Leviticus
The third book of the Torah, detailing ritual, legal, and moral practices for the Israelites and their priests.
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The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Torah (the Pentateuch) and of the Old Testament, also known as the Third Book of Moses. Many hypotheses presented by scholars as to its origins agree that it developed over a long period of time, reaching its present form during the Persian Period, from 538 to 332 BC, although this is disputed.
- DivineSpeeches
- The LORD speaks to Moses or to Moses and Aaron in multiple passages (Leviticus 1:1, 11:1, 16:1, 22:1).
- OfferingsMentioned
- Burnt, meat, peace, sin, and trespass offerings are detailed (Leviticus 1:13, 2:8, 3:16, 5:12, 6:5).
- PriestlyActions
- Priests wash, burn, sprinkle blood, and wave offerings (Leviticus 1:13, 8:21, 9:9, 9:21).
- UncleannessThemes
- Uncleanness from leprosy, childbirth, discharges, and carcasses is addressed (Leviticus 11:25, 12:2, 13:6, 15:10).
- FeastsListed
- Feasts of the LORD, including the Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles, are prescribed (Leviticus 23:4, 23:28, 23:40).
Lore & Background
The English name Leviticus comes from Latin Leviticus, in turn from Ancient Greek: Λευιτικόν (Leuitikon), which is the name of the book in the Septuagint. It refers to the priestly tribe of the Israelites, the Levites: the book contains the laws and rituals they perform. The Greek expression is in turn a variant of the rabbinic Hebrew torat kohanim, 'law of priests', as many of its laws relate to priests. Consistent with the naming convention for the Pentateuch, in Hebrew the book is called Wayikra (Hebrew: וַיִּקְרָא), from the opening of the book, wa-yikra 'And He [God] called.'
Reader's Guide
Most of its chapters (1–7, 11–27) consist of God's speeches to Moses, which he tells Moses to repeat to the Israelites. This takes place within the story of the Israelites' Exodus after they escaped Egypt and reached Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1). Leviticus takes place during the month or month-and-a-half between the completion of the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:17) and the Israelites' departure from Sinai (Numbers 1:1, 10:11). The instructions of Leviticus emphasize ritual, legal, and moral practices rather than beliefs. The book teaches that faithful performance of the sanctuary rituals can make it possible for God to live with humans, so long as the people avoid sin and impurity whenever possible. The rituals, especially the sin and guilt offerings, provide the means to gain forgiveness for sins (Leviticus 4–5) and purification from impurities (Leviticus 11–16) so that God can continue to live in the Tabernacle in the midst of the people.
Did You Know?
- The book's structure includes laws on sacrifice (chapters 1:1–7:38), institution of the priesthood (8:1–10:20), uncleanliness and its treatment (11:1–15:33), Day of Atonement (chapter 16), and prescriptions for practical
- The reasoning behind the food rules (unclean animals, chapter 11) is obscure; for the rest, the guiding principle seems to be that all conditions of uncleanliness involve a loss of 'life force', usually but not always bl
- Chapter 16 concerns the Day of Atonement, the only day on which the High Priest is to enter the Holy of Holies. He sacrifices a bull for the sins of the priests and a goat for the sins of the laypeople, and sends a secon
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