Leviticus 21:22

22 He can eat the holy food. He can also eat my very holy food.

Leviticus 21:22 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 21:22

He shall eat the bread of his God
That part of the sacrifices which was appropriated by the Lord to the priests, for the maintenance of them and their families; for though their natural infirmities disqualified them for service, yet they did not become hereby impure, either in a moral nor ceremonial sense, and might eat of the sacrifices, which impure persons might not; and so the tradition is, blemished persons, whether their blemishes are fixed or transient, may divide and eat, but not offer F7; these being priests, and having no inheritance, nor any way of getting their livelihood, provision is made for them that they might not perish through their defects in nature, which were not voluntary and brought upon them by themselves, but by the providence of God; and such were allowed to eat

[both] of the most holy and of the holy;
there were things the priests eat of, which were most holy, as what remained of the meat offerings, and of the sin offerings, and of the trespass offerings, which only the males of the priest's family might eat of, and that only in the holy place; and there were others less holy, the lighter holy things, as the Jews call them, as the wave breast, and heave shoulder, and the tithes and firstfruits, which were eaten of by all in their families, their daughters as well as their sons, and in their own houses; now of each of these might the blemished priests eat; see ( Numbers 18:9 Numbers 18:10 )


FOOTNOTES:

F7 Misn. Zebachim, c. 12. sect. 1.

Leviticus 21:22 In-Context

20 No man whose back is bent can come. No man who is too short can come. No man who has anything wrong with his eyes can come. No man who has boils or running sores can come. No man whose sex glands are crushed can come.
21 " 'No man in the family line of the priest Aaron who has any flaws can come near me. He can't come to bring the offerings that are made to me with fire. If he has any flaws, he must not come near to offer food to me.
22 He can eat the holy food. He can also eat my very holy food.
23 But because he has a flaw, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar. If he does, he will make my sacred tent "unclean." I am the Lord. I make everything holy.' "
24 So Moses told all of those things to Aaron and his sons. He also told them to all of the people of Israel.
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