Asbury Bible Commentary – 1. Regulations for priests (21:1-9)
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1. Regulations for priests (21:1-9)

1. Regulations for priests (21:1-9)

Priests are forbidden to officiate while they are ceremonially impure. Since contact with a corpse renders a priest unclean, he is not to participate in funerals except for his immediate family, including an unmarried sister who is dependent on him (v.3). Customs associated with mourning such as shaving one’s head or beard or cutting the body (v.5) are forbidden to a priest. In addition, priests are not to defile themselves by marriage to women who have been made impure through prostitution. Divorced women are also forbidden as wives for the priests (v.7). These regulations concerning priestly marriage are based on the sanctity of sex taught throughout the Scripture (cf. Ge 2:24). In a word, priests are to do all they can to lead holy lives, for they present the offerings to God, who is holy (v.8).