Leviticus22
New King James Version
1Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2“Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they do not profane My holy name by what they dedicate to Me: I am the Lord.
3Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he has uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the Lord.
4‘Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or has a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has had an emission of semen,
5or whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be—
6the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he washes his body with water.
7And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because it is his food.
8Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.
9‘They shall therefore keep My ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the Lord sanctify them.
10‘No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing.
11But if the priest buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food.
12If the priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings.
13But if the priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food; but no outsider shall eat it.
14‘And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it.
15They shall not profane the holy offerings of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord,
16or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy offerings; for I the Lord sanctify them.’ ”
17And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
18“Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who offers his sacrifice for any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings, which they offer to the Lord as a burnt offering—
19you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats.
20Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf.
21And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it.
22Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord.
23Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb too long or too short you may offer as a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
24‘You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land.
25Nor from a foreigner’s hand shall you offer any of these as the bread of your God, because their corruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.’ ”
26And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
27“When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted as an offering made by fire to the Lord.
28Whether it is a cow or ewe, do not kill both her and her young on the same day.
29And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it of your own free will.
30On the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the Lord.
31“Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: I am the Lord.
32You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you,
33who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: 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