King James Version
Leviticus
Leviticus in the King James Version (1769), public domain in the United States.
Background and History
The chapters above are the King James text. This essay is the setting of Leviticus: who is said to have written it, when and where, what happens in it, and how the text has been copied.
At a Glance
| Author | Moses, in Jewish and Christian tradition. The book presents itself as words the Lord spoke to Moses. Critical scholars assign it mainly to priestly writers of the exile or after. |
|---|---|
| Date | Traditional about 1446–1406 BC. Critical scholars commonly date the priestly material to about 550–400 BC, with older traditions inside it. |
| Place written | Not stated. The setting is Mount Sinai, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. |
| Genre | Priestly law: sacrifice, purity, holiness, and the calendar. |
| Chapters | 27 |
| Verses | 859 in the King James Version |
| Key verse | Leviticus 19:2Leviticus 19:2 · King James VersionSpeak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.Leviticus 19:2 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
Who Wrote It
Leviticus 1:1Leviticus 1:1 · King James VersionAnd the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
Leviticus 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1) opens with the Lord calling to Moses from the tabernacle, and Leviticus 27:34Leviticus 27:34 · King James VersionThese are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
Leviticus 27:34 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1) closes with the commandments the Lord gave Moses at Sinai. The book does not say Moses wrote it down, but the tradition takes that as its meaning. Josephus counts five books of Moses. (2) The Talmud in Bava Batra 14b takes the Torah as Moses’ writing. (3)
Critical scholars assign most of Leviticus to the priestly source, and Leviticus 17–26 to a distinct Holiness Code. They date it to the exile or after. Some, including Jewish scholars, argue that much of the priestly material is preexilic. Traditional scholars point to the wilderness setting assumed throughout, such as the camp in Leviticus 16:26–28Leviticus 16:26–28 · King James Version16:26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.
16:27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
16:28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
Leviticus 16:26–28 · King James VersionOpen the Source.
Who It Is Not
Aaron and his sons receive the priestly law but are not named as its writers.
When and Where
Bible Gateway gives the Pentateuch 1446–1406 BC and notes it may have been oral until much later. (4) The book itself gives no year.
Audience and Setting
The priests and the people of Israel. The purpose is to show how a holy God can dwell among a sinful people through sacrifice, priesthood, and purity.
Rulers at the Time
The book names no ruler. This page adds none.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Offerings | Leviticus 1–7 |
| Priesthood ordained | Aaron and sons; Nadab and Abihu die. Leviticus 8–10 |
| Purity laws | Leviticus 11–15 |
| Day of Atonement | Leviticus 16 |
| Holiness Code | Leviticus 17–26 |
| Vows | Leviticus 27 |
| Composition | Traditional 1446–1406 BC. Critical often 550–400 BC. (4) |
Places in This Book
| Ancient name | Modern-day location | References |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Sinai | Traditionally Jebel Musa, southern Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. The location is uncertain. | Leviticus 27:34Leviticus 27:34 · King James VersionThese are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.Leviticus 27:34 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
What Is Happening
Leviticus 1–7 describe the offerings. Leviticus 8–10 ordain the priests. Leviticus 11–15 give laws of clean and unclean. Leviticus 16 is the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 17–26 call Israel to holiness in daily life, worship, and the festivals. Leviticus 27 concerns vows and dedications.
Key Themes
Holiness in Leviticus 19:2Leviticus 19:2 · King James VersionSpeak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
Leviticus 19:2 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Atonement through blood in Leviticus 17:11Leviticus 17:11 · King James VersionFor the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Leviticus 17:11 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Love of neighbor in Leviticus 19:18Leviticus 19:18 · King James VersionThou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:18 · King James VersionOpen the Source.
Apologetics Questions
Critics point to laws that seem harsh, such as death penalties in Leviticus 20. Christians answer that these laws governed ancient Israel as a nation under the old covenant, and that the New Testament treats the ceremonial law as fulfilled in Christ, as in Hebrews 10:1–14Hebrews 10:1–14 · King James Version10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
10:6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
10:8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
10:11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
10:13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Hebrews 10:1–14 · King James VersionOpen the Source. How the moral, civil, and ceremonial parts apply today is discussed among churches that confess the Trinity.
How the Book Points to Christ
Hebrews 9:11–14Hebrews 9:11–14 · King James Version9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:11–14 · King James VersionOpen the Source presents Christ as high priest entering the holy place with his own blood, fulfilling Leviticus 16. Jesus quotes Leviticus 19:18Leviticus 19:18 · King James VersionThou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:18 · King James VersionOpen the Source as the second great commandment in Matthew 22:39Matthew 22:39 · King James VersionAnd the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Matthew 22:39 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Jesus is God.
Text and Manuscripts
Leviticus is among the books found at Qumran. (5) The verse pages use the Westminster Leningrad Codex for the Hebrew.
Canon Reception
Never disputed. Josephus counts it among Moses’ five books. (2)
Further Reading
References
- Book of Leviticus, 1:1; 27:34Leviticus 1:1 · King James Version
And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
Leviticus 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source. King James Version - Against Apion, 1.8Josephus, Against Apion 1.8 · William Whiston
For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from, and contradicting one another: [as the Greeks have:] but only twenty two books: which contain the records of all the past times: which are justly believed to be divine. And of them five belong to Moses: which contain his laws, and the traditions of the origin of mankind, till his death.
Josephus, Against Apion 1.8 · William WhistonOpen the Source (Flavius Josephus, Against Apion 1.8, translated by William Whiston. Josephus counts twenty-two books: five of Moses, thirteen of the prophets from Moses to Artaxerxes, and four of hymns and precepts.) - Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b, 14b (The English on Sefaria is the William Davidson edition, which is copyrighted. This page paraphrases it and does not reprint it. The baraita gives the order of the Prophets and the Writings and asks who wrote each book.)
- When Was Each Book of the Bible Written?, Leviticus (Jacob Edson, Bible Gateway, 16 September 2024. The survey gives Leviticus as 1446–1406 BC, and says those books may have been mostly oral tradition until much later. It is one editor’s approximation, not a manuscript date.)
- Dead Sea Scrolls, introduction, Biblical manuscriptsDead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities Authority
Among the Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible (except the book of Esther).
Dead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities AuthorityOpen the Source (Israel Antiquities Authority. Biblical manuscripts from the Qumran caves date from the third century BC into the first century AD, and every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther is represented.)
The King James Version (1769) is in the public domain in the United States.