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a The identification of several of these stones is uncertain
b Or lapis lazuli
c Meaning of Heb uncertain
d Meaning of Heb uncertain
e Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth
f Or the cover
g Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth
39.1–31 Cf. ch. 28.
39.1 Of the blue…yarns harks back to 38.23 (accordingly the use here of they, Bezalel and Oholiab), but fine linen is omitted. As the LORD, a sevenfold refrain in the passage, recalling the seven-day structure of Gen 1.1–2.4.
39.2 He, Bezalel (37.1).
39.3 Gold leaf, an additional detail. Was hammered out, rather “they hammered out,” the volunteers (36.2, 4), who apparently also made the curtains, screen, and hangings (26.1–14, 31, 36; 27.9–15) that are omitted from the account; cf. v. 42.
39.30 Diadem. Cf. 29.6.
39.32 In this way, not in the Hebrew. Finished. Cf. Gen 2.1; also cf. Ex 40.33; Gen 2.2; see note on 39.43. Near Eastern myth, e.g., the Babylonian Enuma Elish, associates temple building with creation; see note on 40.2.
39.33–41 Cf. 35.11–19.
39.42 Israelites. See note on 39.3. Work connotes service in maintaining the cultic or religious life of the community (see note on 36.1), different from the term translated work in v. 43.
39.43 Work, as in Gen 2.2–3. Blessed. Cf. Gen 2.3.
EXODUS 40
The Tabernacle Erected and Its Equipment Installed
1The LORD spoke to Moses: 2On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3You shall put in it the ark of the covenant,a and you shall screen the ark with the curtain. 4You shall bring in the table, and arrange its setting; and you shall bring in the lampstand, and set up its lamps. 5You shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the covenant,b and set up the screen for the entrance of the tabernacle. 6You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, 7and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court. 9Then you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it shall become holy. 10You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar shall be most holy. 11You shall also anoint the basin with its stand, and consecrate it. 12Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shall wash them with water, 13and put on Aaron the sacred vestments, and you shall anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may serve me as priest. 14You shall bring his sons also and put tunics on them, 15and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests: and their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout all generations to come.
16Moses did everything just as the LORD had commanded him. 17In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was set up. 18Moses set up the tabernacle; he laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars; 19and he spread the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent over it; as the LORD had commanded Moses. 20He took the covenantc and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark, and set the mercy seatd above the ark; 21and he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the curtain for screening, and screened the ark of the covenant;e as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the curtain, 23and set the bread in order on it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses. 24He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, 25and set up the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses. 26He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the curtain, 27and offered fragrant incense on it; as the LORD had commanded Moses. 28He also put in place the screen for the entrance of the tabernacle. 29He set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 32When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed; as the LORD had commanded Moses. 33He set up the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and put up the screen at the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.
The Cloud and the Glory
34Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36Whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out on each stage of their journey; 37but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day that it was taken up. 38For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloudf by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel at each stage of their journey.
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a Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth
b Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth
c Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth
d Or the cover
e Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth
f Heb it
40.2 First month, the new year according to the rhythms of the ritual life of the community; see 12.2; note on 39.32. The new year, temple (or tabernacle) building, and creation are associated in the Israelite worldview. Cf. v. 17. You. See 25.9.
40.3 Screen. Cf. 35.12.
40.4 Setting. See 25.29–30.
40.5 Before, but outside the curtain (see 30.6).
40.9 Furniture, translated utensils in v. 10. Holy. See note on 29.37.
40.10 Most holy. See note on 29.37.
40.12 Bring. See note on 29.3; see also v.14.
40.15 Perpetual. Cf. 29.9; Num 25.11–13.
40.17 See note on 40.2.
40.18 Moses. Cf. v. 2.
40.19 Tent. See 26.7, 11. Covering. See 26.14.
40.20 Poles. See note on 25.12. Above, rather “on top of” (25.21).
40.22 Tent of meeting. See note on 27.21.
40.27 Offered. See note on 30.1.
40.28 For the entrance, aligned with but at some remove (see note on 27.9–19).
40.29 Burnt offering. See 28.38–39. Grain offering. See 28.40. Mention of the offerings provides a transition to Leviticus, which begins with the burnt offering (ch. 1) and grain offering (ch. 2).
40.31 Washed, or “would wash.”
40.32 Went…approached…washed. In the Hebrew the tense is not past but present, describing ongoing activity and interrupting the investiture and anointing ceremony (vv. 13–15), which is resumed in Lev 8.
40.33 Finished. See note on 39.32.
40.34–38 The descent of the divine presence into the “dwelling” (tabernacle) parallels the settling (same Hebrew verb) of the Lord atop Mount Sinai (24.15–16).
40.34 Cloud. See note on 13.21. Glory. See note on 16.6–7; cf. 24.16–17.
40.35 Cf. 1 Kings 8.10–11.
40.36–38 An institutionalization of the pillars in 13.21–22; cf. Num 9.15–23.
40.38 At each stage…journey, lit. “in each of their journeys” cf. Num 10.11–36. God’s presence will accompany the Israelites as promised (e.g., 33.14).
LEVITICUS
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS is more aptly described by its tannaitic, or early rabbinic, name, Torat Ko hanim, the “Priests’ Manual.” It is thematically an independent entity. Priestly material in the book of Exodus describes the construction of the Israelite cultic implements (the s
acred religious objects used in ritual—the tabernacle, its contents, and the priestly vestments); in Leviticus this static picture is converted into scenes from the living cult. The book of Numbers, which follows, concentrates on the cultic laws of the camp in motion. Since the transport of the sacred paraphernalia and their protection against encroachment by impurity is the function of the Levites, it is no accident that all the cultic laws pertaining to the Levites are in Numbers, and none are in Leviticus.
The Priesthood
ALTHOUGH THE PRIESTS’ MANUAL focuses on the priesthood, few laws are reserved for priests alone (Lev 8–10; 16.1–28; 21.1–22.16). Their role is defined in pedagogic terms: to teach the distinctions “between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean” (10.10 [cf. 14.57]; 15.31). They must do this because Israel’s moral sins and physical impurities are leading to the pollution of the sanctuary and the expulsion of Israel from its land. The priests, then, are charged with a double task: to instruct Israel not to cause defilement and to purge the sanctuary whenever it is defiled. Leviticus, however, is not simply a collection of rituals. On the contrary, the ethical element fuses with and even informs the ritual, so that one may seek a moral basis behind each ritual act.
Israel’s priests were not an insular elite. They were military chaplains, accompanying Israel’s armies in distant and dangerous battlefields (Num 31.6). They were called outside the sanctuary and, indeed, outside the settlements to quarantine and certify carriers of scale disease (Lev 14.2). The responsibility of the priesthood for the welfare of all Israel is nowhere better exemplified than in the relationship of priests and laity in the sacrificial service. The preliminary rites with the sacrificial animal are performed by the offerer: hand leaning, slaughtering, flaying, quartering, and washing (1.1–9). The priest takes over at the altar and continues the sacrificial ritual in silence. By virtue of his sacred status, the priest acts as the offerer’s (silent) intermediary before God. But he is more than a mere technician. In effect, he is the cultic counterpart of the prophet. Both represent the Israelites before God. Both intercede on their behalf, one through ritual, the other through prayer. The welfare of Israel depends on both a Moses and an Aaron.
Ideas of Holiness and Pollution According to P and H
THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS comprises two priestly sources, known as P (Priestly Code) and H (Holiness Code). They are not homogeneous; each betrays the work of schools. For example, two P strata are discernible in ch. 11 (a later P stratum in vv. 24–38, 47), as are two H strata in ch. 23 (a later H stratum in vv. 2–3, 39–43). Whether material belongs to P or H can be deter mined by two criteria: ideology and terminology.
The most important ideological distinction between the two codes rests in their contrasting concepts of holiness. For P, spatial holiness is limited to the sanctuary; for H, it is coextensive with the promised land. As for the holiness of persons, P restricts it to priests and Nazirites (cf. Num 6.5–8); H extends it to all of Israel. This expansion follows logically from H’s doctrine of spatial holiness: since the land is holy, all who reside on it are to keep it that way. All adult Israelites are enjoined to attain holiness by observing God’s commandments, and even resident aliens must heed the prohibitive commandments, the violation of which threatens to pollute the land for all (e.g., 18.26).
P’s doctrine of holiness is static; H’s is dynamic. P constricts holiness to the sanctuary and its priests, assiduously avoiding the root of the word “holy” even in describing the Levites. Al though H concedes that only priests are innately holy, it repeatedly calls upon Israel to strive for holiness. The dynamic quality of H’s concept is highlighted by the term “sanctify,” used to de scribe the holiness of the laity and the priesthood. Sanctification is an ongoing process for priests (21.8, 15, 23; 22.9, 16) as well as for all Israelites (21.8; 22.32). The holiness of the priests and Israelites expands or contracts in proportion to their adherence to God’s commandments.
The converse, the doctrine of pollution, also varies sharply. P holds that the sanctuary is polluted by Israel’s moral and ritual violations (4.2) committed anywhere in the camp (but not outside) and that this pollution can and must be effaced by the violator’s purification offering and, if committed deliberately, by priestly sacrifice and confession (16.3–22). H, however, concentrates instead on the polluting effects of Israel’s violations of the covenant (26.15), for ex ample, incest (18; 20.11–24), idolatry (20.1–6), and depriving the land of its sabbaths (26.34–35). Pollution for H is nonritualistic, as shown by its metaphoric usage (e.g., 18.20, 24; 19.31) and by the fact that the polluted land cannot be expiated by ritual. Violations irrevocably lead to the expulsion of its inhabitants (18.24–29; 20.22).
The distinctive vocabularies of P and H emerge in their use of homonyms and synonyms. For example, in P shiqqets means “defile (by ingestion)” (translated “unclean” in 11.8) and timmē’ means “defile (by contact)” (translated “detestable” in 11.11), whereas in H they are used interchangeably (20.25). P’s term for “law” or “statute” is always given in the feminine form chuqqah, chuqqot (e.g., 10.9), whereas H also resorts to masculine choq, chuqqim (e.g., 26.46). The term “commit sacrilege” in P is ma‘al (translated “commit a trespass” in 6.2), and in H is chillel (translated “profaned” in 19.8). The pervasive intrusion of H characteristics into the P text points to the strong possibility that H is not only subsequent to P, but is also P’s redactor.
Structure
GENERALLY, THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS divides into the main P text (chs. 1–16), comprising descriptions of the sacrificial system, the inaugural service at the sanctuary, and the laws of impurities; the H text (chs. 17–26); and a section on commutation of gifts to the sanctuary (ch. 27). [JACOB MILGROM]
LEVITICUS 1
The Burnt Offering
1The LORD summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying: 2Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When any of you bring an offering of livestock to the LORD, you shall bring your offering from the herd or from the flock.
3If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you shall offer a male without blemish; you shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, for acceptance in your behalf before the LORD. 4You shall lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be acceptable in your behalf as atonement for you. 5The bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer the blood, dashing the blood against all sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 6The burnt offering shall be flayed and cut up into its parts. 7The sons of the priest Aaron shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the parts, with the head and the suet, on the wood that is on the fire on the altar; 9but its entrails and its legs shall be washed with water. Then the priest shall turn the whole into smoke on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD.
10If your gift for a burnt offering is from the flock, from the sheep or goats, your offering shall be a male without blemish. 11It shall be slaughtered on the north side of the altar before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar. 12It shall be cut up into its parts, with its head and its suet, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood that is on the fire on the altar; 13but the entrails and the legs shall be washed with water. Then the priest shall offer the whole and turn it into smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD.
14If your offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, you shall choose your offering from turtledoves or pigeons. 15The priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head, and turn it into smoke on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out against the side of the altar. 16He shall remove its crop with its contentsa and throw it at the east side of the altar, in the place for ashes. 17He shall tear it open by its wings without severing it. Then the priest shall turn it into smoke on t
he altar, on the wood that is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD.
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a Meaning of Heb uncertain
1.1–7.38 The sacrificial system. Sacrifice is a flexible symbol that conveys a variety of possible meanings. The quintessential sacrificial act is the transference of property from the profane to the sacred realm, in other words, a gift to the deity. That this notion is also basic to Israelite sacrifice is demonstrated by fundamental sacrificial terms that connote a gift, such as mattanah (23.38), minchah (rendered grain offering in 2.1), and ’isheh, “food-gift” (rendered an offering by fire in 1.9). It explains why game and fish were unacceptable as sacrifices: “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing” (2 Sam 24.24).To date, however, no single theory can encompass the sacrificial system of any society, even the most primitive. In chs. 1–5 the sacrifices are characterized by donor: chs. 1–3 speak of sacrifices brought spontaneously (burnt, cereal, well-being); chs. 4–5, of sacrifices required for expiation (purification and reparation). Chs. 6–7 regroup these sacrifices in order of their sanctity. The common denominator of the sacrifices discussed in these chapters is that they arise in answer to an unpredictable religious or emotional need and are thereby set apart from the sacrifices of the public feasts and fasts that are fixed by the calendar (chs. 9, 16, 23; cf. Num 28–29).
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