Leviticus 21:3

3 and for his sister, the virgin, who is near unto him, who hath not been to a man; for her he is defiled.

Leviticus 21:3 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 21:3

And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him
That is, his sister by both father's and mother's side, as Aben Ezra; though, according to Gersom, his sister by his father's side, and not by his mother's side, is meant; but, according to Alphes, by his mother's side: perhaps this may signify not nearness of kin, which is expressed by being his sister, but nearness of place, for, being unmarried, she remained unto her death in her father's house: which hath had no husband;
neither betrothed to one, for then she would have been nigh to her husband, and not her brother, and therefore he might not pollute himself for her, as Gersom observes; nor married to him, for such an one he might not defile himself, even though she might have been rejected or divorced by her husband, as the same writer says: for her may he be defiled;
for a pure virgin that had never been betrothed nor married to a man, and had never departed from her father's house, and so had no husband to mourn for her, and take care of her funeral, and so for all the rest before mentioned; and which Jarchi says is a command, and not a bare sufferance or allowance, but what he ought and was obliged to do; and so it is related of Joseph {r}, a priest, that his wife died in the evening of the sabbath, and he would not defile himself for her, and his brethren the priests obliged him, and made him defile himself against his will.


FOOTNOTES:

F18 T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 90. 1.

Leviticus 21:3 In-Context

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;
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.