“ ‘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, or whoever touches any creeping thing whereby he may be made unclean, or a man from whom he may become unclean, whatever uncleanness he has— the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things unless he bathes his body in water. When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread.
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Leviticus 22:4-7 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“ ‘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, or whoever touches any creeping thing whereby he may be made unclean, or a man from whom he may become unclean, whatever uncleanness he has— the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things unless he bathes his body in water. When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread. He shall not eat that which dies of itself or is torn by animals, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh.
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,
or whoever touches any creeping thing whereby he may be made unclean, or a man from whom he may become unclean, whatever uncleanness he has—
the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things unless he bathes his body in water.
When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread.
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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;
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;
The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.
And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food.
Show all 3 translations
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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;
or whosoever toucheth any swarming thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath;
the soul that toucheth any such shall be unclean until the even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he bathe his flesh in water.
And when the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because it is his bread.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (2)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (31)
- Leviticus 11:43-44 (v5) You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps. You shall not make yourselves unclean with them, that you…
- Leviticus 15:7 (v5) “ ‘He who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the…
- Leviticus 21:22 (vv4, 7) He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
- Leviticus 11:39 (v4) “ ‘If any animal of which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 15:2-3 (v4) “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…
Show all 29 cross-references
- Leviticus 15:5 (v6) Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 15:13-16 (v4) “ ‘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…
- Leviticus 15:19 (v5) “ ‘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…
- Hebrews 10:22 (v6) let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed…
- Leviticus 11:24-28 (vv4–5) “ ‘By these you will become unclean: whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. Whoever carries any part of their…
- Leviticus 2:3 (v4) 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 (v4) 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 (v4) “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…
- Leviticus 11:24-25 (v6) “ ‘By these you will become unclean: whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. Whoever carries any part of their…
- Leviticus 13:2-3 (v4) “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…
- Leviticus 13:44-46 (v4) 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…
- Leviticus 14:1-32 (v4) 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…
- Leviticus 16:24-28 (v6) Then he shall bathe himself in water in a holy place, put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering…
- Leviticus 21:1 (v4) 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…
- Numbers 18:9 (v4) 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…
- Numbers 18:11-19 (v7) “This is yours, too: the wave offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the children of Israel. I have given them to you, and…
- Numbers 18:19 (v4) 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…
- Numbers 19:7-10 (v6) Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest…
- Numbers 19:11-16 (v4) “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…
- Deuteronomy 18:3-4 (v7) This shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they shall give to the…
- Haggai 2:13 (v6) Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean by reason of a dead body touch any of these, will it be unclean?” The priests answered, “It will…
- 1 Corinthians 6:11 (v6) Some of you were such, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the…
- 1 Corinthians 9:4 (v7) Have we no right to eat and to drink?
- 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 (v7) Don’t you know that those who serve around sacred things eat from the things of the temple, and those who wait on the altar have their…
29 distinct cross-references across this passage (31 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4–7 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 On vv4–7 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 On vv4, 7 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 On vv4–7 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.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v7 His food - His portion, the means of his…
His food - His portion, the means of his subsistence. This may be added, to signify why there was no greater nor longer a penalty put upon the priests than upon the people in the same case, because his necessity craved some mitigation: tho' otherwise the priests being more sacred persons, deserved a greater punishment.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v4 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.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v7 Lev 22:7. His food — His portion, the means…
Lev 22:7. His food — His portion, the means of his subsistence. This may be added, to signify why there was no greater nor longer a penalty put upon the priests than upon the people in the same case, because his necessity craved some mitigation: though otherwise the priests, being more sacred persons, deserved a greater punishment.
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 vv4–6 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 On vv4–5 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 On v4 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 On vv4, 5, 7 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 On vv4–7 (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 On vv4, 7 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.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v5 22:5 In Leviticus, the Hebrew word sherets always denotes…
22:5 In Leviticus, the Hebrew word sherets always denotes an unclean small animal that swarms on land or in water (5:2; 11:10, 20-21, 23, 29, 31, 41-44).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.