Leviticus 1:11

My Notes

What Does Leviticus 1:11 Mean?

"And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar." The burnt offering is killed on the NORTH SIDE of the altar — a specific, designated location for the slaughter. The blood is then sprinkled ROUND ABOUT the altar by Aaron's sons. The geography is prescribed (northward). The agents are specified (Aaron's sons). The action is detailed (sprinkle round about). Every element of the sacrifice is ORDERED — nothing is left to improvisation.

The phrase "on the side of the altar northward" (al yerekh hamizbeach tzaphonah — on the side/flank of the altar northward) designates the SPECIFIC LOCATION for slaughter: the north side. Not any side. The NORTH. The directional specificity has generated centuries of interpretation — the north side kept the slaughter away from the ash-heap (on the east, verse 16) and the ramp (on the south). The practical and the theological align: the killing happens in the DESIGNATED place.

The "sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar" (vezarqu et haddam al hamizbeach saviv — they shall throw/sprinkle the blood upon the altar, all around) describes COMPREHENSIVE blood-application: the blood goes ROUND ABOUT (saviv — surrounding, encircling, on every side). The sprinkling isn't on ONE side. It covers the ENTIRE altar. The blood encircles. The atonement covers every direction. The surrounding-blood says: every angle is addressed. Every side is covered.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What atonement has been applied comprehensively — covering every side of your life?
• 2.What does the NORTHWARD location (specific, prescribed) teach about divine order in sacrifice?
• 3.How does blood being sprinkled ROUND ABOUT (total coverage) describe comprehensive atonement?
• 4.What qualified 'priest' has applied the blood on your behalf?

Devotional

Kill it on the NORTH side. Sprinkle the blood ROUND ABOUT the altar. The sacrifice has a designated LOCATION (northward) and a comprehensive APPLICATION (round about). The killing is specific. The blood-sprinkling is comprehensive. The location is prescribed. The coverage is total.

The 'northward' prescribes a SPECIFIC LOCATION: the animal isn't killed just anywhere in the courtyard. It's killed on the NORTH SIDE of the altar — a designated spot, a prescribed position, a specific direction. The specificity says: even the LOCATION of the killing is under divine instruction. The geography of the sacrifice is as regulated as the liturgy. WHERE you kill matters as much as HOW.

The 'sprinkle his blood round about' is TOTAL COVERAGE: the blood goes on every side of the altar — not just the front, not just the top. ROUND ABOUT. The altar receives blood on EVERY surface the sprinkling can reach. The comprehensiveness of the sprinkling represents the comprehensiveness of the atonement. Every side is covered. Every angle is addressed. The blood reaches everywhere.

The 'Aaron's sons the priests' identifies the QUALIFIED agents: not just anyone sprinkles blood. PRIESTS do it — the sons of Aaron, the consecrated, the set-apart. The blood-application requires AUTHORIZED HANDS. The blood is too sacred for unauthorized handling. The priesthood exists precisely for THIS — to mediate between the offerer's need and the altar's reception.

What 'blood' has been sprinkled round about YOUR altar — covering every side, addressing every angle?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture