（利19-20）圣洁与十诫
(Leviticus 19-20) Holiness and the Ten Commandments
(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）
Leviticus chapters 19-20 are the scriptures known as the “Holy ones” section in the weekly readings of the Jewish people [1]. It’s considered very important because it’s the Lord who directly summoned Moses to instruct the entire assembly (Leviticus 19:2) “You shall be holy…” Becoming holy is the duty of the saved. Here, the Israelites were saved from the bondage of Egypt, and the Lord also taught them the ritual of atonement (Leviticus 16). However, atonement requires people to return, to renew their commitment to follow the covenant with God. So, in the “Holy ones” section, the Lord gave the Israelites a good review for the concepts of the Ten Commandments received at Mount Sinai. We can see a lot of repetitions, but remarkably, these repetitions are not redundant; instead, they refer to each other, allowing the Lord’s people to better understand. (The explanations below refer to [2] and [3].)
Introduction: Exodus 20:2 “I am the Lord your God…”
Leviticus 19:3 “I am the Lord your God.”
(Here, “your” is plural. It seems to say that the Lord is the God of all of us, regardless of whether we are parents, children, spouses, or neighbors. In our mutual relationships, we should obey the Lord’s commands and love others as ourselves.)
First: Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”
Leviticus 19:4 “You shall not turn to worthless idols…”
(Apart from the Lord, all “gods” are false, worthless.)
Second: Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol…”(Here, “yourself” and “idol” are singular. One cannot make idols for oneself.)
Leviticus 19:4 “…Nor make yourselves molten gods…” (The ‘make’ and ‘yourselves’ in the original text are plural. So, one also cannot for mutual use purposes carve idols: oneself cannot for others cast idols, also cannot let others for oneself cast idols.)
Third: Exodus 20:7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord…”(Here, the Lord’s proper name is spelled out in Hebrew.)
Exodus 19:12 “You shall not swear falsely by my name…”
(Here, the prohibition does not specifically specify one of the Lord’s names, so it includes all of the Lord’s names, such as God, Almighty, etc., which cannot be used to swear falsely.)
Fourth: Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day…”
Leviticus 19:3 “…You shall keep my Sabbaths…”
(Here, the original text of ‘sabbaths’ does not mention “day,” and it is plural. This can indicate various types of rest, such as observing the Sabbatical year of the land, similar to observing the Sabbath day of rest for people. (See [4])
Fifth: Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and mother…”
Leviticus 19:3 “Each of you shall revere his mother and his father…”
(The term “honor” used in Exodus, emphasizes caring for the various needs of parents, while Leviticus emphasizes respect, such as not contradicting them, not sitting in their designated seat, etc.)
Sixth: Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.”
Leviticus 19:16 “…Nor stand idly by the blood of your neighbor…”
(Here, the original text implies not seeing one’s neighbor in life-threatening danger, having the ability to save them, yet standing idly by.)
Seventh: Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.”
Leviticus 20:10 “If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife…”
(This points out that in the Old Testament, the punishment for adultery is death.)
Eighth: Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.”
(This refers to stealing (kidnapping) people. The reason is that in the Ten Commandments, this commandment is listed alongside the sins of murder, adultery, etc., which are punishable by death, so it is not stealing property, whose punishment is only a fine.)
Leviticus 19:11 “You shall not steal…” (This refers to stealing property.)
Ninth: Exodus 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”
Leviticus 19:16 “You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people…”
(So, spreading rumors to speak ill of others is also harming others and cannot be done.)
Tenth: Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet…”
Leviticus 19:18 “…But you shall love your neighbor as yourself…”
(This is a positive commandment corresponding to the Tenth Commandment. One cannot covet to obtain others’ benefits for oneself. On the contrary, just as one is willing to protect one’s own interests, one should also protect others’ interests and be happy for others to have good things, just as happy as when one has good things oneself. This is the natural inference of loving others as oneself. No wonder Jesus called loving others as oneself the second greatest commandment after loving God (Mark 12:31), “The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”)
In this “Holy ones” section, although the Ten Commandments are not explicitly mentioned, it teaches us to better understand the essence of the Ten Commandments. The Lord did a nice review of His teachings not by mere recitation, but used different wordings. Let us also learn such a superb teaching method from the Lord himself, so that we can better understand the essence behind the Lord’s words.
References:
[1]https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Kedoshim/kedoshim.html#loaded
[2] https://www.sefaria.org/Vayikra_Rabbah.24.5?lang=bi
[3] https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Leviticus?tab=contents
[4] https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/leviticus-19-3.html
（利19-20）圣洁与十诫
利未记19-20章是犹太人每周读经进度里被称为“圣洁”篇的经文【1】，被认为非常重要，因为它是主叫摩西召集全会众直接教导他们的，（利19:2） “你 晓 谕 以 色 列 全 会 众 说 ， 你 们 要 圣 洁 ，…”。成圣，是得救的人的本分。这里，以色列人从埃及为奴之地得救了，主也教导了他们赎罪的仪式（利16），但是，赎罪需要人回归，需要人重新立志遵行他们与神之间的约。所以，主又通过“圣洁”篇，让以色列人复习在西奈山立约时接受的十诫背后的精髓。我们可以看到很多的重复，但奇妙的是，这些重复一点都不多余，相反，它们相互参照，让主的子民有了更好的领受。（以下的解释，参照了【2】【3】。）
序言： 出20:2 我 是 耶 和 华 你 的 神 ，…
利19:3 我 是 耶 和 华 你 们 的 神 。【这里的你们是复数。这好像是在说，主是我们所有人的神，不论是父母儿女夫妻邻舍，在我们的相互关系上，也要因着主是我们所有人的神的原因，遵守主的命令，爱人如己。】
第一：出20:3 除 了 我 以 外 ， 你 不 可 有 别 的 神 。
利19:4 你 们 不 可 偏 向 虚 无 的 神， … 【除主以外，一切的“神”都是假的，都是虚无，都毫无价值。】
第二：出20:4 不 可 为 自 己 雕 刻 偶 像 ，【这里的自己与雕刻原文是单数。不能自己为自己雕刻偶像。】
利19: 4 … 也 不 可 为 自 己 铸 造 神 像 。【这里的铸造与自己原文是复数。所以，也不能为相互的使用目的而雕刻偶像：自己不能为别人铸造偶像，也不能让别人为自己铸造偶像。】
第三：出20:7 不可妄称耶和华你神的名… 【这里的主的名在原文中明确写了出来。】
出19:12 不 可 指 着 我 的 名 起 假 誓 ，… 【这里的禁令不特别指定是主的那一个名，所以包括了主所有的名，如上帝，全能者，等等，都也不能用来起假誓。】
第四：出20:8-11 当 记 念 安 息 日 ， 守 为 圣 日 。六日要 劳 碌 作 你 一 切 的 工 ，但第七日…无论何工都不可作…
利19:3 …也 要 守 我 的 安 息 日 。… 【这里原文的安息，没有提到“日”，而且是复数。这可以表示不只一种安息，比如要守地的每七年的安息年，如同守人的第七日的安息日。参考【4】】
第五：出20:12 当孝敬父母…
利19:3 你 们 各 人 都 当 孝 敬 父 母 … 【这里的孝敬原文与出埃及记里用的词不一样，出埃及记里的强调照顾父母的各种生活需要，而利未记强调的是尊敬，例如不顶撞反驳他们，不坐他们专门的座位，等等。】
第六：出20:13 不 可 杀 人 。
利19:16 … 也 不 可 与 邻 舍 为 敌 ， 置 之 于 死 （ 原 文 作 流 他 的 血 ） 。【原文这里有不能看见邻舍有生命危险，自己有条件救他却站着不管的意思。】
第七：出20:14 不 可 奸 淫 。
利20:10 与 邻 舍 之 妻 行 淫 的 ， 奸 夫 淫 妇 都 必 治 死 。【这里指出了旧约圣经里对奸淫罪的惩罚是死罪。】
第八：出20:15 不 可 偷 盗 。【这里指的是偷盗（拐卖）人口，其原因是在十诫中，这条诫命与不可杀人，不可奸淫等死罪并列，不应该是只判罚款的的偷盗财物。】
利19:11 你 们 不 可 偷 盗… 【这里指的是偷盗财物。】
第九： 出20:16 不 可 作 假 见 证 陷 害 人 。
利19:16 不 可 在 民 中 往 来 搬 弄 是 非 ， … 【所以背后传流言说人坏话也是陷害人，也不能做。】
第十：出20:17 不 可 贪 恋 人 的 房 屋 ， 也 不 可 贪 恋 人 的 妻 子 ， 仆 婢 ， 牛 驴 ， 并 他 一 切 所 有 的 。
利19:37 …却 要 爱 人 如 己 。… 【这是与第十诫对应的一条正面的诫命，不能想把别人的好处掠夺给自己，相反，就像自己的利益愿意被保护，我们也要保护别人的利益，为别人有好东西为他们高兴，就像自己有了好东西一样的高兴。这是爱人如己的自然推论。难怪，新约里耶稣把爱人如己称为爱主以下的第二大诫命，（可12:31）“其 次 ， 就 是 说 ， 要 爱 人 如 己 。 再 没 有 比 这 两 条 诫 命 更 大 的 了 。”】
这圣洁篇里，虽然没有明确提到十诫，却教导我们更好理解十诫的精髓。主的教导不是单纯背书，而是能“换句话说”。让我们也从主自己那里学习这样高超的教学方法从而努力更好地学习主话语背后的精义。
参考文献：
【1】https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Kedoshim/kedoshim.html#loaded
【2】https://www.sefaria.org/Vayikra_Rabbah.24.5?lang=bi
【3】https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Leviticus?tab=contents
【4】https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/leviticus-19-3.html