Leviticus 21:10

Leviticus 21:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;
• New International Version (NIV)“ ‘The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair become unkempt or tear his clothes.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes.
• New King James Version (NKJV)‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes;

Context of Leviticus 21:10

8A priest is holy because he sacrifices the people's offerings to God. A priest is holy because I, the Lord, am holy. 9A priest's daughter must not have sex with men who pay her. That would make her unclean. She would take away her father's honour. If she does not obey, you must burn her in a fire. They have poured special oil on the leader of the priests' head to show that he is greater than his brothers. He must wear special clothes. He must comb his hair. He must not tear his clothes. 11He must not go into a room where there is a dead body. Even if it is the body of his parent, he must not go in. It will make him unclean. 12He must not leave the house of God. He has the holy oil on his head. He must be separate. I am the Lord.

Leviticus 21:10 word by word

וְהַכֹּהֵן֩ הַגָּד֨וֹל מֵאֶחָ֜יו אֲֽשֶׁר־יוּצַ֥ק עַל־רֹאשׁ֣וֹ׀ שֶׁ֤מֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה֙ וּמִלֵּ֣א אֶת־יָד֔וֹ לִלְבֹּ֖שׁ אֶת־הַבְּגָדִ֑ים אֶת־רֹאשׁוֹ֙ לֹ֣א יִפְרָ֔ע וּבְגָדָ֖יו לֹ֥א יִפְרֹֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• the highגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• among his brethrenאָח'âch · brother: male-relativeH251
• upon whose headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• the anointingמִשְׁחָהmishchâh moshchâh · anointingH4888
• oilשֶׁ֫מֶןshemen · oilH8081
• was pouredיָצַקyâtsaq · to pour: pourH3332
• and that is consecratedיָדyâd · hand: donateH3027
• and that is consecratedמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• to putלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
• on the garmentsבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
• shall not uncoverפָּרַעpâra‛ · to neglectH6544
• nor rendפָּרַםpâram · to tearH6533

Cross-references for Leviticus 21:10

• Leviticus 8:12Moses anointed Aaron's head with oil to make him holy.
• Leviticus 10:7If you go away from the door of the Tent of Meeting you will die. You will die because the Lord's holy oil is on you.’ So Aaron and his sons did as Moses had said.
• Leviticus 16:32The leader of the priests is a chosen son of Aaron. And he must make atonement. He will put on the special linen clothes that are holy. He will bring the people's offerings.
• Exodus 29:29Aaron's special clothes will belong to his descendants after he dies. When they too become God's special servants as his priests, they will wear them.
• Numbers 35:25If the man is a killer but not a murderer, the people must keep him safe from the dead person's relative. They must send him back to the safe city that he ran to. He will live there safely until the death of the leader of God's priests.
• Psalms 133:2It brings pleasure like valuable olive oil that is poured on your head, and it goes down onto your beard. They poured it onto Aaron's head and his beard, and it went down onto his clothes.
• Leviticus 8:7Moses put a shirt on Aaron and he tied a belt round Aaron. He put a robe and an ephod on him. He tied the ephod with its special belt.
• Exodus 28:2Make special clothes for Aaron. They will be beautiful clothes to show that he deserves honour.
• Leviticus 10:6Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, ‘Comb your hair. Do not tear your clothes. If you do that, you will die. And the Lord will be angry with all the people. But Israel's people can show that they are sad. They are sad because the Lord has killed Nadab and Abihu with fire.
• Leviticus 13:45A person with this disease must tear his clothes. He must not comb his hair. He must cover the lower part of his face. He must shout, “I am not clean.”
• 2 Samuel 15:30But David continued to go up the Mount of Olives. He was weeping as he went. He had covered his head and he was not wearing any shoes on his feet. All the people with him also covered their heads and they wept as they went up the hill.
• Esther 6:12After this, Mordecai returned to sit at the king's gate. But Haman hurried back home. He covered his face because he was ashamed and upset.
• Genesis 37:34Jacob was so upset that he tore his own clothes. He put on clothes made from sackcloth to show how sad he was. He wept for many days because his son had died.
• Job 1:20When Job heard this news he was very upset. He tore his clothes and he cut off all his hair. Then he bent down low on the ground to worship God.
• Matthew 26:65Then Caiaphas tore his clothes to show that he was angry. He said, ‘Jesus has spoken bad words against God. We do not need anyone else to speak against him. You have heard him speak bad words against God.

Commentaries on Leviticus 21:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10He that is the high priest - This is the first place where this title is introduced; the title is very emphatic, הגדול הכהן haccohen haggadol, that priest, the great one. For the meaning of כהן cohen, see the note on Genesis 14:18. As the chief or high priest was a representative of our blessed Lord, therefore he was required to be especially holy; and he is represented as God's king among the people.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10It was the distinguishing mark of the anointing of the high priest, that the holy oil was poured upon his head like a crown (compare Leviticus 8:12). Uncover his head - Rather, let his hair be disheveled. See the note at Leviticus 10:6.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-15The rules for common priests were more strict than for the high priest, who represented all of Israel, including other priests (Leviticus 21:1–4). The priest must always keep his hair neat and not tear his clothing in mourning. This ensured he was always ready to serve. While a common priest could marry a widow, the high priest could only marry a virgin. This ensured that future high priests and common priests from that union would have a clear lineage…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1510-15. he that is the high priest among his brethren ... shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes--The indulgence in the excepted cases of family bereavement, mentioned above [Le 21:2, 3], which was granted to the common priests, was denied to him; for his absence from the sanctuary for the removal of any contracted defilement could not have been dispensed with, neither could he have acted as intercessor for the people, unless ceremonially clean…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 21:10

• Minister, Christian
• Mourning
• Priest
• Sanctification
• Uncleanness

In the dictionaries

• High priest
• Corner
• Hair
• Profane
• Purification
• Shave
• Consecrate; Consecration
• Criticism
• Ezekiel
• Great; Greatness

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