Leviticus 22:4

4 None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a 1discharge may eat of the holy things 2until he is clean. 3Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or 4a man who has had 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 "Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name: I am the LORD.
3 Say to them, 'If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that 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 offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or 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 swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or a person from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be--
6 the person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has bathed his body in water.

Cross References 4

  • 1. Leviticus 15:2
  • 2. Leviticus 14:2; Leviticus 15:13
  • 3. Numbers 19:11
  • 4. Leviticus 15:16
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.