To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD.
They offer in the open field. "They" is supposed by some commentators to refer to the Egyptians; so that the verse will stand thus: 'the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they (the Egyptians) offer in the open field.' But the grammatical construction rather requires the pronoun to be connected with "the children of Israel" - the subject of the context. The law is thought to have been directed against numbers whose Egyptian habits led them to imitate this idolatrous practice.