Rump
Rump (or rather tail [אִליָה, alydh]) OF THE SACRIFICES. Moses ordained that the rump and fat of the sheep offered for peace offerings should be given to the fire of the altar (Ex 29:22; Le 3:9; Le 7:3; Le 8:25; Le 9:19). The rump was esteemed the most delicate part of the animal, being the fattest (see Bochart, Hieroz. 1, 491 sq.). Travelers, ancient and modern, speak of the rumps or tails of certain breeds of sheep in Syria and Arabia as weighing twenty or thirty pounds (Russell, Aleppo, 2, 147).
Herodotus says (3, 113) that some may be seen three cubits, or four feet and a half, long; they drag upon the ground; and for fear they should be hurt, or the skin torn, the shepherds put under the tails of these sheep little carriages, which the animals draw after them. The pagans had also such regard for the rumps or tails that they always made them a part of their sacrifices (Diod. Sic. 2, 24). In the Description de l'Egypte (Paris, 1820, large fol.) is inserted a plate of an Egyptian ram. remarkable for the enormous size of the tail, the weight of which exceeded forty-four pounds. SEE SHEEP.
