Exodus 29:23Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The bread and unleavened bread, along with the wine offering, represent the produce that emerges from the earth, and it is a sacred act to present the firstfruits to the Lord.

The scholars identify two types of offerings to God. One type, denoted by the term terumah, indicates an act of elevation, which the Rabbis explain involves elevating a portion of the sacrifice, specifically the shoulder of the peace-offering (Lev. V⁴⁰; II, 32), multiple times toward the altar. The other type, referred to by the term tenufa, which translates to 'shaking,' and is rendered in various Western texts as 'rocking' or 'swaying' involves moving a part of the sacrifice, namely the sternum, known as the breast of the shaking (Lev. V⁴⁰; II, 34). In a distinct rite of initiation, the shoulder of the sacrifice is shaken (see below, note 11). Silvestre de Sacy's translation does not differentiate between these offerings, rendering them uniformly as 'raising the offering to the Lord.' The term 'tournoyer' is employed by Osterwald.