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Zebach
by Tom Moniz
AmYHWH Jan 7/8, 2005
Just what does zebach mean?
In our present day English/Christian translations of the Hebrew
Torah, the
Hebrew word zebach is translated quite consistently
"sacrifice". Not only is
this done in these translations, but there are many other instances
where
the word "sacrifice" is added into the translations where the
Hebrew doesn't
use the term, such as the 6 times in the KJ version of chapter one of
W'Yiqra (Leviticus).
When I hear the English word sacrifice, it conjures up in my mind
the idea
of giving up something that is very important to me. I might
"sacrifice" my
time to do volunteer work, or "sacrifice" a thing by giving it
to someone
who needs it more than I, or "sacrifice" my life to protect
the life of
another. Is "sacrifice" what the Hebrew term zebach means
though? Is zebach
ever used this way in the Torah?
Here is my feeble attempt at helping to clarify just what it is
that this
Hebrew term zebach (spelled zayin, bet chet) means and how mislead I
once
was much due to the effects of translation and indoctrination.
Before I start, I must first point out that in the Stone Edition
(a Jewish
translation), it is not the word zebach which they translate
"sacrifice", it
is the Hebrew word qorban which is mostly translated
"sacrifice". I would
rather leave that word (who's meaning has much to do with
"approaching") for
another day though.
According the dictionary, sacrifice means:
1 : an act of offering to a deity something precious; especially : the
killing of a victim on an altar
2 : something offered in sacrifice
3 a : destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something
else b
: something given up or lost <the sacrifices made by parents>
4 : LOSS <goods sold at a sacrifice>
5 : SACRIFICE HIT
I am going to use the KJV and the Strongs numbers because it is
much easier
for my search engine to find all the references of the Hebrew term when
used
this way.
The first usage of the word is here in Bereshyt:
Ge 31:52 This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will
not
pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap
and
this pillar unto me, for harm.
53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nachor, the God of their
father,
judge between us. And Yaqob swore by the fear of his father Yitzchaq.
54 Then Yaqob offered <02076> sacrifice <02077> upon the
mount, and called
his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night
in
the mount.
Dinner is served, the flesh of an animal more specifically. Laban
and Yaqob
had just made a pact, and now their families were to eat a meal
together,
seemingly an act of physically showing their approval of the agreement.
To
this day, much business and other arrangements are made over dinner.
When I
proposed to Debi, it was during a meal in a nice restaurant.
Can it be said that the sacrificing of the life of an animal
somehow
preserved Yaqob and Laban's lives? I don't think they were starving, so
it
isn't that. Did the spilling of the blood of this animal and the sharing
of
its flesh somehow "seal the pact" so that they would not cross
this "heap
and this pillar for harm"? Is that what this "sacrificial
meal" represented
to them? That seems much more likely to be the plain meaning. Actually,
jumping ahead for a moment, I would call the above a zebach shalomym
(peace
offering).
And as it states in W'Yiqra 3:1, we can also "make
peace" with YHWH:
W'am zebach shalomym qorbanu... and if a zebach of peace is his
"reason for"
approach...
I added "reason for" for what I consider
"clarification" purposes.
The second time zebach is used in the Torah is again in Bereshyt
and is
also the only other time it is used in Bereshyt:
Ge 45:27 And they told him all the words of Yoseph, which he had said
unto
them: and when he saw the wagons which Yoseph had sent to carry him, the
spirit of Yaqob their father revived:
28 And Y'shral said, It is enough; Yoseph my son is yet alive: I
will go
and see him before I die.
Ge 46:1 And Y'shral took his journey with all that he had, and came to
Beersheba
, and offered <02076> sacrifices <02077> unto the God of his
father
Yitzchaq.
2 And God spake unto Y'shral in the visions of the night, and
said, Yaqob,
Yaqob. And he said, Here am I.
3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go
down into
Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely
bring thee up
again: and Yoseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
Except for the usage of zebach itself, it doesn't specifically
state
anything of them eating a meal. What it does seem to me though is that
it
was a todah zebach (sacrifice of thanksgiving). It may be said it had a
"life preserving" effect upon Yaqob, although the text says it
was the news
of Yoseph's being alive that revived him and it seems to me that was
what
Yaqob was thanking YHWH for.
In both of the above accounts these animals did not die in some
kind of
surreal substitutionary way to preserve their lives. On the contrary, in
both of these instances these were meals eaten before YHWH, in honor of
YHWH, with YHWH "invited" as witness.
What zebach's for thanksgiving and peace have in common is they
were both
eaten as instructed in W'Yiqra. They were animals which were properly
slaughtered and then cooked to be eaten by both the offerer and the
kohen
and the kohen's family as instructed in various places within W'Yiqra
such
as 7:28-34 and 10:12-15.
The next usage of zebach is in Shemowt:
Ex 3:18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou
and
the elders of Y'shral, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto
him,
YHWH, God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech
thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice
<02076>
to YHWH our God.
The above is repeated in different ways throughout the pre-exodus
from
Mitzrym account. Obviously, I cannot reference each and every reference
of
zebach for there are many. I highly suggest you search them all out
yourself. So, let me just focus on some of the more conspicuous ones.
We also are told:
Ex 8:26 And Moshe said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice
<02076> the abomination of the Egyptians to YHWH our God: lo,
shall we
sacrifice <02076> the abomination of the Egyptians before their
eyes, and
will they not stone us?
The next reference is concerning Pesach, which was eaten, and did
have an
effect on saving lives:
Ex 12:27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice <02077> of the
Pesach of
YHWH, who passed over the houses of the children of Y'shral in
Egypt
, when
he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed
the
head and worshipped.
And the next usage being the firstborns of wombs:
Ex 13:15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that
YHWH
slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man,
and
the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice <02076> to YHWH all
that
openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I
redeem.
And the clean of these firstborns also were to be eaten, as the
usage of
the word zebach shows, and as instructed later in B'Midbar and Daberym:
Nu 18:8 And YHWH spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the
charge
of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of
Y'shral; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to
thy
sons, by an ordinance for ever.
9 This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the
fire:
every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin
offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they
shall
render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.
As I read the Hebrew of that verse, it is stating that of all the
things
brought near (qorban) to the fire which were not wholly burnt up, they
were
exclusively the kohens, whether it be of the grain (mincha), the sin (chata)
or the guilt/trespass (asham) offerings. Notice it doesn't say peace or
thanksgiving offerings, nor are ascent (aka, burnt) offerings mentioned.
Continuing:
10 IN THE
MOST HOLY PLACE
SHALT THOU EAT IT; EVERY MALE SHALL EAT IT: IT
SHALL BE HOLY UNTO THEE.
11 And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all
the wave
offerings of the children of Y'shral: I have given them unto thee, and
to
thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every
one
that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.
12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of
the wheat,
the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto YHWH, them have I
given
thee.
13 And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall
bring unto
YHWH, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat
of
it.
14 Every thing devoted in Y'shral shall be thine.
15 EVERY THING THAT OPENETH THE MATRIX IN ALL FLESH, WHICH THEY
BRING UNTO
YHWH, WHETHER IT BE OF MEN OR BEASTS, SHALL BE THINE: nevertheless the
firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean
beasts shalt thou redeem.
16 And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou
redeem,
according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the
shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.
De 15:19 All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock
thou
shalt sanctify unto YHWH thy God: thou shalt do no work with the
firstling
of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.
20 THOU SHALT EAT IT BEFORE YHWH THY GOD year by year in the place
which
YHWH shall choose, thou and thy household.
21 And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or
blind, or have
any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto YHWH thy God.
22 THOU SHALT EAT IT WITHIN THY GATES: the unclean and the clean
person
shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart.
23 Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it
upon the
ground as water.
On a side note, I find it interesting that this instruction in
Daberym is
found within the context of "releasing" debt and slaves. Did
eating these
firstborns "release" them from being beasts of burden?
So, back to the subject, as we see, the best the children of
Y'shral had to
offer was dedicated to the kohens, the sons of Aaron, and the unclean
animals were replaced/redeemed with clean.
If you have noticed, there is a common thread here. Each and every
time
zebach is used, it is ALWAYS referring to an animal which was properly
slaughtered and cooked for eating whether it be for sin, guilt,
thanksgiving
or peace.
Fact is, zebach is never used in the Torah to refer to anything
that is not
eaten. Olah's (burnt offerings) which were wholly burnt and not to be
eaten
are never identified as zebach's, nor is the goat slain on Yom Kippur or
any
other type of non eaten animal or plant identified as a zebach. Only the
eaten thanksgiving, peace, sin and guilt offerings are identified as
zebach,
other than of course a simple non-ceremonial barbecue.
I could list all the references, but there is not enough time now
to go
thru them all. Again, I highly suggest you search them yourself to see
if
what I am saying here is correct or not.
What I will do is point out the fact that where ascent offerings
are
identified as "sacrifice" in the KJV and most of our
English/Christian
versions, the Hebrew word zebach is NOT in the text.
So, we come back to my original question... just what does zebach
mean?
Does it mean to give up something important to us? Or does it have more
to
do with a properly butchered animal cooked for eating?
If I am hungry for flesh, and slaughter and cook an animal, am I
giving
anything up? Am I so famished that if I don't eat this animal I will
die? Is
the animal knowingly "sacrificing" his life for me or am I
taking its life?
Most translations like to change these following passages, but the
fact is,
zebach is indeed used here where it quite clearly does not mean
"sacrifice"
but is referring simply to eating the flesh of an animal. Remember, a
burnt
offering is not a zebach <02076>:
De 12:13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in
every place that thou seest:
14 But in the place which YHWH shall choose in one of thy tribes,
there
thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I
command thee.
15 Notwithstanding thou mayest kill <02076> and eat flesh in
all thy gates,
whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of YHWH thy
God
which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, AS
OF
THE ROEBUCK, AND AS OF THE HART.
16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the
earth as
water.
17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or
of thy
wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor
any
of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave
offering
of thine hand:
18 But thou must eat them before YHWH thy God in the place which
YHWH thy
God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy
manservant,
and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou
shalt
rejoice before YHWH thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.
19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long
as thou
livest upon the earth.
20 When YHWH thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised
thee,
and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat
flesh;
thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
21 If the place which YHWH thy God hath chosen to put his name
there be too
far from thee, then thou shalt kill <02076> of thy herd and of thy
flock,
which YHWH hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, AND THOU SHALT EAT
IN
THY GATES WHATSOEVER THY SOUL LUSTETH AFTER.
We can indeed do zebach in our homes, but zebach does NOT mean
sacrifice
(as the English word literally means). As Torah is telling me, it is
fine to
eat properly bled, cleaned and cooked flesh of a clean animal in our
homes,
acording to the blessing of YHWH. In other words, yes, the Levites were
the
community butchers, but if they were too far away, it was ok to butcher
an
animal ourselves, so long as it was done properly and so long as it
isn't
done as a ceremonial thing.
As I see it, the definition of zebach (as the usages of zebach in
the
Hebrew Torah show) is a clean animal that is properly bled, slaughtered,
cleaned of its fat and kidneys and then its flesh is cooked to be eaten.
Nothing more, nothing less. The fact that the animal is not eaten raw,
nor
is its blood eaten, nor is it cooked before proper removal of fat and
kidneys. This is what makes it a zebach, according to the blessing of
YHWH.
He blesses us when we follow His instructions concerning the preparing
of
flesh.
W'Yiqra 3:17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations
throughout
all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
Now maybe, and I say maybe, the blood and fat were considered delicacies
and to give them up might be considered a "sacrifice", giving
up something
dear to them.
And maybe giving up an animal to the kohens for sin or guilt may
too be
considered a "sacrifice". But this is not how the term zebach
is used in the
Torah.
Some "religions" even go so far as to sacrifice humans,
usually young
virgins as some kind of substitutionary gift to their gods. This may
indeed
fit the definition of the English word sacrifice, but it is not a zebach
unless its blood is poured out, and its fat removed, and its flesh is
eaten.
And even if it were done in this manner, it is still not a clean animal,
so
there is no "blessing of YHWH" here.
Bottom line, zebach, as the term is used in Torah, does not mean
"sacrifice" as the present day English definition of the word
means. Zebach
neither suggests substitution, nor giving up something dear to us.
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