Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 3:9

And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat thereof, [and] the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that [is] upon the inwards,

9. The fat tail here reserved for sacrifice was regarded as a delicacy, and set before Saul. In 1Sa 9:24 for ‘that which was upon it’ should be read ‘the fat tail’; see Driver in loc., and note on Exo 29:22.

the backbone ] The Heb. word occurs here only.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The whole rump – The whole fat tail: i. e., the tail of the kind of sheep well known in the East, and often weighing 15 lbs. and even as much as 50 lbs., when the sheep has been increased by artificial fattening.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 9. The whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone] To what has already been said on the tails of the eastern sheep, in the note on Ex 29:22, we may add the following observation from Dr. Russel concerning the sheep at Aleppo. “Their tails,” says he, “are of a substance between fat and marrow, and are not eaten separately, but mixed with the lean meat in many of their dishes, and also often used instead of butter.” He states also that a common sheep of this kind, without the head, fat, skin, and entrails, weighs from sixty to seventy English pounds, of which the tail usually weighs fifteen pounds and upwards; but that those of the largest breed, when fattened will weigh one hundred and fifty pounds, and their tails fifty, which corresponds with the account given by Ludolf in the note referred to above. The sheep about Jerusalem are the same with those in Abyssinia mentioned by Ludolf, and those of Syria mentioned by Dr. Russel.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The fat thereof, and the whole rump, which in sheep is fat and sweet, and in these parts was; cry much larger and better than ours, as is agreed both by ancient and modern writers, and therefore was fitly offered to God.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering,…. That is, the priest, Aaron, or one of his two sons:

an offering made by fire unto the Lord; that part of it which was to be burnt with fire; and in the peace offering of the lamb there was something more than in the peace offering of the bullock, or of the goat, which follows:

the fat thereof, [and] the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; not the rump or tail, but the fat of it; the copulative “and” is not in the text; wherefore Aben Ezra says, that Gaon was mistaken in reading it as we do, “the fat there of”, and “the whole rump”; but it should be rendered, “its fat of the whole rump”, or “tail”: in the eastern countries k, some sheep and lambs had very large tails, and very fat ones, the least weighing ten or twelve pounds, the largest above forty, and were put in little carts for ease and safety; see Gill “Ex 29:22” now such as were “whole”, entire, perfect, and without blemish, as the word signifies, the fat of them that was next to the backbone was to be taken off of such as were brought for peace offerings:

and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards; as before; [See comments on Le 3:3].

k Vid. Ludolf. Hist. Ethiop. l. 1. c. 10. sect. 14.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(9) The whole rump.Better, the whole fat tail (so also Exo. 29:22; Lev. 7:3; Lev. 8:25; Lev. 9:19). The sheep of Syria and Palestine were, and still are, the bread-tailed species, the broad part often weighing fifteen pounds and upwards. In young animals, the substance of the tail, which consists of marrow and fat, tastes like marrow, and it is used by the Arabs for cooking instead of butter. It is often so large that it trails on the ground, and to save the animal from the pain occasioned by dragging it on the ground, a small wheeled truck is attached to it, on which it draws it along. It is only the tail of sheep which is here included among the fat parts that are to be offered upon the altar. It is, however, not regarded as the ordinary fat of other quadrupeds (Lev. 9:19), and hence, according to Jewish tradition, is not included in the prohibition of Lev. 3:3.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

9. The whole rump We know of no more unfortunate translation than this. Instead of rump, it should have been rendered fat tail. In the East there is a species of sheep whose tails are so large that they weigh from twelve to fourteen pounds, and the owners are obliged to fix a thin board or cart beneath the tail to ease the sheep, and to preserve the wool and fat from being torn among the bushes and stones. See Ludolph, History of Ethiopia, p. 53, and Dr. Russell, Natural History of Aleppo, p. 51. The cooks of Syria use this mass of fat instead of Arab butter.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

As the tails of the sheep are very large and fat, in those eastern countries, and were considered as a very choice part of the animal, they were ordered to be sacrificed on the altar. Exo 29:22 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Lev 3:9 And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat thereof, [and] the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that [is] upon the inwards,

Ver. 9. The whole rump. ] Which in those country sheep is very large: yet not so large as those in America, mentioned by Sir Francis Drake, a as large as cattle, and supplying in the stead of horses for burden or travel.

a The World Encompassed.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)