In the same vein as the end of Exodus, the first half of Leviticus focuses on the laws of the tabernacle, with animal sacrifices the main area of instruction. But why this obsession with animal sacrifices?
Like many books of the Bible, Leviticus had a long gestation period, but from what I can make out it was finalised at some point after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (587 BCE) and before Alexander the Great's conquest of the Mediterranean (332 BCE), an era known as the "Persian period". This is relevant because many ancient cultures – some of which I've read about in Herodotus' Histories (440 BCE) – had similarly elaborate views on which animals were clean (holy) and unclean (unholy), and which were best suited for ritual sacrifice. A good article on Egyptian sacrifices can be read here (Herodotus also talks about the Scythians who made human sacrifices), and Wikipedia tells us that even in the time of ancient Mesopotamia (3,500 BCE onwards), "sacrificial meals were set out regularly, with a sacrificial animal seen as a replacement or substitute for a man, and it was considered that the anger of the gods or demons was then directed towards the sacrificial animal."
As far as I understand it, this use of animals as a sacrificial substitute (to appease a deity when we sin) is also part of the rationale behind the instructions in Leviticus. However, these "sin" (4:24) or "trespass" (5:15) offerings only form part of a bigger system of five offerings in the schema of early Jewish rabbis, along with "burnt", "peace" and "meal" offerings. See the diagram below:
In the focus on unleavened bread, and the use of fire, there's a clear emphasis on purification in all of the offerings, as a symbolic representation of the need to atone for sin and preserve God's holiness. The removal of blood (since the life of an animal was considered to be in the blood) remains a tradition that I'm aware of – given Orthodox Jews and kosher food and Islam and halal food – but I didn't know that fat was also considered unclean. The detail gets so specific that at one point (3:15) we're told that even the "caul" (membrane on top of the liver) should be removed by the priests, and added to the altar with the blood and fat.
A practical thought occurred to me while reading all these intensely detailed instructions – how did Moses communicate all these diktats to the 1mn+ people that composed the tribes of Israel? If it were a sermon, then most people wouldn't be able to hear, let alone remember all the instructions, and this was obviously a long time before the printing press, so a leaflet campaign was out of the question. Word-of-mouth transmission makes me think that much of the detail might have got lost in translation, like Chinese whispers, and so many people would have committed "sins" unknowingly. Which brings me to the bizarre and sobering episode (in chapter 10) of Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron and nephews of Moses, who God mercilessly kills for their youthful exuberance, when they act out of ignorance for sacred ritual by lighting a "strange fire" (in the sense of unauthorised) in the tabernacle using a "censer" (incense burner).
After the death of these sons of Levi (who were themselves part of the Kohanim, or Jewish priestly class), the focus is then on uncleanliness in animals, childbirth and disease. We're also told (at 10:10) that absolutely no alcohol should be brought into the tabernacle. Chapter 11 goes into great detail about which animals are clean and acceptable to eat, and which aren't, so the best of way of showing you what's what is this chart:
In chapter 12, we're told that if a woman gives birth to a boy, she will be "unclean" for 7 days, and that on the 8th day the boy should be circumcised, followed by another 33 days in which the mother should touch no "hallowed thing" or go into a sanctuary, while her blood is "purifying". If a woman gives birth to a girl, she will be "unclean" for 14 days, followed by another 63 days in which the mother should touch no "hallowed thing" or go into a sanctuary, while her blood is "purifying". Once purified, she should bring a baby lamb as a "burnt offering" and a turtledove or pigeon as a "sin offering" to the tabernacle, where the priest will undertake the mother's "atonement" to make her clean again. I think most women might object to the idea they have to atone for giving birth!
Chapter 13 focuses on how to deal with illness, including leprosy, and is very long-winded. We're told (at 13:46) that those lepers who are "utterly unclean" should be excommunicated, and (at 13:59) that leprosy even gets into "a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, of any thing of skins". If nothing else about this chapter, I do grudgingly admire its hypnotic repetition.
Like many books of the Bible, Leviticus had a long gestation period, but from what I can make out it was finalised at some point after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (587 BCE) and before Alexander the Great's conquest of the Mediterranean (332 BCE), an era known as the "Persian period". This is relevant because many ancient cultures – some of which I've read about in Herodotus' Histories (440 BCE) – had similarly elaborate views on which animals were clean (holy) and unclean (unholy), and which were best suited for ritual sacrifice. A good article on Egyptian sacrifices can be read here (Herodotus also talks about the Scythians who made human sacrifices), and Wikipedia tells us that even in the time of ancient Mesopotamia (3,500 BCE onwards), "sacrificial meals were set out regularly, with a sacrificial animal seen as a replacement or substitute for a man, and it was considered that the anger of the gods or demons was then directed towards the sacrificial animal."
As far as I understand it, this use of animals as a sacrificial substitute (to appease a deity when we sin) is also part of the rationale behind the instructions in Leviticus. However, these "sin" (4:24) or "trespass" (5:15) offerings only form part of a bigger system of five offerings in the schema of early Jewish rabbis, along with "burnt", "peace" and "meal" offerings. See the diagram below:
In the focus on unleavened bread, and the use of fire, there's a clear emphasis on purification in all of the offerings, as a symbolic representation of the need to atone for sin and preserve God's holiness. The removal of blood (since the life of an animal was considered to be in the blood) remains a tradition that I'm aware of – given Orthodox Jews and kosher food and Islam and halal food – but I didn't know that fat was also considered unclean. The detail gets so specific that at one point (3:15) we're told that even the "caul" (membrane on top of the liver) should be removed by the priests, and added to the altar with the blood and fat.
A practical thought occurred to me while reading all these intensely detailed instructions – how did Moses communicate all these diktats to the 1mn+ people that composed the tribes of Israel? If it were a sermon, then most people wouldn't be able to hear, let alone remember all the instructions, and this was obviously a long time before the printing press, so a leaflet campaign was out of the question. Word-of-mouth transmission makes me think that much of the detail might have got lost in translation, like Chinese whispers, and so many people would have committed "sins" unknowingly. Which brings me to the bizarre and sobering episode (in chapter 10) of Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron and nephews of Moses, who God mercilessly kills for their youthful exuberance, when they act out of ignorance for sacred ritual by lighting a "strange fire" (in the sense of unauthorised) in the tabernacle using a "censer" (incense burner).
After the death of these sons of Levi (who were themselves part of the Kohanim, or Jewish priestly class), the focus is then on uncleanliness in animals, childbirth and disease. We're also told (at 10:10) that absolutely no alcohol should be brought into the tabernacle. Chapter 11 goes into great detail about which animals are clean and acceptable to eat, and which aren't, so the best of way of showing you what's what is this chart:
In chapter 12, we're told that if a woman gives birth to a boy, she will be "unclean" for 7 days, and that on the 8th day the boy should be circumcised, followed by another 33 days in which the mother should touch no "hallowed thing" or go into a sanctuary, while her blood is "purifying". If a woman gives birth to a girl, she will be "unclean" for 14 days, followed by another 63 days in which the mother should touch no "hallowed thing" or go into a sanctuary, while her blood is "purifying". Once purified, she should bring a baby lamb as a "burnt offering" and a turtledove or pigeon as a "sin offering" to the tabernacle, where the priest will undertake the mother's "atonement" to make her clean again. I think most women might object to the idea they have to atone for giving birth!
Chapter 13 focuses on how to deal with illness, including leprosy, and is very long-winded. We're told (at 13:46) that those lepers who are "utterly unclean" should be excommunicated, and (at 13:59) that leprosy even gets into "a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, of any thing of skins". If nothing else about this chapter, I do grudgingly admire its hypnotic repetition.
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