What Does Leviticus 16:23 Mean?

And Aaron comes into the tent of meeting, and takes off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the set-apart place, and leaves them there.

Leviticus 16:23 · SDV

Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.

Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.

This verse in the King James

King James wording

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:

THE KEY

The linen is not only put on for the holy place; it is deliberately left there, marking a boundary around sacred service.

THE MEANING

Sacred service has a clear boundary: the linen garments worn in the holy place are taken off and left there. Their assigned place belongs to the act; what is set apart for that service remains within its space.

THE ROOT

וְהִנִּיחָם

wə-hinniḥām

GROWS FROM

נוח

To rest, settle, or come to rest; in this form, to set down or leave in place.

“shall leave them there” in this verse is wə-hinniḥām. The verb translated “leave” comes from ⁨נוח⁩ (n-w-ḥ), meaning “to rest or settle.” It presents the garments as set down in their place after their use in the holy place. The “there” matters: where they come to rest marks the boundary of the service.

ALSO GROWS

hēnîḥō: To place or set something down; Deuteronomy 26:4 uses this form for setting the firstfruits basket before the altar.

הֵנִיחוֹ

Like the garments here, the basket is given a specific place in relation to the holy space.

mənūḥāh: A place or state of rest; used in Psalm 132:8 for the LORD’s resting place.

מְנוּחָה

This branch makes the garments’ designated place visible: they are left where their service has come to rest.

THE PATTERN

Garments mark sacred service, and their use follows the boundary of that service.

And you will make set-apart garments for Aaron your brother, for weight and for adornment.

Exodus 28:2 · SDVThe garments are made specifically for Aaron’s sacred service, giving clothing a defined purpose.

And he shall strip off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

Leviticus 6:11 · SDVThe priest changes garments before carrying the ashes beyond the camp, marking a boundary between service at the altar and work outside it.

And when they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall strip off their garments in which they attended, and lay them in the set-apart chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not set apart the people with their garments.

Ezekiel 44:19 · SDVThe priests leave their service garments in the holy chambers before entering the outer court, making the boundary explicit.

THE THREAD

And the priest takes the basket from your hand, and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 26:4 · SDV

“Set it down” comes from ⁨נוח⁩ (n-w-ḥ), meaning “to rest or settle,” the same root behind Aaron’s leaving the garments in place. In both verses, where something is set down belongs to the meaning of the act.

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