The Torah · Old Testament

Leviticus 1

Instructions for burnt offerings

General context

The Lord speaks to Moses from the tabernacle and gives Israel instructions for burnt offerings. An offering from the herd is to be an unblemished male. The offerer lays a hand on its head and kills it, while Aaron's sons handle the blood and altar fire. The inward parts and legs are washed before burning. Further instructions cover sheep or goats and offerings of turtledoves or young pigeons. The procedures differ, but each ends with the priest burning the offering on the altar. The chapter connects the offering with acceptance and atonement without narrating a particular person's sacrifice.

Cited passages: Leviticus 1:1, Leviticus 1:2, Leviticus 1:3, Leviticus 1:4, Leviticus 1:5, Leviticus 1:6, Leviticus 1:7, Leviticus 1:8, Leviticus 1:9, Leviticus 1:10, Leviticus 1:11, Leviticus 1:12, Leviticus 1:13, Leviticus 1:14, Leviticus 1:15, Leviticus 1:16, Leviticus 1:17

Leviticus 1 (KJV)

¹And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

²Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

³If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.

⁴And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

⁵And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

⁶And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

⁷And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:

⁸And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

⁹But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

¹⁰And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.

¹¹And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.

¹²And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

¹³But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

¹⁴And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the Lord be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.

¹⁵And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar:

¹⁶And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes:

¹⁷And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The setting is the tabernacle entrance, with Moses receiving instructions and Aaron's sons assigned priestly duties. The KJV's 'of his own voluntary will' in verse 3 differs from the ASV and BBE emphasis on acceptance before the Lord. Verse 4 explicitly speaks of acceptance and atonement. The text names permissible animals and birds but gives no explanation here for why a person chooses one category over another.

Cited passages: Leviticus 1:1, Leviticus 1:2, Leviticus 1:3, Leviticus 1:4, Leviticus 1:5, Leviticus 1:10, Leviticus 1:11, Leviticus 1:12, Leviticus 1:13, Leviticus 1:14

Literary context

Three conditional cases move from the herd to the flock and then to birds. Repeated descriptions of an offering by fire and a pleasing savour connect the cases, while the handling of blood and the animal's body varies. This reading follows the chapter's pattern of instruction; it does not turn the procedures into a narrated event.

Cited passages: Leviticus 1:3, Leviticus 1:4, Leviticus 1:5, Leviticus 1:6, Leviticus 1:7, Leviticus 1:8, Leviticus 1:9, Leviticus 1:10, Leviticus 1:11, Leviticus 1:12, Leviticus 1:13, Leviticus 1:14, Leviticus 1:15, Leviticus 1:16, Leviticus 1:17

Key moments

The Lord speaks from the tabernacle (Leviticus 1:1). The chapter opens with the Lord calling to Moses from the tabernacle.
A hand on the offering (Leviticus 1:4). The instruction connects the laying on of a hand with acceptance and atonement.
Bird offerings (Leviticus 1:14). Turtledoves or young pigeons are named as the permitted birds.

For reflection

What remains the same across the three kinds of burnt offering, and which duties belong to the offerer or the priest?