What Does Leviticus 21:21 Mean in the King James?
No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verb behind “offer” means “bring near,” so the verse bars this priest from approaching to bring an offering near.
THE MEANING
The verse places a hard bodily boundary on priestly approach: being of Aaron’s line does not remove it. A man with a blemish may not come near to bring the LORD’s fire offerings or the bread of his God. The wording directly excludes him from these acts of service.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Aaronic descent alone guarantees access to every priestly function.
THE ROOT
לְהַקְרִיב
lehaqriv
GROWS FROM
קרב
Draw near; in this form, bring near.
The verb translated “offer” means to bring near. Alongside “come nigh,” it describes altar service as a movement of approach, and this verse bars that movement.
ALSO GROWS
qarav: Come near, approach
קָרַב
This is the root’s basic movement, echoed by the verse’s repeated prohibition on coming near.
qorban: Offering; something brought near
קָרְבָּן
The offering is bound to the act of bringing it near to God.
qarov: Near, close
קָרוֹב
This branch keeps the root’s language of nearness audible beneath the altar action.
יִגַּשׁ
yigash
GROWS FROM
נגשׁ
Approach, come near.
“come nigh” in this verse is yigash. The same verb appears in both prohibitions: he may not approach to offer the fire offerings, and he may not approach to offer the bread. The repeated word makes the barred approach itself the hinge of the verse.
ALSO GROWS
nagash: Approach, come near
נָגַשׁ
This is the root verb behind both instances of “come nigh.”
higgish: Bring near, present
הִגִּישׁ
This form carries the movement from approaching oneself to presenting something near another.
THE PATTERN
Scripture presents nearness to the sacred as a threshold with an explicitly named condition.
For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.THE THREAD
He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.The next verse repeats the bread phrase but separates eating it from offering it: he may eat what verse 21 bars him from presenting. The boundary is exact, exclusion from altar service does not mean exclusion from God’s provision.
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