Imamat 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 

Imamat 21:13-15

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. 21:15 He must not profane his children among his people, ⁸  for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”

Yehezkiel 44:22

44:22 They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel ⁹  or a widow who is a priest’s widow.

Lukas 1:5-6

Birth Announcement of John the Baptist

1:5 During the reign ¹⁰  of Herod ¹¹  king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ¹²  the priestly division of Abijah, ¹³  and he had a wife named Elizabeth, ¹⁴  who was a descendant of Aaron. ¹⁵  1:6 They ¹⁶  were both righteous in the sight of God, following ¹⁷  all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ¹⁸ 

Titus 2:3

2:3 Older women likewise are to exhibit behavior fitting for those who are holy, not slandering, not slaves to excessive drinking, but teaching what is good.

[21:7]  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.”

[21:7]  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.

[21:7]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:7]  ⁴ tn The pronoun “he” in this clause refers to the priest, not the former husband of the divorced woman.

[21:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “And he, a wife in her virginity he shall take.”

[21:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “take.” In context this means “take as wife,” i.e., “marry.”

[21:14]  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.

[21:15]  ⁸ tc The MT has literally, “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.

[44:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the offspring of the house of Israel.”

[1:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “It happened that in the days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:5]  ¹¹ sn Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[1:5]  ¹² tn Grk “of”; but the meaning of the preposition ἐκ (ek) is more accurately expressed in contemporary English by the relative clause “who belonged to.”

[1:5]  ¹³ sn There were twenty-four divisions of priesthood and the priestly division of Abijah was eighth on the list according to 1 Chr 24:10.

[1:5]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and her name was Elizabeth.”

[1:5]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “a wife of the daughters of Aaron.”

[1:5]  sn It was not unusual for a priest to have a wife from a priestly family (a descendant of Aaron); this was regarded as a special blessing.

[1:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:6]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “walking in” (an idiom for one’s lifestyle).

[1:6]  sn The description of Zechariah and Elizabeth as following… blamelessly was not to say that they were sinless, but that they were faithful and pious. Thus a practical righteousness is meant here (Gen 6:8; Deut 28:9).

[1:6]  ¹⁸ tn The predicate adjective has the effect of an adverb here (BDF §243).