Copyright
© 1999 by William D. Barrick. Cited with permission.
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26
William D. Barrick, Th. D.
Professor
of OT
The
Master's Seminary
At the outset
of this paper I wish to draw attention to its incompleteness and imperfections.
Many factors
have contributed to this condition, not the
least of which was the flooding of our household in the week
prior to ETS. The reader will note that there
is no formal conclusion. This paper is presented as a work in
progress intended to incite its author and its
readers to a more extensive study of Leviticus 26 and its
eschatological significance.
The Book of Leviticus is not noted for its
eschatological content. Its theological
focus is on holiness.1 As the people of
God, the Israelites were called to holiness in their
worship and in their daily living. Chapters 1--7
present the elements of a sacrificial
system providing for an outward manifestation of
individual and corporate covenant
communion. The chief purpose of the sacrificial
system was to exhibit continual
fellowship between the people of the covenant and
the God of the covenant.
Chapters 8-10 define the priestly ministry. The
priests were the caretakers of the
covenant relationship exhibited in the
sacrificial system. Chapters 11-15 describe the
purity Yahweh required of His people in order that
surrounding nations might recognize
distinct from neighboring nations. Chapter 16
reveals that the Day of Atonement
provided the community with an annual renewal of
the covenant. That day highlighted
the sovereign rule of Yahweh over the nation of
covenanted people by granting them His continued
presence among them (16:16; cf. vv.
1-2).
Chapters 17-24 prescribe in detail the
ordinances by which the covenant
community was bound. This legislation affected
their diet, social relationships, religious
leadership, calendar, and center of worship. The
calendar (chapter 23) focused on the
seventh month with its three major observances
(vv. 23-43). Eschatological overtones in
the realm of kingship and kingdom were especially
prominent in the New Year
celebration (also known as the Feast of Trumpets,
vv. 23-25).2
Chapters 25 and 26 emphasize the
monotheistic and sabbatical principles that were
the two great supporting pillars of the Sinaitic Covenant (cf. 25:55-26:3 and Exod
20:2-
11).
Gerstenberger admits that Isaiah 61:1-2 together with
Luke 4:16-21 suggests that
Leviticus
25 should be read eschatologically. He himself,
however, found nothing
1 Philip J. Budd, Leviticus, New Century Bible Commentary (
Publishing
Company, 1996), 34.
2 For arguments against connecting the Old
Testament New Year festival to an enthronement festival, cf.
Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 2 vols. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Company, 1965), 2:502-6. See,
also, Norman H. Snaith,
The Jewish New Year Festival: Its Origin
and Development (
Promoting
Christian Knowledge, 1947).
1
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 2
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eschatological in the Levitical instruction concerning the year of Jubilee.3
On the other
hand, Gordon Wenham correctly connected Christ's
quotation of Isaiah 61:1 with
Leviticus 25. rOrD; ("release")
in Isaiah 61:1 is the same term employed in Leviticus
25:10.
It seems quite likely, therefore, that
the prophetic description of the "acceptable year
of the
Lord" was partly inspired by the idea of the jubilee year. The messianic
age
brings liberty
to the oppressed and release to the captives....
... The jubilee, then, not only looks
back to God's first redemption of his people from
heavens and a
new earth in which righteousness dwells" (Acts 3:21; 2 Pet. 3:13).4
The
twenty-sixth chapter of Leviticus has been the threefold victim of perpetual
neglect: (1) In the synagogue it has been
avoided because of its unpleasant subject
matter.5
(2) In commentaries (past and present, Jewish and
Christian) it has been given
sketchy treatment. (3) In materials dedicated to
the concept of covenant in the Old
Testament
its covenant affinities are rarely discussed. Occasional references, however,
demonstrate that some biblical scholars are aware of
its significance in the realm of
covenantal studies. Thirty-five years ago Delbert
Hillers placed this section of the Torah
on a par with Deuteronomy 28:
In the first place, the prophets did
employ much traditional material in composing
their threats of
doom. This is not a new idea by any means, but it is worth pointing
out that the
parallels gathered here fully support it. Secondly, this inherited material
in the prophets
is related to the Israelite tradition of curses as preserved in Deut 28
and Lev 26.6
The many similarities between Leviticus 26 and
Deuteronomy 28 catapults the
former pericope into the
same sphere of significance as the latter. Meredith Kline
tantalizingly suggested that the
curses of Deuteronomy 28 were "anticipated in the
promises and threats ... in Leviticus (chap.
26)."7 Assuming Mosaic authorship for both
pericopes, it is perfectly
consistent with the composition of the Pentateuch to assume that
Leviticus
26 was written prior to Deuteronomy 28. It could be argued, therefore, that the
latter passage is an exposition of the former.
Leviticus 26 consists of parenetic
revelation given at Sinai on the threshold of
of the apparent tension with the Abrahamic Covenant created by the promulgation of the
Mosaic
Covenant. After three disturbing apostasies at Sinai, Leviticus 26 explained
the
relationship between the two
covenants and reemphasized the exclusive lordship of
3 Erhard S. Gerstenberger,
Leviticus: A Commentary, The Old Testament Library, trans. Douglas W. Stott
(Louisville,
Ken.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), 398.
4
Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus, The New
International Commentary on the Old Testament,
ed. R. K. Harrison (Grand Rapids: William
B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979), 324. See, also,
the
extensive discussion of the eschatological
implications of Jubilee in John E. Hartley, Leviticus,
vol. 4 in
Word Biblical
Commentary (Dallas, Tex.: Word Books, Publisher, 1992), 446-48.
5 Bernard J. Bamberger, Leviticus, vol. 3 of The Torah: A Modern
Commentary, 5 vols. (
of American Hebrew Congregations, 1979),
290.
6
Delbert R. Hillers, Treaty-Curses and the
Old Testament Prophets, Biblica et Orientalia 16 (
Pontifical
Biblical Institute, 1964), 78.
7 Meredith G. Kline, Treaty of the Great King: The Covenant Structure of Deuteronomy:
Studies and
Commentary (
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 3
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Yahweh. The chapter revealed that the Mosaic
Covenant had not nullified the
eschatological promises of the Abrahamic Covenant. Paul's teaching in Galatians 3:17
was anticipated by Leviticus 26 fifteen centuries
earlier.
The blessings and curses in the chapter advance
the respective emphases of the
Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants. The blessings are
directly related to the Abrahamic
Covenant's eschatological promises regarding
land and blessing.
The cursings
represented the Mosaic Covenant's five-stage process
designed to produce confession of
guilt, humility, and restitution--elements that
anticipated the New Covenant and its
eschatological elements. The element
of restitution involved the sabbatical principle so
central to both the Mosaic Covenant and
Leviticus 26. Indeed, the sabbatical principle is
itself eschatologically
significant. The Land-Giver and Exodus-Causer will always be
loyal to His covenants and to His covenanted people.
He is Lord of both space (the land)
and time (the sabbaths).
Yahweh's future loyalty and work on behalf of
described by the Old Testament prophets. Along
with Deuteronomy 27-28, Leviticus 26
anchored prophetic revelation's concepts of
covenant.
Yahweh
continues to be presented as the only deity, the sole Lord of all that exists.
In
particular the
Lord remains the God who has created, blessed, sustained and judged
The covenant principles found in the Law lead
the prophets to approve or
denounce the chosen nation's activities during
their own lifetimes. The covenant
blessings and consequences announced in Leviticus
26 and Deuteronomy 27-28
help the prophets assess
the Lord has not finished with sinful
so again, as Deuteronomy 30:1-10 indicates.8
An Outline of Leviticus 26
The following outline represents the contents of
this significant chapter. The bulk
of this paper's discussion will be in the third
major division regarding penalty (26:14-45),
especially the consequence of deportation or exile
(vv. 27-38) and the contingency for
repentance (vv. 39-45).
I. Precept (26:1-2)
A. Prohibition
of Idols (v. 1)
B. Preservation
of Sabbaths and Sanctuary (v. 2)
1. The Sabbath Observance (v. 2a)
2. The Sanctuary Reverence (v. 2b)
II. Promise (26:3-13)
A. The
Prerequisite: Obedience: (v. 3)
B. The
Product: Blessing (vv. 4-12)
1. Productivity (vv. 4-5)
2. Peace (v. 6)
3. Power (vv. 7-8)
4. Population (v. 9)
8 Paul R. House, Old Testament Theology (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity
Press, 1998), 398.
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Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 4
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5. Provision (v. 10)
6. Presence (vv. I1-12)
C. The
Premise: Yahweh's Salvation (v. 13)
III. Penalty (26:14-45)
A. The
Cause: Disobedience (vv. 14-15)
B. The
Consequence: Retribution (vv. 16-38)
1. Debilitation and Defeat (vv. 16-17)
2. Drought (vv. 18-20)
3. Devastation by Wild Beasts (vv. 21-22)
4. Deprivation by Siege (vv. 23-26)
5. Deportation (vv. 27-38)
a. Introduction (vv. 27-28)
b. Dehumanization--Cannibalism (v. 29)
c. Desolation (vv. 30-32)
d. Dispersion -Exile (v. 33)
e. Desertion of the Land (vv. 34-38)
(1) The Sabbath Rest (vv. 34-35)
(2) The Stricken Remnant (vv. 36-38)
C. The
Contingency: Repentance (vv. 39-45)
1. Repentance:
2. Remembrance: Yahweh's Acceptance of
Repentance (v. 42)
3. Repetition: A Summary Concerning
Retribution (v. 43)
4. Reaffirmation: Yahweh's Promise to the
Exiles (vv. 44-45)
Retributive
Dispersion/Exile (Lev 26:33)
The emphatic preverbal position of the direct
object in the disjunctive clause
presents the adversative: "but I shall
disperse (hr,zAx< Piel)
you (Mk,t;x,v;) among the
nations." Dispersion (hrz) is a subject common to this pericope
and key sections in
Ezekiel (e.g., 5:2, 10, 12; 6:8; 12:14, 15;
20:23). hrz is often employed
"in agricultural
contexts of the winnowing process (e.g. Ruth 3:2;
Isa. 30:24; 41:16)."9 Perhaps this
figure points to a remnant by implication (cf. Zech
1:18-21 [Heb. 2:1-4] and 13:8-9).10 At
Sinai
Yahweh warned
in the land. Dispersion would disrupt their
complacency.11 The nation's apathy toward
Yahweh
and His covenants would make them landless again. They would return to the
bondage out of which Yahweh had delivered them.
Return to bondage would eventually
9 Ibid., 373.
10
In his study of the remnant, Hasel only refers to
Leviticus 26 in passing. Summarizing the viewpoint of
Othmar Schilling, he writes: "the origin
of the prophetic remnant motif is grounded in the sanctions of the
law, especially in Lev. 26 and its Deuteronomic parallels." Gerhard F. Hasel, The Remnant: The
History
and Theology of the Remnant
Idea from Genesis to Isaiah,
3rd ed.,
Studies in
Religion, vol. 5 (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press, 1980), 26;
with reference to
Othmar Schilling, "’Rest’ in der Prophetie des Alten Testaments" (unpublished Th.D.
Inaugural
dissertation, Universitat
ignored early references in Genesis and had
accepted too early a date for Leviticus 26. The author of this
paper would agree that the remnant motif is
earlier than Leviticus 26, but would argue that the chapter had
a significant effect upon the prophetic
development of the theology of remnant.
11 Budd, Leviticus, 372.
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Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 5
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cure their selective amnesia. Brueggemann's
poignant observation applies here: “It is
hard enough for landed people to believe land will
be lost. It is harder to imagine
Yahweh
will do it” 12 (cf. Lev 26:32a, 33a).
The goal of the Abrahamic
Covenant was to give an inheritance to the people of the
covenant in accordance with Yahweh's promise (cf.
Gen 12:7; 13:14-17).13 Exile delays
the fulfillment of the Abrahamic
promises. Therefore, it could be said that exile itself has
eschatological implications. Exile and
dispersion indicate that the ultimate fulfillment of
the promise is yet future, or eschatological in
nature.
“Yea, I shall unsheath
(ytiqoyrihEva Hiph’il)
the sword (br,HA) behind you (Mk,yreHExa).” In
all four instances in the Old Testament where the
idiom yrHx
brH qyrh ("unsheath the
sword behind") occurs (here; Ezek 5:2, 12; 12:14)
it is preceded by the employment of
hrz ("disperse")
and it is always a reference to
is employed in three other passages but always in
reference to the judgment of a nation
outside
neither hrz nor yrHx("behind") are employed.14 The idiom in
Leviticus 26:33 is reserved
for Yahweh's dealing with
Yahweh
will place the sword "behind"
and, on the other hand, the path of return would be
blocked by the divine sword. Shades
of
cherubim (Gen 3:24), so
covenant sword of Yahweh.
The summation of deportation's effects
on the land comes next in 33b: "thus your
land shall be (htAy;hAv;) for devastation (hmAmAw;) and your cities shall
be (Uyh;yi) ruins
(hBAr;HA)."15
Yahweh consigns the land and its cities to a state of devastation. This
declaration, in its conceptualization and its
syntax, corresponds to the earlier statement of
divinely confirmed blessing:
:MfAl;
yli-Uyh;
and you yourselves shall be my people so
that I shall be your God
:hBAr;HA Uyh;yi
Mk,yrefAv;
hmAmAw;
Mk,c;r;xa htAy;hAv; -33b
and your cities shall be ruins thus your land shall be for devastation
The
deviations from strict correspondence in these two statements are instructive:
(1) The circumlocutions for the possessives
"your" (Mk,lA) and "my" (yli) in 12b
emphasize mutual identification in the covenant
relationship.
(2) The phrase Mk,c;r;xa htAy;hAv; in 33b may be an allusion to Genesis 1:2
(UhbovA Uhto htAy;hA
Cr,xAhAv;, "and the earth was empty and void").
Such an
allusion potentially serves three purposes:
12 Walter Brueggemann,
The Land: Place as Gift, Promise, and Challenge
in Biblical Faith (
13 Hartley, Leviticus, 468.
14 Cf. lf in Ezek 28:7 and 30:11, and no
preposition in Exod 15:9. The h A of both substantives is clearly
assonant, drawing attention to the state of the
land.
15 The alternation of the qatal and yiqtol of hyh is characteristic (cf. 12b).
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Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 6
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(a) to remind
the earth--not just the Giver of the promised land;
(b) to emphasize the
totality of the dispersion: the land would be without
inhabitants; and,
(c) to imply that the
dispersion was but the commencement of something new
which Yahweh would do.
The possibility of an allusion to Genesis 1:2 in
Leviticus 26:33b is noteworthy for
several reasons:
(1) The re-creation or new creation of the earth
is a key eschatological theme in
apocalyptic Scripture (cf. Isa
65:17; 2 Pet 3:10-12; Rev 21:1).
Eschatologically, judgment precedes emptying or emptiness
followed by
renewal and restoration (cf. Isa
24-26). Eichrodt recognized that "the thought
of God's activity as Creator and Giver in the berit.
. . with the prophets--
and even in P [including Leviticus 26] as well--was
definitely primary.16
(2) Jeremiah 4:23 employs the very terms of
Genesis 1:2 (UhbovA
Uhto, "empty
and void") to describe the
(3) It is recognized also that removal from the
land or "exile is the way to new life
in new land."18
The Sabbath Rest (Lev
26:34-35).
The following pattern of correspondences and
emphatic logical development
occurs in these verses:
Main
clauses (a):
hAyt,toB;wa -tx, Cr,xAhA hc,r;Ti zxA -a1
then the land shall enjoy the restitution of its sabbaths
:hAyt,toB;wa
-tx, tcAr;hiv; Cr,xAhA tBaw;Ti zxA - a2
then the land shall rest, yea, it shall enjoy the restitution of its sabbaths
Mk,ytetoB;waB;
htAb;wA-xlo rw,xE txe tBow;Ti - a3
it shall rest
on account of your sabbaths in which it did not rest
16 Walter Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament,:2 vols., trans.
J. A. Baker, Old Testament Library
(Philadelphia,
Penn.: Westminster Press, 1961), 1:63. The liberal theologians' ascription of the creation
narratives to "P" cannot be accepted but
their association of the two bodies of literature is important to
recognize and the reason for the biblical
association must be sought in order not to miss the intended
message therein. Cf
Ralph W.
Fortress
Press, 1979), 125-48.
17 A significant reference to the
"presence" of Yahweh in judgment may be seen in Jer
4:26b if hvAhy; yneP;mi
("from the presence of Yahweh") can be interpreted thus
(in spite of the bound form yneP;mi cf the next
phrase in that context.
18 Brueggemann, The Land, 122. Cf. Jer
24:4-10.
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Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 7
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Temporal
clauses (b):
hm.Awa.hI
ymey; lKo - b1
all the days of its
devastation
Mk,ybey;xo Cr,x,B; MT,xav; -
b2
while you are in the land of
your enemies
hm.Aw.ahA
ymey;-lKA - b1
all the days of its
devastation
hAyl,fA
Mk,T;b;wiB; - b3
while you were dwelling upon
it
The
schematization of the two verses helps to demonstrate the following points:
1. The triple chiasm and the repetition of b1
keep the temporal clauses together
in order to emphasize the time factor in these verses--it is
about the time of
2. The repetition of tbw emphasizes the
sabbatical principle.
3. Making Crx the subject of all
three main clauses emphasizes the centrality
of the land and its relationship to the sovereign decrees of
Yahweh.
4. The juxtaposition of hcr and tbw
demonstrates
their theological
equivalence. Verse 34b is transitional, employing the epexegetical waw to
join these two terms in the middle member of the
construction. While 34a
employs hcr, 35 utilizes only tbw, having made the full transition.
The initial zxA
("then")
of v. 34 sets that verse apart from the preceding context. It
serves, as it does sometimes in poetry, "to throw
emphasis on a particular feature of the
description."19 The emphasis is upon
the land's hcr. hcr is variously translated
"enjoy"20 and "make or obtain
restitution,21 "Making restitution" could imply that the
land shared in the guilt of
since the context appears to make hcr practically equivalent to tbw. The more positive
concept of "obtaining restitution"
might indicate the basis for the land being able to enjoy
rest. The land might be depicted as being
"pleased" at receiving "its due portion."22 The
"due portion" is defined as "its sabbaths." When will this take place? According to the
immediate context, "all the days of its
devastation" (v. 35). Devastation will bring about
a forced sabbatical rest--a rest the land had
been denied under
Then
the land shall enjoy the restitution of (hcr, Qal
yqtl)23 its sabbaths all
the days
of its devastation while you are in the land of
your enemies. Then the land shall
rest;
19 Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A.
Briggs, eds., A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old
Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968 reprint),
23. Hereinafter cited as BDB.
20 Cf. ASV, NASB, NIV, Septuagint, Targurn Onqelos, Syriac, Latin.
21 Cf. BDB, 953 (the land makes the
restitution); Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, eds., Lexicon
in Veteris
Testamentwn Libros, 2nd ed. (Leiden:
E. J. Brill, 1958), 906 (Qal = "obtain
restitution," Hiphil =
"make restitution"); Karl Elliger,
Leviticus, Handbuch
zum Alten Testament 1/4 (Tiibingen: J. C. B.
Mohr/Paul Siebeck, 1966), 377; NASB margin: "make
restitution," "satisfy."
22
"Ihm gebtihrenden Anteil annehmen"G. Gerlentan, "hcr," Theologisches Handworterbuch
zum Alten
Testament, ed. Ernst Jenni
and Claus Westermann (Miinchen:
Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1976),
2:811.
23 The italicized words are supplied in
order to bring out the full scope of hcr.
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Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 8
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yea, it shall enjoy the restitution of (hcr, Hiphil
qtl)24
its sabbaths. It shall rest all the
days of its devastation on account of your sabbaths in which it did not rest while you
were residing upon it (vv. 34-35).
The expulsion of
appears to focus on
ultimate collapse and deportation. The book shares
this viewpoint with Deuteronomy,
Jeremiah,
and Ezekiel.26 Idolatry and violation of the sabbath (Lev 26:2, 34-35) are
specified here as the key areas of disobedience.
Of these two, the sabbatical matter
receives the greater emphasis in the context of
this chapter. Second Chronicles 36:20-21
makes the same observation regarding the cause for
the Babylonian exile:
The remnant surviving the sword were
deported to
servants for him
[the king of
until the land
enjoyed the restitution of (hcr, Qal qtl) its sabbaths.
All the days of its
devastation it
rested, so that seventy years might be completed.27
The
association made by the Chronicler is between the chronological extent of the exile
(seventy years) and the theological nature of the exile (the
enjoyment of restitution for
non-observed sabbatical periods).
Any attempt to account for exactly seventy years of
violated sabbatical years and/or jubilees would
be an exercise in futility. The Scripture is
silent about such figuring and there are too many
unknown factors28 to make an exact
accounting feasible.
The Stricken Remnant
(Lev 26:36-38).
This section may be divided into two
parts: (1) vv. 36-37a, indicated by the third
person plural referring to the remnant, and (2) vv.
37b-38, identified by the second
person plural referring to the exiles. The disjunctive
waw with
the accusative casus
pendens serves to separate this
section from the previous verses. "Those who are left
from among you" are the prominent topic:
As for those who are left from among you,
I shall bring timidity into their heart in the
lands of their
enemies. The sound of a driven leaf shall pursue them; yea, they shall
flee as though
in flight from before the sword and they shall fall without a pursuer--
indeed, they
shall stumble over each other as though in flight from before the sword
except there
will be no one pursuing them (vv. 36-37a).
The exiles will be sent into a panic
by the mere rustling of leaves. In their paranoia
they will strain their ears to catch the slightest
sound that might indicate the presence of
24 The alternation of the forms of hcr is characteristic of the elevated style
of the pericope.
25 Cf. Hans Eberhard
von Waldow, "
Unto My Path: Old Testament Studies in
Honor ofJacob M. Myers, ed. Howard N. Bream, et al.
(Philadelphia,
Penn.: Temple University Press, 1974), 506.
26 Jacob Milgrom,
"Leviticus, Book of," Encyclopedia
Judaica, ed. Cecil Roth (Jerusalem: Keter, 1971),
11:147.
27
The author's own translation. For a discussion of the problem of source and
dependency in relationship
to Leviticus and Jeremiah, see William D.
Barrick, "Leviticus 26: Its Relationship to Covenant Contexts
and Concepts" (unpublished Th.D. dissertation, Grace Theological Seminary,
1981),133-34.
28 E.g., the number of times
Babylonian
exile itself.
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Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 9
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their enemies. With shattered nerves they will give
place to their fears and cowardice.
They
will flee, only to fall over one another.29 Not only will this
wreak havoc with the
trampling of the fallen, it will also add to their
unbearable humiliation. Defeated by a
non-existent enemy, they fall over
their own soldiers in a stampede initiated by a stirring
leaf.
Verses 36-37a are
marked by the following forms of assonance:
Jderov; . . . Jdero . . . JDAni . . . JdarAv;
tsanum;
UsnAv;
NyexA Jderov;
. . . Jdero
Nyxev;
The
assonance, conciseness, and the subject matter are reminiscent of the
taunt-song best
exemplified by Isaiah 14:4, Micah 2:4, and Habakkuk
2:6.30 These taunt songs exhibit the
following characteristics: assonance, conciseness,
third person grammar in a second
person context, a theme of judgment, an interrogative,31
and the use of lwm in the
introduction. Leviticus 26:36-37a
contains all but the last two characteristics.
Turning from the remnant, verses 37b-38 describe
the condition of the exiles lest
they forget their own dire predicament: "Nor
shall there be (hy,h;ti-xlov;) any resistance
(hmAUqT;)32 from you (Mk,lA) before your
enemies." There is a very obvious correlation
between the last word of 37a (NyexA, "there shall be no") and the first construction
of 37b
(hy,h;ti-xlo, "nor shall there
be"). It is an example of a carefully worded transition or
hinge, flipping from one subject to the next by means
of the same concept though
employing different terminology.
The result of nonresistance is clear:
"so that you shall perish (MT,d;baxEva Qal) among
the nations; yea, the land of your enemies shall
devour (hlAk;xAv;) you" (v. 38). The
message is emphatic. There would be absolutely
no escaping the judgment of Yahweh.
Perishing
(dbx, cf. Deut 28:22, 63)
and being devoured (lkx), cf. Num 13:32 and
Ezek
36:13-14
where land is the devourer) are parallel concepts as are also the nations (MyiOG)
29
One cannot help but be reminded of eschatological passages like Isa 24:17-18, Amos 5:18-20, and Ezek
38:18-23.
30 George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on
Numbers, ICC (
31
In Isa 14:4 and Mic 2:4 the
interrogative is jyx ("How?") and in Hab 2:6 it is ytm-df ("How long?").
32 hmvqt (like j`remo, "timidity," in 36a) is a hapax legomenon. Targum Onqelos (hmvqt) and the Syriac
Peshitta (qwm) both employ the same semitic root (Mvq) as the MT. However, the Targum's term may
mean "rising" or
"preservation" (Marcus Jastrow, compiler, A Dictionary of the Targumim,
the Talmud
Babli
and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic
Literature, 2 vols. [
1967
reprint], 2:1690) and the Syriac may mean
"opposition" (J. Payne Smith, ed., A Compendious Syriac
Dictionary [
dunh<sesqe a]ntisth?nai,
"you shall not be able to resist/stand against") and the Vulgate
bears the
concept of bringing oneself to resist/oppose (audebit resistere).
In the
equivalent phrase employs dmfm ("resistance"--dmfm is never a synonym for hmvqt in the OT; cf. BDB,
765.). 1 QM
xiv.8 is the nearest syntactically: ("and there is no resistance from any
of their mighty
men/warriors"-Eduard Lohse, ed., Die Texte aus
1971],
212-13; cf., also, 1QM xviii.13 and 1 QH v.29). Lohse's translation
of dmfm
in 1 QM xiv.8 is
identical to Elliger's
for hmvqt
in Leviticus 26:37b: geben Standhalten
("give resistance/resist"--ibid.,
213;
Elliger, Leviticus,
362, 377).
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 10
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and the land of the enemies (Mk,ybey;xo Cr,x,).
It is not the
the exiled captives. The infertility of
either.33 Nor, for that very
fact, could the devouring refer to wars, depopulation, drought,
famine, or the chastisements of Yahweh.34
The context of Leviticus 26:38b refers to
physical destruction so clearly that even the
concept of spiritual stumbling (becoming
entangled in sins)35 must be ruled out as
a viable interpretation. "Their falling under the
pressure of the circumstances in which they were
placed"36 is too vague. What, then, is
the meaning? The reference is to the vanishing of
the exiles. They would be taken from
the land Yahweh had given to them, would enter
their enemies' land(s), and not return.
They
would die and be decimated in a strange land (cf Amos
7:17, "but you yourself
shall die upon unclean ground [or, in an unclean
land, hxAmeF;
hmAdAxE-lfa]"37). When
Yahweh
brought them out of exile, they would be fewer in number than when they went
into captivity.38 This exile would be
unlike the Egyptian bondage in which the nation
multiplied greatly (cf. Exod
1:7). The entirety of the Abrahamic Covenant is set
aside
during
(1) Rather than possessing the land (Gen 12:1;
15:7, 18-21; 17:8),
dispossessed from the land (Lev 26:33-38).
(2) National greatness (Gen 12:2) would be
turned into humiliation, inferiority,
and insignificance (Lev 26:29, 32, 36-:37; Deut 28:43-44).
(3) Blessing (Gen 12:2; 22:17) would turn to
cursing (Lev 26:14-38; Deut 28:15-
68).
(4) Instead of being a blessing (Gen 1:2:2-3;
22:18),
(Lev
26:32, 36-37a; Deut 28:25, 37).
(5) Multiplication (Gen 12:2; 15:5; 17:4-6;
22:17) would be replaced by
diminution (Lev 26:22, 29,. 38; Deut 28:18, 20-22, 53-57,
62).
(6) Success over
their
enemies (Lev 26:16-17, 32, 36-38; Deut 28:25, 31, 48, 52, 68).
Promise
would be turned to privation. Covenant vengeance consisted of the removal of
all privileges and protection together with all
attendant prosperity.
33 Cf. George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on
Numbers, International Critical
Commentary,
ed. by Samuel Rolles Driver, et al. (Edinburgh: T.
& T. Clark Ltd., 1976 reprint), 151.
34 Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel: The Glory of the Lord (
1969),
207.
35 Cf. Carl Friedrich Keil,
Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of
Ezekiel, 2 vols., trans. James Martin,
in Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament
(
reprint), 2:104-5.
36 Carl Friedrich Keil
and F. Delitzsch,
The Pentateuch, 3 vols., trans. James Martin, in
Biblical
Commentary on
the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1971 reprint),
2:477.
37 Cf. the use of ("land") in
Amos 7:17 before and after this phrase.
38 The problems involved in the numbers of
captives taken from the land (cf. 2 Kgs 24:16; Jer 52:28-30)
and the numbers of the returnees (cf. Ezra
2:64-65; Neh 7:66-67) must be viewed in the light of
the
remnant (cf. Ezra 1:4; Neh
1:2; Hag 2:3), the necessity of multiplication in exile to survive (cf. Jer 29:6),
the male census figures (cf. 2. Kgs 24:16; Jer 52:28-30), and the
later deportations of over 100,000 left in
the land (cf. R. K. Harrison, Old Testament Times [
1970], 256;
C. F. Keil, The
Prophecies of Jeremiah, 2 vols., trans. James
Kennedy, in Biblical
Commentary on
the Old Testament [
2:330-31).
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The Contingency:
Repentance (Lev 26:39-45)
Divine retribution, according to verses 39-45,
has the repentance of Yahweh's
covenant people as its ultimate goal (vv. 39-41).
Their repentance would allow the
covenant relationship to be reinstated or
reactivated by Yahweh. The reactivation of the
covenant must be founded upon a clear
understanding of their relationship to the land, the
sabbatical principle, and the recognition of guilt
by the transgressors (vv. 42-43). Thus,
the land and the people may be restored to a right
relationship with Yahweh, Lord of the
covenant. Above all else, it must be remembered
that Yahweh's covenant promise is
sure. He revealed His commitment to restoration in
order to reassure His people (vv. 44-
45).
Yahweh remains loyal to His covenant--even when His covenanted people are
disloyal.39
Repentance:
pendens employed in verse 36 is
repeated here: "As for those who are left from among
you."40 The languishing (Uq.m.ayi')41
suffered by the guilt-ridden Israelites is emphasized
here. This was their condition while in exile.
Ezekiel best described both the resulting cry
of the people and Yahweh's response:
Now you, O son of man, you say to the
house of
transgressions
and our sins are upon us so that we are languishing (Myq.eman;
UnH;naxE) in
them. Therefore, how shall we live?"' Say to them: "’As
surely as I live,' declares
Lord
Yahweh, ‘I do not delight in the death of the wicked, but rather in the turning
(or, repenting)
of the wicked from his way so that he lives. Turn (or, Repent)! Turn
from (or, Repent
of) your ways, 0 wicked ones! Yea, why will you die, 0 house of
Therefore,
Leviticus 26:39a says of the remnant of
their guilt (MnAOfEBa) in the lands of your
enemies." While in exile, the disobedient nation
would suffer terribly in exile: "Yea, they also
(Jxav;) shall languish (Uq.mA.yi) because of the
guilt (tonOfEBa)43 of their
fathers which44 shall be45 with them" (39b). By
moving the verb
(qqm) from the first word in
its clause (39a) to the last word in its clause (39b), an
inclusio brings emphasis upon
the concept of languishing. "They will ... fester and decay
39 Cf. a similar concept in 2 Tim 2:13.
40 In v. 36 MyrixAw;n.ihav;
("those who remained") is an accusative casus pendens (i.e., an accusative absolute)
serving to isolate and give marked prominence to
the object of the sentence. Cf. GKC § 143c.
41 "Many will perish in a foreign
land. Others will qqm, ‘languish away,’ slowly in the land of
their
enemies. qqm means ‘fester’ of wounds (Ps 38:6[5]).
The noun of this root qm means ‘rot’ (Isa
3:24; 5:24;
BDB
596-97). In Zech
14:12 it describes the wasting away of the body, the flesh, the eyes, and the
tongue.
Here it
pictures the slow but steady erosion of people's lives as they eke out a
miserable existence in a
foreign land (cf. Ezek 4:17; 24:23;
33:10)"--Hartley, Leviticus,
468.
42 The association of qqm with Nvf is a feature shared by both Leviticus
(5:1, 17; 7:18; 10:17; 19:8; 20:17,
19; 22:16;
26:41, 43) and Ezekiel (4:17; 24:23; 33:10). Cf. Budd, Leviticus, 374.
43 Plural of intensity.
44 I.e., the guilt. Cf. Keil and Delitzsch, Pentateuch,
2:477. The third masculine plural is in agreement with
the plural of tnoOfEBa which is irregular and takes a feminine
ending in the plural.
45
Supplied in agreement with the time element of the main verb in the context.
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 12
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as a generation, just as their fathers did."46 In 39b
the preverbal adverbial phrases draw
attention to themselves: "because of their
fathers' guilt ... with them." Rashi's
explanation for this concept is that "it means
that the guilt of their fathers will be with
them as those who are holding fast to the practice
of their fathers" (Mtvbx
tvnvfwk
Mhydyb
Mhytvbx hWfm MyzHvxwk Mtx).47 Various theologians offer the
explanation that corporate guilt (i.e., the concept
of it) was rigid in
In
fact, corporate guilt was so rigidly maintained that the responsibility of the
individual
was ignored until the exile during which it was
demonstrated that Yahweh was concerned
more about the individual's guilt. This change in
theology was to have come about by
experience and by the writings of the prophets.48
Usually, therefore, Ezekiel 18 is
praised as new light for
Although their ancestral guilt had contributed
to the reality of exile, 39a clearly
establishes (prior to the mention of corporate
guilt) that
own, current guilt. In other words, the generation
of Israelites facing the day of
retribution was also guilty. This may not identify
the individual per se, but it does
distinguish the guilt of separate generations. This
same principle of distinguishing guilt
also applies to the concept of individual guilt.
In Ezekiel's day and in Moses' day, the way out
of the entrapment was repentance
(bvw, Ezek 33:11) or
confession (hdy, Hitpa’el,
Lev 26:40a) of personal and corporate
guilt: “if49 they confess (UDvat;hiv;) their guilt (MnAOfE-tx,) and the guilt (NOfE-tx,v;) of their
fathers" (40a). The order is significant.
Even though corporate guilt had brought about
their languishing in the awareness of the
"specter of an irreversible destiny,"50 Yahweh
replied that personal guilt required attention
first. The now-generation's guilt, as opposed
to the past-generation's guilt, must be admitted
if the repentance was to be genuine. Such
a concept of personal guilt does not require a
post-exilic date for Leviticus 26, any more
than the emphasis on corporate guilt in Daniel
9:1-19 would require a Mosaic date for the
composition of that pericope.
Corporate guilt cease
to be a problem to the individual who has confessed his own
guilt. Corporate guilt is not a straight jacket or a
bottomless pit. Escape from it is the
same as for personal guilt: repentance. It is not a
destiny. It is a lesson. It is a lesson in
the history of the faith (or, lack of faith). The
covenant not only brings blessing to
Abraham's
descendants, it can also bring cursing, depending on each generation's
personal obedience or disobedience. Each
generation has the same opportunity to rid
itself of a sordid history of disloyalty to the divine
covenant. Each has the opportunity to
be personally loyal to the Lord of the covenant.
From 40b through 41b a parenthesis is
encountered which serves to explain the
nature of the guilt and the reason for the nation thus
burdened: "because of their being
unfaithful to me (ybi-UlfEmA
rw,xE MlAfEmaB;)51 and also
because they walked in opposition to
46 Budd, Leviticus, 374.
47 dxm tvlvdg tvytvxb hrvt ywmvH hwmH
llvk wmvH (
48 Eichrodt, Theology, 2:413-43.
49 Cf. GKC, 337 (§ 112kk-ll), 494 (§ 159g).
50 A. B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, ed. S. D. F. Salmond,
in The International
Theological
Library (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1961 reprint), 222. Cf. Davidson's full discussion, 217-27.
51 This construction is a cognate
accusative with an internal object (cf. GKC, 366-67 [§l17p-q]). There is
no retrospective pronominal suffix and rw,xE introduces the relative clause acting as
an attribute for the
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Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 13
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me (yriq,B;
ym.ifi Ukl;hA)52, I also walked in opposition to them (yriq,B; MmA.fi j`lexe)53 and I
brought them into the land of their
enemies" (40b-41b). The only new terminology or
concept presented in this parenthesis is lfm, which may be translated "act unfaithfully."
It
was employed of sacrilege in the case of Achan (Josh
7:1; cf. 22:20). It was also used
of the breach of vows (oaths or covenants; cf.
Ezek 17:20; Num 5:12). This latter concept
appears to be that of Leviticus 26:40b, which
deals with covenant treason.54 Such a
concept is also found in its employment in
Ezekiel 14:13, 15:8, 20:27, and Daniel 9:7.
All
those contexts are similar to Leviticus 26 in both contents and concepts.55
The protasis
begun in 40a (UDvat;hiv;, "if they
confess") is resumed here by means of a
dual particle construction (zxA0-Ox) containing the
conditional Ox ("if/whether") together
with the temporal zxA ("then"): "If
then their uncircumcised heart (lrefAh,
MbAbAl;) is
humbled (fnaKAyi) and then (zxAv;) they make restitution
(Ucr;yi) for their guilt (MnAOfE-tx,)"
(41cd).
The temporal reference comes after the exile and at
the time of their confession of
guilt. This is the result of Yahweh's working in
their heart (cf. v. 36a) while they are in
exile. Exile would strip the nation of all pretense
of being spiritual. Exile would be the
irrefutable evidence that they were displeasing to
Yahweh.
The covenant Lord demands
heart-consecration which reflected the fulfillment of the
consecration
sworn in the circumcision oath. Circumcision is an oath-rite. To be
uncircumcised
would be to place oneself outside the juridical authority of Yahweh
and a refusal to
consign oneself to the ordeal of the Lord's judgment for the final
verdict on one's
life-eternal weal or woe.56
44:6-9;
see, also, Jer 4:4). This would be the nation's
condition while living in exile
among uncircumcised nations who are outside the
covenant (cf. Ezek 44:7). Yahweh was,
in effect, declaring to the nation: "If you
want to live like the uncovenanted nations, then
live among them!" Exile was a fitting and just
punishment.
The confession of guilt (40a) must be
sincere. There is no room for pride. The
humbling of the nation meant that they would no
longer be self-reliant, but rather,
trusting Yahweh. fnk ("humble") occurs 36 times in the Old
Testament (19 of which are
in Chronicles). In the spiritual sense (rather
than the political or physical) it is used only
preceding noun. Note the employment of qatal in the
relative clause. The emphasis of the expression could
be rendered, "being treasonously
unfaithful."
52 The qatal may have been maintained as
a fixed form for this particular phrase. Cf. vv. 23, 24, 27, 28. See
below, fn 34.
53 The only occurrence of this idiom with yiqtol. It is
particularly significant since there is no waw
involved
either here or in the immediately preceding
employment of the phrase in 40b, which uses qatal. When 41a
is compared to 24a, it is clear that prepositive ynixE-Jxa is responsible for the yiqtol (with gatal in 24a it was
postpositive).
54 Walther Zimmerli,
Ezekiel 1: A Commentary on the Book of
the Prophet Ezekiel, Chapters 1-24, trans.
Ronald E. Clements,
ed. Frank Moore Cross, et al., in Hermeneia (
1979),
366.
55 Cf. Dan 9:4-5 (confession, covenant,
commandments, guilt, unfaithfulness), 11-14 (Deuteronomic
Covenant), 15
(exodus history = covenant formula)), 16 (guilt of the fathers).
56 Meredith G. Kline, By Oath Consigned: A Reinterpretation of the Covenant Signs of
Circumcision and
Baptism (
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Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 14
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18
times (14 in Chronicles, 3 in Kings, and Lev 26:41c).57 The employment of fnk in the
spiritual sense is always in a context of an
invasion of the land by
invasions were in all cases the chastisement of
nations, therefore, would be the instrument of
humiliation for disobedient
The last phrase of verse 41 is the most
difficult theologically. The phrase
MnAOfE-tx,
Ucr;yi("make restitution
for guilt") occurs only three times in the Old Testament
(here, v. 43, and Isa 400:2).
Wenham interprets the phrase in Leviticus 26:41 as meaning
that
the same reference, say that
consequences and results of
them."59 In other words,
just in awarding what was deserved. However, Delitzsch elsewhere (regarding Isa
40:2)
distinguishes between "a
satisfactory reception" and “a satisfactory payment.”60 He
interprets Isaiah 40:2 in the latter sense. Edward
J. Young takes the phrase in Isaiah 40:2
as a reference to the acceptance of "a
sacrifice sufficient to atone for the iniquity."61 He
further indicates that such a sacrifice is “more
fully revealed in the fifty-third chapter of
the book.”62
Young's view, therefore, is messianic
in scope. He makes the concept in the phrase
one of absolute soteriology
wherein the only acceptable restitution for guilt must be made
by God Himself in the person of Christ. It would
be accurate to say that redemption or
freedom from guilt is not the work of
However,
the phrase is not a statement of soteriological
redemption. It is a statement of
federal consequence. Conversion or repentance
must be manifested.64 Conversion must
demonstrate a turning away from sin. Conversion
focuses
on concrete
commands, prescriptions, and rights, contempt for which had called
down all the
disasters of the past, and the strict observances of which was therefore
essential in
order to prove the seriousness of the new change.65
The making of restitution for guilt, therefore,
would be "an evidence of the
repentance and expiation,"66 not
the cause. Such evidence of true repentance also
57 Cf. Karl Elliger,
Leviticus, Handbuch
zum Alten Testament 1/4 (Ttibingen: J. C. B. Mohr/Paul Siebeck,
1966),
378 n 72.
58 Wenham, Leviticus, 332 n 12.
59 Keil and Delitzsch, Pentateuch,
2:478.
60 Franz Delitzsch,
Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of
Isaiah, 3 vols., trans. James Martin, in
Biblical
Commentary on the Old Testament (
reprint), 2:140.
61 Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah, 3 vols. (
1965-72),
3:23.
62 Ibid.; cf. Delitzsch, Isaiah,
2:129.
63 Walther Zimmerli,
Old Testament Theology in Outline,
trans. David E. Green (
Press,
1978), 217.
64 Cf. the concept of works as the evidence
of faith in the epistle of James in the New Testament. The
manifestation of conversion ought not to be limited to
the active participation in "good works." It must also
involve the passive acceptance of the righteous
will of God regarding the effects of past sin.
65 Walther Eichrodt,
Theology of the Old Testament, 2
vols., trans. J. A. Baker, in Old Testament Library,
ed. G. Ernest Wright, et al. (Philadelphia,
Penn.: The Westminster Press, 1961), 2:470.
66 G. Gerleman,
"hcr ,"
Theologisches Handworterbuch
zum Alten Testament, 2
vols., ed. Ernst Jenni and
Claus Westermann (Munchen: Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1971, 1976),
2:811, "Zeichen der Reue and Busse"
(emphasis added in translation).
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 15
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involves the acceptance of the consequences of
sin which are not removed immediately:
"conversion and the necessity of continuing to bear God's
punishment are not mutually
exclusive."67 An example of such
federal consequences may be seen in the case of
Rehoboam's
servitude to Shishak (2 Chron
12:1-12).
The leaders of
themselves" (fnk, as in Lev 26:41c),
Yahweh granted them a stay of full execution, but
left the nation in subjection to Shishak
as a means of teaching the converted leaders the
seriousness of disobedience to Yahweh and the
pleasantness of walking in obedience (vv.
6-8, 12). The impact of exile would linger on. No
matter when this repentance on the part
of
to be fulfilled. Also involved in making
restitution for their guilt would be the
commencement of obedience to the
demands of the law of Yahweh (e.g., regular
observance of the sabbaths;
cf. Neh 10:28-31 and Isa
58:1-14).
The protasis that is
presented in. 40a and 41cd consists of three parts: (1)
acknowledging before Yahweh the
breach of covenant (i.e., confession), (2) subjugating
the mind and will (heart) to the God of the
covenant (i.e., humility), and (3) obeying the
life-changing commands of the
law-giver (i.e., restitution). Thereby the covenant
relationship may be reentered.
Remembrance: Yahweh's acceptance of
repentance (v.
42). The apodosis of the
conditional sentence begun with 40a is in a
carefully constructed form:
and I shall remember my covenant with Jacob,
bvqofEya
ytiyriB;-tx, yTir;kazAv; -42a
even my covenant with Isaac, qHAc;yi
ytiyriB;-tx, Jxav; -42b
yea, I shall remember
my covenant with Abraham, rKoz;x, MhArAb;xa ytiyriB;-tx, Jxav;-42c
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
and I shall
remember the land.
:rKoz;x, Cr,xAhAv;
-42d
The
repetition formed by the verb rkz ("remember') sets
the tone of the apodosis. Six
occurrences of the first person singular (three
times as the subject of rkz and three times
as a pronominal suffix on tyrb ("my covenant") indicate that Yahweh Himself will
respond to
pericope's covenant context and of
In addition to the repetitions, the following
observations may be made concerning
this apodosis: (1) The elevated style of 42abc
approaches that of a tristich containing
synonymous parallelism.68 (2) rkz opens and closes the section in order to maintain the
emphasis on remembrance.69 "My
covenant" is the object of rkz only four times in the
67 Eichrodt, Theology, 2:471. Punishment, in this
sense, is not the mediate effect, but the immediate effect
of the sin. Similarly, the New Testament
believer, though forgiven by Christ, yet must die physically. His
spiritual (second) death, however, is completely
removed.
68 This does not mean that the three proper
names are synonymous. Those names are but modifiers of tyrb.
The last
phrase of v. 42 and the subsequent context confirm that only one covenant is in
view. If this
style is not poetic, it certainly is
fastidiously developed so that the logical correspondences (parallelisms?)
are undeniable.
69 Note the typical weqatal followed by yiqtol. The
absence of rkz in 42b
aids the employment of the
inclusion. Rashi
indulges in fanciful speculation to explain the absence of rkz in 42b. He explains it on the
basis of the presence of the ashes of Isaac on
an altar before God.
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Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 16
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Old
Testament: Genesis 9:15; Exodus 6:5; and Ezekiel 16:60. In Leviticus 26 the
remembrance of the covenant is the opposite of the
breach (rpehAl;, v. 44) of covenant.70
(3)
Jxav; ("yea,
also/even") in 42bc continues the concept initiated in 42a and is not
employed again at the commencement of 42d. This
confirms the individual nature of 42d.
(4)
The names of the patriarchs in 42abc are the reverse of the usual order.71
The order
certainly does not indicate comparative worth in
an ascending fashion.72 It probably
presents a backward look to the original promise
to Abraham. The order would serve to
confront
to Yahweh. (5) The apodosis is concluded by 42d.
It substitutes Cr,xAhA ("the land") for
ytyriB; ("my
covenant") since the central promise of the covenant was the land. It also
utilizes the juxtaposition of these two terms
since they are the only truly significant
concepts in this context. The patriarchs are not
the center of attention. The land, as given
by Yahweh, is the focus of the verse. That land
was granted by the covenant made with
Abraham.
(6) Verse 42d also duplicates the yiqtol of rkz at the end of the line
(cf. 42c) to
maintain the continuity of thought between 42abc
and 42d. Therefore, 42d is a concise
summary of 42abc.
Repetition:
a summary concerning retribution (v. 43). Retribution is not
primarily reformatory, curative, or preventative
in nature. Retribution is primarily
revelatory. The just punishment of the sinner (the
covenant breaker) is a clear
manifestation of the holiness and
righteousness of Yahweh. Verse 43 emphasizes the
reason for the retribution involving the land and
people of
Nevertheless,73
the land must be forsaken (bzefATe)74 by them,
so that it might enjoy
the restitution
of (Cr,tiv;) its sabbaths during its desolation (hm.Awah;BA)75 without
them.
70 Willy Schottroff,
‘Gedenken' im Alten
Orient and im Alten
Testament: Die Wurzel Zakar
im Semitischen
Sprachkreis, 2nd ed., Wissenschaftliche
Monographien zum Alten and Neuen Testament 15 (Neukirchen-
vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1967), 206.
71 This is a hapax phainomenon
in the Old Testament. The triad (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) occurs as follows:
with tyrb rkz: Exod 2:24; Lev 26:42
with rkz: Exod 32:13 (lxrWy for Jacob); Deut 9:27
with tyrb: 2 Kgs 13:23;
1 Chr 16:15-18 = Ps 105:8-11
with
Crx fbw ("the land sworn/promised
to"): Gen 50:24; Exod 6:8; 32:13; 33:1; Deut
1:8; 6:10;
34:4
with hmdx fbw
(same as Crx fbw):
Num 32:11; Deut 30:20
with rbd fbw ("the
word/promise sworn to"): Deut 9:5
with Myhlxl/Mfl hyh fbw ("sworn to be a people/a
god"): Deut 29:12
with hxr ("[God of . . . ] appeared"): Exod 3:16; 4:5; 6:3
with yhlx ("God of'): Exod
3:6,15,16; 4:5; 1 Kgs 18:36; 1 Chr
29:18-12 Chr 30:6(where lx bvw
["return to"] precedes).
72 Cf. Rashi; H.
Freedman and Maurice Simon, eds., Leviticus,
vol. 4 in Midrash Rabba, trans.
Slotki (London: Soncino
Press, 1961), 462 (includes fanciful explanations for many aspects of v. 42).
73 The disjunctive waw
is employed here with the emphasized subject, using the preceding Cr,xAhAv;
(42d) as
a springboard.
74 Yiqtol here is interpreted as a jussive.
75
The irregular syncope of the form may be due to an attraction to the preceding
word for vocalic
assonance: hm.Awah;BA // hAyt,(t)B;wa (unaccented holem is very minimal in
pronunciation) rather than
hm.Aw.ahAB;. Cf. GKC, 182 (§67y).
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 17
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However, they themselves must make
restitution (Ucr;y Mhev;) for their guilt (MnAOfE-tx,)
simply because (Nfayab;U Nfaya)76
they rejected my ordinances and they inwardly
[deeply?] despised (MwAp;na
hlAfEGA) by statutes.
The
structure of verse 43 (together with the preceding line, 42b) may be
represented in
the following fashion:77
(1cs) :rKoz;x, Cr,xAhAv; -42d
I shall
and
remember the
land
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3fs) Mh,me bzefATe Cr,xAhAv; -43a
by shall
be and
them forsaken the
land
Mh,me hmA.wah;BA hAyt,toB;wa-tx, Cr,Tiv; -43b
without its sabbaths and
it
them during its shall
* desolation enjoy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3mp MnAOfE-tx, Ucr;yi Mhev; -43c
for their guilt shall and
make they
restitu- *
tion
UsxAmA yFaPAw;miB; Nfayab;U Nfaya -43d
they rejected simply
because
my ordinances
:MwAP;na
hlAfEGA ytaqo.Hu-tx,v; -43e
their
and despised
soul
my statutes
The
following observations may be made concerning this structure:
(1) The repetition of the assonance
involving fl in the first member of the first four
lines emphasizes the main
concern of retribution and restoration: the land (fire).
(2) The repetition of guttural + z (rKoz;x, and bzefATe) serves to heighten the
correspondence between the opposites rkz ("remember") and bzf ("forsake").
What Yahweh will remember,
76 Cf. Paul Jouon,
Grammaire de l’ Hebre Biblique (Rome: Institut Biblique Pontifical, 1965), 523 (§170f
n.
1). This phrase
occurs only here, Ezek 13:10, and 36:3. One Nfy occurs in Ezek 20:16, 24, with a similar
context. Its use is emphatic; cf. GKC, §158b.
77 Some of the correspondences are
conceptual, but most involve assonance which can be observed only in
the Hebrew. The English translation cannot
convey all the nuances (especially in the interlinear format).
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 18
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(3)
The third person masculine plurals (Mhev;
Mh,me . . . Mh,me) bind the first three lines
of v. 43 together. Just as
42d and 43a began the same (Cr,xAhAv;), so 43a and 43b
end the same (Mh,me). Then 43c picks up the last concept of 43b (with Mhev;) to
maintain the continuity by means
of anadiplosis. The logical progression is
noteworthy:
forsaken by them --> enjoyed restitution without them
-->
nevertheless, the must make restitution
(4) In 43b and 43c the commencing verb is
hcr. The cr continues the assonance of
42d and 43a. The concept of
restitution is a key element in 43bc.
(5) The repetition of nf in the last term of 43c
and in the first two terms of 43d
binds those lines together by
assonance. The concepts presented by the three
forms are also related: there
is guilt, as is proven by the cause or reason for
restitution. In other words,
restitution would have to be made because
of guilt
which existed because of disobedience.
(6) MwAp;na hlAfEGA
ytaqo.Hu-tx,v; UsxAmA yFaPAw;miB; produces in reverse order the same
phrases
found in v. 15: Mk,w;p;na
lfag;Ti yFaPAw;mi-tx, Mxiv; UsxAm;Ti ytaqo.HuB;-Mxiv;. It
is significant that both
verbs in 43de are qatal
even though they are preceded by
their objects. This is the only
such example occurring in Leviticus regarding
hqH and its verbs. The same
observation holds for Fpwm and its verbs: when the
noun precedes its verb, the yiqtol is
employed; and when it follows its verb, the
qatal is utilized (Lev 18:4,
5, 26; 19:37; 20:22; 25:18; 26:15). The only
exception is 26:43. The departure
from the usual syntax of the pericope must be
for the purpose of bringing
the concepts forcefully to the mind of the reader.
Disobedience is the true and emphatic cause for
the need of restitution. There is
no question regarding
necessary.
(7) The first person singular is the
subject of the verb in 42d. Every line of verse 43
has some mention of the
third person plural (referring to
third feminine singular
(referring to the land) is the subject in 43ab, while the
third masculine plural
(referring to the people of
Therefore, verse 43 presents emphases
concerning the land, responsibility/guilt,
restitution, disobedience, and
presented by verse 42. The jussives (43abc),
however, provide an element of anticipation
and decree. Operation
Restitution would be initiated by Yahweh on the basis of His
covenant with Abraham. The Mosaic Covenant would
have a role in the process by
means of the sabbatical stipulations. The Abrahamic Covenant promised a land and a
seed to inherit that land. The Mosaic Covenant
promised a nation with a special
relationship to Yahweh (Exod 19:5-6). As circumcision was instituted as the seal of
the
Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 17:9-14), so the sabbaths appear to have been the
seal of the
Mosaic
Covenant (cf. Exod 20:8-11; Lev 25; 26:2; Neh 10:28-31; Isa 58:1-14). The
emphasis on land
in Leviticus 26 belongs to the sphere of the Abrahamic
Covenant,
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 19
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while the emphasis on sabbatical restitution belongs
to the sphere of the Mosaic
Covenant.78
Eschatological Significance
Covenant
"Covenant" (tyrb) is employed eight
times in Leviticus 26 (vv. 9, 15, 25, 42 ter,
44, 45). It always denotes a binding relationship
between Yahweh and His people
This
relationship provided
meaning. In all its occurrences in this pericope, "covenant" promotes the concept of the
sovereignty of Yahweh, the covenant-giver. In six of
the eight uses of the term, the first
person singular suffix ("my") is attached
(vv. 9, 15, 42 ter, 44). Yahweh Himself is
always the antecedent. The unilateral nature of the
covenants is implied by this form of
reference. Yahweh Himself established the
covenants, and He alone. Yahweh's personal
intervention in the history of
is not limited to the past--it has its place eschatologically. His lordship is personal and
absolute. The covenant lays hold of the people of
surrender to the will of God. Loyalty to the
covenant must be more than outward
acquiescence, it must be an inward
reality. The "uncircumcised heart" (v. 41) is the
antithesis of this loyalty:
The covenant Lord demands
heart-consecration which reflects the fulfillment of the
consecration
sworn in the circumcision oath. Circumcision is an oath-rite. To be
uncircumcised
would be to place oneself outside the juridical authority of Yahweh
and a refusal to
consign oneself to the ordeal of the Lord's judgment for the final
verdict on one's
life-eternal weal or woe.79
The
ultimate salvation of
eschatological implications.
The Abrahamic
Covenant
Yahweh's covenant with Abraham appears
to underlie the references to "covenant"
in verses 9, 42, and 44. The theme of a fruitful
population is an echo of the Abrahamic
Covenant
in Genesis 17:6, 7, 19, and 21 (cf, also, Exod 6:4 and Deut 8:18). Verse 9 may
be employed as an example of the distinctions made
within the passage concerning the
Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants. The Abrahamic Covenant is characterized by the
following elements:
(1) The theme of promise,
(2) emphasis on divine
fulfillment, and
(3) references to land,
prosperity, and blessing and/or cursing.
On
the other hand, the Mosaic Covenant is characterized by:
(1) the theme of law,
78 Onqelos
evidently interpreted the retribution of v. 43 in the light of the blessings and
cursings of the
Deuteronomic covenant since he substituted the
following phrase for Nfayab;U Nfaya: ytyx Nkrb
JlH NyFvl
lydb Nvhylf ("there
are cursings instead of blessings distinguished
against them").
79 Meredith G. Kline, By Oath Consigned: A Reinterpretation of the Covenant Signs of
Circumcision and
Baptism (
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(2) emphasis on human
responsibility, and
(3) references to sabbath, sanctuary, and divine sovereignty.
Although v. 9 is in the midst of Mosaic
Covenant material, it displays Abrahanic
vocabulary, phraseology, and theme. Its message is
pertinent to that brief span of time
immediately following the revelation of the Mosaic
Covenant at
message was: the revelation concerning law is
equal in authority to the older revelation
concerning promise. In order to receive the
promised blessings contained in the
Abrahamic
In
other words, the Mosaic Covenant would be the program by which Israelites would
manifest their faith by faith's works (cf. Jas
2:14-26). Yahweh Himself will respond to
Abrahamic Covenant will be reconfirmed or renewed.
The blessings recited in Leviticus 26:4-12 are
at least in part a fulfillment of the
covenant made with Abraham. Those blessings fall
into six categories:
(1) productivity (vv.
4-5; cf. Gen 24:35, 27:28; 30:43)
(2) peace (v. 6; cf.
Gen 22:17)
(3) power (vv. 7-8; cf.
Gen 22:17)
(4) population (v. 9;
cf. Gen 12:2; 15:5; 17:6)
(5) provision (v. 10;
cf. productivity, above), and
(6) presence (vv.
11-12; cf Gen 17:7, 8).
All
these blessings were associated with the land that
They
are consistent with various statements and restatements of the Abrahamic
Covenant.
On the other hand, the covenant curses of Leviticus 26:14-38 are at least in
part a removal of the Abrahamic
blessings.80
The basis for Yahweh's historical extraction of
Abrahamic Covenant (cf. Gen 15:13, 14). While the
nation resided at
would remember that covenant as part of their
theological heritage. They experienced the
beginning of the historical fulfillment of its
promises.
The Abrahamic Covenant
demonstrated that
their own making. That covenant provided them with
the hope of landedness at a time
when they were landless. Leviticus 26:1-13 revealed
to
given at
central concept of the Abrahamic
Covenant was the land of promise (v. 42). The Mosaic
Covenant
would not conflict with the landedness promised long
before.
Even the phraseology of covenant disloyalty
("uncircumcised heart," v. 41) was a
reflection of the impact of the Abrahamic
Covenant on the theology and life of
Circumcision
was the outward manifestation of inward commitment to the Abrahamic
Covenant
(Gen 17:9-14). Personal commitment and accountability were implicit even in
the unilateral pact that Yahweh made with Abraham
while the latter was in a deep sleep
(15:12-21).
Divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not opposing concepts in the
biblical covenants. Indeed, it was because Yahweh
was the sovereign Lord that the
human vassal must obey Him. Human accountability
would be nonexistent (at least,
nonbinding) if it were not for the divine
character. Yahweh's Lordship as revealed in His
covenant with Abraham is not altered by
subsequent covenants. Since the sovereignty of
80 See page 10, above.
The Eschatological
Significance of Leviticus 26 21
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God
is not altered, neither are the promises of His
covenant altered or nullified (cf. Gal
3:17).
The continuity of the Abrahamic
Covenant throughout the Old Testament in
deliverance contexts illustrates the eschatological
implication of its presence in Leviticus
26.
Arnold Fruchtenbaum demonstrated that this covenant
ties the prophetic
pronouncements together concerning the
redemption of Israel.81
The Sinaitic
Covenant
In Leviticus 26 attention is directed to the
Mosaic Covenant by the prominence of
the immediate historical context at Sinai and the
legal nature of some of the terms used in
the chapter ("statutes, commandments," v.
3; "commandments, statutes, ordinances," vv.
14-15; "statutes, ordinances, laws,"
v. 46).
The precepts of verses 1-2 have the Mosaic
Covenant
in view:
• prohibition of idols
• observance of sabbaths, and
• reverence for the sanctuary
Any
remaining doubt is removed by the clear statements of verses 15, 45, and 46.
This
legal emphasis sets the stage for covenant vengeance
in verse 25. It also promotes the
sense of Yahweh's Lordship which was already present
in the Abrahamic Covenant. The
covenant at Sinai was based upon the historical
deliverance of
deliverance was in accord with the prior covenant
(vv. 13, 45). It was intended to identify
more narrowly the people of Yahweh. The Abrahamic Covenant's identification of the
land of promise was supplemented by the refined
definition of the people of promise. Just
as the outward seal/sign of the Abrahamic Covenant was circumcision, so the seal/sign of
the Sinaitic Covenant was
the observance off the sabbaths (cf. Lev 25; 26:2,
34-35, 43).
The
seal/sign of each covenant affected the realm of the other covenant: the
covenant of
the land (Abrahamic) was
related directly to the people by circumcision, and the
covenant of the people (Mosaic) was related
directly to the land by the sabbaths.82 Thus
the two aspects of these covenants (the land and
the people) were bound together. The
land was for the people, and the people for the
land.
The legislation connected with the
Mosaic Covenant encouraged a serious mindset
regarding submission to the divine overlord. It
also produced humility with reference to
the unworthiness of
7:6-11).
Right behavior by the people of Yahweh was the means of witnessing to the
nations. By such behavior
initiated by means of their miraculous deliverance
out of
legislation marked
81
Ariel
Ministries Press, 1993), 577-81.
82 A distinction between a covenant of the
land and a covenant of the people should not be pressed to an
extreme. The Abrahamic
Covenant also identified the people of promise, referring to them as the
descendants of Abraham. It became clear, however,
that some of the descendants of Abraham (through
Ishmael)
would not be the people of promise. The Mosaic Covenant clarified the situation
regarding the
identification of the covenant people.
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 22
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Disobedience to the absolute sovereign of
removal of covenant blessings associated with
the Mosaic Covenant. The following
aspects of the Mosaic Covenant would be rendered
inoperable by the exile:
(1) Though previously a people above all
the nations (Exod 19:5; Deut 26:18-19),
(Lev 26:30; Deut 28:43-44). The future
"times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24;
Rom 11:25) reflect this curse.83
(2) The kingdom of priests (Exod 19:6) would become ceremonially unclean and
their sacrifices unacceptable
(Lev 26:31).
(3) The holy nation of
and characterized by a heathenlike uncircumcised heart (v. 41).
(4)
national exile (Lev 26:33, 38).
Sinai
was but the commencement of the relationship between God and
the nation must identify with each other if the
wilderness years were to lead to the
promised land. The apostasies of Sinai84
only served to remind the nation why Yahweh
gave them legislation. They needed standards.
Without the order those standards would
produce, there would be chaos and anarchy. The
nation must be prepared for their
inheritance, the land. The means of preparation
would be instruction, parenesis.
Instruction
is the primary concept of hrvt (v. 46). Leviticus 26's
focus is on
identification with the covenant
deity/suzerain, Yahweh (cf. v. 45).
The Deuteronomic
Covenant85
The many parallels between Leviticus 26 and
Deuteronomy 27-30 present the
reader with a problem of relationship. How is the
Palestinian Covenant related to
Leviticus 26? The similarities of
structure (blessing and cursing), the revelation of the
ultimate chastisement for breach of covenant
(exile preceded by siege which deteriorates
into cannibalism), and a time sphere subsequent to
the impartation of the Mosaic
Covenant demonstrate a relationship in
content. However, similarity is not identity. No
third covenant is ratified in Leviticus 26. No third
covenant is described in terms of a
relationship to the past covenant (Abrahamic) and the present covenant (Mosaic). The
83 Wenham, Leviticus, 333.
84 The golden calf incident provoked the
public shattering of the covenant tablets (Exod
32:19). About
3000 died
that day (v. 28). Two priests, sons of Aaron, also died at Sinai when they did
not follow divine
instructions concerning service at the altar (Lev
10:1-2). Later, a man was executed because of his
blasphemous appropriation of the name of God (Lev
24:10-23).
85 For the sake of discussion the Deuteronomic Covenant will be defmed
as the pact God established with
confirmed by sacrifices and public deposit at Shechem (Josh 8:30-35), and renewed by common consent at
Shechem near the end of
Joshua's ministry (24:1-28).
Synonyms for this covenant include Palestinian
Covenant and
Covenant on the plains of
Faith (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers,
1953), 58-59; Otto Eissfeldt, The Old Testament: An Introduction,
trans. Peter R. Ackroyd
(New York: Harper.& Row, Publishers, 1965), 214-17, 226, 230; S. R. Driver,
An
Introduction to the Literature of the Old
Testament (New York: The
Meridian Library, 1956), 71; TDOT,
s.v. "tyriB;," by M. Weinfeld, 2:256,
268-69; Moshe Weinfeld, Deuteronomy and the
(Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1972), 59-116; Delbert R. Hillers, Covenant: The History of a Biblical Idea
(Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1969), 58-64, 134-42.
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 23
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connotation of a future covenant may be present;
however, that connotation would not
have been identified with Deuteronomy 27-30 by those
who received Leviticus 26. The
former passage was revealed to the new generation of
Israelites while they were camped
on the plateau of Moab. The latter was revealed to
their parents and grandparents while
they were still at
preview of the Deuteronomic
Covenant only in the sense that the basic theological
concepts of the
not specify that covenant per se. Leviticus 26 does
not provide a formal prophetic
announcement regarding any future
covenant.
Revelation is progressive in nature. The
seeds of one age become the flowers of yet
another age. The seed of the Deuteronomic
Covenant is present in Leviticus 26. The
blessings and cursings
of that chapter were transitional. They prepared
while they were at Sinai prior to commencing their
wilderness wanderings. Transitional
revelation would be expanded and formalized in a
covenant upon arrival at the threshold
of the land (on the plateau of Moab). The title
deed to the land (the Abrahamic
Covenant),
the constitution for the people of the land (the Mosaic Covenant), and the
rights to the riches of the land (the Deuteronomic Covenant) would then provide the
nation with all the revelation necessary to live
within the land itself
Land
Every gift to the nation of
covenant suzerain, Yahweh. The land grant to
with Yahweh. The Land-Giver was summoning the people
to service. The summons was
both beneficial and binding. Benefits were
conditioned upon obedience to the command
of Yahweh. The enslaved nation was delivered from
belonging to Yahweh (v. 13). The prior bondage
differed from the latter in that the latter
brought blessing (vv. 2-12). No such rewards
accrued as a result of Egyptian bondage.
The
land grant predated the existence of
grant at the time of his own exodus from
established under Moses at the time their exodus
from
controlled the history of the land and the people.
"From the roughly 160 cases in which
biblical passages speak of Jahweh's
giving the land to
references to ‘the fathers.’”86 It is significant, therefore that reference is made to
"the
ancestors" (v. 45) in a context related to
the Mosaic Covenant. This establishes a
continuity of covenants. Just as Abraham's
descendants claimed the Abrahamic Covenant
while they were at
claim the covenant made with their ancestors at
Sinai. Willingness to identify themselves
as Yahweh's people will qualify them for
restoration to the land.
The land of promise is depicted as the setting
for the fulfillment of both blessings
(vv. 4-12) and curses (vv. 14-38). It is noteworthy that the
worldwide extension of the
Davidic
kingdom is described in Psalm 72:16-17 in terms reminiscent of the blessings in
Leviticus
26.87 That would be one indication of the eschatological
significance of this
86 J. N. M. Wijngaards,
The Dramatization of Salvific
History in the Deuteronomic Schools, OTS 16
(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1969), 73.
87 Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Toward an Old Testament Theology (Grand
Rapids: Academie Books, 1978), 161.
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Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 24
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chapter. Another could be seen in the fact that
a series of increasingly severe calamities
affecting the reputation and the health of the
nation of
judgment is underway. "Then that nation
should know that it was the hand of God, and
men should return to Him. This principle was first
announced in Leviticus 26:3-33 and
used in most of the prophets, especially Amos
4:6-12."88 Reward and retribution could
not be fulfilled elsewhere. The landedness
of
could not receive landed prosperity without the land.
On the other hand,
be exiled from the land until they had first
possessed it.
Interestingly,
the land itself was treated as a separate participant in the covenant. It
could be the recipient of the restitution of sabbaths that it had been denied (vv. 34-35,
43).
It was a land belonging first to Yahweh. As its sovereign Lord, He had
authority to
grant it to
generation who were disloyal to the covenant would
be subject to expulsion from the
land (vv. 33-44). Yet, the land would remain, kept
in store for the future generation who
would obey the precepts of Yahweh. The generations
may come and go, but the land
would abide as the Abrahamic
Covenant's material entity. By means of sabbaths
Yahweh
intended to preserve the fruitfulness of the land
for the ultimate possessors (cf. Lev 25).
Therefore,
disobedience to Yahweh's sabbatical legislation was considered a sin against
the land. Even more, it was a sin against future
generations since such a breach of the
covenant resulted from greed. Such greed would
rob the land of its fruitfulness and rob
future generations of its provision.
Landedness made it possible for
the people to be tempted in the areas of self-
sufficiency, idolatry, and sabbath
breaking. Such temptations could be resisted by
remembering the history of the people and the land.
Remembering the covenant deeds of
Yahweh
would remind the people that the land they enjoyed was an unearned gift. The
exiled people, remembering the Lord of the land, would
confess their guilt and make
restitution (vv. 40-41). Their remembering and
acting upon that memory would, in turn,
result in Yahweh remembering the land (v. 42). He
would them preserve the covenant
blessings for His people.
At
hope. In the land, when the hope was fulfilled, the
land presented the people with a
challenge. They were challenged to exercise faith
in the God of the covenant. Such faith
had not been exhibited by those who apostasized at Sinai and who died in the wilderness.
John Jelinek
observes that some theologians note the absence of land as a theme in
the New Testament and assume that the Old Testament
promises have been displaced. He
rightly concludes that "we are not
justified in emasculating the OT by the virtues of the
NT.”89 If
language means anything,
their future national repentance.
88 Ibid., 251.
89 John A. Jelinek,
"The Dispersion and Restoration of
People: An Evangelical Affirmation of
God's Promises, ed. H.
Wayne House (
Publications,
1998), 236. Jelinek's attention to Leviticus 26 is a welcome
contribution to the study of the
eschatological significance of the pericope.
The
Eschatological Significance of Leviticus 26 25
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Heilsgeschichte
Heilsgeschichte ("salvation
history") was the foundation of the Mosaic Covenant
(vv. 13, 45). Yahweh is the God of history.
He is the sovereign Lord of time and of place.
Divine
election and deliverance are the main factors in
graciously and mercifully associated Himself with
this nation. As the Lord of history, He
controls all history. He can move entire nations
in order to chastise disobedient
return her to the land in the time of her repentance.
The God of history can prepare the
nations for receiving the exiled people (cf.
Joseph, Gen 50:20). The nations would
swallow up the scattered Israelites (Lev 26:33)
and would make them vanish (v. 38). Yet,
Yahweh
would preserve a remnant so that a new history could begin.
God of history who controls all time, places,
and nations.
Breach and Preservation
of Covenant
The
"uncircumcised heart" (v. 41) of disobedient
divine covenants. Yahweh could never be disloyal. He
is always faithful because He is
"Yahweh their God" (v. 44).
Breach of covenant occurred when
Covenant (v. 15). Idolatry and sabbath breaking, especially,
constituted breach of
covenant (vv. 1-2). Such an action was willful.
It would result in the nullification of
blessings associated with the Abrahamic
Covenant and identification associated with the
Mosaic
Covenant. Any infraction of Mosaic legislation was deemed rebellion against the
sovereign will of the suzerain-legislator, Yahweh.
Yahweh, however, "remembers"
(rkz) His covenants. He
preserves the covenants.
The
covenants contained both blessing and cursing. Blessing and cursing were
initiated
by promise, and implemented by legislation.
Promise emphasized divine sovereignty;
legislation highlighted human responsibility. When
remained faithful. The suzerain's faithful
preservation of the covenant is in sharp contrast
to the vassal's failure to submit. Covenant
history confirms both divine dependability and
human culpability.
The Abrahamic Covenant
was identified as a covenant with roots in the history of
Verse
42 presented this confirmation of prior history.90 As the Abrahamic Covenant was
preserved (and would continue to be preserved), so
also the Mosaic Covenant would be
preserved for future generations (v. 45). Yahweh's
deeds in history illustrate His
faithfulness to preserve the
covenant in spite of the failure of one generation to be faithful
to it.
Prohibition of Idolatry
It is a serious crime to defy the Creator of the
universe and the God of all history.
The
ultimate reason for the prohibition of idolatry is succinctly expressed in the
Selbstvorstellungsformel
("self-introduction formula"):91 "for I am Yahweh
your God."
90 See above, 4.
91 John van Seters, "Confessional Reformulation in the Exilic
Period," Vetus Testamentum
22 (1972): 455.
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This
formula is the key phrase in Leviticus 18-26.92 The
contrast is self-explanatory.
Yahweh's
inherent and exclusive authority makes idols worthless, powerless,
anthropocentric, and void of any
spiritually redeeming value. There is no room for
divided loyalties. Yahweh insists upon exclusive
lordship in the lives of His people.
Awareness
of Yahweh's existence, identity, and presence was central to the covenant
relationship that
The idolater chooses the way of the
uncircumcised nations (cf. v. 41), therefore he
will be eaten up by those nations (v. 38) among whom
he will be exiled (v. 33). His guilt,
his treason, will cause him great anguish (v. 39).
The only way to be restored to
Yahweh's
favor will be by confession, humility, and restitution (vv. 40-41). Idolaters
must confess their filthy idolatry. Humility must be
produced by the realization that they
cannot manipulate Yahweh. Restitution must consist in
allowing Yahweh and His land
priority in their lives. Only when this occurs
will
permanently to the land from which they were
expelled in A.D. 70.
Observance of Sabbaths
"Sabbaths" is plural throughout the pericope (vv. 2, 34-35, 43). The reference is
undoubtedly intended to include both weekly sabbaths and annual sabbaths
(including the
year of jubilee) that are mentioned in the preceding
context (chapters 23-25).
Sabbath observance is theologically
rich. It specially signified God's dominion over
Israel.93
In His sovereignty Yahweh established the nation,
granted them their land, and
claimed His demand upon their time.94 The sabbaths
were also a means of reminding
way in which the faith of the OT hears the
commandment of its God in its liturgical
ordinances."96
time as well as the God of space. The sabbath honored the Lord of time.
The Sabbaths
taught the Israelites to trust the Lord of all things
for their provisions. Lordship was the
core of the sabbatical principle. By trusting the
Lord to provide for the seventh day, the
seventh year, and the forty-ninth and fiftieth
years,
power and wisdom. He who provided.
in the wilderness had already proclaimed the
sabbatical principle while
was simple: "Trust me to provide. I am Yahweh.
I will not lead you where I cannot care
for you." God never demands what man is unable
to do. He provides the way of service.
He
blesses the path of obedience. Sabbath in the OT was more than an expression of
the
vertical relationship to the Lord of all
creation. It was also an expression of concern and
care for those who were fellow participants in the
covenant (cf. Lev 25).
92 Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus, NICOT (
1979),
250.
93 Matitiahu Tsevat, "The Basic Meaning of the Biblical
Sabbath," Zeitschrifi fur die alttestamentliche
Wissenschaft 84 (1972): 455.
94 Ibid.
95 Walter Brueggemann,
The Land: Place as Gift, Promise, and Challenge
in Biblical Faith (
Fortress
Press, 1977), 64.
96 Walther Zimmerli,
Old Testament Theology in Outline,
trans. David E. Green (
1978),
125.
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The sabbatical principle was the
test, the seat/sign, of the obedience demanded
under the Mosaic Covenant (Exod
33:17-21). The legal covenant represented the
legislative authority of Yahweh. The sabbath represented Yahweh's
authority over time.
It
was the legislation of time.
Even the land needed restitution when the time
that Yahweh demanded for it was
not granted by
people. The land was a promised possession in a
time-space continuum. Breach of the
sabbatical principle regarding the land was
evidence of rebellion against the Lord of time
and space. The violation of the land by denying its
just recompense was a violation of
Yahweh's gift of fruitfulness. It was robbery because
it denied continued fruitfulness for
future generations of Abraham's descendants. The
liberty proclaimed in the sabbatical
principle was an echo of the Heilsgeschichte. The God of
history delivered
servitude in
freedom was to deny the Lord who brought them
out of
Presence and Sanctuary
The presence of Yahweh is referred to
by means of "presence" (Mynp, v. 17), "walk
among you" (jvtb
jlhth, v. 12), "sanctuary" (wdqm, v. 2), and
"tabernacle" (Nkwm,
v. 11). His presence works both weal (vv. 11-12)
and woe (v. 17). His presence is both
edifice-oriented97 (vv. 2, 11) and people-oriented
(vv. 12, 17). His presence is holy (note
the employment of the root wdq "holy" in wdqm,
"sanctuary"). The reference to holiness
is particularly striking because it is in a
context of precepts prohibiting of idolatry and
commanding observance of Sabbaths: Yahweh is holy
because He is set apart from idols
and His presence is distinct from idols. Also, He
is holy because sabbatical time is set
apart for Him.
The implication of verses 14-45 is that
when disobedient
punishment-dealing presence of Yahweh, He
has ceased to "walk among" them or to
tabernacle among them. Indeed, He is pictured as
"walking in opposition" to them (vv.
24, 28).
Even though His presence or sanctuary
is not with the exiles among the nations (at
least not in the same fashion as when they were
obedient and in the land), yet Yahweh
will preserve His covenant with them (v. 44).
Promise
Promise here is being used in a very broad sense
of the term. It is being employed
to cover both the promise to bless and the promise
to curse. It is in the sense of
fulfillment or commitment as much as in the sense of
hope or expectancy.
Promise
in Leviticus 26 is identified with the solemn divine self-introduction
(Selbstvorstellung) of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
(vv. 1, 2, 13, 44, 45; cf v.
42).
It is a promise preceding the history of deliverance from
Covenant) and the entrance into
a reference to something inward and spiritual,
but a reference to the tangible aspects of
97 By "edifice-oriented" the
writer does not mean that Yahweh is edifice-limited. The edifice was merely an
accommodation to focus attention upon Yahweh's
presence among His people. Cf. Ezek 10:3-19; 11:22-
23; 43:1-5.
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covenant life: productivity, peace, population,
presence, and land. The promise includes a
pledge to bless
disloyalty. Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,
promises His own loyalty to His covenant
with His people. He has not finished His design for
fulfilled:
Even
Testament revelation makes clear, the
Lord Jesus Christ--the suffering Servant of
Isaiah--is in Himself a "new
God, His promise to
disobedience
or by the subsequent role of the church. For He will regenerate His
ancient people
and thus qualify them in ages to come to bring to fruition the grand
design for
which He had called and elected them (Lev. 26:40-45; Deut. 30:1-30; Jer.
31:27-34; 33:19-26; Ezek. 36:22-38;
Pentateuch.98
Blessing and Curse
The
blessings and curses of Leviticus 26 are quite similar to those of Deuteronomy
27-28 as well as to those of the Esarhaddon vassal treaties and the Sefire
stelas. The
similarities involve both formal
structure and traditional phraseology and vocabulary. By
their very contexts in the biblical materials, the
blessings and curses are distinctly
covenantal.99 The blessings are
directly related to the promised blessings and/or
privileges of both the Abrahamic
and the Mosaic covenants. Likewise, the curses are
directly related to the nullification or removal
of those same blessings and/or
privileges.100
The blessings and curses do not in themselves
indicate the presence of the
Deuteronomic Covenant in Leviticus
26.101 Any preview of that covenant in the pericope
must maintain a continuity with the two previous
covenants. In other words, a third
covenant (whether here or in Deuteronomy 27-30)
does not nullify the Abrahamic and
Mosaic
covenants.
Obedience and
Disobedience
"Obedience to Yahweh, the one God, who
delivered
jealous of his own uniqueness, defines the
fundamental nature of the OT faith."102
Obedience
reflects respect for who and what Yahweh is personally
and historically (Lev
26:1-3,
13-15, 39-45). Obedience involves the acceptance of the lordship of Yahweh in
one's life in time and space (cf. vv. 2, 34-35, 43).
Obedience produces participation in
the covenant blessings (v. 9). The precepts reveal
the will of God for
man must be yielded to the will of Yahweh in order
to be loyal to the covenants (cf v.
41).
98
B. Zuck
(Chicago: Moody Press, 1991), 87.
99 Contra Ronald E. Clements, Prophecy and Tradition, in Growing Points in
Theology (
Knox Press,
1975), 16-17.
100 See above, 5-6, 8-9.
101 See above, 9-10.
102 Zimmerli, Old Testament Theology, 116.
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Disobedience is the denial of the
identity of Yahweh in history, covenant, and law.
It
is breach of covenant faith (v. 15). It is acting unfaithfully, disloyally, and
treasonously
(v. 40). It is blatant opposition to God (vv. 21,
23, 27). It is nonperformance of His
commands (v. 14). It involves rejecting His
statutes and despising His ordinances (v. 15).
It
is a matter that is concerned with the inner man (vv. 15, 41, 43; note
"soul" and
"heart"). Disobedience has frightful consequences. Even
cannibalism is not beyond the
capability of the disobedient (v. 29). It causes
the unacceptability of the sacrifices which
were the outward manifestation of faith (v. 31).
Disobedience is worthy only of death
(vv. 25, 33, 37, 38) and exile (vv. 33, 44). Death is separation
from the body; exile is
separation from the land.
Retribution and
Chastisement
The application of the curses/penalties of
verses 14-45 are highlighted by two
factors: (1) the gradation of the punishments in
five stages of severity (vv. 16-17, 18-20,
21-22,
23-26, and 27-38)103 and (2) the recurring refrain, "seven
times for your sins" (vv.
18, 21, 24, 28). The stages of
chastisement are emphasized also by the occurrence of the
term "discipline" (rsy, vv. 18, 23, 28). The entire process, from start to finish,
was
intended as a means of restoration. However, the
primary purpose was not restoration,
but the glorification of the covenant God, Yahweh (cf vv. 44, 45).
Retribution may be terminal (cf. vv. 25, 30,
38), but chastisement may result in
restoration through repentance (cf. vv. 39-45). Both
are involved in Leviticus 26. Divine
retribution will come upon those who fail to confess
their sins. Chastisement will be
administered to those who confess
their sins.
In the refrain, "seven times"104
implies the sabbatical principle and "for your sins"
indicates breach of covenant. "Sin" is
also a term applied to breach of covenant in the
vassal treaties of Esarhaddon.105 Leviticus
26 emphasizes the seal/sign of the Mosaic
Covenant,
the sabbaths. Since the sabbaths were related to the land
(vv. 34-35, 43), the
Abrahamic Covenant is at least implied. Yahweh
would judge His people for their
nonobservance of the sabbaths, for their worship of idols and for the resulting
defilement
of the people among whom He dwelt (cf. vv. 1-2,
29-3 1). Divine judgment is not a
betrayal of the covenants (v. 44). On the
contrary, judgment declares that disobedience is
sin and that sin in rebellion against the Lord.
Eventually, Yahweh's judgments would
increase to such an intensity and nature that
there would be no doubt that He had
exercised His covenant rights to exact retribution
from those who defy His authority.
"Many
of the horrifying judgments described in Rev. 6ff. find their original setting
in the
covenant curses of Lev. 26 and Deut. 28."106
103 For an excellent discussion of the form,
structure and setting of vv. 14-45, see John Hartley, Leviticus,
Word Biblical
Commentary, vol. 4 (Dallas: Word Books, Publisher, 1992), 457-62.
104 Seven is more than just a symbolic
number: "It is an appropriate and evocative number in view of the
importance of the seventh in Israelite
religion" (Wenham, Leviticus,
331). Cf., also, Karl Elliger, Leviticus,
HAT 1/4 (Tubingen: Verlag von J. C. B.
Mohr/Paul Siebeck, 1966), 375: "Naturlich ist 'sieben' eine
schematische Steigerungszahl"
("’Seven’ is naturally a stylized number of intensity").
105 See D. J. Wiseman, The Vassal-Treaties of
Archaeology
in
106 Wenham, Leviticus, 334. Cf., also, Hartley, Leviticus, 475.
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Exile
Exile ("scattering among the
nations," v. 33) was the ultimate penalty for breach of
covenant. It meant removal from the band of
promise. The landedness for which the
nation had hoped would dissolve into the landlessness
which had characterized their
sojourn in
heart" (v. 41) they would be placed among the
uncircumcised-those who were outside
the covenants. Exile was a living death, a living
separation from the land of abundant life.
Exile
meant removal from the setting in which
the Abrahamic and Mosaic
covenants. Exile, however, need not be terminal. Exile,
landlessness, could be a condition
that could give rebirth to hope (vv. 39-45).
Landlessness
was not synonymous with divine rejection or abhorrence (v. 44). As at
Sinai,
and in the wilderness, landlessness presented the people with a goal for life
and a
meaning for history. The landless ones must cast
their cares upon the one who would
guide them out of bondage to freedom. Even in the
land of their enemies, Yahweh was
still their God (v. 44). The covenant relationship
per se knows no geographical or
political boundaries. Yahweh's loyalty is
unaffected by the landedness or the
landlessness of His people. He is
above the circumstances of history, working for the
repentance of His covenanted people so that His
covenants might one day be fulfilled
completely.
Repentance
The Hebrew word for "repentance"
(bUw) does not occur in
Leviticus 26. However,
the concept of repentance is found in a threefold
turning of the exiled people to Yahweh:
(1) They would confess their guilt and
the guilt of their fathers (v. 40), recognizing
their personal and corporate
culpability.
(2) They would humble their
"uncircumcised heart" (v. 41), bringing it into
subjection to the precepts of
Yahweh. Submission to the divine Suzerain is
required of a covenanted people.
They must submit to Yahweh's lordship. Their
submission must not be mere
external compliance externally in religious
exercises; it must be internal
and real.
(3) They would make restitution for their
guilt (v. 41), accepting the federal
consequences of sin. Such
restitution is not soteriological redemption. It is
the
evidence, not the cause, of
repentance and expiation.
The
impact of sin will be felt until the land has enjoyed its restitution. Exile
will continue
after repentance until the penalty has been
fulfilled. Getting right with God does not
insure immediate blessing and a solution to
uncomfortable circumstances. It does
guarantee a restoration to the covenant
relationship whereby promised blessings might be
renewed once the land is regained.
Is
Kingdom? Fruchtenbaum
responds with a clear affirmative, employing Leviticus 26:40-
42
as the first piece of scriptural evidence.107 The
future restoration of
predicated upon the fulfillment of prophecies
concerning a worldwide dispersion. The
return from the Babylonian Exile does not fulfill
those announcements since the people
were restored from but one nation, not from among
all nations. Leviticus 26:33 and 39
107 Fruchtenbaum,
Israelology,
781-91.
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speak of a scattering among "the nations."
Are these references generic--merely
referring to exile among Gentiles--or, are these
references specifying a universal
dispersion?
The restoration of
repentance (cf. Jer
3:11-18; Zech 12:11-10; Hosea 5:13 - 6:3). That this did not take place
prior to the return from Babylonian Exile may be seen
by the words of Jesus Himself 600
years later:
O Jerusalem,
How often I wanted to gather your children
together, the way a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings,
and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you
desolate! For I
say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you
say, ‘Blessed
is He who comes
in the name of the Lord!’”108
Leviticus 26 and the New
Testament
The employment of verses 11-12 in 2
Corinthians 6:16 is the only concrete example
of the influence of Leviticus 26 on the revelation
contained in the NT.109 The passage
from this pericope was
employed in order that Paul might better emphasize the concept
of identification with God. It is unfortunate that
Wenham did not deal with this NT usage
in his commentary.110 Wenham, however,
does observe that the blessings and curses of
Leviticus
26 are expressed at least in principle by Christ's teachings in His pre-cross
ministry. The chastisement of
the Jews of Christ's day. Jesus also spoke of the
eschatological reality of that
chastisement. Wenham claims that
"many of the horrifying judgments described in Rev.
6ff
find their original setting in the covenant curses of Lev. 26 and Deut.
28."111 This is
true insofar as they are directly related by the
Book of Revelation to the nation of
Application
of the covenant blessings and curses to the Gentiles is unwarranted (with the
exception of the blessing for all peoples mediated
by Abraham's descendants; Gen 12:3).
Technically,
the covenants were made with
The principles of God's dealings with NT
believers by means of reward and/or
chastisement are basically the same
as the principles by which He dealt with
the covenants. This must not be construed, however,
as meaning that the NT saints are
under the same covenant relationship as
to the same covenant. The very nature of God
demands the federal consequences of sin
be exacted from His people in all ages (cf. Gal
6:7-10; 1 Cor 11:30). The same God
108 Matt 23:37-39 (NASB); the statement of
109 Paul's quotation of Lev 26:11-12 is paraphrastic. His emphasis was on the concept of
identification with
God (Lev
26:12b). The apostle's omission of Lev 26:1lb is a clue to his intention. That
phrase does not
serve any purpose in Paul's discussion in the
context of 2 Cor 6. Since he would omit Lev 26:11b
("and my
soul will not despise you"), he
paraphrased 11a ("I will set my dwelling place in your midst"--cf. 2 Cor
6:16, "I
will dwell among them"). Having established the concept and the context,
Paul proceeded to quote
Lev 26:12.
Elaborate discussions of conflation of OT texts, "pearl stringing,"
pre-Pauline usage, and 4Q
LXX Leva are made unnecessary by the simple reading
of the NT text alongside the MT.
110 Wenham, Leviticus, 329-30, 333-34.
111 Ibid., 334.
112 Cf. the postscript of Lev 26:
"These are the statutes and the ordinances and the laws which
Yahweh
established between himself and the Israelites on Mt.
same exclusivity is expressed in Exod 19:5-6 and Rom 9:4.
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provides lessons for believers in every era based
upon His historical deeds (cf Rom 15:4;
1 Cor 10:11-13). The same God blesses in
tangible ways those who are faithful (cf. 2 Cor
9:6-15).
The same God is loyal even in the face of His people's
disloyalty (cf. 2 Tim
2:11-13;
Phil 1:6). The same God is Lord (cf. 1 Cor 12:3). The
same Lord requires
confession, humility, and restitution (cf. 1 John
1:9; 1 Pet 5:5-7; Phile 1-25). The same
God
promises that obedient service will be rewarded (cf. 1 Cor
15:58). The same God
demonstrates that the believer has
been delivered from bondage into a servitude that is
totally unlike the bondage of fear and the curse
(cf. Rom 6:12-23; Heb 2:14-15; Acts
26:18;
The Lord who by means of Leviticus 26 revealed
to
and perpetuity of the Abrahamic
Covenant after the ratification of the Mosaic Covenant,
also confirmed that testimony in Galatians 3:17. NT
believers must recognize that the
authority of one covenant does not annul the
authority of a previous one. Any exceptions
are clearly revealed by God (e.g., Heb 7:11-14).
The epistle to the Galatian churches
teaches that Abrahamic
faith in Yahweh was not replaced by law under Moses.
Therefore,
faith is still binding upon any man's relationship to the God of Abraham.
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