A meal offering, grain offering, or gift offering (, ), is a type of
Biblical sacrifice, specifically a sacrifice that did not include sacrificial animals. In older English it is sometimes called an
oblation
An oblation is a solemn offering, sacrifice or presentation to God, to the Church for use in God's service, or to the faithful, such as giving alms to the poor.
The word comes from the Late Latin ''oblatio'' (from ''offerre'', ''oblatum'' 'to ...
, from Latin.
The Hebrew noun () is used 211 times in the
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
. '' Cain
Cain 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 was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...
and
Abel
Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God in Judaism, God, he ...
in
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
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 (who was in fact Joseph, his own son) in Genesis 43.
In the
King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...
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, also known as a burnt offering. The word derives from the ancient Greek ''holokaustos'', the form of sacrifice in which the victim was reduced to ash, as distingui ...
. 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 Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...
),
frankincense
Frankincense, also known as olibanum (), is an Aroma compound, aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family (biology), family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality in ...
, and
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
. 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 or sodium bicarbonate. The preparation of bread-like non-leavened cooked grain foods appeared in prehistoric times.
Unleavened br ...
, 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).
[{{Cite book , title=Masechet Menachot , location=Babylonia , pages=76a , language=he, arc] 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 separation of ''challah'', ) is an positive commandment requiring the owner of bread dough to give a part of the kneaded dough to a kohen (Jewish priest). The obligation to separate the dough offering (hencefort ...
Notes and citations
Jewish sacrificial law
Religious food and drink