We can distinguish several law codes embedded in the books of the Pentateuch and in this chapter we see all the main biblical law codes in the Pentateuch as a prelude to a detailed study of the biblical books later. The law codes in the Bible have been influenced by the non-biblical law codes of the Ancient Near East[1] to varying degrees. Some of the biblical law codes are composed and presented on the model of the Hittite[2] Assyrian vassal treaties. Hence we shall try to get some idea about them in this chapter.

- Covenant Code                                  - The Sumerian Code of Ur

(Ex 20, 22 – 23, 19)                                         Nammu (2112-2095 BC)[3]

 

- Holiness Code (Lev 17 – 26)                - Bilalama (Eshnunna) Code (1930 BC)[4]

 

- Deuteronomic Law Code                    - Lipit-Ishtar Code (1864­-1854 BC)[5]

 

- Priestly Code[6]                                    - The Code of Hammurabi

 

- Ethical Decalogue                              - Hittite Laws (1400-1200 BC)[8]

 (Ex 20 & Deut 5)                                        

 

- Ritual Decalogue (Ex 34)                    - Middle Assyrian Laws (1114-1076 BC)[9]

 

- Levitical Decalogue (Lev 19)                - Neo-Babylonian Laws (626-­539 BC)[10]

 

Here we look at the various non-biblical law codes of the Ancient Near East. A comparative study will bring to light many biblical laws that are similar to the laws in these non-Israelite law codes. These have influenced the biblical law codes.

 

 

 

It is known in both names and the laws are now available to us in the ANET pp. 161-163. Among the 59 laws in this code that are legible, some of them are noteworthy and interesting. A few examples:

 

Law 11: “The wages of a hired man are 1 shekel of silver; his provender (food) is 1 pan of barley. He shall work for one month.”

 

Law 59: “If a man divorces his wife after having made her bear children and takes another wife, he shall be driven from his house and from whatever he owns and he may go after him who will accept him.”

This last law seems a strict one discouraging divorces. As a whole this law code contains rules and regulations regard­ing wages, slaves, loans, marriage and other sex relations, causing damages, etc. Some of the laws in it seem to have had influ­ence on the laws that existed among the Israelites.

 

 

 

 

 

The Decalogue and the precepts of the Code of the Cov­enant are not something original to be found only in the Bible. There were other forms of law codes in the Ancient Near East. The most famous of them all is the Code of Hammurabi. Paral­lels to the Code of Hammurabi in the Bible are

-         the Covenant Code (Ex 20 – 23),

-         the Holiness Code (Lev 17 – 26)

-         and the Deuteronomic Code (Deut 12 – 26).

 

 

 

 

Art. 1: If one citizen charges another with murder, but has no evidence, then the sentence is death.

 

Art 3: If a citizen commits perjury before the city assembly in a case involving the death penalty, then the sentence is death.

Deut 9, 18b-19

 

 

Art 21: If one citizen tunnels through the wall of another’s house and robs it, then the citizen is sentenced to death. The execu­tion shall take place outside the tunnel, and the body used to fill in the tunnel.

Ex 22, 2a

 

Art 24: If a murderer is not caught, then a fine of 18 ounces of silver is paid to the household of the victim.

Deut 21, 1-9

 

Art 195: If a citizen strikes his father, then his hand is to be cut off.

Ex 21, 15

 

Art 196: If a citizen blinds an eye of an official, then his eye is to be blinded.

Ex 21, 23-25

 

Art 197: If a citizen breaks a bone of another, then his own bone is to be broken.

Ex 21, 23-25

 

Art 198: If a citizen blinds the eye or breaks the bone of some­one who is not a citizen, the fine is 18 ounces of silver.

Ex 21, 26-27

 

Art 199: If one citizen blinds the eye or breaks the bone of another citizen's slave, the fine is one-half the price of the slave.

Ex 21, 26; Lev 24, 19-20; Deut 19, 21

 

Art 266: If an act of God occurs in a sheepfold or a lion makes a kill, then the shepherd must take an oath of innocence before his divine patron, and turn the remains of the animal over to its owner.

Gen 31, 39; Ex 22, 10-13

 

 

 

As Christians took the Decalogue as the basis for their moral instruction, the Jews slowly reduced giving prominence to it. When they gave shape to their vast legal system in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, only minimal importance was given to the Decalogue. It is clear from the fact that Mishnah[11] refers to it only twice. They gave importance to the 613 Jewish Commandments (cf. below).

 

Two tablets of the ancient Hittite laws have come down to us and it is believed that there was possibly a third one exist­ing. The 2 tablets contain 100 laws each and no prologue or epilogue is added to them. Some examples of Hittite laws:

 

Law 1: “If anyone kills a man or woman in a quarrel, he shall be declared liable for him/her. He shall give four persons, man or woman, and pledge his estate as security.”

 

Law 188: “If a man does evil with a sheep, it is a capital crime...”

We have similar laws in Lev 18, 23 and 20, 15-16.

 

Law 189: “If a man violates his mother, it is capital crime. If a man violates his daughter, it is a capital crime...”

There are very similar laws in the Bible (cf. Lev 18, 6-20; 20, 10-21).

 

Law 193: “If a man has a wife and then the man dies, his brother shall take his wife, then his father shall take her. If in turn also his father dies, one of his brother’s sons shall take the wife whom he had. There shall be no punishment.”

We have almost the same law in Deut 25, 5-l0 and it is known as the Levirate law.

 

Many of the laws are about harm inflicted on others and the compensation or punishment for the same. There are also several laws regarding slaves, their possession, escape and return, marriage, etc. A number of laws are about stealing and punishment for the same.

 

 

 

Ancient Babylonian laws from the Neo-Babylonian pe­riod have come down to us on a tablet and now it is preserved in the British Museum. This tablet originally had contained 19 laws, but only nine of them have been preserved. Many of the laws that are preserved are regulations regarding marriage customs (ANET pp. 197-198).

 

Before we discuss God’s covenant with Israel at Sinai let us have a look into the other forms of ancient treaties. Mainly there were two types of covenants: parity and vassal treaty. We see these forms of covenants among Hittites and Assyrians.

 

 

Mainly there were 2 covenant forms among the peoples of the Ancient Near East. They entered into two kinds of treaties in general: parity treaties and vassal treaties. Parity treaties were between equals while vassal treaties were between vas­sals and overlords.

 

2.1 Parity and Vassal (= dependent landholder in feudal society) Treaties

 

-mutual obligations

-equal status

-neither can enforce the other to carry out obligations

 

-overlord will protect his vassal

-a series of demands that the the vassal had to fulfil

 

 

 

Among the ancient vassal treaties of the Ancient Near East we find two prominent ones: the Hittite (ANET pp. 531-541) and the Assyrian trea­ties. We shall see now the main features of the Hittite and Assyrian vassal treaty forms.

 

i. Preamble (name and title of the overlord)

ii. Historical Prologue (reasons why the vassal should obey his overlord: past good acts of the overlord towards the vassal)

iii. Stipulations and demands (which were binding on the vassal)

iv. Public reading of the treaty at a set time and depositing it in a temple

v. List of witnesses (usually gods)

vi. Curses and blessings: blessings were promised if the the vassal fulfilled his obligations and curses if he failed.

 

i. It is similar in many ways to the Hittite treaties.

ii. It lacks elaborate preamble and prologue.

iii. It has longer lists of curses and exotic punishments.

 

 

 

 

This law code is also known as the Book of the Covenant. It is a collection of biblical laws found in chs 20 - 23 of the book of Exodus. There is some difference of opinion among scholars regarding the extent of this code. Some fix it as Ex 20, 22 - 23, 19 whereas others take it to be Ex 20, 22 - 23, 33. According to the former, the covenant code ends with the instruction in 23, 19 which says, “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.” The next verse (v. 22) is about God sending an angel to them in order to guard them on the way and hence it is not part of the covenant code. The ritual Decalogue in Ex 34 also ends with the same instruction (cf. 34, 26b).

 

It is accepted among scholars today that the Covenant Code was not part of the Sinai tradition. Scholars divide the Covenant Code into four parts:

Prologue (Ex 20, 22-26);

Part I (Ex 21, 1 - 22, 17);

Part II (Ex 22, 18 - 23, 9);

Epilogue (Ex 23, 10-­19).

 

It contains 54 laws according to the rabbinic tradition.

 

1) Do not make idols of silver and gold (Ex 20, 23).

2) Make an altar of earth and offer sacrifices on it (20, 24).

3) An altar of stone is permitted if it is not made of hewn stone (20, 25).

4) Do not go up to the altar by steps (20, 26).

 

Part I (Ex 21, 1 - 22, 17) has 22 laws in it which are mostly casuistic, i.e. case laws or conditional laws. Casuistic laws are those that use the words “when” and “if”. These laws are not regarding cultic matters but are civil and secular in content. In these laws there is no voice of Yahweh. It is most probable that these laws were not formulated by cultic priests but rather by civic leaders and lawyers. We may mention below the 22 laws in this section:

1) Buying a Hebrew slave and his/her freedom in the 7th year (Ex 21, 2-6).

2) Selling a daughter as slave (21, 7-11).

3) Capital punishment for pre-meditated murder (21, 12-14).

4) Capital punishment to those who strike their parents (21, 15). Not casuistic but apodictic (cf. below).

5) Capital punishment for kidnapper (21, 16). Apodictic.

6) Capital punishment for those who curse their parents (21, 17).

7) Paying remuneration to the one on whom some injury is inflicted (21, 18-19).

8) Punishment for the immediate murder of a slave (21, 20-­21).

9) Fine for causing miscarriage (21, 22). “Lex talionis” or the law of retaliation (21, 23-24). Also Lev 24, 20; Deut 19, 21.

10) The slaves cannot make use of the law of retaliation; instead they will be given freedom as a result of losing an eye or a tooth (21, 26-27).

11) An ox killing a free person will be stoned to death. The owner of the ox would be guilty and put to death only if he was already warned about his dangerous ox (21, 28-32). But if an ox kills a slave, then the punishment to its owner is only a fine of 30 shekels to the master of the slave.

12) Remuneration for an animal killed falling into a pit kept open (21, 33-34).

13) Remuneration for an ox killing another (21, 35-36).

14) Punishment for stealing an ox or a sheep (22, 1-2).

15) No bloodguilt for killing a thief at night (22, 2b).

16) Restitution for one’s animals eating up another's crops (22, 5).

17) Restitution for causing damage or loss by fire (22, 6).

18) Action to be taken when a thing given for safe keeping is stolen or has disappeared (22, 7-8).

19) Deciding the disputed ownership (22, 9).

20) Restitution for the loss of animals given for safe keeping (22, 10-13).

21) Restitution for the loss of a borrowed animal (22, 14).

22) Dealing with the cases of seducing virgins (22, 16-17).

Part II (Ex 22, 18 - 23, 9) contains 20 laws in it. They are apodictic or unconditional laws and there is no use of “when” or “if” in these laws. Several of them are presented as words of God. There are also words of moral encouragement added to the apodictic laws. The twenty apodictic laws in this section are:

1) Punishment of death to sorceresses (Ex 22, 18).

2) Capital punishment to those who have sexual relationship with beasts (22, 19).

3) Punishment of destruction to Israelites who offer sacrifices to other gods (22, 20).

4) Do not oppress a stranger (22, 21).

5) Do no afflict a widow or an orphan (22, 22-24).

6) Do not take interest on money lent to the poor (22, 25).

7) Restore a garment taken in pledge (22, 26-27).

8) Do not revile God or a ruler (22, 28).

9) Do not delay the offerings from your harvest to the Lord (22, 29a).

10) The first-born of their sons, oxen and sheep are offered to the Lord (22, 29b-30).

11) Do not eat any flesh torn by beasts (22, 31).

12) Do not give false report or malicious witness (23, 1).

13) Do not pervert justice siding with a multitude and do not be partial in a lawsuit (23, 2-3).

14) Bring to your enemy his ox or donkey that you find as gone astray (23, 4).

15) Help the one who hates you to lift up his ass lying under its burden (23, 5).

16) Do not pervert justice to the poor in their lawsuit (23, 6).

17) Keep away from false charges (23, 7a).

18) Do not slay the innocent and righteous (23, 7b).

19) Do not take any bribe (23, .

20) Do not oppress a stranger (23, 9).

 

 

 

The Epilogue (Ex 23, l0-19) has 8 laws:

1) Do not cultivate the land every 7^th year leaving it free for the poor and the beasts (Ex 23, 10-11).

2) Observe the Sabbath Day (23, 12).

3) Do not invoke the names of other gods (23, 13).

4) Observe the three pilgrimage feasts: the feast of unleav­ened bread; the feast of harvest; and the feast of ingathering (23, 14-16).

5) All males should appear before the Lord 3 times a year, i.e. during the pilgrimage feasts (23, 17).

6) Do not offer blood with leavened bread (23, 18).

7) Bring the first fruits into the house of the Lord (23, 19a).

8) Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk (23, 19b).

 

 

 

According to many scholars, probably this section once existed independently as a law code. There is no agreement among scholars regarding the origin of this code. Some scholars argue for its exilic origin while others argue for a pre­exilic origin, probably during Josiah’s time. The name ‘Ho­liness Code’ was given to chs 17 - 26 of Leviticus by August Klosterman in 1877 and Julius Wellhausen supported it main­taining that Lev 17 - 26 occupied a unique position in the whole P document.

The name ‘Holiness Code’ was given to this sec­tion because of its invitation to imitate the holiness of God: “You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev 19, 2; 20, 26). This invitation to imitate the holiness of Yahweh is not unique to chs 17-26. It is already found in Lev 11, 44-45. Hence the argument based on Lev 19, 2; 20, 26 may not be fully convincing. There is a list of 161 individual laws in the Ho­liness Code.

 

 

 

It is believed that this code or its earlier form before its enlargement was the scroll that was found in the treasury of the temple in 622 BC during the reign of King Josiah (2 Kings 22, 8-l0). It was read before the king and hearing its words he rent his clothes. It produced a profound change in the king and it gave rise to the Deuteronomistic reform movement (2 Kings 23). The Deuteronomic Law Code was probably the product of the Deuteronomic circle and that which we have today is the enlarged and edited version of an originally smaller code. In the Deuteronomic Code Moses is often the speaker and God is quoted a few times. This code insists on the centralisation of the worship of Yahweh in one place (Deut 12, 5-7.11-14.18.26). It is against the regulation in the Covenant Code which allowed multiple altars and worshipping places (Ex 20, 24). Similarly the Deuteronomic Code permits secular slaughter anywhere in Israel (Deut 12, 15. 20-22) while the Holiness Code bans all secu­lar slaughters (Lev 17).

 

There is difference of opinion with regard to the laws in this code. According to the Jewish tradition, there are 174 laws in this code while according to Christian commentators there are 78 or 127. Although the name ‘Deuteronomy’ means ‘second law’, this code repeats only 19 laws from the Covenant Code.

 

Scholars highlight some special features of the Deuteronomic Code. They are: emphasis on the centralisation of the worship of Yahweh in one place (Deut 12, 5-7; 16, 2.11.15); hortatory (= strongly advising a course of action to somebody) additions explaining the reason for the law and encouraging its observance – for example, to encourage the release of the slaves in the sabbatical year the Deuteronomic Code gives a horatatory addition in 15, 18; rules of holy war (Deut 20, 1-20; 23, 9-14), etc.

 

 

 

Besides the Covenant Code, the Holiness Code and the Deuteronomic Code which form the various law codes of the Pentateuch, the Priestly Code is different from all the other codes precisely because the laws of this code are not found together in one place but are scattered through­out the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers:

- 21 laws of the Priestly Code are found in Ex 12 -16 concerning the celebration of the feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread.

- 19 laws are in chs 23 - 35 of Exodus deal with the construction of the tabernacle

- 71 laws are given in Lev 1 – 16 deal with sacrifices, ordination of priests, purity and dietary laws and observance of Yom Kippur[13]

- 12 laws are found in ch. 27 (Lev) which deal with laws on vows, offerings and tithes

- 52 laws of the Priestly Code in the book of Numbers deal with Nazirites, Passover, Aaronide priesthood, inheritance, annual festivals, etc.

 

 

 

Scholars have tried to reconstruct the original form of the Ethical Decalogue. One of the suggestions of the original form is as follows:

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image.

3. You shall not utter Yahweh’s name for wrong purposes.

4. Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

5. Honour your father and your mother.

6. Do not commit murder.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Do not steal.

9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbour.

10. Do not covet your neighbour’s house.

 

 

 

1. You shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God (Ex 34, 14).

2. You shall make for yourself no molten gods (Ex 34, 17).

3. The feast of unleavened bread you shall keep (Ex 34, 18).

4. All that opens the womb is mine, all your male cattle, the firstlings of cow and sheep (Ex 34, 19).

5. Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in ploughing time and in harvest you shall rest (Ex 34, 21).

6. You shall observe the feast of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end (Ex 34, 22)­

7. Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel (Ex 34, 23).

8. You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left until the morning (Ex 34, 25).

9. The first of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God (Ex 34, 26a).

10. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk (Ex 34, 26b).

 

 

Leviticus 19 has a still different version of Decalogue: It may be summarised as follows:

 

1. You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy (Lev 19, 2)

2. You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another (Lev 19, 11).

3. You shall not swear by my name falsely (Lev 19, 12).

4. You shall not oppress your neighbour or rob him (Lev 19, 13).

5. You shall do no injustice in judgement (Lev 19, 15).

6. You shall not hate your brother in your heart ...You shall not take vengeance ... but you shall love your neighbour as yourself (Lev 19, 17-18).

7. You shall keep my statutes: You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind (Lev 19, 19). You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it (Lev 19, 26).

8. You shall not practise augury or witchcraft (Lev 19, 26b).

9. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary ­(Lev 19, 30).

10. You shall rise up before the hoary (grey, old) head, and honour the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God (Lev 19, 32).

 

 

 

 

Although the Bible says that only 10 Commandments were given to Moses by God, the Jews have developed 613 commandments which are known by the Hebrew mnemonic (memorv help) – מצוות תריג - taryag mitzvot. The word – taryag makes 613 if the numerical value of its Hebrew letters are added (ת = 400; ר = 200; י = 10; ג = 3). Thus there are 613 precepts and prohibitions in the rabbinic tradition. According to the rabbis, the “613 commandments were revealed to Moses at Sinai, 365 being prohibitions equal in number to the solar days, and 248 being mandates corresponding in number to the limbs of the human body.”

 

The lists consist of positive and prohibitive precepts. The 613 Commandments can be arranged thematically: there are 248 Mandatory Commandments and 365 Prohibitions.

Precepts     Theme                  Examples of Precepts

 

1-9                  God          The Jew is required to believe (1) that God exists and to         acknowledge (2) Him: to love (3), fear (4) and serve (5) Him. He is also commanded to cleave (6) to Him. One must imitate (8) God and sanctify (9) His name.

 

10-19              Torah        The Jew must recite (10) the Shema each morning and evening and study (11) the Torah and teach it to others. (Precepts 10-11).

 

20-38           Temple,        The Jews should build (20) a Temple and respect (21) it.    & the Priests   It must be guarded at all times 

 

39-91             Sacrifices    The high priest must offer a meal-offering twice daily

 

92-95              Vows        A Nazirite must let his hair grow during the period of                             separation (92)

 

96-113           Ritual purity     Anyone who touches a carcass (96) becomes ritually unclean

 

114-133       Donations to

 

134-142          TheSabbatical      In the 7^th year everything that grows is ownerless (134)    and available to all; the fields (135) must lie fallow and you may, not till the ground

­

143-153          Animals for          When you slaughter an animal you must give (143) the Consumption    priest his share as you must also give (144) him the    

 

154-170       Festivals                    You must rest on the Sabbath day and declare it holy

 

171-184       Community         Every male should give half a shekel to the Temple    annually

 

185-189        Idolatry                      Idolatry must be destroyed (185)

 

190-193        War             The regulations for wars other than      those commanded                      in the Torah are to be observed and a priest must be appointed for special duties in times of war (190-191)

 

194-208        Social              Stolen property must be restored to its owner (194)

 

209-223         Family                    Respect the wise; honour and fear your parents (209- 211).

224-231        Judicial        When required by the law you must administer the punishment of flogging and you must exile the un­witting homicide (224-225)

 

232-235         Slaves         Hebrew slaves must be treated according to the special laws for them (232)         

 

236-248         Torts           The applicable law must be adminis­tered in the case of injury caused by a person, an animal or a pit (236-238)

 

 

 

1-45               Idolatry and                  It is forbidden to believe in the

                        practices           (Prohibition 1)

 

 

46-66              Prohibitions                   It is forbidden to return to (46)

 

 

67-88              Temple             Be not lax in guarding the Temple (Prohibition 67)

 

 

89-157             Sacrifices         It is forbidden to offer sacri­fices (89) or slaughter                                          consecrated animals (90) outside the Temple (Prohibitions 89-90)

 

158-171            Priests            A priest may not marry a harlot (158), a woman who has been profaned (159) from the priest­hood or a divorcee (l60) (Prohi­bitions 158-160)

 

172-201       Dietary Laws      A Jew may not eat unclean cattle/fish/fowl (172­-174)

 

202-209           Nazarites              A Nazirite may not drink wine or any beverage made from grapes (Prohibition 202)

 

210-229           Agriculture          It is forbidden to reap the whole of a field without    leaving the cor­ners for the poor (Prohibition 210)

 

230-272       Loan, Business,     It is forbidden to demand repayment of a loan

 

273-329         Justice                    A judge must not perpetrate in­justice, accept bribes   or be partial or afraid (Prohibition 273-276)     

 

330-361       Incest and          It is forbidden to enter into an incestuous

 

 

362-365             Monarchy     You may not elect as king any­body who is not of the seed of Israel. The king must not accumulate an excessive number of horses, wives, or wealth (Prohibitions 362-­365).

 

 

+                                         +

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                            

0.1 The people of Israel became the People of God through the Covenant at Mt.  Sinai. This we have seen in the Book of Exodus. In that election-covenant, Israel was called to a life of holiness. See Ex. 19:5-6. This call to HOLINESS is the theme of the Book of Leviticus.

 

 

-         The Law of Sacrifice (chs 1-7)

-         The Cultic Priesthood (chs 8-10)

-         The Purity Code or Purity according to the Law (Chs 11-15)

-         The Day of Atonement (ch 16)

-         The Holiness Code or the Law of Holiness (chs 17-26)

-         The Redemption of votive offerings (ch 27)

 

To get an overall idea of the contents of the book:

-         Read the opening words in 1:1 and the closing words in 27:34

-         Note the five words that begin most of the chapters: “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying…”

 

-         The book has legal instructions/passages.

 

0.3   The Book contains:

-         laws that are followed by a pious Jew – but most of these laws are outdated for Christians because of the fullness of revelation that Jesus Christ has brought us

-         Yet the Book contains a truth that is still fundamental to our Christian life.

 

We need to distinguish between:

-         The principle : the fundamental call to holiness, which is THE truth of this Book, and

-         The practice: the practical rules and laws by which the members of God’s People are to live in the world.

 

 

This section has two segments:

-         Types of sacrifices (chs.1-5)

-         The priests and sacrifices (chs.6-7)

 

 

 

Notice that the word “sacrifice” does not appear in this segment; instead the word is “offering”. In Hebrew “qurban” = that which one “brings near” to God.

 

 

 

Five types of offerings are mentioned in this segment:

 

 

Burnt                               animals, birds                            Consecration

Cereal                              grain                               Service

Peace                              animals                            Fellowship

Sin                                  animals, birds                            Reconciliation

Guilt                                animals, birds                            Atonement

 

 

1.1. Holocausts (1:1-17)

 

Verses: 1-2; 3-9; 10-13; 14-17

 

(a) Offering = animals and birds without blemish

·        bovine (bulls, cows, calves) : vv. 3-9

·        ovine (sheep, lambs, goats): vv.10-13

·        birds (pigeons):                vv.14-17

(b) six steps of the bloody ritual: presentation, slaughter, aspersion on the altar, skinning and dissection, washing of certain parts, burning of whole victim. Hence “holocaust”.

(c)   Such burnt offering is “a pleasing odour to the Lord”

(vv.9.13.17) = divine acceptance.

(d) Significance: total surrender, commitment, belonging to God.

 

 

1.2. Cereal offerings (2:1-16)

 

Verses: 1-3; 4-13; 14-16.

 

(a) Offering:

·        unleavened, unbaked wheat flour (1-3), unleavened baked bread (4-13)

·        of first-fruits (14-16).

(b) Ritual: unbloody; partly burnt and partly consumed by priests.

(c)   Significance: communion through service.

 

 

 

Verses: 1-5; 6-11; 12-17.

 

 

 

Verses: 1-12 ; 13-21; 22-26; 27-35

 

(a) Offering: animals and birds.

(b) Only in those instances when the failure was inadvertent/unintentional. Could be offered for the high priest (4:1-12), for the entire community (4:13-21), for the prince (4:22-26), for individual persons (4:27-35).

(c)   Significance: expiation/recompnse/compensation for sin; restoration of broken communion with the Lord.

 

1.5.           Guilt offerings (5:1-26) vv. 20-26 are not in RSV Bible cf. NAB

 

Verses: 1-4; 5-6; 7-10; 11-13; 14-19.

 

(a) Offering: animals and birds.

(b) The distinction between sin and guilt offerings is not clear. Whatever may have been the historical distinction between the two, it is obviously lost on the redactors of the Levitical ritual. The terms are even used interchangeably (5:6-7). Attempts to distinguish adequately between the two terms date at least to the time of Flavius Josephus.[14]

(c)   Significance: the dominant note is atonement and restitution, rather than ritual; an oblation to right a wrong or repair an injury.

 

1.6.           The five offerings express a certain relationship to God on the part of the offerer. Of these five offerings:

The first three offerings express that the offerer wishes to live for God and grow in communion with him.

The last two offerings express that the offerer wishes to restore communion with God which has been broken.

 

 

 

1.7 These chapters are a kind of doublet of the previous chapters, for the contents are              more or less the same. In order to note the differences, compare chs 1-5 and chs 6-7:

(a) The laws concerning sacrifices are given to Moses

(1) In 1:1: Meeting tent; and (2) in 7:38: Mt. Sinai.

(b) Moses addressed his words:

(1)  In 1:2; 4:1 to the people; and (2) in 6:8-9; 6:24 to Aaron and his sons.

 

 

1.8 Blood and fat prohibitions are found in 7:2-27.

(a) Blood was regarded as intimately connected with life and all life belonged to God. The law forbidding blood is stated three times elsewhere in Lev. (3:17; 17:10-14; 19:26)

(b) Like blood, under no circumstance were the fatty parts of animals to be eaten. Fat, too, was sacred to the Lord since it was considered to be linked with life.

 

 

 

2.1 In the OT priests were appointed to serve as mediators – to help maintain or restore fellowship and communion between the holy God and the sinful people (cf. 2: 2). It is not surprising, therefore, that 3 chapters of Leviticus are devoted to the consecration of the Levitical priests who were given this awesome responsibility.

 

2.2 This section can be divided into two parts:

(1) Priestly consecration (chs. 8-9), and

(2) Priestly cultic conduct (ch.10).

 

 

3.1 This section treats of the various ways in which a state of uncleanness could arise and the means of regaining the state of purity.

(a) Basically, the distinction between the clean and unclean related to cult, for it was in terms of service to Yahweh, either in active worship or simply in being his covenanted people, that integrity was demanded.

 

3.2. The Purity Code treats four major categories:

(1) Uncleanness from eating unclean animals (ch.11)

(2) Uncleanness from childbirth (ch.12)

(3) Uncleanness from skin diseases and other agents (chs.13-14)

(4) Uncleanness from bodily discharges (ch.15)

 

3.3. Uncleanness from eating unclean animals (ch.11).

 

The basis of the distinction between clean and unclean is not clear. Was it a cultic basis? The animals immediately excluded from the Hebrew diet were those hallowed in pagan worship as playing a role in sacrifice, magic or superstitious practice:

the pig was used in sacrifice to the Babylonian god Tammuz

the snake played a cultic role in pagan fertility rites

 

 

 

3.4. Uncleanness from childbirth (ch.12)

 

The woman’s vitality, linked with her blood, was diminished by childbirth, and by that token she was objectively separated from Yahweh, the source of life, until her former integrity was restored. The first seven days the loss was more pronounced. The birth of the male resulted in “lesser uncleanness” probable because of the greater strength and vitality connected with the male.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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