Bible Study Leviticus 1
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Leviticus 1 · WEB

The Burnt Offering

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Yahweh called to Moses, and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying,
2"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When anyone of you offers an offering to Yahweh, you shall offer your offering of the livestock, from the herd and from the flock.
3"'If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh.
4He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
5He shall kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron's sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
6He shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into pieces.
7The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order on the fire;
8and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar;
9but its innards and its legs he shall wash with water. The priest shall burn all of it on the altar, for a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
10"'If his offering is from the flock, from the sheep or from the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without defect.
11He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before Yahweh. Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.
12He shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat. The priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar,
13but the innards and the legs he shall wash with water. The priest shall offer the whole, and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
14"'If his offering to Yahweh is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall offer his offering from the turtledoves or from the young pigeons.
15The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar;
16and he shall take away its crop with its filth, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, in the place of the ashes.
17He shall tear it by its wings, but shall not divide it apart. The priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
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Summary

Leviticus opens with God speaking to Moses from the Tent of Meeting at Mount Sinai, providing detailed instructions for the burnt offering (Hebrew: *olah*). God outlines three categories of burnt offerings based on the worshiper's means: a bull from the herd, a sheep or goat from the flock, or a turtledove or pigeon. In each case, the offering is to be a male without defect, completely consumed on the altar as an aroma pleasing to Yahweh, representing total dedication and atonement.

Themes

  • Approach to a holy God requires a blood sacrifice
  • Atonement — the laying on of hands transfers the worshiper's sin to the animal
  • Total consecration — the burnt offering is completely consumed, symbolizing full surrender to God
  • God's accessibility — every economic level can bring an offering

Key verses

  • Lev 1:2 — “When anyone of you offers an offering to Yahweh, you shall offer your offering of the livestock, from the herd and from the flock.”
  • Lev 1:4 — “He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”
  • Lev 1:9 — “The priest shall burn all of it on the altar, for a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.”

Context & background

Leviticus picks up directly from Exodus 40, where the Tabernacle had just been completed and the glory of God filled it. The Israelites were camped at the foot of Mount Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula (modern Egypt), the triangular landmass between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba, both arms of the Red Sea. The Tabernacle was the portable worship structure that served as God's dwelling place among the people before a permanent temple was built in Jerusalem (modern Israel). The burnt offering (*olah*, meaning "that which ascends") was the most fundamental sacrifice, expressing worship, dedication, and the need for atonement before a holy God.

Cross-references

  • Exod 29:18 — God establishes the burnt offering pattern during the consecration of Aaron's priesthood
  • Gen 22:2 — Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac prefigures the burnt offering and substitutionary atonement
  • Heb 10:5-7 — Christ's body prepared as the ultimate burnt offering, fulfilling what the sacrificial system foreshadowed
  • Mark 12:33 — Jesus affirms that loving God and neighbor is greater than all burnt offerings
  • Rom 12:1 — Paul calls believers to offer themselves as "living sacrifices," echoing the language of the burnt offering

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    From where did Yahweh speak to Moses at the opening of Leviticus?

  2. Observe

    What three kinds of animals could be brought as a burnt offering?

  3. Interpret

    Why was the worshiper required to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering (v. 4)?

  4. Interpret

    Why did God require the animal to be "without defect" (vv. 3, 10)?

  5. Apply

    The burnt offering was wholly consumed on the altar, symbolizing total dedication. What does this suggest for the believer today?

  6. Apply

    That God allowed birds for those who could not afford livestock shows what about his character?

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