1Then the LORD said to Moses,
2“Command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.
3Outside the veil of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps continually before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come.
4He shall tend the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually.
5You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf,
6and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the LORD.
7And you are to place pure frankincense near each row, so that it may serve as a memorial portion for the bread, a food offering to the LORD.
8Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant.
9It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place; for it is to him a most holy part of the food offerings to the LORD—his portion forever.”
10Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite.
11The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)
12They placed him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.
13Then the LORD said to Moses,
14“Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him.
15And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If anyone curses his God, he shall bear the consequences of his sin.
16Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.
17And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death.
18Whoever kills an animal must make restitution—life for life.
19If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him:
20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he injured the other person, the same must be inflicted on him.
21Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death.
22You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native; for I am the LORD your God.’”
23Then 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.
Leviticus 24 Verse Notes
Lev 24:16
The Divine Name as a Sacred Entity
In ancient Israel, the divine name, Yahweh, was not merely a descriptor but was considered a sacred entity possessing inherent power. Invoking God's name in an oath was akin to notarizing a statement, attaching God's very being and reputation to the promise, making its misuse a serious offense that would not go unpunished.
Summarized by AI · The Ten Commandments · Lecture 6: The Divine Name and the Sabbath · watch the clip
Lev 24:17
God is also the God of death
While God is the God of life, the Bible also portrays God as ordaining death. This is seen in the death penalty for Adam's disobedience in Genesis, the global flood in Genesis 6, and the Mosaic Law prescribing capital punishment for various sins like murder, kidnapping, witchcraft, and idolatry.
Summarized by AI · The Bible and Abortion: When Does Life Begin in the Bible? · Lecture 1: The Bible and the Beginning of Life · watch the clip
Lev 24:19-20
Jesus Abrogates the Lex Talionis
Ptolemy interprets the 'eye for an eye' principle in Exodus 21 and Leviticus 24 as reflecting justice, a measured response, but not perfect goodness. He places it in the category of law 'intertwined with baseness.' Jesus, in Matthew 5, abrogates this provision entirely by commanding followers to turn the other cheek, demonstrating the Father's perfect goodness that extends even to enemies.
Summarized by AI · Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years · Lecture 6: Christians, the High God, and the Jews | Valentinus, Ptolemy, and the God of this Age · watch the clip
Lex Talionis: Justice and Limitation of Vengeance
The 'Lex Talionis,' or 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,' is a principle found in Exodus 21, Leviticus 24, and Deuteronomy. This law is often misunderstood as severe, but it actually functions as a law of mercy, ensuring that punishment is proportionate to the crime and limiting excessive vengeance.
Summarized by AI · Finding Moses: What Scholars Know About the Exodus and the Jewish Law · Lecture 6: The Jewish Law | A Closer Look · watch the clip
Lev 24:20
Legal Codes: Shared Traditions with Mesopotamian Law
The 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth' principle found in Deuteronomy and other biblical legal codes is also present in earlier Mesopotamian legal texts, such as the Code of Hammurabi. This demonstrates a shared legal tradition rather than direct copying, indicating how these civilizations recorded and understood justice.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · Before Genesis: What the Old Testament Borrowed from Mesopotamian Stories · watch the clip
Eye for an Eye: Justice and Mercy
The teaching of 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth' in the Old Testament was a call for justice, ensuring that punishment did not exceed the crime. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, extends this principle by advocating for turning the other cheek. This is not a rejection of the Mosaic Law but an extension of its underlying intent towards mercy and non-retaliation, getting to the heart of the law's purpose.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · Did Matthew Invent the Sermon on the Mount? · watch the clip
