Lecture Four: Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy according to puppets…

Deuteronomy

The name Deuteronomy comes from a Greek mistranslation of the Hebrew name of the book.

The Hebrew name means “A copy of this law.”

The Greek “Deuteronomy” means “Second Law.”

In the New Testament, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy more than any other Old Testament book.

The Suzerain-Vassal Treaty

The structure of Deuteronomy as a whole is laid out in the way ancient peoples documented their legal agreements between one party and another.

Deuteronomy fits neatly into the structure of what is known as a “Suzerain-Vassal Treaty.”

In the Ancient Near East, the Suzerain was the greater ruling party and the vassal/vassals were the lesser party/parties who were subject to the Suzerain.

Agreements between the two parties followed specific procedures.

Elements of a Vassal Treaty

1. Preamble: Identifies the parties of the treaty (Deut. 1:1)

2. Historical Prologue: Describes past relationship between the parties (Deut. 1:2-11:32)

3. Stipulations/Obligations: Assumed by both parties (Deut. 12:1-26:15)

4. Deposit and periodic Reading: (Deut. 10:1-5; 31:9-13, 24-26)

5. Witnesses: Usually gods, but heaven and earth here (Deut. 4:26; 30:19; 31:28), and oaths sworn before them (Deut. 26: 16-19; 29:10-29)

6. List of Blessings/Curses: For obedience or disobedience to stipulations (Deut. 27:1-28:68)

Side note:

Modern English translators have sometimes found awkward passages in the Bible that they felt would be offensive to many Christian readers, so they sometimes rephrased some rather blunt and at times crass language into more polite renderings.

Deuteronomy 28:30 is an example of this. Modern translators have that verse read: "You will betroth a wife, but another man will lie with her." However, in Hebrew the phrase we translate as "lie with her" is much stronger and is not considered a very nice word at all.

In fact, the closest English equivalent would be the "f-word."

So yeah... that's in the Bible...

Moses Recounts the History of the Wilderness Wanderings (1:1–3:29; 9:7–10:11)

The first major portion of Deuteronomy is made up of Moses retelling the history of Israel after they left Egypt.

Leaving Mount Horeb
Appointment of leaders
Sending out spies
Israel’s rebellion
Wandering in the wilderness
Defeat of Sihon
Defeat of Og
Dividing up the land
Moses forbidden to enter the Promised Land
The golden calf
New tablets

Moses Recounts the Law of the LORD (4:1–9:6; 10:12–26:15)

The Ten Commandments
The Shema
Driving out nations
Don’t forget the LORD
Love and obey the LORD
Setting up the Tabernacle
Don’t worship other gods
Clean and unclean food
Tithes
The Sabbath Year
The Festivals
Wartime
Marrying foreigners
Courts, kings, and prophets
Miscellaneous laws

The Shema (6:4-9)

The “Shema” contains one of the daily prayers of the Jews.

"Sh'ma Yisra'el. YHWH Eloheinu. YHWH Ehad."

“Shema” means “Hear!” or “Listen!”

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”

Or “Hear, O Israel! The LORD [is] our God, the LORD alone.”
Or “Hear, O Israel! The LORD our God [is] the LORD alone.”

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”

In the New Testament, Jesus said that this commandment was the greatest commandment of them all.

If you keep this one law, you are keeping all of God’s laws.

If you break this one law, you are breaking all of God’s laws.

The King (17:14-20)

Deuteronomy places strict rules on the kings of Israel.

The king must not be a foreigner.
The king must not have many horses.
The king must not have many wives.
The king must not have much silver or gold.
The king must carry a copy of the Law with him to read every day.

Why all the rules for Israel’s kings when Israel had no king at the time?

Possibly because by the time the scribes finished putting all these laws together into one unified "Law of Moses," so much time had passed that Israel actually did have kings at that point, so special emphasis may have been placed on these kingly commands because of this.

We see later how Israel's kings pretty much broke all these rules all of the time.

The Prophet (18:14-22)

“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth.”

Why are prophets needed?

Because Israel demanded an intermediary at Sinai.

The prophet of God must not:

Practice sorcery or divination
Say God said something that God didn’t say
Speak in the name of other gods

The test of a true prophet:

If what the prophet says does not come true, he must have been lying

Blessings and Curses (26:16–30:20)

Moses commanded the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin to stand on top of Mount Gerizim once they had entered the Promised Land and pronounce the blessings that would take affect if Israel was faithful to the Covenant.

Moses commanded the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali to stand on top of Mount Ebal once they had entered the Promised Land and pronounce the curses that would take affect if Israel was unfaithful to the Covenant.

Israel’s Rebellion Predicted (31:1-29)

Moses wrote down The Law of the LORD and placed it with the Ark of the Covenant for future generations to read.

Moses told Joshua to “be strong and courageous” as he would be the new leader of Israel.

Moses predicted that after his own death Israel would surely turn away from God and worship other gods.

Moses said that God would eventually destroy their land because of this.

The Song of Moses (31:30–32:47)

This song is thought to be the oldest text within Deuteronomy.

It explains that in the beginning, “El Elyon” divided up the peoples of the earth and gave them land according to the number of “the sons of God.”

This song seems to indicate:

The gods of other nations were living deities
God allowed the different peoples to practice polytheism.
Israel’s God is above all of these other deities
He chose Israel out of all the peoples to be His chosen people.
It was in God’s plan that other nations would worship other gods, but that Israel would worship Him alone.

Other texts show Israel’s role in the world to be to introduce the rest of the peoples of the earth to their God, but they often failed at this task.

Paul addresses this issue in the New Testament, in Acts 17:26-30…

“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands…so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. […] we should not think that the divine being is…an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”

-- Acts 17:26-30

Moses Blesses the Tribes (32:48–33:29)

Reuben
“Let Reuben live and not die…”

Judah
“Help him!”

Levi
He guards your covenant
He teaches your precepts to Israel
He offers incense before you

Simeon
Not mentioned... perhaps because by the time the scribes got around to writing this down no one was repeating blessings for Simeon, because Simeon had been absorbed by Judah.

Benjamin
He is a shield

Joseph
All good blessings go to Joseph
He is a prince among his brothers
Ephraim and Manasseh are very numerous

Zebulun and Issachar
Zebulun “goes out”
Issachar stays in his tent
Both will be rich

Gad
He chose the best land
He’s a leader
He’s a ferocious lion

Dan
He’s a lion’s cub

Naphtali
“…he will inherit southward to the lake.”

Asher
Your brothers will favor you
You will be very strong

The Death of Moses (34:1-12)

The end of Deuteronomy is seen as a eulogy honoring Moses.

The text says that Moses climbed to the top of Mount Nebo and viewed the Promised Land, but did not enter it.

He died on top of the mountain at the age of 120, but the text says that despite his age he was still “vibrant” and full of life.

The text also says that God himself buried Moses and that no one knows where he is buried.

The text says that since then, no prophet has ever been as great as Moses.

Lecture Three: The Wilderness Period

The Nazirite (6:1-21)

Numbers 6 discusses rules regarding the Nazirites.

The Nazirites were a group of people who were set apart from others and were devoted to special service for God.

They followed special rules.

Don’t cut your hair.
Don’t eat grapes or drink wine.
Don’t touch dead things.

Famous Nazirites in the Bible:

Samuel
Samson

The Priestly Blessing (6:22-27)

The oldest manuscript of the Scriptures that exists today is a small section of Numbers 6.

This section is the blessing that Moses commanded Aaron to give to the people.

“The LORD bless you

    and keep you;

the LORD make his face shine on you

    and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn his face toward you

    and give you peace.”

  -- Numbers 6:24-26

The Israelites Leave Sinai (10:11-36)

Two years, two months, and twenty days after leaving Egypt, the Israelites left Sinai.

The cloud of smoke lifted up from the Tabernacle and went ahead of the Israelites and they followed it.

Moses tried to convince his father-in-law to go with them.

Israel set out from Sinai and the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them as they followed the cloud of smoke.

They traveled for three days before the cloud stopped.

Fire From the Lord (11:1-3)

Israel complained about their “hardships” within “earshot” of God.

Fire from the LORD began to consume the outskirts of the camp.

The people cried out to Moses.

Moses prayed and the fire died down.

The people named that place “Taberah,” which means “burning.”

Quail from the LORD (11:4-35)

The people complained about God’s manna and wanted the food they claimed they had back in Egypt.

Here, the text refers to these people as “rabble.”

God got angry and Moses got worried.

Moses complained to God about the people, saying, “Did I give them birth?”

Moses asked God to give the people meat.

God said he would give them so much meat that it would come out their nostrils and they would “loath” it.

Moses questioned God’s ability to provide meat.

God said, “Is the arm of the LORD to short?”

Halfway through this story, two guys start prophesying and Joshua tries to stop them, but Moses tells Joshua not to be jealous.

Later, God sent a wind to drive in flocks of quail from the sea, and the people began to gorge themselves on the quail.

God became angry with them and sent a plague upon them and some people died from it.

They named the place “Kibroth Hattaavah,” which means “graves of craving.”

Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses (12:1-16)

Aaron and Miriam bad-mouthed Moses because he had married a “Cushite” woman.

They also pointed out that God had spoken through them as well, and not just Moses, and the text says “the LORD heard” them.

Here, the text also says that “Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.”

God told Moses to go get his brother and sister and He appeared to them in the cloud and vindicated Moses.

God made a distinction between Moses and other prophets saying that He spoke to other prophets through dreams and visions, but that He spoke with Moses face to face.

When the cloud lifted, Miriam had leprosy.

Aaron begged Moses for forgiveness, and Moses begged God to heal Miriam.

God told them that she would be “unclean” and have to stay outside the camp for seven days before she could come back.

Exploring Canaan (13:1-25)

Israel traveled to the desert of Paran and Moses sent out twelve spies from each of the twelve tribes to go explore the land of Canaan.

Among the spies were two men named Caleb and Joshua.

Here, Joshua is also listed as “Hoshea.”

The text says that Moses had given the name “Joshua” to Hoshea.

Caleb was from the tribe of Judah, and Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim.

Moses sent them on a mission to go see whether or not the land they were entering was good.

The spies explored the land and spied on its people for forty days.

At the end of their mission, they took a cluster of grapes back with them that was so big that two men had to carry it on a pole.

Report of the Exploration (13:26-33)

The spies reported on all they had seen and how good the land was.

Caleb said they should go up and enter the land.

The other spies disagreed and told the people that the land was filled with giants and that they would all be killed if they tried to go there.

They compared themselves to grasshoppers.

They even said the “Nephilim” from Genesis 6 lived in the land.

The People Rebel (14:1-45)

The people cried out that they would be better off dead in the desert than entering Canaan.

They wanted to replace Moses with a new leader.

Joshua and Caleb pleaded with them not to rebel in fear, but the people wanted to stone them.

“The Glory of the LORD” suddenly appeared and God again told Moses He would kill all the people in His anger and make Moses into a great nation instead.

“How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?”

Moses again interceded for the people to turn away God’s wrath.

“What will the Egyptians say when they hear?”

God decided not to kill the people, but said that none of the people of that generation who had rebelled against Him “these ten times” would ever enter the Promised Land, except for Joshua and Caleb.

God sentenced the Israelites to wander in the desert for forty years until every last person who had seen His miracles in Egypt had died.

The people wept when they heard this and they decided to go up into the land anyway.

Moses warned them not to do so because God would not go with them.

The people went up anyway without Moses and they were defeated by the Canaanites and Amalekites.

Korah’s Rebellion (16:1-50)

Moses’ first-cousin, a Levite named Korah, along with three Reubenites named Dathan, Abiram, and On started a rebellion.

250 council members joined them and confronted Moses and Aaron, claiming they had just as much right to be priests as Aaron did.

Moses is like, “Be content with the special role God already gave you.”

Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, but they refused to come, and were like...

“Moses is a slave-master!”
“It’s Moses’ fault that we’re not in the Promised Land yet!”

The rebels tried to make their own offerings to God, and Moses got angry and told God not to accept them.

God told Moses and Aaron to get out of the way so that He could wipe out all of Israel.

Moses says, “Please don’t destroy the innocent along with the guilty!”

Moses declared a test for the people to see who was Israel’s true leader:

“If these men die a natural death then you will know I am not, but if the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up then you will know they were not.”

As Moses was speaking, “the ground split open” and “the earth opened its mouth and swallowed” the rebels and they went down into “Sheol” alive.

The other Israelites panicked and moved out of the way, thinking they would also fall into Sheol.

Fire also came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering incense.

God told Moses to use the gold from the censers of the dead men to cover the altar so the people wouldn’t forget what had happened.

The very next day, the people surrounded Moses and accused him of “killing the LORD’s people.”

“The Glory of the LORD” came down in smoke and began slaughtering the people.

Moses had Aaron grab his censer and quickly go out and offer atonement for the people.

The text says, “He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.”

14,700 people died from the plague in addition to the people who had died in Korah’s rebellion.

The Budding of Aaron’s Staff (17:1-13)

God proposed a test for the Israelites to prove to them who the rightful priest was.

Moses asked each of the leaders of the twelve tribes to give him a staff with the name of their leader on it.

God told Moses to put the twelve staffs in front of the Ark of the Covenant, and said to Israel that the man whose staff sprouted was the man that He had chosen.

In the morning, Aaron’s staff had not only sprouted, but had also budded, blossomed, and produced almonds.

God told Moses to put Aaron’s staff in front of the Ark as a sign to Israel warning them not to rebel.

This story ends with the Israelites convinced that God is going to kill them all... which is funny because they apparently only decided this after seeing Aaron's staff blossom and not after seeing all of the terrible ways God had already punished them for their rebellion.

Water from the Rock (20:1-13)

Israel arrived in the Desert of Zin

Here Miriam died.

There was no water and the people rebelled against Moses again.

“We’d be better off dying from God’s plagues, or dying in Egypt!”

God told Moses and Aaron to gather the people at a nearby rock.

“Speak to the rock…and it will pour out its water.”

Moses screamed at the people, calling them “marah.”

He then wacked the rock twice with his staff and water came out.

God told Moses and Aaron they had represented Him poorly.

“Neither one of you will enter the Promised Land.”

Edom Denies Israel Passage (20:14-21)

Moses sent a message to the Edomites to let them know that their “brother” Israel planned to pass through their territory.

Edom told them not to come near.

Moses responded that they would stay only on the main highway that went through their land.

Edom again denied them, and sent out an army to block their way.

Israel turned back and stayed away from Edom.

The Death of Aaron(20:22-29)

God told Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s son Eleazar, to go up to Mount Hor, and that there Aaron would die.

Aaron “was gathered to his people,” and Eleazar took over as high priest.

The people mourned 30 days.

The Bronze Snake(21:4-9)

Moses led the Israelites through the desert to avoid going through Edom.

They spoke against God and Moses.

They wanted to go back to Egypt.

They whined that there wasn’t enough food or water.

God sent poisonous snakes to attack the Israelites.

The Israelites confessed their sins and Moses prayed for them.

God told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole.

Anyone who had been bitten and looked at the bronze snake survived.

In the New Testament, Jesus used the story of the bronze snake to explain his own death.

The Journey to Moab (21:1-3,10-20)

The Israelites moved from place to place:

Hormah
They were raided by Canaanites
Oboth
Iye Abarim
Zered Valley
Alongside the Arnon
On the border between Moab and the Amorites
Beer
Here Israel sang, “Spring up, O well!” and God gave them water.
Mattanah
Nahaliel
Bamoth
Moab
The valley where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland 

Defeat of Sihon and Og (21:21-35)

Israel sent a message to Sihon of the Amorites and asked if they could pass through his land.

Sihon gathered his army and attacked Israel.

Israel defeated Sihon and claimed his territory, including territory he had previously stolen from the Moabites.

Moses sent spies to the city of Jazer.

Israel then drove out the Amorites that lived there.

Israel then followed the road towards Bashan.

Og, king of Bashan, and his army met Israel at Edrei and declared war on them.

Israel defeated Og and took his land.

Elsewhere, Og is described as a “giant.”

Balak Summons Balaam(22:1-20)

Israel made camp on the Plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho.

Balak, the king of Moab, feared the Israelite presence in the land.

He sent messengers to Aram to retrieve Balaam son of Beor.

Balaam was a professional “curser.”

Balak wanted Balaam to pronounce a curse upon Israel so that they would be destroyed.

Balaam agreed to do it for a hefty sum of money.

Before Balaam arrived in Moab, God spoke to him and told him to only speak the words God would put into his mouth about Israel.

Balaam in Archaeology

In 1967, an ancient manuscript was found at an excavation site in Jordan that contained the name of “Balaam son of Beor.”

The text described Balaam as one who communicated with the gods at night.

It also says that he had a vision of the god “El.”

Balaam’s Donkey (22:21-41)

As Balaam was traveling along the road, an angel stood ahead of him with a drawn sword.

Balaam didn’t see the angel, but his donkey did and walked off the path.

Balaam beat his donkey to get it back on the path.

The angel stood in a different place between two walls of a vineyard.

The donkey stopped walking and pushed up against the wall trying to escape and crushed Balaam’s foot.

Balaam beat his donkey again.

The angel moved to another place where the donkey could not escape from him.

The donkey sat down and refused to move.

Balaam beat his donkey again.

God caused the donkey to speak.

Donkey: What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?
Balaam: You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!
Donkey: Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?
Balaam: No.

The text then says that God caused Balaam to see the angel in the road. Balaam bowed down.

The angel said:

“Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”

The angel then told Balaam to continue on his journey, but to only say what he would tell him to say.

Balaam took his sweet time and Balak was a tad impatient by the time he arrived.

Balak reminded Balaam of the money he had promised him.

Balaam informed him that he would only be able to speak what the LORD would allow him to speak.

The Seven Oracles of Balaam (23:1-24:25)

Balak took Balaam up a mountain to view Israel and put a curse on them.

God spoke and Balaam delivered His messages to Balak.

Balaam’s First Message

“How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?”

Balak took Balaam to another place where he could only see the outskirts of Israel’s camp and told him to curse Israel.

Balaam’s Second Message

“I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.”

Balak told him to neither curse them nor bless them at all.

Balak took Balaam to another place and told him to curse Israel from there.

Balaam’s Third Message

“May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!”

Balak became angry after this third blessing and told Balaam to go home.

Balaam’s Fourth Message

“A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab... Edom will be conquered…but Israel will grow strong.”

Balaam’s Fifth Message

“Amalek was first among the nations, but their end will be utter destruction.”

Balaam’s Sixth Message

“You Kenites will be destroyed when Ashur takes you captive.”

Balaam’s Seventh Message

“Alas! Who can live when God does this? Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus; they will subdue Ashur and Eber, but they too will come to ruin.”

Moab Seduces Israel (25:1-18)

Many of the Israelites went over to the Moabites and “committed themselves to the Baal of Peor.”

The text says “The LORD’s anger burned against them,” and he sent a plague among the people.

God told Moses to command the Israelites to kill everyone who had aligned themselves with Baal and the Moabites.

While Moses and the elders were weeping at the Tabernacle, an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman into the camp in front of everyone.

Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson, grabbed his spear and drove it through both of them and the plague finally stopped.

The text says that 24,000 people died from the plague.

Israel and Midian became enemies over this incident.

The Second Census (26:1-65)

Moses takes another census because so many people died since the last one.

This took place on the Plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from the city of Jericho.

The text says that the people counted in this census were completely different from the people in the last census.

All the people recorded in the first census had died in the desert except for Joshua and Caleb.

Joshua to Succeed Moses (27:12-23)

God told Moses to climb a mountain and look out over the Promised Land.

God told Moses to appoint Joshua as the new leader of Israel because Moses would die before Israel entered the Promised Land.

Moses and Eleazar the priest anointed Joshua in the presence of all of Israel.

Vengeance on the Midianites (31:1-54)

God told Moses to order the Israelites in battle against Midian.

Israel fought and killed five Midianite kings.

Israel also killed Balaam son of Beor.

This text says that Balaam was the one who had told the Midianite women to try and seduce the Israelites.

When Israel brought back all the plunder to the Plains of Moab where they had been camping, Moses was angry with them because they had let the women live.

Moses told them to kill all the women who had slept with a man, but not the virgins.

Moses also commanded anyone who had killed a person to stay outside the camp for seven days and go through the purification ceremony.

The rest of the book of Numbers is made up of Moses giving instructions to the people on how to divide up the land once they entered into it.

Lecture Two: The Levitical Code

The Book of Leviticus continues the stipulations laid out in the covenant made between God and His people at Mount Sinai.

The name “Leviticus” refers to the tribe of the Levites, who were given special commands to follow as a part of the Sinai Covenant.

The Levites became Israel’s priests and were entrusted with the task of offering different atoning sacrifices to God on behalf of the people as well as making sure the people followed the Law.

It's important to remember that these Laws are specific commands to specific people in a specific time period. In the New Testament, the Jewish Christians stated that God did not want everyone everywhere to follow every rule in The Law. In regard to The Law, this is what the early Jewish Church leaders wrote to the early Gentile believers in the Book of Acts:

"It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things."

Israel’s Atonement System (1:1–7:38)

The Burnt Offering

“The sacrifice of unblemished male animals from cattle or flock or certain birds…the whole animal was burned on the altar.”

The Grain Offering

“A small portion of the dough made from the flour of the inner kernel of the wheat grain mixed with olive oil and frankincense was burnt on the altar.”

The Peace Offering

A.k.a., “The Fellowship Offering”

“…included a sacred meal participated in by the priest and the worshiper.”

The Sin Offering

The guilty person would bring in an animal and “pass” their sins onto the animal. The animal would then be killed and given as an offering.

The Guilt Offering

Anyone who had sinned unintentionally needed to make restitution by presenting animal offerings.

The Anointing of Aaron and His Sons (8:1–10:20)

God chose Aaron and his sons – Nadab and Abihu – to be priests.

They were to be God’s representatives for the people.

Shortly after they became priests, Nadab and Abihu went into the Tabernacle and offered “unauthorized fire” to the LORD.

Fire came out from the LORD and consumed them.

The priests were not allowed to mourn for those whom “the LORD had destroyed by fire;” only normal people could mourn for them.

After this, Moses presents new laws about alcohol and priests... perhaps implying that what happened here was that Nadab and Abihu got drunk on the job and fell into God's fire...

Clean and Unclean Food (11:1-47)

You're allowed to eat these:

Cows
Sheep
Goats

Chicken
Quail

Locusts
Crickets
Grasshoppers

You're not allowed to eat these:

Camels
Rabbits
Pigs

Owls
Bats

Beetles
Flies
Gnats

Also… don’t eat weasels, rats, geckos, monitor lizards, chameleons, etc…

Laws of Sanitation (12:1–15:23)

Purification after Childbirth

Having a child makes you sanitarily “unclean,” not sinfully “unclean.”

The mother is unclean for seven days if she has a boy…

The boy is circumcised on the eighth day.

For some reason, the mother is considered unclean for a longer period of time if she has a girl…

Regulations about Defiling Skin Diseases

Diseases make you sanitarily “unclean,” not sinfully “unclean.”

Different kinds of sores…

Different kinds of baldness…

Wash your clothes.

Shave your head.

Stay away from others.

Regulations about Defiling Molds

Moldy things are sanitarily “unclean,” not sinfully “unclean.”

Does the cloth have green or red mold?

Is the mold spreading?

Burn it!

Wash your clothes.

Discharges Causing Uncleanness

Having a bodily discharge makes you sanitarily “unclean,” not sinfully “unclean.”

Wash your clothes.

Clean your beds.

Don’t spit on people.

Wash your hands.

Wash your dishes.

Clean yourself up after having sex.

Clean period blood off yourselves.

Unlawful Sexual Relations (18:1-30)

To the Men:

Don’t have sex with your mother.
Don’t have sex with your sister.
Don’t have sex with your granddaughter.
Don’t have sex with your half-sister.
Don’t have sex with your aunt.
Don’t have sex with your daughter-in-law.
Don’t have sex with your sister-in-law.
Don’t marry a woman and her sister simultaneously.
Don’t have sex with a woman on her period.
Don’t have sex with your neighbor’s wife.
Don’t sacrifice your kids to Molech. (What does this have to do with sex? Well...they had sex while they sacrificed their kids...but more on fertility cults some other time...)
Don’t have sex with men.
Don’t have sex with animals.

To the Women:

Don’t have sex with animals.

Various Laws (19:1–20:27)

“Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”

“Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.”

“Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God.”

“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.”

“Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.”

“Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.”

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.”

This last command is, according to Jesus, the second most important command of all time after loving God.

“Do not mate different kinds of animals.”

“Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.”

“Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.”

“Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”

“Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves.”

“Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute…”

“Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them.”

“Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God.”

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”

Rules for Priests (21:1–22:16)

Don’t shave your heads.
Don’t cut yourselves.
Don’t marry prostitutes.
Don’t have messy hair.
Stay away from dead bodies.
Don’t disrespect the offerings people give to God.

People who cannot become Israelite priests:

Blind people
Lame people
Deformed people
People with crippled hands or feet
Hunchbacks
Dwarves
People with poor eyesight
People with festering or running sores
People with damaged testicles

Unacceptable Sacrifices(22:17-33)

Blind animals
Injured animals
Maimed animals
Animals with warts
Animals with festering or running sores
Animals with bruised, crushed, torn, or cut testicles (blech...)
Animals younger than eight days old

The Sabbath Year (25:1-17)

Every seven years, the land was to have a rest from planting and harvesting.

The Year of Jubilee (25:8-55)

After seven cycles of the Sabbath Year, came the Year of Jubilee in the 50th year.

Everyone must celebrate.

All debts must be forgiven.
Because all debts belong to God and He has forgiven them.

All slaves must be set free.
Because all people belong to God and he sets all people free.

All property must be returned to its original owners.
Because all the land belongs to God.

Look out for poor people.
Because God looked out for Israel when they themselves were poor in Egypt.

Reward for Obedience (26:1-13)

“I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.”

“I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.”

“I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.”

Punishment for Disobedience (26:14-46)

“I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength.”

“You will be defeated by your enemies…”

“I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings.”

“I will scatter you among the nations…”

“…the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.”

“But if they will confess their sins…I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham.”




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Sources

Varughese, Alex, et al.  Discovering the Old Testament.  Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2003.

Kugel, James L. How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture Then and Now.

Vander Laan, Ray. The Land, the Language, and the Jewish Culture of Jesus.