Burnt offering — Meaning in the Bible
A sacrifice wholly burned on the altar, given entirely to God. It was the most common sacrifice in Israel's worship.
What it means
The worshipper laid a hand on the animal's head, and the whole animal was burned on the altar "as a sweet aroma to the LORD". Burnt offerings were made every morning and evening. Leviticus 1:3–9Numbers 28:3–4
Noah offered burnt offerings after the flood; God told Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering but provided a ram instead. Genesis 8:20Genesis 22:2Genesis 22:13
Key passages
- Genesis 8:20–21 — Noah's burnt offerings.
- Genesis 22:1–14 — The ram provided.
- Leviticus 1:1–17 — The law of the burnt offering.
- Mark 12:33 — Love is more than burnt offerings.
Original language
עֹלָה o.lah
Hebrew · Strong’s H5930a · gloss: “burnt offering”
The Hebrew word olah, "what goes up" (in smoke). Leviticus 1:3
A Strong’s number is a reference identifier, not a complete definition: what a word means in a passage depends on its context. Lexical data: STEPBible.org, based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).