31“ ‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, so they will not die in their uncleanness when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.’ ”
32This is the law of him who has a discharge, and of him who has an emission of semen, so that he is unclean by it;33and of her who has her period, and of a man or woman who has a discharge, and of him who lies with her who is unclean.
31 “ ‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, so they will not die in their uncleanness when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.’ ”
32 This is the law of him who has a discharge, and of him who has an emission of semen, so that he is unclean by it;
33 and of her who has her period, and of a man or woman who has a discharge, and of him who lies with her who is unclean.
KJVKing James Version
31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.
32 This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;
33 And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile My tabernacle that is in the midst of them.
32 This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him from whom the flow of seed goeth out, so that he is unclean thereby;
33 and of her that is sick with her impurity, and of them that have an issue, whether it be a man, or a woman; and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.
Numbers 19:20(v31)But the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled…
Numbers 19:13(v31)Whoever touches a dead person, the body of a man who has died, and doesn’t purify himself, defiles Yahweh’s tabernacle; and that soul shall…
Ezekiel 5:11(v31)Therefore as I live,’ says the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all…
Numbers 5:3(v31)You shall put both male and female outside of the camp so that they don’t defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.”
Ezekiel 23:38(v31)Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths.
Show all 30 cross-references
1 Corinthians 3:17(v31)If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.
Ezekiel 44:23(v31)They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
Hebrews 10:29(v31)How much worse punishment do you think he will be judged worthy of who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of…
Hebrews 12:14-15(v31)Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord, looking carefully lest there be any man who…
Jude 1:4(v31)For there are certain men who crept in secretly, even those who were long ago written about for this condemnation: ungodly men, turning the…
Leviticus 15:19(v33)“ ‘If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days. Whoever touches her shall…
Daniel 9:27(v31)He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. On…
Leviticus 13:59(vv31–32)This is the law of the plague of mildew in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp, or the woof, or in anything of skin, to…
Leviticus 11:46(v32)“ ‘This is the law of the animal, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps…
Leviticus 11:47(v31)to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not…
Leviticus 14:2(v32)“This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest,
Leviticus 14:32(v32)This is the law for him in whom is the plague of leprosy, who is not able to afford the sacrifice for his cleansing.
Leviticus 14:54–15:18(v32)This is the law for any plague of leprosy, and for an itch, and for the destructive mildew of a garment, and for a house, and for a…
Leviticus 19:30(v31)“ ‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Yahweh.
Leviticus 20:3(v31)I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given of his offspring to Molech,…
Leviticus 20:18(v33)“ ‘If a man lies with a woman having her monthly period, and uncovers her nakedness, he has made her fountain naked, and she has uncovered…
Leviticus 21:23(v31)He shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a defect; that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am…
Numbers 5:29(v32)“ ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled,
Numbers 6:13(v32)“ ‘This is the law of the Nazirite: when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the Tent of Meeting,
Numbers 19:14(v32)“This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
Deuteronomy 24:8(v31)Be careful in the plague of leprosy, that you observe diligently and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you. As I…
Psalms 66:18(v31)If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wouldn’t have listened.
Ezekiel 43:12(v32)“This is the law of the house. On the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the…
Ezekiel 44:5-7(v31)Yahweh said to me, “Son of man, mark well, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I tell you concerning all the…
Leviticus 15:24-25(v33)“ ‘If any man lies with her, and her monthly flow is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed he lies on shall be unclean. “…
30 distinct cross-references across this passage (31 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v31Seeing that God required of his purity and cleanness:…
Seeing that God required of his purity and cleanness: we cannot be his, except our filth and sins be purged with the blood of Jesus Christ, and so we learn to detest all sin.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn v31Lev 15:31 Thus shall ye separate the children of…
Lev 15:31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that [is] among them.
Ver. 31. That they die not.] Which is worse than to die in a ditch.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn v31When they defile my tabernacle; which they did both…
When they defile my tabernacle; which they did both ceremonially, by coming into it in their uncleanness, and morally, by the gross neglect and contempt of God’s express and positive command to cleanse themselves.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn v31And of her that is sick of her flowers,....…
And of her that is sick of her flowers,.... Her monthly courses, for these are a sickness, Lev 20:18; and make a woman languid and faint, as the word is rendered, Lam 1:13; or to be in pain (n), as some render it here; and pains are reckoned among the signs of them by the Misnic doctors (o):
and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman; of both, whether the one or the other:
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and of him that lieth with her that is unclean; though her own husband.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn v31When they defile my tabernacle - Both ceremonially, by…
When they defile my tabernacle - Both ceremonially, by coming into it in their uncleanness, and morally by the contempt of God's express command to cleanse themselves. The grand reason of all these laws was, to separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness. Hereby they were taught their privilege and honour, that they were purified unto God, a peculiar people; for that was a defilement to them, which was not so to others. They were also taught their duty, which was to keep themselves clean from all pollutions.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn v31Verse 31. Thus shall ye separate the children of…
Verse 31. Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness] By this separation the cause became less frequent, and the contagion, if it did exist, was prevented from spreading. So pest-houses and fever-wards are constructed for the purpose of separating the infected from the sound; and thus contagion is lessened, and its diffusion prevented.
That they die not] That life may be prolonged by these prudential cares; and that he who is morally and legally unclean, may not presume to enter into the tabernacle of God till purified, lest he provoke Divine justice to consume him, while attempting to worship with a polluted mind and impure hands.
Read full note →
1. How unpromising and how forbidding, at the first view, is this chapter! and yet how full of wise, humane, and moral regulations, manifesting at once the wisdom and kindness of the great Legislator! Every word of God is pure in itself, and of great importance to us. He who cannot derive instruction from the chapter before him, and be led by a proper consideration of its contents to adore the wisdom and goodness of God, must have either a very stupid or a very vitiated mind.
2. In all these ordinances we may plainly see that God has purity of heart continually in view - that the soul may be holy, he cuts off the occasions of sin; and that men may be obliged to keep within due bounds, and possess their vessels in sanctification and honour, he hedges up their way with briars and thorns, and renders transgression painful, shameful, and expensive.
3. Preventing grace is not less necessary than that which saves and which preserves. These three chapters, avoided and neglected by most, contain lessons of instruction for all; and though many things contained in them belong exclusively to the Jewish people as to the letter, yet in their spirit and gracious design they form a part of those revealed things which are for us and for our children; and although they cannot be made the subject of public oral instruction, yet they are highly necessary to be known, and hence the advantage of reading the Scriptures in regular order in private. May we read so as to understand, and practise what we know, that, being wise unto salvation, we may walk as children of the light and of the day, in whom there shall be no occasion of stumbling!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v31Lev 15:31. When they defile my tabernacle — Both…
Lev 15:31. When they defile my tabernacle — Both ceremonially, by coming into it in their uncleanness; and morally, by the contempt of God’s express command to cleanse themselves. This shows that one main design of these laws was to impress the minds of that carnal people with a high respect and veneration for the worship of God, and whatever bore the name of sacred. It was to separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness. Hereby they were taught their privilege and their honour, that they were purified unto God a peculiar people; for that was a defilement to them which was not to others. They were also taught their duty, which was to keep themselves clean from all pollution.
From all this, 1st, Let us learn to bless God that we are not under the yoke of these carnal ordinances; that, as nothing can defile us, so nothing can destroy us, but sin. They may now partake of the Lord’s supper, who durst not then eat of the peace-offering. And the defilement we contract by our daily infirmities we may be cleansed from in secret, by the renewed acts of repentance and faith, without bathing in water, or bringing an offering to the door of the tabernacle. 2d, Let us carefully abstain from all sin, as defiling to the conscience, and particularly from all fleshly lusts; possessing our vessel in sanctification and honour, and not in the lusts of uncleanness, which not only pollute the soul, but war against it, and threaten its ruin. 3d, Let us consider, and be persuaded, how indispensably necessary real holiness is to our future happiness; and get our hearts purified by faith, that we may be admitted to see God, and enter into the heavenly sanctuary to worship and rejoice before him. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, and none else; for without holiness no man shall see the Lord.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn v31This solemn admonition is addressed to Moses and Aaron,…
This solemn admonition is addressed to Moses and Aaron, see Lev 15:1.
Lev 15:31
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My tabernacle - Strictly, “my dwelling-place” משׁכן mı̂shkān, as in Lev 8:10; Lev 17:4; Lev 26:11. The word rendered “tabernacle” elsewhere in Leviticus is properly “tent.” See the Exo 26:1 note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn v31Teach. So the Septuagint also read. Hebrew, "Thus you…
Teach. So the Septuagint also read. Hebrew, "Thus you shall remove....from their filth." (Houbigant) --- Filth. God threatens to kill them, if they approach unclean. (Menochius) --- St. Jerome (in Gal. v.) understands this of those abominable sins, which ought not to be mentioned. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn v31Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from…
Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness--The divine wisdom was manifested in inspiring the Israelites with a profound reverence for holy things; and nothing was more suited to this purpose than to debar from the tabernacle all who were polluted by any kind of uncleanness, ceremonial as well as natural, mental as well as physical. The better to mark out that people as His family, His servants and priests, dwelling in the camp as in a holy place, consecrated by His presence and His tabernacle, He required of them complete purity, and did not allow them to come before Him when defiled, even by involuntary or secret impurities, as a want of respect due to His majesty. And when we bear in mind that God was training a people to live in His presence in some measure as priests devoted to His service, we shall not consider these rules for the maintenance of personal purity either too stringent or too minute (Th1 4:4).
Next: Leviticus Chapter 16
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn v3131. That they die not, when they defile my…
31. That they die not, when they defile my tabernacle — These words explain the minute requirements of this chapter. Continuance in uncleanness without the prescribed purification was followed by death, not merely in the case of the unclean man venturing into the sanctuary, but also in the case of all who persisted in defiling Israel, called to be a holy nation. The holy Jehovah had condescended to abide in the midst of Israel.
Nothing offensive or uncomely should be suffered within the sacred precincts of his presence. The trifling spot upon the person must be carefully inspected by the official custodians of the holy place. It was because of his holiness that Jehovah exercised the most jealous care over all the habits of his people, at home and abroad, by day and by night. Their food, their clothing, their most hidden privacy, were under his constant inspection. This elaborate code of ceremonialism was perpetually uttering in the ear of the spiritually-minded Hebrew the sublime cry of the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
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Isa_6:3. To lovers of holiness these restraints would not be irksome, but delightful; while they would be the most intolerable burden to the carnally minded. Thus the Levitical law tested and sifted the Israelites as the requirements of faith in the atoning blood of Christ is the touchstone of character to-day. To the sceptic who declares that this chapter is derogatory to the Divine Being, we reply that it is the office of the Spirit of inspiration to reveal truth by “interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv31–3231. A reason for these purifications is given.
31. A reason for these purifications is given.
my tabernacle] Another name for the tabernacle is (Heb. mishkân) dwelling, e.g. Exo_25:9 R.V. mg. In Exodus 25-27, and in parts of 35–40 the word is used to denote the structure described in 26, 36, and distinguished as the ‘tabernacle’ from the ‘tent over the tabernacle’ (Exo_26:7; Exo_36:14 in R.V.). But in other passages it is used as the equivalent of the ‘tent of meeting’ for the tabernacle with its covering tent. It indicates the place where God dwells among the children of Israel according to His promise (so in Lev_16:16, Lev_26:11 f.; Exo_29:45; cp. Exo_25:8; Num_5:3; Num_35:34), and is used only of the tabernacle1[52] (in the plur., Num_24:5, it is used of Israel in poetical parallelism with ‘tents’). The combination ‘tabernacle of the tent of meeting’ occurs Exo_40:2; Exo_40:6; Exo_40:29†. As the A.V. renders both ‘ohel (see on Lev_1:1) and mishkân by ‘tabernacle,’ the difference does not appear in that version.
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[52] The use of the word tabernacle of the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (see McNeile C. B. ad loc. Num_16:24; Num_16:27) is very strange, and the text must be considered doubtful.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv31–32(31) Thus shall ye separate.—That is, according to the…
(31) Thus shall ye separate.—That is, according to the regulations laid down in this chapter. “Ye”—i.e., Moses and Aaron, to whom they were conjointly addressed (see Lev_15:1)—are to restrain the children of Israel, lest they be punished with death when they approach the Lord in a defiled state.
Defile my tabernacle.—Better, my dwelling place, which can here be used, though in Lev_8:10, where it also occurs, the expression “dwelling-place” does not suit so well.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv31–32This is how you must separate the people of…
This is how you must separate the people of Israel from their uncleanness
Yahweh speaks of preventing the people from becoming unclean as if it were keeping the people at a safe distance from uncleanness. The abstract noun "uncleanness" can be stated as "unclean." AT: "This is how you must prevent the people of Israel from becoming unclean" (See: Metaphor and Abstract Nouns)
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their uncleanness
People whom other people may not touch and who are not acceptable for God's purposes are spoken of as if they were physically unclean. (See: Metaphor)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v3215:32-33 A summary of the principles stated in 15:1-31.…
15:32-33 A summary of the principles stated in 15:1-31. Bodily discharges—whether pus, semen, menstrual fluid, or blood—made an individual ceremonially unclean.
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v31 Seeing that God required of his purity and cleanness:…
Seeing that God required of his purity and cleanness: we cannot be his, except our filth and sins be purged with the blood of Jesus Christ, and so we learn to detest all sin.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v31 Lev 15:31 Thus shall ye separate the children of…
Lev 15:31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that [is] among them.
Ver. 31. That they die not.] Which is worse than to die in a ditch.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v31 When they defile my tabernacle; which they did both…
When they defile my tabernacle; which they did both ceremonially, by coming into it in their uncleanness, and morally, by the gross neglect and contempt of God’s express and positive command to cleanse themselves.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On v31 And of her that is sick of her flowers,....…
And of her that is sick of her flowers,.... Her monthly courses, for these are a sickness, Lev 20:18; and make a woman languid and faint, as the word is rendered, Lam 1:13; or to be in pain (n), as some render it here; and pains are reckoned among the signs of them by the Misnic doctors (o):
and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman; of both, whether the one or the other:
Read full note →
and of him that lieth with her that is unclean; though her own husband.
(n) "et dolentis", Montanus. (o) Misn. Niddah, c. 9. sect. 8.
Next: Leviticus Chapter 16
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v31 When they defile my tabernacle - Both ceremonially, by…
When they defile my tabernacle - Both ceremonially, by coming into it in their uncleanness, and morally by the contempt of God's express command to cleanse themselves. The grand reason of all these laws was, to separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness. Hereby they were taught their privilege and honour, that they were purified unto God, a peculiar people; for that was a defilement to them, which was not so to others. They were also taught their duty, which was to keep themselves clean from all pollutions.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v31 Verse 31. Thus shall ye separate the children of…
Verse 31. Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness] By this separation the cause became less frequent, and the contagion, if it did exist, was prevented from spreading. So pest-houses and fever-wards are constructed for the purpose of separating the infected from the sound; and thus contagion is lessened, and its diffusion prevented.
That they die not] That life may be prolonged by these prudential cares; and that he who is morally and legally unclean, may not presume to enter into the tabernacle of God till purified, lest he provoke Divine justice to consume him, while attempting to worship with a polluted mind and impure hands.
Read full note →
1. How unpromising and how forbidding, at the first view, is this chapter! and yet how full of wise, humane, and moral regulations, manifesting at once the wisdom and kindness of the great Legislator! Every word of God is pure in itself, and of great importance to us. He who cannot derive instruction from the chapter before him, and be led by a proper consideration of its contents to adore the wisdom and goodness of God, must have either a very stupid or a very vitiated mind.
2. In all these ordinances we may plainly see that God has purity of heart continually in view - that the soul may be holy, he cuts off the occasions of sin; and that men may be obliged to keep within due bounds, and possess their vessels in sanctification and honour, he hedges up their way with briars and thorns, and renders transgression painful, shameful, and expensive.
3. Preventing grace is not less necessary than that which saves and which preserves. These three chapters, avoided and neglected by most, contain lessons of instruction for all; and though many things contained in them belong exclusively to the Jewish people as to the letter, yet in their spirit and gracious design they form a part of those revealed things which are for us and for our children; and although they cannot be made the subject of public oral instruction, yet they are highly necessary to be known, and hence the advantage of reading the Scriptures in regular order in private. May we read so as to understand, and practise what we know, that, being wise unto salvation, we may walk as children of the light and of the day, in whom there shall be no occasion of stumbling!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v31 Lev 15:31. When they defile my tabernacle — Both…
Lev 15:31. When they defile my tabernacle — Both ceremonially, by coming into it in their uncleanness; and morally, by the contempt of God’s express command to cleanse themselves. This shows that one main design of these laws was to impress the minds of that carnal people with a high respect and veneration for the worship of God, and whatever bore the name of sacred. It was to separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness. Hereby they were taught their privilege and their honour, that they were purified unto God a peculiar people; for that was a defilement to them which was not to others. They were also taught their duty, which was to keep themselves clean from all pollution.
From all this, 1st, Let us learn to bless God that we are not under the yoke of these carnal ordinances; that, as nothing can defile us, so nothing can destroy us, but sin. They may now partake of the Lord’s supper, who durst not then eat of the peace-offering. And the defilement we contract by our daily infirmities we may be cleansed from in secret, by the renewed acts of repentance and faith, without bathing in water, or bringing an offering to the door of the tabernacle. 2d, Let us carefully abstain from all sin, as defiling to the conscience, and particularly from all fleshly lusts; possessing our vessel in sanctification and honour, and not in the lusts of uncleanness, which not only pollute the soul, but war against it, and threaten its ruin. 3d, Let us consider, and be persuaded, how indispensably necessary real holiness is to our future happiness; and get our hearts purified by faith, that we may be admitted to see God, and enter into the heavenly sanctuary to worship and rejoice before him. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, and none else; for without holiness no man shall see the Lord.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v31 This solemn admonition is addressed to Moses and Aaron,…
This solemn admonition is addressed to Moses and Aaron, see Lev 15:1.
Lev 15:31
Read full note →
My tabernacle - Strictly, “my dwelling-place” משׁכן mı̂shkān, as in Lev 8:10; Lev 17:4; Lev 26:11. The word rendered “tabernacle” elsewhere in Leviticus is properly “tent.” See the Exo 26:1 note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v31 Teach. So the Septuagint also read. Hebrew, "Thus you…
Teach. So the Septuagint also read. Hebrew, "Thus you shall remove....from their filth." (Houbigant) --- Filth. God threatens to kill them, if they approach unclean. (Menochius) --- St. Jerome (in Gal. v.) understands this of those abominable sins, which ought not to be mentioned. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from…
Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness--The divine wisdom was manifested in inspiring the Israelites with a profound reverence for holy things; and nothing was more suited to this purpose than to debar from the tabernacle all who were polluted by any kind of uncleanness, ceremonial as well as natural, mental as well as physical. The better to mark out that people as His family, His servants and priests, dwelling in the camp as in a holy place, consecrated by His presence and His tabernacle, He required of them complete purity, and did not allow them to come before Him when defiled, even by involuntary or secret impurities, as a want of respect due to His majesty. And when we bear in mind that God was training a people to live in His presence in some measure as priests devoted to His service, we shall not consider these rules for the maintenance of personal purity either too stringent or too minute (Th1 4:4).
Next: Leviticus Chapter 16
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v31 31. That they die not, when they defile my…
31. That they die not, when they defile my tabernacle — These words explain the minute requirements of this chapter. Continuance in uncleanness without the prescribed purification was followed by death, not merely in the case of the unclean man venturing into the sanctuary, but also in the case of all who persisted in defiling Israel, called to be a holy nation. The holy Jehovah had condescended to abide in the midst of Israel.
Nothing offensive or uncomely should be suffered within the sacred precincts of his presence. The trifling spot upon the person must be carefully inspected by the official custodians of the holy place. It was because of his holiness that Jehovah exercised the most jealous care over all the habits of his people, at home and abroad, by day and by night. Their food, their clothing, their most hidden privacy, were under his constant inspection. This elaborate code of ceremonialism was perpetually uttering in the ear of the spiritually-minded Hebrew the sublime cry of the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
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Isa_6:3. To lovers of holiness these restraints would not be irksome, but delightful; while they would be the most intolerable burden to the carnally minded. Thus the Levitical law tested and sifted the Israelites as the requirements of faith in the atoning blood of Christ is the touchstone of character to-day. To the sceptic who declares that this chapter is derogatory to the Divine Being, we reply that it is the office of the Spirit of inspiration to reveal truth by “interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv31–32 31. A reason for these purifications is given.
31. A reason for these purifications is given.
my tabernacle] Another name for the tabernacle is (Heb. mishkân) dwelling, e.g. Exo_25:9 R.V. mg. In Exodus 25-27, and in parts of 35–40 the word is used to denote the structure described in 26, 36, and distinguished as the ‘tabernacle’ from the ‘tent over the tabernacle’ (Exo_26:7; Exo_36:14 in R.V.). But in other passages it is used as the equivalent of the ‘tent of meeting’ for the tabernacle with its covering tent. It indicates the place where God dwells among the children of Israel according to His promise (so in Lev_16:16, Lev_26:11 f.; Exo_29:45; cp. Exo_25:8; Num_5:3; Num_35:34), and is used only of the tabernacle1[52] (in the plur., Num_24:5, it is used of Israel in poetical parallelism with ‘tents’). The combination ‘tabernacle of the tent of meeting’ occurs Exo_40:2; Exo_40:6; Exo_40:29†. As the A.V. renders both ‘ohel (see on Lev_1:1) and mishkân by ‘tabernacle,’ the difference does not appear in that version.
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[52] The use of the word tabernacle of the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (see McNeile C. B. ad loc. Num_16:24; Num_16:27) is very strange, and the text must be considered doubtful.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv31–32 (31) Thus shall ye separate.—That is, according to the…
(31) Thus shall ye separate.—That is, according to the regulations laid down in this chapter. “Ye”—i.e., Moses and Aaron, to whom they were conjointly addressed (see Lev_15:1)—are to restrain the children of Israel, lest they be punished with death when they approach the Lord in a defiled state.
Defile my tabernacle.—Better, my dwelling place, which can here be used, though in Lev_8:10, where it also occurs, the expression “dwelling-place” does not suit so well.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv31–32 This is how you must separate the people of…
This is how you must separate the people of Israel from their uncleanness
Yahweh speaks of preventing the people from becoming unclean as if it were keeping the people at a safe distance from uncleanness. The abstract noun "uncleanness" can be stated as "unclean." AT: "This is how you must prevent the people of Israel from becoming unclean" (See: Metaphor and Abstract Nouns)
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their uncleanness
People whom other people may not touch and who are not acceptable for God's purposes are spoken of as if they were physically unclean. (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
Israel
die
defile
tabernacle
life
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v32 15:32-33 A summary of the principles stated in 15:1-31.…
15:32-33 A summary of the principles stated in 15:1-31. Bodily discharges—whether pus, semen, menstrual fluid, or blood—made an individual ceremonially unclean.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.