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Leviticus

About this book
Chapter 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, 2 except for his close relative who is near to him—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and his virgin sister who is near to him, who has no husband—he may defile himself for her. 4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself. 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.⁠ 6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts, the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy. 7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution, nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all, am holy. 9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father.⁠ She must be burned to death.⁠ 10 “‘The high priest—who is greater than his brothers, and on whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments—must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments. 11 He must not go where there is any dead person; he must not defile himself even for his father or for his mother. 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. 13 He must take a wife who is a virgin.⁠ 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, 15 so that he does not profane his children among his people, for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’” 16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 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.⁠ 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 who has a limb too long, 19 or a man who has had a broken leg or arm, 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 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. 22 He may eat both the most holy and the holy food of his God, 23 but he must not go near the special curtain 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.’” 24 So Moses spoke these things to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites.

Texts in conversation

Compare Leviticus 21:17 and Daniel 1:4

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

The opening of Daniel depicts King Nebuchadnezzar applying the language of Leviticus when choosing Israelites without physical defect for his court service, also following ancient Near Eastern tradition by selecting based on their attractiveness.

Passages

Leviticus 21:17

Hebrew Bible
16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 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. 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 who has a limb too long, 19 or a man who has had a broken leg or arm, 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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

Daniel 1:4

Hebrew Bible
1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem and laid it under siege. 2 Now the Lord delivered King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, along with some of the vessels of the temple of God. He brought them to the land of Shinar10 to the temple of his god and put the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 The king commanded Ashpenaz, who was in charge of his court officials, to choose some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent— 4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated and having keen insight, and who were capable of entering the king’s royal service—and to teach them the literature and language of the Babylonians.
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Daniel

References

"... In the introduction to the book, Daniel is implicitly included in the group of people described as “of royal descent and of the nobility” (מזרע המלוכה והפרתמים; Daniel 1:3) and as being without “blemish” (D3). While these terms are put into the mouth of King Nebuchadnezzar, it is clear that the author is appealing to his Judean audience who presumably would not have been aware of the Persian origin of the term פרתמים but who would have connected the term תם with the priesthood (see, e.g., the limitations for temple service in Leviticus 21:16–18). The fact that the youths are taught the language of the Chaldeans also helps to establish the image of Daniel as an elevated, wise and mysterious individual: the royal prince, priest and wise man trained in the Chaldean arts ..."
Jonathan Stökl, “Daniel and the ‘Prophetization’ of Dream Divination,” in Perchance to Dream: Dream Divination in the Bible and the Ancient Near East, ed. Esther J. Hamori and Jonathan Stökl (Atlanta: SBL, 2018), 133–155.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Leviticus 21:17 and Daniel 1:4

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