At a glance
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Authorship | Moses (traditional) |
| Date | ~1446-1406 BC (Sinai wilderness period) |
| Audience | Israelites at Sinai |
| Genre | Legal / liturgical |
| Purpose | Holiness laws and sacrificial system for covenant Israel |
| Chapters | 27 |
| Place in canon | Third book of Pentateuch |
Outline
| Section | Chapters | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Sacrificial system | 1-7 | Burnt and grain and peace and sin and guilt offerings |
| Priesthood | 8-10 | Aaronic priesthood inauguration; Nadab and Abihu |
| Clean / unclean laws | 11-15 | Food and bodily and leprosy laws |
| Day of Atonement | 16 | Annual atonement ritual |
| Holiness code | 17-26 | Ethical and ceremonial holiness laws |
| Vows and dedications | 27 | Concluding provisions |
Main themes
| Theme | Description |
|---|---|
| Holiness | "Be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44; 19:2; 20:7, 26), central refrain |
| Atonement | Sacrifice system providing atonement for sin |
| Priesthood | Mediated access to holy God |
| Distinction | Clean / unclean; sacred / common; Israel / nations |
| Day of Atonement | Annual cleansing of nation and tabernacle |
| Festivals | Sabbath, Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, etc., liturgical calendar |
| Ethical holiness | Leviticus 19, practical holiness in social relations |
Key passages
- Leviticus 11:44-45 and 19:2, "Be holy, for I am holy"
- Leviticus 16, Day of Atonement
- Leviticus 17:11, "life of the flesh is in the blood"
- Leviticus 19, Holiness code including "love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18)
- Leviticus 23, appointed festivals
- Leviticus 25, Jubilee year
- Leviticus 26, covenant blessings and curses
Reading Leviticus as a Christian
Mosaic ceremonial and civil legislation is fulfilled in Christ (Hebrews 7-10). The principles and foundational truths continue (God's holiness; need for atonement; moral law); the specific applications (sacrifices, dietary laws, ceremonial cleanness) are fulfilled and no longer binding on NT believers (Acts 15; Mark 7:19; Colossians 2:16-17).
Reading approach:
- See Christ in the sacrificial system (Hebrews 9-10)
- See God's holiness and ethical implications
- See pattern for serious approach to God
- Don't directly apply ceremonial / civil specifics
- Hold to moral law continuity (Decalogue and love of neighbor)