Leviticus Chapter 24 — The Holy Lamps and the Bread of the Presence
Leviticus 24 outlines the care for the Tabernacle's lampstand and bread of the presence, and details a legal case involving blasphemy and the law of retaliation.
1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2“Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
3Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD continually. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
4He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before the LORD continually.
5“You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah*1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel shall be in one cake.
6You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before the LORD.
7You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to the LORD.
8Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before the LORD continually. It is an everlasting covenant on the behalf of the children of Israel.
9It shall be for Aaron and his sons. They shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.”
10The son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and the son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp.
11The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
12They put him in custody until the LORD’s will should be declared to them.
13The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
14“Bring him who cursed out of the camp; and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
15You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.
16He who blasphemes the LORD’s name, he shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him. The foreigner as well as the native-born shall be put to death when he blasphemes the Name.
17“ ‘He who strikes any man mortally shall surely be put to death.
18He who strikes an animal mortally shall make it good, life for life.
19If anyone injures his neighbor, it shall be done to him as he has done:
20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. It shall be done to him as he has injured someone.
21He who kills an animal shall make it good; and he who kills a man shall be put to death.
22You shall have one kind of law for the foreigner as well as the native-born; for I am the LORD your God.’ ”
23Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they brought him who had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones. The children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.
WEB Translation
Notable Verses
Leviticus 24:2
“Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.”
This verse emphasizes the importance of maintaining a constant light within the holy place as a symbol of God's presence.
Leviticus 24:20
“fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. It shall be done to him as he has injured someone.”
This is the classic expression of proportional justice, ensuring that punishments are fair and fit the crime.
Leviticus 24:22
“You shall have one kind of law for the foreigner as well as the native-born; for I am the LORD your God.”
This highlights the biblical principle of impartial justice and legal equality for all people within the community.
Chapter Summary
Leviticus 24 begins with instructions regarding the maintenance of the Tabernacle. The Israelites are commanded to provide pure olive oil to keep the golden lampstand burning continually from evening to morning. Additionally, twelve cakes of fine flour are to be baked and set in two rows on the golden table every Sabbath as a perpetual memorial. The chapter then shifts to a narrative account involving the son of Shelomith, who blasphemed the Name of the Lord during a fight. While the man was held in custody, the Lord revealed that blasphemy is a capital offense for both the native-born and the foreigner. This incident leads to a restatement of the 'lex talionis' principle, asserting that justice must be proportional: life for life, and eye for eye. The chapter concludes with the execution of the blasphemer as commanded by the Lord to Moses, reinforcing the standard of legal equality for all residents in the camp.
Frequently Asked Questions
These twelve cakes, often called the Showbread or Bread of the Presence, represented the twelve tribes of Israel. They were arranged in two rows on a gold table and replaced every Sabbath, with the old bread being eaten by Aaron and his sons in a holy place.
The man, whose mother was Shelomith and father was an Egyptian, was taken into custody after blaspheming during a struggle. By the command of the Lord, he was taken outside the camp and stoned to death by the congregation.
This principle, known as lex talionis, established that a person should receive a punishment equivalent to the injury they inflicted. It was intended to limit personal vengeance and ensure that the legal penalty was not excessive.
No, Leviticus 24 explicitly states that there was to be one single law for both the foreigner and the native-born citizen regarding crimes like blasphemy and physical injury.
Study Note
The use of the phrase 'The Name' in verse 11 signifies the extreme reverence given to the Tetragrammaton, which became a standard substitution in later Jewish tradition to avoid speaking God's name aloud.
Related Chapters
Exodus Chapter 25
This chapter provides the original design and construction details for the lampstand and table mentioned here.
Exodus Chapter 21
This chapter contains earlier legislation regarding personal injuries and the principle of restitution.
Matthew Chapter 5
Jesus references the 'eye for an eye' law from Leviticus in His Sermon on the Mount.
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