Charles Ellicott Commentary


Charles Ellicott Commentary
"And ye shall offer one he-goat for a sin-offering, and two he-lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace-offerings." — Leviticus 23:19 (ASV)
Then you shall sacrifice. —Better, and you shall sacrifice. They were, furthermore, to offer a goat for a sin offering, and two lambs for a peace offering. Therefore, Josephus, who was an eyewitness to the Temple service, in summing up the number of animal sacrifices on this festival, says that there were fourteen lambs, three young bulls, and three goats, the number two instead of three goats being clearly a transcriber’s error (Antiq. III., 10:6).
The two statements, therefore, namely, the one in the passage before us and the other in Numbers 28:27, according to the authorities during the Second Temple, refer to two distinct sacrifices. The one before us speaks of the sacrifices which are to accompany the wave loaves, while the order in Numbers refers to the properly appointed sacrifices for the festival. Those prescribed in Numbers were offered in the wilderness, while those prescribed here were only to be offered when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.