of
Priestly
writers
from
Ezekiel
onwards.
In
its
fully
developed
form,
as
we
find
it
in
the
middle
books
of
the
Pentateuch,
we
see
how
the
cultus
asa
whole
has
become
the
affair
of
the
community:
the
old
sacral
units,
the
family
and
the
clan,
have
disappeared.
Great
—
one
is
tempted
to
say,
the
main
—
stress
is
now
laid
on
the
technique
of
sacrifice,
on
the
proper
observ-ance
of
the
prescribed
ritual:
the
slightest
want
of
conformity
thereto
invalidates
the
sacrifice;
the
old
latitude
and
freedom
are
gone
for
ever.
The
necessary
corollary
is
the
enhanced
status
and
importance
of
the
priest
as
the
indispensable
intermediary
between
the
worshipper
and
the
Deity.
Beyond
immolating
the
victims,
the
laity
are
no
longer
competent
to
perform
the
sacrificial
rites.
The
relative
importance
of
the
two
older
animal
sacrifices,
the
'olah
and
the
sebach,
is
now
reversed.
The
typical
sacrifice
is
no
longer
the
latter
with
its
accompanying
meal,
but
the
'continual
burnt
offering,'
an
act
of
worship
performed
every
morning
and
evening
in
the
Temple
in
the
name
of
the
com-munity,
whose
presence
is
unnecessary
for
its
due
per-formance.
Still
more
characteristic
of
the
later
period,
however,
is
the
emergence
of
special
propitiatory
sacri-fices
(piacula)
—
the
allied
sin
offering
and
guilt
offering.
The
older
varieties
of
sacrifice,
although
still
retaining
their
propitiatory
efficacy,
are
no
longer
sufficient
to
express
and
adequately
to
satisfy
the
new
consciousness
of
man's
sinfulness,
or,
more
accurately
expressed,
of
God's
exacting
holiness.
7.
The
five
kinds
of
altab-offerings
in
P.
—
The
numerous
altar-offerings
mentioned
in
the
various
strata
of
the
Priestly
legislation
are
divided
by
Josephus
into
two
classes:
(i)
those
offered
'for
private
persons,'
and
(ii)
those
offered
'for
the
people
in
general,'
—
a
classification
corresponding
to
the
Roman
sacra
privata
and
sacra
publica
{Ami.
iii.
ix.
1).
The
public
sacrifices
were
either
stated
or
occasional,
the
former
and
more
important
group
comprising
the
daily
burnt
offering
(see
§
10)
and
the
additional
sacrifices
at
the
stated
festivals
—
Sabbath,
New
Moon,
New
Year,
the
three
great
feasts,
and
the
Day
of
Atonement.
Since
it
is
impossible
within
present
limits
to
attempt
to
enumerate,
much
less
to
discuss,
the
multifarious
varieties
and
occasions
of
public
and
private
sacrifices,
it
will
be
more
convenient
to
follow,
as
before,
the
order
of
the
five
distinct
kinds
as
given
in
the
systematic
manual,
Lv
1-7.
These
are
(1)
the
burnt
offering,
(2)
the
cereal
or
meal
(
A
V
'
meat
')
offering,
(3)
the
peace
offering
and
the
two
propitiatory
sacrifices,
(4)
the
sin
offering,
and
(5)
the
guilt
(AV
'trespass')
offering.
Arranged
according
to
the
material
of
the
offering,
these
fell
into
two
groups
represented
by
the
terms
'
sacri-fice'
and
'offering'
(§
1);
in
other
words,
into
animal
and
vegetable
or
cereal
offerings
(including
the
drink
offering).
The
four
animal
or
bloody
offerings
may
be
classified
according
to
the
destination
of
the
flesh
of
the
victim,
thus
(cf.
the
relative
§§
below)
—
(i)
The
flesh
entirely
consumed
upon
the
altar
—
the
burnt
or
whole
offering.
(ii)
The
flesh
not
consumed
upon
the
altar
—
the
peace
offerings
and
the
two
propitiatory
offerings.
The
second
group
may
again
be
subdivided
thus
—
(a)
The
flesh,
apart
from
the
priest's
dues,
assigned
to
the
offerer
for
a
sacrificial
meal
—
the
peace
offering.
(6)
The
flesh
assigned
to
the
priests
to
be
eaten
within
the
sanctuary
—
the
guilt
offerings
and
the
less
important
of
the
sin
offerings.
(c)
The
flesh
burned
without
the
sanctuary
—
the
more
important
sin
offerings.
8.
The
material
of
sacrifice
in
P.
—
'Holy'
and
'
most
holy.'
—
The
material
of
all
these
remains
the
same
as
in
the
pre-exilic
period
(§
5),
with
the
addition
of
pigeons
and
turtle-doves
to
meet
the
needs
of
the
poor,
but
the
victim
for
each
special
kind
of
sacrifice,
and
its
qualifications,
are
now
definitely
prescribed.
As
regards
neat
and
small
cattle,
the
victims
must
be
males
for
the
most
part,
entire
and
without
blemish
(see
Lv
22
for
list
of
imperfections
—
an
exception,
however,
was
made
for
the
freewill
offering,
v.*s).
For
the
peace
offering
both
sexes
were
equally
admissible
(3'),
and
a
female
victim
is
specially
prescribed
for
the
less
important
sin
offerings
(4*s-
'').
The
animals
were
eligible
for
sacrifice
from
the
eighth
day
onwards
(22^'),
but
the
typical
sacrifice
was
the
yearling.
For
the
material
of
the
cereal
offering
see
below.
Here
may
be
noted
an
interesting
contrast
between
such
offerings
as
were
regarded
as
merely
'holy'
and
those
reckoned
'most
holy.'
The
limits
of
the
former
category
are
somewhat
vague,
but
it
certainly
included
firstlings
and
first-fruits,
the
tithe
and
the
portions
of
the
peace
offerings
falling
to
the
priests,
whereas
the
shew-bread
(Lv
24»),
the
sacred
incense
(Ex
30»),
the
meal
offering
(Lv
2"),
and
the
sin
and
guilt
offerings
(e^*-
"
7'-
')
are
all
classed
as
'most
holy.'
One
practical
effect
of
the
distinction
was
that
the
'
most
holy
things
'
could
be
eaten
only
by
the
priests,
and
by
them
only
within
the
Temple
precincts
(6i«-
2=,
Nu
18'°;
cf.
Ezk
4213
4620).
As
charged
with
a
special
potency
of
holiness,
which
was
highly
contagious,
the
'most
holy
things
'
—
there
were
many
other
entries
in
the
category,
such
as
the
altar
and
the
high
priest's
dress
—
rendered
all
who
came
in
contact
with
them
'holy,'
in
modern
phrase
'taboo'
(Lv
6i«-
").
The
'holy
thmgs,"
on
the
other
hand,
might
be
eaten
by
the
priests
and
their
households,
if
ceremonially
clean,
in
any
'clean
place,'
i.e.
practically
in
Jerusalem
(10"
22'-
'"-'s,
Nu
18"*-).
9.
The
Ritual
of
post-exilic
sacrifice.
—
This
is
now,
like
all
else,
matter
of
careful
regulation.
The
ritual,
as
a
whole,
doubtless
continued
and
developed
that
of
the
pre-exilic
Temple,
where
the
priest
had
long
taken
the
place
of
the
lay
offerer
in
the
most
significant
parts
of
the
rite.
After
the
offerer
had
duly
'sanctified'
himself
as
explained
in
§
5,
and
had
his
sacrifice
examined
and
passed
by
the
Temple
officials,
the
procedure
comprised
the
following
'
actions
':
—
(1)
The
formal
presentation
of
the
victim
to
the
priest
officiating
at
the
altar.
(2)
The
semlkhah
or
laying
on
of
hands;
the
offerer
leaned
his
right
hand
—
in
the
later
praxis,
both
hands
—
■
upon
the
head
of
the
victim,
in
token
of
its
being
with-drawn
from
the
sphere
of
the
'common'
and
trans-ferred
to
the
sphere
of
'holy
things'
(cf.
for
the
two
spheres,
1
S
21«),
and
of
his
personal
assignation
of
it
to
the
Deity.
There
is
no
suggestion
in
this
act
of
the
victim
being
thereby
made
the
substitute
in
a
penal
sense
of
its
owner
and
donor
(see
the
Comm.,
and,
for
recent
discussions,
the
refl.
in
DB
Ext.
Vol.
720'>).
(3)
The
immolation
of
the
victim,
on
the
north
side
of
the
altar
(Lv
1"
62»),
by
severing
the
arteries
of
the
neck.
In
private
sacrifices
this
was
always
done
by
the
person
presenting
them.
(4)
The
manipulation
of
the
blood
by
the
priest.
This,
the
central
action
of
the
whole
rite,
varied
con-siderably
for
the
different
sacrifices.
After
being
caught
by
the
priest
in
a
large
basin,
the
blood
was
in
most
cases
tossed
against
the
sides
of
the
altar
('sprinkle'
of
EV,
Lv
1'
32
etc.,
is
misleading,
being
the
proper
rendering
of
a
different
term
occurring
4«
161*,
and
elsewhere).
Generally
it
may
be
said
that
the
more
pronounced
the
propitiatory
character
of
the
sacrifice,
the
nearer
the
blood
was
brought
to
the
presence
of
the
deity
(see
§
14),
the
climax
being
reached
in
the
blood-rite
of
the
Day
of
Atonement
(16",
see
Atonement
[Day
of]).
(5)
The
skinning
and
dismemberment
of
the
animal,
including
the
removal
of
the
internal
fat,
as
specified
3»-
<
and
4"-.
The
hide
fell
to
the
officiating
priest,
except
in
the
case
of
the
sin
offering,
when
it
was
burned
with
the
fiesh
(Ex
29").
(6)
The
arrangement
of
all
the
pieces
upon
the
altar
in
the
case
of
the
burnt
offering,
of
the
specified
portions
of
the
inwards'
in
the
case
of
the
others;
and
finally
—
(7)
The
burning—
lit.
the
turning
into
'sweet
smoke'
