Third book of the bible, covering the early part of Israel's time in the desert and also containing instruction on priestly service, offerings, and other ritual matters.
8
votes
4answers
422 views
Is Leviticus 12 saying that giving birth to a child is a sin?
I was reading Leviticus and saw that a woman, after she gives birth, would be unclean.
Leviticus 12:1-2 (NIV)
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant ...
4
votes
2answers
148 views
How can the sacrifice of one animal atone for many? [closed]
It is often thought that the fundamental principle of atonement is "life for life."
In Lev. 6:2, if an individual sinned, he would bring a "trespass offering to YHVH" (Lev. 6:6), and the kohen would ...
4
votes
1answer
409 views
Is the punishment for sex during menstrual period banishment or a week's defilement?
There are two passages in Leviticus which discuss the degree of uncleanliness one should associate with sleeping with a woman during her period.
Leviticus 15:19
And a woman who will be ...
13
votes
5answers
151 views
Why is the Bible so repetitive?
Some pieces of the Bible are repeated (several times even) without changes. Let's look at the book of Leviticus, especially chapters 13-16, which concerns laws about leprosy, mold, and bodily ...
6
votes
1answer
294 views
The meaning of “stranger and sojourner” in Genesis 23:4 and Leviticus 25:23
In Genesis 23:4 Abraham is in conversation with the residents of Heth and says:
"I am a stranger and a sojourner with you. Give me a possession for a
burying place with you, that I may bury my ...
3
votes
1answer
451 views
Do the “original texts” use fractional numbers?
The Bible, for example, uses fractions. In Lev. 5:16 - "He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the ...
4
votes
1answer
75 views
What did it mean to “rise before the aged” in ancient Hebrew culture?
We read an ordinance in Leviticus:
You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old; you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.—Leviticus 19:32 (NJPS)
In English, "rise" can ...
7
votes
2answers
526 views
Who did Cain marry?
A man marrying his sister is clearly a sin:
If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a ...
4
votes
1answer
137 views
Why was there a Sabbath year?
Leviticus mentions a 'Sabbath year' where they were supposed to give the land a rest:
The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I ...
3
votes
1answer
351 views
What does the Old Testament phrase 'cut off from their people' mean?
What does the Old Testament phrase 'cut off from their people' mean?
I have often read it, but am having difficulty imaganing how it may have actually been practiced? If it was determined that so and ...
4
votes
2answers
244 views
Pagan hairstyle forbidden in Leviticus 19, who had it?
There is a curious law in Leviticus that seems to refer to avoiding an ancient pagan rite.
Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. (Leviticus 19:27)
...
7
votes
2answers
203 views
Cutting body and pagan tattoos forbidden in Leviticus 19, what pagan group?
There is a curious law in Leviticus that seems to refer to avoiding an ancient pagan rite.
Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:28
...
1
vote
2answers
195 views
What is Leviticus 13:55 all about?
Continuing the response to the meta call for contradiction.
Here is Leviticus 13:55 in context:
And he burned the cloth or the warp or the woof, of wool or of linen, or any of the leather ...
0
votes
1answer
144 views
Does a leper have yellow hair or black hair?
This is a response to the meta call for contradictions. I got plenty of these that nobody else notices.
And a man or woman that will have an affliction in him, in the head or in the beard. And the ...
10
votes
2answers
184 views
Why isn't there a taxonomic distinction between clean and unclean birds?
Leviticus 11:13-19 has a list of non-kosher birds that match a list in Deuteronomy 14:11-18 (NJPS):
You may eat any clean bird. The following you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, and the black ...
8
votes
2answers
236 views
What was Ruth's legal status?
I apologize in advance for the length of the question.
The book of Ruth is incredibly romantic and powerful, but I don't understand the legal portion of the drama:
Now Boaz had gone up to the ...
4
votes
2answers
924 views
How did the Thanksgiving offering work?
A thanksgiving offering is mentioned in Leviticus 7:11-15 (NJPS):
This is the ritual of the sacrifice of well-being that one may offer to the Lord:
If he offers it for thanksgiving, he shall ...
