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Tanach: Leviticus (Vayikra): Leviticus (Vayikra) Chapter 21

Book of AmosHebrew BibleTanakh

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This is the biblical text of Leviticus 21 (Hebrew with transliteration), a priestly legal code from the Torah belonging to the tradition scholars call the Priestly source. The chapter sets out purity and conduct rules specifically for the Aaronide priests of ancient Israel. The first section restricts ordinary priests from contact with corpses except for close blood relatives, prohibits mourning rites such as shaving or cutting the flesh, and bans them from marrying prostitutes or divorced women. The second section imposes stricter rules on the high priest: he may not defile himself even for a dead parent, must not leave the sanctuary or dishevel his garments, and may only marry a virgin from his own people. The chapter's final section is distinctive in prohibiting any male descendant of Aaron who has a physical defect — blindness, lameness, broken limbs, skin disease, or crushed testicles among a detailed list — from approaching the altar to offer sacrifices, though such men may still eat from the sacred food. The governing rationale throughout is that priests are consecrated to God and their ritual purity must mirror the holiness of the deity they serve.

Tanach: Leviticus (Vayikra): Leviticus (Vayikra) Chapter 21

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