A guide to Leviticus

Who wrote Leviticus, and when?

Traditionally Moses. Traditionally 1400s BC, given at Sinai.

Leviticus is traditionally credited to Moses, and the book itself repeatedly presents its laws as words the LORD spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai (see Leviticus 1:1 and 27:34). On the traditional view it was written in the 1400s BC during the year Israel camped at Sinai. Many scholars think the priestly laws were collected and written down over a longer period and reached their final form later in Israel's history. Both views agree that the book preserves the worship instructions that governed Israel's tabernacle and, later, the temple. The name Leviticus comes from Levi, the tribe from which the priests were drawn, though most of the book is addressed to the whole people rather than to priests alone.

Who was Leviticus written to?

Israel at Sinai, and especially the priests who would serve in the newly built tabernacle.

The first hearers were the people of Israel camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, with the newly built tabernacle standing in the middle of their camp. At the end of Exodus, God's glory fills that tent and Moses cannot go in. That is the problem Leviticus answers. A holy God has come to live with a people who are anything but holy, and someone has to explain how that can work without disaster. The priests, from the family of Aaron, needed detailed instructions for the sacrifices, since they would carry them out every day. But the ordinary Israelite needed the book just as much, because it told them what to bring, when they were clean or unclean, how to treat their neighbour and how to keep the yearly festivals. It was a handbook for the whole camp.

What was happening at the time?

Exodus ends with God’s glory filling the tabernacle, but Moses cannot enter it. Leviticus answers the problem: how can people marked by sin approach a holy God? It was Israel’s handbook for worship, sacrifice, cleanness and daily holiness.

Why was Leviticus written?

To teach that God is holy, that sin needs atonement, and that his people are to be set apart in every part of life.

Leviticus was written to teach one thing above all: the LORD is holy, and his people must be holy too. Holy means set apart, belonging entirely to God, and the book works that out in three areas. The sacrifices in chapters 1 to 7 show that sin is serious and that forgiveness costs something. The cleanness laws show that the whole of life, including food, illness and the body, comes under God's care. The laws about neighbours, justice and honesty in chapters 18 to 20 show that holiness is about how people treat each other, and not only about worship. The book wants Israel to live near God safely and gladly. In the wider Bible story, Leviticus explains the language of sacrifice, priesthood and atonement that the New Testament uses to explain what Jesus did on the cross.

How to read Leviticus today

Do not start at chapter 1 and grind through. Read chapters 1 and 4 to get the idea of the offerings, then jump to chapter 16, the Day of Atonement, which is the centre of the book, and chapter 19, which is the best summary of what holiness looks like in daily life. Watch for the repeated call to be holy because the LORD is holy. Do not force yourself to find a symbolic meaning for every animal or fabric, and do not treat every law as binding on Christians today; Christians agree that the sacrifices pointed forward to Jesus and are fulfilled in him, and they discuss how the other laws apply now. As you read, pray about the cost of forgiveness, and thank God that the way into his presence has been opened.

The key verse in Leviticus

Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

Passages worth knowing in Leviticus

• Leviticus 1–7

  The offerings

  Five sacrifices that show what it costs to approach God.

• Leviticus 16

  The Day of Atonement

  One day a year sin is carried away; fulfilled in Christ.

• Leviticus 17:11

  The life is in the blood

  Why blood is central to atonement.

• Leviticus 19

  Be holy

  Holiness spelled out as love for neighbour and honest dealings.

• Leviticus 25

  Sabbath year and Jubilee

  Rest, release and restoration built into the economy.

The main themes of Leviticus

• Holiness
• Sacrifice and atonement
• Clean and unclean
• The priesthood
• Worship

An outline of Leviticus