Leviticus 21:12
in Leviticus 21He must not leave or desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am Jehovah.
KJV
Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord.
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This verse in Leviticus 21
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe crown of the anointing oil - is upon him - By his office the priest represented Christ in his sacrificial character; by his anointing, the prophetic influence; and by the crown, the regal dignity of our Lord.
This site's exposition
he that is the high priest among his brethren
on Leviticus 21:10-12
The title high priest occurs here for the first time in Scripture. What Moses forbade Aaron in the hour his sons died at 10:6, an uncovered head and rent clothes, is fixed on the office permanently, and verse 11 closes to him the two funerals an ordinary priest may attend, his father's and his mother's. Verse 12 keeps him inside the sanctuary and gives the reason as the crown of the anointing oil of his God, then ends with I am the LORD. Mark 14:63 and Matthew 26:65 both record a high priest rending his clothes at the trial of Jesus.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The crown of the anointing oil - Or, the crown, the golden plate, which is called the holy crown, Exod. xxix, 6, and the anointing oil of his God are upon him. So there is only an ellipsis of the conjunction and, which is frequent.
); for the anointing of the Spirit is, to all that have it, a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty. The high priest being thus dignified, I. He must not defile himself at all for the dead, no, nor for his nearest relations, his father or his mother, much less his child or brother,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
); that is, whenever he was attending or officiating in the sanctuary, where usually he tarried in his own apartment all day, he must not go out upon any occasion whatsoever, nor cut short his attendance on the living God, no, not to pay his last respects to a dying relation.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Moreover, the high dignity of his office demanded a corresponding superiority in personal holiness, and stringent rules were prescribed for the purpose of upholding the suitable dignity of his station and family. The same rules are extended to the families of Christian ministers (1Ti 3:2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Go out of the sanctuary - i. e. not for the purpose to which reference is here made. The words do not mean, as some have imagined, that his abode was confined to the sanctuary.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“He does not follow the bier [of a near relative]. Our Rabbis have further derived from this verse [the principle] that the High Priest may perform [the Divine Service] when he is an onen (a mourner), 28 See above, Seder Shemini, Note.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
This means that he is not to wed a woman who is not a virgin, this being a negative commandment which is derived from a positive commandment [which carries the force of a positive commandment].
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.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִן־ | umin- | and from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמִּקְדָּשׁ֙ | hamikdash | the sanctuary | H4720 → | 75 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵצֵ֔א | yetze' | he will go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְחַלֵּ֔ל | yechalel | he will profane | H2490 → | 143 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִקְדַּ֣שׁ | mikdash | [the] sanctuary of | H4720 → | 75 times |
| אֱלֹהָ֑יו | ʾelohav | God his | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כִּ֡י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נֵ֠זֶר | nezer | [the] consecration of | H5145 → | |
| שֶׁ֣מֶן | shemen | [the] oil of | H8081 → | 193 times |
| מִשְׁחַ֧ת | mishchat | <the> anointing of | H4888 → | 26 times |
| אֱלֹהָ֛יו | ʾelohav | God his | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עָלָ֖יו | ʾalav | [is] on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וּמִן־and from
umin-H4480 →1188 times
הַמִּקְדָּשׁ֙the sanctuary
hamikdashH4720 →75 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יֵצֵ֔אhe will go out
yetze'H3318 →1067 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יְחַלֵּ֔לhe will profane
yechalelH2490 →143 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
מִקְדַּ֣שׁ[the] sanctuary of
mikdashH4720 →75 times
אֱלֹהָ֑יוGod his
ʾelohavH430 →2601 times
כִּ֡יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
נֵ֠זֶר[the] consecration of
nezerH5145 →
שֶׁ֣מֶן[the] oil of
shemenH8081 →193 times
מִשְׁחַ֧ת<the> anointing of
mishchatH4888 →26 times
אֱלֹהָ֛יוGod his
ʾelohavH430 →2601 times
עָלָ֖יו[is] on him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָֽה׃[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty…
it leads to
- Luke 4:18–19
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight…
- Luke 7:22
So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and…
- Isaiah 42:7
to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
- Matthew 11:5
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
- Psalms 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
- Luke 4:18–19
Through
Leviticus 10:7You shall not go outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, or you will die, for the LORD’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses instructed.
it leads to
- Acts 10:38
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
- 2 Corinthians 1:21
Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us,
- Leviticus 8:30
Next, Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and their garments. So…
- Acts 10:38
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.