Leviticus 22

Sundry Rules for Priests

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 "Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so as not to profane My holy name; I am the LORD.

3 "Say to them, '¹If any man among all your descendants throughout your generations approaches the holy gifts which the sons of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from before * Me; I am the LORD.

4 '²No * man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or who has a discharge, may eat of the holy gifts until * he is clean. ³And if one touches anything made unclean by a corpse or if ⁴a man has a seminal * emission,

5 or ⁵if a man touches any teeming things by which he is made unclean, or any man by whom he is made unclean, whatever his uncleanness;

6 a person who touches any such shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless * he has bathed his body in water.

7 'But when the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he shall eat of the holy gifts, for ⁶it is his food.

8 'He shall not eat ⁷an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, becoming unclean by it; I am the LORD.

9 'They shall therefore keep ⁸My charge, so that ⁹they will not bear sin because of it and die thereby because they profane it; I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

10 '¹⁰No layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a sojourner with the priest or a hired man shall not eat of the holy gift.

11 '¹¹But if a priest buys a slave as his property with his money, that one may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his food.

12 'If a priest's daughter is married to a layman, she shall not eat of the offering of the gifts.

13 'But if a priest's daughter becomes a widow or divorced, and has no child and returns to her father's house as in her youth, she shall eat of her father's food; ¹²but no * layman shall eat of it.

14 '¹³But if a man eats a holy gift unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it and shall give the holy gift to the priest.

15 '¹⁴They shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel which they offer to the LORD,

16 and so cause them ¹⁵to bear punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts; for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.' "

Flawless Animals for Sacrifice

17 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

18 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, '¹⁶Any man of the house of Israel or of the aliens in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their votive or any of their freewill offerings, which they present to the LORD for a burnt offering -

19 ¹⁷for you to be accepted -it must be a male without defect from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats.

20 '¹⁸Whatever * has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you.

21 'When a man offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD ¹⁹to fulfill a special vow or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no * defect in it.

22 'Those that are blind or fractured or maimed or having a running sore or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the LORD, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to the LORD.

23 'In respect to an ox or a lamb which has an overgrown or stunted member, you may present it for a freewill offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted.

24 'Also ²⁰anything with its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut, you shall not offer to the LORD, or sacrifice in your land,

25 nor shall you accept any * such from the hand of a foreigner * for offering ²¹as the food of your God; for their corruption is in them, they have a defect, they shall not be accepted for you.' "

26 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

27 "When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain ²²seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be accepted as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to the LORD.

28 "²³But, whether it is an ox or a sheep, you shall not kill both it and its young in one day.

29 "When you sacrifice ²⁴a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.

30 "It shall be eaten on the same day, you shall leave none of it until morning; I am the LORD.

31 "²⁵So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the LORD.

32 "You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the LORD who sanctifies you,

33 ²⁶who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the LORD."

Leviticus 22 Commentary

Chapter 22

Laws concerning the priests and sacrifices.

- In this chapter we have divers laws concerning the priests and sacrifices, all for preserving the honour of the sanctuary. Let us recollect with gratitude that our great High Priest cannot be hindered by any thing from the discharge of his office. Let us also remember, that the Lord requires us to reverence his name, his truths, his ordinances, and commandments. Let us beware of hypocrisy, and examine ourselves concerning our sinful defilements, seeking to be purified from them in the blood of Christ, and by his sanctifying Spirit. Whoever attempts to expiate his own sin, or draws near in the pride of self-righteousness, puts as great an affront on Christ, as he who comes to the Lord's table from the gratification of sinful lusts. Nor can the minister who loves the souls of the people, suffer them to continue in this dangerous delusion. He must call upon them, not only to repent of their sins, and forsake them; but to put their whole trust in the atonement of Christ, by faith in his name, for pardon and acceptance with God; thus only will the Lord make them holy, as his own people.

Cross References

• 1. Leviticus 7:20, 21; Numbers 19:13
• 2. Leviticus 14:1-32
• 3. Lev 11:24-28, 39, 40
• 4. Leviticus 15:16, 17
• 5. Leviticus 11:23-28
• 6. Numbers 18:11
• 7. Leviticus 7:24; Leviticus 11:39, 40; Leviticus 17:15
• 8. Leviticus 18:30
• 9. Exodus 28:43; Leviticus 22:16; Numbers 18:22
• 10. Exodus 29:33; Leviticus 22:13; Numbers 3:10
• 11. Genesis 17:13; Exodus 12:44
• 12. Leviticus 22:10
• 13. Leviticus 5:15, 16
• 14. Numbers 18:32
• 15. Leviticus 10:17; Leviticus 22:9
• 16. Numbers 15:14
• 17. Leviticus 21:18-21; Deuteronomy 15:21
• 18. Deuteronomy 15:21; Deuteronomy 17:1; Malachi 1:8, 14; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:19
• 19. Numbers 15:3, 8
• 20. Leviticus 21:20
• 21. Leviticus 21:22
• 22. Exodus 22:30
• 23. Deuteronomy 22:6, 7
• 24. Leviticus 7:12
• 25. Leviticus 19:37; Numbers 15:40; Deuteronomy 4:40
• 26. Leviticus 11:45

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "seed"
• [b]. Lit "seed"
• [c]. Lit "soul"
• [d]. Lit "flesh"
• [e]. Lit "bread"
• [f]. Lit "stranger"
• [g]. Lit "soul"
• [h]. Lit "he may"
• [i]. Lit "bread"
• [j]. Lit "stranger"
• [k]. Lit "heave offering"
• [l]. Lit "bread"
• [m]. Lit "stranger"
• [n]. Or "iniquity requiring a guilt offering"
• [o]. Lit "vows"
• [p]. Or "make a special votive offering"
• [q]. Or "a deformed"
• [r]. Lit "do"
• [s]. Lit "bread"
• [t]. Lit "be"
• [u]. Lit "under"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 22

In this chapter several laws are delivered out, forbidding the priests to eat of holy things, when in any uncleanness, or at any time what dies of itself, or is torn of beasts, Le 22:1-9; also showing who belonging to the priests might or might not eat of the holy things, Le 22:10-16; and others requiring that whatever offerings were brought by the children, of Israel, they should be perfect and without blemish, Le 22:17-25; and also declaring what age a creature should be of when sacrificed, and the time when thank offerings were to be eaten, Le 22:26-30; concluding with an exhortation to observe the commands of God, and sanctify him, and not profane his name, Le 22:31-33.