Came too close: literally, "came near", but targum Onqelos reflects this interpretation. The LXX and Aramaic add "offered strange fire" , a pictre of having the wrong motivation (10:1). The teachings about clean and unclean in the preceding five chapters were inserted to explain their death. They had taken a liberty they should not have. Perhaps they were feeling particularly special for having just completed the tabernacle and His presence being among them, and became too giddy. He showed them that no matter how glorious, it was not to be done for self. He loved them, but He does not belong to us; we belong to Him, and must approach Him on His own terms. YHWH did not wish to have to do this again, especially to Aharon, so He gives him a special insight into the proper protocol for coming close to Him without being struck dead:

As with Adam, after Aharon was exalted and was allowed for a while to walk with YHWH freely for a time, a restriction was placed on him, but not on Moshe (who is symbolically equated with Torah, which is the Word, and thus represents Y'shua, to whom YHWH gives the Spirit without measure", Yochanan 3:34). Like Adam, we have free will, but the consequence of one choice is death, and we must be aware of that from the outset. At any time: but now He grants one exception each year…

Changing clothes is a picture of resurrection to new life after repentance. Fine white linen robes symbolize the righteous works of the saints (Rev. 19:8): they are given to us (Ephesians 2:10), but we must put them on (Mat. 22:12). On Yom Kippur, the high priest only wore half of his garments; he did not wear the unique ones (the ephod and breastplate) that he alone used, but dressed just like the other priests. He was thus identifying with the rest of the congregation. Like Y'shua, he was divesting himself of his glory and humbling himself. Queen Hadassah (a picture of YHWH's bride) put on royal robes in order to approach the king (Esther 4:11). The context (chapteyrs 4 and 5 tells us much about how to approach the King and why (on behalf of our people, not just ourselves). There is much in Scripture that tells us what it means to be "properly attired" when we come to meet YHWH: Being robed in righteousness is important, but when there is also justice, one has a turban as well (Iyov/Job 29:14); he is dressed like a king and priest. In simplest terms, justice is taking care of others as one wants to be cared for. We are also to put on strength (our fullest resources) and beautiful garments (with no uncleanness in them). We are to put on light as armor (Rom. 13:12-14), but first we must cast off the works of darkness. Putting on the Messiah enables us to stop making provision for the flesh. (Compare Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:22-29; 6:11-18) Finally, we are to put on love (commitment to be there for one another when we need each other), which is the perfect bond of unity. (Colossians 3:14)

This is the Yom Kippur atonement ceremony. Two goat-kids: or he-goats. By rabbinic tradition, they were to be as identical as possible. This is reminiscent of what Yaaqov, a twin, was told to bring to his mother so that he could be as identical to his brother as possible, so that the son she knew to be the right one would actually receive the blessing. It also depicts Y'shua, who came "in the likeness of sinful flesh" and thus bore our sins away from the presence of YHWH. The link with what comes before this is that we have freedom to go only two directions. We can become like Yaaqov or like Esau, as seen in Gen. 33:16ff. Esau returned to Seir (which means "goat", but Yaaqov went on to Sukkoth (the festival that follows Yom Kippur). Paul says the only important freedom is freedom from sin, which inherently means "slavery" to Y'shua. These are the only two ways we can go. We must choose which goat we will be like. An ascending offering: We should not appear before YHWH without an expectation to rise to a higher level. He calls us upward to a perspective that is above the world and full of His shalom, and to ever-increasing holiness. Once we learn to open our eyes on the next level, we will never be back where we were. We must come prepared to leave behind all we knew ourselves as, since being in His presence shows us where we stand and where we need to be. On the Sabbath, there is a completion of the old things in our lives; they are behind us once we meet with Him. Y’shua said He is the staircase (Yochanan 1:51) on which the messengers of YHWH ascend (to learn from YHWH) and descend (to serve the rest of Israel, as the priests did).

"To whom much is given, of him much shall be required." The price was higher for the priest's atonement. It reminds us of Y'shua's telling us to take the long plank out of our own eyes before trying to take the speck of dust out of someone else's. When Hadassah came and sat in the inner court of the king’s house, she rose in favor in the king's eyes. That was when he invited her in. (Esther 5:1-2) This inner court corresponds to the court where the slaughter-sites and altar stood. When our sin has been dealt with properly, YHWH wants us to draw near; if we reject His prerequisite for drawing near, the scepter is no longer extended, and that is a fearful prospect. (Heb. 10:11-29)

For Azazel: used in modern Hebrew for "to hell". Azazel was the name of a satyr (half-goat, half-demon) said to dwell alone in the wilderness (see note on v. 21). The term is used only here in Scripture, but the idea seems to be supported in Yeshhay. 34:11-15; Yirm. 9:11; 50:39; Rev. 16:13; 18:2, etc., where certain animals are associated with demons. Others say the name simply denotes a "goat of entire removal" (hence our word "scapegoat"). It stems from the term for "female goat", which suggests a connection to haSatan or that the male goat is being sent to its counterpart place. (cf. v. 10)

Literally, "make it a sin". The sin becomes embodied in that goat so that it can be dealt with. This forms the context for understanding how Y'shua "was made sin for us" though he knew no sin. (2 Cor. 5:21)

East: reminiscent of the cheruvim guarding the eastern gate to Eden. The Heb. word also means "ancient", suggesting the restoration of the "ancient Adam". (See note on v. 17)

Rebellions: or "transgressions". "Impurities...transgressions,... sins": Impurity is not yet sin, but it is a picture of selfishness--the beginning of a tendency in this direction toward missing the target. (Prov. 18:1-2) Yaaqov the brother of Y'shua tells how our own desires give birth to sin, which in turn leads to death (James 1:14ff). Rebellions: willful wrongdoings. Quiet rebellion can be hidden from others, but is just as deadly. We might even hit the target outwardly, but this could simply be accidental; we can't know for sure unless we are actively dealing with our selfishness. There was no other sacrifice all year for intentional sins; they had to wait until this time. All other sin offerings were for unwitting sins. This again pictures Y'shua's sacrifice, other than which there is no way to be forgiven; rather, we have only the expectation of judgment, which will, however, devour the adversary within us (Hebrews 10:26), which itself is a good thing, because it finally frees us from this evil inclination, though in the process it may destroy the mortal part of us. (1 Cor. 5:5) Still remains...through their uncleannesses: i.e., despite their impurity, He nonetheless dwells with us, but the atonement is needed to make up for our frequent lack of worthiness.

Atonement is not a quick process. Even now on Yom Kippur we reiterate a long list of sins of which we have been guilty without thinking about it. But it is a positive thing, since it shows us that we can never reach perfection, and we need Y'shua, no matter how hard we try to be holy. Paul said this was one of the main purposes of the Torah. (Rom. 3:20) No man: This is what Moshe saw when he killed the Egyptian (on one level, the Egyptian that was still within himself) to defend his brother. By tradition, the high priest had been through the right process of removing the "flesh" to such an extent that by the time he entered behind the veil, he was no longer human. Literally, "all of Adam [or the whole man] shall not be in...until he comes out". But when he comes out, Adam will be there again. Dressed in white, he is a picture of that man of light, and nearly all of his flesh is covered. (Ex. 20:26) The point of Messiah, our Great High Priest's atonement and removal of sin is to be able to restore the "man" who is the image of YHWH. Sha'ul (Paul) writes of how, now that Y'shua has been resurrected as its head, YHWH has "called us all [to come] out" (Jer. 23:7 and the meaning of the term "ekklesia") and given us all giftings by which to build each other up "into a complete man until the attaining of the full measure of the intended condition of Messiah." Becoming a new man (Eph. 4:20ff) means approaching YHWH as a unified people, not just as individuals--a focus Yaaqov learned after he wrestled with the "man". Paul speaks in terms of the "measure". This is perfectly timed to fit with the present season, the "counting of the measure", these 7 weeks until Shavuoth (Pentecost) which began the day after the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread--or theFeast of Firstfruits, the day Y'shua was raised from the dead! That is when the Head ("first part" in Hebrew) of the restored Adam was "born" (firstfruits and firstborn are exactly the same in Hebrew), and the rest of the Body began to come together. He never really desired sacrifice and offering, but prepared a Body for Y'shua (Heb. 10:5)--which all these "shadows" outline for us. They are all about drawing near, and calling out a bride for Himself with which He can become one and to whom He can give His name (Jer. 23:6; 33:16) is His real goal. The unity on that first Pentecost after His resurrection was a sign and seal of the Promise that the fullness will come in the time of the Restoration of all things, when we will be "brought back to the Garden of Eden".

Lean...hands: symbolically transferring the guilt to it. Normally the sinner himself was to transfer his own guilt to the sacrifice, but since the perpetrator of pesha, a rebellious sin, was barred from the sanctuary, he had to be represented by the high priest. The ritual in itself had no efficacy unless it was accompanied by genuine acts of repentance by the people. "Atoning" just means "covering up", but this was not enough. As a pledge of what was to come, the blood of bulls and goats did cover sin--sweep it out of YHWH's sight so He could dwell among His congregation. But it could NEVER "take away sin" (Hebrews 9 and 10, which is all about Yom haKippurim). That only Y'shua could do, as the "Lamb of Elohim, who bears away the sins of the world"--not an animal, but a man who came to restore "Adam's" rightful place before YHWH "at a time of setting things right". As a "man who stands in readiness" (Hebrew, a fit man, a chosen man, or a timely man, even an eternal man--all of which describe Y'shua to a "T"), in his first appearance he was indeed always "in season", often saying, "My time has not yet come" (Yochanan/John 7:8, etc.), but then one day changing that as the time for Passover and Firstfruits drew near. (Matt. 26:17)

A parallel ceremony was used in the Babylonian new year festival (Pritchard), and temple purgation rituals (by aspersion, smearing, and incense) were found among the Hittites, Egyptians, and Mesopotamians, but never together with the "scapegoat" ceremony as in Israel. Thus YHWH gave it a new meaning. Since impurity was demonic, to exorcise it was not enough; its power had to be removed, either through curse, destruction, or banishment. The evil was sent either to where it could work against the sender's enemies, or to a place where it could do no harm, as in the wilderness, which was uninhabited except by the satyr-demon Azazel. Thus it was "sent back to where it came from". Often, in actual fact, the option of destruction was used, however, in an elaborate ritual by which the goat was escorted some twelve miles east of Yerushalayim, to the escarpment of the Yarden gorge at a place called, interestingly enough, Azal. A scarlet cord (recall Rahav, Yehosh. 2, and Zarach, Gen. 38:28) was tied around its horn, and it was thrown over the cliff to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. On the way down, the scarlet cord turned white, indicating that YHWH had removed the people's sins. ("Though your sins be as scarlet, they can become as white as snow', Yeshay. 1:18) A series of signals was relayed back to the Temple courts, whereupon the people began rejoicing loudly. The rabbis noted, though, that 40 years (the appointed time of testing and transition) before the destruction of the Second Temple, the cord stopped turning white. This was exactly the time when the Messiah, the scapegoat's antitype, was slain. So either way, there is death--either death to self and sin, or just death.

Like Y'shua, this man became defiled on behalf of the community (so the sin could be removed and not come back in), even though what he was doing was not sinful. But he was bearing away sin and death, and thus associated with these things. (2 Cor. 5:21)

Humble yourselves: literally, "affliict your souls", often expressed most vividly through a complete fast. Alien: or proselyte.

High Sabbath: the holiest of the holy days; Heb. Shabbaton. Rest: literally, "ceasing". Though Y'shua has made full atonement and borne away our sins, they still remain in our present lives; one day it will be fulfilled, when he returns and has a final day of judgment on the present age as his kingdom begins. Yet this does not mean the "shadow" or "outline" (Col. 2:17; Heb. 8:5; 10:1) is to cease; rather, after that it will only be the beginning of the truest observance of this practice, as the Prince himself will be the one designated to offer the "sacrifices" during the festival times (Ezekiel 45:17).

He had to wear the right clothing in order to effect atonement properly. What could be a fuller description of Y'shua--the anointed one [Messiah] who acts in the place of his Father, is our priest, makes atonement for us, and who is thereafter seen only in bright white linen garments and who invites us to keep our garments undefiled and "walk with him in white"? (Rev. 3:4) He said, "The Son cannot do anything except what he sees the Father doing." (Yochanan 5:19, 30) "In the place of" in Hebrew is literally "beneath"--reminiscent of Y'shua's reminder that "the Father is greater than I." (Yochanan 14:28) "Put on linen garments": The cohen was constantly changing clothes in the Yom Kippur ceremony--five times--and each time he had to immerse in water, and had to wash his hands and feet both before and after each. It was a repeated awakening to the solemnity of what he was doing and a reminder to be sure he was doing each part just right, because to break a picture YHWH has designated is something serious enough to get even Moshe barred from entering the Promised Land.

Wasn't the Holy Place within the Tent of Appointment (the tabernacle)? The fact that both are mentioned here suggests the deeper meaning that he is speaking of both the "shadow" (the physical building which served as a picture, figure, or outline), AND the actual dwelling-place of YHWH--the people He is pulling together into one Temple of living stones.

Almost any time an animal was slaughtered in ancient times, it was sacrificed "unto" something; it was rarely simply killed. So this assured that these were only slaughtered unto YHWH. For an Israelite, even seemingly commonplace things like eating and drinking must be done to His glory (1 Cor. 10:31); how much more the "larger" decisions of our lives?

The open field is symbolic of the world at large, in which people worship whatever, wherever, and whenever they choose, and is strongly reminiscent of Paul's message to the Athenians that YHWH tolerated people's worshipful acts while they were in ignorance, "but now He calls everyone everywhere to repent, because He has APPOINTED a day..." (Acts/Envoys 17:30) Y'shua called himself "the door for the sheep"--the entryway to the dwelling-place of YHWH, and the one who opened the way for a "building" to be built in which He could dwell (1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:22) and where we could draw near to Him. (Heb.10:22) "Open" here also means "on the face of" in Hebrew, so it could suggest the idea of doing our righteous deeds before men in order to be seen. Thus, YHWH stipulates that it be done behind His fence. And what is slaughtered there must be eaten there, with the exception of certain offerings that the priests could take home for their families. Furthermore, it has to be eaten within two days. (19:6) The only way to eat a bull in two days is to share it. Thus the slaughter of these animals in particular always had a sanctity and were associated with the Temple and peace—the completeness, unity, and safety of all Israel. We still benefit from it, but only in this context.

Israel is called to be holier than others are expected to be. Proselytes: strangers or aliens who have settled among Israel to learn about the Elohim of Israel. This prohibition of blood for them as well forms the basis for the Jerusalem council's declaration that those from among the Gentiles who were coming into the faith but who were not to be weighed down with the full force of the Torah at once (Acts 15:20, 21) were to abstain from strangled foods (a cover term for any food from which the blood was not properly drained after being slaughtered in a kosher manner), "and from blood"--as if to drive home the point. Yet even this most basic of requirements for Gentile believers is scarcely obeyed today. Set My face: concentrate His full attention against him.

The soul of the flesh: There is great depth to these words. On the simplest level, blood is life, and it belongs to YHWH, so it is not our right to consume it. Also, the soul dwells there, so it is holier than the body itself. Taking into ourselves the soul of a wild beast can make us like it. Because of this command, many Satanic rituals include the drinking of blood. But when offered properly, blood exists to cover our souls Away from the Tabernacle, we cannot properly remove all of the blood. This is a picture of keeping the wrong company. When we take into ourselves their attitudes, we start to serve the wrong ideas. For example, in the context of goats, we take on the motivation of fear. We have lost the covering, so we feel cold and become afraid, so we look for an alternate covering--the one our companions are wearing. Looking for a covering other than the one YHWH has provided is the essence of idolatry. Reading on a deeper level, "flesh" and "glad news" are the same in Hebrew, "the soul, or life, of the Gospel is in [Y'shua's] blood", which makes atonement for us.

These are animals other than those mentioned in verse 3, which are especially clean since they are worthy of the altar, whereas these are simply "fair game" that may be eaten. They do not need to be brought to the Temple, because a wild animals is not acceptable as an atoning sacrifice. Still, what was hunted had to be trapped, then its throat slit, so that the blood, through its premature death, would not coagulate before it could be drained. Today, what we have trapped represents our commercial dealings. Out of necessity we buy or sell. The rabbis say a bird could be killed by a stone if one is in dire straits and cannot catch it any other way and he would not be cut off for doing so, but still this is a picture of selfishness, the focus being on the mere survival of the flesh. We are not to "eat" the "blood" of our inevitable brushes with the world outside the walls; its goals are not what we are to be about. Cover it with dust: Do not even look at it anymore; let the descendants of Avraham but what you see and focus your energies on instead.

Each time it says "you" here, it is plural. "Holy" means "set apart" and "separate", but, as strange as it sounds, it is impossible to be truly separate in isolation! All of the spiritual gifts cannot function unless the whole Body is present. All must be in place before true holiness as YHWH intends it can exist. We are not holy for the sake of separateness as such, nor are we truly separate until we are all together in our set-apartness. What follows is a description of how one must live if he wishes to remain in YHWH's Land and a part of His people—in short, what it means to be Israel. It means constantly separating ourselves from more and more habits, attitudes, and thought patterns, because as we walk further upward, the bar keeps being raised. It starts with the obvious sins that everyone knows are wrong, and tightens to anything that disagrees with the instructions Moshe brought down from the mountain, then anything that disrupts the life of the community. "Missing the mark" is no longer just missing the target; sin is now defined as missing the bull’s eye in any way at all. The outer rings now no longer count. Maturing as a Body is a weeding process that sifts out and throws away more than we keep. We must define what is outside, and leave it there. But there are two sides to the wall of separation. More important than being separated from all other loyalties, we are separated unto YHWH and His flock; without that element, it is just an exercise in self-righteous pride. We screen out the rest so we can concentrate our commitment on Him and His Kingdom’s priorities. The Torah is the eyeglasses that define it more sharply for us.

Stand in awe of: or simply, fear. Sixteen times in this passage He repeats, "I am YHWH your Elohim." The point seems to be, "Obey because of who I am, and in the obeying you will come to know Me as I am." Why the juxtaposition of honor for parents and sabbath-keeping? Because apart from your parents, you would not have been able to enter this world, and apart from the sabbath, the commandment which is a "sign", you would never be able to enter even the most basic aspects of YHWH's cycle of appointed times. Of course, pagan parents are never to be respected above YHWH's commands; Y'shua said his true relatives were those who obey YHWH. We honor our parents by keeping the Sabbath, even if they do not, because by thus being people of integrity we cast them in the best possible light, since we are the fruit by which they are known. Mother and father: Why in that order? Our first mother sinned, then our father, by failing to keep holy the one thing that was set apart; they tore down a wall YHWH had set up. The real sin was listening to the serpent's logic instead of simply obeying YHWH's command. The Sabbath is the one remaining time in this age of our fallenness during which we can deeply partake of Eden. It is a time that is elevated above time and in it we are separate from all that is outside. Our most ancient parents’ loss of Paradise for their failure to guard what was set apart warns us to be fearful of doing the same with the Sabbath. We need to see it not as a yoke of iron, but as a golden necklace, or it will become the yoke for us and be no less binding on us.

An abomination: or "like refuse". Accepted: or "pleasing". We must do things in season; doing them at the wrong time--a "love that comes too late"--leaves an abhorrent taste in His mouth, as when the Israelites tried to go conquer Kanaan after YHWH had already pronounced their sentence on them. At one point Y'shua said his work would be finished on the third day (Luk. 13:32); now is the time to gather with him, because a time is coming when it will no longer be the right time to harvest. It will be time to sort and winnow and sift, and that time is already upon us. Continuing to come back to partake of it would make the Tabernacle seem more like a soup kitchen than a holy place, and the focus would shift from the offering to the eating, and this is not what the Kingdom is really about. (Rom. 14:17) The Temple is a place where YHWH is to be revealed, not our private barbecue grill! This would ruin the picture of sharing with the rest of Israel.

Bear his consequences: or, retain his twistedness. I.e., he will not get back to Eden. Person: literally, soul. If a person gets "out of season"--out of step with YHWH's appointed times, especially if they are deliberately changed as they were by the self-appointed "head" of the Church, Constantine, then we bring a curse on ourselves and our children.

By rabbinic tradition, one was considered to have an "evil eye" if he did not leave at least 40% of his crop for the needy, provided he had the means to do so. (This was after the regular tithes.) So it is an issue of generosity vs. selfishness. How much of his hard labor was one willing to donate? It also requires faith: once he leaves it ungleaned, he also loses control over who will glean it. He cannot choose those who deserve to receive it; he has to leave that to YHWH's sovereign justice. If we worry about the part that is left behind, we will not carry out the things that we ARE responsible to do--serve each other and become a community, a Temple for Him to fill. Y’shua said when one’s eye is sound (as opposed to evil), his whole body would be full of light. When our eye is clear (which Prov. 22:9 associates with giving bread to the poor), we can see clearly that the whole Land is really His, and we are only put in charge of it; it is a privilege to partake of any of it. The Hebrew word for joy also means "full of brightness". YHWH said if we did not serve Him with joy, we would end up serving oppressive enemies. (Deut. 28:47) Discouragement is the opposite of joy, and keeps us from ascending further. Removing one another's joy and courage is sin! "Fear not" and "be strong" are His commands. It takes strength to strengthen others, and that includes disciplining those who will not exercise self-discipline. And what strengthens anyone more than a peace offering in which we tell about what YHWH has done?

Of course, the poor have to go there for themselves and glean; it is not brought to them already cooked. This preserves their dignity too. I am YHWH: i.e., "This is what I am like; get to know Me better by doing this." Sojourner: YHWH wants those who pass through His Land to understand whose Land they are in, and how generous He is. They will ask why things are so different here than anywhere else, and we can tell them that it is because He is the true Elohim. This also recalls the contrast of how the Edomites and Emorites treated Israel when Moshe asked to simply pass through the Land and not even eat any of the grain. (Num. 20:17; 21:22) Generosity is a requirement for anyone who will live in His Land, for it is intended to be an unmixed representation of what He is like.

Steal: We can steal things less tangible than possessions—time, authority, joy, courage, or credit. We can steal someone’s reputation through gossip, or take advantage of a kindness once given and make a person feel obligated to do more for us than we deserve. Lie to: or, trick. Although these commands very directly impact our neighbor's welfare, to fail to carry them out damages the character of the doer more than the recipient of the deeds.

Profane the Name...YHWH: Literally, pierce, weaken, or wound. This can include using it lightly, but also "weakening" its impact by substituting the names of pagan gods out of supposed respect for His true name, because this only causes greater confusion about who He is. We honor a name by bringing it glory, not shame. Who would have ever known who Nun was if it were not for Yehoshua, his son? Yet he is always called "Yehoshua ben Nun", thus honoring his father because he became great in the eyes of YHWH. In the same way, those who honor YHWH's Son also honor YHWH. Take an oath deceptively: or, complete a sham. I.e., do not try to put an appearance of authority on what is only an opinion (or worse, what is a farce) by adding His apparent endorsement. Do not call something His work is it is only your own agenda. Y’shua went further and said not to swear at all in YHWH's Name, for if our word is normally true, why do we need to risk our integrity to add weight to what should already be sufficient reason to trust what we say?

Defraud: or extort from, take advantage of. LXX, "injure". In a hand-to-mouth agricultural economy, workers would be paid immediately so that they could buy food for the next day--or that very evening. Thus to withhold this was to take the very bread from his family's mouths. Robbery is evidence that a man sees himself as an entity separate from the whole community and more deserving than others.

Treat...as of little importance: make fun of, or curse. YHWH is not fond of cruelty and making sport of those who can do nothing to strengthen themselves, especially if it is to make ourselves look better. Words have a real effect even if they are not heard by their object. Words are alive, and we are truly capable of blessing and cursing, so we must be careful what we say. This could also include speaking about someone "behind his back", since he, too, is deaf to what we are saying. Blind: In a broader sense, we are not to make things harder for those who are unable to hear or see. (It may be a different story for those who choose not to see.) How does this apply to the fact that YHWH has intentionally brought a partial "blindness" over Israel (both houses in different ways) in order to carry out another aspect of His plan? (Romans 11:25)

We must not give special immunity to either the poor because he "deserves a break" (see Prov.6:30f), nor the rich and powerful because of his ability to pay you. The case is to be judged strictly on the merits of what the person actually did. One is never to be fined simply because he can afford it. Our own special interests are never to be protected through the court system; there is to be no other influence than the facts. But this is also a command to judge; Paul asks why we can't judge one another, and why he had to do it for the Corinthians. Though Y'shua says that if we judge, we will be judged by the same measure, this is not meant to stop us from judging, but to learn to do it correctly, judging ourselves first; right judgment is an act of righteousness. Yes, get the plank out of your eye, but do not ignore the speck in your brother's eye. To do so is to say he is not important enough to lay our comfort on the line for. Neighbor: When Israel is functioning properly, someone in another household would not judge you unless the head of your household felt he could not render a decision, and even then only he would appeal to those at the next level up; you would not go "over his head". Even Y'shua asked someone why he had come to Him to judge a matter outside His jurisdiction. (Luke 12:14, 57)

Talebearer: slanderer—spreading information whether true or not for the purpose of diminishing another. Fellow: literally, one from the same flock, under the same shepherd. There is a definite connection between these two injunctions: one who allows gossip to spread or receives it without protest is like one who watches his friend being attacked and does not try to intervene. Nothing "kills" faster than words. Yaaqov (James) says the tongue has the power of life and death, and compares it to a spark that kindles a wildfire. We are our brothers''keepers. We can make amends for robbery, but we can never make full restitution for gossip, because the proverbial feathers have already been scattered to the wind and are irretrievable. We can never undo it completely, so avoid it from the start.

Your brother: YHWH never commands us not to hate His enemies, such as Amaleq. In your heart: the sins in the list are growing less and less tangible. No one knows about the hate in your heart but yourself. But it is already a sin. (Matt. 5:22) Again, the text seems to be equating hating a brother with allowing him to remain in sin and not warning him. This goes against conventional ideas that love never offends someone and always wants him to feel good. But Proverbs 13:24 says, "He who spares the rod hates his son." Failing to warn our fellows of impending danger means their blood is upon us, not them. (Ezk. 33:2-6) Withholding an opportunity to repent is the best way to prove we do not love someone. Rebuking a fool gives him an occasion to learn. (Prov. 9:7ff) Put up with sin: or bear sin because of him--i.e., share in his guilt by not rebuking him. Sin will remain in the household if we do not specifically remove it. All these commands are given in regard to someone who is in your same "flock". Both justice and mercy mean a lot more closer to home. You are more responsible for those nearest you than for those in the larger congregation. (1 Corinthians 5:12) YHWH will deal with those outside.

Children: i.e., those less able to receive harsh correction, or those who do not know any better. As you love: Feelings must be kept in check as well as actions. It is much easier to forgive someone you like, and reprove someone you don't, but this is never the way to divide our actions.

Sow your field: i.e., the same area of the field. These are all different ways of depicting the same principle. Things must be kept distinct, so we can tell which are the crop and which are weeds. This includes mixtures like "YHWH our God"--one acceptable name with one that is not--or mixing paganism into biblical faith, which is where most of the church is today. The last prohibition symbolizes a life of purity unmixed with sin. It hearkens back to the story of Qayin and Hevel (Abel): linen comes from the earth; wool comes from a living being that can shed blood and picture redemption (which comes from heaven). There is a place for each, but the two are not to be mixed. But this was also a holy blend used in some of the priestly garments (Ex. 28:6; 39:29); it was reserved exclusively for the sanctuary, not for the lay person. However, some garments found in Dead Sea caves from c. 135 C.E. had white tassels of linen and blue tassels of wool woven together. Thus the tassels which every Israelite is to wear on the extremities of his garments (Num. 15) were of this mixture, symbolizing that they are a "kingdom of priests". (Ex. 19:6) Livestock symbolize our security and wealth. We are not to mix YHWH's peace that passes understanding with security of the type the world gives. Seed represents the Sons of the Kingdom, which are not to be sown among the sons of the evil one in unequal yokes, for how would the children of such mixed marriages be taught to serve YHWH? And garments represent our works; we must not mix kingdom works with earthly ones by using YHWH’s reputation as a way to make a livelihood for ourselves, whether excessive, honest, or not.

The fruit of a tree is indeed bitter or lacks robustness the first few years. If eaten before its time, it will be of no profit to us, and may actually harm us. The firstfruits of the edible yield belong to YHWH, but He requires all this so that the tree may become as fruitful and effective as possible for our sakes. Is He only speaking of literal fruit? A tree is a picture of a person. (Psalm 1:3, etc.) Metaphorically this extends to injunctions such as Paul's that a novice should not be a teacher (1 Tim. 3:6), but must wait until he has been nurtured to maturity and worked through the transition into his new life. The word there for "novice" (neophyte) literally means "one newly-planted"--just like these trees! Before he is pruned (before he is able to praise YHWH properly and is mature enough to teach), his fruit may be genuine, but it is not to be partaken of, because it lacks a well-rounded perspective that only time and study can bring. The revelation given to him in his patience is what will feed us all. Fifth: when one is "full of the five books of Moshe", and well-trained in this foundation, he can become a teacher who can feed others.

Not eat any meat with blood: LXX, "not eat on the mountains". Sorcery: enchantment or fortune-telling: nachash--the same word as the "serpent" in the Garden. But its root meaning is "whisperer", as the snake makes a hissing sound. These "whisperers" incant their secret formulas, which may or may not be genuine; the point is not whether it works or not, but that they are forbidden. It is obtaining information through the wrong channels. YHWH has a chain of command in Israel, and what we do must be above board. If you have a question, ask it in front of the proper authorities, not behind their backs. Go to the Levite to gain general knowledge of Torah; go to the high priest for a specific answer. If it is meant to be revealed, YHWH will reveal it; otherwise, it is off limits to individuals, for it belongs to all Israel, not just because we are interested; more often than not, that has no purpose beyond self-edification. Whispering also reminds us of gossip; here it is juxtaposed with not eating blood: we suck the life out of someone when he is diminished in someone else's eyes, and that is what "whispering" about him does--even when it is not overt; Y'shua says that hating someone in our hearts also curses him in a similar way. "Observe times": This clearly cannot refer to the times and seasons that YHWH has set up as signs, but rather it means considering certain times auspicious or "lucky", following horoscopes, doing magic, etc. The term can also include conjuring, producing rain-clouds by magic, etc.--in short, divination. LXX, "divine by inspection of birds", i.e., their entrails, much like today's "palm-reading".

Round: or "strike off"; Aramaic, "cut around"; LXX, "make a round cutting of the hair"--perhaps like the type of artificial bald spot monks later made based on the superstition that wearing a certain type of cap over it would protect them or make them more spiritual. Mar: the appearance; LXX, "disfigure". Corner: edge, extremity, or side part. First of all, this assumes a man has a beard and is not to shave it (the exceptions being the Nazir, who completes a vow, and those declared clean after having leprosy, where hygiene may be one of the reasons to shave the hair). But what is the picture He is intending by this? It is part of "writing His laws on our gates". Our eyes, ears, and mouth--all the openings of our bodies, really--are like gates to our fortress, which we must guard. Not cutting the hair around them symbolizes the fact that we need to screen or filter what goes in and what comes out. Many pagan "holy" men also had distinctive hairstyles which marred the particular way by which YHWH has decided each man will look best. He wants to avoid any association with this sort of disfigurement. While there is some ambiguity to the command, the extremity would seem to be the ends, not the part close to the face. The uncut beard is a symbol of being an Israelite; Y'hezq'el/Ezekiel chapter 5 uses the cutting off of the beard to symbolize the destruction of the house of Israel, so we do not wish to participate in this picture by shaping our beards according to Gentile standards, and obscuring our Israelite identity at the very time YHWH is bringing it back to light. If a beard is thereby unruly, it reflects the fact that we are not the ones in control; YHWH is.

Cuttings in your flesh: reminiscent of the 450 prophets of Ba'al with which Eliyahu contended. The dead: literally, the soul. This probably relates to ancestor worship and its association with bringing the strength of the ancestor into one’s body. Tattoos: related to the term for writing, so it probably involves some words. We already have a Messiah who is marked and pierced; why do WE need to be marked and pierced? We cannot take his place. Also, pagans frequently tattooed the names of their gods on themselves, and YHWH would not be associated with this disfugurement either. Our actions are how we bear His Name, and we must not bear it in vain.

The only time one could see inside the court nearest to His sanctuary and thus catch a glimpse of the Temple itself was when the doors were open, and this was only on Sabbaths and on the festivals (prescribed times), which were considered sabbaths in an even stronger sense. This is the closest we can approach to His presence, for on Sunday He turns his back and begins to go back to work. He dwells closer to our communities then; our "orbit" is much closer then. So we must be in fear concerning the attitudes we bring into our congregational gatherings.

Necromancer: one who contacts the dead, or has a familiar spirit--i.e., who is possessed by a spirit that impersonates a dead relative. The Hebrew term is the same as a water bottle made from a sewn-up animal skin. Soothsayers: better translated "knowers"--i.e., clairvoyants. This does not mean that everything they do is fraudulent; in fact, as Paul found out, they can be irritatingly truthful. (Acts 16:17) But YHWH has not authorized knowledge to be passed on in this way King Sha’ul turned.to them for something more because he did not trust YHWH.

The sojourner is to be treated as part of the same "flock", since the same thing is required in regard to him as to one's "neighbor" (v. 18). The sojourner in Israel was either seeking asylum or seeking to know the Elohim of Israel, because Israelite society was too demanding for someone "just along for the ride".

It is doubtful whether the animal would ever initiate such an act; it takes a perverted human to do come up with such an idea. But just in case, it is specified clearly that this outcome is for cases in which the woman was the one who seduced the animal.

To the priests: men held to a higher standard because they have a special privilege of being the authoritative teachers of Torah. Defiled for the soul: in this context, touching the body of a dead person (as is more explicit in v. 11, and the Aramaic interprets it this way), but the word for soul in Hebrew very often connotes "life", not death. Because this wording does allow it, we could also read this as saying we should not let the affairs of ordinary life interfere with our service to YHWH. Y'shua referred to this as losing our lives for his sake (Mat. 10:39) and letting the dead bury their own dead. (Luk. 9:59-62; cf. 1 Kings 19:19-21; see also 2 Timothy 2:4) However, there are exceptions for the very closest relatives only; YHWH does not normally want religious duties to take precedence over our true responsibilities to our own families. (Mark 7:11)

The priests are the ones to whom judgment is given when questions arise. (Y'hezq'el 44:24) They must be especially unimpeachable. Leader: literally, master or husband--one who has to be faithful to and love the entire community, so he may not allow anything to contaminate him, so he can be there for them any time they need him. His people: even among Israel (a set-apart people) or more specifically, among the Levites, he is never to be "one of the sheep"; he is a shepherd, and is not to be involved in civilian affairs. (Compare 2 Tim. 2:4.) The Levites were substituted for the firstborn (Numbers 3:12), and both Israel as a whole (Ex. 4:22) and Efrayim in particular are called YHWH's firstborn (Yirmeyahu 31:9), so they are a picture of what Efrayim is called to be. We too must be careful not to partake of anything that stunts us spiritually or keeps us from always being ready when it is time to serve Israel.

Make their heads bald: LXX, "You shall not shave your head for the dead with a baldness on the top." Edge: corner, side, or extremity; LXX, "the face of the beard". The general population is not to "mar" the edge of the beard (19:27); the priest is particularly told not to shave it. Personal taste or creativity had no say here. He must continue to look like a complete man, and the beard of any Israelite is already to be distinctive in being unmarred. But in this particular context, these practices were pagan mourning rituals. Recall that these priests had grown up in Egypt, where preparation for death consumed the greatest energies of one’s life, especially among leaders, as proven by the thousands of mummified bodies found there in the past century of archaeology. But Israel is not to be a people that focuses on death, but on the Torah, which is life. (Deut. 32:47)

Profane: pierce, puncture, or "wound the Name": to misuse it, to represent Him wrongly, or to render His name of no effect by not using it at all, but always substituting euphemisms or translations for His actual name, YHWH. Fire and bread: They also tend the oil, the blood, etc.; why are only these two things mentioned? Fire represents YHWH's presence, and the bread from heaven (which Y'shua identified with Himself, Yochanan 6:50) was to be gathered "a word a day". (Ex. 16:4) So bread is linked with YHWH's word (Deut. 8:3), and symbolizes the Body of Messiah--His community. They symbolically bring the unity of Israel into YHWH's presence, and teach the unity of YHWH to the people. As Moshe himself learned, there is no margin of error for the keepers of the symbols by which YHWH makes himself known. The Levites' fruit is offered to YHWH Himself, and others will eat of it in order to learn of Him, so what they present must be undefiled and the purest among the pure.

This is the standard for priests; the prophet Hoshea was told to do just the opposite to portray how serious Israel's spiritual condition was. The only way the invisible Elohim could be known at this point was by seeing the lives of those He allowed into His presence--His "gatekeepers".

Lame: from the same root word as Pesakh (Passover), that is "skipping", i.e., hobbling, with one leg less sound than the other. This is the same idea as the next two categories: The term for "disfigured" literally means "flat-nosed"--in other words, truncated in some way. Deformed: literally, prolonged or over-extended--anything superfluous, too long; LXX, "with his ears cut". This may be why Y'shua healed the ear of the high priest's servant. (Yochanan 18:10) While the high priest at that time was not one truly qualified by his pedigree, apparently Y'shua either wished to simply uphold the office of the one who might have been next in line to act in the high priest's position were he to become defiled on Yom Kippur, or he felt that the servant was a man worthy of that position; otherwise it would make no difference whether he was disqualified to serve. It is not right to have the Body of Messiah have one arm much longer than the other (i.e., too much mercy and not enough judgment), because there is imbalance, nor should any of the giftings be emphasized over the others. This says nothing about whether YHWH loves these people as individuals, but because they are a picture of imperfection, they are not suitable to be "object lessons" in the sanctuary, and are thus not to be seen there. He provided the best for them (v. 22), and the Talmud says these people were permitted to do certain jobs in the temple precincts, such as sorting the wood. Wood is a picture of men, and some of the wood brought in for Temple use had defects, just as they did, and they were the judges of which was suitable for the altar, and which could only be used for the hearth on which the bread was baked. They were in a higher position than most in Israel, but they were a picture of imperfection, a vivid reminder of the effects of the fall of Adam into sin, and thus were especially out of place in a place dedicated to teaching purity, holiness, and redemption from the curse. So they were hidden away. But a special promise is given to such people in Yeshayahu/Isaiah 56:3-8, provided their heart is right, as well as their actions, despite their outward defects.

Hunchbacked: a picture of one who does not walk uprightly. A spot in his eye: confusion, obscurity, disability; or, idiomatically, one in which something stands in the way of generosity. Others even say, "with unusually-long eyebrows"! Scabbed: LXX, "having a malignant ulcer". Scabbed or having a rash: qualities not allowed in an animal brought for sacrifice either (22:22), and associated with leprosy, a picture of wanting another's position. Crushed testicles: damaging to the seed, and unable to carry on the line of Israel into new generations. Also, only through the "Seed" (Y'shua) could salvation come. Nothing less than a perfect body can depict the man in Ephesians 4, which does walk uprightly and in balance, is generous, lives up to its full potential, appreciates its assigned place, and wants to bear spiritual offspring. Corporately we have to become this man; individually, we only need to fulfill our particular role properly. The whole burden is not on individuals, but the entire community.