156. The Peace Offering

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Peace offerings were of three kinds: 1. Thank offerings; 2. Free-will offerings; 3. Offerings for vows (Lev. 7:12,1612If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. (Leviticus 7:12)
16But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten: (Leviticus 7:16)). The peace offering might be either of the herd or of the flock, and either male or female (Lev. 3:1,7,121And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. (Leviticus 3:1)
7If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the Lord. (Leviticus 3:7)
12And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord. (Leviticus 3:12)). The offerings were accompanied by the imposition of hands, and by the sprinkling of blood around the great altar, on which the fat and the parts accompanying were burnt (Lev. 3:1-51And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. 2And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 3And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, 4And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. 5And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. (Leviticus 3:1‑5)). When offered for a thanksgiving a meat offering was presented with it (Lev. 7:12-1312If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. 13Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. (Leviticus 7:12‑13)). A peculiarity of the peace offering was, that the breast was waved and the shoulder heaved (Lev. 7:3434For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel. (Leviticus 7:34)). According to Jewish tradition this ceremony was performed by laying the parts on the hands of the offerer, the priest putting his hands again underneath, and then moving them in a horizontal direction for the waving, and in a vertical direction for the heaving. This is supposed to have been intended as a presentation of the parts to God as the supreme Ruler in heaven and on earth. The “wave-breast” and the “heave-shoulder” were the perquisites of the priests (Lev. 7:31-3431And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'. 32And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. 33He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. 34For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel. (Leviticus 7:31‑34)). The remainder of the victim, excepting what was burnt, was consumed by the offerer and his family, under certain restrictions (Lev. 7:19-2119And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof. 20But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. 21Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. (Leviticus 7:19‑21)). It has been suggested that this ceremony of eating the peace offerings by the offerer and his family may have given rise to the custom among the heathen of eating flesh offered to idols in an idol temple (1 Cor. 8:1010For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; (1 Corinthians 8:10)). See Brown’s Antiq. Jews, 1, 376.