preview

Levius Finch Research Paper

Decent Essays

ontext
The Book of Leviticus, part of the Pentateuch, is an important and historical section of the Bible. The authorship of Leviticus is widely debated, with multiple theories on its origins. Albert Barnes in “Barnes Notes on the New Testament” states that traditionally, the book is ascribed mainly to Moses. There is, however, according to Barnes, evidence which points to the works of multiple authors spanning many periods of time. This is seconded by Napthali Meshel in “Food for Thought: Systems of Categorization in Leviticus 11.” On page 223, he mentions his belief that 3 authors composed Leviticus 11 alone, indicated by the repetitive and at times conflicting nature of the chapter. The New Oxford Annotated Bible also references the work …show more content…

“Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible,” written by John Calvin, prominent French theological thinker and the creator of Calvinism, provides a traditional interpretation of the text in “Commentary on Leviticus 11:4.” Calvin believes the distinction between clean and unclean animals to have been established well before the writing of Leviticus. He writes specifically of the Noah providing “manifest proof,” of this in bringing clean and unclean beasts on his ark. As such, Calvin states, this distinction must have either been told to Noah by God, or been a well practiced ancient custom. Calvin adds that it is not unlikely that God had in fact endowed animals with traits specifically to mark them as unclean for ancient peoples, and that these marks had been interpreted by worshipers long before being established in the Bible. The reason for this distinction between clean and unclean, according to Calvin, is to perpetuate the segregation of Jews and Gentiles. He explains that Gentiles regularly ate unclean foods, and the forbiddance of these items helped Jews maintain a distinct separation. It is added that Jews may “learn in their very food to cultivate purity,” causing God to “surround his people with barriers…[to] separate them from their neighbours.” Calvin clearly …show more content…

Immediately, Coffman recognizes that modern interpretations of the text lean to sanitation and ancient diets as reasons for the distinction between clean and unclean animals. Coffman debunks this, however, by first noting that many of the clean animals are dangerous carriers of disease and illness, such as cattle carrying anthrax. As such, he believes that while known diseases may have contributed to the “taboo against eating those animals,” it is not the basis of Leviticus 11. Coffman then goes on to add that many believe the laws are “arbitrary and capricious,” under the modern lens. He counters by saying that all of the clean creatures marked by God are still regarded as the very best to eat, and so there “appears to be the utmost concern and discrimination on the part of God in imposing the regulations here recorded.” He notes specifically that the locust is an indicator of God’s foresight, as he marked it clean, allowing starving Jews to eat an animal which is found in plenty during

Get Access