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Tyndale Old Testament Commentary
Leviticus
Levitical rules and regulations regarding blood and sacrifice, offerings and priests, cleanness and uncleanness at first appear irrelevant to twentieth century Christians. Yet large portions of the New Testament can hardly be understood at all apart from some understanding of these Old Testament concepts. What does it mean for believers to be a royal priesthood? A holy nation? For Christ to be our great high priest? Our passover lamb? R.K. Harrison illuminates these ideas within their Old Testament context, thus providing the needed background for their New Testament development. The original, unrevised text of this volume has been completely retypeset and printed in a larger, more attractive format with the new cover design for the series.
254 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 1, 2019
I mentioned to a fine Christian lady, who is a member of my tiny Sunday school class, that I was reading a commentary on Leviticus. "Why aren't going to study Leviticus in class are we?" she asked somewhat horrified. I assured her we weren't. I felt the same way many times during my own reading.
It is very difficult to create a helpful or even a readable commentary on Leviticus. Dr. Harrison has made a fine effort that falls a bit short of unqualified success. The volume is in some ways explanatory rather than expository and glosses over difficult passages with an idea that we should just trust the biblical account.
The introduction is a solid if slightly simplistic conservative rebuttal of various forms of criticism to which the Pentateuch and its third book have been subjected by critics for the last few centuries. The meat of the book is the first half where the author does a fine job of explaining the various sacrifices in language even a layman can understand. He also ties the text to the New Testament which is a solid teaching principle for a Christian work, but here it seems a bit forced and sometimes repetitive. For a student with little knowledge of the Jewish sacrificial rituals this is a helpful section indeed.
The Laws that generally form the second half of the book are also explained but in a way that is often merely a slight rewording of the text followed by simplistic comment or two and a repeat of an already worn link to the New Covenant. Again the idea is solid, but it would have been twice as effective if done half as often. To be fair there are some later chapters that are more informative, but most often they simply have pat answers that avoid the actual questions a learner would ask.
As a part of a commentary series, this is a volume worth reading. It would be tough to recommend it as a stand alone volume when better choices seem to be available. If you already possess the Tyndale series or have access to it in a library and have limited knowledge of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, the commentary on the first half of the book is quite instructive.
It is very difficult to create a helpful or even a readable commentary on Leviticus. Dr. Harrison has made a fine effort that falls a bit short of unqualified success. The volume is in some ways explanatory rather than expository and glosses over difficult passages with an idea that we should just trust the biblical account.
The introduction is a solid if slightly simplistic conservative rebuttal of various forms of criticism to which the Pentateuch and its third book have been subjected by critics for the last few centuries. The meat of the book is the first half where the author does a fine job of explaining the various sacrifices in language even a layman can understand. He also ties the text to the New Testament which is a solid teaching principle for a Christian work, but here it seems a bit forced and sometimes repetitive. For a student with little knowledge of the Jewish sacrificial rituals this is a helpful section indeed.
The Laws that generally form the second half of the book are also explained but in a way that is often merely a slight rewording of the text followed by simplistic comment or two and a repeat of an already worn link to the New Covenant. Again the idea is solid, but it would have been twice as effective if done half as often. To be fair there are some later chapters that are more informative, but most often they simply have pat answers that avoid the actual questions a learner would ask.
As a part of a commentary series, this is a volume worth reading. It would be tough to recommend it as a stand alone volume when better choices seem to be available. If you already possess the Tyndale series or have access to it in a library and have limited knowledge of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, the commentary on the first half of the book is quite instructive.
April 23, 2022
Pity the Bible scholar who has to write a commentary on the book of Leviticus. I mean, this is the book that sinks everyone's plan to read through the Bible in a year: The weirdly specific descriptions of sacrifices; the careful explanations of priests duties; the long chapters of instruction on what Israelites could eat and what they must avoid, how they were to cleanse themselves after becoming ceremonially unclean, etc. It's enough to do in, even the most diligent Bible student. What relevance could this have for your normal, everyday Christian in America in the 20th century?
A lot as it turns out. You simply cannot understand the New Testament, if you don't have a basic grasp of Leviticus. Why does John call Jesus "the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world?" Why does Paul instruct Christians to "present your bodies a living sacrifice?" You won't understand if you don't understand Leviticus.
Mr. Harrison does a good job of handling the text, but not getting too bogged down in details. He does an excellent job of pointing forwards to the New Testament (and contemporary Christianity) again and again where it is relevant in the text, and surprisingly, as one reads the commentary, one discovers that there is much relevant here to understand not only the New Testament, but our own approach to the Christian faith.
Leviticus is a tough book to crack, but well worth the effort.
A lot as it turns out. You simply cannot understand the New Testament, if you don't have a basic grasp of Leviticus. Why does John call Jesus "the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world?" Why does Paul instruct Christians to "present your bodies a living sacrifice?" You won't understand if you don't understand Leviticus.
Mr. Harrison does a good job of handling the text, but not getting too bogged down in details. He does an excellent job of pointing forwards to the New Testament (and contemporary Christianity) again and again where it is relevant in the text, and surprisingly, as one reads the commentary, one discovers that there is much relevant here to understand not only the New Testament, but our own approach to the Christian faith.
Leviticus is a tough book to crack, but well worth the effort.
August 6, 2020
Helpful, concise commentary on Leviticus. This series does a good job cutting to the heart of the issue and never being overly burdensome to read. A helpful tool in understanding this complex book.
4/5
4/5
September 20, 2023
Helpful intro to the fascinating though sometimes repetitive book of Leviticus. Not sure I'm with Harrison in his reasoning for some of the cleanliness laws.
March 8, 2014
Excellent volume from the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series. As I make my way through the Bible in a year, I am not simply working through the scripture text but I am also reading associated notes and commentary. R. K. Harrison's "Leviticus" was on the shelf so I thought I would use it as a companion through a biblical book that is notoriously thought of us as dull, plodding, and irrelevant. I was not disappointed.
A lengthy Introduction explains the title, nature, authorship, dating, purpose, theology, and more of the third book of the Torah, thus preparing the reader well for the actual text. The commentary explains in significant detail the context, history, and culture (Jewish and otherwise) of the times. The importance of rituals for purposes of hygiene and overall health, anticipating much later understanding of the contraction and spread of disease is fascinating and enlightening. Details about fauna and flora are also interesting. All of this shows the author's interest in the scientific basis for the many laws in Leviticus.
All of this is done in light of the New Testament. The reader will find very few pages go by until Christ is mentioned once again. Seeing how the Old is fulfilled in the New (including practical application to us today) should be a joy to Christian readers and certainly does not take away from the impressive historical and scientific scholarship found here.
The book concludes with two appendices (no explanation as to why the author felt compelled to include these): a translation of Lev 13 and "Sex and its theology" that focuses on male and female differences and homosexuality.
This book deepened my understanding and appreciation of a particularly challenging book of the Bible. Highly recommended for anyone, but especially those who have grudgingly worked their way through Leviticus in the past with little understanding of it or those who have avoided it entirely due to its reputation. Remember, it is the Word of God which, in the words of "Dei Verbum," "remain[s] permanently valuable" (no. 14) Don't miss out on any part of it.
A lengthy Introduction explains the title, nature, authorship, dating, purpose, theology, and more of the third book of the Torah, thus preparing the reader well for the actual text. The commentary explains in significant detail the context, history, and culture (Jewish and otherwise) of the times. The importance of rituals for purposes of hygiene and overall health, anticipating much later understanding of the contraction and spread of disease is fascinating and enlightening. Details about fauna and flora are also interesting. All of this shows the author's interest in the scientific basis for the many laws in Leviticus.
All of this is done in light of the New Testament. The reader will find very few pages go by until Christ is mentioned once again. Seeing how the Old is fulfilled in the New (including practical application to us today) should be a joy to Christian readers and certainly does not take away from the impressive historical and scientific scholarship found here.
The book concludes with two appendices (no explanation as to why the author felt compelled to include these): a translation of Lev 13 and "Sex and its theology" that focuses on male and female differences and homosexuality.
This book deepened my understanding and appreciation of a particularly challenging book of the Bible. Highly recommended for anyone, but especially those who have grudgingly worked their way through Leviticus in the past with little understanding of it or those who have avoided it entirely due to its reputation. Remember, it is the Word of God which, in the words of "Dei Verbum," "remain[s] permanently valuable" (no. 14) Don't miss out on any part of it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews