Leviticus 22:2

2 "Tell Aaron and his sons to keep away from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they may not profane my holy name; I am the LORD.

Leviticus 22:2 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 22:2

Speak unto Aaron and to his sons
The priests; the children of Israel or the common people are not mentioned, as having no concern in the following laws about eating holy things: that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of
Israel;
both from offering their lawful sacrifices, which was the business of their office when pure, and chiefly from eating that part of them which was their due, and was allowed them; neither of these they were to do, particularly the latter, when they were in any uncleanness, as the following words show: and that, they profane not my holy name [in those things] which they
hallow unto me;
which the children of Israel set apart and devoted to his service; which they would do, by eating their part of them when unclean, and thereby show little reverence to that holy name to which they were devoted; or which the priests themselves sanctified, by offering them to him; for Jarchi says, this takes in the holiness of the priests themselves; but the former seems best, and is confirmed in ( Leviticus 22:3 ) : I [am] the Lord;
who is holy himself, and whose holy things these are, and will be sanctified by those that draw nigh unto him.

Leviticus 22:2 In-Context

1 And the LORD said to Moses,

2 "Tell Aaron and his sons to keep away from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they may not profane my holy name; I am the LORD.

3 Say to them, 'If any one of all your descendants throughout your generations approaches the holy things, which the people of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD.

4 None of the line of Aaron who is a leper or suffers a discharge may eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or a man who has had an emission of semen,

5 and whoever touches a creeping thing by which he may be made unclean or a man from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be--