Leviticus 1:14

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹⁰If, however, one's offering is a burnt offering from the flock-from the sheep or goats-he is to present an unblemished male. ¹¹He shall slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the LORD, and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides. ¹²He is to cut the animal into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them, with its head and fat, atop the burning wood that is on the altar. ¹³The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall bring all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. ¹⁴If, instead, one's offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, he is to offer a turtledove or a young pigeon.¹⁵Then the priest shall bring it to the altar, twist off its head, and burn it on the altar; its blood should be drained out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶And he is to remove the crop with its contents and throw it to the east side of the altar, in the place for ashes. ¹⁷He shall tear it open by its wings, without dividing the bird completely. And the priest is to burn it on the altar atop the burning wood. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

of fowls: Leviticus 5:7, Leviticus 12:8, Matthew 11:29, Luke 2:24, 2 Corinthians 8:12, Hebrews 7:26

Reciprocal: Genesis 15:9 - General Leviticus 5:10 - offer Leviticus 14:4 - two birds Leviticus 14:21 - poor Leviticus 15:14 - General Numbers 6:10 - General Matthew 21:12 - doves

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:2
Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 1:3
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Genesis 1:4
And seeing that the light was good, God separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:6
And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters."

Genesis 1:7
So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so.

Genesis 1:8
God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning-the second day.

Genesis 1:9
And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear." And it was so.

Genesis 1:12
The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:14
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the Lord be of fowls,.... As it might be for the poorer sort, who could not offer a bullock, nor a sheep, or a lamb, Leviticus 5:7:

then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons; the Jewish writers all agree, that the turtles should be old, and not young, as the pigeons young, and not old; so the Targum of Jonathan, Jarchi, Aben Ezra and Gersom l; the latter gives two reasons for it, because then they are the choicest and easiest to be found and taken: no mention is made of their being male or female, either would do, or of their being perfect and unblemished, as in the other burnt offerings; but if any part was wanting, it was not fit for sacrifice, as Maimonides m observes. These creatures were proper emblems of Christ, and therefore used in sacrifice, whose voice is compared to the turtle's, and his eyes to the eyes of doves, Song of Solomon 2:12 and who is fitly represented by them for his meekness and humility, for his chaste and strong affection to his church, as the turtledove to its mate, and for those dove like graces of the Spirit which are in him.

l Vid. T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 22. 1, 2. m Issure Mizbeach, c. 3. sect. 1, 2. Vid. Misn. Zebachim, c. 7. sect. 5. & Maimon. & Bartenora, in ib.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Of turtledoves, or of young pigeons - The offering of a bird was permitted to one who was too poor to offer a quadruped. (Compare the marginal references.) But in certain rites of purification birds were appointed for all, whatever might be their circumstances. See Leviticus 15:14, Leviticus 15:29; Numbers 6:10. The limitation of the age of the pigeons may be accounted for by the natural habits of the birds. It would seem that the species which are most likely to have been the sacrificial dove and pigeon are the common turtle and the bluerock pigeon, a bird like our stock-dove, and considerably larger than the turtle. The turtles come in the early part of April, but as the season advances they wholly disappear. The pigeons, on the contrary, do not leave the country; and their nests, with young ones in them, may be easily found at any season of the year. Hence, it would appear, that when turtledoves could not be obtained, nestling pigeons were accepted as a substitute.