And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf. Animal food is seldom indulged in by the wealthiest pastoral chiefs, and is never provided except for visitors of a superior rank, when a kid or lamb is killed. A calf is a still higher stretch of hospitality (1 Samuel 28:24; Luke 15:23), and it would probably be cooked, as is usually done when haste is required, either by roasting it whole, or by cutting it up into small pieces and broiling these on skewers over the fire. The heat of the climate rendering it impossible to preserve meat for any length of time, it is eaten as soon as cooked; and habit has adapted the oriental taste to prefer it when recently killed. It is always eaten along with burghul-boiled grain, swimming in butter or melted fat, into which every morsel of meat, laid upon a piece of bread, is dipped before being conveyed by the fingers to the mouth.