Leviticus study section
Leviticus maps & timelines
Leviticus stays at Sinai; its geography is the gradations of holiness around God’s presence, and its timeline the ordering of worship in the second year.
The setting of Leviticus
The Setting of Leviticus:
- Mount Sinai - The entire book is spoken by the LORD at Sinai, where Israel is encamped; there is no journey in Leviticus, only the giving of the law at the mountain of God
- The Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle) - The center of the book; God speaks “from the tent of meeting,” newly filled with His glory (Exodus 40:34-35)
- The Camp of Israel - Arranged around the tabernacle; what is “unclean” is put “outside the camp,” a recurring boundary of holiness
- Outside the Camp - Where the leper dwells, the sin offering is burned, and the scapegoat is led away; the place of exclusion that Christ would enter, suffering “outside the gate” (Hebrews 13:12)
Spheres of holiness
Leviticus has no journey; every word is spoken by the LORD at Sinai over roughly one month. Its true geography is not a map of places but a map of nearness — the gradations of holiness that radiate out from God's presence in the Most Holy Place to the world outside the camp.
Leviticus arranges the world in gradations of holiness radiating out from God’s presence. This ordered nearness, not a map of places but of access, is the book’s true geography.
| Sphere | Who may enter | Access |
|---|---|---|
| The Most Holy Place | The high priest alone | Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, with blood |
| The Holy Place | The priests | Daily, to tend the lamp, bread, and incense |
| The Courtyard | Priests and worshipers | To bring offerings to the altar |
| The Camp | All Israel, when clean | The dwelling of the holy nation around the tabernacle |
| Outside the Camp | The unclean and the devoted | The place of exclusion, disease, and the burned sin offering |
Timeline of major events
| Event | Approximate Date | Leviticus Reference |
|---|---|---|
| The tabernacle erected and filled with glory | c. 1445 BC (1st month, 2nd year) | Exodus 40:17, 34 |
| The LORD gives the law of the offerings | c. 1445 BC | 1:1-7:38 |
| The ordination of Aaron and his sons (7 days) | c. 1445 BC | 8:1-36 |
| Aaron’s first offerings; fire and glory | c. 1445 BC (8th day) | 9:1-24 |
| The death of Nadab and Abihu | c. 1445 BC | 10:1-7 |
| The laws of clean and unclean given | c. 1445 BC | 11:1-15:33 |
| The Day of Atonement instituted | c. 1445 BC | 16:1-34 |
| The Holiness Code given | c. 1445 BC | 17:1-26:46 |
| The blasphemer stoned | c. 1445 BC | 24:10-23 |
| Laws of vows and dedication | c. 1445 BC | 27:1-34 |
| Israel numbered; the wilderness march begins | c. 1445 BC (2nd month, 2nd year) | Numbers 1:1 |
My notes
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