The Torah · Old Testament
Leviticus 2
Grain offerings and the salt of the covenant
General context
The grain offering uses fine flour, oil and frankincense. The priest burns a memorial portion, and the remainder belongs to Aaron and his sons as something most holy. Instructions also cover offerings baked in an oven, prepared in a pan or cooked in a fryingpan. Leaven and honey are excluded from offerings burned on the altar, although firstfruits may be presented without being burned for a pleasing savour. Salt must accompany the offerings. The closing case describes firstfruits of grain dried by fire, with oil and frankincense, from which the priest burns a memorial portion.
Cited passages: Leviticus 2:1, Leviticus 2:2, Leviticus 2:3, Leviticus 2:4, Leviticus 2:5, Leviticus 2:6, Leviticus 2:7, Leviticus 2:8, Leviticus 2:9, Leviticus 2:10, Leviticus 2:11, Leviticus 2:12, Leviticus 2:13, Leviticus 2:14, Leviticus 2:15, Leviticus 2:16
Leviticus 2 (KJV)
1And 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:
2And 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:
3And 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.
4And 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.
5And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.
6Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering.
7And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.
8And 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.
9And 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.
10And 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.
11No 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.
12As 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.
13And 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.
14And 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.
15And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering.
16And 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.
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 KJV calls this a 'meat offering', but its named ingredients are flour or grain. The ASV and BBE call it a meal offering. The chapter distinguishes the part burned on the altar from the part assigned to priests. It also distinguishes presenting firstfruits from burning them, so the prohibition on leaven and honey should be read with that distinction. Salt is explicitly linked to the covenant; the passage does not explain a separate symbolism for every ingredient.
Cited passages: Leviticus 2:1, Leviticus 2:2, Leviticus 2:3, Leviticus 2:9, Leviticus 2:10, Leviticus 2:11, Leviticus 2:12, Leviticus 2:13, Leviticus 2:14, Leviticus 2:15, Leviticus 2:16
Literary context
The instructions group several forms of grain preparation under the same pattern of presentation, memorial burning and a priestly remainder. The repeated description 'most holy' marks the status of that remainder. The salt command interrupts the sequence of preparation methods with a rule extending to all offerings.
Cited passages: Leviticus 2:1, Leviticus 2:2, Leviticus 2:3, Leviticus 2:4, Leviticus 2:5, Leviticus 2:6, Leviticus 2:7, Leviticus 2:8, Leviticus 2:9, Leviticus 2:10, Leviticus 2:13, Leviticus 2:14, Leviticus 2:15, Leviticus 2:16
Key moments
- Flour, oil and frankincense (Leviticus 2:1). The opening instruction names the ingredients of the grain offering.
- The priestly remainder (Leviticus 2:3). The remainder belongs to Aaron and his sons and is called most holy.
- Salt with the offerings (Leviticus 2:13). The instruction requires salt and names it in connection with God's covenant.
For reflection
How does the chapter distinguish what is brought, what is burned and what remains for the priests?
