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Leviticus 21 Bible study: Holy to their God
Leviticus 21 calls the offerings "the bread of their God" (21:6), and gives the priests who offer them rules of holiness, strictest for the anointed high priest, who could not defile himself even for his father (21:10-11). A son of Aaron with a defect could not offer, yet "He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy" (21:22).
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“Therefore you shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Leviticus 21, a priest with a defect was still allowed to eat the most holy food.”
Is that in Leviticus 21, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Stricter still for the high priest
The chapter moves in three steps: the priests (21:1-9), then the high priest (21:10-15), then any son of Aaron with a defect (21:16-23). The high priest's rules are stricter than the other priests'. A priest could defile himself for his nearest relatives, "for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother" (21:2). The high priest could not do it even "for his father or for his mother" (21:11). A priest could not marry "a woman who is a prostitute, or profane", or "a woman divorced from her husband" (21:7). The high priest could not marry "a widow" either; "He shall take a virgin of his own people as a wife" (21:14).
Where it leads to Jesus
A high priest made like his brothers
Leviticus 21:10leads toHebrews 2:17
Leviticus speaks of "the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured" (21:10). Hebrews calls Jesus "a great high priest" (Hebrews 4:14), and says he "is not ashamed to call them brothers" (Hebrews 2:11): "Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17). Hebrews doesn't quote Leviticus 21, so setting the two side by side is an interpretation, resting on Hebrews' own comparison of Jesus with Israel's high priest.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Leviticus 21
That was a taste
The rest of Leviticus 21 is waiting in Favor
- Holy because of what they offer
- The LORD who sanctifies
- Ezekiel's priests
- The high priest who tore his clothes
- 8 questions as you read
- 10 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Leviticus 21 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
קָדוֹשׁqadoshsay qa-DOSH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "sacred, holy". Strong's: "sacred (ceremonially or morally)". It comes four times in 21:6-8. The priests "shall be holy to their God" (21:6); a priest keeps the marriage rule "for he is holy to his God" (21:7); and under it all is the LORD himself: "He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy" (21:8). The whole congregation had heard the same: "You shall be holy; for I, the LORD your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:2). Leviticus uses the adjective 20 of its 118 times in the Hebrew Bible. Peter quotes the command to followers of Jesus: "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16).
For your group
Leviticus 21 Bible study questions
- 1The chapter keeps saying, "I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy" (21:8). What changes when you see holiness as something God does in you, and not only something you try to do?
- 2The priest who couldn't offer still ate "the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy" (21:22). Who do you know who feels left out of something at church, and how could you make room for them?
- 3In Jesus' parable, the priest "passed by on the other side" (Luke 10:31), and Jesus said, "Go and do likewise" of the one who showed mercy (Luke 10:37). What most often keeps you from stopping for someone in need?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Leviticus 21 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home