New Living Translation
Leviticus 21:1
1The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. “A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative.
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
The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. “A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean by touching the dead body of a relative. 2The only exceptions are his closest relatives—his mother or father, son or daughter, brother, 3or his virgin sister who depends on him because she has no husband.
Read all of Leviticus 21Leviticus 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 5:1“Hear this, you priests. Pay attention, you leaders of Israel. Listen, you members of the royal family. Judgment has been handed down against you. For you have led the people into a snare by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and Tabor.
- Malachi 2:1“Listen, you priests—this command is for you!
- Leviticus 21:11He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother.
- Leviticus 10:6Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not show grief by leaving your hair uncombed or by tearing your clothes. If you do, you will die, and the Lord’s anger will strike the whole community of Israel. However, the rest of the Israelites, your relatives, may mourn because of the Lord’s fiery destruction of Nadab and Abihu.
- Numbers 19:14“This is the ritual law that applies when someone dies inside a tent: All those who enter that tent and those who were inside when the death occurred will be ceremonially unclean for seven days.
- Ezekiel 44:25“A priest must not defile himself by being in the presence of a dead person unless it is his father, mother, child, brother, or unmarried sister. In such cases it is permitted.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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