Leviticus 21:7

21:7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution, ¹  nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband, ²  for the priest ³  is holy to his God. ⁴ 

Leviticus 21:13-14

21:13 He must take a wife who is a virgin. ⁵  21:14 He must not marry ⁶  a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people ⁷  as a wife.

---

¹ tn Heb “A wife harlot and profaned they shall not take.” The structure of the verse (e.g., “wife” at the beginning of the two main clauses) suggests that “harlot and profaned” constitutes a hendiadys, meaning “a wife defiled by harlotry” (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 143, as opposed to that in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348; cf. v. 14 below). Cf. NASB “a woman who is profaned by harlotry.”

² sn For a helpful discussion of divorce in general and as it relates to this passage see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 143-44.

³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn The pronoun “he” in this clause refers to the priest, not the former husband of the divorced woman.

⁵ tn Heb “And he, a wife in her virginity he shall take.”

⁶ tn Heb “take.” In context this means “take as wife,” i.e., “marry.”

⁷ tc The MT has literally, “from his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “from his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.