Leviticus 3:11
in Leviticus 3Then the priest is to burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto Jehovah.
KJV
And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the Lord.
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This verse in Leviticus 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd 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, Lev 21:8.
This site's exposition
the fat thereof, and the whole rump
on Leviticus 3:9-11
The sheep yields one part the bullock did not, the whole fat tail taken off hard by the backbone. Broad-tailed sheep of that country carry a tail weighted with fat, and the law claims it whole. Verse 11 calls the burnt portion the food of the offering made by fire, and Leviticus 21:6 calls the same thing the bread of their God, which gives the altar the shape of a table.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It fed the holy fire; it was acceptable to God as our food is to us; and since in the tabernacle God did, as it were, keep house among them, by the offerings on the altar he kept a good table, as Solomon in his court, 1 Kings iv. Here is a general rule laid down, that all the fat is the Lord's (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Burnt it - The parts now mentioned; the rest fell to the priest, chap. vii, 31. The food - That is, the fuel of the fire, or the matter of the offering. It is called food, Hebrew. bread, to note God's acceptance of it, and delight in it; as men delight in their food.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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, Deu 32:38, to eat the fat and drink the wine which were consumed on their altars.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
To command by an express law the tail of a certain sheep to be offered in sacrifice to God, might well surprise us; but the wonder ceases, when we are told of those broad-tailed Eastern sheep, and of the extreme delicacy of that part which was so particularly specified in the statute [PAXTON].
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
He mentions here the species, thus meaning, “if of the species of goats is his offering,” [and thus includes male and female]. This is like the opinion of Onkelos who translated: “and if of the ‘ bnei ’ (species of) the goats is his 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. 5 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
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִקְטִיר֥וֹ | vehiktiro | and he will make smoke it | H6999 → | 116 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֖ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חָה | hamizbechah | the altar towards | H4196 → | 401 times |
| לֶ֥חֶם | lechem | food of | H3899 → | 298 times |
| אִשֶּׁ֖ה | ʾisheh | a fire offering | H801 → | 65 times |
| לַיהוָֽה׃ פ | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְהִקְטִיר֥וֹand he will make smoke it
vehiktiroH6999 →116 times
הַכֹּהֵ֖ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חָהthe altar towards
hamizbechahH4196 →401 times
לֶ֥חֶםfood of
lechemH3899 →298 times
אִשֶּׁ֖הa fire offering
ʾishehH801 →65 times
לַיהוָֽה׃ פto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 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
Leviticus 21:8You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart.
it leads to
- Leviticus 20:7–8
Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
- Leviticus 19:2
“Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
- Leviticus 11:44–45
For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.
- Leviticus 21:6
They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be…
- Leviticus 20:7–8
Through
Leviticus 3:16Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:15–16
Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he will not accept boiled…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 7:23–25
“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘You are not to eat any of the fat of an ox, a sheep, or a goat.
- 1 Samuel 2:15–16
Through
Leviticus 3:5Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar atop the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
it leads to
- Leviticus 6:12
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it must not be extinguished. Every morning the priest is to add wood to the fire, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the…
- Leviticus 6:12
Through
Leviticus 21:6They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be…
it leads to
- Leviticus 18:21
You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 18:21
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.