Leviticus 19 Study Notes

19:20-22 Having sexual intercourse with a woman who is a slave was a sin, and this is why a guilt offering had to be made, though the death penalty was not required. The man alone was guilty since the female slave was not required to bring the guilt offering. This law protected vulnerable female slaves who did not have the social power and economic clout that free men had.

19:23-25 This law dealing with horticultural holiness was intended for the benefit of the Israelites. The prohibition from eating the fruit of a newly planted fruit tree may have had to do with the fact that the fruit did not taste good in the first three years. Because the firstfruits belonged to God (Nm 18:12-17), the fruit of the fourth year was consecrated to God as a praise offering in which the covenant community recognized that God was the one who gave them the good things the earth produced. Following this law would result in an increase of production.

19:26 Divination involved trying to determine the future by such devices as casting lots, using arrows, or looking at liquids or entrails. Witchcraft involved interpreting natural phenomena such as clouds or stars, or communicating with the spirits of the dead. Both of these practices were common in the ancient Near East, but they were denounced in the Bible because they were an attempt to undermine God’s sovereignty. God, when he chose to, revealed the future through his servants, the prophets.

19:27 In Israel hair was the sign of a person’s strength and beauty. To this day orthodox Jews keep this law because the beard was a symbol of manhood. To mar the edge of the beard may have been a pagan practice that Israel was forbidden to emulate. In later Israelite culture, shaving was considered disgraceful (2Sm 10:4-5; Is 7:20).

19:28 Because the body is God’s creation, it was to be kept whole (1Co 6:8-20). The pagan custom of gashing the body as a sign of mourning was prohibited (Dt 14:1; Jr 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; 48:37). This is what the pagan priests of Baal did in the contest with Elijah on Mount Carmel (1Kg 18:28). Painting one’s body (tattoo marks) was also a custom that denoted belonging to a pagan cult, or it was done to ward off spirits of the dead.

19:31 In the ancient Near East, necromancy, or communication with the dead, was sought through mediums or spiritists, but God’s law ruled against such pagan practice (1Sm 28).

19:32 Respect for the elderly is God’s rule not just in the Jewish culture but universally (Pr 16:31; 20:29).

19:35-36 The holiness laws must also permeate business dealings. The way a person buys and sells is an indication of his obedience to God. Honesty was a sign of wise living (Pr 11:1; 16:11; 20:10,23).