Tredje MosebokenKapitel 24

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The LORD said to Moses:

Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.

Outside the curtain of the testimony in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall tend them before the LORD from evening until morning, continually. This is a lasting statute for your generations.

He shall keep the lamps on the pure gold lampstand burning before the LORD continually.

Take fine flour and bake twelve loaves of bread, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf.

Arrange them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure gold table before the LORD.

Place pure frankincense along each row, to serve as the memorial portion for the bread, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

Sabbath after Sabbath the bread is to be set out before the LORD, continually, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant.

It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, for it is most holy to him from the offerings made to the LORD by fire—his portion forever.

Now the son of an Israelite woman whose father was an Egyptian went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite.

The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse, so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)

They put him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.

Then the LORD said to Moses:

Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole assembly is to stone him.

Say to the Israelites: Anyone who curses his God is to bear the consequences of his sin.

Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death; the whole assembly is to stone him. Foreigner and native-born alike, whoever blasphemes the Name must die.

Whoever takes a human life must be put to death.

Whoever kills an animal must make restitution for it—life for life.

Whoever injures his neighbor is to receive the same injury in return:

fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured another, so is he to be injured.

Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a human being must be put to death.

You are to have the same law for the foreigner as for the native-born, for I am the LORD your God.

Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Uppslag

Sammanfattning2

Kapitel 24

Main Theme: The chapter gives instructions regarding the sanctuary service and establishes laws concerning blasphemy and just retribution.

Content: The Lord commands that pure olive oil be used for the lampstand, which is to burn continuously, and that twelve loaves of showbread be placed before the Lord’s presence every Sabbath. A man with an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father blasphemes God’s name and is stoned according to the Lord’s judgment. The chapter establishes the law of retribution—life for life, eye for eye—and emphasizes that this same law applies equally to both native-born Israelites and foreigners.

Key Words/Images:

Lampstand (menorah): A symbol of God’s enduring presence, with lamps burning continuously before the Lord.
Showbread: Twelve loaves representing the twelve tribes, placed as a perpetual covenant.
Blasphemy: To revile or curse God’s name results in the death penalty by stoning.
Eye for eye (lex talionis): A principle of proportional retribution ensuring just punishment.
One law for all: The same legal principles apply to Israelites and foreigners—God judges with justice.

Historisk kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for Leviticus 24

People

The chapter introduces a specific individual: the son of an Israelite woman (Shelomith, daughter of Dibri from the tribe of Dan) and an Egyptian father. This mixed heritage is central to the narrative. In ancient Israel, tribal affiliation normally followed the father's line, which made this man's social and tribal status unclear since his father was Egyptian—possibly a contributing factor to the conflict mentioned in verse 10. Shelomith is the only woman named in Leviticus, and her name (from Hebrew shalom, "peace") stands in contrast to her son's actions.

Events and Customs

The chapter describes several important religious customs. The lamp in the tabernacle (vv. 1–4) was to burn continuously with pure, pressed olive oil (shemen zayit zakh katit, שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית). This oil was produced by crushing olives without grinding them, yielding the purest oil without sediment. The showbread (vv. 5–9) consisted of twelve loaves representing the twelve tribes of Israel. The breads were replaced every Sabbath and eaten by the priests in a holy place, as part of the covenant relationship between God and His people.

Stoning (vv. 14, 23) was a public method of execution in which the witnesses first laid their hands on the head of the guilty person—an act that transferred responsibility and confirmed their testimony. That the execution took place "outside the camp" was important for maintaining the ritual purity of the camp.

Key Terms

The Hebrew verb נָקַב (naqav) in verses 11 and 16 literally means "to pierce" or "to state/specificate clearly." Combined with וַיְקַלֵּל (vayqallel, "and cursed") in verse 11, it shows that the action involved both uttering the Name and cursing. In this context, it refers to blasphemously pronouncing God's holy name (YHWH). Jewish tradition later developed a strong aversion to pronouncing this name at all.

The term אֶזְרָח (ezrach, "native-born") contrasted with גֵּר (ger, "foreigner/sojourner") is central in verses 16 and 22. The text emphasizes that the same law applies to both groups—a remarkable expression of equality before the law.

The principle עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן (ayin tachat ayin, "eye for eye") in verse 20 is called lex talionis (the law of retaliation). Rabbinic tradition understood this primarily as a principle of proportional financial compensation rather than literal mutilation. Biblical law stresses that it applies equally to all, regardless of social status.

Personer3

God1 Aaron2 Moses3

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Nyckelord8

Menorah — A seven-branched lampstand symbolizing God's presence and light in the Tabernacle.
Oil — Used to keep the lamps on the Menorah burning, representing God's presence and light.
Bread — The twelve loaves placed before the Lord each week, symbolizing Israel's twelve tribes and their fellowship with God.
The Sanctuary — The holy space in the Tabernacle where God met his people, Israel.
Blasphemy Incident — An event where a man blasphemed God's name, resulting in his punishment.
Stones — Tools used for carrying out the death penalty by stoning, which was the punishment for blaspheming God's name.
Eye for an eye — A principle of just retribution meaning that the punishment should be proportional to the offense.
Blasphemy — Showing disrespect or irreverence toward God, including misusing his name.