Leviticus 21:6
in Leviticus 21They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be holy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
KJV
They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
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This verse in Leviticus 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The word here and in Lev 21:8 rendered “bread”, is the same as is rendered food in Lev 3:11, Lev 3:16, etc., and meat in Lev 22:11. The reader of the English Bible should keep in view that bread, meat, and food, were nearly equivalent terms when our translation was made, and represent no distinctions that exist in the Hebrew.
This site's exposition
They shall not make baldness upon their head
on Leviticus 21:5-9
The mourning customs forbidden here, a shaved head, a cut beard and cuttings in the flesh, were already forbidden to all Israel at 19:27-28, so the priest carries a rule his neighbours carry too. Verses 7 to 9 then reach into his house and govern whom he marries and what his daughter does. The penalty at verse 9 falls on a woman who never serves at the altar, and the ground the verse gives is that she profaneth her father. The word profane falls nine times in these twenty-four verses and holds the chapter together.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Holy unto their God - Devoted to God's service, and always prepared for it, and therefore shall keep themselves from all defilements. The name of their God - Which they especially bear. The bread of their God - That is, the shew-bread: or rather, all the other offerings, besides burnt-offerings: which are called bread, because bread is commonly put for all food.
They shall be holy unto their God,....
If they pollute themselves, they profane the name of their God on whom they attend: if the servants are rude and of ill behaviour, it is a reflection upon the master, as if he kept a loose and disorderly house. Note, All that either offer or eat the bread of our God must be holy in all manner of conversation, or else they profane that name which they pretend to sanctify.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קְדֹשִׁ֤ים | kedoshim | holy | H6918 → | 116 times |
| יִהְיוּ֙ | yihyu | they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לֵאלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם | leloheihem | to God their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְחַלְּל֔וּ | yechalelu | they will profane | H2490 → | 143 times |
| שֵׁ֖ם | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾeloheihem | God their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כִּי֩ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִשֵּׁ֨י | ʾishei | [the] fire offerings of | H801 → | 65 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֶ֧חֶם | lechem | [the] food of | H3899 → | 298 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֛ם | ʾeloheihem | God their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הֵ֥ם | hem | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| מַקְרִיבִ֖ם | makrivim | [are] presenting | H7126 → | 280 times |
| וְהָ֥יוּ | vehayu | and they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| קֹֽדֶשׁ׃ | kodesh | a holy thing | H6944 → | 469 times |
קְדֹשִׁ֤יםholy
kedoshimH6918 →116 times
יִהְיוּ֙they will be
yihyuH1961 →3559 times
לֵאלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔םto God their
leloheihemH430 →2601 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יְחַלְּל֔וּthey will profane
yechaleluH2490 →143 times
שֵׁ֖ם[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑םGod their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
כִּי֩for
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אִשֵּׁ֨י[the] fire offerings of
ʾisheiH801 →65 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֶ֧חֶם[the] food of
lechemH3899 →298 times
אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֛םGod their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
הֵ֥םthey
hemH1992 →553 times
מַקְרִיבִ֖ם[are] presenting
makrivimH7126 →280 times
וְהָ֥יוּand they will be
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
קֹֽדֶשׁ׃a holy thing
kodeshH6944 →469 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 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
it leads to
- Exodus 19:5–6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…
- Revelation 1:6
who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
- Revelation 5:10
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”
- Isaiah 61:6
But you will be called the priests of the LORD; they will speak of you as ministers of our God; you will feed on the wealth of nations, and you will boast in their…
- Exodus 19:5–6
Through
Isaiah 52:11Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
- Zechariah 2:6–7
“Get up! Get up! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven,” declares the LORD.
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
Through
Leviticus 18:21You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:31
You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as…
- Deuteronomy 12:31
About Leviticus
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.