The custom of the priests with the people was that when anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant came while the meat was boiling, with a fork of three teeth in his hand; and he stabbed it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot. The priest took all that the fork brought up for himself. They did this to all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh. Yes, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat to roast for the priest; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but raw.”
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1 Samuel 2:13-15 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Now the sons of Eli were wicked men. They didn’t know Yahweh. The custom of the priests with the people was that when anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant came while the meat was boiling, with a fork of three teeth in his hand; and he stabbed it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot. The priest took all that the fork brought up for himself. They did this to all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh. Yes, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat to roast for the priest; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but raw.”
Parallel Translations
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The custom of the priests with the people was that when anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant came while the meat was boiling, with a fork of three teeth in his hand;
and he stabbed it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot. The priest took all that the fork brought up for himself. They did this to all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh.
Yes, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat to roast for the priest; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but raw.”
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And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;
And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.
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And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his band;
and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did unto all the Israelites that came thither in Shiloh.
Yea, before the fat was made to smoke, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed: 'Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.'
Cross-references (12)
- Leviticus 7:29-34 (v13) “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to Yahweh shall bring his offering to Yahweh…
- Leviticus 3:16 (v15) The priest shall burn them on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma; all the fat is Yahweh’s.
- Leviticus 3:3-5 (v15) He shall offer of the sacrifice of peace offerings an offering made by fire to Yahweh. The fat that covers the innards, and all the fat…
- Romans 16:18 (v15) For those who are such don’t serve our Lord, Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the…
- Philippians 3:19 (v15) whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
Show all 12 cross-references
- Exodus 29:27-28 (v14) You shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the wave offering, which is waved, and which is raised up, of the ram…
- 1 Samuel 2:29 (v14) Why do you kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honor your sons above me, to make…
- Isaiah 56:11 (v14) Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each…
- Jude 1:12 (v15) These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without…
- Leviticus 7:34 (v14) For the waved breast and the heaved thigh I have taken from the children of Israel out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have…
- Malachi 1:10 (v14) “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you,”…
- 2 Peter 2:13-15 (v14) receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Or, son.
Or, son.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv13–15 1Sa 2:13 And the priests’ custom with the people…
1Sa 2:13 And the priests’ custom with the people [was, that], when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;
Ver. 13. And the priest’s custom with the people was.] It was their custom, but not their right. Plus valet malum inolitum quam bonum insolitum. Here these priests are accused of sundry foul crimes, as ignorance, theft, sacrilege, luxury, adultery, obstinacy. A wicked priest is the worst creature upon earth. Who are devils, but they which were once angels of light?
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Offered, i.e. presented it to the Lord, to be…
Offered, i.e. presented it to the Lord, to be offered by the priest.
While the flesh was in seething; for as the Lord’s part of the peace-offerings was burnt upon the altar, so the priest’s and offerer’s parts were to be sodden.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv13–15 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle,…
And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot,.... Whatever vessel was made use of, larger or lesser, according to the quantity of flesh the owner boiled for himself and friends, the trident the priest's servants brought with him, he struck into the boiler to the bottom; of it:
all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself; as his own property; whereas no part of it at all belonged to him, he having had the breast and shoulder delivered to him in the first place; and yet, by this method, all that he could drag up with this three forked instrument he claimed as his own; which might be much, that would hang upon three teeth of it, or in which they were fastened; and, according to Abarbinel, each of them would bring up a pound of flesh, and perhaps more:
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so they did in Shiloh, unto all the Israelites that came thither; to offer their sacrifices, which was the proper place for them, the tabernacle and altar being there; and men of all ranks and degrees were treated alike, princes and people, rich and poor; the custom universally obtained, and all sorts of men met with the same usage.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Boiling - As the Lord's part of the peace-offerings…
Boiling - As the Lord's part of the peace-offerings was burnt upon the altar, so the priest's and offerer's parts were to be boiled.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Verse 13. When any man offered sacrifice] That is,…
Verse 13. When any man offered sacrifice] That is, when a peace-offering was brought, the right shoulder and the breast belonged to the priest, the fat was burnt upon the altar, and the blood was poured at the bottom of the altar; the rest of the flesh belonged to the offerer. Under pretence of taking only their own part, they took the best of all they chose, and as much as they chose.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv13–14 1Sa 2:13. When any man offered sacrifice — Brought…
1Sa 2:13. When any man offered sacrifice — Brought his peace-offerings to be offered at the altar. While the flesh was in seething — Or boiling. As the Lord’s part of the peace-offerings was burned upon the altar, so the priests’ and offerers’ parts were to be boiled. And when the temple was built, there were certain rooms in the court of the people, wherein they had liberty to boil the flesh, in order that they might feast with God at his own house. And the like rooms, no doubt, there were in the outward court of the tabernacle.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v13 The Law of Moses defined exactly what was to…
The Law of Moses defined exactly what was to be the priest’s portion of every peace offering Lev 7:31-35, as it also gave express directions about the burning of the fat Lev 7:23-25, Lev 7:31. It was therefore a gross act of disobedience and lawlessness on the part of Hophni and Phinehas to take more than the Law gave them. Incidental evidence is afforded by this passage to the existence of the Levitical law at this time.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Nor the office. The Vulgate repeats the negation from…
Nor the office. The Vulgate repeats the negation from the preceding sentence. Others translate, "The priests’ custom with the people was," &c., or, "the pretended right of the priests," &c. They neither performed their duty towards God, (Calmet) nor were they content with what the law authorized them to receive from the people. (Haydock) --- Servant, or son; perhaps Ophni or Phinees. --- Boiling. In the heroic times, the meat was never boiled, but roasted. (Atheneus i. 10.; and Servius; though Hesiod asserts the contrary, ver. 748. (Calmet) --- Abulensis (q. 8.) observes that the person who offered the victim, boiled the parts which belonged to himself, as well as the priest’s share. But, whereas in the peace-offerings, only the breast and the right shoulder fell to the priest, these rapacious men took whatever they pleased. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v13 the priests' custom with the people--When persons wished to…
the priests' custom with the people--When persons wished to present a sacrifice of peace offering on the altar, the offering was brought in the first instance to the priest, and as the Lord's part was burnt, the parts appropriated respectively to the priests and offerers were to be sodden. But Eli's sons, unsatisfied with the breast and shoulder, which were the perquisites appointed to them by the divine law (Exo 29:27; Lev 7:31-32), not only claimed part of the offerer's share, but rapaciously seized them previous to the sacred ceremony of heaving or waving (see on Lev 7:29); and moreover they committed the additional injustice of taking up with their fork those portions which they preferred, while still raw. Pious people revolted at such rapacious and profane encroachments on the dues of the altar, as well as what should have gone to constitute the family and social feast of the offerer. The truth is, the priests having become haughty and unwilling in many instances to accept invitations to those feasts, presents of meat were sent to them; and this, though done in courtesy at first, being, in course of time, established into a right, gave rise to all the rapacious keenness of Eli's sons.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v13 13. The priest’s custom with the people — The…
13. The priest’s custom with the people — The sacrilegious custom here described had been profanely introduced in the time of the Judges, and was a sad departure from the law, which gave only certain specified portions to the priests, and required the fat to be burned on the altar. Lev_7:29-34.
A fleshhook of three teeth — “The three-pronged fork which fishes up the seething flesh is the earliest type of grasping at pluralities and church-preferments by base means. For students of ecclesiastical history, Hophni and Phinehas are characters ‘of great and instructive wickedness.’ They are the true exemplars of the grasping and worldly clergy of all ages.” — Stanley.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–15 13. the priests’ custom] The law directed the worshipper…
13. the priests’ custom] The law directed the worshipper to present to the priest the fat of the victim along with the breast and shoulder (Lev_7:29-34). The fat was to be burned on the altar to Jehovah (Lev_3:3-5): the breast and shoulder, after being ‘waved’ and ‘heaved,’ a ceremony of dedication to Jehovah, became the priest’s portion. Hophni and Phinehas were guilty of a double sin. (a) They robbed the people: not content with the share assigned them, they sent a servant to interrupt the preparation of the sacrificial meal, and seize a further portion. (b) They insulted Jehovah by demanding their share before the parts consecrated to Him had been duly burned upon the altar (1Sa_2:15).
priests’] Misprinted priest’s in most editions of the Bible.
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seething] i.e. boiling.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv13, 15 (13) The priest’s custom.—That is to say, the custom…
(13) The priest’s custom.—That is to say, the custom or practice introduced under these robber-priests, who were not content with the modest share of the offerings assigned to them by the Law of Moses. (See Lev_7:31; Lev_7:35; Deu_18:3.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v15 General Information:
General Information:
When people would offer animals as sacrifices, they would first burn the animal's fat and then boil the meat, give some to the priest, and eat the rest.
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Worse, before
"They even did something worse than that. Before"
they burned
The person who actually did the burning can be made explicit. AT: "the man who was sacrificing took his sacrifice to the priests and the priests burned" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Give meat to roast for the priest
"Give me some meat so I can give it to the priest so he can roast it"
roast
cook over a fire
boiled
cooked in water
raw
not cooked
despised Yahweh's offering
The young men did not like Yahweh's instructions regarding the offering and paid no attention to them.
translationWords
sin
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 15 2:13-17 The priests were supposed to receive their portion…
2:13-17 The priests were supposed to receive their portion of the meat only after it had been boiled (see Num 6:19). Eli’s sons disregarded God’s instructions (1 Sam 2:13-14, 17).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.