Leviticus

A book of the Bible.

[Middle English, from Late Latin Levīticus, from Greek Leuītikos, Levitical, from Leuītēs, Levite. See Levite.]

According to the Masoretic tradition, Leviticus has 27 chapters and 859 verses. The Babylonian cycle of readings (which is followed today by all Jewish communities) divides the book into ten pericopes (sedarot), while according to the Palestinian triennial cycle of Second Temple times, it contains 25 sections. Jewish tradition maintains that Leviticus, in common with the other books of the Pentateuch, was dictated by God to Moses.

From the standpoint of Bible criticism, Leviticus derives from a single priestly source (known as P), although some designate Leviticus 17-26 "the Holiness Code" and assign it to another source (H). While Jewish tradition regards the book as an integral part of the Torah given by God on Mount Sinai, critical scholarship has different views concerning the era in which it was composed. For example, it has been suggested that Leviticus was the last volume of the Pentateuch to have been edited and that the editing was only completed after the Return to Zion from Babylonia. On the other hand, Yeḥezkel Kaufmann, the modern Israeli Bible scholar, considered Leviticus to be the most ancient source, a remnant of the laws governing sacrifices in the High Places. The Jerusalem scholar Mosheh David Cassuto maintained that the book is actually a collection of traditions which were handed down to Moses and from one generation to the next, all of them beginning: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying." Thus, according to Cassuto, there is no reason to believe that the volume is much later than the time of Moses.

Third book of the Pentateuch, called by the early rabbis "the Priests' Manual." The role of the priest is defined in pedagogic terms: to teach the distinctions "between the holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean" (10:10; cf Ezek 44:23). This is necessary to prevent Israel's moral sins and physical impurities from polluting the sanctuary and causing its eventual abandonment by God. The priests are therefore charged with a double task: to instruct Israel to purify themselves of their pollution, and to purge the sanctuary of its pollution. However, Leviticus is not just a collection of rituals; one may justifiably seek a moral basis behind every ritual act.

Chapters 1-7 depict the sacrificial system: chapters 1-5 list the sacrifices from the point of the donor: chapters 1-3, the spontaneously motivated sacrifices; chapters 4-5, the expiatory sacrifices. Chapters 6-7 regroup these sacrifices in order of their sanctity and frequency.

The sacrifices discussed in these chapters share the characteristic of responding to an unpredictable religious and emotional need; they are to be distinguished from the sacrifices connected with the public feasts and fasts as determined by the calendar (chaps. 9; 16; 23; cf Num chaps. 28-29).

The "burnt offering" must be chosen from male, unblemished and eligible species of the herd, flock and birds. Its function here is expiatory (Lev 1:4), but in the priestly texts, whenever it is offered by an individual, the motivation is joyful (cf 22:17ff; Num 15:1-11). In non-priestly texts, the burnt offering denotes a tribute brought by subjects to their overlords, whether human (Judg 13:15-18) or divine (I Sam 3:14). It could be either animal or vegetable (Gen 4:3; I Sam 2:13): in a priestly context, however, it is exclusively cereal, either choice flour or roasted grain (Lev 2:14-16). The restriction to cereal emphasizes that man's tribute to God should be from the fruit of his labors on the soil. The peace offering (chap. 3) is motivated solely by elation. Its rules are similar to those of the burnt offering. Being of lesser sanctity, its portions are assigned to the donor as well as to God. The choicest internal fats (suet) are turned to smoke. The purification offering removes the impurity inflicted upon the sanctuary by the inadvertent violation of prohibitive laws (chap. 4) or by the creation of severe physical impurity (chaps. 12-14, see below). The failure to cleanse minor impurity immediately upon its occurrence also requires the purification offering. The other exclusive expiatory sacrifice is the reparation offering prescribed for sacrilege against the property of God or man (5:14-6:7).

Chapters 8-10 depict the inaugural service at the sanctuary. The priests are inducted after the priestly vestments and the tabernacle are completed and consecrated (chap. 8). It is not Aaron, however, but Moses who dominates the scene. He is the one who conducts the inaugural service, consecrates the priests, and apportions all the tasks. Following the week of consecration, the priests commence their official duties. They offer up special sacrifices for the people "that the glory of the Lord may appear" (9:6; cf vs. 4, 23). Indeed, the whole purpose of the sacrificial system is revelation, the assurance that God is with his people. During the service the eldest sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, are killed by a divine fire because they offered incense with "profane fire", most probably brought from elsewhere than the altar (cf 16:12; Num 16:46). The cereal and well-being offerings are eaten by the priests in accordance with Leviticus 6:16 and 7:28-34. But the procedure for the purification offering is switched from the individual (6:26) to the communal form (10:12); Aaron does not eat the sacrificial meat, but destroys it, because it has been doubly polluted by the sin and death of his sons (10:19).

Chapters 11-15 prescribe the laws of impurities, whose basic rationale is the binary opposition of life and death. Impurity is that which symbolizes death and hence must be avoided and eliminated.

Animal carcasses generate impurity (11:24-44) except for those declared fit for consumption (11:1-23). But the permitted species are so few that these laws clearly aim to limit Israel's access to animal flesh. This rationale is also implied by the explicit reason cited in the text: holiness (11:44-47; cf 20:22-26), a word which bears the dual connotation of "sanctification" (by emulating God's nature, 11:44) and "separation" (from the impurities of the pagans, 20:22-26). Holiness is the antonym of impurity; it represents the forces of life.

Blood and semen are forces of life. Thus their loss from the genital organs is declared an impurity. After the birth of a boy or girl, the parturient is impure for 40 or 80 days respectively, after which, sacrifices are offered (chap. 12). Natural discharges of men and women are purified by bathing (15:16-18, 19-24), but pathological discharges require sacrificial expiation (15:2-15, 25-30).

Chapter 16 gives the regulation for the Day of Atonement ritual.

Chapters 17-27 have been called the Holiness Source (designated as H) by scholars who suggest that it constitutes an independent code in which moral and ritual laws alternate, and whose motivation is holiness. Others, however, question this theory, pointing out that chapter 17, the alleged beginning of the code, is connected thematically and verbally with the preceding chapters while chapters 25-26, the alleged conclusion, form an independent scroll, to judge by their unique vocabulary (e.g. 25:18-19; 26:5), theme (25:8-13; 26:34-35, 43) and redaction (25:1; 26:46). Nonetheless, much of the language, ideas and premises in chapters 17-27 differ from the first part of Leviticus.

Chapter 17 states that whosoever kills a sacrificial animal outside the sanctuary is guilty of murder (17:3-4). Two ends are thus achieved: sacrifice to "demons" is abolished (vs. 5-9), and expiation for killing the animal is assured through the ritual by which its lifeblood is returned to its creator either upon the altar (vs. 10-12), or by being drained and covered by earth, in the case of game animals (vs. 13-14; cf Deut 12:16).

Chapters 18-20 are thematically united: chapter 20 prescribes the penalties for the illicit relations and homicidal cult practices of chapter 18 (cf 20:1-5) and for violating the ban on magic of 19:31 (cf 20:6). Moreover, the entire unit is framed by a single goal: dissociation from the Canaanites whose idolatry and criminal practices pollute the divinely chosen land (18:3, 24-30; 20:22-24).

The positive aspect of holiness – imitatio dei, the life of godliness – is spelled out in the ethical and ritual commands of chapter 19, reaching its climax in the commandment to love all persons (v. 18), including resident aliens (v. 34). Such love must be tangibly expressed in deeds: equality in civil justice (20:2-24:16, 22; cf Num 35:15), free loans (25:35-55; cf Deut 10:18) and free gleanings (19:9-10).

Defects which disqualify sacrifices also disqualify priests from officiating (chaps. 21-22). Chapter 23 contains a festival calendar; being addressed to the lay farmer rather than the priest, it omits the New Moon festival (when the Israelite has no special duties or prohibitions). Indeed, with the exception of verses 13 and 18-20, all requirements of the public cult are ignored, and only the offerings of the individual farmer are enumerated. Chapter 25 deals with the sabbatical and jubilee years.

A threat of total destruction and exile appears in chapter 26 as it does in three other books of the Bible: Deuteronomy, Jeremiah and Ezekiel (whose eschatology is largely based on this chapter). These also share with chapter 26 the pre-prophetic view that cultic sins alone determine the nation's collapse – idolatry (v. 1) and the neglect of the sabbatical system (vs. 2, 34-35) being specified here.

Chapter 27 discusses the commutation of gifts to the sanctuary. The organizing principle of this chapter is that gifts offerable on the altar may never be desanctified, but nonofferable gifts (with the exception of proscriptions) may be desanctified by their sale or redemption.

In comparison with the rest of the Pentateuch, Leviticus is relatively uncomplicated. Critical scholars attribute it to two priestly sources: an older source, P, which has been assimilated and redacted by a younger source, H. In the main, P is found in chapters 1-16 and H in chapters 17-26. However, traces are found of P within H (e.g. 17:3-4; 23:13, 18-20) and of H within P (e.g. 11:43-45; 16:29-34).

For the Christian metal band, see Leviticus (band).

Part of a series of articles on the Hebrew Bible
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Genesis  · Exodus  · Leviticus  · Numbers  · Deuteronomy  · Joshua  · Judges  · Ruth  · 1–2 Samuel  · 1–2 Kings  · 1–2 Chronicles  · Ezra (Esdras)  · Nehemiah  · Esther  · Job  · Psalms  · Proverbs  · Ecclesiastes  · Song of Songs  · Isaiah  · Jeremiah  · Lamentations  · Ezekiel  · Daniel  · Minor prophets
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1 Esdras  · 3 Maccabees  · Prayer of Manasseh  · Psalm 151
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Apocalypse of Ezra  · Jubilees  · Enoch  · 1–3 Meqabyan  · 4 Baruch
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Books of the Torah
Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy

Leviticus (Greek: Λευιτικός, "relating to the Levites") or Vayikra (Hebrew: ויקרא, literally "and He called") is the third book of the Hebrew Bible/Christian Old Testament, and the third of five books of the Jewish Torah or Pentateuch.

Leviticus contains laws and priestly rituals, but in a wider sense is about the working out of God's covenant with Israel set out in Genesis and Exodus - what is seen in the Torah as the consequences of entering into a special relationship with God. These consequences are set out in terms of community relationships and behaviour.

The first 16 chapters and the last chapter make up the Priestly Code, with rules for ritual cleanliness, sin-offerings, and the Day of Atonement, including Chapter 12 which mandates male circumcision. Chapters 17-26 contain the Holiness Code, including the injunction in chapter 19 to "love one's neighbor as oneself" (the Great Commandment). The book is largely concerned with "abominations", largely dietary and sexual restrictions. The rules are generally addressed to the Israelites, except for the prohibition in chapter 20 against sacrificing children to Molech, which applies equally to "the strangers that sojourn in Israel."

According to tradition, Moses authored Leviticus^[1] as well as the other four books of the Torah ^[2]. Modern biblical scholars believe Leviticus to be almost entirely from the priestly source (P), marked by emphasis on priestly concerns, composed c 550-400 BC, and incorporated into the Torah c 400 BC.^[3]

Contents 1 Title 2 Summary 3 Structure and composition 4 Themes 5 Leviticus in subsequent tradition 5.1 Judaism 5.2 Christianity 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Title

In Hebrew the book is called Vayikra (Hebrew: ויקרא) literally "and He called"^[4], from the first word of the Hebrew text, in line with the other four books of the Torah. When the Bible was translated into Greek in the 3rd century BC to produce the Septuagint, the name given was biblion to Levitikon (Greek: βιβλίον το Λευιτικόν), meaning "book of the Levites". This was in line with the Septuagint use of subject themes as book names. The Latin name became Liber Leviticus, from which the English name is derived. These names are somewhat misleading, as the book makes a very strong distinction between the priesthood, descended from Aaron, and mere Levites.

Summary

The book is generally considered to consist of two large sections, both of which contain several mitzvot.

The first part Leviticus 1-16, and Leviticus 27, constitutes the main portion of the Priestly Code, which describes the details of rituals, and of worship, as well as details of ritual cleanliness and uncleanliness. Within this section are:

• Laws regarding the regulations for different types of sacrifice (Leviticus 1-7):
  • Burnt-offerings, meal-offerings, and thank-offerings (Leviticus 1-3)
  • Sin-offerings (for unintentional sins), and trespass-offerings (Leviticus 4-5)
  • Priestly duties and rights concerning the offering of sacrifices (Leviticus 6-7)
• The practical application of the sacrificial laws, within a narrative of the consecration of Aaron and his sons (Leviticus 8-10)
  • Aaron's first offering for himself and the people (Leviticus 8)
  • The incident in which "strange fire" is brought to the Tabernacle by Aaron's sons Nadav and Avihu, leading to their death directly at the hands of God for doing so (Leviticus 9-10)
• Laws concerning purity and impurity (Leviticus 11-16)
  • Laws about clean and unclean animals (Leviticus 11)
  • Laws concerning ritual cleanliness after childbirth (Leviticus 12)
  • Laws concerning tzaraath of people, and of clothes and houses, often translated as leprosy, and mildew, respectively (Leviticus 13-14)
  • Laws concerning bodily discharges (such as blood, pus, etc.) and purification (Leviticus 15)
  • Laws regarding a day of national atonement, Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16)
• Laws concerning the commutation of vows (Leviticus 27)

The second part, Leviticus 17-26, is known as the Holiness Code, and places particular, and noticeable, emphasis on holiness, and the holy; it contains commandments intended not just for the priests but for the whole congregation.^[5] It is notably more of a miscellany of laws. Within this section are:

• Laws concerning idolatry, the slaughter of animals, dead animals, and the consumption of blood (Leviticus 17)
• Laws concerning sexual conduct - incest, bestiality, same-sex relationships among men, laws concerning sorcery, and moloch (Leviticus 18, and also Leviticus 20, in which penalties are given)
• Laws concerning molten gods, peace-offerings, scraps of the harvest, fraud, the deaf, blind, elderly, and poor, poisoning the well, hate, sex with slaves, self harm, shaving, prostitution, sabbaths, sorcery, familiars, strangers, and just weights and measure (Leviticus 19)
• Laws concerning priestly conduct, and prohibitions against the disabled, ill, and superfluously blemished, from becoming priests, or becoming sacrifices, for descendants of Aaron, and animals, respectively (Leviticus 21-22)
• Laws concerning the observation of the annual feasts, and the sabbath, (Leviticus 23)
• Laws concerning the altar of incense (Leviticus 24:1-9)
• The case law lesson of a blasphemer being stoned to death, and other applications of the death penalty (Leviticus 24:10-23), including anyone having "a familiar ghost or spirit", a child insulting its parents (Leviticus 20), and a special case for prostitution (burning them alive) (Leviticus 21)
• Laws concerning the Sabbath, Jubilee years and slavery. (Leviticus 25).
• A hortatory conclusion to the section, giving promises regarding obedience to these commandments, and warnings and threats for those that might disobey them, including sending wild animals to devour their children. (Leviticus 26:22)

These ordinances, in the book, are said to have been delivered in the space of a month, specifically the first month of the second year after the exodus. A major Chiastic structure runs through practically all of this book. For more detailed information see the article on Chiastic structure.

Structure and composition

According to traditional belief, Leviticus is the word of Yahweh, dictated to Moses from the Tent of Meeting before Mount Sinai. Since the 19th century, scholars have regarded Leviticus as being almost entirely a product of the priestly source, (more recent scholarship prefers to refer to a "priestly school" of editors rather than a single priestly source), originating amongst the Aaronid priesthood c 550-400 BC.

Leviticus consists of several layers of laws. The base of this accretion is the Holiness Code (chapters 17-26), regarded as an early independent document related the Covenant Code presented earlier in the Bible. Wellhausen regarded the Priestly source as a later, rival, version of the stories contained within JE (a hypothetical intermediate source text of the Torah), the Holiness Code thus being the law code that the priestly source presented as being dictated to Moses at Sinai, in the place of the Covenant Code. Different writers inserted laws, some from earlier independent collections. These additional laws, in the views of those who follow Wellhausen's theories, are those which subsequently formed the Priestly Code, and thus the other portion of Leviticus.

Themes

Leviticus defines the most important rituals of ancient Israel, from sacrifice to cleanliness, the holy days to to the calendar, birth and death. Gordon Wenham, quoting the early 20th century anthropologist Monica Wilson, points out that ritual is the key to understanding a society's central values; it makes up the markers by which a group of people recognise themselves as a group, and distinguish themselves from their neighbours.^[6]

Leviticus in subsequent tradition

Judaism

Leviticus constitutes a major source of Jewish law. In Talmudic literature, there is evidence that this is the first book of the Tanakh which was taught, in the Rabbinic system of education in Talmudic times. A possible reason may be that, of all the books of the Torah, Leviticus is the closest to being purely devoted to mitzvot and its study thus is able to go hand-in-hand with their performance.

There are two main Midrashim on Leviticus - the halakhic one (Sifra) and a more aggadic one (Vayikra Rabbah).

Christianity

Main article: Biblical law in Christianity

Christians do not consider themselves to be bound by the Levitical laws, due to the antinomianism of passages such as Paul's 1 Corinthians 10:23-26, which permits believers to "eat anything sold in the meat market, without raising questions of conscience". The Epistle to the Hebrews gives a theological justification for this view: it views Jesus as the perfect High Priest, "entering heaven not with the blood of bulls and goats (i.e., the sacrificial rules set out in Leviticus), but with his own blood"; and whereas the Jewish High Priest offered sacrifices continually and was permitted to enter the holy of holies only once a year, "Jesus offered just one sacrifice and is seated at God's right hand continually making intercession for his people." Similarly, the Synoptic Gospels speak of the veil separating the holy of holies from the outer courtyard being torn in two when Jesus dies, symbolizing that God is now directly accessible. Most radically of all, the Jewish food laws, which symbolize the unique status of the Jews as the only people of God, are explicitly abrogated in Matthew 15:1-28 and in Acts 10:1-29.^[7]

See also

• Torah
• The Bible and homosexuality
• Weekly Torah portions in Leviticus: Vayikra, Tzav, Shemini, Tazria, Metzora, Acharei, Kedoshim, Emor, Behar, and Bechukotai

References

1. ^ Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (1995): 8. "The Traditional View ... is the view that Leviticus was compiled by Moses himself, or at least that the material in the book, if not its final shape, goes back to Moses."
2. ^ Maas, Anthony. "Pentateuch." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911., "The voice of tradition, both Jewish and Christian, is so unanimous and constant in proclaiming the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch that down to the seventeenth century it did not allow the rise of any serious doubt."
3. ^ Baruch A. Levine, ""Leviticus: Its Literary History and Location in Biblical Literature, in The Book of Leviticus: Composition and Reception, ed. Rolf Rendtorff and Robert A. Kugler (Brill, 2006), pp.11-23
4. ^ Wenham (1995): 3. "The first word of the book serves as its Hebrew title, wayyiqrā, "and he called."
5. ^ Wenham (1995): 3. "It would be wrong, however, to describe Leviticus simply as a manual for priests. It is equally, if not more, concerned with the part the laity should play in worship."
6. ^ Gordon Wenham, "Exploring the Old Testament: The Pentateuch" (SPCK, 2003), pp.83-84
7. ^ Gordon Wenham, "Exploring the Old Testament: The Pentateuch" (SPCK, 2003), pp.99-100

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Book of Leviticus

Online translations of Leviticus:

• Jewish translations:
  • Leviticus at Mechon-Mamre (Jewish Publication Society translation)
  • Leviticus (The Living Torah) Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's translation and commentary at Ort.org
  • Vayikra - Levitichius (Judaica Press) translation with Rashi's commentary at Chabad.org
  • ויקרא Vayikra - Leviticus (Hebrew - English at Mechon-Mamre.org)

• Christian translations:
  • Online Bible at GospelHall.org (King James Version)
  • oremus Bible Browser (New Revised Standard Version)
  • oremus Bible Browser (Anglicized New Revised Standard Version)

Related article:

• Book of Leviticus article (Jewish Encyclopedia)
• The Literary Structure of Leviticus (chaver.com)
• Leviticus in Skeptic's Annotated Bible

Free Online Bibliography on Leviticus:

• BiBIL

• Lego reenactments of key passages of Leviticus http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/index.html

Preceded by Exodus	Hebrew Bible	Followed by Numbers
	Christian Old Testament

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - 3. mosebog

Nederlands (Dutch)
Leviticus (derde boek van Oude Testament)

Français (French)
n. - Lévitique

Deutsch (German)
n. - Levitikus (3. Buch Mose)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (θρησκ.) Λευιτικό

Italiano (Italian)
Levitico

Português (Portuguese)
n. - levítico (m) (Rel.)

Русский (Russian)
Левит (книга Ветхого Завета)

Español (Spanish)
n. - Levítico

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - Tredje mosebok

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
利未记

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 利未記

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 구약 레위기

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - レビ記

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) السفر الثالث من العهد القديم في الكتاب المقدس, , سفر اللاويين‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ויקרא (חומש)‬

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