Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 3:16
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: [it is] the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor: all the fat [is] the LORD’s.
Rather, as food of an offering made by fire for a sweet savour, shall all the fat be for Yahweh. Our bodily taste and smell furnish figures of the satisfaction with which the Lord accepts the appointed symbols of the true worship of the heart. All that was sent up in the fire of the altar, including the parts of the sin-offering Lev 4:31, as well as the burnt-offering (Lev 1:9, etc.), was accepted for a sweet savour: but the word food may here have a special fitness in its application to the peace-offering, which served for food also to the priests and the offerer, and so symbolized communion between the Lord, His ministers, and His worshippers.
The fat is the Lords – The significance of this appears to consist in the fact that its proper development in the animal is, in general, a mark of perfection.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
The priest shall burn them, the parts mentioned, among which the tail is not one, as it was in the sheep, because that in goats is a refuse part.
All the fat: this is to be limited,
1. To those beasts which were offered or might be offered in sacrifice, as it is explained and restrained Lev 7:23,25.
2. To that kind of fat which is here above mentioned, and required to be offered, which was separated, or easily separable, from the flesh; for the fat which was here and there mixed with the flesh they might eat, Deu 32:14; Neh 8:10.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar,…. Which shows that not the fat only, but the inwards and the kidneys, were burnt also; so Maimonides says l, that the priest salted the parts, and burned them upon the altar; and the priests might not have the breast and shoulder (which were what belonged to them) until the parts were burnt:
[it is] the food of the offering made by fire; which the Lord ate of, or accepted of:
for a sweet savour; as a type of the sweet smelling sacrifice of Christ, with which he is well pleased;
all the fat is the Lord’s; that is, all that was upon the parts mentioned in the several sacrifices of peace offerings, which was to be taken off and burnt: though the Jewish writers understand it of all fat in general, and so interpret the law that follows.
l Ut supra, (Maaseh Hakorbanot) c. 9. sect. 11.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
16. And the priest shall burn them. He justly assigns to the priest the main duties of sacrificing, i.e., to sprinkle the blood, and to cast the fat into the fire, since he alone was competent to make atonement. Moreover, although there is a harsh metaphor contained in the word “food,” yet it admirably expresses what the Holy Spirit would teach, that the legal service pleased God, just as the food which we eat is pleasing to us; whilst it at the same time marks God’s familiar communion with His people, as if He sat at the same table with them. It is indeed sure that God, who breathes life into all, and borrows nothing from any, does not want food; but His incomparable kindness could not be better shewn forth, than by deigning to make Himself, as it were, the messmate of His worshippers. In the same figure of speech the ingratitude of the people is reproved by Malachi, when he says,
“The table of the Lord is polluted, and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible,” (Mal 1:12😉
not because God delighted in the fat of fed beasts, or in bread; but because it was a gross and intolerable act of impiety to neglect this extraordinary pledge of His grace. This similitude, however, ought to be referred to the truth it represents, viz., that the exercise of faith, and the proofs of our piety, are no less pleasing to God than as if He should be feasted delicately and sumptuously; wherefore we ought to take the greater care not to defraud Him of the things He takes delight in. It is not very clear to me why God claims for Himself the fat in all the sacrifices, and commands it to be burnt, unless that in this way He might accustom His servants to temperance. We have already seen that the fat is certainly accounted the most delicate part, where Moses applies this word to corn and wine; and this also is plain from Psa 63:5, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness.” And when God declares (Isa 1:11,) that He does not desire “the fat,” He signifies that He does not require for His own sake the choicest part of animals, but that the Israelites might remember that they should partake soberly of all their food, as if they had consecrated the best and first-fruits of it. If any one desire a more distinct exposition of this, the offering of the fat taught them to pay more honor to the service of God; and secondly, it instructed them in abstinence. The allegories, suited only to tickle men’s ears, must be sought from others. (255) Isychius, after having pretended that the fat represented spiritual affections, soon afterwards metamorphoses it into gross appetites. Others suppose that Christ was designed by it. Others understand by it that the grossness or fatness of our flesh must be refined by the fire of the Spirit, that it may be mortified unto God. This simple meaning satisfies me, that, when the Law permitted them to eat the sacred meats, an exception was added, which left the best portion in God’s hands; secondly, that the part which might have been most attractive to the greedy, was consumed in the fire as a restraint upon their gluttony. The eating of blood is here prohibited, as also elsewhere, because it was consecrated to God in order to make expiation; but there was another and higher reason why it was forbidden, of which mention was made in Gen 9:0, and which must be again handled in our exposition of the Sixth Commandment.
(255) Abundance of these may be found collected by Lorinus. Bonar says, “Observe that all these portions of the animal are the richest; and also deep-seated, near the heart. In an offering of thanks and fellowship, nothing was more appropriate than to enjoin that the pieces presented should be those seated deep within.” The marginal deduction of Corn. a Lapide, is not very dissimilar: “ Mystice, adeps est devotio et intentio, quae in omni opere ad Deum est dirigenda.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(16) Shall burn them.That is, the fat pieces which have thus been specified (see Lev. 4:35), because they constitute the bread of Jehovah; they are to ascend in a sweet-smelling savour to heaven. (See Lev. 1:9).
All the fat is the Lords.This part of the verse is intimately connected with the following verse. As the fat belongs to the Lord, it is therefore enacted as a perpetual statute that it must never be eaten.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
sweet savour. A savour of satisfaction. Some codices, with Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint, add “unto Jehovah”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
it is the food: Lev 3:11
all the fat: Lev 3:3-5, Lev 3:9-11, Lev 3:14, Lev 3:15, Lev 4:8-19, Lev 4:26, Lev 4:31, Lev 7:23-25, Lev 8:25, Lev 9:24, Lev 17:6, Exo 29:13, Exo 29:22, 1Sa 2:15, 1Sa 2:16, 2Ch 7:7, Isa 53:10, Mat 22:37
Reciprocal: Gen 4:4 – fat Exo 29:25 – offering Lev 3:17 – eat neither Lev 7:3 – General Lev 7:5 – General Lev 7:31 – the priest Lev 9:19 – General Lev 21:17 – bread Deu 12:23 – the blood is 2Ki 16:13 – he burnt 2Ch 29:35 – the fat Psa 37:20 – smoke Isa 9:5 – fuel Isa 43:24 – neither Eze 44:7 – when Eze 44:15 – the fat Eph 5:2 – for a
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lev 3:16. Shall burn them The parts mentioned, among which the tail is not one, as it was in the sheep, because that in goats is a refuse part. All the fat is the Lords This is to be limited, 1st, To those beasts which were offered or offerable in sacrifice, as it is explained, Lev 7:23; Lev 7:25. 2d, To that kind of fat which is above mentioned, and required to be offered, which was separated, or easily separable from the flesh: for the fat which was here and there mixed with the flesh they might eat.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
THE PROHIBITION OF FAT AND BLOOD
Lev 3:16-17; Lev 7:22-27; Lev 17:10-16
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire, for a sweet savour: all the fat is the Lords. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings, that ye shall eat neither fat nor blood. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saving, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no fat, of ox, or sheep, or goat. And the fat of that which dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn of beasts, may be used for any other service; but ye shall in no wise eat of it. For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. And ye shall eat no man net of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whosoever it be that eateth any blood, that soul shall be cut off from his people And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, that eateth any manner of blood; I will set My face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, which taketh in hunting any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For as to the life of all flesh, the blood thereof is all one with the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. And every soul that eateth that which dieth of itself, or that which is torn of beasts, whether he be homeborn or a stranger, he shall, wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh, then “he shall bear his iniquity.”
The chapter concerning the peace offering ends (Lev 3:16-17) with these words: “All the fat is the Lords. It shall be a perpetual statute for you throughout your generations, that ye shall eat neither fat nor blood.”
To this prohibition so much importance was attached that in the supplemental “law of the peace offering” {Lev 7:22-27} it is repeated with added explanation and solemn warning, thus: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying. Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used for any other service: but ye shall in no wise eat of it. For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. And ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whosoever it be that eateth any blood, that soul shall be cut off from his people.”
From which it appears that this prohibition of the eating of fat referred only to the fat of such beasts as were used for sacrifice. With these, however, the law was absolute, whether the animal was presented for sacrifice, or only slain for food. It held good with regard to these animals, even when, because of the manner of their death, they could not be used for sacrifice. In such cases, though the fat might be used for other purposes, still it must not be used for food.
The prohibition of the blood as food appears from Lev 17:10 to have been absolutely universal; it is said, “Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, that eateth any manner of blood, I will set My face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.”
The reason for the prohibition of the eating of blood, whether in the case of the sacrificial feasts of the peace offerings or on other occasions, is given, {Lev 17:11-12} in these words: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.”
And the prohibition is then extended to include not only the blood of animals which were used upon the altar, but also such as were taken in hunting, thus (Lev 17:13): “And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, which taketh in hunting any beast or fowl that may be eaten, he shall pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust,” as something of peculiar sanctity; and then the reason previously given is repeated with emphasis (Lev 17:14): “For as to the life of all flesh, the blood thereof is all one with the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof; whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.”
And since, when an animal died from natural causes, or through being torn of a beast, the blood would be drawn from the flesh either not at all or but imperfectly, as further guarding against the possibility of eating blood, it is ordered (Lev 17:15-16) that he who does this shall be held unclean: “Every soul that eateth that which dieth of itself, or that which is torn of beasts, whether he be home born or a stranger, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. But if he wash them not nor bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.”
These passages explicitly state the reason for the prohibition by God of the use of blood for food to be the fact that, as the vehicle of the life, it has been appointed by Him as the means of expiation for sin upon the altar. And the reason for the prohibition of the fat is similar; namely, its appropriation for God upon the altar, as in the peace offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings; “all the fat is the Lords.”
Thus the Israelite, by these two prohibitions, was to be continually reminded, so often as he partook of his daily food, of two things: by the one, of atonement by the blood as the only ground of acceptance; and by the other, of Gods claim on the man redeemed by the blood, for the consecration of his best. Not only so, but by the frequent repetition, and still more by the heavy penalty attached to the violation of these laws, he was reminded of the exceeding importance that these two things had in the mind of God. If he eat the blood of any animal claimed by God for the altar, he should be cut off from his people; that is, outlawed, and cut off from all covenant privilege as a citizen of the kingdom of God in Israel. And even though the blood were that of the beast taken in the chase, still ceremonial purification was required as the condition of resuming his covenant position.
Nothing, doubtless, seems to most Christians of our day more remote from practical religion than these regulations touching the fat and the blood which are brought before us with such fulness in the law of the peace offering and elsewhere. And yet nothing is of more present day importance in this law than the principles which underlie these regulations. For as with type, so with antitype. No less essential to the admission of the sinful man into that blessed fellowship with a reconciled God, which the peace offering typified, is the recognition of the supreme sanctity of the precious sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God; no less essential to the life of happy communion with God, is the ready consecration of the best fruit of our life to Him.
Surely, both of these, and especially the first, are truths for our time. For no observing man can fail to recognise the very ominous fact that a constantly increasing number, even of professed preachers of the Gospel, in so many words refuse to recognise the place which propitiatory blood has in the Gospel of Christ, and to admit its preeminent sanctity as consisting in this, that it was given on the altar to make atonement for our souls. Nor has the present generation outgrown the need of the other reminder touching the consecration of the best to the Lord. How many there are, comfortable, easy-going Christians, whose principle-if one might speak in the idiom of the Mosaic law-would rather seem to be, ever to give the lean to God, and keep the fat, the best fruit of their life and activity, for themselves! Such need to be most urgently and solemnly reminded that in spirit the warning against the eating of the blood and the fat is in full force. It was written of such as should break this law, “that soul shall be cut off from his people.” And so in the Epistle to the Hebrews {Heb 10:26-29} we find one of its most solemn warnings directed to those who “count this blood of the covenant,” the blood of Christ, “an unholy (i.e., common) thing”; as exposed by this, their undervaluation of the sanctity of the blood, to a “sorer punishment” than overtook him that “set at naught Moses law,” even the retribution of Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
And so in this law of the peace offerings, which ordains the conditions of the holy feast of fellowship with a reconciled God, we find these two things made fundamental in the symbolism: full recognition of the sanctity of the blood as that which atones for the soul; and the full consecration of the redeemed and pardoned soul to the Lord. So was it in the symbol; and so shall it be when the sacrificial feast shall at last receive its most complete fulfilment in the communion of the redeemed with Christ in glory. There will be no differences of opinion then and there, either as to the transcendent value of that precious blood which made atonement, or as to the full consecration which such a redemption requires from the redeemed.