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Chapter 24

The Sanctuary Light.[a] The Lord said to Moses: Order the Israelites to bring you clear oil of crushed olives for the light, so that you may keep the lamp burning regularly.(A) In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that hangs in front of the covenant, Aaron shall set up the lamp to burn before the Lord regularly, from evening till morning, by a perpetual statute throughout your generations. He shall set up the lamps on the pure gold menorah to burn regularly before the Lord.

The Showbread.[b] You shall take bran flour and bake it into twelve cakes,(B) using two tenths of an ephah of flour for each cake. These you shall place in two piles, six in each pile, on the pure gold table before the Lord. With each pile put some pure frankincense, which shall serve as an oblation to the Lord, a token of the bread offering. Regularly on each sabbath day the bread(C) shall be set out before the Lord on behalf of the Israelites by an everlasting covenant. It shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who must eat it in a sacred place, since it is most sacred,(D) his as a perpetual due from the oblations to the Lord.

Punishment of Blasphemy.[c] 10 A man born of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and in the camp a fight broke out between the son of the Israelite woman and an Israelite man. 11 The son of the Israelite woman uttered the Lord’s name in a curse and blasphemed. So he was brought to Moses—now his mother’s name was Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan— 12 and he was kept in custody till a decision from the Lord should settle the case for them.(E) 13 The Lord then said to Moses: 14 Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and when all who heard him have laid their hands[d] on his head,(F) let the whole community stone him. 15 Tell the Israelites: Anyone who blasphemes God shall bear the penalty; 16 whoever utters the name of the Lord in a curse shall be put to death.(G) The whole community shall stone that person; alien and native-born alike must be put to death for uttering the Lord’s name in a curse.

17 [e]Whoever takes the life of any human being shall be put to death;(H) 18 whoever takes the life of an animal shall make restitution of another animal, life for a life.(I) 19 [f]Anyone who inflicts a permanent injury on his or her neighbor shall receive the same in return: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The same injury that one gives another shall be inflicted in return.(J) 21 Whoever takes the life of an animal shall make restitution, but whoever takes a human life shall be put to death. 22 You shall have but one rule, for alien and native-born alike.(K) I, the Lord, am your God.

23 When Moses told this to the Israelites, they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him;(L) they did just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. 24:1–4 On the lamp, see Ex 25:31–40; 26:35; 27:20–21; 37:17–24; 40:24–25; Nm 8:1–4. It occupies the south side of the anterior room of the sanctuary tent and provides light for that room.
  2. 24:5–9 On the bread table, see Ex 25:23–29; 26:35; 37:10–16; 40:22–23. It occupies the north side of the anterior room of the sanctuary tent. The bread is a type of grain offering (see note on 2:1).
  3. 24:10–22 This is a narrative where an offense leads to clarifying revelation similar to the cases in Lv 10:1–7 and 16:1–34; Nm 9:6–14 and 15:32–36.
  4. 24:14 Laid their hands: see notes on 1:4 and 16:21. It may be that blasphemy generated a type of pollution which the hearers return to the culprit by this gesture.
  5. 24:17–22 A digression dealing with bodily injury follows the blasphemy rules. It may have been appended since the first case is another example of the death penalty. But the section develops according to its own logic. All legal traditions require death for homicide: Gn 9:5–6; Ex 21:12–14; Nm 35:9–34; Dt 19:1–13; cf. Ex 20:13 and Dt 5:17.
  6. 24:19–20 The phrase “life for a life” in v. 18 leads to introducing the law of talion in vv. 19–20. Some have interpreted the law here and the similar expressions in Ex 21:23–25 and Dt 19:21 to mean that monetary compensation equal to the injury is to be paid, though the wording of the law here and the context of Dt 19:21 indicate an injury is to be inflicted upon the injurer.

Olive Oil and Bread Set Before the Lord(A)

24 The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance(B) for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lampstand(C) before the Lord must be tended continually.

“Take the finest flour and bake twelve loaves of bread,(D) using two-tenths of an ephah[a](E) for each loaf. Arrange them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the table of pure gold(F) before the Lord. By each stack put some pure incense(G) as a memorial[b] portion(H) to represent the bread and to be a food offering presented to the Lord. This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly,(I) Sabbath after Sabbath,(J) on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant. It belongs to Aaron and his sons,(K) who are to eat it in the sanctuary area,(L) because it is a most holy(M) part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord.”

A Blasphemer Put to Death

10 Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name(N) with a curse;(O) so they brought him to Moses.(P) (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.)(Q) 12 They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them.(R)

13 Then the Lord said to Moses: 14 “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.(S) 15 Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God(T) will be held responsible;(U) 16 anyone who blasphemes(V) the name of the Lord is to be put to death.(W) The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.

17 “‘Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death.(X) 18 Anyone who takes the life of someone’s animal must make restitution(Y)—life for life. 19 Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.(Z) The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury. 21 Whoever kills an animal must make restitution,(AA) but whoever kills a human being is to be put to death.(AB) 22 You are to have the same law for the foreigner(AC) and the native-born.(AD) I am the Lord your God.’”

23 Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him.(AE) The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 24:5 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms
  2. Leviticus 24:7 Or representative