Leviticus 24:7

You must put pure frankincense ¹  on each row, ²  and it will become a memorial portion ³  for the bread, a gift ⁴  to the Lord.

Ge 9:16; Ex 12:14; Ex 13:9; Ex 17:14; Le 2:2; Joh 6:35,51; Ac 10:4,31; 1Co 11:23-25; Eph 1:6; Heb 7:25; Re 8:3,4

¹ tn This is not just any “incense” (קְטֹרֶת, qÿtoret; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:913-16), but specifically “frankincense” (לְבֹנָה, lÿvonah; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:756-57).

² tn Heb “on [עַל, ’al] the row,” probably used distributively, “on each row” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395-96). Perhaps the frankincense was placed “with” or “along side of” each row, not actually on the bread itself, and was actually burned as incense to the Lord (cf. NIV “Along [Alongside CEV] each row”; NRSV “with each row”; NLT “near each row”; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 165). This particular preposition can have such a meaning.

³ sn The “memorial portion” (אַזְכָרָה, ’azkharah) was normally the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (see Lev 2:2 and the notes there), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (Lev 2:3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23 [6:7-16 HT]).

⁴ sn See the note on Lev 1:9 regarding the term “gift.”