“ ‘Whoever of the offspring of Aaron is a leper or has a discharge shall not eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man who has a seminal emission,
Parallel Translations
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“ ‘Whoever of the offspring of Aaron is a leper or has a discharge shall not eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man who has a seminal emission,
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What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him;
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What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath an issue, he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any one that is unclean by the dead; or from whomsoever the flow of seed goeth out;
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Leviticus 22:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 11:39 “ ‘If any animal of which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 15:2-3 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean. This shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body has stopped from his discharge, it is his uncleanness.
- Leviticus 15:13-16 “ ‘When he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes; and he shall bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean. “ ‘On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before Yahweh to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest. The priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. The priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh for his discharge. “ ‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall bathe all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 2:3 That which is left of the meal offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is a most holy part of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire.
- Leviticus 2:10 That which is left of the meal offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is a most holy part of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire.
- Leviticus 6:25-29 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before Yahweh. It is most holy. The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the Tent of Meeting. Whatever shall touch its flesh shall be holy. When there is any of its blood sprinkled on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled in a holy place. But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken; and if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, it shall be scoured, and rinsed in water. Every male among the priests shall eat of it. It is most holy.
- Leviticus 11:24-28 “ ‘By these you will become unclean: whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. Whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. “ ‘Every animal which has a split hoof that isn’t completely divided, or doesn’t chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, they are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. He who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you.
- Leviticus 13:2-3 “When a man shall have a swelling in his body’s skin, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes in the skin of his body the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests. The priest shall examine the plague in the skin of the body. If the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body’s skin, it is the plague of leprosy; so the priest shall examine him and pronounce him unclean.
- Leviticus 13:44-46 he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean. His plague is on his head. “The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ All the days in which the plague is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean. He shall dwell alone. His dwelling shall be outside of the camp.
- Leviticus 14:1-32 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall go out of the camp. The priest shall examine him. Behold, if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper, then the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two living clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop. The priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water. As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. He shall sprinkle on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird go into the open field. “He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days. It shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his body in water. Then he shall be clean. “On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without defect, one ewe lamb a year old without defect, three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, and one log of oil. The priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed, and those things, before Yahweh, at the door of the Tent of Meeting. “The priest shall take one of the male lambs, and offer him for a trespass offering, with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh. He shall kill the male lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary; for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy. The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand. The priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before Yahweh. The priest shall put some of the rest of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering. The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, and the priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh. “The priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering; then the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meal offering on the altar. The priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean. “If he is poor, and can’t afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering, and a log of oil; and two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. “On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, before Yahweh. The priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh. He shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering. The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand; and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before Yahweh. Then the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering. The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before Yahweh. He shall offer one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, which ever he is able to afford, of the kind he is able to afford, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meal offering. The priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before Yahweh.” 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 21:1 Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, ‘A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people,
- Leviticus 21:22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
- Numbers 18:9 This shall be yours of the most holy things from the fire: every offering of theirs, even every meal offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render to me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons.
- Numbers 18:19 All the wave offerings of the holy things which the children of Israel offer to Yahweh, I have given you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a portion forever. It is a covenant of salt forever before Yahweh to you and to your offspring with you.”
- Numbers 19:11-16 “He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with water on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he doesn’t purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. 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 be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is yet on him. “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. Every open vessel, which has no covering bound on it, is unclean. “Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain By touching any dead thing, or being at burial…
By touching any dead thing, or being at burial of the dead.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Lev 22:4 What man soever of the seed of…
Lev 22:4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron [is] a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing [that is] unclean [by] the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him;
Ver. 4. Or hath a running issue.] Seminifluus: especially if it come by contemning that counsel of the wise man. {Pro 31:3}
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 What man soever, i.e. or woman, of Aaron’s seed;…
What man soever, i.e. or woman, of Aaron’s seed; for they were under the same law.
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 What man soever of the seed of Aaron is…
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, who otherwise might, see Lev 13:2,
or hath a running issue; a gonorrhoea, whether man or woman, Lev 15:2,
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he shall not eat of the holy things until he be clean; he might eat of the tithes, but not of the wave breast, or heave shoulder:
and whoso toucheth any that is unclean by the dead; not only that touched the dead, which made unclean, but that touched any person or thing that was made unclean by it:
or a man whose seed goeth from him; involuntarily when asleep, in a dream, and through a lustful imagination; see Lev 15:16.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. Is a leper, or hath a running…
Verse 4. Is a leper, or hath a running issue] See the case of the leper treated at large in the notes on Le 13:1-14:57; and for other uncleannesses, see the notes on Le 15:1-30.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain See Lev 15:13-16.
See Lev 15:13-16.
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 And he, &c. Hence it is plain, even the…
And he, &c. Hence it is plain, even the Jewish priests were bound to observe continence during the time of their ministry. (Calmet) --- For the same reason, the priests of the new law, who may be called at any time to perform their more sacred functions, engage voluntarily in the state of perpetual celibacy. (Haydock)
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 wash his flesh with water--Any Israelite who had contracted…
wash his flesh with water--Any Israelite who had contracted a defilement of such a nature as debarred him from the enjoyment of his wonted privileges, and had been legally cleansed from the disqualifying impurity, was bound to indicate his state of recovery by the immersion of his whole person in water. Although all ceremonial impurity formed a ground of exclusion, there were degrees of impurity which entailed a longer or shorter period of excommunication, and for the removal of which different rites required to be observed according to the trivial or the malignant nature of the case. A person who came inadvertently into contact with an unclean animal was rendered unclean for a specified period; and then, at the expiry of that term, he washed, in token of his recovered purity. But a leper was unclean so long as he remained subject to that disease, and on his convalescence, he also washed, not to cleanse himself, for the water was ineffectual for that purpose, but to signify that he was clean. Not a single case is recorded of a leper being restored to communion by the use of water; it served only as an outward and visible sign that such a restoration was to be made. The Book of Leviticus abounds with examples which show that in all the ceremonial washings, as uncleanness meant loss of privileges, so baptism with water indicated a restoration to those privileges. There was no exemption; for as the unclean Israelite was exiled from the congregation, so the unclean priest was disqualified from executing his sacred functions in the sanctuary; and in the case of both, the same observance was required--a formal intimation of their being readmitted to forfeited privileges was intimated by the appointed rite of baptism. If any one neglected or refused to perform the washing, he disobeyed a positive precept, and he remained in his uncleanness; he forbore to avail himself of this privilege, and was therefore said to be "cut off" from the presence of the Lord.
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 4. A leper — Leprosy was a ceremonial defilement…
4. A leper — Leprosy was a ceremonial defilement which excluded even the laymen from the camp; much more would it disqualify a priest for the tabernacle. See chaps. 13 and 14, notes.
A running issue — This was probably limited to the gonorrhea. See Lev_15:2, note.
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Unclean by the dead — See Lev_21:1, note.
Seed goeth from him — See Lev_15:16, note.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) Is a leper.—The different forms of uncleanness are…
(4) Is a leper.—The different forms of uncleanness are now specified. (For the leper, see Lev_13:3.)
Or hath a running issue.—See Lev_15:2.
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Whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead.—That is, if he touches any person or anything that had been defiled through contact with a corpse. (See Num_19:11-14.)
Whose seed goeth from him.—This is the same case mentioned in Lev_15:16. The two passages ought therefore to be uniform in the translation.
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 infectious skin disease
infectious skin disease
a disease on the skin easily spread from one person to another
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an infection flowing from his body
"a bodily discharge"
from his body
This is a polite way of referring to a man's private parts. See how you translated a similar phrase in Leviticus 15:1. AT: "from his private parts" (See: Euphemism)
until he is clean
A person who is acceptable for God's purposes is spoken of as if the person were physically clean. (See: Metaphor)
Whoever touches anything unclean
Something that Yahweh has said is unfit to touch or eat is spoken of as if it were physically unclean. (See: Metaphor)
through contact with the dead
"by touching a dead body"
the sacrifices made to Yahweh
This can be stated in active form. AT: "the sacrifices that someone has offered to Yahweh" (See: Active or Passive)
or whoever touches any creeping animal that makes him unclean, or any person who makes him unclean
This can be made explicit. AT: "or whoever is unclean from touching a creeping animal or from touching another unclean person" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
the priest ... will be unclean
A person who is not acceptable for God's purposes is spoken of as if the person were physically unclean. (See: Metaphor)
until evening
"until sunset"
translationWords
body
sacrifice
clean
clean
die
seed
priest
holy
water
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.