Leviticus 22:25

Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(25) Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer.—That is, the prohibition to sacrifice these animals is not restricted to beasts castrated in the land, but extends to all such as have been so treated out of the land, and are imported and sold to the Israelites by the hands of foreigners.

Because their corruption is in them.—That is, their mutilation is in them, though not effected by an Israelite nor in the land. The circumstance that such an animal is purchased from the hand of a foreigner does not alter the case.

They shall not be accepted for you.—That is, if the Israelites bring such mutilated sacrifices, thinking that, because they have been procured from a stranger’s hand, they do not transgress the law laid down in the preceding verse, they will not be accepted by God, who regards them as blemished and illegal. Jewish canonists, however, regard this verse as regulating the sacrifices offered by Gentiles, and maintain that the same law about defective animals is here laid down in their case. But the manifest contrast between the expression, when the deed is done “in your land,” at the end of the preceding verse, and the words “from the hand of a foreigner,” at the beginning of this verse; and more especially the declaration in the clause before us, “they shall not be acceptable for you,” i.e., the Israelites, show beyond doubt that the Israelites themselves are here spoken of as the offerers.

Benson Commentary

Leviticus 22:25. Neither from a stranger’s hand — From proselytes: even from those, such should not be accepted, much less from the Israelites. The bread of your God — That is, the sacrifices.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

22:1-33 Laws concerning the priests and sacrifices. - In this chapter we have divers laws concerning the priests and sacrifices, all for preserving the honour of the sanctuary. Let us recollect with gratitude that our great High Priest cannot be hindered by any thing from the discharge of his office. Let us also remember, that the Lord requires us to reverence his name, his truths, his ordinances, and commandments. Let us beware of hypocrisy, and examine ourselves concerning our sinful defilements, seeking to be purified from them in the blood of Christ, and by his sanctifying Spirit. Whoever attempts to expiate his own sin, or draws near in the pride of self-righteousness, puts as great an affront on Christ, as he who comes to the Lord's table from the gratification of sinful lusts. Nor can the minister who loves the souls of the people, suffer them to continue in this dangerous delusion. He must call upon them, not only to repent of their sins, and forsake them; but to put their whole trust in the atonement of Christ, by faith in his name, for pardon and acceptance with God; thus only will the Lord make them holy, as his own people.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A stranger's hand - The word here rendered "stranger", is not the same as that in Leviticus 22:10, Leviticus 22:18 : it means literally, "the son of the unknown", and probably refers to one dwelling in another land who desired to show respect to the God of Israel. See 1 Kings 8:41.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

23. that mayest thou offer, &c.—The passage should be rendered thus: "if thou offer it either for a freewill offering, or for a vow, it shall not be accepted." This sacrifice being required to be "without blemish" [Le 22:19], symbolically implied that the people of God were to dedicate themselves wholly with sincere purposes of heart, and its being required to be "perfect to be accepted" [Le 22:21], led them typically to Him without whom no sacrifice could be offered acceptable to God.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Neither from a stranger’s hand, to wit, from proselytes, from whom less might seem to be expected, and in whom God might bear with some things which he would not bear with in his own people; yet even from those such should not be accepted, much less from the Israelites.

The bread, i.e. the sacrifices. See on Leviticus 21:8. Of any of these, i.e. corrupted or defective; which clause limits the sense and kinds of offerings, and cuts off another more general interpretation received by many, to wit, that he forbids the receiving of any offering, whether blemished or perfect, from the hands of a stranger remaining in heathenism.

Their corruption is in them, i.e. they are corrupt, vicious, and unlawful sacrifices. For you, or, from you, O priests, to whom it belongs to offer. You shall bear the blame of it, for the strangers might do so through ignorance of God’s law.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these,.... That is, from a Gentile, a proselyte of the gate, who had renounced idolatry, and was willing to offer sacrifice to the true God; but what had such defects and blemishes in them as before described the priest might not take of his hands, and offer on the altar of God; and this is the rather observed, because on the one hand the Gentile might think such sacrifices would be acceptable, since he might have been used to offer such to idols; and on the other hand, the priest might think such would do well enough for Gentiles, though not for Israelites:

because their corruption is in them; or they are corrupt through being bruised, crushed, broken, or cut:

and blemishes be in them; which seems to be added to explain the former, and may have respect to all the blemishes before named, and whatsoever is included in them; for though there are but here mentioned, the Jews reckon no less than fifty (c):

they shall not be accepted for you; to make atonement for you; Jarchi says, or "from you", the priests; they shall not be accepted of the Lord from their hands, and so be of no avail to the offerers, nor to those for whom they are offered.

(c) Maimon. Hilchot Biath Hamikdash, c. 7. sect. 1, &c.

Geneva Study Bible

Neither {i} from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.

(i) You shall not receive any imperfect thing from a stranger, to make it the Lord's offering: which he calls the bread of the Lord.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

25. The case apparently is that of a foreigner who desires to offer sacrifice, and is forbidden to present an animal with a blemish. So Dillm. It is much less probable that the prohibition is directed against an Israelite buying blemished animals from a foreigner for a sacrificial purpose.

the bread of your God] See on Leviticus 22:6.

Leviticus 22:25

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Again, the Israelites were not to accept any one of all these, i.e., the faulty animals described, as sacrifice from a foreigner. "For their corruption is in them," i.e., something corrupt, a fault, adheres to them; so that such offerings could not procure good pleasure towards them. - In Leviticus 22:26-30 three laws are given of a similar character.