Peace Offering

The peace offering was a voluntary offering. A large part of the meat from this offering was eaten by the priest and those who made the offering.

The rules for this offering can be found in Leviticus 3.

The peace offering played an important role when people were celebrating something (1 Samuel 11:15). An important part of the offering ritual was a communal meal (Deuteronomy 27:7).

The peace offering was also often intended as a thanksgiving offering.

The peace offering could be a bull or a cow, sheep or goat. It could be a male or a female animal, as long as it was free from blemishes.

The blood of the animal had to be thrown against the sides of the altar. The fat of the sacrificial animal is burned before God, while the largest part of the meat was meant for the priests. The rest was for those who had made the peace offering. It was eaten at a communal meal.

When the peace offering was made to thank God, loaves of bread also had to be offered. At a thanksgiving offering there were thick and thin unleavened bread, thick loaves of fine wheat flour and leavened bread. Of every type of bread, one loaf had to be set aside for the priest. The other loaves were burnt on the altar.

Thanksgiving offerings had to be eaten on the day that they were made.