1 Samuel 2:15

15 Likewise, before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, for he will not take cooked flesh of thee, but raw.

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 It was the priests’ custom with the people that when anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the flesh was being boiled, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;
14 and he would strike it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and all that the fleshhook brought up, the priest took for himself. Thus would they do in Shiloh to all the Israelites that went there.
15 Likewise, before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, for he will not take cooked flesh of thee, but raw.
16 And if the man would say unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat today and then take as much as thy soul desires, then he would answer him, No, but thou shalt give it to me now, and if not, I will take it by force.
17 Therefore, the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men despised the present of the LORD.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010