Bible Strands
Leviticus 16:17
No one may be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he leaves, after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records God’s command to Moses concerning the Day of Atonement ritual, specifying the conditions for Aaron’s entry into the sanctuary. This instruction occurs during the detailed consecration procedures for the high priest’s annual atonement rites.
The words — The Hebrew phrase לְ/כַפֵּ֥ר (le./kha.Per) translates literally as "to make atonement" or "to cover," denoting the ritual act of expiation. This term anchors the verse’s focus on the exclusive purpose of Aaron’s isolated entry.
The thread — The restriction on unauthorized presence in sacred space parallels the exclusion command in Exodus 34:3, while the atonement scope extends to the altar in Leviticus 16:18 and the corporate sin-bearing motif in Isaiah 53:6. These references trace a consistent biblical pattern where mediation requires separation and specific ritual boundaries.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that access to the divine presence requires strict adherence to prescribed mediation protocols. It instructs the reader to observe how ritual exclusion protects the sanctity of the atonement process.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.
Cross-references
- Exodus 34:3 No one may go up with you; in fact, no one may be seen anywhere on the mountain—not even the flocks or herds may graze in front of the mountain.”
- Leviticus 16:10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement by sending it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.
- Isaiah 53:6 We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
- Luke 1:10 And at the hour of the incense offering, the whole congregation was praying outside.
- Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
- Acts 4:12 Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
- 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
- Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
- Hebrews 9:7 But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
- 1 Peter 2:24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”