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;

LEVITICUS 22:4KJV
Know the Bible

Leviticus 22:4 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 22:4 mean?

Leviticus 22:4 says that any descendant of Aaron who has a skin disease (leprosy) or a bodily discharge is not allowed to eat the holy offerings until he is made clean. It also says that anyone who touches something made unclean by a dead person, or a man who has had a bodily emission, is also restricted from eating these holy things.

In this verse, God is giving instructions to Moses for the priests, specifically the descendants of Aaron, about who can eat the food set apart as holy. The focus is on ritual cleanliness: certain physical conditions or contact with death make a priest temporarily unfit to handle or eat sacred offerings. This rule is part of a larger section about maintaining holiness in the tabernacle service.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 22:4

  • "Leper" (צָרַע, tsara‘): This word refers to someone with a serious skin disease, often called leprosy in English Bibles, but it could include various skin conditions. The presence of this condition made a priest ritually unclean and unable to participate in sacred meals.
  • "Issue" (זוּב, zûv): This means a bodily discharge, which could refer to various forms of illness or impurity. Such a condition also made a priest unclean under the law.
  • "Eat" (אָכַל, ’akal): The word here means to consume, specifically referring to the eating of holy things, which were portions of offerings set aside for priests. Only those who were ritually clean could eat these sacred portions.
  • "Things" (קֹדֶשׁ, qodesh): This refers to the holy offerings or food reserved for priests. The word emphasizes the special, set-apart nature of these items.

Why Leviticus 22:4 matters

  • Leviticus 22:4 clarifies that even priests, who had special roles, were not above the laws of ritual purity; they had to follow the same rules about cleanliness as everyone else.
  • The verse highlights the seriousness of approaching holy things in a state of purity, showing that physical and ritual conditions mattered in worship.
  • This instruction connects to the broader theme in Leviticus about the importance of holiness and separation for those serving in God’s presence, setting a standard for the priesthood’s conduct.

Where else these words appear

“seed” Hebrew H7902 · used in 9 verses

  • Exodus 16:13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
  • Leviticus 15:16 And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.
  • Leviticus 15:32 This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;

“leper” Hebrew H6879 · used in 18 verses

  • Exodus 4:6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
  • Numbers 5:2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:
  • 2 Kings 7:3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?

“issue” Hebrew H2100 · used in 41 verses

  • Exodus 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
  • Leviticus 15:19 And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.
  • Deuteronomy 26:15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

“unclean” Hebrew H2931 · used in 78 verses

  • Leviticus 5:2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.
  • Leviticus 14:40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:
  • Deuteronomy 14:8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.