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Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). Christians refer to the Hebrew Bible as the Old Testament. The English name is derived from the Latin Liber Leviticus which is from the Greek (το) Λενιτικόν (i.e., βιβλίον). In Jewish writings it is customary to cite the book by its first word, Vayikra ויקרא. The main points of the book are concerned with Levitical (priestly) worship.
1 Summary
In the first section of the book (1-17), which exhibits the worship itself, there is:
- A series of laws (1-7) regarding sacrifices, burnt-offerings, meat-offerings, and thank-offerings (1-3), sin-offerings and trespass-offerings (4; 5), followed by the law of the priestly duties in connection with the offering of sacrifices (6; 7).
- An historical section (8-10), giving an account of the consecration of Aaron and his sons (8); Aaron's first offering for himself and the people (9); Nadab and Abihu's presumption in offering "strange fire before Jehovah", and their punishment (10).
- Laws concerning purity, and the sacrifices and ordinances for putting away impurity (11-16).
- Laws marking the separation between Israel and the heathen (17-20).
- Laws about the personal purity of the priests, and their eating of the holy things (20; 21); about the offerings of Israel, that they were to be without blemish (22:17-33); and about the due celebration of the great festivals (23; 25).
- Then follow promises and warnings to the people regarding obedience to these commandments, closing with a section on vows.
The ordinances in this book are said to have been delivered in the space of a month, the first month of the second year after the exodus from Egypt.
2 Jewish views
Orthodox Jews believe that this entire book is the word of God, dictated by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. In TalmudThe Talmud is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. It is a fundamental source of legislation, customs, case histories and moral exhortations. The Talmud comprises two componic literature, there is evidence that this is the first book of the Tanakh taught in the Rabbinic system of education in Talmudic times. A possible reason may be that, of all the books of the Torah, Leviticus is the closest to being purely devoted to mitzvot and its study goes hand-in-hand with their performance.
There are two main MidrashimMidrash (pl. Midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of reading details into, or out of, a Biblical text. The term "midrash" also can refer to a compilation of Midrashic teachings, in the form of legal, exegetical or homiletical commentaries on on Leviticus - the halakhic one ( Sifra ) and a more haggadic one ( Vayikra Rabbah ).
3 Christian views
After the Christian era began, parts of this book began to be seen as prophecy of the coming of the Christian messiahThis article is about religious concept of Messiah. For the musical work by Handel, see Messiah (Handel). For the BBC television drama series, see Messiah (television). In Judaism, the Messiah "Anointed one", Standard Hebrew Mašia Tiberian Hebrew M&, Jesus Christ. To Christian readers, Leviticus is literally about Jewish law and regulations for worship, but is in fact coded prophecy that is made clear in the Epistle to Hebrews. It is said to contain in its law the gospel of the grace of God, although no one before the time of Jesus was able to notice this.
