Leviticus 7:11-21

The Peace Offerings. These are of two kinds, thanksgiving and vow or free-will offerings. The former is specially connected with the bread or meal, in its character of a banquet (cf. Leviticus 3:1 ff.). But the relative portions of priest and offerer are here more closely defined. One cake is to be lifted up from the rest, as a heave-offering (Numbers 5:9 *), the due of the officiating priest. The second class of peace offerings is holier, and greater precautions are needed against the flesh going bad. The meal is to begin on the day of offering; and no part is to be kept more than one clear day. There may be a reminiscence of the early limitation of the duration of a festival to two days. (For another suggestion, see RS 2, p. 387.) Special care is needed to avoid the touch or presence of any uncleanness in connexion with this sacrifice. The caution was doubtless necessitated by the licence of the older sacrifices, where the circumstances of the feasts might easily be and actually were (cf. Amos 2:7 f.) conducive to much worse things than ritual uncleanness. Hence the sternness of the tone here.