FAT

The English word “fat” is used to translate various Hebrew words that describe not only the substance called fat but also that which is full-fleshed and plump. These terms may also be used in a figurative sense to express that which is rich or fertile (just as in the English expression “fat of the land”) or to convey the idea of insensibility or dullness of mind and heart.

Cheʹlev is ordinarily used to refer to the substance “fat,” either of animals (Le 3:3) or of men (Jg 3:22). The “suet,” or hard fat about the kidneys or loins, in the burnt offerings is also expressed by another word, peʹdher. (Le 1:8, 12; 8:20) Cheʹlev first appears at Genesis 4:4 in connection with Abel’s sacrifice to Jehovah of “fatty pieces” from the firstlings of his flock. Most references to cheʹlev thereafter simply relate to sacrificing. Cheʹlev is also used metaphorically for the best or richest part of anything. For instance, at Genesis 45:18, Pharaoh tells Joseph that his family is welcome to eat “the fat part of the land.” Thus, too, Numbers 18:12 reads: “All the best [cheʹlev] of the oil and all the best [cheʹlev] of the new wine and the grain . . . I have given them to you.”​—See Ps 81:16; 147:14.

Other Hebrew Terms. Among the Hebrew terms used to describe anything in a “fat” condition are those derived from the root verb sha·menʹ. While meaning “grow fat” (De 32:15; Jer 5:28), it also conveys the thought of being “robust.” Sha·menʹ appears at Isaiah 6:10, where the King James Version reads “make the heart of this people fat,” that is, unresponsive and dull, as if their hearts were enveloped in fat. Judges 3:29 describes certain Moabites as “every one robust [sha·menʹ, literally, “fat”] and every one a valiant man.” The related sheʹmen is usually translated “oil.”

‘Thriving’ may be the thought behind the verb da·shenʹ, also used literally to mean “grow fat.” If that is the case, da·shenʹ (and the related deʹshen) would imply prosperity, fertility, or abundance. Jehovah told Israel that he would bring them to a land “which flows with milk and honey, and they will certainly eat and be satisfied and grow fat [wedha·shenʹ].” (De 31:20) We are told that those who are generous, diligent, and reliant on Jehovah “will be made fat,” that is, prosper abundantly. (Pr 11:25; 13:4; 28:25) At Proverbs 15:30 good news is said to ‘make the bones fat,’ or fill them with marrow​—in other words, the whole body is invigorated. The noun deʹshen also reflects this idea of affluence, as at Psalm 36:8, where the sons of men are said to “drink their fill of the fatness [mid·deʹshen; “abundance,” RS]” of God’s house.​—Compare Jer 31:14.

The noun deʹshen is also rendered “ashes” by many translators, as when referring to the wastes from the tabernacle’s altar of sacrifice. (Le 1:16; 4:12; 6:10, 11, KJ, JB, RS) To other scholars, however, “ashes” does not fully reflect the original-language root. They, therefore, prefer such terms as “fat-ashes” (Ro), or “fatty ashes” (NW), reasoning that the term indicates that the hot fat from the sacrifices soaked the burnt firewood below.

The idea of being well fed and healthy is expressed by the word ba·riʼʹ. It is translated “plump” (Eze 34:3, 20) and “healthful” (Hab 1:16), though it may also be rendered as “fat” in describing men, cattle, and grain.​—Ge 41:2, 7; Jg 3:17.