Leviticus 21 5

Leviticus 21:5 kjv

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.

Leviticus 21:5 nkjv

'They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

Leviticus 21:5 niv

"?'Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies.

Leviticus 21:5 esv

They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body.

Leviticus 21:5 nlt

"The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies.

Leviticus 21 verses

Leviticus 21 5 Meaning

Leviticus 21:5 is a divine prohibition specifically for the Levitical priests in ancient Israel, instructing them not to engage in three practices commonly associated with pagan mourning rituals or idolatry: making bald patches on their heads, shaving the edges of their beards, or making cuts in their flesh. These commands emphasized their required distinctiveness and holiness, preventing them from conforming to the ungodly customs of the surrounding nations and preserving their sanctified status for serving Yahweh.

Leviticus 21 5 Context

Leviticus chapter 21 establishes stringent purity laws for Aaron and his descendants who served as priests, differentiating them from common Israelites due to their sacred role. The regulations cover their conduct, marriages, mourning customs, and physical blemishes, all designed to ensure their holiness and fitness for ministering in the presence of God. Verse 5 is part of the specific injunctions regarding how priests were to express grief and maintain their physical appearance, prohibiting practices common among pagan cultures but unacceptable for Yahweh's consecrated servants. This section reinforces the principle that priests, representing a holy God, must embody an external sanctity that reflects their inward devotion and separates them entirely from defiling customs.

Leviticus 21 5 Word analysis

• They shall not make bald patches on their heads,
  • Hebrew: לֹא יִקְרְחוּ (lo' yiqreḥu) - "they shall not make bald," derived from the root קָרַח (qaraḥ), meaning to shave or make bald.
  • Significance: This practice was common among pagan peoples in the ancient Near East as a ritual of extreme mourning for the dead (often associated with deities or ancestors), an expression of despair, or as an act of worship for false gods. For Israel's priests, who embodied Yahweh's order and life-giving nature, such visible signs of unregulated grief or idolatry were a defilement, dishonoring the Creator and His sovereignty over life.
• nor shave off the edges of their beards,
  • Hebrew: וּפְאַת זְקָנָם לֹא יְגַלֵּחוּ (u'phe'at z'qanam lo' yegallēḥu) - "and the edge of their beard they shall not shave off."
  • פְּאָה (pe'ah): "edge," "corner," "side." Refers to the hair around the temples or the side corners of the beard.
  • זָקָן (zaqan): "beard."
  • Significance: This also corresponds to known customs of specific hair and beard cutting/shaving by pagan priests or mourners (e.g., Assyrians, Egyptians sometimes had specific styles, or those worshipping certain deities). Yahweh’s command for His priests ensured they would maintain a natural, God-given appearance, setting them apart from cultic hairstyles or beard styles of pagan religions. It represented their unique identity under God.
• nor make any cuts in their flesh.
  • Hebrew: וּבְשָׂרָם לֹא יִשְׂרְטוּ סָרֶטֶת (u'v'saram lo' yis'reṭu sareṭet) - "and in their flesh they shall not scratch a scratch/cut a cutting."
  • שָׂרַט (saraṭ): "to incise," "to cut," "to gash." סָרֶטֶת (sareṭet): "a cutting," "a scratch" (noun).
  • Significance: This was perhaps the most abhorrent of the three, being a direct act of self-mutilation. Such cutting was commonly practiced in ancient pagan worship, intended to induce a trance, conjure spirits, express extreme supplication, or appease deities (e.g., priests of Baal in 1 Kgs 18:28). It signified a desecration of the human body, which is created in God's image and thus sacred. For priests, whose bodies were consecrated for God’s service, it was a profound act of defilement.
• Words-group analysis: The cumulative effect of these three prohibitions underscores a holistic command against body defilement linked to pagan mourning and worship. It communicates that Yahweh's worship is ordered, life-affirming, and requires physical integrity from His holy servants, starkly contrasting with the destructive and chaotic practices of idolaters. The repeated "shall not" reinforces the absolute and non-negotiable nature of these laws for priests.

Leviticus 21 5 Bonus section

• The severity of these rules for priests reflects their higher standard of holiness compared to common Israelites. While all Israelites were forbidden from making cuttings for the dead (Lev 19:28, Deut 14:1) or shaving specific parts of their beards (Lev 19:27), for priests, this applied more comprehensively and critically, emphasizing their profound representational role.
• These physical restrictions foreshadow the ultimate purity required of the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who was without blemish or sin, offering a perfect, undefiled sacrifice of Himself (Heb 7:26-28).
• For New Testament believers, who are called a "royal priesthood" (1 Pet 2:9), the literal commands are understood spiritually. The emphasis shifts from outward physical marks to inward purity and not conforming to the destructive patterns or philosophies of the world (Rom 12:2). Believers are called to consecrate their whole bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20), maintaining their integrity and avoiding anything that would defile God's presence within them or diminish their testimony in a way that aligns with "the unholy" rather than "the holy."

Leviticus 21 5 Commentary

Leviticus 21:5 is foundational in defining the visual and ritual purity of Israel’s priesthood. These prohibitions are not arbitrary but deeply theological, underscoring:

1. Holiness and Separation: Priests were consecrated to God and required a distinct outward appearance to reflect their inward holiness. This separation visually declared their allegiance solely to Yahweh, distinguishing them from all other peoples, particularly those engaged in idolatrous practices.
2. Repudiation of Paganism: The prescribed acts were typical in ancient Near Eastern pagan death rites or idol worship (e.g., for deceased family, or for false gods like Baal, Moloch), signifying despair, cultic devotion, or an attempt to manipulate or appease deities. God's priests were forbidden from participating in anything that mirrored such practices, firmly establishing the unique nature of Yahweh's covenant and worship.
3. Respect for God's Creation: The human body, as God's creation, was to be treated with reverence. Self-mutilation and deliberate defacing of the body were seen as assaults on the Creator's design, indicating a lack of trust in God's sovereignty over life and death. Grief in Israel was to be expressed within limits that honored God.

In essence, the verse mandates that priests, as representatives of a holy God, must physically embody purity, order, and life, utterly disconnected from the defiling, despairing, and violent rituals of false religions.