Library Theodoret Questions on Exodus
Questions on Exodus 62: “An odor of sweet savor to the Lord”
What is the meaning of “It is a burnt offering, an odor of sweet savor to the Lord”?
Through human things he teaches the divine. For since we delight in pleasant smells, he named the worship performed according to the law an odor of sweet savor. That one must not attend to the bare letter, both the nature of God teaches—for it is bodiless—and the foul smell of the burning bones: for what is more foul-smelling than those? The other translators, however, have put “of good pleasure” instead of “sweet savor.”
Greek: Theodoret of Cyrus, Quaestiones in Octateuchum / Questions on Exodus (CPG 6200.02; cf. Fernández Marcos and Sáenz-Badillos; also PG 80, cols. 225–298). English: study translation for BWAB Library—not the copyrighted Robert C. Hill (CUA Press) translation. The full Questions on Exodus (72 questions) is hosted here.