Leviticus 22:11
New International Version
But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if slaves are born in his household, they may eat his food.

New Living Translation
However, if the priest buys a slave for himself, the slave may eat from the sacred offerings. And if his slaves have children, they also may share his food.

English Standard Version
but if a priest buys a slave as his property for money, the slave may eat of it, and anyone born in his house may eat of his food.

Berean Standard Bible
But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.

King James Bible
But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.

New King James Version
But if the priest buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food.

New American Standard Bible
But if a priest buys a slave as his property with his money, that person may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his food.

NASB 1995
But if a priest buys a slave as his property with his money, that one may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his food.

NASB 1977
‘But if a priest buys a slave as his property with his money, that one may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his food.

Legacy Standard Bible
But if a priest buys a person as his property with his money, that one may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his food.

Amplified Bible
But if a priest buys a slave as his property with his money, the slave may eat the holy thing, and those who are born in the priest’s house; they may eat his food.

Christian Standard Bible
But if a priest purchases someone with his own silver, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But if a priest purchases someone with his money, that person may eat it, and those born in his house may eat his food.

American Standard Version
But if a priest buy any soul, the purchase of his money, he shall eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they shall eat of his bread.

Contemporary English Version
However, any slave that you own, including those born into your household, may eat this food.

English Revised Version
But if a priest buy any soul, the purchase of his money, he shall eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they shall eat of his bread.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
But if a priest buys a slave, the slave and anyone born in his household may eat the priest's food.

Good News Translation
But a priest's slaves, bought with his own money or born in his home, may eat the food the priest receives.

International Standard Version
If a priest acquires a slave as property with his own money, he may eat with him. Those who were born in his house may eat his food.

Majority Standard Bible
But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.

NET Bible
but if a priest buys a person with his own money, that person may eat the holy offerings, and those born in the priest's own house may eat his food.

New Heart English Bible
But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they shall eat of his bread.

Webster's Bible Translation
But if the priest shall buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.

World English Bible
But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and those who are born in his house shall eat of his bread.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
but when a priest buys a person, the purchase of his money, he eats of it, also one born in his house; they eat of his bread.

Young's Literal Translation
and when a priest buyeth a person, the purchase of his money, he doth eat of it, also one born in his house; they do eat of his bread.

Smith's Literal Translation
And when the priest shall buy a soul, the purchase of his silver, he shall eat of it, and they born in his house; they shall eat from his bread.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
But he whom the priest hath bought, and he that is his servant, born in his house, these shall eat of them.

Catholic Public Domain Version
But whomever the priest has bought, and whoever has been born into his house, these shall eat from them.

New American Bible
But a slave whom a priest acquires by purchase or who is born in his house may eat of his food.

New Revised Standard Version
but if a priest acquires anyone by purchase, the person may eat of them; and those that are born in his house may eat of his food.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
But if a priest buys any person with his money, he shall eat of his food, and those that are born in his house shall eat of his food.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the Priest, when he will buy a person, he who is bought with his money will eat of his bread, and those born in his house, those shall eat of his bread.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
But if a priest buy any soul, the purchase of his money, he may eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they may eat of his bread.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But if a priest should have a soul purchased for money, he shall eat of his bread; and they that are born in his house, they also shall eat of his bread.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Restrictions Against the Unclean
10No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it. 11But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food. 12If the priest’s daughter is married to a man other than a priest, she is not to eat of the sacred contributions.…

Cross References
Numbers 18:11-13
And this is yours as well: the offering of their gifts, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given this to you and your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat it. / I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits. / The firstfruits of everything in their land that they bring to the LORD will belong to you. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat them.

Exodus 29:33
They must eat those things by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no outsider may eat them, because these things are sacred.

1 Samuel 2:36
And everyone left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a morsel of bread, pleading, “Please appoint me to some priestly office so that I can eat a piece of bread.”’”

Numbers 18:31
And you and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere; it is the compensation for your work at the Tent of Meeting.

Deuteronomy 18:1-5
The Levitical priests—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They are to eat the food offerings to the LORD; that is their inheritance. / Although they have no inheritance among their brothers, the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them. / This shall be the priests’ share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether a bull or a sheep: the priests are to be given the shoulder, the jowls, and the stomach. ...

Numbers 18:8-10
Then the LORD said to Aaron, “Behold, I have put you in charge of My offerings. As for all the sacred offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute. / A portion of the most holy offerings reserved from the fire will be yours. From all the offerings they render to Me as most holy offerings, whether grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons. / You are to eat it as a most holy offering, and every male may eat it. You shall regard it as holy.

1 Corinthians 9:13-14
Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings? / In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

Hebrews 7:5
Now the law commands the sons of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their brothers—though they too are descended from Abraham.

Matthew 12:4
He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.

Nehemiah 13:5
and had prepared for Tobiah a large room where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the temple articles, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.

Ezekiel 44:28-30
In regard to their inheritance, I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession. / They shall eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Everything in Israel devoted to the LORD will belong to them. / The best of all the firstfruits and of every contribution from all your offerings will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest, so that a blessing may rest upon your homes.

1 Corinthians 10:18
Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar?

Luke 10:7
Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

2 Chronicles 31:4-6
Moreover, he commanded the people living in Jerusalem to make a contribution for the priests and Levites so that they could devote themselves to the Law of the LORD. / As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously provided the firstfruits of the grain, new wine, oil, and honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in an abundance—a tithe of everything. / And the Israelites and Judahites who lived in the cities of Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things consecrated to the LORD their God, and they laid them in large heaps.

Malachi 3:10
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.


Treasury of Scripture

But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.

Genesis 17:13
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

Numbers 18:11-13
And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it…

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Leviticus 22
1. The priests in their uncleanness must abstain from the holy things
6. How they shall be cleansed
10. Who of the priest's house may eat of the holy things
17. The sacrifices must be without blemish
26. The age of the sacrifice
29. The law of eating the sacrifice of thanksgiving














But if a priest buys a slave
The phrase begins with the conditional "but if," indicating a specific exception to the general rules regarding who may partake in the sacred food. The Hebrew word for "priest" is "kohen," which denotes a person set apart for sacred duties. The act of buying a "slave" (Hebrew: "ebed") reflects the socio-economic structures of ancient Israel, where slavery was a regulated institution. The purchase implies ownership and responsibility, suggesting that the priest's household, including slaves, is under his spiritual and physical care.

with his own money
This phrase emphasizes personal ownership and investment. The Hebrew term for "money" is "kesef," which also means silver, a common medium of exchange. The specification of "his own" underscores the priest's personal commitment and the legitimacy of the transaction. It reflects the principle that what is acquired through one's resources becomes an integral part of one's household, thus eligible to partake in the household's provisions.

or if a slave is born in his household
Here, the text addresses slaves who are not purchased but are born within the priest's household. The Hebrew word for "born" is "yalad," indicating a natural integration into the family unit. This inclusion by birthright suggests a continuity and permanence within the household, reinforcing the idea that those who are part of the priest's immediate environment are entitled to share in the blessings and sustenance provided by God.

that slave may eat his food
The permission for the slave to "eat his food" signifies inclusion in the covenant community's blessings. The Hebrew word for "food" is "lechem," often translated as bread, symbolizing sustenance and life. This provision reflects God's grace and the extension of His covenantal blessings beyond the immediate family to all who are part of the priest's household. It underscores the principle of hospitality and care within the community of faith, where all members, regardless of status, are provided for and valued.

(11) But if the priest buy any soul.--The case, however, was different with heathen slaves whom the priest purchased. These were admitted into the Jewish community by the rite of circumcision, they were allowed to partake of the paschal lamb, and of every privilege of the Israelites. Hence they became incorporated in the priestly family, and were allowed to eat of the holy things. During the second Temple this privilege was extended to that kind of domestic whom the priest did not actually acquire by his own purchase-money, but whom the wife brought with her as part of her dowry, as well as to those whom the slaves of the priestly family purchased.

Born in his house.--That is, the house-born servant or the child of the slave. (See Genesis 17:12-13.) Even when the priest himself could not eat of the holy things by reason of his having contracted some legal defilement, his wife, children, and slaves were permitted to partake of the sacrificial repast.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But if
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

a priest
וְכֹהֵ֗ן (wə·ḵō·hên)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3548: Priest

purchases
יִקְנֶ֥ה (yiq·neh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7069: To erect, create, to procure, by purchase, to own

someone
נֶ֙פֶשׁ֙ (ne·p̄eš)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

with
קִנְיַ֣ן (qin·yan)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7075: Creation, creatures, acquisition, purchase, wealth

his money,
כַּסְפּ֔וֹ (kas·pōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3701: Silver, money

or one
הֵ֖ם (hêm)
Pronoun - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1992: They

is born
וִילִ֣יד (wî·lîḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3211: Born

in his household,
בֵּית֔וֹ (bê·ṯōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

that person
ה֖וּא (hū)
Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

may eat
יֹ֣אכַל (yō·ḵal)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

of it.
בּ֑וֹ (bōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Law: Leviticus 22:11 But if a priest buys a slave (Le Lv Lev.)
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