Leviticus 21:3

Lev 21:3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.

Ver. 3. And for his sister.] What! and not for his wife? Yes surely, though she be not mentioned, because she is nearer than either daughter or sister. See Eze 24:16. He was a priest, but that was an exempt case, an exception from what was ordinarily done.

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.

Lev 21:3. His sister, a virgin, that hath no husband — No husband to take care of her funeral; which was therefore a needful office of charity in her brother, though a priest. That is nigh to him — That is, by nearness, not of relation, (for that might seem a needless addition,) but of habitation, one not yet cut off from the family. For if she was married she was now of another family, and under her husband’s care in those matters.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For being married she seemed to be cut off from his family.

Hebrew, he may be defiled.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(3) And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him—That is, his maiden sister who still remains in sole relationship with him. What this is the next clause explains more minutely.

Which hath had no husband.—When she is married she goes to her husband, and ceases to be near her brother. It then devolves upon her husband to attend to the funeral rites.

For her may he be defiled.—According to the administrators of the Law during the second Temple, the priest was not only allowed to contract defilement by attending to the funeral rites of these seven relations, but was obliged to do it.

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

3. The same six cases are enumerated in Eze_44:25. The non-mention of a wife is not easily accounted for. Was it that this exception would be self-evident? This seems probable from Eze_24:15 ff., which appears from its prohibition to assume that a priest would mourn for his wife.

that is near unto him] that is not yet, as the following words shew, transferred by marriage to another family.

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.

And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him,.... That is, his sister by both father's and mother's side, as Aben Ezra; though, according to Gersom, his sister by his father's side, and not by his mother's side, is meant; but, according to Alphes, by his mother's side: perhaps this may signify not nearness of kin, which is expressed by being his sister, but nearness of place, for, being unmarried, she remained unto her death in her father's house:

which hath had no husband; neither betrothed to one, for then she would have been nigh to her husband, and not her brother, and therefore he might not pollute himself for her, as Gersom observes; nor married to him, for such an one he might not defile himself, even though she might have been rejected or divorced by her husband, as the same writer says:

for her may he be defiled; for a pure virgin that had never been betrothed nor married to a man, and had never departed from her father's house, and so had no husband to mourn for her, and take care of her funeral, and so for all the rest before mentioned; and which Jarchi says is a command, and not a bare sufferance or allowance, but what he ought and was obliged to do; and so it is related of Joseph (r), a priest, that his wife died in the evening of the sabbath, and he would not defile himself for her, and his brethren the priests obliged him, and made him defile himself against his will.

(r) T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 90. 1.

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

Sister, of the same parents. (Vatable) --- Husband; for if she have, he ought to bury his wife, and to mourn for her. To be deprived of these advantages, was then esteemed a great misfortune.

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).

For his sister, either by father or mother.

Nigh unto him, i.e. by nearness, not of relation, (for that might seem a needless addition,) but of habitation, i.e. one not yet cut off from the family, as it follows.

Which hath had no husband; for if she was married, she was now of another family, and under her husband’s special care in those matters.

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

That is nigh him - That is, by nearness not of relation, (for that might seem a needless addition) but of habitation, one not yet cut off from the family. For if she was married, she was now of another family, and under her husband's care in those matters.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

הקרובה [AND FOR HIS SISTER A VIRGIN] THAT IS NIGH UNTO HIM — This is intended to include the sister who was only betrothed and has therefore not yet left her father's house and who is consequently still near to him (Sifra, Emor, Section 1 1; Yevamot 60a), for it continues

אשר לא היתה לאיש, WHO HATH HAD NO HUSBAND — i. e. who has not yet entered into marital relations with him:

לה יטמא — This is a command, [and the translation is: FOR HER HE SHALL DEFILE HIMSELF, not, “he may defile himself”] (Sifra, Emor, Section 1 12; Zevachim 100a).

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.