The Book of Leviticus (New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT)) [Hardcover] Wenham, Gordon J.

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Product Overview

• Book Title: The Book of Leviticus
• Author: Leviticus
• Language: English

Leviticus used to be the first book that Jewish children studied in the
synagogue. In the modern church it tends to be the last part of the Bible that
anyone looks at seriously. Because Leviticus is largely concerned with
subjects that seem incomprehensible and irrelevant today — rituals for
sacrifice and regulations concerning uncleanness — it appears to have nothing
to say to twenty-first-century Christians. In this excellent commentary on
Leviticus, Gordon Wenham takes with equal seriousness both the plain original
meaning of the text and its abiding theological value. To aid in
reconstructing the original meaning of the text, Wenham draws from studies of
Old Testament ritual and sacrifice that compare and contrast biblical customs
with the practices of other Near Eastern cultures. He also closely examines
the work of social anthropologists and expertly utilizes the methods of
literary criticism to bring out the biblical author’s special interests. In
pursuit of his second aim, to illumine the enduring theological value of
Leviticus, Wenham discusses at the end of each section how the Old Testament
passages relate to the New Testament and to contemporary Christianity. In
doing so, he not only shows how pervasive Levitical ideas are in the New
Testament but also highlights in very practical ways the enduring claim of
God’s call to holiness on the lives of Christians today. Read more Read less