Leviticus 1:17

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 savour unto the Lord.

a. ASV: And he shall rend it by 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-offering, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto Jehovah.

b. YLT: And he hath cleaved it with its wings (he doth not separate it), and the priest hath made it a perfume on the altar, on the wood, which is on the fire; it is a burnt-offering, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah.

c. Amplified Bible Classic: And he shall split it open [holding it] by its wings, but shall not cut it in two. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet and satisfying odor to the Lord.

d. Septuagint: And he shall break it off from the wings and shall not separate it, and the priest shall put it on the altar on the wood which is on the fire: it is a burnt-offering, a sacrifice, a sweet-smelling savour to the Lord.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: He shall split it--with its feathers --he need not sever it; the Kohen shall cause it to go up in smoke on the Altar, on the wood that is on the fire--it is an elevation-offering, a fire-offering, a satisfying aroma to HASHEM.

1. “And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder…”

a. [And he shall] cleave [Strong: 8156 shâçaʻ, shaw-sah'; a primitive root; to split or tear; figuratively, to upbraid:—cleave, (be) cloven (footed), rend, stay.]

b. it [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

c. [with the] wings [thereof] [Strong: 3671 kânâph, kaw-nawf'; from H3670; an edge or extremity; specifically (of a bird or army) a wing, (of a garment or bedclothing) a flap, (of the earth) a quarter, (of a building) a pinnacle:— bird, border, corner, end, feather(-ed), × flying, (one an-) other, overspreading, × quarters, skirt, × sort, uttermost part, wing(-ed).]

d. [but shall] not [Strong: 3808 lo' lo or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.]

e. divide it [asunder] [Strong: 914 bâdal, baw-dal'; a primitive root; to divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select, etc.):—(make, put) difference, divide (asunder), (make) separate (self, -ation), sever (out), × utterly.]

2. “...and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire…”

a. [and the] priest [Strong: 3548 kôhên, ko-hane'; active participle of H3547; literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman):—chief ruler, × own, priest, prince, principal officer.]

b. [shall] burn [Strong: 6999 qâṭar, kaw-tar'; a primitive root (identical with through the idea of fumigation in a close place and perhaps thus driving out the occupants); to smoke, i.e. turn into fragrance by fire (especially as an act of worship):—burn (incense, sacrifice) (upon), (altar for) incense, kindle, offer (incense, a sacrifice).]

c. it [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

d. [upon the] altar [Strong: 4196 mizbêach, miz-bay'-akh; from H2076; an altar:—altar.]

e. upon [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

f. [the] wood [Strong: 6086 ʻêts, ates; from H6095; a tree (from its firmness); hence, wood (plural sticks):— carpenter, gallows, helve, pine, plank, staff, stalk, stick, stock, timber, tree, wood.]

g. that [is] [Strong: 834 'aher ash-er' a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.:--X after, X alike, as (soon as), because, X every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), X if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), X though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(- soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.]

h. upon [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

i. [the] fire [Strong: 784 ʼêsh, aysh; a primitive word; fire (literally or figuratively):—burning, fiery, fire, flaming, hot.]

3.  “...it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.”

a. it [Strong: 1931 huw' hoo of which the feminine (beyond the Pentateuch) is hiyw {he}; a primitive word, the third person pronoun singular, he (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same; sometimes (as demonstrative) this or that; occasionally (instead of copula) as or are:--he, as for her, him(-self), it, the same, she (herself), such, that (...it), these, they, this, those, which (is), who.]

b. [is a burnt sacrifice [Strong: 5930 ʻôlâh, o-law'; or עוֹלָה ʻôwlâh; feminine active participle of H5927; a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending); usually a holocaust (as going up in smoke):—ascent, burnt offering (sacrifice), go up to.]

c. [an] offering made by fire [Strong: 801 ʼishshâh, ish-shaw'; the same as H800, but used in a liturgical sense; properly, a burnt-offering; but occasionally of any sacrifice:—(offering, sacrifice), (made) by fire.]

d. [of a] sweet [Strong: 5207 nîychôwach, nee-kho'-akh; or נִיחֹחַ nîychôach; from H5117; properly, restful, i.e. pleasant; abstractly, delight:—sweet (odour).]

e. savour [Strong: 7381 rêyach, ray'-akh; from H7306; odor (as if blown):—savour, scent, smell.]

f. [unto the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yᵉhôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw'; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:—Jehovah, the Lord.]

1). Again we must distinguish between the individual bringing the offering and the priest. Wherever it says “the priest”, then it is the priest doing the act, but wherever it says “he”, then it is the individual who brought the offering doing the act. The head was taken off and the blood poured out at the side of the altar. The feathers pulled off and put on the east side of the altar. The bird would then be split open and totally burned on the altar.