What Does Leviticus 21:10 Mean?

And the great priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, whose hand is filled to wear the garments, does not let his head go loose, nor tear his clothes.

Leviticus 21:10 · SDV

Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.

Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.

This verse in the King James

King James wording

King James Version

And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;

THE KEY

The oil on the high priest’s head comes from the root that names an “anointed one,” while his consecration is described as filling his hand for the garments he wears.

THE MEANING

Here, the verse meets you with a severe tension: the one marked for sacred service is not free to show grief through an uncovered head or torn clothes. The oil marks his head, and his consecration is described as filling his hand to wear the garments; even under the pressure of mourning, the boundaries of his office remain.

THE ROOT

שֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה

shemen ha-mishchah

GROWS FROM

משח

m-sh-ḥ

Smear, anoint.

“anointing oil” in this verse is shemen ha-mishchah. The oil carries the name of the act performed with it: anointing is not only something done to the priest but the mark by which his role is named. The same root forms “anointed one,” joining the poured oil to the identity it signifies.

ALSO GROWS

mishchah: Anointing

מִשְׁחָה

This is the word within the verse’s phrase “anointing oil,” so the substance bears the name of the act.

mashiach: Anointed one

מָשִׁיחַ

The title names a person through the same action the oil performs, linking the mark on the head with the person’s identity.

מִלֵּא אֶת־יָדוֹ

mille et-yado

GROWS FROM

מלא

m-l-ʾ

Fill, be full.

“whose hand is filled to wear the garments” in this verse is mille et-yado. The Hebrew phrase behind “consecrated” says that he “filled his hand” to put on the garments. Consecration appears as a hand filled for a particular service, joined directly to the clothes that make the office visible.

ALSO GROWS

male: Be full; fill

מָלֵא

The root keeps consecration tied to fullness and capacity rather than leaving it as an abstract status.

millu’im: Fillings; installation rites

מִלֻּאִים

The related term for priestly installation preserves the same image of filling the hand for service.

THE PATTERN

Anointing marks a person as entrusted with a distinct service.

Then you take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

Exodus 29:7 · SDVThe oil poured on the head visibly marks the person for the service he receives.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the breath of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

1 Samuel 16:13 · SDVDavid is anointed in the presence of his brothers, making the received mark visible among them.

Now the one who makes us firm with you in the Anointed One, and who has anointed us, is God.

2 Corinthians 1:21 · SDVThe language of anointing extends from one marked person to a community held together in the anointed one.

THE THREAD

And he poured some of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to set him apart.

Leviticus 8:12 · SDV

The same Hebrew root, ⁨משח⁩ (m-sh-ḥ), names the anointing oil and the act performed on Aaron. Read together, the verses connect the oil on the head with the filled hand and garments that mark the high priest’s office.

This reading is from Selah Verse.

You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.

Get Selah Verse

A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us