2ND Day Tzav (Lev 6:13)

13 This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.

Horayot 9a:4

It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Akiva says: An anointed priest is exempt from bringing an offering in all the cases where one is liable to bring a sliding-scale offering. Rava said: What is the reason for the opinion of Rabbi Akiva? It is as the verse states: “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: One-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a . . . grain offering” (Lev 6:13). One can infer: It is this tenth of an ephah that comes as an obligation for him, and no other such offering comes as an obligation for him.

Menachot 8a:8

The Gemara discusses the matter itself: With regard to the griddle-cake offering of the high priest, Rabbi Yohanan says that it is not sanctified in halves, and Rabbi Elazar says: Since it is sacrificed in halves, as half of the meal offering is sacrificed in the morning and half in the afternoon, it may likewise be sanctified in halves. Rav Aha said: What is the reasoning of Rabbi Yohanan? The verse states: “A regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening” (Lev 6:13). This means: First bring a whole grain offering, and only afterward divide it into halves.

Menachot 50b:6

The Gemara cites that which the Sages taught in a baraita, commenting on the verse: “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening” (Lev 6:13). If the verse had stated: A regular grain offering, half in the morning and half in the evening; I would have said that the high priest brings half of a tenth of an ephah in the morning and sacrifices it, and then he brings half of a tenth of an ephah in the afternoon and sacrifices it.

Menachot 50b:7

Since the verse states: “Half of it in the morning and half in the evening” (Lev 6:13), it teaches that he sacrifices half of a complete tenth of an ephah. How so? The high priest brings from his house a complete tenth of an ephah of fine flour, and divides it in half, and sacrifices half in the morning and half in the afternoon.

Menachot 51a:10

The baraita continues its determination of how much oil is brought with the griddle-cake offering of the high priest. Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka, says: “This is the offering that Aaron . . . a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering perpetually [tamid], half of it in the morning and half in the evening” (Lev 6:13). The fact that the verse makes reference to the griddle-cake offering of the high priest as tamid teaches that it is in the same category as the grain offering component of the daily offerings [temidin]. Just as the grain offering component of the daily offerings requires three log of oil for each tenth of an ephah of flour, so too this griddle-cake offering of the high priest requires three log of oil for each tenth of an ephah of flour.

Menachot 51b:7

That verse is needed for that which is taught in a baraita: “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the Lord on the day when he is anointed” (Lev 6:13). One might have thought that since the verse speaks of the offering in the singular, it means that Aaron and his sons should sacrifice one offering. Therefore the verse states: “That they shall offer to the Lord,” in plural, teaching that Aaron sacrifices an offering by himself as the high priest, and his sons sacrifice offerings by themselves as ordinary priests. When the verse refers to “his sons,” these are the ordinary priests. Each priest must bring a griddle-cake offering as an offering of initiation when he begins his service.

Rashi

This is the offering that Aaron and his sons—The ordinary priests, too, offer a grain offering, consisting of a tenth part of an ephah of flour on the day they are installed into the priestly service; the high priest, however, must bring this grain offering every day, as it is said, “a regular grain offering . . .” (verse 15), “The priest from among Aaron’s sons, who is anointed to succeed him . . . as decreed forever” (Menachot 51b; Sifra, Tzav, Section 3 1-4).

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. HEB 5:1

John Gill

For every high priest chosen from among men—Every one that was a high priest under the law was a man, and not an angel; and it was proper he should be so, that he might be a priest for men, have compassion on them, and offer for them; and he was among the number of common men, and was taken out from them, and chosen and separated from the rest of men, as Aaron and his sons were from the children of Israel (Exo 28:1). And such a one

Is appointed to act on behalf of men—In their room and stead, and for their good; and above them, as the word sometimes signifies; he was exalted unto, and invested with a superior office, to which he was appointed to act according to the law of a carnal commandment, by anointing with oil, and without an oath.

In relation to God—In things in which God had to do with men; and so he presided over them in the name of God, and declared the will of God unto them, and blessed them; and in things in which men had to do with God; and so he appeared in their name, and represented their persons, and presented their sacrifices to God, as follows:

To offer gifts and sacrifices for sins—Freewill offerings, peace offerings, burnt offerings, sin and trespass offerings, all kind of sacrifice.

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. HEB 7:27

John Gill

He has no need, like those high priests—They being sinners, and he not:

To offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people—As they did on the Day of Atonement; see Lev 16:6, 11, 15-16 upon which place the Jews make the same remark the apostle does here;

“he (the high priest, they say) offers sacrifices for the sins of the people, for his own, ‘first, and afterwards for the sins of the people’:”

which was one reason of the imperfection and insufficiency of their sacrifices; but Christ needed not to offer for his own, nor could he, for he had none of his own; what he had was by imputation; wherefore he only needed to offer, and he only did offer, for the sins of the people; not of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles also, even of all God’s covenant people; nor did he need to do this daily, as they did; they offered sacrifice daily, the common priests every day, morning and evening, and the high priest on a stated day once a year, on the Day of Atonement:

Since he did this once for all when he offered up himself—And in this also he differed from them; they offered not themselves, but what was inferior to themselves, and what could not take away sin, and, therefore, was repeated; but Christ offered himself, his whole human nature, soul and body, and both as in union with his divine nature; and this being offered to God freely and voluntarily, in the room and stead of his people, was acceptable to God: hereby justice was satisfied; the law fulfilled; sin taken away, and complete salvation obtained; so that there never was since any need of his offering again, nor never will be; which shows the perfection and fulness of his priesthood, and the preference of it to the Levitical one.

3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

John Gill

For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices (See Gill on Heb 5:1).

Thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer—Or this person; for the word “priest” is not in the text, and seems not so proper a word to be supplied, since it was his human nature that it was necessary he should have to offer; he was a person, and existed as a divine person antecedent to his assumption of human nature: as God, he had nothing to offer, or that was capable of being offered; something to offer as a sacrifice was necessary to him as a priest, but not any thing was proper to him; Levitical sacrifices would not do, these could not take away sin; besides, the great high priest was not of the tribe of Levi, nor of the order of Aaron, and therefore could not offer these. An angelic nature would have been improper, that is not capable of dying; and the offering up of such a one would have been of no service to men, for whom priests are ordained; but a human nature is meant, and which it was necessary Christ should have, and offer, for it is for men that he became a high priest; it was human nature that had offended God, and satisfaction must be made in that nature; and this was capable of suffering and dying; yet not human nature under any consideration was necessary for him to have and offer; not merely as in a state of innocence, without any infirmity, nor as sinful, yet as perfect as to parts and qualities; and a nature, and not a person, was necessary to be had, and to be taken into close and inseparable union to his divine person; and of this there was a necessity, not absolute, or a necessity of coaction and force: Christ was not forced unto it; but on the foot of his suretyship engagements, and because of making satisfaction for the sin of man, it was necessary; otherwise Christ voluntarily engaged to be a priest, and willingly became man, and freely offered himself, soul and body, in the room and stead of his people.

4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. HEB 8:3-4

John Gill

Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all—The Socinians from hence attempt to prove that Christ was not a priest, and did not offer sacrifice on earth; whereas his coming into the world, and his appearance in human nature, was in the character of a priest, and to qualify himself for one; his death was his sacrifice, which was on earth; and he never offered but one sacrifice; and it was after he had offered himself that he went to heaven; so the sacrifices under the law were first offered, before their blood was carried within: but the meaning is, either if “that” was on earth, namely, what it was necessary he should have to offer; if his human nature had been earthly, had been of men, had come by ordinary generation, he had not been properly, only typically a priest, at most; and had been no better than the typical ones; yea, he would have been needless, nay, might not have offered, not being of Levi’s tribe, and could not have existed as a priest with the sons of Aaron; but he had his human nature in another way, through the power of the Holy Spirit from above, and therefore is said to come from above, from heaven, and to be the Lord from heaven: or the sense is, if he was on earth, and had not died, he had not been a priest; and if he had died and remained under the power of death, he had been a priest of no account and use; and had he rose again and remained on earth, without going to heaven, with his blood and sacrifice, he had not been a perfect priest; if Christ had remained on earth, the Levitical priesthood had remained, and so he would have been no priest, since two priesthoods could not have subsisted together. The Levitical priesthood was in force while Christ was on earth; Christ’s priesthood was not perfected on earth; the Levitical priesthood remaining while he was on earth, proves he was not then a perfect priest, or had not completed his priesthood; had he been so, that would not have subsisted; it was necessary therefore that Christ should enter into the holy place, to put an end to the Levitical priesthood: moreover, if he had remained on earth, he had been needless;

Since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law—There were priests when Christ was upon earth; their work was to offer gifts the people brought, and sacrifices for sin, and that according to the law of Moses, which till the death of Christ was in full force.