The Thanksgiving Offering and Its Loaves

If he is bringing it in order to give thanks for one of the four just-mentioned reasons, he must bring—along with the animal he brings as a peace-offering, which in this case is known as the thanksgiving feast-offering—40 grain-offerings, made out of a total of two ephahs of fine wheat flour and half a log of oil.

One ephah of flour (and the entire half-log of oil) are to be used to prepare 30 unleavened breads, as follows: 10 unleavened loaves, each made out of 1/30 of an ephah of flour mixed with 1/80 of a log of oil; 10 flat unleavened cakes, each made out of 1/30 of an ephah of flour and then smeared with 1/80 of a log of oil; and 10 unleavened loaves, each made out of 1/30 of an ephah of flour mixed with 1/40 of a log of oil, first scalded (i.e., kneaded with boiling water), then baked in an oven, and finally fried in a frying pan, similar to the previously-described obligatory offering for the priests.

He must bring his offering consisting of 30 unleavened loaves along with 10 loaves of leavened bread, each made out of one-tenth of an ephah of flour (kneaded without any oil), together with his peace-promoting feast-offering of thanksgiving. Thus, each loaf of leavened bread will be three times the size of each loaf of unleavened bread.

Type of Grain-Offering

unleavened loaves mixed with oil10 x 1/30 ephah = 1/3 ephah10 x 1/80 log = 1/8 logflat unleavened cakes smeared with oil10 x 1/30 ephah = 1/3 ephah10 x 1/80 log = 1/8 logscalded unleavened flour10 x 1/30 ephah = 1/3 ephah10 x 1/40 log = 1/4 logleavened bread10 x 1/10 ephah = 1 ephah0total2 ephahs1/2 log

Figure 1. The Loaves Brought with the Thanksgiving Offering

The value of the loaves becomes consecrated as soon as they are designated as offerings, and thus, from that point on they may no longer be used for mundane purposes unless redeemed monetarily. In contrast, the loaves themselves do not become consecrated until the animal is slaughtered, and thus, only from that point on may they not be redeemed monetarily, and only from that point on do they become disqualified as offerings if they are taken out of the area in which they must be eaten (in this case, the three desert camps, or later, the Temple city) or touched by a defiled person.