Description:
The Old Testament book of Leviticus is the sequel to Exodus in that it deals with a deeper dimension of the Sinaitic covenant, giving various rules for the life of the Israelites, and for the sacrifices and offerings to be performed in the sanctuary. It addresses the question of how the Israelites - human beings - can live in proximity to the holy God who has promised to dwell in their midst.
In this excellent commentary, Nobuyoshi Kiuchi offers in-depth discussion of the theology and symbolism of Leviticus. He argues that its laws present an exceedingly high standard, arising from divine holiness, and the giving of these laws to the Israelites is intended to make them aware of their sinfulness, lead them to hopelessness, and ultimately to destroy their egocentric nature.
To be confronted by the laws in Leviticus is to recognize the vast distance that separates the holy from the unclean and sinful, and so to appreciate afresh the grace of God, ultimately expressed in the life and work of Christ.
Brief description: Nobuyoshi Kiuchi is professor of Old Testament at Tokyo Christian University, Japan. He is the author of The Purification Offering in the Priestly Literature (JSOT Press) and A Study of Hata' and Hatta't in Leviticus 4-5 (Mohr Siebeck), and a contributor to the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (IVP). He studied in England for his Ph.D. at the College of St. Paul & St. Mary, Cheltenham (now part of the University of Gloucestershire) and the Oxford Centre for Post-graduate Hebrew Studies.