Exodus 29:13

And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards,.... That covered the skin or caul, in which the bowels are contained, called the "omentum", which generally has a pretty deal of fat upon

And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. No JFB commentary on these verses.

The parts which in all sacrifices were burned unto God, 4:19, to signify either the mortification of their inward and most beloved lusts, or the dedication of the best of all sacrifices, and of their inward and best parts, to God and his service.

Exodus 29:13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul [that is] above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that [is] upon them, and burn [them] upon the altar.Ver. 13. All the fat that covereth.] God must have the very best of the best; since Christ offered himself, and the best parts he had.

(13) Thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards.—Whole burnt offerings were, comparatively speaking, of rare occurrence in the ancient world. Usually, parts only of the victims were consumed by fire upon the altar; the greater portion was either eaten by the priests and the worshippers, or burnt elsewhere than on the altar. Among the parts regarded as most fitting to be consumed on the altar, the fat always held a high place. This is to be accounted for either by its being considered a delicacy, or by the readiness with which it caught fire and kindled into a clear bright blaze. The caul that is above the liver—i.e., the membrane which covers the upper portion of the liver, sometimes called “the little omentum.”

13. The parts of the sin-offering which were regularly consumed upon the altar: see Leviticus 4:8 f. On the parts in question, see more fully on Leviticus 3:4. the fat that covereth the entrails] i.e., probably, what is called technically the ‘great omentum,’ a highly fatty membrane, which in ruminants covers the whole of the paunch, and extends partially over the intestines. See Leviticus in SBOT., Plate opp. to p. 4, and p. 65; EB. iv. 4206. the caul (i.e. net) upon the liver] the appendix (Heb. the redundance) upon the liver, i.e., as Moore in the Orient. Studien Th. Nφldeke gewidmet (1906), ii. 761 ff., has convincingly shewn, what is called technically the lobus caudatus, or tail-shaped lobe, a small finger-shaped appendix—in the Mishna, Tamid iv. 3, it is actually called ‘the finger of the liver’—projecting from the liver close to the right kidney (cf. Leviticus 3:4, to be rendered as RVm.). This, as Moore shews, is how the term was understood by the oldest interpreters, LXX., Onk., Pesh., and in the Mishna: LXX. ὁλοβὸς does not mean, as Bochart and many others supposed, ‘the greater lobe’ of the liver itself, but ‘the lobe’ κατʼ ? ἐξοχήν, i.e. this appendix, which was specially important in ancient divination (cf. Aesch. P. V. 495; Eurip. Electra, 828: see also Jastrow in O.T. and Semitic Studies in memory of W. R. Harper, 1908, ii. 289, 294, 326, in a paper on Bab. liver-divination)1[210]. It was no doubt this ancient significance of the lobus caudatus which led to its being specially selected for consumption upon the altar. The rend, caul (i.e. net, the ‘lesser omentum’) is first found in Jerome (reticulum). [210] Both Etruscan and Babylonian models of the liver, as mapped out for diviners, shew the lobus caudatus very distinctly (Moore, 768): see an ill. of a Bab. model in Jeremias, ATLAO. 358 (2590) = Gressmann, Altor. Texte u. Bilder zum AT. (1909), ii. 51.burn them] consume them in sweet smoke: Heb. hiḳ ?ṭ ?ir, lit. make odorous (the cogn. Arab, means to exhale odour in roasting), or turn into sweet smoke (cf. the Greek κνίση, of the steam of a burning sacrifice, as Il. i. 317). The word is always used of burning either a sacrificial offering or incense; and must be distinguished from sβraph, the ordinary Heb. word for burn (i.e. to destroy by fire) vv. 14, 32, &c. In Ex. hiḳ ?ṭ ?ir recurs vv. 18, 25, Exodus 30:7-8; Exodus 30:20, Exodus 40:27 : it is frequent in Lev. (Exodus 1:9; Exodus 1:13, &c.), and also occurs elsewhere (as 2 Kings 16:15).

13. Fat… caul… kidneys — See notes on Leviticus 3:3-4.