Midvash

זֶבַחzebach

sacrifice

Pronunciation: zeh'-bakh · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H2077

Meanings

I. general name for all sacrifices eaten at feasts

1. of the God of Israel (Genesis 46:1; Exodus 10:25; Exodus 18:12)

2. of other deities (Exodus 34:15; Numbers 25:2; Deuteronomy 32:38)

II. there are several kinds of זְבָחִים which are gradually distinguished

1. the covenant sacrifice (Genesis 31:54; Psalms 50:5; Exodus 24:5)

2. the passover זֶבַח חַג הַפֶּסַח (Exodus 34:25; Exodus 12:27; Exodus 23:18)

3. annual sacrifice (1 Samuel 1:21; 1 Samuel 2:19; 1 Samuel 20:6)

4. thank offering (Leviticus 7:12; Leviticus 22:29; Psalms 107:22)

5. in ritual (Leviticus 3:1; 1 Samuel 10:8; 1 Kings 8:63)

6. the slaughter of hostile nations is also a זֶבַח offered by God Himself, in which the vultures devour the flesh of the victims (Isaiah 34:6; Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 39:17)

7. the verb used with זֶבַח is ordinarily זָבַח but others also are found (Numbers 6:17; Numbers 15:3; Numbers 15:5)

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 162 times in the Bible.

  • Genesis 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God there on the mountain and invited everyone to a covenant feast. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.
  • Genesis 46:1 So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.
  • Exodus 10:25 “No,” Moses said, “you must provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God.
  • Exodus 12:27 And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.
  • Exodus 18:12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came out and joined him in a sacrificial meal in God’s presence.
  • Exodus 23:18 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrificial offerings together with any baked goods containing yeast. And do not leave the fat from the festival offerings until the next morning.
See every passage

Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).