Leviticus

Overview

Leviticus is the third book of the Torah and its centre. It continues straight on from Exodus: the tabernacle has just been raised at Mount Sinai and the glory of the LORD has filled it, so that even Moses cannot enter. The book opens with God calling to Moses "out of the tent of meeting" and is spoken entirely at Sinai, within about a month. Its name comes from the Levites, the priestly tribe, and in Hebrew it is called Vayikra, "And he called".

There is almost no storyline. Leviticus is a book of law and ritual: how sinful people can draw near to a holy God, and how a whole nation can live as his holy people. Tradition attributes it to Moses; many scholars associate it with priestly writers and see the "Holiness Code" (chapters 17–26) as a distinct collection. Its central call is repeated throughout: "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy."

The book falls into roughly five parts: the sacrifices (1–7); the ordination of the priests and the death of Nadab and Abihu (8–10); laws of clean and unclean (11–15); the Day of Atonement (16); and the Holiness Code with its feasts, Sabbath years, Jubilee, blessings and warnings (17–26), followed by an appendix on vows and tithes (27).

Part 1 — The Offerings (chapters 1–7)

The burnt offering (1). A worshipper brings a bull, sheep, goat, or (if poor) a dove or pigeon, always without blemish. He lays his hand on its head, it is slaughtered, its blood is splashed on the altar, and the whole animal is burned as "a pleasing aroma to the LORD". It makes atonement and expresses complete devotion.

The grain offering (2). Fine flour with oil and frankincense, raw or baked, is offered, with a handful burned as a "memorial portion" and the rest given to the priests. It must be seasoned with salt, "the salt of the covenant", and contain no yeast or honey.

The peace offering (3). Also called the fellowship offering, its fat is burned for God and the meat shared as a meal by the worshipper and the priests. It celebrates thanksgiving, a vow kept, or a freewill gift.

The sin offering (4–5). For unintentional sins, by the high priest, the whole community, a leader or an ordinary person, a sacrifice is made whose blood is applied to the horns of the altar or sprinkled before the veil. It purifies the sanctuary from the defilement of sin. Concessions are made for the poor, down to a little flour.

The guilt offering (5–6). For wrongs against holy things or against a neighbour (theft, fraud, false oaths), the offender must restore what was taken plus a fifth and bring a ram. Chapters 6–7 then give instructions to the priests for handling each offering, including the fire on the altar that "must never go out".

Part 2 — The Priesthood Begins (chapters 8–10)

Ordination (8). Before the whole assembly Moses washes Aaron and his sons, dresses Aaron in the tunic, robe, ephod, breastpiece with Urim and Thummim, and turban with its golden plate, and anoints him and the tabernacle with oil. The blood of the ordination ram is put on their right earlobes, thumbs and big toes. For seven days they remain at the entrance of the tent.

The first sacrifices (9). On the eighth day Aaron offers for himself and for the people, then lifts his hands and blesses them. The glory of the LORD appears, and fire comes out from before the LORD and consumes the offering. The people shout and fall on their faces.

Nadab and Abihu (10). That same day Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu offer "strange fire" that God had not commanded, and fire from the LORD consumes them. "Among those who are near me I will be shown holy," God says, and Aaron is silent. The priests are told not to drink wine when they serve, and to "distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean", and to teach Israel these laws.

Part 3 — Clean and Unclean (chapters 11–15)

Food laws (11). Land animals that both chew the cud and have split hooves are clean; others, such as the camel and the pig, are not. Fish must have fins and scales. Many birds of prey and most insects are forbidden, though locusts and grasshoppers are allowed. The reason given is holiness: "Be holy, for I am holy."

Childbirth (12). After giving birth a mother is unclean for a set period, then brings a burnt offering and a sin offering, a pigeon or dove if she cannot afford a lamb.

Skin diseases and mould (13–14). The priest examines swellings, rashes and sores and pronounces people clean or unclean; those with serious skin disease must live outside the camp, with torn clothes, calling "Unclean, unclean!" Mould in clothing and houses is also inspected. When a person is healed, the priest goes outside the camp, kills one bird and releases a second, dipped in its blood, over the open field, followed by washing, shaving and offerings.

Bodily discharges (15). Male and female discharges, including menstruation, bring temporary uncleanness, dealt with by washing, waiting and offerings, "so that they do not die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle."

Uncleanness in Leviticus is mostly not sin but a state that cannot mix with God's holy presence; it is regulated and then removed.

Part 4 — The Day of Atonement (chapter 16)

After the death of Aaron's sons, God tells Aaron he may not enter the Most Holy Place whenever he chooses. Once a year, on the tenth day of the seventh month, the high priest puts aside his glorious garments for plain linen. He offers a bull for himself and his household, then enters behind the veil with burning incense so that its cloud covers the mercy seat, and sprinkles the blood on and before it. Two goats are chosen by lot. One is sacrificed as a sin offering for the people, its blood cleansing the sanctuary. Over the other, the scapegoat (for Azazel), Aaron lays both hands and confesses "all the iniquities of the children of Israel"; it is led away into the wilderness, carrying their sins "to a solitary land". The people fast and rest: "On this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you."

Part 5 — The Holiness Code (chapters 17–26)

Blood (17). All sacrifices are to be brought to the tabernacle, not offered to goat-idols in the open field. Blood must not be eaten, "for the life of the flesh is in the blood", and God has given it on the altar to make atonement.

Family and sexual holiness (18, 20). "You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt... nor in the land of Canaan." Incest, adultery, child sacrifice to Molech, bestiality and other practices are forbidden, along with mediums and spiritists. These practices defiled the land, which "vomited out its inhabitants"; Israel will suffer the same if it imitates them.

Holiness in daily life (19). The chapter mixes worship and ethics: honour parents, keep the Sabbath, avoid idols, leave the edges of the field and fallen grapes for the poor and the stranger, do not steal or lie, pay workers the same day, do not curse the deaf or trip the blind, judge fairly, and use honest weights. At its heart: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself", and of the foreigner, "you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."

Priests and offerings (21–22). Priests must keep themselves from defilement and marry carefully; the high priest has stricter rules still. Priests with physical defects may eat the holy food but not serve at the altar, and offerings must be without defect.

The appointed feasts (23). God sets Israel's calendar: the weekly Sabbath; Passover and Unleavened Bread; the waving of the first sheaf; the Feast of Weeks fifty days later; the Feast of Trumpets; the Day of Atonement; and the Feast of Booths, when Israel lives in leafy shelters for seven days to remember the wilderness journey.

Lamp, bread and the blasphemer (24). Pure olive oil keeps the lampstand burning continually, and twelve loaves are set before the LORD each Sabbath. A man of mixed Israelite and Egyptian parentage blasphemes the Name and is stoned outside the camp. The principle "eye for eye" is restated, with one law for native and foreigner alike.

Sabbath year and Jubilee (25). Every seventh year the land rests. After seven Sabbath years, on the Day of Atonement, the ram's horn sounds to begin the fiftieth year, the Jubilee: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land." Land returns to its original families and Israelites in servitude go free. "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." Near relatives may redeem a poor kinsman's land or freedom, and Israelites are to lend to the poor without interest.

Blessings and warnings (26). If Israel obeys, God promises rain, harvests, peace, victory and his presence: "I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people." If they refuse, discipline will grow in stages, disease, drought, defeat, famine, and at last ruined cities and exile among the nations, while the land enjoys its neglected Sabbaths. Yet if they confess, God "will remember my covenant with Jacob... Isaac... and Abraham" and will not destroy them utterly.

Vows and tithes (27). An appendix explains how people, animals, houses and fields dedicated to God may be valued and redeemed, and declares that a tenth of crops and flocks "is holy to the LORD".

Key themes, and the bridge to Numbers

• Holiness. God is holy and calls Israel to be holy in worship, body, family, business and treatment of the poor.
• Atonement. Sacrifice and blood provide a God-given way for sin to be covered and the sanctuary cleansed so God can remain among his people.
• Presence. Every law serves the reality of Exodus 40: God now lives in the middle of the camp.
• Love of neighbour. Holiness is not only ritual; it means justice, generosity and love for neighbour and stranger.
• Rest and release. Sabbath, Sabbath year and Jubilee build rest, freedom and restoration into Israel's time and economy.

Leviticus ends: "These are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai." Israel now has a sanctuary, a priesthood and a holy way of life. Numbers picks up the story a month later, as the tribes are counted, the camp is arranged around the tabernacle, and the people set out from Sinai toward the promised land.