Good morning,
I am reading in Leviticus and have a question. I read our translation, and when describing the offerings it says, “it is a placating aroma made by fire to the LORD”, and KJV says a ” sweet savour unto the LORD.” It just struck me how different that is. Or is it? I looked up the word “placate” to see the definition. Does placating mean to stave off the anger of the LORD? To “make do” for now?
Here is your translation of part of Leviticus 1:17: “The priest shall burn it on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a placating aroma made by fire to the Lord.”
Beth D.
=========
Hi Beth.
To placate is to stop someone from being angry (Cambridge dictionary), and that is exactly what the law of Moses did, regarding the wrath of God. The law’s ceremonies, especially the sacrifices, appeased the wrath of God against our sin until His Son came and made a way for us to live in God’s righteousness. When Jesus did that, there no longer existed a need for God’s wrath to exist against us. The law was not God’s permanent solution to man’s sin; the power of the holy Ghost is.
The dictionary definition of the Hebrew word which we translated as “placating” is “quieting, soothing, tranquillizing”; it has nothing to do with a sweet smell. I doubt that the burning flesh of animal sacrifices was sweet at all.
Thank you for the question.
Pastor John