Heave Offering

Biblical Texts and Content

The term geoje (heave offering) appears in the New Korean Revised Version mainly in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. The thing offered is itself called geojemul, the "heave offering" as an object.

• The ram of consecration: Exodus 29:27–28 directs that the shoulder of the ram used at the priests' consecration be made a heave offering and given to Aaron and his sons.
• The portion from the peace offering: According to Leviticus 7:14 and 7:32–34, one of the cakes of the peace offering and the right shoulder of the sacrifice are given to the priest as a heave offering. The breast, meanwhile, is presented as a wave offering (an offering waved before the Lord).
• The first of the dough: Numbers 15:19–21 commands that a cake made from the first of the dough be offered as a heave offering.
• Tithes and the Levites: Numbers 18 designates the heave offerings as the priests' portion. The tithes of the people of Israel go to the Levites, and the Levites in turn set apart a tenth of that tithe as a heave offering for the priests (Numbers 18:24–28).
• Spoils of war: In Numbers 31, part of the spoils from the war against Midian is given to Eleazar as a heave offering.

Terminology and Background

The Korean term geoje combines geo (擧, "to lift") and je (祭, "sacrifice"), meaning "a sacrifice lifted up and offered." The underlying Hebrew word, terumah, derives from a verbal root meaning "to be high" or "to lift up." Traditional English translations have rendered it "heave offering."

In some places the New Korean Revised Version renders the same Hebrew word with other terms. Both the "offering" of materials for building the tabernacle in Exodus 25:2 and the "offerings" in "tithes and offerings" in Malachi 3:8–10 translate terumah.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The heave offering was an institution by which a portion of what was offered was set apart to God, and by that portion those who served in the sanctuary were sustained. Within the system of Old Testament sacrifices, it thus provided for the livelihood of the priests.

The New Testament does not mention the heave offering directly. Christian tradition generally holds that the Old Testament sacrifices were fulfilled in Christ's once-for-all sacrifice (see Hebrews 10:1). At the same time, it sees the spirit of these offerings as continuing in passages such as Hebrews 13:15–16, which speak of praise, doing good, and sharing as sacrifices with which God is well pleased. First Corinthians 9:13–14 applies the principle that those who wait at the altar are partakers with the altar to the support of those who preach the gospel.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• The question of the gesture: Korean church teaching commonly distinguishes the wave offering as moved "back and forth" and the heave offering as lifted "up and down." The text, however, does not describe any specific gesture for the heave offering. Some scholars understand terumah not as an act of physically lifting something but as "a portion separated and set apart from the whole," that is, a "contribution."
• Typological interpretation: Some commentators and preachers connect the idea of "being lifted up" with Christ's cross or ascension. This is an application arising from interpretive tradition, not a statement of the text itself.
• Connection with church giving: Some interpreters draw on the Malachi passage and Numbers 18 to derive principles for present-day offerings and the financial support of pastors. Others hold that the ceremonial law has been abolished in Christ and therefore cannot be applied directly. This question is closely tied to the tithing debate.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the heave offering is typically presented alongside the wave offering in expositions of Leviticus and in Bible studies on the tabernacle and the sacrificial system. It is also cited in sermons explaining the biblical basis for the tithe and offerings.