Leviticus 21:7
in Leviticus 21A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall not take a woman that is a harlot, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Leviticus 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Profane - A woman who has been seduced, or one of illegitimate birth. A somewhat stricter rule for the priests’ marriages was revealed to the prophet in later times, Eze 44:22.
This site's exposition
They shall not make baldness upon their head
on Leviticus 21:5-9
The mourning customs forbidden here, a shaved head, a cut beard and cuttings in the flesh, were already forbidden to all Israel at 19:27-28, so the priest carries a rule his neighbours carry too. Verses 7 to 9 then reach into his house and govern whom he marries and what his daughter does. The penalty at verse 9 falls on a woman who never serves at the altar, and the ground the verse gives is that she profaneth her father. The word profane falls nine times in these twenty-four verses and holds the chapter together.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), therefore he shall be holy unto thee. " Note, We must honour those whom our God puts honour upon. Gospel ministers by this rule are to be esteemed very highly in love for their works' sake ( 1 Thess. v. 13 ), and every Christian must look upon himself as concerned to be the guardian of their honour.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane,....
Those do not consult the good of their posterity as they ought who do not take care to marry such as are of good report and character. He that would seek a godly seed (as the expression is, Mal. ii. 15 ) must first seek a godly wife, and take heed of a corruption of blood.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane--Private individuals might form several connections, which were forbidden as inexpedient or improper in priests.
That is a whore - A prostitute, though even reclaimed. Profane - A heathen, or one who is not a cordial believer in the true God. Put away from her husband - Because this very circumstance might lead to suspicion that the priest and the divorced woman might have been improperly connected before.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִשָּׁ֨ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| זֹנָ֤ה | zonah | a prostitute | H2181 → | 94 times |
| וַחֲלָלָה֙ | vachalalah | and a [woman] profaned | H2491 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִקָּ֔חוּ | yikachu | they will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| וְאִשָּׁ֛ה | veishah | and a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| גְּרוּשָׁ֥ה | gerushah | divorced | H1644 → | 46 times |
| מֵאִישָׁ֖הּ | meishah | from husband her | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִקָּ֑חוּ | yikachu | they will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קָדֹ֥שׁ | kadosh | [is] holy | H6918 → | 116 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לֵאלֹהָֽיו׃ | lelohav | to God his | H430 → | 2601 times |
אִשָּׁ֨הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
זֹנָ֤הa prostitute
zonahH2181 →94 times
וַחֲלָלָה֙and a [woman] profaned
vachalalahH2491 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִקָּ֔חוּthey will take
yikachuH3947 →966 times
וְאִשָּׁ֛הand a woman
veishahH802 →781 times
גְּרוּשָׁ֥הdivorced
gerushahH1644 →46 times
מֵאִישָׁ֖הּfrom husband her
meishahH376 →1663 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִקָּ֑חוּthey will take
yikachuH3947 →966 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
קָדֹ֥שׁ[is] holy
kadoshH6918 →116 times
ה֖וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
לֵאלֹהָֽיו׃to God his
lelohavH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Timothy 3:11In the same way, the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things.
it leads to
- Titus 2:3
Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good.
- Titus 3:2
to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.
- 1 Timothy 3:2
An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
- Titus 2:3
Through
Leviticus 21:8You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart.
it leads to
- Leviticus 20:7–8
Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
- Leviticus 19:2
“Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
- Leviticus 11:44–45
For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.
- Leviticus 21:6
They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be…
- Leviticus 20:7–8
Through
Ezekiel 44:22And they shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but must marry a virgin of the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow of a priest.
it leads to
- Leviticus 21:13–14
The woman he marries must be a virgin.
- Leviticus 21:13–14
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.