7:1–2 Instructions regarding Israel’s gifts continue with the guilt offering, whose holiness is underscored at the beginning and end of the instructions (vv. 1, 6). The sacrificial procedure is similar to that for the sin offering—slaughtered on the north side of the altar, the fat turned to smoke, and its meat portions eaten by the priests in the vicinity of the altar. The difference between the two is in how the blood is handled: the blood of the guilt offering is dashed against the sides of the altar, whereas that of the sin offering is sprinkled inside the tent and smeared on the altar’s horns (cf. ch. 4).

7:3–5 Table protocol calls for honoring the Lord by separating out his portion first (cf. 1 Sam. 2:15–17). The sacrificial animal’s choicest portion is offered, consisting of the fat around its vital organs together with the liver lobe and kidneys.

7:6–7 The officiating priest then receives the meat he is to share with his male family members, that is, those serving in the tabernacle, as well as with other priests on duty. Since the guilt offering is “most holy,” its flesh must remain in the sacred precincts and be eaten in the outer court by the priests who have been ordained to approach the “most holy” altar. The offering’s holiness is guarded by keeping it near the anointed altar (Ex. 30:26–29), to be consumed by the anointed priesthood (Ex. 30:30). The image is that of the Lord’s priestly household gathered around his table.

7:8 Having detailed the priestly portions for the guilt and sin offerings, the instructions look back to the burnt and grain offerings. The officiating priest who presents a worshiper’s burnt offering is entitled to its hide.85 Animal skins were valued for the leather goods that could be produced from them, such as sandals, belts, water flasks, and tent coverings.

7:9–10 As for the cooked grain offerings (Lev. 2:4–7), they are apportioned to the priest who presents them, while the raw grain offerings (2:3) belong to the entire priesthood. Raw grain could be stored and shared with all priests who came to serve at the tabernacle (priestly rotations are later systematized for temple service; cf. 1 Chronicles 24; Luke 1:8–9).

7:11 The peace offering is celebrated as a communal meal shared among the Lord, his priests, and the worshiper. It is a voluntary offering brought to express thanksgiving for answered prayer or praise at the fulfillment of a vow, or as a spontaneous gift of gratitude. Instructions on the various sacrificial portions address each of these three occasions to supplement the teaching of Leviticus 3.

7:12–14 In addition to a male or female animal of the offerer’s choosing a thanksgiving offering must be accompanied by bread to round out the meal.86 Unleavened loaves and wafers were made by mixing flour and water with oil to soften the dough, to which a pinch of salt was added. Leavened loaves were the same recipe, with added sourdough from a previous batch. These are offered to the Lord but go to the officiating priest as his share for performing the sacrificial ministry. They are a “gift to the Lord,” or contribution (Hb. terumah), set apart to maintain those who minister at the altar. “One loaf from each offering,” leavened and unleavened, goes to the priest and his family, while the rest are eaten by the worshiper and his household as part of the fellowship meal.

7:15 The worshiper retains the largest portion of the meat to eat in the Lord’s presence, which could be the courtyard area87 but could also presumably be at home if the home is ritually pure.88 In either case that which is usually a priestly privilege is extended to the covenant family, as lay Israelites are welcomed to the table of the Lord to feast as his guests.

The sacrificial meat of the thanksgiving offering must be wholly consumed on the day it is slaughtered. No reason is given, but the outcome would be to help prevent the meat from becoming profaned (cf. 22:29–30) and to encourage a spirit of generosity in inviting the greater community to share in the feast. A single household could not consume the entire animal in a single day, so the extended family, neighbors, and friends—including the poor, widow, and the orphan among them—are folded into the celebration (Deut. 12:10–12; Luke 14:12–14). An occasion of great joy for the worshiper is not contained within his household alone but overflows into the life of the congregation. As part of the celebration the worshiper gives public testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness before all who join the table (Pss. 56:12–13; 107:19–22). The praise of God’s goodness and exaltation of his character is no less a “sacrifice of thanksgiving” than the slaughtered animal (Pss. 50:14; 116:17).

7:16–18 The worshiper who brings an offering in fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering can eat its meat until the second day, but not on the third. Since the animal has been offered to the Lord, its meat is part of a holy meal that the worshiper receives back from the Lord’s table and so must be treated properly; otherwise the gift is rejected and, rather than making the offerer acceptable before the Lord (Lev. 1:3), counts against him.89 Any leftovers must be burned. Israelites are encouraged to eat the meat fresh and not keep it (cf. the commands about the manna in the wilderness; Ex. 16:19–20). This posture of daily dependence cultivates not only trust in the Lord for daily bread but also generosity toward others.

7:19–21 Great concern must be shown in guarding the holiness of the Lord’s table, especially as the peace offering invites lay Israelites to feast on meat dedicated to the Lord. Instructions dealing with ritual purity highlight this is no ordinary meal but one consumed in God’s presence. Therefore only those who are in a state of ritual purity may feast on sacrificial meat, because in partaking of this meal they are coming before the Lord. Those who are ritually impure90 or have been in contact with anything unclean91 are disqualified from the meal (Lev. 22:3; Hag. 2:13). Every participant examines himself, acting as a priest tasked with discriminating between clean and unclean (Lev. 10:10) and discerning whether he is fit to appear before the Lord.

A breach of table protocol carries the penalty of being “cut off.” A person can be cut off from his people,92 from Israel,93 from the midst of the assembly,94 or from the Lord’s presence.95 Cutting off spans a wide arc to encompass the potential extinction of one’s family line, ostracism from the covenant community, exclusion from the sanctuary, or ultimately, estrangement from the Lord in life or in death (for the latter cf. comment on 20:4–5). The expression may be related to the solemn ceremony of “cutting covenant” (Hb. karat berit), in which parties pass through the pieces of animals cut in half (Gen. 15:9–10), symbolically taking curses upon themselves should they fail to keep the covenant: “The men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts” (Jer. 34:18). The severest of penalties is to be cut off from the covenanted people and even from life itself.

Offenses carrying the penalty of being cut off are primarily against the Lord and his holy worship.96 Notably, a considerable number relate to food: failing to fast on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:29), appropriating the Lord’s portion (3:17; 7:25–27; 17:10, 14), consuming yeast during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex. 12:15, 19), or eating in fellowship with the Lord in the incompatible state of ritual impurity (Lev. 7:20–21; 19:8; 22:3). The laws of the Lord’s table are taken seriously (cf. the cutting off of Eli’s house for dishonoring the sacrificial meal in 1 Sam. 2:29–34).

7:22–25 The fat of all sacrificial animals belongs to the Lord; anyone who consumes the Lord’s portion will be cut off. This applies to all sacrifices. As for fat that cannot be offered on the altar, such as that from a carcass or mauled animal, it may be put to other use—as lamp oil, hand salve, soap, or hair oil.

7:26–27 Equally prohibited is the consumption of blood (in the meat) of any animal, sacrificial or not.97 The command to refrain from eating blood “in any of your dwelling places” that ends the peace offering is repeated for emphasis (3:17).

7:28–30 Since the meat of the peace offering belongs primarily to the worshiper, there is a different protocol for offering its reserved portions: a worshiper is to present the fat and breast with “his own hands.” The fat is surrendered to the priest for burning on the altar as usual, but the breast is elevated before the Lord in imitation of the upward ascent of offerings on the altar as they rise heavenward in smoke (cf. 1:9). It appears the priests are the ones who lift the designated portions to dedicate them to the Lord’s use (9:21; 14:12; cf. esp. 23:12 with 23:11). The initial contact with the worshiper’s hands, however, makes clear the identity of the offerer.

The translation of “wave offering” (Hb. tenufah) suggests a back-and-forth movement, variously interpreted as either a side-to-side or a raising-and-lowering motion. Evidence of ritual practice in paintings and reliefs from the ancient Near East suggests that dedication was performed as an upward lifting toward the deity, favoring the motion of elevation, which is why this is sometimes called an “elevation offering.”98 The meaning of the ritual gesture, however, is beyond dispute: by being “waved [or “elevated”] . . . before the Lord”99 the sacred gift is transferred from the worshiper’s possession into the Lord’s and from the common sphere to sacred use.

7:31 The breast is the portion assigned “for Aaron and his sons,” meaning all the priests and their families. The breast (brisket) is a choice cut, meaty enough to provide for the priestly servants ministering at the tabernacle. It is generous but not extravagant (priests are entitled to the sheep and goats of the sin and guilt offerings but only a share of the beef). Notably, in the case of priests who do not present the particular offering, no family among them receives a preferential portion; they all receive from the specified share.100 There is equality around the Lord’s table.

7:32–33 The right thigh is given to the priest who presents the peace offering. The animal’s right hindlimb is set apart as a “contribution” (Hb. terumah), a consecrated gift, to the Lord reserved for the officiating priest and his family (Num. 18:19).101 The hindlimb must have been considered a special portion; when Saul was anointed king, he was made an honored guest at a banquet, given a position at the head of the table, and served the reserved thigh portion (1 Sam. 9:22–24).

7:34–36 The brisket and right shank are the Lord’s gift to the priesthood, encapsulated in a wordplay through the unusual word for “portion” (Hb. mishkhah) that sounds like the word “anoint” (mashakh). From the day the priests are anointed and ordained to ministry (Lev. 8:30) they are entitled to the “anointed” share for their service. The portion matches the person in holiness. While this rightly may be thought of as their payment for serving at the altar, it is not spoken of as such. Rather it is viewed as the Lord’s apportioning their due. Priestly portions are allotted to the tribe of Levi in the same way that territorial portions have been allotted to the rest of Israel (Ezek. 44:28–30). For all other Israelites their sustenance will come from working the land, but the priests will “feast on the abundance of [God’s] house” (Ps. 36:8).

7:37–38 These verses summarize Leviticus 6:8–7:36 as laws for the ritual performance of Israel’s major offerings. Included among them is the ordination offering, a type of peace offering that anticipates the priesthood’s installation into office in the following chapter. This section concludes the sacrificial laws and prepares the way for the priesthood’s ordination (ch. 8) and its ministry in the tent of meeting (ch. 9).