Lev 7:11-34 | TNotes

Summary for Lev 7:12-15: 7:12-15 ^a The peace offering could be presented as an expression of thanks (as here), as payment of a vow (7:16 ^b), or as a voluntary offering (see 3:1-7 ^c). A worshiper made it an expression of thanksgiving by presenting a grain offering along with the peace offering (2:1-16 ^d). A grain offering consisted of unleavened cakes, wafers, or cakes of fine flour, all mixed or spread with olive oil. A representative portion was set aside to be burned (2:9 ^e). The grain offering was to be accompanied by loaves of yeast bread (7:13 ^f).
7:15 ^g The thanksgiving offering was given when the worshiper was thankful (Jer 17:26 ^h; 33:11 ⁱ). The sacrifice was to be eaten on the same day it was offered so that the event would not fade from the worshiper’s memory.
Summary for Lev 7:16-18: 7:16-18 ^j In contrast to the “peace offering of thanksgiving,” which was presented as an expression of thanks to the Lord (7:12-15 ^k), the offering to fulfill a vow related to a vow made by a worshiper. The festive meal that followed was more relaxed and could extend into the next day. However, because the vow offering involved a vow made to God, it was still more restrictive than the voluntary offering, which could even use a deformed animal (22:23 ^l).
7:18 ^m The Hebrew term for contaminated (piggul) occurs only in three other places (19:7 ⁿ; Isa 65:4 ^o; Ezek 4:14 ^p). It is always used in reference to meat that is unacceptable for sacrifice or human consumption.
Summary for Lev 7:19-21: 7:19-21 ^q Anything that was ceremonially unclean could not come into contact with what was holy (7:20 ^r). Although uncleanness was not sinful in itself, it symbolized what was unholy (see Exod 19:10 ^s).
Summary for Lev 7:20-21: 7:20-21 ^t cut off: Three interpretations are possible for this expression, all of them very grave: (1) The person was subject to God’s judgment and faced an early death by natural causes (17:10-14 ^u). (2) The person was to be executed by the community (cp. Exod 31:14 ^v). (3) The person lost communal membership in Israel, either by banishment (such as by excommunication) or by shunning the person and treating him or her as unclean (Lev 18:24-30 ^w; cp. 23:29-30 ^x, where “cut off” seems distinct from “destroy”).
Summary for Lev 7:22-27: 7:22-27 ^y In the sacrificial system, the fat and blood of all altar offerings belonged to God. They were offered before any of the sacrifice could be eaten. Consuming blood was specifically forbidden because it represented the very life of the animal (17:10-16 ^z). The injunction against eating fat might have been because fat, considered to be the best part of the offering, belonged to God.
7:24 ^aa Animals found dead had not been drained of their blood and were therefore unclean. Their fat was unfit to offer to the Lord and could not be eaten. However, it could be used for any other purpose, such as greasing cart axles, waterproofing animal hides, and other household uses.
Summary for Lev 7:26-27: 7:26-27 ^ab The prohibition against consuming blood was so important that the Council at Jerusalem included it in the instructions for Gentile believers (Acts 15:29 ^ac).
7:34 ^ad breast of the special offering ... right thigh of the sacred offering: The peace offering was a shared meal between God, the priest, the worshiper, and guests. The breast (in some older translations called a “wave offering”) and thigh (sometimes called the “contribution” or “heave offering”) were specifically designated as the priest’s portion (see 10:13-15 ^ae). After these offerings were taken into the Tabernacle and presented before the Lord, they could then be eaten (see Exod 29:24 ^af, 26 ^ag).