Leviticus 26:1-13

You shall make for yourselves no idols and erect no carved images or pillars, and you shall not place figured stones in your land, to worship at them; for I am the Lord your God.¹ You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary:² I am the Lord.

If you follow my statutes and keep my commandments and observe them faithfully,³ I will give you your rains in their season,⁴ and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.⁵ Your threshing shall overtake the vintage, and the vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and live securely in your land. And I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid; I will remove dangerous animals from the land,⁶ and no sword shall go through your land. You shall give chase to your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.⁷ Five of you shall give chase to a hundred, and a hundred of you shall give chase to ten thousand; your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.⁸ I will look with favour upon you and make you fruitful and multiply you;⁹ and I will maintain my covenant with you. You shall eat old grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the old to make way for the new.¹⁰ I will place my dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor you.¹¹ And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.¹²

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more; I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.¹³

1 Seems out of place, but just emphasizes the massive importance of not worshiping idols.

2 Adds on the continued emphasis on observing Sabbath and temple worship.

3 The “if” is based on obedience.

4 God's power over nature.

5 The ability to make the land produce well is in God's hands.

6 Power over nature again.

7 Ability to defeat enemies is also in God's hands.

8 Blessings for the Israelites aren't necessarily good for their neighbors.

9 Even their own fertility is in God's hands.

10 Strong production of the land again emphasized.

11 The fact that “I shall not abhor you” is a blessing emphasizes the holiness with which they see God.

12 Another reiteration of the personal address repeated many times in Genesis and Exodus.

13 God ends the descriptions of personal blessings by pointing out what he has already done.

Take-home: God promises that if the people faithfully observe his commandments, great blessings of prosperity will come upon them, taking all major worries away.

Leviticus 25:24-55

Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land.

If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next-of-kin shall come and redeem what the relative has sold.¹ If the person has no one to redeem it, but then prospers and finds sufficient means to do so, the years since its sale shall be computed and the difference shall be refunded to the person to whom it was sold, and the property shall be returned.² But if there are not sufficient means to recover it, what was sold shall remain with the purchaser until the year of jubilee; in the jubilee it shall be released, and the property shall be returned.³

If anyone sells a dwelling-house in a walled city, it may be redeemed until a year has elapsed since its sale; the right of redemption shall be for one year. If it is not redeemed before a full year has elapsed, a house that is in a walled city shall pass in perpetuity to the purchaser, throughout the generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee.⁴ But houses in villages that have no walls around them shall be classed as open country; they may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee.⁵

As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites shall for ever have the right of redemption of the houses in the cities belonging to them. Such property as may be redeemed from the Levites—houses sold in a city belonging to them—shall be released in the jubilee; because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel. But the open land around their cities may not be sold; for that is their possession for all time.⁶

If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens.⁷ Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them,⁸ but fear your God; let them live with you. You shall not lend them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide them food at a profit.⁹ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.¹⁰

If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves. They shall remain with you as hired or bound labourers. They shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then they and their children with them shall be free from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property.¹¹ For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold.¹² You shall not rule over them with harshness, but shall fear your God.¹³

As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may acquire male and female slaves.¹⁴ You may also acquire them from among the aliens residing with you, and from their families that are with you, who have been born in your land;¹⁵ and they may be your property.¹⁶ You may keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property. These you may treat as slaves, but as for your fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the other with harshness.

If resident aliens among you prosper, and if any of your kin fall into difficulty with one of them and sell themselves to an alien, or to a branch of the alien’s family, after they have sold themselves they shall have the right of redemption;¹⁷ one of their brothers may redeem them,or their uncle or their uncle’s son may redeem them, or anyone of their family who is of their own flesh may redeem them; or if they prosper they may redeem themselves. They shall compute with the purchaser the total from the year when they sold themselves to the alien until the jubilee year; the price of the sale shall be applied to the number of years: the time they were with the owner shall be rated as the time of a hired labourer. If many years remain, they shall pay for their redemption in proportion to the purchase price; and if few years remain until the jubilee year, they shall compute thus: according to the years involved they shall make payment for their redemption. As a labourer hired by the year they shall be under the alien’s authority, who shall not, however, rule with harshness over them in your sight.¹⁸ And if they have not been redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children with them shall go free in the jubilee year.¹⁹ For to me the people of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt:²⁰ I am the Lord your God.

1 Family members don't even have to wait until the Jubilee year, but can reclaim land at any time.

2 Even the person who sold the land can reclaim it at any time, if able.

3 No matter what, in the Jubilee year the land returns.

4 A house within a city is not viewed the same as land itself.

5 Everything in the village, however, is owned by God, and thus the original family.

6 Special rules apply to Levites, whose birth gives them advantages, but also restricts them.

7 You WILL support your kin, but it puts them in a degraded state.

8 You are not to profit off of them, especially not in such a bad situation.

9 Emphasizes that you may not profit off of them.

10 Emphasizes that HE is God, that He gave you this land, and thus you must listen to Him.

11 Bound laborers are also freed in the Jubilee year.

12 Israelites are not to be sold as slaves: they belong to God, not to other men.

13 Bound laborers are not to be treated harshly.

14 However, foreigners are not accorded those same rights.

15 Even people fo foreign descent who grew up in the land are second-class citizens in some ways.

16 Foreigners, unlike Israelites, may be a possession.

17 Even Israelites who fall into slavery with foreigners retain the right of redemption, for they still belong to God.

18 Aliens also may not rule over their slaves/laborers with harshness.

19 Even if not redeemed, the Israelite slave goes free with the Jubilee.

20 This is all true because the Israelites are God's, for He brought them out of Egypt.

Take-home: The Jubilee year profoundly alters how homes, land, bound laborers, and slaves are considered, with a more just society envisioned. It is all dependent on the fact that the Israelites belong to God, not to each other. However, foreigners don't receive the same consideration.

Leviticus 25:8-23

You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years. Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the seventh month—on the day of atonement—you shall have the trumpet sounded throughout all your land. And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family.¹ That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines.² For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you:³ you shall eat only what the field itself produces.

In this year of jubilee you shall return, every one of you, to your property. When you make a sale to your neighbour or buy from your neighbour, you shall not cheat one another. When you buy from your neighbour, you shall pay only for the number of years since the jubilee; the seller shall charge you only for the remaining crop-years.⁴ If the years are more, you shall increase the price, and if the years are fewer, you shall diminish the price; for it is a certain number of harvests that are being sold to you. You shall not cheat one another,⁵ but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.

You shall observe my statutes and faithfully keep my ordinances, so that you may live on the land securely.⁶ The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live on it securely.⁷ Should you ask, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?’ I will order my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will yield a crop for three years.⁸ When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating from the old crop; until the ninth year, when its produce comes in, you shall eat the old. The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.⁹

1 An incredible vision of joy in justice: “hallow”, “proclaim liberty”, “it shall be a jubilee”.

2 Part of the jubilee is rest from work.

3 The rest is not just for the people's benefit; it is holy in itself.

4 Land is not a transferable item. It is not to be indefinitely hoarded or accumulated.

5 This ordinance cannot be an excuse to cheat one another.

6 Living on God's land goes hand-in-hand with actually following God.

7 You can do these things out of trust in God.

8 Trust God!

9 The land is God's. It is not for people to claim they own it perpetually.

Take-home: The land is the Lord's, not to be sold in perpetuity or lost for perpetuity. They must trust God's laws and God's providence in the land they are given.

Leviticus 25:1-7

The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them:

'When you enter the land that I am giving you,¹ the land shall observe a sabbath² for the Lord.³ For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land,⁴ a sabbath for the Lord: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. You may eat what the land yields⁵ during its sabbath—you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound labourers who live with you; for your livestock also, and for the wild animals⁶ in your land all its yield shall be for food.'”⁷

1 This verse may be seen to limit the command to Israel, and not make it a general command for all. Then again, what verse is this entire book is not specifically spoken to Israel and Israel alone?

2 This appears to be quite a different use of the word “sabbath” than the weekly one.

3 Even rest for the land is still sabbath “for the Lord”.

4 The purpose of the sabbath appears to be explicitly so the land itself can rest.

5 So at least some work would still be being done, but obviously less than in other years.

6 Even wild animals benefit from the Sabbath rest.

7 Exodus 23:11, which also mentioned the Sabbath year, said that what grew would be for the poor, not this list.

Take-home: The land which God is giving the Israelites should be allowed to rest too. This rest is for the sake of the land, but is also a Sabbath for the Lord.

Leviticus 24:10-24

A man whose mother was an Israelite and whose father was an Egyptian¹ came out among the people of Israel; and the Israelite woman’s son and a certain Israelite began fighting² in the camp. The Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name in a curse.³ And they brought him to Moses—now his mother’s name was Shelomith, daughter of Dibri,⁴ of the tribe of Dan—and they put him in custody, until the decision of the Lord should be made clear to them.⁵

The Lord said to Moses, saying: “Take the blasphemer outside the camp; and let all who were within hearing lay their hands on his head,⁶ and let the whole congregation stone him.⁷ And speak to the people of Israel, saying: Anyone who curses God shall bear the sin. One who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death;⁸ the whole congregation⁹ shall stone the blasphemer. Aliens as well as citizens, when they blaspheme the Name, shall be put to death.”¹⁰

“Anyone who kills a human being shall be put to death.¹¹ Anyone who kills an animal¹² shall make restitution for it, life for life.¹³ Anyone who maims another shall suffer the same injury in return: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth;¹⁴ the injury inflicted is the injury to be suffered.¹⁵ One who kills an animal shall make restitution for it; but one who kills a human being shall be put to death. You shall have one law for the alien and for the citizen: for I am the Lord your God.”

Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel; and they took the blasphemer outside the camp, and stoned him to death.¹⁶ The people of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

1 The fact they are in a mixed marriage is explicitly stated, which may implicitly condemn them.

2 In this situation, fighting is a sin barely worth mentioning.

3 Blasphemy in a curse, even in an unrelated passionate moment, is a great sin.

4 Why these specifics about his mother's name and tribe.

5 The law so far is not enough – they need specific instructions from God

6 To me this appeared to verify the witnesses of the sin, but my Study Bible states that it “transfers the contamination of hearing the blasphemy back to the perpetrator”.

7 The penalty is death.

8 Not only in this case, but in all cases blasphemers shall be put to death.

9 “whole congregation” seems unlikely/impossible.

10 Even non-Israelites shall be put to death for blasphemy. Is there any free will to worship?

11 Death penalty for all murder once again made clear.

12 Interesting to see animals placed here.

13 Killing an animal does not result in a true penalty, but only restitution.

14 Imagining these penalties being carried out is just brutal. Study Bible suggests that the maiming portion was never actually carried out, but is rhetorical flourish.

15 The famous passage, perhaps limiting revenge violence at the time, but revised by Jesus in Matthew 5:38-47

16 This all takes place in the context of the blasphemer...strange, since it is about violence, not blasphemy.

Take-home: The penalty for blasphemy is serious, and an example is made so that this is abundantly clear. Foreigners are just as liable to this penalty as Israelites. Penalties against various forms of violence are also legislated.

Leviticus 24:1-9

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Command the people¹ of Israel to bring you pure oil of beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly.² Aaron shall set it up in the tent of meeting, outside the curtain of the covenant, to burn from evening to morning before the Lord regularly; it shall be a statute for ever³ throughout your generations. He shall set up the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold before the Lord regularly.

You shall take choice flour,⁴ and bake twelve loaves of it; two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each loaf. You shall place them in two rows, six in a row, on the table of pure gold. You shall put pure frankincense with each row, to be a token offering for the bread, as an offering by fire to the Lord. Every sabbath day Aaron shall set them in order before the Lord regularly as a commitment of the people of Israel, as a covenant for ever.⁵ They shall be for Aaron and his descendants, who shall eat them in a holy place, for they are most holy portions for him from the offerings by fire to the Lord, a perpetual due.

1 “Command the people” is a phrase that hasn't been used, and seems odd in this context.

2 First mention I recall of keeping a light regularly before God.

3 Another statute to be kept forever.

4 Does not state where flour will come from.

5 Another covenant forever.

Take-home: Additional ordinances are given which insure that oil and bread are regularly provided as signs of Israel's commitment to the temple.

Leviticus 23:1-44

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them:

'These are the appointed festivals of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations, my appointed festivals.'

'For six days shall work be done; but the seventh day is a sabbath of complete rest,¹ a holy convocation; you shall do no work: it is a sabbath to the Lord throughout your settlements.'²

'These are the appointed festivals of the Lord, the holy convocations, which you shall celebrate at the time appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, there shall be a passover-offering to the Lord, and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of unleavened bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. For seven days you shall present the Lord’s offerings by fire; on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation: you shall not work³ at your occupations.'”

The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them:

'When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest⁴ to the priest. He shall raise the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may find acceptance; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall raise it.On the day when you raise the sheaf, you shall offer a lamb a year old, without blemish, as a burnt-offering to the Lord. And the grain-offering with it shall be two-tenths of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord; and the drink-offering with it shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin.⁵ You shall eat no bread or parched grain or fresh ears until that very day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute for ever⁶ throughout your generations in all your settlements.

And from the day after the sabbath, from the day on which you bring the sheaf of the elevation-offering, you shall count off seven weeks; they shall be complete. You shall count until the day after the seventh sabbath, fifty days; then you shall present an offering of new grain to the Lord. You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation-offering, each made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of choice flour, baked with leaven, as first fruits to the Lord. You shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, one young bull, and two rams; they shall be a burnt-offering to theLord, along with their grain-offering and their drink-offerings, an offering by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord. You shall also offer one male goat for a sin-offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of well-being.⁷ The priest shall raise them with the bread of the first fruits as an elevation-offering before the Lord, together with the two lambs; they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. On that same day you shall make proclamation; you shall hold a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations.⁸ This is a statute for ever⁹ in all your settlements throughout your generations.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.'”¹⁰

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the people of Israel, saying:

'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of complete rest, a holy convocation commemorated with trumpet blasts. You shall not work at your occupations;¹¹ and you shall present the Lord’s offering by fire.'”

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Now, the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you: you shall deny yourselves¹² and present the Lord’s offering by fire; and you shall do no work during that entire day;¹³ for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. For anyone who does not practise self-denial during that entire day shall be cut off from the people.¹⁴ And anyone who does any work during that entire day, such a one I will destroy from the midst of the people.¹⁵ You shall do no work: it is a statute for ever¹⁶ throughout your generations in all your settlements. It shall be to you a sabbath of complete rest, and you shall deny yourselves; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening¹⁷ you shall keep your sabbath.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the people of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, and lasting seven days, there shall be the festival of booths to the Lord. The first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not work at your occupations. For seven days you shall present the Lord’s offerings by fire; on the eighth day you shall observe a holy convocation and present the Lord’s offerings by fire; it is a solemn assembly; you shall not work at your occupations.'

'These are the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you shall celebrate as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord offerings by fire—burnt-offerings and grain-offerings, sacrifices and drink-offerings, each on its proper day— apart from the sabbaths of the Lord, and apart from your gifts, and apart from all your votive offerings, and apart from all your freewill-offerings, which you give to the Lord.'

'Now, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of the Lord, lasting seven days; a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day. On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a festival to the Lord seven days in the year; you shall keep it in the seventh month as a statute for ever throughout your generations. You shall live in booths for seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall live in booths,¹⁸ so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.'

Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed festivals of the Lord.

1 “Complete rest” seems more total than just “don't work at your occupations.

2 Sabbath emphasized again, but no reason for it is given this time.

3 Not working is obviously an essential aspect of many holy celebrations.

4 Once the 4^th year happens, if Leviticus 19:23-24 is to be followed.

5 Very specific measurements here.

6 “forever” emphasized, though Christians do not celebrate this festival today.

7 Quite a lot of sacrifices are required for this festival.

8 Yet again, no work is required.

9 Again, the “statute forever” is emphasized.

10 This is a surprising inclusion of the command to have social concern for the poor in reaping.

11 Yet another day characterized by rest

12 First time self-denial (fasting?) is mentioned

13 Yet again the Sabbath.

14 Very strong rebuke for failure to self-deny. Were there exceptions for the ill, pregnant, or children? If so, they are not mentioned here.

15 Did He actually do this? Surely some people worked.

16 “Forever” mentioned for the 3^rd time.

17 Perhaps fast from evening to evening too?

18 A fascinating act-out for a seven-day festival.

Take-home: A series of festivals, focused around Sabbath and sacrifice, are laid out to further cement Israel's communal identity as a people.

Leviticus 22:17-33

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them:

'When anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing in Israel presents an offering, whether in payment of a vow or as a freewill-offering that is offered to the Lord as a burnt-offering, to be acceptable in your behalf it shall be a male without blemish,¹ of the cattle or the sheep or the goats. You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable in your behalf.'

'When anyone offers a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, in fulfilment of a vow or as a freewill-offering, from the herd or from the flock, to be acceptable it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish² in it. Anything blind, or injured, or maimed, or having a discharge or an itch or scabs—these you shall not offer to the Lord or put any of them on the altar as offerings by fire to the Lord.³ An ox or a lamb that has a limb too long or too short you may present for a freewill-offering; but it will not be accepted for a vow.⁴ Any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut,⁵ you shall not offer to the Lord; such you shall not do within your land, nor shall you accept any such animals from a foreigner to offer as food to your God; since they are mutilated, with a blemish in them, they shall not be accepted in your behalf.'”

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

“When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain for seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day onwards it shall be acceptable as the Lord’s offering by fire. But you shall not slaughter, from the herd or the flock, an animal with its young on the same day.⁶ When you sacrifice a thanksgiving-offering to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that it may be acceptable in your behalf. It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall not leave any of it until morning: I am the Lord.”

“Thus you shall keep my commandments and observe them: I am the Lord. You shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel: I am the Lord; I sanctify you, I who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.”⁷

1 The “without blemish” stipulations stated in chapter 1 are again emphasized.

2 Third repetition of “no blemish” here.

3 I think this is the first time in Leviticus that “no blemish” is defined.

4 Study Bbile suggests that there was way more time to prepare for the votive offering.

5 The preciseness here is strange. Is it arbitrary or is there an underlying reason?

6 Interesting stipulation.

7 “I am the Lord” repeated 4 times in rapid succession.

Take home: The need to offer a perfect, worthy offering to the Lord is made clear.

Leviticus 22:1-16

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Direct Aaron and his sons to deal carefully with the sacred donations¹ of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they may not profane my holy name; I am the Lord. Say to them:

'If anyone among all your offspring throughout your generations comes near the sacred donations, which the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he is in a state of uncleanness,² that person shall be cut off from my presence:³ I am the Lord. No one of Aaron’s offspring who has a leprous disease or suffers a discharge may eat of the sacred donations until he is clean.⁴ Whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse or a man who has had an emission of semen,and whoever touches any swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or any human being by whom he may be made unclean—whatever his uncleanness may be—the person who touches any such shall be unclean until evening and shall not eat of the sacred donations unless he has washed his body in water.⁵ When the sun sets he shall be clean; and afterwards he may eat of the sacred donations, for they are his food. That which died or was torn by wild animals he shall not eat, becoming unclean by it: I am the Lord. They shall keep my charge, so that they may not incur guilt and die in the sanctuary⁶ for having profaned it: I am the Lord; I sanctify them.'

'No lay person shall eat of the sacred donations. No bound or hired servant of the priest shall eat of the sacred donations; but if a priest acquires anyone by purchase, the person may eat of them;⁷ and those that are born in his house may eat of his food. If a priest’s daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the offering of the sacred donations; but if a priest’s daughter is widowed or divorced, without offspring, and returns to her father’s house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food. No lay person shall eat of it. If a man eats of the sacred donation unintentionally, he shall add one-fifth of its value to it, and give the sacred donation to the priest.⁸ No one shall profane the sacred donations of the people of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, causing them to bear guilt requiring a guilt-offering, by eating their sacred donations: for I am the Lord; I sanctify them.'”

1 “Sacred donations” is a new way to refer to sacrifices.

2 Strict rule, considering how many ways one can become unclean

3 Is there any possibility that “cut off from my presence” is to be carried out by men? Possibly means cut off from the priesthood?

4 Those ill from certain diseases can't even eat of the offerings.

5 Simply washing in water appears to make such persons clean again, at least after nightfall/evening.

6 This judgement appears extremely harsh, but only God can carry it out.

7 This is a great surprise. In this sense, purchasing a slave effectively makes him part of the priest's household.

8 No idea how that would happen, but the punishment appears light and sensible.

Take-home: Special care is taken to ensure that those who are not only presenting, but even eating the sacrifices are ritually clean.

Leviticus 21:16-24

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and say:

'No one of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the food of his God.¹ For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand,or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a blemish in his eyes or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.² No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a blemish³ shall come near to offer the Lord’s offerings by fire; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God. He may eat the food of his God,⁴ of the most holy as well as of the holy. But he shall not come near the curtain or approach the altar, because he has a blemish,⁵ that he may not profane⁶ my sanctuaries; for I am the Lord; I sanctify them.'”

Thus Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.

1 Like the sacrifice which must be perfect and unblemished, the priest much be unblemished as well.

2 Creates the terrible impression that disability/disease is a personal defect, or that those with such things are unworthy of God.

3 Blemish is being repeated over and over, strengthening the connection to Leviticus 1:3, 1:10, 3:1, etc.

4 Interesting that this is still allowed, ensuring that they are provided for.

5 6^th repetition of “blemish”

6 To be disabled/diseased and to approach the sanctuary is to “profane” it.

Take-home: The need to offer up the most perfect offering to God is emphasized, as now the priest as well as the sacrifice must be without blemish.

Leviticus 21:1-15

The Lord said to Moses: “Speak to the priests,¹ the sons of Aaron, and say to them:

'No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his relatives,except for his nearest kin: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother; likewise, for a virgin sister,² close to him because she has had no husband, he may defile himself for her.³ But he shall not defile himself as a husband among his people and so profane himself.⁴ They shall not make bald spots upon their heads, or shave off the edges of their beards, or make any gashes in their flesh.⁵ They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the Lord’s offerings by fire, the food of their God;⁶ therefore they shall be holy.

They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled;⁷ neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband.⁸ For they are holy to their God, and you shall treat them as holy, since they offer the food of your God; they shall be holy to you, for I the Lord, I who sanctify you, am holy.⁹ When the daughter of a priest profanes herself through prostitution,¹⁰ she profanes her father; she shall be burned to death.¹¹

The priest who is exalted above his fellows, on whose head the anointing-oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the vestments,¹² shall not dishevel his hair, nor tear his vestments.¹³ He shall not go where there is a dead body; he shall not defile himself even for his father or mother.¹⁴ He shall not go outside the sanctuary and thus profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing-oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord. He shall marry only a woman who is a virgin.¹⁵ A widow, or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, a prostitute, these he shall not marry. He shall marry a virgin¹⁶ of his own kin,¹⁷ that he may not profane his offspring among his kin; for I am the Lord; I sanctify him.

1 Redirecting towards the priests in a sudden change of subject.

2 Immediate blood relatives only, in other words.

3 The uncleanliness of touching/mourning the dead is balanced against the closeness of the relationship. Even in prohibiting the touching of bodies, love for the dead is shown here.

4 Yet to do so for a wife is to “defile” or “profane” oneself. Seems to degrade the husband/wife relationship.

5 The assumption now is that these were somehow rituals related to mourning the dead. So even this symbolic mourning is to profane or defile oneself (unless it is also pagan in origin).

6 Calling offerings God's “food” must be metaphorical. Even so, it sounds strange.

7 For a woman to have had sex (or perhaps to have been raped) is to have been “defiled”.

8 Priests appear to have been permitted to divorce, but a divorced woman is unclean and cannot marry them. Study Bible points out that this also ensures that a priest's new wife does not bear non-priestly children.

9 “Holy”, mentioned for the 6^th time in rapid succession here, is said to be “like God”, but is also implied to mean not mourning the death of wives and not marrying non-virgin women.

10 A prostitute is profaned, but no command against sleeping with a prostitute is ever given.

11 Daughters of the priest are held to a special standard. It does not appear to matter whether a son of a priest has sex with a prostitute.

12 To anoint and consecrate a priest is to exalt him.

13 More signs of mourning are forbidden for the highest priest.

14 For the high priest, even the intimate dead cannot be mourned in the same manner. Study Bible interprets this as “to go outside the sanctuary for the remainder of the burial ritual.”

15 Again, the necessary virginity of the priest's wife (but not the priest) is emphasized.

16 Third emphasis on “virgin” in a row.

17 One's “own kin” implies one's own faith.

Take-home: The special need of holiness for priests is drawn out. Here is it primarily defined by not participating in mourning rituals for the dead and not marrying a wife unless she is a virgin.

Leviticus 20:1-27

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Say further to the people of Israel:

'Any of the people of Israel, or of the aliens who reside in Israel, who give any of their offspring to Molech¹ shall be put to death; the people of the land shall stone them to death.² I myself will set my face against them, and will cut them off from the people,³ because they have given of their offspring to Molech, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name.⁴ And if the people of the land should ever close their eyes to them, when they give of their offspring to Molech, and do not put them to death, I myself will set my face against them and against their family, and will cut them off from among their people,⁵ them and all who follow them in prostituting themselves to Molech.⁶

If any turn to mediums and wizards, prostituting themselves to them, I will set my face against them,⁷ and will cut them off from the people.⁸ Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the Lord your God.

Keep my statutes, and observe them; I am the Lord; I sanctify you. All who curse⁹ father or mother shall be put to death;¹⁰ having cursed father or mother, their blood is upon them.

If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbour,¹¹ both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.¹² The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall be put to death; their blood is upon them.¹³ If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them.¹⁴ If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them.¹⁵ If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is depravity; they shall be burned¹⁶ to death, both he and they, that there may be no depravity among you. If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he shall be put to death; and you shall kill the animal.¹⁷ If a woman approaches any animal and has sexual relations with it,¹⁸ you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them.

If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace,¹⁹ and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people; he has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, he shall be subject to punishment.²⁰ If a man lies with a woman having her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow and she has laid bare her flow of blood;²¹ both of them shall be cut off from their people.²² You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for that is to lay bare one’s own flesh; they shall be subject to punishment. If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they shall be subject to punishment; they shall die childless.²³ If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.

You shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and observe them, so that the land to which I bring you to settle in may not vomit you out. You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am driving out before you.²⁴ Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.²⁵ But I have said to you: You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God; I have separated you from the peoples.²⁶ You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean,²⁷ and between the unclean bird and the clean; you shall not bring abomination²⁸ on yourselves by animal or by bird or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. You shall be holy to me;²⁹ for I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine.

A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned to death, their blood is upon them.'³⁰

1 Going back to chapter 18

2 Not only death, but the type of death is proscribed

3 They are “cut off from the people” by God in addition to being stoned?

4 Giving children to sacrifice is “defiling God's sanctuary and profaning his holy name”. That certainly isn't the direction of the main sentiment against child sacrifice that would be expressed in modern times.

5 If Israel does not carry out this punishment, then God will set his face against not only those who give their children to Moloch, but all those who let it go on without capital punishment.

6 My Study Bible states that some experts believe the action warned against here isn't actual child sacrifice, but some other form of devoting one's children to other gods.

7 God Himself is the only one who punishes those who turn to mediums.

8 Does not mention putting the mediums themselves to death, but that will come later in the passage.

9 What is a “curse” specifically, and how old must one have been to fall under this threat? Is there any possibility that this command actually means something else which has lost meaning outside of that context?

10 In our society, putting someone to death for cursing their parents seems incredible.

11 If a single woman has sex with a married man, is that similarly punished?

12 Chapter 18 only mentioned the man's perspective, but here both are punished. David later ignores this punishment.

13 Again, both man and woman are punished.

14 Judah slept with Tamer, his daughter-in-law.

15 Male homosexuality receives the death penalty. Like in Chapter 18, female homosexuality is ignored.

16 First time burning is mentioned as a punishment.

17 Why the animal should be killed is unclear. Has it done something wrong itself? Or is it not unclean in some way?

18 Once again specifying the woman too.

19 While death is proscribed for adultery, sex with father's wife, sex with a woman and her daughter, sex with a man, or sex with an animal, other forms of incest are a “disgrace” and receive a lighter punishment.

20 Abram may have violated this one. The punishment is unclear.

21 This particular command is ignored today.

22 It is unclear whether these “shall be cut off from their people” punishments are to be carried out by God or by the people.

23 Quite unusual punishment compared to the others. I would assume that only God could carry it out.

24 Once again, the “practices of the nation” is being specified at the end of a chapter about sexual practices and idolatry (this time also included cursing one's parents).

25 God abhors them because they did all these things, indicating that the practices, including the child sacrifice, may be abhorrent in themselves, and not just because the pagans did them.

26 The idea of “separation” from other peoples is again made explicit.

27 What is the connection between clean/unclean animals and the practices just named? It appears again to be the “separation” theme.

28 Contact with unclean animals is called “abomination”. This is later reverted in Christianity.

29 Now being “holy”, the theme of chapter 19, is included here as well.

30 Specifies punishment on practice that was decried earlier. Why so out of place?

Take-home: Several of the commands given in the previous 2 chapters are associated with their punishments. The importance of following these ordinances in order to distinguish between the clean and the unclean, so that they will be worthy of the land God is giving them, is emphasized.