1 Samuel 2:16

16 If that man said to him, "The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself,"^[a] the servant would reply, "No, I insist that you hand it over right now. If you don't, I'll take it by force!"

1 Samuel 2:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 2:16

And if any man said unto him, let them not fail to burn the
fat presently
Or stay till they have offered the fat, as the Targum; let that be done in the first place, which may be quickly done, in a very little time, and let as much haste be made as can be to do it:

and then take as much as thy soul desireth;
by which it appears that the men that brought the sacrifice had more religion at heart, and were more concerned for the honour and glory of God than the priest; being willing to suffer in their property, but could not bear that the Lord should be dishonoured, and so rudely treated: they were willing the priests should take what they pleased of theirs, though they had no right to any; only they desired the Lord might be served first, which was but reasonable:

then he would answer him, nay, but thou shall give it me now, and if
not, I will take it by force;
signifying, he would not stay till the fat was burnt, and the Lord had his portion, but he would have it directly; and if he would not give it him freely, he would take it whether he would or not; to such a height of insolence and impiety were the priests arrived, as to put it in the power of their servants to make such wicked demands, and treat God, and those that brought their sacrifices to him, in such a contemptuous manner.

1 Samuel 2:16 In-Context

14 and plunge it into the container or kettle or caldron or cooking pot. The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh.

15 Even before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest [some] meat to roast, because he won't accept boiled meat from you-only raw."

16 If that man said to him, "The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself," the servant would reply, "No, I insist that you hand it over right now. If you don't, I'll take it by force!"

17 So the servants' sin was very severe in the presence of the Lord, because they treated the Lord's offering with contempt.

18 The boy Samuel served in the Lord's presence and wore a linen ephod.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lv 7:25