Deuteronomy 18:3

3 This is the priests' share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether it is an ox, a sheep, or a goat; the priests are to be given the shoulder, jaws, and stomach.

Deuteronomy 18:3 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 18:3

And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them
that offer sacrifice
Not from the priests, as Jarchi observes, but from those that bring the sacrifices to the priests, particularly the peace offerings:

whether it be ox or sheep;
the one of the herd, the other of the flock, creatures used in sacrifice, and takes in goats and the kids of them, rams and lambs:

and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks,
and the maw;
the first of these designs the upper part of the arm that joins to the neck and back, and the next the two cheeks with the tongue, as both Jarchi and Aben Ezra observe, and indeed the whole head is meant; the maw, which the Septuagint interpreters call (enustron) , and other writers (hnustron) , is, according to the philosopher F16, the fourth and last ventricle or stomach, and which he thus describes;

``after the echinus or rough tripe is that which is called (hnustron) , the maw, which is in size larger than the echinus, and in form longer, and has many large and smooth folds;''

and (hnustron boov) , the maw of an ox, and the belly of a swine, are reckoned by the poet F17 as delicious food.


FOOTNOTES:

F16 Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 17.
F17 Aristophan. Equites, Act. 1. Sc. 3. p. 307. & Act. 4. Sc. 1. p. 355.

Deuteronomy 18:3 In-Context

1 "The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, will have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They will eat the Lord's fire offerings; that is their inheritance.
2 Although Levi has no inheritance among his brothers, the Lord is his inheritance, as He promised him.
3 This is the priests' share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether it is an ox, a sheep, or a goat; the priests are to be given the shoulder, jaws, and stomach.
4 You are to give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first sheared [wool] of your flock.
5 For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord's name from now on.
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