The Bible first mentions “fragrance” in connection with Noah’s sacrifice following the flood. He offers up a pacifying (a “noachic”) fragrance by turning animals to smoke (Genesis 8:21).
The next time there’s a fragrance, it’s Jacob dressed in borrowed clothing, seeking blessing from Isaac (Genesis 27:27). As Yahweh “smelled the smell” of Noah’s sacrifice, so Isaac “smells the smell” of the firstborn’s garment on the second-born’s body. Isaac corresponds to Yahweh, Jacob to Noah (or, more strictly, to Noah’s sacrifice). Sacrifice is clothing, a covering of fragrance that covers over out natural aroma.
It is poetically and theologically fitting that the verb “smell” puns with the noun “aroma.” Poetically because of the sound: Yahweh and Isaac both ruach a reyach . Theologically because the verb “smell” is spelled identically to the noun for breath, wind, Spirit. Yahweh’s ex halation is ruach but the same word is used for His in halation. And this suggests a running pun throughout the Old Testament: Wherever there is “fragrance,” breath/Spirit is lingering nearby. And this suggests another dimension of sacrifice: It is a clothing of fragrance because it is the clothing of Spirit.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
