Leviticus 16:17
in Leviticus 16No one may be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he leaves, after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there shall be no man in the tent of meeting when he goeth in to make atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.
KJV
And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.
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This verse in Leviticus 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseIn the tabernacle - ln the holy place, where the priests and Levites were at other times. This was commanded for the greater reverence to the Divine Majesty then in a more special manner appearing, and that none of them might cast an eye into the holy of holies, as the high-priest went in or came out.
This site's exposition
make an atonement for the holy place
on Leviticus 16:16-17
The atonement is made for the building as well as for the people, because the tabernacle stands in the midst of their uncleanness and takes it up. Verse 17 empties the tent of everyone else while the high priest is inside, so a whole nation waits on one man in a room nobody can see into. Hebrews 9:7 describes this verse, that into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), but, by standing without, must own themselves unworthy and unfit to minister there, because their follies, and defects, and manifold impurities in their ministry, had made this expiation of the tabernacle necessary. He must then put some of the blood, both of the bullock and of the goat mixed together, upon the horns of the altar that is before the Lord,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation,....
And observe what the extent of the atonement was which the high priest made: it was for the holy sanctuary, for the tabernacle, for the altar, for the priests, and for all the people,
How the passage was read
On Leviticus 16:1-34On Leviticus 16:1-34
The day Israel still fasts
This chapter founds the Day of Atonement, in Hebrew Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year: the one day the high priest entered the innermost room of the sanctuary with blood for the nation's sins. With no Temple standing since AD 70, the day is kept now as a full fast: roughly 25 hours with no food or drink, most of it spent in synagogue prayer, many wearing white.
The Mishnah (the first code of Jewish oral law, about AD 200) defines the day's five abstentions: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, leather shoes, and marital relations (Yoma 8:1). It also carries a saying worth any reader's time: the day atones for sins between a person and God, “but for sins between a person and his fellow, the Day of Atonement does not atone until he has appeased his fellow” (Yoma 8:9). Reconciliation with people is homework done before the day.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Yoma 8:1 (the five abstentions) · Mishnah Yoma 8:9 (appease your fellow first) · The Day of Atonement (this site's study)
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אָדָ֞ם | ʾadam | person | H120 → | 551 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִהְיֶ֣ה׀ | yihyeh | he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּאֹ֣הֶל | beohel | in [the] tent of | H168 → | 345 times |
| מוֹעֵ֗ד | moed | meeting | H4150 → | 223 times |
| בְּבֹא֛וֹ | bevoo | when goes he | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְכַפֵּ֥ר | lekhaper | to make atonement | H3722 → | 102 times |
| בַּקֹּ֖דֶשׁ | bakodesh | in the holy place | H6944 → | 469 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| צֵאת֑וֹ | tzeto | comes out he | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וְכִפֶּ֤ר | vekhiper | and he has made atonement | H3722 → | 102 times |
| בַּעֲדוֹ֙ | baado | for himself | H1157 → | 105 times |
| וּבְעַ֣ד | uvead | and for | H1157 → | 105 times |
| בֵּית֔וֹ | beito | household his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וּבְעַ֖ד | uvead | and for | H1157 → | 105 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| קְהַ֥ל | kehal | [the] assembly of | H6951 → | 123 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְכָל־and any
vekholH3605 →5413 times
אָדָ֞םperson
ʾadamH120 →551 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִהְיֶ֣ה׀he will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
בְּאֹ֣הֶלin [the] tent of
beohelH168 →345 times
מוֹעֵ֗דmeeting
moedH4150 →223 times
בְּבֹא֛וֹwhen goes he
bevooH935 →2568 times
לְכַפֵּ֥רto make atonement
lekhaperH3722 →102 times
בַּקֹּ֖דֶשׁin the holy place
bakodeshH6944 →469 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
צֵאת֑וֹcomes out he
tzetoH3318 →1067 times
וְכִפֶּ֤רand he has made atonement
vekhiperH3722 →102 times
בַּעֲדוֹ֙for himself
baadoH1157 →105 times
וּבְעַ֣דand for
uveadH1157 →105 times
בֵּית֔וֹhousehold his
beitoH1004 →2046 times
וּבְעַ֖דand for
uveadH1157 →105 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
קְהַ֥ל[the] assembly of
kehalH6951 →123 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 2:24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 53:4–6
Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted.
- Matthew 8:17
This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took on our infirmities and carried our diseases.”
- Romans 6:11
So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
- Revelation 22:2
down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month.…
- 1 John 2:29
If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.
- Isaiah 53:4–6
Through
Isaiah 53:6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:25
For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
- 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Psalms 119:176
I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.
- 1 Peter 2:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.