Deuteronomy 18:3

Summary

Deuteronomy 18:3 establishes what portion of a sacrifice the priests are entitled to receive from the people. It specifies three parts of the animal — the zeroa' ("arm/shoulder", H2220), the lechayayim ("two cheeks", H3895H), and the qevah ("stomach", H6896) — that must be given to the priest when someone slaughters an ox or a sheep.

Key words

• mishPat ("[the] right of", H4941J) — masculine singular construct noun, linking "right/due" to "the priests"; establishes a legal claim or entitlement rather than a mere gift.
• zoveChei ("[those who] sacrifice", H2076) — qal participle, masculine plural construct; describes an ongoing class of people, "those who slaughter," rather than a one-time act.
• veNatan ("he will give", H5414G) — qal sequential perfect; continues the syntactic chain begun by the earlier imperfect yihYeh, marking the consequence: once the sacrifice occurs, the giving follows as a required next step.
• lechaYayim ("two cheeks", H3895H) — masculine dual noun, grammatically marking a natural pair (both cheeks/jaws of the animal).
• haZZeroa' ("the arm", H2220) — feminine singular noun with definite article, specifying the particular limb (shoulder/foreleg) designated for the priest.

What the text says

The verse opens with a nominal clause built on zeh ("this", H2088) plus the verb yihYeh ("it will be", H1961), a qal imperfect that frames what follows as a standing rule rather than a single event. This is followed by the construct chain mishPat haKohaNim ("the right of the priests"), which is then specified twice through the preposition me'et ("from with", H9006+H0854): first "from the people" (ha'Am), then narrowed to "from those who sacrifice the sacrifice" (zoveChei haZZevach). The participle zoveChei is a construct plural, meaning it does not merely describe one offerer but generalizes to any and all who perform the act of sacrificing, whether ox (shor, H7794) or sheep (seh, H7716), joined by the paired particle im...im ("whether...or", H0518A).

The second half of the verse shifts from the imperfect/participle description of the ongoing law to a sequential perfect, veNatan ("and he will give"), which in Biblical Hebrew narrative-legal style continues the logical sequence: given that someone sacrifices, the giving of specific parts follows. The three items given — zeroa' (arm/shoulder), lechayayim (a dual form indicating both cheeks/jaws as a natural pair), and qevah (stomach) — are each marked with the definite article, treating them as specific, known anatomical portions rather than generic parts.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders zeroa' ("arm", H2220) as brachiona ("arm"), matching the Hebrew term for the limb, while the Vulgate uses armum ("shoulder"), a comparable rendering. However, for qevah ("stomach", H6896) the Vulgate has ventriculum ("stomach/belly"), while the LXX gives enystron (a term for the fourth stomach chamber of ruminants), showing a difference in anatomical precision between the two ancient versions. Additionally, the Vulgate's list of given parts omits an explicit rendering of lechayayim ("two cheeks", H3895H) as a separate item, listing only armum ac ventriculum ("shoulder and stomach"), whereas the Hebrew and the LXX (siagonia, "jowls/cheeks") both list three distinct parts.