A burnt offering in Judaism is a form of sacrifice first described in the Hebrew Bible.
The Hebrew noun olah (עֹלָה) occurs 289 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. It means "that which goes up [in flames]". Its traditional name in English is "holocaust", and the word olah has traditionally been translated as "burnt offering."
The first uses of olah for burnt offering are the animal sacrifices of Noah (Genesis 8:20) and the near-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham: "Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you" (Genesis 22:2).
If you hear it said about one of the towns YHWH is giving you to live in that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to YHWH. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt, and none of the condemned things are to be found in your hands. Then YHWH will turn from his fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. He will increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your ancestors — because you obey YHWH by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.
