Leviticus 17:7
in Leviticus 17They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the he-goats, after which they play the harlot. This shall be a statute forever unto them throughout their generations.
KJV
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
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This verse in Leviticus 17
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThey shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils - They shall not sacrifice לשעירים lasseirim, to the hairy ones, to goats. The famous heathen god, Pan, was represented as having the posteriors, horns, and ears of a goat; and the Mendesians, a people of Egypt, had a deity which they worshipped under this form. Herodotus says that all goats were worshipped in Egypt, but the he-goat particularly.
This site's exposition
which they offer in the open field
on Leviticus 17:5-7
Verse 7 gives the reason the two verses before it withhold. Sacrifice in the open field was going to devils, and the Hebrew word there is se'irim, hairy ones or goats, which Adam Clarke ties to the goat worship Israel had lived beside in Egypt. The text calls it going a whoring, language it uses because the nation is held to be married to God, so a sacrifice laid on another power breaks a bond rather than misplaces a ritual. Verse 5 turns every animal killed for meat into a peace offering, which puts a priest and an altar inside the family meal.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
And as the Egyptians were notorious for their idolatry, so the Israelites were infected with their leaven, Josh. xxiv, 14, Ezek. xx, 7, xxiii, 2, 3. A whoring - Idolatry, especially in God's people, is commonly called whoredom, because it is a violation of that covenant by which they were peculiarly betrothed or married to God.
It should seem rather to forbid only the killing of beasts for sacrifice any where but at God's altar. They must not offer sacrifice, as they had done, in the open field (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils,.... As it seems they had done, which was monstrously shocking, and especially by a people that had the knowledge of the true God.
For the devil, ever since he became a revolter from God and a rebel against him, has set up for a rival with him, and coveted to have divine honours paid him: he had the impudence to solicit our blessed Saviour to fall down and worship him. The Israelites themselves had learned in Egypt to sacrifice to demons.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils--literally, "goats." The prohibition evidently alludes to the worship of the hirei-footed kind, such as Pan, Faunus, and Saturn, whose recognized symbol was a goat. This was a form of idolatry enthusiastically practised by the Egyptians, particularly in the nome or province of Mendes.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִזְבְּח֥וּ | yizbechu | they will sacrifice | H2076 → | 134 times |
| עוֹד֙ | ʾod | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זִבְחֵיהֶ֔ם | zivcheihem | sacrifices their | H2077 → | 162 times |
| לַשְּׂעִירִ֕ם | laseirim | to the goat idols | H8163 → | 59 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֵ֥ם | hem | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| זֹנִ֖ים | zonim | [are] prostituting themselves | H2181 → | 94 times |
| אַחֲרֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾachareihem | after them | H310 → | 715 times |
| חֻקַּ֥ת | chukat | a statute of | H2708 → | 104 times |
| עוֹלָ֛ם | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶה־ | tihyeh- | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| זֹּ֥את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | for <the> them | ||
| לְדֹרֹתָֽם׃ | ledorotam | to generations their | H1755 → | 167 times |
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִזְבְּח֥וּthey will sacrifice
yizbechuH2076 →134 times
עוֹד֙again
ʾodH5750 →490 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
זִבְחֵיהֶ֔םsacrifices their
zivcheihemH2077 →162 times
לַשְּׂעִירִ֕םto the goat idols
laseirimH8163 →59 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הֵ֥םthey
hemH1992 →553 times
זֹנִ֖ים[are] prostituting themselves
zonimH2181 →94 times
אַחֲרֵיהֶ֑םafter them
ʾachareihemH310 →715 times
חֻקַּ֥תa statute of
chukatH2708 →104 times
עוֹלָ֛םperpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
תִּֽהְיֶה־it will be
tihyeh-H1961 →3559 times
זֹּ֥אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
לָהֶ֖םfor <the> them
lahem
לְדֹרֹתָֽם׃to generations their
ledorotamH1755 →167 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 Corinthians 10:20No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.
it leads to
- Revelation 9:20
Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze,…
- Psalms 106:37–39
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
- Deuteronomy 32:16–17
They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Revelation 9:20
Through
Psalms 106:37They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:17
They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 16:3
Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the…
- 2 Kings 17:17
They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- Deuteronomy 32:17
Through
Exodus 34:15Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
it leads to
- Judges 2:17
Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience…
- Judges 2:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.