LEV 22

Leviticus 22:7

WEB

When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread.

BSB

When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food.

KJV

And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food.

Matthew Henry

Verses 1–9

Leviticus 22:1–9

Those that had a natural blemish, though they were forbidden to do the priests' work, were yet allowed to eat of the holy things: and the Jewish writers say that "to keep them from idleness they were employed in the wood-room, to pick out that which was worm-eaten, that it might not be used in the fire upon the altar; they might also be employed in the judgment of leprosy:" but,

I. Those that were under any ceremonial uncleanness, which possibly they contracted by their own fault, might no so much as eat of the holy things while they continued in their pollution. 1. Some pollutions were permanent, as a leprosy or a running issue, Lev 22:4. These separated the people from the sanctuary, and God would show that they were so far from being more excusable that really they were more abominable in a priest. 2. Others were more transient, as the touching of a dead body, or any thing else that was unclean, from which, after a certain time, a man was cleansed by bathing his flesh in water, Lev 22:6. But whoever was thus defiled might not eat of the holy things, under pain of God's highest displeasure, who said, and ratified the saying, That soul shall be cut off from my presence, Lev 22:3. Our being in the presence of God, and attending upon him, will be so far from securing us that it will but the more expose us to God's wrath, if we dare to draw nigh to him in our uncleanness. The destruction shall come from the presence of the Lord (Th2 1:9), as the fire by which Nadab and Abihu died came from before the Lord. Thus those who profane the holy word of God will be cut off by that word which they make so light of; it shall condemn them. They are again warned of their danger if they eat the holy thing in their uncleanness (Lev 22:9), lest they bear sin, and die therefore. Note, (1.) Those contract great guilt who profane sacred things, by touching them with unhallowed hands. Eating the holy things signified an interest in the atonement; but, if they ate of them in their uncleanness, they were so far from lessening their guilt that they increased it: They shall bear sin. (2.) Sin is a burden which, if infinite mercy prevent not, will certainly sink those that bear it: They shall die therefore. Even priests may be ruined by their pollutions and presumptions.

II. As to the design of this law we may observe, 1. This obliged the priests carefully to preserve their purity, and to dread every thing that would defile them. The holy things were their livelihood; if they might not eat of them, how must they subsist? The more we have to lose of comfort and honour by our defilement, the more careful we should be to preserve our purity. 2. This impressed the people with a reverence for the holy things, when they saw the priests themselves separated from them (as the expression is, Lev 22:2) so long as they were in their uncleanness. He is doubtless a God of infinite purity who kept his immediate attendants under so strict a discipline. 3. This teaches us carefully to watch against all moral pollutions, because by them we are unfitted to receive the comfort of God's sanctuary. Though we labour not under habitual deformities, yet actual defilements deprive us of the pleasure of communion with God; and therefore he that is washed needeth to wash his feet (Joh 13:10), to wash his hands, and so to compass the altar, Psa 26:6. Herein we have need to be jealous over ourselves, lest (as it is observably expressed here) we profane God's holy name in those things which we hallow unto him, Lev 22:2. If we affront God in those very performances wherein we pretend to honour him, and provoke him instead of pleasing him, we shall make up but a bad account shortly; yet thus we do if we profane God's name, by doing that in our uncleanness which pretends to be hallowed to him.

Cross-references: Lev 22:4 · Lev 22:6 · Lev 22:3 · 2Thess 1:9 · Lev 22:9 · Lev 22:2 · John 13:10 · Ps 26:6

Hebrew interlinear

H935

בּוֹאbôwʼ/bo/

v — go, come

Derivation: a primitive root;

to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)

KJV: abide, apply, attain, × be, befall, besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, × certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, × doubtless again, eat, employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, have, × indeed, (in-) vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, × (well) stricken (in age), × surely, take (in), way.

בּוֹא

vb — come in

בּוֹא 2569 vb. come in, come, go in, go

Qal

1. come in

2. come (approach, arrive)

3. go, i.e. walk, associate with

4. go from speaker, but with limit of motion given

Hiph.

1. cause to come in, bring in (conduct, lead, obj. persons and animals)

2. cause to come, bring, bring near, etc. (animate obj.)

Hoph.

a. be brought in (of pers. and things)

b. be brought

c. be introduced, put

H8121

שֶׁמֶשׁshemesh/sheh'-mesh/

n — sun, east, ray, battlement

Derivation: from an unused root meaning to be brilliant;

the sun; by implication, the east; figuratively, a ray, i.e. (architectural) a notched battlement

KJV: east side(-ward), sun (rising), west(-ward), window. See also 1053.

שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ

n.f — sun

שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ 133 n.f. et m. sun

1. sun

2. of direction: toward sun-rise, = East

3. obj. of worship

4. other phr.

5. pinnacle, as glittering, shining

H2891

טָהֵרṭâhêr/taw-hare'/

v — be pure

Derivation: a primitive root; properly, to be bright; i.e. (by implication)

to be pure (physical sound, clear, unadulterated; Levitically, uncontaminated; morally, innocent or holy)

KJV: be (make, make self, pronounce) clean, cleanse (self), purge, purify(-ier, self).

טָהֵר

vb — be clean

טָהֵר vb. be clean, pure

Qal

1. be clean, i.e. (miraculously) freed from leprosy by washing in the Jordan

2. be clean ceremonially

3. be clean morally

Pi.

1. cleanse, purify

2. pronounce clean, ceremonially

3. perform the ceremony of cleansing

Pu. a land not cleansed

Hithp.

1. purify oneself

2. present oneself for purification

H310

אַחַרʼachar/akh-ar'/

adv a — the hind part, after

Derivation: from 309;

properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses)

KJV: after (that, -ward), again, at, away from, back (from, -side), behind, beside, by, follow (after, -ing), forasmuch, from, hereafter, hinder end, + out (over) live, + persecute, posterity, pursuing, remnant, seeing, since, thence(-forth), when, with.

אַחַר

adv — the hinder

אַחַר prop. subst. the hinder or following part

1. adv.

a. of place, behind

b. of time, afterwards

2. prep.

a. of place, behind, after

b. of time, after

3. conj. after that.

אַחֲרַי

adj — backwards

אַחֲרַי adj. Pr 28:23 a man that turneth backwards.

H398

אָכַלʼâkal/aw-kal'/

v — eat

Derivation: a primitive root;

to eat (literally or figuratively)

KJV: × at all, burn up, consume, devour(-er, up), dine, eat(-er, up), feed (with), food, × freely, × in...wise(-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, × quite.

אָכַל

vb — eat

אָכַל 806 vb. eat

Qal

1. eat, human subject

2. of beasts, birds, etc., eat, devour

3. fig. of fire, devour, consume

4. of sword, devour, slay

5. in genl., devour, consume, destroy

6. fig. of oppression, devour the poor

Niph.

1. be eaten by man

2. be devoured by fire, consumed

3. be wasted, destroyed, of flesh

Pu. be consumed

Hiph.

1. cause to eat, feed with

2. cause to devoure, obj. sword

H4480

מִןmin/min/

prep — part, from, out of

Derivation: or מִנִּי; or מִנֵּי; (constructive plural) (Isaiah 30:11); for 4482;

properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses

KJV: above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, × neither, × nor, (out) of, over, since, × then, through, × whether, with.

מִן־

prep — out of

מִן־, and מִ, before יְ, prep. expressing the idea of separation, hence out of, from, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not

1. with verbs expressing (or implying) separation or removal

a. from, against

b. מן also, without a verb of similar significance, sometimes expresses the idea of separation, away from, far from

c. of position, off, on the side of, on

2. Out of, Gk. ἐκ, Lat. ex

3. Partitively

4. Of time

a. as marking the terminus a quo, the anterior limit of a continuous period from, since

b. as marking the period immediately succeeding the limit after

c. towards, to

5. (וְעַד) עַדמִן from … even to

6. In comparisons, beyond, above

7. מן is prefixed to an infin.:

a. with causal force, from, on account of, through

b. after verbs implying restraint, prevention, cessation, etc.

c. with a temporal force, since, after

8. Once as a conj. before a finite verb. that

9. In compounds:

מֵן

n. [m.] — portion

[מֵן] n. [m.] portion

H6944

קֹדֶשׁqôdesh/ko'-desh/

n-m — sacred, sanctity

Derivation: from 6942;

a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity

KJV: consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (× most) holy (× day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary.

קֹ֫דֶשׁ

n.m — apartness

קֹ֫דֶשׁ 469 n.m. apartness, sacredness

H3588

כִּיkîy/kee/

conj — relative conjunction

Derivation: a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent;

(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed

KJV: and, (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-) as, assured(-ly), but, certainly, doubtless, else, even, except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, (al-) though, till, truly, until, when, whether, while, whom, yea, yet.

כִּי

conj — that

כִּי conj. that, for, when

1. that

2.

a. Of time, when, of the past

b. elsewhere כִּי has a force approximating to if, though it usu. represents a case as more likely to occur than אִם

c. when or if, with a concessive force, i.e. though

3. Because, since

כִּי אם־

relative conjunction

כִּי אם־

1. each part. retaining its independent force, and relating to a different clause:

a. that if

b. for if

2. (About 140 t.) the two particles being closely conjoined, and relating to the same clause—

a. limiting the prec. clause, except

b. the if being neglected, and treated as pleonastic, so that the clause is no longer a limitation of the preceding clause but a contradiction of it: but rather, but

c. after an oath, surely

כִּי עַל כֵּן

forasmuch as

כִּי עַל כֵּן forasmuch as

H3899

לֶחֶםlechem/lekh'-em/

n-m — food, bread, grain

Derivation: from 3898; See also 1036

food (for man or beast), especially bread, or grain (for making it)

KJV: (shew-) bread, × eat, food, fruit, loaf, meat, victuals.

לֶ֫חֶם

n.m — bread

לֶ֫חֶם 296 n.m. and (rarely) f. bread, food

H1931

הוּאhûwʼ/hoo/

p — he, she, it, self, same, this, that, as, are

Derivation: of which the feminine (beyond the Pentateuch) is הִיא; he a primitive word, the third person pronoun singular;

he (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same; sometimes (as demonstrative) this or that; occasionally (instead of copula) as or are

KJV: he, as for her, him(-self), it, the same, she (herself), such, that (...it), these, they, this, those, which (is), who.

הוּא

m — he

הוּא m. הִיא f., pron. of the 3rd ps. sing. he, she, used also (in both genders) for the neuter it

1. an emph. he (she, it, they), sometimes equivalent to himself (herself, itself, themselves), or (esp. with the art.) that (those)

2. It resumes the subj. with emph.

3. Where, however, the pron. follows the pred., its position gives it the minimum of emphasis, and it expresses (or resumes) the subject as unobtrusively as possible

4. It anticipates (as it seems) the subject

5. As an emph. predicate, of God

6. In a neuter sense, that, it (of an action, occurrence, matte, etc.)

7. With the art.: so regularly when joined to a subst. defined itself by the art.

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