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Texts -- Leviticus 21:9-24 (NET)

Context
21:9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution , she is profaning her father . She must be burned to death .
Rules for the High Priest
21:10 “‘The high priest – who is greater than his brothers , on whose head the anointing oil is poured , who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments – must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments . 21:11 He must not go where there is any dead person ; he must not defile himself even for his father and his mother . 21:12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane the sanctuary of his God , because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord . 21:13 He must take a wife who is a virgin . 21:14 He must not marry a widow , a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution ; he may only take a virgin from his people as a wife . 21:15 He must not profane his children among his people , for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”
Rules for the Priesthood
21:16 The Lord spoke to Moses : 21:17 “Tell Aaron , ‘No man from your descendants throughout their generations who has a physical flaw is to approach to present the food of his God . 21:18 Certainly no man who has a physical flaw is to approach : a blind man , or one who is lame , or one with a slit nose , or a limb too long , 21:19 or a man who has had a broken leg or arm , 21:20 or a hunchback , or a dwarf , or one with a spot in his eye , or a festering eruption , or a feverish rash , or a crushed testicle . 21:21 No man from the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a physical flaw may step forward to present the Lord’s gifts ; he has a physical flaw , so he must not step forward to present the food of his God . 21:22 He may eat both the most holy and the holy food of his God , 21:23 but he must not go into the veil-canopy or step forward to the altar because he has a physical flaw . Thus he must not profane my holy places , for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’” 21:24 So Moses spoke these things to Aaron , his sons , and all the Israelites .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Hebrews derived the title of this book from the first word in it, wayyiqra', translated "And He [the Lord] called"(1:1). "And"or "then"is a conjunction that shows that what follows in Leviticus is a continuation of the na...
  • "At first sight the book of Leviticus might appear to be a haphazard, even repetitious arrangement of enactments involving the future life in Canaan of the Israelite people. Closer examination will reveal, however, that quite...
  • Leviticus continues revelation concerning the second of three elements necessary for any nation to exist, namely, a people (Gen. 12:10--Exod. 19), their law (Exod. 20--Num. 10:10), and their land (Num. 10:11--Josh. 24).Leviti...
  • God dealt with 21 different cases of skin diseases in this pericope. Some of these may have included measles, smallpox, scarlet fever, and other diseases characterized by skin rash.141Some authorities believe that exact ident...
  • The sacrifices and offerings that Moses described thus far in the law were not sufficient to cleanse all the defilement that the sins of the people created. Much sinfulness still needed covering. Therefore God appointed a yea...
  • The second major division of Leviticus deals with how the Israelites were to express their worship of Yahweh in their private lives."The first sixteen chapters of Leviticus are concerned primarily with establishment and maint...
  • We move from public regulations in chapter 16 to intimate regulations in chapter 18 with chapter 17 providing the transition. In contrast to the first sixteen chapters, chapter 17 says very little about the role of the priest...
  • Emphasis shifts in this chapter from ceremonial defilement (ch. 17) to moral impurity. The Lord wanted His people to be holy in their behavior and character as well as in less important ritual observances (cf. Matt. 23:28; Ro...
  • The preceding two chapters specify correct behavior. This one sets forth the punishments for disobedience. Chapters 18-19 already discussed most of the subjects dealt with in this chapter."The difference between the laws in t...
  • All the people were to maintain holiness before God, but the priests had higher standards because of their privileges in relationship to God. Moses explained these higher regulations in this section of two chapters."The thrus...
  • "The list has a brief introduction (v. 1) and ends with the introduction to the next list (v. 16). There are fourteen (7 x 2) laws in the list."24421:1-6 The priest was not to defile himself ceremonially by touching a corpse ...
  • "This list is introduced by the expression And the LORD spoke to Moses saying, Speak to Aaron' (v. 16), and is concluded by the expression And Moses spoke to Aaron' (v. 24). There are fourteen (7 x 2) laws in the list."250Cer...
  • The previous section (21:16-24) named physical impediments that prohibited some priests from offering sacrifices. This one identifies the circumstances under which priests could neither officiate at the sacrifices nor eat pri...
  • Seven additional laws specified the time periods that governed the offering of some sacrifices. The Israelites were not to offer oxen, sheep, and goats as sacrifices before these animals were eight days old (v. 27). It took t...
  • God considered the Israelites (chs. 17-20), the priests, the holy gifts, and the sacrifices (chs. 21-22) as set apart to Him as holy. He regarded certain days and times of the year in the same way (ch. 23). This chapter conta...
  • Genesis reveals how people can have a relationship with God. This comes through trust in God and obedience to Him. Faith is the key word in Genesis. God proves Himself faithful in this book.Exodus reveals that God is also sov...
  • Nehemiah confronted this problem as Ezra had several years earlier (Ezra 9-10). The text records only Nehemiah's words to the people, but since we know what kind of person he was we can safely assume that he followed up his w...
  • 23:5-8 Oholah proved unfaithful to the Lord by lusting after her attractive neighbors, the Assyrians."The appeal, then as now, was to youth, strength, position, wealth and self-gratification; that is, the world in all its daz...
  • 44:15-16 The Levites from Zadok's branch of the priestly family, however, would have special privileges since Zadok and his sons had served the Lord faithfully in the past (cf. 40:46; 1 Sam. 2:35; 2 Sam. 8:17; 15:24-29; 1 Kin...
  • 1:3-5 Nebuchadnezzar's enlightened policy was to employ the best minds in his kingdom in government service regardless of their national or ethnic origin. We do not know how many other Jews and Gentiles were the classmates of...
  • Matthew omitted Jesus' hearing before Annas (John 18:12-14, 19-23). Quite possibly Annas lived in one wing of the same building in which the Sanhedrin met.102826:57 Josephus wrote that the building in which the Sanhedrin norm...
  • 14:53 The high priest in view here was Caiaphas. Interestingly Mark never mentioned him by name. He was the high priest that the Romans had appointed in 18 A.D., and he served in this capacity until 36 A.D.This was an unoffic...
  • Peter next emphasized the conduct of false teachers to motivate his readers to turn away from them.2:10b "Daring"means bold to the point of being presumptuous, and "self-willed"is arrogant."They are concerned about doing thei...
  • 2:26 The "these things"in view probably refer to what John had just written (vv. 18-25)."The author concludes his attack on the false teachers with a warning and a word of encouragement for his followers."992:27 The "anointin...
  • 17:15 The angel next helped John understand the identity of the waters (v. 1). Water is a common symbol for people in the Old Testament (e.g., Ps. 18:4, 16; 124:4; Isa. 8:7; Jer. 47:2). The harlot exercises a controlling infl...
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