Chapter 7
Holy Moses! Exploring Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
In This Chapter
Exploring the life of Moses — from rags to riches, to rags to riches
Experiencing Israel’s escape from Egyptian slavery
Examining the Ten Commandments and Israel’s other laws
Entering the Tabernacle — God’s mobile home
Wandering in the wilderness with the Israelites
E xodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (four books that, with Genesis, make up the “Five Books of Moses” or Torah — see Chapter 1) cover one of the Bible’s most remarkable spans of time and distance. The 120 years and 400 miles from Moses’ birth in Egypt to his death on Mount Nebo (modern Jordan) witness Israel’s escape from Egyptian slavery, their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, the establishment of a covenant with God on Mount Sinai, and their journey to the edge of the Promised Land. All these ingredients come together to create a drama more timeless than Egypt, more powerful than the Nile River, more majestic than Pharaoh (as Egyptian kings were called), and more amazing than buying a ticket to an all-night marathon of Bible movies. (Okay, we realize that last one may not rank high on everyone’s list.) In this chapter, we explore the events and accomplishments that make up the life of Israel’s great deliverer and lawgiver: Moses.
A Mosaic of Moses’ Early Life
When the curtain closes on the book of Genesis, the Israelites are prospering in Egypt through the esteemed position of Joseph, Abraham’s great-grandchild and Jacob’s favored son. When the curtain opens on the Book of Exodus, however, time has passed and the tables have turned dramatically. The descendants of Jacob’s 12 sons, who now make up the twelve tribes of Israel, find themselves languishing in slavery. Making matters worse, a population explosion among the Israelites concerns the Egyptian king (or Pharaoh) who orders that all Israelite newborn males be killed. Fortunately, the two midwives for the Israelites don’t take orders well and spare the babies. Frustrated, Pharaoh instructs his own people to cast all Israelite baby boys into the Nile.
Into this context, Moses is born — an individual who would one day change the fate of a nation — actually, many nations.
Rolling down the river to greatness
Moses’ river adventure isn’t as unique as one might imagine. About 1,000 years before Moses, the Mesopotamian king, Sargon the Great, is said to have been born to a high priestess, who places him in a reed basket in the Euphrates River to conceal his illegitimate birth. A humble gardener rescues the baby and raises him, but when Sargon discovers his true identity, he becomes king. What makes Moses’ river adventure unique is that he’s born in obscurity but raised as royalty.
The birth of Moses (Exodus 1–2:9)
Moses is the youngest of three children born to Jochebed (mom) and Amram (dad), members of Israel’s priestly tribe, the Levites. Moses’ older brother, Aaron, will one day become Israel’s first High Priest, and his sister, Miriam, will one day lead Israel in worshiping God after their exodus from Egypt.
Moses’ prospects for the future, however, are quite dim, due to Pharaoh’s orders to kill all newborn boys. To give Moses a chance, and in ironic obedience to Pharaoh’s order, Jochebed places her infant son into the Nile River, only she does so inside a reed basket to keep him afloat. As further irony, Moses’ basket is eventually discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter who takes pity on him and pulls him out of the water, naming him Moses, a name that comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to draw out.” (To convey this in English, we might say, “She named him Drew because she drew him out of the water.”)
Moses’ sister, who’d been keeping watch over the basket, approaches Pharaoh’s daughter and offers to find an Israelite woman to nurse the baby. The princess agrees, and Moses’ sister takes him to their mother, where he remains until he’s weaned (perhaps as old as 3 to 6 years — a typical period for nursing in the ancient world).
Moses’ lost youth (Exodus 2:10)
After Moses is weaned, his mother returns him to Pharaoh’s court, where he’s raised in the luxury of the earth’s wealthiest nation. Interestingly, the biblical text doesn’t give us the details of Moses’ youth. Later interpreters, however (including the most learned of the bunch, Hollywood scriptwriters), have come up with some very creative ideas about these “missing years”. Typically, Moses is paired with the Egyptian crown prince, Rameses II, the most likely candidate to be the pharaoh of the exodus. According to these accounts, Rameses and Moses grow up together in the Egyptian palace. Although both stepbrothers are gifted, Moses usually has the physical and mental advantage over Rameses. This non-biblical story makes Pharaoh’s ultimate defeat during the exodus all the more dramatic.
Moses, the murderer, marries in Midian (Exodus 2:11–22)
As an adult, Moses witnesses an Egyptian taskmaster beating an Israelite slave. Scanning the area for potential witnesses, Moses strikes and kills the Egyptian and buries him in the sand. The next day, Moses breaks up a fight between two Israelite men. The aggressor taunts Moses: “Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Realizing that his crime is well known, Moses flees Egypt, making his way eastward to Midian, a country of tent-dwelling nomads spanning the Sinai and northwest Arabian Peninsulas.
At Midian, Moses rests at a well (the prime pick-up joint in the ancient world). And sure enough, Moses meets his future wife there after rescuing her and her sisters from some hooligans (an ancient version of a bar fight). The sisters, and more importantly, their father Jethro (a Midianite priest) are impressed with their strange visitor. In just two verses (Exodus 2:21–22), Moses meets Jethro (also called Reuel), marries Jethro’s daughter Zipporah, and has a son named Gershom. Moses remains in Jethro’s camp until the age of 80. Then, when most people would be enjoying retirement, Moses takes up a second “career” — leading people out of slavery.
We’re Outta Here! The Exodus from Egypt
While Moses is in Midian, the Israelites continue to suffer in Egypt as slaves. Although Moses seems to have put the Israelites’ suffering out of his mind, God hasn’t, and He decides to use Moses to rescue His people.
My God is bigger than your gods
The plagues God sends upon Egypt are called judgments against Egypt’s gods (Exodus 12:12). Interestingly, the first plague of turning the Nile River to blood and the last plague (before the decisive death of the firstborn) of darkening the sun went after two of Egypt’s most powerful gods: Hapi, the Nile River god, and Ra, the sun god. Which gods, if any, the other plagues were directed at is not so easily identifiable.
Also showing that Israel’s God is “bigger” than the Egyptians’ gods is the role of Pharaoh’s magicians in the plague narratives. At first, the magicians are able to duplicate Moses’ plagues (whether by tricks or supernatural power isn’t specified). By the third plague (gnats), however, the magicians are no longer able to match Moses’ wonderworking, even admitting, “This is the finger of God!” (Exodus 8:19). By the sixth plague (boils), the magicians are so afflicted by the plague that they can’t even show up for the contest.
The burning bush (Exodus 3–6)
One day, while Moses is watching his father-in-law’s flocks, he approaches a mountain named Sinai, where he sees a bush burning that’s not consumed. Curious, Moses moves closer, and then he hears a voice: “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Moses obeys, and God continues by informing Moses that He has heard the cry of the Israelites and has picked Moses to deliver them out of bondage. Although Moses is considered Israel’s greatest prophet, Moses initially comes up with several excuses for why he isn’t the right man for the job, including:
No one will listen to him, whether Israelite or Egyptian, because of his history with both groups.
The Israelites won’t believe that God has appeared to him because he doesn’t know God’s personal name.
He’s “heavy of mouth and tongue,” which probably doesn’t mean that Moses has a speech impediment (as is commonly thought) but that he speaks like a foreigner.
In response to Moses’ excuses, God assures Moses that He will be with him and will give him the words to say. Moreover, God gives Moses some miracles to perform to convince his skeptics, including a staff that turns into a snake, a vanishing and reappearing skin disease on his hand, and the ability to turn water into blood. (Houdini, eat your heart out.)
As for His personal name, God says to Moses in Exodus 3:14, “I am who I am. Thus will you say to the Israelites, ‘I am’ has sent me.”
Out of excuses, Moses begs God to send anyone but him, to which God tells Moses that his brother, Aaron, will assist him on this “mission impossible.” Reluctantly, Moses complies. (After all, it’s tough to win arguments with omniscient deities.)
The plagues that freed a nation (Exodus 7–10)
Moses, now accompanied by his brother Aaron and armed with a few “magic tricks,” returns to Egypt to free the Israelites. After convincing the Israelites that God has appeared to Moses and intends to release them from their bondage, Moses and Aaron deliver God’s message to Pharaoh: “Let My people go!” Pharaoh refuses, saying he doesn’t even know this God of whom they speak. In addition, for even having the audacity to ask to leave, Pharaoh increases the Israelites’ work burden. The people, in turn, become angry at Moses, saying that they wish he’d never returned to “deliver” them. (This complaint is the first of many that the Israelites will file against Moses.) Confused, Moses and Aaron go back to God, who assures them that everything is on schedule and working according to plan. With renewed confidence, Moses and Aaron return to negotiate with Pharaoh. Pharaoh still refuses to release the Israelites, but he soon realizes that God means business, because He brings a number of plagues upon Egypt. Here’s a brief rundown of the Ten Plagues:
1. The Nile River, Egypt’s primary water source, turns to blood (Exodus 7:14–24).
2. Frogs come up from the Nile River and invade the land (Exodus 7:25–8:15).
3. Gnats emerge from the ground and swarm Egypt (Exodus 8:16–19).
4. Flies swarm the land, except Goshen, where the Israelites live (Exodus 8:20–32).
5. A mysterious disease afflicts most of Egypt’s (but none of Israel’s) livestock, which drop dead (Exodus 9:1–7).
6. Boils break out on both the Egyptians and their animals (Exodus 9:8– 12).
7. A hailstorm erupts and destroys much of Egypt’s crops and livestock (Exodus 9:13–35).
8. Locusts devour Egypt’s remaining crops (Exodus 10:1–20).
9. Darkness covers all Egypt except Goshen for three straight days (Exodus 10:21–29).
10. Egypt’s firstborn, including both livestock and humans, are killed by God’s destroying angel (11:1–12:50).
Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart?
In ancient Near Eastern thought, mental activity was based in the heart, and emotions were centralized in the liver and kidneys. Thus, when Pharaoh “hardens his heart,” it means his mind remains stubborn. Yet, sometimes, the text reports that Pharaoh hardened his own heart and at others that God hardened his heart. So, who hardened Pharaoh’s heart? The answer, it seems, is “both.” God ultimately is in control of human hearts and, additionally, He needed a stubborn Pharaoh to show the world His incredible powers.
Participating in the first Passover (Exodus 11–13)
As protection from the tenth plague — the killing of all firstborn children and animals — God tells the Israelites to take the blood from a sacrificed lamb and smear it upon the doorposts of their homes. That night, God, accompanied by His destroying angel, passes over (hence the name of the holiday) the Israelites and slays the firstborn sons of Egypt. This event forms the basis of the Passover holiday. (For more on Passover, see the section titled, “A guide to Israel’s holy days” later in this chapter.) Not one house in Egypt is spared. Even Pharaoh’s son, the crown prince, dies.
That very night, while still mourning the death of his son, Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and tells them that the Israelites can leave Egypt. The Israelites quickly gather their belongings, and are even given wealth by the Egyptians, and they hurry out of Egypt. This is the exodus (from a Greek word, meaning “exit”). However, the Israelites aren’t out of trouble yet.
Crossing the Re(e)d Sea (Exodus 14–15)
Led by God, who manifests Himself as a huge pillar of cloud during the day, and a large pillar of fire by night, the Israelites, who now number well over 1 million people according to the Bible, leave Egypt and head into the wilderness. However, their exit doesn’t pass without incident (or notice, as you can imagine). When news reaches Pharaoh that his Israelite slaves are wandering about in the wilderness, God hardens Pharaoh’s heart once more, and Pharaoh decides to get his slaves back. With his force of chariots, Pharaoh pursues and catches up with the Israelites at the shores of a body of water alternately referred to in translations as the Red Sea and the Reed Sea.
The people, seeing that they are trapped between this large body of water and the Egyptian army, cry out to Moses. Moses, in turn, tells them to remain silent “and watch the deliverance of God” (Exodus 14:13). Moses then raises his staff and the waters part, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry ground. Pharaoh’s forces, who up to this point have been held at bay by God via a pillar of fire, are finally allowed to give pursuit. Yet, once the Israelites are safe on the other side, Moses lowers his arms, and the waters sweep over the Egyptian army, drowning them.
After being delivered from Pharaoh’s army, the Israelites worship God with a song led by the brother-sister duo of Moses and Miriam — a song recorded in Exodus 15 called the “Song of the Sea.” Soon the Israelites are on their way to Moses’ old stomping grounds, Midian, where Moses will receive the laws to govern this new nation conceived in liberty (see Figure 7-1).
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Figure 7-1: The possible route of the exodus. |
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When did the exodus take place?
At present, there is no extra-biblical historical or archaeological evidence to corroborate the specific events described in Exodus. Therefore, we aren’t entirely sure when to date the exodus. Some scholars hold to a fifteenth century B.C.E. date for the exodus, based on literal readings of passages such as 1 Kings 6:1, which states that the exodus occurred 480 years prior to Solomon’s construction of the Jerusalem Temple (around 960 B.C.E.). This would place the exodus around 1440 B.C.E. Yet, many scholars feel that the exodus occurred at some point in the thirteenth century B.C.E., when the pharaohs, including Seti I and his son Rameses II, undertook massive building projects in the eastern Nile Delta (including the store cities of Pithom and Raamses) as described in Exodus. Furthermore, an inscription from Rameses II’s son, Merneptah, dating to 1208 B.C.E., records the earliest historical reference to Israel outside of the Bible. In this inscription, Merneptah brags of defeating a number of his Canaanite enemies, including a people not yet settled named “Israel.” Thus, by the thirteenth century B.C.E., “Israel” refers to a people located in Canaan, but who had not consolidated into a Kingdom.
Are we there yet? The Israelites’ constant complaining (Exodus 16–17)
Shortly after the miraculous events at the Red Sea, Moses leads the people on a three-month trek through the desert to Mount Sinai, where God first appeared to Moses in a burning bush. While on the way, the people, far from showing their gratitude for having been freed from slavery, grumble to Moses about everything from where they’ll find their next meal to why Moses led them out of slavery to die in the wilderness. In each case, Moses brings their complaint to God, who provides for their need. As the peoples’ complaints and God’s provision are repeated in the Book of Numbers (a book discussed later in this chapter), here’s a breakdown for ease of reference:
The people complain that they don’t have enough food. In response, God causes a sticky bread-like substance to fall from the sky. Not knowing what this stuff is, the people call it “What is it?” or manna in Hebrew. Manna will be part of the Israelite’s daily diet during the 40-year wilderness wanderings.
The people complain that they don’t have enough meat. In response, God causes quail to land in the Israelite camp. The people gather the birds and have a barbeque each evening for 40 years.
The people complain that they don’t have enough water. In response, God instructs Moses to strike a rock with his staff, and water gushes forth from the rock for the Israelites to drink.
Receiving the Ten Commandments and Israel’s other laws (Exodus 20)
After the Israelites arrive at Mount Sinai, they become frightened when they hear God’s thundering voice and ask Moses to serve as a mediator between them and God. Moses then ascends Mount Sinai to receive Israel’s law.
Following is a brief rundown of the Ten Commandments and what they mean:
You shall have no other gods before Me. This commandment, enjoining Israel to singular devotion to God, is intimately tied to their being delivered by God from Egyptian bondage. In fact, Jewish tradition reckons God’s statement just prior to this command (“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery”) as the first of the Ten Commandments. The thrust of this commandment is: Since God delivered you from slavery, you should be loyal to Him.
You shall not make idols. Traditionally this commandment has been understood to mean that Israel couldn’t make representations of humans or animals. Thus, Jewish artistic expression of a later period often lacked human or animal subjects. However, it seems more likely that this commandment prohibits the making of human or animal objects for worship. The reason for this prohibition is that an image or idol could never capture all that God is. Moreover, images of God already exist: humans, who the Bible says are made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1). Thus, making images of God devalues both God and humans.
You shall not lift up God’s name in vain. This injunction most likely prohibits people from making oaths in God’s name. Yet, the phrase “in vain” means “for nothing,” and, therefore, some scholars (and parents) understand this commandment to refer to using God’s name in any inappropriate manner, such as when swearing or “cussing.” Today, many devout Jews (and some Christians) don’t use God’s name at all to ensure that they don’t break this command. Moreover, some people, when writing, replace the “o” in the word God with a hyphen (G-d).
Keep the Sabbath. Because God rested on the seventh day of Creation, humans are ordered to mirror God’s behavior. The Hebrew Bible takes this very seriously. As evidence of this, a man is killed for gathering wood on the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32–36).
Honor your father and mother. Honoring your parents means to respect and care for them (such as providing for them in old age). This commandment is the only one with an accompanying promise: “. . . that your days may be long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” Although this promise would eventually be understood to refer to an individual’s life, in its original context, this promise guarantees the nation of Israel a long tenure in their Promised Land if they obey this commandment (and presumably the others, as well).
You shall not murder. The sixth commandment is often misunderstood to prohibit killing of any kind. However, the Israelites had several crimes that were punishable by death, and they were allowed to kill during times of war. This commandment prohibits murder — that is, the intentional killing of another person without cause.
You shall not commit adultery. In the Hebrew Bible, adultery consists of sexual relations between a married man and a married woman (married to other people, of course). Sexual relations between a married man and an unmarried woman isn’t technically adultery because polygamy is allowable in the Hebrew Bible (see Chapter 6 of this book).
You shall not steal. This one’s pretty easy, meaning the same thing then that it does today: Don’t steal.
You shall not bear false witness. This commandment, though more generally referring to lying in any situation, more specifically refers to accusing a person falsely in a legal context. In biblical times, as today, lying while “on the stand” was a major problem. To combat false testimony, ancient Israel had this commandment (plus a requirement of two witnesses) to convict a person. Nevertheless, people are wrongly prosecuted and even killed at times in the Bible as a result of dishonest testimony.
You shall not covet. Unlike the previous nine, violations against the tenth commandment are unverifiable (except to God). Although unveri-fiable, this commandment is an important part of the Ten, because it seeks to address the impetus or motive contributing to the violation of the other commandments.
The Ten Commandments in context
Scholars have discovered that the covenant embodied in the Ten Commandments bears a striking resemblance to other ancient Near Eastern legal agreements, known as suzerain-vassal (or master-servant) treaties. In other words, when God establishes His covenant with Israel, He does so using a legal language that they could understand.
Adultery and the “Wicked Bible”
In 1631, King Charles I of Britain ordered 1,000 Bibles from a reputable English printer. All was well, except for one mistake: The printer left out the word “not” in the seventh commandment (to read “You shall commit adultery” in error). The king was not amused, and he ordered all the texts recalled and destroyed. This edition became known as the “Wicked Bible,” and only a few copies remain around today, each worth a fortune.
Meanwhile, back at camp: Aaron and the golden “calf” (Exodus 32)
While Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the Law for 40 days, the people grow impatient and ask Aaron to build them “a god to lead us.” Aaron, being the pillar of virtue that he is, asks the people to give him their gold jewelry, with which he builds a golden bull. This idol isn’t a calf, as is popularly believed. Calves are small, newborn animals that have trouble standing. Rather, the statue that Aaron creates is of a 1-year-old bull, a true symbol of virility and a common way to represent one’s god in the ancient world. That is, if you wanted to show your god was a “real” (that is, studly) god, you presented him (or her) as a bull or riding on top of a bull.
Thus, in Aaron’s defense, he may possibly have understood the golden bull to be a symbol of Israel’s God, who showed His prowess against Egypt’s gods. This would explain why Aaron would acquiesce to this idol-making and still feel like he could say, “Tomorrow, a festival to the LORD!” Regardless of Aaron’s intentions, God sees in the people’s actions a direct violation of commandments one (no other gods) and two (no idols), and He informs Moses that He intends to destroy the Israelites for their sin. Moses begs God to reconsider, saying that by destroying the Israelites, the Egyptians would assume that He couldn’t deliver His people into their Promised Land. Persuaded by Moses’ appeal, God changes His mind and spares Israel.
Having effectively represented the people before God, Moses descends from the mountain to represent God before the people. When he sees the golden bull and the people engaged in idolatry and revelry, he throws the tablets bearing the Ten Commandments to the ground, breaking them into pieces, which symbolizes the Israelites’ breaking their covenant with God. Moses then destroys the idol by burning it and grinding it into dust, which he sprinkles on water and makes the people drink. The instigators are punished, but, in the end, God forgives the people and renews the covenant.
Does God change His mind?
The notice that God “changed” His mind about wiping out the Israelites for building the golden bull raises an important theological question: Does the biblical author really imagine that God changes His mind? Some scholars argue that the biblical author means exactly what he says: God changed His mind. However, some argue that, because other passages explicitly say that God doesn’t change His mind (Numbers 23:19), this notice is an example of anthropomorphic language, where God’s actions are described in human terms. By this reading, the reason for saying God “changed” His mind is to show that God is willing to engage in reasoned dialog and even be “persuaded” by the requests of His people.
God’s mobile home: The Tabernacle (Exodus 25:1–31:11; 35:30–40:38)
Nearly one-third of Exodus is devoted to describing the form and function of the Tabernacle — a portable tent structure that becomes God’s “residence” on earth. Although the Bible goes out of its way to say that God can’t be limited to one geographical locale, the Tabernacle becomes a place where God’s presence (also called His “glory”) is uniquely manifest on earth, and where the people can offer Him worship and sacrifices. Moreover, the layout and content of the Tabernacle symbolize various facets of God’s relationship with Israel (see Figure 7-2).
Here’s what you would find at the Tabernacle if you lived during Moses’ day.
The Tabernacle was a large rectangular tent (15 feet high, 45 feet long, and 15 feet wide) enclosed by a 75-x-150-foot courtyard. The worshiper brought an offering to the entrance of the courtyard, where he was met by a priest. In the case of an animal offering, the worshiper would place his hands upon the animal’s head and confess his sins, symbolically transferring his wrongdoing to the sacrificial victim. The priest then took the animal to the Bronze Altar for sacrifice. Also in the courtyard was the Bronze Basin, which was filled with water and used by the priests for making themselves ritually pure before rendering service to God.
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Figure 7-2: A model of the Tabernacle. |
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As you entered the Tabernacle proper (although only priests could enter), here’s what you’d see:
The Table of Showbread, which daily held 12 loaves of bread (one each for the twelve tribes of Israel) and which served as an offering to God and gave testimony to God’s continual provision for His people.
The Golden Lampstand (or Menorah),
a seven-branched candelabrum, which always remained lit as a symbol of God’s enduring covenant with Israel.
The Altar of Incense, which not only covered the smell involved with sacrifice, but also symbolized the sacrifices and prayers that ascended to God on behalf of Israel.
A curtain separated the front room of the tent (called the Holy Place) from the back room (called the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies). The back room was God’s “throne room,” the sacredness of which was represented by the most sacred relic in the cult: the Ark of the Covenant, which rested in the center of the room. Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and he could only do this once a year on the Day of Atonement (see “A guide to Israel’s holy days” later in this chapter).
After the Tabernacle is completed, the pillar of smoke and fire symbolizing God’s presence, which has been leading the Israelites since their departure from Egypt, fills the Tabernacle. From now on, when God wants the Israelites to move to a new location, the cloud lifts from the Tabernacle and leads the way.
An Old Testament God of wrath?
We often hear people say, “The God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath, while the God of the New Testament is a God of love.” Ironically, the inaccuracy of this statement is nowhere more apparent than in the context of God’s punishing the Israelites for worshiping the golden bull. In the wake of this event, God “reintroduces” Himself to Moses — a reintroduction that intends to remind Moses (and the reader) that God is first and foremost a God of love and forgiveness:
The LORD is a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.
—Exodus 34:6–7
That’s right. According to Exodus 34, the God of the Hebrew Bible is seven parts love and forgiveness and only one part judgment (not “wrath” — there’s a difference).
Laws for Holy Living: The Book of Leviticus
The third of the Five Books of Moses, Leviticus, is the keystone of the Torah. Not only does Leviticus sit at the literary center of the books of Moses, it also provides Israel with the laws that set them apart as God’s special people. The name “Leviticus,” in fact, derives from its focus on laws and ritual, which were largely carried out by the priestly tribe of the Levites.
Yet, for all its importance, Leviticus today is often a misunderstood book — not because it’s difficult to interpret (though, at times, it is), but because it spends so much time focusing on how to properly perform various sacrifices, what one can and cannot eat, and what to do if a wound turns a certain color. To the modern reader, such details are mundane and even gross (and they are, we admit). But for priests whose job it was to offer proper sacrifices to God, instruct the people on what foods were clean or unclean, and to diagnose diseases, the book of Leviticus was an essential resource.
Sacrifice in the ancient world: The importance of being earnest and “ritually correct” (Leviticus 10)
Although being sincere when offering a sacrifice or performing a ritual was important in ancient Israel, so was carrying out that ritual in the proper manner. Anyone who changed a ritual in any way, especially adding anything that hinted of the practices of ancient Israel’s polytheistic neighbors, was punished severely. Even Aaron’s two oldest sons are killed by God for making an offering of “strange” or “foreign” incense.
Understanding sacrifice in ancient Israel (Leviticus 1–9)
Leviticus begins by describing the various sacrifices priests were to offer. This priority on sacrifice is purposeful since Israel’s sacrificial system provided the people with a way to obtain forgiveness from God and to express gratitude to God for His provision. Related to God’s provision, sacrifice also provided the priests and people with food. In fact, far from being a savage practice, as people today tend to think of it, ritual sacrifice underscored the seriousness of taking an animal’s life for food. (By comparison, the modern practice of saying, “I’ll take that cheeseburger to go” does little to acknowledge the loss of life that accompanies eating meat.)
Leviticus describes five categories of sacrifice:
The Burnt Offering (Leviticus 1): This offering was the most basic sacrifice for sin — the Hebrew word for it literally means “that which is offered up.” Depending on what one could afford to give, the burnt offering consisted of a young bull, a 1-year-old lamb, or a bird (dove or pigeon). The animal was entirely roasted, the smell of which traveled skyward as a “soothing odor” to God. This sacrifice was offered twice daily — once in the morning and once in the evening — and was accompanied by offerings of cereal and wine. The priests offered additional animals and libations for the Sabbath and the beginning of new months.
The Grain Offering (Leviticus 2): This offering was a way of thanking God for His provision of food. As the name implies, the grain offering consisted of grain (or fine flour), as well as olive oil, incense, and unleavened bread. Part of the offering was presented to God, with the rest of the offering going to the priests for food.
The Peace Offering,
or “Sacrifice of Well-Being” (Leviticus 3): This offering was a way of expressing one’s desire for peace or fellowship with God. There were three types of peace offerings: the thanksgiving sacrifice (which included cakes of bread in addition to the animal), the votive sacrifice (repayment of a vow), and the freewill sacrifice (not limited to festive occasions).
Purification Offering,
or “Sin Offering” (Leviticus 4:1–5:13): The purification offering atoned mostly for unintentional sins, especially when no restitution could be made. Here, the status of the offender was taken into consideration, as well as his or her intentions. Thus, priests and rulers needed to offer larger sacrifices than laity, and purposeful or careless sins cost more than those committed accidentally.
Reparation Offering,
or “Guilt Offering” (Leviticus 5:14–26): The reparation offering was a sacrifice given to cover offenses against a fellow Israelite or God and required that the offender make restitution.
Is that kosher? The biblical diet (Leviticus 11)
Leviticus, beyond concerning itself with proper sacrifice, goes to great pains to describe what one could and could not eat. The dietary laws recorded in Leviticus 11 (and again in Deuteronomy 14) classify food as “clean” (or kosher, a Hebrew word that means “proper”) or “unclean.” In general, roadkill was out, as were all animals that died a natural death. Also, animals had to be at least 8 days old. Other than these general categories, the Bible breaks down the animals according to species: mammals, water creatures, birds, and creeping things.
Mammals
If an animal is a ruminant (it has an extra stomach and chews cud, allowing grass to be digested), and if it is an ungulate (it has a cloven hoof), and if that hoof is split rather than solid, we’re talking barbeque! The Israelites ate mostly sheep and goats, but they also consumed cattle and hunted wild fauna, such as deer and ibex. The Bible lists a few examples of non-kosher animals, such as camel, which chews cud, has a split foot, but no hoof, rabbit, which appears to chew cud (but doesn’t), and has no parted hoof, and pig, which has a split hoof but doesn’t chew cud.
Why Kosher?
Kosher is a Hebrew word meaning “proper,” and it refers to items that, according to the Law of Moses, are acceptable for use or consumption. Most often, however, kosher refers to things people are allowed to consume. Scholars have proposed a variety of solutions to explain why the Bible approves of some foods and not others. The most common proposal is that the Bible’s dietary laws are intended to protect Israel from sickness or disease. However, this explanation doesn’t account for all the data. For example, eating a beetle (not kosher) is no more risky than eating a cricket (kosher). Therefore, perhaps the best explanation for the Bible’s dietary laws is that they made Israel culturally distinctive. Along with dress and language, diet is among the best markers of culture, and Israel’s dietary laws set them apart from their neighbors.
Water creatures
The Israelites didn’t spend much time in the water. So although they had dozens of words pertaining to sheep and goats, only one word in the Hebrew Bible exists for all types of water creatures: dag. A whale is a dag, as is a lobster, a squid, and a tuna. Nevertheless, if a creature lives in the water, it must have scales and fins in order to be kosher.
Birds
Instead of listing characteristics that a bird must possess in order to be kosher (as is done with the other categories of food), the Bible simply lists birds that are forbidden to eat, such as owls, eagles, hawks, and bats. (We know that a bat isn’t a bird, but the official category in Hebrew is “flying thing,” which a bat certainly is.) The prohibited birds all eat flesh, so birds that feed primarily on grain were considered kosher. Most often, ancient Israelites ate pigeons. Chickens aren’t mentioned in the Hebrew Bible because domestic chickens only arrived in the area about 500 B.C.E.
Creeping things
This category includes reptiles and insects. No reptile was permissible to eat, but some insects were. If the insect had wings and walked on its legs, and if it had a leg joint above its body to hop, it was okay. Thus, locusts were acceptable, as were crickets and grasshoppers. Some locusts in this part of the world are the size of a double cheeseburger and would have taken several bites to consume. (Yes, we know . . . try to restrain yourself.)
A guide to Israel’s holy days
The biblical calendar is necessarily sacred as it commemorates God’s activity in history, such as the creation of the world and Israel’s exodus from Egypt. Therefore, Leviticus goes to great lengths to specify how and when to commemorate various holidays or “holy days.” The following sections describe some of Israel’s most sacred days.
Why kosher delis don’t serve cheeseburgers
If you’ve been to a kosher restaurant or keep kosher yourself, you know that consuming milk and meat products together is a no-no. This prohibition ultimately derives from the command “You shall not boil a kid [baby goat] in its mother’s milk” (Exodus 23:19 and 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21). Scholars disagree about the meaning of this prohibition. Some argue, based on parallels in other ancient cultures, that this command prohibits a pagan ritual in which baby goats were sacrificed by being boiled in milk. Other scholars claim that the command reflects the Bible’s concern for the ethical treatment of animals. According to this view, the Bible prohibits boiling a kid in its mother’s milk because it’s cruel. Whatever the exact meaning, Jewish tradition has understood this prohibition to mean that you can’t consume milk and meat products together — in other words, no cheeseburgers.
The pilgrimage feasts
Three holidays in the Israelite calendar called for a pilgrimage to Israel’s central altar (at first, the Tabernacle, but eventually, the Temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem; see Chapter 10): Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. (See Chapter 27 for more information on the Bible’s feasts and holidays.)
Passover, or Feast of Unleavened Bread: Passover is a spring holiday (April/May) that commemorates Israel’s exodus from Egypt. In the original Passover, the Israelites were instructed to slaughter a lamb and apply its blood to the door frames of their homes so that God and His destroying angel would “pass over” their homes on their way to kill the firstborn of Egypt. The Passover is followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, where the Israelites are forbidden to eat anything with leaven in it. This feast commemorate the Israelites’ hurried departure from Egypt when they didn’t have time to leaven their bread.
Feast of Weeks, Shavuot, First Fruits, or Harvest (Greek Pentecost): Seven weeks and a day (50 days) after Passover is the Feast of Weeks (May/June), a harvest festival for the wheat and barley that was planted in the fall. On this holiday, sacrifices were offered, both of animals and of the harvest, in recognition of God’s provision.
Feast of Booths/Tabernacles, Sukkot, or Feast of Ingathering: The final agricultural holiday before winter, Booths (Hebrew Sukkot), celebrates the harvest of grapes and olives (September/October). It’s a weeklong joyous occasion, where participants live in temporary structures, or booths, to commemorate the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings. As with the other pilgrimage feasts, Booths involves sacrifices given in gratitude for God’s provision of food and, in this particular case, freedom.
The Day of Atonement
The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur in Hebrew) is the most solemn day of the calendar and takes place in the fall, five days earlier than Sukkot. It is a day of fasting and self-reflection, in which the priests and the society purge themselves of the past year’s sins. During the Day of Atonement, the Tabernacle (and later the Temple) is purified, and only on this day is the High Priest allowed to enter the sanctuary’s Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant resided, in order to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the whole nation. See Chapter 27 for more information on this holy day.
The Sabbatical Years
Just as the people rested every seventh day, so the land was to lay fallow every seven years, in what were known as Sabbatical Years. The Israelites were not allowed to plant, harvest, or even prune during this year. Moreover, several social reforms occurred during these special years, including providing food for the poor and canceling debts (if only we could get credit card companies to sign up for this one).
The Year of Jubilee
The year after seven Sabbatical Years was known as the Year of Jubilee, named after a Hebrew word for a ram’s horn, which was blown as a trumpet at this and other celebrations. During the Year of Jubilee, the people were reminded that God, not they, owned all they had. Moreover, all Israelites enslaved due to debt were freed, and all land that was sold to pay off debts during the past 50 years was returned to the original owners.
Law and order: Israel’s legal system
In addition to ritual laws and holy days that center around the Israelites’ worship of God, Leviticus contains a variety of ethical laws that focus on the Israelites’ relationship with one another. Many of the ethical laws in Leviticus may sound familiar to you. This familiarity is due, in large part, to the Bible’s influence on our modern legal system, as well as on our moral code. Here’s a sampling of Leviticus’ ethical teachings:
Don’t oppress your neighbor or steal from him. Don’t withhold the wages due to a worker overnight. Don’t curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of the blind. Don’t show favoritism toward the poor or the rich, but judge fairly. Don’t take revenge or bear a grudge but love your neighbor as yourself.
—Leviticus 19:13–15, 18
Many of Israel’s laws are influenced by the people’s experience as slaves in Egypt. In particular, several laws seek to protect strangers from abuse or mistreatment. For example, Leviticus says,
You shall treat the stranger who lives with you as a citizen. You shall love him as yourself, for you were once strangers in the land of Egypt.
—Leviticus 19:34
With these ethical laws to guide them, Israel hoped not only to avoid the oppressive practices of their neighbors but also to distinguish themselves as God’s holy and righteous people.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Several of Israel’s laws end with the phrase “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (see, for example, Leviticus 24:20). This law is known in Latin as Lex Talionis (or “law of retaliation”). Today this law is often misinterpreted to mean that the Bible condones vengeance. However, the purpose for the law “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” isn’t to encourage retaliation, but to limit it. The difference is subtle but important. For example, if Moe gives Curly an eye poke, Curly may be tempted not only to poke Moe’s eye, but to slap him on the forehead and give him a “nyuk, nyuk.” “An eye for an eye” limits Curly’s right to retaliation to just the eye. This law helped to keep ancient feuds, as well as Three Stooges’ abuses, from spiraling out of control.
40-Year Nomads: The Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers gets its name from two censuses and other numbers recorded in its pages. Mostly, however, Numbers is about events that occur during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness under Moses. Like the Book of Exodus, Numbers records the peoples’ many complaints and rebellions against God and God’s appointed leader, Moses. Numbers also recounts the passing of Miriam and Aaron, Moses’ sister and brother, and prepares the reader for Moses’ imminent death.
Israel’s continued rebellions (Numbers 12–14, 21, and 25)
Much of the Book of Numbers recounts the remaining years of the wilderness wanderings under Moses, years that are wrought with rebellion. Here are a few of the highlights (maybe lowlights is a more fitting description):
Aaron and Miriam’s rebellion (Numbers 12): The rebelliousness of the Israelites even extends to Moses’ own family. Aaron and Miriam turn on their brother because he’s married a “Cushite woman.” For this affront, God punishes Miriam by turning her skin leprous white. Who this Cushite wife is isn’t clear. Because Cush can refer to an area inside Midian, some have argued this refers to Moses’ Midianite wife, Zipporah. However, more often in the Bible, Cush refers to the area south of Egypt, in what is today Sudan. If this is the case, part of Aaron and Miriam’s disdain may have been directed at her darkened skin, making Miriam’s punishment of ultra-white skin all the more ironic.
Spies like us (Numbers 13–14): Before attempting to conquer the Promised Land, Moses requests that each of the twelve tribes of Israel appoint one man to travel into Canaan and do a bit of James Bond reconnaissance. The spies return with amazing tales of an abundant land truly flowing “with milk and honey.” But because of the size of the enemy, most of the spies feel that any attempted campaign will end in disaster. However, two spies, Caleb and Joshua, argue that God will give them victory. Unfortunately, the Israelites go with the majority report, and decide not to enter the Promised Land. In response to their lack of faith, God tells them that everyone 20 years of age and older will die in the wilderness, but their children, along with Caleb and Joshua, will one day enter the Promised Land.
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16): These three men lead a rebellion with 250 men, all of whom question Moses’ and Aaron’s right to lead the people. In response, God causes the earth to open, which swallows the three ringleaders and their families. God then makes fire to come down from the sky, which consumes the remaining 250 rebels. The lesson: Don’t mess with God’s appointed leaders.
Aaron’s blooming staff (Numbers 17): Aaron’s fellow priests question his right to be the High Priest. In order to determine God’s view on the matter, Moses takes the staffs of Aaron and his opponents and places them in the Tabernacle. The next day, when Moses retrieves the staffs, only Aaron’s has blossoms, confirming that God has chosen Aaron.
Fiery serpents (Numbers 21): The people become fed up with wandering in the wilderness and complain to Moses about their lack of food and water. As punishment, God sends “fiery” snakes with lethal venom among the people. In response to the peoples’ pleas and Moses’ prayers, God instructs Moses to build a copper snake and hold it up so people could see it. If, after being bit, the people looked at the snake, they would be healed.
Moses’ bronze serpent is mentioned two more times in the Bible: once in the Hebrew Bible, when King Hezekiah (715–687 B.C.E.) destroys Moses’ bronze serpent because it has become an object of worship in Jerusalem’s Temple (2 Kings 18:4), and again in the New Testament, when the author of the Gospel of John compares Moses’ lifting up the serpent in order to bring physical healing to the Israelites with Jesus’ being “lifted up” on the cross to bring spiritual healing (forgiveness of sins) to the world (John 3:14–15).
Cleaning God’s house (Numbers 25:14–18): A number of Israelite men participate in cultic prostitution with foreign women. During this raucous affair, a man and woman enter the Tabernacle and begin having sex (not a good idea). While they’re in the act, Aaron’s grandson, Phinehas, takes his spear and, well, he makes the first “Shiksa-Bob.” For his act of defending the sanctity of God’s tent, Phinehas is blessed with a covenant that his descendants would serve before God forever.
Balaam and the smart ass (Numbers 22–24)
A number of the nations the Israelites encounter in their wanderings fear them for what Israel did to Egypt. As a result, kings repeatedly refuse Israel permission to pass through their territory. The King of Moab even hires a soothsayer named Balaam to put a curse on Israel. Yet, every time Balaam tries to carry out his task, God forces him to bless Israel instead. Despite God’s interference, Balaam doesn’t give up and is soon off again to go curse Israel. While on the way, his donkey strays off course and then eventually lies down despite Balaam’s continual beatings. Finally, the donkey turns to Balaam and asks, “What have I done to make you want to beat me?” Balaam is taken aback because donkeys don’t usually initiate conversations. God then opens Balaam’s eyes to see a sword-wielding angel who’s blocking the donkey’s path. The donkey’s actions, as it turns out, had saved Balaam’s life. Balaam and his donkey proceed, though Balaam is only able to bless Israel.
A large plaster inscription was excavated in northern Jordan that records additional exploits of Balaam, showing that he was quite a famous prophet in antiquity.
Moses’ indiscretion: The Promised Land denied (Numbers 20:2–13)
Even Moses commits a sin that is so egregious that he’s prevented from entering the Promised Land (Numbers 20). The transgression occurs at a place called Meribah, where the people again complain to Moses about a lack of water. God instructs Moses, “Take the rod and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water” (Numbers 20:8).
Moses gathers the people and then says, “Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10). Then Moses hits the rock with the rod, and water issues forth. Yet, as the people are quenching their thirst, God speaks to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in Me, to treat Me as holy in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them” (Numbers 20:12). So what went wrong?
Part of the problem is that Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it, which, when accompanied with the words “shall we bring forth water,” made it look as though he was partly responsible for the miracle. This is not merely an oversight on Moses’ part — God describes his sin as “rebellion,” akin to the people’s constant complaining. And for this rebellion, Moses will never set foot in the Promised Land.
Moses’ Farewell Address: The Book of Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy records Moses’ farewell address to the next generation of Israelites just outside ancient Israel’s Promised Land. Deuteronomy actually means “second (or repeated) law,” as the book is both a recap of the events of the past 40 years, and a renewal of Israel’s covenant with God. This renewal is embodied in the most important law of Israelite religion, which is called the Shema in Hebrew, from its opening word meaning “hear” or “listen up.”
Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
—Deuteronomy 6:4–5
Could you repeat that? Deuteronomy’s “second” law (Deuteronomy 1–33)
Deuteronomy is a great speech, but much of it is a repetition of events and laws recorded earlier in the Bible. Thus, Deuteronomy 5 again records the Ten Commandments, as well as other laws found in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Yet, Deuteronomy also contains some innovations:
The reason for keeping the Sabbath is no longer because God rested on that day during Creation, but because the Israelites found rest when they were released from slavery.
Deuteronomy places more emphasis on centralized worship at a single sanctuary “at the place God will choose” (ultimately Jerusalem). This mandate is important because when the Israelites spread out in their Promised Land, it will be more difficult to bring sacrifice to God’s altar.
Deuteronomy places more emphasis on remembering God’s words and acts, and passing these traditions on to the next generation. Parents are commanded to teach their children about God in every context of life — “when you sit at home or walk along the road, when you lie down or when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:7).
The end of an era: The death of Moses (Deuteronomy 34)
Deuteronomy’s (and, thus, the Torah’s) ending is a cliff-hanger, with much left unresolved. Most notably, the Israelites have yet to enter their Promised Land. However, Moses has brought them a long way; from bondage in Egypt as slaves to free people with a law code of their own. Moreover, the Israelites are camped on the plains of Moab, immediately east of the border of Canaan. Only the Jordan River separates them from the Promised Land.
As Moses’ final act on behalf of Israel, he transfers power to his trusted and faithful friend, Joshua. Then, at the age of 120, Moses climbs Mount Nebo, where God shows him the land of Canaan. With the assurance that the Israelites will soon enter their Promised Land, Moses passes away.
Deuteronomy ends with a tribute to the Hebrew Bible’s greatest prophet:
And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.
—Deuteronomy 34:10