Leviticus 22:13 kjv
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 be no stranger eat thereof.
Leviticus 22:13 nkjv
But if the priest's daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father's house as in her youth, she may eat her father's food; but no outsider shall eat it.
Leviticus 22:13 niv
But if a priest's daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father's household as in her youth, she may eat her father's food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat it.
Leviticus 22:13 esv
But if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and returns to her father's house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food; yet no lay person shall eat of it.
Leviticus 22:13 nlt
But if she becomes a widow or is divorced and has no children to support her, and she returns to live in her father's home as in her youth, she may eat her father's food again. Otherwise, no one outside a priest's family may eat the sacred offerings.
Leviticus 22 13 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 10:14-15 | "But the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented you may eat in any clean place... because they are your portion and your children's portion from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the people of Israel." | Priests and family eating holy food. |
| Num 18:11 | "This also is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the waved offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat of it." | Priestly family's right to sacred food. |
| 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 with you, as a perpetual due." | Priestly family's inheritance of offerings. |
| Deut 12:17-18 | "You may not eat within your towns the tithe of your grain... but you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place that the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant..." | Restrictions on eating holy food outside prescribed places. |
| Deut 23:18 | "You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God." | Impermissible offerings defile holiness. |
| Eze 44:22 | "They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest." | Priests' specific marriage regulations to maintain holiness. |
| Mal 2:7 | "For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." | Priests' role requires sacred living. |
| Ezr 9:1-2 | "After these things had been finished, the officials approached me and said, 'The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations...'" | Warning against intermarriage defiling holiness. |
| Neh 13:28-29 | "And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of the high priest Eliashib, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites." | Consequences of unholy alliances affecting priestly purity. |
| Exod 29:33 | "They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but an outsider shall not eat of them, for they are holy." | Prohibition against outsiders eating holy food. |
| Num 3:38 | "Those who encamped before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons..." | Separation of holy roles. |
| Heb 10:19-20 | "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way..." | New Covenant's broader access to God's presence, though through Christ. |
| 1 Cor 11:27-29 | "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord... For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself." | Warnings against partaking in holy things unworthily. |
| Eph 2:19-20 | "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone..." | Gentiles 'grafted in' to God's household with new spiritual privilege. |
| 1 Pet 2:9 | "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." | Believers as a spiritual priesthood with access to God. |
| Heb 12:16 | "See to it that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal." | Loss of privilege due to unholiness. |
| Rom 11:17-21 | "But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others... do not be arrogant... for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you." | Loss of natural privilege and conditional nature of spiritual inclusion. |
| 2 Cor 6:14 | "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" | Principle of separation in marriage applied spiritually. |
| Prov 4:23 | "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." | The internal spiritual state affecting access to God's provisions. |
| John 6:53-56 | "So Jesus said to them, '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... Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.'" | Spiritual nourishment/life through Christ, parallels with sacred food. |
| Rev 1:6 | "and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." | Believers designated as spiritual priests with access. |
Leviticus 22 verses
Leviticus 22 13 Meaning
Leviticus 22:13 decrees that a priest's daughter, if she marries a layman (a man not of the priestly lineage), forfeits her right to eat from the holy offerings designated for the priests. This regulation underlines the strict maintenance of purity and holiness surrounding the sacred offerings and those permitted to partake in them. Access to holy things was tied to one's consecrated status within the priestly household.
Leviticus 22 13 Context
Leviticus 22 concerns the holiness required of priests and their households when handling, consuming, or offering sacred items and offerings. The immediate context of verse 13 follows regulations for a priest's daughter who returns to her father's house (after being widowed or divorced without children) and is thus permitted again to eat sacred food (verse 12). Verse 13 provides the opposite scenario, emphasizing that her new family status determines her access to the holy food. Historically, this ensured the strict purity of cultic operations. Only those ceremonially clean and belonging to the priestly lineage, or closely associated and purified within the priestly household, could partake. The intent was to prevent common things from mingling with holy things, upholding God's sanctity in all temple practices.
Leviticus 22 13 Word analysis
- But if: Introduces a contrasting condition or scenario to the previous verse (Lev 22:12), highlighting a change in status and its consequences.
- a priest’s daughter: Hebrew: bat kohen (בַּת כֹּהֵן). Refers specifically to a female descendant of Aaron, part of the consecrated priestly lineage. Her inherent association with holiness by birth provides her initial privilege.
- marries: Hebrew: tihyeh (תִּהְיֶה), meaning "she becomes" or "she is." This implies a change in her permanent marital status and, consequently, her familial allegiance and legal standing. This is not a temporary visit but a new household.
- a layman: Hebrew: ’ish zar (אִישׁ זָר), literally "a foreign/strange man." This designates someone not of the priestly (Aaronite) lineage, emphasizing an "outsider" status in relation to the priestly household and its unique privileges. The "strangeness" here refers to their not being consecrated for priestly service or partaking in the specific rights and responsibilities.
- she may not eat: Hebrew: lo tokal (לֹא תֹאכַל). An absolute prohibition. It signifies an unequivocal cessation of a former right. Her previous status no longer confers the privilege.
- of the sacred offerings: Hebrew: qodesh (קֹדֶשׁ). Refers to things dedicated to God, set apart, consecrated, and therefore holy. These included portions of sacrifices (like grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings) allocated for priestly consumption.
Words-group analysis:
- "a priest’s daughter marries a layman": This phrase marks the critical pivot point. The act of marriage establishes a new household (Deut 24:1-5) and shifts her legal and communal identity away from her father’s priestly house, severing the link to the inherent privilege of that house concerning the holy food. This emphasizes that family status, not just personal holiness, dictates access.
- "she may not eat of the sacred offerings": This highlights the immediate and direct consequence of her change in marital status. Access to sacred provisions is not merely a birthright, but a right contingent on one's ongoing direct association and identity with the consecrated household. It reinforces the boundaries God placed on what is holy, guarding it from desecration by the common or unholy.
Leviticus 22 13 Bonus section
The Levitical laws on sacred food illustrate God’s meticulous nature regarding holiness and separation. They teach that God’s provisions for those serving Him are distinct and protected. This concept finds echoes in the New Testament with spiritual discernment in partaking of the Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11:27-29), where one's spiritual condition determines worthy participation. It also highlights the "corporate" aspect of holiness – that individuals' statuses are often tied to their family or community (e.g., priests and their household). The Old Covenant priests represented an exclusive access; the New Covenant, through Christ, establishes a "royal priesthood" (1 Pet 2:9) for all believers, offering a new, broader form of spiritual access while still emphasizing the need for holiness and separation from the world (2 Cor 6:14-18).
Leviticus 22 13 Commentary
Leviticus 22:13 is a precise legal and cultic regulation enforcing the separation between the holy and the common. A priest's daughter inherits the right to partake of sacred offerings, which sustain the priestly household. However, this privilege is conditional upon her familial attachment to the priestly house. When she marries a "layman," she becomes part of a non-priestly household, thereby losing her access to the consecrated provisions. This strict rule serves to protect the holiness of God's offerings and the integrity of the cultic system. It illustrates the principle that proximity to the sacred is governed by divine decree and is tied to one's appointed status and communal identity rather than personal choice. It is not a punishment but a consequence of her changed legal and ceremonial relationship, reinforcing the absolute purity required for consuming God’s holy provisions. The law highlights that only those "clean in your house" (Num 18:11) may partake, underscoring the corporate holiness of the priestly family, which extends its benefits, and limits them based on marriage ties.