And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it.
Shall it be eaten in the holy place. "The" is applied here to the whole sanctuary. Though this was a provision for the priests and their families, it was to be regarded as 'most holy;' and the way in which it was prepared was, on any meat offerings being presented, the priest carried them to the altar, and taking a handful from each of them as an oblation, salted and burnt it on the altar; the residue became the property of the priests, and was the food of those whose duty it was to attend on the service. They themselves, as well as the vessels from which they ate, were typically "holy;" and they were not at liberty to partake of the meat offering while they laboured under any ceremonial defilement. Moreover, in accordance with the idea of their official sanctity, the offering was to be eaten only by themselves, while the female members of their family were precluded.