BYU Studies Logo

Holiness to the Lord

Exodus 35–40, Leviticus 1, Leviticus 4, Leviticus 16, Leviticus 19

April 27, 2026, to May 3, 2026

These chapters in Exodus and Leviticus show how the Lord taught Israel to worship Him through obedience, sacrifice, and holiness. As the tabernacle was built and dedicated, God dwelt among His people, and the laws of sacrifice and the Day of Atonement taught that forgiveness and closeness to God come through obedience, repentance, and sacred covenant.

Exodus 35

Exodus 36

Exodus 37

Exodus 38

Exodus 39

Exodus 40

Leviticus 1

From the Hand of Jacob: A Ritual Analysis of Genesis 27

David E. Bokovoy

Studies in the Bible and Antiquity 1 (2009)

“Genesis 27 is a story that depicts a series of ancient ritual performances. The narrative recounts the time when Jacob, the son of Isaac, received his father’s blessing by means of an act of deception. As an account that contains explicit examples of performances designed to set the activities apart from other less sacred occurrences, the blessing story in Genesis 27 contains features of what scholars refer to as ‘ritualization’ in narrative. Ritualization can be defined as actions designed to distinguish and privilege what is being done in comparison to other, usually more commonplace, activities. Ritualization can assist those of a lesser status in accomplishing their objectives that stand in opposition to the desires of the powerful. When read as ritualization in narrative, Genesis 27 can be interpreted as an account that portrays the use of ancient temple and sacrificial imagery in order to secure a sacred blessing.”

Leviticus 4

Sacred Books: The Canon of the Hebrew Bible at the End of the First Century

Robert L. Maxwell

BYU Studies 36, no. 3 (Invalid Date)

This article reviews the history of the texts that the Jews considered sacred. “When the Israelites were allowed to return to Jerusalem, Ezra, who himself had studied and observed the law of the Lord (Ezra 7:10), had to formally initiate a covenant between Israel and the Lord to obey the law, thus recanonizing these writings (see especially Neh. 9–10). The book of Nehemiah records that Ezra brings the book of the law of Moses out to show the people and reads it to them; he then has the priests explain it to them (probably because the law itself is written in Hebrew, while by that time the people speak Aramaic). The people weep to hear the law; they study it thoroughly and as a result reinstitute the Festival of the Booths, which, though prescribed in the scriptures, has not been practiced since the time of Joshua (Neh. 8:1–17)! All this implies that before Ezra’s action there was little or no knowledge of the law among the general Israelite populace and that there had not been for a ve

Leviticus 16

Leviticus 19

Previous Lesson
Next Lesson