Advanced Commentary

Texts -- Leviticus 3:4-17 (NET)

Context
3:4 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews , and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys ). 3:5 Then the sons of Aaron must offer it up in smoke on the altar atop the burnt offering that is on the wood in the fire as a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord .
Animal from the Flock
3:6 “‘If his offering for a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord is from the flock , he must present a flawless male or female . 3:7 If he presents a sheep as his offering , he must present it before the Lord . 3:8 He must lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it before the Meeting Tent , and the sons of Aaron must splash its blood against the altar’s sides . 3:9 Then he must present a gift to the Lord from the peace offering sacrifice : He must remove all the fatty tail up to the end of the spine , the fat covering the entrails , and all the fat on the entrails , 3:10 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews , and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys ). 3:11 Then the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar as a food gift to the Lord . 3:12 “‘If his offering is a goat he must present it before the Lord , 3:13 lay his hand on its head , and slaughter it before the Meeting Tent , and the sons of Aaron must splash its blood against the altar’s sides . 3:14 Then he must present from it his offering as a gift to the Lord : the fat which covers the entrails and all the fat on the entrails , 3:15 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews , and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys ). 3:16 Then the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar as a food gift for a soothing aroma – all the fat belongs to the Lord . 3:17 This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live : You must never eat any fat or any blood .’”

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Fat

    [ebd] (Heb. heleb) denotes the richest part of the animal, or the fattest of the flock, in the account of Abel's sacrifice (Gen. 4:4). It sometimes denotes the best of any production (Gen. 45:18; Num. 18:12; Ps. 81:16; 147:47). Th...
    [isbe] FAT - (chelebh, chelebh): The layer of subcutaneous fat and the compact suet surrounding the viscera and imbedded in the entrails, which, like the blood, was forbidden as food in the Mosaic code (Lev 3:17). It was to be sacr...
    [smith] The Hebrews distinguished between the suet or pure fat of an animal and the fat which was intermixed with the lean. (Nehemiah 8:10) Certain restrictions were imposed upon them in reference to the former; some parts of the sue...
    [nave] FAT Offered in sacrifice, Ex. 23:18; 29:13, 22; Lev. 1:8; 3:3-5, 9-11, 14-16; 4:8-10; 7:3-5; 8:16, 25, 26; 10:15; 17:6; 1 Sam. 2:15, 16; Isa. 43:24. Belonged to the Lord, Lev. 3:16. Forbidden as food, Lev. 3:16, 17; 7:23. ...

  • Peace Offerings

    [ebd] (Heb. shelamim), detailed regulations regarding given in Lev. 3; 7:11-21, 29-34. They were of three kinds, (1) eucharistic or thanksgiving offerings, expressive of gratitude for blessings received; (2) in fulfilment of a vow...
    [nave] PEACE OFFERINGS, Ex. 20:24; 24:5; Lev. 3:6; 7:11; 19:5. Offered by the princes, Num. 7:17; by Joshua, Josh. 8:31; by David, 2 Sam. 6:17; 24:25. See: Offerings.

  • Kidney

    [nave] KIDNEY, burnt offering of the, Ex. 29:13, 22; Lev. 3; 4:9, 10; 7:4, 5; 8:16; 9:10; Deut. 32:14.

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Revelation

    [nave] REVELATION God reveals himself to Moses, Ex. 3:1-6, 14; 6:1-3. The law is revealed, Ex. 20-35; Lev. 1-7; the pattern of the temple, 1 Chr. 28:11-19. The sonship of Jesus, Matt. 3:17; 16:17; 17:5. See: Inspiration; Prophec...

  • FOOD

    [ebd] Originally the Creator granted the use of the vegetable world for food to man (Gen. 1:29), with the exception mentioned (2:17). The use of animal food was probably not unknown to the antediluvians. There is, however, a disti...
    [isbe] FOOD - food: I. VEGETABLE FOODS 1. Primitive Habits 2. Cereals 3. Leguminous Plants 4. Food of Trees II. ANIMAL FOOD LITERATURE In a previous article (see BREAD) it has been shown that in the Bible "bread" usually stands for...
    [smith] The diet of eastern nations has been in all ages light and simple. Vegetable food was more used than animal. The Hebrews used a great variety of articles, (John 21:5) to give a relish to bread. Milk and its preparations hold ...

  • Caul

    [ebd] (Heb. yothe'reth; i.e., "something redundant"), the membrane which covers the upper part of the liver (Ex. 29:13, 22; Lev. 3:4, 10, 15; 4:9; 7:4; marg., "midriff"). In Hos. 13:8 (Heb. seghor; i.e., "an enclosure") the perica...
    [isbe] CAUL - kol: (1) yothereth (Ex 29:13), the large lobe or flap of the liver, which is usually mentioned together with the kidneys and the fat as the special portions set aside for the burnt offering (Lev 3:4,10,15; 4:9; 7:4; 8...
    [nave] CAUL 1. Probably the upper lobe of the liver. Burnt with sacrifice, Ex. 29:13, 22; Lev. 3:4, 10, 15; 4:9; 7:4; 8:16, 25; 9:10, 19. 2. Netted caps, Isa. 3:18.

  • Clean

    [ebd] The various forms of uncleanness according to the Mosaic law are enumerated in Lev. 11-15; Num. 19. The division of animals into clean and unclean was probably founded on the practice of sacrifice. It existed before the Floo...

  • Priest

    [nave] PRIEST. Before Moses Melchizedek, Gen. 14:18; Heb. 5:6, 10, 11; 6:20; 7:1-21. Jethro, Ex. 2:16. Priests in Israel before the giving of the law, Ex. 19:22, 24. Called angel, Eccl. 5:6. Mosaic Ex. 28:1-4; 29:9, 44; Num....

  • UNCLEAN MEATS

    [smith] These were things strangled, or dead of themselves or through beasts or birds of prey; whatever beast did not both part the hoof and chew the cud; and certain other smaller animals rated as "creeping things;" certain classes ...

  • Blood

    [ebd] (1.) As food, prohibited in Gen. 9:4, where the use of animal food is first allowed. Comp. Deut. 12:23; Lev. 3:17; 7:26; 17:10-14. The injunction to abstain from blood is renewed in the decree of the council of Jerusalem (Ac...
    [nave] BLOOD Is the life, Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:11, 14; 19:16; Deut. 12:23; Matt. 27:4, 24. Forbidden to be used as food, Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; 7:26, 27; 17:10-14; 19:26; Deut. 12:16, 23; 15:23; Ezek. 33:25; Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25. Pla...

  • KIDNEYS

    [isbe] KIDNEYS - kid'-niz (always in the plural: kelayoth; nephroi; Latin renes, whence the English "reins"): "Reins" and "kidneys" are synonyms, but the King James Version undertook a distinction by using the former word in the fi...

  • Liver

    [ebd] (Heb. kabhed, "heavy;" hence the liver, as being the heaviest of the viscera, Ex. 29:13, 22; Lev. 3:4, 1, 10, 15) was burnt upon the altar, and not used as sacrificial food. In Ezek. 21:21 there is allusion, in the statement...

  • SHEEP

    [ebd] are of different varieties. Probably the flocks of Abraham and Isaac were of the wild species found still in the mountain regions of Persia and Kurdistan. After the Exodus, and as a result of intercourse with surrounding nat...
    [isbe] SHEEP - shep: 1. Names: The usual Hebrew word is tso'n, which is often translated "flock," e.g. "Abel .... brought of the firstlings of his flock" (Gen 4:4); "butter of the herd, and milk of the flock" (Dt 32:14). The King J...

  • SPRINKLE; SPRINKLING

    [isbe] SPRINKLE; SPRINKLING - sprin'-k'-l, sprin'-kling (zaraq, nazah; rhantizein): The first word means "to toss" or "scatter abundantly," e.g. in handfuls, as dust on the head (Job 2:12) or blood from a bowl (Ex 9:8). The other H...

  • Hands

    [nave] HANDS Laying on of hands, Heb. 6:2; in consecration, Gen. 48:14; Ex. 29:10, 15, 19; Lev. 1:4; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:15, 24, 33; 16:21; in ordaining the Levites, Num. 8:10, 11; Joshua, Num. 27:18-23; Deut. 34:9; Timothy, 1 Tim. 4:14;...

  • Lamb

    [isbe] LAMB - lam: (1) The most used word is kebhes, "a young ram"; compare Arabic kebsh, "ram"; often of sacrifices; (feminine) kabhsah, or kibchsah, "ewe lamb" (2 Sam 12:3); by transposition kesebh, and feminine kisbah (Gen 30:40...
    [nave] LAMB Offering of, Ex. 29:38-41; Lev. 3:7; 4:32; 5:6; 22:23; 23:12; Num. 6:12; 7:15, 21; 28:3-8. Not to be boiled in its mother's milk, Ex. 23:19.

  • Flesh-hook

    [ebd] a many-pronged fork used in the sacrificial services (1 Sam. 2:13, 14; Ex. 27:3; 38:3) by the priest in drawing away the flesh. The fat of the sacrifice, together with the breast and shoulder (Lev. 7:29-34), were presented b...

  • Fire

    [ebd] (1.) For sacred purposes. The sacrifices were consumed by fire (Gen. 8:20). The ever-burning fire on the altar was first kindled from heaven (Lev. 6:9, 13; 9:24), and afterwards rekindled at the dedication of Solomon's templ...

  • HANDS; HANDS, IMPOSITION, LAYING ON OF

    [isbe] HANDS; HANDS, IMPOSITION, LAYING ON OF - im-po-zish'-un (epithesis cheiron, Acts 8:18; 1 Tim 4:14; 2 Tim 1:6; Heb 6:2): The act or ceremony of the imposition of hands appears in the Old Testament in various connections: in t...
more

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Moses revealed God's purpose for giving the Mosaic Covenant in this chapter.19:1-6 The Israelites arrived at the base of the mountain where God gave them the law about three months after they had left Egypt, in May-June (v. 1...
  • "At first sight the book of Leviticus might appear to be a haphazard, even repetitious arrangement of enactments involving the future life in Canaan of the Israelite people. Closer examination will reveal, however, that quite...
  • Leviticus continues revelation concerning the second of three elements necessary for any nation to exist, namely, a people (Gen. 12:10--Exod. 19), their law (Exod. 20--Num. 10:10), and their land (Num. 10:11--Josh. 24).Leviti...
  • God designed the offerings to teach the Israelites as well as to enable them to worship Him. They taught the people what was necessary to maintain and restore the believer's communion with God."The servant, therefore, had to ...
  • The peace (fellowship, NIV) offering was the third sacrifice of worship. It represented the fellowship between God and man that resulted from the relationship that God had established with the redeemed individual. Peace and f...
  • Keil and Delitzsch pointed out that ancient Near Easterners offered certain offerings before God incorporated these into the Mosaic Law. Moses previously mentioned burnt offerings in Genesis 12:7; 13:4, 18; 22; 26:25; 33:20; ...
  • "The five basic sacrifices are . . . introduced twice, each sacrifice being treated both in the main section addressed to the people [1:1-6:7] and in the supplementary section addressed to the priests [6:8-7:38]."62The main t...
  • Here we have more detail concerning the ritual involved in this offering than we read formerly (ch. 5). The procedures for slaughtering the trespass offering and sprinkling its blood were the same as for the burnt offering (1...
  • The account of the consecration of the priests and the priesthood (chs. 8-10) follows the regulations concerning offerings. We have a change in literary genre here from legal to narrative material. The legal material in chapt...
  • The sacrifices and offerings that Moses described thus far in the law were not sufficient to cleanse all the defilement that the sins of the people created. Much sinfulness still needed covering. Therefore God appointed a yea...
  • We move from public regulations in chapter 16 to intimate regulations in chapter 18 with chapter 17 providing the transition. In contrast to the first sixteen chapters, chapter 17 says very little about the role of the priest...
  • Genesis reveals how people can have a relationship with God. This comes through trust in God and obedience to Him. Faith is the key word in Genesis. God proves Himself faithful in this book.Exodus reveals that God is also sov...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell, The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pelican Archaeology series. H...
  • Eli's sons were not only evil in their personal lives, but they flagrantly disregarded the will of God even as they served as leaders of Israel's worship of Yahweh. They neither knew the Lord (in the sense of paying attention...
  • Admirably Saul sought no personal revenge on those who initially had failed to support him (10:27; cf. Judg. 20:13; Luke 19:27). Furthermore he gave God the glory for his victory (cf. Jon. 2:9; Ps. 20:7; Prov. 21:31). He was ...
  • As a royal priest Solomon led the nation of priests in making an immense sacrifice to Yahweh. The sacrifices were all offerings of worship. The burnt offering represented the dedication of the worshipper's person to God. The ...
  • David provided for a full orchestra and choir to sing God's praises at his new worship center. He originated musical guilds and services.51God's presence in Israel's capital symbolized His leadership over the nation, and it b...
  • 54:4-5 David was confident that God would help and sustain him. He also believed God would punish those who opposed him, and he asked God to do so. He could pray this way because what his adversaries were doing was contrary t...
  • This seems to be a new message from the Lord. It is a good example of prophetic indictments of Israel's sacrificial institutions (cf. 6:20; 1 Sam. 15:22; Ps. 51:16-17; Isa. 1:4-15; Hos. 6:6; Amos 5:21-24; Mic. 6:6-8).7:21 Yah...
  • 5:21 The Israelites enjoyed participating in the religious festivals and assemblies in which they professed to worship Yahweh. God had commanded the Israelites to observe several feasts and one fast each year, and these are p...
  • Matthew and Mark's accounts of this event are similar, but Paul's is more like Luke's.14:22 The bread Jesus ate would have been the unleavened bread that the Jews used in the Passover meal. The blessing Jesus pronounced was a...
  • Jesus introduced a new metaphor for believing on Him, namely eating His flesh. The following pericope is highly metaphorical.6:52 As Jesus' hearers had objected to what He had said about His identity (vv. 41-42), so they now ...
Back to Commentary Page
Display Bible



Universal Search:

NET Only
Exact Search
Commentary
Study Dictionary
Word Study
Lexicon
Study Maps System
Sermon Illustrations
Expository
Arts
Resource
Daily Bible Reading
Training Video
Classic NET Bible
iPhone NET Bible
Mobile Bible
TIP #19: [ALL]
created in 0.04 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA