Specifically a slaughter-sacrifice in which the animal is killed and its blood manipulated ritually. Distinguished from ʿōlâ (burnt offering, wholly consumed) and minchâ (grain offering), the zebach typically involves a communal meal — portions go to God (blood and fat), to the priest, and to the offerer. The peace offering (zebach shĕlāmîm) is the primary type.
The zebach reveals that sacrifice in Israel was fundamentally relational and communal, not merely transactional. The peace offering was a shared meal — God, priest, and worshipper eating together — making sacrifice an act of communion. Yet the prophets consistently warned that sacrifice without obedience is worthless: 'To obey is better than sacrifice' (1 Sam 15:22); 'I desired mercy, and not sacrifice' (Hos 6:6). This prophetic critique does not abolish sacrifice but insists it must flow from a transformed heart. The Passover lamb was a zebach (Exod 12:27), connecting this word directly to Israel's foundational redemption event — and forward to Christ, 'our Passover, sacrificed for us' (1 Cor 5:7).