Revised Version 1895
Leviticus 21:1
1And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none defile himself for the dead among his people;
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
And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none defile himself for the dead among his people; 2except for his kin, that is near unto him, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother; 3and for his sister a virgin, that is near unto him, which hath had no husband, for her may he defile himself.
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
- LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
- noneלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- defileטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
- himselfנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
- peopleעַם‛am · kinsmanH5971
Cross-references for Leviticus 21:1
- Hosea 5:1Hear this, O ye priests, and hearken, ye house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king, for unto you pertain the judgment; for ye have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
- Malachi 2:1And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
- Leviticus 21:11neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
- Leviticus 10:6And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Let not the hair of your heads go loose, neither rend your clothes; that ye die not, and that he be not wroth with all the congregation: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.
- Numbers 19:14This is the law when a man dieth in a tent: every one that cometh into the tent, and every one that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
- Ezekiel 44:25And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath 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
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
Revised Version 1895 — 1895 — Public Domain
Commentaries