Leviticus 19

This chapter belongs to the latter part of Leviticus. Following Leviticus 18, which sets out prohibitions concerning sexual conduct, this chapter applies the life of holiness to many areas of everyday life. Scholars sometimes call chapters 17–26 the "Holiness Code." Its sections repeatedly close with the words "I am the LORD."

Outline

• Verses 1–4 The command to be holy. The people are told to fear their parents, keep the Sabbath, and not make idols.
• Verses 5–8 The peace offering (a sacrifice offered for thanksgiving and fellowship) is to be eaten on the day it is offered and the next day; whatever remains until the third day is to be burned.
• Verses 9–10 At harvest, the corners of the field, the gleanings, and the fruit of the vineyard are to be left for the poor and the stranger.
• Verses 11–18 Stealing, false oaths, and oppression are forbidden, and wages are not to be withheld overnight. The people are commanded not to harm the deaf or the blind, to judge justly, and not to slander, hate, or take vengeance; the section then speaks of love for one's neighbor.
• Verses 19–22 Livestock are not to be crossbred, and seed and fabrics are not to be mixed. A man who lies with a betrothed bondmaid is to bring a ram as a trespass offering (a sacrifice of a reparative character).
• Verses 23–25 The fruit of newly planted trees is not to be eaten for three years; the fruit of the fourth year is given to the LORD, and from the fifth year it may be eaten.
• Verses 26–31 Eating anything with the blood, divination, rounding the corners of the head and marring the corners of the beard, cutting the flesh for the dead, and printing marks on the body are forbidden. The people are not to make their daughters harlots or to seek after those that have familiar spirits (people who claim to summon the spirits of the dead).
• Verses 32–37 The people are commanded to honor the aged, to love the stranger as themselves, and to use just balances and weights.

Key Verses

• Leviticus 19:2 "Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy" — the theme of the entire chapter, quoted in 1 Peter 1:16.
• Leviticus 19:18 "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" — the commandment Jesus identified as one of the great commandments of the law.
• Leviticus 19:34 "Thou shalt love him as thyself" — extends the scope of love for one's neighbor to the stranger.

People and Places

• Moses: The one who delivers the word of the LORD to the congregation of Israel.
• The stranger: A foreigner sojourning among Israel, presented in verses 9–10 and 33–34 as one to be protected.
• Egypt: The land where Israel lived as strangers (sojourners), cited as the reason for loving the stranger.
• Tabernacle of the congregation: The place where the trespass offering is brought, referring to the Tabernacle.

Points for Reflection

• Quotation in the New Testament: Jesus quotes verse 18 as a great commandment in Mark 12:28–34, and it serves as a summary of the law in Romans 13:8–10 and Galatians 5:14. In Luke 10 this verse prompts the question "And who is my neighbour?" to which Jesus answers with the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
• An addition not found in the text: In Matthew 5:43, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy," the phrase "hate thine enemy" does not appear in the text of Leviticus. On the contrary, verses 17–18 forbid hatred and vengeance. This passage leads into the teaching on love for enemies.
• Application today: Because moral and ceremonial regulations, such as the prohibition on mixed fabrics and the rules about hair and beards, appear side by side in a single chapter, interpretations differ on how the chapter applies today. The Reformed tradition, which follows the Westminster Confession of Faith, divides the law into moral law, ceremonial law, and judicial law (the civil law of the nation of Israel) and holds that, of these, the moral law remains in force. Other traditions, holding that the whole law has been fulfilled in Christ, read each regulation for the principle it contains. Verse 28 is frequently cited in church discussions about tattoos.
• Connection to the story of Ruth: The regulation in verses 9–10 about leaving gleanings is read as the background to Ruth 2, in which Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz.

In the Korean Church

Verse 18 is widely cited in sermons and Sunday school lessons on love for one's neighbor. Verses 9–10 are often cited as a basis for sharing in Thanksgiving sermons and in sermons on charity.