They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves.
God's priests must be regulars, not seculars; and therefore here are rules laid down for them to govern themselves by and due encouragement given them to live up to those rules. Directions are here given, I. Concerning their clothes; they must wear linen garments when they went in to minister or do any service in the inner court, or in the sanctuary, and nothing that...
Commenting on Ezekiel 44:17-31
And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves,.... Shall not come into places where they are, nor touch them, nor attend their funerals, Lev 21:1, that their work might not be interrupted, or they through grief and sorrow be made unfit for it, Mat 8:22, this, in a spiritual sense, may signify, that they should have no conversation or fellowship with men...
And they shall come near no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves. (g) They may be at their burial which was a defiling.