Waving And Heaving As Ceremonial Manipulations Of
Waving And Heaving As Ceremonial Manipulations Of
Waving And Heaving As Ceremonial Manipulations Of Offerings
SEE OFFERING.
I. Waving before Jehovah ( or ) occurs as a special ceremony by the priests in the Jewish ritual not only in connection with meat-offerings (Ex 29:24 [Le 8:27]; Nu 5:25), in the case of the first-fruits and the first-born (Le 23:11 sq.; 17:25), but also of bloody offerings, whether (especially in thank- offerings) of single pieces only, as the breast or right shoulder or fore-leg (Ex 29:26 sq.; Le 7:30,34; Le 9:21; Le 10:14; Nu 6:20), or of the whole animal (a lamb, Le 19:12,24; Le 23:23), which was waved before Jehovah in token of presentation; and this principle extended even to the persons of the Levites as an initiatory rite to their office (Nu 8:11,15). The waving in case of meat-offerings or pieces of animals was performed upon (with) the hands (Ex 29:24; Le 8:27; according to the rabbins, it was held upon the hands of the offerers, beneath which were placed those of the priest [Tosi4phta, Menach. 7:17], so as to fiulfil the requirement of Ex 29:24; Nu 6:19-20; while whole animals were waved by the hands of the priest alone [Mishna, Menach. 5:6]); each having previously been laid upon the altar; in the case of whole animals this was done before slaughtering them (Le 14:12 sq., 24 sq.). It consisted, according to the rabbins (Mishna, Meienach. 5:6), like the porricere of the Romans (Macrob. Sat. 3:2), also the obmovere or commovere (Cato, Res Rust. 134) in certain respects (Zorn, Biblioth. Antiq. 1:74), of a forward and backward motion upward of the articles; while living objects were simply moved to and fro. Whether the motion was ever to the right and left is uncertain, although the import of the word (see Isa 30:28; De 20:20) would justify such an opinion, which, moreover, would be highly significant. The act, at all events, indicates a festive surrender to Jehovah as a personal service like the peace-offering; beyond this all is speculation (Bahr, Symbol. 2:376 sq.; see Reland, Antiq. Sacr. page 276). See WAVE- OFFERING.
II. Heaving ( or ) is associated with the tossing (Ex 29:27), as the heave-shoulder ( ) occurs almor, with the wave-breast (Ex 29:27; Le 7:30,32,34), and what is called (Ex 38:24) wave-gold is also called heave-gold (Nu 31:52). Indeed, the Jews scarcely distinguish between the two ( and ) as ritualistic acts, but explain each as an upward and downward motion (Mishna, Menach. 5:6), a sort of elevatio. Both would thus stand as generally expressive of supreme consecration to God as the universal Owner and Giver (see Gesenius, Thesaur. page 866; Bahr, Symbolik, 2:355 sq.; 377). Some moderns incorrectly regard the two acts as identical (Jahn, Archaol. 3:38), or take “heaving” () in the vague sense of offerre or auferre (like Gesenius, Thesaur. page 1277), and connect , Ex 29:27, with , contrary to the accents and the parallelism; but see Kurtz, Mos. Opfer, page 146 sq. SEE HEAVE-OFFERING.