Leviticus 21 - Priestly purity [part 1]
29/10/23 [Part 2]
Scripture
Leviticus 21
Questions
Regulations concerning priests
21 And YHWH said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and say to them, ‘One must not make himself unclean for a dead person among his own people, 2 except for his direct relative closest to him: his mother and his father, and his son and his daughter, and his brother, 3 and for his sister, a virgin, who is closest to him, who has not had a husband—for her he may defile himself. 4 He must not make himself unclean as a husband among his people, defiling himself.
Why is it so important that a priest does not become unclean?1
5 “ ‘And they shall not shave bald patches on their head, and they shall not shave off the corner of their beard, and they shall not make a cut in their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God, because they are bringing near the offerings made by fire tod YHWH—their God’s food—and they shall be holy.
These are probably what mourners did in front of the gods of Egypt. In the ANE, hair like blood was life. Remember, Samson? Remember, the prophets of Baal cutting themselves [1 Kings 18:28]?
Why must we not copy the worship rituals of other gods? What are contemporary examples?
You have seen the Hassidic Jews with their payots [corners, edges]…
We may not shave the corners of our heads as the idolaters and their priests do, as [Leviticus 19:27] states: "Do not cut off the corners of your heads." One is liable for each corner. Therefore, a person who shaves both his temples - even if he were to do so simultaneously and had received only a single warning – is [liable for] two measures of lashes. [This prohibition applies equally to] one who shaves off only the corners of his head and leaves the remainder of his hair, and to one who shaves his entire head at once. Since he has shaved the corners, he is [liable for] lashes. To whom does the above apply? To the person who shaves. The person [whose head] is shaven is not lashed unless he assists the one who is shaving him. One who shaves [the corners of] a child's [head] should be [liable for] lashes.
Mishneh Torah: Avodat Kochavim 11:1
Back to Leviticus…
7 “ ‘They shall not take a woman who is a prostitute and defiled, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband, because each priest is holy for his God. 8 And you shall consecrate him, because he is bringing near your God’s food; he shall be holy to you, since I, YHWH, who consecrates you, am holy.
Why could a priest not marry a divorcee? Does this mean that all divorce is sinful?2
9 “ ‘And the daughter of any priest, if she is defiled by prostituting, she is disgracing her father—she shall be burned in the fire.
Why is the punishment so harsh? Why was Jesus able to touch unclean and sinful people?3
10 “ ‘And the priest who is higher than his brothers, on whose head the oil of anointment is poured and he was ordained to wear the garments, he shall not dishevel his head, and he shall not tear his garments. 11 And he shall not go near any dead person, nor shall he make himself unclean for his father or for his mother. 12 And he shall not go out from the sanctuary, and he shall not profane his God’s sanctuary, because the dedication of his God’s oil of anointment is on him; I am YHWH.
13 “ ‘And he himself must take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman, a prostitute—these he must not take; he shall take only a virgin from his people as wife. 15 And he shall not profane his offspring among his people, because I am YHWH, who consecrates him.’ ”
The high priest can only marry a virgin. Why? What do we know about the mixed fibres in his vestment? Where can he enter once a year?
16 And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘A man from your offspring throughout their generations, in whom is a physical defect, shall not come near to present your God’s food. 18 For, any man in whom is a physical defect shall not come near: a blind man or lame or disfigured or deformed, 19 or a man in whom is a broken foot or a broken hand, 20 or a hunchback or a dwarf, or a spot in his eye or a skin disorder or a skin eruption or a crushed testicle. 21 Any man from Aaron the priest’s offspring in whom is a physical defect shall not come near to present offerings made by fire to YHWH; a physical defect is in him; he shall not come near to present his God’s food. 22 He may eat his God’s food, from the holy things of the holy things and from the holy things. 23 But he must not enter the curtain, and he must not come near to the altar, because a physical defect is in him, and he must not profane my sanctuary, because I am YHWH, who consecrates them.’ ”
Is it sinful to be disabled? So why the prohibition?
24 And Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the children of Israel.
Rick Warren in his book “The Purpose Driven Church” see the church like this…
How does this compare to the diagram above of ancient Israel? Where do you see yourself? How can we get closer to the centre?
More
Bible Project’s Guide to Leviticus»
Bible Project’s Leviticus Scroll podcasts»
Michael Heiser’s Naked Bible podcast 63: Introducing Leviticus»
You needed a priest if you became unclean. You had to go to a priest who entered sacred space on your behalf and did various things for you to be clean again. Well, what happens if the priest is unclean? He cannot enter sacred space. Therefore, the rules for priests had to be much stricter. The priest could not become unclean by coming into contact with a dead person. The exceptions were very close relatives. Do you remember how Aaron could not even mourn his sons who were killed in the tabernacle inauguration? Aaron had to remain ritually pure.
This is the ideal. Israelites were permitted to divorce [Deuteronomy 24:1-4] but as Jesus says this was because of their hardness of heart. The priest is to live out the softened heart way of living. Obedience from the heart [cf Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5-7]].
Remember, how we saw how ritual impurity spreads like an invisible disease. It spreads and contaminates. Hence, the holy space of the tabernacle had to be reset. Similarly, the immoral daughter of a priest utterly defiles her father. He is then unfit to be a priest. She is burnt to death. With Jesus it is the other way round. He is not contaminated by sin. His holiness drives out sin in those he touches.