Keluaran 12:8

12:8 They will eat the meat the same night; ¹  they will eat it roasted over the fire with bread made without yeast ²  and with bitter herbs.

Keluaran 29:18

29:18 and burn ³  the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering ⁴  to the Lord, a soothing aroma; it is an offering made by fire ⁵  to the Lord. ⁶ 

[12:8]  ¹ tn Heb “this night.”

[12:8]  ² sn Bread made without yeast could be baked quickly, not requiring time for the use of a leavening ingredient to make the dough rise. In Deut 16:3 the unleavened cakes are called “the bread of affliction,” which alludes to the alarm and haste of the Israelites. In later Judaism and in the writings of Paul, leaven came to be a symbol of evil or corruption, and so “unleavened bread” – bread made without yeast – was interpreted to be a picture of purity or freedom from corruption or defilement (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 90-91).

[29:18]  ³ tn Heb “turn to sweet smoke.”

[29:18]  ⁴ sn According to Lev 1 the burnt offering (often called whole burnt offering, except that the skins were usually given to the priests for income) was an atoning sacrifice. By consuming the entire animal, God was indicating that he had completely accepted the worshiper, and as it was a sweet smelling fire sacrifice, he was indicating that he was pleased to accept it. By offering the entire animal, the worshiper was indicating on his part a complete surrender to God.

[29:18]  ⁵ tn The word אִשֶּׁה (’isheh) has traditionally been translated “an offering made with fire” or the like, because it appears so obviously connected with fire. But further evidence from Ugaritic suggests that it might only mean “a gift” (see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 161).

[29:18]  ⁶ sn These sections show that the priest had to be purified or cleansed from defilement of sin and also be atoned for and accepted by the Lord through the blood of the sacrifice. The principles from these two sacrifices should be basic to anyone seeking to serve God.