The theme for this chapter is Holiness – “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”
“I am the Lord”/ “I am the Lord your God” is mentioned 15x!!
אֲנִי יְהוָה Ani YHWH
אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם Ani YHWH ʾeloheikhem
Holy in Hebrew is קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh). It means to be holy/sacred. Israel belongs to God, and they are expected to live in a way that reflects Him.
The Lord Is Holy
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
This is for EVERYONE, not just the priests
3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
Respect parents and the Sabbath
Reject idols.
5 “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is tainted; it will not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Reminder for peace offerings procedures
Do not eat anything that is leftover on the third day
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
Justice and compassion in community life:
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.
Leave gleanings for the poor and foreigner
Ruth 2 is a beautiful example of this
11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
Prohibitions against stealing, lying, and deceit
Do not swear falsely by God’s name
13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
Do not oppress your neighbor or rob them
Prompt payment is due to hired workers
Treat the disabled with care and respect
15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
Practice fair judgment and no partiality
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
No hatred or vengeance. Deal with issues immediately and do not hold grudges.
“Love your neighbor as yourself”
Jesus identifies Leviticus 19:18 as the second great commandment in Matthew 22:39, alongside Deuteronomy 6:5. Paul also quotes it in Romans 13:9 and Galatians 5:14.
You Shall Keep My Statutes
19 “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.
No mixing of different kinds of animals, seeds, or fabrics
This one is a bit odd, as there is no explanation for it. Some have suggested it is symbolic, like Israel needing to not mix in with other nations. Others have said that pagan magical practices are tied to mixing these things.
Deuteronomy 22:11 clarifies this a little bit: “You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.”
20 “If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21 but he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.
Instructions for sexual relations with a slave woman, who is assigned to another man
The case is treated differently from adultery involving a free married woman. She is not to be put to death because she is a slave.
The man takes on the full blame must bring a ram as a guilt offering
23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. 24 And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.
Fruit trees: 3 years forbidden, 4th year holy, 5th year allowed to eat (this may be beneficial for trees)
26 “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. 27 You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
29 “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. 30 You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.
Prohibitions of Pagan Practices
No blood consumption or divination
No cutting hair or beards in pagan ways (?)
No tattoos or self-cutting for the dead
The Hebrew word for tattoo, קַעֲקַע (qaʿaqaʿ), occurs only here, so its exact meaning is debated.
No prostitution of daughters
Keep Sabbaths and revere the sanctuary
Avoid mediums and spiritists
32 “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Honor the elderly
Love foreigners
Be honest
35 “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”
Jo Reads The Bible 
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