Leviticus 21:1
And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
Leviticus 21:1 in other translations
| BSB | Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people, |
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| WEB | The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, ‘A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people, |
| ASV | 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; |
| YLT | And Jehovah saith unto Moses, ‘Speak unto the priests, sons of Aaron, and thou hast said unto them, For any person a priest is not defiled among his people, |
| DARBY | And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none make himself unclean for a dead person among his peoples, |
| BBE | And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron, Let no man make himself unclean for the dead among his people; |
| Webster | And the LORD said to Moses, Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: |
What does Leviticus 21:1 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Le 21:1-24. Of the Priests' Mourning.
1. There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people--The obvious design of the regulations contained in this chapter was to keep inviolate the purity and dignity of the sacred office. Contact with a corpse, or even contiguity to the place where it lay, entailing ceremonial defilement (Nu 19:14), all mourners were debarred from the tabernacle for a week; and as the exclusion of a priest during that period would have been attended with great inconvenience, the whole order were enjoined to abstain from all approaches to the dead, except at the funerals of relatives, to whom affection or necessity might call them to perform the last offices. Those exceptional cases, which are specified, were strictly confined to the members of their own family, within the nearest degrees of kindred.Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Introduction
The priests shall not mourn for the dead, except for near relatives, such as mother, father, son, daughter, and sister if a virgin, Lev 21:1-4. They shall not shave their heads nor beards, nor make any cuttings in the flesh, because they are holy unto God, Lev 21:5, Lev 21:6. A priest shall not marry a woman who is a whore, profane, or divorced from her husband, Lev 21:7, Lev 21:8. Of the priest's daughter who profanes herself, Lev 21:9. The high priest shall not uncover his head, or rend his clothes, Lev 21:10; nor go in unto a dead body, Lev 21:11; nor go out of the sanctuary, Lev 21:12. Of his marriage and off-spring, Lev 21:13-15. No person shall be made a priest that has any blemish nor shall any person with any of the blemishes mentioned here be permitted to officiate in the worship of God, Lev 21:16-24. Verse 1 There shall none be defiled for the dead - No priest shall assist in laying out a dead body, or preparing it for interment. Any contact with the dead was supposed to be of a defiling nature, probably because putrefaction had then taken place; and animal putrefaction was ever held in detestation by all men.Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain
Leviticus 21:1 in the original Hebrew
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Leviticus 21:1
- Ezekiel 44:25
And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.
- Leviticus 21:11
Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
- Leviticus 10:6-7
And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.
- Leviticus 19:28
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
- Numbers 19:14
This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
- Numbers 19:16
And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
- Hosea 5:1
Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
- Malachi 2:4
And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.
- Malachi 2:1
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6 Of their holiness.
7 Of their marriages.
8 Of their estimation.
9 Of the priest's daughter convicted of whoredom.
10 Of the high priest's holiness.
13 Of his marriage.
16 The priests that have blemishes must not minister in the sanctuary.
Speak.
Ho 5:1; Mal 2:1,4
There.
11; 10:6,7; Nu 19:14,16; Eze 44:25
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Leviticus 21:1
And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
- Leviticus 21:2
But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,
Leviticus 21:1 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y JEHOVÁ dijo á Moisés: Habla á los sacerdotes hijos de Aarón, y diles que no se contaminen por un muerto en sus pueblos. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | *Et l’ Éternel dit à Moïse: Parle aux sacrificateurs, fils d’Aaron, et dis-leur: Que le sacrificateur ne se rende pas impur parmi ses peuples pour un mort, |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und Jehova sprach zu Mose: Rede zu den Priestern, den Söhnen Aarons, und spricht zu ihnen: Keiner von ihnen soll sich wegen einer Leiche verunreinigen unter seinen Völkern: |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Dixit quoque Dominus ad Moysen: Loquere ad sacerdotes filios Aaron, et dices ad eos: Ne contaminetur sacerdos in mortibus civium suorum, |