The book in the Pentateuch that I choose to write on is Leviticus. This is the third book of the Bible in the Old Testament, and was originally called the Third Book of Moses. It is easy to assume that the genre for book of Leviticus to be law, but it is in fact a book detailing the history of the Israelites the first year after the exodus. The authorship for this book is not specifically named but is strongly inferred to be Moses, due to the original title and the fact that throughout the book of Leviticus it mentions “The Lord said to Moses” (Elwell 1327).
Most scholars are in agreement that the book of Leviticus was not written as soon as it was given to Moses. Up until the 1800’s, it was widely accepted that the authorship was Moses. However, during the time of the enlightenment, “new critical theories about the origins of the Pentateuch” began to circulate which brought about several differing opinions regarding the authorship and the dating of the Pentateuch (Arnold 44). None of these theories, however, are able to hold up against deeper investigation. Elwell shows us that in Leviticus 1:1, God gave some of the laws to …show more content…
All of the laws that are written in Leviticus are part of this covenant. “These are the statutes and ordinances and laws that the Lord established between himself and the people of Israel on Mount Sinai through Moses” (26:46 NRSV). It provided,for the people of Israel, the ability to have a personal relationship with God. The Lord became their king and they became His people; they were set apart from all the others in the world. This Covenant was based on and provided for them purely by God’s grace and His promise to Abraham. God also proved His faithfulness to Abraham when He freed them from the bondage of Egyptian slavery. The only requirement that God had for His people in return, was to show their gratitude for salvation was by keeping the Law (Elwell