21:1 The Lord said to Moses: “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron – say to them, ‘For a dead person 1 no priest 2 is to defile himself among his people, 3 21:2 except for his close relative who is near to him: 4 his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 21:3 and his virgin sister who is near to him, 5 who has no husband; he may defile himself for her. 21:4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself. 6 21:5 Priests 7 must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body. 8
21:6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane 9 the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts, 10 the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy. 11 21:7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution, 12 nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband, 13 for the priest 14 is holy to his God. 15 21:8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all, 16 am holy. 21:9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death. 17
21:10 “‘The high 18 priest – who is greater than his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured, who has been ordained 19 to wear the priestly garments – must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments. 20 21:11 He must not go where there is any dead person; 21 he must not defile himself even for his father and his mother. 21:12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane 22 the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. 21:13 He must take a wife who is a virgin. 23 21:14 He must not marry 24 a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people 25 as a wife. 21:15 He must not profane his children among his people, 26 for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”
21:16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 21:17 “Tell Aaron, ‘No man from your descendants throughout their generations 27 who has a physical flaw 28 is to approach to present the food of his God. 21:18 Certainly 29 no man who has a physical flaw is to approach: a blind man, or one who is lame, or one with a slit nose, 30 or a limb too long, 21:19 or a man who has had a broken leg or arm, 31 21:20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf, 32 or one with a spot in his eye, 33 or a festering eruption, or a feverish rash, 34 or a crushed testicle. 21:21 No man from the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a physical flaw may step forward 35 to present the Lord’s gifts; he has a physical flaw, so he must not step forward to present the food of his God. 21:22 He may eat both the most holy and the holy food of his God, 21:23 but he must not go into the veil-canopy 36 or step forward to the altar because he has a physical flaw. Thus 37 he must not profane my holy places, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
21:24 So 38 Moses spoke these things 39 to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites.
22:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 22:2 “Tell Aaron and his sons that they must deal respectfully with the holy offerings 40 of the Israelites, which they consecrate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name. 41 I am the Lord. 22:3 Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations, 42 if any man from all your descendants approaches the holy offerings which the Israelites consecrate 43 to the Lord while he is impure, 44 that person must be cut off from before me. 45 I am the Lord. 22:4 No man 46 from the descendants of Aaron who is diseased or has a discharge 47 may eat the holy offerings until he becomes clean. The one 48 who touches anything made unclean by contact with a dead person, 49 or a man who has a seminal emission, 50 22:5 or a man who touches a swarming thing by which he becomes unclean, 51 or touches a person 52 by which he becomes unclean, whatever that person’s impurity 53 – 22:6 the person who touches any of these 54 will be unclean until evening and must not eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body in water. 22:7 When the sun goes down he will be clean, and afterward he may eat from the holy offerings, because they are his food. 22:8 He must not eat an animal that has died of natural causes 55 or an animal torn by beasts and thus become unclean by it. I am the Lord. 22:9 They must keep my charge so that they do not incur sin on account of it 56 and therefore die 57 because they profane it. I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
22:10 “‘No lay person 58 may eat anything holy. Neither a priest’s lodger 59 nor a hired laborer may eat anything holy, 22:11 but if a priest buys a person with his own money, 60 that person 61 may eat the holy offerings, 62 and those born in the priest’s 63 own house may eat his food. 64 22:12 If a priest’s daughter marries a lay person, 65 she may not eat the holy contribution offerings, 66 22:13 but if a priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and she has no children so that she returns to live in 67 her father’s house as in her youth, 68 she may eat from her father’s food, but no lay person may eat it.
22:14 “‘If a man eats a holy offering by mistake, 69 he must add one fifth to it and give the holy offering to the priest. 70 22:15 They 71 must not profane the holy offerings which the Israelites contribute 72 to the Lord, 73 22:16 and so cause them to incur a penalty for guilt 74 when they eat their holy offerings, 75 for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
22:17 The Lord spoke to Moses: 22:18 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘When any man 76 from the house of Israel or from the foreigners in Israel 77 presents his offering for any of the votive or freewill offerings which they present to the Lord as a burnt offering, 22:19 if it is to be acceptable for your benefit 78 it must be a flawless male from the cattle, sheep, or goats. 22:20 You must not present anything that has a flaw, 79 because it will not be acceptable for your benefit. 80 22:21 If a man presents a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord for a special votive offering 81 or for a freewill offering from the herd or the flock, it must be flawless to be acceptable; 82 it must have no flaw. 83
22:22 “‘You must not present to the Lord something blind, or with a broken bone, or mutilated, or with a running sore, 84 or with a festering eruption, or with a feverish rash. 85 You must not give any of these as a gift 86 on the altar to the Lord. 22:23 As for an ox 87 or a sheep with a limb too long or stunted, 88 you may present it as a freewill offering, but it will not be acceptable for a votive offering. 89 22:24 You must not present to the Lord something with testicles that are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut off; 90 you must not do this in your land. 22:25 Even from a foreigner 91 you must not present the food of your God from such animals as these, for they are ruined and flawed; 92 they will not be acceptable for your benefit.’”
22:26 The Lord spoke to Moses: 22:27 “When an ox, lamb, or goat is born, it must be under the care of 93 its mother seven days, but from the eighth day onward it will be acceptable as an offering gift 94 to the Lord. 22:28 You must not slaughter an ox or a sheep and its young 95 on the same day. 96 22:29 When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it is acceptable for your benefit. 97 22:30 On that very day 98 it must be eaten; you must not leave any part of it 99 over until morning. I am the Lord.
22:31 “You must be sure to do my commandments. 100 I am the Lord. 22:32 You must not profane my holy name, and I will be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 22:33 the one who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God. 101 I am the Lord.”
1 tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 19:28 above and the literature cited there).
2 tn Heb “no one,” but “priest” has been used in the translation to clarify that these restrictions are limited to the priests, not to the Israelites in general (note the introductory formula, “say to the priests, the sons of Aaron”).
3 tc The MT has “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
4 tn Heb “except for his flesh, the one near to him.”
5 tn Cf. v. 2a.
6 tn Heb “He shall not defile himself a husband in his peoples, to profane himself.” The meaning of the line is disputed, but it appears to prohibit a priest from burying any relative by marriage (as opposed to the blood relatives of vv. 2-3), including his wife (compare B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 142-43 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348).
7 tn Heb “they”; the referent (priests, see the beginning of v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “and in their body they shall not [cut] slash[es]” (cf. Lev 19:28). The context connects these sorts of mutilations with mourning rites (cf. Lev 19:27-28 above).
9 sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
10 sn Regarding the Hebrew term for “gifts,” see the note on Lev 1:9 above (cf. also 3:11 and 16 in combination with the word for “food” that follows in the next phrase here).
11 tc Smr and all early versions have the plural adjective “holy” rather than the MT singular noun “holiness.”
12 tn Heb “A wife harlot and profaned they shall not take.” The structure of the verse (e.g., “wife” at the beginning of the two main clauses) suggests that “harlot and profaned” constitutes a hendiadys, meaning “a wife defiled by harlotry” (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 143, as opposed to that in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348; cf. v. 14 below). Cf. NASB “a woman who is profaned by harlotry.”
13 sn For a helpful discussion of divorce in general and as it relates to this passage see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 143-44.
14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn The pronoun “he” in this clause refers to the priest, not the former husband of the divorced woman.
16 tn The three previous second person references in this verse are all singular, but this reference is plural. By adding “all” this grammatical distinction is preserved in the translation.
17 tn See the note on “burned to death” in 20:14.
18 tn The adjective “high” has been supplied in the translation for clarity, as in many English versions.
19 tn Heb “and he has filled his hand.” For this expression see the note on Lev 8:33.
20 tn Regarding these signs of mourning see the note on Lev 10:6. His head had been anointed (v. 10a) so it must not be unkempt (v. 10b), and his garments were special priestly garments (v. 10a) so he must not tear them (v. 10b). In the translation “garments” has been employed rather than “clothes” to suggest that the special priestly garments are referred to here; cf. NRSV “nor tear his vestments.”
21 tc Although the MT has “persons” (plural), the LXX and Syriac have the singular “person” corresponding to the singular adjectival participle “dead” (cf. also Num 6:6).
22 sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
23 tn Heb “And he, a wife in her virginity he shall take.”
24 tn Heb “take.” In context this means “take as wife,” i.e., “marry.”
25 tc The MT has literally, “from his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “from his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
26 tc The MT has literally, “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
27 tn Heb “to their generations.”
28 tn Heb “who in him is a flaw”; cf. KJV, ASV “any blemish”; NASB, NIV “a defect.” The rendering “physical flaw” is used to refer to any birth defect or physical injury of the kind described in the following verses (cf. the same Hebrew word also in Lev 24:19-20). The same term is used for “flawed” animals, which must not be offered to the
29 tn The particle כִּי (ki) in this context is asseverative, indicating absolutely certainty (GKC 498 §159.ee).
30 tn Lexically, the Hebrew term חָרֻם (kharum) seems to refer to a split nose or perhaps any number of other facial defects (HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם qal; cf. G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 292, n. 7); cf. KJV, ASV “a flat nose”; NASB “a disfigured face.” The NJPS translation is “a limb too short” as a balance to the following term which means “extended, raised,” and apparently refers to “a limb too long” (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 146).
31 tn Heb “who there is in him a broken leg or a broken arm,” or perhaps “broken foot or broken hand.” The Hebrew term רֶגֶל (regel) is commonly rendered “foot,” but it can also refer to the “leg,” and the Hebrew יָד (yad) is most often translated “hand,” but can also refer to the “[fore]arm” (as opposed to כַּף, kaf, “palm of the hand” or “hand”). See HALOT 386 s.v. יָד and 1184 s.v. רֶגֶל respectively (cf. the NJPS translation). In this context, these terms probably apply to any part of the limb that was broken, including hand and the foot. B. A. Levine (Leviticus [JPSTC], 146) points out that such injuries often did not heal properly in antiquity because they were not properly set and, therefore, remained a “physical flaw” permanently.
32 tn Heb “thin”; cf. NAB “weakly.” This could refer to either an exceptionally small (i.e., dwarfed) man (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 146) or perhaps one with a “withered limb” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 342, 344).
33 tn The term rendered “spot” derives from a root meaning “mixed” or “confused” (cf. NAB “walleyed”). It apparently refers to any kind of marked flaw in the eye that can be seen by others. Smr, Syriac, Tg. Onq., and Tg. Ps.-J. have plural “his eyes.”
34 tn The exact meaning and medical reference of the terms rendered “festering eruption” and “feverish rash” is unknown, but see the translations and remarks in B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 146; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 342, 344, 349-50; and R. K. Harrison, NIDOTTE 1:890 and 2:461.
35 tn Or “shall approach” (see HALOT 670 s.v. נגשׁ).
36 sn See the note on Lev 16:2 for the rendering “veil-canopy.”
37 tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
38 tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) introduces a concluding statement for all the preceding material.
39 tn The words “these things” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
40 tn Heb “holy things,” which means the “holy offerings” in this context, as the following verses show. The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
41 tn Heb “from the holy things of the sons of Israel, and they shall not profane my holy name, which they are consecrating to me.” The latter (relative) clause applies to the “the holy things of the sons of Israel” (the first clause), not the
42 tn Heb “To your generations.”
43 tn The Piel (v. 2) and Hiphil (v. 3) forms of the verb קָדַשׁ (qadash) appear to be interchangeable in this context. Both mean “to consecrate” (Heb “make holy [or “sacred”]”).
44 tn Heb “and his impurity [is] on him”; NIV “is ceremonially unclean”; NAB, NRSV “while he is in a state of uncleanness.”
45 sn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20. Cf. the interpretive translation of TEV “he can never again serve at the altar.”
46 tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is a way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 17:3, etc.), but with a negative command it means “No man” (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 147).
47 sn The diseases and discharges mentioned here are those described in Lev 13-15.
48 tn Heb “And the one.”
49 tn Heb “in all unclean of a person/soul”; for the Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) meaning “a [dead] person,” see the note on Lev 19:28.
50 tn Heb “or a man who goes out from him a lying of seed.”
51 tn Heb “which there shall be uncleanness to him.”
52 tn The Hebrew term for “person” here is אָדָם (adam, “human being”), which could either a male or a female person.
53 tn Heb “to all his impurity.” The phrase refers to the impurity of the person whom the man touches to become unclean (see the previous clause). To clarify this, the translation uses “that person’s” rather than “his.”
54 sn The phrase “any of these” refers back to the unclean things touched in vv. 4b-5.
55 tn Heb “a carcass,” referring to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice or killed by wild beasts. This has been clarified in the translation by supplying the phrase “of natural causes”; cf. NAB “that has died of itself”; TEV “that has died a natural death.”
56 tn Heb “and they will not lift up on it sin.” The pronoun “it” (masculine) apparently refers to any item of food that belongs to the category of “holy offerings” (see above).
57 tn Heb “and die in it.”
58 tn Heb “No stranger” (so KJV, ASV), which refers here to anyone other than the Aaronic priests. Some English versions reverse the negation and state positively: NIV “No one outside a priest’s family”; NRSV “Only a member of a priestly family”; CEV “Only you priests and your families.”
59 tn Heb “A resident [תּוֹשָׁב (toshav) from יָשַׁב (yashav, “to dwell, to reside”)] of a priest.” The meaning of the term is uncertain. It could refer to a “guest” (NIV) or perhaps “bound servant” (NRSV; see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 149). In the translation “lodger” was used instead of “boarder” precisely because a boarder would be provided meals with his lodging, the very issue at stake here.
60 tn Heb “and a priest, if he buys a person, the property of his silver.”
61 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the person whom the priest has purchased) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
62 tn Heb “eat it”; the referent (the holy offerings) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
63 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
64 tn Heb “and the [slave] born of his house, they shall eat in his food.” The LXX, Syriac, Tg. Onq., Tg. Ps.-J., and some
65 tn Heb “And a daughter of a priest, if she is to a man, a stranger” (cf. the note on v. 10 above).
66 tn Heb “she in the contribution of the holy offerings shall not eat.” For “contribution [offering]” see the note on Lev 7:14 and the literature cited there. Cf. NCV “the holy offerings”; TEV, NLT “the sacred offerings.”
67 tn Heb “to”; the words “live in” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
68 tn Heb “and seed there is not to her and she returns to the house of her father as her youth.” The mention of having “no children” appears to imply that her children, if she had any, should support her; this is made explicit by NLT’s “and has no children to support her.”
69 tn Heb “And a man, if he eats a holy thing in error” (see the Lev 4:2 not on “straying,” which is the term rendered “by mistake” here).
70 sn When a person trespassed in regard to something sacred to the
71 tn Contextually, “They” could refer either to the people (v. 14a; cf. NRSV “No one”) or the priests (v. 14b; cf. NIV “The priests”), but the latter seems more likely (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 356, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 150). The priests were responsible to see that the portions of the offerings that were to be consumed by the priests as prebends did not become accessible to the people. Mistakes in this matter (cf. v. 14) would bring “guilt” on the people, requiring punishment (v. 16).
72 tn The Hebrew verb הֵרִים (herim, rendered “contribute” here) is commonly used for setting aside portions of an offering (see, e.g., Lev 4:8-10 and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 4:335-36).
73 tn Heb “the holy offerings of the sons of Israel which they contribute to the
74 tn Heb “iniquity of guilt”; NASB “cause them to bear punishment for guilt.” The Hebrew word עָוֹן (’avon, “iniquity”) can designate either acts of iniquity or the penalty (i.e., punishment) for such acts.
75 sn That is, when the lay people eat portions of offerings that should have been eaten only by priests and those who belonged to priestly households.
76 tn Heb “Man, man.” The reduplication is a way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 17:3, etc.; see the distributive repetition of the noun in GKC 395-96 §123.c).
77 tn Heb “and from the foreigner [singular] in Israel.” Some medieval Hebrew
78 tn Heb “for your acceptance.” See Lev 1:3-4 above and the notes there.
79 tn Heb “all which in it [is] a flaw.” Note that the same term is used for physical flaws of people in Lev 21:17-24. Cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV “blemish”; NASB, NIV, TEV “defect”; NLT “with physical defects.”
80 tn Heb “not for acceptance shall it be for you”; NIV “it will not be accepted on your behalf” (NRSV and NLT both similar).
81 tn The meaning of the expression לְפַלֵּא־נֶדֶר (lÿfalle’-neder) rendered here “for a special votive offering” is much debated. Some take it as an expression for fulfilling a vow, “to fulfill a vow” (e.g., HALOT 927-28 s.v. פלא piel and NASB; cf. NAB, NRSV “in fulfillment of a vow”) or, alternatively, “to make a vow” or “for making a vow” (HALOT 928 s.v. פלא piel [II פלא]). Perhaps it refers to the making a special vow, from the verb פָלַא (pala’, “to be wonderful, to be remarkable”); cf. J. Milgrom, Numbers (JPSTC), 44. B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 151 and 193, suggests that this is a special term for “setting aside a votive offering” (related to פָלָה [palah, “to set aside”]). In general, the point of the expression seems to be that this sacrifice arises as a special gift to God out of special circumstances in the life of the worshiper.
82 tn Heb “for acceptance”; NAB “if it is to find acceptance.”
83 tn Heb “all/any flaw shall not be in it.”
84 tn Or perhaps “a wart” (cf. NIV; HALOT 383 s.v. יַבֶּלֶת, but see the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 358).
85 sn See the note on Lev 21:20 above.
86 sn This term for offering “gift” is explained in the note on Lev 1:9.
87 tn Heb “And an ox.”
88 tn Heb “and stunted” (see HALOT 1102 s.v. I קלט).
89 sn The freewill offering was voluntary, so the regulations regarding it were more relaxed. Once a vow was made, the paying of it was not voluntary (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 151-52, for very helpful remarks on this verse).
90 sn Compare Lev 21:20b.
91 tn Heb “And from the hand of a son of a foreigner.”
92 tn Heb “for their being ruined [is] in them, flaw is in them”; NRSV “are mutilated, with a blemish in them”; NIV “are deformed and have defects.” The MT term מָשְׁחָתָם (moshkhatam, “their being ruined”) is a Muqtal form (= Hophal participle) from שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to ruin”). Smr has plural בהם משׁחתים (“deformities in them”; cf. the LXX translation). The Qumran Leviticus scroll (11QpaleoLev) has תימ הם[…], in which case the restored participle would appear to be the same as Smr, but there is no בְּ (bet) preposition before the pronoun, yielding “they are deformed” (see D. N. Freedman and K. A. Mathews, The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll, 41 and the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 358).
93 tn The words “the care of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Although many modern English versions render “with its mother” (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), the literal phrase “under its mother” refers to the young animal nursing from its mother. Cf. KJV, ASV “it shall be seven days under the dam,” which would probably be misunderstood.
94 tn Heb “for an offering of a gift.”
95 tn Heb “And an ox or a sheep, it and its son, you shall not slaughter.”
96 tn Heb “in one day.”
97 tn Heb “for your acceptance” (see the notes on Lev 1:3-4 and 22:19 above).
98 tn Heb “On that day”; NIV, NCV “that same day.”
99 tn Heb “from it.”
100 tn Heb “And you shall keep my commandments and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 20:8, etc.).
101 tn Heb “to be to you for God.”