Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Leviticus 2:13
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt, etc.] Which makes food savoury, and preserves from putrefaction; denoting the savouriness and acceptableness of Christ as a meat offering to his people, he being savoury food, such as their souls love, as well as to God the Father, who is well pleased with his sacrifice; and also the perpetuity of his sacrifice, which always has the same virtue in it, and of him as a meat offering, who is that meat which endures to everlasting life, (<430627>John 6:27) and also the grave and gracious conversation of those that by faith feed upon him, (<410950>Mark 9:50 <510406>Colossians 4:6) neither shall thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering; this seems to suggest the reason why salt was used in meat offerings, and in all others, because it was a symbol of the perpetuity of the covenant, which from thence is called a covenant of salt, (<041819>Numbers 18:19) namely, the covenant of the priesthood, to which these sacrifices belonged, (<042513>Numbers 25:13) hence the Targum of Jonathan, “because the twenty four gifts of the priests are decreed by the covenant of salt, therefore upon all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt:” with all thine offerings thou shall offer salt, even those that were not to be eaten, as well as those that were; as the burnt offering of the herd, of the flock, and of fowls, and their several parts; all were obliged to be salted that were offered, excepting wine, blood, wood, and incense f69; hence there was a room in the temple where salt was laid up for this purpose, called jlm tkçl, “the salt room” f70; and which was provided by the congregation, and not by a private person f71; our Lord has reference to this law in (<410949>Mark 9:49) the Heathens always made use of salt in their sacrifices f72.
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