In Jewish tradition, the book is called Vayikra (Leviticus 1:1−5:26), based on the opening words that translate as “And He called.” The book opens exactly where Exodus concludes, with the Israelites camped at the base of Mount Sinai. After the glory of the Lord had filled the tabernacle, God summoned Moses into the tent of meeting to receive instructions for the community. The name Leviticus comes from the Greek, which means “pertaining to the Levites.” The Levite priests were the stewards of the laws presented in the book. Therefore, the English title identifies the book as a manual for the priestly class. God may have summoned Moses directly, but henceforth the priests would be the mediators between the people and the divine.
The first reading portion in Leviticus goes from 1:1 to 6:7. If you have read ahead—and I always encourage you to take that approach—we are not blazing through creation and early human history like in Genesis. We aren’t following the earth–shaking signs and wonders of Exodus. We haven’t yet arrived at Numbers, where the chosen people get on the move. Leviticus is the Bible’s pause, and I don’t mean a dramatic pause; it’s more like a prescriptive pause. In a window of about 30 days, God established the architecture of the sacrificial system and the institutions that will govern Israelite religious life for 1,500 years.
The Priestly Voice
Leviticus is dominated by what is often called the priestly voice. This voice is technical, repetitive, and deeply concerned with the mechanics for seperatinge “holy” versus the “profane.” It is a manual for the house of Aaron, focused on ritual purity and the architecture of the sacrificial system. The priestly tone is intentional. It reflects the meticulous nature of a God who is “of purer eyes than to behold evil” (Habakkuk 1:13).
The distinctive “sound” of Leviticus is defined by a specific vocabulary and a unique way of describing the Divine. In Genesis and parts of Exodus, God is often described in very human terms (anthropomorphisms). He “walks” in the garden or “regrets” a decision. In Leviticus, however, God is transcendent and holy. The focus is not on God’s personality or emotions, but on his presence and how that presence is maintained through precise ritual.
Rules of Sacrifice
The theme of Leviticus is the reach for holiness by means of sacrifice. The Hebrew word for sacrifice, korbanot, translates as “that which is brought close.” Indeed, the driving force behind all the biblical talk of kidneys, livers, loins, and lobes is the call to come into communion with God.
The portion outlines five primary categories of korbanot. The burnt offering was the only sacrifice entirely consumed by fire on the altar. It is unique because no part of the animal was eaten by the priest or the donor. The grain offering consisted of fine flour and oil. This was often the offering of the poor who could not afford livestock but still desired the dignity of giving to God. The peace offering was a voluntary sacrifice shared as a meal between the priest and the worshiper. It is the only sacrifice where the person bringing the offering ate a portion of the meat. The sin offering was required for unintentional sins. Its primary purpose was the purification of the sanctuary, which was thought to be “polluted” by the presence of human sin. Finally, the guilt offering was brought for specific sins. It was unique because it required restitution—the offender had to pay a penalty to the victim in addition to the sacrifice.
All five chapters lay out the rules for the sacrifices and how Aaron’s sons are meant to slaughter the animal, collect its blood, arrange the meat upon the altar, and burn the fat and entrails. In the case of the sin offering, the priest was to lay his hand on the head of the animal and slaughter it. Taking the blood of the bull before the tabernacle, he dipped his finger into the blood and sprinkled it seven times before the Lord. Only when done properly was the aroma pleasing to the Lord.
Messiness of Sacrifice
The concept of atonement achieved through the shedding of blood comes across as primitive and distasteful to the modern mind, a very messy business. To be sure, the Temple in Jerusalem required a drainage system to drain the copious blood from the base of the altar. But we cannot brush away a large chunk of the Bible as irrelevant to our contemporary faith. We are beholden to dig deeper into the mystery of the text for eternal truths. Our God is a God who lays out the parameters for how he is to be worshiped.
Blood atonement begins here in Leviticus, and for Christians it will climax with the sacrificial death of our Messiah, Jesus. Blood is a powerful tool in the ritual of temple worship. On the one hand, blood taints. In the third chapter of Leviticus, the Israelites are told that as a lasting ordinance for generations to come, wherever they live, they are to abstain from eating blood. Leviticus 17:14 explains that the life of every creature is its blood. The punishment for consuming blood was excommunication.
On the other hand, blood has the power to wash away sin. The author of Hebrews states: “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22)
Blood atonement is the most central doctrine of our Christian faith. His death was offered up as our burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and guilt offering. Certainly, the meaning of blood atonement remains cloaked in mystery. But without the parameters laid out in Leviticus, it is a concept void of precedent.
And just as the sacrifices presented in Leviticus were designed to draw the Israelites close, Christ died for our sins so that we may draw close as well, reconciling us to our Creator. While I studied these chapters in Leviticus, I kept hearing in my mind the 19th-century hymn:
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Join me next week for our next Leviticus reading and we will learn more than you ever thought possible about the priestly requirements! If you would like to get the study questions that go with this episode, visit our website and sign up for the newsletter: www.thejerusalemconnection.us
Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai
Study Questions
The Meaning of “Drawing Near” (Leviticus 1:1–2) The Hebrew word for sacrifice, korban, comes from the root k-r-v, which means “to draw near.” How does viewing the sacrifices through the lens of “proximity” rather than just “payment for sin” change your understanding of the Israelite worship system?
The “Token Portion” and Divine Provision (Leviticus 2:1–10) In the minchah (grain) offering, only a “token portion” is burned on the altar, while the rest is given to the priests for food. What does this arrangement suggest about God’s concern for the physical well–being of those who serve Him, and how does it illustrate the partnership between God, the priesthood, and the community?
Intentional vs. Unintentional Sin (Leviticus 4:1–2, 5:14–16) Both the chatat (sin offering) and the asham (guilt offering) are specifically designated for sins committed “unintentionally” (bi-shgagah). If these rituals only covered accidental wrongs, what does this imply about the Israelite’s moral responsibility for their “hidden” or “forgotten” faults, and how does this contrast with the way we view accountability today?
