Leviticus 23

The Hebrew word is pesach (PAY sock). It refers to the annual Passover meal today called a seder (SAY dur), which means “order.” That’s a reference to the fact that the Passover meal is eaten as a meticulously detailed ritual of reading, remembering, and prayer. The word “Passover” comes from the story of God or one of his angels killing the Egyptian firstborn, but “passing over” Hebrew homes with animal blood on the doorframes.

Nisan is the name of the first Jewish month of the year. It’s when Jews today celebrate one of their most revered holidays: Passover. The month falls around Eastertime, in March or April. Jesus went to Jerusalem to observe Passover when he was arrested and crucified. In the time of Moses, the Israelites followed a lunar calendar, with every month starting at the first tiny crescent after the new moon. A new moon is when the moon is hidden behind earth’s shadow for one day. The sun, moon, and earth are aligned, with earth in the middle. For more on Passover, see Exodus 12.

Which Sunday? That’s the controversial question Jewish scholars have debated. Was it day 16 of the month, at the beginning of the festival, as most Jewish scholars today seem to teach? Or was it at day 23 of the month, at the end of the festival, which some scholars say is the more natural way to read the instructions in Hebrew?

This was the most common sacrifice. Worshipers burned the entire animal. Burnt offering instructions: “Take the animal to the north side of the altar. Kill it there on this sacred site of the LORD. Aaron’s sons, the priests, will take some of the blood and splash it on all four sides of the altar. Cut the animal into pieces, including the head and the fat. A priest will set them onto the fire on the altar” (Leviticus 1:11-12). See also Leviticus 1:3-13; 6:1-6.

Grain offerings were expressions of gratitude for a harvest and for the way God takes care of the Israelites. People offered the grain in several ways: ground to fine flour, presented as baked, fried, cooked in a pot, or roasted with olive oil.

That’s a little more than the typical five-pound bag of flour. It’s roughly seven pounds (3 kg). And that’s one dry gallon (4.4 dry liters), or almost 20 US or metric cups.

About a liter.

The word Pentecost means “the fiftieth,” as in the fiftieth day. The festival of Pentecost comes 50 days after Passover. Passover is when the Romans crucified Jesus. Pentecost is a festival celebrating the harvest. Many Jews call the festival by its Hebrew name Shavuot, “Festival of Weeks,” because it follows Passover by seven weeks.

Jewish scholars say this a group offering from the community. The people pool their resources to come up with the bread, wine, and livestock needed for this second harvest offering.

A sin offering can refer to something the people of Israel brought to God after they realized they had accidentally broken one of God’s laws earlier. Some scholars say a better translation is the opposite of “sin” because the sacrifice is intended to “un-sin” people, to purify them. So those scholars call it a “purification offering.”

A peace offering, also described in Leviticus 3, is one of several prescribed offerings in Jewish tradition. When Jewish people wanted to thank God for something, such as good health or safety, they would sacrifice a sheep, goat, cow, or bull. They would burn part of the animal, including the kidneys and the fat covering the intestines. They would eat the rest in celebration, often with family and friends. It takes a fair number of hungry people to eat a cow. But people were eager to eat meat because it was rare in Bible times for common folks to eat meat, many Bible scholars say.

This festival takes place in September or October. Many Jewish people today still observe the festival. They call it Rosh Hashanah, which means “head of the year.” It’s the Jewish New Year, a sacred two-day event.

Known today as Yom Kippur, this is the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar. The high priest appeals for the forgiveness of sins that the people of the nation had committed in the past year. Jews taught that God’s footrest was the lid on the Ark of the Covenant, the gold-covered chest that held the Ten Commandments (1 Chronicles 28:2). Two winged beings called cherubim rested at each end of the lid. “Cherubim” is Kerubim in Hebrew. These are celestial beings mentioned throughout the Bible. Ancient Middle Eastern creatures with similar names, such as kirubu, reportedly served gods. The creatures were portrayed in statues of beings such as human-headed lions with wings. These statues guarded entrances to cities and palaces.

September or October, Israelites followed a calendar based on the movement of the moon instead of the sun, which we follow.

“Humble reflection and fasting” is one word in the original Hebrew language: ʽānâ. It’s a word that depends a lot on the context of the words around it. That’s because writers used it in many contexts with lots of different meanings: humble, self-denial as in fasting all day, humiliated, mistreated, dishonored. In the context of atoning for sin in the face of God, fasting might seem most appropriate because that’s what people of faith often do when they’re afraid of what’s coming, or when they ask for forgiveness.

A legal term would be “expunge.” The record of the crime is deleted from the files.

“So God will expunge your guilt and forgive you” is not in the original Hebrew manuscripts. But many Bible scholars would say it expresses what God does for repentant and humble people on the Day of Atonement.

More literally, the person “should be removed from the community” or “cut off.” This is a consequence repeated throughout these early books of the Bible. It’s unclear how and by whom the offenders were removed. Perhaps they could no longer worship at the tent worship center, or they lost their rights as citizens of this emerging nation that Moses seemed to be organizing. Maybe they were executed. Or perhaps the community let God deal with the person. Scholars seem uncertain about what happened.

“Disown” is a mild contender for the Hebrew word that can also mean: destroy, eliminate, silence, banish, or annihilate. It’s not a happy ending.

Literally “burnt offerings.”