Concerning the High Priest

Concerning the High Priest

Concerning the High Priest

Leviticus 21

Leviticus 21:1-6, 10-12

1. And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:

1. Et dixit Jehova ad Mosen, Alloquere sacerdotes filios Aharon, et dicito eis, Super animam non contaminabit se quisquam vestrum it, populis suis:

2. But for his kin that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,

2. Sed super propinquo suo, propinquo sibi, nempe super matre sua, et super patre suo, et super filio suo, et super filia sua, et superfratre suo.,

3. And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.

3. Et super sorore sua virgine propinqua sibi, quae non fuerit viro: super ea contaminabit se.

4. But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

4. Non contaminabit se in principe in populis suis, ut polluat sese.

5. They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

5. Non decalvabunt calvitium in capitc suo, et extremitatem barbae suse non radent, et in carne sua non incident ullam incisuram.

6. They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.

6. Sancti erunt Dco suo, neque polluent nomen Dei sui: quia oblationes ignitas Jehovoe, et panem Dei tui offerunt, proinde erunt sancti.

10. And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;

10. Sacerdos autem praecipuus inter fratres suos super cujus caput fusum fuerit oleum unctionis, et consecraverit manum suam ut induat vestes, caput suum non discooperiet, et vestes suas non scindet.

11. Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;

11. Et ad omnes animas mortui non ingredietur, ne super patre quidem suo, ant matre sua, contaminabit se.

12. Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.

12. Et de sanctuario non ingredietur, neque polluet sanctuarium Dei sui: quia corona olei unctionis Dei sui est super eum. Ego Jehova.

7. They shall not take a wife. The third kind of purity is in marriage itself, that the priests’ home may be chaste and free from all dishonor. At this time also God commands by the mouth of Paul, that pastors should be chosen, who rule well their own houses, whose wives are chaste and modest, and their children well-behaved. (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6.) The same cause for this existed under the Law, lest those appointed for the government of the Church should be despised and looked down upon on account of their domestic vices. But God most especially had regard to the priesthood of Christ, that it should not be exposed to contempt. It was indeed permitted that men should marry with impunity a woman divorced from her husband; though in the sight of God such an union was unlawful. No law forbade private individuals from marrying a deflowered woman; but what was permitted to the multitude God condemned in the priests, in order to withdraw them from every mark of infamy. And this reason is also expressed when he says that He would have the priests holy, because He has chosen them for Himself; for if the people had not reverenced them, all religion would have been contemptible. Therefore that their dignity might be preserved, He commands them to take diligent heed not to expose themselves to ignominy. Finally, still more highly to commend reverence to their holy office, He reminds them that it related to the welfare of the whole people: “I the Lord (He says) do sanctify him,” ver. 15. In these words He intimates that the grace of adoption, whereby they were chosen as His heritage, was based on the priesthood.

13. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. More is required in the high priest, viz., that he should not marry a widow, nor a woman of any other tribe than his own. A question may indeed arise as to the latter clause, whether the plural word ought to be restricted to one tribe, whereas it is elsewhere applied to all. But, if we examine it more closely, it is plain that “his peoples” is equivalent to “of his people,” (populares.) But nothing peculiar will be here required of the priest, if his wife is to be taken only from the children of Abraham. I admit that the chief priests married wives of Other tribes, as Elizabeth, sprung of the tribe of Judah, married Zacharias; but, since the high priest is here distinguished from all others, I do not see how it would follow that a law or privilege referring to him should be observed by the whole posterity of Aaron. On this point, however, I will not contend, if any one thing is otherwise. But assuredly, since he presented the brightest type of Christ, it was right that superior and more perfect holiness should be beheld in him. For this was the tendency of the restriction, that his wife, not having known another man, should manifest the modesty worthy of her station and quality of sacred honor. If any should object that the marriage of, an old priest with a young girl was ridiculous and somewhat indecorous, as well as liable to many inconveniences; I answer, that special regulations should be so expounded as not to interfere with general principles. If a decrepit old man falls in love with a young girl, it is a base and shameful lust; besides he will defraud her if he marries her. Hence, too, will jealousy and wretched anxiety arise; or, by foolishly and dotingly seeking to preserve his wife’s love, he will cast away all regard for gravity. When God forbade the high priest to marry any but a virgin, he did not wish to violate this rule, which is dictated by nature and reason; but, regard being had to age, He desired that modesty and propriety should be maintained in the marriage, so that, if the priest were of advanced years, he should marry a virgin not too far from his own age: but, if he were failing and now but little fitted for marriage on account of his old age, the law that he should marry a virgin was rather an exhortation to celibacy, than that he should expose himself to many troubles and to general ridicule.

Note 189. Ainsworth’s literal translation is “a virgin of his peoples.” Fr., “Ailleurs il se prend pour tout le corps de la lignee d’Abraham:” elsewhere it is taken for the whole body of the race of Abraham.

Note 190. It is surely strange that C., who here seems to draw out the Christology of the ordinances of the Law with unusual fullness and precision, should have omitted to mention “the mystical union which is between Christ and His Church,” as most luminously set forth in this type. Vide Song, passim. Psalm 95; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:27; Revelation 19:8, etc.

9. And the daughter of any priest. The moderation and chastity (required in the priest ) is extended also to his daughter; and by synecdoche all that relates to good discipline is comprised under a single head; viz., that his children should be educated in the study of virtue, and in decent and pure morality. A heavy punishment is denounced against a priest’s daughter if she should play the harlot, because sacrilege would be combined with her disgraceful licentiousness. But it is no light crime to violate God’s sanctuary; and, if the priest had tolerated such an iniquity in his daughter, he would have been no severe avenger of the same turpitude in strangers; nay, he would not have been at liberty to punish crimes, unless he made a beginning in his own house.

Note 191. Added from Fr.

Leviticus 21

Leviticus 21:16-24

16. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

16. Loquutus est Jehova ad Mosen, dicendo:

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.

17. Loquere ad Aharon, dicendo, Vir e semine tuo per aetates suas, in quo fuerit macula, non accedet ut offerat panem Dei sui.

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,

18. Quippe nullus vir in quo fuerit macula, aecedet: vir crocus, vel claudus, aut diminutus, aut superfluus:

19. Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,

19. Aut vir in quo fuerit fractura pedis, vel fractura manus:

20. Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;

20. Aut gibbosus, aut lippus, aut qui habebit maeulam in oculo suo, aut cui fuerit scabies vel impetigo, aut qui contritus fuerit testiculo.

2l. 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.

21. Omnis vir in quo fuerit macula, e semine Aharon sacerdotis, non accedet ad offerendum oblationes ignitas Jehovae: in quo fuertit macula, non accedet ad offerendum panem Dei sui.

22. He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.

22. Panem quidem Dei sui e sanctitatibus sanctitatum et e sanctis comedet.

23. Only he shall not go in unto thevail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

23. Atqui intra velum non ingredietur, et ad altare non aceedet: quia macula est in eo, ne polluat sanctuaria mea: quoniam ego Jehova qui sanctifico vos.

24. And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.

24. Loquutus est itaque Moses ad Aharon et filios ejus, et ad omnes filios Israel.

17. Speak unto Aaron, saying. Priests in whom there was any notable bodily defect are here forbidden from approaching the altar. I will not curiously inquire into the defects which Moses enumerates, since the same rule is here laid down, which is afterwards applied to the sacrifices, whereof none but perfect ones were to be offered. For God rejected whatever was defective or mutilated, in order that the Israelites might know that no victim would suffice for the expiation of sin, except such as possessed complete perfection; and this is justly required in a priest, who cannot be a mediator between God and men unless he is free from every spot. But the analogy must be kept in view between the external figures and the spiritual perfection which existed only in Christ. God could bear no defect in the priests; it follows, then, that a man of angelic purity was to be expected, who should reconcile God to the world. The bodily imperfections, then, which were here enumerated, must be transferred to the soul. The offering of bread comprehends by synecdoche the other offerings, and the whole legal service, which the priests were wont to perform in their course; and this the words of Moses immediately afterwards confirm, wherein he mentions all “the offerings made by fire,” besides the bread. We have seen elsewhere that any of the people wounded in the testicles were prohibited from entering the sanctuary; that they were, not even to set foot in the court; but there was a special reason for this as regarded the priests, lest they should pollute the sanctuary by their defects. Hence it appears how needful for us is the intercession of Christ; for, if his perfect cleanness did not wash away our impurity, no oblation could proceed from us except what would be foul and unsavory. Moreover, it is worthy of observation that the sanctuary of God is polluted by any defect or imperfection; and, consequently, that whatever of their own men obtrude upon God, is condemned as profane, so far are they from conciliating God’s favor by any merit.

22. He shall eat the bread of his God. He permits them indeed to eat of the sacrifices, because no uncleanness on account of their natural defects could prevent them from partaking of the sacred meals; they are only forbidden to appear in God’s presence as mediators to propitiate Him. And here the imperfection of the legal service betrays itself; for nothing could be found among men which could fully represent the truth. Since then the defects of men rendered it necessary to separate the two connected things, viz., the honor and the burden, hence the Israelites were admonished that another priest was promised them, in whom nothing would be wanting for the consummation of all virtues and perfection. Finally, Moses relates that he delivered God’s commands not only to Aaron and his sons, but to all the people likewise; so that the humblest of them might be the censor of the priests if in anything they fell short.

Note 192. “La nouristure assignee aux enfans d’Aaron.” — Fr.

Note 193. “Peust contreroler, par maniere de dire, les Sacrificateurs:” might, so to say, control the priests. — Fr.

Leviticus 22

Leviticus 22:1-16

1. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

1. Loquutus est insuper Jehova ad Mosen, dicendo:

2. Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD.

2. Loquere ad Aharon, et filios ejus ut separent sese a sanctificationibus filiorum Israel et ne polluant nomen sanctitatis mese in his quae ipsi sanctificant mihi: ego Jehova.

3. Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD.

3. Dic illis, in generationibus vestris omnis vir qui accesserit ex omni semine vestro ad sanctificationes quae sanctificaverint filii Israel Jehovae, et immunditia sua fuerit super ipsum, excidetur anima ipsius a facie mea: ego Jehova.

4. What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him;

4. Quicunque e semine Aharon fuerit leprosus, vel seminifluus, de sanctificationibus non comedet donec mundet se: et qui tedgerit immundum super morticinio, ant virex quo egreditur effusio seminis,

5. Or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath;

5. Ant vir qui tetigerit quodcunque reptile per quod immundus erit, ant hominem propter quem immundus erit, secundum omnem immunditiam eius:

6. The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.

6. Anima inquam quae tetigerit illum, immunda erit usque ad vesperam: et non comedet de sanctificationibus nisi laverit carnem suam aqua.

7. And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food.

7. Quum autem occubuerit sol, turn erit mundus, et postea comedet de sanctificationibus: quia cibus ejus est.

8. That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD.

8. Cadaver et rapture non comedet, et polluat se in eo: ego Jehova.

9. They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them.

9. Et custodiant custodiam meam, et ne portent peccatum propter illud, et moriantur propter illud, quum polluerint illam: ego Jehova sanctificans eos.

10. There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.

10. Omnis autem alienigena non comedet sanctificationem: inquilinus sacerdotis, et mercenarius non comedet sanctificationem.

11. But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.

11. Quod si sacerdos emerit hominem emptione argenti sui: ipsc comedet ex ea, et vernaculus ejus: illi comedent de cibo ejus.

12. If the priest’s daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things.

12. Filia autem sacerdotis quum fuerit viro alieno: ipsa de oblatione sanctificationum non comedet.

13. But if the priest’s daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father’s house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof.

13. Filia vero sacerdotis quum fuerit vidua, ant repudiata, et semen non erit el, et reversa fuerit ad domran parris sui, sicut in pueritia sua, de eibo patris eomedet: onmis autem alienigena non comedet ex co.

14. And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing.

14. Quod si aliquis comederit sanctificationem per imprudentiam, addet quintam partem ejus, et dabit sacerdoti eum sanctificatione.

15. And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD;

15. Et non contaminabunt sanctificationes filiorum Israel, quas obtulerint Jehovae.

16. Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

16. Neque portare facient cos iniquitatem delicti, dum comederint sanctificationes eorum: ego enim Jehova sanctificans eos.

1. And the Lord spake unto Moses. Moses here treats of the accidents whereby pollution is contracted, although a man may be by nature pure and sound. If any labored under natural defects, Moses prohibited them from exercising the sacerdotal office; now, if any extrinsic pollution may have affected a priest, he commands him to abstain from his duties until he shall have been purified. He had already commanded that any unclean person should be separated from the people lest their contagion should infect others; it may therefore seem superfluous to prescribe to the priests what had been universally enjoined. But since men placed in any position of honor are apt to abuse God’s favor as a pretext for sin, lest the sacerdotal dignity might be used as a covering for the indulgence or excuse of scandals, it was necessary to enact an express law, that the priests should not plead their privilege to eat in their uncleanness of the sacrifices which none but the clean might offer. And that their sacrilege might be the more detestable, he denounces death against any who should intrude their pollutions into the sacrifices; for it was necessary to arouse by the fear of punishment, and as it were to drive by violence to their duty those who would not have been otherwise restrained by any religious feeling from making God’s service contemptible. He then enumerates the particular kinds of pollution of which we have before spoken. Whence it appears, that the priests were brought into discipline by this law, lest they should think themselves more free than the rest of the people, thus might indulge themselves in security; and this is afterwards more clearly expressed where God admonishes them to “keep his ordinance,” (ver. 9:) i.e., diligently to observe whatever He commanded; and the greater dignity He had honored them with, that the greater should be their study to persevere in the exercises of piety; for he shews them that so far from their sacerdotal rights conducing to the alleviation of their sin, they were more strongly bound by them to keep the Law.

Note 194. Lat., “Custodiant custodiam meam.” Ainsworth, “Keep my charge."

10 There shall no stranger. It was also necessary to add this, that the majesty of sacred things might not be impaired; for if it had been promiscuously permitted to all to eat of the sacred bread and the other oblations, the people would have straightway inferred that they differed not from ordinary food. And unless the avarice of the priests had been thus anticipated, an unworthy trade would have prevailed; for banquets would have been see up for sale, and the priest’s house would have been a kind of provision-market. The prohibition, therefore, that the meats offered in sacrifice should be eaten by strangers, was not made so much with reference to them as to the priests, who would have else driven a profitable trade with the offerings, or, by gratifying their guests, would not have hesitated to bring disrepute on the whole service of God. The Law consequently prohibits that either a sojourner, or a hired servant, should eat of them; and only gives this permission to their slaves, and those who were incorporated into their families. Moreover, He counts the priests’ daughters who had married into another tribe as aliens. The sum has this tendency, that whatsoever depends on the service of God should obtain its due reverence; nor could this be the case, if what was offered in the temple were not distinguished from common food. Inasmuch as they were human beings, they were allowed to subsist in the ordinary manner; yet was this distinction necessary, which might savor of the sanctity of Christ. This was the cleanness of the priests as regarded food.

Note 195. “Ils eussent ttenu foire et marche des viandes, qui leurs fussent demeurees de residu, ce qui n’eust pas este sans grand opprobre:” they would have kept fair and market of the meats which remained over to them, which could not have taken place without much scandal. — Fr.

14. And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly. A question may here arise, why God would have satisfaction made to the priests, if any one should have eaten of the offerings; for they deserved punishment rather than reward, if they had suffered sacred things to be brought into contempt by their promiscuous use. But the error of those is here dealt with, who had not reserved for the priests their lawful share. A portion, as we shall see, was assigned by God, which they were to set aside before they tasted any part of the victim; those, therefore, who had sinned by inadvertency, are commanded by Him to expiate their fault, to restore so much to the priest, and to add a fifth part. And this was done with the object of which we have spoken, lest, if the things offered to God were exposed to common use, religion should be brought into contempt. What follows afterwards, “and they shall not profane the holy things,” I interpret as addressed to the priests themselves; for this sentence is connected with the previous one, in which the injunctions were directed to the priests alone; and this is further confirmed by the next verse, which declares that the whole people would be accomplices in the sin of the priests if they should have polluted the sacred oblations. For thus I take the words, “that they should not suffer the people to bear the iniquity,” or the punishment of the transgression, if the unclean should have touched things offered to God. For as the priest is the mediator of reconciliation to propitiate God towards men, so his impiety is a common iniquity, which brings guilt upon all. The translation which some give, “that they should not lade themselves,” is further from the sense, and altogether wrested. Finally, God again declares that in proportion to the greatness of the honor which He had put upon them, would be the heaviness and inexcusableness of the crime, if they acted unworthily of their calling.

Note 196. As in margin of A. V.