Priestly Code: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Jewish body of laws}}

{{Kehuna and Kohanim}}

{{More citations needed|date=May 2025}}

The '''Priestly Code''' (in Hebrew '''''Torat Kohanim''''', תורת כהנים) is the name given, by academia,<ref>The book of Leviticus: composition and reception - Page 55 Rolf Rendtorff, Robert A. Kugler, Sarah Smith Bartel - 2003 "Research agrees that its relation to the "Priestly Code" is the central, literary historical problem of Leviticus. However, there are major differences when it comes to solving this problem."</ref> to the body of laws expressed in the [[Torah]] which do not form part of [[Deuteronomy]], the [[Holiness Code]], the [[Covenant Code]], the [[Ritual Decalogue]], or the [[Ethical Decalogue]]. The Priestly Code thus constitutes the majority of [[Leviticus]], as well as mostsome of the laws expressed in [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]]. The code forms a large portion, approximately one third, of the [[mitzvos]]commandments of the torahTorah, and thus is a major source of [[Jewish Lawlaw]].

It is termed the ''priestly''Priestly codeCode due to its large concern with ritual and the Jewish priesthood, and also, in critical scholarship, it is defined as the whole of the law code believed to be present in the [[Priestly Source]] except for the Holiness Code. It should be understood that, underUnder the [[documentary hypothesis]], while some scholars believe that the Priestly Code is believed to bewas created to rival the Ethical Decalogue and Covenant Code, itothers isbelieve thought, however, to have beenwas intended as only supplementary to the Holiness Code.

==Constituent parts==

Although several of the portionsmajority of the code formforms the bulk of Leviticus, there are several laws which appear in several other places in the torahTorah. The code is generally regarded to contain the following laws <!--this list is present in the (public ___domain) Jewish Encyclopedia article "Priestly Code", it is also supported by most academics, not least because it is very obvious simply from reading the torah-->:

*Law of [[circumcision]] ([[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 17)

*Laws concerning consumption of the [[Passover]] meal ([[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 12:43-49)

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*List of clean and unclean animals (Leviticus 11)

*Laws of purification and atonement (Leviticus 12, Leviticus 13, and Leviticus 15)

*Laws interruptinginterpreting the Holiness Code:

**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 19:21-22)

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**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 only keep [[{{linktext|heathen]]}}s as slaves (Leviticus 25:40, 25:42, 25:44-46)

**Rules concerning redeeming people (Leviticus 25:48-52, and 25:54)

*Law concerning the commutation of vows (Leviticus 27)

*Miscellaneous laws concerning [[leper]]s, and dedicated things (Numbers 5:1-10)

*Law concerning [[Sotah|women suspected of [[adultery]] (Numbers 5:11-31)

*Law of the "Little Passover" (Numbers 9:9-14)

*Laws concerning the duties and revenue of priests and Levites (Numbers 18)

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*Rules of burnt offerings, meal offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings, including specifications of the portions allocated to priests, and, in some cases, the appropriate costume of the officiating priest (Leviticus 1-7:21, carried out at Leviticus 9)

*Ritual of cleansing lepers (Leviticus 14)

*Rule of [[tzitzit|fringes]] (Leviticus 15:37-41)

*Ritual of [[Yom Kippur]] (Leviticus 16:3-34, 25:9b)

*Rituals interruptinginterpreting the Holiness Code:

**The order to keep the [[Shabbat|sabbath]], [[passover]], and [[passover|feast of unleavened bread

]] (Leviticus 23:1-10a)

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*Ritual concerning [[Nazarite]]s (Numbers 6:1-21)

*The priestly benediction (Numbers 6:22-27)

::''The {{LORD}} bless thee, and keep thee:''

::''The {{LORD}} make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:''

::''The {{LORD}} lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.''

*Rules concerning how to fix lamps on the golden candlestick, and how to consecrate priests (Numbers 8:1-15, carried out at Numbers 8:20-22)

*Ritual of the ''Red Heifer'', for purification after contact with a [[Dead body|corpse]] (Numbers 19)

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==Biblical context==

The majority of the Priestly codeCode is presented in the torahTorah as the lawLaw which is given to Moses directly by God at [[Mount Sinai]]. Unlike the Decalogues, however, [[Yahweh]] speaks the

laws to Moses while descended, in a cloud, upon the [[Tabernacle]] which the Israelites have constructed. The remainder is present as scattered laws either given by Moses directly, or by being given in a similar manner to the majority, via the tabernacle, but after the Israelites have moved elsewhere, taking the tabernacle with them. The implication, therefore, is that the tabernacle is the place where God speakspeaks with the priesthood.

==Composition==

{{main|Textual criticism}}

It is evident that rules of priestly procedure must have accompanied the institution of the priesthood, and in the earliest of times, before writing was invented, these rules probably were transmitted orally. When writing was first employed in connection with them, it is likely that only some general directions, or some details deemed most important, were committed to writing. As time passed on the importance given to written law would lead the priesthood to commit more and more of the details to writing. Critical scholars assert that in addition to this, over time, variations of detail would develop, authority for which must be committed to writing, so that actual practise would become justified by law. One would, therefore, suppose beforehand that such a code would exhibit evidence of gradual growth.

[[Colophon (publishing)|Colophon]]s, which, according to [[textual criticism]], are best explained as survivals from previous collections, are found in parts of the priestly code, at Leviticus 6:7, 7:37-38, 11:46-47, 13:59; 14:54-57, and 15:32-33. Colophons generally occur at the end of sources, and it is for this reason that Biblical Critics assert that the priestly code is composed of several originally separate documents placed together, with these colophons marking the ends of some of the source texts. Aside from these colophons, and obvious breaks between laws, such as those caused by narrative elements, for example the break between Leviticus 7:31 and Leviticus 11:1, as well as those caused by the presence of the Holiness Code, it is more difficult to identify other potential borders between sources.

One observation that can be made is that after each colophon, in Leviticus, there is a new introduction, of the form ''and the {{LORD}} said unto Moses...''. Several critical scholars have proposed that this these introductions are an attempt to patch over the breaks between sources, and therefore conclude that everywhere there is a new introduction, there must be a break between sources. In addition to the colophons, and narrative breaks, this adds additional borders at Leviticus 4:1, 5:14, 6:1, 6:19, 6:24, 7:22, 7:28, 13:1, 14:33, and 15:1.

More detailed textual criticism, comparing vocabulary, writing styles, and so forth, is seen, by critical scholars, to support the idea that both the colophons, and the introductions, mark the borders between works originating from different writers, except for Leviticus 6:1. Leviticus 5:15-19 and 6:2-18 are usually regarded, under textual criticism, to have been from a continuous work, due to identical writing style, such as ''a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation ...'', and ''trespass (ed) against the {{LORD}}''. Nevertheless, such textual criticism also identifies further abrupt changes in style, between Leviticus 1 and 2, between Leviticus 2 and 3, and between Leviticus 4 and 5.

There is also an additional, abrupt change at Leviticus 13:47, between discussion of [[leprosy]], and of ''leprosy of clothing'' ([[mildew]]), only presenting part of a sentence, devoid of any [[verb clause]] -— ''[...] without the camp shall his habitation be. The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be [list of types of garment]. And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment [...]''. Thus, taking this as another border, in critical scholarship, Leviticus 13:1-46 represents a distinct text to Leviticus 13:47-59. This latter text, discussing mildew, noticeably appears to interrupt Leviticus 13:1-14:32, discussing leprosy, since prior to it is a law ordering that a leper be sent out of the camp to dwell alone, and after the mildew section is a law instructing priests to go out of the camp and inspect the leper to see if they are yet healed. Consequently, Leviticus 13:1-46 and 14:2-32 are viewed as one, original, text into which the mildew section was inserted at a later date.

Another section of the priestly code which is considered, by critical scholars, to interlace two earlier sources, is Leviticus 16. The ritual of the two goats, one being a [[scapegoat]] sent to [[Azazel]], as a ritual to atone for sin as a nation, is given before, rather than within, instructions laying out how to observe [[Yom Kippur]], leading to arguments that there were originally two separate sources describing this event. Further study on this question lead to the suggestion, supported by a majority of critical scholars, that there were two originally separate rituals which have been intertwined, one involving the two goats, at Leviticus 16:5, 16:7-10, and 16:14-28, and the other involving bullocks, constituting the remainder of Leviticus 16.

Textual criticism also produces a noteworthy observation concerning Leviticus 12. This brief chapter concerns the ritual of purification after childbirth, which is strikingly similar to the rituals for purification after [[menstruation]], and other bodily discharges ([[bleeding]], [[pus]], [[vomiting|vomit]], etc.), at the end of Leviticus 15. Both, for example, involve ''two turtledoves, or two young pigeons'' brought to a priest, one for a ''sin offering'' and the other for a ''burnt offering'', on the eighth day. According to textual criticism, the writing style, vocabulary, and so forth, is also indicative of a single author for the two chapters. Consequently, most biblical critics view Leviticus 12 as originally belonging immediately after Leviticus 15:30, as Leviticus 15 has the structure of discussion on male non-sexual discharges, followed by discussion on male sexual discharges ([[semen]]), followed by discussion on female non-sexual discharges, and thus Leviticus 12 completes the patpattern, as it discusses childbirth, which can be viewed as sexually connected ([[Conception (biology)|conception]]) discharge (of a [[baby]]) by a female. Although there is not complete agreement about why this Chapter was moved, the currently most prominent reason given is that, at a later point in time, the view of childbirth changed, and it was no longer viewed as a sexual discharge.

tern, as it discusses childbirth, which can be viewed as sexually connected ([[Conception (biology)|conception]]) discharge (of a [[baby]]) by a female. Although there is not complete agreement about why this Chapter was moved, the currently most prominent reason given is that, at a later point in time, the view of childbirth changed, and it was no longer viewed as a sexual discharge.

==Modifications==

According to critical scholarship, the entire Priestly Code is a later addition, within the Priestly Source, to the earlier Holiness Code. However, textual criticism indicates it as having several different authors, some of whom appear, according to textual critics, not only to have added laws, but to have added modifications onto earlier ones within the Code.

===Progression to naturalism===

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Leviticus 4 is of this vein, extending the laws of the "sin-offering" to specify the penalty for each level of sin. Additionally, the ritual for the offering itself is more elaborate than that described elsewhere, for example at Leviticus 9:8-11, and utilizes a bullock, rather than the goat that is required according to Leviticus 9:15, 16:8, and Numbers 15:24. Critical scholars, therefore, regard this chapter as being a much later addition to the ''sin-offering'' laws.

Different stages of precision are also thought evident in Numbers 8. Numbers 8:15b-26 repeats the rules of Numbers 8:6-15a, but also connects the ownership of the firstborn with [[the Exodus]] from Egypt, as well as adding rules concerning a minimum age and a [[retirement]] age. Standard textual criticism, as well as the repetition, is thought to indicate that the second portion is by a different writer, creating an explanation that wasn'twas not originally present.

Such increasing of precision is not only present in direct modification of the law, and there are examples of instances where narrative frameworks present modifications of the law, but openly admitting that they are extra rules, not present when the laws were originally given out. For example, the law of the ''little passover'' in Numbers 9:9-14 adds rules concerning how people who have become unclean can manage to carry out the passover rules of Exodus 12:1-20. In a similar manner, the [[case law]] example, involving the daughters of Zelophehad, at Numbers 27:1-11, is returned to at Numbers 36, conveniently providing a framework to express a quite different law.

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===Weakening===

There are also examples of clauses which appear to water down preceding laws. Leviticus 14:21-32 provides for the substitution of two turtledoves (or pidgeonspigeons) for a lamb, reducing the cost to the provider of the sacrifice. While this is presented as being a response for poor sinners, critical scholarship interprets the section as indicating that, historically, an earlier sacrificial ''offering'', of a lamb, was increasingly being replaced, over time, by a pair of turtledoves.

Modification of a this kind is also thought to be found twice in succession within Leviticus 5:1-13. A sacrifice involving a lamb or kid (of a goat) is described at Leviticus 5:1-6, whereas Leviticus 5:7-10 states that two turtledoves or two pidgeonspigeons suffice, whereas Leviticus 5:11-13 further states that mere [[flour]] is sufficient. Biblical critics assert that it is difficult to see why anyone would go to the extent of bringing a lamb, when flour is enough, and similarly, if flour is sufficient, they assert that mentioning more costly losses, such as lambs, would be unexpected from a single writer of the law. Textual criticism identifies quite different writing styles between each of these three sections, the first section not detailing any ritual whatsoever, merely what should be brought, the second giving quite detailed instructions of ritual, and each being progressively more verbose, the first merely writes ''shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin'', whereas the third produces ''shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these''. For these reasons, critical scholars usually identify Leviticus 5:7-10 as a later addition to Leviticus 5:1-6, and Leviticus 5:11-13 as an even later addition, reflecting the ritual gradually being watered down over time.

==Provenance==

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ritual of atonement, and yet others, such as Leviticus 13:47-59 do not mention atonement at all.

Another distinct style is that of [[case law]], in which the basic outline of a brief problem is described, such as Leviticus 15:32-41, discussing how to deal with a man who has collected sticks on the sabbath, and whether that constitutes a violation of the rule not to commit work on that day, and then the solution is explained by Moses, often after he has consulted with God. This is present on multiple occasions, such as concerning the daughters of [[Zelophehad]], as well when the issue of the ''little passover'' was raised at Numbers 9:1-14. While many of these instances have, according to textual criticism, the resemblance of a single source, there are netherthelessnevertheless portions which appear to be later layers, such as the additional return to the daughters of Zelophehad in Leviticus 36 to discuss a slightly different matter.

Much of the remainder of the Priestly Code is viewed as more disparate. The [[benediction]] at Leviticus 6:22-27 is viewed as a late addition to that chapter, including for linguistic reasons concerning the manner of wording used within it as dating from an historically later period. Even later still is, according to critical scholarship, Leviticus 27, regarding vows, which mentions a [[Cattle tithe|tithe]] of [[cattle]], a tithe not mentioned anywhere else in the torah, even when tithes, or the treatment of cattle, is discussed.

==References==

Much of the remainder of the Priestly Code is viewed as more disparate. The [[benediction]] at Leviticus 6:22-27 is viewed as a late addition to that chapter, including for linguistic reasons concerning the manner of wording used within it as dating from an historically later period. Even later still is, according to critical scholarship, Leviticus 27, regarding vows, which mentions a [[tithe]] of [[cattle]], a tithe not mentioned anywhere else in the torah, even when tithes, or the treatment of cattle, is discussed.

{{reflist}}

==External links==

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[[Category:Documentary hypothesis]]

[[Category:KehunaPriesthood (Judaism)]]

[[Category:Book of Leviticus]]

[[Category:Mitzvoth]]