NOTES for Lev 24:1-23
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
2 Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. |
3 Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations. |
4 He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually. |
5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. |
6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. |
7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. |
8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. |
9 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute. |
10 And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; |
11 And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) |
12 And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them. |
13 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. |
15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. |
16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death. |
17 And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. |
18 And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast. |
19 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; |
20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again. |
21 And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death. |
22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God. |
23 And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses. |
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Leviticus offers a fairly severe law on blasphemy, prescribing the death penalty as punishment for this crime. A natural question arises: in that case, can we speak of any choice for a particular person? If blasphemy is punished by death, does faith in God cease to be a choice and become an obligation? Then, consequently, every atheist will have to become a martyr for an idea?
If atheism, at least conscious atheism that involves openly expressing the corresponding views, is understood as blasphemy, then obviously yes. Among religious people in every Abrahamic tradition there will surely be some who would like to see not only atheism but even agnosticism precisely as blasphemy. For a religious person, such a desire is quite understandable: religiosity constantly needs defense and protection, like every structure made by human beings.
Yahwism, however, if we speak of it not as a religion but as a tradition of Revelation, needs no such defense, just as no authentic spiritual tradition needs it. Why, then, does Leviticus judge blasphemy so severely? First of all because by blasphemy here it means by no means what many religious people mean by it today. The word translated into Russian as "reviled" literally means "abused," and with words that are not used in decent society.
In the context of modern Russian speech etiquette, one should speak here of vulgar public abuse, quite probably obscene. Such a thing is possible only if a person is beside himself with rage. Here, of course, there is no question of any proper debates on matters connected with the existence of God. Moreover, the punishment is obviously applied only if something like this happens publicly and the person cannot be calmed down or brought to his senses.
The point is clearly not an accidental nervous breakdown; this is a position involving absolute lack of restraint, which makes a person truly dangerous to every believer, and mortally dangerous at that, since in such a state even murder is possible. Only for such cases does Leviticus provide punishment for the blasphemer: for extreme cases, when no admonitions work any longer.
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Readings for 13 November 2025
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