Leviticus 22:14
in Leviticus 22If anyone eats a sacred offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the sacred offering to the priest.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give unto the priest the holy thing.
KJV
And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing.
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This verse in Leviticus 22
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAt the end, it is stated, "If a man eats of the sanctified things through ignorance, iniquity and wickedness are laid at his feet, and he shall be bound by a vow." Thus also the apostle teaches us that we are to eat the Eucharist of the Lord with caution, lest we eat to our condemnation and judgment. If ignorance is condemned under the law, how much more will full knowledge be condemned according to the gospel?
This site's exposition
There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing
on Leviticus 22:10-16
The line is drawn by belonging to the priest's house rather than by descent from him. A slave bought with his money eats and one born in his house eats, while a hired servant and a sojourner do not, and a daughter married outside the priestly families loses the portion until she comes back widowed or divorced and childless. Verse 14 sets the remedy for eating a holy thing unwittingly at restitution plus a fifth part, the same addition required at 5:16 and 6:5, so the accident is repaid rather than punished. The Mishnah, compiled about AD 200, gives a whole tractate called Terumoth to who may eat the priest's portion, and it opens its sixth chapter on this verse with the man who eats in error paying the principal and the fifth.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Unto it - Over and above the principle, and besides the ram to be offered to God, chap. v, 15. And shall give unto the priest the holy thing - That is, the worth of it, which the priest was either to take to himself or to offer to God, as the nature of the thing was.
And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly,....
If he did it presumptuously, and in contempt of the divine institution, he was liable to be cut off by the hand of God, and to be beaten by the magistrate; but, if he did it through weakness in inconsideration, he was to restore the value, adding a fifth part to it, besides which he was to bring an offering to atone for the trespass; see ch.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it - The holy thing of which he has unknowingly eaten shall be fairly valued, and to this value he shall add one fifth more, and give the whole to the priest.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
According to others, "the children of Israel" is the nominative in the sentence; which thus signifies, the children of Israel shall not profane or defile their offerings, by touching them or reserving any part of them, lest they incur the guilt of eating what is divinely appointed to the priests alone [CALMET]. THE SACRIFICES MUST BE WITHOUT BLEMISH.
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
Unwittingly - Inadvertently, or “through ignorance.” Compare Lev 4:2 note.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
AND IF A MAN EAT OF THE HOLY THING. Here referring to terumah (the heave-offering) which is given to the priest from the produce of the Land. THROUGH ERROR, THEN HE SHALL ADD ITS FIFTH PART UNTO IT, AND SHALL GIVE UNTO THE PRIEST THE HOLY THING.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
AND THEY SHALL NOT PROFANE THE HOLY THINGS OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — “by giving them to non-priests to be eaten.”. AND SO CAUSE ‘OTHAM’ (THEM) TO BEAR THE INIQUITY THAT BRINGETH GUILT.
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. 5 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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִ֕ישׁ | veish | and anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יֹאכַ֥ל | yokhal | he will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| קֹ֖דֶשׁ | kodesh | a holy thing | H6944 → | 469 times |
| בִּשְׁגָגָ֑ה | bishgagah | by inadvertence | H7684 → | 19 times |
| וְיָסַ֤ף | veyasaf | and he will add | H3254 → | 212 times |
| חֲמִֽשִׁיתוֹ֙ | chamishito | fifth its | H2549 → | 45 times |
| עָלָ֔יו | ʾalav | to it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְנָתַ֥ן | venatan | and he will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לַכֹּהֵ֖ן | lakohen | to the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃ | hakodesh | the holy thing | H6944 → | 469 times |
וְאִ֕ישׁand anyone
veishH376 →1663 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יֹאכַ֥לhe will eat
yokhalH398 →810 times
קֹ֖דֶשׁa holy thing
kodeshH6944 →469 times
בִּשְׁגָגָ֑הby inadvertence
bishgagahH7684 →19 times
וְיָסַ֤ףand he will add
veyasafH3254 →212 times
חֲמִֽשִׁיתוֹ֙fifth its
chamishitoH2549 →45 times
עָלָ֔יוto it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
וְנָתַ֥ןand he will give
venatanH5414 →2011 times
לַכֹּהֵ֖ןto the priest
lakohenH3548 →750 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃the holy thing
hakodeshH6944 →469 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
6 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
Leviticus 27:13If, however, the owner decides to redeem the animal, he must add a fifth to its value.
it leads to
- Leviticus 27:15
But if he who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it will belong to him.
- Leviticus 27:19
And if the one who consecrated the field decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it shall belong to him.
- Leviticus 27:10
He must not replace it or exchange it, either good for bad or bad for good. But if he does substitute one animal for another, both that animal and its substitute will be holy.
- Leviticus 5:16
Regarding any holy thing he has harmed, he must make restitution by adding a fifth of its value to it and giving it to the priest, who will make atonement on his behalf with…
- Leviticus 6:4–5
once he has sinned and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost property he found,
- Leviticus 27:15
Through
Leviticus 27:15But if he who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it will belong to him.
it leads to
- Leviticus 27:13
If, however, the owner decides to redeem the animal, he must add a fifth to its value.
- Leviticus 27:13
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; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 1.34; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.