtered by the Israelites were for that purpose. Once in their own land, the Israelites concentrated sacrifice in the Jerusalem Temple.

The sacrificial laws were incorporated into the Pentateuch as "a heritage of the congregation of Jacob" (Deut 33:4). As the following verses indicate (Lev 1:2; 4:2; 7:38; 12:2; 15:2; 16:29-31; etc.), these laws were made available to the people at large. The person making the offering participated in the following rituals involving his animal: laying on of the hands (whose purpose has yet to be determined), elevation (raising his offering), slaughter, skinning, dissecting and washing; these acts were performed in the forecourt. The rituals reserved for the priests were: elevation (jointly with the offerer), blood manipulation, arrangement of the wood and sacrifice on the altar and incineration. The division followed the rule that anything to do with the altar was the exclusive domain of the priest. This rule is clearly evident in Leviticus chapter 1. In the case of the bird offering, however, the offerer was omitted from the procedure (Lev 1:14-17), because there was no lay participation. Even the "slaughter", performed by pinching off the head at the altar, was done by the priest. The centrality of the blood in the sacrificial ritual is evidenced by the rule that the priestly portions of the sacrifices were assigned to the one who manipulated the blood (Lev 6:26; 7:7).

The expiatory sacrifices were the sin offering and the guilt offering, at times the whole burnt offering and the cereal offering, and, in one case, the well-being offering. The purpose of the sin offering was not to purge the offerer but the sanctuary. This took place in three stages: (a) when an individual committed an inadvertency or contracted a severe impurity, the blood of the offering was daubed on the horns of the outer altar (e.g., Lev 4:25; 9:9). (b) When the entire community (even through its anointed priest: Lev 4:3) committed an inadvertency, the blood was brought inside the shrine where it was sprinkled before the veil and daubed on the horns of the inner altar (Lev 4:5-7, 16-18). (c) For presumptuous sins, of the individual or the group, the blood was brought inside the adytum where it was sprinkled before and upon the ark, followed by the ritual of the previous two stages in reverse order. Only one postulate explains these data: the greater the offender and the graver the offense, the more the resultant impurity penetrated into the sanctuary. Inadvertences of the individual polluted the outer altar, inadvertences of the group polluted the shrine; but presumptuous sins penetrated into the adytum and only the rites of the Day of Atonement could purge them.

The main cases of the guilt offering are cited in Leviticus 5:14ff and its sacrificial procedure in Leviticus 7:1-7. The first case of such an offering (Lev 5:14-16) deals with inadvertent trespass upon sanctums. The trespasser had to restore the value of the desecrated sanctums, pay a one-fifth fine and bring a ram or its monetary equivalent as a reparation offering. Leviticus 5:17-19 deals with suspected trespass on sanctums. He who suffers in body or conscience without knowing the cause suspects that he is being punished by God for trespassing on his sanctums. This is thus a continuation of verses 14-16 – the first case dealing with known trespass, the second with suspected trespass. The third case, Leviticus 6:1-7, concerns the defrauding of a man, compounded by a false oath to God. It presumes that the false oath follows all the previously enumerated crimes, i.e., that the fraudulent act was followed by a lying oath. This case states that, if the offender repents of his deed before he is apprehended, he need only restore the value of the property to the owner, add a one-fifth fine and bring a reparation offering to God. That the "whole offering" expiates is expressly stated in its prescription (Lev 1:4), in certain rituals (Lev 9:7; 14:20) and in nonpriestly sources (Job 1:5; 42:8). Since it is entirely consumed on the alter (the skin excepted, Lev 7:8) it is called "burnt offering" (Deut 33:10; I Sam 7:9).

The cereal offering probably served as a cheap whole offering for those who could not afford an animal. The "well-being" offering is subject to much discussion. The motivations for bringing this offering as a special sacrifice are adduced in Leviticus 7:11-16 – thanksgiving, fulfillment of a vow or freewill offering. The common denominator to all these motivations is rejoicing: "You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there and rejoice before the Lord your God" (Deut 27:7).

The sacrifices filled a wide range of spiritual and emotional needs. True, the prophets jeered at their ineffectiveness in refining ethical behavior. But this cannot negate the fact that the masses participated in the sacrificial services with reverence and love.

The priestly gifts are listed or adumbrated in a single passage, Numbers 18:8-19. The most sacred offerings (v.9) are: the cereal offering, except for its token portion burnt on the altar (Lev 2:2-3, 9-10), the flesh of the purification and reparation offerings (Lev 8:29; 7:5-6), and the hide of the burnt offering (not included here: cf Lev 7:8). These gifts were assigned only to male priests (Lev 6:18, 29; 7:10) and had to be eaten in the sanctuary court (Lev 7:6).

The sacred gifts (in contrast to the most sacred, above) are: the first-processed of the wine and grain (Num 18:12); the first ripe produce (v.13); all proscriptions (v.14); the firstborn of animals and the redemption price of firstborn humans (vs. 15-17); the breast and right thigh of the well-being offering (v.18); and all sacred gifts to the sanctuary (v.19).

The NT takes for granted that the sacrificial system of Judaism is ordained of God. Jesus' parents took him to the Temple and made the prescribed sacrifice (Luke 2:24). When criticized for eating with unsavory people, Jesus replied: "Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' " (Matt 9:13, quoting Hos 6:6). In Matthew 12:7 the same statement is made in connection with a discussion of eating grain from a field on the Sabbath, in Mark 12:33 it appears in connection with the discussion of the greatest commandment. These three different contexts make it clear that the saying was important to the early Christian redactors of the traditions.

Most significantly, however, the early Christians saw the crucified Jesus as a sacrifice on their behalf. Paul for example states: "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (I Cor 5:7). Along similar lines the author of Ephesians admonishes his readers to live in love "as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma" (Eph 5:2). The writer to the Hebrews, eager to show that Christianity has a better way, stresses that Jesus is the high priest (Heb 2:17; 3:1) par excellence who has been designated like the high priest to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin (Heb 5:1), has learned obedience through suffering and was therefore named high priest (Heb 5:8-10). He describes the high priest as devout, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners, raised high above the heavens (Heb 7:26). Above all he does not have to offer sacrifices daily, for this "he did once for all when he offered up himself" (Heb 7:28). In this the writer sees the superiority of the New Covenant (Heb 8:6). He is convinced that better sacrifices are needed (Heb 9:23) and that in fact Christ has offered them, by offering his body once and for all (Heb 10:10). Now there is no longer any offering for sin (Heb 10:18). The sprinkled blood of Jesus which calls for unbounded love even towards enemies "speaks better things than that of Abel" (Heb 12:24). Which cries for vengeance.

In line with the sacrifice made by Christ, Paul calls upon Roman Christians to "present your bodies: a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God" (Rom 12:1) and expresses his joy should he be "poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith" (Phil 2:17). In Romans 15:16 he describes his priestly service as the preaching of the Gospel of God, so that "the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit" (cf also I Pet 2:5). Jesus, by renouncing violence, teaching the love of enemies, and accepting his death, is seen as breaking the link between sacred awe and the displaced aggression entailed in traditional blood sacrifice.

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