The place of ritual
Leviticus is filled with detailed instructions for various kinds of rituals–what parts of sacrificial animals are to be burned, what is to be done with the animals’ blood, how to lay the people’s sins on the head of a goat, when to wash in water in order to be ritually clean, etc. (See, for example, chapter 8 for the many rituals associated with ordination.) Much of this material, with its attention to blood, body parts, and sacrificeSacrifice is commonly understood as the practice of offering or giving up something as a sign of worship, commitment, or obedience. In the Old Testament grain, wine, or animals are used as sacrifice. In some New Testament writings Jesus’ death on the cross as the… More, may seem rather arcane to modern readers. It is difficult to ascertain what the details of the rituals signify. Nevertheless, we can discern much of the theological worldview behind these rituals: that God made the world with certain boundaries between the holyHoly is a term that originally meant set apart for the worship or service of God. While the term may refer to people, objects, time, or places, holiness in Judaism and Christianity primarily denotes the realm of the divine More and the common, the clean and the uncleanIn Hebrew law many regulations warned against impurity. Unclean things were numerous and included leprosy, menstruating women, dead bodies, shell fish, and pigs. More (Genesis 1; Leviticus 10:10); that this ordered world is good, and ritual helps maintain that good order so that the world does not descend into chaos; and that ritual also helps ensure that the holy God can dwell with God’s holy people (Leviticus 20:25-26).
Ritual impurity
There are many laws in Leviticus dealing with matters of ritual impurity, which is not to be equated with sinfulness or moral failure. Many situations of daily life–menstrual period, sexual intercourse, skin disease, childbirth–make one ritually impure or unclean (see Leviticus 13-15). That is, these circumstances make one unable to approach the tabernacleThe tabernacle, a word meaning “tent,” was a portable worship place for the Hebrew people after they left Egypt. It was said to contain the ark of the covenant. The plans for the tabernacle are dictated by God in Exodus 26. More until going through the necessary time and rituals to make oneself clean again. Sometimes a sacrifice is required to make a person clean (see, for example, 12:6-8), but this sacrifice is not to be equated with the guilt offering given by those who have, in fact, knowingly sinned (see 19:20-22).
Sacrifice and meaning
The sacrificial system of ancient Israel understands life, both animal and human, as immensely valuable. It also takes sin very seriously, as a contamination that can disrupt the good order God places in creation and that can potentially return the world to chaos. To cleanse sin from the community, and particularly from the sanctuary, life is required. Specifically, the life of an animal, and especially its blood, is required for atonement and cleansing of the people and the sanctuary. Life is so highly valued that the Israelites are strictly forbidden from eating blood, “for the life of every creature [is] its blood” (17:14). Even the blood of a non-sacrificial animal is to be poured out on the ground and covered with earth instead of being eaten (17:13). Blood, as the essence of life, is to be used for atonement, not casually consumed. The writer of Hebrews understands this priestly theology of sacrifice and portrays Jesus as both high priestThe high priest was the most powerful priest in the temple in Jerusalem. The high priest Caiaphas held the office during the trial of Jesus. Later, in the New Testament book of Hebrews, the role of merciful high priest is ascribed to the resurrected Jesus. More and final sacrifice.
Types of sacrifice
The first seven chapters of Leviticus describe several different types of sacrifice: the burnt offering, the grain offering, the offering of well-being, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. The first three of these offerings are voluntary; the last two are required. The burnt offering (in which the whole animal is consumed by fire) serves various purposes, including atonement (1:4). The grain offering, as its name suggests, is a gift of grain, cooked or uncooked, of which a portion is burned on the altar and the rest is given to the priests for food (2:8-10). The well-being offering–the sacrifice of an animal in which much of the meat is consumed by the priests and the one who brings the sacrifice–is offered at times of joy and thanksgiving (chapter 3). Both the sin offering and the guilt offering make restitution for sins against God and neighbor (chapters 4-5). When the one sinned against is the neighbor, the sinner must first make financial restitution to the one wronged before bringing his or her sacrifice to the altar (6:1-7).
When did the priestly writers live?
Virtually all biblical scholars attribute the writing of Leviticus to the Priestly source (P), with the writing of the Holiness Code (chapters 17-27) attributed specifically to the Holiness school (H), a part of the P source. There is debate, however, over the dating of the P source. The older scholarly consensus, through the mid-nineteenth and twentieth centuries, was that P was late, a postexilic (fifth century B.C.E.) redaction of the PentateuchThe Pentateuch is a Christian term the first five books of the Old Testament. These books contain stories of Israel’s early history, God’s covenants, and many laws such as the Ten Commandments). More. This view unfortunately sometimes denigrated P as representing a decline in Israelite religion, from the ethical and spiritual heights of the prophets to the rigid legalism of the priests. More recent biblical scholarship has argued on the grounds of linguistic evidence and evidence from other ancient Near Eastern cultures that P is preexilic, written for the most part before the Major Prophets (Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Second IsaiahSecond Isaiah refers chapters 40-55 of the book of Isaiah. This work was likely written during Israel’s exile in Babylon (597-538 B.C.E.). Second Isaiah includes poetic passages of hope as well as descriptions of the Suffering Servant. More). This more recent scholarship has emphasized the positive contribution of the priestly writers to biblical theology.
Worship and justice
One can divide Leviticus roughly into two parts: chapters 1-16 and chapters 17-27 (the Holiness Code). The first part of the book is primarily concerned with sacrifices, ritual purity, and the duties of priests. The Holiness Code, while it discusses rituals and worship, also emphasizes holy living in all aspects of daily life: eating, sexual relationships, harvesting, relationships with neighbors and with servants, caring for the poor, caring for the land, honesty in financial transactions, etc. (see especially Leviticus 19). The structure of the whole book would seem to suggest, then, that holy living arises out of right worship and that worship of the Lord results in justice toward one’s neighbor.
