Leviticus 21:10

"And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head go loose, nor rend his clothes; neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am Jehovah. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or one divorced, or a profane woman, a harlot, these shall he not take: but a virgin of his own people shall he take to wife. And he shall not profane his seed among his people: for I am Jehovah who sanctifieth him."

"Upon whose head the anointing oil is poured ..." (Leviticus 21:10). Clements remarked that, "This implies that only the high priest was anointed, while the others were not. This was most certainly the older practice in Israel."[12] This comment is typical of the device critical scholars use in their efforts to late-date and fragment portions of the Bible. The device is this: (1) an inaccurate interpretation is affirmed; and (2) then a deduction is based on that incorrect interpretation! It is NOT true that this passage "implies that only the high priest was anointed." The passage implies nothing of the kind! It DOES imply that only the High Priest had "the crown of the anointing oil poured upon him!" and none of the lesser priests had the oil poured on their heads. This is the way it was from the beginning of the sacred institution of the priesthood as attested in the earlier chapters of Leviticus (Leviticus 8). The lesser priests had the oil sprinkled upon their garments; only the High Priest had it poured on his head, and there is not the slightest evidence whatever in this passage that implies that the same procedure outlined in Leviticus 8 was not also in use when this portion of Leviticus was written. The Bible itself always refutes and frustrates its critics.

"Not let his hair go loose, nor rend his clothes ..." (Leviticus 21:10). The pairing of these requirements indicates that these were customary expressions of grief, horror, or mourning. It will be recalled that Caiaphas "rent his garments" (Matthew 26:15) in mock horror at what Caiaphas alleged was the "blasphemy" of Jesus who had just testified under oath that he was the Son of God. In the prohibitions here, one sees the stricter rules that pertained to the High Priest, even more strict than those governing the lesser priests.

"Nor defile himself for his father, or his mother ..." (Leviticus 21:11). This forbade the High Priest to go near the dead bodies of his nearest kin. Any touch of a dead body, or mourning for a loved one, was denied to the high priest. This was also a stricter rule than the rules for the priests.

"Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary ..." (Leviticus 21:12). The High Priest did not live in the sanctuary, so what is meant is that he could not interrupt his sacred duties even in the event of the death of his father or mother.

"And he shall take a wife in her virginity ... a virgin of his own people ..." (Leviticus 21:13,15). Marriage with widows, divorced women, or harlots was forbidden, and not even any virgin would qualify. She had to be "of his own people." Since all Israelites were required to marry within the chosen race, the meaning of "his own people" actually applied to his kinship, the Levitical tribe of Israel. Orlinsky noted that, the Hebrew means "of his own kin; people is meaningless here."[13]

Why all the strict rules for the High Priest? Because he was a type of our blessed Saviour. And one invested with such an office was supposed to be as nearly perfect as is possible for fallen mankind.

"Not profane his seed ..." (Leviticus 21:15). If the High Priest had married outside the Levitical family, his seed would have been disqualified (profaned) and unable to follow in the office which descended through hereditary holders of it throughout its history.