And this shall be the judgment of the priests, etc. Most commentators have struggled to find a connection between this section and the preceding section, and they have not found a sufficient explanation. See the book of Abarbanel, which brings many opinions on this matter. I say that since it is stated This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you, etc., and he will take your fields and your vineyards, etc. (First Samuel 8:11–14), the word over you indicates that the judgment of the king and his actions are already hinted at in the Torah, as it is written, You shall surely set over yourself a king. That He will rule over you in your person, and all the more so over your possessions. Therefore, the section about the king, whose judgment is to take everything by force, is juxtaposed with the section about the priests, whose judgment is not so, but rather they take their wages for their service, as it is written, to stand to serve, etc. This is not as Korah claimed, that they take in a domineering manner like a king, as explained in its place. And it is possible that this hints to the king not to touch anything that the priests have received from the Divine table, and toll, tax, and land-tax, one is not permitted to impose upon them (Ezra 7:24).

And the reason for the forearm, the cheeks, and the stomach, it is reasonable to understand that the forearm is a reward for raising his hands [during the priestly blessing], and the cheeks are a reward for the priestly blessing verbalized by mouth, and the stomach [is given] because through his merit God sends blessing so that one eats a little and it becomes blessed in his innards.

Apart from his sales on account of the fathers. The explanation of this matter is that each priest eats his portion, and if he has surplus, he can sell it, and they shall eat portion by portion, apart from his sales. What he sells and what is stated on account of the fathers is to explain why he is given permission to sell the surplus, and wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to give the surplus to one who does not have enough for his needs? To this he says on account of the fathers — go and learn from the division of the land which was divided according to the fathers’ houses, based on whether they were numerous in population or few at the time of the division. And it is possible that over time the situation would change, such that one tribe would not have enough for its needs if it became more populous than it was at the time of the division, and another tribe would have surplus if the household decreased from having as many people as they had in the days of the fathers who made the division. But certainly the reason is that they don’t make another division, but only that which was made in the days of the fathers. So too the priests whose fathers made a division into watches, even though over time the situation would change so that one watch would have just enough and another would have surplus, nevertheless the priest can sell the surplus because everything follows the fathers.