Leviticus, Chapter 24

Leviticus Chapter 24

Verses 1-23: The Lamp and the Bread of the Presence

1. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2. “Command the children of Israel that they bring to you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
3. Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the LORD continually. It is a statute forever throughout your generations.
4. He shall arrange the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually.”
5. “And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes from it; two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake.
6. And you shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the LORD.
7. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
8. Every Sabbath he shall arrange it before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.
9. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the LORD’s offerings by fire, by a perpetual statute.”
10. Now there was a son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp.
11. The Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name with a curse; and they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)
12. And they put him in custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown to them.
13. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
14. “Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
15. And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.
16. And he that blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
17. ‘He that kills any man shall surely be put to death.
18. ‘And he that kills a beast shall make it good; beast for beast.
19. ‘And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbor; as he has done, so shall it be done to him;
20. Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he has caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
21. And he that kills a beast, he shall restore it: and he that kills a man, he shall be put to death.
22. You shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.
23. And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Interpretation: Leviticus 24 details the laws concerning the lampstand and the bread of the Presence, symbolizing God’s continual light and provision for the Israelites. It also addresses the serious consequences of blasphemy against God. The instructions for the lampstand and the bread emphasize the need for continual worship and remembrance of God’s presence and provision. The story of the blasphemer, on the other hand, underscores the importance of respecting the sacredness of God’s name and the community’s responsibility to uphold God’s laws. This chapter, thus, highlights both the rituals that sustain the Israelites’ relationship with God and the ethical standards necessary for maintaining the sanctity of the community.