Leviticus 1–16

Abstract

At the beginning of his academic career, author Jacob Milgrom determined to make his lifework a probing study of the Laws of the Torah. Here, with Leviticus 1-16, the first of three volumes on Leviticus, he has reached the pinnacle of his long pursuit. No other contemporary commentary matches Milgrom’s comprehensive work on this much misunderstood and often underappreciated biblical book. In this richly detailed volume, the author traverses the shoals of legal thought and liturgical practice in ancient Israel. He clearly explains the role of the Tabernacle of the Wilderness as the all-important center of Israelite worship, the locus of the priestly orders, sacrificial rituals, and practices of purity to which the congregation repaired for penitence and reconciliation, restoration and renewal. At the heart of the dwelling place of God was the real presence of the God of Israel, present through his splendor in the midst of the camp and the congregation – a permanent sign of the unique privilege and responsibility of Israel, perceived as a worshipping and serving people.

Blood Manipulation in Hezekiah’s Re-inauguration of the Temple in Chronicles

“…17.11). In this regard, Milgrom, 1991, 711–712 states that “the identification of blood with life clarifies its function in the sacrificial system …, Blood, then, as life is what purges the sanctuary. It nullifies, overpowers, and absorbs the Israelites’ impurities that adhere to the sanctuary, thereby allowing the divine presence to remain and Israel to survive.” Accordingly, the ritual function of blood (as life) aims to provide a pure precondition for the divine presence (as the source of life) in the sanctuary.…”

“…However, Milgrom, 1991: 580–581 questions this explanation. He contends, from a diachronic point of view, that an earlier stage of development is presented in Leviticus 9, which still starts with an open-air sanctuary and in which the only sacred point is the outside altar.…”

“… 22. This fire came “from before YHWH” (מלפני יהוה‎), which denotes the position of “at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting,” that is, “the outer half of the Tabernacle court between the entrance to the enclosure and the altar”; Milgrom, 1991: 155. This means that the fire came from somewhere near the entrance to the inner court (sanctuary) to the altar of the burnt offering, though we cannot know the exact position where it first came from. …”

“… 24. Milgrom, 1991: 285–286 thinks that the seven bulls, rams, lambs, and goats were intended to be offered for each of the three beneficiaries (the royal house, the sanctuary and the people of Judah), making a total of 84 animals (7x4x3). But 84 is also 12 times 7, with 12 representing the number of tribes and 7 being the number of perfection.…”

“… 25. I render חנכת‎ as “inauguration” instead of “dedication,” partly because this ceremony concerns not the dedication of the temple to God but its inauguration and also because its etymology does not specify “dedication” but “initiation.” See “חנך‎,” TDOT , V:19–21; Milgrom, 1991: 592. …”