1 Samuel 2:15

15 Yea, before that they burnt the inner fatness, the priest's servant came, and said to the offerer, Give thou flesh to me/Give to me the flesh, that I seethe it to the priest; for I shall not take of thee sodden flesh, but raw. (Yea, before that they burned the inner fatness, the priest's servant came, and said to the offerer, Give thou to me the flesh, so that I can roast it for the priest; for I shall not take boiled flesh from thee, but only raw meat.)

1 Samuel 2:15 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 2:15

Also before they burnt the fat
Which belonged to the Lord, and was to be offered to him by fire, in the first place, as it ought to be; and the order of sacrificing required that he should have his part first before the priest or the owner: but so impious were the priests become, that

the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed;
not to the priest that offered, but to the man that brought his sacrifice to be offered by the priest:

give flesh to roast for the priest;
meaning, not what was his by law, as the breast and shoulder, though for these he ought to have stayed until the fat was offered to the Lord; but other parts of the peace offering, which he had no right unto, for roasting or boiling, and yet in an imperious manner demanded it by his servant:

for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw
though this was not the only reason of this demand, because they liked roast meat better than boiled; but because the three forked flesh hook did not always bring up the best pieces out of the boiling pot; and therefore he resolved to have flesh raw, that he might have the best, as well as dress it to his own liking.

1 Samuel 2:15 In-Context

13 neither the office of (the) priests to the people; but whoever had offered sacrifice, the servant of the priest came, while the fleshes were in seething, and he had a fleshhook with three teeth in his hand;
14 and he sent it into the great vessel of stone, either into the cauldron, either into the pot, either into the pan; and whatever thing the fleshhook raised, the priest took that to himself; so they did to all Israel of men coming into Shiloh. (and he sent it into the great stone vessel, or the cauldron, or the pot, or the pan; and whatever thing the fleshhook raised up, or caught hold of, the priest took that for himself; and so they did to all Israel who came to Shiloh.)
15 Yea, before that they burnt the inner fatness, the priest's servant came, and said to the offerer, Give thou flesh to me/Give to me the flesh, that I seethe it to the priest; for I shall not take of thee sodden flesh, but raw. (Yea, before that they burned the inner fatness, the priest's servant came, and said to the offerer, Give thou to me the flesh, so that I can roast it for the priest; for I shall not take boiled flesh from thee, but only raw meat.)
16 And he that offered said to him, Be first the inner fatness burnt today after the custom, and take thou then to thee how much ever thy soul desireth. The which answered, and said to him, Nay, but thou shalt give it now; for else I shall take it by violence. (And if he who offered said to him, First let the inner fatness be burned today, after the custom, and then take thou for thyself however much thy soul desireth, the servant would answer, and say, No, thou shalt give it to me now; or else I shall take it by force.)
17 Therefore the sin of the young men was full grievous before the Lord; for they withdrew men from the sacrifice of the Lord (for they drew people away, or discouraged them, from sacrificing to the Lord).
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.