Leviticus comments: introduction and 1:1-2; cattle?

Leviticus is the third book of Moses. It means, “to the Levites,” and is, as commentators say, a profoundly theological book. It is very detailed in its instructions. We must remember a few things to understand it. First, the Hebrews were carved out of the Gentiles at Ur of the Chaldees in the form of Abram, called by God. Secondly, this book will contain very detailed regulations that made a Hebrew much different than the Gentile nations, ethnic groups, around them.

We should also note that unbelieving and even many evangelical Christian authorities and scholars do not accept God’s hand in the writing AND the preservation of the Bible so, looking only to temporal evidence they will insist that Leviticus must be written much later than it was, over a long period of time, and not by Moses. Once you take God’s hand out of the Bible it becomes not unlike Homer’s Illiad or Odyssey. The Bible-believing Christian must always remember that God not only gave His word by inspiration, which is wisdom and understanding, but also preserved the words and ideas He wanted us to have.

In our study, as this defines what it meant to be a Hebrew in practice and ritual and religious observance as well as civil and ceremonial law I will compare it to what I can glean from the Bible and outside the Bible from our knowledge of surrounding cultures of Moses’ time sometime between 1200-1500BC.

Chapter 1

1:1 ¶  And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any

man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

The use of the name, LORD, all capitals, indicates that it is God speaking, as LORD, all capitals, is translated from the name, Jehovah, which Strong’s dictionary says means, “the existing one.” It is used over 6500 times in the Bible.

We see how the word even is used as a connecting word between two like things, synonymous with each other. The cattle come from a herd or flock. So, cattle refers to both cows or beeves, and sheep.

Genesis 30:32   I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

Exodus 9:3   Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

As eighteenth-century commentator and Pastor of C.H. Spurgeon’s church a hundred years before him, John Gill, noted this use of man refers to people and includes men and women.