Leviticus 21:1

Leviticus 21:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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:
• New International Version (NIV)The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die,
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people,

Context of Leviticus 21:1

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘No one shall defile himself [that is, become ceremonially unclean] for the dead among his people [by touching a corpse or assisting in preparing it for burial], 2except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother, 3also his virgin sister, who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may become unclean.

Leviticus 21:1 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֱמֹ֥ר אֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֑ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ לֹֽא־יִטַּמָּ֖א בְּעַמָּֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• unto the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• unto them, There shall none be defiledטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• for the deadנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: deadH5315
• among his peopleעַם‛am · kinsmanH5971

Cross-references for Leviticus 21:1

• Hosea 5:1Hear this and pay close attention, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For the [pronounced] judgment pertains to you and is meant for you to hear, Because you have been a snare at Mizpah And a net spread out over Tabor (military strongholds on either side of the Jordan River).
• Malachi 2:1“Now, O priests, this commandment is for you.
• Leviticus 21:11nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself [by doing so, even] for his father or for his mother;
• Leviticus 10:6Then Moses said to Aaron and to his [younger] sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not uncover your heads nor let your hair hang loose nor tear your clothes [as expressions of mourning], so that you will not die [also] and so that He will not express His wrath and anger toward all the congregation. But your relatives, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning which the Lord has brought about.
• Numbers 19:14‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be [ceremonially] unclean for seven days.
• Ezekiel 44:25They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; except for father or for mother, for son or for daughter, for brother or for sister who has had no husband; they may defile themselves.

Commentaries on Leviticus 21:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1There 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.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Laws concerning the priests. --As these priests were types of Christ, so all ministers must be followers of him, that their example may teach others to imitate the Saviour. Without blemish, and separate from sinners, He executed his priestly office on earth. What manner of persons then should his ministers be! But all are, if Christians, spiritual priests; the minister especially is called to set a good example, that the people may follow it. Our bodily…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4Touching a dead body made a person ceremonially unclean for seven days. A priest needed to be ready to handle holy things at all times. So, he could not touch a dead body, even if it was a relative's. Otherwise, he might be unable to serve when needed. The only exceptions were his closest relatives, as there might be no one else to bury them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-241. 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…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 21:1

• Marriage
• Mourning
• Sanctification
• Uncleanness

In the dictionaries

• Aaron
• Moses
• Corner
• Hair
• Profane
• Purification
• Shave
• Corpse
• Criticism
• Defile; Defilement

Commentaries on Leviticus 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings