Hebrew Sacred History

Procursus: The contract between God and Israel had God offering protection to the Hebrews and granting them a gigantic homeland, although it was rather desolate and already occupied by others who would need to be pushed aside.

But the Hebrews had obligations too, and not just making sure all males were circumcised. Although summarized in the Ten Commandments that Moses carried down from the mountaintop, the rules for human behavior are offered in far more detail in a biblical book called “Leviticus,” i.e., instructions for the priests. (The Latinized name “Leviticus” derives from the fact that the priests were drawn from the “Levites” or descents from Levi, the third son of Jacob, one of the twelve brothers of Joseph.)

Most of Leviticus takes the form of instructions from the Lord to Moses, which he is to relay to the priests and the rest of the people, which accounts for the odd “quotation within a quotation” format of most of the text. It is assumed that the person hearing the pronouncements will always be male, so women appear in the third person. Here are a very few examples.

Extract 7A: Instructions to Priests

Procursus: Leviticus begins with instructions about animal sacrifice, which seems to have been the main form by which the Hebrew god, like the gods of other herding peoples, was honored. In general, no meat could be consumed that was not first offered to God by priests in the temple (or temple-tent), but there were several levels of offerings, and some offerings were incinerated completely. For the most important offerings, ideally the animals were large, male, and without blemish.

[Leviticus 1:1] the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying, [2] “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When anyone of you offers an offering to the Lord, you shall offer your offering of the livestock, from the herd and from the flock.

[3] “ ‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. [4] He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. [5] He shall kill the bull before the Lord. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting. [6] He shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. [7] The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order on the fire; [8] and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar; [9] but he shall wash its innards and its legs with water. The priest shall burn all of it on the altar, for a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to the Lord.

[10] “ ‘If his offering is from the flock, from the sheep or from the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without defect. [11] He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. [12] He shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat. The priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar, [13] but the innards and the legs he shall wash with water. The priest shall offer the whole, and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to the Lord.

[14] “ ‘If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall offer his offering from turtledoves or of young pigeons. [15] The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar; [16] and he shall take away its crop and its feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, in the place of the ashes. [17] He shall tear it by its wings, but shall not divide it apart. The priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to the Lord.

[Leviticus 3:12] “ ‘If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord. [13] He shall lay his hand on its head, and kill it before the Tent of Meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. [14] He shall offer from it as his offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord; the fat that covers the innards, and all the fat that is on the innards, [15] and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, he shall take away. [16] The priest shall burn them on the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma; all the fat is the Lord’s.

[17] “ ‘It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings, that you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’ ”

[Leviticus 9:22] Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people, and blessed them; and he came down from offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings.

[23] Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and came out, and blessed the people; and the Lord’s glory appeared to all the people. [24] Fire came out from before the Lord, and consumed the burnt offering and the fat upon the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

[Leviticus 10:1] Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange [illicit] fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. [2] Fire came out from before the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

[3] Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” Aaron held his peace.

[4] Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Draw near, carry your brothers from before the sanctuary out of the camp.” [5] So they came near, and carried them in their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said.

[6] Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, “Don’t let the hair of your heads go loose, and don’t tear your clothes, so that you don’t die, and so that he will not be angry with all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. [7] You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of the Lord is on you.” They did according to the word of Moses.

[8] Then the Lord said to Aaron, [9] “You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. [10] You are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean. [11] You are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

Extract 7B: Purity & Impurity

Procursus: Beginning in Chapter 11 the text moves on from animal offerings to rules differentiating what is “clean” from what is “unclean,” with a special focus on food. Modern interpreters often seek to explain the differentiation as having to do with public health, but that explanation is difficult to sustain across all the taboos. Food taboos remain conspicuous today in kosher practices that prohibit the consumption of pork, shrimp, &c. and, for the most observant, the meat of any animal not slaughtered under rabbinical supervision.

[Leviticus 11:1] the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, [2] “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘These are the living things which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. [3] Whatever parts the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and chews the cud among the animals, that you may eat.

[4] “ ‘Nevertheless these you shall not eat of the following that chew the cud, or of those who part the hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but doesn’t have a parted hoof, is unclean to you. [5] The rock-badger (hyrax), because it chews the cud but doesn’t have a parted hoof, is unclean to you. [6] The hare, because it chews the cud but doesn’t have a parted hoof, is unclean to you. [7] The pig, because it has a split hoof, and is cloven-footed, but doesn’t chew the cud, is unclean to you. [8] You shall not eat their meat. You shall not touch their carcasses. They are unclean to you.

[9] “ ‘You may eat whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers. [10] All that don’t have fins and scales in the seas and rivers, all that move in the waters, and all the [other] living creatures that are in the waters, they are an abomination to you, [11] and you shall detest them. You shall not eat of their meat, and you shall detest their carcasses. [12] Whatever has no fins nor scales in the waters is an abomination to you.’”

Summary: People become unclean by contact with anything unclean, but also through anything relating to death, sex, or birth, although the text provides methods to become purified through the sacrifice of various animals.

[Leviticus 12:1] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, [2] “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a woman conceives, and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her monthly period she shall be unclean. [3] In the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. [4] She shall continue in the blood of purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any holy thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. [5] But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her period; and she shall continue in the blood of purification sixty-six days.

[6] “ ‘When the days of her purification are completed for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the door of the Tent of Meeting, a year old lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove, for a sin offering. [7] He shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement for her; then she shall be cleansed from the fountain of her blood.

“ ‘This is the law for her who bears, whether [the child is] a male or a female. [8] If she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons: the one for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.’ ”

[Leviticus 15:1] The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, [2] “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When any man has a [seminal] discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean. …’ ”

[16] “ ‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall bathe all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the evening. [17] Every garment and every skin which the semen is on shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening. [18] If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the evening.

[19] “ ‘If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days. Whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.

[20] “ ‘Everything that she lies on in her impurity shall be unclean. Everything also that she sits on shall be unclean. [21] Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. [22] Whoever touches anything that she sits on shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. [23] If it is on the bed, or on anything she sits on, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until the evening.

[24] “ ‘If any man lies with her, and her monthly flow is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed he lies on shall be unclean.

Extract 7C: Sex & Incest

Procursus: The admonitions in Leviticus include moral injunctions, ranging from incest rules to rules of commercial fair-dealing. (In the interest of clarity, the ancient Hebrew euphemism "uncover nakedness" is here rendered "have intercourse with.") Interestingly, some admonitions are “justified” when God says, essentially, “because I said so,” or “because that would be shameful,” or “because that is what Canaanites and Egyptians do.”

The stress, therefore, is on obedience, primarily, and on cultural differentiation, secondarily. Toward the end of the passage here, the Lord explains that it was because the Canaanites have not been following these rules that he has decided to turn their land over to the Hebrews. Here are some samples.

[Leviticus 18:1] the Lord said to Moses, [2] “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘I am the Lord your God. [3] You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived. You shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes. [4] You shall do my decrees. You shall keep my statutes and follow them. I am the Lord your God. [5] You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances. if a man follows them, he shall live in them. I am the Lord.

[6] “ ‘None of you shall approach any close relatives, to have intercourse: I am the Lord.

[7] “ ‘You shall have intercourse with your father, or intercourse with your mother: she is your mother. You shall not have intercourse with her.

[8] “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with your father’s wife. It shames your father.

[9] “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or born abroad, bringing shame upon them.

[10] “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with your son’s daughter, or with your daughter’s daughter, bringing them shame; for their shame is your own shame.

[11] “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with your father’s wife’s daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister.

[12[ “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with your father’s sister. She is your father’s kinswoman.

[13] “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s near kinswoman.

[14] “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with your father’s brother and approach his wife. She is your aunt.

[15] “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife. You shall not shame her.

[16] “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with your brother’s wife bringing shame upon him.

[17[ “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with a woman and her daughter, or her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to shame them. They are near kinswomen. It is wickedness.

[18] “ ‘While your wife lives you shall not take her sister as a rival wife and have intercourse with her.

[19] “ ‘You shall not approach a woman to have intercourse, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness from menstruation.

[20] “ ‘You shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, and defile yourself with her.

[21] “ ‘You shall not give any of your children as a sacrifice to [the god] Molech [as the Canaanites do], which profanes the name of your God. I am the Lord.

*Note on verse 22: Biblical scholar Idan Dershowitz has argued that the curious reference to same-sex intercourse ("uncovering nakedness") in the first part of verses 7 (father) and 14 (father's brother) is immediately and oddly negated by the clarification in the second part of each of these two verses to the effect that what really matters is the wife of each of these. As I understand it, this is part of his larger argument that same-sex relations were probably not prohibited in the original text, except in the case of incestuous father-son or uncle-nephew relations, but that a general prohibition was added by a later editor, one also responsible for verse 22, restricting all same-sex cohabitation (and this rendering the earlier items redundant). The full argument is laid out in a 2018 article in the journal Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel. A summary of it can be found in the New York Times for July 21, 2018, p. R-7.

[23] “ ‘You shall not have intercourse with any animal to defile yourself with it. No woman may give herself to an animal, to have intercourse with it. That is a perversion.

[24] “ ‘Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled. [25] The land was defiled. Therefore I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out her inhabitants. [26] You therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the native-born, nor the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you [27] (for the men of the land that were before you had done all these abominations, and the land became defiled), [28] that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.

[29] “ ‘For whoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people. [30] Therefore you shall keep my requirements, that you not practice any of these abominable customs which were practiced before your time, and that you not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.’ ”

Extract 7D: Fair Dealing

Procursus: Having dealt with rituals and with sex, the text in Chapter 19 turns to non-sexual relations between people, sometimes differentiating in-group and out-group, more often enjoining hearers to be decent to everybody. Here is a sample:

[Leviticus 19:11] “ ‘You shall not steal. You shall not lie or deceive one another.

[12] “ ‘You shall not swear by my name in order to deceive, and thus profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

[13] “ ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired servant you shall not hold back all night until the morning.

[14] “ ‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.

[15] “ ‘You shall do no injustice in rendering judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your fellow-countrymen in righteousness.

[16] “ ‘You shall not go spread slander among your people. You shall not fail to defend the life of your neighbor. I am the Lord.

[17] “ ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke your [erring] neighbor, and thus not bear sin because of him.

[18] “ ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your kinsmen; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

[19] “ ‘You shall keep my statutes. You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; Do not wear a garment made of two kinds of yarn.

[26] “ ‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.

[27] “ ‘You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim the edge of your beard.

[28] “ ‘You shall not tear your flesh in mourning for the dead, nor tattoo yourselves. I am the Lord.*

[29] “ ‘Do not profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.

[30] “ ‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am the Lord.

[31] “ ‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

[32] “ ‘You shall rise up before the agèd and respect the elderly; and you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.

[33] “ ‘If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. [34] The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

[35] “ ‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity. 36 You shall have just balances and weights, and just dry and liquid measures. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

[37] “ ‘You shall observe all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them. I am the Lord.’ ”

Extract 7E: The Rewards for Obedience

Procursus: The text turns to issues of penalties to be administered for various sins, including ritual ways of cleansing impurities, adding special prohibitions for the priesthood and laying out instructions for the ritual calendar. Mixed with this are regulations for the sale and redemption of land. Included is a promise of the benefits of obedience:

[Leviticus 26:3] “ ‘If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments, and do them, [4] then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. [5] Your threshing shall continue until the vintage, and the vintage shall continue until the sowing time. You shall eat your fill of bread, and dwell in your land safely.

[6] “ ‘I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one will make you afraid. I will remove evil animals out of the land, neither shall the sword of war cut through your land. [7] You shall chase your enemies, and they shall be cut down by your sword. [8] Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

[9] “ ‘I will have respect for you, make you fruitful, multiply you, and will carry out my covenant with you. [10] You shall eat old supplies long kept, and you shall move out the old because of the new. [11] I will set my tent among you, and my soul won’t abhor you. [12] I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you will be my people. [13] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you walk upright.

Extract 7F: Punishments for Disobedience

Procursus: Much longer than the description of the rewards for obedience is the description of terrible punishments to be inflicted on the Hebrews if they do not, as a nation, follow their contract with God —from avoiding shellfish and tattoos and clothes made of two kinds of yarn, to using honest weights and measures and honoring the elderly and sheltering strangers.

The punishments for disobedience, the Lord explains, will come in waves, with a chance for repentance before each subsequent, even more awful wave. The passage concludes by saying that forgiveness will be possible once hideous suffering has had its pedagogical effect. Here is a sample:

[Leviticus 26:14] “ ‘But if you will not listen to me, and will not do all these commandments, [15] and if you shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, [16] I also will do this to you: I will appoint terror over you, even wasting disease and fever that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away. You will sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will eat it. [17] I will set my face against you, and you will be struck before your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you; and you will flee when no one pursues you.