Text -- Leviticus 21:1-5 (NET)

Rules for the Priests

21:1 The Lord said to Moses: “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron– say to them, ‘For a dead person no priest is to defile himself among his people, 21:2 except for his close relative who is near to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 21:3 and his virgin sister who is near to him, who has no husband; he may defile himself for her. 21:4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself. 21:5 Priests must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Lev 21:1

¹ tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 19:28 above and the literature cited there).

² tn Heb “no one,” but “priest” has been used in the translation to clarify that these restrictions are limited to the priests, not to the Israelites in general (note the introductory formula, “say to the priests, the sons of Aaron”).

³ tc The MT has “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.

NET Notes: Lev 21:2

¹ tn Heb “except for his flesh, the one near to him.”

NET Notes: Lev 21:3

¹ tn Cf. v. 2a.

NET Notes: Lev 21:4

¹ tn Heb “He shall not defile himself a husband in his peoples, to profane himself.” The meaning of the line is disputed, but it appears to prohibit a priest from burying any relative by marriage (as opposed to the blood relatives of vv. 2-3), including his wife (compare B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 142-43 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348).

NET Notes: Lev 21:5

¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (priests, see the beginning of v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “and in their body they shall not [cut] slash[es]” (cf. Lev 19:28). The context connects these sorts of mutilations with mourning rites (cf. Lev 19:27-28 above).