Leviticus comes more into its own as a biblical book in the second half, laying down the law on how this new community of God should behave, especially from chapter 16 onwards, when we read of the ritual of the Day of Atonement, still a defining part of the Jewish faith to this day. First though we have to finish the section on sacrificial offerings from the first half of Leviticus, with 14:10 telling us that the recovering leper must present two male lambs to the priest as a meat offering. Later, at 14:21-22, there is recognition that poor people might not be able to offer up two lambs, so there's a provision that only one lamb + two pigeons or turtle doves might be sufficient instead.
Moving on to medical care, we're told at 14:38 that the quarantine period for houses and humans infected with leprosy is 7 days. However, if it's a "fretting leprosy" (14:44), which I guess means it's spreading fast and consuming the body or house itself, then the house must be destroyed and the materials must be carried out of the city. In chapter 15, we learn about how to deal with a "running issue" (which I gather means gonorrhoea). In verses 16-18, we're told about the dangers of the "seed of copulation" from men with gonorrhoea getting on to garments and skin, and how to deal with it. At 15:33, there's another strange turn of phrase in the KJV – "her that is sick of her flowers" – which I think means period pains, and God says to avoid women during this time as they're unclean.
The Day of Atonement ritual (now more commonly known as Yom Kippur) comes about from Aaron being told he must atone for the misbehaviour of his two sons who were slaughtered by God. At 16:10, we learn of the origin of the term "scapegoat", a word introduced into English by the KJV translator William Tyndale as a literal translation of the Hebrew, and which still to this day means the object of blame for other peoples' activities. In the ritual, the goat is used to convey the sins of the people away from the community and into the desert wilderness.
Chapters 17-27 are an in-depth collection of laws, many of which (especially those focusing on dietary and sexual practices) come across as antiquated and irrelevant to the the modern reader. We get a hint of the need to eradicate prior pagan practices, such as praying to goat idols (referred to in the KJV as "devils, after whom they have gone a whoring", 17:7). We're also told in chapter 17 that people should avoid eating the blood of animals, else they be cast off from the community forever, while in chapter 18 there are lots of bizarre instructions on who you can and cannot see naked. At 18:21, there's also another reference to false idols – specifically, that people are not allowed to "let any of thy seed pass through the fire of Moloch" – which relates to an Ammonite tradition of offering up their children to a fiery, bull-headed statue as a sacrifice.
At 18:22, we're told that homosexuality is an "abomination", with the instruction that "you shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind". Bigots still use this section out of context to project their hate towards gay people, but reading this instruction in the context of all the other outdated decrees – such as how to make ritual offerings and what food to eat – makes it easier to dismiss these words as historical ignorance. The passage actually made me feel grateful that humanity has since progressed in terms of tolerance and understanding. It also reminded me of my deep conviction that morality has more of an evolutionary basis than a religious one.
I did laugh at 18:23, where animal husbandry is described as "confusion" – I'm sure that, over the years, it's had more to do with desperation than confusion. At 19:10, God instructs his people that, when harvesting, some of the crops must be left over for the "poor and the stranger". Otherwise, chapter 19 is mainly a rephrasing of the Ten Commandments, with some odd additions like 19:14, "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind", or 19:16, "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people", or my favourite (19:27), "Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard".
There are some sane and relevant instructions in these chapters though, such as Leviticus 20:34: "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself". I also appreciate God's command (at 25:4) that the harvest be skipped once every 7 years, to give the earth a rest, almost like a primitive form of Gaia theory. Unsurprisingly, however, there are also plenty more unreasonable demands, such as 21:9: If a daughter of a priest "profane herself by playing the whore ... she shall be burnt by fire". There are some funny ones too, like 21:18-20, "For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken" -- in other words, if you're not physically perfect, stay away from the tabernacle.
In chapters 24-25, there are some more commonly known edicts, such as "breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth", but also some surprising ones such as when God says (at 25:23) that "the land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me". This prohibition of private ownership of land, every 50 years when Jubilee comes around, gives God an almost Levellers spirit. However, Leviticus nears an end in chapter 26 with God showing his teeth, and threatening vengeance for anyone that goes against his many and various commands. I've pasted all of 26:14-33 below, as it seems to me that the language of the KJV is at his most poetic when God is vengeful:
Moving on to medical care, we're told at 14:38 that the quarantine period for houses and humans infected with leprosy is 7 days. However, if it's a "fretting leprosy" (14:44), which I guess means it's spreading fast and consuming the body or house itself, then the house must be destroyed and the materials must be carried out of the city. In chapter 15, we learn about how to deal with a "running issue" (which I gather means gonorrhoea). In verses 16-18, we're told about the dangers of the "seed of copulation" from men with gonorrhoea getting on to garments and skin, and how to deal with it. At 15:33, there's another strange turn of phrase in the KJV – "her that is sick of her flowers" – which I think means period pains, and God says to avoid women during this time as they're unclean.
The Day of Atonement ritual (now more commonly known as Yom Kippur) comes about from Aaron being told he must atone for the misbehaviour of his two sons who were slaughtered by God. At 16:10, we learn of the origin of the term "scapegoat", a word introduced into English by the KJV translator William Tyndale as a literal translation of the Hebrew, and which still to this day means the object of blame for other peoples' activities. In the ritual, the goat is used to convey the sins of the people away from the community and into the desert wilderness.
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| Holman Hunt's depiction of the scapegoat |
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| Molech |
I did laugh at 18:23, where animal husbandry is described as "confusion" – I'm sure that, over the years, it's had more to do with desperation than confusion. At 19:10, God instructs his people that, when harvesting, some of the crops must be left over for the "poor and the stranger". Otherwise, chapter 19 is mainly a rephrasing of the Ten Commandments, with some odd additions like 19:14, "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind", or 19:16, "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people", or my favourite (19:27), "Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard".
There are some sane and relevant instructions in these chapters though, such as Leviticus 20:34: "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself". I also appreciate God's command (at 25:4) that the harvest be skipped once every 7 years, to give the earth a rest, almost like a primitive form of Gaia theory. Unsurprisingly, however, there are also plenty more unreasonable demands, such as 21:9: If a daughter of a priest "profane herself by playing the whore ... she shall be burnt by fire". There are some funny ones too, like 21:18-20, "For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken" -- in other words, if you're not physically perfect, stay away from the tabernacle.
In chapters 24-25, there are some more commonly known edicts, such as "breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth", but also some surprising ones such as when God says (at 25:23) that "the land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me". This prohibition of private ownership of land, every 50 years when Jubilee comes around, gives God an almost Levellers spirit. However, Leviticus nears an end in chapter 26 with God showing his teeth, and threatening vengeance for anyone that goes against his many and various commands. I've pasted all of 26:14-33 below, as it seems to me that the language of the KJV is at his most poetic when God is vengeful:
But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
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