Leviticus 21:1

All of Israel was expected to be holy unto the Lord, but this and the following chapter (Leviticus 22) are concerned with the special holiness that pertained to the priests of the sanctuary and especially to the high priest. Each of the three paragraphs of this chapter "closes with the formula `I am the Lord your (their) sanctifier.' The only other place in Leviticus (except for three similar paragraph closings in Leviticus 22) where this clause is used is in Leviticus 20:28."[1] Here, we shall follow the usual paragraphing found in the ASV.

The reason underlying the absolute requirement of holiness on the part of God's priests was stated thus by Unger, "They demonstrate the importance of separating from sin on the part of Christians."[2] This is indeed a large subject, and the apostle Peter addressed it frequently in his writings. The key words of this whole section in Leviticus, "Ye shall be holy, for I am holy" were applied to Christians" (1 Peter 1:16). "Ye are a holy priesthood ... to offer up spiritual sacrifices ... Ye are a royal priesthood ..." (1 Peter 2:5,9). (See the full comment on this analogy in Volume 10 of this commentary series, en loco.)

In the first half of the 20th century, critics delighted to talk about what they called "the composite nature" of this chapter, relating it to their impossible theories about "many sources" for the Pentateuch. Dummelow, for example, summarized these: (1) interchange of the singular and plural pronouns; (2) interchange of the second and third persons; (3) the use of various headings; and (4) the use of two titles for the priests, namely, "sons of Aaron," and "seed of Aaron."[3] All such variations are characteristic of the Sacred Scriptures, and the critical emphasis on such things has largely disappeared. They certainly do NOT represent anything untrustworthy regarding the Bible.

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none defile himself for the dead among his people; except for his kin, that is near to him, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, and for his sister a virgin, that is near unto him, that hath had no husband; for her may he defile himself. He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy. They shall not take a woman that is a harlot, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God: Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee; for I Jehovah, who sanctify you, am holy. And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the harlot, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire."

Note that the change to the second person in Leviticus 21:8 is due to the direction of the instruction to the people to honor their priests, for he offered the bread of "thy God," that is, the God of all Israel. Similar requirements account for other variations here also.

Many have expressed wonder that the priest's wife was NOT mentioned here as being entitled to mourning by the priest, but, as Allis said: "She is `one flesh' with her husband (Genesis 2:24), and to mention her would be superfluous.[4] Of course, therefore, the priest could mourn for his wife. No, she was not of his near kin, but was closer than any kin, even closer than father or mother.

Leviticus 21:4 here is difficult. Some say the text here has been damaged. As it stands, Lofthouse has given the best interpretation of it:

"A married sister would ordinarily be mourned by her husband - this is probably the meaning of the original text of Leviticus 21:4. If his sister were a widow, the priest might act in the place of her husband."[5]

According to Clements, only the slightest emendation allows the reading "as a husband" to replace the words "being a chief man."[6] The ASV's margin allows the reading "as a husband"; so also the RSV (or "lord of the house"). Robert O. Coleman says that, "in all probability, this should be allowed."[7] In any case, the meaning here must be considered unclear.

"The offerings made by fire ... the bread of God ..." These phrases mean the same thing, indicating that animal sacrifices were called "the bread of God." "The fat of the peace-offering (Leviticus 3:11) is called the food (bread) of God."[8] However, we may not for a moment receive the notion that the Hebrews had any false notion that God actually needed to eat such things. "The author of Leviticus would not have taken this phrase literally at all."[9] When Christ said that Christians should eat his flesh and drink his blood, the usage was metaphorical, and not literal at all. So it is here.

Leviticus 21:5 prohibited the priest's indulgence of such pagan practices as special haircuts, cuttings in the flesh, and other extreme signs of mourning. Of course, all such things were forbidden to all Israel in Leviticus 19:28, but it would have been ESPECIALLY inappropriate and sinful for the priests to do such things. The special haircuts mentioned here were in the form of a circular tonsure, somewhat like that found with certain orders of Catholic priests today. Such devices were known to paganism thousands of years ago.

"Leviticus 21:9 refers to the Canaanite practice of cultic prostitution in which a religious purpose (pagan) was thought to be served by such immorality."[10] So far was God from allowing anything like that in Israel, that He ordered execution and the burning of any daughter of a priest involved in such a thing. So opposed was Israel to all such things that their language does not even have a word for "priestess."[11]