22:3 his uncleanness on him The nature of the disqualifying uncleanness is explained in vv. 4–6. The impure conditions all allude to the various types of uncleanness described in chs. 11–15.

22:4 person Contact with a human corpse or animal carcass causes uncleanness (see 11:11 and note).

an emission of semen A detailed list of bodily discharges that cause temporary uncleanness can be found in ch. 15.

22:5 swarmer All creatures that swarm (sherets) are detestable (sheqets) and should not be eaten or touched (11:29–31, 41–44).

22:6 shall be unclean until the evening Uncleanness is temporary, but the proper bathing rituals were required for complete purification (compare 15:5–11).

22:7 he shall be clean An otherwise-pure priest who touched something (or someone) unclean would be restored to ritual purity if he bathed and waited until nightfall.

it is his food According to 10:13–14, priests are entitled to certain portions of the sacrifices for their own nourishment so long as the proper precautions are taken

22:8 so that he becomes unclean by it Similar legislation is given in 7:24 and 11:39–40. According to the sacrificial system, animals for consumption must be slaughtered according to certain guidelines (e.g., 17:1–9; see note on 17:3; note on 17:4).

22:9 they shall not incur guilt because of it, so that they die Disobedience in the area of ritual purity could be punished by death. Ignoring the standards for purity would be met with the stiffest of penalties.

22:10 No stranger shall eat the votive offering Refers to food designated for the priests.

22:11 the descendants of his house Refers to the children of slaves. The slave described in this verse and his children were non-Israelites, since 25:42–46 forbade Israelites from owning fellow Israelites.

22:12 may not eat the votive offering A priest’s daughter naturally ate from the priest’s portion of food. If she later married a priest, her food portion would come from that priest (her husband). If she married outside the priesthood, the privilege expired.

22:13 she returns to her father’s house Yet the expired privilege is not absolute. Thus, the privileged portions being extended to the priest’s family are an extension of his duties as the head of the household.

22:14 he shall give the votive offering to the priest The person who mistakenly took from the priest’s portion of food had to replace the portion plus a fifth of its value.

22:18 a burnt offering The most costly of sacrifices since the entire animal, except for the hide, was burned on the altar (see 1:3–17 and note).

their vows or for any of their freewill offerings Sacrifices could be brought as an act of worship or in fulfillment of a vow. The main offerings brought for those purposes were either burnt offerings or peace offerings (see note on 3:1–17).

22:19 without defect Just as physical defects disqualified priests from duties in the tabernacle (21:17–23), any physical defect disqualified an animal for use as a sacrifice (Deut 17:1; see note on Exod 12:5).

22:21 there must not be any physical defect in it This phrase transitions from generalized prohibitions to specific examples.

22:23 that is deformed or that is stunted Since freewill offerings were optional sacrifices, minor physical defects were excused.

22:24 bruised or shattered or torn or cut-off Castration of animals was not tolerated in Israel. Even castrated animals acquired from foreigners were disqualified for sacrifice (Lev 22:25). The defects of 21:22–23 were most likely congenital.

you shall not sacrifice such in your land Even aside from sacrificial animals, castration of animals was broadly forbidden—possibly because it altered the natural creation.

22:27 an offering See note on 1:9.

22:28 an ox or a sheep and its young May be motivated by compassion for animals. Jewish tradition holds that this applies only to female animals and their male young, since most sacrifices were male.