John Calvin Commentary Numbers 18:9

"This shall be thine of the most holy things, [reserved] from the fire: every oblation of theirs, even every meal-offering of theirs, and every sin-offering of theirs, and every trespass-offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons." — Numbers 18:9 (ASV)

This shall be thine. He enumerates certain kinds of sacrifices which He desired to come to the share of the priests: namely, all the remainder of the burnt-offerings; secondly, the minha, or meat-offering; thirdly, what was consecrated from the sin and trespass-offerings.

This enumeration continues, although the following clause, “which they shall restore to me,” seems to be added as a restriction. This clause might designate only those sacrifices mentioned elsewhere,²⁰⁹ by which they cleansed themselves from the guilt of theft. Alternatively, one might prefer to read it as if this third element—in which people restored what did not belong to them so that they might be freed from the guilt of theft—was added to the sin and trespass-offerings.

After this, He adds the free gifts, which the children of Israel vowed, and the first-fruits of oil, as well as of wine and grain. This distinction was established so that God might more surely prevent jealousy and ill-will. For if there had been any ambiguity, many disputes would have immediately arisen, and thus the reverence due to sacred things would have been diminished.

At the same time, however, God instructs the priests that only males should eat the burnt-offerings, and only in the sanctuary. This was because there would have been a danger (as we said before) that the dignity of these holy offerings would have been diminished if they had been carried away to private houses and mixed with ordinary foods. Besides, God was unwilling to indulge the priests in sumptuous living; instead, by the very sight of the sanctuary, He encouraged them to be frugal and sober in their meals.

This served as a kind of military discipline to encourage abstinence, requiring them to go away from their wife and family to take their meal. However, whatever was offered as a vow, along with the first-fruits, He allows to be eaten by the women, and in their own houses, provided only that no unclean person should touch what had once been sacred.

²⁰⁹ See Numbers 5:8, , infra, p. 273..