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November 19 | Leviticus 17 ISG Sacred Land

Leviticus 17 (ESV)
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them, This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. 3 If any one of the house of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. 5 This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. 6 And the priest shall throw the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 7 So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations. 8 “And you shall say to them, Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from his people.
10 “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood. 13 “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. 14 For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. 15 And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.”

The Text in Context
Leviticus 17–27 forms a major unit in Leviticus in which “holiness” is emphasized, for which reason it has come to be labeled the “laws of holiness.” Leviticus 17 introduces this unit by emphasizing the holiness of proper sacrifice, the prohibition of idolatry (sacrifice to goat-demons), and the proper use of blood. John Walton describes this chapter as “maintaining holiness from outside the camp.

Historical and Cultural Background
In Leviticus 17:7 Israel is accused of worshiping male goats (see below). Israel learned idolatry in Egypt. I know of no specific goat-gods in Egypt, but many Egyptian gods had heads of animals. One of the Egyptian gods was the ram- or bull-headed god Khnum, the patron god of potters. Banebdjedet or Banedbdjed was a ram god of Lower Egypt at Mendes. In Greece there was the goat-footed god Pan, whom the Greeks later identified with the Egyptian god Min. Idolatry was a problem throughout Israelite history. Of all ancient people groups, only Israel affirmed monotheism. And it often lapsed.

Goat Demons
The word for “goat-demons” (NIV, “goat idols”) here literally means “male goats” (śeʿ irim)—the same word that appears in chapter 16 with reference to the male goats used in the Day of Purgation service (16:8). The fact that in chapter 17 some Israelites were sacrificing to male goats in the open country, away from the sanctuary and its altar (17:5, 7), indicates that they regarded these “male goats” as supernatural beings. However, the beings they honored were not the Lord, to whom the “LORD’s goat” was offered (16:9, 11–19). Rather, they offered these sacrifices in uninhabited country, such as the desert into which Azazel’s goat was sent (16:10, 21–22).
“We have seen that “Azazel,” the personal being to whom the live goat was sent, most likely represents a demon (see Bridging Contexts section of Lev. 16; note how later Scriptures identify desert areas as haunts of the devil and demons, Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:1–2; 11:24; Rev. 18:2). The idea that male goats in uninhabited regions could represent demons is reinforced by a parallel between Isaiah 13:21, where the desolated city of Babylon becomes the habitat of wild male goats (śeʿ irim). The Israelites may not have known they were sacrificing to demons. But even if they viewed them as gods with whom they thought it beneficial to be on friendly terms, these gods were of the kind that pagans worshiped. Elsewhere in the Bible, the objects of pagan worship are real, but they are not really gods (Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37; 1 Cor. 10:20). Interacting with such beings is much more dangerous than simply substituting nonliving idols for the living God.

Cut off from the people of Israel.
The Hebrew text lacks “of Israel” (cf. NRSV). This may rather refer to one’s ancestors in the afterlife rather than the whole nation. A dead person is “gathered to his/your people” (Gen. 25:8; Num. 20:24; 27:13) in the sense of going to one’s “ancestors.” On “cut off.” Death in the OT is often referred to as sleeping with one's fathers (e.g., I K. 1:21) or being buried with the fathers (1 K. 14:3 1). It appears, therefore, that this phrase may not only refer to premature death at the hand of God, but hint at judgment in the life to come. Offenders will be cut off from their people forever. Indeed under the judicial systems of Israel's neighbors, attempts were made to prevent the souls of heinous criminals enjoying rest in the life to come.

Blood.
17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood . . . it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. “Creature” is literally “the flesh.” Verse 11 is a crux of interpretation. Verse 11b can be rendered in three distinct ways: “It is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (cf. ESV), or “It is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (NKJV; cf. NIV), or “It is the blood, as life, that expiates” (NJPS; similarly NRSV). The first rendering means that the blood ransoms by means of the animal’s life (nepesh, “life, soul, self”) being forfeit. The second means that the animal’s “shed blood ransoms the human’s life. The notion of substitutionary sacrifice is involved in both of these interpretations. The third view, first proposed by Jacob Milgrom but later abandoned by him, implies that it is the life force of blood that atones. Milgrom’s former view limited the atonement here to cleansing from the offense of killing an animal and eating its flesh that would otherwise cause bloodguilt.
The interpretation of verse 11 hinges on the meaning of the Hebrew verb kipper (“to make atonement”) in combination with the Hebrew preposition be. Although the preposition be can mean “for” (the bet of price/exchange), or “as” (the bet of identity), or “by [means of]” (bet of means/instrument), as the three renderings above indicate, in combination with “atone” the bet regularly has an instrumental sense and never means “for” or “as.”5 This observation led Milgrom6 to abandon his interpretation: “It is the blood, as life, that expiates.” The same observation undermines the NIV’s interpretation as well because rendering “makes atonement for” requires an otherwise unattested meaning for kipper + be. Thus Leviticus 17:11b probably is saying that it is “by means of the [animal’s] life that atonement is made” (cf. ESV).

Theological Insights
John Stott, in a sermon titled “Why Was Blood So Important?,”7 points out that there is a medical condition known as hemophobia, the inordinate or irrational fear of blood. A certain amount of fear of blood is normal. It is such fear that helps make vampire and slasher movies so scary. Some people grow faint at the sight of blood, including not a few brave husbands who have passed out while watching their wives give birth.Stott goes on to observe that some people have hemophobia with regard to the mention of blood in the Bible. They find references to blood offensive and off-putting. They would like to explain the teachings of the Bible without reference to blood, whether the blood of sacrifices or the blood of Jesus Christ. But this is to adopt a view of blood that is at odds with what the Bible itself says. Blood was an essential element of the sacrificial system of the Old Testament through which atonement and forgiveness were made available. It is also essential to the New Testament’s theology of the work of Jesus Christ.

Azazel
(1 Enoch 10:4-7; Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4)4 And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl, and cast him therein. 5 And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. 6 And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons.

References:

Sprinkle, Joe. Leviticus and Numbers (Teach the Text Commentary Series). Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 2015.

Gane, Roy. Leviticus, Numbers: The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.

Guide Questions
1. There are two main themes of chapter 17, the centrality of the tabernacle and the prohibition against eating of blood. Based on the same chapter, what would you say is the proper context to understand the two.
2. Identify the law in verse 7 and relate the worship of goat demons to Leviticus 16:6-10, 20-22; Deuteronomy 32:15-18.
3. What was the consequence of sacrificing an animal outside the tabernacle complex? (17:4, 9) Refer to our Notes. What is the possible relation of this passage to the church? 1 Corinthians 10.
4. Give two main reasons why blood should not be consumed (17:11).
5. If this is the case, why did Jesus command the believers to drink his blood? 1 Corinthians 11:23-26If the animal blood is for the atonement of our souls, why did Jesus need to die? (Hebrews 10:1-14)


Prayer

1. Pray for specific prayer requests.
2. Pray for a new place of worship for 2024.
3. Pray for guests who will be coming on Thanksgiving.