LEVITICUS: INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY STRUCTURE

The Book of Leviticus

The complete version of this analysis will be sent to anyone contacting me at elmerphd21@hotmail.com.

The Nature of the Book

Most readers would agree with the common assessment of Leviticus as the least literary book in the Old Testament. On the other end of the spectrum are those who describe the book using glowing terms such as “dramatic” and “lyrical.” The truth probably lies somewhere between these extremes. One literary feature that this book shares with Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy is an alternation between blocks of narrative and legal material. In Leviticus, the legal prevails to an overwhelming extent, but the historical material must not be overlooked (or viewed as an intrusion).

Whatever the true theological significance of the narrative framework of this book, it is expressed in two ways, both of which lead us toward a better understanding of the overall literary structure of the book. First, there is the repeated use of the phrase “The LORD spoke to Moses,” or variations thereof, throughout the book. This statement stresses the original historical setting of the various regulations and often acts as an indicator that a new section is beginning. The second appearance of narrative material in Leviticus comes in larger blocks, such as the story of Aaron's sons' disobedience in chs. 8-10. There is some disagreement as to which additional sections should be so designated, but most would also include the account of the Day of Atonement and the story of blasphemy found in ch. 24. These three narrative blocks appear to interrupt the flow of legal and regulatory material, but we will see that they actually serve to delineate and unite separate sections of the book.

There is fairly good agreement among scholars on the major divisions of the book Gordon's titles are used as a typical example: The Offerings (chs. 1-7), The Priesthood (chs. 8-10), Clean and Unclean (chs. 11-16), The “Holiness” Code (chs. 17-26), and The Commutation of Vows and Tithes (ch. 27).  Almost all scholars regard the final chapter as a later, and obtrusive, appendix.

The above five divisions are distinguishable from one another by their differing subject matter and use of particular key phrases, but we will concentrate on evidence for an overall unity to the present form of the book. This will set the stage for reconsidering the organization of the book, taking a more serious look at the structural function of the narrative passages, and of the troublesome ch. 27, than has usually been done in the past.

Repetitions

The first indication that there is an intelligence overseeing the whole composition, or at least compilation, of Leviticus is the presence of certain theologically charged words found throughout the book but occurring in exact multiples of the significant numbers 7, 10, 12 or 40. This same phenomenon appears within individual sections. Although some of these statistics may be attributed to chance, it is hard to dismiss the significance of number ten in relation to the covenant and the commandments, the appropriateness of twelve and its multiples as applied to the children of Israel and the congregation, or the many occurrences of seven and its multiples in the context of the sacrificial system meant to cleanse and perfect the people of Israel.

Overall Structure

Taking a cue from Baroody and Gentrup, who observe that in the Pentateuch the blocks of narrative and legal material “often follow either a chiastic or an A-B-A pattern,” the following structure for the book can now be proposed:

Figure 1: Overall Structure of Leviticus

NARRATIVE                                                              LEGAL

                                                                            I. Voluntary Offerings (chs. 1-3)

                                                                                II. Sin Offerings (chs. 4-7)

A. Disobedience (chs. 8-10)

                                                                                    III. Clean and Unclean (chs. 11-15)

        B. Obedience (ch. 16)

                                                                                    III'. Ethical Laws and Feasts (chs. 17-23)

A'. Disobedience (ch. 24)

                                                                                II'. Sabbath and Conclusion (chs. 25-26)

                                                                            I'. Voluntary Vows (ch. 27)

The many topical and linguistic correspondences in the legal material found within chs. 1-15 and chs. 17-27 have been adequately reviewed elsewhere and need no repeating or defending here. Also, the above structure is consistent with the assertion of those scholars who locate Lev. 16 as the literary and theological center of the book. Not as recognized is the dual chiastic structure proposed above, with its three groups of three major sections (Another example of the triadic structures present elsewhere in the book.) Most of these nine sections contain part or all of the key phrase “a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places” at their start or conclusion. 

 Arranged as in the sections above, several patterns emerge.  There is a symmetrical arrangement in the phrases occurring within the narrative sections, even to the use of the slightly longer formula to close Section A and begin Section A'. And an even more elaborate chiastic pattern occurs within Section III'.

As illustrative examples, only the legal sections, considered in pairs working from the center outward, will be discussed below to partially justify the structure proposed in Figure 1.

Section III (Leviticus 11-15)

The common subject of these chapters, definitions of what is clean and unclean, clearly unifies the unit. In addition, a basic literary pattern is repeated throughout this section, as noted by Wenham: reason for uncleanness, period of uncleanness, sacrifice, summary, and (optional) provision for the poor.  He applies this understanding to chs. 12-15 only, but ch. 11 (contact with unclean animals) includes three of the elements: reason for uncleanness, period of uncleanness, and summary. There is no real need for a sacrifice to be offered since the period of uncleanness is only until the evening of the same day.

The key opening statements within Section III contain the only occasions of divine speech directed to both Moses and Aaron. They mark the beginnings of individual units and form a symmetrical pattern:

The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, “Speak to the people of Israel saying...” (11:1-2)

            The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron saying... (13:1)

            The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron saying...(14:33)

The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, “Speak to the people of Israel saying...” (15:1-2)

Addresses to Moses alone occur at 12:1-2 and 14:1, also denoting the start of new units. The conclusion of each significant sub-unit in Section III is marked by the same set phrase or a slight variant: “This is the law for/pertaining to...” (at 11:46, 12:7, 13:59, 14:32, 14:54, 15:32). With these sure signposts we can now identify the following divisions within this section: chs. 11, 12, and 13; 14:1-32; 14:33-57 and ch. 15.

Section III' (Leviticus 17-23)

Figure 2: The Structure of Section III'

A. Public Worship – Where (ch. 17)

        B. Holiness Code for the People (chs. 18-20)

                1. Sexual Purity (ch. 18)

                “Say to the people of Israel ”

                        2. Ethical Laws (ch. 19)

                        “Say to all the congregation of the people of Israel ”

                1'. Sexual Purity (ch. 20)

                “Say to the people of Israel”

        B'. Holiness Code for the Priesthood (chs. 21-22)

A'. Public Worship – When (ch. 23)

There is support elsewhere for most of the elements in the above structure. The unity of Leviticus. 18-20 and of chs. 21-22 has been proposed by others. These two sections are in turn united by common language including all instances of the verb “to profane” in Leviticus, almost all occasions in which “I am the LORD (your God)” occurs, and a complete absence of the “this is the law” phrase present in the other legal sections of the book.

Leviticus 19 has been identified by others as the centerpiece of this section and is illustrative of the whole Holiness Code in combining both sacramental and moral teachings. All of the ten commandments are alluded to here, and it echos the repeated chorus “I am the LORD” twelve times. The command “You shall keep my sabbaths” appears in verses 3 and 30 as an inclusio.

Sections III and III'

Damrosch characterizes the overall style of these two sections as “antinarrative” in contrast to the other legal sections in Leviticus: “The narrative order is subordinated to a conceptual order.” The extended phrase “You shall be made holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (or variations) appears in Leviticus only in sections III and III' (11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7,26; 22:32).

Sections II (Leviticus 4-7) and II' (Leviticus 25-26)

Wenham has analyzed the first part of Section II as containing several units opening with “if anyone sins” or a variation and closing with “priest will make atonement...and he shall be forgiven.” 

Section II' starts with the standard opening formula found throughout Leviticus: “The LORD spoke to Moses.” This formula does not occur again until Lev. 27:1, suggesting that the whole of chs. 25-26 constitutes one unit, despite their differences in topic. Lev. 25 has been divided into three sub-sections having similar concluding statements and treating the three aspects of the jubilee year: rest for the land, redemption of property and freedom for slaves. This chapter contains exactly fourteen occurrences of the word “jubilee” and three commands to “fear your God.” Lev. 26 functions in a way to summarize the entire Holiness Code by laying out the consequences of obeying or disobeying its injunctions. The chapter begins and ends with the rare formula “I am the LORD your God...I am the LORD” and has subsections beginning “if you obey (v. 3),” “if you disobey (v. 14)” and “if you repent (v. 40).” These two chapters are united by a common closing phrase “I brought forth out of the land of Egypt.” Similarly, the two phrases “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt” and “be your God” appear in chiastic order at 25:38 and 26:12-13.

There are many key verbal correspondences between II and II'. Section II' opens and closes with mention of the law giving on Mt. Sinai. The only other reference to Mt. Sinai, aside from the closing verse of the book, is at the end of Section II. Similarly, the word “commandments” appears ten times in the book: eight of these occur in sections II and II'. The beginning chapter of Section II and the final chapter of Section II' contain many more references to sin and sin offerings than any other sections in Leviticus. And finally, the seven occurrences of “This is the law...” in Section II are balanced by the same statement used to end Section II'.

Sections I (Leviticus 1-3) and I' (Leviticus 27)

Although Milgrom considers chs. 1-3 to be closely related to chs. 4-7, he notes their unique theme (free-will offerings), the inclusion that marks this unit’s borders (“of the herd, a male”), and the appropriateness of verses 1:1-2 as a general introduction to these first three chapters. 

Within Leviticus 1-3, Bailey remarks that ch. 2 differs from the other two in that (a) it is written in second person direct address rather than using the third person and (b) it begins with when rather than if. (15) He attributes these distinctives to different origins for these subsections. It is just as likely that these variations are purposeful so as to create an ABA pattern for this section. Each of the three chapters describes three classes of acceptable offerings, depending on the economic status of the worshiper, and each of the nine resulting sections, except one, ends with the phrase “sweet aroma unto the LORD.”

Most commentators treat ch. 27 as an appendix having little affinity with the material preceding it. However, the best explanation is probably a literary one in that this closing section balances the opening section of the book. One specific topical connection between these two literary units is that a peace offering, described in ch. 3, was expected when one fulfilled a vow, such as those described in ch. 27.  Also, Wenham notes that the individual units of ch. 27 begin with if, much as do the early chapters of Leviticus, and in marked contrast to most of the second half of the book.  The most overarching similarity between these sections, however, is that both deal with an individual's voluntary response to God. The book begins and ends with an emphasis on individual worship.

Relationship Between Legal and Narrative Sections

The first narrative section, A, has been said to unite the two legal passages (Sections II and III) on either side of it (see Fig. 1) and help distinguish between true and false worship. It relates to Section II because it involves sacrifice and to Section III because the sin of Aaron's sons reflects on their moral character.  It is also well recognized that verse 10:10 within Section A (“You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.”) serves as a perfect introduction to the next section of the book, chs. 11-15.

The success of Leviticus 16 in functioning as a bridge between the legal material that surrounds it is best seen in the continuing controversy as to which of these two sections it properly belongs. This issue becomes moot once it is recognized that this chapter constitutes a section unto itself, but one with affinities to those that precede and follow it.

Wenham offers an alternative view of the interaction between the narrative and legal sections of the book. He feels that those chapters we have labeled Sections I and II “explain the sacrifices offered on the occasion of the institution of the priesthood [i.e. Section A]” while those designated Section III “provide the essential background for understanding the significance of the day of atonement [i.e. Section B].” One could extend this argument to the last narrative in the book by noting that the repeated emphasis of Section III' on not profaning the sacred things of Yahweh, especially his name, sets the stage for the following story of blasphemy in 24:10-23 and helps explain why the death penalty was a necessity in that case.

It can thus be demonstrated that the legal sections serve the narratives and vice versa. Therefore, what we have in the book of Leviticus is “a marvelous unity of narrative and legislative genres, a fusion expressing indirectly the biblical axiom that principles and actions are inseparable.” (Baroody and Gentrup)