Old Testament Sacrifices

Biblical Sources and Content

The regulations for sacrifice are gathered chiefly in Leviticus 1–7. An offering presented to God is called qorban in Hebrew, meaning "that which is brought near" (Leviticus 1:2). Leviticus describes five kinds of sacrifice in the following order.

• Burnt offering (ch. 1): A bull, sheep, goat, or dove is burned entirely on the altar of burnt offering, except for the hide.
• Grain offering (ch. 2; KJV "meat offering"): A grain offering of fine flour with oil and frankincense added. No leaven or honey is included, and it is seasoned with salt. A portion is burned, and the remainder is eaten by the priests.
• Peace offering (ch. 3; 7:11–34): The fat portions are burned, the breast and the right thigh go to the priest, and the rest is eaten by the worshiper. It is offered in thanksgiving, in fulfillment of a vow, or as a freewill offering.
• Sin offering (4:1–5:13): Offered for sins committed unknowingly. The required offering varies according to the status of the offerer, and the poor may substitute doves or fine flour.
• Trespass offering (5:14–6:7; also called the guilt offering): A ram is offered when harm has been done to holy things or to a neighbor's property. Restitution must be made for the loss, with one-fifth added.

The daily offerings and the offerings for the appointed feasts are set out in Numbers 28–29.

Background

The sacrifices were performed at the tabernacle and later at the Temple in Jerusalem by priests descended from Aaron. The Hebrew names of the sacrifices and their meanings are as follows.

• Burnt offering: olah ("that which goes up")
• Grain offering: minchah ("gift, offering")
• Peace offering: shelamim (thought to share a root with shalom)
• Sin offering: chatta't (the same form as the word for "sin")
• Trespass offering: asham ("guilt, reparation")

After the Roman army destroyed the temple in A.D. 70, animal sacrifice ceased.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

The prophets rebuked sacrifice offered without obedience and justice (1 Samuel 15:22; Amos 5:21–23; Micah 6:6–8). In Matthew 9:13 Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6: "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice."

Hebrews 9–10 regards the sacrifices of the Law as a shadow of things to come and declares that Jesus Christ fulfilled them by offering His own body once for all (Hebrews 10:1, 10:10). The "offering for sin" (Hebrew asham) in Isaiah 53:10 is also read in connection with Christ. Romans 3:25 likewise contains a term that the Korean Revised Version renders as "peace offering" (KJV "propitiation"), but the original Greek word differs from the peace offering (shelamim) of Leviticus.

The New Testament also describes the life of the believer in sacrificial terms. Examples include the "living sacrifice" of Romans 12:1, the sacrifice of praise and good works in Hebrews 13:15–16, and the "spiritual sacrifices" of 1 Peter 2:5.

Interpretation and Debates

• Protestant churches generally hold that the Old Testament sacrifices were fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ. The Catholic Church understands the Mass as a sacrifice that sacramentally makes present the sacrifice of the cross. The Reformers opposed this understanding and did not regard the Lord's Supper as a repeated sacrifice (see Eucharistic controversies).
• In preaching, it is common to correlate each sacrifice and each part of the offering with Christ and the Christian life—reading the burnt offering as complete consecration, for example, or the peace offering as fellowship with God. Such readings belong to an interpretive tradition rather than being stated directly in the text.
• Some dispensationalists (see dispensationalism) regard the temple sacrifices of Ezekiel 40–48 as memorial sacrifices to be offered in the millennial kingdom. Other traditions read this passage as a symbolic vision.
• Some scholars view the sin offering as a sacrifice for purifying the sanctuary, and opinions also differ on when the regulations were composed.

In the Korean Church

Expressions that liken prayer and worship to an altar, such as "building the dawn altar" and "the family altar," are widely used. Many churches also call the pulpit area the "altar." Some have objected that such expressions should be avoided, since altars and sacrifices no longer exist in the New Testament era. It is also common to call financial offerings "gifts" (yemul) and to describe dedication as a "living sacrifice." The Korean word jesa also refers to ancestral rites; that issue is treated separately in Ancestral Rites and Memorial Services.