Leviticus

Composition

According to the Judeo-Christian tradition, the ancient Jewish prophet and leader Moses compiled the Book of Leviticus from instructions given to him directly by God (Yahweh). Moses has historically been cited as the author of not only Leviticus, but of each of the first five books of the Biblical Old Testament. Together, these five books are known as the Pentateuch in Christianity and the Torah in Judaism. The composition of Leviticus is traditionally dated to about 1440–1400 BCE, and the book covers events believed to have taken place in 1445–1444 BCE.

Some scholars question the customary acceptance of Moses’ authorship of the Pentateuch/Torah in general and Leviticus specifically. In the case of Leviticus, certain experts believe the book was written much later than its traditional date and instead place its composition during the period of Jewish history known as the Babylonian Exile, which occurred in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. Another theory hybridizes traditional acceptance of the book’s Mosaic composition with this alternative viewpoint, positing that Leviticus was partially composed by Moses during his lifetime and completed much later by an unidentified person or people in a position of Judaic religious authority.

The hypothesis that the Book of Leviticus only reached its present form during the Achaemenid Empire (559/532–332/331 BCE) is widely accepted by a plurality of Biblical scholars. However, despite broad agreement on this issue, experts remain divided as to who wrote the text, and which author(s) are responsible for which chapters and passages if multiple authors did indeed contribute to its writing. Experts who accept that Moses wrote Exodus, the book immediately preceding Leviticus in the Old Testament, generally also believe in Moses as the sole author of Leviticus. Exodus and Leviticus contain strong evidence suggesting that a common human creator, as the contents of both books show high levels of thematic and stylistic continuity.

Summary

The Book of Leviticus takes its name from the Levites, one of the twelve original Israelite tribes. In Judaic tradition, the Levites were a priest class responsible for officiating religious ceremonies in the Tabernacle, which was built according to instructions given to Moses by God in the Book of Exodus. Leviticus focuses heavily on the ritual practices, codes of conduct, and laws, rules, and regulations by which God intended the ancient Jewish people to live. In essence, it serves as a guide for living a moral life as a religiously observant member of the traditional Jewish community.

Leviticus contains twenty-seven chapters, which can be subdivided in various ways. Some groupings organize the chapters according to the general theme of the instructions, rules, and practices they explain. Others classify the sections of Leviticus according to the aspects of social and religious life they respectively target. In either event, the book’s text is dominated by detailed descriptions of specific rules covering everything from grooming and diet to sexual conduct and property regulations.

The book’s narrative covers events said to have taken place at Mount Sinai after the delivery of the Ten Commandments to Moses by God, which was detailed in Exodus. Following their liberation from slavery and escape from Egypt, the Israelites erected a camp at the base of Mount Sinai, and Moses retreated up the mountain for extended periods on multiple occasions to communicate with God. Judeo-Christian tradition holds that God delivered the rules, laws, and codes of conduct specified in Leviticus over a time spanning the years 1445–1444 BCE.

Leviticus 1–7 explains how to make acceptable sacrifices and offerings to God. The instructions cover multiple classes of sacrifice, including food offerings, peace offerings, and offerings made to atone for sinning or trespassing. They also cover burnt offerings, a specific type of sacrifice in Judaism first referenced in Leviticus in which items are burned on an altar as an offering to God.

In Leviticus 8–10, the focus shifts to the Jewish prophet and high priest Aaron, brother of Moses, and Aaron’s sons. These chapters detail how Aaron and his sons are physically prepared for their roles as priests, covering their bathing, anointing, appareling, and consecration to the office of priesthood. They also relate an account of how two of Aaron’s sons, Abihu and Nadab, were killed by God with fire for making sacrifices contravening the rules established in the previous chapters.

Across chapters 11–17, Leviticus specifies which foods God does and does not consider fit for consumption. Certain types of animals—those that neither “chew the cud” nor have a “divided hoof”—are considered “unclean” (Leviticus 11:3–4). Additional dietary specifications cover fish, birds, insects, and animals that move “along the ground” (Leviticus 11:41). These chapters also explain the circumstances under which people who come into contact with unclean animals or their carcasses become ritually unclean themselves, as well as food preparation specifications. In addition, they cover the methods by which a ritually unclean person may be purified, as well as instructions regarding the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur in the Jewish tradition) and the proper method of conducting the ritual blood sacrifice of animals.

Chapters 18–22 cover personal purity as it relates to sexual conduct and the priesthood. These laws and regulations explain how individuals can maintain sexual cleanliness and avoid forms of sexual contact and sexual expression disapproved of by God. Priests also receive detailed instructions on how to achieve and maintain the elevated levels of ritual cleanliness necessary for the proper execution of their duties.

The final four chapters of Leviticus (23–27) specify the feasts, observances, and holy days to be recognized by the Israelites. They also establish common-law standards for the Israelite encampment to follow, particularly about compensation for injurious or damaging interpersonal behavior and conflict situations. Additional instructions cover regulations for tithing, consecrating personal property, and observing the Sabbath year (every seventh year) and the Jubilee year (every fiftieth year). The final passages of Leviticus also specify the blessings the Israelites will receive for honoring the laws detailed in Leviticus and the punishments they will face for breaking them.

Themes

The major theme of Leviticus is sanctification. Its text focuses heavily on the prescriptive rules and practices necessary to achieve and maintain personal sanctity and for remediating any intentional or unintentional violations. Underlying this theme is the idea that the Israelites are God’s chosen people, which was introduced and developed in its preceding books, Genesis and Exodus. In those books, the Israelites were protected and redeemed by God. In Leviticus, God explains what the Israelite people need to do to prove themselves worthy of God’s continued favor and protection.

More specifically, the sanctification theme can be divided into the two primary sub-themes of holiness and purity. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the concept of being “holy” describes a state of spiritual elevation that brings people closer to God. Because God is holy, God’s chosen people—the Israelites—must be holy as well. The notion of “purity” is closely tied to holiness: being ritually “clean” (as opposed to “unclean”) establishes the requisite level of purity necessary as a precondition for achieving holiness. In Leviticus, the concept of “purity” extends to many aspects of personal conduct, including diet and sexuality. Analysts note how commonly this concept frequently occurs in both ancient and relatively modern religions, describing it as a general system of norms and standards for governing interactions between mortals and divine beings. Importantly, the rules established in Leviticus are so detailed and comprehensive that it is functionally impossible not to break them. The methods set forth for purifying oneself after such a violation continues the theme of redemption and forgiveness that occupies a centrally important place in Judeo-Christian spirituality.

One emerging debate surrounding the content of Leviticus questions traditional understandings of its focal intent. Historically, the laws, regulations, instructions, and codes of conduct specified in Leviticus have been understood to apply to all Israelite people, regardless of their class or position in ecclesiastical or lay circles. However, some modern scholars now endorse the idea that its contents were originally intended only for priests and not the Jewish laity. The text of Leviticus explicitly specifies that certain rules are meant only for the priest class, but a minority of experts believe that all its rules were originally written for priests and only came to be applied to the entirety of the Israelites during the Babylonian Exile. Proponents of this viewpoint argue that the scope of the instructions and regulations were expanded from only priests to all Israelites to create a society distinct from the Babylonian hegemony in which the Israelites were living at the time. Such a shift would also have achieved a hard distinction between the Israelites and the non-Jewish gentiles among which they lived, essentially elevating all Jews to the level of holiness and positioning gentiles outside the realm of God’s favor.

Bibliography

Balentine, Samuel E. Leviticus—Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.

Fairchild, Mary. “Introduction to the Book of Leviticus.” Learn Religions, 4 Apr. 2019, www.learnreligions.com/book-of-leviticus-701146. Accessed 13 Apr. 2022.

Jenson, Philip Peter. Leviticus: An Introduction and Study Guide. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.

Poorthuis, Marcel and Joshua J. Schwartz. Purity and Holiness: The Heritage of Leviticus. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2020.

Sherwood, Stephen K. Berit Olam: Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2020.

Sloane, Elizabeth. “Can We Eat Bacon Now? Leviticus Written for Priests, Not You, Say Scholars.” Haaretz, 13 May 2017, www.haaretz.com/archaeology/revisiting-leviticus-can-we-eat-bacon-now-1.5471003. Accessed 13 Apr. 2022.