Fat
Closely associated with the blood in sacrifices, and as being the richest part, appropriated peculiarly to God (Lev 3:16-17); i.e. the internal fat, the "sweet fat" or suet, chelev; the fat of the kidneys, the sign of the animal's excellence and vigor. As of all produce the first-fruits were offered to Jehovah, so of sacrifices the blood and the fat. Hence the choicest are expressed by "the fat of the earth," "the fat of the wheat," etc.
, "the fat of the mighty" (Gen 45:18; Deu 32:14; Num 18:12 margin; 2Sa 1:22). The fat mixed with lean, mishman or shameen (Num 13:20; Psa 78:31; Isa 10:16), was lawful to eat; so also the peder or fat of the burnt offering, burned along with the flesh. The proper development of fat in the animal marked its perfection, it being the source of nutriment of which the animal economy avails itself in emergency; hence, its appropriateness as the offering to Jehovah.
"The whole fat tail was taken off hard by the backbone" where the pad of fat begins (Lev 3:9), for an offering by fire to Jehovah. The broad-tailed sheep of the East has an apron of marrowy fat as wide as the hind quarters, and trailing on the ground unless when artificially supported by a small truck (Herod., 3:113). The choicest of all that we have and are is to be presented to God (Rom 12:1; Phi 4:18). Fat, i.e. vat.
Hebrew gath is the upper receptacle or "press" in which the grapes were trod. The yeqeb or "vat" was on a lower level, into it the juice flowed from above. The root means to hollow; for the winepress and vat were dug out of the rocks of the hills whereon were the vineyards. Compare Mar 12:1; Isa 5:2, margin.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Fat
Fat (chelebh, chelebh): The layer of subcutaneous fat and the compact suet surrounding the viscera and imbedded in the entrails, which, like the blood, was forbidden as food in the Mosaic code (Le 3:17). It was to be sacrificed to God by being burnt upon the altar (Le 3:16; 30). This had to be done on the very day on which a beast had been slaughtered, to remove temptation from the Israelite to use it otherwise (Ex 23:18). The law was probably a sanitary restriction, for, at an early date, leprosy, scrofula and disfiguring cutaneous diseases were thought to be caused by the use of fat as food. It was, moreover, an important pedagogical provision teaching the idea of self-denial, and the maxim that the richest and best meat of the edible animal belonged to Yahweh. ⇒See a list of verses on FAT in the Bible. See also FATLING; FOWL,FATTED . The expression "fat" is often used in figurative senses, e.g. abundant, exuberant, lusty, fertile, robust, outwardly successful (De 32:15; Ps 92:14 the King James Version; Ps 119:70; Pr 11:25; 13:4, etc.). ⇒See the definition of fat in the KJV Diction…
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Fat
Fat, meaning a larce vessel for holding liquids, has been displaced Dy 'vat' in literary 666 FATE FAVOUR English. The difference between the spellings, says Skeat [Etymol. Diet, s.v.) is one ot dialect only, ' fat ' being northern and ' vat ' southern. Fat occurs in A V , Jl 2^ ' the fats shall overllow with wine and oil,' and 3" (both :i5;) ; in the com- pound 'winefat' in Is 63^ (ni), Mk 12' (u7roX7)>'ioi', AV 1611 ' wine fat' as two words) ; and ' pressfat' (1611 ' presse-fat ') Hag 2'« (3,r). RV gives ' vats ' in Jl (see Driver's note, ad toe), though in Pr 3'° it changes ' presses ' of A V into ' fats ' (3i3;). ' Winefat ' of Mk 12' is made ' wine- press,' and 'pressfat' of Hag 2'* 'winefat' (not by Amer. R V). Amer. KV prefers ' winevat ' to winefat in Is 63^ See Wink. J. Hastings.
Smith's Bible Dictionary on Fat
i.e. VAT, the word employed in the Authorized Version to translate the Hebrew term yekeb, in (Joel 2:24; 3:13) The word commonly used for yekeb is “winepress” or “winefat,” and once “pressfat.” (Haggai 2:16) The “vats” appear to have been excavated out of the native rock of the hills on which the vineyards lay. The Hebrews distinguished between the suet or pure fat of an animal and the fat which was intermixed with the lean. (Nehemiah 8:10) Certain restrictions were imposed upon them in reference to the former; some parts of the suet, viz., about the stomach, the entrails, the kidneys, and the tail of a sheep, which grows to an excessive size in many eastern countries, and produces a large quantity of rich fat, were forbidden to be eaten in the case of animals offered to Jehovah in sacrifice. (Leviticus 3:3,9,17; 7:3,23) The ground of the prohibition was that the fat was the richest part of the animal, and therefore belonged to him. (Leviticus 3:16) The burning of the fat of sacrifices was particularly specified in each kind of offering.
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia