Leviticus

There are three major law codes in the Old Testament.

-The Covenant Code (Exod. 20:22-23:33)

-The Deuteronomic Code (Deut. 5:1-28:68)

-The Priestly Code (mostly in Leviticus, but with some laws in Exodus & Numbers)

1. The Covenant Code -- Found in Exodus 20:22-23:33

The Covenant Code probably was the oldest Israelite code, but not the oldest Near Eastern code. There were a number of older Near Eastern codes, the best known being the Code of Hammurabi, which dates from the nineteenth century B.C.E. There are laws from Hammurabi's Code that are very similar to laws in Israelite codes. The Covenant Code is also known as the Book of the Covenant.

2. The Priestly Code

Unlike the Covenant Code and the Deuteronomic Code, the Priestly Code is much more complex and scattered. It is found in Leviticus chapters 1-16 & 27 and Numbers chapters 1-10. It contains formal liturgies and sacrificial rituals. It is concerned primarily with proper worship.

3. The Deuteronomic Code

This code is found in the Book of Deuteronomy chapters 12-26. It was first discovered during temple repairs in 621 B.C.E., during the reign of King Josiah of Judah. Basically, it is a long list of ordinances covering such diverse matters as the central place of worship, dietary restrictions, divorce, the role of prophets, and various social regulations. It also had a version of the Ten Commandments (5:6-27).

The Book of Leviticus

Chapters 1-15 are primarily concerned with the lives and duties of priests. Chapter 16 is the center of Leviticus and is concerned with the Day of Atonement. Chapters 17-26 are known as the Holiness Code. The Holiness Code makes little distinction between priest and non-priest. All people are expected to be holy.

The Major Kinds of Sacrifice

These are described in Leviticus 1:1-6:7.

1. Whole burnt offering

2. Cereal offering

3. Peace offering

4. Sin offering

5. Guilt offering

Holidays and Holy Days (Leviticus 23:1-44)

1. Passover-Unleavened Bread

This came in March or April. It was to celebrate the Exodus events.

2. The Feast of Weeks

This came fifty days after Passover, which is why it is called Pentecost in the New Testament. Pentecost in Greek means "fiftieth." It celebrated the grain harvest.

3. The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles)

This came in the early Fall. It celebrated the fruit harvest.

4. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

This was the most solemn day of the year. This was when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle to make atonement for the sins of the people (Lev. 16:1-34).

The Scapegoat Offering

Each year, on the Day of Atonement the high priest prepares two goats for sacrifice. The priest draws lots for the goats, slaughtering one as a blood sacrifice to Yahweh and keeping the other alive as a symbolic bearer of the people's collective sins. Ritually laying hands on the live goat, the priest transfers the nation's guilt to the animal, which, metaphorically laden with Israel's misdeeds, is then led out into the desert. The scapegoat thus removes the punishable object of Yahweh's wrath from the community and transfers it to the uninhabited wilderness.

The term scapegoat has come to mean any innocent person who suffers for the crimes of others. The fullest expression of this concept in the Hebrew Bible is found in Isaiah's Song of the Suffering Servant. This is a poem in which a guiltless man bears the sins of his people and, by so doing, wins forgiveness for them. It reads in part:

On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

The ceremony at the Day of Atonement brings about reconciliation. The people again become "at one" with their God, and harmony is restored between God and the Israelites.

The Holiness Code – Leviticus 17-26

The purpose of this code was to ritually separate and distinguish Israel from surrounding peoples. Israel is a holy people, set apart and dedicated to the service of God. Notice 19:18:

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The mixing of kinds

Leviticus shows that the priests are extremely concerned about keeping different kinds of things from being mixed. For example, it is forbidden to weave wool and linen into a single garment or to boil a young goat, called a kid, in its mother's milk.

Another example of this concern with the mixing of kinds can be seen in the priestly concern with sexual taboos. The priests are concerned about the transgression of acceptable boundaries. Chapter 18 lists many sexual prohibitions that forbid a variety of erotic combinations.

Examples:

1. taking both a woman and her sister into a man's harem (Leviticus 18:18)

2. making love to a menstruating wife (Leviticus 18:19)

3. lying "with a man as with a woman" (Leviticus 18:22)

Women's biological functions are regarded as essentially "unclean." Merely touching an object previously used by a menstruating woman contaminates a person. Note Leviticus 15:19-32. Birthing is considered unclean because birth produces a flow of blood. A woman who delivers a male child is considered unclean for seven days. In addition, for another thirty-three days she cannot participate in the social or religious life of the community. If she delivers a female baby, the period of her ostracism is doubled, rendering her unclean for fourteen days and depriving her of normal activities for sixty-six days.

See 12:1-8.