Leviticus 22:14

_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._ Eat of the holy thing unwittingly. A common Israelite might unconsciously partake of what had been offered as tithes, first-fruits, etc.; and on discovering his unintentional error, he was not only to restore as much as he had used, but be fined in a fifth part more for the priest to carry into the sanctuary....

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 no...

Verse Leviticus 22:14. _THEN HE SHALL PUT THE FIFTH_ PART _THEREOF UNTO IT_] The holy thing of which he has unknowingly eaten shall be fairly valued, and to this value he shall add one _fifth_ more, and give the whole to the priest....

UNWITTINGLY - Inadvertently, or “through ignorance.” Compare Leviticus 4:2 note....

EXPOSITION This chapter, which is a continuation of Leviticus 21:1, (1) commands that the ceremonially defiled priest shall not officiate or partake of the sacrificial offerings; (2) declares who may and who may not partake of the priests' portions of the sacrifices; (3) orders that every sacrificial victim be unblemished. LEVITICUS 22:1 In the previous chapter, the priests have been commanded to avoid occasions of ceremonial defilement, but there are times in which they must be unclean. At these times they are here instructed that they must abstain from their priestly functions, and not even eat of the priests' portions until they have been cleansed. The command to Aaron and to

AND IF A MAN EAT [OF] THE HOLY THING UNWITTINGLY,.... Either not knowing that it is an holy thing, or the heave offering, or any thing of that kind; or else is ignorant of the punishment of such an action, as Gersom observes; and this is to be understood of any man that was not a priest, or was not of the priest's family, even any common Israelite; so the Targum of Jonathan, a man of Israel, or an Israelite, one of the common people: THEN HE SHALL PUT A FIFTH PART THEREOF UNTO IT; a fifth part of the value of what he has eaten, to an equivalent for the whole, that is, he shall pay the full value for what he has eaten, and a fifth part besides: AND SHALL GIVE [IT] TO THE PRIEST WITH THE HOLY THING; the meaning is, that he shall give the fifth part to the priest, with the equivalent for what he has eaten; for he could not give the holy thing itself, but a compensation for it; according t...

CHAPTER 22 _ 1. Care to be exercised in holy things (Leviticus 22:1)_ 2. Care in the enforcement of the law of offerings (Leviticus 22:17) Uncleanness such as mentioned in the first part of the chapter prohibited the partaking of holy things. Strangers who did not belong to the priestly house and even the married daughter of the priest, not living in the priestly household, were not permitted to eat of the offering of the holy things. Holy things have to be used in a reverent and holy way. The same principle holds good in the New Testament. We may well think here of the Lord's table. Read 1 Corinthians 11:23. Coming to the Lord's table to remember Him requires self-judg

RULES FOR PRIESTS-' FAMILIES, ETC. A priest's slave is a member of his family, and may eat of the dues; a hired servant or a guest is not. Nor is a married daughter, unless she returns, a childless widow, to her father's house. Infringement by a layman of the rules for holy things means a guilt offering (Leviticus 5:15), _i.e._ restoration of an equally valuable object plus one-fifth....

UNWITTINGLY: i.e. through ignorance. See Leviticus 4:2; Leviticus 4:22; Leviticus 4:27; Leviticus 5:15; Leviticus 5:18....

_unwittingly_ Cp. Leviticus 4:2. We are reminded by the directions here (-the fifth part" to be added) of ch. Leviticus 5:14-16; but the case there is quite different. It had to do with unintentionally keeping back from the Lord His dues. Here the man has unwittingly eaten of consecrated food, although not belonging to those who, in accordance with the preceding regulations, were privileged in that respect. The penalty in the former case was naturally a heavier one, viz. a Guilt-Offering....