God gives instructions for the peace offering (shelamim) from three animal types: herd, sheep, and goat. The fat and internal organs go to God on the altar; the rest is shared between priest and worshipper. The chapter closes with a permanent prohibition against eating fat or blood.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The shelamim is the only offering the worshipper eats. It is a shared meal -- God receives the fat (burned on the altar), the priest receives the breast and thigh, and the offerer's household eats the rest. From the root shalom ("peace, wholeness"), this offering celebrates restored relationship. The altar is called God's "table" and the fat His "food" (lechem, v11) -- anthropomorphic language framing sacrifice as a communal feast.
Translation Friction
The term zevach shelamim required both words: zevach specifically means "slaughter-sacrifice followed by a meal," reinforcing that eating is integral, not incidental. We kept the Hebrew plural shelamim, which may intensify the meaning toward "thoroughgoing peace." The alyah temimah ("entire fat tail," v9) refers to the enormous tail of Near Eastern fat-tailed sheep -- a genuine economic sacrifice we clarified in the notes.
Connections
The prohibition of fat and blood (v17) echoes Gen 9:4 (blood prohibition after the flood) and anticipates Lev 17:11 ("the life of the flesh is in the blood"). The shelamim fat is burned "on top of the burnt offering" (v5), suggesting that fellowship with God rests on the prior foundation of total devotion.
If the offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings — if one presents it from the herd, whether male or female — it must be presented unblemished before the LORD.
KJV And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.
From the root sh-l-m ('to be whole, complete, at peace'). The same root gives us shalom, shalem ('whole'), and shillem ('to repay, to fulfill'). The shelamim is the sacrifice of wholeness — it celebrates relationship rather than repairing it. It is the only offering where the worshipper's table becomes part of the sacred meal, making it the most communal and joyful of the five offerings.
Translator Notes
Two features distinguish the shelamim immediately: first, either male or female animals are accepted (the olah requires males only); second, the worshipper eats a portion. The phrase zevach shelamim ('sacrifice of peace offerings') uses zevach — which specifically means 'slaughter-sacrifice followed by a meal' — reinforcing that eating is integral to this offering, not incidental. The plural shelamim may intensify the meaning: complete, thoroughgoing peace/wholeness.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Aaron's sons, the priests, shall dash the blood against the sides of the altar.
KJV And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The hand-laying (semikhah) and slaughter procedures are identical to the olah (1:4-5): the worshipper identifies with the animal, then kills it personally. The blood is dashed (zaraq) against the altar by the priests. The consistency of the opening ritual across different offerings — olah, minchah (via priest), and now shelamim — establishes a common liturgical framework. What differs between offerings is not how they begin but what happens after the blood: in the olah, everything is burned; in the shelamim, the fat goes to God and the meat goes to the table.
From the sacrifice of peace offerings he shall present as a fire offering to the LORD the fat that covers the entrails — all the fat surrounding the entrails,
KJV And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God's portion of the shelamim is specifically and exclusively the fat (chelev). The chelev — the rich suet surrounding the internal organs — was considered the choicest, most valuable part of the animal. Giving the best part to God while keeping the edible meat for the meal embodies a principle: God receives the finest, and from what remains, the community feasts. The fat is not eaten but burned — it belongs to God absolutely (v16-17).
the two kidneys and the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove along with the kidneys.
KJV And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The anatomical detail is precise: two kidneys (kelayot), their surrounding fat near the loins (kesalim), and the yoteret al-hakkaved — a lobe or appendage on the liver (possibly the caudate lobe). These internal organs and their fat covering constitute the portion reserved for God. The kidneys in Hebrew thought were associated with the seat of deep emotion and conscience (Ps 7:10, Jer 17:10); offering them to God may symbolize presenting one's innermost self.
Aaron's sons shall turn it into smoke on the altar, on top of the burnt offering that is on the wood over the fire — a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
KJV And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The shelamim fat is burned on top of the olah — 'upon the burnt offering' (al-ha'olah). The burnt offering is the base layer; the peace offering's fat is placed above it. This layering is practical (the olah fire is already burning) and symbolic (the peace offering rests upon the foundation of total devotion). The shelamim presupposes the olah — fellowship with God rests on the prior act of complete surrender.
If the offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD is from the flock — male or female — it must be presented unblemished.
KJV And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto the LORD be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The flock section (v6-11) parallels the herd section (v1-5). Again, both male and female are accepted — the shelamim's inclusive acceptance of either sex reflects its communal, celebratory nature. The requirement of tamim ('unblemished') remains constant: the animal offered for fellowship must be whole and sound, regardless of the worshipper's economic standing.
If he is presenting a sheep as his offering, he shall present it before the LORD.
KJV If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the LORD.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The flock is subdivided: sheep (kesev, v7-11) and goats (ez, v12-16). The sheep section comes first. The Hebrew kesev ('young sheep, lamb') is the same word used for the Passover lamb in some traditions. Presenting it 'before the LORD' (lifnei YHWH) emphasizes that even though the worshipper will eventually eat most of this animal, the act is first and fundamentally directed toward God.
He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it before the tent of meeting. Aaron's sons shall dash its blood against the sides of the altar.
KJV And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The same semikhah-slaughter-blood-dashing sequence as v2 and as the olah in 1:4-5. The ritual actions remain constant while the meaning and outcome differ. In the olah, the worshipper gives everything; in the shelamim, God, priest, and worshipper share a meal. But the opening act — hand on head, personal slaughter, blood on altar — is the same. Every offering begins with identification and blood.
From the sacrifice of peace offerings he shall present as a fire offering to the LORD: its fat — the entire fat tail, removed close to the backbone — and the fat covering the entrails, all the fat surrounding the entrails,
KJV And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
A new element appears for the sheep: the alyah temimah ('the entire fat tail'). Fat-tailed sheep (Ovis laticauda) were — and still are — common in the Near East, with tails that can weigh 10-15 pounds of pure fat. This was an enormously valuable cut of meat, and giving it entirely to God was a genuine sacrifice. The instruction to remove it le'ummat he'atseh ('close to the backbone') specifies a clean, complete removal — nothing of the fat tail is held back.
the two kidneys and the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver — he shall remove it along with the kidneys.
KJV And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Identical to v4 — the kidney-and-liver-lobe specification is a fixed formula that repeats across all three animal types in this chapter. The repetition is not redundancy; it is ritual precision. The same parts belong to God whether the animal is a bull, a sheep, or a goat. The formula will recur throughout Leviticus whenever these organs are discussed (4:9, 7:4, 8:16, 8:25, 9:10, 9:19).
The priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar — it is food, a fire offering to the LORD.
KJV And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The striking phrase lechem issheh ('food of the fire offering,' or 'bread of the fire offering') describes the fat portions as God's 'food.' This is anthropomorphic language — God does not literally eat — but it frames the sacrifice as a shared meal in which God's portion is the choicest fat, consumed by fire rather than by mouth. The word lechem ('bread, food') applied to a fire offering suggests that the altar is God's table. The shelamim makes this metaphor most visible: God eats at the altar, the priest eats his portion, the worshipper eats the rest. Three parties, one meal.
If the offering is a goat, he shall present it before the LORD.
KJV And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The goat section (v12-16) is the third and final animal category for the shelamim. The procedure matches the herd (v1-5) and sheep (v6-11) sections, with one notable absence: the goat has no fat tail to offer (unlike the fat-tailed sheep of v9). Otherwise the ritual is identical. The goat was the most common sacrificial animal for average Israelite households — affordable, prolific, and widely available.
He shall lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before the tent of meeting. Aaron's sons shall dash its blood against the sides of the altar.
KJV And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The third repetition of the hand-laying and blood-dashing sequence. The consistent ritual establishes that the mode of approach to God is fixed: identification, slaughter, blood on the altar. What changes is what follows — how the animal is distributed. The constancy of the opening acts across all offering types creates a unified liturgical vocabulary that every Israelite would recognize.
From it he shall present his offering, a fire offering to the LORD: the fat covering the entrails — all the fat surrounding the entrails,
KJV And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The fat allocation for the goat matches the herd animal (v3) — no fat tail (unlike the sheep of v9), just the internal fat covering the organs. The goat offering demonstrates that the shelamim's structure is stable across all three animal types: God receives the fat, the priest receives the breast and thigh (specified in 7:31-34), and the worshipper receives the rest.
the two kidneys and the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver — he shall remove it along with the kidneys.
KJV And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The kidney-and-liver-lobe formula appears for the third time in this chapter (v4, v10, v15). The triple repetition across herd, sheep, and goat sections makes the point unmistakable: these specific organs always belong to God, regardless of the animal species. The Israelite worshipper could never misunderstand which parts were God's — the text eliminates all ambiguity through repetition.
The priest shall turn them into smoke on the altar — food, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma. All fat belongs to the LORD.
KJV And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD'S.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The climactic declaration: kol-chelev laYHWH ('all fat belongs to the LORD'). This is not limited to the shelamim — it is a universal principle stated here and enforced in v17. Every piece of chelev in every sacrifice, in every Israelite household, belongs to God. Fat is God's portion in the same way that blood is God's possession (Lev 17:11). These two substances — the richest and the most vital — are permanently reserved for the divine.
The phrase chuqqat olam ('statute of eternity') marks this prohibition as permanent and non-negotiable. It appears throughout Leviticus for the most foundational regulations — those that define Israel's identity as God's people at the most basic level. The fat-and-blood prohibition is not situational; it applies in every place and every generation.
Translator Notes
The chapter closes with a universal, perpetual prohibition: chuqqat olam ('statute of eternity'). Two substances are absolutely forbidden as food: chelev (suet/organ fat — the fat portions reserved for God on the altar) and dam (blood — which carries life and belongs to God, Lev 17:11). The phrase bekhol moshvoteikhem ('wherever you dwell') extends the prohibition beyond the sanctuary to all of daily life — even when not sacrificing, Israelites may never eat these substances. The twin prohibitions of fat and blood frame the entire offering system: God claims the richest and the most vital. Everything else is given back to the worshipper.