Leviticus 7:34

For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(34) By a statute for ever.—That is, the statute that these two parts of the peace offering are to be given to Aaron and his descendants who may officiate at this sacrifice, is binding upon the Israelites as long as the priesthood lasts.

Benson Commentary

Leviticus 7:34. The wave-breast, and the heave-shoulder — Hebrew, The breast of elevation, and the shoulder of exaltation; that is, those parts which are consecrated to me by lifting, or heaving them up toward heaven. The breast or heart is the seat of wisdom; and the shoulder, of strength for action; and these two may denote that wisdom and power which were in Christ our High-Priest, and which ought to be in every priest. They also signify that God is to be served with all our heart, mind, and strength. By a statute for ever — An ordinance to continue so long as the law of sacrifice should remain. And the equity of it remains still; for as they who waited at the altar were partakers with the altar, even so hath the Lord ordained that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel, 1 Corinthians 9:13-14. In other words, the ministers of Christ, who devote their time and labours to his service and that of the public, have a right to be maintained by the public.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:28-34 The priest who offered, was to have the breast and the right shoulder. When the sacrifice was killed, the offerer himself must present God's part of it; that he might signify his cheerfully giving it up to God. He was with his own hands to lift it up, in token of his regard to God as the God of heaven; and then to wave it to and fro, in token of his regard to God as the Lord of the whole earth. Be persuaded and encouraged to feed and feast upon Christ, our Peace-offering. This blessed Peace-offering is not for the priests only, for saints of the highest rank and greatest eminence, but for the common people also. Take heed of delay. Many think to repent and return to God when they are dying and dropping into hell; but they should eat the peace-offering, and eat it now. Stay not till the day of the Lord's patience be run out, for eating the third day will not be accepted, nor will catching at Christ when thou art gone to hell!

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Wave-offering ... heave-offering - The latter appears to be used (like קרבן qorbân, Leviticus 1:2) for offerings in general. Waving (a moving to and fro, repeated several times) or heaving (a lifting up once) the offering was a solemn form of dedicating a thing to the use of the sanctuary.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

29-34. He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the Lord—In order to show that the sacrifice was voluntary, the offerer was required to bring it with his own hands to the priest. The breast having been waved to and fro in a solemn manner as devoted to God, was given to the priests; it was assigned to the use of their order generally, but the right shoulder was the perquisite of the officiating priest.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The breast or heart is the seat of wisdom, and the

shoulder of strength for action, and these two may denote that wisdom and virtue or power which was in Christ our High Priest, 1 Corinthians 1:24, and which ought to be in every priest.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel,.... These two parts were particularly pitched upon and selected:

from off the sacrifices of their peace offering; the rest being allowed the owners, besides what were burnt:

and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons, by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel; as long as the priesthood lasted, even to the coming of the Messiah, in whom all these sacrifices would have their accomplishment and their end.

Geneva Study Bible

For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Leviticus 7:34

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The wave-breast and heave-leg Jehovah had taken of the children of Israel, from off the sacrifices of their peace-offerings: i.e., had imposed it upon them as tribute, and had given them to Aaron and his sons, i.e., to the priests, "as a statute for ever," - in other words, as a right which they could claim of the Israelites for all ages (cf. Exodus 27:21). - With Leviticus 7:35, Leviticus 7:36, the instructions concerning the peace-offerings are brought to a close. "This (the wave-breast and heave-leg) is the share of Aaron and his sons from the firings of Jehovah in the day (i.e., which Jehovah assigned to them in the day) when He caused them to draw near to become priests to Jehovah," i.e., according to the explanation in Leviticus 7:36, "in the day of their anointing." The word משׁחה in Leviticus 7:35, like משׁחה in Numbers 18:8, signifies not "anointing," but share, portio, literally a measuring off, as in Aramaean and Arabic, from משׁח to stroke the hand over anything, to measure, or measure off.

The fulness with which every point in the sacrificial meal is laid down, helps to confirm the significance of the peace-offerings, as already implied in the name זבח sacrificial slaughtering, slain-offering, viz., as indicating that they were intended for, and culminated in a liturgical meal. By placing his hand upon the head of the animal, which had been brought to the altar of Jehovah for the purpose, the offerer signified that with this gift, which served to nourish and strengthen his own life, he gave up the substance of his life to the Lord, that he might thereby be strengthened both body and soul for a holy walk and conversation. To this end he slaughtered the victim and had the blood sprinkled by the priest against the altar, and the fat portions burned upon it, that in these altar-gifts his soul and his inner man might be grounded afresh in the gracious fellowship of the Lord. He then handed over the breast-piece by the process of waving, also the right leg, and a sacrificial cake of each kind, as a heave-offering from the whole to the Lord, who transferred these portions to the priests as His servants, that they might take part as His representatives in the sacrificial meal. In consequence of this participation of the priests, the feast, which the offerer of the sacrifice prepared for himself and his family from the rest of the flesh, became a holy covenant meal, a meal of love and joy, which represented domestic fellowship with the Lord, and thus shadowed forth, on the one hand, rejoicing before the Lord (Deuteronomy 12:12, Deuteronomy 12:18), and on the other, the blessedness of eating and drinking in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:15; Luke 22:30). Through the fact that one portion was given up to the Lord, the earthly food was sanctified as a symbol of the true spiritual food, with which the Lord satisfies and refreshes the citizens of His kingdom. This religious aspect of the sacrificial meal will explain the instructions given, viz., that not only the flesh itself, but those who took part in the meal, were all to be clean, and that whatever remained of the flesh was to be burned, on the second or third day respectively, that it might not pass into a state of decomposition. The burning took place a day earlier in the case of the praise-offering than in that of the vow and freewill-offerings, of which the offerer was allowed a longer enjoyment, because they were the products of his own spontaneity, which covered any defect that might attach to the gift itself.