leviticus 26 - Gordon College Faculty

LEVITICUS 26: ITS RELATIONSHIP TO

COVENANT CONTEXTS AND CONCEPTS





by

William D. Barrick






















Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Theology in
Grace Theological Seminary
May 1981

Title: LEVITICUS 26: ITS RELATIONSHIP TO COVENANT CONTEXTS
AND CONCEPTS
Author: William D. Barrick
Degree: Doctor of Theology
Date: May, 1981
Adviser: D. Wayne Knife

No other pericope of the Old Testament possesses the affinity
which Leviticus 26 has for the Palestinian Covenant (Deuteronomy 27-30).
The blessings and curses contained in the two pericopes are the most
extensive in the Old Testament. Some Bible expositors have classified
Leviticus 26 as a prophetic preview of the Palestinian Covenant. This
study tests that hypothesis. A brief consideration of the Mosaic author-
ship of the pericope and a development of the covenant concept in the
book of Leviticus initiates the study. The exegesis commences with a
text-critical analysis which supports the reliability of the Massoretic
Text and demonstrates the unreliability of the textual apparatuses of
Biblia Hebraica (Kittel) and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. The verse
by verse treatment of the interpretation of the pericope directs atten-
tion to the grammatical, contextual, and literary elements. A compara-
tive analysis of Leviticus 26 and similar extra-biblical materials (the
Esarhaddon vassal treaties and the Sefire inscriptions) supplements the
exegesis. The writer concludes the study by systematically summarizing
the key doctrines of Leviticus 26.
Leviticus 26 is parenetic revelation written in an elevated lit-
erary style. It was granted at Sinai on the threshhold of Israel's
wilderness wanderings. The promulgation of the Mosaic Covenant had
caused an apparent tension with the Abrahamic Covenant. After three
disturbing apostasies at Sinai, Leviticus 26 was revealed to explain
the relationship between the two covenants and to reemphasize the exclu-
sive lordship of Yahweh. The Mosaic Covenant did not nullify the prom-
ises of the Abrahamic Covenant. This message in Leviticus 26 antedated
Paul's in Galatians 3:17 by fifteen centuries. The Mosaic legislation
emphasized the recipients of the land promised to Abraham. The bless-
ings and curses of the pericope are developed with both covenants and
their respective emphases in mind. Loyalty to Yahweh would initiate
blessings. These are described in terms of the landedness promised by
the Abrahamic Covenant. Disloyalty would initiate cursing. This is
described as a five-stage process of Mosaic Covenant vengeance with the
exile as the ultimate chastisement. The purpose of cursing was to pro-
duce confession of guilt, humility, and restitution. The sabbatical
principle is deeply involved in the restitution. Circumcision was the
seal of the Abrahamic Covenant, but the sabbaths were the seal of the
Mosaic. The sabbatical principle is central to Leviticus 26. Yahweh is
both the lord of space (the land) and time (the sabbaths). The land-
giver and exodus-causer will always be loyal to his covenants. The peri-
cope anticipates but does not reveal the Palestinian Covenant per se.
The extra-biblical treaties were composed seven centuries after
Leviticus 26. Leviticus 26, the Esarhaddon vassal treaties, and the Sefire
inscriptions were independently written. A mutual stream of covenant mate-
rials may have influenced the, but each possesses its own distinctions.














Accepted by the Faculty of Grace Theological Seminary
in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree
Doctor of Theology




D. Wayne Knife
Adviser

John J. Davis
Adviser

James E. Eisenbraun
Adviser




Copyright © 1981 by William D. Barrick



Digitally prepared and posted on the web by Ted Hildebrandt (2004)
with permission.
Please report any errors to: thildebrandt@gordon.edu






ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer expresses his thanks to those who have contributed
their efforts toward the completion of this dissertation. During the
writing, the writer was engaged in missionary deputation as preparation
for participation in the Old Testament Translation Project of the Bengali
Common Language Bible in Bangladesh. The members of the dissertation
committee exercised patience and good faith while the writer was travel-
ing. Their Christian grace, coupled with their desire for academic
excellence, has been an inspiration.
While on deputation in California, the writer was given the
exclusive use of the office and typewriter of a close friend, Pastor
Jim Parker. Jim's encouragement by word and by supplying space, equip-
ment, and books, will never be forgotten. He and his wife, Ada, were
examples of true Christian hospitality.
Last, but certainly not least, the writer expresses his deepest
gratitude to his wife, Barbara, who has patiently endured to the end
the years of doctoral education and dissertation production. In the
midst of preparing the family for departure to Bangladesh, she did not
neglect to encourage her husband in his writing. Her prudence and grace
are precious. dvbk jmtt NH-twx . . . tklWm hwx hvhym "a wife
possessing good sense/prudence is from Yahweh . . . a gracious woman
attains honor" (Prov 19:14; 11:16).

vi


TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xiii

Chapter
I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 1
Preliminary Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 3
Statement of Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 3
Statement of Pertinence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 5
Statement of Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 12
Text-critical analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 13
Exegetical analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 17
Comparative analysis with extra-biblical treaties 17
Systematic theological synthesis . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
General Introduction to Leviticus 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
Date and Authorship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 20
Contextual Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 21

II. A TEXT-CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF LEVITICUS 26 . . . . . 23
Verse 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 23
Verse 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 24
Verse 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 24
Verse 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 25
Verse 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 26
Verse 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 28
Verse 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 29

viii
ix
Verse 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 30
Verses 34 and 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 31
Verse 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 32
Verse 41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 35
Verse 42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 38
Verse 43 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 39
Verse 44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 39
Verse 46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 41
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 41

III. AN EXEGETICAL ANALYSIS OF LEVITICUS 26 . . . . . . . . 44
Precept (vv. 1-2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 45
Prohibition of Idols (v. 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 45
Preservation of Sabbaths and Sanctuary (v. 2) . . . . . . . . . .
47
The sabbath observance (v. 2a). . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 48
The sanctuary reverence (v. 2b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 49
Promise (vv. 3-13) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 50
The Prerequisite: Obedience (v. 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 50
The Product: Blessing (vv. 4-12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 54
Productivity (vv. 4-5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 56
Peace (v. 6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 59
Power (vv. 7-8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 62
Population (v. 9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 65
Provision (v. 10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 69
Presence (vv. 11-12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 71