Leviticus 22:4

4 No man of Aaron's descendants who has a skin disease[a] or a discharge is to eat from the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a dead person or by a man who has an emission of semen,

Leviticus 22:4 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 22:4

What man soever of the seed of Aaron [is] a leper
A young, or an old man, as the Targum of Jonathan, and indeed man or woman; for the wives and daughters of the priests, if in this, and other circumstances following, might not eat of the holy things until cleansed, who otherwise might, see ( Leviticus 13:2 ) ( Numbers 18:13 ) ; or hath a running issue;
a gonorrhoea, whether man or woman, ( Leviticus 15:2 Leviticus 15:25 ) ; he shall not eat of the holy things until he be clean;
he might eat of the tithes, but not of the wave breast, or heave shoulder: and whoso toucheth any [that is] unclean [by] the dead;
not only that touched the dead, which made unclean, but that touched any person or thing that was made unclean by it: or a man whose seed goeth from him;
involuntarily when asleep, in a dream, and through a lustful imagination; see ( Leviticus 15:16 ) .

Leviticus 22:4 In-Context

2 "Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to Me, so they do not profane My holy name; I am the Lord.
3 Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person will be cut off from My presence; I am the Lord.
4 No man of Aaron's descendants who has a skin disease or a discharge is to eat from the holy offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a dead person or by a man who has an emission of semen,
5 or whoever touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean or any person who makes him unclean-whatever his uncleanness-
6 the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or has leprosy or scale disease
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