Leviticus 22:15
in Leviticus 22The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto Jehovah,
KJV
And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the Lord;
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This verse in Leviticus 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
These verses are rather difficult. Their meaning appears to be: “The holy things of the children of Israel which are heaved before Yahweh” (see Lev 7:30) “shall not be profaned; and they shall incur a sin of trespass who eat of their holy things (so as to profane them).”
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
Whatever was offered in sacrifice to God should be without blemish, otherwise it should not be accepted. This had often been mentioned in the particular institutions of the several sorts of offerings. Now here they are told what was to be accounted a blemish which rendered a beast unfit for sacrifice: if it was blind, or lame, had a wen, or the mange (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
They - The people shall not profane them, by eating them: or the priests shall not profane them, that is, suffer the people to profane them, without censure and punishment.
And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the Lord. By causing or suffering strangers to eat of them; so Jarchi, referring the words to the priests, who should be careful that strangers ate not of sacred things; or by the strangers themselves eating them, whereby they were profaned and used as common things.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
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.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְחַלְּל֔וּ | yechalelu | they will profane | H2490 → | 143 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קָדְשֵׁ֖י | kadeshei | [the] holy things of | H6944 → | 469 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֵ֥ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָרִ֖ימוּ | yarimu | they will lift up | H7311 → | 190 times |
| לַיהוָֽה׃ | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יְחַלְּל֔וּthey will profane
yechaleluH2490 →143 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
קָדְשֵׁ֖י[the] holy things of
kadesheiH6944 →469 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֵ֥ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יָרִ֖ימוּthey will lift up
yarimuH7311 →190 times
לַיהוָֽה׃to Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →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
Ezekiel 22:26Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They…
it leads to
- Leviticus 10:10
You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean,
- Ezekiel 44:23
They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.
- Ezekiel 22:8
You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
- Malachi 2:8
But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Micah 3:11–12
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
- Leviticus 10:10
Through
Leviticus 22:9The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
it leads to
- Exodus 28:43
Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. This…
- Exodus 28:43
Through
Numbers 18:32Once you have presented the best part of it, you will not incur guilt because of it. But you must not defile the sacred offerings of the Israelites, or else you will die.’”
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:8
Whoever eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to the LORD. That person must be cut off from his people.
- Leviticus 22:2
“Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 19:8
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; 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.