Holiness code
Encyclopedia
The Holiness Code is a term used in biblical criticism
to refer to Leviticus
17-26, and is so called due to its highly repeated use of the word Holy. It has no special traditional religious significance and traditional Jews and Christians do not regard it as having any distinction from any other part of the Book of Leviticus. Biblical scholars have regarded it as a distinct unit and have noted that the style is noticeably different from the main body of Leviticus: unlike the remainder of Leviticus, the many laws of the Holiness Code are expressed very closely packed together, and very briefly. According to the documentary hypothesis
, the Holiness Code represents an earlier text that was edited and incorporated into the priestly source and the Torah as a whole.
This source is often abbreviated as "H". A generally accepted date is sometime in the seventh century BCE and presumably originated among the priests in the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Holiness Code also uses a noticeably different choice of vocabulary, repeating phrases such as I, The LORD, am holy, I am the LORD, and I the LORD, which sanctify..., an unusually large number of times. Additionally, Leviticus 17 begins with This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying.., and Leviticus 26 strongly resembles the conclusion of a law code, despite the presence of further laws afterward, such as at Leviticus 27, giving the Holiness Code the appearance of a single distinct unit.
Among evangelical
Christian
s, there is debate about how much of this passage can be applicable today since the Levitical priesthood and animal sacrifice ended in AD 70, with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans
. Many in these groups see references to sexuality therein and as being reiterated for emphasis elsewhere in the Bible
; for example, in the Epistle to the Romans
. Orthodox Jews continue many of the practices, but they generally regard precepts not in current practice as being in only temporary abeyance until a Third Temple can be rebuilt and they can be restored.
, the Holiness Code is considered part of the Priestly source
. However, it is believed, under the hypothesis, to have been an originally separate legal code (referred to as "H") which the priestly source chose to embed into their writing. The hypothesis further asserts that the Holiness Code was subjected to editing by the priestly source. Some such editing is simply the addition of phrases such as And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,, designed to put the code into the context of the remainder of a code being given by God, as is the case for the remainder of Leviticus.
It is also alleged, by critical scholarship, that several additional laws, written with a style unlike that of the Holiness Code, but like that of the remainder of Leviticus, were inserted into the body of the text, by the Priestly source. These alleged additions are:
The section concerning continual bread and oil is, in critical scholarship, viewed as part of the description of the structure of the tabernacle, and vestments, present at the end of Exodus, which has accidentally become inserted at this point due to scribal error. The case law example of blasphemy
is believed to be the work of one of the later editions of the priestly source, in which several other case law examples were added, such as that concerning the daughters of Zelophehad
(Numbers
36). The remainder of the alleged additions arguably deform the laws from the manner they would otherwise have, to the laws supported by the priestly code. Whether these represent alterations to the law over time, lawmaking by the writer of the political faction supported by the priestly source, or simply details present but not originally thought worth mentioning, is a matter of some debate.
More recent critical scholarship, particularly that of Israel Knohl
, and Jacob Milgrom
, has argued instead that the Holiness Code (H) was the appendage, and the Priestly Code (P) the original. This view also identifies passages outside the traditional area of H, specifically in Exodus and Numbers, as belonging to the Holiness Code rather than P, such as the order to sound a trumpet on certain dates. In consequence, this view sees the author of H as the editor of P, rather than the reverse, in particular as P is able to be read coherently even when devoid of H. Nevertheless, the presence of what appears to be a clear ending to H, specifically Leviticus 26, which would be expected to have been moved, such as to be after Leviticus 27, if H was the addition, rather than the original, has presented some problems for such revising of the theory.
These are listed within Leviticus 18. They are also listed again, shortly afterward, with the same admonition against following the practices of the Canaanites lest the land spue you out, at Leviticus 20. While Leviticus 18 presents them as a simple list, Leviticus 20 presents them in a chiastic structure
based on how serious a crime they are viewed, as well as presenting the punishment deemed appropriate for each, ranging from excommunication
to execution
. Leviticus 20 also presents the list in a more verbose manner.
Furthermore, Leviticus 22:11-21 parallels Leviticus 17, and there are, according to textual criticism
, passages at Leviticus 18:26, 19:37, 22:31-33, 24:22, and 25:55, which, have the appearance of once standing at the end of independent laws or collections of laws as colophons
. For this reason, several scholars view the five sections preceding between each of these passages as deriving from originally separate documents. In particular, the two segments containing the sexual prohibitions, Leviticus 17:2-18:26 and Leviticus 20:1-22:33, are seen as being based on essentially the same law code, with Leviticus 20:1-22:33 regarded as the later version of the two.
Chapter 19, which ends in a colophon, has a similarity with the Ritual Decalogue
, though presenting a more detailed and expanded version, leading critical scholars to conclude it represents a much later version of that decalogue. Notably, it contains the commandment popularly referred to as love thy neighbour as thyself (the Great Commandment
), and begins with the commandment ye shall be holy, for I, Yahweh, am holy, which Christianity regards as the two most important commandments. This chapter is widely regarded as a very elegantly written development of ethics
.
By this reckoning, there are thus at least five earlier law collections which were redacted
together, with an additional hortatory conclusion, to form the Holiness Code. Two of which contain a list of sexual prohibitions, and one of which was a development of the Ritual Decalogue.
. Ezekiel dwells repeatedly on offences which the Holiness code condemns, and spends little time concerned with those outside it (e.g. Leviticus 18:8-17 in comparison with Ezekiel 22:10-11), and several extensive lists of such parallels exist. There is also a great similarity between Ezekiel's writing and the hortatory elements, particularly the conclusion, of the Holiness Code. These strong similarities have led many, critical, scholars, to question whether Ezekiel was the author of the code, or at least the collector, and it remains an open question whether the Holiness Code influenced Ezekiel, or Ezekiel influenced the Holiness Code.
The Holiness Code has a similarity of structure with both the Covenant Code
and the Deuteronomic Code
. Like these, it opens with a law regulating ceremonies at the altar
, lists a series of disparate laws, and then closes with a set of promises for obeying the law, and curses for failing to do so. While some of the laws appear more developed than Deuteronomy, for example, the law concerning weights and measures is more detailed, the majority show less development, and the implication of multiple sanctuaries implied by the Holiness Code's laws, concerning altar ceremonies, is usually understood to imply a date prior to the banning of sanctuaries outside the temple at Jerusalem. A similar comparison with the Covenant Code implies that the date of the Holiness Code is between that of the Covenant Code, and that of the Deuteronomic Code, highly suitable for the position it finds itself within the Torah.
Although it is superficially plausible for the Holiness Code to be an updated version of the Covenant Code, and the Deuteronomic Code a later version still, the quite different manner in which the individual laws are presented, as well as the manner in which they are ordered, has led to a large majority of scholars concluding that while the structure of the code is copied, indicating that the writer of each code knew the code of its predecessor, the laws themselves were collected together independently on each occasion. Nevertheless, it is similarly acknowledged by the majority of critical scholars, that these three codes represent a gradual development of the underlying laws, as would be expected for a period of some 200–400 years.
Note: according to the entry for the Deuteronomic Code
, the Deuteronomic Code was an embellishment of the Covenant Code
.
In the documentary hypothesis, the priestly source is a work which, after its initial edition, suffered under the hand of several later, less skilled, editors, who each variously inserted documents, added additional laws, or expanded on the laws already present. Thus the original narrative, and the legal code within it, became surrounded by an extensive body of legal, and ritual, elements, as well as numerical, genealogical, and geographic, data. The underlying narrative, in the hypothesis, is based on JE
, which already possessed a legal code, namely the Covenant Code and Ritual Decalogue
. The majority of critical scholars thus support the position that, while the Ritual Decalogue was replaced by the Ethical Decalogue, the Holiness Code was chosen, or designed, to replace the Covenant Code.
and Biblical law in Christianity
for details. Some religions sustain that in the Gospel of Matthew
, Jesus
cited Leviticus 19:18 as a Great Commandment
.
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
to refer to Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
17-26, and is so called due to its highly repeated use of the word Holy. It has no special traditional religious significance and traditional Jews and Christians do not regard it as having any distinction from any other part of the Book of Leviticus. Biblical scholars have regarded it as a distinct unit and have noted that the style is noticeably different from the main body of Leviticus: unlike the remainder of Leviticus, the many laws of the Holiness Code are expressed very closely packed together, and very briefly. According to the documentary hypothesis
Documentary hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis , holds that the Pentateuch was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors...
, the Holiness Code represents an earlier text that was edited and incorporated into the priestly source and the Torah as a whole.
This source is often abbreviated as "H". A generally accepted date is sometime in the seventh century BCE and presumably originated among the priests in the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Holiness Code also uses a noticeably different choice of vocabulary, repeating phrases such as I, The LORD, am holy, I am the LORD, and I the LORD, which sanctify..., an unusually large number of times. Additionally, Leviticus 17 begins with This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying.., and Leviticus 26 strongly resembles the conclusion of a law code, despite the presence of further laws afterward, such as at Leviticus 27, giving the Holiness Code the appearance of a single distinct unit.
Among evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s, there is debate about how much of this passage can be applicable today since the Levitical priesthood and animal sacrifice ended in AD 70, with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Many in these groups see references to sexuality therein and as being reiterated for emphasis elsewhere in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
; for example, in the Epistle to the Romans
Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
. Orthodox Jews continue many of the practices, but they generally regard precepts not in current practice as being in only temporary abeyance until a Third Temple can be rebuilt and they can be restored.
Embedding in the priestly source
In the documentary hypothesisDocumentary hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis , holds that the Pentateuch was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors...
, the Holiness Code is considered part of the Priestly source
Priestly source
The Priestly Source is one of the sources of the Torah/Pentateuch in the bible. Primarily a product of the post-Exilic period when Judah was a province of the Persian empire , P was written to show that even when all seemed lost, God remained present with Israel...
. However, it is believed, under the hypothesis, to have been an originally separate legal code (referred to as "H") which the priestly source chose to embed into their writing. The hypothesis further asserts that the Holiness Code was subjected to editing by the priestly source. Some such editing is simply the addition of phrases such as And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,, designed to put the code into the context of the remainder of a code being given by God, as is the case for the remainder of Leviticus.
It is also alleged, by critical scholarship, that several additional laws, written with a style unlike that of the Holiness Code, but like that of the remainder of Leviticus, were inserted into the body of the text, by the Priestly source. These alleged additions are:
- The prohibition against consuming the naturally dead (Leviticus 17:15-16)
- The order to make trespass offerings after sexual involvement with an engaged slavewoman (Leviticus 19:20-22)
- The prohibition against an anointed high priest uncovering his head or rending his clothes (Leviticus 21:10)
- The prohibition against offerings by AaronAaronIn the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
ic priests who are blemished (Leviticus 21:21-22) - The order to keep the sabbathShabbatShabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, passoverPassoverPassover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, and feast of unleavened breadPassoverPassover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
(Leviticus 23:1-10a) - The order to keep Yom KippurYom KippurYom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
, and SukkotSukkotSukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
(Leviticus 23:23-44) - The order for continual bread and oil (Leviticus 24:1-9)
- Case lawCase lawIn law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
concerning a blasphemer (Leviticus 24:10-15a and 24:23) - The order for a trumpet sounding on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 25:9b)
- Rules concerning redeeming property (Leviticus 25:23 and 25:26-34)
- Order to release heathen slaves at the year of jubilee (Leviticus 25:40, 25:42, 25:44-46)
- Rules concerning redeeming people (Leviticus 25:48-52, and 25:54)
The section concerning continual bread and oil is, in critical scholarship, viewed as part of the description of the structure of the tabernacle, and vestments, present at the end of Exodus, which has accidentally become inserted at this point due to scribal error. The case law example of blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
is believed to be the work of one of the later editions of the priestly source, in which several other case law examples were added, such as that concerning the daughters of Zelophehad
Zelophehad
The Daughters of Zelophehad were five sisters in the Hebrew Bible who lived during the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and who raised before Moses the case of a woman's right and obligation to inherit property in the absence of a male heir in the family...
(Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
36). The remainder of the alleged additions arguably deform the laws from the manner they would otherwise have, to the laws supported by the priestly code. Whether these represent alterations to the law over time, lawmaking by the writer of the political faction supported by the priestly source, or simply details present but not originally thought worth mentioning, is a matter of some debate.
More recent critical scholarship, particularly that of Israel Knohl
Israel Knohl
Israel Knohl is the Yehezkel Kaufmann Chair of Biblical studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Senior Fellow at Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem....
, and Jacob Milgrom
Jacob Milgrom
Jacob Milgrom was a prominent American Jewish Bible scholar and Conservative rabbi, best known for his comprehensive Torah commentaries and work on the Dead Sea Scrolls.-Biography:...
, has argued instead that the Holiness Code (H) was the appendage, and the Priestly Code (P) the original. This view also identifies passages outside the traditional area of H, specifically in Exodus and Numbers, as belonging to the Holiness Code rather than P, such as the order to sound a trumpet on certain dates. In consequence, this view sees the author of H as the editor of P, rather than the reverse, in particular as P is able to be read coherently even when devoid of H. Nevertheless, the presence of what appears to be a clear ending to H, specifically Leviticus 26, which would be expected to have been moved, such as to be after Leviticus 27, if H was the addition, rather than the original, has presented some problems for such revising of the theory.
Composition
The Holiness Code is a collection of many laws concerning several subjects. Critical scholarship therefore regards it as being generally a work constructed by the collecting together of a series of earlier collections of laws. One of the most noticeable elements of the work is a large section concerning the following sexual activities, which are prohibited lest the land spue you out:- Do not be sexually involved with your father
- Do not be sexually involved with your uncle (on your father's side)
- Do not be sexually involved with your mother or step-mother
- Do not be sexually involved with your sister, step-sister, or sister-in-lawSister-in-lawA sister-in-law is the sister of one's spouse, the wife of one's sibling, or sometimes the wife of one's spouse's sibling...
- Do not be sexually involved with your daughter-in-law
- Do not be sexually involved with your granddaughter
- Do not be sexually involved with your neighbour's wife
- Do not be sexually involved with a woman as well as her daughter
- Do not be sexually involved with a ritually unclean woman
- Do not be sexually involved with a man as you would with a womanThe Bible and homosexualityThere are a number of direct references to homosexuality in the Bible.In Mosaic law, male homosexuality is identified as an "abomination".In the New Testament, Paul of Tarsus condemns arsenokoitēs, a term related to male homosexuality that is open to much interpretation; it could mean male...
- Do not be sexually involved with a beastZoophiliaZoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον and φιλία is the practice of sex between humans and non-human animals , or a preference or fixation on such practice...
- Do not pass your seed through the fireFireFire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
to molochMolochMoloch — also rendered as Molech, Molekh, Molok, Molek, Molock, or Moloc — is the name of an ancient Semitic god...
These are listed within Leviticus 18. They are also listed again, shortly afterward, with the same admonition against following the practices of the Canaanites lest the land spue you out, at Leviticus 20. While Leviticus 18 presents them as a simple list, Leviticus 20 presents them in a chiastic structure
Chiastic structure
Chiastic structure is a literary device for chiasmus applied to narrative motifs, turns of phrase, or whole passages. Various structures of chiasmus are commonly seen in ancient literature to emphasize, parallel, or contrast concepts or ideas...
based on how serious a crime they are viewed, as well as presenting the punishment deemed appropriate for each, ranging from excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
to execution
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. Leviticus 20 also presents the list in a more verbose manner.
Furthermore, Leviticus 22:11-21 parallels Leviticus 17, and there are, according to textual criticism
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
, passages at Leviticus 18:26, 19:37, 22:31-33, 24:22, and 25:55, which, have the appearance of once standing at the end of independent laws or collections of laws as colophons
Colophon (publishing)
In publishing, a colophon is either:* A brief description of publication or production notes relevant to the edition, in modern books usually located at the reverse of the title page, but can also sometimes be located at the end of the book, or...
. For this reason, several scholars view the five sections preceding between each of these passages as deriving from originally separate documents. In particular, the two segments containing the sexual prohibitions, Leviticus 17:2-18:26 and Leviticus 20:1-22:33, are seen as being based on essentially the same law code, with Leviticus 20:1-22:33 regarded as the later version of the two.
Chapter 19, which ends in a colophon, has a similarity with the Ritual Decalogue
Ritual Decalogue
The Ritual Decalogue is a list of laws in the Book of Exodus, . These laws are similar to the Covenant Code and are followed by the phrase ten commandments...
, though presenting a more detailed and expanded version, leading critical scholars to conclude it represents a much later version of that decalogue. Notably, it contains the commandment popularly referred to as love thy neighbour as thyself (the Great Commandment
Great Commandment
The Great Commandment, or Greatest Commandment, is an appellation applied to either the first, or both, of two commandments which appear in , and...
), and begins with the commandment ye shall be holy, for I, Yahweh, am holy, which Christianity regards as the two most important commandments. This chapter is widely regarded as a very elegantly written development of ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
.
By this reckoning, there are thus at least five earlier law collections which were redacted
Redaction
Redaction is a form of editing in which multiple source texts are combined and subjected to minor alteration to make them into a single work. Often this is a method of collecting a series of writings on a similar theme and creating a definitive and coherent work...
together, with an additional hortatory conclusion, to form the Holiness Code. Two of which contain a list of sexual prohibitions, and one of which was a development of the Ritual Decalogue.
Comparison with other biblical law codes
Most critical scholars and religious commentaries regard the Holiness Code as bearing strong resemblance, in several places, to the writing of EzekielEzekiel
Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...
. Ezekiel dwells repeatedly on offences which the Holiness code condemns, and spends little time concerned with those outside it (e.g. Leviticus 18:8-17 in comparison with Ezekiel 22:10-11), and several extensive lists of such parallels exist. There is also a great similarity between Ezekiel's writing and the hortatory elements, particularly the conclusion, of the Holiness Code. These strong similarities have led many, critical, scholars, to question whether Ezekiel was the author of the code, or at least the collector, and it remains an open question whether the Holiness Code influenced Ezekiel, or Ezekiel influenced the Holiness Code.
The Holiness Code has a similarity of structure with both the Covenant Code
Covenant Code
The Covenant Code, or alternatively Book of the Covenant, is the name given by academics to a text appearing in the Torah at Exodus - . Biblically, the text is the second of the law codes given to Moses by God at Mount Sinai...
and the Deuteronomic Code
Deuteronomic Code
The Deuteronomic Code is the name given by academics to the law code within the Book of Deuteronomy. It contains "a variety of topics including religious ceremonies and ritual purity, civil and criminal law, and the conduct of war"...
. Like these, it opens with a law regulating ceremonies at the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
, lists a series of disparate laws, and then closes with a set of promises for obeying the law, and curses for failing to do so. While some of the laws appear more developed than Deuteronomy, for example, the law concerning weights and measures is more detailed, the majority show less development, and the implication of multiple sanctuaries implied by the Holiness Code's laws, concerning altar ceremonies, is usually understood to imply a date prior to the banning of sanctuaries outside the temple at Jerusalem. A similar comparison with the Covenant Code implies that the date of the Holiness Code is between that of the Covenant Code, and that of the Deuteronomic Code, highly suitable for the position it finds itself within the Torah.
Although it is superficially plausible for the Holiness Code to be an updated version of the Covenant Code, and the Deuteronomic Code a later version still, the quite different manner in which the individual laws are presented, as well as the manner in which they are ordered, has led to a large majority of scholars concluding that while the structure of the code is copied, indicating that the writer of each code knew the code of its predecessor, the laws themselves were collected together independently on each occasion. Nevertheless, it is similarly acknowledged by the majority of critical scholars, that these three codes represent a gradual development of the underlying laws, as would be expected for a period of some 200–400 years.
Note: according to the entry for the Deuteronomic Code
Deuteronomic Code
The Deuteronomic Code is the name given by academics to the law code within the Book of Deuteronomy. It contains "a variety of topics including religious ceremonies and ritual purity, civil and criminal law, and the conduct of war"...
, the Deuteronomic Code was an embellishment of the Covenant Code
Covenant Code
The Covenant Code, or alternatively Book of the Covenant, is the name given by academics to a text appearing in the Torah at Exodus - . Biblically, the text is the second of the law codes given to Moses by God at Mount Sinai...
.
In the documentary hypothesis, the priestly source is a work which, after its initial edition, suffered under the hand of several later, less skilled, editors, who each variously inserted documents, added additional laws, or expanded on the laws already present. Thus the original narrative, and the legal code within it, became surrounded by an extensive body of legal, and ritual, elements, as well as numerical, genealogical, and geographic, data. The underlying narrative, in the hypothesis, is based on JE
JE
JE is a hypothetical intermediate source text of the Torah postulated by the DH. It is a combination and redaction of the Jahwist and Elohist source texts. According to this hypothesis, J was composed c. 950 BC, E was composed c. 850 BC, and the two were combined into JE c. 750 BC. JE was...
, which already possessed a legal code, namely the Covenant Code and Ritual Decalogue
Ritual Decalogue
The Ritual Decalogue is a list of laws in the Book of Exodus, . These laws are similar to the Covenant Code and are followed by the phrase ten commandments...
. The majority of critical scholars thus support the position that, while the Ritual Decalogue was replaced by the Ethical Decalogue, the Holiness Code was chosen, or designed, to replace the Covenant Code.
Modern view of Leviticus
The holiness code is believed to have been written as a form to avoid sexual deviations, sexual transmitable diseases and other forms of physical illness for the people of Israel with some specified as applicable for Proselytes. Many of its teachings are no longer in practice in the mainstream Christian denominations, however see Leviticus 18Leviticus 18
Leviticus 18 is a chapter of the Biblical book of Leviticus. It narrates part of the instructions given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. The chapter deals with a number of sexual activities considered 'unclean' or 'abominable'...
and Biblical law in Christianity
Biblical law in Christianity
Christian views of the Old Covenant have been central to Christian theology and practice since the circumcision controversy in Early Christianity. There are differing views about the applicability of the Old Covenant among Christian denominations...
for details. Some religions sustain that in the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
, Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
cited Leviticus 19:18 as a Great Commandment
Great Commandment
The Great Commandment, or Greatest Commandment, is an appellation applied to either the first, or both, of two commandments which appear in , and...
.