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Leviticus

About this book
Chapter 21

1 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron—say to them: ‘For a dead person no priest is to defile himself among his people, 2 except for his close relative who is near to him—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and his virgin sister who is near to him, who has no husband—he may defile himself for her. 4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself. 5 Priests must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body.⁠ 6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts, the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy. 7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution, nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all, am holy. 9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father.⁠ She must be burned to death.⁠ 10 “‘The high priest—who is greater than his brothers, and on whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments—must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments. 11 He must not go where there is any dead person; he must not defile himself even for his father or for his mother. 12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. 13 He must take a wife who is a virgin.⁠ 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people as a wife, 15 so that he does not profane his children among his people, for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’” 16 The Lord spoke to Moses: 17 “Tell Aaron, ‘No man from your descendants throughout their generations who has a physical flaw is to approach to present the food of his God.⁠ 18 Certainly no man who has a physical flaw is to approach: a blind man, or one who is lame, or one with a slit nose, or who has a limb too long, 19 or a man who has had a broken leg or arm, 20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or one with a spot in his eye, or a festering eruption, or a feverish rash, or a crushed testicle. 21 No man from the descendants of Aaron the priest who has a physical flaw may step forward to present the Lord’s gifts; he has a physical flaw, so he must not step forward to present the food of his God. 22 He may eat both the most holy and the holy food of his God, 23 but he must not go near the special curtain or step forward to the altar because he has a physical flaw. Thus he must not profane my holy places, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’” 24 So Moses spoke these things to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 38:24 and Leviticus 21:9 and Pseudo Jonathan Genesis 38:24

Hebrew Bible · Targum

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Summary

In Genesis 38, Judah orders Tamar to be burned as punishment for prostitution, a penalty that Leviticus requires only for the daughter of a priest. The Aramaic translation in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan fixes this by saying Tamar was the daughter of a priest.

Passages

Genesis 38:24

Hebrew Bible
23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.” 24 After three months Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, and as a result she has become pregnant.” Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” Then she said, “Recognize* the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Leviticus 21:9

Hebrew Bible
8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all, am holy. 9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death. 10 “‘The high priest—who is greater than his brothers, and on whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments—must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

Pseudo Jonathan Genesis 38:24

Targum
23 And Judah said, “Let her keep the pledges, lest we become a laughingstock; behold, I sent this kid but you did not find her.” 24 Now, after a period of three months it became known that she was pregnant; and Judah was told, as follows: “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot; and moreover, behold, she is pregnant because of her harlotry.” And Judah said, “Is she not the daughter of a priest? Bring her out and let her be burned.”
300–1200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Pseudo Jonathan Genesis

References

"... In the Pentateuch, burning occurs as a form of punishment three times. It occurs in the narrative of Judah and tamar: “about three months later Judah was told: ‘Tamar your daughter-in-law has committed fornication; and moreover, she is pregnant by fornication.’ and Judah said: ‘bring her out, and let her be burned’” (Genesis 38:24). In addition, it appears twice in Leviticus, in 21:9, concerning the law with respect to the daughter of a priest (“if the daughter of a priest profanes herself through fornication, she profanes her father; she shall be burned in fire”) and in 20:14, a prohibition against intercourse with a woman and her mother (“If a man takes a wife and her mother also, it is wickedness; they shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you”). The story of Genesis 38 seems to stand in contrast with Leviticus 21:9, unless one assumes that Tamar is the daughter of a priest. (This view is put forth in Genesis Rabbah 85:10 and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan 38:24) ..."
Jacques T. A. G. M. van Ruiten, Abraham in the Book of Jubilees: The Rewriting of Genesis 11:26–25:10 in the Book of Jubilees 11:14–23:8, JSJSup 161 (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 269.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 38:24 and Leviticus 21:9 and Pseudo Jonathan Genesis 38:24

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