Leviticus 24
24
The Sanctuary Light.#On the lamp, see Ex 25:31–40; 26:35; 27:20–21; 37:17–24; 40:24–25; Nm 8:1–4. It occupies the south side of the anterior room of the sanctuary tent and provides light for that room. 1The Lord said to Moses: 2Order the Israelites to bring you clear oil of crushed olives for the light, so that you may keep the lamp burning regularly.#Ex 25:31–40; 27:20–21. 3In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that hangs in front of the covenant, Aaron shall set up the lamp to burn before the Lord regularly, from evening till morning, by a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 4He shall set up the lamps on the pure gold menorah to burn regularly before the Lord.
The Showbread.#On the bread table, see Ex 25:23–29; 26:35; 37:10–16; 40:22–23. It occupies the north side of the anterior room of the sanctuary tent. The bread is a type of grain offering (see note on 2:1). 5You shall take bran flour and bake it into twelve cakes,#Ex 25:23–30; 1 Kgs 7:48; 2 Chr 13:11; Heb 9:2. using two tenths of an ephah of flour for each cake. 6These you shall place in two piles, six in each pile, on the pure gold table before the Lord. 7With each pile put some pure frankincense, which shall serve as an oblation to the Lord, a token of the bread offering. 8Regularly on each sabbath day the bread#1 Chr 9:32. shall be set out before the Lord on behalf of the Israelites by an everlasting covenant. 9It shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who must eat it in a sacred place, since it is most sacred,#1 Sm 21:5. his as a perpetual due from the oblations to the Lord.
Punishment of Blasphemy.#This is a narrative where an offense leads to clarifying revelation similar to the cases in Lv 10:1–7 and 16:1–34; Nm 9:6–14 and 15:32–36. 10A man born of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and in the camp a fight broke out between the son of the Israelite woman and an Israelite man. 11The son of the Israelite woman uttered the Lord’s name in a curse and blasphemed. So he was brought to Moses—now his mother’s name was Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan— 12and he was kept in custody till a decision from the Lord should settle the case for them.#Nm 15:34. 13The Lord then said to Moses: 14Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and when all who heard him have laid their hands#Laid their hands: see notes on 1:4 and 16:21. It may be that blasphemy generated a type of pollution which the hearers return to the culprit by this gesture. on his head,#Lv 16:21. let the whole community stone him. 15Tell the Israelites: Anyone who blasphemes God shall bear the penalty; 16whoever utters the name of the Lord in a curse shall be put to death.#Ex 22:27; 1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Mt 26:65–66; Jn 10:33. The whole community shall stone that person; alien and native-born alike must be put to death for uttering the Lord’s name in a curse.
17#A digression dealing with bodily injury follows the blasphemy rules. It may have been appended since the first case is another example of the death penalty. But the section develops according to its own logic. All legal traditions require death for homicide: Gn 9:5–6; Ex 21:12–14; Nm 35:9–34; Dt 19:1–13; cf. Ex 20:13 and Dt 5:17. Whoever takes the life of any human being shall be put to death;#Gn 9:5–6; Ex 21:12–14; Nm 35:9–34; Dt 19:11–13. 18whoever takes the life of an animal shall make restitution of another animal, life for a life.#Ex 21:33–34; cf. Lv 17:4. 19#The phrase “life for a life” in v. 18 leads to introducing the law of talion in vv. 19–20. Some have interpreted the law here and the similar expressions in Ex 21:23–25 and Dt 19:21 to mean that monetary compensation equal to the injury is to be paid, though the wording of the law here and the context of Dt 19:21 indicate an injury is to be inflicted upon the injurer. Anyone who inflicts a permanent injury on his or her neighbor shall receive the same in return: 20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The same injury that one gives another shall be inflicted in return.#Ex 21:23–25; Dt 19:21; Mt 5:38. 21Whoever takes the life of an animal shall make restitution, but whoever takes a human life shall be put to death. 22You shall have but one rule, for alien and native-born alike.#Lv 19:34; Ex 12:49; Nm 15:16. I, the Lord, am your God.
23When Moses told this to the Israelites, they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him;#Acts 7:57–58. they did just as the Lord commanded Moses.
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Leviticus 24
24
Regulations for the Lampstand and Table of Bread
1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Command the Israelites to bring#tn Heb “and let them take.” The simple vav (ו) on the imperfect/jussive form of the verb לָקַח (laqakh, “to take”) following the imperative (“Command”) indicates a purpose clause (“to bring…”). to you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.#tn Heb “to cause to ascend a lamp continually.” 3 Outside the veil-canopy#tn The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89). of the congregation in the Meeting Tent Aaron#tc Several medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, and the LXX add “and his sons.” must arrange it from evening until morning before the Lord continually. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations.#tn Heb “for your generations.” 4 On the ceremonially pure lampstand#tn Alternatively, “pure [gold] lampstand,” based on Exod 25:31, etc., where the term for “gold” actually appears (see NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, and the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395, etc.). However, in Lev 24:4 the adjective “pure” is feminine, corresponding to “lampstand,” not an assumed noun “gold” (contrast Exod 25:31), and the “table” in v. 6 was overlaid with gold, but was not made of pure gold. Therefore, it is probably better to translate “[ceremonially] pure lampstand” (v. 4) and “[ceremonially] pure table” (v. 6); see NEB; cf. KJV, ASV; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 164-65; and G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 307. he must arrange the lamps before the Lord continually.
5 “You must take choice wheat flour#sn See the note on Lev 2:1. and bake twelve loaves;#tn Heb “and bake it twelve loaves”; KJV, NAB, NASB “cakes.” there must be two tenths of an ephah of flour in#tn The words “of flour” are supplied in the translation for clarity.sn See the note on Lev 5:11. each loaf, 6 and you must set them in two rows, six in a row,#tn Heb “six of the row.” on the ceremonially pure table before the Lord. 7 You must put pure frankincense#tn This is not just any “incense” (קְטֹרֶת, qÿtoret; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:913-16), but specifically “frankincense” (לְבֹנָה, lÿvonah; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:756-57). on each row,#tn Heb “on [עַל, ’al] the row,” probably used distributively, “on each row” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395-96). Perhaps the frankincense was placed “with” or “along side of” each row, not actually on the bread itself, and was actually burned as incense to the Lord (cf. NIV “Along [Alongside CEV] each row”; NRSV “with each row”; NLT “near each row”; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 165). This particular preposition can have such a meaning. and it will become a memorial portion#sn The “memorial portion” (אַזְכָרָה, ’azkharah) was normally the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (see Lev 2:2 and the notes there), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (Lev 2:3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23 [6:7-16 HT]). for the bread, a gift#sn See the note on Lev 1:9 regarding the term “gift.” to the Lord. 8 Each Sabbath day#tn Heb “In the day of the Sabbath, in the day of the Sabbath.” The repetition is distributive. A few medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac delete the second occurrence of the expression. Aaron#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity. must arrange it before the Lord continually; this portion#tn The word “portion” is supplied in the translation here for clarity, to specify what “this” refers to. is from the Israelites as a perpetual covenant. 9 It will belong to Aaron and his sons, and they must eat it in a holy place because it is most holy to him, a perpetual allotted portion#tn Or “a perpetual regulation”; NRSV “a perpetual due.” from the gifts of the Lord.”
A Case of Blaspheming the Name
10 Now#tn Heb “And.” an Israelite woman’s son whose father was an Egyptian went out among the Israelites, and the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man#tn Heb “the Israelite man,” but Smr has no article, and the point is that there was a conflict between the man of mixed background and a man of full Israelite descent. had a fight in the camp. 11 The Israelite woman’s son misused the Name and cursed,#tn The verb rendered “misused” means literally “to bore through, to pierce” (HALOT 719 s.v. נקב qal); it is from נָקַב (naqav), not קָבַב (qavav; see the participial form in v. 16a). Its exact meaning here is uncertain. The two verbs together may form a hendiadys, “he pronounced by cursing blasphemously” (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 166), the idea being one of the following: (1) he pronounced the name “Yahweh” in a way or with words that amounted to “some sort of verbal aggression against Yahweh himself” (E. S. Gerstenberger, Leviticus [OTL], 362), (2) he pronounced a curse against the man using the name “Yahweh” (N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers [NCBC], 110; G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 311), or (3) he pronounced the name “Yahweh” and thereby blasphemed, since the “Name” was never to be pronounced (a standard Jewish explanation). In one way or another, the offense surely violated Exod 20:7, one of the ten commandments, and the same verb for cursing is used explicitly in Exod 22:28 (27 HT) prohibition against “cursing” God. For a full discussion of these and related options for interpreting this verse see P. J. Budd, Leviticus (NCBC), 335-36; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 408-9; and Levine, 166. so they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 So they placed him in custody until they were able#tn The words “until they were able” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. to make a clear legal decision for themselves based on words from the mouth of the Lord.#tn The Hebrew here is awkward. A literal reading would be something like the following: “And they placed him in custody to give a clear decision [HALOT 976 s.v. פרשׁ qal] for themselves on the mouth of the Lord.” In any case, they were apparently waiting for a direct word from the Lord regarding this matter (see vv. 13ff).
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 14 “Bring the one who cursed outside the camp, and all who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation is to stone him to death.#tn The words “to death” are supplied in the translation as a clarification; they are clearly implied from v. 16. 15 Moreover,#tn Heb “And.” you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If any man curses his God#sn See the note on v. 11 above and esp. Exod 22:28 [27 HT]. he will bear responsibility for his sin, 16 and one who misuses#sn See the note on v. 11 above. the name of the Lord must surely be put to death. The whole congregation must surely stone him, whether he is a foreigner or a native citizen; when he misuses the Name he must be put to death.
17 “‘If a man beats any person to death,#tn Heb “And if a man strikes any soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] of mankind.” The idiom seems to derive from the idea of striking a fatal blow to the very “life” (literally, “soul”) of a human being, not just landing a blow on their body (HALOT 698 s.v. נכה hif.2). On the difficult of the meaning and significance of the term נֶפֶשׁ see the notes on Lev 17:10-11. he must be put to death. 18 One who beats an animal to death#tn Heb “And one who strikes a soul of an animal.” must make restitution for it, life for life.#tn Heb “soul under soul.” Cf. KJV “beast for beast”; NCV “must give…another animal to take its place.” 19 If a man inflicts an injury on#tn Heb “gives a flaw in”; KJV, ASV “cause a blemish in.” his fellow citizen,#tn Or “neighbor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); TEV, NLT “another person.” just as he has done it must be done to him – 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth – just as he inflicts an injury on another person#tn Heb “in the man [אָדָם, ’adam].” that same injury#tn Heb “just as he inflicts an injury…it must be inflicted on him.” The referent (“that same injury”) has been specified in the translation for clarity. must be inflicted on him. 21 One who beats an animal to death#sn See the note on v. 18 above. must make restitution for it, but#tn Heb “and,” but here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) is adversative, contrasting the consequences of beating an animal to death with those of beating a person to death. one who beats a person to death must be put to death. 22 There will be one regulation#tn Heb “a regulation of one”; KJV, ASV “one manner of law”; NASB “one standard.” for you, whether a foreigner or a native citizen, for I am the Lord your God.’”
23 Then Moses spoke to the Israelites and they brought the one who cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. So the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
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