Chapter Twenty-One
Instructions for the Priests
21:1 And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). 4 He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself.
In the role of being intermediaries between God and man, priests needed to be and remain ceremonially clean and therefore needed to avoid anything that could make themselves unclean. The priests were not to touch anything or anyone that had contact with the dead.[1] With the exception of their closest relatives (further identified as their parents, son, daughter, brother, or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him), for these family members it was allowed for a priest to be made unclean. It is interesting to note that verse four states that a priest was not allowed to be made unclean for any family member that is only related to him by marriage, apparently even his wife.
21:5 They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the LORD’s food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
The priests were not allowed to shave their heads (the words “bald patches” is translated from one Hebrew word, ‘qǒr·ḥāh’,[2] meaning baldness or shaved head, seen here for the first time in Scripture), nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make cuts on their body.[3] They were not permitted to disfigure themselves, display any form of potential mourning or any external sign of unwarranted humility. Since they represent God, these practices that were often identified with pagan rituals (see 1 Kings 18:28) were unacceptable. The priests were to be holy to their God, and not dishonor the name of YHWH. Just as Christians represent Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 5:20), they are to be seen as godly people, not like those following the lusts of the world. God further explains that they are to be holy since they are responsible for presiding over all of the sacrifices offered to Him.
In verse six, we are introduced to the concept of offering the bread of God, the phrase will be used in different variations four other times in this chapter (see verses 8, 17, 21, and 22). The golden table (see Exodus 25:23-24) that was made for the first room in the Tabernacle’s structure, was to have freshly made bread placed on it every Sabbath by the High Priest (see Leviticus 24:5-9). The reference to the offering of bread could be a figure of speech known as a synecdoche to refer to all the routine duties of the priests (perhaps focusing on the duties inside the structure) as the food offerings[4] can refer to all of the sacrificial duties of the priests (those performed outside the structure).
21:7 They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy. 9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.
The priests were not allowed to marry a prostitute or any woman who has been defiled (Hebrew ‘ḥǎlā·lāh’,[5] usually refers to someone fatally wounded, often translated as ‘slain’, used twice in this chapter referring to a woman who was violated, ‘pierced’), nor any woman that was divorced.[6]
Speaking to Moses (see verse one), God tells him to consecrate the priests, as they are responsible for bringing the offerings to God and thus must be holy. To make them holy is explained as a process that begins with God, who is eternally holy, who then consecrates Moses, followed by Moses consecrating the priests.
If the daughter of any priest defiles herself by practicing prostitution, in doing so she has also defiled her father and must be burned.[7]
21:10 “The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes. 11 He shall not go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. 12 He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the LORD. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin of his own people, 15 that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.”
In addition to the instructions given to the priests above, the High Priest was given a few more, and certainly more challenging instructions. Here again the High Priest is referred to as the one who was anointed[8] and the one that was consecrated to wear the high priest garments (see Leviticus 16:32). The High Priest was not allowed to let his hair hang loose, nor tear his clothes (see Leviticus 10:6, see also Matthew 26:65 when the high priest tore his robes after hearing Jesus stated that He was the Messiah, although forbidden by law, the High Priest undoubtedly tore his garments to make a dramatic point).
The High Priest was not allowed to get near any dead bodies, he was not allowed to become unclean even for his parents. The Hebrew word that is translated twice in verse twelve as ‘sanctuary’, is ‘miq·dǎš’,[9] referring to a holy place, a sanctuary, in this case as a reference to the Tabernacle grounds and later will be used to refer to the Temple. The High Priest was to remain in a holy place in order to remain holy himself and therefore not profane the sanctuary when he returned. However, since the Tabernacle had no living quarters, it is believed that this regulation was referring to his role as High Priest, he was never to leave the area near the Tabernacle, essentially pointing out that his role as High Priest was a 24-hour position.
The High Priest was allowed to marry a virgin Israelite woman, but not a widow, a divorced woman, a prostitute, or a woman that had been defiled (see commentary under verses 7-9 above).
21:16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, 19 or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. 21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD’s food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things, 23 but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.” 24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.
If the phrase “offer the bread,” refers to the routine priestly duties,[10] then God is having Moses tell Aaron that none of his offspring, regardless of generation, who has a blemish (Hebrew word ‘mûm’,[11] a physical mark or defect, same word used to reject any animal that has a blemish to be used as a sacrifice); who is blind; who is lame (Hebrew ‘pis·sēªh’,[12] crippled or injured); who has a mutilated face (Hebrew ‘ḥā·rǔm’,[13] meaning to destroy,[14] to doom, can refer to a slit in a nose, or a disfigured face); who has a limb too long (Hebrew ‘śā·rûªi[15] , meaning stretched out, here referring to a overdevelopment, not necessarily only a reference to a limb); who has an injured foot; who has an injured hand; who has a hunched back; who is a dwarf; who has difficulty seeing; who has any skin disease that either leaves scabs or itches; or one who has crushed, bruised, or non-functional testicles (the Hebrew word ‘merôªḥ’,[16] essentially means damaged or broken), was allowed to perform those duties.
In addition, none of Aaron’s offspring that were considered to be blemished were permitted to make any of the sacrifices. However, they were allowed to eat the bread and the meat from the appropriate sacrifices, like the other priests. But they were not permitted to go through the veil (the entrance to the Tabernacle) or approach the altar (in this case neither altar). Moses relayed the instructions from God to Aaron, his sons and also to all the people of Israel.
Verse 22 reminds us that the food for the priests is delineated by what comes from “holy things” and the “most-holy things.” Previously in Leviticus the most-holy things eaten were from the remaining portion of a grain offering (not initially burned, see Leviticus 2:3, 10; 6:17; 10:12; Numbers 18:9); meat from a sin offering (see Leviticus 6:17, 25; 10:17; 14:13; Numbers 18:9); meat from a guilt offering (see Leviticus 6:17; 7:1, 5-6; 14:13; Numbers 18:9); and later, the bread of Presence[17] made for placement on the table inside the structure (see Leviticus 24:9). The food from holy things would be identified as the bread (and other items made from the grain) offered as gifts to God and the meat offered to God in peace offerings (see Leviticus 7:11-19). The identification of a “holy thing,” or to “holy things,” relating to food provided for the priests (through sacrifices), will be referenced twelve times in the following chapter.
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[1] See commentary under Leviticus 5:2-3, see also Numbers 19:16.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 7144.
[3] See commentary under Leviticus 19:26-28.
[4] See commentary under Exodus 29:15-18.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 2491.
[6] See rules regarding divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1-4.
[7] See commentary under Leviticus 20:14.
[8] See commentary under Leviticus 4:3-7, see also Exodus 29:29-30; Leviticus 8:12.
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 4720.
[10] See commentary under verses 5-6 above.
[11] Strong’s Hebrew 3971.
[12] Strong’s Hebrew 6455.
[13] Strong’s Hebrew 2763.
[14] See commentary under Exodus 22:20.
[15] Strong’s Hebrew 8311.
[16] Strong’s Hebrew 4790.
[17] See commentary under Exodus 25:25-30.