Leviticus 21:3
in Leviticus 21or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and for his sister a virgin, that is near unto him, that hath had no husband; for her may he defile himself.
KJV
And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
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This verse in Leviticus 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThat is nigh him - That is, by nearness not of relation, (for that might seem a needless addition) but of habitation, one not yet cut off from the family. For if she was married, she was now of another family, and under her husband's care in those matters.
This site's exposition
There shall none be defiled for the dead
on Leviticus 21:1-4
A priest may bury his nearest kin and nobody else. Verse 2 names his mother, his father, his son, his daughter and his brother, and verse 3 adds a sister who is a virgin and still in the family. The list stops there without naming a wife, and verse 4 has been read two ways, as a rule about his standing as a chief man among his people and as the bar on mourning a wife, which is how Jamieson, Fausset and Brown report the dispute. Ezekiel 24:16-18, where a priest is told not to mourn the wife of his eyes, is where the question comes up again.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him,....
A priest was permitted to do it for a parent or a child, for a brother or an unmarried sister, and therefore, no doubt (though this is not mentioned) for the wife of his bosom; for Ezekiel, a priest, would have mourned for his wife if he had not been particularly prohibited, Ezek. xxiv.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלַאֲחֹת֤וֹ | velaachoto | and for sister his | H269 → | 114 times |
| הַבְּתוּלָה֙ | habetulah | the virgin | H1330 → | |
| הַקְּרוֹבָ֣ה | hakerovah | <the> near | H7138 → | 77 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָיְתָ֖ה | hayetah | she has belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְאִ֑ישׁ | leish | to a husband | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לָ֖הּ | lah | for <the> her | ||
| יִטַּמָּֽא׃ | yitama' | he will make himself unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
וְלַאֲחֹת֤וֹand for sister his
velaachotoH269 →114 times
הַבְּתוּלָה֙the virgin
habetulahH1330 →
הַקְּרוֹבָ֣ה<the> near
hakerovahH7138 →77 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָיְתָ֖הshe has belonged
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
לְאִ֑ישׁto a husband
leishH376 →1663 times
לָ֖הּfor <the> her
lah
יִטַּמָּֽא׃he will make himself unclean
yitama'H2930 →162 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.