It goes almost without saying that any society placing immense reverence upon its central Temple would be expected to bestow equal honor upon the priests inhabiting the same, and such was indeed the case in ancient Israel. On the one hand, the Law demanded that its priests1 adhere to strict behavioral guidelines.2 On the other […]
Unsurprisingly, the Law was quite explicit in requiring every devout Jew to pay tithes to the Temple and its priests (see Exodus 22:29, Leviticus 27:30, Numbers 18:24-26, Deuteronomy 12:19, Deuteronomy 14:22-29, & Deuteronomy 18:3-4 et al), and equally typical was Jesus’ thorough rebuke of the same … *Whereas the Law required that tithes be offered […]
Since its inception, Jewish culture has relied upon the practice of animal sacrifice as its primary medium for the atonement of sin, and as such it can come as no surprise that a significant number of the regulations demanded by Jewish Law proscribe the whens and the hows of the same.1 That having been said, […]
The Law was explicitly clear that no work was to be done on the Sabbath – the seventh day of every week; a day that was to be revered – essentially with rest or ceremony (see Exodus 16:29, Exodus 20:8-10, Exodus 23:12, Exodus 25:30, Exodus 34:21, Exodus 35:2-3, & Numbers 28:9-10 et al). Of course, […]
Passover was one the most important holy festivals in the Jewish Calendar, and as such it made complete sense both that the Law contained dozens of regulations pertaining solely thereto (see Exodus 12:16, Leviticus 23:6-8, & Numbers 9:11 et al) and that Jesus went to great lengths to formulate one of his most intricate legal […]
Sukkot (or The Festival of Booths) was another of the major seasonal celebrations commanded by the Law (see Leviticus 23:34-42 & Numbers 29:12-34), and as such it makes sense not only that Jesus would preach his message of radical legal reform in the lone instance where Sukkot is specifically mentioned in the texts1 (see John […]
Though there is only one brief mention of Hanukkah in the Gospels, it is worth examining the little that Jesus did & said during the same. While not a holy festival proscribed by the Old Testament, Hanukkah was still an important celebration in Jesus’ day – a celebration that commemorated the rededication of the Jerusalem […]
The primary goal of any society’s legal system is to encourage (if not force) its citizens to live together in harmony. And yet what is seemingly unique about the Law of ancient Judea was that it did more than merely proscribe punishments for specific acts of improper behavior – it actually demanded that its citizens […]
The ancient Jewish culture (and as such also the ancient Law of the Israelites) was in great part founded upon familial relations remaining tight-knit. Indeed, the very first law given to the Jews in the Bible was God’s command for them to “be fruitful and multiply” (see Genesis 1:28 – also Leviticus 26:9)1, and one […]
Though the Law made it clear from its very beginning that the law-abiding Jewish citizen was required to “be fruitful and multiply” (see Genesis 1:28), it was just as adamant in circumscribing which sexual relationships were appropriate and which were sinful. Premarital intercourse was forbidden (see Deuteronomy 23:18), as was any act of incest (proscribed […]
Remaining ritually clean was an extremely important edict of the Law of ancient Israel (see Leviticus 11:43 & Deuteronomy 14:3), for without such cleanliness one could not partake of or participate in the Jewish religion’s required sacrifices &/or celebrations. There were many ways to become tamei (unclean), and acquiring such a spiritual taint required a […]
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