BIBLE STUDY --- THE BOOKS OF THE TORAH

THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS – PART 1

Third book of the Old Testament, largely concerned with the duties of the Levitical priests.

AUTHOR

A traditional alternative title of Leviticus is the Third Book of Moses, which gives proper credit to the man who most deserves to be called its author. For though the book never says that Moses wrote down any of the material, it repeatedly states that YHVH revealed the contents of Leviticus to Moses. It may be that Leviticus was not put into writing as soon as it was revealed, but there is little to commend the common critical view that it was composed nearly a thousand years after Moses. The spelling and grammar of Leviticus was, like other books of the Old Testament, revised from time to time to make it understandable to later generations of Jewish readers, but that does not mean the essential content of the book was modified.

DATE

YHVH revealed some of the Laws in Leviticus by speaking to Moses from the tent of meeting, or tabernacle {Leviticus 1:1}. Other Laws were revealed on Mount Sinai {26:46}. Such statements show that Moses learned the contents of Leviticus after the tabernacle had been built but before the Israelites left Mount Sinai. This fits in with Exodus 40:17, which says that the tabernacle was erected exactly a year after the Israelites left Egypt. They then spent another month at Sinai, during which time the Laws in Leviticus were given to Moses. Then one month later {Numbers 1:1} Moses was commanded to prepare the people to leave Sinai to conquer the Promised Land of Canaan. It is difficult to give an exact date for the Israelite exodus from Egypt. Dates at the end of the 15th century BC or early in the 13th century are put forward by different scholars. Whichever view is adopted, the origin of Leviticus must be one year later than the exodus. But certainty about the absolute date of Leviticus is unimportant so long as the religious setting of the book is understood.

BACKGROUND

About 400 years before the exodus, YHVH promised Abraham that his descendants would be very numerous and live in the land of Canaan. The family of Abraham multiplied, but as a result of famine they had to go and live in Egypt. Afraid of the Israelites, the rulers of Egypt turned them into slaves. The book of Exodus tells how YHVH, acting through Moses, brought the Israelites out of Egypt in a miraculous way. Moses led them to Mount Sinai, where YHVH appeared in fire and smoke on the top of the mountain. Moses went up the mountain, and there YHVH gave him the Ten Commandments and explained various Laws. Through these acts YHVH showed that he had chosen the nation of Israel to be his special holy people, different from all the other nations because they would show YHVH’s character through their behaviour {cf. Exodus 19:5-6}. YHVH’s revelation at Sinai was unique and unrepeatable. But he disclosed to Moses that he wanted to live among the people of Israel permanently. They were told to build a portable royal palace that would be suitable for the divine King of kings. The building of this portable palace, traditionally called the tabernacle, is described in Exodus 35–40. When it was completed, the fire and cloud that had been seen on Mount Sinai appeared over the tabernacle as a sign that YHVH was now dwelling in it {Exodus 40:34-38}. Exodus also tells how Moses was told to appoint his brother Aaron, and Aaron’s sons to serve in the tabernacle as priests {Exodus 28–29}. Unfortunately, before the Israelites even began to build the tabernacle, they made a golden calf under Aaron’s leadership and started to worship it instead. The people were spared only as a result of Moses’ prayers. The book of Exodus therefore leaves the reader in suspense. The tabernacle has been built, but no one knows how to worship YHVH in it. Though Aaron and his family are alive, we are left wondering whether they will still be allowed to lead the worship of YHVH after the idolatry of the golden calf. The book of Leviticus answers this question.

PURPOSE AND THEOLOGY

The Ten Commandments explain briefly and simply how YHVH expects his people to behave. Four of the Commandments explain our duty toward our neighbour. The book of Leviticus follows a similar scheme. Chapters 1–17 show how YHVH wanted Israel to worship him, while chapters 18–27 are mainly concerned with how people should behave toward each other. Whereas the Ten Commandments are general and can be applied quite easily to every society, the book of Leviticus is much more detailed and specifically geared to the special circumstances of ancient Israel. If modern readers are to profit from reading Leviticus, they must look behind the specific regulations to the underlying religious principles that do not change -- in other words, to the theology of Leviticus. Four themes are very important in the theology of Leviticus:

1 -- the presence of YHVH,
2 – holiness
3 -- sacrifice, and
4 -- the Sinai Covenant.

THE PRESENCE OF YHVH

YHVH is always present with Israel in a real way. Sometimes his presence becomes visible in fire and smoke. But even when there is no miraculous sign, YHVH is present. He is especially near when people worship him and offer sacrifice. The many animal sacrifices mentioned in the book are all brought to Adonai. When the animals are burnt, YHVH is pleased with the smell {1:9}. The priests who offer the sacrifices must be especially careful since they come closer to YHVH than other people do. If they are careless in their duties and break YHVH’s Commands, they may die {10:1-2}. YHVH is present not just in worship but in all the ordinary duties of life. The recurring refrain of the later chapters, “I, Adonai, am your YHVH” {18:2; 19:3}, reminds the Israelites that every aspect of their life -- religion {chapters 21–24}, sex {chapters 18, 20}, and relations with neighbours {chapters 19, 25} -- matters to YHVH. The behaviour of every Israelite must mirror that of YHVH himself {20:7}. The fear of YHVH should prompt persons to help the blind, the deaf, the elderly, and the poor. Though such people may have no redress against unfair treatment, YHVH cares about what happens to them {19:14, 32; 25:17, 36, 43}.

HOLINESS

“You must be holy because I am holy” {11:44-45; 19:2; 20:26} could be termed the motto of Leviticus. “Holy,” “clean,” and “unclean” are common words in this book. YHVH is the supremely holy Person in the Bible, and holiness is the distinctive feature of his character. But earthly creatures can become holy too. To become holy, a person must be chosen by YHVH and undergo the correct ceremony. Thus, at Sinai all Israel became a holy nation {Exodus 19:6}. Leviticus 8–9 explains how Aaron and his sons were ordained priests. This made them more holy than ordinary Israelites and therefore able to approach YHVH and offer sacrifice. Before anyone could become holy, they had to be “clean.” Cleanness in Leviticus means more than just being free of dirt, though this idea is included. It means being free of any abnormality. Whenever a person appears to fall short of perfection, he is described as “unclean.” Thus, the worst uncleanness is death, the very opposite of perfect life. But bleeding and other discharges and patchy skin diseases can make someone unclean. Animals that move in peculiar ways or have strange habits are also called unclean {Leviticus 11–15}. Holiness and its opposite, uncleanness, can describe behaviour as well as outward appearance. To be holy means to obey YHVH and to act like YHVH. Chapters 18–25 explain what holiness means in daily living. It means avoiding illicit sexual relations, caring for the poor, being honest, being fair, and loving your neighbour as yourself. This sort of behaviour made Israel different from other peoples. Through their holiness the whole nation was supposed to demonstrate what YHVH was like.

SACRIFICE

In practice unfortunately, the nation and the individuals within it rarely lived up to these ideals of holiness. Even if one did not commit a grievous sin, he or she was always liable to become unclean through contact with someone else, touching a dead animal, or in some other way. To maintain contact with a holy YHVH, Israel’s sins and uncleanness had to be removed. This is what the sacrifices were for. They brought the forgiveness of sins and cleansing from uncleanness. Because sin affects relations between YHVH and humans in various ways, Leviticus provides four different types of offerings to cover the different cases {Leviticus 1–6}, and explains which sacrifices must be offered on which occasions {chapters 7–17}. All these rituals served to underline the seriousness of sin and helped preserve peace and fellowship between YHVH and humanity.

THE SINAI COVENANT

All the Laws contained in Leviticus form part of the Sinai Covenant. They fill out and apply the principles of the Ten Commandments to the specific circumstances of ancient Israel. But they are more than a set of detailed rules, because they were given as part of the Covenant. Three things have to be remembered about this Covenant. First, the Covenant created a personal relationship. Adonai became Israel’s king, and Israel became his special treasure set apart from the other nations of the world. Second, the Covenant was based on YHVH’s grace. He had made a promise to Abraham and, in saving the people from Egyptian slavery, he demonstrated his faithfulness to his promise and his love for Israel. Israel in turn, was to show its gratitude for salvation by keeping the Law. In no way did keeping the Law earn them salvation. The Law was given to a redeemed people. Finally, there were promises and threats built into the Covenant {Leviticus 26}. When the nation keeps the Law, YHVH promises they will enjoy good harvests, victory over their enemies, and YHVH walking among them as he did in Eden. But if they reject YHVH’s Laws, terrible calamities will befall them: drought, famine, defeat, and even expulsion from the land YHVH had promised to give them. These Covenant curses form the background to the prophets’ warnings in later times.

CONTENT

KINDS OF SACRIFICES {1–7}

These chapters explain how the different kinds of sacrifices were to be offered. Most of these sacrifices also formed part of the regular worship in the tabernacle and later in the temple. But these chapters are concerned with personal offerings made when someone had sinned or made a vow or recovered from an illness. They explain what the offerer must do and what the priest must do, which parts of the animal must be burned, which parts may be eaten by the priest, and what is to be done with the blood of the animal. First, the offerer brought the animal into the outer court of the tabernacle. In the presence of the priest, he put his hand on the head of the animal and explained why he was bringing the sacrifice. Then the worshiper killed the animal and chopped it up. The priest then took over. He caught the blood as it ran out of the dying animal and splashed it over the altar, and burned at least some of the animal on the great altar in the court of the tabernacle. These acts were performed with all the animal sacrifices. The special feature of the burnt offering {Leviticus 1} was that the whole animal, which had to be unblemished, was burned on the altar. All that the priest received was the skin. This was the most common sacrifice and was offered on many different occasions. In giving the whole animal to YHVH in the sacrifice, the worshiper dedicated himself or herself totally to YHVH’s service. “Lay your hand on its head so Adonai will accept it as your substitute, thus making atonement for you” {1:4}. Chapter 2 deals with the grain offering that always accompanied the burnt offering, but which could also be offered alone. Only part of this offering was burned; the rest was given to the priests to eat. The sacrifices formed an important part of their income. The peace {fellowship} offering’s special feature was that it was the only sacrifice where the offerer was allowed to eat part of the meat {Leviticus 3}. Since in the earliest period Israelites were not permitted to kill animals except for sacrifice {chapter 17}, every meal that included meat had to be preceded by a peace offering. Leviticus 7:11-18 mentions three occasions that might prompt a peace-offering “thanksgiving”: when someone had something to praise YHVH for or some sin to acknowledge; a vow promising a sacrifice if YHVH would help one out of a difficulty; and a voluntary offering, made just because the person felt like it. Despite its name, the sin offering {Leviticus 4} was not the only offering dealing with sin. The other sacrifices also made the forgiveness of sin possible. The special significance of this sacrifice is emphasized by its unusual ritual. Instead of the blood being splashed over the altar, as in the other sacrifices, it was carefully smeared over the horns {corners} of the large altar in the courtyard {4:30} or over the small altar inside the holy place {verse 18}; once a year the blood was sprinkled over the Ark in the Holy of Holies {16:14}. Sin makes these different parts of the tabernacle unclean, unfit for the presence of YHVH. And if YHVH is not present in the tabernacle, worship has no point. The blood acts as a spiritual disinfectant, making the tabernacle clean and holy again. The sin offering was required whenever a person inadvertently broke one of the Commandments or had suffered from a discharge or skin disease that made him or her unclean for a week or more {chapters 12, 15}. The guilt offering {5:14–6:7} was for more serious offenses, such as stealing holy property or deliberately using YHVH’s name in a false oath. Such an offense was seen as robbing YHVH. Therefore, a ram had to be offered as a sort of repayment. Whereas the poor person could offer just a bird for the other sacrifices, a ram was always required for a guilt offering. Chapters 6:8–7:38 contain various other regulations about sacrifice, mainly specifying how much of each sacrifice the priests may eat and how much must be burned. One important rule for those who weren’t priests was that they were not to eat any fat or blood or eat sacrificial meat when they were unclean. If they did, they could be cut off from Israel {7:21-27}.