What is burned, and what is kept, in the flour and firstfruits offerings?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

The priest puts a memorial portion on the altar, including all the frankincense where specified. The remainder of the flour and prepared offerings belongs to Aaron and his sons. The chapter also forbids burning leaven or honey and requires salt in every offering.

Chapter breakdown

An offering of sacrifice to the Lord is to be of fine flour, with oil poured on it and frankincense added. The person brings it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. One priest takes a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the frankincense, and puts it on the altar as a memorial for a most sweet savour to the Lord. The remainder belongs to Aaron and his sons and is called holy of holies among the Lord’s offerings.

Challoner explains that “holy of holies” means most holy: dedicated to God and set aside by his command for the use of his priests. This is the edition’s explanatory note.

An oven-baked sacrifice of flour may be loaves without leaven mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil. A fryingpan offering is flour mixed with oil and without leaven. It must be divided into little pieces, with oil poured on them. For a sacrifice from the gridiron, the flour is likewise mixed with oil. When offering it to the Lord, the person delivers it into the priest’s hands.

After the priest has offered it, he takes a memorial portion from the sacrifice and burns it on the altar for a sweet savour to the Lord. Whatever remains belongs to Aaron and his sons, holy of holies among the Lord’s offerings.

Every offering made to the Lord must be without leaven. Neither leaven nor honey is to be burned in sacrifice to the Lord.

Challoner interprets the exclusion of leaven and honey as a sign that pure Gospel worship should exclude double dealing and attachment to bodily pleasures. This interpretation is given in the note, rather than in the verse’s instructions.

Leaven and honey may be offered only as firstfruits and gifts; they must not be put on the altar for a savour of sweetness. Every sacrifice must be seasoned with salt. The salt of the covenant of God must not be removed from the sacrifice: salt is to be offered in all offerings.

Challoner calls salt an emblem of wisdom and discretion, without which none of our actions are pleasing to God. This is the note’s explanation of the salt command.

For a gift of the firstfruits of grain from ears still green, the grain is dried at the fire and broken small like meal before it is offered to the Lord. Oil is poured on it and frankincense added, because it is the Lord’s offering. The priest burns as a memorial part of the finely broken grain and of the oil, and all the frankincense.

The story inside

The chapter explains offerings by following their preparation and the priest’s handling of them. It begins with fine flour, oil and frankincense, distinguishing the memorial handful from the remainder belonging to Aaron and his sons. It then gives oven, fryingpan and gridiron preparations, followed by the priest’s offering and burning of a memorial portion. Its ingredient rules include both a prohibition and a qualification: leaven and honey must not be burned on the altar, although their firstfruits and gifts may be offered. Salt must be included in all offerings. The last instructions describe green grain dried and broken small, with a memorial of grain, oil and all the frankincense. The three separately attributed notes explain holiness and offer moral interpretations; they do not narrate a particular worshipper carrying out the rites.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The memorial and the remainder have different destinations. The priest takes a handful of flour and oil with all the frankincense for the altar, while the remainder belongs to Aaron and his sons. The prepared offerings repeat the distinction between the memorial and what is left.
2
The preparation instructions differ. Oven loaves are mixed with oil and wafers coated with it; the fryingpan offering is divided into pieces and receives poured oil; gridiron flour is mixed with oil. Keeping these details prevents a single general description from replacing the actual commands.
3
The ingredient rules include a boundary and an exception. Leaven and honey may be offered as firstfruits and gifts, but must not be burned for a savour of sweetness. Salt, by contrast, must be present in every offering. Challoner’s interpretations are preserved as commentary, separately from these rules.

Test your recall

Why must the memorial portion, the remainder, and firstfruits of leaven or honey be handled differently?

Show answer

Include the frankincense and salt rules in your answer.

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 10711–10725
Leviticus Chapter 2 Of offerings of flour, and firstfruits. 2:1. When any one shall offer an oblation of sacrifice to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour: and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense, 2:2. And shall bring it to the sons of Aaron the priests. And one of them shall take a handful of the flour and oil, and all the frankincense; and shall put it a memorial upon the altar for a most sweet savour to the Lord. 2:3. And the remnant of the sacrifice shall be Aaron’s, and his sons’, holy of holies of the offerings of the Lord.
Lines 10727–10728
Holy of holies.... That is, most holy, as being dedicated to God, and set aside by his ordinance for the use of his priests.
Lines 10730–10744
2:4. But when thou offerest a sacrifice baked in the oven of flour, to wit, loaves without leaven, tempered with oil, and unleavened wafers, anointed with oil: 2:5. If thy oblation be from the fryingpan, of flour tempered with oil, and without leaven: 2:6. Thou shalt divide it into little pieces, and shalt pour oil upon it. 2:7. And if the sacrifice be from the gridiron, in like manner the flour shall be tempered with oil. 2:8. And when thou offerest it to the Lord, thou shalt deliver it to the hands of the priest.
Lines 10746–10750
2:9. And when he hath offered it, he shall take a memorial out of the sacrifice, and burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour to the Lord. 2:10. And whatsoever is left, shall be Aaron’s, and his sons’: holy of holies of the offerings of the Lord.
Lines 10752–10754
2:11. Every oblation that is offered to the Lord shall be made without leaven: neither shall any leaven or honey be burnt in the sacrifice to the Lord.
Lines 10756–10759
Without leaven or honey.... No leaven nor honey was to be used in the sacrifice offered to God; to signify that we are to exclude from the pure worship of the gospel, all double dealing and affection to carnal pleasures.
Lines 10761–10766
2:12. You shall offer only the firstfruits of them and gifts: but they shall not be put upon the altar, for a savour of sweetness. 2:13. Whatsoever sacrifice thou offerest, thou shalt season it with salt: neither shalt thou take away the salt of the covenant of thy God from thy sacrifice. In all thy oblations thou shalt offer salt.
Lines 10768–10770
Salt.... In every sacrifice salt was to be used, which is an emblem of wisdom and discretion, without which none of our performances are agreeable to God.
Lines 10772–10781
2:14. But if thou offer a gift of the firstfruits of thy corn to the Lord, of the ears yet green, thou shalt dry it at the fire, and break it small like meal; and so shalt thou offer thy firstfruits to the Lord: 2:15. Pouring oil upon it and putting on frankincense, because it is the oblation of the Lord. 2:16. Whereof the priest shall burn for a memorial of the gift, part of the corn broken small and of the oil, and all the frankincense.