¬d¸g¸ê®Æ¤j¥þ

 

| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index |

 

Introduction to Leviticus

 

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS

This book is commonly called by the Jews Vajikra from the first word with which it begins and sometimes תורת כהנים "the law of the priests"F1T. Bab. Sanhedrin fol. 103. 2. ; and this is its name in the Syriac and Arabic versions: by the Septuagint interpreters it is called £f£`£o£d£n£d£e£j£h and by the Latins Leviticus or the Levitical book because it gives an account of the Levitical priesthood as the apostle calls it Hebrews 7:11. It treats of the sacrifices under the Levitical dispensation and of the priests concerned in them and of the times and seasons in which they were offered and of many other rites and ceremonies. That it was wrote by Moses is not only generally believed by the Jews but is affirmed in the New Testament; see Matthew 8:4 compared with Leviticus 14:2 from whence as well as from other citations out of it in other places the authority of it may be concluded. The matter of it was delivered to Moses and very likely by him then written upon the erection of the tabernacle which was in the second year of the Israelites coming out of Egypt in the first month and the first day of the month Exodus 40:17 and it was on the same day that the Lord spake to Moses out of it and delivered to him the laws concerning sacrifices recorded in the first seven chapters; see Numbers 1:1 compared with Leviticus 1:1 and on the eighth day of the same month and some following days the remainder of it was given to him and written by him see Leviticus 8:1 to which agrees the Targum of Jonathan on Leviticus 1:1.

"when Moses had made an end of erecting the tabernacle Moses thought and reasoned in his heart and said Mount Sinai its excellency was the excellency of an hour and its holiness the holiness of three days it was not possible for me to ascend unto it until the time that the Word was speaking with me; but this tabernacle of the congregation its excellency is an excellency for ever and its holiness an holiness for ever it is fit that I should not enter into it until the time that be speaks with me from before the Lord; and therefore the Word of the Lord called to Moses and the Word of the Lord spake with him out of the tabernacle of the congregation saying;'

and to the same purpose the Jerusalem Targum. It was written in the year from the creation of the world 2514 and about 1490 years before the coming of Christ. The various sacrifices rites and ceremonies made mention of in it were typical of Christ and shadows of good things to come by him: there are many things in it which give great light to several passages in the New Testament and it is worthy of diligent reading and consideration.

 

¢w¢w¡mJohn Gill¡¦s Exposition of the Bible¡n

 

New King James Version Bible NKJV

The NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers. One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars church leaders and lay Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and grammar of the King James Version while preserving the classic style of the of the 1611 version.

The task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order grammar vocabulary and spelling. One of the most significant features of the NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou" "thee" "ye " "thy " and "thine." Verb forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example "speaks" rather than "speaketh").

 

Young¡¦s Literal Translation (YLT)

Young¡¦s Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young who also compiled Young¡¦s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as published by Baker Book House Grand Rapids Michigan. Obvious errors in spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.

 

Commentator

John Gill (November 23 1697-October 14 1771) was an English Baptist a biblical scholar and a staunch Calvinist. Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.

He was born in Kettering Northamptonshire. In his youth he attended Kettering Grammar School mastering the Latin classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow Gill throughout his life.

At the age of about twelve Gill heard a sermon from his pastor William Wallis on the text "And the Lord called unto Adam and said unto him where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost nineteen years of age.

His first pastoral work was as an intern assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel Horsleydown Southwark in 1719. In 1757 his congregation needed larger premises and moved to a Carter Lane St. Olave's Street Southwark. His pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.

During Gill's ministry the church strongly supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.

In 1748 Gill was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar and a prolific author. His most important works are:

John Gill is the first major writing Baptist theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century. Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist which would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself which would make him merely a precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.