Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 1:7
And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:
7. shall put fire upon the altar ] According to Lev 6:9-13 the fire is kept burning upon the altar.
lay wood in order ] The verb ‘lay in order’ here and in Lev 1:8 is different from ‘lay’ in Lev 1:4. The wood was collected and brought by the people (Neh 10:34).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Put fire upon the altar – This must specifically refer to the first burnt-offering on the newly-constructed altar. The rule was afterward to be, it shall never go out, Lev 6:13.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. Put fire] The fire that came out of the tabernacle from before the Lord, and which was kept perpetually burning; see Le 9:24. Nor was it lawful to use any other fire in the service of God. See the case of Nadab and Abihu, Lev 10:1; Lev 10:2.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Or,
dispose the fire, i.e. blow it up, and put it together, so as it might be fit for the present work. For the fire there used and allowed came down from heaven, Lev 9:24, and was to be carefully preserved there, and all other fire was forbidden, Lev 10:1, &c.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar,…. The fire of the altar originally came down from heaven, and consumed the sacrifice, and which was a token of God’s acceptance of it, see Le 9:24 and this fire was kept burning continually upon the altar, Le 6:12 and yet the Jewish writers say, it was the command of God, according to this passage, that fire should be brought from another place and put here; Jarchi’s note on the text is,
“though fire came down from heaven, it was commanded to bring it from a common or private place:”
and Maimonides r says the same thing, and so it is often said in the Talmud s; and this, as Gersom observes, was not done by any but a priest in the time of his priesthood, or when clothed with his priestly garments; and so in the Talmud it is said, that the putting fire upon the altar belonged to the priesthood, but not flaying or cutting in pieces t: this fire denoted the wrath of God, revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men, and which is the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and all the workers of iniquity; and which Christ endured for his people in human nature, when he bore their sins, and became a whole burnt offering for them:
and lay the wood in order upon the fire; the wood for the sacrifice was an offering of the people, brought to the temple at the times appointed, Ne 10:34 where was a place called , “the wood room”, or “wood chamber”, and which was in the northeast part of the court of the women; and here such priests as had blemishes wormed the wood, or searched the wood for worms; for whatsoever wood had a worm found in it, it was not fit to be laid upon the altar; and it was from hence the priests fetched the wood and laid it on the altar u; for a private person might not bring it from his own house for his offering w, though it was provided by the congregation x, and brought thither by private persons; and it might be any sort of wood but that of the vine and olive y, which were not used, because they did not burn well, and were soon reduced to ashes; and because such a consumption would be made of such useful trees hereby, that there would be no wine or oil in the land of Israel, so necessary for private and religious uses. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, “the pile of wood being laid before”: that is, before the fire was put upon the altar; but this is contrary to the text, for the wood was laid upon the fire, and therefore the fire must be first; the case seems to be this, the fire was first kindled, and then the wood laid in order upon it.
r Hilchot. Tamidin, c. 2. sect. 1. s T. Bab. Erubin, fol. 63. 1. Yoma, fol. 21. 2. & 53. 1. t T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 26. 2. Vid. T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 18. 1. u Misn. Middot, c. 2. sect. 5. w Issure Mizbeach, c. 5. sect. 13. T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 27. 1. x T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 22. 1. y Misn. Tamid, c. 2. sect. 3. & T. Bab. Tamid, fol. 29. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(7) And the sons of Aaron.The priests are to put the fire upon the altar, because they offered the sacrifice upon the altar. This applies to the first burnt offering which was offered upon the newly-erected altar, since afterwards the fire was always burning, and was never allowed to go out (Lev. 6:13).
And lay the wood.No other fuel but wood was allowed for the altar, and no one was allowed to bring it from his own house, but it had to be the wood of the congregation. (Comp. Neh. 10:34; Neh. 13:31.) It had to be of the best kind; worm-eaten wood or timber from pulled-down buildings was not allowed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Put fire upon the altar So long as the altar was stationary the fire was never to go out. See note on Lev 6:13. When the altar was transported, the fire was probably carried in a censer and put on the altar in its new location. See note on Num 4:16.
Lay the wood Such a ritual could not be executed in the dessert of Sahara. Wood still abounds in the Sinaitic Peninsula, and charcoal has for centuries been the chief article of export.
In order The sacrifice was to be made with decency and deliberation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Did not the burning imply, the just wrath of God for sin? Heb 12:29 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Lev 1:7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:
Ver. 7. Fire upon the altar. ] That fire from heaven Lev 9:24 – which the heathens apishly imitated in their vestal fire – typing either the scorching wrath of God seizing upon Christ, or the ardent love of Christ to his, and their zeal for him.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
priest. Some codices, with Samaritan Pentateuch, Targum of Onkelos, Septuagint, and Syriac, read plural, “priests”.
wood = logs. No other fuel might be used.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
fire: Lev 6:12, Lev 6:13, Lev 9:24, Lev 10:1, 1Ch 21:26, 2Ch 7:1, Mal 1:10
lay: Gen 22:9, Neh 13:31
Reciprocal: Lev 1:11 – and the 1Ch 6:49 – Aaron
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lev 1:7. The sons of Aaron shall put fire The fire was originally kindled from heaven, when the first sacrifices were offered, (Lev 9:24,) and was to be carefully preserved and kept burning, (Lev 6:13,) and therefore the expression of putting fire upon the altar is to be understood, not of kindling, but of feeding the fire with fresh fuel, or disposing and putting it in order.