Leviticus 6:9-13

6:9 “Command Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering is to remain on the hearth ¹  on the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar must be kept burning on it. ²  6:10 Then the priest must put on his linen robe and must put linen leggings ³  over his bare flesh, and he must take up the fatty ashes of the burnt offering that the fire consumed on the altar, ⁴  and he must place them ⁵  beside the altar. 6:11 Then he must take off his clothes and put on other clothes, and he must bring the fatty ashes outside the camp to a ceremonially ⁶  clean place, 6:12 but the fire which is on the altar must be kept burning on it. ⁷  It must not be extinguished. So the priest must kindle wood on it morning by morning, and he must arrange the burnt offering on it and offer the fat of the peace offering up in smoke on it. 6:13 A continual fire must be kept burning on the altar. It must not be extinguished.

Leviticus 8:18

8:18 Then he presented the burnt offering ram and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,

Leviticus 8:21

8:21 but the entrails and the legs he washed with water, ⁸  and Moses offered the whole ram up in smoke on the altar – it was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma, a gift to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁹ 

Genesis 8:20

8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 22:2

22:2 God ¹¹  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ¹²  – and go to the land of Moriah! ¹³  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ¹⁴  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ¹⁵  you.”

Genesis 22:8

22:8 “God will provide ¹⁶  for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

Genesis 22:13

22:13 Abraham looked up ¹⁷  and saw ¹⁸  behind him ¹⁹  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ²⁰  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Exodus 24:5

24:5 He sent young Israelite men, ²¹  and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls for peace offerings ²²  to the Lord.

Exodus 29:18

29:18 and burn ²³  the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering ²⁴  to the Lord, a soothing aroma; it is an offering made by fire ²⁵  to the Lord. ²⁶ 

Exodus 29:42

29:42 “This will be a regular ²⁷  burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet ²⁸  with you to speak to you there.

Exodus 32:6

32:6 So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, ²⁹  and they rose up to play. ³⁰ 

Exodus 38:1

The Making of the Altar for the Burnt Offering

38:1 He made the altar for the burnt offering of acacia wood seven feet six inches long and seven feet six inches wide – it was square – and its height was four feet six inches.

Numbers 23:3

23:3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself ³¹  by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me ³²  I will tell you.” ³³  Then he went to a deserted height. ³⁴ 

Numbers 23:10-11

23:10 Who ³⁵  can count ³⁶  the dust ³⁷  of Jacob,

Or number ³⁸  the fourth part of Israel?

Let me ³⁹  die the death of the upright, ⁴⁰ 

and let the end of my life ⁴¹  be like theirs.” ⁴² 

Balaam Relocates

23:11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary ⁴³  you have only blessed them!” ⁴⁴ 

Numbers 23:19

23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,

nor a human being, ⁴⁵  that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? ⁴⁶ 

Numbers 23:23-24

23:23 For there is no spell against ⁴⁷  Jacob,

nor is there any divination against Israel.

At this time ⁴⁸  it must be said ⁴⁹  of Jacob

and of Israel, ‘Look at ⁵⁰  what God has done!’

23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,

and like a lion raises himself up;

they will not lie down until they eat their ⁵¹  prey,

and drink the blood of the slain.” ⁵² 

Numbers 23:27

23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God ⁵³  to let you curse them for me from there.” ⁵⁴ 

Numbers 23:30

23:30 So Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Numbers 29:8-11

29:8 But you must offer a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs one year old, all of them without blemish. ⁵⁵  29:9 Their grain offering must be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, 29:10 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs, 29:11 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the purification offering for atonement and the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and their drink offerings.

Numbers 29:13

29:13 You must offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs each one year old, all of them without blemish.

Isaiah 1:11

1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” ⁵⁶ 

says the Lord.

“I am stuffed with ⁵⁷  burnt sacrifices

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want. ⁵⁸ 

Hebrews 10:8-10

10:8 When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them” ⁵⁹  (which are offered according to the law), 10:9 then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.” ⁶⁰  He does away with ⁶¹  the first to establish the second. 10:10 By his will ⁶²  we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

[6:9]  ¹ tn Heb “It is the burnt offering on the hearth.”

[6:9]  ² tn Heb “in it.” In this context “in it” apparently refers to the “hearth” which was on top of the altar.

[6:10]  ³ tn The exact nature of this article of the priest’s clothing is difficult to determine. Cf. KJV, ASV “breeches”; NAB “drawers”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “undergarments”; NCV “underclothes”; CEV “underwear”; TEV “shorts.”

[6:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “he shall lift up the fatty ashes which the fire shall consume the burnt offering on the altar.”

[6:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “it,” referring the “fatty ashes” as a single unit.

[6:11]  ⁶ tn The word “ceremonially” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the uncleanness of the place involved is ritual or ceremonial in nature.

[6:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “in it,” apparently referring to the “hearth” which was on top of the altar (cf. the note on v. 9).

[8:21]  ⁸ tn Again, Aaron probably did the washing (v. 21a), but Moses presented the portions on the altar (v. 21b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).

[8:21]  ⁹ tn See Lev 1:9, 13.

[8:20]  ¹⁰ sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the Lord. After the flood Noah could see that God was not only a God of wrath, but a God of redemption and restoration. The one who escaped the catastrophe could best express his gratitude and submission through sacrificial worship, acknowledging God as the sovereign of the universe.

[22:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ¹² sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.

[22:2]  ¹³ sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.

[22:2]  ¹⁴ sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.

[22:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “which I will say to.”

[22:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”

[22:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”

[22:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.

[22:13]  ¹⁹ tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac, and Samaritan Pentateuch read “one” (אֶחָד, ’ekhad) instead of “behind him” (אַחַר, ’akhar).

[22:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:5]  ²¹ tn The construct has “young men of the Israelites,” and so “Israelite” is a genitive that describes them.

[24:5]  ²² tn The verbs and their respective accusatives are cognates. First, they offered up burnt offerings (see Lev 1), which is וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת (vayya’alu ’olot); then they sacrificed young bulls as peace sacrifices (Lev 3), which is in Hebrew וַיִּזְבְּחוּ זְבָחִים (vayyizbÿkhu zÿvakhim). In the first case the cognate accusative is the direct object; in the second it is an adverbial accusative of product. See on this covenant ritual H. M. Kamsler, “The Blood Covenant in the Bible,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 94-98; E. W. Nicholson, “The Covenant Ritual in Exodus 24:3-8,” VT 32 (1982): 74-86.

[29:18]  ²³ tn Heb “turn to sweet smoke.”

[29:18]  ²⁴ sn According to Lev 1 the burnt offering (often called whole burnt offering, except that the skins were usually given to the priests for income) was an atoning sacrifice. By consuming the entire animal, God was indicating that he had completely accepted the worshiper, and as it was a sweet smelling fire sacrifice, he was indicating that he was pleased to accept it. By offering the entire animal, the worshiper was indicating on his part a complete surrender to God.

[29:18]  ²⁵ tn The word אִשֶּׁה (’isheh) has traditionally been translated “an offering made with fire” or the like, because it appears so obviously connected with fire. But further evidence from Ugaritic suggests that it might only mean “a gift” (see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 161).

[29:18]  ²⁶ sn These sections show that the priest had to be purified or cleansed from defilement of sin and also be atoned for and accepted by the Lord through the blood of the sacrifice. The principles from these two sacrifices should be basic to anyone seeking to serve God.

[29:42]  ²⁷ tn The translation has “regular” instead of “continually,” because they will be preparing this twice a day.

[29:42]  ²⁸ tn The relative clause identifies the place in front of the Tent as the place that Yahweh would meet Moses. The main verb of the clause is אִוָּעֵד (’ivva’ed), a Niphal imperfect of the verb יָעַד (ya’ad), the verb that is cognate to the name “tent of meeting” – hence the name. This clause leads into the next four verses.

[32:6]  ²⁹ tn The second infinitive is an infinitive absolute. The first is an infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition, expressing the purpose of their sitting down. The infinitive absolute that follows cannot take the preposition, but with the conjunction follows the force of the form before it (see GKC 340 §113.e).

[32:6]  ³⁰ tn The form is לְצַחֵק (lÿtsakheq), a Piel infinitive construct, giving the purpose of their rising up after the festal meal. On the surface it would seem that with the festival there would be singing and dancing, so that the people were celebrating even though they did not know the reason. W. C. Kaiser says the word means “drunken immoral orgies and sexual play” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:478). That is quite an assumption for this word, but is reflected in some recent English versions (e.g., NCV “got up and sinned sexually”; TEV “an orgy of drinking and sex”). The word means “to play, trifle.” It can have other meanings, depending on its contexts. It is used of Lot when he warned his sons-in-law and appeared as one who “mocked” them; it is also used of Ishmael “playing” with Isaac, which Paul interprets as mocking; it is used of Isaac “playing” with his wife in a manner that revealed to Abimelech that they were not brother and sister, and it is used by Potiphar’s wife to say that her husband brought this slave Joseph in to “mock” them. The most that can be gathered from these is that it is playful teasing, serious mocking, or playful caresses. It might fit with wild orgies, but there is no indication of that in this passage, and the word does not mean it. The fact that they were festive and playing before an idol was sufficient.

[23:3]  ³¹ tn The verb הִתְיַצֵּב (hityatsev) means “to take a stand, station oneself.” It is more intentional than simply standing by something. He was to position himself by the sacrifice as Balaam withdrew to seek the oracle.

[23:3]  ³² tn Heb “and the word of what he shows me.” The noun is in construct, and so the clause that follows functions as a noun clause in the genitive. The point is that the word will consist of divine revelation.

[23:3]  ³³ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. This clause is dependent on the clause that precedes it.

[23:3]  ³⁴ sn He went up to a bald spot, to a barren height. The statement underscores the general belief that such tops were the closest things to the gods. On such heights people built their shrines and temples.

[23:10]  ³⁵ tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.

[23:10]  ³⁶ tn The perfect tense can also be classified as a potential nuance. It does not occur very often, but does occur several times.

[23:10]  ³⁷ sn The reference in the oracle is back to Gen 13:16, which would not be clear to Balaam. But God had described their growth like the dust of the earth. Here it is part of the description of the vast numbers.

[23:10]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and as a number, the fourth part of Israel.” The noun in the MT is not in the construct state, and so it should be taken as an adverbial accusative, forming a parallel with the verb “count.” The second object of the verse then follows, “the fourth part of Israel.” Smr and the LXX have “and who has numbered” (וּמִסְפָּר, umispar), making this colon more parallel to the preceding one. The editor of BHS prefers this reading.

[23:10]  ³⁹ tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.

[23:10]  ⁴⁰ sn Here the seer’s words link with the promise of Gen 12:3, that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed. Since the blessing belongs to them, the upright (and not Balak), Balaam would like his lot to be with them.

[23:10]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “my latter end.”

[23:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “his.”

[23:11]  ⁴³ tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.

[23:11]  ⁴⁴ tn The construction is emphatic, using the perfect tense and the infinitive absolute to give it the emphasis. It would have the force of “you have done nothing but bless,” or “you have indeed blessed.” The construction is reminiscent of the call of Abram and the promise of the blessing in such elaborate terms.

[23:19]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “son of man.”

[23:19]  ⁴⁶ tn The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.

[23:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCB), 295-96.

[23:23]  ⁴⁸ tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.

[23:23]  ⁴⁹ tn The Niphal imperfect here carries the nuance of obligation – one has to say in amazement that God has done something marvelous or “it must be said.”

[23:23]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[23:24]  ⁵¹ tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.

[23:24]  ⁵² sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.

[23:27]  ⁵³ tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”

[23:27]  ⁵⁴ sn Balak is stubborn, as indeed Balaam is persistent. But Balak still thinks that if another location were used it just might work. Balaam had actually told Balak in the prophecy that other attempts would fail. But Balak refuses to give up so easily. So he insists they perform the ritual and try again. This time, however, Balaam will change his approach, and this will result in a dramatic outpouring of power on him.

[29:8]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “they shall be to you without blemish.”

[1:11]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”

[1:11]  ⁵⁷ tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.

[1:11]  ⁵⁸ sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.

[10:8]  ⁵⁹ sn Various phrases from the quotation of Ps 40:6 in Heb 10:5-6 are repeated in Heb 10:8.

[10:9]  ⁶⁰ tc The majority of mss, especially the later ones (א² 0278^vid 1739 Ï lat), have ὁ θεός (Jo qeo", “God”) at this point, while most of the earliest and best witnesses lack such an explicit addressee (so Ì⁴⁶ א* A C D K P Ψ 33 1175 1881 2464 al). The longer reading is a palpable corruption, apparently motivated in part by the wording of Ps 40:8 (39:9 LXX) and by the word order of this same verse as quoted in Heb 10:7.

[10:9]  ⁶¹ tn Or “abolishes.”

[10:10]  ⁶² tn Grk “by which will.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.