Bible Strands
Leviticus 16:2
And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Moses immediately following the death of Aaron’s two sons, commanding him to relay a warning to Aaron (Leviticus 16:1). Moses is instructed to tell Aaron not to enter the Most Holy Place at will.
The words — The command uses דַּבֵּר (da.Ber), meaning “speak,” to direct Moses to relay the warning, and אָחִי/ךָ (a.chi./Kha), meaning “your brother,” to specify Aaron’s familial relationship to Moses.
The thread — The text notes the cloud above the mercy seat, which parallels the cloud that filled the house of the LORD in 1 Kings 8:10. The restriction on unauthorized entry contrasts with the new access granted to believers through the blood of Jesus in Hebrews 10:19. Exodus 30:10 describes annual atonement on the horns of the altar of incense, not the Most Holy Place restriction.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to recognize that approaching God’s presence demands strict obedience and divine permission. It establishes that holy space is governed by God’s presence and prescribed boundaries, not human initiative.
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 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.
Cross-references
- Exodus 30:10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on the horns of the altar. Throughout your generations he shall make atonement on it annually with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. The altar is most holy to the LORD.”
- 1 Kings 8:10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD
- Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
- Hebrews 9:25 Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.
- 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.
- Exodus 40:34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
- 1 Kings 8:6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
- 2 Chronicles 5:14 so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.
- Matthew 27:51 At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split.
- Exodus 25:17 And you are to construct a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.