Leviticus

I'm finally back to reading the bible again. My interest in history and old civilizations has been growing the past few years, and I'm so eager to read and learn more about early times in the middle east.

I'm reading Leviticus now - a book of laws, as handed down by God through Moses and Aaron to the Israelites. It is at times extremely repetitive and pedantic. But also fascinating. Some things I'm picking up:
-the divine role in prescribing appropriate human behavior
-a worldview that separates everything into clean and unclean. What would it be like to see the world that way - divided into two spheres? And the geographic implications of dividing the world up into sacred and profane spaces?
-curiosity about the public health implications of many of these laws, relating to plagues and other illnesses, cooking certain foods in certain dishes, etc.
-priests as religious but also medical authorities, and the diverse branches of knowledge they would need to develop
-the numbers of offerings that were prescribed: sin offerings, burnt offerings, on and on. And so many animals offered!
-details about what species Jews can and can't eat. Clams are not okay, but crickets are. Eagles aren't. And on and on.
-women aren't so visible in this book
-the scapegoat literally was allowed to escape! He took penance for your sins and you let him wander in the wilderness. But the other goat, he got sacrificed.

Just a few ideas that are coming to me as I read this chapter. I'm looking forward to Numbers - coming up soon!