Book of Leviticus.

third book of the OT where instructions for priests and worship are included. The Hebrew name of the Levitical comes from the first word of the book, wayyigra; "called." In the later rabbinical works and also in the Syriac translation, the peshitta, the book was called torat hohanim, book of the priest The title in Spanish comes from the Latin Vulgate translation of the Greek term leuitikon. this is an adjective form "LEVITICUS" which consequently means "what concerns the priest" . Because the Hellenistic Jews called "LIVITAS" to the priests (a relation already evident in DEUT; 17: 9-18: 1), the meaning of the Greek title does not really differ from the traditional title of the Jews, the "Book of the priests".

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Authorship

Christian and Jewish interpreters prior to the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries took for granted the Mosaic authorship of Leviticus, as well as the rest of the pentateuch, however by the end of the nineteenth century it was commonly accepted that the pentateuch was composed of four basic but different sources: J, E, D, P. This reconstruction came to be known as "the documentary hypothesis"

Content.

The first part of this book is related to the last Exodus where Chaps 26-27 detail the divine instruction for the construction of the tabernacle the place of worship during the pilgrimage of ancient Israel through the desert. These instructions are carried out in the tabernacle is accepted as an appropriate place of worship (ex.35-40). Ex.28-29 tells of God's instructions to ordain Aaron and his sons as a priest. This dedication takes place in Lev.8-9. One of the priests' main tasks was to offer sacrifice in the tabernacle. Before beginning this practice, ancient Israel needed to receive instructions about the sacrificial offering. This book begins at that point. Before listing the main kinds of sacrifice, we must consider their fundamental meaning ..

A sacrifice is, in part, a gift to God; It is not a way to win the favor of HIM but to thank Him for the gift of life that HIM gives. Sacrifice is also a means to facilitate communion between God and the worshipers. Another relevant purpose is the atonement, where the relationship between God and the worshiper is restored. By offering sacrifice, the worshipers surrender themselves to God. In the shedding of the blood of the victim of sacrifice, the transcendental power of life is released (Lev 17:11). God honors this act and as retribution, gives life to the worshiper therefore, the sacrifice was important in the relationship between ancient Israel and God.

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Leviticus lists five main types of sacrifice:

1) Holocaust: means of atonement that symbolizes the dedication of all life to God. The animal burned completely on the altar (Lev.1: 3-17).

2) The oblation: shows that daily life was a gift from God, since grain constituted the daily diet of ancient Israel (Lev.2: 1-16).

3) The peace offering, or shared: sacrifice of a part of the animal and community food of what was left of the meat (Lev.3: 1-17).

4) The sin offering or purification: sacrifice of repentance for sin that broke the relationship between human beings and God and endangered the welfare of the community (Lev 4: 1 -5: 13) . This sacrifice is due to involuntary sin (Lev 4: 2, 13, 22, 27).

5) The expiatory: also called compensatory or restorative; it requires a sacrifice and compensation for the person who has been damaged the guilty returns what he took plus 20% (Lev.5: 14-6: 7).

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Message.

The message of Leviticus begins with the truth that God is present with the people, and continues with the notion that He is perfectly holy. for this reason the book gives so many instructions on holiness and includes the sacrifice as a means to remove the effects of sin and impurity, so that this perfectly holy God can continue to dwell in the midst of the people and grant him life.

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