English · KJV

Leviticus 2

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

The Offering of Fine Flour 1–3

1
And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: ​
2
And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: ​
3
And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire. ​

Baked Grain Offerings 4–10

4
And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. ​
5
And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.
6
Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering.
7
And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.
8
And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the LORD: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar.
9
And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
10
And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.

Required Ingredients and Prohibitions 11–13

11
No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire. ​
12
As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour. ​
13
And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. ​

The Offering of Firstfruits 14–16

14
And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears. ​
15
And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering.
16
And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Leviticus 2

Verse 1

a meat offering — Minchah, a gift or tribute; ‘meat’ is the old English for food, and this is grain. It is the word for Cain’s and Abel’s ‘offering’ (Gen 4:3–5) and for Jacob’s present to Esau (Gen 32:13). ‘Any’ is nephesh, literally ‘a soul’. The gift is fine flour (soleth) with oil and frankincense (lebonah).

Verse 2

the memorial of it — Azkarah, a token or reminder, the handful (qomets) burned in place of the whole. The word is used of this offering (2:2, 9, 16; 5:12; 6:15) and of the frankincense on the showbread (24:7). ‘Sweet savour’ is nichoach, a restful aroma. Cornelius’s alms were also ‘come up for a memorial before God’ (Acts 10:4).

Verse 3

a thing most holy — Literally ‘holy of holies’ (qodesh qodashim), the phrase used of the inner sanctuary. The remnant belongs to the priests, and Lev 6:16 sets the place: ‘with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation’. Num 18:9 calls it the priests’ share ‘of the most holy things’.

Verse 4

unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil — The same pair as in the consecration of the priests (Ex 29:2): challah, cakes baked in the oven (tannur), and rekik, thin wafers smeared with oil. Verses 5–7 add the pan and the fryingpan. All are unleavened (matstsah), the bread that Paul sets beside ‘sincerity and truth’ (1 Cor 5:8).

Verse 11

no leaven, nor any honey — Seor is leaven, the fermenting yeast, and ‘made with leaven’ is chamets, the word of the Passover rule (Ex 12:15). The ban is on burning either ‘in any offering of the LORD made by fire’. Christ warns, ‘Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy’ (Luke 12:1), and Paul bids ‘purge out therefore the old leaven’ (1 Cor 5:7).

Verse 12

the oblation of the firstfruits — These were brought to the LORD but ‘shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour’. So the two wave loaves are leavened: ‘they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD’ (Lev 23:17). Honey also came as firstfruits (2 Chr 31:5).

Verse 13

the salt of the covenant of thy God — Melach is salt, and the phrase belongs to the covenant (berith). Salt is never to be absent: ‘to be lacking’ is shabath, to cease. The priests’ portions are ‘a covenant of salt for ever’ (Num 18:19), as David’s kingdom is ‘a covenant of salt’ (2 Chr 13:5). Christ says, ‘every sacrifice shall be salted with salt’ (Mark 9:49).

Verse 14

green ears of corn dried by the fire — Abib (young ears), parched (qalah) by the fire, with the grain beaten from the ‘full ears’ (karmel). The sheaf of the firstfruits of harvest was waved before the LORD (Lev 23:10–11); the month Abib takes its name from the ears (Ex 13:4). Paul calls Christ ‘the firstfruits of them that slept’ (1 Cor 15:20).