SACRIFICE (Jewish Encyclopedia)
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The act of offering to a deity for the purpose of doing homage, winning favor, or securing pardon; that which is offered or consecrated. The late generic term for "sacrifice" in Hebrew is (missing hebrew text) , the verb being (missing hebrew text) , used in connection with all kinds of sacrifices.
—Biblical Data:
It is assumed in the Scriptures that the institution of sacrifice is coeval with the race. Abel and Cain are represented as the first among men to sacrifice; and to them are attributed the two chief classes of oblations: namely, the vegetable or bloodless, and the animal or blood-giving (Gen 4:3, 4). After the Flood, Noah offered of "every clean beast, and of every clean fowl" (ib. viii. 20). The building of altars by the Patriarchs is frequently recorded (ib. xii. 7, 8; xiii. 4, 18; xxi. 33; xxvi. 25; xxxiii. 20; xxxv. 7). Abraham offers a sacrifice at which Yhwh makes a covenant with him (ib. xv.). In the history of Jacob a sacrifice is mentioned as a ratification of a treaty (ib. xxxi. 54). He sacrifices also when he leaves Canaan to settle in Egypt (ib. xlvi. 1). Abraham had been or believed he had been given the command to sacrifice his son (ib. xxii.). These ancient offerings included not only the bloodless kind (ib. iv. 3), but also holocausts (ib. viii. 20, xxii. 13) and animal thank-offerings (ib. xxxi. 54, xlvi. 1).
Place of Sacrifice.
The primitive altar was made of earth (comp. Ex 20:24) or of unhewn stones (ib. xx. 25; Deut 27:5), and was located probably on an elevation (see Altar; High Place). The story in Genesis proceeds on the theory that wherever the opportunity was presented for sacrifice there it was offered (Gen 8:20, xxxi. 54; comp. Ex 24:4). No one fixed place seems to have been selected (Ex 20:24, where the Masoretic text, (missing hebrew text) = "I will have my 'zeker' [ = "remembrance"]," and Geiger's emendation, (missing hebrew text) = "Thou wilt place my 'zeker,'" bear out this inference). This freedom to offer sacrifices at any place recurs in the eschatological visions of the Later Prophets (Isa 19:19, 21; Zeph 2:11; Mal 1:11; Zech 14:20, 21), thus confirming the thesis of Gunkel ("Schöpfung und Chaos") that the end is always a reproduction of the beginning.
The Paschal Sacrifice.
Under Moses, according to the Pentateuch, this freedom to offer sacrifices anywhere and without the ministrations of the appointed sacerdotal agents disappears. The proper place for the oblations was to be "before the door of the tabernacle," where the altar of burnt offerings stood (Ex 40:6), and where Yhwh met His people (ib. xxix. 42; Lev 1:3; iv. 4; xii. 6; xv. 14, 29; xvi. 7; xvii. 2-6; xix. 21), or simply "before Yhwh" (Lev 3:1, 7, 12; ix. 2, 4, 5), and later in Jerusalem in the Temple (Deut 12:5-7, 11, 12). That this law was not observed the historical books disclose, and the Prophets never cease complaining about its many violations (see High Place). The Book of Joshua (xxiv. 14) presumes that while in Egypt the Hebrews had become idolaters. The Biblical records report very little concerning the religious conditions among those held in Egyptian bondage. The supposition, held for a long time, that while in the land of Goshen the Israelites had become adepts in the Egyptian sacrificial cult, lacks confirmation by the Biblical documents. The purpose of the Exodus as given in Ex 8:23 (A. V. 25) is to enable the people to sacrifice to their God. But the only sacrifice commanded in Egypt (ib. xii.) was that of the paschal lamb (see Passover Sacrifice). In the account of the Hebrews' migrations in the desert Jethro offers a sacrifice to Yhwh; Moses, Aaron, and the elders participating therein (ib. xviii. 12). Again, at the conclusion of the revelation on Sinai (ib. xxiv. 5), Moses offers up all kinds of sacrifices, sprinkling some of the blood on the altar. At the consecration of the Tabernacle the chiefs of the tribes are said to have offered, in addition to vessels of gold and silver, 252 animals (Num 7:12-88); and it has been calculated that the public burnt offerings amounted annually to no less than 1,245 victims (Kalish, "Leviticus," p. 20). No lessthan 50,000 paschal lambs were killed at the Passover celebration of the second year after the Exodus (Num 9:1-14).
Private Sacrifices.
According to the Book of Joshua, after the conquest of Canaan the Tabernacle was established at Shiloh (Josh 18:1, xix. 51, xxii. 9). During the periods of the Judges and of Samuel it was the central sanctuary (Jdg 18:31; 1Sam 3:3, xiv. 3; comp. Jer 7:12), where at certain seasons of the year recurring festivals were celebrated and the Hebrews assembled to perform sacrifices and vows (Jdg 21:12, 19; 1Sam 1:3, 21; ii. 19). But it seems that the people assembled also at Shechem—where was a sanctuary of Yhwh (Josh 24:1, 26)—as well as at Mizpeh in Gilead (Jdg 11:11), at Mizpeh in Benjamin (ib. xx. 1), at Gilgal (1Sam 11:15, xiii. 8, xv. 21), at Hebron (2 Sam 5:3), at Beth-el, and at Beer-sheba (Amos 4:4, v. 5, viii. 14). They sacrificed at Bochim and Beth-el (Jdg 3:5, xxi. 4). Private sacrifices, also, in the homes of the families, appear to have been in vogue, e.g., in the house of Jesse in Beth-lehem (1Sam 20:6), of Ahithophel at Giloh (2 Sam 15:12), and of Job (Job 1:5, xlii. 8). Assisting Levites are mentioned (Jdg 17:4-13). Gideon offered at Ophrah (ib. vi. 11-20, 26 et seq.); Manoah, at Zorah (ib. xiii. 16, 19, 20); Samuel, at Mizpeh, Ramah, Gilgal, and Beth-lehem (1Sam 7:9, 10, 17; ix. 12, 13; x. 8; xi. 15; xvi. 25); Saul, at Gilgal (ib. xiii. 9 et seq.) and during his pursuit of the Philistines (ib. xiv. 32-35); David, on the thrashing-floor of Araunah (2 Sam 6:17, xxiv. 25); Absalom, at Hebron (ib. xv. 7-9); Adonijah, near En-rogel (1 Kg 1:9); Solomon, "in high places" (ib. iii. 2, 3); and Elijah, in his contest with the prophets of Baal, on Mount Carmel (ib. xviii.). Naaman took Palestinian soil with him because he desired to offer sacrifice to Yhwh in Syria (2Kg 5:17, 19). The Books of Chronicles throw a different light on this period. If their reports are to be accepted, the sacrificial services were conducted throughout in strict conformity with the Mosaic code (1Chr 15:26, xxvi. 8-36; 2Chr 1:2-6, ii. 3, xiii. 11). Enormous numbers of sacrifices are reported in them (2Chr 15:11; xxix. 32, 33).
In the Solomonic Temple, Solomon himself (though not a priest) offered three times every year burnt offerings and thank-offerings and incense (1 Kg 9:25); he also built high places. Down to the destruction of the Temple, kings, priests, and even prophets, besides the people, are among the inveterate disregarders of the sacrificial ritual of the Pentateuch, worshiping idols and sacrificing to them; e.g., Jeroboam with his golden calves at Dan and Beth-el (1 Kg 12:28; comp. 2Kg 17:16), Ahimelech at Nob (1Sam 21:2-10), and even Aaron (Ex 32:1-6 comp. Neh 9:18). Ba'al was worshiped (Hos 2:10, 15; 2Kg 3:2; x. 26, 27; xi. 18; Jdg 6:25; Jer 7:9, xi. 13, xxxii. 29), as were Astarte, Baal-berith, Baal-peor, Baal-zebub, Moloch, and other false gods, in the cult of which not only animal and vegetable but even human sacrifices (see Sacrifice, Critical View) were important features.
Attitude of Prophets.
The attitude of the literary prophets toward sacrifice manifests no enthusiasm for sacrificial worship. Hosea declares in the name of Yhwh: "I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of Yhwh more than burnt offerings" (Hos 6:6; comp. ib. viii. 13; ix. 3, 4; xiv. 3). Amos proclaims: "I [Yhwh] hate, I despise your feast-days; . . . if you offer me burnt offerings and your bloodless offerings, I will not accept them nor will I regard the thank-offerings of your fat beasts, . . . but let justice flow like water" (Amos 5:21-24, Hebr.; comp. iv. 4, 5). He goes so far as to doubt the existence of sacrificial institutions in the desert (ib. v. 25). Isaiah is not less strenuous in rejecting a ritualistic sacrificial cult (Isa 1:11-17). Jeremiah takes up the burden (Jer 6:19, 20; comp. xxxi. 31-33). He, like Amos, in expressing his scorn for the burnt offerings and other slaughtered oblations, takes occasion to deny that the fathers had been commanded concerning these things when they came forth from Egypt (ib. vii. 21 et seq.). Malachi, a century later, complains of the wrong spirit which is manifest at the sacrifices ("Mal 1:10). Ps. l. emphasizes most beautifully the prophetic conviction that thanksgiving alone is acceptable, as does Ps 6931, 32. Deutero-Isaiah (xl. 16) suggests the utter inadequacy of sacrifices. "To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to Yhwh than sacrifice" is found in 1Sam 15:22 (Hebr.) as a censure of Saul; and gnomic wisdom is not without similar confession (Prov 15:8; xxi. 3, 27; xxviii. 9; Eccl 4:17). Some passages assert explicitly that sacrifices are not desired (Ps 407-9, li. 17-19). Micah's rejection of sacrificial religion has become the classical definition of ethical monotheism (Mic. vi. 6-8). Other Psalms and prophetic utterances, however, deplore the cessation of sacrificial services at the Temple and look forward to their reinstitution (Ps 5120, 21; Joel ii. 12, 13; Jer 31:14; xxxiii. 11, 17, 18). The apocalyptic character of some of these predictions is not disputable, neither is that of Isa 19:21, lvi. 7, lx. 7. In Ezekiel's scheme of the restoration, also, the sacrifices receive very generous treatment (Ezek. xl.-xlviii.).
The Mosaic Sacrifices.
The Mosaic sacrificial scheme is for the most part set forth in Leviticus. The sacrifices ordained may be divided into the bloodless and the blood-giving kinds. This division takes into consideration the nature of the offering. But another classification may be made according to the occasion for which the oblation is brought and the sentiments and motives of the offerers. On this basis the sacrifices are divided into: (1) burnt offerings, (2) thankor praise-offerings, (3) sinor trespass-offerings, and (4) purificative offerings. Among the thank-offerings might be included the paschal lamb, the offering of the first-born, and the First-Fruits; in the category of sin-offerings, the jealousy-offering. As a rule, the burnt, the expiatory, and the purificative offerings were animal sacrifices, but in exceptional cases a cereal sin-offering was accepted or prescribed. Thank-offerings might consist either of animal or of vegetable oblations.
Animal sacrifices were generally accompanied by bloodless offerings, and in many cases by a libation of wine or a drink-offering also. Bloodless offeringswere, however, brought alone; for instance, that of the showbread and the frankincense offering on the golden altar. Another classification might be (1) voluntary or free-will offerings (private holocausts and thank- or vow-offerings) and (2) compulsory or obligatory offerings (private and public praise-offerings, public holocausts, and others).
The Materials of Sacrifices.
The sacrificial animals were required to be of the clean class (Gen 7:23; Lev 11:47, xiv. 4, xx. 25; Deut 14:11, 20). Still, not all clean animals occur in the specifications of the offerings, for which were demanded mainly cattle from the herd or from the flock; viz., the bullock and the ox, the cow and the calf; the sheep, male or female, and the lamb; the goat, male or female, and the kid. Of fowls, turtle-doves and pigeons were to be offered, but only in exceptional cases as holocausts and sin-offerings; they were not accepted as thank- or praise-offerings nor as a public sacrifice. Fishes were altogether excluded. The bullock formed the burnt offering of the whole people on New Moon and holy days, and for inadvertent transgressions; of the chiefs at the dedication of the Tabernacle; of the Levites at their initiation; and of private individuals in emergencies. It was the sin-offering for the community or the high priest, for the priests when inducted into office, and for the high priest on the Day of Atonement. In cases of peculiar joyfulness it was chosen for the thank-offering. The ram was presented as a holocaust or a thank-offering by the people or by their chiefs, the high priest or ordinary priests, and by the Nazarite, never by an individual layman. It was the ordinary trespass-offering for violation of property rights. The kid was the special animal for sin-offerings. It was permitted also for private burnt offerings and for thank-offerings; but it was never prescribed for public burnt offerings. The lamb was employed for the daily public holocausts, and very commonly for all private offerings of whatever character. The pigeon and turtle-dove served for burnt offerings and sin-offerings in cases of lustrations. They were allowed as private holocausts, and were accepted as sin-offerings from the poorer people and as purification-offerings; but they were excluded as thank-offerings, nor did they form part of the great public or festal sacrifices.
The bloodless oblations consisted of vegetable products, chief among which were flour (in some cases roasted grains) and wine. Next in importance was oil. As accessories, frankincense and salt were required, the latter being added on nearly all occasions. Leaven and honey were used in a few instances only.
Qualities of Offerings.
Concerning the qualification of the offerings, the Law ordained that the animals be perfect (Deut 15:21, xvii. 1; specified more in detail in Lev 22:18-25), the blind, broken, maimed, ulcerous, scurvied, scabbed, bruised, crushed, and castrated being excluded. This injunction was applied explicitly to burnt (Lev 1:3; ix. 2, 3; xxiii. 18), thank- (ib. iii. 1, 6; xxii. 21), and expiatory offerings (ib. iv. 3, 23, 28, 32; v. 15, 18, 25; ix. 2, 3; xiv. 10) and the paschal lamb (Ex 12:5). To offer a blemished animal was deemed sacrilegious (Deut 17:1; Mal 1:6, 7, 8, 9, 13). In most cases a male animal was required; but a female victim was prescribed in a few cases, as, for instance, that of the sin-offering of the ordinary Israelite. In other cases the choice between male and female was left open, e.g., in private thank-offerings and offerings of the firstlings. For pigeons and turtle-doves no particular sex is mentioned.
As to the age of the victims, none might be offered prior to the seventh day from birth (Lev 22:27). Mother and young might not be slaughtered on the same day (ib. xxii. 28). The first-born males were to be killed within the first year (Deut 15:19 et seq.). Burnt offerings and sin- and thank-offerings were required to be more than one year old, as was the paschal lamb (Ex 12:5, xxix. 38; Lev 9:3; xii. 6; xiv. 10; xxiii. 12, 19; Num 6:12, 14; vii. 17, 23, 29; xv. 27; xxviii. 3, 9, 11, 19, 27). For doves and pigeons no age was set. Sometimes the sacrifice called for an animal that had neither done any work nor borne any yoke, e.g., the Red Heifer (Num 19:1-10; Deut 21:3, 4). The animal was required to be the lawful property of the sacrificer (2 Sam 24:24; Deut 28:19; Ez 6:9; vii. 17, 22; 1Macc 10:39; 2 Macc 3:3, ix. 16; Josephus, "Ant." xii. 3, § 3).
Liquid Sacrifices.
The ears of corn (Lev 2:14) presented as a first-fruits offering were required to be of the earlier and therefore better sort, the grains to be rubbed or beaten out; the flour, as a rule, of the finest quality and from the choicest cereal, wheat. The offering of the wife suspected of adultery was of common barley flour. As to quantity, at least one-tenth part of an ephah or an omer of flour was used. It was mixed with water, and in most cases was left unleavened; it was then made into dough and baked in loaves or thin cakes. The oil had to be pure white olive-oil from the unripe berries squeezed or beaten in a mortar. It was usually poured over the offering or mingled therewith, or it was brushed over the thin cakes. Sometimes, however, the offering was soaked in oil. The frankincense was white and pure. The wine is not described or qualified in the Law. "Shekar" is another liquid mentioned as a libation (Num 28:7); it must have been an intoxicating fermented liquor, and was prohibited to priests during service and to Nazarites. Salt was used with both the blood-giving and the bloodless sacrifices (Lev 2:13); its use is not further described. Leaven and honey were generally excluded, but the former was permitted for the first new bread offered on Pentecost and for the bread and cakes at every praise-offering; the latter, when offered as a first-fruits offering.
Of the necessary preparations the chief was "sanctification" (Joel i. 14; ii. 15, 16; iv. 9; Mic. iii. 5; Neh 3:1; Ps. xx.), consisting in bathing, washing, and change of garments, and in conjugal abstinence (Gen 35:2-4; Ex 19:10, 14, 15; xxxiii. 5, 6; Josh 3:5, vii. 13). These laws were amplified with reference to the officiating Priest (Ex 30:17-21, xl. 30-32).
Times of Sacrifice.
No particular time of the day is specified for sacrifices, except that the daily holocausts are to be killed"in the morning" and "between the two evenings" (Ex 16:12; xxix. 39, 41; xxx. 8; Num 28:4). When the gift had been properly prepared, the offerer, whether man or woman, brought (Lev 4:4, 14; xii. 6; xiv. 23; xv. 29) it to the place where alone it was lawful to sacrifice—"before Yhwh," or "to the door of the tent of meeting," i.e., the court where the altar of burnt offering stood. To offer it elsewhere would have been shedding blood (Lev 17:3-5, 8, 9). The injunction to offer in the proper place is repeated more especially in regard to the individual class of sacrifice (Lev 1:3; iv. 4, 14; vi. 18; xii. 6; xiii. 2, 8, 12; xv. 29; xix. 21). The victim was killed "on the side of the altar [of holocausts] northward" (Lev 1:11, iv. 24, vi. 18, vii. 2, xiv. 13). When the offering, if a quadruped, had been brought within the precincts of the sanctuary, and after examination had been found qualified, the offerer laid one hand upon the victim's head (Lev 1:4; iii. 2, 8, 13; iv. 5, 15). On the scape-goat, the high priest laid both of his hands (ib. xvi. 21). This "laying on of hands" ("semikah") might not be performed by a substitute (Aaron and his sons laid hands on the sin- and burnt offerings killed on their own behalf; see Lev 8:14, 18). After the imposition of his hand, the offerer at once killed the animal. If presented by the community, the victim was immolated by one of the elders (ib. iv. 15). Priests might perform this act for the offering Israelites (2Chr 30:15-47; xxxv. 10, 11), though the priestly function began only with the act of receiving the blood, or, in bloodless offerings, with the taking of a handful to be burned on the altar, while the Israelite himself poured over and mixed the oil. The priests invariably killed the doves or pigeons by wringing off their heads (Lev 1:15, v. 8).
The Blood.
The utmost care was taken by the priest to receive the blood; it represented the life or soul. None but a circumcised Levite in a proper state of Levitical purity and attired in proper vestments might perform this act; so, too, the sprinkling of the blood was the exclusive privilege of the "priests, the sons of Aaron" (ib. i. 5, 11; iii. 2, 8, 13). Moses sprinkled it when Aaron and his sons were inducted; but this was exceptional (ib. viii. 15, 19, 23). In holocausts and thank-offerings the blood was sprinkled "round about upon the altar" (ib. i. 5, 11; iii. 2, 8, 13). In the sin-offering, the later (ib. vii. 2) practise seems to have been to put some of the blood on the horns of the brazen altar, or on those of the golden altar when that was used, or even on parts of the holy edifice (ib. iv. 6, 7, 17, 18, 25, 30, 34). The same distinction appears in the case of turtle-doves and pigeons: when burnt offerings, their blood was smeared on the side of the brazen altar (ib. viii. 15; xvi. 18, 19); when sin-offerings, it was partly sprinkled on the side of the altar and partly smeared on the base. The animal was then flayed, the skin falling to the priest (ib. i. 6, vii. 8). In some Sin-Offerings the skin was burned along with the flesh (ib. iv. 11, 12, 20, 21; comp. ib. iv. 26, 31, 35). If the entire animal was devoted to the flames, the carcass was "cut into pieces" (ib. i. 6, viii. 20). The bowels and legs of the animals used in the burnt offerings were carefully washed (ib. i. 9, viii. 21, ix. 14) before they were placed on the altar. Certain offerings or portions thereof had to pass through the ceremony of waving, a rite which is not further described in the Bible (see Sacrifice, in Rabbinical Literature).
Waving and Heaving.
Another ceremony is mentioned in connection with the waving, viz., the heaving. This ceremony, likewise not further described, was observed with the right shoulder of the thank-offering, after which the part belonged to the priest. The sacrificial rites were completed by the consumption by fire of the sacrifice or those parts destined for God.
Sacrificial meals were ordained in the cases where some portion of the sacrifice was reserved for the priests or for the offering Israelites. The bloodless oblations of the Israelites, being "most holy," were eaten by the males of the priests alone in the court of the sanctuary (ib. vii. 9, 10), those of the priests being consumed by fire on the altar. In other sacrifices other provisions for these meals were made (ib. vii. 12-14). The repast was a part of the priest's duties (ib. x. 16-18). Public thank-offerings seem to have been given over entirely to the priests (ib. xxiii. 20), with the exception of the Fat. In private thank-offerings this was burned on the altar (ib. iii. 3-5, 9-11, 14-16; vii. 31), the right shoulder was given to the priest (ib. vii. 31-34, x. 14-15), the breast to the Aaronites (ib. vii. 31-34), and the remainder was left to the offering Israelite. The priests might eat their portions with their families in any "clean" place (ib. x. 14). The offering Israelite in this case had to eat his share within a fixed and limited time (ib. vii. 15-18, xix. 5-8), with his family and such guests as Levites and strangers, and always at the town where the sanctuary was (for penalty and other conditions see ib. vii. 19-21; Deut 12:6, 7, 11, 12; 1Sam 9:12, 13, 19). Participation in the meals of idolatrous sacrifices was a fatal offense (Ex 34:14, 15; Num 25:1-3; comp. Ps 10628, 29).
Compound Sacrifices.
The vegetable- and drink-offerings accompanied all the usual holocausts and thank-offerings on ordinary days and Sabbaths, and on festivals (Num 15:3) of whatever character (Ex 29:40, 41; Lev 7:12, 13; xxiii. 13, 18; Num 15:3-9, 14-16; xxviii. 9, 20, 21, 28, 29). The kind of cereal oblation offered varied according to the species of the animals sacrificed, and the amount was increased in proportion to the number of the latter (Lev 14:21; Num 15:4, 12; xxviii. 5, 9, 12; xxix. 3, 4, 9, 10, 14, 15). However, a cereal oblation ("minḥah") might under certain circumstances be offered independently, e.g., the Showbread, the first sheaf of ripe barley on Pesaḥ, the first loaves of leavened bread from new wheat on Pentecost (Lev 23:16, 17, 20; Num 28:26), and the sin-offering of the very poor (Lev 5:11-13). The minḥah with the burnt offerings and thank-offerings was always fine wheaten flour merely mingled with oil; it is not clear whether this minḥah was burned entirely (ib. xiv. 20; comp. ib. ix. 16, 17). If it was presented alone as a free-will offering or as a votive offering, it might be offered in various forms and with differentceremonies (ib. ii. 2; v. 12; vi. 8; vii. 9, 10; also ii.; vi. 12-16; vii. 12-14; xxvii. 10, 11). The mode of libation is not described in the Law; but every holocaust or thank-offering was to be accompanied with a libation of wine, the quantity of which was exactly graduated according to the animal, etc. (Num 15:3-11). Water seems to have been used at one time for "pouring out" before Yhwh (1Sam 7:6; 2 Sam 23:16). As to the spices belonging to the sacrifices, four are named in the Torah, Balsam and Frankincense being the more important ("stacte, and onycha, and galbanum . . . with pure frankincense," Ex 30:34).
—In Rabbinical Literature:
The sacrifices treated of in the Law were, according to tradition, the following: (1) the holocaust ("'olah"); (2) the meal-offering ("minḥah"); (3) the sin-offering ("ḥaṭat"); (4) the trespass-offering ("asham")—these four were "holy of holies" ("ḳodesh ha-ḳodashim"); (5) the peace-offerings ("shelamim"), including the thank-offering ("todah") and the voluntary or vow-offering ("nedabah" or "neder"). These shelamim, as well as the sacrifice of the first-born ("bekor") and of the tithe of animals ("ma'aser" and "pesaḥ"), were less holy ("ḳodashim ḳallim"). For the 'olot, only male cattle or fowls might be offered; for the shelamim, all kinds of cattle. The ḥaṭat, too, might consist of fowls, or, in the case of very poor sacrificers, of flour. For the trespass-offering, only the lamb ("kebes") or the ram ("ayil") might be used. Every 'olah, as well as the votive offerings and the free-will shelamim, required an accessory meal-offering and libation ("nesek"). To a todah were added loaves or cakes of baked flour, both leavened and unleavened.
Acts of Sacrifice.
Every sacrifice required sanctification ("ḥakdashah"), and was to be brought into the court of the sanctuary ("haḳrabah"). In the animal offerings the following acts were observed: (1) "semikah" = laying on of the hand (or both hands, according to tradition); (2) "sheḥiṭah" = killing; (3) "ḳabbalah" = gathering (receiving) the blood; (4) "holakah" = carrying the blood to the altar; (5) "zeriḳah" = sprinkling the blood; (6) "haḳṭarah" = consumption by fire. For the sacrifices of lesser holiness the victims might be slaughtered anywhere in the court; for the ḳodesh ha-ḳodashim, at the north side of it only. Zeriḳah, in all cases except the sin-offering, consisted of two distinct acts of sprinkling, in each of which two sides of the altar were reached. In the case of the sin-offering, the blood was as a rule smeared with the fingers on the four horns of the brazen altar, but in some instances (e.g., in the case of the bullock and the goat on Yom ha-Kippurim) it was sprinkled seven times upon the curtain of the Holy of Holies and smeared upon the four horns of the golden altar. Offerings of the latter class were on this account called the "inner" sin-offerings. The remainder of the blood of these was poured out at the base of the west side of the brazen altar; in other oblations, on the south side.
The haḳṭarah consisted in flaying the carcass and cutting it into pieces, all of which, if it was an 'olah, were burned on the altar; in the case of other offerings only a few prescribed parts, which were called the "emorim," were burned. If an 'olah consisted of a fowl, the acts of offering were as follows: (1) "meleḳah" = wringing the neck so as to sever both the esophagus and the trachea; (2) "miẓẓuy" = the pressing out of the blood against the wall; (3) "haḳṭarah" = burning. When a fowl was sacrificed for a sin-offering the procedure was as follows: (1) "meleḳah" = wringing the neck, but less completely, only one "siman" being severed; (2) "hazzayah" = sprinkling the blood; and (3) the "miẓẓuy."
Preparation of Minḥah.
In the preparation of the meal-offering some differences were observed. Most of such offerings were of the finest wheat flour, the minimum quantity being fixed at an "'issaron" (= one-tenth ephah). One log of oil and a handful of incense were added to every 'issaron. Mention is made of the following minḥot: (1) "minḥat solet," the meal-offering of flour, of which a handful ("ḳomeẓ") was placed on the altar; (2) "me'uppat tanur" = baked in the oven (i.e., consisting either of cakes ["ḥallot"] or wafers ["reḳiḳin"], both of which were broken into pieces before the ḳomeẓ was taken from them); (3) "'al ha-maḥabat" = baked in a flat pan; (4) "'al ha-marḥeshet" = baked in a deep pan; (5) "minḥat ḥabitim" (this consisted of one-tenth ephah of flour mixed with three logs of oil, formed into twelve cakes, and baked in pans, six of which cakes the high priest offered by burning with a half-handful of incense in the morning, and the other six in the evening; Lev 6:12 et seq.); (6) "minḥat 'omer" (= "second of Passover"; see 'Omer), consisting of one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour, incense, and oil (ib. xxiii. 10; comp. ib. ii. 14); (7) "minḥat ḥinnuk," the dedication meal-offering (similar to minḥat ḥabitim, with the difference that only one log of oil was used, and the whole was burned at once [ib. vi. 13; Maimonides, "Yad," Kele ha-Miḳdash, v. 16; Sifra, Ẓaw, ii. 3; Sifra, ed. Warsaw, 1866, p. 31b; Rashi on Men. 51b; comp. Men. 78a; Hoffmann, "Leviticus," pp. 230 et seq.]); (8) "minḥat ḥoṭe," the meal-offering of the very poor, when compelled to offer a "ḳorban 'oleh we-yored"; (9) "minḥat soṭah," the jealousy meal-offering (Num 5:15); (10) "minḥat nesakim," the meal-of-fering of the libations (ib. xv.).
Haggashah.
"Haggashah," the carrying to the "ḳeren ma'arbit deromit" (Lev 6:7; Hoffmann, l.c. p. 150), the southwest corner of the altar, of the vessel or pan in which the minḥah had been placed, was the first act. The second, in the case of the meal-offering of the priests ("minḥat kohen"), was the burning. In other cases, (1) the "ḳemiẓah" (taking out a handful) followed upon the haggashah, and then ensued (2) the putting of this handful into the dish for the service ("netinat ha-ḳomeẓ bi-keli sharet"), and finally (3) the burning of the ḳomeẓ ("ḥaḳṭarat ḳomeẓ"). At the 'omer-and the jealousyminḥah (6 and 9 above), "tenufah" (waving) preceded the haggashah.
Burnt offerings, meal-offerings, and peace-oblations might be offered without specific reason as free-will offerings ("nedabot"); not so sin- and trespass-offerings, which could never be nedabot. A sin-offering might be either "kabua'" (fixed) or a"ḳorban 'oleh we-yored" (i.e., a sacrifice dependent on the material possessions of the sacrificer; the rich bringing a lamb or a goat; the poor, two doves; and the very poor, one-tenth of an ephah of flour). This latter ḳorban was required for the following three sins: (1) "shebu'at ha-'edut" or "shemi'at ḳol" (Lev 5:1, in reference to testimony which is not offered); (2) "ṭum'at miḳdash we-ḳodashim" (unwittingly rendering unclean the sanctuary and its appurtenances; ib. v. 2, 3); and (3) "biṭṭuy sefatayim" (incautious oath; ib. v. 5 et seq.; Shebu. i. 1, 2). In the last two cases the ḳorban was required only when the transgression was unintentional ("bi-she-gagah"); in the first, also when it was intentional ("be-mezid"). The offering of the leper and that of the woman after childbirth were of this order ("Yad," Shegagot, x. 1).
This principle obtained with reference to the fixed sin-offerings: offenses which when committed intentionally entailed excision required a sin-offering when committed inadvertently, except in the case of Blasphemy and in that of neglect of Circumcision or of the Passover sacrifice. The latter two sins, being violations of mandatory injunctions, did not belong to this category of offenses, which included only the transgression of prohibitory injunctions, while in blasphemy no real act is involved ("Yad," l.c. i. 2). Of such sin-offerings five kinds were known: (1) "par kohen mashiaḥ" (Lev 4:3 et seq.), the young bullock for the anointed priest; (2) "par ha-'alem dabar shel ẓibbur" (ib. iv. 13 et seq.), the young bullock for the inadvertent, unwitting sin of the community; (3) "se'ir 'abodat elilim" (Num 15:22 et seq.), the goat for idolatry—these three being designated as "penimiyyot" (internal; see above); (4) "se'ir nasi," the he-goat for the prince (Lev 4:22 et seq.); (5) "ḥaṭṭat yaḥid," the individual sin-offering—these last two being termed "ḥiẓonot" (external; Zeb. 4b, 14a) or, by the Mishnah (Lev 11:1), "ne'ekelot" (those that are eaten; "Yad," Ma'ase ha-Ḳorbanot, v. 7-11).
The trespass-offerings ("ashamim") were six in number, and the ram sacrificed for them was required to be worth at least two shekels: (1) "asham me'ilot" (Lev 5:14 et seq.); (2) "asham gezelot" (ib. v. 20 et seq.; in these two, in addition, "ḳeren we-ḥomesh" [= principal plus one-fifth] had to be paid); (3) "asham taluy," for "suspended" cases, in which it was doubtful whether a prohibition to which the penalty of excision attached had been inadvertently violated (ib. v. 17 et seq.); (4) "asham shipḥah ḥarufah" (ib. xix. 20 et seq.); (5) "asham nazir" (Num 6:12), the Nazarite's offering; (6) "asham meẓora'" (Lev 14:12), the leper's offering. In (5) and (6) the sacrifice consisted of lambs.
Vegetable Sacrifices.
In reference to the vegetable or unbloody oblations, it may be noticed that the Talmud mentions certain places where the grapes for sacrificial wine were grown (Men. viii. 6), e.g., Kefar Signah. On the strength of Prov 23:31 and Ps 759 (A. V. 8) some have contended that only red wine was used (but see Bertinoro on Men. viii. 6). Salt was indispensable in all sacrifices, even the wood and the libations being salted before being placed on the altar (Men. 20b, 21b).
While the text of the Pentateuch seems to assume that in the laying on of hands one hand only was employed, rabbinical tradition is to the effect that both were imposed and that with much force (Men. 95a; Ibn Ezra on Lev 5:4; but Targ. Yer. says the right hand only). This semikah had to be performed personally by the offerer; but in case the latter was an idiot, a minor, deaf, a slave, a woman, blind, or a non-Israelite, the rite was omitted. If two partners owned the animal jointly, they had to impose their hands in succession. Only the Passover sacrifice ("pesaḥ") and those of the first-born and the tithe were exceptions to the rule that individual sacrifices were to include semikah. Communal offerings, except that mentioned in Lev 4:13 et seq., and the scapegoat (Lev 16:21), were exempt. In the case of the former the act was performed by the elders; in that of the latter, by the high priest. R. Simon is given as authority for the statement that in the case of the goat offered as a sacrifice for idolatry (Num 15:34) the elders were required to perform the laying on of hands (Men. 92a).
The position assumed by the offerer during this ceremony is described in Tosef., Men. x. 12 (comp. Yoma 36a). The victim stood in the northern part of the court, with its face turned to the west; the offerer, in the west with his face likewise to the west. Maimonides asserts that in the case of the ḳodesh ha-ḳodashim the offerer stood in the east looking westward ("Yad," Ma'ase ha-Ḳorbanot, iii. 14). The offerer placed his two hands between the animal's horns and made a confession appropriate to the sacrifice. In the case of a peace-offering, confession would not be appropriate, and in its stead laudatory words were spoken ("Yad," l.c. iii. 5). The holakah (by this term is denoted the carrying of the pieces of the dismembered victim [Zeb. 14a, 24a; Men. 10a] as well as the carrying of the blood to the altar) is not mentioned in the Bible as one of the successive acts of the sacrifices. However, as the slaughtering might take place at the altar itself, this act was not absolutely required: it was an "'abodah she-efshar le-baṭṭeah," a ceremony that might be omitted. The blood was collected by a priest in a holy vessel called the "mizraḳ." The holakah, it was generally held, might be performed by priests only, though R. Ḥisda (Zeb. 14a) thinks that laymen were permitted to undertake it.
Terumah.
Where terumah or heaving was prescribed, the part subject to this rite was moved perpendicularly down and up, or up and down. In tenufah or waving the motion was horizontal from left to right or vice versa (Men. v. 6; see Rashi on Ex 29:24). The killing might be done by laymen as well as by priests ("Yad," l.c. v. 1 et seq.); minute directions concerning the place of its performance were observed ("Yad," l.c.; see Ey-zehu Meḳoman, Zeb. v.). In the Second Temple a red line was marked on the altar five ells from the ground below or above which, as the case required, the blood was sprinkled (Mid. iii. 1). Regulations concerning the localities, three in number, where parts of the victim, or the entire carcass under certain eventualities, had to be burned, were prescribed (Zeb. xii. 5).
Under the name "ḥagigah" were known free-willofferings of the shelamim class presented by individuals, mostly at festivals (Ḥag. i. 2, 5).
The defects which in Talmudic law disqualified the victims were minutely described (see "Yad," Issure ha-Mizbeaḥ). While in the Bible the incense consisted of four ingredients, the Rabbis add seven others, making the total number eleven (Ker. 6a; Yoma iii. 11; Yer. Yoma 41d; comp. "Yad," Kele ha-Miḳdash, ii.).
Sacrifice in the Haggadah.
According to the Shammaites, the two lambs of the daily "tamid" (Num 28:3) indicate by their name that the sacrifices "press down" ( (missing hebrew text) ), i.e., diminish, the sins of Israel. The Hillelites connect the term with the homonym (missing hebrew text) (= "to wash"), and contend that sacrifices wash Israel clean from sin (Pes. 61b). Johanan ben Zakkai held that what was wrought for Israel by the sacrifices was accomplished for the non-Israelites by philanthropy (B. B. 10b); and when the Temple was destroyed he consoled his disciple Joshua by insisting that good deeds would take the place of the sin-offerings (Ab. R. N. iv.).
The sacrificial scheme was the target at which gnostics and other skeptics shot their arrows. God, it was argued, manifested Himself in this as a strict accountant and judge, but not as the author of the highest goodness and mercy. In refutation, Ben 'Azzai calls attention to the fact that in connection with the sacrifices the only name used to designate God is Yhwh, the unique name ("Shem ha-Meyuḥad; Sifra, Wayiḳra, ii. [ed. Weiss, p. 4c], with R. Jose b. Ḥalafta as author; Men. 110a; Sifre, Num. 143). Basing his inference on the phrase "for your pleasure shall ye offer up" (Lev 22:29, Hebr.), Ben 'Azzai insists also that sacrifices were not planned on the theory that, God's will having been done by man, man's will must be done in corresponding measure by God: they were merely expressive of man's delight; and God did not need them (Ps 5012, 13; Sifre, l.c.; Men. 110a).
Speculating on the exceptions which the minḥah of the sinner and that of the jealousy-offering constitute, in so far as neither oil nor incense is added thereto, Simeon ben Yoḥai points out that the absence of these components indicates that the offering of a sinner may not be adorned (Tos. Soṭah i. 10; Men. 6a; Soṭah 15a; Yer. Soṭah 17d). The name of the 'olah indicates that the sacrifice expiates sinful thoughts ("go up into one's mind"; comp. Job 1:5; Lev. R. vii.; Tan., Lek Leka, ed. Buber, 13; for other comments of similar purport see Bacher, "Ag. Tan." ii. 104). The defense of the Law for having forbidden the participation of non-Israelites in the communal sacrifices while it permitted the acceptance of their free-will offerings (Sifra, Emor, vii. [ed. Weiss, p. 98a]), was not a matter of slight difficulty. A very interesting discussion of the point is found in the appendix to Friedmann's edition of the Pesiḳta Rabbati (p. 192a), in which the non-Jew quotes with very good effect the universalistic verse Mal 1:11.
Functions of the Several Offerings.
To bring peace to all the world is the purpose not merely of the peace-offerings, but of all sacrifices (Sifra, Wayiḳra, xvi. [ed. Weiss, p. 13a]). It is better to avoid sin than to offer sacrifices; but, if offered, they should be presented in a repentant mood, and not merely, as fools offer them, for the purpose of complying with the Law (Ber. 23a). God asked Abraham to offer up Isaac in order to prove to Satan that, even if Abraham had not presented Him with as much as a dove at the feast when Isaac was weaned, he would not refuse to do God's bidding (Sanh. 89b). The sacrificial ordinances prove that God is with the persecuted. Cattle are chased by lions; goats, by panthers; sheep, by wolves; hence God commanded, "Not them that persecute, but them that are persecuted, offer ye up to me" (Pesiḳ. de R. Kahana 76b; Lev. R. xxvii.). In the prescription that fowls shall be offered with their feathers is contained the hint that a poor man is not to be despised: his offering is to be placed on the altar in full adornment (Lev. R. iii.). That sacrifices are not meant to appease God, Moses learned from His own lips. Moses had become alarmed when bidden to offer to God (Num 28:2): all the animals of the world would not suffice for such a purpose (Isa 40:10). But God allayed his apprehension by ordaining that only two lambs (the tamid) should be brought to him twice every day (Pes. 20a, 61b). Salt, which is indispensable at sacrifices, is symbolic of the moral effect of suffering, which causes sins to be forgiven and which purifies man (Ber. 5a). God does not eat. Why, then, the sacrifices? They increase the offerer's merit (Tan., Emor, ed. Buber, p. 20). The strongest man might drink twice or even ten times the quantity of water contained in the hollow of his hand; but all the waters of the earth can not fill the hollow of God's hand (Isa 40:12).
Symbolic Interpretations.
The words in connection with the goat serving for a sin-offering on the New Moon festival "for Yhwh" (Num 28:15) are explained in grossly anthropomorphic application. The goat is a sin-offering for God's transgression committed when He decreased the size of the moon (Sheb. 9a; Ḥul. 60b). The offerings of the sons of Noah were burnt offerings (Yer. Meg. 72b; Gen. R. xxii.; Zeb. 116a). The "illegitimate" sacrifices on high places, e.g., those by Elijah (1 Kg 18:30 et seq.), were exceptions divinely sanctioned (Yer. Ta'an. 65d; Yer. Meg. 72c; Lev. R. xxii.; Midr. Teh. to Ps 275). The seventy bullocks of Sukkot correspond to the seventy nations; the single bullock on the eighth day, to the unique people Israel. God is like that king who, having entertained his guests most lavishly for seven days, commanded his son after their departure to prepare a very plain meal (Suk. 55b; Pes. 143b). Children, when learning the Pentateuch, used to begin with the third book because they that are pure should first occupy themselves with offerings that are likewise pure (Pes. 60b; Lev. R. vii.). God has taken care not to tax Israel too heavily (hence Lev 1:10, 14; ii. 1; vi. 13). Indeed, one who offers only a very modest meal-offering is accounted as having offered sacrifices from one end of the world to the other (Mal 1:11; Lev. R. viii.). By their position, coming after the laws prescribed for the other sacrifices, the peaceofferings are shown to be dessert, as it were (Lev.R. ix.). God provides "from His own" the minḥah of the sin-offering (Lev. R. iii.). The use of the word "adam" ("Adam" = "man"), and not "ish," in Lev 1:2 leads the offerer to remember that, like Adam, who never robbed or stole, he may offer only what is rightfully his (Lev. R. ii.).
Substitutes for Sacrifice.
The importance attaching to the sacrificial laws was, as the foregoing anthology of haggadic opinions proves, fully realized by the Rabbis. Unable after the destruction of the Temple to observe these ordinances, they did not hesitate to declare that, in contrast to the sacrificial law which rejected the defective victim, God accepts the broken-hearted (Ps 5119; Pes. 158b). With a look to the future restoration, they call attention to the smallness of the desert offerings, while delighting in the glorious prospect of the richer ones to come (Lev. R. vii.). The precept concerning the daily offering is given twice (Ex 29:38-42; Num 28:1-8), from which repetition is deduced the consolation for Israel in exile, that he who studies these verses is regarded as having offered the sacrifices (Pes. 60b; Lev. R. vii. 3). The same thought is based on "the torah of the sin-offering" and "the torah of the trespassoffering" (Lev 6:18, vii. 7; Men. 110a, b). Prayer is better than sacrifice (Ber. 32b; Midr. Shemuel i. 7; Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amor." ii. 217). Lulab and etrog replace the altar and offering (Suk. 45a, b). Blood lost when one is wounded replaces the blood of the 'olah (Ḥul. 7b). The reading of the "Shema'" and the "Tefillah" and the wearing of phylacteries ("tefillin") are equivalent to the building of the altar (Ber. 15a; comp. Ber. 14b; Midr. Teh. to Ps 12). As the altar is called "table" (Ezek 42:22), the table of the home has the altar's expiatory virtue (Ber. 55a; Men. 97a). This was understood to have reference to "good deeds," such as hospitality shown to the poor (see Ab. R. N. iv.). The humble are rewarded as though they had presented all the offerings prescribed in the Law (Ps