Why do catholic priests take a vow of celebacy?

i'm not catholic, so i don't know the rules all that well, but i'm not bashing anyone either. i just don't quite get it. i can see where a vow of celebacy might have a biblical basis- st paul wrote that he wished everyone could be like him, and not marry. i'm guessing that's not where the celebacy thing came from, since he also wrote that a bishop should be a man of one wife (you probably know those verses). is the vow of celebacy taken because that was the standard for rabbis and scribes during the time of Jesus? is this part of the tradition that st paul asked the church to uphold? this is the only reasonable explanation i can come up with. i suppose i could have searched my question, but hey, i like it this way. just trying to clear things up. thanks a lot.