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Verses

Primary Verses — Full Chapter Context

Leviticus 10 (The Framework Passage — Nadab/Abihu and the Two-Axis Distinction)

10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. 10:2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. 10:3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. 10:4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. 10:5 So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. 10:6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled. 10:7 And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses. 10:8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, 10:9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: 10:10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; 10:11 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses. 10:12-13 [Moses instructs on eating the meat offering in the holy place — "most holy"] 10:14 And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place... 10:16 And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar... 10:17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? 10:18 Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded. 10:19 And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD? 10:20 And when Moses heard that, he was content.

Leviticus 15 (Bodily Emissions — Ambient Defilement in v.31)

15:1-2 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean. 15:3 And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness. 15:4-11 [Contact transmission chain: bed, seat, touching his flesh, spit, saddle, items under him — all produce "unclean until the even"] 15:12 And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. 15:13 And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean. 15:14-15 [Sin offering and burnt offering; atonement for his issue] 15:16-18 [Seminal emission: unclean until the even; both partners bathe] 15:19 And 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. 15:20-27 [Contact transmission: bed, seat, anything she sits on — "unclean until the even"; extended issue = unclean all days] 15:28-30 [Cleansing after issue stops: seven days, then sin offering + burnt offering; atonement for issue of her uncleanness] 15:31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them. 15:32-33 [Summary of the chapter's scope]

Leviticus 16 (Day of Atonement — Three-Category Formula in v.16)

16:1-2 And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. 16:3-5 [Preparations: young bullock for sin offering, ram for burnt offering, holy garments, two goats from congregation] 16:6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. 16:7-10 [Two goats: one for the LORD (sin offering), one for scapegoat] 16:11-15 [Blood ritual: bullock's blood sprinkled on mercy seat and before it; then the people's goat likewise] 16:16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 16:17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out... 16:18-19 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. 16:20-22 [Scapegoat: confession of all iniquities, transgressions, sins; sent into the wilderness] 16:23-28 [Cleanup: Aaron changes garments, washes; the one who released the scapegoat washes; the burned sin offerings' handler washes] 16:29-31 [Statute: seventh month, tenth day, afflict your souls, no work] 16:30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 16:31-34 [Perpetual statute; annual atonement for all Israel's sins]

Numbers 19 (Death-Contact Purification — Ambient Penalty in vv.13,20)

19:1-6 [Red heifer ordinance: without spot, no blemish, never yoked; slaughtered outside camp; blood sprinkled before tabernacle seven times; burned with cedar, hyssop, scarlet] 19:7-10 [Everyone involved becomes unclean until evening — even the clean person gathering ashes] 19:9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin. 19:11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. 19:12 He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. 19:13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. 19:14-16 [Tent-contamination: all in the tent unclean seven days; open vessels unclean; battlefield dead, bone, grave — seven days unclean] 19:17-19 [Purification procedure: ashes + running water; clean person sprinkles on day 3 and day 7; then wash and be clean at even] 19:20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean. 19:21-22 [Chain of contagion: whoever touches the water of separation is unclean until even; whatever the unclean person touches is unclean]

Exodus 25:1-9 (Sanctuary Purpose)

25:1-7 [List of offerings for the tabernacle] 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. 25:9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

Haggai 2:10-19 (Asymmetry Test — Holiness Does Not Transfer; Impurity Does)

2:10 In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, 2:11 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, 2:12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 2:13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 2:14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

Mark 7:1-23 (NT Internalization — Nothing from Without Defiles)

7:1-5 [Pharisees question why Jesus' disciples eat with unwashed (defiled) hands] 7:6-13 [Jesus condemns their tradition as overriding God's commandment] 7:14-15 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. 7:17-19 [Private explanation: what enters goes into belly, not heart — "purging all meats"] 7:20-23 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Secondary Verses with Context

Hebrews 9:1-14 (Blood Purification of Conscience)

9:1-5 [Description of earthly tabernacle: first tabernacle with candlestick, table, shewbread; second veil to Holiest of all with golden censer, ark, mercy seat] 9:6-7 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people. 9:8-10 [The Holy Ghost signifying the way not yet manifest; figure for time present; gifts and sacrifices could not perfect conscience; only meats, drinks, washings, carnal ordinances until time of reformation] 9:11-12 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle... by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Ezekiel — Defilement Theology and Glory Departure

Ezek 9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. Ezek 10:18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. Ezek 10:19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. Ezek 11:22-23 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

Ezek 22:26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

Ezek 36:25-27 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Ezek 43:7-9 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.

Ezek 44:23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

NT Temple/Defilement Passages

1 Cor 3:16-17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1 Cor 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

2 Cor 6:14-17 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

2 Cor 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Eph 2:21-22 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Titus 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Heb 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.

2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Sexual/Moral Defilement

Lev 18:24-30 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

Land Defilement (chaneph root)

Num 35:33-34 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.

Key Framework Verses

Lev 11:44-45,47 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. ... To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

Lev 12:2 If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days...

Lev 13:6 And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

External Corpus Verification Verses

Lev 4:6-7 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary. And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering.

Lev 4:17-18 And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail. And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD... and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering.

Lev 6:26 The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Lev 6:30 And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.

Lev 10:17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD?

Lev 16:19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

Cross-Testament Parallels

Lev 10:10 → OT Parallels

  • Ezek 22:26 (0.563) — Priests failed to distinguish holy/profane, clean/unclean
  • Ezek 44:23 (0.528) — Restored priestly duty to teach the distinction
  • Lev 11:47 (0.482) — Clean/unclean distinction in dietary law
  • Lev 20:25 (0.451) — Separation between clean and unclean beasts
  • Ezek 42:20 (0.438) — Wall separating sanctuary from profane space

Lev 10:10 → NT Parallels

  • 2 Cor 6:17 (0.342) — "be ye separate... touch not the unclean thing"
  • 1 Thess 4:7 (0.297) — "God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness"
  • 1 Cor 7:14 (0.291) — sanctification language applied to marriage

Lev 15:31 → OT Parallels

  • Num 19:13 (0.471) — Parallel ambient defilement: failing to purify "defileth the tabernacle"
  • Ezek 43:7 (0.460) — "shall the house of Israel no more defile... my holy name"
  • Num 35:34 (0.452) — "defile not the land... wherein I dwell"
  • Ezek 36:17 (0.443) — National uncleanness compared to menstrual impurity

Lev 16:16 → OT Parallels

  • Lev 16:17 (0.520) — Continuation of the DOA procedure
  • Num 18:23 (0.515) — Levitical service bearing iniquity
  • Num 8:19 (0.512) — Atonement for the children of Israel
  • Ezek 43:7 (0.465) — God dwelling in the midst despite defilement

Lev 16:30 → OT Parallels

  • Ezek 36:33 (0.501) — "I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities"
  • Lev 14:31 (0.495) — Atonement for cleansing (same kaphar + taher pairing)
  • Lev 10:17 (0.427) — Priestly eating to bear iniquity / make atonement

Lev 16:30 → NT Parallels

  • 1 John 1:7 (0.286) — "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin"

Num 19:13 → OT Parallels

  • Num 19:20 (0.666) — Nearly identical clause: failing to purify = defiling the sanctuary
  • Lev 7:21 (0.504) — Contact with unclean thing → cut off
  • Num 19:11 (0.498) — Touching dead body = seven days unclean
  • Lev 15:31 (0.471) — Parallel ambient defilement clause

Num 19:13 → NT Parallels

  • 2 Cor 6:17 (0.359) — "touch not the unclean thing"

Exo 25:8 → NT Parallels

  • Eph 3:17 (0.331) — Christ dwelling in hearts by faith
  • Eph 2:22 (0.296) — Believers as habitation of God through the Spirit
  • Heb 9:1 (0.295) — Sanctuary reference

Hag 2:13 → OT Parallels

  • Hag 2:14 (0.476) — Application: "this people... is unclean"
  • Lev 21:1 (0.451) — Priestly rules about contact with dead
  • Lev 7:21 (0.435) — Contact with unclean thing → cut off

Hag 2:13 → NT Parallels

  • 2 Cor 6:17 (0.365) — "touch not the unclean thing"

Mark 7:15 → NT Parallels

  • Mark 7:18 (0.530) — Expanded explanation of the same teaching
  • Matt 15:11 (0.465) — Synoptic parallel
  • Matt 15:20 (0.428) — "these are the things which defile a man"

Heb 9:13 → OT Parallels

  • Exo 29:12 (0.391) — Blood on altar (Levitical blood ritual)
  • Lev 16:18 (0.369) — Blood of bullock/goat on altar (DOA)
  • Lev 4:7 (0.366) — Blood of bullock on horns of altar

Heb 9:13 → NT Parallels

  • Heb 10:4 (0.432) — "not possible that blood of bulls and goats should take away sins"
  • Heb 9:19 (0.376) — Moses sprinkled blood on book and people
  • Heb 9:12 (0.375) — Christ's own blood, eternal redemption