Leviticus 2:3

And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(3) And the remnant.—With the exception of the memorial or the handful of flour and oil, and of all the frankincense, this meat offering belonged to the priests, who divided it among them, and by whom alone it was to be consumed in the court of the sanctuary.

A thing most holy.—The offerings consisted of two classes, less holy and most holy. The thank offerings (Leviticus 23:20; Numbers 6:20), the firstborn of clean sacrificed animals (Numbers 18:17), the firstlings of oil, wine, and corn, and the paschal sacrifices, belonged to the less holy, and might be eaten entirely or partially in any clean place within the holy city by the officiating priests and their families (Leviticus 10:12-14). The incense offering, the shew-bread (Exodus 30:26; Leviticus 24:9), the sin and trespass offerings (Leviticus 6:25-28; Leviticus 7:1; Leviticus 7:6; Leviticus 14:13, &c.), and the meat offerings here described, belonged to the most holy class. They could only be eaten in the court of the sanctuary by the priests alone.

Benson Commentary

Leviticus 2:3-6. Shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ — To be eaten by them, Leviticus 6:16. Most holy — Or such as were to be eaten only by the priests, and that only in the holy place near the altar. In the oven — Made in the sanctuary for that use. In pieces — Because part of it was offered to God, and part given to the priests.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:1-11 Meat-offerings may typify Christ, as presented to God for us, and as being the Bread of life to our souls; but they rather seem to denote our obligation to God for the blessings of providence, and those good works which are acceptable to God. The term meat was, and still is, properly given to any kind of provision, and the greater part of this offering was to be eaten for food, not burned. These meat-offerings are mentioned after the burnt-offerings: without an interest in the sacrifice of Christ, and devotedness of heart to God, such services cannot be accepted. Leaven is the emblem of pride, malice, and hypocrisy, and honey of sensual pleasure. The former are directly opposed to the graces of humility, love, and sincerity, which God approves; the latter takes men from the exercises of devotion, and the practice of good works. Christ, in his character and sacrifice, was wholly free from the things denoted by leaven; and his suffering life and agonizing death were the very opposites to worldly pleasure. His people are called to follow, and to be like him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A thing most holy - literally, a holy of holies. All offerings were holy, including the portions of the peace-offerings which were eaten by the laity; but that was "most holy" of which every part was devoted either to the altar, or to the use of the priests. Such were the minchaahs, the showbread, the incense, and the flesh of the sin-offerings and trespass-offerings. Compare the similar distinction between places Exodus 26:33. The most holy food was eaten in "the holy place," that is the precinct of the tabernacle, probably in the priests' lodgings; but the priests' portion of the peace-offerings might be eaten by the priests and their families in any "clean place" Leviticus 10:12-14.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3. the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons'—The circumstance of a portion of it being appropriated to the use of the priests distinguishes this from a burnt offering. They alone were to partake of it within the sacred precincts, as among "the most holy things."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Aaron’s and his sons’, to be eaten by them, Leviticus 6:16. i.e. Most holy, or such as were to be eaten only by the priests, and that only in the. holy place near the altar. See Leviticus 6:26 7:6,9 21:22.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons',.... Which not only shows the care taken by the Lord for the maintenance of the priests, from whence the apostle argues for the support of ministers of the Gospel, 1 Corinthians 9:13 but denotes that such who are made priests unto God by Christ, have a right to feed upon Christ the meat offering by faith; who is that altar and meat offering, which none but such have a right to eat of:

it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire; some offerings with the Jews were only holy things, or, as they call them, "light" holy things, comparatively speaking; others were heavy holy things, or most holy; or, as it is in the original, "holiness of holiness", the most holy of all.

Geneva Study Bible

And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing {d} most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.

(d) Therefore no one could eat of it but the priest.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

3. most holy] See on Leviticus 6:12 (end).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 3. - The remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons'. The meat offerings must have gone far to supply the priests with farinaceous food, as, for every handful of flour burnt on the altar, nearly a gallon went to the priests. They had to eat it within the precincts of the tabernacle, as was the case with all meats that were most holy, viz. the minchahs, the shew-bread, and the flesh of the sin offering and of the trespass offering (Leviticus 10:12). Other meats assigned to the priests might be eaten in any clean place (Leviticus 10:14). The priests' own meat offerings were wholly burnt (Leviticus 6:23). Leviticus 2:3

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The first kind consisted of soleth, probably from סלה equals סלל to swing, swung flour, like πάλη from πάλλω, i.e., fine flour; and for this no doubt wheaten flour was always used, even when חטּים is not added, as in Exodus 29:2, to distinguish it from קמח, or ordinary meal (σεμίδαλις: 1 Kings 5:2). The suffix in קרבּנו (his offering) refers to נפשׁ, which is frequently construed as both masculine and feminine (Leviticus 4:2, Leviticus 4:27-28, Leviticus 2:1, etc.), or as masculine only (Numbers 31:28) in the sense of person, any one. "And let him pour oil upon it, and put incense thereon (or add incense to it)." This was not spread upon the flour, on which oil had been poured, but added in such a way, that it could be lifted from the minchah and burned upon the altar (Leviticus 2:2). The priest was then to take a handful of the gift that had been presented, and cause the azcarah of it to evaporate above (together with) all the incense. קמצו מלא: the filling of his closed hand, i.e., as much as he could hold with his hand full, not merely with three fingers, as the Rabbins affirm. Azcarah (from זכר, formed like אשׁמרה from שׁמר) is only applied to Jehovah's portion, which was burned upon the altar in the case of the meat-offering (Leviticus 2:9, Leviticus 2:16, and Leviticus 6:8), the sin-offering of flour (Leviticus 5:11), and the jealousy-offering (Numbers 5:26), and to the incense added to the shew-bread (Leviticus 24:7). It does not mean the prize portion, i.e., the portion offered for the glory of God, as De Dieu and Rosenmller maintain, still less the fragrance-offering (Ewald), but the memorial, or remembrance-portion, μνημόσυνον or ἀνάμνησις (Leviticus 24:7, lxx), memoriale (Vulg.), inasmuch as that part of the minchah which was placed upon the altar ascended in the smoke of the fire "on behalf of the giver, as a practical mememto ('remember me') to Jehovah:" though there is no necessity that we should trace the word to the Hiphil in consequence. The rest of the minchah was to belong to Aaron and his sons, i.e., to the priesthood, as a most holy thing of the firings of Jehovah. The term "most holy" is applied to all the sacrificial gifts that were consecrated to Jehovah, in this sense, that such portions as were not burned upon the altar were to be eaten by the priests alone in a holy place; the laity, and even such of the Levites as were not priests, being prohibited from partaking of them (see at Exodus 26:33 and Exodus 30:10). Thus the independent meat-offerings, which were not entirely consumed upon the altar (Leviticus 2:3, Leviticus 2:10, Leviticus 6:10; Leviticus 10:12), the sin-offerings and trespass-offerings, the flesh of which was not burned outside the camp (Leviticus 6:18, Leviticus 6:22; Leviticus 7:1, Leviticus 7:6; Leviticus 10:17; Leviticus 14:13; Numbers 18:9), the shew-bread (Leviticus 24:9), and even objects put under the ban and devoted to the Lord, whether men, cattle, or property of other kinds (Leviticus 27:28), as well as the holy incense (Exodus 30:36), - in fact, all the holy sacrificial gifts, in which there was any fear lest a portion should be perverted to other objects, - were called most holy; whereas the burnt-offerings, the priestly meat-offerings (Leviticus 6:12-16) and other sacrifices, which were quite as holy, were not called most holy, because the command to burn them entirely precluded the possibility of their being devoted to any of the ordinary purposes of life.