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
Oblation, meaning "the act of offering; an instance of offering" and by extension "the thing offered" (Late Latin ''oblatio'', from ''offerre'', ''oblatum'', to offer), is a term used, particularly in ecclesiastical use, for a solemn offering, sa ...
, from Latin.
The Hebrew noun () is used 211 times in the
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' Cain
Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He ...
and
Abel
Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ...
in
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
4:3-5. It is also used of Jacob's "present" to Esau in Genesis 32 and again of the "present" to the Egyptian ruler (in fact Joseph his son) in Genesis 43.
In the
King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...
of 1611 this was rendered as "", e.g. in Exodus 29:41, since at the time the King James Version was written, referred to food in general rather than the flesh of animals in particular.
In the Hebrew Bible
Gift offerings were often made on their own, but also accompanied 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 ...
. Scholars believe that the term "gift offering" originally referred to all voluntary sacrifices, but that it later came to just refer to non-meat offerings.
The quintessential "gift offering" was one of grain (not just high quality
flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...
),
frankincense
Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus '' Boswellia'' in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality incense').
There are several species ...
, and
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
. The grain could either be raw and mixed with oil, or mixed with oil and cooked into
unleavened bread
Unleavened bread is any of a wide variety of breads which are prepared without using rising agents such as yeast. Unleavened breads are generally flat breads; however, not all flat breads are unleavened. Unleavened breads, such as the tortilla ...
, or cooked into wafers and spread with oil. According to ''
Menachosbr>
76a' ten such cakes of bread had to be made for each offering (except for the meal-offering of fine flour).
A portion of this was then burnt on the altar, along with the frankincense, while the remainder was allocated to the priests, who were to eat it within the sanctuary.
See also
*
Dough offering
In Judaism, the dough offering (or ''mitzvat terumat challah'', "commandment of separating ''challah''" he, מצוות תרומת חלה) is a positive commandment requiring the owner of a bread dough to give a part of the kneaded dough to a koh ...
Notes and citations
Jewish sacrificial law
Religious food and drink
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