The Lamp and the Bread of the Sanctuary

24 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the sons of Israel that they bring to you (A)clear oil from beaten olives for the [a]light, to make a lamp [b]burn continually. Outside the veil of the testimony in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations. He shall keep the lamps in order on the (B)pure gold lampstand before the Lord continually.

(C)Then you shall take fine flour and bake twelve [c]cakes with it; [d]two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. And you shall set them in two rows, six to a row, on the (D)pure gold table before the Lord. You shall put pure frankincense on each row so that it may be (E)a memorial portion for the bread, an offering by fire to the Lord. (F)Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before the Lord (G)continually; it is an everlasting covenant [e]for the sons of Israel. And (H)it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the Lords offerings by fire, his portion forever.”

10 Now the son of an Israelite woman—his father was an Egyptian—went out among the sons of Israel; and the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man had a fight within the camp. 11 And the son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the (I)Name and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 Then they put him in custody, waiting for Moses to give them a clear decision in accordance with (J)the command of the Lord.

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and have all who heard him (K)lay their hands on his head; then (L)have all the congregation stone him. 15 You shall also speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘(M)If anyone curses his God, then he will bear the responsibility for his sin. 16 Moreover, the one who (N)blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The stranger as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

An Eye for an Eye

17 ‘Now (O)if someone [f]takes any human life, he must be put to death. 18 But (P)the one who [g]takes the life of an animal shall make restitution, life for life. 19 If someone injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so shall it be done to him: 20 (Q)fracture for fracture, (R)eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a person, so shall it be [h]inflicted on him. 21 So the one who [i]kills an animal shall make restitution, but (S)the one who [j]kills a person shall be put to death. 22 There shall be only (T)one [k]standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God.’” 23 Then Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and they brought the one who had cursed outside the camp, and stoned him with stones. So the sons of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 24:2 Or luminary
  2. Leviticus 24:2 Lit ascend
  3. Leviticus 24:5 I.e., ring-shaped bread loaves
  4. Leviticus 24:5 About 0.13 cubic feet or 0.004 cubic meters
  5. Leviticus 24:8 Lit from
  6. Leviticus 24:17 Lit strikes
  7. Leviticus 24:18 Lit strikes
  8. Leviticus 24:20 Lit given
  9. Leviticus 24:21 Lit strikes down
  10. Leviticus 24:21 Lit strikes down
  11. Leviticus 24:22 Lit judgment

24 (vii) Adonai said to Moshe, “Order the people of Isra’el to bring you pure oil from crushed olives for the light, to keep lamps burning always. Outside the curtain of the testimony in the tent of meeting, Aharon is to arrange for the light to be kept burning always from evening until morning before Adonai ; this is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations. He is always to keep in order the lamps on the pure menorah before Adonai.

“You are to take fine flour and use it to bake twelve loaves, one gallon per loaf. Arrange them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure table before Adonai. Put frankincense with each row to be an offering made by fire to Adonai in place of the bread and as a reminder of it. Regularly, every Shabbat, he is to arrange them before Adonai ; they are from the people of Isra’el, as a covenant forever. They will belong to Aharon and his sons; and they are to eat them in a holy place; because for him they are, of the offerings for Adonai made by fire, especially holy. This is a permanent law.”

10 There was a man who was the son of a woman of Isra’el and an Egyptian father. He went out among the people of Isra’el, and this son of a woman of Isra’el had a fight in the camp with a man of Isra’el, 11 in the course of which the son of the woman of Isra’el uttered the Name [Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh] in a curse. So they brought him to Moshe. (His mother’s name was Shlomit the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 They put him under guard until Adonai would tell them what to do. 13 Adonai said to Moshe, 14 “Take the man who cursed outside the camp, have everyone who heard him lay their hands on his head, and have the entire community stone him. 15 Then tell the people of Isra’el, ‘Whoever curses his God will bear the consequences of his sin; 16 and whoever blasphemes the name of Adonai must be put to death; the entire community must stone him. The foreigner as well as the citizen is to be put to death if he blasphemes the Name.

17 “‘Anyone who strikes another person and kills him must be put to death. 18 Anyone who strikes an animal and kills it is to make restitution, life for life. 19 If someone injures his neighbor, what he did is to be done to him — 20 break for break, eye for eye, tooth for tooth — whatever injury he has caused the other person is to be rendered to him in return. (Maftir) 21 He who kills an animal is to make restitution, but he who kills another person is to be put to death. 22 You are to apply the same standard of judgment to the foreigner as to the citizen, because I am Adonai your God.”

23 So Moshe spoke to the people of Isra’el, and they took the man who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him to death. Thus the people of Isra’el did as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

Haftarah Emor: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 44:15–31

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Emor: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:38–42; Galatians 3:26–29 [In connection with the feasts, see readings for Parashah 41]