Tallow in the Bible: What Scripture Actually Says About Animal Fat
If you go looking for the word “tallow” in most English Bibles, you won’t find it often (or at all, depending on the translation). Scripture instead talks about “fat”—especially the internal, choice fat of sacrificial animals. In Hebrew this is ḥēlev (חֵלֶב), which includes the kidney/loins fat (“suet”) and, for sheep, the broad fat tail prized across the ancient Near East. While “tallow” is our modern word for rendered animal fat, the biblical material maps closely to the same substance and its meanings.
Below is a clear, in-depth guide to where and why the Bible mentions animal fat, what parts it highlights, and how those teachings were understood.
1) Terms & anatomy: how “tallow” relates to biblical “fat”
Tallow (modern term): rendered (melted, purified) fat from ruminants like cattle or sheep.
Suet (modern/culinary term): the hard internal fat around the kidneys and loins—the same area Scripture repeatedly singles out.
Biblical “fat” (ḥēlev): the best, choicest fat reserved for God on the altar (Leviticus 3:3–5, 16). For sheep, this includes the “whole fat tail” cut close to the backbone (Leviticus 3:9).
So while the Bible doesn’t talk about “tallow processing,” its focus on suet/choice fat is the ancient counterpart to the material we render today.
2) The sacrificial core: “All the fat is the Lord’s”
In the sacrificial laws, the fat portions of cattle, sheep, and goats are treated as God’s special share:
Specified pieces: “the fat that covers the entrails,” “all the fat that is on the entrails,” the two kidneys with the fat on them, and the lobe of the liver (Leviticus 3:3–4; 7:3–4).
For sheep offerings: the entire fat tail is also burned on the altar (Leviticus 3:9).
Key principle: “All the fat is the LORD’s” and is burned as a pleasing aroma (Leviticus 3:16).
Why it mattered: In Israel’s worship, the richest, most energy-dense portions went to God. Offering the best symbolized gratitude and trust. The burning of fat—fragrant, valuable, and visibly consumed—marked dedication of abundance back to the Giver.
3) The food rule: do not eat the sacrificial fat
Israel was forbidden to eat the fat of ox, sheep, or goat (Leviticus 3:17; 7:23–25). The reason is theological rather than nutritional: the fat of sacrificial species is God’s portion, not the people’s. Violating this boundary was a serious offense (“cut off from his people,” Leviticus 7:25).
Two nuances:
Not every kind of fat is in view. Scripture targets the choice, internal fat (and fat tail) of sacrificial animals.
Non-edible use permitted: “The fat of an animal that dies naturally or is torn may be used for any other purpose, but you shall not eat it” (Leviticus 7:24). This line is important: while eating such fat was restricted, other uses (e.g., industrial, medicinal, fuel) were allowed.
4) Cultural backdrop: fat = richness, blessing, and fullness
Beyond the altar, the Bible uses “fat/fatness” as a metaphor for abundance:
“The fat of lambs” among the choicest foods (Deuteronomy 32:14).
“You shall eat the fat of the land” (i.e., its richest produce; Genesis 45:18).
“My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness” (Psalm 63:5).
“Why spend your money for that which is not bread? … Delight yourselves in rich food” (literally “fatness,” Isaiah 55:2).
In worship language, “fat” means the best; in everyday imagery, it signals God’s generous provision.
5) Olive oil vs. animal fat: what was used for lamps and anointing?
The Temple lamp and sacred anointing oil were explicitly olive-oil based (Exodus 27:20; 30:22–33). The Bible doesn’t present animal fat as a lamp fuel in Israel’s ritual life, even though Leviticus 7:24 leaves room for other practical uses of fat outside eating. Historically in the wider ancient Near East, both plant oils and animal fats could serve utilitarian roles (fuel, lubrication, salves), but Israel’s worship centered on olive oil for light and anointing, and animal fat as God’s altar portion.
6) Where you can spot “suet” (kidney fat) most clearly
Look especially at the peace/fellowship offerings and sin/guilt offerings:
Leviticus 3 (peace offerings): details the kidney fat and fat tail to be burned for the Lord.
Leviticus 4; 7 (sin/guilt offerings): repeats the same anatomy—fat on entrails, kidneys, and liver lobe—as the sacred portions.
These texts are the closest thing to a biblical “suet manual.” They describe exactly the hard internal fat that modern butchers and renderers identify as suet.
7) Theological through-line: setting apart the “best”
Taken together, the laws and imagery around fat teach two durable themes:
Consecration of the best: The richest portions belong to God first.
Abundance as gift: “Fatness” becomes shorthand for fullness of life, blessing, and hospitality.
Those themes still resonate: gratitude, stewardship, and generous sharing of what we’ve been given.
8) A note for today’s readers & makers
The Bible does not mandate modern dietary or cosmetic use of tallow.
It does portray animal fat—especially suet—as valuable and sacred in worship, and as a symbol of abundance.
It even acknowledges non-food uses of fat (Leviticus 7:24), which aligns with how many cultures have used rendered tallow for practical goods and personal care across history.
Key passages to read (by topic)
Sacred fat portions
Leviticus 3:3–5, 9–11, 16–17
Leviticus 7:3–5
Do not eat the fat (sacrificial species)
Leviticus 3:17; 7:22–25
Non-food uses permitted
Leviticus 7:24
Fatness as abundance/blessing
Genesis 45:18 (“fat of the land”)
Deuteronomy 32:14 (“fat of lambs”)
Psalm 63:5; Psalm 36:8
Isaiah 55:2
Olive oil for lamps/anointing (contrast)
Exodus 27:20; 30:22–33
Bottom line
Scripture treats the suet/choice fat of herd animals as a precious, set-apart portion in worship and as a picture of God’s abundance in daily life. While the Bible doesn’t give a “how-to” for rendering tallow, its attention to kidney fat and the fat tail mirrors exactly what modern butchers call suet—and it underscores a timeless ethic: honor God with the best and steward the whole animal well.