“Say to Aaron, ‘None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.
Parallel Translations
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“Say to Aaron, ‘None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.
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Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
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Speak unto Aaron, saying: Whosoever he be of thy seed throughout their generations that hath a blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
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Commandments (2)
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Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Leviticus 21:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” Aaron held his peace.
- Numbers 16:5 He said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning, Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him. Even him whom he shall choose, he will cause to come near to him.
- Psalms 65:4 Blessed is the one whom you choose and cause to come near, that he may live in your courts. We will be filled with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
- Leviticus 3:11 The priest shall burn it on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire to Yahweh.
- Leviticus 3:16 The priest shall burn them on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma; all the fat is Yahweh’s.
- Leviticus 21:6 They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of their God. Therefore they shall be holy.
- Leviticus 21:21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. Since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
- Leviticus 22:20-25 But you shall not offer whatever has a defect, for it shall not be acceptable for you. Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh to accomplish a vow, or for a free will offering of the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted. It shall have no defect. You shall not offer what is blind, is injured, is maimed, has a wart, is festering, or has a running sore to Yahweh, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to Yahweh. Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a free will offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. You must not offer to Yahweh that which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut. You must not do this in your land. You must not offer any of these as the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner, because their corruption is in them. There is a defect in them. They shall not be accepted for you.’ ”
- 1 Thessalonians 2:10 You are witnesses with God how holy, righteously, and blamelessly we behaved ourselves toward you who believe.
- 1 Timothy 3:2 The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching;
- Hebrews 7:26 For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Lev 21:17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever [he be]…
Lev 21:17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever [he be] of thy seed in their generations that hath [any] blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
Ver. 17. That hath any blemish.] Christ was without blemish: so should all the saints be, but especially ministers, of whom it should be said as of Absalom, that from top to toe there was no blemish in him. {2Sa 14:25}
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 Whosoever he be of thy seed, whether the high…
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.
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Any blemish, i.e. any defect or excess of parts, any notorious deformity, or imperfection in his body. The reason hereof is partly typical, that he might more fully represent Christ, the great High Priest, who was typified both by the priest and sacrifice, and therefore both were to be without blemish; partly moral, to teach all Christians, and especially ministers of holy things, what purity and perfection of heart and life they should labour after, and that notorious blemishes in the mind or conversation render a man unfit for the ministry of the gospel; and partly prudential, because such blemishes were apt to breed contempt of the person, and consequently of his function, and of the holy things wherein he ministered. For which reason, some conceive, that still such persons as have notorious defects or deformities, which render them contemptible, are not fit for the ministry; which may be true in the general, except where there are eminent gifts and graces, which are sufficient to vindicate a man from the contemptibleness of his bodily presence. The particular defects here mentioned I shall not enlarge upon, because some of the Hebrew words are diversely interpreted, and because the use of these things being abolished, the knowledge of them is not very necessary.
The bread; either the shew-bread, one eminent part being named for the whole; or, the food, i.e. all the oblations. See Poole "Lev 21:6".
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 Speak unto Aaron, saying,.... Who being the high priest,…
Speak unto Aaron, saying,.... Who being the high priest, it was incumbent on him, at least at this time, to see that the laws and rules relating to the priesthood were observed; and particularly to examine carefully who were and who were not to be admitted to serve in it:
whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations; or, "a man of thy seed" (w), for this only respected his male seed, females of his seed had no concern in the following laws; but his sons, in all successive ages and generations, to the coming of the Messiah, had, whether high priests or common priests:
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that hath any blemish; in any part of his body, particularly such as are after mentioned:
let him not approach to offer the bread of his God; neither go into the holy place, to set the shewbread in order there, nor to offer any sacrifice upon the altar; so Josephus (x) explains this law; that a priest should be perfect, and if he laboured under any defect, should not ascend the altar, nor enter into the temple: this was imitated by the Heathens: Romulus ordered that such as were weak and feeble in any part of the body should not be made priests (y): the Jewish priests were types of Christ, who is holy, harmless, without spot and blemish; and through whose blood and righteousness all who are made priests by him are unblamable, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; and a Gospel minister, bishop, or pastor, ought to be unblemished in his life and conversation, Tit 1:6; and there are some who think that the blemishes of the mind and of the life are rather here meant than those of the body.
(w) "vir de semine tuo", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. (x) Antiqu. l. 3. c. 12. sect. 2. (y) Pompon. Laet. de Sacerdot. c. 6. de Vestalibus.
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 Of thy seed - Whether the high priest, or…
Of thy seed - Whether the high priest, or the inferior ones. That hath - In all successive ages, any defect or excess of parts, any notorious deformity or imperfection in his body. The reason hereof is partly typical, that he, might more fully represent Christ, the great high-priest, who was typified both by the priest and sacrifice, and therefore both were to be without blemish; partly moral, to teach all Christians and especially ministers of holy things, what purity and perfection of heart and life they should labour after, and that notorious blemishes in the mind or conversation, render a man unfit for the ministry of the gospel; and partly prudential, because such blemishes were apt to breed contempt of the person; and consequently, of his function, and of the holy things wherein he ministered. For which reason, such persons as have notorious defects or deformities, are still unfit for the ministry except where there are eminent gifts and graces, which vindicate a man from the contemptibleness of his bodily presence. The particular defect's here mentioned, I shall not enlarge upon because some of the Hebrew words are diversely interpreted, and because the use of these things being abolished, the knowledge of them is not necessary.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 17. Whosoever - hath any blemish, let him…
Verse 17. Whosoever - hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.] Never was a wiser, a more rational, and a more expedient law enacted relative to sacred matters. The man who ministers in holy things, who professes to be the interpreter of the will of God, should have nothing in his person nor in his manner which cannot contribute to render him respectable in the eyes of those to whom he ministers. If, on the contrary, he has any personal defect, any thing that may render him contemptible or despicable, his usefulness will be greatly injured, if not entirely prevented. If however a man have received any damage in the work of God, by persecution or otherwise, his scars are honourable, and will add to his respectability. But if he be received into the ministry with any of the blemishes specified here, he never will and never can have that respect which is essentially necessary to secure his usefulness. Let no man say this is a part of the Mosaic law, and we are not bound by it. It is an eternal law, founded on reason, propriety, common sense, and absolute necessity. The priest, the prophet, the Christian minister, is the representative of Jesus Christ; let nothing in his person, carriage, or doctrine, be unworthy of the personage he represents. A deformed person, though consummate in diplomatic wisdom, would never be employed as an ambassador by any enlightened court, if any fit person, unblemished, could possibly be procured.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Lev 21:17. Of thy seed — Whether the high-priest,…
Lev 21:17. Of thy seed — Whether the high-priest, or the inferior ones. That hath — In all successive ages, any defect or excess of parts, any notorious deformity or imperfection in his body. The reason hereof is partly typical, that he might more fully represent Christ, the great High-Priest, who was typified both by the priest and sacrifice, and therefore both were to be without blemish; partly moral, to teach all Christians, and especially ministers of holy things, what purity and perfection of heart and life they should labour after, and that notorious blemishes in the mind or conversation render a man unfit for the ministry of the gospel; and partly prudential, because such blemishes were apt to breed contempt of the person; and consequently of his function, and of the holy things wherein he ministered. For which reason, such persons as have notorious defects or deformities, are still unfit for the ministry, except where there are eminent gifts and graces, which vindicate a man from the contemptibleness of his bodily presence.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain A blemish. These corporal defects or deformities, which disqualified…
A blemish. These corporal defects or deformities, which disqualified the priests from officiating in the old law, were figures of the vices which priests are to beware of in the new law. (St. Gregory, Cura pastorum.) (Challoner) --- The Rabbins reckon 140 blemishes on which the Sanhedrim had to pass sentence. They also require in the high priest superior beauty, strength, riches, and wisdom.
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).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain PERSONAL DISABILITIES FOR THE PRIESTHOOD, Lev_21:17-24.
PERSONAL DISABILITIES FOR THE PRIESTHOOD, Lev_21:17-24.
The arduous labours demanded of the priests required that they should be able-bodied men. Moreover, it was necessary that there should be a correspondence between the perfect physique of the priests and the unblemished victims offered to the perfect God. The incongruity of a blind man, a dwarf, or a cripple, figuring in the solemn and majestic ritual of the altar, would have exposed the service to ridicule. Since the service of the altar was minutely prescribed, neither genius nor high intellectual qualities were requisite, but an unblemished form with mind enough to follow the directions of the law. Thus it is found that ceremonial religions always repress genius, while those forms of religion which depend more upon the inculcation and intellectual and spiritual apprehension of the truth give scope to the development of mental power in the office of the prophet, the teacher, and the preacher.
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 17. throughout their generations] See end of introd. note…
17. throughout their generations] See end of introd. note to ch. the bread of his God] See on Lev_21:6.
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 (17) Whosoever he be of thy seed.—Better, any man…
(17) Whosoever he be of thy seed.—Better, any man of thy seed throughout their generations; that is, any of the descendants, to all future times, who have not been disqualified for service in the sanctuary by their parents contracting illegal alliances, are yet to be subject to the following regulations.
To offer the bread of his God.—That is, shall not officiate at the sacrifices. (See Lev_21:6 -Lev_3:2.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.