Arikah Map

Leviticus

Hebrew Bible or
Old Testament
for details see Biblical canon
Jewish, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox
Roman Catholic and Orthodox include but Jews and Protestants exclude:
Orthodox (Synod of Jerusalem) include:
Russian and Ethiopian Orthodox includes:
Ethiopian Orthodox Bible includes:
Syriac Peshitta Bible includes:

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Torah | Nevi'im | Ketuvim
Books of the Torah
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy

Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). Christians refer to the Hebrew Bible as the Old Testament. The English name is derived from the Latin Liber Leviticus which is from the Greek (το) Λευιτικόν (i.e., βιβλίον). In Jewish writings it is customary to cite the book by its first word, Vayikra ויקרא, "and He called". (Vayikra is also the name of the first weekly Torah reading or parshah in the book.) The main points of the book are concerned with legal rules, and priestly ritual. Despite the English title of the work, it is important to note that the book makes a very strong distinction between the priesthood, who are identified as being descended from Aaron, and mere Levites.


Contents

Summary

The book is generally considered to consist of two large sections, both of which contain several mitzvot, and thus the work constitutes a major source of Jewish law.

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:

The Bible contained insights regarding burying human waste and handling the dead. Many of which like quarantine and sanitation, had not been practised or understood until the late 1800s and were not recognized until 1865 by Joseph Lister. See also Ignaz Semmelweis.

The second part, Leviticus 17-26, is known as the Holiness Code, and places particular, and noticeable, emphasis on holiness, and the holy. It is notably more of a miscellany of laws. Within this section are:

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.

Religious interpretation

Jewish views

Orthodox Jews believe that this entire book is the word of God, dictated by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. 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 is thus 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).

Christian views

After the Christian era began, parts of Leviticus began to be interpreted, by Christians, as prophecy of the coming of their messiah, Jesus. To many Christian readers, Leviticus is not literally about law or regulations for worship, but instead a prophecy prefiguring Jesus, regarding in particular, his crucifixion as a sin offering. This interpretation is scripturally referred to within the Epistle to the Hebrews, and Leviticus is said to contain in its law a gospel of the grace of God. Most Christians believe that no-one before the time of Jesus was able to fully understand this.

Academic context

Many scholars of biblical criticism support the documentary hypothesis. In this, almost the entirety of Leviticus is identified as being from a single earlier document, the priestly source. While this source is said to originate amongst the Aaronid priesthood, Leviticus is nevertheless said to consist of several layers of accretion from earlier collections of laws. The base of this accretion is identified, in the hypothesis, as the Holiness Code, regarded as an early independent document, having a faint relationship with the Covenant Code presented earlier in the bible.

The priestly source is envisioned as a later, rival, version of the stories contained within JE, and 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. On top of this, over time, different writers, of varying levels of narrative competence, ranging from repetitive tedium to case law, inserted laws, some from earlier independent collections. These additional laws, in critical scholarship, are those which subsequently formed the Priestly Code, and thus the other portion of Leviticus.

See also

Online translations of Leviticus:

Related article:

Free Online Bibliography on Leviticus:

Categories


Old Testament books | Tabernacle and Jerusalem Temples | Torah | Year of work unknown

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