Burnt Offerings (Olah): Whole animals (e.g., bulls, rams, birds) completely consumed by fire on the altar as a voluntary act of devotion or atonement, symbolizing total surrender to God.
Sacrifice (Zevach): Broadly encompasses animal killings for various offerings, with blood manipulation (sprinkling or pouring) central to purification and reconciliation.
In the yoga tradition, "tapas" (तपस्) refers to austerity, discipline, or spiritual practice involving self-purification through heat or effort, often metaphorically linked to a "burning" of impurities. Tapas is offering oneself through intense dedication or sacrifice to a higher power, including God.
"yajna" (यज्ञ), which broadly means sacrifice or offering, sometimes involving fire, and can include self-offering in a spiritual sense.
Olah
The Hebrew noun olah (עֹלָה) occurs 289 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. It means "that which goes up [in smoke]".[5] It is formed from the active participle of the verb alah (עָלָה), "to cause to ascend." It was sometimes also called kalil, an associated word found in Leviticus, meaning "entire".[5][6]
Its traditional name in English is "holocaust",[5] and the word olah has traditionally been translated as "burnt offering."[6][7][8] The term was translated as holocauston in the Septuagint. Today, some English Bible translations render the word as holocaust, and others translate it as "burnt offering". For example, Exodus 18:12a is translated in the New American Bible as Then Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, brought a holocaust and other sacrifices to God, while it is translated in the New International Version as Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God.[9]