민수기 25:7의 인용 해설

AND THIS SHALL BE THE PRIESTS’ DUE FROM THE PEOPLE. This is a new commandment not mentioned in [the preceding books of] the Torah, for, in the wilderness where they did not slaughter oxen or sheep except as peace-offerings, He did not mention it because it does not apply to consecrated animals. Now, as they were about to enter the Land, he declared it to them for the first time. This is the sense of the expression [And this shall be the priests’ due from the people] from them that slaughter the animal. That is to say, when they will slaughter an animal as I have permitted you, [as it is said], then thou mayest slaughter of thy herd and of thy flock as I have commanded thee, and thou mayest eat in thy gates¹³⁸Above, 12:21. [you shall give the priest his due the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw]. He did not allocate this [gift of the shoulder, cheeks, and maw] to Aaron in the section, And the Eternal said unto Aaron¹³⁹Numbers 18:8. [wherein the other priestly gifts are enumerated], although there He assigned the heave-offerings and the first-fruits [despite the fact that they, like the gifts in the verse before us] apply only in the Land. The reason [for mentioning them there] is that there He stated all things that He gave the priests in sacred matters, for even things “devoted” are holy.¹⁴⁰Ibid., Verse 14. See Leviticus 27:28. But the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw, and the first of the fleece¹⁴¹Verse 4. [mentioned here] are completely unconsecrated, since there are no special laws regarding them aside from the commandment of giving them to the priest. Similarly He did not mention there [in the chapter of the priestly gifts] the law of property wrongfully taken from a proselyte [which reverts to the priests¹⁴²Numbers 5:8. if the proselyte died without leaving an heir, and the reason this law is not mentioned in the chapter of the priestly gifts is, as explained concerning the gift in the verse before us, that the reverted property of the proselyte is not sacred].
But according to the interpretation of our Rabbis, all [of the twenty-four priestly gifts] are alluded to there [in the section, And the Eternal said unto Aaron].¹³⁹Numbers 18:9. Thus they have said:¹⁴³Sifre, Korach 117. “The first part of them¹⁴⁴Numbers 18:12. — this refers to the first of the fleece. Which they give¹⁴⁴Numbers 18:12. — this refers to the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.¹⁴⁵This interpretation is evidently based on the fact [as explained above] that in this particular priestly gift the commandment consists solely in “giving” it, but otherwise no sanctity attaches thereto. Unto the Eternal¹⁴⁴Numbers 18:12. — this refers to the dough-offering.”¹⁴⁶Of the dough-offering it is said, ye shall set apart a portion for a gift ‘unto the Eternal’ (ibid., 15:19). If so, this also is an explanatory commandment [and not a new one].
Based on a Midrash [a homiletic explanation] the Sages have said¹⁴⁷Chullin 134b. [that the shoulder, cheeks, and maw were awarded to the priests in the merit of the deed of Phinehas]: “The shoulder because he took a spear in his hand;¹⁴⁸Numbers 25:7. the two cheeks because of his prayer, as it is said, Then stood up Phinehas and prayed etc.;¹⁴⁹Psalms 106:30. the maw because of what it states, and he thrust both of them through etc. and the woman through her body.”¹⁵⁰Numbers 25:8. Now, [if we are to say that this priestly gift had already been suggested in the section containing G-d’s words to Aaron, which occurred long before the story of Phinehas, we must say] on the basis of this Midrash that the merit that was destined [to be Phinehas’] was alluded to [in that section], and [G-d] rewarded the entire tribe for the merit of Phinehas’ when he [Phinehas] earned the privilege of being a priest with them.
And the Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] said in the Moreh Nebuchim¹⁵¹The Guide of the Perplexed III, 39. that the cheeks [are given to the priests] because they are the first part of the body [of the animal], the shoulder is the first of the extremities of the body, and the maw is the first of the inwards, for the first of them all is given to the ministers of the Most High in His honor.

מאת זובחי הזבח, “from the animals fit to be eaten;” the priest claims his respective portion from the slaughterer of the animal. אם שור אם שה, “be it an ox or a lamb;” to exclude free-roaming animals from claims by the priests. הזרוע, “the front leg,” of the body, the two upper parts of that leg to the ankle. הלחיים, “the cheekbones,” including the tongue. והקבה, “and the stomach;” some of the interior parts of the animal, i.e. the fourth of the four stomachs. All of these parts are totally devoid of sanctity. This is the reason that these gifts were not listed in Numbers 18,1 where the priests’ shares are listed. In that chapter the Torah discussed matters which had some degree of sanctity, especially animal parts which were part of sacrificial animals. Even though the items listed here were not mentioned specifically in that chapter in Numbers, we can find allusions to them even there. We read in Numbers 18,12: ראשיתם אשר יתנו לה' לך נתתים, “their first which they give to Hashem, to you I have given them.” Sifri Korach 117 understands the word ראשיתם in that verse as applying to the first shearing of the wool of the lambs, whereas the additional words אשר יתנו, “which they are to give,” is interpreted as referring to the parts of the animal mentioned in our verse here; the word לה' is understood as referring to חלה, the part of the dough given to the priests. The significance of just these parts of the animal being given to the priest is as follows: the foreleg represents the hand. The Torah, when describing Pinchas’ deed (Numbers 25,7) which saved the people of Israel, writes ויקח רומח בידו, “he took a spear in his hand.” The hand which performed the deed qualifies for the foreleg of the animal. The cheekbones symbolise the organ used for prayer. Pinchas prayed as we know from Psalms 106,30. Finally, the stomach is the organ which suffered the fatal blow as described in Numbers 25,8. (compare Sifri Korach 117).

והלחיים THE TWO CHEEKS — together with the tongue. — Those who interpret the Bible text symbolically (cf. Chullin 134b) said: The זרוע of the animals, (termed יד in later Hebrew), became the due of the priests as a reward for the “hand’’ (יד) which Phineas, the priest, raised against the wrong-doers, as it is said. (Numbers 25:7) “and he took a javelin in his hand”; the “cheek-bones” together with the tongue are a reward for the prayer he offered, as it is said, (Psalms 106:30) “Then stood up Phineas and prayed”; והקבה AND THE MAW — as a reward for his act described thus (Numbers 25:8): “[And he thrust both of them through, the man of Israel] and the woman in her stomach (קבתה) (Chullin 134b).

For I honor those who honor Me. Pinchas' descendants who honored Me at Shittim.²⁶Bamidbar 25:7-8. And this happened in the days of Shlomo, that when the Temple was built, Shlomo dismissed Evyosor from being a kohein [gadol] to 'ה, fulfilling the word of 'ה which He had spoken concerning Eili's family.²⁷ I Melochim 2:27. And Tzadok became the kohein gadol, because he was of Pinchas' descendants; he is so listed in the genealogical records in Divrei Hayomim.²⁸I Divrei Hayomim 6:35-38.