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.
Parallel translations
- WEB They shall eat those things with which atonement was made, to consecrate and sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat of it, because they are holy.
- KJV And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
- NKJV They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy.
- NASB So they shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration; but a layman shall not eat them, because they are holy.
- NLT They alone may eat the meat and bread used for their purification in the ordination ceremony. No one else may eat them, for these things are set apart and holy.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The priests alone, not outsiders, were to eat these offerings by which atonement and consecration were made, because they were holy. Only the consecrated could share in the holy meal.
Overview
The meal was restricted to those set apart, since the food was holy and tied to their atonement. This guarded the boundary between holy and common. It points forward to the holy fellowship with God reserved for his consecrated people, into which we enter only through Christ's atoning work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Num 18:4They are to join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work at the Tent; but no outsider may come near you.
- Lev 10:13–18You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your share and your sons’ share of the offerings made by fire to the LORD; for this is what I have been commanded.
- Num 3:10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”
- Num 16:5Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses, He will bring near to Himself.
- Ps 22:26The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!
- Lev 22:10–13No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it.
- John 6:53–55So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you.
- Num 18:7But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”
- Num 16:40just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.
- Num 3:38Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, before the Tent of Meeting. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites; but any outsider who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
- 1 Cor 11:26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
- 1 Cor 11:24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
- Num 1:51Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to be pitched, the Levites are to set it up. Any outsider who goes near it must be put to death.
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 29:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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