Without Defect, to Be Accepted
17 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘Whoever is of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel, who offers his offering, whether it is any of their vows or any of their free will offerings, which they offer to Yahweh for a burnt offering: 19 that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats. 20 But you shall not offer whatever has a defect, for it shall not be acceptable for you. 21 Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh to accomplish a vow, or for a free will offering of the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted. It shall have no defect. 22 You shall not offer what is blind, is injured, is maimed, has a wart, is festering, or has a running sore to Yahweh, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to Yahweh. 23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a free will offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 24 You must not offer to Yahweh that which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut. You must not do this in your land. 25 You must not offer any of these as the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner, because their corruption is in them. There is a defect in them. They shall not be accepted for you.’” 26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When a bull, a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother. From the eighth day on it shall be accepted for the offering of an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day. 29 “When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahweh, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the morning. I am Yahweh. 31 “Therefore you shall keep my commandments, and do them. I am Yahweh. 32 You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy among the children of Israel. I am Yahweh who makes you holy, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am Yahweh.”
Nothing damaged may be offered, and the standard is applied identically to Israelites and to foreigners bringing gifts.
The requirement is stated in a clause that gives the purpose before the rule: that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect Leviticus 22:19.
Acceptance is the aim, and the animal is the means. The list of disqualifications that follows is unsparing — blind, is injured, is maimed, has a wart, is festering, or has a running sore Leviticus 22:22.
These are the animals a farmer would be glad to see leave the flock. The law names them precisely so that a gift cannot double as a disposal, and centuries later a prophet is still charging the priests with accepting exactly these — the blind, the lame, the sick, offered to God and to nobody's inconvenience Malachi 1:8.
One distinction is finely drawn. An animal with a limb deformity or lacking in his parts may be brought as a freewill offering but not for a vow Leviticus 22:23. A vow was a promise made in trouble, and a man discharging one may not do it with a substandard animal; a spontaneous gift is judged more gently.
The standard is then applied without regard to nationality. The chapter opens by addressing the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel Leviticus 22:18, and closes the same way: nothing defective may be accepted from the hand of a foreigner either Leviticus 22:25.
A foreigner may bring an offering — which is worth noticing in itself — and he is held to the same rule. Nobody's gift is graded on a curve.
Two provisions about animals close the section, and both are about not being brutal in the middle of religion. A newborn stays with its mother seven days before it may be offered Leviticus 22:27. And you shall not kill it and its young both in one day Leviticus 22:28 — a mother and her offspring are not slaughtered together, even for the altar.
The chapter ends with the formula that has been running since chapter 11, and it is stated in both directions. You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy among the children of Israel. I am Yahweh who makes you holy Leviticus 22:32.
They are told not to profane, and told that he is the one who sanctifies. The book never assigns holiness wholly to either party.
settled What this mark means