LEVITICUS 19. MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTION OF PRECEPTS, some of them obscure, and placed in a strange order. The order, however, is easier, if we may excise, as later insertions, Leviticus 19:5 and Leviticus 19:20. With a little ingenuity, these laws may be arranged (as also those of Leviticus 18) in gr... [ Continue Reading ]
HOLINESS, PIETY, IDOLATRY, PEACE-OFFERINGS. Note the mention of the mother first. On the Sabbath, see pp. 101f., Exodus 20:8 *. Idols, lit. things of nought; only here and in Leviticus 26:1 in Pentateuch; common in 2 Isaiah (_cf._ 44:9ff.). Molten, specially prohibited also in Exodus 34:17; not in E... [ Continue Reading ]
HUMANITY AND UPRIGHTNESS. Gleaning is to be encouraged, both in field and vineyard. It may well be that the corners of the field were originally left so as to avoid driving out the vegetation spirit. [See article _Corners_ by Barton in ERE, and Frazer, _Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, i. 234f.... [ Continue Reading ]
HOLINESS IN FARM LIFE AND BETWEEN THE SEXES. Hybrids are forbidden; a rule which, with its curious extensions, is found in Deuteronomy 22:9 f.; but contrast 2 Samuel 13:29; 1 Kings 10:25; Ezekiel 27:14; mules were highly valued in Palestine. Perhaps some magical heathen practice is the real object o... [ Continue Reading ]
MISCELLANEOUS PRECEPTS, all found elsewhere, except the last. Most of the forbidden actions have some magical significance, _e.g._ cutting the hair in a special fashion, or maiming oneself (originally, to delude the dangerous spirits of the dead while they are still near, at or after a funeral, or p... [ Continue Reading ]
FINAL RULES OF HUMANITY AND JUSTICE. Resident aliens are to be respected; fraud is to be banished. For the stranger, _cf. Leviticus 17:8_ f.*. Straightforward dealing is here placed in a position of special importance. It is uniformly emphasized by the prophets (Amos 5:24; Micah 6:8; Ezekiel 45:9 ff... [ Continue Reading ]