or for the congregation.
iv. It was carried into the Holy of holies and sprinkled with the finger
upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat seven times: afterwards it was applied to the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and sprinkled upon it with the finger seven times: Lev. 16:14, 15, 18, 19. [Nothing is said of the disposition of the remainder of the blood.] This was done on the Day of Atonement.
( e ) The disposition of the victim. The gift to God by fire followed on the completion of the atonement by the use of the blood.
In this connection the word for burning was not 5r"c; , H8596 (used of
consuming the remains of offerings outside the camp), but ryfiq]hi to cause
to [ascend as] smoke.
The fire was kept perpetually burning: Lev. 6:13. The burnt-offerings, and the offerings whose blood was carried into the Holy or most Holy place (sin offerings for the priest or the congregation) were wholly consumed: Lev. 4:11, 21; 16:27; Heb. 13:11. So also were the unbloody offerings for priests.
Other offerings, under special limitations, were consumed by the priests or made the materials of a feast by the offerer.
Two rites, apparently peculiar to the Jews, have to be noticed in this
connexion, the waving ( hp;WnT] , H9485) and the heaving ( hm;WrT] , H9556)
of parts of the offering which were so presented to God and then in some cases resigned by Him to the priests: Ex. 29:23 ff.; Lev. 7:34; 8:27 ff.; 23:11, 20; Num. 5:25; 15:19 ff.; 18:26 ff.; comp. Num. 8:9 ff.; 18:6 f.
The absence of all inspection of the entrails of the victims, which was usual in Phoenicia, Egypt, & c., is specially to be noticed.
(
f
) The Sacrificial meal. The parts of the offerings which were not consumed by fire were disposed of in different ways.
i. The unbloody offerings of the people except the part burnt as a
memorial ( hr:K;za' , H260) were eaten by the priests alone in the court of the
sanctuary: Lev. 7:9 f.; 10:12 ff.
ii. The flesh of the guilt-offerings and of the sin-offerings for one of the
people were eaten by the priests in the Holy place: Lev. 6:25 ff.; 7:6 ff.; 10:16 ff.
iii. In the case of the peace- (thank-) offerings ( : ymil;v] ), after the
disposal of the assigned parts, the offerer made a feast of the remainder within a fixed time and at a fixed place, to which he invited his household, his friends and the poor: Lev. 7:15 ff.; 19:5 ff.; 22:29 f.; Deut. 12:6 ff.
In this last case we have the completest view of the sacrifice offered in virtue of a covenant relation with God. The offering is made to God, and He returns part to His worshipper through whom it is made a common blessing. Thus, as Philo pointed out, God received the faithful offerer to His own table: de vict. § 8 (2.245 M.).
The student will not fail to notice the representative completeness of the references to the Levitical Sacrifices in the Epistle. Thus we have the general description gifts and sacrifices (v. 1; 8:3 f.); and, more particularly sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin (10:8).