And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two jowls, and the stomach.
All Commentaries on Deuteronomy 18:3 Go To Deuteronomy 18
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Due, (judicium.) Moses only mentions a part, having explained the rest, Exodus xxix. 27., Leviticus vii. 32.
Breast, (ventriculum.) In the other places pectusculum occurs. Hebrew, "the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the maw, or caul "called in Latin omasum, being the last and fattest of the four ventricles, and highly esteemed by the ancients. The cheeks or chaps are specified no where else; so that some think Moses here supplies what he had left imperfect, assigning to the priests the cheeks and the tongue. Jansenius supposes that this is only a part of the breast, which appears to have two cheeks when the shoulders are cut off. But Moses here probably speaks not of the peace-offerings, but of the beasts which were killed by the Israelites at home for their own uses, (Clerc) as Philo explains it, (de præm.) and Josephus ( iv. 4) only specifies the right shoulder and the breast, which were given to the priests on these occasions. (Calmet)
Septuagint, "the shoulder, the cheeks, and the last ventricle. "The victims were not, therefore, of a sacred nature; as they were only sacrificed, inasmuch as the blood was to be offered to the Lord. (Haydock) See Genesis xliii. 16.
