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Grain Offerings

When anyone presents a grain offering to the L ord, the offering shall be of choice flour; the worshiper shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it, ²and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. After taking from it a handful of the choice flour and oil, with all its frankincense, the priest shall turn this token portion into smoke on the altar, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the L ord. ³And what is left of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons, a most holy part of the offerings by fire to the L ord.

⁴ When you present a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be of choice flour: unleavened cakes mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers spread with oil. ⁵If your offering is grain prepared on a griddle, it shall be of choice flour mixed with oil, unleavened; ⁶break it in pieces, and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. ⁷If your offering is grain prepared in a pan, it shall be made of choice flour in oil. ⁸You shall bring to the L ord the grain offering that is prepared in any of these ways; and when it is presented to the priest, he shall take it to the altar. ⁹The priest shall remove from the grain offering its token portion and turn this into smoke on the altar, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the L ord. ¹⁰And what is left of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings by fire to the L ord.

¹¹ No grain offering that you bring to the L ord shall be made with leaven, for you must not turn any leaven or honey into smoke as an offering by fire to the L ord. ¹²You may bring them to the L ord as an offering of choice products, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing odor. ¹³You shall not omit from your grain offerings the salt of the covenant with your God; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

¹⁴ If you bring a grain offering of first fruits to the L ord, you shall bring as the grain offering of your first fruits coarse new grain from fresh ears, parched with fire. ¹⁵You shall add oil to it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶And the priest shall turn a token portion of it into smoke—some of the coarse grain and oil with all its frankincense; it is an offering by fire to the L ord.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1. And when any will offer. In this chapter Moses prescribes the rules for those offerings to which the name of minha is peculiarly given. They were not bloody sacrifices, nor offerings of animals, but only of cakes and oil. If any one would offer plain flour, he is commanded to season it with frankincense and oil, and also to choose fine flour, that the oblation may not be defiled by the bran. Thus here, as in all the service of God, the rule is laid down that nothing but what is pure should be offered; besides, by the oil its savor is improved, and by the frankincense a fragrant odor is imparted to it. We know that God is not attracted either by sweetness of taste nor by pleasant scents; but it was useful to teach a rude people by these symbols, lest they should corrupt God’s service by their own foolish inventions. Moses afterwards commands, that whatever is consecrated to God should be delivered into the hand of the priest, as we have before seen that private persons were excluded from this honor so that Christ’s peculiar dignity should remain to Him, i.e., that by Him alone access should be sought to God, and that all men might know that no worship pleases God except what He sanctifies. The substance of this type is shewn by the words of the Apostle, when he says that “by him” we now “offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:15.) But when the priest had burnt a handful of the flour with the oil and frankincense, what remained was left for his own use; for, as we have elsewhere seen, the holy of holies of the burnt-offerings were given to the priests. Other kinds are then spoken of, viz., cakes, baken in the oven; then such as were fried in a pan; and thirdly, on a gridiron: for God would have the minha offered Him of every kind of cake, so that the Israelites might learn to look to Him in all their food, since nothing is clean to us except what He consecrates by His blessing. This is the reason why Moses accurately distinguishes between the cakes which were cooked either in the oven, or the frying-pan, or on the gridiron.