Leviticus 6:17 kjv
It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering.
Leviticus 6:17 nkjv
It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the trespass offering.
Leviticus 6:17 niv
It must not be baked with yeast; I have given it as their share of the food offerings presented to me. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy.
Leviticus 6:17 esv
It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my food offerings. It is a thing most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering.
Leviticus 6:17 nlt
Remember, it must never be prepared with yeast. I have given it to the priests as their share of the special gifts presented to me. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy.
Leviticus 6 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 2:11 | "No grain offering that you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven..." | Absolute prohibition of leaven in fire offerings. |
| Exod 12:8 | "They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it." | Leaven forbidden during Passover due to urgency and purity. |
| Exod 12:15 | "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread... for whoever eats leavened bread, that person shall be cut off..." | Strict command for unleavened bread during Passover. |
| Exod 13:7 | "Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days... No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory." | Leaven symbolizing removal of impurity. |
| Deut 16:3 | "...You shall eat unleavened bread therewith... for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste..." | Reminds Israel of quick departure and purity in exodus. |
| Lev 2:3 | "The rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is most holy of the Lord's food offerings." | Reinforces the "most holy" status for priests' portion. |
| Lev 2:10 | "And what is left of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings..." | Repeats the most holy nature of priests' portion. |
| Lev 7:6 | "Every male among the priests may eat of it; it is most holy." | Specifies male priests could eat "most holy" portions. |
| Lev 6:25 | "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered shall the sin offering be slaughtered before the Lord; it is most holy." | Designates the sin offering as "most holy." |
| Lev 6:26 | "The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting." | Priest's consumption of "most holy" sin offering. |
| Lev 7:1 | "This is the law of the guilt offering. It is most holy." | Declares the guilt offering as "most holy." |
| Num 18:9 | "This shall be yours from the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering, every sin offering, and every guilt offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons." | Broad statement about priests' inheritance of "most holy" items. |
| Num 18:10 | "In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male may eat it. It shall be holy to you." | Emphasizes the required holy location for eating these things. |
| Exod 29:37 | "For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it, and the altar shall be most holy..." | Places (altar) also designated as "most holy." |
| Exod 30:29 | "You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy." | Oil consecrates items to "most holy" status. |
| Lev 3:11 | "...the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the Lord." | Refers to sacrifices as "food offerings" (לֶחֶם אִשֶּׁה), implying God's sustenance. |
| Lev 3:16 | "...All fat is the Lord's. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you eat neither fat nor blood.”" | God claims certain parts, symbolizing ownership and acceptance. |
| 1 Cor 5:6 | "Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" | Leaven as a metaphor for pervasive sin/corruption. |
| 1 Cor 5:7 | "Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." | Calls believers to purity, linking to Christ's sinless sacrifice. |
| 1 Pet 1:18 | "Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things..." | Christ's perfect, unblemished sacrifice redeems, paralleling sinless offerings. |
| 2 Cor 5:21 | "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." | Christ's sinless nature enables Him to be the ultimate, holy offering. |
| Heb 9:14 | "How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience..." | Christ as the blemish-free (unleavened) and most holy sacrifice. |
Leviticus 6 verses
Leviticus 6 17 Meaning
Leviticus 6:17 specifies regulations for the grain offering, prohibiting its preparation with leaven and designating the priests' portion of it as "most holy," on par with the sin and guilt offerings. This emphasizes the divine origin of the offering, the absolute purity required in worship, and the profound sanctity of anything set apart for God. The consumption of this "most holy" food underscored the priests' intimate relationship with and consecrated service to the Lord, consuming what was directly from God's "fire offerings" to Himself.
Leviticus 6 17 Context
Leviticus 6 continues the detailed instructions for the priests regarding various offerings. Verses 14-18 specifically concern the grain offering (minchah). Following the initial instructions about preparing and presenting the grain offering, this verse (6:17) emphasizes two crucial aspects: the prohibition of leaven and the holiness of the portion given to the priests. This meticulousness reflects God's demand for ritual purity and theological accuracy in all approaches to Him. Historically and culturally, such stringent rules set Israel's worship apart from surrounding pagan practices, where leaven might have been used in offerings to various deities or simply due to common baking practices, without the same symbolic connotations of impurity or sin. God's directive ensured His worship remained distinct and pure.
Leviticus 6 17 Word analysis
"It shall not be baked with leaven" (לֹא תֵאָפֶה חָמֵץ, lo te'afeh chametz):
- "It shall not be baked": A strong prohibition, an absolute negative command regarding the preparation of the grain offering.
- "leaven" (chametz, חָמֵץ): Fermented dough or anything that causes fermentation. Throughout the Bible, chametz often symbolizes corruption, sin, evil, and pride (e.g., in Passover where Israel was to put away all leaven as a sign of purity and swift departure). Its presence in an offering would denote impurity or defilement, which is unacceptable in an offering presented to a holy God. Its prohibition highlights the demand for perfect, unblemished purity in sacrifices.
"I have given it as their portion" (חֵלֶק מֵאִשַּׁי נְתַתִּיו, chelek me'ishay netattiv):
- "I have given it": (netattiv) Emphasizes divine authorship. God Himself bestows this right upon the priests; it's not a human invention. This highlights the priests' divinely appointed role and provision.
- "their portion" (chelek): Refers to the allocated share specifically for the priests from the offerings brought to the Lord. It signifies their divine inheritance and sustenance through their service in the Tabernacle.
"of my food offerings": While often translated as "food offerings," the Hebrew is ishay (אִשַּׁי), referring literally to "My offerings made by fire" or "My fire offerings." This term emphasizes that these offerings were consecrated by fire on the altar, making them God's property and symbolizing His acceptance of them as if consumed by Him. The priests partook of God's "food," underscoring the deep covenant relationship and communion.
"It is most holy" (קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים הוּא, kodesh kodashim hu):
- "most holy" (kodesh kodashim): The superlative degree of holiness, literally "holiness of holies" or "holy of holies." This designates the highest possible level of sanctity in the Levitical system, implying extreme sacredness, restricted access, and handling with the utmost reverence. This status implies strict regulations regarding who may touch it, where it may be eaten, and who may eat it (only male priests in a holy place, as seen in other verses). It highlights that even the priests' sustenance comes from the deepest communion with God.
"as is the sin offering and the guilt offering" (כַּחַטָּאת וְכָאָשָׁם, kaChattat ve'kaAsham):
- "sin offering" (Chattat, חַטָּאת): An atonement sacrifice for unintentional sins and to cleanse from impurity.
- "guilt offering" (Asham, אָשָׁם): An offering made for specific offenses requiring restitution, such as desecrating holy things or defrauding others.
- This comparison elevates the priests' portion of the grain offering to the same level of sanctity as these expiatory sacrifices. While the grain offering was not primarily for expiation (like the sin or guilt offerings), the fact that the priests' share carried the same "most holy" designation underscored the sacredness of priestly sustenance and involvement in the atonement process. It showed that God's provision for His priests was as sacred as the means of purification for His people.
Leviticus 6 17 Bonus section
The "most holy" designation applied to specific parts of offerings eaten by priests (such as the priests' portion of the grain, sin, and guilt offerings) was critical for maintaining ritual purity and sacred space. Such items could only be consumed by male priests in a holy place within the Tabernacle or Temple courtyard. This strict regulation underscored the concept of God's utter distinctness and holiness. This ritual separation finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, the perfectly "unleavened" sacrifice (1 Cor 5:7-8), whose blood (Heb 9:14) is infinitely "most holy" and effectively cleanses from all sin, granting believers access into God's very presence, something foreshadowed by the priests' eating of the "most holy" offerings.
Leviticus 6 17 Commentary
Leviticus 6:17 is a concise but profound statement on divine purity and the sanctity of what pertains to God. The absolute prohibition of leaven signifies that nothing corruptible or imperfect can be part of an offering to a perfectly holy God. Leaven, symbolic of sin and decay, had no place in the sustenance given to God or provided by God to His consecrated servants. The declaration "I have given it as their portion of my fire offerings" powerfully asserts God's ownership and gracious provision for the priests. By declaring it "most holy," on par with the sin and guilt offerings, the text imbues the priests' very food with supreme sacredness. This elevated status mandated strict reverence and reminded the priests that their lives and livelihoods were inextricably linked to the purity and holiness demanded in God's service. It set a precedent for spiritual purity in approaching God and emphasized the profound communion established through shared (divinely initiated and sanctioned) sacred food.