Every post in Leviticus, in order. Tap a post for the whole conversation, or the book icon for the verses.
The tent’s up. First thing, the LORD calls me in and starts talking about offerings. Fair warning: it gets detailed from here.
Then the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, you may bring as your offering an animal from the herd or the flock.
Moses read out the first instructions today. You put your hand on the animal’s head, and it’s accepted on your behalf, to put things right for you. That’s how it starts.
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, you may bring as your offering an animal from the herd or the flock. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
Replying to @theisraelites
My animal. My hand. Accepted for me. Still thinking about that.
He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
To be clear, here’s what people bring to us at the altar when they’ve done wrong without meaning to. It depends who you are: The high priest: a bull. A leader: a male goat. Anyone else: a female goat. Can’t afford that? Two doves. Can’t afford doves? Some flour.
If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring an unblemished male goat as his offering. When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for that sin. If, however, he cannot afford a lamb, he may bring to the LORD as restitution for his sin two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering.
And every one of them ends the same way. “And he will be forgiven.”
Aaron@aaronTo be clear, here’s what people bring to us at the altar when they’ve done wrong without meaning to. It depends who you are:
The high priest: a bull.
A leader: a male goat.
Anyone else: a female goat.
Can’t afford that? Two doves.
Can’t afford doves? Some flour.Then he is to remove all the fat, just as it is removed from the peace offering, and the priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven. The remainder will belong to the priest, like the grain offering.”
Cheated someone? Pay them back in full, plus a fifth, the day you own up. Then bring your offering. That’s the rule now.
once he has sinned and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or anything else about which he has sworn falsely. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value, and pay it to the owner on the day he acknowledges his guilt. Then he must bring to the priest his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram of proper value from the flock.
The fire on the altar never goes out. Never. Fresh wood every morning, and that’s on us.
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it must not be extinguished. Every morning the priest is to add wood to the fire, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not be extinguished.
My little brother poured the oil on my head, in front of the whole community. High priest. Then seven days in the doorway of the tent, not allowed to leave. Today, day eight, I start.
He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him. You must not go outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are complete; for it will take seven days to ordain you. On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.
Replying to @aaron
Blood on his right ear, his right thumb and his right big toe. We all watched.
Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on Aaron’s right earlobe, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. Moses also presented Aaron’s sons and put some of the blood on their right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then he splattered the blood on all sides of the altar.
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu offered fire the LORD hadn’t asked for. Fire came out from the LORD and burned them up. They died there, in front of the LORD.
Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD.
Replying to @moses
I told my brother what the LORD had said: anyone who comes near him will see that he’s holy. Aaron didn’t say a word.
Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.
Uncle Moses lost his temper with me and my brother Ithamar today. The same day we lost Nadab and Abihu. Over a goat: it was meant to be eaten by us priests, and we’d burned it instead.
Later, Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked, “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the holy place? For it is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the congregation by making atonement for them before the LORD. Since its blood was not brought inside the holy place, you should have eaten it in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.”
Replying to @eleazar
What did your dad say?
But Aaron replied to Moses, “Behold, this very day they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD. Since these things have happened to me, if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been acceptable in the sight of the LORD?”
The menu, as Moses read it out: Yes: cows, sheep, goats. No: camels, rabbits, pigs. Fish: fins and scales, or no. Birds: no eagles, vultures or bats. Insects: no. Except locusts, crickets and grasshoppers.
You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. But of those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. Of all the creatures that live in the water, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat anything with fins and scales. Additionally, you are to detest the following birds, and they must not be eaten because they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, any kind of falcon, any kind of raven, the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper.
Replying to @theisraelites
Locusts are fine. Good to know, I suppose.
Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper.
If a dead lizard falls into your clay pot, the pot has to be smashed. Just so everyone knows. Gutted about the pot.
The following creatures that move along the ground are unclean for you: the mole, the mouse, any kind of great lizard, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the skink, and the chameleon. These animals are unclean for you among all the crawling creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. When one of them dies and falls on something, that article becomes unclean; any article of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work must be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean. If any of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean; you must break the pot.
Why all of it? The LORD: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt so that I would be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
A whole section of the Law on skin conditions, and guess who has to do the looking. The priest. Tucked in the middle of it: going bald doesn’t make you unclean, unfit to come near the LORD’s tent. It’s in the Law.
“When someone has a swelling or rash or bright spot on his skin that may be an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest. The priest is to examine the infection on his skin, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean. Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean. Or if his hairline recedes and he is bald on his forehead, he is still clean.
Not funny, this bit. If the priest has to declare someone unclean, they cover their mouth, call out “Unclean! Unclean!” and live alone outside the camp for as long as it lasts.
the man is diseased; he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean because of the infection on his head. A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ As long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.
When someone’s healed, the priest goes out of the camp to them. And one of the two birds is let go over the fields. It just flies off.
The priest is to go outside the camp to examine him, and if the skin disease of the afflicted person has healed, the priest shall order that two live clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. Then the priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in a clay pot. And he is to take the live bird together with the cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, and dip them into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the skin disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and release the live bird into the open field.
After Nadab and Abihu, the LORD said: Aaron can’t just go behind the curtain whenever he likes, or he’ll die. Once a year.
Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
Plain linen, not the gold. And a bull for my own sins before anyone else’s.
He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them. Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household.
The second goat stays alive. I put both hands on its head and confess over it everything Israel has done wrong. Then it’s led out into the desert and let go. It carries all of it away.
Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into the wilderness.
Replying to @aaron
That was me. Took it out to a place where nobody lives and let it go. Washed. Came back.
The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into the wilderness. The man who released the goat as the scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.
On that day we’re made clean from all our sins. All of them.
Aaron@aaronThe second goat stays alive. I put both hands on its head and confess over it everything Israel has done wrong. Then it’s led out into the desert and let go. It carries all of it away.because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
What the LORD told us about blood: the life is in the blood, and he’s given it to us on the altar to put things right for our lives.
“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them this is what the LORD has commanded: For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.
If you only take one part of all this home with you, take the part that starts with the LORD telling us to be holy, because he’s holy.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
Also from today: don’t harvest right to the edges of your field. Leave some for the poor and the foreigner.
When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.
The rest of that part, quickly. Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Pay your workers the same day. Don’t curse a deaf man. Don’t put something in a blind man’s way. Don’t gossip.
Moses@mosesIf you only take one part of all this home with you, take the part that starts with the LORD telling us to be holy, because he’s holy.You must not steal. You must not lie or deceive one another. You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand. You must not curse the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD. You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.
Same part, from the LORD: no revenge, no grudges. Love your neighbour as yourself. And he signs it “I am the LORD.”
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Read it twice.
Moses@mosesSame part, from the LORD: no revenge, no grudges. Love your neighbour as yourself. And he signs it “I am the LORD.”Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Stand up when an older person comes in. It’s in the Law now. I’m only mentioning it.
You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.
The foreigner living with you? Love them as yourself. We were foreigners in Egypt.
You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
The LORD’s calendar, for anyone planning ahead: 1. Every seventh day, the Sabbath. 2. Passover. 3. A week of bread without yeast. 4. The first sheaf of the harvest. 5. New bread, fifty days on. 6. Trumpets. 7. The Day of Atonement. 8. A week living in shelters.
For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD. The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest. You shall count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD. “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts. “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present a food offering to the LORD. “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Feast of Tabernacles to the LORD begins, and it continues for seven days.
A week living in shelters made of branches, and the instruction is literally “rejoice”. Okay then.
Eleazar son of Aaron@eleazarThe LORD’s calendar, for anyone planning ahead:
1. Every seventh day, the Sabbath.
2. Passover.
3. A week of bread without yeast.
4. The first sheaf of the harvest.
5. New bread, fifty days on.
6. Trumpets.
7. The Day of Atonement.
8. A week living in shelters.On the first day you are to gather the fruit of majestic trees, the branches of palm trees, and the boughs of leafy trees and of willows of the brook. And you are to rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. You are to celebrate this as a feast to the LORD for seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come; you are to celebrate it in the seventh month. You are to dwell in booths for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must dwell in booths,
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Whoever injures someone gets the same back.
If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he injured the other person, the same must be inflicted on him.
Even the land gets a Sabbath. Every seventh year the fields rest.
For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops. But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard.
Replying to @theisraelites
So what do we eat that year? Asking for a friend. And everyone else.
Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’
Every fiftieth year is the Jubilee. The trumpet goes on the Day of Atonement, everyone’s declared free, and every family goes home to the land they had to sell.
Then you are to sound the horn far and wide on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement. You shall sound it throughout your land. So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.
Replying to @eleazar
Why it always goes back: the land belongs to the LORD. He says we’re foreigners and guests living with him.
The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.
The LORD says he’ll walk among us and be our God, and we’ll be his people. He broke the yoke we wore as slaves so we could walk with our heads up.
I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk in uprightness.
The warnings at the end are hard to hear. One line stuck: people so afraid that the sound of a blowing leaf would send them running.
As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
But even in the land of their enemies, the LORD says, he won’t reject them or break his promise.
Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or despise them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God.
Replying to @moses
Holding on to that.
Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or despise them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God.
That’s the book. Everything the LORD gave me for Israel at Mount Sinai. Fat and blood and skin and calendars, and under all of it one thing: God living in the middle of his people, and showing us how to live with him there.
These are the commandments that the LORD gave to Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai.