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The Pleasing-Aroma Formula

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

A Hebrew idiom for an acceptable offering in Genesis 8:21 and Leviticus; it does not by itself show that God needs food.

Modern conceptual illustration of an offering on newly dried ground beneath an arc of light; neither an artifact photograph nor a reconstruction of a documented event. © IL Archive, CC0
Modern conceptual illustration of an offering on newly dried ground beneath an arc of light; neither an artifact photograph nor a reconstruction of a documented event. © IL Archive, CC0Modern conceptual illustration: IL Archive / CC0 · CC0

Text

Genesis 8:21 says that YHWHYahwehThe divine proper name written YHWH in the Hebrew Bible.Glossary · Click to read the explanation smelled rēaḥ hannîḥōaḥ after NoahNoahNoah is the flood-story figure in Genesis and a prophet in the Qur’anGlossary · Click to read the explanation’s burnt offering, and a similar formula recurs in Leviticus 1:9, 13 and 17. The language is sensory, yet Genesis does not say that YHWH ate the offering or needed it as food. Psalm 50:12–13 expressly rejects divine dependence on sacrificial meat. Comparison with the gods smelling AtrahasisAtrahasis: Epic and HeroAkkadian epic: humans created for divine labor, multiplication, noise and flood. Atrahasis, “exceedingly wise,” survives through Enki’s warning; human reproduction is regulated afterward.Glossary · Click to read the explanation’s offering is useful, provided the two scenes are not assigned an identical theological meaning. [2][4][5][6]

References and notes

  1. Stephanie Dalley, Atrahasis III, printed pp. 33–35; relevant pages only Stephanie Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia, Atraḫasīs tablet III, English translation, PDF pp. 26–28 (printed pp. 33–35) Return to the text ↑
  2. Genesis 8:20–22 and 9:1–17, Hebrew and JPS 1917 Genesis 8:20–22 and 9:1–17, Hebrew and JPS 1917; chapter 9 cross-checked at https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0109.htm Return to the text ↑
  3. Psalm 50:8–15, especially 12–13; Hebrew and JPS 1917 Psalm 50:12–13, Hebrew and English Return to the text ↑
  4. Leviticus 1:9, 13 and 17; Hebrew pleasing-aroma formula Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17, Hebrew/English Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 3 · 13 October 2026 · aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

  2. Edition 2 · 12 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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Cite this record

IL Archive, «The Pleasing-Aroma Formula», Edition 3, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/pleasing-aroma-ritual-formula