Structure of the book of leviticus

Summary of the book of leviticus the story of the bible. Because the israelites had been held captive in egypt for 400 years, the concept of god had been distorted by the polytheistic, pagan egyptians. Thus, leviticus is best explained as a guidebook for instructing gods people about holy living and worship. Top literary structures of the bible book of leviticus pericope literary structure chiasm, chiasmus of book of leviticus chiastic structure and concentric structure and parallel of each pericope 1offerings lev 1.

Chapters of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to the israelites by moses on the plains of moab, shortly before they enter the. The book opens with an overview of five types of sacrifices that had been going on in israel for years. It lies in the center of the pentateuch, between exodus and numbers. The english name is from the latin leviticus, taken in turn from greek and a reference to the levites, the tribe from whom the priests were. New testament writers quote the book of leviticus over 15 times. Leviticus, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. The first five books of the bible are called the pentateuch, or the law, and are generally accepted as being written by moses. The structure is often described as a series of three speeches or sermons chapters 1. On the structure of leviticus peter leithart patheos. Jul 31, 2009 leavings from a paper on leviticus 18. The place of chapter 24 in the structure of the book of leviticus. To demonstrate this, let us focus on book iii of the psalms, which corresponds to leviticus and lamentations. The word levi means companion interesting that leah, jacobs wife, named her son and then his tribe bacame gods companions. Towards the end of her illustrious career, douglas authored leviticus as literature, with the ingenious proposal that the book of leviticus evinces a literary structure that reflects the layout and configuration of the tabernacle.

The second half of exodus and the first part of numbers, which deal with the mechanics of constructing the tabernacle and the functions of the levites, are parallel to the levitical camp. It was a free will offering surrender of life and will to god 1. Terms in this set 23 leviticus the third book of the bible the sequel to exodus title hebrew and he called unto moses title englishgreek levitikonleviticus. The word leviticus means for the levites who were the priests, designated by god because they chose to be on his side after the golden calf incident. The book of leviticus primarily records the instructions the lord gives to moses from the tent of meeting, but also includes narratives of a few events related to the tabernacle. Miller in his commentary on deuteronomy suggests that different views of the structure of the book will lead to different views on what it is about. Leviticus, with its threearray structure is like the camp of the divine presence, containing the tabernacle and its court. That doesnt necessarily mean moses penned every single word of this book. The key personalities of leviticus include moses, aaron, nadab, abihu eleazar, and ithamar. Book iii of the psalmschapters 73 to 89frequently refers to the temple at jerusalem and its. Symbolic and moral guidelines that mark israel a unique. The torah, leviticus and chiastic structure yeshua. Extensive reading in the literature on leviticus is not necessary to arrive at the conclusion that there is a high degree of confusion about the structure of the book. The book of leviticus in the bible says that homosexuality is an abomination, and so it cant possibly be right for christians.

Literary structure chiasmus, chiasm of book of leviticus chiasmus and concentric structure of whole text. The following is a condensed, edited version of appendix one, preliminary suggestions on the structure of the book of psalms, taken from dr. The book of exodus narrates how moses led the israelites in. Although the narrative material in leviticus is not extensive, what is presented in chapters 810 and in 24. The book of leviticus is the third book of the torah and of the old testament. The kernel of leviticus is chapters 810 which are in narrative form and which continue the narrative of the tabernacle recorded at the end of the. There are two verses from leviticus that figure in the debates over the bible and homosexuality.

Book of leviticus overview insight for living ministries. Yet it seems of little relevance to christianity, and even provides little practical guidance for jews ever since the dest. Seen in an anthropological perspective leviticus has a mystical structure which plots the book into three parts corresponding to the three parts of the desert tabernacle, both corresponding to the parts of mount sinai. Although leviticus does not deal only with the special duties of the levites, it. The first words of the book of leviticus in hebrew are pronounced vyeekrah m and mean and he god called vyeekrah and he called chapter. The emphasis is not on conditions for gods presence, but on conditions for the people to be in the. On the one hand, chapters 116 deal primarily with consecrating and cleansing the tabernacle itself.

The name leviticus was given to the third book of the pentateuch by the ancient greek translators because a good part of this book deals with concerns of the priests, who are of the tribe of levi. In hebrew, nadab and abihu take coals from an outside placethat is, not from the holy altar but from a notholyfied area such as their uncles beat up george foreman grill. The term is derived from the letter chi, a greek letter that is shaped like an x. Symbolic and moral guidelines that mark israel a unique among the nations, set apart for gods purposes. Although leviticus does not deal only with the special duties of the levites, it is so. Purity unique people set apart to represent israel before god priests. Everything depends on how clearly the units of structure are identified3 she explains the importance of clearly defined units in her book on numbers. Outline wiersbes expository outlines on the old testament. Appendix b the structure of the book of psalms editors note. Leviticus used to be the first book that jewish children studied in the synagogue.

Its hebrew title, wayyiqra, is the first word in the hebrew text of the book and means and he i. Does leviticus mean homosexuality is an abomination. And he called third book of the latin vulgate bible, the name of which designates its contents as a book or manual primarily concerned with the priests and their duties. This takes place within the story of the israelites exodus after they escaped egypt and reached mt. The book of exodus finishes with moses and israel having constructed and assembled the tabernacle at the base of mount sinai. A helpful start is to recognize the books structureleviticus uses a hebrew literary device known as a chiasm.

The book of leviticus was the first book studied by a jewish child. Chiastic structure and concentric structure and parallel of each pericope. By its interpretive, repetitious, reminiscent and somewhat irregular style it shows that it is a series of more or less extemporaneous addresses, sometimes describing events in nonchronological order see, e. He leaves behind one household, one set of flesh of flesh relations for a new fleshly relation with his bride. Intro to leviticus biblica the international bible society. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Deuteronomys literary structure supports its historical setting. Lohr, the book of leviticus in a theological introduction to the pentateuch.

Leviticus plays a very important and essential role in the pentateuch. This means that it is the centre of leviticus itself. The place of chapter 24 in the structure of the book of. Nonevangelical scholars tend to be much more interested in p and h as individual sources and offer little attention to the canonical structure of the book. But within these highly detailed directives we discover the holinessthe. When the books of the psalms, the law and the megillot are compared with one another, there are amazing parallels in many of their features. This is because leviticus is part of the torah, which is known as the law of moses. It was written to draw the israelites to the understanding of the. These are the very first words of the book of leviticus, and the hebrews eventually named each book of the torah according to the opening phrase of each book. The book of leviticus has an amazing literary 2 structure, with a symmetrical design. Historically leviticus was the sequel to exodus, for the levitical sacrificial system was a divine revelation to israel given through moses as a part of the covenant obligation at sinai.

A literary composition that is so impressive could suggest that writing a theological treatise was the full achievement. Leviticus opens with the people of god camped at the foot of mount sinai after being delivered from slavery in egypt. But specifically, its a book of rules that the ancient israelites believed they had to follow in order to be close to their god. This is an adjective suggesting the complete title the levitical book or the book pertaining to the levites 2. Leviticus receives its name from the septuagint the prechristian greek translation of the ot and means relating to the levites. Scholars attribute the composition of leviticus to two primary sources, the priestly source p of chapters 116, and the holiness source h of chapters 1726. While the book addresses issues of the levites responsibilities, much more significantly, all the priests are instructed in how they are to assist the people in worship, and the people are informed about how to live a holy life. Leviticus contains twentytwo welldefined literary units, whereas printed bibles divide the book into twentyseven chapters. The book of leviticus was written between 1440 and 1400 b.

But it also bears in its structure clear reflections of the suzerainvassal treaties see. On the day of atonement, god provided an annual time for purging all the sins and uncleannesses that were unatoned for during the year. The animals body was consumed entirely in the fire b. This first fullscale account of leviticus by a world renowned anthropologist presents the biblical work as a literary masterpiece. If playback doesnt begin shortly, try restarting your device. The setting of leviticus mainly appears to take place at mt. Intro to deuteronomy biblica the international bible. Leviticus 18 is a chiastic structure consisting of smaller chiasms. Leviticus expert jacob milgrom notes that one of the main points in this story is the importance of ritual purity, which sets up the books next few chapters. The historical and theological context of the book of leviticus is implied in the opening and closing verses of the book 1. This brings us to the final and central unit, the day of atonement, which finds no parallel within the book. In fact, the day of atonement is the centre of the torah, given that leviticus is.

This means the bookends are the same, and working toward the middle are sections that mirror each other. In the same way that it is important to understand the book of exodus before reading leviticus, it seems just as important to read the book of leviticus before reading the books of numbers and deuteronomy and the rest of the old testament for that matter. Douglas herself has stated the ground rule for structural analysis. Because leviticus is largely concerned with subjects that seem incomprehensible and irrelevant today rituals for sacrifice and regulations concerning uncleanness. The narrative structure of leviticus peter leithart. Because leviticus is largely concerned with subjects that seem incomprehensible and irrelevant today rituals for sacrifice and regulations concerning uncleanness it appears to have nothing to say to twenty. Describe the day of atonement, its place in the literary structure of leviticus, and its significance.

The purpose of leviticus is to provide instruction and laws to. In the modern church it tends to be the last part of the bible that anyone looks at seriously. From this, one can derive a simple chiastic outline of the book ive discussed this. As a book of the pentateuch, attributed to moses himself, leviticus is considered one of the most sacred books of the bible. The rules of incest in leviticus are rooted in genesis 2s requirement that a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. Another possibility again for explaining the source of leviticus is suggested by the studied elegance and powerfully contrived structure. The place of chapter 24 in the structure of the book of leviticus 419 common noun nb son. The structure in exodusleviticus comprises concepts. Those of us living in the early years of this the 3rd millennium a. In fact, the day of atonement is the centre of the torah, given that leviticus is the central book another chiastic structure. Ernest martins book, restoring the original bible, pp. Although leviticus is basically a book of laws, it also contains some narrative chapters 89, 10. Even though it contains levis name, it was written concerning the priesthood in general, not only to the levites.

Leviticus divides naturally into two major sections, chapters 116 and 1727. The kernel of leviticus is chapters 810 which are in narrative form and which continue the narrative of the tabernacle recorded at the end of the book of exodus. Leviticus is composed of two basic genres narrative history and law. Leviticus 18 and 20 are also operating in the realm of genesis. The vulgate a revision of the old latin rendered the greek heading liber leviticus book of leviticus from which the english is derived 1. Bible survery leviticus hebrew name vayyiqra and he called greek name leviticus from levi author moses date 1490 bc approximately. Jul 01, 20 leviticus is known as a book of rules which it is. Although leviticus does not deal only with the special duties of the levites, it is so named because it concerns mainly the service. Thats why its a vital piece of the torah, the foundation of the rest of scripture. Literary structure chiasmus, chiasm of book of leviticus. Jul 21, 2016 this brings us to the final and central unit, the day of atonement, which finds no parallel within the book. Most of its chapters consist of gods speeches to moses, which god commands moses to repeat to the israelites. However, moses is the main human character in these books, and since moses is the one receiving directives from god, the books are usually attributed to him.

Everything from sexual conduct to the handling of food, to instructions for worship and religious celebrations, is covered in detail in the book of leviticus. However, they do not explain the order of the two sections within the chapter or why the chapter is placed where it is. The book of leviticus begins with then yahweh called to moses and. Silmilarly, the book of leviticus is organized in chiastic structure. At the center of leviticus is the day of atonementthe. Literary structure chiasm, chiasmus of book of leviticus. Instead, the book of leviticus contains a meticulous and often tedious list of rules and regulations. The book of leviticus from greek, leuitikos, meaning relating to the levites. Yet, if understood properly, the book supplies readers with rich wisdom and practical instruction.