Equip: Resources on the Book of Leviticus
For many modern readers, coming to the book of Leviticus is like entering a foreign land with strange customs and practices. Such readers struggle to understand what was happening and how this might be relevant to a Christian today.
I have found it helpful, when reading the book of Leviticus, to focus on the big picture and not get lost in all of the details.
The book of Leviticus is the third book of the Pentateuch. It also provides a continuation of the end of Exodus (Exodus 25-40), where the focus is on the tabernacle and priests. Therefore, it is important to locate Leviticus within some important contextual and theological themes that begin in Exodus and continue with Leviticus.
- God has created a covenant with Israel and is present uniquely with them.
- God has provided a means through which people can maintain a relationship with him. It is important to note, what we read in Leviticus is given because they are God’s people and not as rules/laws for becoming God’s people.
- God is holy, and God’s people are called to be holy. The demands of holiness become greater the closer one gets to the Holy of Holies. Also, the demands of holiness upon the priests—who will spend the most time in the presence of God—are greater. Therefore, the closer one gets to the Holy of Holies, greater are the demands of holiness and fewer are the people who are able to proceed.
- All the laws and sacrifices are oriented around God’s gracious provision of how they could maintain a relationship with him and how to be holy in the presence of a holy God.
Understanding these contextual and theological themes can help the reader better understand the basic structure of Leviticus.
Most scholars provide a more detailed structure of Leviticus—and there is much debate about certain aspects of the structure—but the structure of the book in its most basic form is ordered in two ways:
- Chapters 1-16: These chapters focus on the different sacrifices, guidelines for priests and ritual purity needed by the priests and people, with the climax being the day of atonement (chapter 16).
- Chapters 17-27: These chapters often are referred to as the “Holiness Code.” This code is, generally speaking, focused on how a forgiven and cleansed priesthood and people now are to live as a holy people.
By understanding the contextual and theological themes and the general outline of the book of Leviticus, the reader then can read the details—and not get lost in those details—in such a way that he or she is able to “keep the big picture.”
As someone prepares to study Leviticus, here are some helpful resources.
Word Bible Commentary: Leviticus by John E. Hartley
While I was a student at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, I spent one semester in an Old Testament course focused on Leviticus. This was the commentary we used, and I have found it helpful for more than 20 years.
Hartley’s introduction is helpful especially for background information on and the message of Leviticus. While this is an academic resource, it is accessible to any serious reader of Leviticus.
New International Commentary of the Old Testament: The Book of Leviticus by Gordon J. Wenham
This is a great resource for those looking for something both accessible for most readers and that focuses on the broad themes of Leviticus.
Wenham intentionally does not focus on areas where interest may be limited to the academy —such as source criticism and other critical approaches—and instead seeks to write this commentary with a broader audience in mind. While he does address details in the book of Leviticus, he does not lose the reader in excessive detail.
Holiness to the Lord: A Guide to the Exposition of the Book of Leviticus by Allen P. Ross
Like Wenham’s book, Ross attempts to write an accessible commentary.
Ross is helpful especially in that with each chapter, he provides theological ideas, an outline and a summary. This helps the reader root each chapter and section of Leviticus within the larger contextual and theological framework.
If someone is looking for an initial commentary on Leviticus, this book is a good selection.
Leviticus: Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament: A Discourse Analysis of the Hebrew Bible by Jay Sklar
While this is the largest commentary of the ones being mentioned, it also is accessible to any serious student of Leviticus.
The focus of each chapter is to look beyond the analysis of any individual sentence and instead look at a paragraph or chapter.
Sklar does an excellent job in each chapter of providing the following for whatever discourse he is analyzing: the main idea, literary context, translation and exegetical outline, structure and literary form, explanation of the text, and canonical and theological significance.
One unique aspect of this commentary is in the “structure and literary form” sections of each chapter, where he provides the original Hebrew, his English translation and the outline of the text.
Most important resource for understanding Leviticus
While the language of priests and sacrifices—especially blood sacrifices—may seem foreign to 21st-century Christians, we cannot make sense of the cross without understanding Leviticus. Therefore, perhaps the best book to help us understand and apply Leviticus is the book of Hebrews.
In Hebrews, we find Jesus as the perfect, pure, holy priest who offers himself as an unblemished sacrifice (Hebrews 4:14-5:10, 9:11-10:18).
Learning about and from Leviticus, then, is a helpful exercise that points us to the one who fulfilled the law and was the final and complete sacrifice for our sins, so we can be reconciled to God and live lives of holiness that glorify him, as Peter quoted Leviticus: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).
Ross Shelton is pastor of First Baptist Church in Brenham. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Christianity and History from Houston Baptist University, a Master of Divinity from Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Dallas Baptist University. The views expressed in this resource article are those of the author.