Leviticus 21:21

21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to offer gifts to God; he has a defect and so must not offer the food of his God.

Leviticus 21:21 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 21:21

No man that hath a blemish, of the seed of Aaron the priest,
&c.] Whether an high priest or a common priest that lies on him anyone of the above blemishes; and which the Jewish writers F6 make to amount to the number of one hundred and forty, and which they reckon, so many in one part of the booty and so many in another, till they make up the said number; and whoever had any might not

come nigh to offer up the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire;
the burnt offerings on the altar, to which he might not approach, and the meat offerings, and the fat, and the incense:

he hath a blemish;
in one part of him or another; and though but one,

he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God:
this is repeated for the confirmation of it, and to show how determined the Lord was in this matter; and how much he should resent it in any that should be found guilty of the breach of those rules, and so it is designed to deter from attempting: it.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 Maimon. Biath Hamikdash, c. 8. sect. 17.

Leviticus 21:21 In-Context

19 crippled in foot or hand,
20 hunchbacked or dwarfed, who has anything wrong with his eyes, who has running sores or damaged testicles.
21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to offer gifts to God; he has a defect and so must not offer the food of his God.
22 He may eat the food of his God, both the most holy and the holy,
23 but because of his defect he must not go near the curtain or approach the Altar. It would desecrate my Sanctuary. I am God who makes them holy."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.