Leviticus 7 compiles the laws of trespass offerings, thanksgiving offerings, and the priestly portions. The Targum Jonathan repeats a stunning claim from the previous chapter, framing it as a conclusion: the burnt offering atones "for the thoughts of the heart." This is not in the Hebrew Bible. The Targum invented an entire category of invisible sin that demanded a visible sacrifice.
The thanksgiving offering gets detailed treatment. It must be eaten the same day it is offered—nothing may be "laid up or covered up until the morning." The Targum uses doubled language for emphasis. If someone eats the meat on the third day, it is not merely unacceptable but "profaned," and the eater "shall bear his sin." The Hebrew Bible says the same, but the Targum adds that eating it properly was "reckoned to him for righteousness." Timing was theology.
The chapter makes critical distinctions about animal fat. Fat from an animal that dies naturally or is torn by predators may be used "in any work"—for fuel, for light, for crafts—but never eaten. Fat from a fit sacrificial animal must be burned on the altar. The Targum drives home a principle: what belongs to God cannot be repurposed for human consumption, even when similar material from a non-sacred animal is freely available.
The priestly portions—the breast and right shoulder—are described as God's direct gift to Aaron and his sons "by an everlasting statute." The Targum frames this as a consecration "over all the Levites their brethren," establishing the priestly hierarchy not just as tradition but as divine decree.
At the close, the Targum names every offering type and traces them all back to a single origin: "which the Lord commanded Moses in Mount Sinai."