Leviticus22
English Standard Version
1And the Lord to , ,
2 to and his so that they from the of the of , which they to me, so that they do not my : I am the Lord.
3 to them, If any of all your throughout your approaches the that the of to the Lord, while he has an , that shall be from my : I am the Lord.
4 of the of who has a or a may of the until he is . Whoever anything that is through contact with the or a who has had an of ,
5and a by which he may be made or a from whom he may , whatever his may be—
6the who such a thing shall be until the and shall not of the he has his in .
7When the he shall be , and he may of the , because they are his .
8He shall not what dies of or is by , and so make himself by it: I am the Lord.
9They shall therefore my , lest they for it and thereby when they it: I am the Lord who them.
10A shall not of a holy ; no of the or shall of a holy ,
11but if a a as his for , the slave may of it, and anyone in his may of his .
12If a marries a , she shall not of the of the .
13But if a is or and has no and to her , as in her , she may of her ; yet no shall of it.
14And if of a thing , he shall the of its value to it and the holy to the .
15They shall not the of the of , which they to the Lord,
16and so cause them to and , by their : for I am the Lord who them.
17And the Lord to , ,
18 to and his and all the of and to them, When any of the of or of the in a as his , for any of their or that they to the Lord,
19if it is to be for you it shall be a , of the or the or the .
20You shall not anything that has a , for it will not be for you.
21And when a of to the Lord to a or as a from the or from the , to be it must be ; there shall be no in it.
22 or or or having a or an or you shall not to the Lord or them to the Lord as a on the .
23You may present a or a that has a part too or too for a , but for a it cannot be .
24Any animal that has its or or or you shall not to the Lord; you shall not do it within your ,
25neither shall you as the of your any such animals gotten from a . Since there is a in them, because of their , they will not be for you.
26And the Lord to , ,
27When an or or is , it shall with its , and from the it shall be as a food to the Lord.
28But you shall not an or a and her in .
29And you a of to the Lord, you shall it so that you may be .
30It shall be on the same ; you shall none of it until : I am the Lord.
31So you shall my and them: I am the Lord.
32And you shall not my , that I may be the of . I am the Lord who you,
33who of the of to be your : I am the Lord.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 22.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Laws concerning the priests and sacrifices. (1-33).
vv1-33
In this chapter we have divers laws concerning the priests and sacrifices, all for preserving the honour of the sanctuary. Let us recollect with gratitude that our great High Priest cannot be hindered by any thing from the discharge of his office. Let us also remember, that the Lord requires us to reverence his name, his truths, his ordinances, and commandments. Let us beware of hypocrisy, and examine ourselves concerning our sinful defilements, seeking to be purified from them in the blood of Christ, and by his sanctifying Spirit. Whoever attempts to expiate his own sin, or draws near in the pride of self-righteousness, puts as great an affront on Christ, as he who comes to the Lord's table from the gratification of sinful lusts. Nor can the minister who loves the souls of the people, suffer them to continue in this dangerous delusion. He must call upon them, not only to repent of their sins, and forsake them; but to put their whole trust in the atonement of Christ, by faith in his name, for pardon and acceptance with God; thus only will the Lord make them holy, as his own people.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
אַהֲרוֹן: Aharon, the brother of Moses
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
נָזַר: to hold aloof, i.e. (intransitivey) abstain (from food and drink, from impurity, and even from divine worship (i.e. apostatize)); specifically, to set apart (to sacred purposes), i.e. devote
קֹדֶשׁ: a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
קָדַשׁ: to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally)
חָלַל: properly, to bore, i.e. (by implication) to wound, to dissolve; figuratively, to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one's word), to begin (as if by an 'opening wedge'); to play (the flute)
Cross References
Leviticus 22Exodus prohibits eating torn meat; matches Leviticus forbidding priests from eating what dieth of itself.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Jesus references this restriction regarding the showbread, which was only lawful for priests to eat.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Malachi rebukes Israel for offering blind, lame, and sick animals in violation of this law.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Deuteronomy explicitly forbids sacrificing any animal with a blemish, such as lameness or blindness.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Condemns offering blind, lame, or sick animals, directly mirroring the prohibitions of Leviticus 22:22.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Calvin highlights that keeping the commandments is the beginning of a good and upright life.
Supported by John Calvin
Aaron bears the iniquity of holy things to prevent profaning the Lord's holy name.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Repeats the vital injunction that the priests and people must not profane God's holy name.
Supported by John Calvin
Defines the penalty of being cut off for eating peace offerings while ceremonially unclean.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Establishes status of servants bought with money or born in the house, qualifying them to eat.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The requirement of physical blemishless animals prefigures Christ, who offered Himself without spot to God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Expands on the requirement to perform vows made to God without slackness or defect.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Connects blemishes that disqualify priests with those that disqualify sacrificial animals.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Rebukes the offering of blemished sacrifices as profaning God's holy name.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallels the command that a newborn animal must be seven days under its dam.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Details the portions of the wave offerings assigned to Aaron's clean family members.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Priests with polluted genealogies were barred from eating holy things until cleared by Urim.
Supported by JFB
Prohibits eating anything that dieth of itself, reinforcing general holiness and blood laws.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the restriction that no stranger or foreigner may eat of the sacred Passover meal.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Establishes restitution laws and adding a fifth part for unwitting trespass in holy things.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Establishes the foundational principle that whatever has a blemish shall not be accepted.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Rebukes offering defiled bread on the altar, correlating to offering blemished animals.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Commands kindness to animals, prohibiting taking the mother bird with her young.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels the law of eating the sacrifice on the same day, leaving none until morning.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Detailing rules for peace offerings and thanksgiving sacrifices, which must be eaten quickly.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Links remembering and doing God's commandments with being holy unto God.
Supported by John Calvin
Points to Yahweh as the one who sanctifies/hallows His covenant people.
Supported by John Calvin
Stresses holiness based on God's redemption of His people from the land of Egypt.
Supported by John Calvin
Explicitly forbids sacrificing any animal with an ill blemish, such as lameness or blindness.
Supported by Matthew Poole