Leviticus 21:19
in Leviticus 21no man who has a broken foot or hand,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
or a man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed,
KJV
Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,
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This verse in Leviticus 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying
on Leviticus 21:16-20
Twelve defects are listed across three verses and no reason is given for any of them. The word blemish falls six times in this chapter and governs the animal as well at 22:20-21, so the man who offers and the thing he offers are measured by one standard. The readings on offer differ: Calvin declined to inquire into the particular defects and rested on the rule that only what was perfect came to the altar, Clarke read the list as fitness before the people who watch him, and Gregory of Nazianzus in Oration 2 read the whole of it as a figure of soundness of soul. The text itself settles none of them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Or a man that is brokenfooted or brokenhanded. That has any of the bones or joints in his hands and feet broke, or when they are distorted, and he is clubfooted, or his fingers crooked and clustered together; and such a man could not be fit to ascend the altar, and lay the sacrifice in order upon it; and may be an emblem of such as are awkward or disorderly in their walk and conservation, and to every good work and action unfit, and so unfit for their master's use.
Those are unworthy to be called Christians, and unfit to be employed as ministers, that are spiritually blind, and lame, and crooked, whose sins render them scandalous and deformed, so as that the offerings of the Lord are abhorred for their sakes.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Broken-footed, or broken-handed - Club-footed, bandy-legged, etc.; or having the ankle, wrist, or fingers dislocated.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| א֣וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ב֖וֹ | vo | in <the> him | ||
| שֶׁ֣בֶר | shever | a fracture of | H7667 → | 45 times |
| רָ֑גֶל | ragel | a foot | H7272 → | 247 times |
| א֖וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| שֶׁ֥בֶר | shever | a fracture of | H7667 → | 45 times |
| יָֽד׃ | yad | a hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
א֣וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
אִ֔ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁר־whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יִהְיֶ֥הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
ב֖וֹin <the> him
vo
שֶׁ֣בֶרa fracture of
sheverH7667 →45 times
רָ֑גֶלa foot
ragelH7272 →247 times
א֖וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
שֶׁ֥בֶרa fracture of
sheverH7667 →45 times
יָֽד׃a hand
yadH3027 →1618 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.