Leviticus 7:20
Ver. 20. But the soul that eateth [of] the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offerings, that [pertain] unto the Lord,.... That are offered up to him, and so are holy, and therefore not to be eaten by unholy persons, or by any having his uncleanness upon him; a profluvious person that has an issue running out of him, a gonorrhoea; see Le 15:2even that soul shall be cut off from his people; be disfranchised as an Israelite, be debarred the privileges of the sanctuary, or be cut off by death before the usual time and term of man's life; so those that eat and drink unworthily in the supper of our Lord, where his flesh is eaten and his blood drank, eat and drink damnation to themselves, 1Co 11:29. Leviticus 7:21Ver. 21. Moreover, the soul that shall touch any unclean [thing],.... Person or thing, the dead body of a man, or the bone of a dead body, or a grave in which it was laid:as the uncleanness of man; the issue that runs from a profluvious person:or [any] unclean beast; that was so by the law ceremonial; see Le 11:4:or any abominable unclean thing; which the Targum of Jonathan interprets of every unclean reptile: see Le 11:20and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which [pertain] unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people; See Gill on "Le 7:20". Leviticus 7:22Ver. 22. And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Continued speaking to him:saying; as follows. Leviticus 7:23Ver. 23. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,.... Putting them in mind, by repeating to them the laws concerning fat and blood, Le 3:17ye shall eat no manner of fat; of any creature fit for food, whose flesh otherwise may be eaten, and particularlyof ox, or of sheep, or of goats: creatures used in sacrifice; though this is not to be restrained to such of them, and the fat of them that were sacrificed, whose fat was claimed by the Lord as his, and was burnt on his altar; but this is to be understood of the fat of these creatures when killed for their common use, for the food of them and their families; the fat even of these was not to be eaten; that which was not separated from the flesh, but mixed with it, might be eaten, but not that which was separated {l}.{l} Bechai in Lev. 3. 17. Leviticus 7:24Ver. 24. And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself,.... Of any disease, and is not regularly killed:and the fat of that which is torn with beasts; with wild beasts:may be used in any other use; as in medicine, for plasters, or for making candles, or for greasing of anything to make it smooth and pliable, or the like:but ye shall in no wise eat of it; such carcasses themselves were not to be eaten of, and one would think their fat in course must be unlawful; but however, to prevent the doing of it, this particular law was given, and those that broke this were doubly guilty, as the Jews observe {m}; once in eating things that died of themselves, or were torn with beasts, and again by eating the fat of them.{m} Maimon. Hilchot Maacolot Asurot, c. 7. sect. 2. Leviticus 7:25Ver. 25. For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord,.... As oxen, sheep, rams, goats; meaning not only the fat of those that are offered, but the fat of all those of the like kind:even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people;See Gill on "Le 7:20" Maimonides {n} observes, that the punishment of cutting off is enjoined for the eating of fat, because men used to count it delicious, for which reason also God would honour his sacrifices with it: and he further observes {o}, that the fat of the intestines too much saturates, hinders concoction, generates gross and frigid blood, hence it is much better it should be burnt than eaten; and that blood and what dies of itself are of difficult digestion, and of bad nourishment, wherefore the latter is forbidden in the Le 7:24, and the former in Le 7:26: of the punishment for eating fat, the same writer {p} observes, he that eats fat the quantity of an olive, presumptuously, is guilty of cutting off; if ignorantly, he must bring the fixed sin offering: and elsewhere {q} he says, he that eats fat is beaten for it; and he eats it a second time, and is beaten for it; but if he eats it a third time they do not beat him, but put him into a prison, which is a strait place according to his height, where he cannot stand upright, nor can he lie down in it; and they give him bread and water of affliction till his bowels are distressed, and he become sick, and then they feed him with barley till his belly bursts.{n} Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 41. {o} Ibid. c. 48. {p} Hilchot Maacolot Asurot, c. 7. sect. 1. {q} Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 18. sect. 4. Leviticus 7:26Ver. 26. Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood,.... Of any of the above creatures, or any other, even of any clean creature, and much less of an unclean one:[whether it be] of fowl or of beast; of all sorts and kinds. Jarchi thinks, the words being thus expressed, the blood of fishes and locusts is excepted, and so lawful to eat:in any of your dwellings; this shows that this law is not to be restrained to creatures slain in sacrifice in the tabernacle, and to the blood of them, but to be understood of all such as were slain in their own houses for food, and the blood of them. Leviticus 7:27Ver. 27. Whatsoever soul [it be] that eateth any manner of blood,.... The Targum of Jonathan adds, of any living creature, that is, of any while it is alive; for the Jews always interpret the law in Ge 9:4 of the member of a living creature torn off from it, and its flesh with the blood eaten directly:even that soul shall be cut off from his people; Maimonides {r} observes, that to some sorts of food cutting off is threatened, particularly to blood, because of the eager desire of men to eat it in those times, and because it precipitated them to a certain species of idolatry; he means that of the Zabians, of which See Gill on "Eze 33:25" of the true reason of the prohibition of eating blood under the law, see Le 17:10, &c.{r} Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 41. Leviticus 7:28Ver. 28. And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... At the same time the above laws were delivered; for what follows relates to the sacrifice of the peace offerings:saying; as follows. Leviticus 7:29Ver. 29. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,.... Giving them the further instructions concerning their peace offerings:he that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the Lord; whether it he for thanksgiving, or as a vow, or a voluntary oblation, and whether it be of the herd or of the flock, an ox or a cow, a lamb or a goat:shall bring his oblation unto the Lord of the sacrifice of his peace offerings; that is, the unleavened cakes, wafers, and fried cakes, and unleavened bread, which are called the whole oblation, Le 7:10. Leviticus 7:30Ver. 30. His own hands shall bring the offerings of the Lord made by fire,.... That is, such parts of the peace offerings as were to be burnt with fire, as the fat on several parts described in Le 3:3 the owners of the offerings were to bring them in the manner as will be presently observed:the fat with the breast, it shall he bring; the fat to be burnt, and the breast for the priest and his sons, as in the following verse Le 7:31:that the breast may be waved [for] a wave offering before the Lord; how this waving was performed, See Gill on "Ex 29:24" particularly with respect to these peace offerings it was thus; if a thank offering, the priest takes of the bread brought with it one (cake) out of ten, and lays it with the breast, the shoulder, and the inwards, and waves all upon the hands of the owners; on which he puts the fat, then the breast and the shoulder above (i.e. upon the fat), then the two kidneys, and the caul, and the liver above them; and if there was any bread, he put it over them, and waved all, putting his hand under the hands of the owner {s}.{s} Maimon. Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 9. sect. 6, 7. so Ben Gersom in loc. Leviticus 7:31Ver. 31. And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar,.... Of burnt offering, even the fat upon the inwards, the two kidneys, the flanks, the caul, and liver:but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons; which being waved before the Lord for a wave offering, was the Lord's, and so was given to his priests to eat of, for the service done by them, it being but reasonable that they that serve at the altar should live of it; and thus, with other things, a maintenance was provided for the priests and their families, as ought also to be for Gospel ministers under the present dispensation. Leviticus 7:32Ver. 32. And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest [for] an heave offering,.... Whether of an ox or a cow, a lamb or a goat:of the sacrifices of your peace offerings; which were of either of these creatures; the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,"the right arm from the shoulder to the elbow.''The breast being the seat of wisdom, and the shoulder of strength, some think denote Christ as the wisdom and power of God unto his people, his priests, who have all their knowledge and strength from him, and who bears them on his heart and on his shoulder. Leviticus 7:33Ver. 33. He among the sons of Aaron that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat,.... Who sprinkled the blood of them upon the altar round about, and burnt the fat upon it, which were rites enjoined to be observed, Le 3:2:shall have the right shoulder for [his] part; his particular part and share, because of his service: Aben Ezra remarks, that the right shoulder was given to him that sprinkled the blood, and the breast to all the priests; and Jarchi observes, that he that was fit for sprinkling the blood, and burning the fat, and went out an unclean person in the time of sprinkling the blood, or burning the fat, had no part in the flesh. Leviticus 7:34Ver. 34. For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel,.... These two parts were particularly pitched upon and selected:from off the sacrifices of their peace offering; the rest being allowed the owners, besides what were burnt:and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons, by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel; as long as the priesthood lasted, even to the coming of the Messiah, in whom all these sacrifices would have their accomplishment and their end. Leviticus 7:35Ver. 35. This [is the portion] of the anointing of Aaron,.... Of his being anointed to the priestly office; this is the part allotted and assigned him for the execution of it; this is the reward, as Aben Ezra interprets it, of his faithful performance of it, namely, his having the wave breast and heave shoulder of the peace offerings, and a cake out of everyone of the unleavened cakes, together with the leavened bread, besides other perquisites from other offerings:and of the anointing of his sons; the successors of him in the priest hood; the Targum of Jonathan adds, above all their brethren the Levites:out of the offerings of the Lord made by fire; out of such whose fat on the several parts of them was burnt with fire, such as the peace offerings were:in the day when he presented them to minister unto the Lord in the priest's office; when they were ordered to be taken out from among the children of Israel, and to be consecrated to, and invested with, the priest's office, as they were by Moses, and presented by him unto him as his priests; at that time the above portion was assigned them, as follows. Leviticus 7:36Ver. 36. Which the Lord commanded to be given them of the children of Israel,.... Whenever they brought their offerings to be offered up by them, such parts thereof were ordered to be allowed them as theirs;in the day that he anointed them; or from the day they were anointed of Moses, by the direction of the Lord, from that time they had a right and claim to the above things, out of the sacrifices brought, so Aben Ezra: and this wasby a statute for ever throughout their generations; in all successive generations, unto the coming of the Messiah, which would put an end to their priesthood. Thus the Lord provided for the maintenance of his ministers, till that time came; and since it has been the ordinance of Christ, that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel, 1Co 9:13. Leviticus 7:37Ver. 37. This [is] the law of the burnt offering,.... As delivered, Le 6:9:of the meat offering; as in Le 6:14:and of the sin offering; as in Le 6:25:and of the trespass offering; as in Le 7:1:and of the consecrations; of Aaron and his sons to the priest's office, as in Le 6:20:and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings; as in this chapter, Le 7:11 for this is only a recapitulation of the several laws respecting these things before observed. Leviticus 7:38Ver. 38. Which the Lord commanded Moses in Mount Sinai,.... Or "by" or "near" {t} Mount Sinai; for the above laws were not given to Moses when on the mount, but after the tabernacle was erected, and out of it, as appears from Le 1:1 and to which what follows agrees:in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; where they were when the above laws were delivered to them, and which wilderness had its name from the mount near to which they now were, and where the tabernacle was pitched, from whence the Lord spoke; and so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,"in the tabernacle which they made for him in the wilderness of Sinai;''there they were ordered to offer their oblations of every sort, as before directed. It should be observed, that this is to be understood of the command given in the wilderness to offer sacrifices, but not of the sacrifices themselves then offered, which were not done while there; see Jer 7:22.{t} rhb "by the mount"; so Patrick in loc.
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