Here are the chapters and verses from the Bible that mention sacrifices:
Genesis
- Genesis 4:3-5 – “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering, he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.”
- Genesis 8:20 – “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.”
- Genesis 12:7 – “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring, I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”
- Genesis 13:4 – “And where he had first built an altar. There, Abram called on the name of the Lord.”
- Genesis 13:18 – “So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.”
- Genesis 15:9-10 – “So the Lord said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.’ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two, and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.”
- Genesis 22:2 – “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.'”
- Genesis 22:7-8 – “Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, ‘Father?’ ‘Yes, my son?’ Abraham replied. ‘The fire and wood are here,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham answered, ‘God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.”
- Genesis 22:13 – “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.”
- Genesis 31:54 – “He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there.”
- Genesis 46:1 – “So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.”
These passages illustrate the early instances of sacrifices in Genesis, where they were used for worship, expressions of gratitude, covenants, and obedience to God. The concept of sacrifice evolves throughout the Bible, starting from these foundational stories in Genesis.
Exodus:
- Exodus 5:3 – “Then they said, ‘The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.'”
- Exodus 8:25-27 – “Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.’ But Moses said, ‘That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer detestable sacrifices in their eyes, will they not stone us? We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us.'”
- Exodus 10:25-26 – “But Moses said, ‘You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. Our livestock, too, must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there, we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.'”
- Exodus 12:21-27 – “Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and put some of the blood on the top and both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. Observe this ceremony when you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ Then the people bowed down and worshiped.”
- Exodus 13:15 – “When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice the first male offspring of every womb to the Lord and redeem each of my firstborn sons.”
- Exodus 18:12 – “Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.”
- Exodus 20:24 – “Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.”
- Exodus 23:18 – “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me with anything containing yeast. The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.”
- Exodus 24:5-8 – “Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. Then, he read the Book of the Covenant to the people. They responded, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.’ Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.'”
- Exodus 29:10-14 – “Bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Take some of the bull’s blood put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. Then take all the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. But burn the bull’s flesh and its hide and its intestines outside the camp. It is a sin offering.”
- Exodus 29:18 – “Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.”
- Exodus 29:36-37 – “Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. For seven days, make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.”
- Exodus 34:25 – “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifices from the Passover Festival remain until morning.”
These verses from Exodus show the importance of sacrifices in the context of Israel’s worship, law, and covenant relationship with God. They outline specific sacrifice regulations, methods, and purposes, ranging from atonement and thanksgiving to covenantal ceremonies and festivals.