Study notes

Leviticus 24

Introducing LeviticusWho wrote it, when, why, and what to look for as you read

23:1–24:9 Section

God wanted his people to remember that all good things come from him. God gave them many ways to remember this.

Lamps that never burnt out and holy bread on the gold table reminded them. So did the smell of incense burning in the holy tent.

The feasts the Israelites celebrated also reminded them. The Sabbath day reminded them that God provided the rest they needed.

Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread reminded them of when God rescued them. He rescued them when they were slaves in Egypt.

Offering the first share of crops would remind them that God provided their food when they entered Canaan. The Feast of Weeks also reminded them of this. Later the Feast of Weeks was called Pentecost.

The Feast of Trumpets invited the Israelites to rest and to turn away from sin. The day when sin was paid for was also called the Day of Atonement. It reminded them that God forgave their sins.

The Feast of Booths would remind them how God took care of them when they left Egypt.

24:5

Traditionally called the “shewbread” in the King James Version, this bread was made of twelve flat loaves. It is also called the "Bread of the Presence." Every Sabbath, the loaves were placed on the table in the Holy Place (see Exodus 25:30 and Exodus 25:23–30). This bread was part of the priest's share of the offerings. David and his men ate this bread while escaping from King Saul (see 1 Samuel 21:1–6 and Matthew 12:1–8).

24:7

The priests burned a portion of this bread as an offering (see 2:2). So they made the bread without yeast ("unleavened"; see 2:11).

24:10–23

A large group of non-Israelites, including other Semitic people and Egyptians, left Egypt with the Israelites (Exodus 12:38). Among them was a man with an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father. A fight broke out between this man and a full-blooded Israelite. the man who was half-Egyptian verbally cursed the Israelite, using the name of God in a disrespectful manner.

24:10–23 Section

The Israelites were to be held responsible for the wrong things that they did. This was also true for everyone who lived in their community. It included when they sinned against God by speaking evil things against his name. It also included harm they caused to others.

They were to be punished according to the hurt they had caused other people. This was different from the violent example of Lamech in Genesis 4:23–24. Lamech killed people who hurt him. He boasted about hurting people 77 times more than they had hurt him.

Later, Jesus taught his followers about forgiving people who hurt them.

24:11

  • blasphemed … with a curse: In biblical times, a name was more than a title. It represented a person's character, reputation, and origin. God is holy, and he required the Israelites to treat him as holy in all aspects of life (see Leviticus 10:3). God's instructed them to show respect for God's name (Exodus 20:7). Using God's name in a curse showed a sinful attitude toward God (Leviticus 24:15). It was punishable by death (24:13–16).

    The Hebrew text in this passage uses two different words for "curse." One refers to a formal type of curse, while the other means a blasphemous or irreverent expression. These terms are used together in 24:15–16 to show the seriousness of the offense.

  • the Name: The Hebrew text referes only to "the Name." This wording shows care and respect for God's name.

24:17

Because human life was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26, 27), murder was seen as an attack against God himself. It carried the same penalty as speaking blasphemy against God (Genesis 9:6). For a similar law and its details, see Exodus 21:12–14.

24:20

eye for eye: This legal principle is often called lex talionis (which means “law of retaliation”). This means the punishment should match the crime. When an injured person sought revenge for their family member, excessive revenge often occurred instead of proper justice (see Numbers 35:19–21). This led to even more retaliation, creating a cycle of increasing violence. Lex talionis helped regulate how to prosecute crimes (see also Leviticus 6:2–7; compare Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21; Matthew 5:28–39).

24:22

Foreigners were not citizens, but they were human beings who deserved equal justice under the law (see Leviticus 16:29, 31).

Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources