Leviticus 21:23

Summary

This verse restricts a priest with a physical defect (mentioned in the preceding verses) from two specific sacred actions: entering to the curtain and approaching the altar. The stated reason is to avoid profaning what is called "my sanctuaries," concluding with a divine self-identification formula.

Key words

• pa.Rokhet ("curtain", H6532) — feminine singular noun marking the specific barrier (traditionally the veil before the inner sanctum) that the blemished priest may not pass.
• mum ("a blemish", H3971B) — masculine singular noun, the stated condition (ki-mum bo, "for a blemish [is] in him") that triggers the restriction.
• yechalel ("he will profane", H2490H) — piel imperfect, an intensive verb form indicating an act of desecration, negated by lo' ("not", H3808).
• miqdashai ("sanctuary", H4720) — masculine plural construct with 1st-person singular suffix ("my"); the plural construct form is notable since it may denote either "my sanctuary" as an intensified singular or literally "my sanctuaries/holy things."
• mekadesham ("who sets apart as holy", H6942G) — piel participle construct with 3rd-person plural suffix ("them"), functioning as a title: "the one sanctifying them," closing the verse with the divine name Yehovah (H3068G).

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built on two parallel negated clauses using the adverb 'akh ("nevertheless", H0389) to mark a restriction following prior permissions granted to the blemished priest (described earlier in the chapter). Each clause follows the pattern [preposition + object] + negation + imperfect verb: "to the curtain, not will-he-go" and "to the altar, not will-he-draw-near." This word order, with the object fronted before the negated verb, places emphasis on the specific locations being restricted rather than on the priest himself.

The causal clause ki-mum bo ("for a blemish [is] in him") uses the preposition b- ("in") with a pronominal suffix, literally "in him," a common Hebrew construction for describing an inherent physical state. The final clause shifts from restriction to consequence: lo' yechalel ("he will not profane") uses the piel stem of chalal (H2490H), an intensive form associated with active desecration, distinct from a simple negative state. The verse closes with a formula in which 'ani Yehovah ("I [am] Yehovah") is followed by the participle mekadesham ("who sanctifies them"), a construct form that identifies Yehovah's ongoing action of consecration as the basis for the restriction.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew miqdashai ("my sanctuaries", 1st person, plural construct) is rendered by the LXX as τὸ ἅγιον τοῦ θεοῦ αὐτοῦ ("the holy thing of his God"), shifting from first-person direct speech ("my") to third-person reference ("his God"). The Vulgate's sanctuarium meum ("my sanctuary") preserves the first-person possessive but renders the Hebrew plural construct as a singular noun. The BSB reflects the Hebrew plural with "My sanctuaries," while RV1909 and SBLIBRE follow a singular rendering ("mi santuario" / "mis cosas santas").