Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Leviticus 7:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse extends exclusion to contact with human, animal, or swarming-creature impurity before eating holy meat.
Read It With
- Leviticus 7:11-21
Start with 7:11-21 rather than Leviticus 7:21 alone. In that complete movement, this verse extends exclusion to contact with human, animal, or swarming-creature impurity before eating holy meat. The unit's controlling claim is: Well-being meals combine bread and meat; thanksgiving food is eaten the same day, vow and freewill food may extend to the next day, and impurity bars eating holy meat.
Why This Verse Appears Here
This verse extends exclusion to contact with human, animal, or swarming-creature impurity before eating holy meat. Its place in Leviticus 7:11-21 matters because leviticus places this unit within the priestly instructions that distinguish offering portions, eating locations and times, thanksgiving, vows, blood, fat, and the final summary. Its particular contribution is: Well-being meals combine bread and meat; thanksgiving food is eaten the same day, vow and freewill food may extend to the next day, and impurity bars eating holy meat.
What Remains True
Extends exclusion to contact with human, animal, or swarming-creature impurity before eating holy meat. Within Leviticus 7:11-21, this contributes to the larger claim that well-being meals combine bread and meat; thanksgiving food is eaten the same day, vow and freewill food may extend to the next day, and impurity bars eating holy meat.
How It Can Shape Life
- When teaching Leviticus 7:21, keep the verse inside Leviticus 7:11-21. Hold this boundary: Ritual eating rules do not justify shaming bodies or excluding people from ordinary meals. Apply only the noncoercive truth the complete unit supports.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Leviticus 7:11-21 — Thanksgiving, vow, and freewill meals have different time limitsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Leviticus 7:11-21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Leviticus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, ritual and legal vocabulary, names, clause relationships, KJV language controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Lev.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 7:11-21
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Leviticus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2025-12-31
Supports: Unit-bounded translator notes on Hebrew, syntax, ritual vocabulary, measures, textual questions, and older-English wording; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Leviticus PDF, complete PDF pp. 1-99, translation and translator notes for 7:11-21
Open source ↗