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LEVITICUS 2

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV  NJB
The Law of Grain Offerings Offerings of Well-being Grain Offerings
2:1-3 2:1-3 2:1-3 2:1-3 2:1-3
2:4-10 2:4-10 2:4-10 2:4 2:4
2:5-6 2:5-6
2:7-10 2:7
2:8-10
2:11-13 2:11-13 2:11-13 2:11-16 2:11-16
2:14-16 2:14-16 2:14-16

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

  1. Rotherham's Emphasized Bible, p. 126, has a good outline of the different items mentioned in this chapter.
    1. "of fine meal," Lev. 2:1-3
    2. "from the oven," Lev. 2:4
    3. "from the griddle," Lev. 2:5-6
    4. "from the boiler," Lev. 2:9-11
    5. "of first fruits" (of grains), Lev. 2:14-16

  2. Remember, this is an individual Israelite (male or female) freewill offering to gain or restore "favor" with YHWH.

  3. It is possible that the offering of cereal, spoken of in this chapter, represented the daily life of the people given to YHWH. He was the author of life.

  4. It is also possible the offering was meant to provide, even those too poor to offer a bird, a chance to approach YHWH (i.e., Jewish Study Bible, p. 208).

  5. For further instructions about the priest's role in this offering, see Lev. 6:14-23; 7:9-10.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:1-3
  1"Now when anyone presents a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it. 2He shall then bring it to Aaron's sons the priests; and shall take from it his handful of its fine flour and of its oil with all of itsfrankincense. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke as its memorial portion on the altar, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 3The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a thing most holy, of the offerings to the Lord by fire."

2:1 "Now when anyone. . ." Just like Lev. 1:2, this phrase implies "any person," male or female, who desired the restoration of "favor" (see note at Lev. 1:3) with YHWH, could bring an offering to the Tabernacle. See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TABERNACLE CAMP.
Remember, the first three chapters of Leviticus are about individual, freewill offerings for the purpose, not of forgiveness, but for gaining or restoring favor.

▣ "grain offering" The word (BDB 585) could refer to

  1. gift, tribute, offerings (non-cultic texts)
  2. grain/cereal offering (Pentateuch and Ezekiel)
  3. in 1 Sam. 2:17; 2 Chr. 32:23; Mal. 2:13 it refers to any type of sacrificial offering
The King James translation has "meat offering," but in 1611 A.D. the word meant "food" in general.
This grain offering was usually accompanied by other sacrifices.
  1. the burnt offering, Num. 15:1-4; 28:3-6
  2. the peace offering, Num. 6:17; Lev. 9:4
  3. the sin offering, Num. 6:14,15
Also, the rabbis assume that in the case of the very poor, there could be a grain offering by itself but this is simply speculation. This offering seems to have provided needed variety in the diet of the priests. See SPECIAL TOPIC: SACRIFICIAL SYSTEMS OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST, V. B.

2:2 "handful of fine flour" Only a handful of this was offered on the altar of sacrifice (see SPECIAL TOPIC: ALTAR OF SACRIFICE); the rest became the property of the priests to eat in the Tabernacle area (i.e., "a thing most holy," Lev. 2:3).
The term "fine flour" (BDB 701) refers to wheat flour. Other grain flour, like barley, was considered less valuable or desirable.

▣ "frankincense" This is a resin from certain plants. It was one of the four constituents of the holy incense (cf. Exod. 30:34). See SPECIAL TOPIC: FRANKINCENSE.

▣ "its memorial portion" This NOUN (BDB 272, cf. Lev. 2:9,16; 5:12; 6:15) refers to the small portion of the offering burned on the altar. The rest belonged to the priest (cf. Lev. 2:3,10).

▣ "a soothing aroma" See SPECIAL TOPIC: A SOOTHING AROMA.

2:3 "a thing most holy, of the offerings to the Lord by fire" That which was offered to the Lord by fire on the alar became "most holy" and had to be eaten by the priests only in the tabernacle area. That which was called "holy" could be shared with the priest's family in a clean place.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:4-10
  4"Now when you bring an offering of a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers spread with oil. 5If your offering is a grain offering made on the griddle, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil; 6you shall break it into bits and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. 7Now if your offering is a grain offering made in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. 8When you bring in the grain offering which is made of these things to the Lord, it shall be presented to the priest and he shall bring it to the altar. 9The priest then shall take up from the grain offering its memorial portion, and shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 10The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a thing most holy of the offerings to the Lord by fire."

2:4 "baked" See SPECIAL TOPIC: BAKING BREAD.

▣ "unleavened cakes" We must be careful not to assume that leaven is always a symbol of sin. In Leviticus it is used along with the first fruits in Lev. 23:17-30, and it is included in some of the offerings for the priests, Lev. 7:11-13. Notice how the offering was to be prepared.

  1. baked in an oven
  2. unleavened cakes
  3. of fine (wheat) flour
  4. mixed with
    1. olive oil
    2. spread with olive oil
See SPECIAL TOPIC: LEAVEN.
▣
NASB, NRSV, NJB, JPSOA  "spread"
NKJV  "anointed"
TEV  "brushed"
REB  "smeared"
Peshitta  "mixed"
This VERB (BDB 602, KB 643, Qal PASSIVE PARTICIPLE PLURAL) has two usages.
  1. secular - to smear
  2. sacred - to anoint

The related NOUN (BDB 603) can mean ointment or consecrated portion.

2:5
NASB, NRSV, TEV, NJB, JPSOA, REB  "a griddle"
NKJV  "pan"
LXX  "frying-pan"
This is a rare word (BDB 290). It is used only in Lev. 2:5; 6:14; 7:9; 1 Chr. 23:29. In 1 Chr. 23:20 it is translated "baked in a pan," but here it seems to refer to a flat, metal, griddle plate.

2:9 "a soothing aroma" See SPECIAL TOPIC: A SOOTHING AROMA.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:11-13
  11"No grain offering, which you bring to the Lord, shall be made with leaven, for you shall not offer up in smoke any leaven or any honey as an offering by fire to the Lord. 12As an offering of first fruits you shall bring them to the Lord, but they shall not ascend for a soothing aroma on the altar. 13Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt."

2:11-13 "leaven. . .honey" It is uncertain why leaven and honey were excluded from this particular offering.
Some have assumed that

  1. because of their fermentation qualities, they were excluded
  2. because it involved something that was alive (i.e., bacteria)
  3. because they were involved in Canaanite sacrifices (Maimonides)
It cannot be because they were simply seen as "unclean" because honey was used in a sacrifice in 2 Chr. 31:5 and leaven was used in several sacrifices (cf. Exod. 23:16,17; Lev. 7:13; 23:17,18).

2:12 "first fruits" This refers to the first ripened fruits which were offered to YHWH (cf. Exod. 23:16,19; Lev. 23:10-11; Num. 15:18-20; Deut. 18:4-5; 26:1-11) but not burned. These offerings symbolized His ownership of the entire crop (as the tithe and Sabbath).

2:13 "Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering" The concept of a salt covenant is very ancient (cf. Num. 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5; Ezek. 43:24). Salt symbolized permanence and purity. It was a necessity of life. It was a symbol of friendship between peoples. Exactly which of these symbolic designations is referred to in this account is uncertain. See SPECIAL TOPIC: SALT and SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:14-16
  14"Also if you bring a grain offering of early ripened things to the Lord, you shall bring fresh heads of grain roasted in the fire, grits of new growth, for the grain offering of your early ripened things. 15You shall then put oil on it and lay incense on it; it is a grain offering. 16The priest shall offer up in smoke its memorial portion, part of its grits and its oil with all its incense as an offering by fire to the Lord."

2:14,16
NASB, JPSOA  "grits"
NKJV  "green heads"
NRSV  "coarse new grain"
NJB  "bread"
REB  "crushed meal"
NET  "crushed bits"
LXX  "pounded"
Peshitta  "beaten out"
The term (BDB 176) is found only in Lev. 2:14,16 (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 898).
  1. in Arabic the root means "to pound," "to grind coarse"
  2. in Aramaic it means "to crush"

In this context it seems to denote ripened or nearly ripened heads of grain that have been crushed into a coarse meal (i.e., not fine flour).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. Why would a person bring a cereal/grain offering?
  2. How is the term "first fruits" related to a grain offering?
  3. Is leaven always a sign/symbol of evil?
  4. Why was all the grain offering not burned like the animals in Leviticus 1-3?

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