Leviticus (Summary)
21 Aug 2026 - Theology
Leviticus (Summary)
Who Wrote Leviticus?
As we have seen, the book of Leviticus is not a simple book. Almost all of the laws in it come from priests or speak to priests. Looking back over our study of the book, we noticed that many portions seemed to be out of order. We can assume that the P-teller was not one priest, but many priests (many P-tellers) who collected these sets of laws at different times and places. Some groups of laws are probably hundreds of years older than others. In the end, though, someone (a final editor, possibly Moses) put it all together in one book.
The authorship of the Torah is heavily debated amongst scholars. The traditional Christian view is that Moses is the author of the entire Torah. Other scholars use what is called the Documentary Hypothesis to explain the origins and composition of the Torah. The documentary hypothesis is not just one theory, rather there are multiple theories that are considered versions of the documentary hypothesis. Proponents for the documentary hypothesis usually argue in favor of four sources for the Torah: the J, E, P, and D sources. See Additional Resources below for more on the Documentary Hypothesis.
There is evidence both for and against the documentary hypothesis (or versions of it), so I will not attempt to argue for or against it here. Rather, I will argue that whether Leviticus (and the whole Torah) was written by Moses or other sources does not change its truthfulness or the mark of God’s design.
Takeaways
Takeaways:
- All believers are of Israel, and are called to be priests. Our roles as priests are to put God on display, help people navigate their atonement, intercede on behalf of others, and distribute resources to those in need.
- The whole point of the Torah, and of Leviticus, is to show how the High Priest atones for the sins of the people.
- It is God who writes the laws, and it is the job of us the priests to comunicate them to the rest of the world. The priests are not the ones who decide what is holy or unholy, what is clean or unclean.
Additional Resources
Resources: