Bible Strands
Leviticus 21:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh instructs Moses to deliver a command to Aaron’s sons, the priests, regarding their conduct when encountering death among their people.
The words — הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֖ים (ha./ko.ha.Nim) = the priests; בְּנֵ֣י (be.Nei) = sons of. These terms identify the specific lineage and office bound by the regulation.
The thread — Ezekiel 44:25 repeats the restriction while preserving the immediate family exception. Leviticus 10:6 and 19:28 run parallel themes by prohibiting disheveled hair, torn garments, and bodily marks for the dead.
Why it lands — It demands strict adherence to ritual boundaries, requiring priests to forgo standard mourning customs to maintain a prescribed state of separation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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:
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 44:25 A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person. However, for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister, he may do so,
- Leviticus 10:6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.
- Leviticus 19:28 You must not make any cuts in your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 21:11 He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother.
- Numbers 19:14 This is the law when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone already in the tent will be unclean for seven days,
- Numbers 19:16 Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
- Hosea 5:1 “Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.
- Malachi 2:1 “And now this decree is for you, O priests:
- Malachi 2:4 Then you will know that I have sent you this commandment so that My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the LORD of Hosts.