It is true that this offering is wholly burned up, but “whole offering” and “burnt offering” are not the meaning of the term. There are other words for “whole” and “burn.” Better alternatives used by some are “offering-up,” “elevated offering,” and “elevation.” “Ascension,” however, provides a link with all the ascensions up to mountain tops, rooftops, and upper rooms for worship, ascending on an altar (Exodus 20:26), the Psalms of Ascent, Jesus’ ascension to heaven, and even an edible animal’s “ascending” the cud (Leviticus 11). Moreover, “burnt offering” has made for confusion in the story of Jephthah (Judges 11), for Jephthah’s daughter was not burned up, but sent up to serve in God’s palace for the rest of her life.

This ascension must be considered in two ways. First, the animal moves upward, but second, upward also means inward toward the Holy of Holies, from east to west. East of the Communion Site is the pit of fat-ashes (1:16), where the ashes that drop onto the ground under the Communion Site are taken. Thus, west of the Communion Site is equivalent to the area above the Communion Site. (BIBLICAL Horizons, No. 144. http://www.biblicalhorizons.com/biblical-horizons/no-144-leviticus-1-3-4-10/)