Leviticus 16:2
And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
BSB
Parallel translations (2) ▾
ASV
and Jehovah said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy-seat which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
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Commentary
2 voicesVoices on this verse
loading…Hebraic traditional view
The day Israel still fasts
This chapter founds the Day of Atonement, in Hebrew Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year: the one day the high priest entered the innermost room of the sanctuary with blood for the nation's sins. With no Temple standing since AD 70, the day is kept now as a full fast: roughly 25 hours with no food or drink, most of it spent in synagogue prayer, many wearing white.
The Mishnah (the first code of Jewish oral law, about AD 200) defines the day's five abstentions: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, leather shoes, and marital relations (Yoma 8:1). It also carries a saying worth any reader's time: the day atones for sins between a person and God, “but for sins between a person and his fellow, the Day of Atonement does not atone until he has appeased his fellow” (Yoma 8:9). Reconciliation with people is homework done before the day.
Sources: Mishnah Yoma 8:1 (the five abstentions) · Mishnah Yoma 8:9 (appease your fellow first) · The Day of Atonement (this site's study)
Original language & word study
29 tagged words| Original | Transliteration | Meaning | Word study |
|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vai.Yo.mer | and he said | H559 → |
| יְהוָ֜ה | Yah.weh | Yahweh | H3068 → |
| אֶל־ | 'el- | to | H413 → |
| מֹשֶׁ֗ה | mo.Sheh | Moses | H4872 → |
| דַּבֵּר֮ | da.Ber | speak | H1696 → |
| אֶל־ | 'el- | to | H413 → |
| אַהֲרֹ֣ן | 'a.ha.Ron | Aaron | H175 → |
| אָחִיךָ֒ | 'a.chi.Kha | brother your | H251 → |
| וְאַל־ | ve.'al- | and may not | H408 → |
| יָבֹ֤א | ya.Vo' | he come | H935 → |
| בְכָל־ | ve.khol- | at every | H3605 → |
| עֵת֙ | 'et | time | H6256 → |
| אֶל־ | 'el- | into | H413 → |
| הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ | ha.Ko.desh | the holy place | H6944 → |
| מִבֵּ֖ית | mi.Beit | from inside | H1004 → |
| לַפָּרֹ֑כֶת | la.pa.Ro.khet | to the curtain | H6532 → |
| אֶל־ | 'el- | to | H413 → |
| פְּנֵ֨י | pe.Nei | [the] face of | H6440 → |
| הַכַּפֹּ֜רֶת | ha.ka.Po.ret | the atonement cover | H3727 → |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | 'a.Sher | which | H834 → |
| עַל־ | 'al- | [is] on | H5921 → |
| הָאָרֹן֙ | ha.'a.Ron | the ark | H727 → |
| וְלֹ֣א | ve.Lo' | and not | H3808 → |
| יָמ֔וּת | ya.Mut | he will die | H4191 → |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → |
| בֶּֽעָנָ֔ן | be.'a.Nan | in the cloud | H6051 → |
| אֵרָאֶ֖ה | 'e.ra.'Eh | I will appear | H7200 → |
| עַל־ | 'al- | over | H5921 → |
| הַכַּפֹּֽרֶת׃ | ha.ka.Po.ret | the atonement cover | H3727 → |
The walk
Featured studies on this passage
On Leviticus 16:2
The Day of Atonement
Leviticus 16, walked in the chapter's own order — one man, one day a year, within the veil; two goats that are one offering; and the letter to the Hebrews reading the whole day as a shadow of Christ.
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On Leviticus 16:2
Leviticus: the Study Guide
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On Leviticus 16:2
The Tabernacle
A floor plan of the gospel. Eight furniture pieces, three concentric zones, one veil torn the moment Christ died. Among the most architecturally complete typological structures in Scripture.
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Three appointed times in a single autumn month — a trumpet-blast, a day of atonement, a week in booths — read as the shape of the year's close.
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Outside the Camp
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About Leviticus

