Leviticus 22:22

22 [The] blind or [the] injured or [the] maimed or [the] seeping or [one with a] skin disorder or [one with a] skin eruption--these you shall not present to Yahweh, nor shall you give from them an offering made by fire on the altar for Yahweh.

Leviticus 22:22 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 22:22

Blind, or broken, or maimed
Which is "blind" of one eye, or both: and so the Egyptians, as they would not sacrifice any of their oxen that had any blemishes on them, and were of a different colour, or changed in their form, so likewise such that were deprived of either of their eyes F24. Some, as Aben Ezra observes, restrain that which is "broken" to its being broken in the head; but others interpret it of any fracture of the foot, as well as the head, and even of the tail, side, or rib; though others think, that such fractures as were not open and visible are excepted, as that of the rib; so Gersom; and with the Heathens, as Pliny F25 would have remarked, as they were not used to sacrifice calves, brought on men's shoulders, so neither anything that halted: that which is maimed some understand of that whose foot is broken, as Aben Ezra also remarks; but the word is by the Septuagint rendered, "cut in the tongue"; and the Targum of Jonathan, "whose eyebrows are smitten"; and Jarchi seems to take in both, interpreting it the eyebrow which is cut or broken, and so the lip, which is cut or broken: but it is rather to be understood more generally of its being maimed or mutilated in any part of it; so with the Heathens, as Porphyry F26 affirms, beasts that were mutilated were not to be sacrificed; and in the Comedian F1, a sacrifice is objected to, because it had no tail; upon which the Scholiast observes, that whatever was mutilated was not offered in sacred services, nor was any thing imperfect or unsound sacrificed to the gods; and particularly Servius F2 remarks, if their tongues were cut or slit; which illustrates the Septuagint version, which is observed by Grotius: or having a wen:
or full of warts, as others; the Targum of Jonathan is, whose eyes are smitten with a mixture of white and black; and so Gersom interprets it of a like defect in the eye, in the white of the eye; for he says, if it was in the black or pupil of the eye, the eye would be blind: or scurvy or scabbed:
the same of those in men; (See Gill on Leviticus 21:20): ye shall not offer these unto the Lord;
any creatures defective in any of these instances; three times this is said, as Jarchi observes, to make them careful concerning the sanctification of them, and concerning the slaying of them, and concerning the sprinkling of their blood: nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the Lord;
a burnt offering on the altar of burnt offering, or burn the fat of them upon it.


FOOTNOTES:

F24 Chaeremon. apud Porphyr. de Abstinentia, l. 4. sect. 7.
F25 Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 45.
F26 De Abstinentia, l. 2. sect. 23.
F1 Aristoph. Acharnens. ver. 784.
F2 In Virgil. Aeneid. l. 6.

Leviticus 22:22 In-Context

20 You shall not present any [animal] in which [is] a physical defect, because it shall not be {acceptable} for you.
21 And if anyone brings a sacrifice of fellowship offerings for Yahweh to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the cattle or from the flock, it must be without defect {to be acceptable}; there must not be any physical defect in it.
22 [The] blind or [the] injured or [the] maimed or [the] seeping or [one with a] skin disorder or [one with a] skin eruption--these you shall not present to Yahweh, nor shall you give from them an offering made by fire on the altar for Yahweh.
23 As for an ox or sheep that is deformed or that is stunted, you may present it [as] a freewill offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted.
24 And you shall not present [anything] for Yahweh [with] bruised or shattered or torn or cut-off [testicles], and you shall not {sacrifice} [such] in your land.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.