Ezekiel 44:22

Eze 44:22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.

Ver. 22. Neither shall they take for their wives.] Ministers, of all men, should be careful whom they wed, for many reasons. Hear what good counsel one minister {a} of mine acquaintance gave another:

“ Quaere tibi uxorem quae sit Pia, Pulchra, Pudica,

Provida, verborum Parca, et Parere parata. ”

“Seek for yourself a wife who is pius, beautiful, chaste,

has forsight, of few words, and prepared to have children.”

{a} Mr Thomas Dugard.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 22. Neither shall they take for their wives a widow] This was prohibited to the high priest only, by Moses, Le 21:13-14.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(22) A widow that had a priest before.—In regard both to marriage and to mourning (Eze_44:25-27) the Levitical law made a broad distinction between the ordinary priest and the high priest. The former was only forbidden to marry a divorced woman (Lev_21:7), but was allowed to marry a widow; the latter could marry only a virgin of Israel (ib. 14). So also in the law of mourning; the high priest might not be “defiled” nor make any sign of mourning even for his nearest of kin (Lev_21:11-14). Ezekiel does not recognise this distinction, and in fact nowhere mentions the high priest at all; but, instead, gives a general law for all priests, somewhat between the two.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22. The marriage of the priests. They shall marry only virgins, or the widows of former priests. In Lev_21:14 marrying a widow of any kind is forbidden to the high-priest, but no restriction is imposed on the priests (Eze_44:7). Ezek. makes no allusion anywhere to a high-priest.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neither shall they take for their wives a widow,.... Who has been not only another man's, but at her own will, and done her own pleasure, and been her own mistress, and so not easily brought into subjection, and to behave as becoming her station:

or her that is put away; or, "thrust forth" (q); out of doors; whose husband has given her a bill of divorce; since she may be suspected of having done some ill thing:

but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel; virgins, and not of the families of unconverted persons, who have been brought up in an irreligious way, but of godly families, and who have had a religious education:

or a widow that had a priest before: and so used to religious exercises, and to the manner of living of such persons. All good men should be careful whom they marry, and especially ministers of the Gospel; who are here supposed and allowed to marry, contrary to the church of Rome, which forbids her priests to marry. It is observed by some, and with great propriety, that in the latter days antichristian churches will be disowned; and that godly faithful ministers will become pastors, and take the care of such churches, who are like a chaste virgin espoused to Christ, and such who have had faithful pastors over them before. This seems to refer to the law concerning the marriage of the high priest, Lev 21:13, and what is there enjoined him is here enjoined all the priests of the Lord; and therefore, as Kimchi rightly observes, this is a new rule respecting future times.

(q) "expulsam", Montanus, Heb; "ejectam", Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Widow. Moses laid this restraint upon the high priest, Leviticus xxi. 13. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

God allowed them to marry, only directs that it be not to one of ill fame or divorced, Lev 21:13,14, nor the widow of any deceased common person; yet a priest might realty a priest’s widow, but a virgin is rather commended to their choice; and whether widow or virgin, it must not be as Moses married a daughter of a strange people, or as they did in Babylon, Ezr 10:18, &c.; and possibly this of Ezekiel was designed as a rule to direct Ezra in reforming this disorder when they came from Babylon. Nor were they at liberty to marry any of any tribe, but it must be one of their own tribe too.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

22. The restriction is now placed upon all priests which was formerly laid only upon the high priest (Lev_21:7-14). This shows once more the supreme holiness of the new temple.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As to marriage (since the priests in Ezekiel"s "house" were no more expected to be celibates than were those employed about Moses" tabernacle or Solomon"s temple), they were forbidden to marry widows (which the Levitical priests were not, though the high priest was) or divorced women, and allowed to wed only virgins of the house of Israel, or (the sole exception) widows of such as had been priests (compare with the priest-code. (Lev_21:7, Lev_21:13, Lev_21:14) Ezekiel"s enactment discovers two variations first, that it does not formally forbid to the priests marriage with a harlot; and, second, that it sanctions marriage with a priest"s widow. But the first was implied in the prohibition of marriage with an adulteress, and the second was a sign of the higher sanctity of the priesthood belonging to Ezekiel"s temple. Hence, so far from indicating the priority of Ezekiel, it rather points to the priority of Leviticus.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

but...virgins may the High Priests take. But there are some priests who may take a widow, namely, the ordinary ones, and this is the meaning of “some of the priests may marry”; there are some priests who are permitted to marry a widow.

who is only a widow A real [widow], excluding a divorcee and a woman upon whom the rite of chalitzah was performed; although she is unmarried, she is forbidden even for an ordinary [priest].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.