Preface:    Leviticus 21 gives specific limitations which are placed upon the priesthood.

The Bible Summary of Leviticus 21 (in 140 characters or less): A priest must not make himself unclean and must only marry a virgin. No descendant of Aaron with a defect may offer the offerings.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Leviticus. This will be the most extensive examination of Leviticus 21, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 21:

Introduction

         vv.     1–

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

         vv. 

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Leviticus 21 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Leviticus 21 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Leviticus 21

         Introduction         The Prequel of Leviticus 21

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Leviticus 21

         Introduction         The Places of Leviticus 21

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Leviticus 21

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 21

         Introduction         Outlines of Leviticus 21 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 21 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Leviticus 1–15)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Leviticus 21)

         Introduction 

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            A Brief Summary of Leviticus 21

         Summary            Why Leviticus 21 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Leviticus 21

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Leviticus 21

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Leviticus 21

         Summary 

         Addendum          Heritage Bible footnotes concerning the Chief Priest

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Leviticus 21

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Leviticus 21

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 21

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Leviticus 21

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An Introduction to Leviticus 21

I ntroduction: Leviticus is called principally a book dealing with the Levitical priesthood. This is only true in part. Some chapters deal with sacrifices and some deal with specifics concerning the priesthood, but that is properly the Aaronic priesthood. Most of Leviticus, as we have seen, deals with laws and ordinances set up by God for all of the people of Israel. Leviticus 21 is one of the few chapters addressed to the sons of Aaron. You would think that this will mean a new vocabulary; other than the list of blemishes and defects that the priest was not allowed to have, most of these words we have seen many times before. We will find the word for holy (or consecrate, sanctify) in its verb, adjective or noun form eleven times; its antonym, profane, defile, desecrate is found in its verb or adjective form also eleven times (there are two different words here). Another word that we often find is the one which is usually hidden—the word for approach; it is found seven times, usually mistranslated (and several times where we find the word approach it is a different word).

Timeline for Leviticus

There is very little narrative in the book of Leviticus; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

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Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Leviticus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And speaks Y^ehowah unto Moses, “Speak unto the priests, sons of Aaron, and you have said unto them, ‘For a soul no [one] should be unclean among his peoples, to his kin, the near [ones] unto him, to his mother and to his father, and to his son and to his daughter, and to his brother and to his sister, (the virgin, the [one] near unto him who is not to a man to her, he makes [himself] unclean), will not be unclean a baal among his peoples to be himself profaned.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  . Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) The Lord said also to Moses: Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt say for them: Let not a priest incur an uncleanness at the death of his citizens.

But only for his kin, such as are near in blood: that is to say, for his father and for his mother, and for his son, and for his daughter, for his brother also:

And for a maiden sister, who hath had no husband.

But not even for the prince of his people shall he do any thing that may make him unclean.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mar-Yah said to Mosha, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people;

except for his relatives that are near to him: for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother,

and for his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband; for her he may defile himself.

He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself..

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you shall tell them that they shall not defile themselves in their nation for the dead,

but they may mourn for a relative who is very near to them, for a father and mother, and sons and daughters, for a brother,

and for a virgin sister that is near to him, that has no husband; for her he may defile himself.

Otherwise he shall not defile himself suddenly among his people to profane himself.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             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; 

But only for his near relations, for his mother or his father, his son or his daughter, and his brother; 

And for his sister, a virgin, for she is his near relation and has had no husband, he may make himself unclean. 

But let him, being a chief among his people, not make himself unclean in such a way as to put shame on himself.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The LORD said to Moses, "Tell these things to Aaron's sons, the priests: A priest must not make himself unclean by touching a dead person. But if the dead person was one of his close relatives, he can touch the dead body. The priest can make himself unclean if the dead person is his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother or his unmarried sister. (This sister is close to him because she has no husband. So the priest may make himself unclean for her if she dies.)

But a priest must not make himself unclean if the dead person was only one of his slaves.

God’s Word™                         The LORD spoke to Moses, "Tell the priests, Aaron's sons: None of you should become unclean by touching one of your relatives who has died. However, you are allowed to become unclean when one of your nearest relatives dies. These relatives include your mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, and especially an unmarried virgin sister who is still close to you.

As the head of your people, you should never become unclean. That would make you unholy.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The LORD commanded Moses to tell the Aaronite priests, "No priest is to make himself ritually unclean by taking part in the funeral ceremonies when a relative dies, unless it is his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister living in his house. He shall not make himself unclean at the death of those related to him by marriage.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       The LORD gave Moses these instructions for Aaron's sons, the priests: Touching a dead body will make you unclean. So don't go near a dead relative, except your mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or an unmarried sister, who has no husband to take care of her.

Don't make yourself unclean by attending the funeral of someone related to you by marriage..

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

UnfoldingWord (Simplified)    Yahweh also said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'You priests must not cause yourselves to become unfit to do my work by touching any dead body. You are permitted to touch only the corpses of close relatives, such as your mother, father, son, daughter or your brother. You may also touch the corpse of a sister if she is not married and has been living in your house, because she has no husband to bury her.  

You priests must not cause yourselves to become unfit to do my work by touching the dead bodies of other relatives of yours.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                . immediate

Conservapedia                       .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, None shall be defiled for any soul among his people,

Except for his flesh who 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, who is near to him, who has not been with a man; he may be defiled for her.

A lord⁴ shall not defile himself among his people to profane himself.

⁴ 21:4 lord, baal, means lord, master of the house as husband and father, as well as the title applied to pagan gods. God’s instruction is that a priest as lord of his personal household may mourn for the immediate family members, but may not mourn for household servants and more distant relatives, because attending and mourning for the dead made a person unclean. The uncleanness required time for cleansing, and the priest could not be kept from his priestly work that amount of time. Therefore his attending the funerals of dead relatives and friends was restricted to his immediate family, including his wife (not mentioned), in order not to interfere with the work of the ministry. See different instructions for the head priest, and Note on Leviticus 21:11.

International Standard V        Priestly Holiness

The Lord told Moses, “Speak to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and tell them that no priest is to defile himself on account of the dead among his people, except his close relatives—his mother or father, his son or daughter, or his brother or his virgin sister who is near him who doesn’t have a husband, [Lit. hasn’t had a man] he may defile himself for her.

“Because he is a husband among his people, he is not to defile himself, thereby polluting himself.

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Word Literal Text   Yahweh said to Moses: "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'No one among you shall make himself unclean for those who die among his people, except for his closest relatives—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, or his virgin sister who is dependent on him, since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean.  

But he must not make himself unclean for other relatives and so defile himself.

Urim-Thummim Version         YHWH spoke to Moses, Speak to the priests, those sons of Aaron and you will say to them, a priest will not be defiled for any person among his people. Except for his blood relations that are near to him, that is, for his mother and father, son, daughter, brother, and for his virgin sister that is near to him, he can be defiled (providing she has no husband).

But he will not become unclean himself being a chief husband among his people, to desecrate himself.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Yahweh said to Moses:
Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you said to them:
To a soul, he will not be impure to his people.

Because if to his close kin, to his mother and to his father, and to his sons and to his daughter and to his brother and to his virgin sister which is close to him, who did not have a man, to her he will be impure.

He will not be impure, a master to his people, to defile himself.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, sons of Aaron and tell them that not one of them shall make him self unclean for a dead person among his people except for those relatives nearest to him, that is for his mother, father, son, daughter or brother, or for an unmarried sister who is dependent on him because she has had no husband. For her, he may make himself unclean. As a husband he must not make himself unclean for his family-inlaw and so profane himself.

New American Bible(2011)    .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989            .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 . The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Leviticus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

The Scriptures–2009              And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aharon, and say to them: ‘No one is to be defiled for the dead among his people, except for his relatives who are nearest to him: for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother; and for his maiden sister who is near to him, who has had no husband – for her he is defiled. V. 4 will be placed with the next passage for context.

Tree of Life Version                Then Adonai said to Moses, “Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: A kohen is not to allow himself to become unclean for the dead among his people, except for his relatives that are nearest to him—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, or his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband. For her he may allow himself to become unclean. But he is not to defile himself—a husband among his people—and so profane himself.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND JESUS SPOKE TO MOSES, SAYING, “SPEAK TO THE PRIESTS THE SONS OF AARON, AND YOU SHALL TELL THEM THAT THEY SHALL NOT DEFILE THEMSELVES IN THEIR NATION FOR THE DEAD,

BUT THEY MAY MOURN FOR A RELATIVE WHO IS VERY NEAR TO THEM, FOR A FATHER AND MOTHER, AND SONS AND DAUGHTERS, FOR A BROTHER,

AND FOR A VIRGIN SISTER THAT IS NEAR TO ONE, THAT IS NOT ESPOUSED TO A MAN; FOR THESE ONE SHALL DEFILE HIMSELF.

HE SHALL NOT DEFILE HIMSELF SUDDENLY AMONG HIS PEOPLE TO PROFANE HIMSELF.

Awful Scroll Bible                   Sustains To Become was to say to Moses: Be speaking to the priests, the sons of Aaron, even is you to have said: Were yous to be made unclean by a breather of the people? -

For your near kin, even the kindred of your mother and father, your son and daughter, your brother

and sister, and a virgin kindred - is she to be with a man? - were yous to become unclean for.

Was to become unclean a ruler of the people? - It is to be presumptuousness -...

Concordant Literal Version    .

exeGeses companion Bible   THE PRIESTHOOD

And Yah Veh says unto Mosheh,

Say unto the priests the sons of Aharon,

and say to them,

No one fouls himself for a soul among his people

except for his kinflesh who is near unto him

- for his mother and for his father

and for his son and for his daughter

and for his brother

and for his virgin sister near him who has no man;

for her he fouls.

No master fouls himself among his people

to profane himself:...

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Hashem said unto Moshe, Speak unto the kohanim the Bnei Aharon, and say unto them, There shall none be made tamei for the dead among his people;

But for his close kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his em, and for his av, and for his ben, and for his bat, and for his ach.

And for his betulah achot (virgin sister), that is close unto him, which hath had no ish (husband); for her may he be made tamei.

But he shall not make himself tamei, being a ba'al (leader, chief man) among his people, to profane himself.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    .

Lexham English Bible            Regulations Concerning Priests

Then [Or “And”] Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and say to them, ‘One must not make himself unclean for a dead person among his own people, except for his direct relative closest to him: his mother and his father, and his son and his daughter, and his brother, and for his sister, a virgin, who is closest to him, who has not had a husband [Literally “who is not for a man/husband”]—for her he may defile himself.

He must not make himself unclean as a kinsman by marriage, [Literally “a husband among his people”] defiling himself.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 Priestly Laws

God told Moses to declare the following to Aaron's descendants, the priests:

Let no [priest] defile himself [by contact with] the dead among his people,

except for such close blood relatives as his mother, father, son, daughter or brother.

He may also allow himself to become ritually unclean for his [deceased] virgin sister, who is [also] close to him as long as she is not married.

[However,] a husband may not defile himself for his [dead] wife if she is legally unfit for him.

defile himself...

See Numbers 19:14.

close to him

This is a sister who has the same father as the priest (Yevamoth 22b; Yad, Avel 2:1).

a husband may not...

(Sifra; Rashi). Or, 'a man may not defile himself for a corpse among his people' - when there are others to care for it (Rashi). Or, 'a man may not defile himself, even for the great' (Saadia; Baaley Tosafoth). Or, '[Since he is] a leader, he shall not be defiled among his people' (Targum).

if she is legally unfit...

See Leviticus 21:7 (Yevamoth 22b; Rashi; cf. Targum Yonathan.) Or, 'since it makes him unfit for service' (Rashi; Rashbam).

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible(2011)    .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B.                            § 17. Especial Sanctity enjoined on the Priests.

Chapter 21.

And Yahweh said unto Moses,

Say unto the priestsˎ the sons of Aaron,—yea thou shalt say unto them,

    <For a dead person>^g shall no one make himself uncleanˎ among his people:

Saving for his kinˎ that are near unto him, for his mother or for his father, or for his son or for his daughter, or for his brother; or for his sisterˎ a virgin who is near unto him, who belongeth not unto a husband,— <for her> he may make himself unclean: He shall not make himself uncleanˎ being a chief^h among his people,—by profaning himself:...

^g U.: “for a soul.”

^h Heb.: bâ‛al.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  . pollute

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt say unto them, They must not defile themselves for the dead in their family, except only for their nearest of kin. For a father, or a mother, or for sons, or daughters, or for a brother, and for a virgin sister who dwelleth with him, and who hath not been betrothed to a husband; for these he may defile himself. He must not defile him self unexpectedly among his people, to occasion their defilement.

Context Group Version          And YHWH said to Moses, Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, None shall defile himself for the dead among his relatives; 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 to him, that has had no man; for her he may defile himself.

He shall not defile himself suddenly among his relatives, to profane himself.

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak to the priests, Aaron's sons, and you shall say to them, None shall be defiled for the dead among his people. But for his relative who 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, the virgin, who is near to him, who has not been with a man, for her he may be defiled. V. 4 will be placed with the next passage for context.

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron and say to them, None will defile himself for the dead among his people, except for his kin, who 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, who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. He will not defile himself, who is a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and YHWH said to Mosheh, say to the administrators, the sons of Aharon, and you will say to them, he will not be dirty for a soul in his people. Instead, for his kin, the one near him, for his mother and for his father and for his son and for his daughter and for his brother, and for his sister, the virgin, the one near to him, who does not have a man, for her he will be dirty. A master in his people will not be dirty, to defile himself.

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young's Updated LT              .

The gist of this passage: 

Translation: Y^ehowah speaks to Moses [saying], “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you have said to them,...

God speaks to Moses, but Moses is to convey this information to the priests, who are the sons of Aaron. If the books and chapter of the Mosaic Torah (Exodus through Deuteronomy) are roughly in chronological order (why should they not be?), then Aaron’s eldest two sons are dead, and sons #3 and #4 are the acting priests (it seems like Phinehas will take a lead here).

Therefore, this message is primarily to them.

Translation: ...‘No one should be unclean among his peoples for a soul [who has died],...

When God speaks of the soul here and relates it to being unclean, I am assuming (along with virtually every other translator) that we are speaking of someone who has died. A dead body is in all respects unclean, and priests are tobe fully aware of that.

Leviticus 21:1 Y^ehowah speaks to Moses [saying], “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you have said to them, ‘No one should be unclean among his peoples for a soul [who has died],... (Kukis mostly literal translation)

This is a change here. Moses is not told to speak to the people but to the sons of Aaron, the priests to Israel, concerning their personal ceremonial cleanness. This is a great chasm between the clean and the unclean and those who represent man to God and who present the gospel to the people (i.e., the priests) must be clean and undefiled. Primarily we will deal with one who is defiled by death. A person who dies represents spiritual death and separation from God, as that person is now lifeless and separate from his family. Numbers 19:11 tells us that touching a corpse makes one unclean for seven days and Numbers 19:14 indicates that even entering into a tent where a corpse is makes one unclean. A priest was allowed to come into contact with certain members of his family (vv. 2–3) and the high priest was denied even those exceptions (vv. 11–12).

This particular prohibition from v. 1 is repeated in Ezekiel 44:25 and in examining that, I suddenly realize why Ezekiel and Leviticus are so similar in vocabulary; they are both almost in their entirety direct quotes from Y^ehowah, the God of Israel where, insofar as to the recording of this information, the prophets Moses and Ezekiel were little more than scribes (or, secretaries taking dictation) in their functions.

A priest is defiled by coming into contact with the dead with these exceptions listed.

Translation: ...except for his near kin,...

There are near relatives who can have an association with the dead body. I assume that the priests will guide the families in the event of a death.

Translation: ...for his mother and for his father, for his son and for his daughter, and for his brother...

The mother, father, son or daughter are close relatives. It is expected that they may have contact with the body of the deceased. Also the brother, of course.

Leviticus 21:1–2 Y^ehowah speaks to Moses [saying], “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you have said to them, ‘No one should be unclean among his peoples for a soul [who has died], except for his near kin, for his mother and for his father, for his son and for his daughter, and for his brother... (Kukis mostly literal translation)

A priest is defiled by coming into contact with the dead with these exceptions listed.

Translation: ...and for his sister (the virgin, the one [who is] near to him,...

There is a lot made of the sister. Apparently, the common culture was, once a woman married, she became a part of that family. However, an unmarried sister, who would, therefore, be a virgin, is also allowed the close contact (this might be to clean the body, apply the scents and perfumes to preserve it).

Translation: ...who has not a husband for her, he defiles himself).

At this point, I am somewhat confused. Who is the one defiling himself? Are we talking about the husband of a sister? Or have we come outside the family limitations and the priest who is too closely associated with the body is one who has defiled himself?

Leviticus 21:2–3 ...except for his near kin, for his mother and for his father, for his son and for his daughter, and for his brother and for his sister (the virgin, the one [who is] near to him, who has not a husband for her, he defiles himself). (Kukis mostly literal translation)

V. 3 is another exception; the word for near indicates that this must be a sister he is close to (as we all know, there are sisters that we are close to and those we are not).

Leviticus 21:1–3 Y^ehowah speaks to Moses [saying], “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you have said to them, ‘No one should be unclean among his peoples for a soul [who has died], except for his near kin, for his mother and for his father, for his son and for his daughter, and for his brother and for his sister (the virgin, the one [who is] near to him, who has not a husband for her, he defiles himself). (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Whedon: The call to the priesthood and the holy anointing do not make the priests less human, nor eradicate the tender sensibilities which bind man to his fellow. Yet to preserve the dignity of the office, and to impress upon the priest the idea that his chief duties are to God and not to man, he is cut off from all acts of formal mourning except for those who are closely bound to him by the ties of blood. Since bodily deformities are often the results of sin in the parent or in the individual, and are, moreover, suggestive of moral failings, dwarfs and persons maimed and crippled were to be kept from the sacred office.

Translation: A lord will not defile himself among his peoples to profane himself. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Both words for defile are found in this verse. ţâmêʾ (טָמֵא) [pronounced taw-MAY] means to make unclean, to be unclean, to defile. Strong's #2930 BDB #379. The second word is châlal (חָלַל) [pronounced khaw-LAHL] and it means pollute, defile, profane, corrupt, sully and contaminate. Strong's #2490 BDB #319. The first word means that he has made himself unclean and the second word means that he has thus disqualified himself for making offerings because he is polluted.

What is said in this verse is that the priest may not defile himself in any way as he is a leader among his people. You will find the word for lord of interest. It is the word baʿal (בַּעַל) [pronounced BAH-ģahl] and it means lord, master and, apart from idolatry, it is a good word. It is occasionally used for a husband, as he is known as the lord or master. Strong's #1167 BDB #127.

Most interpret baal as lord (not as being God or a god, but simply as being a leader); and this is all about keeping the priesthood separate from such functions as these.

Peter Pett: And the reason for these extreme precautions is given, his prominence as a ‘chief man’ among the people, someone set apart from the ordinary with a principal function. This made it important that he did not profane himself by making himself unable to operate in fulfilment of his responsibilities. Those who have the greatest responsibility must exercise the greatest care in maintaining a worthiness necessary for the fulfilment of their responsibilities.

Leviticus 21:4 A lord will not defile himself among his peoples to profane himself. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

When I first looked at this verse, the English translation given me was he shall not defile himself as a husband among his people and so profane himself. My first thought was what the heck are they talking about? The best I was originally able to come up with is that this verse was tied in with v. 7; but I could not for the life of me understand why they were separated by two other verses. However, the key to understanding this verse is having the correct translation, as it is most of the time.

I may want to re-evaluate this in the light of my exegesis of Ruth 1:11.

Leviticus 21:1–4 Y^ehowah speaks to Moses [saying], “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you have said to them, ‘No one should be unclean among his peoples for a soul [who has died], except for his near kin, for his mother and for his father, for his son and for his daughter, and for his brother and for his sister (the virgin, the one [who is] near to him, who has not a husband for her, he defiles himself). A lord will not defile himself among his peoples to profane himself. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Leviticus 21:1–4 Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak these things to the priests, the sons of Aaron. You will say to them, ‘None of you should be made unclean by close contact with the dead. The people who are close relatives to a person who has died—his sons, his daughters, his parents, his brother or a virgin sister still living at home—these people may have necessary contact. However, a leader of the people is not to defile himself by having close contact with a dead person. (Kukis paraphrase)

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Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        They will not make a bald spot on their head and a corner of their beard they will not cut off and on their flesh they will not scratch a cutting. Holy ones they keep on being to their Elohim and they have not profaned a name of their Elohim, for burnt offerings of Y^ehowah, bread of their Elohim they are bringing near. And they have been holy.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) Neither shall they shave their head, nor their beard, nor make incisions in their flesh.

They shall be holy to their God, and shall not profane his name. For they offer the burnt offering of the Lord, and the bread of their God: and therefore they shall be holy.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        "'They shall not shave their heads, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beards, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offerings of Mar-Yah made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And you shall not shave your head for the dead with a baldness on the top; and they shall not shave their beard, neither shall they make gashes on their flesh.

They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God; for they offer the sacrifices of the Lord as the gifts of their God, and they shall be holy.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             They are not to have their hair cut off for the dead, or the hair on their chins cut short, or make cuts in their flesh. 

Let them be holy to their God and not make the name of their God common; for the fire offerings of the Lord and the bread of their God are offered by them, and they are to be holy.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  "Priests must not shave their heads bald. They must not shave off the edges of their beards. They must not make any cuts in their bodies.

Priests must be holy for their God. They must show respect for God's name. They offer the bread and special gifts to the LORD, so they must be holy.

God’s Word™                         "You should never mourn by shaving bald spots on your heads, shaving the edges of your beards, or slashing your bodies.

"Be God's holy men, and don't dishonor the name of your God. Be holy because you bring sacrifices by fire to the LORD. It is the food of your God.

Good News Bible (TEV)         "No priest shall shave any part of his head or trim his beard or cut gashes on his body to show that he is in mourning.

He must be holy and must not disgrace my name. He offers food offerings to me, and he must be holy.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       Don't shave any part of your head or trim your beard or cut yourself to show that you are mourning.

I am the LORD your God, and I have chosen you alone to offer sacrifices of food to me on the altar. That's why you must keep yourselves holy.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      You priests must not shave your heads or the edges of your beards; you must not cut your bodies to show that you are mourning for someone who has died.  

You must act in ways that I, your God, consider to be suitable for you, my priests; you must not disgrace me. You are the ones who will present to me the offerings that you will burn. These offerings will be made to me from your food supplies. So you must act in ways that are suitable, because you honor me.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                .

Christian Standard Bible        .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          They shall not make their head bald, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.⁵

They are holy to their God, and shall not profane the name of their God, because of the burnt offerings of Jehovah, and they bring near the food of their God, and they are holy.

⁵ 21:5 All the customs mentioned in this verse were customs practiced by pagans for the dead.

International Standard V        “They are not to cut their hair in ritualistic patterns [Lit. cut the sides of their hair; i.e. as a sign of affiliation] on their heads or deface the edges of their beards, or make incisions in their flesh. They are to be holy to their God. They are not to defile the name of their God, because they’re the ones who bring the offerings of the Lord made by fire—the food of their God—so they are to be holy.

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Urim-Thummim Version         They will not shave their heads, nor shave off the fringes of their beard or make any cuttings [such as tattoos] in their flesh. They are Holy to their Elohim and they will not desecrate the Name of their Elohim for the Burnt-Offerings of YHWH, and the bread of their Elohim that they are bringing near and have been Holy.

Wikipedia Bible Project          They will not shave bald their heads, and the sides of their beard they will not shave, and in their flesh they will not scratch out scratch-marks. They will be holy to their God, and they will not profane the name of their God, because of the men of Yahweh the bread to their God, they sacrifice, and they were holy.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  .

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009              ‘A leader does not defile himself among his people, to profane himself; they do not make any bald place on their heads, and they do not shave the corner of their beard, and they do not make a cutting in their flesh.  ‘They are set-apart to their Elohim and do not profane the Name of their Elohim, for they bring the fire offerings of יהוה, and the bread of their Elohim, and shall be set-apart. V. 4 is included for context. The way this is translated, it seems like v. 4 belongs here.

Tree of Life Version                “Kohanim are not to shave their heads, nor shave off the corners of their beards, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

They are to be holy to their God, and not profane the Name of their God, for they present the offerings of Adonai made by fire, the bread of their God. Therefore they are to be holy.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND YOU SHALL NOT SHAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THE DEAD WITH A BALDNESS ON THE TOP; AND THEY SHALL NOT SHAVE THEIR BEARD, NEITHER SHALL THEY MAKE GASHES ON THEIR FLESH.

THEY SHALL BE HOLY TO THEIR THEOS (The Alpha & Omega), AND THEY SHALL NOT PROFANE THE NAME OF THEIR THEOS (The Alpha & Omega); FOR THEY OFFER THE SACRIFICES OF JESUS AS THE GIFTS OF THEIR THEOS (The Alpha & Omega), AND THEY SHALL BE HOLY.

Awful Scroll Bible                   ...even was he to make himself bald, even the baldness of his head? - was he to shave the sides of his beard? - was he to make incisions, even incisions on his flesh? -

They are being set apart to he of mighty ones - were they to be presumptuous in the name of he of mighty ones? - For their fire offerings to Sustains To Become of bread, to he of mighty ones they are to be drawing near, even are to be they set apart.

Concordant Literal Version    They shall not make bald a tonsure on their heads for a dead one and not shave off the edge of their beard; nor shall they lacerate their flesh with laceration.

Holy shall they become to their Elohim; they shall not profane the name of their Elohim. Because they are bringing near the fire offerings of Yahweh, the bread of their Elohim, they are to be holy.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...they neither balden their head

nor shave the edge of their beard,

nor incise any incisions in their flesh.

They are holy to their Elohim

and profane not the name of their Elohim:

for the firings unto Yah Veh

and the bread of their Elohim, they oblate:

so they are holy.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           They shall not shave their head bald, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their basar.

They shall be kedoshim unto Eloheihem, and not commit Chillul ha-shem against the Shem of Eloheihem; for the offerings of Hashem made by eish and the lechem of Eloheihem they do offer; therefore they shall be kodesh.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. They shall not make a baldness behind in their head,

And <the border of their beard> shall they not cut off,—

And <in their flesh> shall they not make incisions.

<Holy persons> shall they be unto their God,

and not profane the name of their God,—for <the altar-flames of Yahwehˎ the food of their God> do they bring near—

Therefore shall they be holy.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    

Lexham English Bible            “ ‘And they shall not shave bald patches on their head, and they shall not shave off the corner of their beard, and they shall not make a cut in their body. They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God, because they are bringing near the offerings made by fire to [Hebrew “of”] Yahweh—their God’s food—and they shall be holy.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 Let no priest shave off patches of hair from his head. Let them not shave the edges of their beards and not make gouges in their skin.

They must be holy to their God, and not profane their God's name. Since they present God's fire offerings, the food offering for their God, they must remain holy.

Let no priest...

(Sifra; Rashi cf. Yad, Avodath Kokhavim 12:15). See Deuteronomy 14:1.

Let them not shave...

See Leviticus 19:27.

and not make gouges...

See Leviticus 19:28.

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible (2011)   .

New Catholic Bible                 .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  .

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            You shall not shave the head to make it bald, for the dead. Nor shall they shave their beard, nor make gashes in their flesh.

They shall be consecrated to their God, and shall not profane the name of their God, for they are to offer up the sacrifices of the Lord; the gifts to their God; therefore they shall be holy.

Context Group Version          They shall not make baldness on their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

They shall be [in a state of] specialness to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for the offerings of YHWH made by fire, the bread of their God, they offer: therefore they shall be special.

English Standard Version      . patch

Green’s Literal Translation    . pollute

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        . Defile

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  They will not make baldness upon their head, neither will they shave off the edge of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

They will be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the fire-offerings of Jehovah, the bread of their God. Therefore they will be holy.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    They will not make bald a bald spot on their head, and the edge of their beard they will not shave, and in their flesh they will not slice a slicing. They will exist as unique ones to their Elohiym, and they will not defile the title of their Elohiym, given that the fire offerings of YHWH, the bread of their Elohiym, they are bringing near, and they will be special.

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      . Place

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             .

The gist of this passage: 

5-6

Translation: They will not make a bald patch on their head...

Determining just exactly what these modifications looked like are not that important. I believe that the priests and religious leaders of Molech or of any other spurious god had specific looks. They were not to ever imitate those looks. Sometimes this might be a way that the hair is shaved.

Translation: ...and they will not cut off a corner of their beard;...

Another modification by false priests was a way that they cut their beards. The priests of Y^ehowah were not to do this.

Translation: ...and they will not scratch a cutting into their skin.

There was some sort of cutting or scratching of the skin which the false priests of other gods did. The priests of God were never to do this. One should never looks at a priest of the True God and think that he has fashioned himself in any way after a priest of a false god.

Leviticus 21:5 They will not make a bald patch on their head and they will not cut off a corner of their beard; and they will not scratch a cutting into their skin. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

These were obviously things which the Gentiles did to express their grief at the loss of a loved one and the Jews were to be separate from the Gentiles in their behavior and customs. Ezekiel 44:20: Also, the [the priests] will not shave their heads, yet they will not let their locks grow long; they will only trim the hair of their heads. With regard to cutting one's flesh while in mourning, we find that in 1Kings 18:28: So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. In this context, they are doing this to gain the attention of Baal, their god.

Translation: They are to keep on being holy ones to their Elohim and they have not profaned the name of their Elohim,...

The priests of God were to keep on being holy (set apart) and they were not to profane God’s name by what they did or how they looked.

Translation: ...for they are bringing near the burnt offerings of Y^ehowah and the bread of Elohim.

The priests of God were responsible to bring near to God the burnt offerings and the food offerings of God.

Translation: They have been holy. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Therefore, the priests of God must always be set apart from any other group of priests.

Leviticus 21:6 They are to keep on being holy ones to their Elohim and they have not profaned the name of their Elohim, for they are bringing near the burnt offerings of Y^ehowah and the bread of Elohim. They have been holy. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

The priests are involved in all kinds of offerings to God and they must be set apart when approaching God with these offerings. Jesus Christ had to be without spot and blemish, and the priests must carry through with this type in their worship services.

Leviticus 21:5–6 They will not make a bald patch on their head and they will not cut off a corner of their beard; and they will not scratch a cutting into their skin. They are to keep on being holy ones to their Elohim and they have not profaned the name of their Elohim, for they are bringing near the burnt offerings of Y^ehowah and the bread of Elohim. They have been holy. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Leviticus 21:5–6 They will not cut their hair or trim their beards or make any sort of cutting into their skin which looks like the priests of Molech or some other false god. They must continue to be set apart believers and so they cannot profane the name of their God, for they are the ones who are supposed to bring the burnt offerings of Jehovah and the bread of God to God’s altar. Therefore, they must be set apart from all other religions. (Kukis paraphrase)

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Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        A woman, promiscuous, and so defiled, they will not take (in marriage) and a woman being cast out from a man they will not take (in marriage); for holy he [is] to Elohim. And you will regard him as holy a bread of God he brings near. Holy he is to her for holy I [am] Y^ehowah regarding them as holy. And a daughter of a man of a priest when she profanes herself to fornicate, her father she is profaning. In the fire she will be burned.