Leviticus 3:16

16 Then the priest will burn them on the altar as food, a fire offering for a pleasing aroma.[a] "All fat belongs to the Lord.[b]

Leviticus 3:16 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 3:16

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 F12, 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.


FOOTNOTES:

F12 Ut supra, (Maaseh Hakorbanot) c. 9. sect. 11.

Leviticus 3:16 In-Context

14 He will present part of his offering as a fire offering to the Lord: the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,
15 and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins; he will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys.
16 Then the priest will burn them on the altar as food, a fire offering for a pleasing aroma. "All fat belongs to the Lord.
17 This is a permanent statute throughout your generations, wherever you live: you must not eat any fat or any blood."

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Sam, LXX add to the Lord
  • [b]. Lv 4:31,35; 17:6; Gn 4:4; Isa 1:11
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