Leviticus 2

When anyone brings a grain offering to the LORD, the offering must be of fine flour. He is to pour oil on it and put frankincense on it.

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:

Note"Meat offering" in the King James does not mean flesh; in 1611 "meat" meant food of any kind. The Hebrew word (minchah) means a gift or tribute, the kind of present a subject brought a ruler, and here it is always made of grain, never of an animal. The oil is olive oil, the ordinary cooking fat of the region. Frankincense is a fragrant white resin tapped from trees in southern Arabia and Somalia; it was imported, expensive, and burned for its scent. "Fine flour" is wheat flour sifted to remove the coarse bran, more costly than everyday meal.

2He shall bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests. The priest shall take out a handful of the flour and the oil, along with all the frankincense, and burn this memorial portion on the altar. It is an offering made by fire, a pleasing smell to the LORD.

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:

NoteThe priests were Aaron's male descendants; the priesthood was a family office, not something entered by choice or training. The "memorial portion" (Hebrew azkarah) is a token handful burned to represent the whole gift, standing in for the rest, which is not burned. "Sweet savour" is a standing phrase for a smell that pleases: it describes the smoke rising, and does not imply the offering was food for God.

3What is left of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons. It is a most holy part of the offerings made to the LORD by fire.

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.

Note"Most holy" is a technical grade, not praise. Offerings in this class could be eaten only by the priests themselves, only by males of the priestly family, and only within the sanctuary precinct, unlike lesser holy portions, which a priest's whole household could eat at home.

4If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, it must be made of fine flour: either cakes made without yeast and mixed with oil, or thin wafers made without yeast and brushed with oil.

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.

NoteThe oven was a clay dome or pit heated by a fire inside; dough was slapped onto the hot inner wall. "Cakes" are thick round loaves; "wafers" are thin flat ones. Unleavened means made without yeast, so the dough does not rise or ferment.

5If your offering is a grain offering cooked on a griddle, it must be of fine flour, made without yeast and mixed with oil.

5And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.

NoteA griddle was a flat plate of iron or pottery set over the fire, used for a thin bread cooked dry rather than in fat.

6Break it into pieces and pour oil on it. It is a grain offering.

6Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering.

7If your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pan, it must be made of fine flour with oil.

7And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.

NoteThis vessel was deeper than the griddle, so the bread was cooked in oil rather than on a dry surface, closer to frying than baking.

8You shall bring to the LORD the grain offering made from these things. When it is presented to the priest, he shall carry it to the altar.

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.

9The priest shall take the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar. It is an offering made by fire, a pleasing smell to the LORD.

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.

10What is left of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons. It is a most holy part of the offerings made to the LORD by fire.

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 grain offering that you bring to the LORD may be made with yeast, because you are to burn no yeast and no honey in any offering made to the LORD 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.

NoteLeaven here is not packaged yeast but a piece of fermented dough kept back from a previous batch. "Honey" in Hebrew usually means thick syrup boiled down from dates or grapes, though wild bee honey is also possible. Both leaven and honey ferment, and neither was permitted on the altar fire, though the text gives no reason.

12As for the offering of the firstfruits, you shall bring them to the LORD, but they are not to be burned on the altar as a pleasing smell.

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.

NoteFirstfruits are the earliest part of a harvest, handed over before the rest of the crop was used. They could be brought to the sanctuary and given to the priests, but this verse rules out putting them on the altar to be burned.

13Season every grain offering you bring with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offering. Add salt to all your offerings.

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.

NoteSalt preserves and does not decay, and in the ancient Near East sharing salt sealed an agreement; treaties and grants were spoken of as covenants of salt. A covenant is a binding formal agreement between two parties, with obligations on each side.

14If you bring a grain offering of your firstfruits to the LORD, you shall offer for it fresh heads of grain roasted in the fire, grain crushed out of full heads.

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.

Note"Corn" in the King James means grain of any kind, here barley or wheat, not maize, which was unknown outside the Americas in 1611. These are heads of grain picked while still soft and unripe, parched over a fire to dry them, then rubbed to knock the kernels loose; parched grain was ordinary food at harvest time.

15You shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it. It is a grain offering.

15And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering.

16The priest shall burn the memorial portion of it, part of the crushed grain and part of the oil, along with all its frankincense. It is an offering made by fire to the LORD.

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.