📖 Biblical Definition
The third book of the Bible, the priestly handbook of Israel. Leviticus 1-7 details the five sacrifices (burnt, grain, peace, sin, trespass). Chapters 8-10 record the consecration of Aaron and his sons and the death of Nadab and Abihu. Chapters 11-15 cover dietary, purity, and bodily-discharge laws. Chapter 16 contains the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Chapters 17-26 are the Holiness Code: be ye holy; for I the Lord your God am holy. Chapter 23 lists the seven feasts of the Lord.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
LEVITICUS, n.
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A scriptural proper name; the third book of the Bible.
📖 Key Scripture
Leviticus 11:44 — "For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy."
Leviticus 16:30 — "For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord."
Leviticus 17:11 — "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul."
Leviticus 19:18 — "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Christianity often skips Leviticus; Christ's priesthood and atonement are not intelligible without it.
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Leviticus is the most-skipped book of the Bible in modern devotional reading. The sacrificial regulations seem foreign; the dietary laws bewildering; the discharge laws uncomfortable. But the New Testament cannot be understood without it. Christ is our high priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb 7); His blood replaces the bulls and goats; the Day of Atonement is fulfilled at Calvary; the holiness code is the moral background for 1 Peter 1:16: be ye holy; for I am holy.
Read Leviticus slowly. Note where the blood is applied. Note where the priest stands. Note who atones. Then read Hebrews. The whole edifice points to Christ. Without Leviticus, atonement theology is incoherent. With it, the cross becomes the focal point of three thousand years of typology.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew/Greek roots below.
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H3881 — Leviyyi — Levite
H7121 — qara — to call
Usage
"Modern Christianity skips Leviticus; Christ's priesthood is not intelligible without it."
"Read Leviticus slowly; note where the blood is applied; note who atones."
"Without Leviticus, atonement theology is incoherent."