Leviticus 2:1-3 meaning

The Hebrew word for grain offering is “minkhah” and occurs in Genesis 4:3-4 as the offerings brought to God by both Cain and Abel, even though Abel’s offering was a lamb of the flock. Most Bibles translate “minkhah” as “offering,” “gift,” or “present” in the Genesis occurrences, but as grain offering here in Leviticus 2, due to its clear references to grain or fine flour in this text. 

In contrast to the grain offering, other offerings in the Bible included the burnt offering, the peace offering (Leviticus 3), and the sin or guilt offering. Each had its distinct purpose and symbolized different aspects of the worshipper's relationship with God. The burnt offering (literally “offering of ascent”), for instance, was wholly consumed by fire on the altar, with the entire sacrifice ascending in the smoke to God in heaven as a “soothing aroma” (Leviticus 1:9). But with sin and peace offerings, only certain entrails and fat were offered on the altar, and the rest would have been food for the priests and those making the offering.

The peace offerings which are explained in Leviticus 3 represent reconciliation and communion with God and fellow man, with parts of the meal shared between the altar, the priests, and the people offering it. The Passover sacrifice is a type of peace offering. Sin and guilt offerings were made for atonement, representing purification and restitution for wrongdoings.

The Day of Atonement sacrifice in Leviticus 16 was an annual sin offering for the whole nation of Israel, while general sin offerings for individuals are described in Leviticus 4, can be made anytime someone realizes they have sinned (Leviticus 4:23). It is noteworthy that sin offerings were for unintentional sins and did not cover intentional or defiant sins (Numbers 15:29-30).

For some intentional sins, however, a guilt offering was allowed and was to be accompanied with an act of restitution by the guilty toward the offended (Leviticus 6:1-7). Other intentional sins required the guilty person to be “cut off.” Jewish tradition interprets being cut off (Hebrew “kareth”) to mean a death or separation that is enacted or meted out by God rather than a human court.

This tradition says that being “cut off from among their people” could happen in two ways.

The first way this was understood to be enacted was in this life, with the guilty party experiencing an early physical death, or dying without offspring. As an example, Genesis 9:11uses “kareth” to describe those who died from God’s judgment in the flood of Noah.

The second way draws upon verses like Genesis 25:8, which says that Abraham died and was “gathered unto his people.” This leads to the second interpretation, which is spiritual separation or death in the afterlife, being cut off from one’s people in the next age. The implication of Abraham being “gathered unto his people” infers that there are relatives in the next life, which reinforces that there was belief in an afterlife among the Jews. So this aspect of tradition held that there could be a punishment in the afterlife where someone could be cut off from or separated from among their people. Regardless of whether or not the traditional interpretation is correct, it is consistent with the observation that only God knows the heart and the true motive behind any action, whether it is intentional or done out of ignorance.

Leviticus 2:1-3 begins, “Now when anyone presents a grain offering as an offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it” (vs 1).

Unlike burnt offerings, which required the life of an animal, a grain offering consisted of elements that were used in daily life—fine flour, oil, and frankincense. These ingredients were not only staples in the diet and homes of the ancient Near East but also held symbolic significance.

Fine flour was a product of labor and cultivation, representing the fruit of one's work offered to God. Oil was a symbol of light, anointing, and joy, often used in ceremonies of consecration, while frankincense, with its pleasant fragrance when burned, symbolized the prayers and petitions of the people ascending to heaven. Frankincense was also used as an additive to certain foods to enhance taste and smell.

Compared to the expense of offering a whole animal, the grain offering was more affordable for poorer people. The rabbi Rashi, in a 11^th century rabbinic commentary, says,

“Nowhere is the Hebrew word nephesh [usually translated “soul” but translated here in English as “anyone”] employed in connection with free-will offerings except in connection with the grain-offering. For who is it that usually brings a grain-offering? The poor man! The Holy One, blessed be He, says, as it were, I will regard it for him as though he brought his very “soul” as an offering.”
(Rashi on Leviticus 2:1)

Moses, the author of Leviticus continues, "He shall then bring it [the grain offering] to Aaron’s sons the priests; and shall take from it his handful of its fine flour and of its oil with all of its frankincense. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke as its memorial portion on the altar, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD" (v. 2).

The priests, Aaron’s sons, were the mediators between the Israelites and God. The memorial portion was a portion that the priest burned on the altar. It served as a physical representation of the offeror’s devotion and God's acknowledgment thereof. The text emphasizes the sensory experience of worship, describing the burning offering going up in smoke as a soothing aroma to the LORD, indicating God’s pleasure in the sincere worship of His people.

The next command, “The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a thing most holy, of the offerings to the LORD by fire,” (v. 3). Aaron and the priests got to keep the rest of the grain offering for their personal use. This highlights the reciprocal nature of the offerings. While part is burned for God, the rest serves to sustain the priests and their families, indicating that those who serve the altar also partake of its blessings. The priests and Levites did not inherit a land allotment with the rest of the tribes of Israel, since their allotment was to serve the people on behalf of God (Numbers 18:20). Thus, their sustenance depended upon the generosity of the people.

These offerings, part of the Levitical law, were both memorial, remembering what God had done, as well as a foreshadowing of things that were to come. They were ultimately fulfilled in the New Testament by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is described as the perfect High Priest offering the perfect sacrifice for sin once and for all (Hebrews 7:27). This established a new covenant, with Christ’s death atoning for sin (1 Corinthians 11:25).

In the messianic era when Christ will rule on the earth from Jerusalem, there will be a temple known as Ezekiel’s temple, and there will be sacrifices that will be offered in it during Jesus’ reign (Ezekiel 44:15). Presumably these will also be memorial, remembering what God and Jesus have done.  

Then in the new heavens and new earth there will be no temple, God will be the temple as He will dwell upon the earth with humans (Revelation 21:22). Accordingly, we will expect no sacrifices because there is no more death and we will have intimate fellowship with God without the presence of sin, as Adam and Eve had before the Fall of Man (Revelation 21:24, Peter 3:13).