Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary: Leviticus
Ver. 22. Pray. Hebrew and Septuagint, "shall atone for him with the ram of the sin-offering, before the Lord, for his sin."
Ver. 23. The first-fruits. Præputia, literally their fore-skins: it alludes to circumcision, and signifies that for the first three years the trees were to be as uncircumcised, and their fruit unclean; till the fourth year their increase was sanctified and given to the Lord, that is, to the priests. (Challoner) --- In some countries, people take off the buds to strengthen the tree. (Calmet) --- The fruit, during the three first years, is not esteemed so good or wholesome; and therefore, it could not with propriety be presented to God. (Philo de Creatione.) --- Unclean. Hebrew, "three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you; it shall not be eaten." (Haydock)
Ver. 24. Lord. It was to be brought to the holy city, and offered with the other tithes, out of which a feast was made for the poor, &c. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] iv. 8.) Besides the first-fruits for the priests, and the tithes for the Levites, out of which they again paid tithes to the priests, there was an annual tithe prescribed, (Deuteronomy xii. 12,) to supply a feast for the indigent, &c., at Jerusalem, along with this fruit; and another, every third year, designed for the poor alone (Deuteronomy xiv. 28,) at the place of each one's abode. (Tirinus)
Ver. 26. Blood. The flesh of any animal. The blood must belong to God. The members of the Sanhedrim eat nothing on the day that a criminal is executed, supposing that this is the meaning of the precept. The Septuagint read erim, "on the mountains;" and another version has, "on the roof," as if the worship of idols on high places were forbidden. (Haydock) --- Divine. Perhaps by means of "serpents," or "plates of brass," as the Hebrew néss, may insinuate. These methods were known to the ancients. (Horace, Ode iii. 37.; Pliny xxx. 2.) (Calmet) --- Dreams. Hebrew, times. See Galatians iv. 10. (Haydock)
Ver. 27. Cut your hair, &c. This, and other such like things, of themselves indifferent, were forbidden by God, that they might not imitate the Egyptians or other infidels, who practised these things out of superstition, in honour of their false deities. (Challoner) --- The pagans consecrated locks of hair, and their beard, when it was first cut, to Apollo, the river gods, the hours, Esculapius, &c. Some, at Rome, hung the hair on a tree. (Tirinus) --- The Arabians and Macæ left only a tuft of hair at the top of their head, in imitation of Bacchus. (Herodotus iii. 8.; iv. 175.) This tuft is called sisoe by the Septuagint who seem to have alluded to the Hebrew term tsitsith. See Ezechiel viii. 3. The ancient scholiast says, this was left in honour of Saturn. It resembled a crown. The same custom was observed by the Syrians, (Lucian) Idumeans, &c. (Jeremias ix. 25.) --- Beard. Hebrew, "the angle, or extremity of your beard." These regulations would seem beneath the attention of a lawgiver. But they were made in opposition to some profane customs of the surrounding nations. The Jews still observe this direction, and leave the beard from the ear to the chin, (where they let it grow pretty long) and also two mustaches, or whiskers, on the top lip. The Egyptian mummies have only the beard on the chin. The eyebrows and other hair of the gods and inhabitants of Egypt, were entirely cut off. In mourning the chin was also shaved. God forbids his people to imitate them. (Calmet) --- But heretics need not hence infer, that the tonsure of priests and monks is reprehensible. (Radulph.) --- Superstition and affected delicacy in curling, &c., are to be avoided. (Tirinus)
Ver. 28. Dead. Adonis or Osiris; as if you were mourning for them, in which sense the former verse may be explained. At funerals it was customary to cut off the hair. Achilles and his soldiers did so at the death of Patroclus. (Homer) --- The Persians also cut the manes of their horses, to shew their grief for the loss of Masistius, (Herodotus ix. 24,) as Alexander did when Hephæstion died. (Plutarch) --- The Egyptians, Assyrians, &c., cut their hair on the like occasions, and the Hebrews did so too; whether they neglected this law, or it was rather designed only to hinder them from joining in a superstitious lamentation for some idol. They also cut their bodies, Genesis l, and Jeremias xli. 5. The pagans did so, intending thereby to appease the anger of the infernal deities: ut sanguine....inferis satisfaciant, (Varro, Servius): or to please the deceased. (Plutarch, de consol.) Thus Virgil represents Anna, Æneid iv.: Unguibus ora soror fædans & pectora pugnis. The Roman and Athenian laws restrained this cruelty of women towards themselves. But in Persia, the children and servants of great men still make an incision upon their arms, when their father or master dies. The women in Greece also observe a solemn mourning, with loud lamentations, tearing their cheeks and hair, and reciting the memorable actions of the deceased. The Christians and Jews of Syria inflict still more dangerous wounds upon themselves. The latter have always esteemed it lawful to adopt the customs of the nations with whom they lived, provided they were not attended with superstition; which makes us conclude, that what Moses here forbids, was done in honour of some idol. --- Marks, made with a hot iron, representing false gods, as if to declare that they would serve them for ever. (Philo) --- The Assyrians had generally such characters upon their bodies. Philopator ordered the converts from the Jewish religion to be marked with ivy, in honour of Bacchus. (3 Macchabees) Theodoret (q. 18,) mentions, that the pagans were accustomed to cut their cheeks, and to prick themselves with needles, infusing some black matter, out of respect for the dead, and for demons. Allusion is made to these customs, Apocalypse xiii. 16, and Isaias xlix. 15. Christians have sometimes marked their arms with the cross, or name of Jesus. (Procopius in Isai. xliv. 5.) (Calmet) --- As St. Jane Frances de Chantal did her breast. (Breviary, August 21.) Nomen pectori insculpsit. St. Paul says, I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body, Galatians vi. 17. The Church historians relate, that St. Francis and St. Catharine received miraculously the prints of his wounds. (Haydock)
Ver. 29. Strumpet, which was done formerly in the honour of idols. "They gave to Venus the prostitutions of their daughters." (St. Augustine, City of God xviii. 5.) "In Cyprus they lead the unmarried women to the sea-shore, in order to acquire a dowry by these means on certain stated days, as a libation to Venus." (Justin.) --- Such things were common in the East. See Lucian de dea Syr.; Strabo xvi. --- Joel (iii. 3,) reproaches the Jews with prostituting their sons and daughters for bread; for there were also effeminate men among them. (3 Kings xiv. 24 and 4 Kings xxiii. 7.) See Baruch vi. 42 and Osee iv. 14. (Calmet)