Leviticus 21

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt tell them they shall not defile themselves in their nation for the dead,

2 but for a relative who is very near to them, for a father and mother, and sons and daughters, for a brother,

3 and for a virgin sister that is near to one, that is not espoused to a man; for these one shall defile himself.

4 He shall not defile himself suddenly among his people to profane himself.

5 And ye shall not shave your head for the dead with a baldness on the top; and they shall not shave their beard, neither shall they make gashes on their flesh.

6 They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God; for they offer the sacrifices of the Lord as the gifts of their God, and they shall be holy.

7 They shall not take a woman who is a harlot and profaned, or a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy to the Lord his God.

8 And thou shalt hallow him; he offers the gifts of the Lord your God: he shall be holy, for I the Lord that sanctify them holy.

9 And if the daughter of a priest should be profaned to go a whoring, she profanes the name of her father: she shall be burnt with fire.

10 And the priest that is chief among his brethren, the oil having been poured upon the head of the anointed one, and he having been consecrated to put on the garments, shall not take the mitre off his head, and shall not rend his garments:

11 neither shall he go in to any dead body, neither shall he defile himself for his father or his mother.

12 And he shall not go forth out of the sanctuary, and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his God, because the holy anointing oil of God upon him: I the Lord.

13 He shall take for a wife a virgin of his own tribe.

14 But a widow, or one that is put away, or profaned, or a harlot, these he shall not take; but he shall take for a wife a virgin of his own people.

15 And he shall not profane his seed among his people: I the Lord that sanctifies him.

16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

17 Say to Aaron, A man of thy tribe throughout your generations, who shall have a blemish on him, shall not draw nigh to offer the gifts of his God.

18 No man who has a blemish on him shall draw nigh; a man blind, lame, with his nose disfigured, or his ears cut,

19 a man who has a broken hand or a broken foot,

20 or hump-backed, or blear-eyed, or that has lost his eye-lashes, or a man who has a malignant ulcer, or tetter, or one that has lost a testicle.

21 Whoever of the seed of Aaron the priest has a blemish on him, shall not draw nigh to offer sacrifices to thy God, because he has a blemish on him; he shall not draw nigh to offer the gifts of God.

22 The gifts of God most holy, and he shall eat of the holy things.

23 Only he shall not approach the veil, and he shall not draw nigh to the altar, because he has a blemish; and he shall not profane the sanctuary of his God, for I am the Lord that sanctifies them.

24 And Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

Leviticus 21 Commentary

Chapter 21

Laws concerning the priests.

- As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially is called to set a good example, that the people may follow it. Our bodily infirmities, blessed be God, cannot now shut us out from his service, from these privileges, or from his heavenly glory. Many a healthful, beautiful soul is lodged in a feeble, deformed body. And those who may not be suited for the work of the ministry, may serve God with comfort in other duties in his church.

Chapter Summary

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.