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Leviticus
Chapter Seventeen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 17
In
this chapter a law is given
ordering all sorts of persons
Israelites and
sojourners
to bring their sacrifices to the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation
on pain of being cut off
cf11ul Lev_17:1; and a special
and particular prohibition of sacrificing to devils is delivered out
Leviticus 17:7; and
the eating of blood
and of everything that dies of itself
or is torn with
beasts
is forbidden under the above penalty
cf11ul Lev_17:10.
Leviticus 17:1. And
the Lord
spoke to Moses
saying
YLT 1And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses
saying
And the Lord spake unto Moses
.... After he had given
him the law about the day of atonement
and the rites belonging to it:
saying; as follows.
Leviticus 17:2.
2 “Speak to Aaron
to his
sons
and to all the children of Israel
and say to them
‘This is the
thing which the Lord
has commanded
saying:
YLT 2`Speak unto Aaron
and unto his sons
and
unto all the sons of Israel; and thou hast said unto them
This [is] the thing
which Jehovah hath commanded
saying
Speak unto Aaron
and unto his sons
.... Who were now
constituted priests
the business of whose office it was to offer the
sacrifices of the people
ordinary and extraordinary:
and to all the children of Israel; who were all under
obligation to sacrifices at certain times; under whom may be comprehended the
Levites
who were not priests
and the strangers that sojourned in Israel
for
these are concerned in the following law:
and say unto them; which is spoken to Moses
who was to say
what follows to Aaron
and by him to his sons
and by his sons to the people of
Israel
and by them to the strangers:
this is the thing which the Lord hath commanded; ordered to be
observed as his will and pleasure by everyone of them:
saying; namely
what follows.
Leviticus 17:3.
3 “Whatever man of the house
of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp
or who kills it
outside the camp
YLT 3Any man of the house of Israel who
slaughtereth ox
or lamb
or goat
in the camp
or who slaughtereth at the
outside of the camp
What man soever there be of the house of Israel
.... Whether
high or low
rich or poor:
that killeth an ox
or lamb
or goat in the camp; which are
particularly mentioned
as Gersom observes
because of these the offerings
were; for the law respects the killing of them not for common food
but for
sacrifice
as appears from the following verses; for this law was to be a
statute for ever
whereas in that sense it was not
and could not be observed
especially when they were come into the land of Canaan; nor would it have been
decent or convenient to have brought such vast numbers of cattle every day to
be killed at the door of the tabernacle
and must have made the service of the
priests extremely laborious to kill them
or even to see that they were killed
aright:
or that killeth it out of the camp; which
furnishes out another reason against the same notion
since it was not usual to
kill for common food without the camp
but in their own tents within it;
whereas to sacrifice without the camp was commonly done.
Leviticus 17:4.
4 and does not bring it to
the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the
tabernacle of the Lord
the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and
that man shall be cut off from among his people
YLT 4and unto the opening of the tent of meeting
hath not brought it in to bring near an offering to Jehovah before the
tabernacle of Jehovah
blood is reckoned to that man -- blood he hath shed --
and that man hath been cut off from the midst of his people;
And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation
.... Near to
which stood the altar of burnt offering to offer it upon
and the priests ready
for such service: now the Lord would have every sacrifice brought thither
to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord; that it might
be offered publicly
and be known to be offered to the Lord
and not to idols
or devils
as in Leviticus 17:7; and
so to prevent private idolatry
and private persons from intruding into the
priest's office; and this was typical of the acceptance of all spiritual
sacrifices in the church of God
through Christ the minister of the tabernacle
which God pitched
and not man; and who is the door into the house of God
where such sacrifices are publicly to be offered up:
blood shall be imputed unto that man
he hath shed blood; which though
it was only the blood of a beast
yet being shed as a sacrifice for man
and
typical of the blood of Christ to be shed for man
was sacred and precious to
God; and therefore he resented the shedding of it to any but himself
or by any
person
or in any place but by his appointment; such a man was to be punished
as a murderer
idolatry being equally heinous in the sight of God as murder
see Isaiah 66:3
and that man shall be cut off from among his people; not merely
excommunicated from the church of God
deprived of the privileges of his house
but even put to death; for such a man was guilty of blood
that is
of death
and therefore to be put to death either by the hand of the civil magistrate
if
his case was known and came under their cognizance
or by the immediate hand of
God by a premature death
which seems to be chiefly intended; also see Leviticus 17:10.
Leviticus 17:5.
5 to the end that the
children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open
field
that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the
tabernacle of meeting
to the priest
and offer them as peace offerings
to the Lord.
YLT 5so that the sons of Israel do bring in their
sacrifices which they are sacrificing on the face of the field
yea
they have
brought them in to Jehovah
unto the opening of the tent of meeting
unto the
priest
and they have sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings to Jehovah with
them.
To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices
which they offer in the open field
.... Which
before the
tabernacle was erected
they were used to offer there
as it was lawful for
them to do
and on high places
but now unlawful; though sometimes this was
dispensed with by the Lord
and was done by some of his prophets
as Samuel
David
and Elijah
though not by priests:
even that they may bring them unto the Lord
unto the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation
unto the priest; by whom they were to be
offered
and by him only
and which is a principal reason why they were ordered
to be brought thither:
and offer them for peace offerings unto the Lord; which though
only mentioned
include all others. These are only taken notice of because most
frequent
and because most profitable to the people
having a part of them;
wherefore if these were to be brought to the tabernacle
which came the nearest
of any to their meals and feasts in their own houses
then much more burnt
offerings
and sin offerings
in which the Lord
had so great a concern.
Leviticus 17:6.
6 And the priest shall
sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the
tabernacle of meeting
and burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the Lord.
YLT 6`And the priest hath sprinkled the blood upon
the altar of Jehovah
at the opening of the tent of meeting
and hath made
perfume with the fat for sweet fragrance to Jehovah;
And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord
.... The altar
of burnt: offering
Leviticus 1:5
at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation; near to which it stood
see Leviticus 1:5
and burn the fat for a sweet savour to the Lord; the fat that
covered the inwards
the kidneys
the flanks and caul of the liver; see Leviticus 3:3.
Leviticus 17:7.
7 They shall no more offer
their sacrifices to demons
after whom they have played the harlot. This shall
be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.”’
YLT 7and they sacrifice not any more their
sacrifices to goats after which they are going a-whoring; a statute age-during
is this to them
to their generations.
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils
.... As it
seems they had done
which was monstrously shocking
and especially by a people
that had the knowledge of the true God. Such shocking idolatry has been
committed
and still is among the Indians
both East and West: when Columbus
discovered Hispaniola
and entered it
he found the inhabitants worshippers of
images they called Zemes
which were in the likeness of painted devils
which
they took to be the mediators and messengers of the great God
the only one
eternal
omnipotent
and invisibleF1P. Martyr. de Angleria
Decad.
1. l. 9. ; and so at Calecut and Pego in the East Indies
and in other parts
thereof
they sacrifice to the devilF2Vartoman. Navigat. l. 5. c. 2.
23. & 1. 6. c. 16. 27. : one can hardly think the Israelites would give
into such gross idolatry as this; wherefore by "devils" may be meant idols
in general; for if men do not worship God and Christ
let them worship what
they will
it is only worshipping devils
1 Corinthians 10:20;
and so the calves of Jeroboam are called devils
2 Chronicles 11:15;
hence the golden calf also
the Israelites worshipped but lately in the
wilderness
might go by the same name; to which sense is the Targum of
Jonathan
"and they shall not offer again their sacrifices to idols
which
are like to devils.'The word here used signifies "goats"
and these
creatures were worshipped by the Egyptians
and so might be by the Israelites
while among them; this is asserted by several writers. Diodorus Siculus saysF3Bibliothec.
l. 1. p. 58
79.
they deified the goat
as the Grecians did Priapus
and for
the same reason; and that the Pans and the Satyrs were had in honour by men on
the same account; and HerodotusF4Euterpe
sive
l. 2. c. 46.
observes
that the Egyptians paint and engrave Pan as the Greeks do
with the
face and thighs of a goat
and therefore do not kill a goat
because the
Mendesians reckon Pan among the gods; and of the Mendesians he says
that they
worship goats
and the he goats rather than the she goats; wherefore in the
Egyptian language both Pan and a goat are called Mendes; and StraboF5Geograph.
l. 17. p. 551. reports of Mendes
that there Pan and the goat are worshipped:
if these sort of creatures were worshipped by the Egyptians in the times of
Moses
which is to be questioned
the Israelites might be supposed to have
followed them in it; but if that be true
which MaimonidesF6Moreh
Nevochim
p. 3. c. 46. says of the Zabii
a set of idolaters among the
Chaldeans
and other people
long before the times of Moses
that some of them
worshipped devils
whom they supposed to be in the form of goats
the
Israelites might have given in to this idolatry from them
and be the occasion
of this prohibition:
after whom they have gone a whoring; idolatry being a
spiritual adultery
a forsaking God
who had taken them into a conjugal
relation
and been as an husband to them
and cleaving to idols
which were as
paramours; see Jeremiah 31:32
this shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their
generations: not only this of not sacrificing to devils
but all before
commanded
particularly that they should bring their sacrifices to the priest
at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Leviticus 17:8. 8 “Also
you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel
or of the
strangers who dwell among you
who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice
YLT 8`And unto them thou sayest: Any man of the
house of Israel
or of the sojourners
who sojourneth in your midst
who
causeth burnt-offering or sacrifice to ascend
And thou shalt say unto them
.... To Aaron and his
sons
and to the children of Israel
as in Leviticus 17:2
whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel: belonging to
that nation
and to any of its tribes and families
of whatever age; as a young
man or an old man
as the Targum of Jonathan; or of whatsoever rank
class
and
condition in life:
or of the strangers which sojourn among you; that is
of
the proselytes among them; not the proselytes of the gate
who were not
admitted to offer sacrifice on the altar of the Lord; and if they were
they
could not for non-compliance with this law be cut off from the Jewish church
and commonwealth
of which they were no part
only suffered to dwell among
them
but partook of none of their privileges; but this is to be understood of
proselytes of righteousness
such as embraced the Jewish religion
and submitted
to all the rituals of it
and had communion with the body of the people
and
shared in all the immunities of their civil and church state
and so liable in
case of any real practice to be cut off from them:
that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice; any other
sacrifice besides a burnt offering
as a sin offering
or a trespass offering
or a peace offering.
Leviticus 17:9. 9 and
does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting
to offer it to the Lord
that man
shall be cut off from among his people.
YLT 9and unto the opening of the tent of meeting
doth not bring it in to make it to Jehovah -- that man hath been cut off from
his people.
And bringeth it not to the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation
to offer it unto the Lord
.... In a public manner
by one of the priests of the Lord; by which it might appear that he did not
take upon him to be a priest himself
nor to offer it to an idol:
even that man shall be cut off from his people; from being
one of them
and having communion with them
and sharing in their privileges;
or by death
either by the hand of the civil magistrate
or rather by the hand
of God; so Jarchi
his seed shall be cut off
and his days shall be cut off;
that is
he shall die childless
and in the midst of his days
a violent and
premature death. Also See Gill on Leviticus 17:4.
Leviticus 17:10. 10 ‘And
whatever man of the house of Israel
or of the strangers who dwell among you
who eats any blood
I will set My face against that person who eats blood
and
will cut him off from among his people.
YLT 10`And any man of the house of Israel
or of
the sojourners
who is sojourning in your midst
who eateth any blood
I have
even set My face against the person who is eating the blood
and have cut him
off from the midst of his people;
And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel
.... That is
by birth an Israelite
of every age
sex
or condition
as before:
or of the strangers that sojourn among you; proselytes of
righteousness
for the following law was only obligatory on such
and upon
Israelites
as appears from its being lawful to give or sell that which dies of
itself to a stranger
that is
to a proselyte of the gate
or to an Heathen
Deuteronomy 14:21
that eateth any manner of blood; that is
as Ben Gersom
interprets it
of beasts and birds
concerning which the prohibition only is
according to him; for as for the blood of others there was no obligation
nor
were any guilty on account of them; particularly the blood of fishes
and of
locusts
or human blood
the blood of a man's teeth
which a man might swallow
without being guilty of the breach of this lawF7Hilchot Maacolot
Asurot
c. 6. sect. 1. . Some restrain this to the blood of the sacrifices
before treated of; but Jarchi observes
lest any should think
because it is
said
it is "the blood that maketh the atonement for the soul": that
a man is not guilty only on account of the blood of sanctified things
therefore it is said "any manner of blood":
I will set my face against that soul that eateth blood; signifying
how greatly he should be provoked thereby
how much he should resent it
how
exceedingly displeasing it would be to him
and what severity might be expected
to be exercised towards him for it; for dreadful it is to have the face of God
set against a man
see Psalm 34:16.
MaimonidesF8Ut supra. (Moreh Nevochim
p. 3. c. 46.) observes
that
this form of speech does not occur in any third precept besides these two
concerning idolatry or sacrificing a son to Moloch
Leviticus 20:3
and
eating blood; because eating of blood gives an occasion to one species of
idolatry
worshipping of devils
see Leviticus 19:26
and will cut him off from among his people; which
confirms the above sense of the phrase of cutting off as expressive of death by
the hand of God; See Gill on Leviticus 17:4.
Leviticus 17:11. 11 For the life of the flesh is
in the blood
and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for
your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the
soul.’
YLT 11for the life of the flesh is in the blood
and I have given it to you on the altar
to make atonement for your souls; for
it [is] the blood which maketh atonement for the soul.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood
.... The
animal life or soul
the life and soul of every creature
and even the animal
life and soul of man; agreeably to which our famous Dr. Harvey
who found out
the circulation of the blood
says of it
that it is the principal part which
first appears in generation; is the genital part
the fountain of life the
first that lives
and the last that dies; the primary seat of the soul or life
from whence motion and pulsation take their rise; in which the innate heat is
produced the vital spirit is generated and the life consistsF9De
Generatione Animal. Exercitat. 51. p. 302
303
&c. ; and therefore it is
spread all over the body
and according to the condition that it is in
such is
the health and such the diseases of the body; yea
the affections of the mind
such as fear
shame
joy
and anger are discovered by it. Hence Antoninus the
emperor
more than once
calls the soul a vapour or exhalation arising out of
the bloodF11De Seipso
l. 5. sect. 25. & l. 6. sect. 11. ; and
the sentiments of various Jewish writers agree herewith: says Aben Ezra
it is
a truth
that the soul or life
with which man lives
is in the blood of the
heart; so says Jarchi the soul or life depends upon the blood; and Ben Gersom
observes
that the blood is the vessel of the soul to carry in it the
fundamental heat
and food to the parts of the body; and hence the animal only
dies when the blood is removed:
and I have given it unto you to make an atonement for your souls: that being
the life of the creature
was given for theirs to preserve them alive
and
secure them from death their sins deserved; and so the Targum of Jonathan is
for the sins of the soul; which shows that these sacrifices were vicarious
in
the room of men
and for the life of them
and to atone for them; and is the
reason given why blood should not be eaten
at least while these typical
expiatory sacrifices were used. Ben Gersom seems to intimate
as if it was only
the blood of those that was forbidden: his words are
hence we learn says he
that they were not guilty of cutting off
but on account of the blood
which
according to its way was put upon the altar; and this was the blood of the soul
as it saith the blood of the bullock
and the blood of the goat; but the blood
that was pressed out
and the blood of the members they were not guilty of
cutting off
on account of them:
for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the
soul; so here was life for life
soul for soul as Aben Ezra expresses
it; it was a vicarious sacrifice and atonement
typical of the sacrifice and
atonement of Christ
in the room and stead of his people
there being no
atonement
no remission of sins without shedding of blood; and the reason of
the prohibition of eating blood was to direct to that blood as the atonement
for sin
and to keep up a reverence of it
and a value and esteem for it; but
now seeing that blood has been shed and atonement made by it
the end of the
law is answered
and the reason of it ceased
and so the law itself; and as
Christ's blood is now to be eaten in a spiritual sense
the eating of blood in
a literal sense
properly dressed
is lawful. And indeed
as before observed
the law concerning it was never binding upon Gentiles
only on Jews and proselytes.
Leviticus 17:12. 12 Therefore
I said to the children of Israel
‘No one among you shall eat blood
nor shall
any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’
YLT 12`Therefore I have said to the sons of Israel
No person among you doth eat blood
and the sojourner who is sojourning in your
midst doth not eat blood;
Therefore I said unto the children of Israel
no soul of you shall
eat blood
.... Great or small as Jarchi observes
for the reason above
given; which
though not expressed before
was the true reason of this law
which had been given before
and now repeated; see Leviticus 3:17
neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood; any proselyte
of righteousness; this is not observed before.
Leviticus 17:13. 13 “Whatever
man of the children of Israel
or of the strangers who dwell among you
who
hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten
he shall pour out its
blood and cover it with dust;
YLT 13and any man of the sons of Israel
or of the
sojourners
who is sojourning in your midst
who hunteth venison
beast or
fowl
which is eaten -- hath even poured out its blood
and hath covered it
with dust;
And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel
or
of the strangers that sojourn among you
.... This form of
speaking
which is often used in this chapter
is still observed to point out
the persons on whom the law is obligatory
Israelites and proselytes of
righteousness:
which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; that is
clean beasts and fowls
such as by a former law are observed; and this excepts
unclean ones
as Jarchi
but includes all clean ones
whether wild or tame
that may be taken and killed though not taken in hunting; but such are
particularly mentioned
because not only hunting beasts and fowl were common
but because such persons were more rustic and brutish and
being hungry
were
in haste for their food
and not so careful about the slaying of the creatures
and of
taking care about their blood:
he shall even pour out the blood thereof
and cover it with dust; that it might
not be eaten by men
nor licked up by beasts and that there might be kept up a
reverend esteem of blood
being the life of the creature; and this covering of
it
as MaimonidesF12Hilchot Shechitah
c. 4. sect. 1. tells us
was
accompanied with a benediction in this form
"Blessed art thou
O Lord our
God
the King of the world
who hath sanctified us by his precepts
and hath
given commandment to us concerning covering of the blood:'and the same writer
elsewhereF13Moreh Nevochim
p. 3. c. 46. gives us another reason of
this law
that the Israelites might not meet and feast about the blood
as the
Zabians did
who
when they slew a beast
took its blood and put it into a
vessel
or into a hole dug by them
and sat and feasted around it: see Leviticus 19:26.
Leviticus 17:14. 14 for
it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I
said to the children of Israel
‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh
for
the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’
YLT 14for [it is] the life of all flesh
its blood
is for its life; and I say to the sons of Israel
Blood of any flesh ye do not
eat
for the life of all flesh is its blood; any one eating it is cut off.
For it is the life of all flesh
.... Of every
animal:
the blood of it is for the life thereof; for the
production
preservation
and continuance of life; that on which life depends
as Jarchi observes:
therefore I said unto the children of Israel
ye shall eat the
blood of no manner of flesh; of beasts or birds
whose flesh was fit for
food; but their blood was not to be eaten
for the reasons before given:
for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof; which is
repeated
that it might be observed and taken notice of
as that in which the
force of the reason lay for giving this law:
whosoever eateth it shall be cut off; by death
whether he be an Israelite or a proselyte of righteousness; wherefore if this
law was now in force
its penalty also would be continued
whereas it is not
and which shows the abrogation of it. Also See Gill on Leviticus 17:4.
Leviticus 17:15. 15 “And
every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts
whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger
he shall both
wash his clothes and bathe in water
and be unclean until evening. Then he
shall be clean.
YLT 15`And any person who eateth a carcase or torn
thing
among natives or among sojourners -- hath both washed his garments
and
hath bathed with water
and hath been unclean until the evening -- then he hath
been clean;
And every soul that eateth that which died of itself
.... Through
any disease upon it
or by means of any other creature seizing upon it and
worrying it
or was not lawfully killed; if a man ate ever so little of it
even but the quantity of an olive
it was a breach of this law; which is
connected with the preceding
there being a similarity between them
because
such creatures must have their blood in them
not being regularly let out
and
so eating of them would offend against the above law. It is very probable
as
Grotius thinks
that Pythagoras took his notion from hence
and strictly
enjoined his followers to abstain from all animals that died of themselves
as
LaertiusF14In Vit. Pythagor. l. 8. p. 588. and AelianusF15Var.
Hist. l. 4. c. 17. relate
and which PorphyryF16De Abstiuentia
l.
3. sect. 18. suggests
was what universally obtained among men:
or that which was torn with beasts; though not
dead
yet ready to die
and so unfit for food; See Gill on Exodus 22:31
whether it be one of your
own country
or a stranger; a native of Israel
or a proselyte of
righteousness; for as for any other stranger he might eat of it
Deuteronomy 14:22
he shall both wash his clothes
and bathe himself in water; in forty
seahs of water
as the Targum of Jonathan
dip himself all over:
and be unclean until the even; and so have no
conversation with men in civil or religious things:
then shall he be clean; when he has washed his
garments
and bathed himself
and the evening is come
and then shall be
admitted to society as before: this is to be understood of one who ignorantly
eats of the above things
not knowing them to be such; otherwise
if he did it
presumptuously
he was to be punished.
Leviticus 17:16. 16 But
if he does not wash them or bathe his body
then he shall bear his
guilt.”
YLT 16and if he wash not
and his flesh bathe not
-- then he hath borne his iniquity.'
But if he wash them not
.... Neither wash his
clothes: nor bathe his flesh; if he is negligent
and does not take care to
make use of these ablutions:
then he shall bear his iniquity; his guilt shall remain
on him
and he shall suffer the punishment the law exposes him to
either by
the hand of God
or the civil magistrate
which is due to persons that enter
into the sanctuary in their uncleanness
or eat of holy things. For not washing
his body the punishment was cutting off
and for not washing his garments
beating
as Jarchi says.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》