1 Samuel 2:14

14 He would thrust it into the cauldron or the pot. Whatever the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. This is how it was done for all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

1 Samuel 2:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 2:14

And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot,
&c.] Whatever vessel was made use of, larger or lesser, according to the quantity of flesh the owner boiled for himself and friends, the trident the priest's servants brought with him, he struck into the boiler to the bottom; of it:

all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself;
as his own property; whereas no part of it at all belonged to him, he having had the breast and shoulder delivered to him in the first place; and yet, by this method, all that he could drag up with this three forked instrument he claimed as his own; which might be much, that would hang upon three teeth of it, or in which they were fastened; and, according to Abarbinel, each of them would bring up a pound of flesh, and perhaps more:

so they did in Shiloh, unto all the Israelites that came thither;
to offer their sacrifices, which was the proper place for them, the tabernacle and altar being there; and men of all ranks and degrees were treated alike, princes and people, rich and poor; the custom universally obtained, and all sorts of men met with the same usage.

1 Samuel 2:14 In-Context

12 Now Eli's sons were despicable men who didn't know the LORD.

13 This was how the priest was supposed to act with the people: Whenever anyone made a sacrifice, while the meat was boiling, the priest's assistant would come with a three-pronged fork in hand.

14 He would thrust it into the cauldron or the pot. Whatever the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. This is how it was done for all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

15 But with Eli's sons, even before the fat was burned, the priest's assistant would come and say to the person offering the sacrifice, "Give the priest some meat to roast. He won't accept boiled meat from you."

16 If anyone said, "Let the fat be burned off first, as usual, then take whatever you like for yourself," the assistant would reply, "No, hand it over now. If not, I'll take it by force."

Footnotes

• [a]. Cf DSS (4QSama); Heb has four different words for pots.