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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 21:5 and Letter of Jeremiah 1:31

Hebrew Bible · Deuterocanon

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Summary

Leviticus commands priests not to shave their heads or cut their flesh, setting them apart. The Letter of Jeremiah mocks idol priests who sit in temples with torn clothes and disfigured bodies, turning this concern into satire of foreign cults.

Passages

Leviticus 21:5

Hebrew Bible
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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

Letter of Jeremiah 1:31

Deuterocanon
29 The menstruating woman and the woman in childbirth touch their sacrifices, knowing therefore by these things that they are no gods. Don’t fear them. 30 For how can they be called gods? Because women set food before the gods of silver, gold, and wood. 31 And in their temples the priests sit on seats, having their clothes torn and their heads and beards shaven, and nothing on their heads. 32 They roar and cry before their gods, as men do at the feast when one is dead. 33 The priests also take off garments from them and clothe their wives and children with them.
300–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Letter of Jeremiah

References

"... A special plea seems to be entered in relation to contemporary conduct towards the dead. Though from a literary point of view our author is dependent upon Ahikar directly for 4:17, yet it is quite clear that he is inculcating an actual religious practice. In fact, at the time our author lived, it would appear to have been a subject of considerable dispute as to whether such offerings were right and proper and a matter of duty (compare Sirach 7:33; Job 4:17) or whether they were definitely to be excluded by Judaism and its adherents (Sirach 30:18, 19; Epistle of Jeremiah 31, 32; Wisdom of Solomon 14:15, 19:3; Sibylline Oracles 8:382-384). At the time when Jubilees 22:17 was written they were apparently regarded as characteristic of the Gentiles ..."
R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (Oxford University Press, 1913), 198.

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 21:5 and Letter of Jeremiah 1:31

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