OFFERTORY
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OFFERTORY
of meal, oil, and incense that accompanied the daily
holocaust. A handful of this meal-offering mingled
with oil was burned on the altar together with incense,
and the remainder was allotted to the priests, to be
eaten unleavened within the Temple precincts (Lev.,
vi, 14-18; Num., vi, 14-16). In peace-offerings,
together with the victim, loaves, wafers, and cakes
of flour kneaded with oil, and loaves of leavened
bread were presented to the Temple (the loaves
of leavened bread were not to be put or burned upon
the altar) ; one cake, one wafer, and one loaf of each
kind was the share of the officiating priest (Lev., vii,
11-14; ii, 11). Among the regulations for the sac-
rifice of thanksgiving to be offered by lepers on their
recovery was one that the cleansed, if they had the
means, should add to the victims three-tenths of an
ephah (the ephah of the second Temple contained
about three pecks, dry measure, the old measure being
possibly twice as large) of meal tempered with oil; if
they were poor, one tenth of an ephah was sufficient
(Lev., xiv, 10, 21). Finally the sacrifice of the Naza-
rite included a basketful of unleavened bread tem-
pered with oil and cakes of like kind, together with the
ordinary libations.
For public oblations separate from sacrifices see First-Fruits; Lo,\ves of Proposition; Tithes. Moreover, every day the High Priest presented at the altar in his own name and that of the other priests an oblation of one tenth of an ephah (half in the morning and half in the evening) of meal kneaded with oil, to be burned on the altar (Lev., vi, 19-2.3; of. Jos., "Ant. Jud.", Ill, X, 7). A certain number of private oblations were prescribed by Law. The priest, on entering upon his ministry, offered an oblation, the same in kind and quantity as the dailj' oblation of the High Prie.st (Lev., vi, 20,21). A man obliged to a sin-offering, and too poor to provide a victim, was allowed to present an oblation of one tenth of an ephah of flour without the accompaniments of oil and incense (Lev., v, 1-4, 11, 12). A woman accused of adultery was subjected to a trial during which an offering of one tenth of an ephah of barley-flour with- out oil or incense was made, a part being burned on the altar. Finally oblations might be made in fulfilment of a vow; but then tlie iiiattor was left to the choice of the vower. The regulati<jns of the Pentateuchal Law concerning oblations were scrutinized and commented upon by .Jewish doctors who took up every possible difficulty likely to occur, for instance, on the nature, origin, preparation, and cooking of the flour to be used, its buying and measuring, i;he mode of present- ing, receiving, and offering the oblation, its division and the attributing of each of the parts (see the forty- second treatise of the Mishna: "Menahoth"). Of these commentaries we will single out only those con- cerned with the rite to be observed in offering the ob- lations, because they are the only somewhat reliable explanation of difficult expressions occasionally met with in Holy Writ (D. V.: "to elevate", "to sepa- rate", Lev., vii,34;x, 15, etc.). When an Israelite pre- sented an oblation, the priest went to meet him at the gate of the priests' court; he put his hands under the hands of the offerer, who held oblation, and drew the offerer's hands and the oblation first backwards, then forwards (this was the Ihenuphah, improperly ren- dered "the separation"), again upwards and down- wards (Iherumah, " the elevation "). These rites were not observed in the oblations by women or Gentiles. The first-fruits offered at the Pasch and the "oblation of jealousy" (on the occasion of an accusation of adul- tery) were moved about in the manner described, then brought to the south-west corner of the altar; the first- fruits offered at the Pentecost and the log (2/.5 of a pint) of oil presented by the leper were subject to the ihenuphah and the Iherumah, but not brought to the altar; the sin-offering, the oblations of the priests, and the freewill oblations were only brought directly to
the altar; lastly the loaves of proposition were neither
"separated" and "elevated" nor brought to the altar.
III. Oblations among Christian.s. — Like many Jewish customs, that of offering to the Temple the matter of the sacrifices and other oblations was adapted by the early Christian communities to the new order of things. First in importance among these Christian oblations is that of tlie matter of the Eucharistic sacrifice. Not only the laity, but the whole clergy, bishops, and pope himself included, had to make this offering. These oblations were collected by the officiating bishop assisted by priests and dea- cons at the beginning of the "Missa Fidelium", after the dismissal of the non-communicants. This collec- tion, at first performed in silence, was, towards the be- ginning of the fifth century, made amidst the singing of a Psalm, known in Rome as the "Offertorium", at Milan as the "Offerenda", and in Greek churches as the "Cherubikon" (our Offertory is a remnant of the old "Offertorium", curtailed by reason of the actual gathering of the oblations falling into disuse). Part of the oblations was destined for consecration and communion (cf . the French word oublie applied to the matter of the Eucharist). The subdeacon in charge of this part is called in certain "Ordines Romani" the "oblationarius". Another part was destined for the poor, and the remainder for the clergy. So important was this offering held, that the word ablatio came to designate the whole liturgical service. Apart from this liturgical oblation, which has been preserved, at least partly, in the liturgy of Milan and in some churches of France, new fruits were at given seasons presented at Mass for blessing, a custom somewhat analogous to the first-fruit offerings in the Old Law; this usage is still in vigour in paits of Germany where, at Easter, eggs are solemnly blessed ; but, contrary to Hebrew customs, the Christians usually retained the full disposition of these articles of food. Very early offerings were made over to the Church for the sup- port ol the poor and of the clergy. St. Paul empha- sized the right of ministers of the Gospel to live by the Gospel (I Cor., ix, 13-14), and he never tired of re- mintling the churches founded by him of their duty to supply the wants of poorer communities. How, within the limits of each community, the poor were cared for we catch a glimpse of in the records of the early Church of Jerusalem (institution of the deacons) ; that in certain Churches, as the Church of Rome, the oblations for the poor reached a fair amount, we know from the prominence of the deacons, an illustration of which we have in the history of St. Lawrence, and in the fact that the pope was usually chosen from among their order. In time of persecution, manual offerings were sufficient to support the clergy and the poor; but when peace had come. Christians felt it a duty to in- sure this .support by means of foundations. Such dona- tions multiplied, and the word "oblations "(usually in the iilural number) came to mean in Canon Law any property, real or personal, made over to the Church.
Edersheim. The Temple and Us services (London, 1874); Jab- trow, The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria (Boston. 1898); Smith, The Religion 0/ the Semites (London, 1907); Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History 0/ Israel, Eng. tr.. Black and Men- zies (Edinburgh, 1885); Idem, Reste arabischen Heidenthums (Ber- lin. 1897); Iken, Anliquitales Hebraicee (Bremen, 1741); Reland, Antiquitates Sacra (Utrecht, 1741); Spencer, De Legibus Hebrx- OTum rUualibus (Cambridge, 1727); Bergier in Diet, de Theologie (Lilie, n. d.). s. vv. Oblations, Offrandes; Cabrol, Le Livre de la priire antique (Paris. 1903); Dhorme, Coutumes des Arabes au pays de Moab (Paris, 1908) ; Idem. La religion assyro-babylonienne (Paris, 1910): Duchesne, Les origines du culte chrHien (Paris, 1898); Ermoni, La religion de t'Bgyple ancienne (Paris, 1909); Lagrange, Etudes sur les religions scmitiques (Paris, 1903) ; Bahr, Symholik des mosaischen CuUus (Heidelberg, 1837); Benziger, Hebr. Archaologie (Freiburg, 1895); Nowack, Lehrbuch der hebr. Archdologie, II (Freiburg. 1894). ChARLES L. SoUVAY.
Ofifertory (offertorium), the rite by which the bread and wine are presented (offered) to God before they are consecrated and the prayers and chant that accompany it.
