Difference between revisions of "Leviticus"

Revision as of 20:17, March 18, 2007

Leviticus is the third book of the Old Testament. The book is chiastically structured. The writings of the book were delivered by God the space of a month, that month being the first of the second year after the Hebrew exodus from Egypt.^{[Citation Needed]} Most of Leviticus is filled with laws and codes, but these codes are not literal--they represent the foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus Christ and most specifically the crucifixion. It serves as a gospel of the grace of God and the holiness of God's people.^{[Citation Needed]}

Here is a summary of Leviticus. There are two main sections in Leviticus:

Summary of Leviticus 1-16

Is the priestly code and many of its rules and regulations. Among these regulations:

Offerings: Leviticus 1-7

• Burnt Offerings (Leviticus 1)
• Offerings of meat (Leviticus 2)
• Peace Offerings (Leviticus 3)
• Offerings for sin (Leviticus 4)
• Offerings for trespass (Leviticus 5)
• Instructions for Priests regarding offerings (Leviticus 6-7)

Sacrificial Stories 8-10

• Aaron and his sons are made into priests (Leviticus 8)
• Aaron's sons "offered strange fire before the Lord" and are burnt to death for their sins by God directly. (Leviticus 9-10)

More Laws 11-16

• Which animals and clean and which are uncleanly. (Leviticus 11)
• How to purify a woman rendered unclean from child birth. (Leviticus 12)
• Laws of Leprosy and lepers as well as laws of mildew. (Leviticus 13-14)
• Laws regarding on the rendering clean of issues of bodily fluids from men and women and how to become clean. (Leviticus 15)
• On atonement and the description of the scapegoat. (Leviticus 16)

Holiness Code: Leviticus 17-26

This is a very clear and concise expression of laws and holiness. It is not thought that Leviticus 27 is part of this concision of laws.

• Prohibition on the consumption of blood and of anything that has died naturally, also subjects idolatry and proper sacrifice of animals (Leviticus 17)
• Prohibition of incest, and of relations with the wife of a neighbor. (Leviticus 18)
• Prohibition of looking upon a woman while she is menstruating. (Leviticus 18)
• Prohibition of sacrifice of humans (Leviticus 18)
• Prohibition of Homosexuality and Beastiality (Leviticus 18)
• Many laws and admonitions: Keep the Sabbath, help the poor, do not steal or lie or cheat, be kind to the blind and dumb, don't be a gossip, love thy neighbor, don't let cows interbreed, don't used mixed seeds, do not wear two types of fabric at once, relations with slave women, do not eat fruit from trees for four years, no magic, no astrology, guidelines for haircuts and shaving, no tattoos, respect elders, treat strangers kindly, be fair. (All Leviticus 19)
• Punishments: All who sacrifice their children will be put to death, all who do not respect their parents will be put to death, both of those who adulterer shall be put to death, those who have relations with their fathers wife or son's wife shall be put to death, those who engage in sodomy shall be put to death, those who engage in relations with their mother in law will incur burning death upon man, wife and mother, those who engage in beastiality will be put to death along with the animal, do not look at naked or have relations with your sister, uncle's wife or brother's wife, witches and wizards should be stoned. (Leviticus 20)
• Priestly codes: Priests must marry virgins, cannot shave their heads, daughters will be burnt alive if they are "whores," no lame or dwarven or blemished or handicapped priests. (Leviticus 21)
• Holy food: No unclean man shall eat of the holy food, nor shall strangers, slaves or servants unless the priest owns them. If the Priest's daughter marries a stranger she shall not eat the holy food. Your sacrifices to the Lord may not be deformed. (Leviticus 22)
• Keep the Sabbath, make festivals and make offerings to God. Save some of your harvest for the poor. God will destroy you if you violate the Sabbath. (Leviticus 23)
• Alter of incense (Leviticus 24)
• A blasphemer is put to death. All blasphemers shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24)
• Murderers shall be put to death. Those who kill beasts shall have their own beasts killed. "Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again." (Leviticus 24)
• Laws regarding the Sabbath and the Jubilee year, and laws regarding slavery. (Leviticus 25)
• Those who follow God's commandments shall be rewarded. They shall be prosperous and blessed with good weather and respected by God. Those who dispute God's commandments will be punished. Their crops will fail and be eaten by enemies, they will be killed by enemies, their children will be eaten by wild animals, there will be pestilence, then they will eat their own children. (Leviticus 26)

• Also there is Leviticus 27. It concerns the commutation vows and sets the price for each human being. It is not a part of the Holiness code, though.

Significant Passages