1 Samuel 2:13
in 1 Samuel 2or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand;
KJV
And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;
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This verse in 1 Samuel 2
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Law of Moses defined exactly what was to be the priest’s portion of every peace offering Lev 7:31-35, as it also gave express directions about the burning of the fat Lev 7:23-25, Lev 7:31. It was therefore a gross act of disobedience and lawlessness on the part of Hophni and Phinehas to take more than the Law gave them. Incidental evidence is afforded by this passage to the existence of the Levitical law at this time.
This site's exposition
were sons of Belial
on 1 Samuel 2:12-14
Eli's sons are named sons of Belial, worthless men, and the phrase they knew not the Lord is damning precisely because their father is the Lord's own priest. Their corruption is not doctrine but appetite: a servant thrusts a three toothed hook into the boiling pot and claims by force whatever it lifts, a theft dressed as custom and practiced on every worshiper who came to Shiloh.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 11 -- On Abstinence · Written before 523.
proposed
Now this is the first lust which conquered the world, and because of it the first transgression of the law took place. It demanded tribute from the priests, who, without right, were taking it away from those who made offerings; it dismissed the sons of …
The Medieval Church3 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
4. For what is it to immolate a victim, except to offer the confession of true faith to almighty God? And what are the vessels in which the flesh is cooked for the sacrifice, except the minds of the faithful? For when they believe that the Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, is the true Only-begotten of the most high Father, surely in them the flesh is cooked which is to be immolated to God through the service of inmost devotion.
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 3 · Written before 604.
proposed
And to reveal the causes of his reproof, the priest's servant is recorded as coming with a three-pronged fork to every one who was sacrificing, and violently demanding raw flesh. By these words, indeed, three species of gluttony are noted in the greediness of their rapacity. For he whose servant came to inflict violence on their behalf before the flesh was cooked could not endure the lawful hour of refreshment; and he for whom flesh was sought did not know how to use simple foods; and because, refusing what was cooked, he demanded raw flesh, he disdained to eat that flesh prepared in the common manner.
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
3. Supply "were." For who else are the sons of Eli, if not the Israelites according to the flesh, who knew the Sacred Scripture published by the fathers, and yet did not know the one whom Scripture had promised? Whom indeed Truth itself rebukes in the Gospel, saying: "Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:56). And again: "If you believed Moses, you would certainly believe me also, for he wrote about me" (John 5:46). Therefore they did not know the Lord, who spurned the Redeemer coming in our flesh.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), and the people, out of their great veneration, suffered this to grow into a custom, so that after awhile prescription was pleaded for this manifest wrong. [2.] They stepped in before God himself, and encroached upon his right too.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) according as his capacity was. He learned his catechism and was constant to his devotions, soon learned to read, and took a pleasure in the book of the law, and thus he ministered to the Lord. He ministered before Eli, that is, under his inspection, and as he ordered him, not before Eli's sons; all parties were agreed that they were unfit to be his tutors.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the priest's custom with the people was,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the priests' custom with the people--When persons wished to present a sacrifice of peace offering on the altar, the offering was brought in the first instance to the priest, and as the Lord's part was burnt, the parts appropriated respectively to the priests and offerers were to be sodden.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
When any man offered sacrifice - That is, when a peace-offering was brought, the right shoulder and the breast belonged to the priest, the fat was burnt upon the altar, and the blood was poured at the bottom of the altar; the rest of the flesh belonged to the offerer. Under pretense of taking only their own part, they took the best of all they chose, and as much as they chose.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The custom of the kohanim. They established this law for themselves, since they rightfully inherited only the breast and the thigh of the peace offering.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִשְׁפַּ֥ט | umishpat | and [the] custom of | H4941 → | 422 times |
| הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים | hakohanim | the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אִ֞ישׁ | ʾish | person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| זֹבֵ֣חַ | zoveach | [who] was sacrificing | H2076 → | 134 times |
| זֶ֗בַח | zevach | a sacrifice | H2077 → | 162 times |
| וּבָ֨א | uva' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| נַ֤עַר | naar | [the] servant of | H5288 → | 239 times |
| הַכֹּהֵן֙ | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| כְּבַשֵּׁ֣ל | kevashel | when boiled | H1310 → | |
| הַבָּשָׂ֔ר | habasar | the meat | H1320 → | 270 times |
| וְהַמַּזְלֵ֛ג | vehamazleg | and the fork | H4207 → | |
| שְׁלֹ֥שׁ־ | shelosh- | [the] three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| הַשִּׁנַּ֖יִם | hashinayim | the prongs | H8127 → | 55 times |
| בְּיָדֽוֹ׃ | beyado | [was] in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וּמִשְׁפַּ֥טand [the] custom of
umishpatH4941 →422 times
הַכֹּהֲנִ֖יםthe priests
hakohanimH3548 →750 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אִ֞ישׁperson
ʾishH376 →1663 times
זֹבֵ֣חַ[who] was sacrificing
zoveachH2076 →134 times
זֶ֗בַחa sacrifice
zevachH2077 →162 times
וּבָ֨אand he came
uva'H935 →2568 times
נַ֤עַר[the] servant of
naarH5288 →239 times
הַכֹּהֵן֙the priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
כְּבַשֵּׁ֣לwhen boiled
kevashelH1310 →
הַבָּשָׂ֔רthe meat
habasarH1320 →270 times
וְהַמַּזְלֵ֛גand the fork
vehamazlegH4207 →
שְׁלֹ֥שׁ־[the] three
shelosh-H7969 →432 times
הַשִּׁנַּ֖יִםthe prongs
hashinayimH8127 →55 times
בְּיָדֽוֹ׃[was] in hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 2; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 11 -- On Abstinence.