Cereal Offerings

(Leviticus 2:1 - 2:16)

“Whenever a cereal offering is to be made to Jehovah, it should consist of the finest flour, moistened with oil and sprinkled with frankincense.  The worshiper should deliver it into the hands of the priests, Aaron's sons.  The priest will take a handful of the flour, seasoned with oil and frankincense, and put this token portion upon the altar fire.  It will be a burnt offering that will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah.  The remainder of the flour will belong to Aaron and his sons, a very holy part of Jehovah's burnt offering.

“If grain is to be offered that has been baked in an oven, it should consisted of the finest flour, either thick loaves made without yeast, with olive oil mixed with the flour, or in the form of wafers, also made without yeast, but with the oil olive spread on it.  If the cereal offering is fried on a griddle, it should be of the finest flour mixed with olive oil, but made without yeast.  Crumble it into pieces, pour olive oil over it and it will be a cereal offering.  And if the offering is cooked in a pan, it should also be of the finest flour mixed with olive oil.  However the offering for Jehovah has been prepared, bring it to the priest who will present it at the altar.  A portion of it will be burned upon the altar as a sacrifice.   It will be a burnt offering that will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah.  The rest of the bread will be left to Aaron and his sons for food, a very holy part of Jehovah's burnt offering.

“Do not use yeast in preparing any of the cereal offerings, for neither yeast nor honey can be apart of any burnt offering to Jehovah.  (They may be a part of the offerings of first fruits, but not offerings that will be burnt upon the altar.)  Instead, season all your offerings with salt.  By no means omit salt from the sacrificial offerings; do not forget it, for salt is a memorial to your everlasting pact with Jehovah, your god.

“If the cereal offerings you bring to Jehovah are from the first fruits of the harvest, then bring newly sprouted heads of grain that have been crushed and roasted.  Pour oil and sprinkle frankincense upon them.  The priest will take a token portion of this crushed grain, with the oil and frankincense, and burn it upon the altar as a sacrifice to Jehovah.”

Notes
1.  It must be noted that the priests end up receiving the greater part of all the cereal offerings, flour, bread, wafers, etc., sacrificed to the god.  The rights of the priests are made quite clear here.  Indeed, no ancient priest, whether he be of Jehovah or any other god, could complain about the food that went along with the job.  He would literally eat like a god.  It was a major perquisite of the profession.  The priestly class (and this extends to the Christian church for much of its history) had a material interest in communal piety.  The more devoted and observant were members of the congregation, the more goodies, the more wealth accrued to the priesthood.  However well intentioned the practice of making sacrifices, it was inevitably abused in nearly all religions.  Sacrifices become a money-making enterprise, a racket, for the priests and an easy way for worshipers to get in their god's good graces. --- But it entailed the waste of a lot of good food.

2.  Salt, required as a seasoning for the cereal offerings, was historically used for commemoration in many ancient cultures.  And, as any laborer in the salt mines would tell you, it was a precious substance, so much so that Roman soldiers were paid off in salt -- thus the word "salary."