Leviticus 21:14 BSB

Leviticus 21:14

He 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

Parallel translations (2) ▾

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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Commentary

1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The 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.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

14 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
אַלְמָנָ֤ה	'al.ma.Nah	a widow	H490 →
וּגְרוּשָׁה֙	u.ge.ru.Shah	and a divorced [woman]	H1644 →
וַחֲלָלָ֣ה	va.cha.la.Lah	and a [woman] profaned	H2491 →
זֹנָ֔ה	zo.Nah	a prostitute	H2181 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
אֵ֖לֶּה	'E.leh	these	H428 →
לֹ֣א	lo'	not	H3808 →
יִקָּ֑ח	yi.Kach	he will take	H3947 →
כִּ֛י	ki	that	H3588 →
אִם־	'im-	except	H518 →
בְּתוּלָ֥ה	be.tu.Lah	a virgin	H1330 →
מֵעַמָּ֖יו	me.'a.Mav	from kinspeople<s> his	H5971 →
יִקַּ֥ח	yi.Kach	he will take	H3947 →
אִשָּֽׁה׃	'i.Shah	a wife	H802 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
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.
leads to
- Leviticus 21:13–14
  The woman he marries must be a virgin.
  Reached by 2 independent 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.
Through
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.
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 independent 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,

About Leviticus

Moses and Aaron Appear before Pharaoh — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Leviticus: the study guide →Read chapter 21 →The featured study →

Continue: Leviticus 21 →

01Commentary

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Leviticus

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Leviticus