1 Samuel 2:14
in 1 Samuel 2and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
KJV
And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis 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 Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
5. Fat indeed is the internal richness, in which that devotion of mind is expressed by which the minds of the elect are joined to their Creator in more perfect charity. They rightly offer sacrifice with meat already cooked, because no one will be able to rise to the sublimity of charity unless he first loves the mysteries of the incarnate divinity which he believes. For to believe through the Holy Spirit that the humanity of the Lord Jesus was assumed into divinity is to cook the flesh that is to be offered to God.
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.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 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 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
And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot,....
2 more voices on this verse
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
Kettle - caldron, or pot - We know not what these were, nor of what capacity; nor is it of any consequence.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִכָּ֨ה | vehikah | and he thrust [it] | H5221 → | 499 times |
| בַכִּיּ֜וֹר | vakiyor | in the pot | H3595 → | |
| א֣וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| בַדּ֗וּד | vadud | in the kettle | H1731 → | |
| א֤וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| בַקַּלַּ֙חַת֙ | vakalachat | in the caldron | H7037 → | |
| א֣וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| בַפָּר֔וּר | vaparur | in the pot | H6517 → | |
| כֹּ֚ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יַעֲלֶ֣ה | yaaleh | it brought up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| הַמַּזְלֵ֔ג | hamazleg | the fork | H4207 → | |
| יִקַּ֥ח | yikach | he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֖ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| בּ֑וֹ | bo | for himself | ||
| כָּ֚כָה | kakhah | thus | H3602 → | |
| יַעֲשׂ֣וּ | yaasu | they did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הַבָּאִ֥ים | habaim | who came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| בְּשִׁלֹֽה׃ | beshiloh | at Shiloh | H7887 → | 32 times |
וְהִכָּ֨הand he thrust [it]
vehikahH5221 →499 times
בַכִּיּ֜וֹרin the pot
vakiyorH3595 →
א֣וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
בַדּ֗וּדin the kettle
vadudH1731 →
א֤וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
בַקַּלַּ֙חַת֙in the caldron
vakalachatH7037 →
א֣וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
בַפָּר֔וּרin the pot
vaparurH6517 →
כֹּ֚לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יַעֲלֶ֣הit brought up
yaalehH5927 →890 times
הַמַּזְלֵ֔גthe fork
hamazlegH4207 →
יִקַּ֥חhe took
yikachH3947 →966 times
הַכֹּהֵ֖ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
בּ֑וֹfor himself
bo
כָּ֚כָהthus
kakhahH3602 →
יַעֲשׂ֣וּthey did
yaasuH6213 →2628 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הַבָּאִ֥יםwho came
habaimH935 →2568 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
בְּשִׁלֹֽה׃at Shiloh
beshilohH7887 →32 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 56:11Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
it leads to
- Ezekiel 34:2–3
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the…
- Ezekiel 13:19
You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared…
- Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
- John 8:43
Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message.
- Isaiah 57:17
I was enraged by his sinful greed, so I struck him and hid My face in anger; yet he kept turning back to the desires of his heart.
- Ezekiel 34:2–3
Through
1 Samuel 2:29Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all…
it leads to
- Matthew 10:37
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
- Deuteronomy 32:15
But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
- 1 Samuel 2:13–17
or 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
- Matthew 10:37
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.