Bible Strands
Leviticus 16:23
Then Aaron is to enter the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen garments he put on before entering the Most Holy Place, and leave them there.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text records a divine command directed at Aaron during the Day of Atonement ritual. This instruction occurs immediately after the scapegoat departs and before Aaron performs his final bathing and sacrifices.
The words — The Hebrew verb פָּשַׁט (pashat) literally means "to strip off" or "remove," describing Aaron's action of taking off his sacred linen garments. These garments are explicitly commanded to be left behind in the Tent of Meeting rather than carried out.
The thread — The requirement to remove holy vestments before rejoining the congregation appears in Ezekiel 42:14 and Ezekiel 44:19. Leviticus 16:4 establishes the initial directive for Aaron to wear these specific linen garments when entering the sanctuary.
Why it lands — The text commands Aaron to physically separate his consecrated ritual garments from his ordinary life. A reader must apply this boundary by recognizing that sacred duties require deliberate transitions and cannot be casually merged with daily routines.
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 Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 44:19 When they go out to the outer court, to the people, they are to take off the garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.
- Ezekiel 42:14 Once the priests have entered the holy area, they must not go out into the outer court until they have left behind the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they approach the places that are for the people.”
- Leviticus 16:4 He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them.
- Romans 8:3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,
- Philippians 2:6 Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
- Hebrews 9:28 so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.