Leviticus 24
Big idea: Two things that never stop, and one case that tests everything. Pure beaten olive oil keeps a lamp burning from evening to morning, continually; twelve cakes are set in two rows on the pure gold table every Sabbath, an everlasting covenant. Then a narrative interrupts the law: a man with an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father blasphemes the Name during a fight, and no one knows what to do — so they put him in custody until Yahweh's will should be declared. The ruling that follows is not only about blasphemy. It extends into the measure of all injury, fracture for fracture, eye for eye — a limit on vengeance, not a licence for it — and ends where the chapter's problem began: you shall have one kind of law for the foreigner as well as the native-born.
Chapter 24 insists on one law for foreigner and native-born. Chapter 25 works out what that means for land and for people who fall into debt among them.
24:1–9 — The lamp and the bread
Israel brings pure beaten olive oil for the light, so a lamp burns continually. Outside the veil of the Testimony, Aaron keeps it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh, and keeps the lamps in order on the pure gold lampstand. Twelve cakes of fine flour, two tenths of an ephah each, are set in two rows of six on the pure gold table, with pure frankincense on each row as a memorial. Every Sabbath day it is set in order — an everlasting covenant on behalf of the children of Israel — and the bread belongs to Aaron and his sons, eaten in a holy place, most holy.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. 3 Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh continually. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 4 He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before Yahweh continually. 5 “You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah shall be in one cake. 6 You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Yahweh. 7 You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 8 Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh continually. It is an everlasting covenant on the behalf of the children of Israel. 9 It shall be for Aaron and his sons. They shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire by a perpetual statute.”
24:10–16 — The blasphemer
The son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father goes out among the people and fights with a man of Israel in the camp. In the quarrel he blasphemes the Name and curses, and is brought to Moses — his mother named as Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. They put him in custody until Yahweh's will should be declared to them. The ruling: bring him out of the camp; all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation stones him. Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin; whoever blasphemes the Name shall surely be put to death — the foreigner as well as the native-born.
10 The son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and the son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. 12 They put him in custody until Yahweh’s will should be declared to them. 13 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Bring him who cursed out of the camp; and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15 You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 He who blasphemes Yahweh’s name, he shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him. The foreigner as well as the native-born shall be put to death when he blasphemes the Name.
24:17–23 — The measure: as he has done
The ruling widens into a general principle of proportion. He who strikes a man mortally shall be put to death; he who strikes an animal mortally shall make it good, life for life. If anyone injures his neighbour, it shall be done to him as he has done: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. He who kills an animal makes it good, and he who kills a man is put to death. And the closing rule: you shall have one kind of law for the foreigner as well as the native-born, for I am Yahweh your God. Then the narrative resumes and closes — they did as Yahweh commanded Moses.
17 “‘He who strikes any man mortally shall surely be put to death. 18 He who strikes an animal mortally shall make it good, life for life. 19 If anyone injures his neighbor, it shall be done to him as he has done: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. It shall be done to him as he has injured someone. 21 He who kills an animal shall make it good; and he who kills a man shall be put to death. 22 You shall have one kind of law for the foreigner as well as the native-born; for I am Yahweh your God.’” 23 Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they brought him who had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones. The children of Israel did as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).