What is a heave offering?

Answer

A heave offering was a way of presenting one’s offering to God, and it appears in the Old Testament along with burnt offerings, grain offerings, freewill offerings, and the offering of the firstborn of the flocks. The heave offering is part of the Mosaic Law and was one of the common sacrifices or offerings given to God by the Israelites.

Only a few translations, such as the KJV and the NAS, call it the “heave offering”; most translations consider it simply an offering presented before the Lord. The “heave” of the “heave offering” is a simple upward movement. It could refer to the generic movement of lifting or “heaving” the sacrifice toward the altar, or it could refer to lifting up or separating a portion of the sacrifice from the rest. This “heaved” portion was set apart for use by the priests «For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel. », (Leviticus 7:34).

The heave offering was not really a separate offering but the portion of another offering that was reserved for the use of the priests. “You shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering which was waved and which was offered from the ram of ordination, from the one which was for Aaron and from the one which was for his sons. It shall be for Aaron and his sons as their portion forever from the sons of Israel, for it is a heave offering; and it shall be a heave offering from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, even their heave offering to the LORD” (Exodus 29:27-28;NAS).

The heave offering was part of the sacrificial system in ancient Israel, designated for the priests’ use.The heave offering was frequently used alongside a wave offering, and both were then presented to the priests. The heave and the wave signify the motion of the sacrificed item over the altar. In a wave offering, the priest would sway the offering from side to side over the altar, while in a heave offering, the sacrificed item is elevated with an up-and-down motion. The Hebrew term terumah, meaning “heave offering,” is derived from the verb stem rum, signifying “exalted” or “lifted up.” In most biblical cases, the heave offering was a portion of a sacrifice designated or “lifted up” for a higher purpose.

The heave offering was commonly offered along with tithes «And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for a heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. », (Leviticus 7:14,34) «For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel. », (Leviticus 7:14,34) as a provision for the Levites, the priestly tribe who did not possess land of their own and thus could not cultivate their own food. They relied on the Lord’s provision through tithes and heave offerings «But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. », (Numbers 18:24,29) «Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. », (Numbers 18:24,29). The heave offering is similar to the tithe as it was to be given from a person’s firstfruits, that is, from the initial portion of the produce harvested each year «Of the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD a heave offering in your generations. », (Numbers 15:21). The Levites themselves also presented a heave offering to the Lord from the tithes of the Israelites. A tenth of all they received from the other tribes was offered up to God «Thus speak to the Levites, and tell them, When you receive from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer a heave offering of it to the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe. », (Numbers 18:26).