When Deuteronomy speaks of sacrifice, sacrifice is all that it means – in its more political agenda sacrifice is less important, but Leviticus has taken sacrifice in the same spirit as the wisdom literature uses seafaring, trade or horticulture, and made it the framework for a philosophy of life. Sacrifice is one of the main figurative motifs with which it presents the principles of God’s creation, and the divine order of existence. This chapter begins by outlining various attitudes towards sacrifice, and then goes on to describe how Leviticus expresses through sacrifice its doctrine of blood, of atonement, and of the covenant between God and his people. Aspects of the rules for sacrifice are discussed in detail, including items forbidden for food (blood, suet and three other items), the rule for arrangement of meat for the burnt offering, and the doctrine of remainders (leftovers). Another section of the chapter discusses the three paradigms of the tabernacle – the tabernacle itself, the animal offering and Mount Sinai, showing the equivalences of their different parts.
Keywords: atonement, Bible, blood, burnt offering, covenant, Deuteronomy, forbidden food, leftover food, Leviticus, Mount Sinai, rules for sacrifice, sacrifice, suet, symbolism, doctrine of blood, tabernacle