Peace Offering
Overview
- Testament: Old
- Book: Leviticus
- Chapters: Leviticus 3; 7:11-36
- Summary: A fellowship offering expressing communion with God; the fat went to God on the altar, the breast and right thigh to the priests, and the rest to the worshipper for a communal meal.
Details
The peace offering (Hebrew: shelamim, from shalom) was the only major sacrifice where the worshipper ate a portion. After the blood was sprinkled and the fat burned on the altar as God’s portion, and the breast and thigh given to the priests, the worshipper and family enjoyed a feast from the meat — a communal meal in the presence of God. This made it an expression of restored and celebrated fellowship.
Three types of peace offerings are described in Leviticus 7: the todah (thank offering), the neder (vow offering), and the nedavah (freewill offering). The thank offering had to be eaten the same day; vow and freewill offerings could be eaten the day of and the day after.
The peace offering’s structure — God receives his portion, the mediating priests receive theirs, and the people feast — pictures the fullness of covenant relationship. All three parties share in the sacrifice.
Cross-References
- Burnt Offering — The wholly-given offering that preceded the peace offering
- Blood and Atonement — The atonement offering context
- Related books: Leviticus, Amos 5:22 (peace offerings rejected when justice is absent)
Notes
- The image of the peace offering meal underlies the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament — a covenant meal where Christ is both sacrifice and host.