What is the meaning of Leviticus 16:25?

He is also to burn

• “He” refers to the high priest—on the Day of Atonement Aaron and his successors performed every act precisely as commanded (Leviticus 16:6, 24).

• “Also” links this step to the earlier rituals: sprinkling blood, releasing the scapegoat, cleansing himself. The burning is not optional but integral (Leviticus 16:23–24).

• “Burn” underscores complete consumption by fire, an offering ascending to God (Leviticus 6:12–13; 1 Samuel 2:16).

• Fire in Scripture often signals God’s acceptance and purification (Leviticus 9:24; Hebrews 12:29).

---

the fat

• Fat was considered the choicest part of the animal and exclusively God’s portion (Leviticus 3:16).

• Burning it highlighted God’s supreme worth: the best goes to Him, never for human use (Leviticus 7:22–25).

• The aroma “pleasing to the LORD” (Leviticus 4:31) symbolized divine approval, pointing to wholehearted devotion (Proverbs 3:9).

---

of the sin offering

• A sin offering dealt with guilt before God, providing atonement through substitution (Leviticus 4:20; Hebrews 9:22).

• On this day the offering covered the priesthood and the people (Leviticus 16:11, 15), foreshadowing Christ who “was made sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

• Only the fat was burned; the carcass was taken outside the camp (Leviticus 16:27), prefiguring Jesus suffering “outside the gate” (Hebrews 13:11-12).

---

on the altar

• The bronze altar in the courtyard was God’s chosen meeting place for sacrifice (Exodus 27:1-8).

• Burning the fat there maintained continuity with daily offerings (Leviticus 6:12) and emphasized public witness to atonement.

• The altar connected earth to heaven: what was consumed below rose upward, teaching that sin’s penalty must be met before fellowship is restored (Hebrews 10:12-14).

---

summary

Each phrase in Leviticus 16:25 reveals a layered truth: the appointed priest must completely dedicate the choicest portion of the sin-bearing victim to God, on His altar, so that atonement is visibly and fully accomplished. This literal act in Israel’s worship anticipates the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus, whose self-offering satisfies God’s justice and opens the way for forgiven sinners to draw near.