Leviticus: Wisdom Commentary

"A Michael Glazier book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-315) and indexes.

Author's Introduction: Reading Leviticus with a Feminist Lens -- Leviticus 1:1-3:17 Offerings, Offerers, and Considerations of Gender -- Leviticus 4:1-6:7 Something New: Purification and Guilt -- Leviticus 6:8-7:38 Another Perspective on Offerings, or What's In It for the Priests? -- Leviticus 8:1-10:20 Coming Into and Managing Power -- Leviticus 11:1-47 If You Must Eat Meat, Then ... -- Leviticus 12:1-15:33 Bodies and Access to the Holy -- Leviticus 16:1-34 Purifying the Sancta: "It Takes a Village" -- Leviticus 17:1-16 A Bloody Mess -- Leviticus 18:1-20:27 From Ritual Impurity to Ethical Transgressions -- Leviticus 21:1-22:33 Protecting Priestly Privilege -- Leviticus 23:1-25:55 Sacred Time, Space, Speech, and Land -- Leviticus 26:1-46 Eco-Friendly Blessings and Curses of Chaos -- Leviticus 27:1-34 How Much Is a Woman Really Worth? -- Postscript

"The book of Leviticus provides two different theologies related to God's presence within ancient Israel. Leviticus 1-16 was written by an elite caste of priests (P), and Leviticus 17-26 (H) was added to the book to "democratize" access to God. While the Priestly work has hardly inspired lay readers, the Holiness Writings provide some of the most inspiring and well-known verses from the Bible. This volume shows how gender dynamics shift between the static worldview of P and the dynamic approach of H and that, ironically, as holiness expands from the priests to the people, from the temple to the land of Israel, gender behaviors become more highly regulated. This complicates associations between power and gender dynamics and opens the door to questions about the relationships between power, gender, and theological perspectives."--Publisher.