Slaughter Offering
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A slaughter offering in the Hebrew Bible ( he, זָבַח, translit=zevakh) is a type of
Jewish animal sacrifice Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. The term specifically refers to the slaughter of an animal to God followed by a feast or a meal. This is distinguished from the
burnt offering A holocaust is a religious animal sacrifice that is completely consumed by fire. The word derives from the Ancient Greek ''holokaustos'' which is used solely for one of the major forms of sacrifice, also known as a burnt offering. Etymology and ...
,
shechita In Judaism, ''shechita'' (anglicized: ; he, ; ; also transliterated ''shehitah, shechitah, shehita'') is slaughtering of certain mammals and birds for food according to ''kashrut''. Sources states that sheep and cattle should be slaughtere ...
,
guilt offering A guilt offering ( he, אשם, ’āšām, translation=guilt, trespass; plural ), also referred to as a trespass offering (KJV, 1611), was a type of korban, Biblical sacrifice, specifically a sacrifice made as a Damages, compensation payment for uni ...
,
sin offering A sin offering ( he, קָרְבַּן חַטָּאת, ''korban ḥatat'', , lit: "purification offering") is a sacrificial offering described and commanded in the Torah (Lev. 4.1-35); it could be fine flour or a proper animal.Leviticus 5:11 A sin ...
, ''
korban In Judaism, the korban ( ''qorbān''), also spelled ''qorban'' or ''corban'', is any of a variety of sacrificial offerings described and commanded in the Torah. The plural form is korbanot, korbanoth or korbans. The term Korban primarily re ...
'' sacrifice, and the
gift offering A meal offering, grain offering, or gift offering ( hbo, מנחה}, ), is a type of Biblical sacrifice, specifically a sacrifice that did not include sacrificial animals. In older English it is sometimes called an oblation, from Latin. The Hebr ...
(Hebrew ''minchah''). A common subcategory of this is the
peace offering The peace offering ( he, זֶבַח שְׁלָמִים, zevah shelamim) was one of the sacrifices and offerings in the Hebrew Bible (Leviticus 3; 7.11–34). The term "peace offering" is generally constructed from "slaughter offering" and the pl ...
(Hebrew: ''Zevaḥ shelamim''). Although ''shelamim'' is usually translated into
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
as ''peace-offering'', the Hebrew word ''shalom'' means much more than the English word "peace", and includes the concepts of harmony, health, and prosperity.


Etymology

The Hebrew noun "sacrifice" (''zevakh'' is derived from the semitic root Z-V-H and verb ''zavakh'' (זָבַח) which in the Qal means "to slaughter," and in the Piel means "to sacrifice."


Types and occasions

There are three different subdivisions of slaughter offering: *'' Thank offering'' (Hebrew ''todah'') - made in response to an unexpected positive change in circumstance *''Votive offering'' - made in response to a positive change in circumstance, when a
vow A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedd ...
in hope of such a change had previously been made *''Free-will offering'' - more spontaneous ''slaughter offering''s Slaughter offerings were also made in response to the ratification of solemn covenants,
treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...
, and alliances.''Jewish Encyclopedia''


Ritual

As the meal resulting from a slaughter offering was seen as holy, the guests were required to change their garments if possible; impurity would have excluded them from participation. Sometimes festive garments, which were seen as having sanctity, were borrowed for this purpose from the priests, and rings, having the significance of amulets, were worn in honour of the deity. Like the other types of sacrifice, the act began with the imposition of the offerer's hands onto the sacrificial animal, which would then be killed, and its blood collected and sprinkled upon the altar; however, slaughter offerings could be killed anywhere within the Temple Courtyard, not only on the north side of the altar.
Oxen An ox ( : oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in BrE British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer spec ...
,
sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
, and
goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
s, are explicitly identified by the Biblical text as being used for slaughter offerings, but unlike other types of sacrifice, there was no rigid insistence that the animal be unblemished, or on the
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
of the animal. The fat of the animal was the portion allocated to
Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...
, and was burnt on the altar; the priests were allocated the breast and right shoulder, which was first waved around the altar (making this portion a
wave offering The wave offering (Hebrew: ''tenufah'' תנופה) or sheaf offering or omer offering (''korban omer'') was an offering (''korban'') made by the Jewish priests to God (Exodus 29:24, 26, 27; Leviticus 7:20-34; 8:27; 9:21; 10:14, 15, etc.). The s ...
); the remainder went to the offerer. The meat had to be consumed within a certain time limit; ''praise offerings'' had to be consumed on the day of the sacrifice, while other types of slaughter offering had to be consumed by the day afterward; any leftovers had to be destroyed on the third day, outside the camp. The offerer was permitted to invite guests to consume the meal with him, along with strangers,
paupers Pauperism (Lat. ''pauper'', poor) is poverty or generally the state of being poor, or particularly the condition of being a "pauper", i.e. receiving relief administered under the English Poor Laws. From this, pauperism can also be more generally ...
,
servants A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
, and
Levites Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew defi ...
, as long as they were all ritually clean. The meals were treated as a joyful occasion, and would be accompanied with wine, as well as bread (both
leavened Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
and unleavened), oil, and salt.


Origin

Exactly what the term ''peace'' (in ''sacrifice-of-peace offering'') refers to is a matter of debate, as is whether the deity was seen as a guest at the meal or as the host. Some scholars hold that the ''sacrifice-of-peace offering'' was a covenant of friendship expressing community between God and the people, and among the people themselves; that these groups were ''at peace'' with one another. Others claim that it is an attempt to balance the books when positive events occur, attributed to God, by favouring God with a meal, or by fulfilling a vow previously made, as appropriate to the situation; that rehabilitation is achieved and the people restored to ''perfection'' (''make perfect'' being a possible meaning of ''shelamim''). In the latter of these possibilities, and partly in the former, the sacrifice is regarded as ''for'' God, and hence that the people are merely guests at the meal. However, what is generally considered the most likely explanation, is that ''sacrifice-of-peace offerings'' simply originated as meals, the consumption of which directly improved health (as opposed to starvation), and hence indirectly improved prosperity (''shelamim'' being understood to mean ''prosperity''/''health''). When sanctuaries outside
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
began to be suppressed, and eventually outlawed by
Josiah Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...
, the impracticality of going to Jerusalem to sacrifice an animal simply to consume meat, led to killing an animal for food gaining an independent existence from the ''sacrifice-of-peace offering''. The concentration of these sacrifices, the main offering given by private individuals, at a single sanctuary evidently resulted in such large numbers of offers that the space on the north side of the altar, where the animals were killed in the other types of sacrifices, became cramped, hence the specific permit for ''sacrifice-of-peace offerings'' were to be killed anywhere within the sanctuary courtyard. How exactly a portion of the resulting meat was ''given'' to God appears to have varied; though the regulations of the
Priestly Code The Priestly Code (in Hebrew ''Torat Kohanim'', תורת כהנים) is the name given, by academia,The book of Leviticus: composition and reception - Page 55 Rolf Rendtorff, Robert A. Kugler, Sarah Smith Bartel - 2003 "Research agrees that its r ...
point to God's portion being burnt on the altar,
Gideon Gideon (; ) also named Jerubbaal and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Abiez ...
is described in the
Book of Judges The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom i ...
, a text which textual scholars believe has a much earlier date than Leviticus,''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Book of Judges'' as pouring out
broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...
, made from the meat of the sacrifice, as a
libation A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today. Various substa ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter Offering Jewish animal sacrifice Votive offering