The Year of Jubilee, from The Story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation by Charles Foster, published in 1879 Leviticus 25 begins with God explaining to Moses that, in addition to Jews observing a weekly Sabbath day, they should also observe a Sabbath year every seven years. During the Sabbath year, they are to…
The Blasphemer, pen and ink on paper, by Niccolò dell'Abbate, circa 1571, currently at the Musée du Louvre, Paris I will start this first blog post of the new year (hello, 2020!) with some happy news: after today's post, there's only one more in Leviticus! And all God's children said hallelujah. So, with Chapter 22:…
Moses and Aaron Rejecting a Hunchback, from the Bible Moralisée Part 1, 13th Century, Currently with the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford University, United Kingdom The NIV version of Leviticus 19 starts with the heading: "Various Laws" because it's a mish-mosh of laws for all ancient Jews, not just for the Jewish priests as related in previous…
'Aaron Casting Lots,' East Window of the Lincoln Cathedral, window built by Ward and Hughes, installed in 1855, Lincoln, United Kingdom Chapter 16 is all about how Aaron (and later high priests) should conduct the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. God relates - through Moses - that it should be the tenth day of…
Means of Determining Leprosy, image from the Phillip Medhurst Picture Torah, published in 1970, currently in the Phillip Medhurst Collection of Bible Illustrations at St. George's Court, Kidderminster, England The three chapters to be covered in this blog post are a big example of why people stop reading the Bible if they start from the…
Scene from a Shechita, believed to be 15th Century, unknown artist and location So, remember in the previous blog post how Aaron and his sons were finally invested as the first Jewish priests and everything was awesome? Well, hold on to your hat because that happiness doesn't last long. Really, at all. Why are we…
Stained Glass Windows Depicting the Law (Moses) and the Priesthood (Aaron), Peterborough Cathedral, Peterborough, England, erected 1865 Chapter 7 begins with instructions on how the early Jews were to make their guilt offerings. Like the other livestock sacrifices, the animal was to be slaughtered where the burnt offerings were performed and blood splashed on the…
The Horned Altar, from A Brief Sketch of the Jewish Tabernacle by Philip Y. Pendleton, published 1901, currently at Newfoundland and Labrador's University The Bible is chock full of repetition, and nowhere is this more in evidence than in the legal books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In today's blog post, focused on Leviticus' Chapters 4…
Aaron and His Sons Laying Hands on the Head of a Bullock, from The Art Bible: Comprising the Old and New Testaments With Numerous Illustrations, published in 1896, currently at the Princeton Theological Seminary Library Leviticus gets its name from the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures still in existence. It means…
The Tabernacle, from Scripture Illustrations: Explanatory of Numerous Texts and of Various Customs Mentioned in the Bible With Twenty-Eight Cuts by Reuben S. Gilbert, 1827, currently at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NOTE: Ordinarily these blog posts cover three chapters within the books of the Bible. This post will cover seven chapters,…
Penny Reads the Bible 