1. Lévitique 9:2 (NEG79)
  2. Explication du texte

What is significant about Aaron offering a bull calf and then a ram?

Lévitique 9:2 (NEG79)

2 Il dit à Aaron: Prends un jeune veau pour le sacrifice d'expiation, et un bélier pour l'holocauste, l'un et l'autre sans défaut, et sacrifie-les devant l'Eternel.

Aaron is commanded to offer two sacrifices: a bull calf (literally: a son of the herd) and a ram. Jewish commentators have pointed to the irony of Aaron’s first sacrifice. In Exodus 32:4, Aaron had made a golden calf for Israel to worship in idolatry. This first sacrifice may be to atone for his sin in making the golden calf. The second offering, a ram, is the same animal offered by Abraham in the place of Isaac (Genesis 22:1–24). The sinful nature of mankind is emphasized through these sacrifices.