Leviticus 22

Leviticus 22:1

Augustine of Hippo: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Tell Aaron and his sons to take care of the saints of the children of Israel; they will not profane my holy name with the many things that they consecrate to me; I, the Lord ». And you will say to them: “Any man, whoever is of all your descendants, in your generations, who comes near to the holy things that consecrate the Lord the children of Israel and impurity in him, that soul will be exterminated from my presence, I , the Lord your God ». Disappearance, then, all doubt that no priest, or the high priests or the second rank, could approach the holy things having some impurity. The priest was required to have continence, lest the incense be continued for some days by the procreation of the children. The incense used to put it twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon (Cf Exodus 30,7.8). And only the high priests did it. And continence was demanded of them, because after the conjugal intercourse, even if the priest washed his body, he remained impure until the evening (Cf Leviticus 15,16), and it was he who had to put the incense. The phrase: “The things consecrated by the children of Israel” means that the faithful offered them to the priests so that they could offer them to the Lord. And it is necessary to indicate the sort of consecration, because it is done by a vote and by the devotion of the offeror. But it is necessary to pay attention to whether it is also said in the Scriptures that men consecrate themselves in this same way, when for some reason they consecrate themselves by making a vow, as consecrated in this way are the things Men offer. — QUESTIONS ON LEVITICUS, Q. 85 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Leviticus 22:4

Augustine of Hippo: And whoever touches any impurity of soul. It means any corpse, because touching a corpse produces an impurity as established by law. — QUESTIONS ON LEVITICUS, Q. 86 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

Leviticus 22:14

Jerome: At the end, it is stated, “If a man eats of the sanctified things through ignorance, iniquity and wickedness are laid at his feet, and he shall be bound by a vow.” Thus also the apostle teaches us that we are to eat the Eucharist of the Lord with caution, lest we eat to our condemnation and judgment. If ignorance is condemned under the law, how much more will full knowledge be condemned according to the gospel? — Against the Pelagians 1.34

Leviticus 22:27

Clement of Alexandria: Scripture says, “At least grant the offspring to its mother for its first seven days.” For if nothing comes to be without reason and milk flows in the mothers for the nourishment of the offspring, then in taking the offspring away from the providential endowment of the milk, a person is doing violence to nature. So Greeks and anyone else who runs the law down ought to blush for shame if the law is generous over irrational beasts. Yet some people actually expose human offspring to abortive death. By prophetic authority the law has for a long time cut short their ferocity through this commandment of which we have been speaking. For if the law refuses to allow the offspring of irrational creatures to be separated from their mother before taking milk, it is far more forceful in preparing human beings against that cruel, uncivilized view [exposure to death of infants]. If they ignore nature, at least they may not ignore the lessons of the law. — The Stromata Book 2