Leviticus (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries | TOTC)
Overview
Levitical rules and regulations regarding blood and sacrifice, offerings and priests, cleanness and uncleanness at first appear irrelevant to contemporary Christians. Yet large portions of the New Testament can hardly be understood at all apart from some understanding of these Old Testament concepts. What does it mean for believers to be a royal priesthood? A holy nation? For Christ to be our great high priest? Our Passover lamb? R. K. Harrison illuminates these ideas within their Old Testament context, thus providing the needed background for their New Testament development.
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Top Highlights
“Leviticus is a well-organized reference manual for the Old Testament priesthood, and consists of two principal divisions or themes which have as their pivot the sixteenth chapter, dealing with regulations governing the annual day of atonement. The first fifteen chapters deal broadly with sacrificial principles and procedures relating to the removal of sin and the restoration of persons to fellowship with God. The last eleven chapters emphasize ethics, morality and holiness. The unifying theme of the book is the insistent emphasis upon God’s holiness, coupled with the demand that the Israelites shall exemplify this spiritual attribute in their own lives.” (Page 15)
“The reason the newly consecrated Israelite priests were given such detailed instructions about the care of God’s sanctuary was to ensure his continuing presence with his people. In the covenant relationship God approached Israel and made specific promises to them, contingent upon their obedience to the terms of the Sinai agreement. One of these was the demand that the Israelites should live in a way that would show to contemporary Near Eastern nations the true nature of holiness.” (Pages 26–27)
“The priests are instructed to keep the altar fire burning continually (9–13), since the burnt offering had to be disposed of completely on the altar. The sacrifice now described is the continual burnt offering or tāmîd of Exodus 29:38–42, presented morning and evening for the community as a whole. This ceremony reminded the Israelites of their need for continuous worship of the Lord, and assured them of his constant vigilance on their behalf. The believer in Jesus Christ is freed from the necessity of observing prescribed ritual procedures as he walks with the Lord, and can rejoice in God’s presence and protection wherever he happens to be.” (Pages 76–77)
- Title: Leviticus: An Introduction and Commentary
- Author: R. K. Harrison
- Series: Tyndale Commentaries
- Volume: 3
- Publisher: IVP
- Print Publication Date: 1980
- Logos Release Date: 2009
- Pages: 254
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. O.T. Leviticus › Commentaries
- ISBNs: 9780830842032, 9781844742585, 0830842039, 184474258, 184474258X
- Resource ID: LLS:TOTC03LEUS
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-12T13:45:58Z
Reviews
1 rating
Joseph Stickney
8/1/2019
It is very difficult to create a helpful or even a readable commentary on Leviticus. Dr. Harrison has made a fine effort that falls a bit short of unqualified success. The volume is in some ways explanatory rather than expository and glosses over difficult passages with an idea that we should just trust the biblical account. The introduction is a solid if slightly simplistic conservative rebuttal of various forms of criticism to which the Pentateuch and its third book have been subjected by critics for the last few centuries. The meat of the book is the first half where the author does a fine job of explaining the various sacrifices in language even a layman can understand. He also ties the text to the New Testament which is a solid teaching principle for a Christian work, but here it seems a bit forced and sometimes repetitive. For a student with little knowledge of the Jewish sacrificial rituals this is a helpful section indeed. The Laws that generally form the second half of the book are also explained but in a way that is often merely a slight rewording of the text followed by simplistic comment or two and a repeat of an already worn link to the New Covenant. Again the idea is solid, but it would have been twice as effective if done half as often. To be fair there are some later chapters that are more informative, but most often they simply have pat answers that avoid the actual questions a learner would ask. As a part of a commentary series, this is a volume worth reading. It would be tough to recommend it as a stand alone volume when better choices seem to be available. If you already possess the Tyndale series or have access to it in a library and have limited knowledge of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, the commentary on the first half of the book is quite instructive.
John E. Botkin
11/1/2016
Not a review, but a question. This resource is linked from your video interview with Jay Sklar. But this is not his commentary. Do you have this available on Logos? Thanks.
