Or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath;
Parallel translations
- WEB or whoever touches any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatever uncleanness he has;
- BSB or whoever touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be—
- NKJV or whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be—
- NASB or a man who touches any swarming things by which he is made unclean, or touches any person by whom he is made unclean, whatever his uncleanness;
- NLT or by touching a small animal that is unclean, or by touching someone who is ceremonially unclean for any reason.
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
Contact with unclean creatures or persons rendered a priest unclean. Even ordinary touch could disqualify him temporarily from the holy things.
Overview
Touching a creeping thing or a defiled person transmitted ritual impurity to the priest. The detailed concern shows how pervasive the awareness of holiness was to be in daily life. Such laws cultivated reverence and pointed forward to Christ, whose holiness, rather than being defiled by contact, cleanses those He touches (Mark 1:41-42).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Lev 15:7And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
- Lev 11:43–44Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
- Lev 15:19And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.
- Lev 11:24–28And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 22:5 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.