Leviticus 21 (NET)

Rules for the Priests

1 The Lord said to Moses: “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron – say to them, ‘For a dead person1 no priest2 is to defile himself among his people,3 2 except for his close relative who is near to him:4 his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and his virgin sister who is near to him,5 who has no husband; he may defile himself for her. 4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself.6 5 Priests7 must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body.8

6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane9 the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts,10 the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy.11 7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution,12 nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband,13 for the priest14 is holy to his God.15 8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all,16 am holy. 9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death.17

Rules for the High Priest

10 “‘The high18 priest – who is greater than his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured, who has been ordained19 to wear the priestly garments – must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments.20 11 He must not go where there is any dead person;21 he must not defile himself even for his father and his mother. 12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane22 the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. 13 He must take a wife who is a virgin.23 14 He must not marry24 a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people25 as a wife. 15 He must not profane his children among his people,26 for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”

Rules for the Priesthood

16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 17 “Tell Aaron, ‘No man from your descendants throughout their generations27 who has a physical flaw28 is to approach to present the food of his God. 18 Certainly29 no man who has a physical flaw is to approach: a blind man, or one who is lame, or one with a slit nose,30 or a limb too long, 19 or a man who has had a broken leg or arm,31 20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf,32 or one with a spot in his eye,33 or a festering eruption, or a feverish rash,34 or a crushed testicle. 21 No man from the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a physical flaw may step forward35 to present the Lord’s gifts; he has a physical flaw, so he must not step forward to present the food of his God. 22 He may eat both the most holy and the holy food of his God, 23 but he must not go into the veil-canopy36 or step forward to the altar because he has a physical flaw. Thus37 he must not profane my holy places, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”

24 So38 Moses spoke these things39 to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites.

1tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 19:28 above and the literature cited there). 2tn Heb “no one,” but “priest” has been used in the translation to clarify that these restrictions are limited to the priests, not to the Israelites in general (note the introductory formula, “say to the priests, the sons of Aaron”). 3tc The MT has “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole. 4tn Heb “except for his flesh, the one near to him.” 5tn Cf. v. 2a. 6tn Heb “He shall not defile himself a husband in his peoples, to profane himself.” The meaning of the line is disputed, but it appears to prohibit a priest from burying any relative by marriage (as opposed to the blood relatives of vv. 2-3), including his wife (compare B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 142-43 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348). 7tn Heb “they”; the referent (priests, see the beginning of v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 8tn Heb “and in their body they shall not [cut] slash[es]” (cf. Lev 19:28). The context connects these sorts of mutilations with mourning rites (cf. Lev 19:27-28 above). 9sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above. 10sn Regarding the Hebrew term for “gifts,” see the note on Lev 1:9 above (cf. also 3:11 and 16 in combination with the word for “food” that follows in the next phrase here). 11tc Smr and all early versions have the plural adjective “holy” rather than the MT singular noun “holiness.” 12tn Heb “A wife harlot and profaned they shall not take.” The structure of the verse (e.g., “wife” at the beginning of the two main clauses) suggests that “harlot and profaned” constitutes a hendiadys, meaning “a wife defiled by harlotry” (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 143, as opposed to that in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348; cf. v. 14 below). Cf. NASB “a woman who is profaned by harlotry.” 13sn For a helpful discussion of divorce in general and as it relates to this passage see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 143-44. 14tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 15tn The pronoun “he” in this clause refers to the priest, not the former husband of the divorced woman. 16tn The three previous second person references in this verse are all singular, but this reference is plural. By adding “all” this grammatical distinction is preserved in the translation. 17tn See the note on “burned to death” in 20:14. 18tn The adjective “high” has been supplied in the translation for clarity, as in many English versions. 19tn Heb “and he has filled his hand.” For this expression see the note on Lev 8:33. 20tn Regarding these signs of mourning see the note on Lev 10:6. His head had been anointed (v. 10a) so it must not be unkempt (v. 10b), and his garments were special priestly garments (v. 10a) so he must not tear them (v. 10b). In the translation “garments” has been employed rather than “clothes” to suggest that the special priestly garments are referred to here; cf. NRSV “nor tear his vestments.” 21tc Although the MT has “persons” (plural), the LXX and Syriac have the singular “person” corresponding to the singular adjectival participle “dead” (cf. also Num 6:6). 22sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above. 23tn Heb “And he, a wife in her virginity he shall take.” 24tn Heb “take.” In context this means “take as wife,” i.e., “marry.” 25tc The MT has literally, “from his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “from his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole. 26tc The MT has literally, “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole. 27tn Heb “to their generations.” 28tn Heb “who in him is a flaw”; cf. KJV, ASV “any blemish”; NASB, NIV “a defect.” The rendering “physical flaw” is used to refer to any birth defect or physical injury of the kind described in the following verses (cf. the same Hebrew word also in Lev 24:19-20). The same term is used for “flawed” animals, which must not be offered to the Lord in Lev 22:20-25. 29tn The particle כִּי (ki) in this context is asseverative, indicating absolutely certainty (GKC 498 §159.ee). 30tn Lexically, the Hebrew term חָרֻם (kharum) seems to refer to a split nose or perhaps any number of other facial defects (HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם qal; cf. G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 292, n. 7); cf. KJV, ASV “a flat nose”; NASB “a disfigured face.” The NJPS translation is “a limb too short” as a balance to the following term which means “extended, raised,” and apparently refers to “a limb too long” (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 146). 31tn Heb “who there is in him a broken leg or a broken arm,” or perhaps “broken foot or broken hand.” The Hebrew term רֶגֶל (regel) is commonly rendered “foot,” but it can also refer to the “leg,” and the Hebrew יָד (yad) is most often translated “hand,” but can also refer to the “[fore]arm” (as opposed to כַּף, kaf, “palm of the hand” or “hand”). See HALOT 386 s.v. יָד and 1184 s.v. רֶגֶל respectively (cf. the NJPS translation). In this context, these terms probably apply to any part of the limb that was broken, including hand and the foot. B. A. Levine (Leviticus [JPSTC], 146) points out that such injuries often did not heal properly in antiquity because they were not properly set and, therefore, remained a “physical flaw” permanently. 32tn Heb “thin”; cf. NAB “weakly.” This could refer to either an exceptionally small (i.e., dwarfed) man (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 146) or perhaps one with a “withered limb” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 342, 344). 33tn The term rendered “spot” derives from a root meaning “mixed” or “confused” (cf. NAB “walleyed”). It apparently refers to any kind of marked flaw in the eye that can be seen by others. Smr, Syriac, Tg. Onq., and Tg. Ps.-J. have plural “his eyes.” 34tn The exact meaning and medical reference of the terms rendered “festering eruption” and “feverish rash” is unknown, but see the translations and remarks in B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 146; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 342, 344, 349-50; and R. K. Harrison, NIDOTTE 1:890 and 2:461. 35tn Or “shall approach” (see HALOT 670 s.v. נגשׁ). 36sn See the note on Lev 16:2 for the rendering “veil-canopy.” 37tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here. 38tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) introduces a concluding statement for all the preceding material. 39tn The words “these things” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.