In the Book of Leviticus, God continues to give laws through Moses to the people of Israel. The people were to obey all of these laws to honor their covenant with God.
"Leviticus" means "about the Levites." The Levites were the tribe of Israel that provided priests and other workers in the tabernacle. If the people in the project language do not understand the term "Levites," you can call it "The Book about the Priests" or "The Book about the Tabernacle Workers." (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/tabernacle]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])
The writers of both the Old and New Testament present Moses as being very involved with writing the book of Leviticus. Since ancient times, both Jews and Christians have thought that Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
These terms concern separating someone or something from the rest of the people, from the world, or from ordinary use. God separated these people or things so they would belong only to him. The people were to consider the places for worshiping God or for honoring him in any way as separate. The people could not use them for anything else. God required the Israelites to live in a certain way in order to live as a nation belonging to him alone.
Some people and some things could be made clean or "cleansed," that is, acceptable to God. People or things were made clean if the people performed the right sacrifices and ceremonies. For example, some foreigners who wished to live among the Israelites and worship Yahweh could be made clean. However, other people and things could never be made acceptable to him.
It is important to know that not all unclean things or conditions were sinful. For example, after giving birth to a male child, a woman would be unclean for thirty-three days. Then the proper animal sacrifice would be offered for her. The flow of blood made the woman unclean ([Leviticus 12:7](../../lev/12/07.md)). But Leviticus never suggests that someone with a flow of blood was sinning. In the same way, God did not allow Israelites to eat many kinds of animals, as one way of setting his people apart.
Because God does not sin, the terms "holy" and "holiness" often suggest this same idea. Something belonging to God is holy. Because people must respect God, they must respect the things that belong to him.
On seventeen occasions, the phrase "The Lord said to Moses" (and sometimes Aaron) is often used to begin paragraphs. God and Moses frequently spoke to others. The verb "speak" is used thirty-eight times.
Leviticus shows that God is holy. That means God is very different from humanity and the rest of the created world. God does not sin. Because of this, it is impossible to be acceptable to him without being "cleansed." The many kinds of sacrifices were meant to make people and things acceptable to God. However, the people had to continue making animal sacrifices so that they would continue to be acceptable to God. This was a sign that pointed to a need for a better sacrifice. They needed a sacrifice that would cause them to be acceptable to God forever. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/holy]] and [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin]])
It was common for other nations to sacrifice animals to their idols. But, the other nations did other things to worship their false gods. For instance, people would sleep with prostitutes at the temple of their gods. They did this to try to persuade their gods to bless their land with the ability to grow crops. Also, people of other nations would sometimes offer human sacrifices to their gods. The God of Israel did not allow his people to do these kinds of things.
Oil was poured on someone or something meant to be set apart for Yahweh. Water was used to symbolize the cleansing of someone or something so God could accept them. Blood was also used to cleanse and purify people and things. This is because blood represented life that needed to be shed in order for God to forgive people for sinning.
See in Reader
