King James Version
Leviticus 21
24 verses with commentary
Rules for Priests
And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br>The Aaronic priesthood mediate...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXI.
(1) **And the Lord said unto Moses.**—The laws about the purity and holiness of the Jewish community, and of every individual lay member, enacted in Leviticus 11:1 to Leviticus 20:27, are now followed by statutes respecting the purity and holiness of the priesthood who minister in holy things in behalf of the people, and who, by virtue of their high office, were to be models of both ceremonia...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**29-34. this shall be a statute for ever unto you, that in the seventh month ye shall afflict your souls--**This day of annual expiation for all the sins, irreverences, and impurities of all classes in Israel during the previous year, was to be observed as a solemn fast, in which "they were to afflict their souls"; it was reckoned a sabbath, kept as a season of "holy convocation," or, assembling ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>Hebrews 9-10 explains how Chris...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **But for his kin, that is near unto him.**—There are, however, seven exceptions to the general rule. According to the administrators of the Law during the second Temple, the phrase, “his kin that is near unto him,” or rather, “his flesh that is near unto him” (comp. Leviticus 18:6 with Genesis 2:24), denotes “wife.” Hence the Chaldee version of Jonathan renders it, “but for a wife who is of k...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>The New Testament reveals that Christ's sacrifice accomplishes what th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him**—That is, his maiden sister who still remains in sole relationship with him. What this is the next clause explains more minutely.
**Which hath had no husband.**—When she is married she goes to her husband, and ceases to be near her brother. It then devolves upon her husband to attend to the funeral rites.
**For her may he be defiled.**—Acco...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. he: or, being an husband among his people, he shall not defile himself for his wife, etc
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>Every sacrifice and ritual in Leviticus points forward to Jesus Christ, who fulfills th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man . . . —**Better, *A husband shall not defile himself among his people when he had profaned himself. *As the seven exceptions to the general rule began with his wife, whose funeral rites the priestly husband is allowed to attend, the verse before us restricts this permission to his legally prescribed wife. If he contracted a marriage which pr...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>Every sacrifice and ritual in Leviti...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) Make baldness upon their head.—The natural expression of grief, however, which the priests were to manifest for the above-named departed relations, was not to show itself in the practices which disfigure their bodily appearance, and which obtained among other nations of antiquity in connection with funeral ceremonies. Thus, in the graphic description of the idolatrous priests mourning, we are ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17 Le 17:1-16. Blood of Beasts Must Be Offered at the Tabernacle Door.
**3-4. What man ... killeth an ox--**The Israelites, like other people living in the desert, would not make much use of animal food; and when they did kill a lamb or a kid for food, it would almost always be, as in Abraham's entertainment of the angels [Ge 18:7], an occasion of a feast, to be eaten in company. This was...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marria...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **They shall be holy unto their God.**—This is the reason why the priests are not to disfigure themselves by maiming their outward appearance. Being sacred to the Lord, they are not to indulge in those outward manifestations of grief which would interfere with the discharge of their sacred duties, and thus cause the name of God to be profaned.
**The offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 17 Le 17:1-16. Blood of Beasts Must Be Offered at the Tabernacle Door.
**3-4. What man ... killeth an ox--**The Israelites, like other people living in the desert, would not make much use of animal food; and when they did kill a lamb or a kid for food, it would almost always be, as in Abraham's entertainment of the angels [Ge 18:7], an occasion of a feast, to be eaten in company. This was...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →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 unto his God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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 unto his God.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br>The central theme of Leviticus is Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Not take a wife.**—From the defilement arising through contact with the dead, the lawgiver passes to’ regulation about the priest’s alliances with the living, which might be fraught with still more serious consequences to his sacred office. In selecting a wife he is to be careful both about her chastity and legitimate descent.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field--**"They" is supposed by some commentators to refer to the Egyptians, so that the verse will stand thus: "the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they (the Egyptians) offer in the open field." The law is thought to have been directed against those whose Egyptian habits led the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br>The central theme of Leviticus is ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Thou shalt sanctify him therefore.—**This is addressed to the Jewish community. They are to take care that the priest does not contract such illegal marriages, and to sanctify him only who acts in obedience to these statutes. The Jewish priest is thus placed under the supervision of the people. His sacred office, and his duly performing the priestly functions. are their concern. If he refuse...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br>The Aaronic priesthood mediated between God and...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **And the daughter of any priest.—**This statute, according to the administrators of the Law during the second Temple, applies only to betrothed and married daughters. Hence the ancient Chaldee version renders it, “and if the betrothed daughter”
**She shall be burnt with fire.**—Whilst the married daughter of a layman who had gone astray was punished with death by strangling (see Leviticus 20:...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils--**literally, "goats." The prohibition evidently alludes to the worship of the hirei-footed kind, such as Pan, Faunus, and Saturn, whose recognized symbol was a goat. This was a form of idolatry enthusiastically practised by the Egyptians, particularly in the nome or province of Mendes. Pan was supposed especially to preside over mountaino...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and ma...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **And he that is the high priest among his brethren.**—That is, among his priestly brethren, the one who is distinguished among them by this office.
**Upon whose head the anointing oil was poured.**—This profuse pouring of oil was the distinctive feature in the consecration of the high priest. (See Leviticus 8:12.)
**Consecrated to put on the garments.**—Better, *consecrated by putting on the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-9. Whatsoever man ... offereth ... And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle--**Before the promulgation of the law, men worshipped wherever they pleased or pitched their tents. But after that event the rites of religion could be acceptably performed only at the appointed place of worship. This restriction with respect to place was necessary as a preventive of idolatry; for it prohibi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>Hebrews 9-10 explains how Christ's once-for-all sacrifice supersedes the repeated...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Neither shall he go in to any dead body.**—Not only is he to abstain from the manifestation of sorrow for the troubles which befell the community, or those whom he loves, but in the case of death he is not to enter into a tent, house, or place where a human corpse was lying (Numbers 19:14), lest he should contract defilement. According to the administrators of the Law during the second Temp...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-9. Whatsoever man ... offereth ... And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle--**Before the promulgation of the law, men worshipped wherever they pleased or pitched their tents. But after that event the rites of religion could be acceptably performed only at the appointed place of worship. This restriction with respect to place was necessary as a preventive of idolatry; for it prohibi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>Every sacrifice and ri...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary.**—Better, *and he shall not go out of the sanctuary* as in Leviticus 10:7. When the tidings of the death of a parent is brought to him during the service, he must not desist from the service and quit the sanctuary, lest it should appear that he has a greater regard for the dead than for the service of the living God. The difference between the ordin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people--**The face of God is often used in Scripture to denote His anger (Psa 34:16; Re 6:16; Eze 38:18). The manner in which God's face would be set against such an offender was, that if the crime were public and known, he was condemned to death; if it were secret, vengeance would overtake him. ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →And he shall take a wife in her virginity.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he shall take a wife in her virginity.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>What Leviticus portrayed through types and shadows, Christ fulfilled in reality through His incarnation, perfect life, atoning death,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **A wife in her virginity.**—From this verse the administrators of the Law during the second Temple concluded that (1) the high priest must be the husband of one wife, though the ordinary priests might have several; (2) that she must be a virgin, under the age of thirteen; (3) that she must not even have been betrothed to another person; and that (4) she must be the daughter of Jewish parents...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls--**God, as the sovereign author and proprietor of nature, reserved the blood to Himself and allowed men only one use of it--in the way of sacrifices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>What Leviticus portrayed through types an...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **A widow.**—By this the high priest was not only forbidden to marry the widow of an ordinary Israelite, or even the widow of a priest, but, according to the Jewish canons, a virgin who had been betrothed to another man, and whom she lost by death before they were married. If he, however, became engaged to a widow before he was elected to the pontificate, he could marry her after his consecra...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br>The central theme of Leviticus is God's holiness and the call for His people to be holy. The Heb...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Neither shall he profane his seed.**—Better, *And he shall not profane; *that is, he is not to contract any of these forbidden marriages, lest he should thereby degrade his offspring, since the children of such an issue, as well as their mother, were debarred the privileges of the priesthood, and were not permitted to partake of those portions of the sacrifices which formed the perquisites ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-14. whatsoever man ... hunteth--**It was customary with heathen sportsmen, when they killed any game or venison, to pour out the blood as a libation to the god of the chase. The Israelites, on the contrary, were enjoined, instead of leaving it exposed, to cover it with dust and, by this means, were effectually debarred from all the superstitious uses to which the heathen applied it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →Physical Defects and Priestly Service
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>The New Testament reveals that Christ's sacrifice accomplishes what the Levitical system could only symbolize—complete forgiveness and re...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **And the Lord spake unto Moses.**—In the preceding part of this chapter the priests were forbidden voluntarily to disfigure themselves, or to disqualify themselves and their descendants for their sacred office by illegal alliances. The legislator, therefore, now passes on to other blemishes, which, though not voluntarily contracted, likewise disqualify the priests for performing sacerdotal d...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-14. whatsoever man ... hunteth--**It was customary with heathen sportsmen, when they killed any game or venison, to pour out the blood as a libation to the god of the chase. The Israelites, on the contrary, were enjoined, instead of leaving it exposed, to cover it with dust and, by this means, were effectually debarred from all the superstitious uses to which the heathen applied it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. bread: or, food
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br>The Aaronic priesthood mediate...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Whosoever he be of thy seed.**—Better, *any man of thy seed throughout their generations; *that is, any of the descendants, to all future times, who have not been disqualified for service in the sanctuary by their parents contracting illegal alliances, are yet to be subject to the following regulations.
**To offer the bread of his God.**—That is, shall not officiate at the sacrifices. (See ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15-16. every soul that eateth that which died of itself (Ex 22:31; Le 7:24; Ac 15:20),
**be unclean until the even--**that is, from the moment of his discovering his fault until the evening. This law, however, was binding only on an Israelite. (See De 14:21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>The New Testament reveals th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **For whatsoever man . . . —**This part of the verse is simply an emphatic repetition of the same declaration at the end of the last verse to introduce the examples of the bodily blemishes which disqualified the priests for the service at the altar. A similar law obtained among the Greeks and Romans, that a priest should be perfect in all his parts; and according to the Hindoo law, Brahmins b...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15-16. every soul that eateth that which died of itself (Ex 22:31; Le 7:24; Ac 15:20),
**be unclean until the even--**that is, from the moment of his discovering his fault until the evening. This law, however, was binding only on an Israelite. (See De 14:21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →Or a man that is brokenfooted , or brokenhanded ,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>Every sacrifice and ritual in Leviticus points forward to Jesus Christ, who fulfills the entire sacrificial system as both perfe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Brokenfooted, or brokenhanded.**—That is, one with a badly cured fractured foot or hand, since in ancient days such accidents were scarcely ever properly cured. Owing to the imperfect knowledge of surgery, and to a want of skill in setting fractures, the evil effects of such accidents had to be endured by a considerable number of the members of the community.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; a dwarf: or, too slender
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br><br>Hebrews 9-10 explains how Christ's once-for-all sacrifice sup...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Or crookbackt.**—Rather, *or whose eyebrows cover his eyes. *This is the sense given to this clause during the second Temple. Hence the ancient Chaldee version of Jonathan translates it, “whose eyebrows lying cover his eyes.” That is, the hair, of the eyebrows are so thick, heavy, and long, that they join together and cover his eyes, thus interfering with his eyesight, and rendering him uns...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **No man that hath a blemish.**—The addition of this general remark to the twelve instances adduced in the preceding verses, shows that the cases in question were simply typical, and that it was left to the administrators of the Law, not only to decide the minute details and various stages of these cases, but also to determine whether other bodily infirmities are included or not in this summa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 18 Le 18:1-30. Unlawful Marriages.
**2-4. I am the Lord your God--**This renewed mention of the divine sovereignty over the Israelites was intended to bear particularly on some laws that were widely different from the social customs that obtained both in Egypt and Canaan; for the enormities, which the laws enumerated in this chapter were intended to put down, were freely practised or publ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br>The central theme of Leviticus is God's holiness and the call for His people to be holy. The Hebrew word ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **He shall eat the bread of his God.**—But though unfit for serving at the altar, and reduced to do the menial work connected with the sanctuary, he was not only allowed to partake of the less holy sacrificial gifts, such as the peace shoulder, the tithes, and the first-fruits, but also to eat what remained of the meat-offerings, the sin-offerings, and the trespass-offerings, which were most ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 18 Le 18:1-30. Unlawful Marriages.
**2-4. I am the Lord your God--**This renewed mention of the divine sovereignty over the Israelites was intended to bear particularly on some laws that were widely different from the social customs that obtained both in Egypt and Canaan; for the enormities, which the laws enumerated in this chapter were intended to put down, were freely practised or publ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br>The central the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Only he shall not go in unto the vail.**—That is, into the holy place which was before the vail.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 18 Le 18:1-30. Unlawful Marriages.
**2-4. I am the Lord your God--**This renewed mention of the divine sovereignty over the Israelites was intended to bear particularly on some laws that were widely different from the social customs that obtained both in Egypt and Canaan; for the enormities, which the laws enumerated in this chapter were intended to put down, were freely practised or publ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.</strong><br><br>This verse falls within the section on <strong>Priestly Holiness</strong>. Higher standards for priests due to their sacred role, including restrictions on mourning practices and marriage.<br><br>The Aaronic priesthood mediated between God and Israel, offering sacrifices and maintaining the ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **And unto all the children of Israel.**—These regulations about the conduct and qualifications of the priesthood, which God imparted to Moses, the latter not only communicated to the high priest and his sons the priests, but to the representatives of the people, who, as the community, had the supervision of the priests. The sacerdotal laws were administered and enforced by the elders or Sanh...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them--**A special blessing was promised to the Israelites on condition of their obedience to the divine law; and this promise was remarkably verified at particular eras of their history, when pure and undefiled religion prevailed among them, in the public prosperity and domestic happiness enjoyed by the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Laws concerning the priests.
--As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially ...
Read full commentary →