Leviticus 1
About LeviticusWritten by AI
Leviticus is the instruction book for living near a holy God. Exodus ends with God's glory filling the tabernacle; Leviticus begins with God calling from that tent to explain how a sinful people can come close. It covers offerings, the priests, clean and unclean, the Day of Atonement, and a long call to holiness in everyday life.
Tradition credits the book to Moses at Mount Sinai. Many scholars see it as gathered and shaped by Israel's priests over time. Christians also differ on how its laws apply today, but the New Testament, especially Hebrews, reads its sacrifices and priesthood as pointing to Christ.
It can feel like the hardest book to read straight through. Watch for its repeated heartbeat, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy”, and notice how often holiness means caring for the poor, the foreigner and your neighbor.
Before you read Leviticus 1Written by AI
God calls to Moses from the tent and begins with the burnt offering, an animal entirely burned on the altar. Notice that the offering could be a bull, a sheep or goat, or a bird, so rich and poor alike could come. The worshiper lays a hand on the animal's head, and it is accepted on his behalf.
Laws for Burnt Offerings
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.
If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD. 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.
And he shall slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests are to present the blood and splatter it on all sides of the altar at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Next, he is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.
The sons of Aaron the priest shall put a fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. Then Aaron’s sons the priests are to arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, atop the burning wood on the altar. The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
If, however, one’s offering is a burnt offering from the flock—from the sheep or goats—he is to present an unblemished male. He shall slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests are to splatter its blood against the altar on all sides. He is to cut the animal into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them, including the head and fat, atop the burning wood that is on the altar. The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall present all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
If, instead, one’s offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, he is to present a turtledove or a young pigeon. Then the priest shall bring it to the altar, twist off its head, and burn it on the altar; its blood should be drained out on the side of the altar. And he is to remove the crop with its contents and throw it to the east side of the altar, in the place for ashes. He shall tear it open by its wings, without dividing the bird completely. And the priest is to burn it on the altar atop the burning wood. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.