1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
2 But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.
3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
4 But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
7 They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.
8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.
1 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Speak H559 unto the priests H3548 the sons H1121 of Aaron, H175 and say H559 unto them, There shall none be defiled H2930 for the dead H5315 among his people: H5971
2 But for his kin, H7607 that is near H7138 unto him, that is, for his mother, H517 and for his father, H1 and for his son, H1121 and for his daughter, H1323 and for his brother, H251
3 And for his sister H269 a virgin, H1330 that is nigh H7138 unto him, which hath had no husband; H376 for her may he be defiled. H2930
4 But he shall not defile H2930 himself, being a chief man H1167 among his people, H5971 to profane H2490 himself.
5 They shall not make H7139 baldness H7144 upon their head, H7218 neither shall they shave off H1548 the corner H6285 of their beard, H2206 nor make H8295 any cuttings H8296 in their flesh. H1320
6 They shall be holy H6944 unto their God, H430 and not profane H2490 the name H8034 of their God: H430 for the offerings H801 of the LORD H3068 made by fire, H801 and the bread H3899 of their God, H430 they do offer: H7126 therefore they shall be holy. H6918
7 They shall not take H3947 a wife H802 that is a whore, H2181 or profane; H2491 neither shall they take H3947 a woman H802 put away H1644 from her husband: H376 for he is holy H6918 unto his God. H430
8 Thou shalt sanctify H6942 him therefore; for he offereth H7126 the bread H3899 of thy God: H430 he shall be holy H6918 unto thee: for I the LORD, H3068 which sanctify H6942 you, am holy. H6918
1 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none defile himself for the dead among his people;
2 except for his kin, that is near unto him, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,
3 and for his sister a virgin, that is near unto him, that hath had no husband; for her may he defile himself.
4 He shall not defile himself, `being' a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
7 They shall not take a woman that is a harlot, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.
8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I Jehovah, who sanctify you, am holy.
1 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Speak unto the priests, sons of Aaron, and thou hast said unto them, For `any' person `a priest' is not defiled among his people,
2 except for his relation who `is' near unto him -- for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother.
3 and for his sister, the virgin, who is near unto him, who hath not been to a man; for her he is defiled.
4 `A master `priest' doth not defile himself among his people -- to pollute himself;
5 they do not make baldness on their head, and the corner of their beard they do not shave, and in their flesh they do not make a cutting;
6 they are holy to their God, and they pollute not the name of their God, for the fire-offerings of Jehovah, bread of their God, they are bringing near, and have been holy.
7 `A woman, a harlot, or polluted, they do not take, and a woman cast out from her husband they do not take, for he `is' holy to his God;
8 and thou hast sanctified him, for the bread of thy God he is bringing near; he is holy to thee; for holy `am' I, Jehovah, sanctifying you.
1 And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none make himself unclean for a dead person among his peoples,
2 except for his immediate relation, who is near unto him -- for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother;
3 and for his sister, a virgin, that is near unto him, who hath had no husband, for her may he make himself unclean.
4 He shall not make himself unclean [who is] a chief among his peoples, to profane himself.
5 They shall not make any baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they present Jehovah's offerings by fire, the bread of their God; therefore shall they be holy.
7 They shall not take as wife a whore, or a dishonoured woman; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy unto his God.
8 And thou shalt hallow him; for the bread of thy God doth he present: he shall be holy unto thee; for I, Jehovah, who hallow you am holy.
1 Yahweh said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people;
2 except for his relatives that are near to him: for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother,
3 and for his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband; for her he may defile himself.
4 He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5 "'They shall not shave their heads, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beards, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
6 They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
7 "'They shall not marry a woman who is a prostitute, or profane; neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband: for he is holy to his God.
8 You shall sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of your God: he shall be holy to you: for I Yahweh, who sanctify you, am holy.
1 And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron, Let no man make himself unclean for the dead among his people;
2 But only for his near relations, for his mother or his father, his son or his daughter, and his brother;
3 And for his sister, a virgin, for she is his near relation and has had no husband, he may make himself unclean.
4 But let him, being a chief among his people, not make himself unclean in such a way as to put shame on himself.
5 They are not to have their hair cut off for the dead, or the hair on their chins cut short, or make cuts in their flesh.
6 Let them be holy to their God and not make the name of their God common; for the fire offerings of the Lord and the bread of their God are offered by them, and they are to be holy.
7 They may not take as wife a loose or common woman, or one who has been put away by her husband: for the priest is holy to his God.
8 And he is to be holy in your eyes, for by him the bread of your God is offered; he is to be holy in your eyes, for I the Lord, who make you holy, am holy.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Leviticus 21
Commentary on Leviticus 21 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 21
Le 21:1-24. Of the Priests' Mourning.
1. There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people—The obvious design of the regulations contained in this chapter was to keep inviolate the purity and dignity of the sacred office. Contact with a corpse, or even contiguity to the place where it lay, entailing ceremonial defilement (Nu 19:14), all mourners were debarred from the tabernacle for a week; and as the exclusion of a priest during that period would have been attended with great inconvenience, the whole order were enjoined to abstain from all approaches to the dead, except at the funerals of relatives, to whom affection or necessity might call them to perform the last offices. Those exceptional cases, which are specified, were strictly confined to the members of their own family, within the nearest degrees of kindred.
4. But he shall not defile himself—"for any other," as the sense may be fully expressed. "The priest, in discharging his sacred functions, might well be regarded as a chief man among his people, and by these defilements might be said to profane himself" [Bishop Patrick]. The word rendered "chief man" signifies also "a husband"; and the sense according to others is, "But he being a husband, shall not defile himself by the obsequies of a wife" (Eze 44:25).
5. They shall not make baldness upon their heads … nor … cuttings in their flesh—The superstitious marks of sorrow, as well as the violent excesses in which the heathen indulged at the death of their friends, were forbidden by a general law to the Hebrew people (Le 19:28). But the priests were to be laid under a special injunction, not only that they might exhibit examples of piety in the moderation of their grief, but also by the restraint of their passions, be the better qualified to administer the consolations of religion to others, and show, by their faith in a blessed resurrection, the reasons for sorrowing not as those who have no hope.
7-9. They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane—Private individuals might form several connections, which were forbidden as inexpedient or improper in priests. The respectability of their office, and the honor of religion, required unblemished sanctity in their families as well as themselves, and departures from it in their case were visited with severer punishment than in that of others.
10-15. he that is the high priest among his brethren … shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes—The indulgence in the excepted cases of family bereavement, mentioned above [Le 21:2, 3], which was granted to the common priests, was denied to him; for his absence from the sanctuary for the removal of any contracted defilement could not have been dispensed with, neither could he have acted as intercessor for the people, unless ceremonially clean. Moreover, the high dignity of his office demanded a corresponding superiority in personal holiness, and stringent rules were prescribed for the purpose of upholding the suitable dignity of his station and family. The same rules are extended to the families of Christian ministers (1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:6).
16-24. Whosoever he be … hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God—As visible things exert a strong influence on the minds of men, any physical infirmity or malformation of body in the ministers of religion, which disturbs the associations or excites ridicule, tends to detract from the weight and authority of the sacred office. Priests laboring under any personal defect were not allowed to officiate in the public service; they might be employed in some inferior duties about the sanctuary but could not perform any sacred office. In all these regulations for preserving the unsullied purity of the sacred character and office, there was a typical reference to the priesthood of Christ (Heb 7:26).