Leviticus 21
TSK
And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,
And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

or, the verse may be read, being an husband among his people, he shall not defile himself for his wife, etc.

Ezekiel 24:16,17 Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes …

They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.
Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.
And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;

upon

Leviticus 8:12 And he poured of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, and anointed …

Leviticus 10:7 And you shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, …

Leviticus 16:32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate …

Exodus 29:29,30 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be …

Numbers 35:25 And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of …

Psalm 133:2 It is like the precious ointment on the head, that ran down on the …

consecrated

Leviticus 8:7-9 And he put on him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed …

Exodus 28:2-4 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother for glory …

uncover

Leviticus 10:6,7 And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, …

Leviticus 13:45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and …

2 Samuel 15:30 And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went …

Esther 6:12 And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to …

not rend

Genesis 37:34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned …

Job 1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell …

Matthew 26:65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He has spoken blasphemy; …

All human corpses were considered as unclean. Whoever touched one was unclean for seven days, and was obliged on the third and seventh day to purify himself according to the Mosaic instructions. In the case of the priest it went still farther; insomuch, that even mourning for the dead by any external sign, such as tearing their clothes, defiled them. Hence such mournings were absolutely forbidden to be used in {any case}, and by the other priests also, except in the case of their very nearest relations, for whom they were allowed to mourn. This statue is founded on the importance of sustaining the decency and purity of Divine worship. The servants of the Deity were to keep themselves at a distance from every thing that in the least degree savoured of uncleanness.

Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
And he shall take a wife in her virginity.
A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.
Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,
Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;
No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.

a blemish In the above list of blemishes, we meet with some that might render the priest {contemptible} in the eyes of men; and others that would be very great {impediments} in the discharge of his ministerial duties.

to offer

Leviticus 21:6,8,17 They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their …

He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.
And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by R. A. Torrey [ca. 1880]
Expanded version courtesy INT Bible ©2013, Used by permission

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