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When was leviticus written

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Book of Leviticus

Third book of the Bible

"Leviticus" redirects here. For the Christian metal band, see Leviticus (band). For the jungle music producer, see Jumpin Jack Frost.

"Vayikra" redirects here. For 24th weekly parsha, see Vayikra (parsha).

The Book ofLeviticus (, from Ancient Greek: Λευιτικόν, Leuïtikón; Biblical Hebrew: וַיִּקְרָא‎, Wayyīqrāʾ, 'And He called'; Latin: Liber Leviticus) is the third book of the Torah (the Pentateuch) and of the Old Testament, also known as the Third Book of Moses.[1] Many hypotheses presented by scholars as to its origins agree that it developed over a long period of time, reaching its present form during the Persian Period, from 538 to 332 BC, although this is disputed.

Most of its chapters (1–7, 11–27) consist of God's speeches to Moses, which he tells Moses to repeat to the Israelites. This takes place within the story of the Israelites' Exodus after they escaped Egypt and reached Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1). The Book of Exodus narrates how Moses led the Israelites in building the Tabernacle (Exodus 35–40

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Leviticus
by
Jeffrey Stackert, Samuel L. Boyd
  • LAST REVIEWED: 06 February 2012
  • LAST MODIFIED: 06 February 2012
  • DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0039

Introduction

The book of Leviticus is part of the priestly source of the Pentateuch and not in itself a discrete literary unit. Set at Mt. Sinai during the thirteenth month of the Israelites’ wilderness journey, it is dominated by divine laws delivered to Moses for the Israelite community. The primary concern of these laws is to establish the requisite circumstances for the deity’s habitation among the Israelite people. The priestly authors claim that following the commandments in Leviticus will ensure the tangible benefits and protection of the divine presence in the Israelites’ midst. Failure to adhere to these laws will result in the deity’s departure from the Tabernacle and the loss of divine benefaction. Leviticus consists of two main compositional strata: P (“Priestly”), which comprises most of chapters 1–16; and H (“Holiness”), which includes the “Holiness Code” (chapters 17–26; so named because of its repeated exhor

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Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name is derived from the LatinLiber Leviticus and the Greek (το) Λευιτικόν. In Jewish writings it is customary to cite the book by its first word, Vayikra, "and He called." The book is mainly concerned with religious regulations, priestly ritual, and criminal law. It consists of two large sections, identified by scholars as the Priestly Code and the Holiness Code. Both of these are presented as being dictated by God to Moses while the Israelites were encamped at Mount Sinai. Despite the English title of the work, it is important to note that the book makes a strong distinction between the priesthood, who are identified as being descended from Aaron, and mere Levites, with whom it is less concerned.

Observant Jews still follow the laws contained in Leviticus, except for those that can no longer be observed because of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem as the only authorized place of sacrifice (see Deuteronomy). Christians generally consider much of Leviticus to be non-binding on them as members of

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