The Meaning of Leviticus 1:17 Explained

Leviticus 1:17

KJV: And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

YLT: and he hath cleaved it with its wings (he doth not separate it), and the priest hath made it a perfume on the altar, on the wood, which is on the fire; it is a burnt-offering, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah.

Darby: and he shall split it open at its wings, but shall not divide it asunder; and the priest shall burn it on the altar on the wood that is on the fire: it is a burnt-offering, an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour.

ASV: and he shall rend it by the wings thereof, but'shall not divide it asunder; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt-offering, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he shall cleave  it with the wings  thereof, [but] shall not divide [it] asunder:  and the priest  shall burn  it upon the altar,  upon the wood  that [is] upon the fire:  it [is] a burnt sacrifice,  an offering made by fire,  of a sweet  savour  unto the LORD. 

What does Leviticus 1:17 Mean?

Context Summary

Leviticus 1:1-17 - Burned-Offerings Of The Herd, Flocks And Fowls
Jehovah speaks with Moses, not from Sinai's summit, but from the Tabernacle, because He has come to dwell with men on the earth. Compare Exodus 20:22; Exodus 25:8. The early chapters of this book contain the law of the offerings. He who was to be worshiped prescribed the manner in which He was to be approached. These sacrifices also were intended to typify the great offering which our Lord would one day, in the fullness of time, consummate on Calvary. Here we have the burned-offering, presenting the more general aspect of our Lord's self-giving. It represents His entire surrender to the Father's will. See Hebrews 10:8-9. The principal feature of this offering was that the whole body of the victim was consumed and ascended in fire and smoke. The Hebrew word comes from a root which means to ascend. Three grades of this offering were permitted-herd, flock, fowl-to bring it within the means of all, and to typify the varying degrees in which men apprehend and value Christ. [source]

Chapter Summary: Leviticus 1

1  The law of burnt offerings
3  of the herd
10  of the flocks
14  of the fowls

What do the individual words in Leviticus 1:17 mean?

And he shall split it at its wings not [but] shall divide [it] completely and shall burn the priest on the altar on the wood that [is] the fire [is] a burnt sacrifice it an offering made by fire aroma a sweet to Yahweh -
וְשִׁסַּ֨ע אֹת֣וֹ בִכְנָפָיו֮ לֹ֣א יַבְדִּיל֒ וְהִקְטִ֨יר הַכֹּהֵן֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָה עַל־ הָעֵצִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר הָאֵ֑שׁ עֹלָ֣ה ה֗וּא אִשֵּׁ֛ה רֵ֥יחַ נִיחֹ֖חַ לַיהוָֽה ס

וְשִׁסַּ֨ע  And  he  shall  split 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁסַע  
Sense: to divide, cleave, part, split.
בִכְנָפָיו֮  at  its  wings 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּנָף  
Sense: wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt.
יַבְדִּיל֒  [but]  shall  divide  [it]  completely 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּדַל  
Sense: to divide, separate.
וְהִקְטִ֨יר  and  shall  burn 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מֻקְטָר 
Sense: .
הַכֹּהֵן֙  the  priest 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֹּהֵן  
Sense: priest, principal officer or chief ruler.
הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָה  on  the  altar 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: מִזְבֵּחַ  
Sense: altar.
הָעֵצִ֖ים  the  wood 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עֵץ  
Sense: tree, wood, timber, stock, plank, stalk, stick, gallows.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר  that  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הָאֵ֑שׁ  the  fire 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
עֹלָ֣ה  [is]  a  burnt  sacrifice 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֹלָה  
Sense: whole burnt offering.
אִשֵּׁ֛ה  an  offering  made  by  fire 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אִשֶּׁה  
Sense: burnt-offering, offering made by fire, fire offering.
רֵ֥יחַ  aroma 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֵיחַ  
Sense: scent, fragrance, aroma, odour.
נִיחֹ֖חַ  a  sweet 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נִיחֹחַ  
Sense: soothing, quieting, tranquillising.
לַיהוָֽה  to  Yahweh 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation