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Leviticus
Interpretive Questions
Interpretation,
Significance, Application
Questions raised on the
reading of sections of G. Wenham’s
Leviticus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979).
Developed by Ted Hildebrandt
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
Introduction
1. What is the Hebrew title for the book of
Leviticus? How does that differ
from
the Septuagint and Vulgate? Where did
our English title come
from?
Which title is best suited for the book? (Wenham, 3)
2. In what way is the title “Leviticus”
misleading? Which chapters are
directed
to the priests alone and which are addressed to all
(Wenham,
3)
3.
Compare and contrast the festival descriptions in Lev. 23 with Num. 28-
29;
and Deuteronomy 16. (Wenham, 3)
4. How are the rituals of chs. 1-7 presupposed
in chs. 8-10? (Wenham, 5)
5. How does Exod. 19:6 relate to the book of
Leviticus? (Wenham, 5)
6. What narrative structure or framework setting
occurs at the beginning of
many
chapters of Leviticus? (Wenham, 5) How
is that related
to
the Hebrew title of the book?
7. While Exod. 20:7 gives the commandment that
blasphemy is wrong, how
does Leviticus 24 supplement that? (Wenham, 6)
8. How does Leviticus relate to the 15 chapters
of Exodus? (Wenham, 6)
9. Which sections of Leviticus are given in a
law genre and which give a
historical narrative? (Wenham, 6) How are the two connected?
10. How do critical scholars see the development
of the book of Leviticus?
What sections were the original “P” (priestly) core and
what other
sections do they think were added later? (Wenham, 7) What section
is labeled the “Holiness Code.”? Is it plausible to suggest sources
behind the text of the current book of Leviticus? On what bases
are such sources suggested?
How does one separate the work of
alleged later redactors from the original alleged sources?
11. What literary links and repeated phrases bond
the book of Leviticus
together
as a unit? (Wenham, 7)
12. How is the oral character of the book of
Leviticus developed in the text?
How is the literary or written aspect found in the text?
(Wenham, 8)
13. What four arguments are used to support the
“traditional view” that
God gave/spoke these laws to Moses in the wilderness of
Sinai?
(Wenham, 8f)
14. Is there archaeological evidence to support
the early development of
ritual and sacrifice in other Ancient Near Eastern (ANE)
cultures at
or
before the time of Moses? (Wenham, 9)
15. What aspects of Leviticus are not
characteristic of the later post-exilic
times of Ezra and Nehemiah?
(Wenham, 9) What were the major
issues faced in Ezra’s day that are not really highlighted
in Leviticus
(and vice versa)?
16. What is the relationship between Leviticus
and Ezekiel? (Wenham, 9)
What does that suggest about the date of the book?
17. When do critical scholars suggest that “P”
(priestly document) was
constructed? Where
do they find evidence of “P” beyond Leviticus
in
the Pentateuch? (Wenham, 9)
18. Does Wellhausen’s analysis that
simple,
free and spontaneous and gradually evolved into more law,
custom
and ritualistic ways of being fit with the archaeological
record?
(Wenham, 10) Is such religious
evolutionary development
so
monolithically linear? Do religious
conceptions always develop
from
the simple to the complex in a straightforward manner?
19. What are the various aspects of ritual which
can be traced in their
historical development (priesthood, sacrifices, sanctuaries,
feasts,
etc.)?
(Wenham, 10f)
20. Did the patriarchs have priests? How did they offer sacrifices?
When does the notion of a “high priest” enter? (Wenham, 11)
21. What kind of things did the priests get from
the people they
served? (Wenham, 11)
22. In what ways is the cult described in
Chronicles more like Leviticus
than the cult described in the book of Kings? Why is there
such a difference? (Wenham, 11)
23. Did
religion of Judges and Samuel into rigid legalistic rituals
of
the postexilic period under Ezra? (Wenham, 11)
24. Is Kaufmann right when he says the cult in
“Fixity in times and rites and absence of ‘natural
spontaneity’
characterize
the festivals of ancient
early
civilizations... These elements are no indication of lateness.”
How
would one support or dispute this claim? (Wenham, 11)
25. Do societies become more religious or more
secular over time?
How would this impact the dating of Leviticus? (Wenham, 12)
26. Does the reference in Leviticus to the Urim
and Thummim fit better
a pre-exilic or post-exilic model? (Wenham, 12)
27. Does the legal terminology used in Leviticus
fit pre- or post-
exilic legal language? (Wenham, 12)
28. Do animal tithes fit a pre- or post-exilic
setting better? (Wenham, 12)
29. Where is Leviticus quoted in Deuteronomy and
Joshua? What
does that suggest about the dating of Leviticus? (Wenham,
12)
30. Does the mention of a multiplicity of
sanctuaries (Lev. 26:31) support a
pre-or
post-exilic date? Does this support a
pre-monarchy date?
(Wenham, 12)
31. What does Lev. 17:2ff that all animals must
be slaughtered in the
sanctuary imply in terms of when the book was written?
(Wenham, 12)
32. When does Ezekiel quote material from
Leviticus? (Wenham, 13)
33. What do the following stand for and what role
do they play in
evaluating
the original Hebrew text of Leviticus:
MT, SP, LXX, Peshitta, Targums, Vulgate? (Wenham, 13)
34. What manuscripts of Leviticus were found at
What is the importance of these manuscripts? (Wenham, 14)
35. What manuscript tradition is the best and
why? (Wenham, 14)
36. In Leviticus 1:6 the MT has a singular
suggesting the worshipper
is the one chopping up the animal while the SP and LXX
have a plural implying the priests did it. Which reading is
to be accepted and why? (Wenham, 15)
37. What geographical locations did the MT, SP
and LXX derive
from? (Wenham, 15)
38. What does it mean that the texts of the SP
and LXX may derive
from a text tradition that was modernized in the 5th
century
BC? (Wenham,
15) How does that affect things?
39. What is the significance of the laws of
Leviticus being set in
a setting of narrative? (Wenham, 15)
40. How can one move from narrative to
theological statements?
(Wenham, 15) How
does one move from historical statements
to the character of God?
When one pulls out a characteristic
of God from a historical narrative is that taking it out of
context? (Wenham, 16)
41. Does God respond to the movements of
history? If so does
He change? Can God
change? Does His own actions change
Him? Does God
Himself have a history?
42. How is the idea of the presence of God
presented in the book
of Leviticus? How
does that link it back to the book of
Exodus? (Wenham, 16)
43. It is said that Leviticus presents the whole
of a person’s life
lived out in God’s presence. Is this correct? How would you
prove or disprove this?
What areas of life are treated/touched in the
book
of Leviticus? (Wenham, 17)
44. What distinction does Leviticus provide
between God’s general
presence in all of life and His special presence in certain
specific
locations? What is the relationship of God to different
types of
space? (Wenham, 17)
45. According to Lev. 26, how is God’s presence
conceived? How is
God’s presence conceived in the New Testament? Immanuel
(Wenham, 18)
46. What is the major theme or motto of the book
of Leviticus?
(Wenham, 18)
47. What does the term “holy” mean in the context
of Leviticus?
(Wenham, 18)
48. How does holiness relate to the ideas of the
clean/unclean,
sanctified/profaned and common/polluted? (Wenham, 18f)
49. Where does “common” sit in relation to that
which is holy and
that which is unclean? (Wenham, 19)
50. What moves that which is common up to the
state of holiness?
(Wenham, 19)
51. How does one move from being unclean to being
clean?
(Wenham, 19)
52. How does one move from being clean to being
unclean?
(Wenham, 19)
53. How is uncleanness transmitted? (Wenham, 20)
54. How are the concepts of cleanness and purity
similar? How
does cleanness go beyond the sense of purity? (Wenham, 20)
55. How is cleanness related to normality? How does normality
play itself out in terms of what animals are considered to
be
clean or unclean? (Wenham, 20)
56. How does uncleanness function? What kinds of things are
unclean intrinsically in themselves? How do certain things become
unclean?
What kinds of things cause temporary uncleanness?
How
do these relate to the concept of what is “normal”?
(Wenham,
20)
57. Is permanent uncleanness contagious? (Wenham,
21)
What does temporary uncleanness require so that the state
of cleanness may be reentered?
58. When an unclean person is put out of the
camp, what kinds of
reasons are given to support that hygienic or theological?
(Wenham, 21)
59. How is holiness associated with God in the
book of Leviticus?
(Wenham, 22) How
does God manifest His holiness?
What kinds of things around God are also considered holy?
60. How is holiness acquired? How does man sanctify (make holy)
something? How does God sanctify something/someone?
(Wenham, 22)
61. Wenham says that the “main emphasis of the
book is on the human
contribution
to sanctification, what man has to do to make something
holy. Give some examples to support this
conclusion. (Wenham, 23)
62. How is holiness related to obeying the law
and carrying out rituals?
(Wenham, 23)
63. How would you support Mary Douglas’ idea that
to be holy
means more than separation to divine service but has the
ideas of wholeness and completeness? (Wenham, 23)
How
must something “holy” conform to what is normal for its
class?
64. How is perversion associated with the concept
of mixing or
confusion in Leviticus? (Wenham, 24)
65. What are some examples of when Leviticus
condemns things
that are not what they seem to be, dissembling and
confusion?
(Wenham, 24)
66. How is the concept of holiness developed
elsewhere in Scripture
(
67. How is Hebrews 9:22 illustrated in the book
of Leviticus?
(Wenham, 25)
68. How did sacrifices restore relationships
between God and people and
between people and other people? (Wenham, 25f) How did
sacrifices return things to a normal state from a disturbed
order?
69. What role does blood play in the transition from
states of uncleanness
to cleanness or holiness? What role does oil play? (Wenham,
26)
70. What happens when the unclean comes into
contact with the
holy? (Wenham, 26)
71. How is holiness and uncleanness associated
with spatial
distance from God and the community? (Wenham, 27)
72. What does the word kipper mean? What role does it play in the Day
of Atonement? How is atonement made in
73. How do the three parties (God, priest,
worshipper) interact in the
sacrificial
system? (Wenham, 28)
74. How is Christ’s death associated with the
notion of sacrifice in the
New Testament (cf. 1 Jn 2:1-2; Heb. 9:26 et al.)? (Wenham,
28)
75. How is the covenant of Sinai represented in
the book of Leviticus?
(Wenham, 29) In
which chapter is it explicitly mentioned?
What
is the significance of that?
76. How does the covenant idea and form relate to
the codification of law
and ritual? (Wenham, 29)
77. Wenham identifies six parts to the Ancient
Near Eastern covenant.
What are they and what is the function of each? Where can each
of these parts be seen in the canon? Which of these parts
are
found
in Leviticus? (Wenham, 30)
78. What formula does a treaty’s suzerain use
that can be found both
in Leviticus and Exodus according to Wenham? (Wenham, 30)
79. What does Wenham see as the “basic”
stipulation in the book
of Leviticus?
(Wenham, 30)
80. What role does the mention of the exodus from
in the book of Leviticus?
How is it referred to and what
is it used for? (Wenham, 31)
81. How is Leviticus 26 similar and dissimilar to
Deuteronomy 28?
(Wenham. 31) What
was the purpose of Leviticus 26?
82. What is divine blessing dependent on?
(Wenham, 32)
83. Where was the new covenant to be written?
(Wenham, 32)
84. How do Christians generally divide the Old
Testament law?
Are these three categories mutually exclusive? Can you
always pigeon hole a law into only one of these three?
Can one always separate between the moral and ceremonial
law?
85. What broad agreements are found in the law of
the Old Testament
and the core of the New? (Wenham, 33) Is the basis of the
ethical code in the Old the same as in the New? Are the
laws
the same?
86. Is the covenant a major theme in the New
Testament?
Are whole sections structured on the basis of a covenant
format
as is found in the Old Testament? (Wenham, 33)
87. Wenham says that the law is a response to
God’s grace.
How would you prove and develop that idea? (Wenham, 34)
88. Are the notions of blessings and curses found
in the New
Testament? Are they
based on obedience to the stipulations
of the covenant? (Wenham, 34)
89. Christ’s death in the New Testament is
compared to what
act of redemption in the Old? (Wenham, 34)
90. What are examples of the civil law found in
Leviticus?
(Wenham, 34)
91. How does Wenham move the laws of Leviticus
towards
having a role in the church? (Wenham, 35)
How does one
move from a particular law to the underlying universal
principle? What
example does Wenham use to illustrate
this method of applying the law?
92. Which laws in Leviticus are written with
judges in mind?
(Wenham, 35)
93. Wenham states that Leviticus treats property
violations more
leniently than the other Ancient Near Eastern societies
while
offenses against life are treated more severely. How would
you substantiate that?
What are some examples from
Leviticus that could be used in working out the details of
substantiating this point? (Wenham, 36)
94. What New Testament book develops the themes
of sacrificial
rituals and their application to the New Testament
believer?
(Wenham, 36) What
are a couple examples from this NT
book that would illustrate this?
95. How does the sacrifice of Christ relate to
the sacrifices of
animals? (Wenham, 37)
Leviticus 1 Back to Top
96. What are the three most common types of
sacrifice (Lev. 1-3)?
(Wenham,
47)
97. What phrase bonds the first three sacrifices
together (Lev. 1-3)?
(Wenham,
47)
98. Within each of the first three sacrifices,
what order is followed
(Lev. 1-3)? (Wenham, 47)
99. Why were the sacrifices in chapters 1-3
ordered the way they were
according
to A. Rainey? (Wenham, 47)
100. What is the literary structure of Leviticus
1? What three sections
follow the heading in 1:2?
How is it organized? (Wenham, 49)
101. In the burnt offering, what role or what
activities does the
worshipper do and what activities does the priest do?
(Wenham, 49)
102. In Lev. 1:2 it says “God called to Moses.” How is that different
than the normal way God addresses humans? (Wenham, 49)
103. To what does the “tent of meeting” (Lev. 1:2)
link back to?
(Wenham, 49)
104. Can one prove/disprove Wenhem’s hypothesis
that the sacrifices
are
placed first to explain the ceremonies at Aaron’s ordination
(Lev.
1)? (Wenham, 49f)
105. Does the book of Leviticus come as a “book of
laws” or is it God’s
speech to Moses who then declares it to the people as God’s
mediator? What difference is there between these two?
(Wenham, 50)
106.
The sacrifices in Num. 28-29 are national public sacrifices. What
are the sacrifices of Lev. 1-3? (Wenham, 50)
107. What other occasions besides sin were
sacrifices offered (Lev. 1)?
(Wenham, 51)
108. The animals for sacrifice listed in Lev. 1
were all _______ animals.
(Wenham, 51). Why
were wild animals not allowed to be offered
according to Wenham (cf. 2 Sam 24:24)?
109. Where does it mention
that only animals without blemishes were to
be offered (Lev. 1-5)?
What is the significance of that? (Wenham, 51)
When did the prophets condemn the Israelites for offering
imperfect
animals (Mal. 1)?
110. The burnt offerings are mentioned first it is
suggested because they
were most frequent.
When were they offered? (Wenham, 52)
111. Wenham/Rainey suggests that the whole burnt,
cereal/grain and
peace offerings were given first because they were all
referred to
as ________ offerings.
When does the phrase “a soothing aroma
for the Lord” come up in Lev. 1-3 and what is its
significance?
(Wenham, 52)
112. What types of animals
could be used for the whole burnt offering
(Lev. 1)? (Wenham,
52)
113. What was the only part of the animal that was
not burnt in the
whole burnt offering (Lev. 1; cf. 7:8)? (Wenham, 52)
114. Where did the worshipper bring his animal for
the whole
burnt offering (Lev. 1)?
(Wenham, 53)
115. What were some possible reasons for bringing
a whole burnt
offering (Lev. 1; cf. ch. 12, 14, 15)? (Wenham, 53)
116. What psalms were sung when one offered a
whole burnt
offering (cf. Ps. 40:7; 50:8; 51:18, 21; 66:13, 15)?
(Wenham, 53)
117. Who killed the animal for the whole burnt
offering and
where (Lev. 1)? (Wenham, 53)
118. The animal was slaughtered in such a way that
what could
be removed (Lev. 1)?
(Wenham, 53)
119. What was the priest’s role in the whole burnt
offering
(Lev. 1)? What would
the priest do with the blood?
(Wenham,
53f)
120. Who chopped up the animal for the whole burnt
offering?
Who
burned the animal on the altar (Lev. 1)?
Did the worshipper
ever
get to touch the altar? (Wenham, 54)
121. What four things did the worshipper do in the
whole burnt
offering (Lev. 1)?
What two things did the priest do in
the
whole burnt offering? Did the
distribution of work
change
if it was a bird? (Wenham, 54)
122. Can you think through the process of offering
a whole burnt
offering (Lev. 1)?
(Wenham, 54)
123. How does Israelite worship differ from our
church worship
services in terms of what the worshipper does and the
priest
(Lev. 1)? (Wenham,
55) Which is more engaging and
involving?
124. What was the purpose of the whole burnt
offering (Lev. 1)?
Why does the Bible not clearly tell us? How can one figure
out
its purpose (cf. Lev. 1:4)? (Wenham, 55)
125. What gender of the animal was specified for
the whole
burnt offering? Why?
(Wenham, 55)
126. Could offerings/sacrifices not be accepted
(cf. Jer. 14:12;
Hos. 8:13; Am. 5:22)? (Wenham, 55)
127. How is God’s smell portrayed in the Old
Testament? In what
contexts and with what significance (cf. Gen. 8:21 et al.)?
(Wenham, 56) How
does sacrifice interact with the anger of God?
128. What does the word atonement mean (Lev. 1)?
(Wenham, 57)
129. What difference in atoning value is there
between the whole burnt
offering and the purification/sin and reparation/guilt
offerings (Lev. 1;
cf.
Lev. 14:20; 16:24)? (Wenham, 57)
130. How did the whole burnt offering function in
contexts outside of
Leviticus (cf. 2 Sam 24:25; Job 1:5; 2 Chr. 29:7-8; Gen.
22; Exod.
18:11f;
1 Kgs. 18:38f)? (Wenham, 57)
131. What does the offering change? Do people still retain a sinful nature?
(Lev. 1)? (Wenham,
57f)
132. Could the whole burnt offering be offered for
things other than
the atonement for sin (Lev. 1; cf. Gen. 22; Exod. 18:11f; 1
Kgs.
18:38f)? (Wenham, 58)
133. In purification kinds of contexts the whole
burnt offering would be
offered with a purification offering suggesting what other
types of
functions (Lev. 1; cf. Lev. 12:6; 14:13, 19; 15:15,
30)? (Wenham, 59)
134. What are the two meanings for atonement
(kipper) does Wenham
observe (Lev. 1)?
(Wenham, 59) Can the whole burnt
offering be
seen as a ransom payment?
How does that differ from its function as
an atonement?
135. How does the notion of
ransom function in ancient Israelite law
(cf. Exod. 21:30; Lev. 20:10) and how is that different
than our
modern use of ransom (Lev. 1)? (Wenham, 60)
136. Do the ideas of atonement and ransom ever
over lap (cf. 2 Sam.
21:3-6;
Num. 25:13; Num. 16-17; Exod. 32:30-35)?
(Wenham, 60)
137. How is kipper (atonement) used in
non-sacrificial contexts (Lev. 1; cf.
Lev. 17:11; Num. 8:10ff)? (Wenham, 61)
138. What does the worshipper’s laying his hands
on the head of the
animal symbolize and in which contexts does it occur (Lev.
1)?
(Wenham, 61f) What
often accompanied the laying on of hands?
139. How are the ideas of identification and
substitution manifest in the
ritual act of the laying on of hands (Lev. 1; cf. Lev.
8:10; 16:21;
24:14)? (Wenham, 62)
140. Wenham repeatedly says that the psalms may
tell us what was “said”
during the sacrifices and thus tip us off to their function
(cf. Ps. 20:4;
40:7; 50:8; 51:21; 66:15)?
Does Psalms really support that connection
between the psalmody of
some examples besides the ones listed. (Wenham, 63)
141. Where is the whole burnt offering associated
with vows and
confessions
of faith (Lev. 1)? (Wenham, 63)
142. While the burnt offering is only mentioned
twice in the New
Testament
(Mk. 12:33; Heb. 10:6ff), Wenham maintains that other
references
refer to its basic functions (cf. Mk. 10:45; Eph. 5:2; 1 Pet.
1:18f;
Heb. 7:27; Heb. 13:15f; 1 Jn 1:7ff).
What do we learn about its
NT
role from these references (Lev. 1)?
(Wenham, 64)
143. What does the whole burnt offering teach us
about Christ’s sacrifice
for us (Lev. 1)?
(Wenham, 65)
144. Does sin have to be cared for before true
worship (Lev. 1)?
(Wenham, 66)
Leviticus 2 Back to Top
145. How do the “if’s” in Lev. 2 structure that
chapter? (Wenham, 67)
146. What two ways is the cereal or grain offering
offered (Lev. 2)?
(Wenham, 67)
147. What two other offerings produce a “soothing
aroma to the Lord”
(Lev. 2)? (Wenham,
67)
148. What is burned up in the cereal/grain
offering and who gets the
portion not burned (Lev. 2)? (Wenham, 67)
149. What ways are described as ways the grain
could be cooked (Lev. 2)?
(Wenham, 68)
150. What could and could not be added to the
grain offering (Lev. 2)?
(Wenham, 68)
151. What did the worshipper do in preparing the
grain/cereal offering?
What did the priest do in offering it up (Lev. 2)? (Wenham, 68)
152. What was the basic function of the
cereal/grain offering (Lev. 2)?
(Wenham, 69)
153. What is the meaning of the term “minhah” that
is used to describe
the cereal/grain offering (Lev. 2)? How is “minhah” used elsewhere
(cf. Judg 3:15, 17f; 2 Sam. 8:6; 1 Kgs 4:2; 10:25; 2 Kgs.
17:3 et al.)?
(Wenham, 69)
154. How does the notion of “tribute” fit the
worshipper offering a
cereal/grain offering to the Lord (Lev. 2)? (Wenham, 69)
155. While cereal/grain offerings often
accompanied other offerings at what
times would it particularly come into focus (Lev. 2)? (Wenham, 69)
156. How was the grain offering described in Num.
5:15 where it was used
in a jealousy ritual different from what is described in
Lev. 2? Why?
What is the significance of oil and frankincense? (Wenham,
70)
157. What did oil represent (Lev. 2; cf. 1 Sam.
10:1, 9ff; 16:13 and Isa.
61:3; Ps. 45:8)?
(Wenham, 70)
158. What role did leaven/yeast have in the
sacrifices (cf. Ex. 12:15; 13:3,
7; 23:18; 34:25; Lev. 23:17, 20)? (Wenham, 71)
159. What was the role of salt in the sacrifices
(Lev. 2:13; cf. Judg. 9:45; 2
Kgs. 2:20-22; Num.
18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5)? (Wenham, 71)
160. Why did the priests and Levites not grow
their own grain? How did
the cereal offering serve the priests and their families
(Lev. 2
cf. 1 Cor. 9:4-7, 13-14)?
(Wenham, 72f)
161. What type of offering is presented in Lk.
17:11-14 and Acts 21:22-26
and what is its significance (Lev. 2)? What was the general
significance of the cereal/grain offering? (Wenham, 72)
Leviticus 3 Back to Top
162. How is chapter 3 structured? (Wenham,
74) What topically
distinguishes the three paragraphs?
163. What formulas are repeated in each paragraph
of the peace offering
(Lev. 3)? (Wenham,
74)
164. What role does the formula “This is a
permanent rule for your
descendants...” play in Leviticus (Lev. 3; cf. 7:36; 10:9;
16:29; 17:7;
23:14, 21, 31, 41; 24:3)?
165. How do the sacrifices relate to the LORD’s
sense of smell (Lev. 3:5,
16; 1:9; 2:2 etc.)?
How do you understand that? Does
God actually
smell the fragrance of the sacrifices?
166. While the peace offering is an optional sacrifice
in what three contexts
were they used (Lev. 3; cf. 7:12ff)? (Wenham, 74)
167. What was unique about who may eat part of the
peace offering
(Lev. 3)? (Wenham, 75)
168. What animal was not seen in the peace
offering but was offered in
the burnt offering (Lev. 3)? Why? (Wenham, 75)
169. What aspects of ritual were shared between
the peace offering and the
burnt offering (Lev. 3)?
(Wenham, 75)
170. What parts of the peace offering did the
priest receive (Lev. 3)?
What was burned up?
(Wenham, 76)
171. Wenham indicates that the “peace” offering is
translated in several
very different manners (Lev. 3). What are several options suggested
and how does that shift the meaning of the sacrifice? Which
suggestion does Wenham favor and why? (Wenham. 76f)
172. What are several of the nuances in the word
Hebrew word shalom
which may impact how one understands the (shelamim=peace
offering)? (Wenham,
77)
173. How does chapter 3’s rendition of the peace
offering compare to
how it is described in ch. 7? (Wenham, 77)
174. What two types of peace offerings are
connected in Ps. 56:13-14
according to Wenham (78;
Lev. 3)? How does he develop his case?
175. How is the peace offering related to Gen. 35
and 1 Sam. 1 (cf. Lev. 3)?
(Wenham, 78)
176. In what ways does the free-will offering
function in other places in
Scripture (Lev. 3; Ex. 35:29; Ezra 1:4; 8:28; Ps. 54:8 (
(Wenham, 79)
177. How did the peace offering function in meal
contexts (Lev. 3;
Deut. 12:12, 18; 27:7; 1 Kgs. 8:66)? (Wenham, 79)
178. How would the following Psalms possibly
function in the peace
offering context (Ps. 100, 26, 50, 54, 107, 116)? (Wenham, 80)
179. What are some possible reasons for the
difference in the burnt offering
burning the whole animal but only part in the peace
offering (Lev. 3)?
(Wenham, 80)
180. Why was the blood and fat not allowed to be
eaten (Lev. 3; cf. 7:22ff;
7:11)? With what was
fat usually associated in the imagery of the Old
Testament? (Wenham, 80)
181. What are the kidneys and entrails or
intestines often associated with
in the Old Testament (Lev. 3; Job 19:27; Ps. 16:7; Jer.
4:14; 12:2)?
Can one take the imagery from one passage and map it into
another?
(Wenham, 80)
182. Wenham objects to God being portrayed as
“eating” the sacrifice based
on Ps. 50:12-13. Is
there anything in Leviticus that would suggest He
does “eat” the sacrifice? (Wenham, 81)
183. When did Paul possibly offer a peace offering
in the NT (Lev. 3;
cf. Acts 21:23-26)?
(Wenham, 82)
Leviticus 4 Back to Top
184. How are the sacrifices in Lev. 1-3 arranged
in a different way than
the sacrifices of Lev. 4-5? (Wenham, 86f)
185. How do each of the sections in chs. 4-5 begin
(Lev. 4:2; 5:1, 15;
21(6:2)) and end (4:35; 5:13; 18, 26 (6:7))? How are the
subordinate paragraphs introduced (Lev. 4:13; 27, 32; 5:7,
11, 17)?
(Wenham, 87)
186. How would you support Wenham’s claim that in
the Purification (Sin)
offering what is burned on the altar is not as significant
as the rite
of the sprinkling of the blood (Lev. 4)? What determined where
the blood was sprinkled?
(Wenham, 88)
187. Wenham argues that allow hatta’t in Hebrew is usually translated
“sin” offering (Lev. 4:3, 14, 23, 23) but that this
offering should be
more carefully designated as the “purification”
offering. How would
you support this nuance (Lev. 4)? (Wenham, 88f)
188. How is purification different from the
violation of sin (cf. burnt
offering) which disrupts the covenant between God and man
and the
relationships between people (Lev. 4)? (Wenham, 89) Why was
purification necessary?
189. What did the
purification offering have in common with other offerings
(Lev. 4)? How was it
different? (Wenham, 90)
190. What does the purification offering tell us
about the structure of
Israelite society (Lev. 4)? (Wenham, 90)
191. In what situations is a purification offering
specified to be offered in
Leviticus (Lev. 4; 12:6; 14:19; 15:15)? (Wenham, 92)
192. Wenham states that the purification offering
was for unwitting or
inadvertent sins and also sins of omission (Lev. 4:2, 13,
22, 27; cf.
5:2, 3, 4; cf. Num 35).
What is the difference? (Wenham,
92)
193. Wenham, quoting Keil, says the sprinkling of
the blood was to protect
the sinner from God’s anger at sin, the fat burned
symbolized the
purification of the human soul from sin and flesh burned
outside the
camp represented the destruction of sin. How would one support or
question these interpretations of the purification offering
(Lev. 4)?
(Wenham, 93) How can
one “surmise” the meanings of ritual
acts in Leviticus?
194. When does the book of Leviticus prescribe the
purification/sin
offering be offered (Lev. 4; 12:8; 14:19; 15:31; 16:19)?
195. Wenham associates the burnt offering as
frequent, most costly and
the principal atoning sacrifice whereas the purification
offering is
less frequent, less costly and dealt with the pollution and
defilement
of sin (Lev. 4). How
would you support this (cf. Deut 21:1-9)?
(Wenham, 95)
196. Can the guilt of one person bring guilt on a
whole nation biblically
(Lev. 4)? (Wenham, 97)
197. How should one understand the “congregation”
in
suggests something like a parliament while others suggest a
judicial
board like the 70 members of the Jewish Sanhedrin and
others that
it refers to the whole nation. Which of these is correct (Lev. 4)?
(Wenham, 98)
198. Why was the sin of a tribal leader not as
serious as the sin of the
high priest (Lev. 4)?
How is that indicated in the purification/sin
offering? (Wenham,
99)
199. How
does the reference to the “tribal leaders” show Leviticus may
antedate the monarchy of
(Wenham, 99) When
does this term “tribal leader” function in
200. Where else is the “tribal leader” described
in Scripture
(Lev. 4; cf. Ezk. 44:3; 45:7, 22; Ex. 22:27)? (Wenham, 100)
201. Why was the purification/sin offering for the
priest/leader
more expensive than that of the ordinary person (Lev. 4)?
(Wenham, 100)
Leviticus 5 Back to Top
202. To what does the phrase “bear his iniquity”
refer (Lev. 5)?
(Wenham, 100)
203. Both the burnt offering and the purification
offering were offered
for an offence. What
role did each play in the atonement process
(Lev. 5)? (Wenham, 101)
204. How would you support or refute Wenham’s
statement that the
purification offering was for cleansing the pollution of
sin
so that God’s presence could continue among His people
(Lev.
5)? (Wenham, 101)
205. How is Christ’s blood
related to the cleansing process (Lev. 5;
1 Pet. 1:2, 1 Jn. 1:7; Rev. 7:14; Heb. 9:12-13;
10:19-22)?
(Wenham,
101f)
206. The animal was burned outside the camp. How does the New
Testament
connect that with Jesus’ death (Lev. 5; Heb. 13:10-16)?
(Wenham,
102)
207. How does the NT also reinforce the idea of
the greater responsibility
of leaders (Lev. 5; Lk. 12:48;
208. How do you understand the nature and impact
of unintentional
sin (Lev. 4-5)?
(Wenham, 103)
209. How is the notion of confession shared by
both testaments
(Lev. 5:5f; NT)?
(Wenham, 103)
210. Was a bird ever offered
as a reparation/guilt offering (Lev. 5:7)?
(Wenham, 104) If not,
how should Lev. 5:7 be translated?
211. What is the relationship between the
sin/purification offering
and the guilt/reparation offering (Lev. 4-5)? (Wenham,
104f)
How did the ritual and circumstances differ under which
each
was offered?
212. What kind of animals could be offered as a
reparation/guilt
offering (Lev. 5:14ff)?
How is that different from the purification/sin
offering? (Wenham, 105)
213. How would you defend or object to Wenham’s
statement that in the
reparation/guilt offering, the value of the animal not the
procedure at
the altar, was the most important thing (Lev. 5)? (Wenham, 105)
214. For what kinds of
offences was the guilt/reparation offering made
(Lev. 5; 14:10ff; 19:20-22; Num. 5;6-10; 6:9-12; Num.
31:16; Ezk.
20:27;
Ezra 10:2, 10; Josh. 7:1; 2 Chr. 26:16, 18)?
(Wenham, 106)
215. Wenham says the reparation/guilt offering is
made for inadvertantly
violating the Lord’s sacred property. How is that supported (Lev.
22:14)? (Wenham, 106)
216. What does Lev. 5:15, 18, 25 which says, that
the ram must be
convertible into silver shekels, mean? How is Speiser’s
suggestion
that it is either a ram or silver is offered supported?
(Wenham, 107)
217. What is a sanctuary shekel (Lev. 5:15)?
(Wenham, 107)
218. How do you respond to Wenham’s statement that
the reparation/guilt
offering “served to pacify oversensitive Israelite
consciences”?
(Wenham, 108)
219. How does the 20% restitution compare with
other passages where
offences are repaid (cf. Ex. 22:6ff)? (Wenham, 109)
220. What two main offences was the
reparation/guilt offering made for
(Lev. 5)? (Wenham,
109)
221. How does the reparation/guilt offering
function for the Nazarites
(Lev. 5; Num. 6:9-12)? (Wenham, 110) How does it relate to
the leper (Lev. 14:12)?
222. How does the suffering servant of Isa.
53:5-10 (vs. 10 is a reference
to
the reparation/guilt offering) relate to the
reparation/guilt offering of Lev. 5? (Wenham, 110)
223. How do the concepts of substitutionary
atonement and reparation
relate in the sacrificial system (Lev. 5)? (Wenham, 111)
224. How would you support or critique Wenham’s
summary that:
burnt
offering brings reconciliation, the purification/sin offering
brings
purification from the stain of sin, and the reparation/guilt
brings
satisfaction through the paying for sin?
(Wenham, 111)
225. In how many different ways does sin affect us
and our relationship
with God and others as evidenced in the sacrificial system
(Lev. 5)?
(Wenham, 111)
226. How does the New Testament apply the
sacrifices to Jesus through
Isa. 53 (cf. John 12:38;
22:37)? (Wenham,
111)
227. Why must God be compensated for sin as a debt
in the reparation/
guilt offering (Lev. 5)?
(Wenham, 112)
228. Are we expected to make amends for sin before
receiving forgiveness
as the reparation/guilt offering implies (Lev. 5; cf. Mat.
6:12; 5:23f
Lk.
19:8f)? (Wenham, 112)
Leviticus 6 Back to Top
229. What is the structure (9 paragraphs) of
Leviticus 6-7? Why is there a
repetition of the same sacrifices? What opening formulas
are used in
several
of these paragraph divisions? (Wenham, 116)
230. Wenham says the theme of ch. 6-7 is the
eating of sacrificial meat.
How could that be supported or countered? (Wenham, 116)
231. Wenham suggests, following Hoffmann, that
Lev. 6-7 follows from
and is connected to the story in Exod. 29: How do the two passages
link? Is it a
salient point that Lev. 1 (chs. 1-5) are revealed in the