Leviticus 21:1-15

Listen to Leviticus 21:1-15

Holiness Required of Priests

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people,
2 except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,
3 or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband.
4 He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself.
5 Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
6 They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the food offerings, the food of their God, they must be holy.
7 A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
8 You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart.
9 If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.
10 The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair hang loose [a] or tear his garments.
11 He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother.
12 He must not leave or desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the LORD.
13 The woman he marries must be a virgin.
14 He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people,
15 so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.”

Leviticus 21:1-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 21

This chapter respects the priests, the sons of Aaron, and forbids their mourning for the dead, unless in some cases, Le 21:1-6; or their marriage with an whore or a divorced woman, Le 21:7,8; and the daughters of any of them to commit fornication, which is made punishable with death, Le 21:9; and it contains particular laws for the high priest to observe, who was not to mourn for any, even for his parents, Le 21:10,11; nor to go out of the sanctuary, Le 21:12; nor to marry any woman but a virgin, Le 21:13-15; and it also directs, that none of the priests having any blemish in them should be employed in divine service, though they might eat of the holy things, Le 21:16-24.

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Footnotes 1

  • [a] Or must not uncover his head
The Berean Bible and Majority Bible texts are officially placed into the public domain