Day 23 Reading Schedule : Leviticus 11-15

Leviticus 11: Clean and Unclean Animals 

[Summary]

Becoming God's people means being separated from the world in every way and having God's commands as the standard for all life. This chapter records the regulations regarding the food that the Israelites had to choose for their purity. Among animals, only those that chew the cud and have cleft feet were to be eaten (verses 1-8), and among fish, those that do not have fins and scales were considered unclean and could not be eaten (verses 9-12). In addition, birds (verses 13-19) and insects (verses 20-28) were divided into unclean and clean, and finally, among the things that crawl on the ground, they were divided into unclean (verses 29-47).

Chapters 1 through 10 of Leviticus discuss the path people took toward God through the sacrificial system and priesthood, and the life of communion. However, from this chapter to chapter 16, it contains specific content on the elements that hinder perfect fellowship with God, namely, the regulations on cleanliness and uncleanness, and the laws of purity. In particular, this chapter distinguishes between animals that humans can eat and those that cannot.

Leviticus 12: Purification of Mothers 

[Summary]

This chapter mentions the purification regulations for mothers who have given birth. Women who gave birth were considered unclean for a certain period of time and could not come near holy things, but after that, they were purified by offering a sin offering according to their economic ability.

Leviticus 11 describes the laws regarding unclean and clean foods. This chapter continues with the laws regarding clean and unclean people after chapter 11. That is, the first part of the passage from Leviticus 12 to 15 mentions the regulations regarding the impurity and purification of women who have given birth. These regulations are ceremonial laws and teach the principles of spiritual purity through the cultural background of the time.

Leviticus 13: Diagnosis of Leprosy 

[Overview]

This chapter deals with the purification regulations for skin diseases. In particular, this chapter explains in detail the early symptoms and diagnosis of leprosy. The methods were to judge by the color spots on the skin (verses 1-8) or to diagnose only the skin by examining the flesh (verses 9-17). In addition, the priest diagnosed whether it was leprosy when there was a boil on the skin (verses 18-23) or when the skin became red and white due to a burn (verses 34-28). In addition, it mentions the diagnosis of abnormalities in the hair or beard (verses 39-46) and when leprosy occurred on clothing (verses 47-59).

Leviticus 13-14 discusses the removal of impurity caused by various leprosy diseases. This chapter describes in detail the early symptoms of leprosy and the diagnosis methods based on those symptoms. That is, the diagnosis of spots on the skin, the diagnosis of boils, the diagnosis of scabs on burns, the diagnosis of scabs on clothing, etc.

Leviticus 14: Rules for the Purification of Leprosy Patients 

[Overview]

Following the previous chapter that dealt with the symptoms and diagnosis of leprosy, this chapter discusses the purification rules for leprosy patients. When a leper was cleansed, the priest declared him healed (verses 1-9), and on the eighth day, he offered a guilt offering, a grain offering, and a burnt offering for him at the entrance to the tabernacle of meeting. In this way, the leper was cleansed and could return to the community (verses 10-32). In addition, it discusses the diagnosis and purification rules for leprosy in a house (verses 33-57).

Leviticus 13 examines leprosy, and this chapter deals with the treatment of leprosy. In other words, it deals with the purification rules for cured lepers, as well as instructions on how to deal with leprosy in a house when the Israelites settle down in the land of Canaan and sleep there.

Leviticus 15: Discharge and Purification Laws 

[Overview]

This chapter deals with the purification regulations regarding discharge. Discharge is a physiological pathological phenomenon such as sexual intercourse between a man and a woman or menstruation in a woman. This chapter mentions four cases. First, discharge from the male genitalia (verses 1-15), second, discharge due to a man's nocturnal emission or sexual intercourse (verses 16-18). Third, discharge due to a woman's menstruation (verses 19-24), and especially discharge due to irregular menstruation other than menstruation (verses 25-33). Unlike leprosy, the discharge mentioned in this chapter is not contagious, but it was established as a regulation to prevent sexual immorality.

This chapter records the male's impurity for sex and the female's impurity for the vagina, and deals with the purification laws for them. This chapter presents the types of discharge, such as discharge from the male genitalia, impurity due to involuntary or sexual intercourse, menstruation in a woman, and discharge due to abnormal symptoms in a woman. And there are several instances where it says to wash your clothes and bathe in water as a way to cleanse yourself from the impurity caused by the disease.