The Priestly Code (in Hebrew Torat Kohanim, תורת כהנים) is the name given, by academia,The book of Leviticus: composition and reception - Page 55 Rolf Rendtorff, Robert A. Kugler, Sarah Smith Bartel - 2003 "Research agrees that its relation to the "Priestly Code" is the central, literary historical problem of Leviticus. However, there are major differences when it comes to solving this problem." to the body of laws expressed in the Torah which do not form part of the Holiness Code, the Covenant Code, the Ritual Decalogue, the Ethical Decalogue or the Deuteronomic Code. The Priestly Code constitutes the majority of Leviticus, as well as some of the laws expressed in Numbers. The code forms a large portion, approximately one third, of the commandments of the Torah, and thus is a major source of Jewish law.
It is termed the Priestly Code due to its large concern with ritual and the Jewish priesthood, and also, in critical scholarship, it is defined as the whole of the law code believed to be present in the Priestly Source except for the Holiness Code. Under the documentary hypothesis, while some scholars believe that the Priestly Code was created to rival the Ethical Decalogue and Covenant Code, others believe was intended as only supplementary to the Holiness Code.
Constituent parts
Although the majority of the code forms the bulk of Leviticus, there are several laws which appear in other places in the Torah. The code is generally regarded to contain the following laws : Law of circumcision (Genesis 17) Laws concerning consumption of the Passover meal (Exodus 12:43-49) Laws concerning the keeping of the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14b-17 and 35:1-3) Law concerning the consumption of dead animals, fat, blood, and the portion due to the priest (Leviticus 7:22-38) Law concerning inappropriate behaviour for priests (Leviticus 10:6-15) List of clean and unclean animals (Leviticus 11) Laws of purification and atonement (Leviticus 12, Leviticus 13, and Leviticus 15) Laws interpreting the Holiness Code: The prohibition against consuming the naturally dead (Leviticus 17:15-16) The order to make trespass offerings after sexual involvement with an engaged slavewoman (Leviticus 19:21-22) The prohibition against an anointed high priest uncovering his head or rending his clothes (Leviticus 21:10) The prohibition against offerings by Aaronid priests who are blemished (Leviticus 21:21-22) Case law concerning a blasphemer (Leviticus 24:10-15a and 24:23) The order for a trumpet sounding on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 25:9b) Rules concerning redeeming property (Leviticus 25:23 and 25:26-34) Order to only keep s as slaves (Leviticus 25:40, 25:42, 25:44-46) Rules concerning redeeming people (Leviticus 25:48-52, and 25:54) Law concerning the commutation of vows (Leviticus 27) Miscellaneous laws concerning lepers, and dedicated things (Numbers 5:1-10) Law concerning women suspected of adultery (Numbers 5:11-31) Law of the "Little Passover" (Numbers 9:9-14) Laws concerning the duties and revenue of priests and Levites (Numbers 18) Law concerning the daughters of Zelophehad and inheritance (Numbers 27:1-11) Law concerning oaths (Numbers 30) The giving of 48 cities to the Levits (Numbers 35:1-8) Law on the treatment of murder and manslaughter (Numbers 35:9-34) Law concerning the daughters of Zelophehad and marriage to a land owner (Numbers 36)
It is also generally regarded as containing the following descriptions and rules of ritual: Ritual of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-20) Ritual of Consecration of Priests (Exodus 29:1-37, carried out at Leviticus 8) Continual morning and evening offerings (Exodus 29:38-42) Rules concerning the burning of incense and of hand washing (Exodus 30:7-10, and 30:19-20) Rules about the composition of anointing oil and incense (Exodus 30:22-38) Rules of burnt offerings, meal offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings, including specifications of the portions allocated to priests, and, in some cases, the appropriate costume of the officiating priest (Leviticus 1-7:21, carried out at Leviticus 9) Ritual of cleansing lepers (Leviticus 14) Rule of fringes (Leviticus 15:37-41) Ritual of Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:3-34, 25:9b) Rituals interpreting the Holiness Code: The order to keep the sabbath, passover, and feast of unleavened bread (Leviticus 23:1-10a) The order to keep Yom Kippur, and Sukkot (Leviticus 23:23-38) The order for continual bread and oil (Leviticus 24:1-9) Ritual concerning Nazarites (Numbers 6:1-21) The priestly benediction (Numbers 6:22-27) The bless thee, and keep thee: The make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Rules concerning how to fix lamps on the golden candlestick, and how to consecrate priests (Numbers 8:1-15, carried out at Numbers 8:20-22) Ritual of the Red Heifer, for purification after contact with a corpse (Numbers 19)
Biblical context
The majority of the Priestly Code is presented in the Torah as the Law which is given to Moses directly by God at Mount Sinai. Unlike the Decalogues, however, Yahweh speaks the laws to Moses while descended, in a cloud, upon the Tabernacle which the Israelites have constructed. The remainder is present as scattered laws either given by Moses directly, or by being given in a similar manner to the majority, via the tabernacle, but after the Israelites have moved elsewhere, taking the tabernacle with them. The implication, therefore, is that the tabernacle is the place where God speaks with the priesthood.
Composition
It is evident that rules of priestly procedure must have accompanied the institution of the priesthood, and in the earliest of times, before writing was invented, these rules probably were transmitted orally. When writing was first employed in connection with them, it is likely that only some general directions, or some details deemed most important, were committed to writing. As time passed on the importance given to written law would lead the priesthood to commit more and more of the details to writing. Critical scholars assert that in addition to this, over time, variations of detail would develop, authority for which must be committed to writing, so that actual practise would become justified by law. One would, therefore, suppose beforehand that such a code would exhibit evidence of gradual growth.
Colophons, which, according to textual criticism, are best explained as survivals from previous collections, are found in parts of the priestly code, at Leviticus 6:7, 7:37-38, 11:46-47, 13:59; 14:54-57, and 15:32-33. Colophons generally occur at the end of sources, and it is for this reason that Biblical Critics assert that the priestly code is composed of several originally separate documents placed together, with these colophons marking the ends of some of the source texts. Aside from these colophons, and obvious breaks between laws, such as those caused by narrative elements, for example the break between Leviticus 7:31 and Leviticus 11:1, as well as those caused by the presence of the Holiness Code, it is more difficult to identify other potential borders between sources.
One observation that can be made is that after each colophon, in Leviticus, there is a new introduction, of the form and the said unto Moses.... Several critical scholars have proposed that these introductions are an attempt to patch over the breaks between sources, and therefore conclude that everywhere there is a new introduction, there must be a break between sources. In addition to the colophons, and narrative breaks, this adds additional borders at Leviticus 4:1, 5:14, 6:1, 6:19, 6:24, 7:22, 7:28, 13:1, 14:33, and 15:1.
More detailed textual criticism, comparing vocabulary, writing styles, and so forth, is seen, by critical scholars, to support the idea that both the colophons, and the introductions, mark the borders between works originating from different writers, except for Leviticus 6:1. Leviticus 5:15-19 and 6:2-18 are usually regarded, under textual criticism, to have been from a continuous work, due to identical writing style, such as a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation ..., and trespass (ed) against the . Nevertheless, such textual criticism also identifies further abrupt changes in style, between Leviticus 1 and 2, between Leviticus 2 and 3, and between Leviticus 4 and 5.
There is also an additional, abrupt change at Leviticus 13:47, between discussion of leprosy, and of leprosy of clothing (mildew), only presenting part of a sentence, devoid of any verb clause — [...] without the camp shall his habitation be. The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be [list of types of garment]. And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment [...]. Thus, taking this as another border, in critical scholarship, Leviticus 13:1-46 represents a distinct text to Leviticus 13:47-59. This latter text, discussing mildew, noticeably appears to interrupt Leviticus 13:1-14:32, discussing leprosy, since prior to it is a law ordering that a leper be sent out of the camp to dwell alone, and after the mildew section is a law instructing priests to go out of the camp and inspect the leper to see if they are yet healed. Consequently, Leviticus 13:1-46 and 14:2-32 are viewed as one, original, text into which the mildew section was inserted at a later date.
Another section of the priestly code which is considered, by critical scholars, to interlace two earlier sources, is Leviticus 16. The ritual of the two goats, one being a scapegoat sent to Azazel, as a ritual to atone for sin as a nation, is given before, rather than within, instructions laying out how to observe Yom Kippur, leading to arguments that there were originally two separate sources describing this event. Further study on this question lead to the suggestion, supported by a majority of critical scholars, that there were two originally separate rituals which have been intertwined, one involving the two goats, at Leviticus 16:5, 16:7-10, and 16:14-28, and the other involving bullocks, constituting the remainder of Leviticus 16.
Textual criticism also produces a noteworthy observation concerning Leviticus 12. This brief chapter concerns the ritual of purification after childbirth, which is strikingly similar to the rituals for purification after menstruation, and other bodily discharges (bleeding, pus, vomit, etc.), at the end of Leviticus 15. Both, for example, involve two turtledoves, or two young pigeons brought to a priest, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, on the eighth day. According to textual criticism, the writing style, vocabulary, and so forth, is also indicative of a single author for the two chapters. Consequently, most biblical critics view Leviticus 12 as originally belonging immediately after Leviticus 15:30, as Leviticus 15 has the structure of discussion on male non-sexual discharges, followed by discussion on male sexual discharges (semen), followed by discussion on female non-sexual discharges, and thus Leviticus 12 completes the pattern, as it discusses childbirth, which can be viewed as sexually connected (conception) discharge (of a baby) by a female. Although there is not complete agreement about why this Chapter was moved, the currently most prominent reason given is that, at a later point in time, the view of childbirth changed, and it was no longer viewed as a sexual discharge.
Modifications
According to critical scholarship, the entire Priestly Code is a later addition, within the Priestly Source, to the earlier Holiness Code. However, textual criticism indicates it as having several different authors, some of whom appear, according to textual critics, not only to have added laws, but to have added modifications onto earlier ones within the Code.
Progression to naturalism