Leviticus 21:22
in Leviticus 21He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy:
KJV
He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
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This verse in Leviticus 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseHe shall eat the bread of his God. He permits them indeed to eat of the sacrifices, because no uncleanness on account of their natural defects could prevent them from partaking of the sacred meals; they are only forbidden to appear in God's presence as mediators to propitiate Him.
This site's exposition
No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron
on Leviticus 21:21-24
The blemished priest keeps his portion and loses his function. The phrase bread of his God bars him at verses 17 and 21 and feeds him at verse 22, where he eats of the most holy and of the holy with his brethren, and only the vail and the altar are shut to him. Calvin read it that no natural defect kept such a man from the sacred meals and that the bar stood on appearing before God for others. Verse 24 has Moses telling all of it to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, so the law governing the priesthood is read out to the people it serves.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): He shall eat of the sacrifices with the other priests, even the most holy things, such as the show-bread and the sin-offerings, as well as the holy things, such as the tithes and first-fruits, and the priests' share of the peace-offerings.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
He shall eat the bread of his God,....
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֶ֣חֶם | lechem | [the] food of | H3899 → | 298 times |
| אֱלֹהָ֔יו | ʾelohav | God his | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִקָּדְשֵׁ֖י | mikadeshei | from [the] holy things of | H6944 → | 469 times |
| הַקֳּדָשִׁ֑ים | hakodashim | the holy things | H6944 → | 469 times |
| וּמִן־ | umin- | and from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַקֳּדָשִׁ֖ים | hakodashim | the holy things | H6944 → | 469 times |
| יֹאכֵֽל׃ | yokhel | he will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
לֶ֣חֶם[the] food of
lechemH3899 →298 times
אֱלֹהָ֔יוGod his
ʾelohavH430 →2601 times
מִקָּדְשֵׁ֖יfrom [the] holy things of
mikadesheiH6944 →469 times
הַקֳּדָשִׁ֑יםthe holy things
hakodashimH6944 →469 times
וּמִן־and from
umin-H4480 →1188 times
הַקֳּדָשִׁ֖יםthe holy things
hakodashimH6944 →469 times
יֹאכֵֽל׃he will eat
yokhelH398 →810 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 9:13Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings?
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:28
And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 18:8–20
Then the LORD said to Aaron, “Behold, I have put you in charge of My offerings. As for all the sacred offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons…
- Leviticus 6:26
The priest who offers it shall eat it; it must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 5:9–10
Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him.
- 1 Corinthians 10:18
Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar?
- 1 Samuel 2:28
Through
Leviticus 2:3The remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.
it leads to
- Leviticus 10:12–13
And Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that remains from the offerings made by fire to the LORD and eat it without leaven beside the…
- Numbers 18:9
A portion of the most holy offerings reserved from the fire will be yours. From all the offerings they render to Me as most holy offerings, whether grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt…
- Leviticus 6:16–17
Aaron and his sons are to eat the remainder. It must be eaten without leaven in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
- Leviticus 10:12–13
About Leviticus

This page draws on John Calvin, Commentaries; 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
