Leviticus 21:14
in Leviticus 21He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A widow, or one divorced, or a profane woman, a harlot, these shall he not take: but a virgin of his own people shall he take to wife.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Leviticus 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe reason of this was to put a difference between him and other priests in this matter; and (as some suggest) that he might be a type of Christ, to whom the church was to be presented a chaste virgin, 2 Cor. xi. Christ must have our first love, our pure love, our entire love; thus the virgins love thee ( Cant. i. 3 ), and such only are fit to follow the Lamb, Rev. xiv.
This site's exposition
The woman he marries must be a virgin
on Leviticus 21:13-15
A priest may not marry a prostitute or a divorced woman, and verse 14 adds the widow for the high priest alone. It requires of him "a virgin from his own people".
This site's exposition
a virgin from his own people
Matthew Henry saw the reason in a difference between the high priest and the other priests, who under verse 7 could marry a widow. Adam Clarke took bethulah, the word for virgin in verse 13, from a root meaning to separate. The bride had to be of his own people.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A widow,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Moreover, the high dignity of his office demanded a corresponding superiority in personal holiness, and stringent rules were prescribed for the purpose of upholding the suitable dignity of his station and family. The same rules are extended to the families of Christian ministers (1Ti 3:2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
This means that he is not to wed a woman who is not a virgin, this being a negative commandment which is derived from a positive commandment [which carries the force of a positive commandment].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַלְמָנָ֤ה | ʾalmanah | a widow | H490 → | |
| וּגְרוּשָׁה֙ | ugerushah | and a divorced [woman] | H1644 → | 46 times |
| וַחֲלָלָ֣ה | vachalalah | and a [woman] profaned | H2491 → | |
| זֹנָ֔ה | zonah | a prostitute | H2181 → | 94 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵ֖לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִקָּ֑ח | yikach | he will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| בְּתוּלָ֥ה | betulah | a virgin | H1330 → | |
| מֵעַמָּ֖יו | meamav | from kinspeople<s> his | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| יִקַּ֥ח | yikach | he will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אִשָּֽׁה׃ | ʾishah | a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
אַלְמָנָ֤הa widow
ʾalmanahH490 →
וּגְרוּשָׁה֙and a divorced [woman]
ugerushahH1644 →46 times
וַחֲלָלָ֣הand a [woman] profaned
vachalalahH2491 →
זֹנָ֔הa prostitute
zonahH2181 →94 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֵ֖לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִקָּ֑חhe will take
yikachH3947 →966 times
כִּ֛יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
בְּתוּלָ֥הa virgin
betulahH1330 →
מֵעַמָּ֖יוfrom kinspeople<s> his
meamavH5971 →1873 times
יִקַּ֥חhe will take
yikachH3947 →966 times
אִשָּֽׁה׃a wife
ʾishahH802 →781 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
Leviticus 21:7A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
it leads to
- Leviticus 21:13–14
The woman he marries must be a virgin.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 44:22
And 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.
- Leviticus 21:8
You 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.
- 1 Timothy 3:11
In the same way, the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things.
- Leviticus 21:13–14
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 21:7
A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
- Deuteronomy 24:1–4
If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Timothy 3:11–12
In the same way, the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things.
- 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,
- Leviticus 21:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; 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.