A Thought on Leviticus 16:13

I was struck by the wording of Leviticus 16:13 tody. There is a long list of instructions, followed by the clause “that he may not die.” It’s just 2 words in Hebrew.

It seems to me that the Israelites approached the issue of God’s judgment against them very differently than we do. Rather than seeing contact with God as essentially safe activity and death or harmful results as requiring explanation, approaching God is seen as deadly. It’s survival that requires explanation.

This is hardly a new thought, and one should note some other differences, for example that the word “judgment” can be misleading in this context.

I’m posting from my Palm Centro, so I’ll be brief and probably miss a large number of nuances!

Tags: Leviticus