Leviticus 3:16

16 And the priest shall burn them on the altar as food offered by fire for a pleasing odor. All fat is the LORD's.

Leviticus 3:16 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 3:16

And the priest shall burn them upon the altar
Which shows that not the fat only, but the inwards and the kidneys, were burnt also; so Maimonides says F12, that the priest salted the parts, and burned them upon the altar; and the priests might not have the breast and shoulder (which were what belonged to them) until the parts were burnt:

[it is] the food of the offering made by fire;
which the Lord ate of, or accepted of:

for a sweet savour;
as a type of the sweet smelling sacrifice of Christ, with which he is well pleased;

all the fat is the Lord's;
that is, all that was upon the parts mentioned in the several sacrifices of peace offerings, which was to be taken off and burnt: though the Jewish writers understand it of all fat in general, and so interpret the law that follows.


FOOTNOTES:

F12 Ut supra, (Maaseh Hakorbanot) c. 9. sect. 11.

Leviticus 3:16 In-Context

14 Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for an offering by fire to the LORD, the fat covering the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails,
15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver which he shall take away with the kidneys.
16 And the priest shall burn them on the altar as food offered by fire for a pleasing odor. All fat is the LORD's.
17 It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood."
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.