Leviticus 2: The meal offering

In plain English: 'When anyone brings a meal offering (or: a grain offering, a gift) to Yahweh, his offering is to be of fine flour. He is to pour oil on it and put frankincense on it.

The Hebrew word: "Meal offering" is minchah. The dictionary gives it as "a donation", and as an offering that is "usually bloodless and voluntary".

How it is translated: In Leviticus this Bible says "meal" in all 33 verses that use minchah. In the whole Bible it says "present" in 16 of its 194 verses and "tribute" in 17, as when Jacob sends "a present" to Esau in Genesis 32:13.

What changes: Read as "gift", the name says the offering is a present to Yahweh, not what it is made of. In Genesis 4:3 and 4 the same word is used for the offerings of both Cain and Abel, and Abel's came from his flock.

In plain English: He is to bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests. He is to take a handful of its fine flour and its oil, with all its frankincense, and the priest is to burn it on the altar as its memorial portion, an offering made by fire, a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.

The Hebrew word: "Memorial" is azkarah, which the dictionary gives as "a reminder; specifically remembrance-offering".

How it is translated: This Bible says "memorial" in all 7 verses of the Bible that use the word, 6 of them in Leviticus. Some other Bibles say "token portion".

What changes: Read as "reminder", the handful burned on the altar is a reminder before Yahweh. Read as "token portion", the small part burned stands for the whole offering. The text does not say which.

In plain English: What is left of the meal offering belongs to Aaron and his sons. It is a most holy part of Yahweh's offerings made by fire.

In plain English: When you bring a meal offering baked in an oven, it is to be cakes of fine flour without yeast, mixed with oil, or thin wafers without yeast, spread with oil.

In plain English: If your offering is a meal offering made on a griddle (a flat baking pan), it is to be of fine flour without yeast, mixed with oil.

In plain English: Break it in pieces and pour oil on it. It is a meal offering.

In plain English: If your offering is a meal offering cooked in a pan, it is to be made of fine flour with oil.

In plain English: Bring the meal offering made of these things to Yahweh. It is to be given to the priest, and he is to bring it to the altar.

In plain English: The priest is to take the memorial portion from the meal offering and burn it on the altar, an offering made by fire, a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.

In plain English: What is left of the meal offering belongs to Aaron and his sons. It is a most holy part of Yahweh's offerings made by fire.

In plain English: No meal offering that you bring to Yahweh is to be made with yeast, because you must not burn any yeast or any honey as an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

In plain English: You may bring them to Yahweh as an offering of first fruits, but they are not to go up on the altar as a pleasant aroma.

In plain English: Season every meal offering with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your meal offering. Bring salt with all your offerings.

Good to know: "The salt of the covenant" comes again as "a covenant of salt" in Numbers 18:19 and 2 Chronicles 13:5. The text does not explain why salt is used.

In plain English: If you bring Yahweh a meal offering of first fruits, bring fresh heads of grain, roasted in the fire and crushed, as the meal offering of your first fruits.

Good to know: "Fresh heads of grain" is aviv, the same word as the month Abib in Exodus 13:4.

In plain English: Put oil on it and lay frankincense on it. It is a meal offering.

In plain English: The priest is to burn part of the crushed grain and part of the oil, with all its frankincense, as its memorial portion. It is an offering made by fire to Yahweh.