The big picture
More instructions explain how offerings are divided and eaten. Moses, the leader passing on God's commands, speaks to Israel, the people who bring the gifts, and to the priests. Aaron and his sons, the priestly family, receive assigned portions for their service. Worshippers who bring peace offerings also have rules for the meal. The kind of gift, the time it is eaten, and the person's ritual condition all matter.
In this chapter
- The Priests Receive Appointed Shares Leviticus 7:1-10
The guilt offering is killed at the usual place, its blood applied around the altar, and its fat burned to the Lord.
- Thanksgiving Meals Have a Time Limit Leviticus 7:11-18
An offering brought in thanks includes several kinds of bread, with a portion given to the priest.
- Uncleanness Bars Eating Sacred Meat Leviticus 7:19-27
Sacred meat that touches something unclean must be burned.
- The Giver Presents the Priestly Portions Leviticus 7:28-34
The person bringing a peace offering must carry the fat and breast with his own hands.
- The Offering Laws Are Gathered Together Leviticus 7:35-38
The closing lines connect the priests' portions with the day they were appointed to serve.
Central truth
God assigns the portions of offerings and sets firm limits on when and how sacred food is eaten.
Scripture beside the summary
Leviticus · King James Version · 38Leviticus 7:1-10
The Priests Receive Appointed Shares
The guilt offering is killed at the usual place, its blood applied around the altar, and its fat burned to the Lord. Male priests eat the meat in the holy place. The priest who handles a burnt offering receives its skin. Cooked grain gifts belong to the priest who offers them, while uncooked flour gifts are shared equally among Aaron's sons. Different offerings support the priests in different ways, but their shares are assigned by rule rather than private choice.
In everyday life
A fishing crew divides its catch according to the written agreement after unloading at the quay. The skipper reads the shares aloud while baskets are set apart for each worker. No crew member takes a portion merely because it is within reach. Priestly portions come from worship offerings, not wages for catching fish.
Notice
Leviticus 7:10 The uncooked grain gifts are shared equally among the priests. An assigned share is not permission for one worker to take more than the others.
Leviticus 7:1-10
King James Version1Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy.
2In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar.
3And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards,
4And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away:
5And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering.
6Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy.
7As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.
8And the priest that offereth any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered.
9And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it.
10And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.
Leviticus 7:11-18
Thanksgiving Meals Have a Time Limit
An offering brought in thanks includes several kinds of bread, with a portion given to the priest. Its meat must be eaten the same day. An offering made to fulfil a vow or given freely can also be eaten the next day, but any meat left for the third day must be burned. Eating it then makes the offering unacceptable and brings guilt. The sacred meal is tied to its appointed time, not kept indefinitely for the giver's convenience.
In everyday life
A retirement-party host sets out the meal she has promised for that day's gathering. She serves the guests while they are together instead of storing the whole gift for herself afterward. The meal belongs to a particular occasion. Israel's time limits govern acceptance before God, not merely hospitality or food storage.
Notice
Leviticus 7:16 A vow offering has a longer eating period than a thanksgiving offering. The reason for bringing the sacrifice affects the rules for its meal.
Leviticus 7:11-18
King James Version11And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD.
12If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.
13Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.
14And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.
15And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.
16But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:
17But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.
18And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.
Leviticus 7:19-27
Uncleanness Bars Eating Sacred Meat
Sacred meat that touches something unclean must be burned. A person who is ritually unclean must not eat a peace offering either. Doing so brings the severe penalty of being cut off from the people. God also forbids eating the fat of cattle, sheep, and goats used for offerings, and forbids eating blood. Fat from an animal found dead can have other uses, but not food use. The restrictions apply beyond the altar to the community's meals at home.
In everyday life
A blood bank worker sets a labelled container apart and refuses to place it among ordinary supplies. She follows the special handling rules even after the public doors close. Its assigned use follows it wherever it is kept. Israel's food rules concern sacred belonging, not the medical handling of donated blood.
Notice
Leviticus 7:24 Fat from an animal found dead has permitted uses, but eating is excluded. The law distinguishes different uses instead of treating every contact alike.
Leviticus 7:19-27
King James Version19And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.
20But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
21Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
22And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.
24And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it.
25For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.
26Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.
27Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
Leviticus 7:28-34
The Giver Presents the Priestly Portions
The person bringing a peace offering must carry the fat and breast with his own hands. The breast is presented before the Lord as a wave offering, a ritual presentation of the gift. The fat burns on the altar, while the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons. The right shoulder goes to the priest who handles the blood and fat. God's command provides these portions for the priestly family as a continuing arrangement within Israel's worship.
In everyday life
A farm donor carries a crate of produce to the harvest dinner and hands the reserved box directly to its volunteer cooks. The personal handover makes clear which part supports those serving the meal. The rest is distributed as planned. God himself assigns the meat portions here, rather than a donor deciding how to reward helpers.
Notice
Leviticus 7:30 The giver's own hands bring the offering. Priestly service does not remove the worshipper's personal part in presenting what is being given.
Leviticus 7:28-34
King James Version28And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
29Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.
30His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD.
31And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.
32And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.
33He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part.
34For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.
Leviticus 7:35-38
The Offering Laws Are Gathered Together
The closing lines connect the priests' portions with the day they were appointed to serve. God gives these shares to Aaron and his descendants as a lasting provision. The account then lists the kinds of offerings whose laws have been given: burnt, grain, sin, guilt, ordination, and peace offerings. Moses received these commands at Sinai, the mountain in the wilderness where God instructed Israel. The varied rules belong to one ordered practice of bringing gifts before the Lord.
In everyday life
A station quartermaster files the separate supply instructions under one signed service order. Clothing, meals, and equipment each have their own rules, but the cover sheet identifies the same appointing authority. Future staff can see how the parts belong together. These commands govern offerings to God, not station supplies.
Notice
Leviticus 7:38 The laws are tied to a named place and to God's command through Moses. The collection is presented as received instruction rather than local habit.
Leviticus 7:35-38
King James Version35This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest’s office;
36Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations.
37This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings;
38Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Leviticus 7:1 begins with “Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy.”
Where the chapter turns
Leviticus 7:20 forms a natural hinge: “But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul…”
The final note
Leviticus 7:38 leaves the reader with “Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words offering, LORD, offerings, peace, sacrifice, offer help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- imputed
- Counted or credited to the person who brings the offering.
- consecrations
- Ceremonies that set priests apart for their service to God.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
