13 and hath laid his hand on its head, and hath slaughtered it before the tent of meeting, and sons of Aaron have sprinkled its blood on the altar round about;
`And if his offering `is' a sacrifice of peace-offerings, if out of the herd he is bringing near, whether male or female, a perfect one he doth bring near before Jehovah, and he hath laid his hand on the head of his offering, and hath slaughtered it at the opening of the tent of meeting, and sons of Aaron, the priests, have sprinkled the blood on the altar round about. `And he hath brought near from the sacrifice of the peace-offerings a fire-offering to Jehovah, the fat which is covering the inwards, and all the fat which `is' on the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat which `is' on them, which `is' on the flanks, and the redundance above the liver, (beside the kidneys he doth turn it aside), and sons of Aaron have made it a perfume on the altar, on the burnt-offering which `is' on the wood, which `is' on the fire -- a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah.
Of the labour of his soul he seeth -- he is satisfied, Through his knowledge give righteousness Doth the righteous one, My servant, to many, And their iniquities he doth bear. Therefore I give a portion to him among the many, And with the mighty he apportioneth spoil, Because that he exposed to death his soul, And with transgressors he was numbered, And he the sin of many hath borne, And for transgressors he intercedeth.
For in our being still ailing, Christ in due time did die for the impious; for scarcely for a righteous man will any one die, for for the good man perhaps some one also doth dare to die; and God doth commend His own love to us, that, in our being still sinners, Christ did die for us; much more, then, having been declared righteous now in his blood, we shall be saved through him from the wrath; for if, being enemies, we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved in his life. And not only `so', but we are also boasting in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom now we did receive the reconciliation;
But, not as the offence so also `is' the free gift; for if by the offence of the one the many did die, much more did the grace of God, and the free gift in grace of the one man Jesus Christ, abound to the many; and not as through one who did sin `is' the free gift, for the judgment indeed `is' of one to condemnation, but the gift `is' of many offences to a declaration of `Righteous,' for if by the offence of the one the death did reign through the one, much more those, who the abundance of the grace and of the free gift of the righteousness are receiving, in life shall reign through the one -- Jesus Christ. So, then, as through one offence to all men `it is' to condemnation, so also through one declaration of `Righteous' `it is' to all men to justification of life; for as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners: so also through the obedience of the one, shall the many be constituted righteous. And law came in, that the offence might abound, and where the sin did abound, the grace did overabound, that even as the sin did reign in the death, so also the grace may reign, through righteousness, to life age-during, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Commentary on Leviticus 3 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 3
Le 3:1-17. The Peace Offering of the Herd.
1. if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering—"Peace" being used in Scripture to denote prosperity and happiness generally, a peace offering was a voluntary tribute of gratitude for health or other benefits. In this view it was eucharistic, being a token of thanksgiving for benefits already received, or it was sometimes votive, presented in prayer for benefits wished for in the future.
of the herd—This kind of offering being of a festive character, either male or female, if without blemish, might be used, as both of them were equally good for food, and, if the circumstances of the offerer allowed it, it might be a calf.
2. he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering—Having performed this significant act, he killed it before the door of the tabernacle, and the priests sprinkled the blood round about upon the altar.
3. he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering—The peace offering differed from the oblations formerly mentioned in this respect: while the burnt offering was wholly consumed on the altar, and the freewill offering was partly consumed and partly assigned to the priests; in this offering the fat alone was burnt; only a small part was allotted to the priests while the rest was granted to the offerer and his friends, thus forming a sacred feast of which the Lord, His priests, and people conjointly partook, and which was symbolical of the spiritual feast, the sacred communion which, through Christ, the great peace offering, believers enjoy. (See further on Le 19:5-8; 22:21).
the fat that covereth the inwards—that is, the web work that presents itself first to the eye on opening the belly of a cow.
the fat … upon the inwards—adhering to the intestines, but easily removable from them; or, according to some, that which was next the ventricle.
4-11. the two kidneys … of the flock … the whole rump—There is, in Eastern countries, a species of sheep the tails of which are not less than four feet and a half in length. These tails are of a substance between fat and marrow. A sheep of this kind weighs sixty or seventy English pounds weight, of which the tail usually weighs fifteen pounds and upwards. This species is by far the most numerous in Arabia, Syria, and Palestine, and, forming probably a large portion in the flocks of the Israelites, it seems to have been the kind that usually bled on the Jewish altars. The extraordinary size and deliciousness of their tails give additional importance to this law. 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].
12. if his offering be a goat—Whether this or any of the other two animals were chosen, the same general directions were to be followed in the ceremony of offering.
17. ye eat neither fat nor blood—The details given above distinctly define the fat in animals which was not to be eaten, so that all the rest, whatever adhered to other parts, or was intermixed with them, might be used. The prohibition of blood rested on a different foundation, being intended to preserve their reverence for the Messiah, who was to shed His blood as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world [Brown].