Leviticus 21, Presenting Purity

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

We continue with requirements for the priests ministering the covenant.

Leviticus 21:1-4, Burial restrictions

The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: `A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die, except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother, or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband--for her he may make himself unclean. He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage, and so defile himself.  

In their special position as the sons of Aaron, these priests must stand above normal human emotions and griefs. They are to not touch the dead, with the single exceptions for close family members.

Leviticus 21:5-6, Holy priests

"`Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies.

They must be holy to their God and must not profane the name of their God. Because they present the offerings made to the LORD by fire, the food of their God, they are to be holy.  

Part of the holiness requirements for priests are that they not shave their heads or beards or cut their bodies. (Cutting one's body was a pagan ritual in the ANE.)

Leviticus 21:7-8, Marriage purity for priests

"`They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands, because priests are holy to their God. Regard them as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the LORD am holy--I who  make you holy.

Purity and righteousness for priests also includes a solid marriage to a woman who has not been divorced.

Leviticus 21:9, Don't allow daughters to be prostitutes.

"`If a priest's daughter defiles herself by becoming a  prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.

Prostitution was a temptation for poor women in the ANE. Here it is explicitly prohibited for the daughters of priests. This prohibition is really aimed at the priests: "Make sure your daughters don't turn to this!"

Leviticus 21:10-12, Honorable hair and garments

"`The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair become unkempt or tear his clothes. 

He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even for his father or mother, nor leave the sanctuary of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD. 

The high priest favored with special anointing and garment, is not to allow himself to be in disarray. He is to have his hair kempt and good clothes. He is not to enter a room where there is a dead body, even if it is that of his father or mother. The high priest has a very special position in the covenant.

Leviticus 21:13-15, Marry a virgin

"`The woman he marries must be a virgin. He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people, so he will not defile his offspring among his people.

 I am the LORD, who makes him holy.'"  

The bride of the high priest must be a virgin when they marry, and from the his tribe. All of this is due to the elevated status of the high priest.

Leviticus 21:16-23, No physical defects

The LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron: `For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; no man with a crippled foot or hand, or who is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.  

No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the offerings made to the LORD by fire. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God. He may eat the most holy food of his God, as well as the holy food; yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the LORD, who makes them holy.'"

The priests in the lineage of Aaron are to represent a perfect man. They are not to have physical defects. (In some sense, they represent Eden?)

Leviticus 21:24, Moses passes on the requirements

So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.   

The requirements that YHWH gives Moses are then passed on, to both the family of Aaron and then to all the people of Israel.

First published August 23, 2025; updated August 23, 2025