Priests had a unique role: administering the sanctuary, offering sacrifice and leading and teaching the people. Accordingly they were set apart by a special code of conduct.
The priests were set apart
They were consecrated to the LORD
Leviticus 22:9 See also Exodus 28:1, Exodus 28:4, Exodus 28:41, Exodus 29:1, Exodus 29:44, Exodus 30:34, Exodus 31:10, Exodus 35:19, Exodus 39:41
The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
They were not to incur uncleanness
Leviticus 21:1 Some exceptions to uncleanness by touching a corpse are listed in verses 2–3. See also Ezekiel 44:25
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people,
They were not to shave or mutilate themselves
Leviticus 21:5 See also Ezekiel 44:20
Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
They were not to marry any but a virtuous Israelite
Leviticus 21:7 See also Ezekiel 44:22
A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
They were not to drink wine before entering the sanctuary
Leviticus 10:9 See also Ezekiel 44:21
“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come.
They were disqualified by physical defects
Leviticus 21:17 See also Leviticus 21:18–22
“Say to Aaron, ‘For the generations to come, none of your descendants who has a physical defect may approach to offer the food of his God.
They were not to allow outsiders to eat the sacred offerings
Leviticus 22:15–16 See also Leviticus 24:9; 1 Samuel 21:4; Matthew 12:4
The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”
They were not to own land in Israel
Numbers 18:20 See also Ezekiel 44:28
Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.
They were not to offer unacceptable sacrifices
Leviticus 22:20 See also Malachi 1:7–9
You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.
They were to obey God's law meticulously
Leviticus 22:31 See also Ezekiel 44:24
You are to keep My commandments and practice them. I am the LORD.
The priests supervised the sanctuary
They only had access to holy things
Numbers 3:10 See also Numbers 4:5; Ezekiel 40:45–46, Ezekiel 44:16; Joel 2:17
So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”
They tended the sanctuary lamps
In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites for the generations to come.[’’]
They carried the ark
Deuteronomy 31:9 See also Joshua 3:8, Joshua 3:15, Joshua 3:17, Joshua 4:9, Joshua 4:16, Joshua 6:12
So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
The priests supervised the sacrifices
Leviticus 1:5 See also Leviticus 1:8, Leviticus 2:2; 1 Chronicles 9:30
And he shall slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests are to present the blood and splatter it on all sides of the altar at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
The priests led the nation
As role models
True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.
As teachers
Ezekiel 44:23 See also Leviticus 10:10; Deuteronomy 31:10–13; Ezra 7:6; Malachi 2:7
They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.
As judges
Deuteronomy 17:9 See also Deuteronomy 19:17, Deuteronomy 21:5; 2 Chronicles 19:8; Ezekiel 44:24
You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.
As encouragers in battle
Numbers 10:8 See also Joshua 6:4; 2 Chronicles 13:12
The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to sound the trumpets. This shall be a permanent statute for you and the generations to come.
Prophetic criticism of the priests
Lamentations 4:13 See also Jeremiah 2:8, Jeremiah 6:13; Ezekiel 7:26, Ezekiel 22:26; Hosea 4:6–9, Hosea 6:9; Zephaniah 3:4
But this was for the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.