Burnt offering (Judaism)

Aburnt offeringin Judaism (Hebrew:קָרְבַּן עוֹלָה,qorban ʿōlā) is a form ofsacrificefirst described in theHebrew Bible. As a tribute toGod, a burnt offering wasentirelyburnt on thealtar. This is in contrast to other forms of sacrifice (entitledzevachorzevach shelamim), which waspartlyburnt andmostof it eaten in communion at a sacrificial meal.
During theFirst TempleandSecond Templeperiods, offerings took place twice daily offered on thealtaras a burnt animal 
in thetemple in Jerusalemthat was completely consumed by fire.Theskinof the animal, however, was not burnt but given to the priests respective of theirpriestly division. These skins are listed as one of thetwenty-four priestly giftsin Tosefta Hallah (or Tosefta Challah).
The Hebrew nounolah(עֹלָה) occurs 289 times in theMasoretic Textof the Hebrew Bible. It means "that which goes up [in smoke]".It is formed from the active participle of the verbalah(עָלָה), "to cause to ascend."  It was sometimes also calledkalil, an associated word found in Leviticus, meaning "entire".
Its traditional name in English is "holocaust",and the wordolahhas traditionally been translated as "burnt offering."The term was translated asholocaustonin theSeptuagint. Today, some EnglishBible translationsrender the word asholocaust, and others translate it as "burnt offering". For example,Exodus18:12ais translated in theNew American BibleasThen Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, brought a holocaust and other sacrifices to God, while it is translated in theNew International VersionasThen Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God.
Inclassical rabbinical literature, there are several different etymologies given for the termolah,though all agree that it literally translates as(that which) goes up. Some classical rabbis argued that the term referred toascent of the mindafter making the sacrifice, implying that the sacrifice was for atonement for evil thoughts, while others argued that it was a sacrificeto the highest, because it is entirely intended for God.Modern scholars, however, argue that it simply refers to the burning process, as the meatgoes up in flames.
The first uses of theolahfor burnt offering refer to the sacrifices ofNoah"of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar",and to the near-sacrifice of IsaacbyAbraham: "offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains".Another burnt-offering is that ofJethro, Moses' father-in-law (Exodus 18:12).
TheNevi'imsection of the Hebrew Bible, particularly passages in theBook of Judges, presents the practice of the burnt offering.In the story ofGideon, aslaughter offeringof a young goat and unleavened bread is consumed by fire sent from heaven.In the story ofSamson's birth, his father, who was intending to make a slaughter offering so that he could give a meal to an angel, is told by the angel to burn it completely instead.
Initially, the burnt-offering was required to be offered on an "altar of earth".After thetabernaclewas built, it was specified that the tabernacle's altar be used.
The major types of sacrificial offerings, their purpose and circumstances, details of their performance and distributions afterwards are delineated in theBook of Leviticus1:1-7:38.
The animals were required to be "unblemished";the list of blemishes includes animals "that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an ulcer or eczema or scabs".The animals were brought to the north side of the altar, andritually slaughtered.The animal's blood was carefully collected by a priest and sprinkled on the outside corners of thealtar.Unless the animal was a bird, its carcass was flayed, with the skin kept by the priests.
The flesh of the animal was divided according to detailed instructions given by theTalmud(Tamid 31), and would then be placed on the wood on the altar (which was constantly on fire due to the large number of sacrifices carried out daily), and slowly burnt. After the flesh (including any horns and goats' beards) had been reduced to ashes, usually the following morning, the ashes were removed by a Kohen, as refuse, and taken to aritually cleanlocation outside the Temple.
The burnt-offering was offered together with ameal offeringand adrink offering, whose quantities depended on the variety of animal being offered (bull, ram, sheep, or goat).
The schedule of obligatory sacrifices, including burnt-offerings, appears in theBook of Numbers28:1-30:1. These include daily offerings,as well as additional offerings forShabbat,Rosh Chodesh,Rosh Hashanah,Passover,Shavuot,Yom Kippur,andSukkot.The sacrificial animals were required to be bulls, rams, goats (assin offerings) andlambs.
Akorbanolahwas also made as a sin offering on the appointment of apriest,on the termination of aNazirite's vow,after recovery fromtzaraath,by a woman afterchildbirth, after recovery from a state ofabnormal bodily discharges,agentile's conversion toJudaism, or as a voluntary sacrifice, when the sacrificial animal could be a young bull, ram, year-old goat, turtle doves, or pigeons.
TheSeptuagintmainly translates the Hebrewolahwith thecommon Greektermholokaustos, a traditional Greek religious practice in which the sacrificial victim was reduced to ash rather than parts consumed in a meal; for example, in Genesis 22:2, Isaac is to be sacrificed "as a holocaust" (Greek: εἰς ὁλοκάρπωσιν). Josephus uses the term both for Abraham and Isaac,but also in relation to the human sacrifice by Ahaz of his son to Baal.The practice is also referenced by Philo, but with significant changes.
Chazalsources, 3rd-6th century CE, portray theolahform of sacrifice, in which no meat was left over for consumption by theKohanim, as the greatest form of sacrificeand was the form of sacrifice permitted byJudaismto be sacrificed at the Temple by the Kohanim on behalf of bothJewsandnon-Jews.
Unless the offering was a bird (olat haof), its corpse was flayed.  The skin of the offering was then kept by the priests who were serving their shift as part of the rotation of thepriestly divisions. TheToseftanarrates that, as time evolved, more powerful priests forcibly took possession of the skins from the lesser priests.Subsequently, it was decreed by theBeth din shel Kohanim(the court of the priests in Jerusalem) that the skins should be sold, with the monetary proceeds being given to theTemple in Jerusalem(Tosefta 19).
Some passages in theBook of Judgesshow the principle and practice ofwhole offerings;in the story of Gideon, a slaughter offering of a young goat and unleavened bread is destroyed when fire sent from heaven consumes it; in the story of Samson's birth, his father, who was intending to make a slaughter offering so that he could give a meal to an angel, is told by the angel to burn it completely instead.
The burnt offering is believed to have appeared as an extreme form of the slaughter offering, whereby the portion allocated to the deity increased to all of it.In slaughter offerings, the portion allocated to the deity was mainly thefat, the part which can most easily be burnt (fat is quitecombustible); scholars believe it was felt that the deity, beingaethereal, would appreciate aethereal food more than solid food—the burning of the fatty parts of animals being to produce smoke as asweet savourfor the deity.