A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

Leviticus 21

¹ 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,

— he shall not defile himself for a dead person; that is, the priest is not to contract defilement by contact with the body of any dead person; none of the priests shall touch the dead body, or assist at his funeral, or eat at the funeral feast.

² except for his kin who 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, — but for his kin, that is near unto him; there are, however, seven exceptions to the general rule; should add, “and his wife”

— these being all near relations, and for whom natural affection would lead and oblige him to mourn, and show a concern for their death, and to take care of their funeral.

³ and for his sister, a virgin who is nigh unto him, who hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled. — and for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him; that is, his maiden sister who still remains in sole relationship with him; and no husband to take care of her funeral;

⁴ But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. — a chief man, for such not only the high priest, but others also of the inferior priests, were;

— MSG says

God spoke to Moses: “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron. Tell them, A priest must not ritually contaminate himself by touching the dead, except for close relatives: mother, father, son, daughter, brother,

or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband; for these he may make himself ritually unclean, but he must not contaminate himself with the dead who are only related to him by marriage and thus profane himself. (Leviticus 21:1-4 MSG)

⁵ 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.

— the context speaks only of priests; 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 in connection with funeral ceremonies.

⁶ 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. — priests are to be devoted to God’s service, and always prepared for it, and therefore shall keep themselves from all defilements;

— from MSG

“Priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or gash their bodies. They must be holy to their God and must not profane the name of their God. Because their job is to present the gifts of God, the food of their God, they are to be holy.” (Leviticus 21:5-6 MSG)

⁷ They shall not take a wife who is a whore or profane, neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy unto his God. — laws concerning the priests; without blemish, and separate from sinners; profane, or defiled, or defloured, a woman who has been seduced, or one of illegitimate birth. 

⁸ Thou shalt sanctify him therefore, for he offereth the bread of thy God. He shall be holy unto thee; for I the Lord, who sanctify you, am holy. — he shall be holy unto thee; in thy account and estimation, and for thy service to offer holy sacrifices, and therefore should be careful of his holiness to preserve it;

— from MSG

“Because a priest is holy to his God he must not marry a woman who has been a harlot or a cult prostitute or a divorced woman. Make sure he is holy because he serves the food of your God. Treat him as holy because I, God, who make you holy, am holy. (Leviticus 21:7-8 MSG)

⁹ And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father. She shall be burned with fire. — 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 20:10).

¹⁰ “‘And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head nor rend his clothes;

— nor rend his clothes; that is, “in the time of distress, or mourning for the dead,” being the intercessor between God and man, such outward expressions of sorrow might lead those in whose behalf he ministers in the sanctuary to believe that he thereby impugns the justice of Divine judgment.

¹¹ neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or for his mother; — neither shall he go in to any dead body; that is, into a tent or house where any dead body lies, would be unclean for seven days and would be prevented doing the duty of his office;

¹² 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. — the anointing oil of his God are upon him; the anointing oil, which was a crown of glory, and gave him a superior dignity to others, which it became him to be careful not to debase by any of the above things;

¹³ And he shall take a wife in her virginity. — or, a virgin, partly for the decency of the type; though polygamy was practised by the Israelites, and even by the common priests, yet it was by no means allowed to an high priest;

¹⁴ A widow or a divorced woman or profane or a harlot, these shall he not take; but he shall take a virgin of his own people for a wife. — or a divorced woman; whether by a priest, or a common Israelite; and indeed, if a common priest might not marry such a person, much less an high priest;

¹⁵ Neither shall he profane his seed among his people, for I the Lord do sanctify him.’” — neither shall he profane his seed among his people; by marrying any such persons, whereby his children, born of them, would lie under disgrace, and be unfit to succeed him in the priesthood, or by marrying among mean persons, or by marrying them to such as were unlawful, and would be a disparagement to them;

¹⁶ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

¹⁷ “Speak unto Aaron, saying, ‘Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations who hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. — whosoever he be of thy seed, whether the high priest or the inferior ones; in their generations; in all successive ages, as long as your priesthood and policy endures;

— any blemish, i.e. any defect or excess of parts, any notorious deformity, or imperfection in his body; that still such persons as have notorious defects or deformities, which render them contemptible, are not fit for the ministry.

¹⁸ 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, — any deformity relating to it, either the want of it wholly or in part, or the shortness, flatness, or crookedness of it;

¹⁹ or a man who is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, — 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.

²⁰ or crookbacked, or a dwarf, or who hath a blemish in his eye, or hath scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken— — or crookbackt; rather, or whose eyebrows cover his eyes.

²¹ 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. — no man that hath a blemish; any notorious blemish whereby he is disfigured; whether an high priest or a common priest that lies on him anyone of the above blemishes;

— he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God: this is repeated for its confirmation, and to show how determined the Lord was in this matter; and how much he should resent it in any that should be found guilty of the breach of those rules;

²² He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy. — 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;

²³ Only he shall not go in unto the veil nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish, that he profane not My sanctuaries; for I the Lord do sanctify them.’” — not to set the shewbread upon the table there, nor to light and him the lamps in the candlestick, nor to offer incense on the altar of incense;

²⁴ And Moses told it unto Aaron and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel. — and to all the children of Israel; to the heads of the tribes and elders of the people, and by them to the whole, that they might know who were fit, and who not, to put their sacrifice into their hands, to offer for them.

Leviticus 22

¹ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

² “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 in those things which they hallow unto Me: I am the Lord.

— that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me, that is, let them not, by their want of due reverence, give occasion to profane my holy name. A careless or irreverent use of things consecrated to God tends to dishonor the name and bring disrespect on the worship of God.

³ Say unto them: ‘Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, who 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 am the Lord. — having his uncleanness upon him; through a leprosy, or running issue, or touching any unclean person or thing;

⁴ Whatsoever man of the seed of Aaron is a leper or hath a running issue, he shall not eat of the holy things until he is clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him,

— what man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper; a young, or an old man, as the Targum of Jonathan, and indeed man or woman; for the wives and daughters of the priests, if in this, and other circumstances following, might not eat of the holy things until cleansed;

⁵ 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—

⁶ the soul who hath touched any such shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy things unless he wash his flesh with water.

⁷ And when the sun is down he shall be clean, and shall afterwards eat of the holy things, because it is his food. — because it is his food: his common food, his ordinary diet, that by which he subsists, having nothing else to live upon; this being the ordination of God, that he which ministered about holy things should live on them;

⁸ That which dieth of itself or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the Lord. — that which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts; whether fowls or beasts, and even clean ones;

⁹ They shall therefore keep Mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die therefore if they profane it: I the Lord do sanctify them. — lest they bear sin for it: the sanctuary, by neglecting it, and so be charged with the guilt of sin, and be obliged to bear the punishment of it; Targum of Jonathan says, “lest they die by flaming fire.”

¹⁰ “‘There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing. A sojourner of the priest or a hired servant shall not eat of the holy thing. — there shall no stranger eat of the holy thing; by holy thing here is meant, that portion of the sacrifices which belonged to the priests.

¹¹ But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house; they shall eat of his meat.

— but if the priest buy any soul; 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;

— one special case is Samuel, though he wasn’t a slave; but an Israelites, though not of priestly line;

¹² If the priest’s daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things. — if the priest’s daughter also be married; or if the priest’s daughter be married, 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.

¹³ 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.

— be a widow, or divorced, and have no child; 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.

¹⁴ And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put a fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing. — if anyone eats from a holy offering accidentally, he must give back the holy offering to the priest and add twenty percent over and above the principal of the value to it.

¹⁵ And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the Lord, — and they shall not profane; 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.

¹⁶ or allow them to bear the iniquity of trespass when they eat their holy things: for I the Lord do sanctify them.’” — when they eat their holy things; the holy things belonging to the priests, which they permitting them to do; —

¹⁷ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

¹⁸ “Speak unto Aaron and to his sons and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them: ‘Whosoever he be of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel, who 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”

— 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; distinguish between a vow and a freewill offering; every vow is a freewill offering, but every freewill offering is not a vow;

¹⁹ ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. — bullocks, sheep, and goats, were the only sorts of beasts, out of which sacrifices were taken, and those that were for burnt offerings were always to be males, and unblemished;

²⁰ But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer; for it shall not be acceptable for you. — to secure for him the good pleasure of God; but an animal with a fault would not be acceptable.

²¹ And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. — every peace-offering was also to be faultless, whether brought “to fulfil a special vow” or as a freewill gift;

²² 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. — ye shall not offer these unto the Lord; any creatures defective in any of these instances; three times this is said, to make them careful concerning their sanctification and concerning their slaying and sprinkling of their blood;

²³ Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted.

— but for a vow it shall not be accepted; because the other was according to a man’s will and pleasure, and he might bring what he would on that account; but when he made a vow that he would offer such a sacrifice, it must be of creatures that were perfect, and without blemish;

²⁴ Ye shall not offer unto the Lord that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. — that is, not only are animals thus mutilated prohibited as offerings for the altar, but this practice of gelding (castrated) is altogether forbidden to the Israelites with regard to any animal whatsoever throughout the country.

²⁵ Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these, because their corruption is in them and blemishes are in them; they shall not be accepted for you.’” — that is, animals that are imported and sold to the Israelites by the hands of foreigners.

²⁶ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

²⁷ “When a bullock or a sheep or a goat is brought forth, then it shall be seven days with its dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the Lord. — it shall be seven days under the dam; animals were not considered perfect nor good for food till the eighth day.

²⁸ And whether it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. — 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.

²⁹ And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the Lord, offer it at your own will. — offer it at your own will; just what they pleased, whether a bullock, a sheep, or a goat, and whether a male or female; these were left to their own option;

³⁰ On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of it until the morrow: I am the Lord. — ye shall leave none of it till the morning; of another day;

³¹ “Therefore shall ye keep My commandments and do them: I am the Lord. — the law about the priests and sacrifices now concludes with an appeal to both the priests and the people to faithfully observe these commandments.

³² Neither shall ye profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who hallow you, — neither shall ye profane my holy name; either by despising me and my command yourselves, or by giving others occasion to profane them.

³³ that brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.” — I am the Lord; that hath sovereign right unto them, and claim upon them, and therefore they ought to be subject to his will, and observe his laws ordinances.

~ by Joel on January 18, 2024.

Posted in Books of Moses