Leviticus 21:1

“And the Lord said unto Moses, etc.] According to some Jewish writers this was said on the day the tabernacle was set up; no doubt it was delivered at the same time the above laws were given; and as care was taken for the purity and holiness of the Israelites in general, it was necessary that the priests that were concerned in a more especial manner in the service and worship of God should be holy also, and have some instructions given them to take care and keep themselves from all defilements; and particularly the Jewish writers observe, that this paragraph or section concerning the priests follows upon, and is in connection with the law concerning such as have familiar spirits, and wizards,…”

“OF THE PRIESTS' MOURNING. (Lev. 21:1-24) There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people--The obvious design of the regulations contained in this chapter was to keep inviolate the purity and dignity of the sacred office. Contact with a corpse, or even contiguity to the place where it lay, entailing ceremonial defilement (Num 19:14), all mourners were debarred from the tabernacle for a week; and as the exclusion of a priest during that period would have been attended with great inconvenience, the whole order were enjoined to abstain from all approaches to the dead, except at the funerals of relatives, to whom affection or necessity might call them to perform the last offices. Those…”

“Among his people - None of the priests shall touch the dead body, or assist at his funeral, or eat of the funeral feast. The reason of this law is evident, because by such pollution they were excluded from converse with men, to whom by their function they were to be serviceable upon all occasions, and from the handling of holy things. And God would hereby teach them, and in them all successive ministers, that they ought entirely to give themselves to the service of God. Yea, to renounce all expressions of natural affection, and all worldly employments, so far as they are impediments to the discharge of their holy services. Leviticus 21:2”

“21:1–22:33 This section, which covers priestly regulations, is punctuated six times with the phrase I am the Lord who makes . . . holy (21:15, 23; 22:9, 16, 32; cp. 21:8). The words reaffirm the necessary connection between the holiness of God and the holiness expected of the priesthood, and by extension, of all Israel (see 8:10; 11:44-45; 19:2). Priests are specifically addressed in 21:1–22:16, while both clergy and laity are included in 22:17-33. 21:1-4 Touching a dead body rendered a person unclean for seven days. Because a priest had to be prepared to deal with holy things at all times, he was not allowed to handle a dead body, even of a relative, or else he could be unfit to minister…”

“Speak: Hos 5:1; Mal 2:1, Mal 2:4 There: Lev 21:11, Lev 10:6, Lev 10:7; Num 19:14, Num 19:16; Eze 44:25 Leviticus 21:2”

“The priest was not to defile himself on account of a soul, i.e., a dead person (nephesh, as in Lev 19:28), among his countrymen, unless it were of his kindred, who stood near to him (i.e., in the closest relation to him), formed part of the same family with him (cf. Lev 21:3), such as his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or a sister who was still living with him as a virgin and was not betrothed to a husband (cf. Eze 44:25). As every corpse not only defiled the persons who touched it, but also the tent or dwelling in which the person had died ( Num 19:11, Num 19:14); in the case of death among members of the family or household, defilement was not to be avoided on the part of the…”