Leviticus 22:19-25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
19 if it is to be acceptable for you, it must be an unblemished male of the herd, of the sheep or of the goats.(A) 20 You shall not offer one that has any blemish, for such a one would not be acceptable on your behalf.(B) 21 When anyone presents a communion sacrifice(C) to the Lord from the herd or the flock in fulfillment of a vow, or as a voluntary offering, if it is to find acceptance, it must be unblemished; it shall not have any blemish. 22 One that is blind or lame or maimed, or one that has running lesions or sores or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord; do not put such an animal on the altar as an oblation to the Lord. 23 [a]An ox or a sheep that has a leg that is too long or is stunted you may indeed present as a voluntary offering, but it will not be acceptable as a votive offering. 24 One that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn out or cut off you shall not offer to the Lord. You shall neither do this in your own land 25 nor receive from a foreigner any such animals to offer up as the food of your God; since they are deformed or blemished, they will not be acceptable on your behalf.
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- 22:23 Burnt offerings and communion sacrifices brought as voluntary offerings may have slight defects, probably because they are freely given and do not depend upon a prior promise as do votive offerings.
Deuteronomy 23:2-9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Membership in the Assembly. 2 [a]No one whose testicles have been crushed or whose penis has been cut off may come into the assembly of the Lord.(A) 3 No one born of an illicit union may come into the assembly of the Lord, nor any descendant of such even to the tenth generation may come into the assembly of the Lord.(B) 4 (C)No Ammonite or Moabite may ever come into the assembly of the Lord, nor may any of their descendants even to the tenth generation come into the assembly of the Lord, 5 because they would not come to meet you with food and water on your journey after you left Egypt, and because they hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor in Aram Naharaim, to curse you. 6 The Lord, your God, would not listen to Balaam but turned his curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord, your God, loves you. 7 Never seek their welfare or prosperity as long as you live.(D) 8 (E)Do not abhor the Edomite: he is your brother. Do not abhor the Egyptian: you were a resident alien in his country. 9 Children born to them may come into the assembly of the Lord in the third generation.
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- 23:2 Exclusion of an emasculated male may have had to do with association of emasculation with the practices of other peoples, or it may have been rejection of someone with a significant blemish who was thus not suitable for participation in the sacral assembly.
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