Study Desk

He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother.

He must not defile the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend to a dead person, for he has been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord .

He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan,

so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the Lord who makes him holy."

"Give the following instructions to Aaron: In all future generations, none of your descendants who has any defect will qualify to offer food to his God.

No descendant of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar to present special gifts to the Lord . Since he has a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer food to his God.

Yet because of his physical defect, he may not enter the room behind the inner curtain or approach the altar, for this would defile my holy places. I am the Lord who makes them holy."

So Moses gave these instructions to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

"Tell Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the Lord .

When the sun goes down, he will be ceremonially clean again and may eat from the sacred offerings, for this is his food.

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.

"Give Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living among you. "If you present a gift as a burnt offering to the Lord , whether it is to fulfill a vow or is a voluntary offering,

The loaves of bread will belong to Aaron and his descendants, who must eat them in a sacred place, for they are most holy. It is the permanent right of the priests to claim this portion of the special gifts presented to the Lord ."

One day a man who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father came out of his tent and got into a fight with one of the Israelite men.

During the fight, this son of an Israelite woman blasphemed the Name of the Lord with a curse. So the man was brought to Moses for judgment. His mother was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan.

"Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and tell all those who heard the curse to lay their hands on his head. Then let the entire community stone him to death.

Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense. Instead, show your fear of God by letting him live with you as your relative.

At that time he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors.

"Suppose a foreigner or temporary resident becomes rich while living among you. If any of your fellow Israelites fall into poverty and are forced to sell themselves to such a foreigner or to a member of his family,

He will assess its value, and his assessment will be final, whether high or low.