Topical Bible: Savor

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Topical Encyclopedia

Definition and Usage:
The term "savor" in the Bible often refers to the quality or essence of something, particularly in terms of smell or taste. It is used metaphorically to describe the influence or impact of a person or thing, especially in a spiritual or moral context. The concept of savor is closely associated with the idea of being pleasing or acceptable, often in the sight of God.

Old Testament Context:
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word often translated as "savor" is "reach," which means fragrance or aroma. This term is frequently used in the context of sacrifices. For example, in Genesis 8:21 , after Noah offered burnt offerings to the Lord, it is written, "When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, 'Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.'" Here, the "pleasing aroma" signifies God's acceptance of the sacrifice.

In Leviticus, the phrase "a pleasing aroma to the LORD" is repeatedly used to describe the offerings made by the Israelites (e.g., Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17). These offerings, when made according to God's instructions, were considered a "sweet savor" to Him, symbolizing obedience and devotion.

New Testament Context:
In the New Testament, the Greek word "osme" is used, which also means fragrance or aroma. The Apostle Paul uses this term metaphorically in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 : "But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life." Here, Paul describes the believers' role in spreading the "fragrance" of Christ, which is perceived differently by those who accept or reject the Gospel.

Spiritual Implications:
The concept of savor in the Bible carries significant spiritual implications. It suggests that believers are called to be a "sweet aroma" to God, living lives that are pleasing and acceptable to Him. This is further emphasized in Ephesians 5:2 , where Paul exhorts believers to "walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God."

The idea of savor also implies discernment and influence. In Matthew 5:13 , Jesus tells His disciples, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." Here, savor represents the distinctiveness and preserving influence that believers are to have in the world.

Conclusion:
The biblical concept of savor encompasses both the literal and metaphorical, highlighting the importance of being pleasing to God and influential in the world. It calls believers to live lives marked by obedience, love, and the spreading of the Gospel, serving as a "sweet aroma" to God and a testament to His transformative power.

ATS Bible Dictionary

Savor

An agreeable taste or odor, or that quality of objects which appeals to the sense of smell or of taste, Matthew 5:13. The sacrifice of Noah and that of Christ were acceptable to God, like the odor of a sweet incense to a man, Genesis 8:21 Ephesians 5:2. The chief savor of the apostles' teaching was welcome by some to their eternal life, and rejected by others to their aggravated condemnation, 2 1 Corinthians 2:15,16.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (a.) That property of a thing which affects the organs of taste or smell; taste and odor; flavor; relish; scent; as, the savor of an orange or a rose; an ill savor.

2. (a.) Hence, specific flavor or quality; characteristic property; distinctive temper, tinge, taint, and the like.

3. (a.) Sense of smell; power to scent, or trace by scent.

4. (a.) Pleasure; delight; attractiveness.

5. (n.) To have a particular smell or taste; -- with of.

6. (n.) To partake of the quality or nature; to indicate the presence or influence; to smack; -- with of.

7. (n.) To use the sense of taste.

8. (v. t.) To perceive by the smell or the taste; hence, to perceive; to note.

9. (v. t.) To have the flavor or quality of; to indicate the presence of.

10. (v. t.) To taste or smell with pleasure; to delight in; to relish; to like; to favor.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

SAVOR

sa'-ver (reach; osme;

(1) The primary meaning of the word is "taste," "flavor" (from Latin sapor, "taste"). So in Matthew 5:13 Luke 14:34, "if the salt have lost its savor" (moranthe, "become tasteless," "insipid," so as to lose its characteristic preserving virtue).

(2) But generally it has the meaning of "smell," "odor":

(a) once of evil odor: "Its stench shall come up, and its ill savor shall come up" (Joel 2:20);

(b) elsewhere in the sense of pleasant smell. In the Old Testament, with the exception of Exodus 5:21 and the King James Version Songs 1:3 (the Revised Version (British and American) "fragrance"), it is always accompanied by the adjective "sweet." It stands for the smell of sacrifices and oblations, in agreement with the ancient anthropomorphic idea that God smells and is pleased with the fragrance of sacrifices (e.g. "Yahweh smelled the sweet savor," Genesis 8:21; "to make a sweet savor unto Yahweh," Numbers 15:3; and frequently).

In the New Testament, "savor" in the sense of smell is used metaphorically:

(a) once the metaphor is borrowed from the incense which attends the victor's triumphal procession; God is said to make manifest through His apostles "the savor of his knowledge in every place" as He "leadeth" them "in triumph in Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:14; see TRIUMPH).

(b) Elsewhere the metaphor is borrowed from the fragrant smell of the sacrifices. The apostles "are a sweet savor of Christ unto God" (2 Corinthians 2:15), i.e. they are, as it were, a sweet odor for God to smell, an odor which is pleasing to God, even though its effect upon men varies (to some it is a "savor from death unto death," i.e. such as is emitted by death and itself causes death; to others it is "a savor from life unto life," 2 Corinthians 2:16). By the same sacrificial metaphor, Christ's offering of Himself to God is said to be "for a sweet smelling savor" (Ephesians 5:2 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "for an odor of a sweet smell"; the same phrase is used in Philippians 4:18 of acts of kindness to Paul, which were "a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God").

(3) Once it is used in the figurative sense of reputation: "Ye have made our savor to be abhorred (literally, "our smell to stink") in the eyes of Pharaoh" (Exodus 5:21). Compare the English phrase, "to be in bad odor."

The verb "to savor" means:

(1) intransitively, to taste or smell of, to partake of the quality of something, as in the Preface of the King James Version, "to savour more of curiosity than wisdome," or

(2) transitively, to perceive by the taste or smell, to discern: "thou savourest not the things that be of God" (the King James Version Matthew 16:23 Mark 8:33, the Revised Version (British and American) "mindest"; phroneis; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) sapis). The adjective "savory" occurs only in Genesis 27:4, 7, 9, 14, 17, 31 ("savory food") and the Revised Version (British and American) Isaiah 30:24 (margin "salted").

D. Miall Edwards

Greek

4442. pur -- fire
... [This is illustrated by at the entrance of the Tabernacle where the priests made
sweet-savor offerings. Compare Lev 6:12,13 with 1 Pet 2:5,9.]. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4442.htm - 7k

3744. osme -- a smell
... a smell. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: osme Phonetic Spelling:
(os-may') Short Definition: an odor Definition: a smell, odor, savor. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3744.htm - 6k

3471. moraino -- to be foolish
... Word Origin from moros Definition to be foolish NASB Word Usage became fools (1),
become tasteless (2), made foolish (1). make foolish, lose savor. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3471.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

5208. nichoach -- soothing, tranquilizing
... sweet odor, savor. (Aramaic) or (shorter) niychoach (Aramaic) {nee-kho'-akh};
corresponding to nichowach; pleasure -- sweet odour (savour). see HEBREW nichowach ...
/hebrew/5208.htm - 6k

Library

The Message Heeded
... "Thanks be unto God," he exclaimed, "which always causeth us to triumph in Christ,
and maketh manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place. ...
/.../white/the acts of the apostles/lesson 31 the message heeded.htm

John Chapter xi. 55-57; xii
... Listen to the apostle, when he says, "We are a sweet savor of Christ in every place."
As it is said also in the Song of Songs, "Thy name is as ointment poured ...
/.../augustine/homilies on the gospel of john/tractate l john chapter xi.htm

Since These Things are So, Because it were Too Long to Treat ...
... Or, truly, because we read, "We are a sweet savor of Christ in every place, both
in them which are saved and in them which perish;" [2460] to the one, indeed ...
/.../augustine/against lying/section 35 since these things.htm

Whether Temperance is About the Pleasures Proper to the Taste?
... Now, according to De Anima ii, 3, "the touch is the sense of food," as regards the
very substance of the food, whereas "savor" which is the proper object of ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether temperance is about the.htm

Lucius of Castra Galb?? Said: "Since the Lord Hath Said in his ...
... Lucius of Castra Galb?? [1627] said: "Since the Lord hath said in His gospel, Ye
are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, that which is ...
/.../writings in connection with the donatist controversy /chapter 14 22 lucius.htm

The Sermon on the Mount.
... Subjects. ^A Matthew 5:13-16. ^a 13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the
salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xlii the sermon on the 3.htm

Whether the Sacramental Species Can be Corrupted?
... subject of sensible qualities, as stated above [4575](A[1]), it can likewise be
the subject of their alteration, for instance, if the color or the savor of the ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the sacramental species can.htm

Third Sunday in Lent
... "To God for an odor of a sweet smell [for a sweet-smelling savor].". 4.
This expression Paul takes from the Old Testament. There ...
//christianbookshelf.org/luther/epistle sermons vol ii/third sunday in lent.htm

The Apostolic Love.
... Rock of offense; fall and rising again for many in Israel; a sign that shall be
spoken against; savor of life, but also savor of death"we wonder how it is ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xxxvi the apostolic love.htm

2 Cor. Ii. 12, 13
... Ver.14. "But thanks be to God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and
maketh manifest through us the savor of His knowledge in every place.". ...
/.../homilies on the epistles of paul to the corinthians/homily v 2 cor ii.htm

Thesaurus

Savor (51 Occurrences)
... 1. (a.) That property of a thing which affects the organs of taste or smell; taste
and odor; flavor; relish; scent; as, the savor of an orange or a rose; an ...
/s/savor.htm - 28k

Savour (52 Occurrences)
... (DBY). Genesis 8:21 And Jehovah smelled the sweet savor; and Jehovah said in his
heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for that the ...
/s/savour.htm - 22k

Drink-offering (33 Occurrences)
... offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meal-offering of the morning,
and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering ...
/d/drink-offering.htm - 18k

Triumph (52 Occurrences)
... During the triumphal entry the priests burned incense, and hence, the reference
of the apostle: "For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that are ...
/t/triumph.htm - 24k

Smell (77 Occurrences)
... 5. (vi) To have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savor; as, a report
smells of calumny. 6. (vi) To exercise the sense of smell. ...
/s/smell.htm - 34k

Sweet (147 Occurrences)
... Genesis 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in his heart,
I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination ...
/s/sweet.htm - 40k

Smoke (98 Occurrences)
... Exodus 29:18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering
unto Jehovah; it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah. ...
/s/smoke.htm - 39k

Memorial-part (7 Occurrences)
... with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn it as the memorial
thereof upon the altar, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto Jehovah ...
/m/memorial-part.htm - 8k

Burnt-sacrifice (13 Occurrences)
... and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar,
to be a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD ...
/b/burnt-sacrifice.htm - 10k

Meal-offering (120 Occurrences)
... offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meal-offering of the morning,
and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering ...
/m/meal-offering.htm - 40k

Resources

What does the Bible say about overcoming lust? | GotQuestions.org

What was the significance of the altar of incense? | GotQuestions.org

Savor: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Savor (51 Occurrences)

Matthew 5:13
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.
(ASV WBS)

Luke 14:34
Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
(ASV WBS)

2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be unto God, who always leadeth us in triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest through us the savor of his knowledge in every place.
(ASV WBS)

2 Corinthians 2:15
For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that are saved, and in them that perish;
(ASV WBS)

2 Corinthians 2:16
to the one a savor from death unto death; to the other a savor from life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
(ASV WBS)

Ephesians 5:2
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.
(WBS)

Genesis 8:21
And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Exodus 5:21
And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Exodus 29:18
And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Exodus 29:25
And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Exodus 29:41
And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 1:9
But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 1:17
And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 2:2
And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD:
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 2:9
And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 2:12
As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savor.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 3:5
And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 3:16
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor: all the fat is the LORD's.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 4:31
And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor unto the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 6:15
And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor, even the memorial of it, unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 6:21
In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baked, thou shalt bring it in: and the baked pieces of the meat offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 8:21
And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savor, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 8:28
And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savor: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 17:6
And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 23:13
And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savor: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 23:18
And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Leviticus 26:31
And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 15:3
And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savor unto the LORD, of the herd or of the flock:
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 15:7
And for a drink offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 15:10
And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 15:13
All that are born of the country shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 15:14
And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 15:24
Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 18:17
But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 28:2
Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savor unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 28:6
It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 28:8
And the other lamb shalt thou offer at even: as the meat offering of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 28:13
And a several tenth deal of flour mingled with oil for a meat offering unto one lamb; for a burnt offering of a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 28:27
But ye shall offer the burnt offering for a sweet savor unto the LORD; two young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs of the first year;
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 29:2
And ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savor unto the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish:
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 29:6
Beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings, according unto their manner, for a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 29:8
But ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD for a sweet savor; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be unto you without blemish:
(KJV ASV WBS)

Numbers 29:13
And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:
(KJV ASV WBS)

Ezra 6:10
that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savor unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.
(ASV WBS)

Job 6:6
Can that which hath no savor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
(ASV WBS)

Song of Songs 1:3
Because of the savor of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
(WBS)

Ezekiel 6:13
And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered sweet savor to all their idols.
(ASV WBS)

Ezekiel 16:19
My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savor; and 'thus' it was, saith the Lord Jehovah.
(ASV WBS)

Ezekiel 20:28
For when I had brought them into the land, which I sware to give unto them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering; there also they made their sweet savor, and they poured out there their drink-offerings.
(ASV WBS)

Ezekiel 20:41
As a sweet savor will I accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations.
(ASV WBS)

Amos 4:10
I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the ill savor of your camps to come up to your nostrils: yet have ye not returned to me, saith the LORD.
(WBS)

Subtopics

Savor

Related Terms

Offense (44 Occurrences)

Savors (1 Occurrence)

Savor (51 Occurrences)