'Fat' in the Bible

But Abel brought [an offering of] the [finest] firstborn of his flock and the fat portions. And the Lord had respect (regard) for Abel and for his offering;

And lo, there came up out of the Nile seven [healthy] cows, sleek and handsome and fat; and they grazed in the reed grass [in a marshy pasture].

Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the Nile, ugly and gaunt and raw-boned, and stood by the fat cows on the bank of the Nile.

Then the ugly and gaunt and raw-boned cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.

and seven fat, sleek and handsome cows came up out of the river, and they grazed in the reed grass [of a marshy pasture].

And the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows.

and get your father and your households and come to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat (the finest produce) of the land.’

“Asher’s food [supply] shall be rich and bountiful,And he shall yield and deliver royal delights.

“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; and the fat of My feast is not to be left overnight until morning.

You shall take all the fat that covers the intestines and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and offer them up in smoke on the altar.

“You shall also take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the intestines, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh; (for it is a ram of ordination),

Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the fat, on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar.

He shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar.

From the sacrifice of the peace offerings, an offering by fire to the Lord, he shall present the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails,

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver which he shall remove with the kidneys.

From the sacrifice of peace offerings he shall bring as an offering by fire to the Lord, its fat, the entire fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails,

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

Then he shall present from it as his offering, an offering by fire to the Lord: the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails,

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver which he shall remove with the kidneys.

The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food. It is an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma; all the fat is the Lord’s.

It is a permanent statute for your generations wherever you may be, that you shall not eat any fat or any blood.’”

He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering—the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails,

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys

He shall remove all its fat from the bull and offer it up in smoke on the altar.

And he shall offer all its fat up in smoke on the altar like the fat from the sacrifice of peace offerings; so the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.

Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. In this way the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the Lord. In this way the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to the sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it shall not [be allowed to] go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and offer the fat portions of the peace offerings up in smoke on it.

Then he shall offer all its fat, the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails,

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep, or a goat.

The fat of an animal which dies [of natural causes] and the fat of one which is torn [to pieces by a predator] may be put to any other use, but under no circumstances are you to eat it.

For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is presented to the Lord, that person who eats shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

With his own hands he is to bring offerings by fire to the Lord; he shall bring the fat with the breast, so that the breast may be presented as a wave offering before the Lord.

The priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons.

The son of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh as his portion.

He took all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses offered them up in smoke on the altar.

When he had cut the ram into pieces, Moses offered up the head, the pieces, and the fat in smoke.

He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh;

and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake, a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer and put them on the fat and on the right thigh;

but the fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver from the sin offering he offered up in smoke on the altar, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

As for the portions of fat from the bull and from the ram—the fat tail, and the fat covering the internal organs, and the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver—

they now put the portions of fat on the breasts; and Aaron offered the fat up in smoke on the altar.

Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell face downward [in awe and worship].

They shall bring the thigh presented by lifting up and the breast presented by waving, along with the offerings by fire of the fat, to present as a wave offering before the Lord. This shall be yours and your sons’ with you, as your perpetual portion, just as the Lord has commanded.”

And he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and offer the fat up in smoke as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

and what the land is, whether it is fat (productive) or lean, whether there is timber on it or not. Make an effort to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

But the firstborn of a cow or of a sheep or of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy [and belong to the Lord]. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

For when I bring them into the land which I have sworn to their fathers, a land [of plenty] flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise and reject Me and break My covenant.

Butter and curds of cows, and milk of the flock,With fat of lambs,And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats,With the finest of the wheat;And you drank wine, the blood of grapes.

“But Jeshurun (Israel) became fat and kicked [at God].You became fat, thick, sleek, and obstinate!Then he abandoned God who had made him,And scorned the Rock of his salvation.

‘Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,And drank the wine of their drink offering?Let them rise up and help you,Let them be your hiding place!

And he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.

And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, because Ehud did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out.

Also, before they burned (offered) the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat to roast, since he will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw.”

If the man said to him, “Certainly they are to burn (offer) the fat first, and then you may take as much as you want,” then the priest’s servant would say, “No! You shall give it to me now or I will take it by force.”

Samuel said,“Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrificesAs in obedience to the voice of the Lord?Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,And to heed [is better] than the fat of rams.

The woman had a fattened calf in the house; she quickly killed it, and took flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread.

“From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,And the sword of Saul did not return empty.

ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, a hundred sheep not counting fallow deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.

On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house (temple) of the Lord; for he offered there the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to hold [all] the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the peace offerings.

Moreover, Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house of the Lord, for it was there that he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings because the bronze altar which he had made was not sufficient to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat [all together].

There were also many burnt offerings with the fat of the peace offerings and with the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of the Lord was established again.

Afterward the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.

Then Ezra said to them, “Go [your way], eat the rich festival food, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be worried, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and your stronghold.”

“They captured fortified cities and a fertile land.They took possession of houses full of all good things,Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,And fruit trees in abundance.So they ate and were filled and became fat,And they reveled and were delighted in Your great goodness.

For he has covered his face with his fat,Adding layers of fat to his thighs [giving himself up to pleasures],

But the wicked (ungodly) will perish,And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures and like the fat of lambs [that is consumed in smoke],They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat lambs,With the [sweet] smoke of rams;I will offer bulls with male goats. Selah.

Their heart is insensitive like fat [their minds are dull and brutal],But I delight in Your law.

“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me [without your repentance]?”Says the Lord.“I have had enough of [your] burnt offerings of ramsAnd the fat of well-fed cattle [without your obedience];And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats [offered without repentance].

“Make the heart of this people insensitive,Their ears dull,And their eyes dim,Otherwise they might see with their eyes,Hear with their ears,Understand with their hearts,And return and be healed.”

Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, will send a wasting disease among the stout warriors of Assyria;And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

“Now in that day the [former] glory of Jacob [Israel—his might, his population, his prosperity] will fade,And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.

On this mountain [Zion] the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples [to welcome His reign on earth],A banquet of aged wines—choice pieces [flavored] with marrow,Of refined, aged wines.

The sword of the Lord is filled with blood [from sacrifices],It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,With the fat of the kidneys of rams.For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah (Edom’s capital city)And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

“You have not bought Me sweet cane with money,Nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;But you have burdened Me with your sins,You have wearied Me with your wickedness.

‘They are fat and they are sleek (prosperous),They excel in acts of wickedness;They do not plead the cause,The cause of the orphan, so that they [the wicked] may prosper,And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

For thus says the Lord in regard to the house of the king of Judah:“You are [as valuable] to Me as [the green pastures of] Gilead [east of the Jordan]Or as the [plentiful] summit of Lebanon [west of the Jordan],Yet most certainly [if you will not listen to Me] I will make you a wilderness,And uninhabited cities.

You eat the fat [the choicest of meat], and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the best of the livestock, but you do not feed the flock.

I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bandage the crippled, and strengthen the weak and the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hard-hearted and perverse]. I will feed them with judgment and punishment.

Therefore thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I Myself will judge between the [well-fed] fat sheep and the lean sheep.

So you will eat fat until you are filled and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast which I have prepared for you.

In that you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to pollute and profane it—My house—when you offered My bread, the fat, and the blood; and they made My covenant void —this in addition to all your other repulsive acts.

“But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who performed the duty of My sanctuary when the children (descendants) of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God.

For behold, I am going to raise up a [false] shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or feed the healthy; but will eat the flesh of the fat ones and tear off their hoofs [to consume everything].

For this nation’s heart has grown hard,And with their ears they hardly hear,And they have [tightly] closed their eyes,Otherwise they would see with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart, and turn [to Me]And I would heal them [spiritually].’

Then he sent out some other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened calves are butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’