Leviticus 21:16-24 & Concluding Notes

"16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, 19 Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, 20 Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; 21 No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. 22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. 23 Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. 24 And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel." —  Leviticus 21:16-24 KJV.

PERSONAL DISABILITIES FOR THE PRIESTHOOD, 17-24.

The arduous labours demanded of the priests required that they should be able-bodied men. Moreover, it was necessary that there should be a correspondence between the perfect physique of the priests and the unblemished victims offered to the perfect God. The incongruity of a blind man, a dwarf, or a cripple, figuring in the solemn and majestic ritual of the altar, would have exposed the service to ridicule. Since the service of the altar was minutely prescribed, neither genius nor high intellectual qualities were requisite, but an unblemished form with mind enough to follow the directions of the law. Thus it is found that ceremonial religions always repress genius, while those forms of religion which depend more upon the inculcation and intellectual and spiritual apprehension of the truth give scope to the development of mental power in the office of the prophet, the teacher, and the preacher.

18. Blemish — The blemishes may be classified as 1.) essential physical defects, rendering the adequate performance of the service impossible, and 2.) aesthetical defects, where the powers may be unimpaired but the appearance is repulsive. Of the former are the blind, the lame, and various kinds of maimed. A flat nose — Furst, following the Seventy, renders it snub-nosed. The Vulgate has three nasal blemishes, si parvo, vel grandi, vel torto naso, “if he has a small, or a huge, or a twisted nose.” Superfluous — The original occurs elsewhere only in Leviticus 22:23, and Isaiah 28:20, and seems to signify limbs disproportioned in length. The Vulgate limits it to the nose. The Seventy translates it “with the ears cropped or slit.” The Targum of Palestine says, “mutilated in the thigh.” Keil inclines to our English rendering — any thing superfluous, as more than ten fingers or toes, or any thing beyond what is normal, such as an ill-formed bodily member.

20. A dwarf — This signifies one who is lean or consumptive, or having a withered limb. Onkelos and several versions render it sore-eyed. Blemish in his eye — Either a suppuration, dropping of the eye, or having white spots or stripes. Scurvy, or scabbed — These words in Hebrew are found only here and in Leviticus 22:22, and the former in Deuteronomy 28:27; they may denote almost any skin disease, from leprosy to the common itch. Stones broken — A sort of castration, by bruising the cords of the testicles, hence “ruptured testicles.” (Targ. Onk.)

22. He shall eat — The blemishes exclude only from the activities of the priest’s office, not from its emoluments. Hence no injustice was suffered. Of the most holy — See Leviticus 2:3, note.

CONCLUDING NOTES.

(1.) Manhood, or more precisely the twentieth year, is reputed in Jewish tradition to be the term before which none might act as priest. But there is no age limit in the law. It is supposed that the priests are included in the law of the Levites, which debars from service until thirty years of age. See Numbers 4:3; Luke 3:23, notes.

(2.) Deformed sons of Aaron, according to Josephus, were found inside the railing which divided the court of the priests from that of the people, wearing the common dress, performing subordinate services, and receiving the portions which were their due in virtue of their descent. Not all Aaronites, even when possessed of the legal qualifications, were really priests in office. Benaiah was a military general See 2 Samuel 8:18; 20:23; 1 Kings 2:25; 1 Chronicles 27:5.