If he offer a lamb for his offering ,.... Which was of the flock, and must be of the first year; this is a rule laid down by Maimonides F9 Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 1. sect. 14. , that where ever this word is used in the law, it signifies one of the first year: then shall he offer it before the Lord ; bring it into the court, and present it to the priest. read more
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering ,.... The Targum of Jonathan adds here, as before,"his right hand with strength:" and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation ; in the court, in any part of it; for, as Gersom says, all places were right for this; the man that brought it killed it, or the butcher, as the Targum of Jonathan says here also as on Leviticus 3:2 , and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar ; upon the four... read more
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"... read more
And the two kidneys ,.... The same direction is given here as about the bullock of the peace offering; see Gill on Leviticus 3:4 . read more
And the priest shall burn it upon the altar ,.... The fat of the tail, of the inwards, the two kidneys, and the caul of the liver: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the Lord ; or "bread"; this part of the offering that was burnt belonged to the Lord; it was his food, and what was accepted of by him, and therefore is elsewhere called the bread of God, Leviticus 21:8 . read more
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 Exodus 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... read more
It is the food of the offering - We have already remarked that God is frequently represented as feasting with his people on the sacrifices they offered; and because these sacrifices were consumed by that fire which was kindled from heaven, therefore they were considered as the food of that fire, or rather of the Divine Being who was represented by it. "In the same idiom of speech," says Dodd, "the gods of the heathens are said, Deuteronomy 32:38 , to eat the fat and drink the wine which... read more
The foundation of fellowship with God. The "sacrifice of peace offering" was one of fellowship. Its distinctive features are brought out in chapter 7 . (see Homily there). The sacrifice enjoined in this (third) chapter is preliminary to the sacred feast which was to follow. Its significance is found in the fact that the act of communion with God could only come after the oblation had been presented. We learn, therefore— I. THAT SACRED JOY BEFORE GOD CAN ONLY FOLLOW ... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Leviticus 3:6-17
Directions are here given concerning the peace-offering, if it was a sheep or a goat. Turtle-doves or young pigeons, which might be brought for whole burnt offerings, were not allowed for peace-offerings, because they have no fat considerable enough to be burnt upon the altar; and they would be next to nothing if they were to be divided according to the law of the peace-offerings. The laws concerning a lamb or goat offered for a peace offering are much the same with those concerning a bullock,... read more