Leviticus 22:12 kjv
If the priest's daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things.
Leviticus 22:12 nkjv
If the priest's daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings.
Leviticus 22:12 niv
If a priest's daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions.
Leviticus 22:12 esv
If a priest's daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things.
Leviticus 22:12 nlt
If a priest's daughter marries someone outside the priestly family, she may no longer eat the sacred offerings.
Leviticus 22 12 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Priestly Provisions & Regulations (OT) | ||
| Lev 10:14-15 | "But the breast that was waved and the thigh that was heaved... your sons and your daughters with you." | Priestly family eats holy food. |
| Lev 22:10 | "No outsider shall eat any holy thing..." | General rule about "outsiders." |
| Lev 22:13 | "...if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced... she may return to her father's house... and eat." | Shows re-access if she returns to priestly household. |
| Num 18:11 | "Every devoted thing... is for you and for your sons and daughters with you." | Confirmation of family's right to portions. |
| Num 18:19 | "All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters..." | Specifies what portions are given. |
| Deut 12:17 | "You may not eat within your towns the tithe of your grain..." | Shows limitations on where sacred food eaten. |
| Eze 44:29-30 | "They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering..." | Priests' food provisions. |
| Purity, Separation & Consequence of Improper Access (OT & NT) | ||
| Lev 21:7 | "They shall not marry a prostitute or a desecrated woman..." | Laws for priests regarding whom they marry. |
| Num 1:51 | "But when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down... if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death." | Strictness about unauthorized access to holy things. |
| Heb 12:14 | "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." | Call to general Christian holiness. |
| 2 Cor 6:14 | "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers." | Principle of separation in partnership. |
| 1 Cor 11:27 | "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty..." | Improper approach to sacred (Lord's Supper). |
| Matt 7:6 | "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs..." | Warning against profaning sacred things. |
| NT Priesthood & Access to God | ||
| 1 Pet 2:5 | "...you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood..." | All believers as spiritual priests. |
| 1 Pet 2:9 | "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession..." | Corporate priesthood of believers. |
| Rev 1:6 | "and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father..." | Christ making believers priests. |
| Heb 10:19-22 | "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus..." | Access to true holiness through Christ. |
| John 6:53-56 | "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." | Spiritual eating/partaking in Christ. |
| Phil 3:3 | "For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh..." | Emphasis on spiritual, not fleshly, privilege. |
| Gal 3:28 | "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." | Status in Christ transcends earthly distinctions. |
Leviticus 22 verses
Leviticus 22 12 Meaning
When a priest's daughter marries someone who is not a priest (a common layman), she loses her privilege to eat from the holy offerings that are allocated for the priestly household's sustenance. Her new marital status shifts her allegience and dependence away from the consecrated priestly lineage, making her and her new household unauthorized to partake of sacred provisions.
Leviticus 22 12 Context
Leviticus chapter 22 meticulously details laws concerning the sacred offerings and the conduct of the priests to ensure the sanctity of their service and the offerings. Verses 1 through 16 specifically address who is permitted to eat from the holy things dedicated to the Lord. This section emphasizes the distinction between the sacred and the common, reinforcing the principle that only those in a ritually clean and designated status may partake of these provisions. The immediate context clarifies that foreigners, sojourners, and hired servants (those not permanently part of the priestly household) are prohibited from eating the holy things (vv. 10-11). Conversely, the priest's slaves and his returned widowed or divorced daughter (without children, thus rejoining her father's household) may eat (vv. 11, 13). Leviticus 22:12 stands as a specific application of these principles, focusing on the change of status brought by marriage to a non-priest, thereby defining the boundaries of eligibility for consuming the Lord's sacred food. The overall aim is to preserve the holiness of the Lord and His consecrated provisions for the authorized and ritually pure.
Leviticus 22 12 Word analysis
- "If a priest's daughter": בַת כֹּהֵן ( bat kohen). "Bat" (daughter) refers to a female descendant. "Kohen" (priest) identifies her father's consecrated lineage. Her initial status is derived from being a member of the priest's household, granting her the privilege to eat the holy things (Lev 10:14).
- "marries a layman": תִּהְיֶה לְאִישׁ זָר ( tihyeh l'ish zar). "Tihyeh" means "she becomes" or "she belongs to." "L'ish" means "to a man." "Zar" (זָר) is a key cultic term meaning "strange," "unauthorized," "common," or "profane" in this context. It describes someone not belonging to the consecrated Aaronic priesthood. This phrase denotes a change in her household allegiance and identity; she becomes part of a non-priestly family.
- "she may not eat": לֹא תֹאכַל ( lo tokhal). This is a strong, definitive prohibition ("not," "shall not eat"). Her previous access privilege is revoked.
- "of the holy offerings": מִקָּדְשֵׁי ( mikkodeshey). "Mi-" (from/of) and "qodeshey" (plural of qodesh – "holy things"). These refer to the specific portions of various sacrifices (like sin offerings, guilt offerings, grain offerings, wave offerings, heave offerings) that were designated as the priests' livelihood and considered highly sacred because they were "the Lord's."
Words-group analysis
- "priest's daughter marries a layman": This phrase precisely defines the transition in her status. It's the critical juncture where her former eligibility, rooted in her father's household, is overridden by her new bond and new household which does not possess the inherent priestly sacredness. The issue isn't defilement, but a change of cultic household and thus access rights.
- "she may not eat of the holy offerings": This is the direct consequence of her change in status. It underlines the exclusive and conditional nature of partaking in consecrated food, which symbolizes identity with and reliance on the sacred priestly institution. It signifies that the sustenance for the consecrated sphere is not to be consumed by those outside of it.
Leviticus 22 12 Bonus section
- This verse illustrates the corporate identity under the Old Covenant: an individual's rights and responsibilities were often defined by their household or lineage, rather than purely as an isolated individual. Her privilege was a function of her family unit.
- The comparison with Leviticus 22:13 is crucial: a priest's daughter, if she becomes a widow or divorced woman and has no children, may return to her father's house and regain her right to eat the holy offerings. This explicitly confirms that her household status, not merely her birth, was the determining factor for eating the sacred provisions. Her re-entry into her father's dependant status allowed for a resumption of the privilege.
- The principle ensures that the support intended for the active, dedicated service of the Lord, embodied by the priesthood, remains distinct and untainted by being shared with those who are not contributing to or ritually associated with that specific, consecrated function.
Leviticus 22 12 Commentary
Leviticus 22:12 highlights a fundamental principle of ritual holiness and privilege within the Mosaic Covenant: access to sacred things was strictly regulated by one's status and affiliation with the consecrated community. A priest's daughter enjoyed the right to eat holy offerings because she was an integral part of her father's consecrated household, sustained by the divine provision to the priesthood. However, upon marrying a layman—an "unauthorized" or common person from outside the priestly line—her household and identity shifted. Her new family became her primary allegience and source of support, severing her previous tie to the priestly family's sustenance from the altar. This was not a judgment on her marriage or moral status but a functional and ritualistic boundary designed to maintain the integrity, distinctiveness, and holiness of the Lord's dedicated provisions. It ensured that the sacred remained distinct from the common and that only those functionally designated for sacred service and their dependent household members partook of God's holy table.