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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>Leviticus 22 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/leviticus/22.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/leviticus/22.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/leviticus/22-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="/commentaries/">Commentary</a> > <a href="../">Ellicott</a> > <a href="../leviticus/">Leviticus</a></div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../leviticus/21.htm" title="Leviticus 21">◄</a> Leviticus 22 <a href="../leviticus/23.htm" title="Leviticus 23">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</div><div class="chap"> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-1.htm">Leviticus 22:1</a></div><div class="verse">And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,</div><span class= "bld">XXII.</span><p>(1) <span class= "bld">And the Lord spake unto Moses.</span>—In this chapter the laws regulating the conduct of the priests in their holy ministrations are continued. As the last chapter concluded with the permission to disqualified priests to eat of the sacrifices, this chapter opens with conditions under which even the legally qualified priests must not partake of the offerings.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-2.htm">Leviticus 22:2</a></div><div class="verse">Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name <i>in those things</i> which they hallow unto me: I <i>am</i> the LORD.</div>(2) <span class= "bld">Separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel.</span>—As parts of the sacrifices offered by the Israelites belonged to the priests, they are here warned that (see <a href="/context/leviticus/7-20.htm" title="But the soul that eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain to the LORD, having his uncleanness on him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.">Leviticus 7:20-21</a>) they are not to consider themselves absolutely entitled to them under all circumstances, and that there are times when they must abstain from them.<p><span class= "bld">In those things which they hallow unto me.</span>—That is, in their treatment of the sacrifices which the children of Israel have consecrated and offered to the Lord.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-3.htm">Leviticus 22:3</a></div><div class="verse">Say unto them, Whosoever <i>he be</i> of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I <i>am</i> the LORD.</div>(3) <span class= "bld">Whosoever he be of all your seed, among your generations.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">throughout your generations, every man. </span>So the Authorised version properly renders the expression here translated “among your generations” in <a href="/leviticus/23-14.htm" title="And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that you have brought an offering to your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.">Leviticus 23:14</a>; <a href="/leviticus/23-21.htm" title="And you shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation to you: you shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.">Leviticus 23:21</a>. (See <a href="/leviticus/3-17.htm" title="It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that you eat neither fat nor blood.">Leviticus 3:17</a>; <a href="/leviticus/21-17.htm" title="Speak to Aaron, saying, Whoever he be of your seed in their generations that has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.">Leviticus 21:17</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">That goeth unto the holy things.</span>—That is, who approaches the sacrifices to eat them, as is stated in <a href="/leviticus/22-4.htm" title="What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or has a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoever touches any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goes from him;">Leviticus 22:4</a>; <a href="/leviticus/22-6.htm" title="The soul which has touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.">Leviticus 22:6</a>; <a href="/leviticus/22-12.htm" title="If the priest's daughter also be married to a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things.">Leviticus 22:12</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Having his uncleanness upon him.</span>—Not having first submitted to the prescribed lustrations (see <a href="/leviticus/7-20.htm" title="But the soul that eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain to the LORD, having his uncleanness on him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.">Leviticus 7:20</a>), the defilement which he contracted rests upon him.<p><span class= "bld">That soul shall be cut off from my presence.</span>—This phrase, with the expression “from my presence,” does not occur again in the Pentateuch when the Lord threatens with <span class= "ital">the </span>penalty of excision. In Leviticus, where, besides the passage before us, the penalty is enacted six times, the formula is always, “that soul shall be cut off from his people” (<a href="/context/leviticus/7-20.htm" title="But the soul that eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain to the LORD, having his uncleanness on him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.">Leviticus 7:20-21</a>; <a href="/leviticus/7-25.htm" title="For whoever eats the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, even the soul that eats it shall be cut off from his people.">Leviticus 7:25</a>; <a href="/leviticus/7-27.htm" title="Whatever soul it be that eats any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.">Leviticus 7:27</a>; <a href="/leviticus/19-8.htm" title="Therefore every one that eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.">Leviticus 19:8</a>; <a href="/leviticus/23-29.htm" title="For whatever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.">Leviticus 23:29</a>). Its exceptional form here may therefore have reference to the peculiar circumstances. If the priest ventures to approach the altar presumptuously to partake in a defiled state of the holy sacrifices, God himself will banish him from His presence as He did Nadab and Abihu.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-4.htm">Leviticus 22:4</a></div><div class="verse">What man soever of the seed of Aaron <i>is</i> a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing <i>that is</i> unclean <i>by</i> the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him;</div>(4) <span class= "bld">Is a leper.</span>—The different forms of uncleanness are now specified. (For the leper, see <a href="/leviticus/13-3.htm" title="And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.">Leviticus 13:3</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Or hath a running issue.</span>—See <a href="/leviticus/15-2.htm" title="Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When any man has a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.">Leviticus 15:2</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead.</span>—That is, if he touches any person or anything that had been defiled through contact with a corpse. (See <a href="/context/numbers/19-11.htm" title="He that touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.">Numbers 19:11-14</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Whose seed goeth from him.</span>—This is the same case mentioned in <a href="/leviticus/15-16.htm" title="And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.">Leviticus 15:16</a>. The two passages ought therefore to be uniform in the translation.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-5.htm">Leviticus 22:5</a></div><div class="verse">Or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath;</div>(5) <span class= "bld">Or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing.</span>—See <a href="/context/leviticus/11-24.htm" title="And for these you shall be unclean: whoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until the even.">Leviticus 11:24-44</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Or a man of whom he may take uncleanness.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">or a man who is unclean to him, </span>that is, who is a leper (see <a href="/leviticus/13-45.htm" title="And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bore, and he shall put a covering on his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.">Leviticus 13:45</a>), or has an issue (see <a href="/leviticus/15-5.htm" title="And whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.">Leviticus 15:5</a>, &c.), and who imparts defilement by contact.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-6.htm">Leviticus 22:6</a></div><div class="verse">The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.</div>(6) <span class= "bld">The soul which hath touched.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">the man who hath, </span>that is, the priest for whom these laws are here enacted. Hence the ancient Chaldee version renders it “the man a priest.”<p><span class= "bld">Shall be unclean until even.</span>—When the day ends and another begins (see <a href="/context/leviticus/11-24.htm" title="And for these you shall be unclean: whoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until the even.">Leviticus 11:24-32</a>), and when he had to immerse his body in water.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-7.htm">Leviticus 22:7</a></div><div class="verse">And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it <i>is</i> his food.</div>(7) <span class= "bld">And shall afterward eat . . . because it is his food.</span>—As the sacrifices which were the perquisites of the officiating priests were the only things he had to live upon, the priest who had contracted defilement had virtually to go without food till sundown, when he purified himself by the prescribed lustrations.<p><span class= "bld">That which dieth of itself.</span>—That is, clean animals or birds which have not been properly slaughtered, but have met with an accident. These have already been forbidden to every ordinary Israelite. (See <a href="/leviticus/17-15.htm" title="And every soul that eats that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.">Leviticus 17:15</a>.) In the case of a priest eating the proscribed meat the consequences would be more serious, inasmuch as he would be debarred from his sacerdotal duties.<p><span class= "bld">Keep my ordinance.</span>—That is, one laid down in the preceding verse with reference to animals which died a natural death, &c.<p><span class= "bld">And die therefore, if they profane it.</span>—The death here threatened for the transgression of the ordinance is one not to be inflicted by an earthly tribunal, but, as it was explained during the second Temple, “by the hand of heaven.” Hence the Chaldee version of Jonathan renders it, “lest they be killed for it by a flaming fire” like Nadab and Abihu.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-10.htm">Leviticus 22:10</a></div><div class="verse">There shall no stranger eat <i>of</i> the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat <i>of</i> the holy thing.</div>(10) <span class= "bld">There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing.</span>—By “stranger” here is meant a non-Aaronite who was a stranger to the priestly family, though he was an Israelite, or even a Levite. The holy things are the peace offerings. (See <a href="/leviticus/7-30.htm" title="His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD.">Leviticus 7:30</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">A</span> <span class= "bld">sojourner of the priest.</span>—This, during the second Temple, was a Hebrew servant whose ear had been pierced, and who thus became his master’s property till the year of jubile. (See <a href="/exodus/21-6.htm" title="Then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or to the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.">Exodus 21:6</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Or an hired servant.</span>—That is, a Hebrew servant who is hired for several years, and who goes out free after six years. (See <a href="/exodus/21-2.htm" title="If you buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.">Exodus 21:2</a>.) Neither of them was the property of the priest, though his labour and services belonged to him. As these Hebrew servants could not be bought with money like a heathen slave, they were treated like strangers, or non-Aaronites, and hence were not permitted to partake of the holy food.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-11.htm">Leviticus 22:11</a></div><div class="verse">But if the priest buy <i>any</i> soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.</div>(11) <span class= "bld">But if the priest buy any soul.</span>—The case, however, was different with heathen slaves whom the priest purchased. These were admitted into the Jewish community by the rite of circumcision, they were allowed to partake of the paschal lamb, and of every privilege of the Israelites. Hence they became incorporated in the priestly family, and were allowed to eat of the holy things. During the second Temple this privilege was extended to that kind of domestic <span class= "bld">whom </span>the priest did not actually acquire by his own purchase-money, but whom the wife brought with her as part of her dowry, as well as to those whom the slaves of the priestly family purchased.<p><span class= "bld">Born in his house.</span>—That is, the house-born servant or the child of the slave. (See <a href="/context/genesis/17-12.htm" title="And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of your seed.">Genesis 17:12-13</a>.) Even when the priest himself could not eat of the holy things by reason of his having contracted some legal defilement, his wife, children, and slaves were permitted to partake of the sacrificial repast.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-12.htm">Leviticus 22:12</a></div><div class="verse">If the priest's daughter also be <i>married</i> unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things.</div>(12) <span class= "bld">If the priest’s daughter also be married.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">And if the priest’s daughter be married, </span>By marrying a Hebrew of non-Aaronic descent, and thus leaving her paternal home, the daughter of the priest ceased to be part of the family circle, and lost her right to partake of the holy things. Her bread came from her husband, and she could therefore no longer partake of the priest’s bread. During the second Temple the term “stranger” in this verse was also interpreted to include a man who ought to be a stranger to her, and hence it was enacted that if the priest’s daughter had gone astray with a stranger (see <a href="/leviticus/21-7.htm" title="They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy to his God.">Leviticus 21:7</a>; <a href="/leviticus/21-9.htm" title="And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profanes her father: she shall be burnt with fire.">Leviticus 21:9</a>), she is for ever forbidden to eat of the holy food.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-13.htm">Leviticus 22:13</a></div><div class="verse">But if the priest's daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father's house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father's meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof.</div>(13) <span class= "bld">Be a widow, or divorced, and have no child.</span>—An exception, however, to this rule is, when the priest’s married daughter loses her husband either by death or by divorce, and has no children; under such circumstances she may resume her family ties under her paternal roof. Having lost her bread supplier, she may eat again her father’s bread. She could, however, only eat of the heave-offerings, but not of the wave-breast and heave-shoulder.<p><span class= "bld">Returned unto her father’s house, as</span> <span class= "ital"><span class= "bld">in </span>her youth.<span class= "ital"></span></span>—As an inference from these words, two canons were enacted during the second Temple. (1) If thus left a widow without children, her departed husband has a surviving brother, who, according to the law, must marry his sister-in-law (see <a href="/leviticus/18-16.htm" title="You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife: it is your brother's nakedness.">Leviticus 18:16</a>), and she is reserved for him, she cannot partake of the holy things, though she has temporarily “returned unto her father’s house.” Hence the Chaldee version renders this clause, “returned to her father’s house, and is not reserved for her husband’s brother.” And (2) if she is with child at the death of her husband, and on her return home, she must not eat of the holy things. If the child dies she then is permitted to be incorporated again in her father’s family.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-14.htm">Leviticus 22:14</a></div><div class="verse">And if a man eat <i>of</i> the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth <i>part</i> thereof unto it, and shall give <i>it</i> unto the priest with the holy thing.</div>(14) <span class= "bld">Eat of the holy thing unwittingly.</span>—Or, <span class= "ital">through ignorance, </span>as it is rendered in the Authorised version in all the other five passages where this expression occurs in this book. (See <a href="/leviticus/4-2.htm" title="Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:">Leviticus 4:2</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-22.htm" title="When a ruler has sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;">Leviticus 4:22</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-27.htm" title="And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he does somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;">Leviticus 4:27</a>; <a href="/leviticus/5-15.htm" title="If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with your estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.">Leviticus 5:15</a>; <a href="/leviticus/5-18.htm" title="And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with your estimation, for a trespass offering, to the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and knew it not, and it shall be forgiven him.">Leviticus 5:18</a>.) That is, when he ate of the things he was ignorant that they were holy.<p><span class= "bld">He shall put the fifth part thereof unto it.</span>—To make the people more careful, the offender though ignorant of the offence at the time when he committed it, had to pay the fifth part of the value of the holy property which he had eaten, in addition to the principal. For the way in which this was estimated see <a href="/leviticus/5-16.htm" title="And he shall make amends for the harm that he has done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it to the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.">Leviticus 5:16</a>.<p><span class= "bld">And shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">And shall give back the holy thing to the priest. </span>“Holy thing” denotes here the equivalent of the holy thing which he has eaten. This he has to return to the priest with the fifth part. As eating holy things through ignorance was not so great an offence as withholding them altogether, or not delivering them up, restitution with a small fine was deemed a sufficient caution, whilst the case of ignorantly keeping them back was more serious, and hence the offender had also to bring a trespass offering. (See <a href="/context/leviticus/5-14.htm" title="And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,">Leviticus 5:14-17</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-15.htm">Leviticus 22:15</a></div><div class="verse">And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD;</div>(15) <span class= "bld">And they shall not profane.</span>—That is, the priests are not to desecrate the holy gifts of the Israelites by carelessly exposing them, and by not treating them with that sacred regard which is due to their being the bread of God.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-16.htm">Leviticus 22:16</a></div><div class="verse">Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them.</div>(16) <span class= "bld">Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">Moreover, they shall not cause them to bear the iniquity. </span>That is, not only are the priests themselves prohibited to treat with profanity the sacred gifts, but they are to realise that it is incumbent upon them to guard these sacrifices so carefully as not to cause the Israelites to contract sin by transgressing the laws by eating holy things which are put in their way through culpable negligence.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-17.htm">Leviticus 22:17</a></div><div class="verse">And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,</div>(17) <span class= "bld">And the Lord spake unto Moses.</span>—The laws about the physical features and ceremonial purity of the priests, who are to be devoted to the services of the altar, are now followed by kindred precepts about the animals which are to be offered upon the altar.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-18.htm">Leviticus 22:18</a></div><div class="verse">Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever <i>he be</i> of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering;</div>(18) <span class= "bld">And unto all the children of Israel.</span>—As the following laws presented the condition of the animals which the Israelites are to offer, they are addressed to the laity as well as to the priests.<p><span class= "bld">Whatsoever he be.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">what man soever there be, </span>as it is translated in the Authorised version <a href="/leviticus/17-3.htm" title="What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that kills an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that kills it out of the camp,">Leviticus 17:3</a> (and see Note on <a href="/leviticus/17-8.htm" title="And you shall say to them, Whatever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offers a burnt offering or sacrifice,">Leviticus 17:8</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Offer his oblation.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">offer his offering, </span>as the Authorised version translates it in <a href="/leviticus/3-7.htm" title="If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the LORD.">Leviticus 3:7</a>; <a href="/leviticus/3-14.htm" title="And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire to the LORD; the fat that covers the inwards, and all the fat that is on the inwards,">Leviticus 3:14</a>; <a href="/leviticus/7-12.htm" title="If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.">Leviticus 7:12</a>; <a href="/leviticus/17-4.htm" title="And brings it not to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed to that man; he has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:">Leviticus 17:4</a>, <span class= "ital">&c. </span>It is difficult to divine why the translators gave here a different rendering of a fixed sacrificial formula which it is important to reproduce uniformly in a translation.<p><span class= "bld">For all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">for any manner of vow, or for any manner of freewill offering. </span>That is, if an Israelite by race, or one who was originally a stranger but has joined the Jewish community, brings a sacrifice, be it in consequence of a vow which he has made, or be it a freewill offering. Both these kinds of sacrifices were entirely voluntary, and the difference between them is described in <a href="/leviticus/7-16.htm" title="But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:">Leviticus 7:16</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-19.htm">Leviticus 22:19</a></div><div class="verse"><i>Ye shall offer</i> at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.</div>(19) <span class= "bld">Ye shall offer at your own will a male.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">that it may be accepted for you it shall be a male; </span>or, <span class= "ital">ye shall offer for your acceptance a male. </span>repeating the word offer; or, <span class= "ital">for your acceptance it must be a male, </span>as the Authorised version renders the same phrase in <a href="/context/leviticus/22-20.htm" title="But whatever has a blemish, that shall you not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.">Leviticus 22:20-21</a>; <a href="/leviticus/22-27.htm" title="When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire to the LORD.">Leviticus 22:27</a> (see <a href="/leviticus/1-3.htm" title="If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.">Leviticus 1:3</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-20.htm">Leviticus 22:20</a></div><div class="verse"><i>But</i> whatsoever hath a blemish, <i>that</i> shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.</div>(20) <span class= "bld">But whatsoever hath a blemish.</span>—Better. <span class= "ital">whatsoever hath, </span>&c, without the “but,” which is not in the original, and is not wanted. The general rule is here repeated as an introduction to the cases which are immediately to be specified. It will be seen that only quadrupeds are given and that fowls are not alluded to, because when people brought birds the Law did not require any distinction to be made between male and female, and during the second Temple no blemish disqualified a bird except the entire absence of a limb.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-21.htm">Leviticus 22:21</a></div><div class="verse">And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish <i>his</i> vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.</div>(21) <span class= "bld">A sacrifice of peace offerings.</span>—(See <a href="/leviticus/3-1.htm" title="And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.">Leviticus 3:1</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">To accomplish a vow.</span>—In fulfilment of a vow made in time of impending danger (<a href="/context/genesis/28-20.htm" title="And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,">Genesis 28:20-22</a>; <a href="/jonah/1-16.htm" title="Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD, and made vows.">Jonah 1:16</a>, &c.).<p><span class= "bld">Freewill offering.</span>—Generally brought in acknowledgment of mercies received.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-22.htm">Leviticus 22:22</a></div><div class="verse">Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD.</div>(22) <span class= "bld">Blind.</span>—Whether totally blind or only of one eye. This blemish also disqualified the priest for the service at the altar (see <a href="/leviticus/21-18.htm" title="For whatever man he be that has a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that has a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,">Leviticus 21:18</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Or broken.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">broken-limbed </span>(see <a href="/exodus/22-9.htm" title="For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing which another challenges to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double to his neighbor.">Exodus 22:9</a>), extending to the head, ribs, &c.<p><span class= "bld">Or maimed.</span>—This was regarded in the time of the second Temple to describe a blemish in the eyebrow. Hence the Chaldee version translates it “one whose eye-brows are fallen off.” It would thus correspond to the defect which unfitted the priest for ministering at the altar.<p><span class= "bld">Or having a wen.</span>—According to the Jewish canonists this denotes a disease of the eyes. Hence the Chaldee version translates it “one whose eyes are smitten with a mixture of white and black,” thus corresponding to the blemish which unfits the priest mentioned in <a href="/leviticus/21-19.htm" title="Or a man that is broken footed, or broken handed,">Leviticus 21:19</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Or scurvy or scabbed.</span>—These are exactly the same two defects specified with regard to the priests (see <a href="/leviticus/21-20.htm" title="Or hunch back, or a dwarf, or that has a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or has his stones broken;">Leviticus 21:20</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Ye shall not offer these unto the Lord.</span>—Though he must not offer animals with such blemishes, and though the man who vowed them for the sanctuary was beaten with stripes, yet the animals thus sanctified were no more his, he had to redeem them according to valuation, and with the money purchase another oblation.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-23.htm">Leviticus 22:23</a></div><div class="verse">Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer <i>for</i> a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.</div>(23) <span class= "bld">Either a bullock or a lamb.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">And bullock and one of the flock.</span><p><span class= "bld">That hath any thing superfluous.</span>—That is one member of the animal being more elongated or contracted than the other, being out of proportion. The same blemish also unfitted the priest for performing sacerdotal functions (see <a href="/leviticus/21-18.htm" title="For whatever man he be that has a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that has a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,">Leviticus 21:18</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Or lacking in his parts.</span>—This, according to the authorities during the second Temple, denotes contracted hoofs, or undivided hoofs, making them resemble those of an ass or horse.<p><span class= "bld">That mayest thou offer for a freewill offering.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">that thou mayest make a freewill offering. </span>As <a href="/context/leviticus/22-18.htm" title="Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, Whatever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer to the LORD for a burnt offering;">Leviticus 22:18-20</a> most emphatically declare that an animal with any blemish whatsoever must not be offered “for any manner of freewill offering,” it is hardly conceivable that the lawgiver would contradict this enactment within the space of three verses, and say “that the animals with those serious organic defects enumerated in the verse before us, thou mayest offer for a freewill offering.” Hence, during the second Temple, the passage before us was interpreted to mean that the animals in question were only allowed to be consecrated for the maintenance and repair of the sanctuary, but not to be offered as a sacrifice on the altar. They were sold, or the offerer paid the value himself, and the money was applied to these sacred purposes. The opinion that a freewill offering was of less importance than a vow, and that therefore the lawgiver allows animals with the two kinds of defects here described to be offered for a freewill offering but not for a vow, is contrary to the regulations laid down in <a href="/context/leviticus/22-18.htm" title="Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, Whatever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer to the LORD for a burnt offering;">Leviticus 22:18-20</a>, and is against the practice during the second Temple (see <a href="/leviticus/7-16.htm" title="But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:">Leviticus 7:16</a>). It is far more probable that the text is disarranged, and that it originally was, “that thou mayest not offer for a freewill offering, and for a vow it shall not be accepted.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-24.htm">Leviticus 22:24</a></div><div class="verse">Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make <i>any offering thereof</i> in your land.</div>(24) <span class= "bld">That which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut.</span>—These four terms express the four ways which the ancients used to emasculate animals.<p><span class= "bld">Neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">and this shall ye not do in your land; </span>that is, not only are animals thus mutilated prohibited as offerings for the altar, but this practice of gelding is altogether forbidden to the Israelites with regard to any animal whatsoever throughout the country. This law is binding upon the orthodox Jews to this day, and the question has recently been discussed by some of their spiritual guides, since it seriously affects those of their community who are engaged in farming land.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-25.htm">Leviticus 22:25</a></div><div class="verse">Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption <i>is</i> in them, <i>and</i> blemishes <i>be</i> in them: they shall not be accepted for you.</div>(25) <span class= "bld">Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer.</span>—That is, the prohibition to sacrifice these animals is not restricted to beasts castrated in the land, but extends to all such as have been so treated out of the land, and are imported and sold to the Israelites by the hands of foreigners.<p><span class= "bld">Because their corruption is in them.</span>—That is, their mutilation is in them, though not effected by an Israelite nor in the land. The circumstance that such an animal is purchased from the hand of a foreigner does not alter the case.<p><span class= "bld">They shall not be accepted for you.</span>—That is, if the Israelites bring such mutilated sacrifices, thinking that, because they have been procured from a stranger’s hand, they do not transgress the law laid down in the preceding verse, they will not be accepted by God, who regards them as blemished and illegal. Jewish canonists, however, regard this verse as regulating the sacrifices offered by Gentiles, and maintain that the same law about defective animals is here laid down in their case. But the manifest contrast between the expression, when the deed is done “in your land,” at the end of the preceding verse, and the words “from the hand of a foreigner,” at the beginning of this verse; and more especially the declaration in the clause before us, “they shall not be acceptable for you,” <span class= "ital">i.e., </span>the Israelites, show beyond doubt that the Israelites themselves are here spoken of as the offerers.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-26.htm">Leviticus 22:26</a></div><div class="verse">And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,</div>(26) <span class= "bld">And the Lord spake unto Moses.</span>—Though beginning with a separate formula, and thus indicating that it is a distinct communication, the regulations here laid down about the age of the sacrificial animals are necessarily connected with the preceding statutes, and exhibit a logical sequence.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-27.htm">Leviticus 22:27</a></div><div class="verse">When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD.</div>(27) <span class= "bld">When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat—</span>The three sacrificial quadrupeds. (See <a href="/leviticus/22-19.htm" title="You shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.">Leviticus 22:19</a> and <a href="/context/leviticus/17-3.htm" title="What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that kills an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that kills it out of the camp,">Leviticus 17:3-6</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Is brought forth.</span>—From this expression it was enacted during the second Temple that the animal fit for a sacrifice had to be born naturally. One brought into the world by artificial aid was disqualified for the altar.<p><span class= "bld">It shall be seven days under the dam.</span>—Under seven days the animal is extremely weak, and unfit for human food, and hence must not be offered as the food of God, as sacrifices are called. (See <a href="/leviticus/22-25.htm" title="Neither from a stranger's hand shall you offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.">Leviticus 22:25</a>.) For the same reason children could not be circumcised before the eighth day from their birth. (See <a href="/exodus/22-29.htm" title="You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe fruits, and of your liquors: the firstborn of your sons shall you give to me.">Exodus 22:29</a>.) Because the text here says that the newly born animal is to be with the dam seven days, it was enacted that if the mother died before the seven days (in which case it could not be with the dam seven days), it was for ever disqualified for a sacrifice.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-28.htm">Leviticus 22:28</a></div><div class="verse">And <i>whether it be</i> cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day.</div>(28) <span class= "bld">Not kill it and her young both in one day.</span>—According to the ancient canons, this prohibition to slaughter the dam and its youngling the same day was not only designed to remind the Israelites of the sacred relations which exist between parent and offspring, but was especially intended to keep up feelings of humanity. Hence the ancient Chaldee version begins this injunction with the words, “My people the children of Israel, as our Father is merciful in heaven, so be ye merciful on earth.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-29.htm">Leviticus 22:29</a></div><div class="verse">And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer <i>it</i> at your own will.</div>(29) <span class= "bld">Offer it at your own will.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">offer it for your acceptance. </span>(See <a href="/leviticus/22-19.htm" title="You shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.">Leviticus 22:19</a>.) That is, offer it in such a manner that it should be accepted. (For this kind of offering, see <a href="/context/leviticus/7-15.htm" title="And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.">Leviticus 7:15-16</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-30.htm">Leviticus 22:30</a></div><div class="verse">On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of it until the morrow: I <i>am</i> the LORD.</div>(30) <span class= "bld">On the same day it shall be eaten.</span>—This shows that the sacrifice here spoken of belonged to the first class of peace offerings, the flesh of which had to be eaten up on the same day. (See <a href="/leviticus/7-15.htm" title="And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.">Leviticus 7:15</a>.)<span class= "bld"><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-31.htm">Leviticus 22:31</a></div><div class="verse">Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I <i>am</i> the LORD.</div>(31) <span class= "bld">Therefore shall ye keep my commandments.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">and ye shall keep my commandments. </span>The law about the priests and sacrifices now concludes with an appeal to both the priests and the people to faithfully observe these commandments.<p><span class= "bld">Neither shall ye profane my holy name.</span>—Better, <span class= "ital">and ye shall not profane. </span>The rendering of the conjunctives, both in the former verse and in this, by “therefore” and “neither,” as is done in the Authorised version, is not only unnecessary, but mars the simple and dignified style of the original. For the manner in which God’s name is profaned when His commandments are violated, see <a href="/leviticus/18-21.htm" title="And you shall not let any of your seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.">Leviticus 18:21</a>.<span class= "bld"><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/leviticus/22-33.htm">Leviticus 22:33</a></div><div class="verse">That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I <i>am</i> the LORD.</div>(33) <span class= "bld">That brought you out.</span>—By this signal act of redemption from bondage, and by choosing them as His peculiar people, God has a special claim upon His redeemed people that they should keep His commandments. 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