New Living Translation
Leviticus 21:13
13“The high priest may marry only a virgin.
Leviticus 21:13 in other versions
Context of Leviticus 21:13
11He must not defile himself by going near a dead body. He may not make himself ceremonially unclean even for his father or mother. 12He must not defile the sanctuary of his God by leaving it to attend to a dead person, for he has been made holy by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord. “The high priest may marry only a virgin. 14He may not marry a widow, a woman who is divorced, or a woman who has defiled herself by prostitution. She must be a virgin from his own clan, 15so that he will not dishonor his descendants among his clan, for I am the Lord who makes him holy.”
Read all of Leviticus 21Leviticus 21:13 word by word
וְה֕וּא אִשָּׁ֥ה בִבְתוּלֶ֖יהָ יִקָּֽח׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Leviticus 21:13
- Leviticus 21:7“Priests may not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, and they may not marry a woman who is divorced from her husband, for the priests are set apart as holy to their God.
- Ezekiel 44:22They may choose their wives only from among the virgins of Israel or the widows of the priests. They may not marry other widows or divorced women.
- 2 Corinthians 11:2For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.
- Revelation 14:4They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.
Commentaries on Leviticus 21:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13He shall take a wife in her virginity - בתוליה bethuleyha . This is a full proof that בתולה bethulah is the proper Hebrew term for a virgin; from the emphatic root בתל bathal, to separate; because such a person was in her separate state, and had never been in any way united to man.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 21:13
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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