FAT was regarded among the Jews, as arnung all other nations of antiquity, as the richest part of animals, and therefore became synonymous with The firrt, the best, the prime of anything. Thus the best produce of the land is called the fat of the earth' (Gen. xlv. IS), 'the fat of wheat' (Dent. xxxii. ; Ps. lxxxi. 17 ; cxlvii. ; the choicest oil and wine are termed the fat of oil, and the fat of wine' (Num. xviii. 12) ; the first and greatest heroes are denominated `thefatof the mighty ' (Judg. iii. 29 ; 2 Sam. i. 22 ; Is. x. 16) ; and the magnates and most distinguished of the earth are designated the fat' (Ps. xxii. 3o)• Now, as by virtue of its being the best and prime part, fat represents the whole animal ; therefore, like the first-born, the first-fruits and the first and best of everything, it belongs to God. It was in accordance with this natural feeling that most of the ancient nations pre sented the fat to their God. Thus the Egyptians, when sacrificing a pig to the full moon, burnt the tail, spleen, caul, and all the fat about the belly of the animal, and eat the flesh themselves (Herod. ii. 47) ; the Persians lay a piece of caul of the sacri ficed animal upon the fire (Strabo, xv., c. iii. sec. 13) ; and the Greeks used to cut out the thigh bones of victims, wrap them up in two folds of fat, also lay slices of fat upon them, lay upon the altar, and burn them (comp. Liddell and Scott's Greek English lexicon, s. v. unpla) ; and Abel, who brought the first animal sacrifice, not only presented to the Lord the firstlings of his flock,' bnt the fzt thereof,' which, by virtue of its being the best part, was as much the firstling of the animal itself as the animal was the firstling of the flock.
The parts of the fat or suet of the victims, which belong to God, and are especially to be appro priated to the altar, are given in Exod. xxix. 13-22, and Lev. iii. 3-5, as follows :--1. The fat which covers the entrails (21Pil PS. ;lawn n5n) 7Xous, as Josephus rightly has it (A Wig. iii. 9. 2) the onzentzim, which is only to be found in man and mammals, and is very fat in ruminants (comp. Arist. Hist. Anim. i. 16; Plin. Hist. Nat. xi. 80).
2. The fat which accumulates around entrails (21-1 rpm 511 IL,'14), and is easily separated therefrom, i.e., the reticular adherings to the colon. 3. The two kidneys, with the fat on them, at the internal muscles of the loins (ir63) .nv O45D:r1 "cm), as the most fat accumulates near the kidneys (Deut. xxxii. 14 ; Is. xxxiv. 6), and to such an extent in sheep that they some times die of it (0i. peOpol ActXLara re0v oz-Xd7xvcoo eX000-t rtgeX4v, Arist. De Part. Aninz. iii. 9, and Hzst. Aninz. ; Plin. Hist. Nat. xi. 8t) ; and 4. The Inv, which is taken by the Sept. and Josephus (Antiq. iii. 9. 2) to mean 0 Notlds ro0 ifraros, the greater lobe of the liver, similarly the Syriac and Chaldee Ni,tz Nlyn ; and is ex plained by Talmud (Chain. xlix. 6), P.ashi, Kim
chi, Solomon b. Melech, etc., ttL,V1D -= rpcf irePa, whereby the Greeks, according to Hippo crates, understood the greater and thickest of the five Xopot Iraros, and which is also called 0 X6f3or ijraros (Bahr Synth. -p• 354). This meaning of rrum, is ably defended by Bochart (Hieroz. lib. ii. c.xlv.), and followed by Le Clerc, J. D. Rosemntiller, Kalisch (on Exod. xxix. t3), and others. But the Vulgate, Luther. Tyndal, the Bishops' Bible, the Geneva Bible, the A. V., Pis cator, Dc Wette, Knobel, Furst, etc., take it to denote omentum minus, which is preferable, for the lobes have no accumulation of fat. And 5. The tail of a sheep (rItt4), which, in certain species (ovis /aticaua'ata), contains a great quantity of fat [SHEEP]. It is for this reason that the eating of fat is forbid den (Lev. iii. 17). The opinion of Maimonides, that it is prohibited because it is unwholesome (More Nebochim, part iii. c. xlviii.) is most appositely met by Bahr's striking question (Symb. 382) : Solt Yekovah bekommen, was der .1Ifensch nicht brauchen kann, womit er sich den lliagen verdirbt ? Still more preposterous is the opinion that the fat that covereth the inwards, which was , consumed in the fire, 'signified the taking away of bur corruption by the Spirit of Christ' (Ainsworth); or that it de noted Christ, the fattcd calf, whose sacrifice is the best and most excellent' (Gill); that the kidneys' denote the seat of lust, and were likewise burned to teach mortification of our members which are on earth' (Ainsworth); or that they signify the burn ing zeal and flaming love and affections of Christ for his people, which instructed him, and put him upon offering himself a sacrifice of peace-offering for them ' (Gill).
It remains to be added that the Jews, regarding the prohibition in Lev. iii. 17 as absolute, to this day abstain from eating some parts of the suet, and the Rabbinic rule for distinguishing between the lawful and prohibited fat is L:1171D 1171t.1 aSn arm int giZt:.? that the former is easily detached from the flesh, and comes under the category of =9ri, whilst the latter is intermixed with the lean, and is designated pin The tail of the sheep 01+5,4) is a matter of dispute. The Rabbinic Jews maintain that the prohibition of it is restricted to sacrifices, whilst the Karaite Jews regard the eat ing of the tail as absolutely forbidden.
Literature. —Maimonides, 7od Ha-Chezaka Hil choth Maachaloth Asuroth, cap. vii., sec. 5, vol. ii., p. 175 ; Rainball 012 Lev. iii. 9 ; Bochart, ilierozoicon, lib. ii., cap. 45 ; Bahr, Symbolik des Nosaischen Cultus, Heidelberg, 1839, vol. ii., p.352 ff., 381 ff. ; Knobel, Exodus und Leviticus erkldrt ; .Exegrt. Handbuch z. .4. T., part xii., p. 373 ff.—C. D. G.