The 5 Kinds of Sacrifices

Parashat Vayikra

    I wonder why it is that this portion is the one that a child would be taught from the beginning of his teaching at the age of three? Leviticus is usually the first book that is read to a child when he begins to learn the Torah. At first glance, the idea of bringing sacrifices to a Temple may seem secondary to properly worshipping the L-rd; however, for the Jewish people, it is central to the daily devotion of Adonai. The reason for this should become clear.

First, one must understand the meaning of each of the Hebrew terms which are all short-changed by the term "sacrifice." When English speakers think of a "sacrifice," they typically think of giving something up. "I am going to sacrifice eating meat for a week so I can lose weight." "My son sacrificed his life so that we can maintain our lifestyle here in the U.S." Neither of these examples really brings across the meaning of the terms as they are used in Leviticus. Without properly understanding the sacrificial terms as used here in Leviticus, it is hard to understand what G-d required of Israel, why G-d was angry with Israel regarding the sacrifices, and ultimately, the nature of what Yeshua did when He died as a sacrifice.

Here are the names and the meanings of the Hebraic terms related to the sacrifices:

Hebrew Term	English terms	Meaning
Korban	Sacrifice Literally, it means "gift" or "offering"	This is the generic term for all of the other sacrifices. All of the following terms are korbanot.
Olah	Freewill/whole burnt offering "to draw near" derived from "going up"	This offering was brought by the worshipper of his own free will. He brought this for some personal expression to G-d.
Minchah	Meal/grain offering Literally, "a gift" or "a tribute" or "an offering"	This offering was brought by those who were poor; it was also brought along with many of the other meat offerings. It is an olah, too.
Shlamim	Peace offering Literally from the term "Shalom," or Peace. Shalom does not mean "freedom from conflict" but rather "completedness."	This offering is brought to express happiness with Adonai. It is brought in order for Adonai and His people to express their completedness with G-d.
Chatat	The sin offering	This is the sacrifice that was bought for sin. It was brought individually and for the nation. This offering ONLY covers UNINTENTIONAL sins. There is no offering for intentional sins.
Asham	The guilt offering	This sacrifice is often brought alongside the chatat. Guilt is the residual effect on a person's soul as a result of sin, it is not the sin itself. Often, this offering is brought by someone who is uncertain of having sinned in order to cleanse one's conscience. The offering of the leper is like this. A sin was committed because all mankind has sin; but the specific sin is unknown, yet the guilt is present; thus, the guilt offering serves the purpose to remove the guilt, and not the sin.

 

Once it is understood what the meaning of these offerings were for, then a study can be done as to the application of each occurrence throughout the Torah. Which korban was brought for the Shabbat? Which one was brought for Passover? Which was brought for Yom Kippur? Once these questions begin to be answered, then the ultimate question comes: which one(s) did Yeshua's death fit? It is unlikely that the death of Messiah was meant to fulfill each item of these korbanot. If this is true, then the death of Yeshua the Messiah did not abolish these sacrifices mentioned. In fact, we still maintain these sacrifices every day in the form of prayer. When Jews pray in the synagogue, or when they pray specific prayers on special occasions, these sacrifices are in the background as the antecedent to each of the prayers. The sacrifices are what the prayers refer to. This will not be laid out here, but it is sufficient to say that we will have much to learn when Messiah returns and again the sacrifices are laid out upon the altar. (See Ezekiel 40 through the end of the book.)