make bald spots … shave off: The laws warned priests not to shave or trim their hair in certain ways (see study notes on Leviticus 10:6; 19:27).
make cuts in their bodies: They were also not to cut their bodies (see study note on Leviticus 19:28). Cutting the body was a practice of pagan peoples. Defects disqualified most animals as offerings (Leviticus 22:19–25). A defect also disqualified a priest from serving (see 21:17–23).
For example, a eunuch (a man unable to reproduce) could not serve as a priest because he was not a suitable representative of the people (Deuteronomy 23:1). But his priestly family line allowed him to eat his priestly share (see Leviticus 21:22). On the other hand, if a priest became unclean, he could not serve in ministry or eat the priest’s share until he was clean again (22:2–8).