Continental Commentary Series: Leviticus: A Book of Ritual and Ethics (CC)

by Jacob Milgrom

Publisher:

Fortress Press

, 2004

Overview

Values are what Leviticus is all about. They pervade every chapter and almost every verse. Underlying the rituals, careful readers will find an intricate web of values that purports to model how we should relate to God and to each other. Ritual is the poetry of religion that leads us to a moment of transcendence. When a ritual fails because it either lacks content, or is misleading, it loses its efficacy and purpose. A ritual must signify something beyond itself, whose attainment enhances the meaning and value of life. This is the achievement of Leviticus.

Building upon his life-long work on the book of Leviticus, Milgrom makes this book accessible to all readers. He demonstrates the logic of Israel's sacrificial system, the ethical dimensions of ancient worship, and the priestly forms of ritual.

Praise for the Print Edition

[This volume’s] clarity and accessibility make it a most valuable resource for anyone who wishes to engage with Jacob Milgrom’s important scholarly contributions.

—William K. Gilders, Emory University

Product Details

• Title: Continental Commentary Series: Leviticus: A Book of Ritual and Ethics
• Author: Jacob Milgrom
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 408

About Jacob Milgrom

Jacob Milgrom is a scholar and professor emeritus in the field of Biblical Studies at the University of California. He is most known for his research on the book of Leviticus and the purity regulations of the Torah.

The Jewish Publication Society of America was founded in Philadelphia in 1888 to provide the children of Jewish immigrants to America with books about their heritage in the language of the New World. As the oldest publisher of Jewish titles in the English language, the mission of JPS is to enhance Jewish culture by promoting the dissemination of religious and secular works of exceptional quality, in the United States and abroad, to all individuals and institutions interested in past and contemporary Jewish life.

Over the years JPS has issued a body of works for all tastes and needs. Its many titles include biographies, histories, art books, holiday anthologies, books for young readers, religious and philosophical studies, and translations of scholarly and popular classics. It is perhaps known best for its famous JPS Tanakh, the translation of the Hebrew Bible in English from the original Hebrew.