Lev 1:14-17

14 If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or young doves.

Chullin 22a:15

The Sages taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “He shall bring his offering of doves or young doves” (Lev 1:14), that doves are older and not younger. As one might have thought: And couldn’t this be derived through an a fortiori inference:

Kiddushin 24b:20

The Gemara comments: One might have thought that if one brings a bird whose wing is dried, or whose leg is severed, or whose eye was removed, that it too is acceptable as an offering. Therefore, the verse states: “If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds” (Lev 1:14). This phrase indicates that only some birds can be sacrificed as offerings, but not all birds. This teaches that a bird can be disqualified due to a blemish. For example, if a significant part of the bird is missing, e.g., a limb, the bird is not acceptable as an offering. This indicates that the actual loss of an eye is considered a greater blemish than blindness. Consequently, if his master takes out the slave’s blind eye, he is emancipated.

Menachot 105a:3

Similarly, one who says: It is incumbent upon me to bring a burnt offering from a type of bird, must bring doves as his burnt offering, since the verse opens with it first in the passage discussing burnt offerings of birds, as it is stated: “If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of doves or young pigeons” (Lev 1:14).

Rashi

Of birds—But not all birds. Since Scripture states (Lev 22:19), “a male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats,” it is evident that perfection and maleness are required only in the case of animals, but perfection and maleness does not apply to birds. One might think that a bird may be brought as a sacrifice even if it lacks a limb! Scripture therefore states: “of birds”—but not all birds (Kiddushin 24b; Sifra, Emor, Section 7 2).

Of turtledoves or young doves—The word “of” is intended to exclude birds in the first stage of their plumage becoming golden-coloured in the case of the one as of the other, for this stage makes the bird unfit for sacrifice, since such a bird is a grown-up one in the case of “young doves,” and a young one in the case of “turtledoves” (Chullin 22b; Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d’Nedavah, Chapter 8 5).

Turtledoves—Grown-up ones only may be offered but not young ones.

Young doves—Young ones only may be offered but not grown-up ones (Chullin 22a; Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d’Nedavah, Chapter 8 4).

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. MAT 11:29

and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” LUK 2:24

John Gill

And to offer a sacrifice—That is, when the time of purification came, the parents of our Lord brought him from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, to present him in the temple to the Lord as his, and to redeem him; and not only so, but to offer the sacrifice required of child-bed women.

According to what is said in the Law of the Lord—(Lev 12:8).

A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons—If the person was able, she was to bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering; and a young pigeon, or a turtle dove, for a sin offering; but in case of poverty, then the above sufficed, and one of them was for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering; which shows not only that the virgin offered for herself a sin offering, being ceremonially unclean, but also her mean estate and poverty, in that she offered the offering of the poorer sort; see (Lev 12:6, 8).

For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 2CO 8:12

John Gill

For if the readiness is there—If what is done springs from a truly noble, generous spirit, a spirit of bountifulness and liberality; and is given cheerfully and freely, and according to a man’s ability; the quantity matters not, whether it be more or less.

It is acceptable—Both of God and man.

According to what a person has, not according to what he does not have—The widow’s mite was as acceptable, and more so, than all the rich men cast into the treasury; a cup of cold water given to a prophet, in the name of a prophet, is taken notice of by God, and shall have its reward. The present sent by the Philippians to the apostle Paul, and which perhaps was not very large, was “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (Php 4:18).

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. HEB 7:26

John Gill

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest—Is suitable to us, answers to our cases and necessities, is every way such an one as is wanted.

Holy—By nature, originally and underivatively, perfectly and completely, internally as well as externally; he was typified by the high priest, who had holiness to the Lord written on his forehead, and far exceeds any of the priests in holiness; and such an one becomes us, for had he not been holy he could not have entered into the Holy Place for us, or have appeared there on our account, or have been our sanctification; so Philo the Jew speaks of the true priest as being not man, but the divine Word, and as free from all sin voluntary and involuntary.

Innocent—Without any vitiosity in his nature, without guile in his mouth, or malice in his heart; doing no injury to any man’s person or property: the character chiefly regards the innocence and holiness of his life and conversation; and in which he exceeded the priests under the law; and is a suitable one for us, for hereby he was fit to be made sin, and to take it away.

Unstained—With the sin of Adam, with which all mankind are defiled; with the blood of slain beasts, with which the priests under the law were sprinkled; with the filthy conversation of the wicked, which affects good men: hence he was more excellent than the priests under the law; and one that becomes us, since his blood is the blood of a lamb, without spot and blemish: the high priests under the law, according to the Jews, were to excel their brothers in knowledge, beauty, and riches; but the distinguishing character of our high priest is purity and holiness.

Separated from sinners—Not but that he took the nature of sinners, though not a sinful nature; and he was often in the company of sinners, when on earth, and was reckoned among them, and as one of them; but he was separated from them in Adam; he was not among the individuals of human nature that sinned in him; and he was brought into the world in a different manner from them, not descending from Adam by ordinary generation; and he had no communion with them in sin; nor did he encourage them to it in the days of his flesh; and now he is removed far from them; and herein he exceeds the priests under the law, and is suitable to us: the Syriac and Ethiopic versions read, “separated from sins”; the allusion seems to be, to the separating of the high priest from his own house to one of the courts of the temple seven days before the Day of Atonement, and so before the burning of the heifers.

And exalted above the heavens—Than the visible heavens, the airy and starry heavens, and than the angels in heaven; and so preferable to the high priests, and exceedingly agreeable to us (Heb 4:14), the allusion may be to the carrying of the high priest on the Day of Atonement to an upper chamber in the temple, called the chamber of Abtines: this may be understood either of Christ’s exaltation in heaven, where angels are subject to him, and his priesthood is completed; or of his excelling the angels in the holiness of his nature, which agrees with the other characters in the text, and stands opposed to the infirmities of the priests.

16 He shall remove its crop with its contents and cast it beside the altar on the east side, to the place of the ashes.

Meilah 12a:2

Rabbi Elazar said in response: It is derived from the fact that the verse states with regard to a bird sacrificed as a burnt offering: “He shall remove its crop with its contents and cast it beside the altar on the east side, to the place of the ashes (Lev 1:16), referring to the location for the placement of the removed ashes. If this verse is not needed for the matter of the external altar, as that halakha is already derived from the phrase: “And put them beside the altar” (Lev 6:3), apply it to the matter of the ashes of the inner altar, teaching that these ashes must also be placed there.

Rashi

Its crop—The word is connected in meaning with the word רְאִי in Rabbinical Hebrew; it thus denotes the place of the רְעִי, the digested food, i.e., the crop (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d’Nedavah, Section 7 9).

בְּנֹצָתָהּ means together with its entrails. The word נוֹצָה is really an expression for anything that is loathsome. Similar is (Lam 4:15) “for they are foul (נָצוּ), even slipping.” That is also what Onkelos means when he translates בְּאוּכְלֵיהּ, “with its digested food” found in its contents (excrement). This is the interpretation given by Abba Yose ben Hanan who states: he removes the stomach with it. But our Rabbis, of blessed memory, taking נוֹצָה; in its usual sense of “feathers,” say: with a knife he cuts out around the crop an opening like a flap and removes it together with the feathers on the skin (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d’Nedavah, Section 7 9; Zevachim 65a). In the case of the burnt offering of the cattle which eats only from the crib of its owner it is stated (v. 13), “But the entrails and the legs he shall wash with water. . . . and burn it on the altar.” However, regarding birds, which feed themselves on things stolen from other people’s property, it states, “He shall remove its crop . . . and cast” the contents, which ate from stolen property (Vayikra Rabbah 3:4).

Beside the altar on the east side—At the eastern side of the כֶּבֶשׁ the inclined ascent leading to the altar (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d’Nedavah, Chapter 9 3).

To the place of the ashes—I.e., that place where they deposited the ashes removed from the outer altar each morning (cf. Rashi on Lev 6:3-4) and the ashes removed from the inner altar and the lampstand (Meilah 12a; Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d’Nedavah, Chapter 9 3). All these miraculously sunk there in their place (Yoma 21a).

Zevachim 65a:19

The mishna teaches that after the priest throws the bird’s head onto the fire on the altar, he arrives at the body and removes the crop and its feathers attached to it and its contents that emerge with them, and tosses them to the place of the ashes. The Sages taught in a baraita with regard to the verse pertaining to a bird burnt offering: “He shall remove murato with its contents” (Lev 1:16). This word, murato, is referring to the crop.

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” LUK 1:35

according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 1PE 1:2

17 He shall split it open by its wing feathers, but shall not tear it completely apart. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Menachot 110a:14

MISHNA: It is stated with regard to an animal burnt offering: “A food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord” (Lev 1:9), and with regard to a bird burnt offering: “A food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord” (Lev 1:17), and with regard to a meal offering: “A food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord” (Lev 2:2). The repetitive language employed concerning all of these different offerings is to say to you that one who brings a substantial offering and one who brings a meager offering have equal merit, provided that he directs his heart toward heaven.

Rashi

He shall split it open—The term שִׁסּוּעַ is is used only for splitting open with the hands. Similarly it states in the story of Samson (Jdg 14:6) “he rent him (וישסעהו) as he would have rent a young goat” (Zevachim 65b).

By its wing feathers means actually the feathers. But surely you will not find even a common sort of man who can smell the odour of burnt feathers without being disgusted with it! Why, then, does Scripture say that it shall be offered with the feathers? In order that the altar should appear full up and adorned with the sacrifice of the poor (Vayikra Rabbah 3:5).

By its wing feathers means: with its feathers he need not pluck out the feathers.

But shall not tear it completely apart—He must not tear it apart completely into two pieces. Rather, he must tear it along its back. It is stated here of a bird-offering “a pleasing aroma to the Lord” and it is stated (v. 9) of an animal-sacrifice “a pleasing aroma to the Lord,” to tell you: whether one offers much or little it is equally pleasing to God provided that he directs his heart to heaven (Menachot 110a; Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d’Nedavah, Section 9 7).