LeviticusChapter 19

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The LORD said to Moses:

Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy.

Each of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.

Do not turn to idols, and do not make cast gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.

When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the LORD, offer it so that it will be accepted for you.

It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it, or on the next day; whatever is left over until the third day must be burned in the fire.

If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is tainted; it will not be accepted.

Whoever eats it will bear his guilt, because he has profaned what is holy to the LORD; that person shall be cut off from his people.

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap all the way to the edges of your field, and do not gather the gleanings of your harvest.

Do not strip your vineyard bare or pick up the fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.

You shall not steal. You shall not deceive or lie to one another.

You shall not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

You shall not exploit your neighbor or rob him. Do not keep the wages of a hired worker with you until morning.

You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.

You shall not pervert justice. Do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

You shall not go about spreading slander among your people, and you shall not stand by when your neighbor's life is at stake. I am the LORD.

You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely rebuke your fellow Israelite, so that you do not bear sin because of him.

You shall not take revenge or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

You shall keep my statutes. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not sow your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear a garment woven of two kinds of material.

If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave promised to another man but who has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there must be an inquiry. They shall not be put to death, because she had not been freed.

The man shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting: a ram as a guilt offering.

With the ram of the guilt offering the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD for the sin he has committed, and the sin he committed will be forgiven him.

When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten.

In the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD.

But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, so that your harvest may increase. I am the LORD your God.

You shall not eat anything with the blood still in it. You shall not practice divination or seek omens.

You shall not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with depravity.

You shall keep my Sabbaths and revere my sanctuary. I am the LORD.

Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out and be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly, and fear your God. I am the LORD.

When a foreigner lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.

The foreigner living among you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

You shall not act dishonestly in judgment, in measures of length, weight, or volume.

Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them. I am the LORD.

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Summary2

Chapter 19

Main Theme: God calls Israel to holiness in all areas of life because He Himself is holy.

Content: The chapter opens with the fundamental call, "Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy" (v.2). This is developed through specific commands regarding respect for parents, observance of the Sabbath, fair treatment of the poor and foreigners, honesty in business and legal matters. The command to love your neighbor as yourself (v.18) stands central, along with prohibitions against hatred, revenge, and slander. The chapter also forbids idolatry, divination, and contact with spiritists.

Key Words/Images:

Holiness (קָדוֹשׁ): God's own nature that Israel is called to reflect in ethical and ritual conduct.
"I am the Lord": A repeated formula emphasizing that the commands carry divine authority.
Love your neighbor: The foundational ethical principle summarizing our relationship with others.
Pe'ah (the corner of the field): A specific command to leave part of the harvest for the poor and foreigners – social justice in practice.

Historical context

Historical and Cultural Context for Leviticus 19

Events and Customs

Leviticus 19 is known as the "Holiness Code" and contains a broad collection of ethical, ritual, and social regulations. The chapter opens with the fundamental command: "You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy" (v. 2), which sets the tone for the entire legal code. The laws concerning leaving grain and grapes for the poor and the foreigner (vv. 9–10) reflect an agricultural society where social justice was woven into the very practice of harvesting. This custom of leaving something in the field (pe'ah) and not gathering what fell during harvest (leket) was later systematized in rabbinic law and forms the background for the story of Ruth.

The prohibitions against eating anything with its blood, practicing divination or sorcery (v. 26), and seeking contact with mediums and spiritists (v. 31) stand in sharp contrast to widespread practices in Canaan, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. These cultures had extensive traditions for consulting the dead and interpreting signs. The prohibition against cutting oneself and tattooing (v. 28) is likely directed at mourning rituals and religious practices associated with death and fertility cults that were common among surrounding nations.

Key Terms

The Hebrew word קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, "holy") is central to this chapter and fundamentally means "separated" or "set apart." Holiness involves both being separated from what is unclean and being dedicated to God. The expression כִּלְאַיִם (kil'ayim, v. 19) refers to the prohibition against mixing different kinds—whether in breeding animals, sowing seeds, or weaving textiles. The word שַׁעַטְנֵז (sha'atnez) specifically describes the mixture of wool and linen, a practice possibly linked to pagan rituals.

The command וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ ("You shall love your neighbor as yourself," v. 18) was identified by Jesus as the second greatest commandment in the Torah (Matt 22:39; Mark 12:31). The word רֵעַ (rea', "neighbor") is expanded in verse 34 to also include גֵּר (ger, "the foreigner"), which was remarkable in the ancient world. The term פִּגּוּל (piggul, vv. 7–8) refers to sacrificial meat that has become "detestable" or "abominable" because it was not eaten within the proper time.

Chapter-Specific Findings

Archaeological discoveries of weights and measures from ancient Israel confirm that standardized units were important in a trading society, providing background for the commands regarding honest weights and measures in verses 35–36. Stones marked with Hebrew symbols for weight (shekel) have been found at several excavations in Israel, including at Lachish and Jerusalem. These findings also show that cheating with weights occurred, making such legislation necessary. The terms אֵיפָה (efa) for dry goods and הִין (hin) for liquids were standard measures confirmed through archaeological discoveries of marked jars and vessels.

People1

Moses1

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Key words9

Holy — A state of being set apart from the ordinary or unclean, dedicated to God and his service.
Neighbor — The person who lives near another, often used to describe fellow human beings in general.
Honor — To show respect and reverence toward someone, especially parents and elders.
Sabbath — The seventh day of the week, on which work is to cease, and rest and worship of God are to be prioritized.
Offering — A gift or act performed to honor God, often involving animals or food items burned on an altar.
Blood — Symbolizes life, and is used in religious ceremonies to cleanse and sanctify people and places.
Harvest — Crops that are grown and gathered for food and other purposes, including grain, fruit, and vegetables.
Truthful — To be honest and trustworthy, without deceiving or lying to others.
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