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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 1:17

Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 1:17

And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, [but] shall not divide [it] asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that [is] upon the fire: it [is] a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.

17. rend it by the wings thereof ] The action corresponds to that of dividing into parts ( Lev 1:6 and Lev 1:12), but because of the small size of the bird the division is not completed.

a sweet savour ] The offering of fowls is thus described, as well as the offerings of the herd and of the flock, to teach that, whether the offerer bring much or little, it is all one in the sight of God provided only that the heart be directed heavenwards. (Rashi, based on Talm. Menoth.)

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Shall not divide it asunder; shall cleave the bird through the whole length, yet so as not to separate the one side from the other, and so as there may be a wing left on each side. See Gen 15:10.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof,…. One wing being on one side, and the other on the other side:

but shall not divide it asunder; the body of the bird, though it was cleaved down in the middle, yet not parted asunder, nor any of its wings separated from it; the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it, “but shall not separate its wings from it”; this denoted, that though, by the death of Christ, his soul and body were separated from each other, yet the human nature was not separated from his divine Person, the personal union between the two natures still continuing; nor was he divided from his divine Father, though he was forsaken by him, yet still in union with him as the Son of God; nor from the divine Spirit, by which he offered up himself to God, and by which he was quickened; nor from his church and people, for whom he suffered, they being united to him as members to their head:

and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire; in like manner as the ox, sheep, or goat were burnt: according to the Misnah, the priest went up the ascent (of the altar) and turned round about the circuit; when he came to the southeast horn, he cut its head (or nipped it) with his nail, over against its neck, and divided it, and squeezed out its blood by the wall of the altar, and turned the part nipped to the altar, and struck it at it, and rubbed it with salt, and cast it upon the fires; then he went to the body and removed the crop and its feathers (or dung) and the entrails that came out along with it, and threw them into the place of ashes; he cleaved but did not divide asunder, but if he divided it was right, then he rubbed it with salt, and cast it upon the fires q:

it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord; [See comments on Le 1:9] so with the Heathens, to the gods of the air they sacrificed fowls for burnt offerings r.

q Misn. Zebachim, c. 6. sect. 5. r Porphyr. apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 4. c. 9. p. 146. Vid. Maoreb. Saturnal. l. 3. c. 8.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(17) And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof.Before placing it on the altar fire the priest made an incision in the wings, without, however, separating them wholly from the body, thus corresponding in some degree to the limbing of the quadruped. (See Lev. 1:6.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

17. Cleave it with the wings The breast bone was to be split and the body laid open, so that there would be a wing on each side; but the halves were not to be completely separated from each other.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

REFLECTIONS

PAUSE my soul, over the perusal of these shadowy representations, and under a most perfect conviction, that neither the blood of beasts, nor of birds, can take away sin, behold in them the most lively types, of the ever blessed JESUS! He was brought, indeed, to the Altar, a willing sacrifice. He was led, as a lamb to the slaughter. Upon his sacred head, by faith, his people now lay their hands; and confess over him those sins, which merit the punishment he suffered. His soul and body were indeed divided, for the moment of death, but soon united together, to see no corruption. And when he had made his soul an offering for sin, he ascended in the offering made by fire, of his own merits and death, as a sweet smelling savour of propitiation, for his people before GOD. Oh! thou holy, immaculate, precious LAMB of GOD, which taketh away the sins of the world; may it be my portion to have an everlasting interest in all the merits of thy sacrifice. And since I am poor, and wretched, in all pretensions to divine favor, may my offering, at the door of the tabernacle, be this, to bring JESUS, in the arms of my faith, that in him, and his precious redemption, I may find favor with GOD. Oh! may thy blood, be sprinkled, upon my guilty conscience, and my whole soul be washed in the laver of regeneration; and that the LORD the HOLY GHOST may enable me to present my body, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto GOD, which is my reasonable service.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Lev 1:17 And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, [but] shall not divide [it] asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that [is] upon the fire: it [is] a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Ver. 17. And he shall cleave it. ] That the inward part might be laid on the fire. See Psa 51:18-19 Mar 12:33 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

shall not: Gen 15:10, Psa 16:10, Mat 27:50, Joh 19:30, Rom 4:25, 1Pe 1:19-21, 1Pe 3:18

it is: Lev 1:9, Lev 1:10, Lev 1:13, Gen 8:21, Heb 10:6-12, Heb 13:15, Heb 13:16

Reciprocal: Exo 29:18 – sweet savour Lev 4:31 – a sweet Lev 5:12 – according Lev 6:10 – consumed Lev 8:21 – a sweet savour Num 15:3 – will make Num 28:2 – for a sweet savour unto me Deu 33:10 – whole Eze 20:41 – with your Eph 5:2 – for a

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Lev 1:17. He shall cleave The bird through the whole length, yet so as not to separate the one side from the other. A sweet savour unto the Lord Yet, after all, to love God with all our hearts, and to love our neighbour as ourselves, is better than all burnt-offerings and sacrifices.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments