Part 3: The Ark in the Text Contains the Text in the Ark

The (whole) tablets and the pieces (of tablets) were in the Ark.

Talmud Bavli, Baba Batra, 14,b

 

This section is based on an article published in the The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures. It was dedicated to the memory of Mary Douglas who was a source of inspiration as well as an untiring mentor.

Introduction

Now that we have become acquainted with the characteristics of Units, we will turn to a Unit which verifies that the reading of the Decalogue offered in Part 1 reflects the intention of the author.  But its significance is much greater than merely justifying the five-consecutive-pair reading of the Decalogue. As explained in the chapter on Leviticus in Part 4, Lev XIII (19) is the structural centerpiece of Leviticus and consequently of the Torah. It was constructed as an analog of the Ark of Testimony. Within it, two witnesses testify to the validity of the reading of the Decalogue presented in Part 1. The first witness is the oft noted appearance of fragments of most of the Decalogue Words in the Unit. Their arrangement, in pairs, alludes to the five-consecutive-pair reading. The second witness is found in the overall structure of the Unit which contains five pairs of textual elements. This format, together with the flow of ideas from pair to pair, indicates that the author employed the five-pair reading of the Decalogue as the paradigm for the construction of the whole Unit. The appearance of both a fragmented and a whole decalogue in the Unit may imply that both the whole tablets and the shattered tablets were considered to be contained within the Ark of Testimony. Moreover, it verifies our conclusion from the previous Section that that the Torah was constructed as an exoteric/esoteric text. It also substantiates our suggestion in Part 1 that the two sets of tablets were meant to demonstrate that the Torah was written for two different audiences. The shattered fragments of the Decalogue in Lev XIII (19) have been visible to all who read the Torah linearly. But their connection to the two sets of tablets can only be discovered when the reader follows the trail of crumbs to the extraordinary document hidden in the woven structure of Lev XIII (19).

Referring to the table of Unit formats in Part 2 chapter 3, we can see that Lev XIII is the only Unit in the Torah which is both “irregular”, having weft threads of different lengths, and “unique”, not part of a set of Units. It would appear that this was the author’s way of indicating the special character of this Unit. Besides being the only Unit which is both irregular and unique, it is also the only Unit which completely divides itself into components by means of a clear formula. Through these clear divisions, the author has made it possible to unerringly recreate the weave. It has fifteen parts which end either “I am the Lord”, or “I am the Lord your God.”  The two different codas provide key information about the structure of the Unit, as we will see in the analysis of thread 1. But first I want add one more observation regarding the artfulness of the author and the special character of the Unit. It has been planned as a near fractal representation of the structure of the whole book of Leviticus.

Leviticus is constructed entirely of sets of three Units each except for Unit XIII. That Unit is preceded by four triplets and followed by three more. Leviticus XIII itself consists entirely of textual pairs except for thread 2 which is a triplet. It is preceded by four pairs and followed by three pairs. This is yet another indication that we are looking at a text planned by a master craftsman who paid inordinate attention to detail, both on the level of whole books as well as on the level of individual Units. We will see much more evidence regarding the structures of the five books in Part 4.

Chapter 1.Thread 1

א1	ב1
A 19:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 19:2 Speak to all the community of Israelites, and you shall say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for holy am I the LORD your God.	A 19:11 You shall not steal. You shall not dissemble and you shall not lie, no man to his fellow. 19:12 You shall not swear falsely in My name, profaning the name of your God. I am the LORD.
B 19:3 Every man shall revere his mother and his father, and My sabbaths you shall keep. I am the LORD your God.	B 19:13 You shall not defraud your fellow man and you shall not rob. You shall not keep the hired man’s wages with you through the night till morning. 19:14 You shall not vilify the deaf, and before the blind you shall not put a stumbling block, and you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.
C 19:4 Do not turn to the idols nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.	C i 19:15 You shall do no iniquity in justice. You shall not favor the wretched and you shall not defer to the rich. In righteousness you shall judge your fellow. 19:16 You shall not go about slandering your kin. You shall not stand over the blood of your fellow man. I am the LORD.
D i 19:5 And when you sacrifice communion sacrifices to the LORD, you should sacrifice it so that it will be acceptable for you. 19:6 On the day you sacrifice, it shall be eaten and on the morrow, and what is left till the third day shall be burned in fire. 19:7 And if in fact it is eaten on the third day, it is desecrated meat, it shall not be acceptable. 19:8 And he who eats it shall bear his guilt, for he has profaned the LORD’s holiness, and that person shall be cut off from his kin.   ii 19:9 And when you reap your land’s harvest, you shall not finish off the edge of your field, nor pick up the gleanings of your harvest. 19:10 And your vineyard you shall not pluck bare, nor pick up the fallen fruit of your vineyard. For the poor and for the sojourner you shall leave them. I am the LORD your God.	D i 19:17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely reprove your fellow and not bear guilt because of him.19:18 You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not harbor a grudge against the members of your people. And you shall love your fellow man as yourself. I am the LORD. ii 19:19 My statutes you shall keep.

 

I have arranged the first eight elements in two segments, א1 and ב1, the segments of weft thread 1. We will see that weft thread 3, which also has two segments, continues a progression that appears in these cells. Therefor I refer to א and ב as warp threads that include the cells of 1 and 3 even though they are interrupted by 2, which contains three segments. This point is addressed in chapter five of this Part. The four elements in א1 close with the formula אני יהוה אלהיכם (“I am the Lord your God”), and the four in ב1 close אני יהוה (“I am the Lord”). There is another formal element which appears in the columns, in addition to the ending formulae. All of the elements in ב1 begin with לא (“You shall not”). None of the elements in column א1 begins with this word. Therefore, the elements are locked into the columns both by their openings and by their closings. There is one exception to the rule of all elements ending with a formal coda, ב1D. I have placed v.19a, את חקתי תשמרו (You shall observe My laws), at the end of element ב1D rather than at the beginning of segment א2. The reasons for this addition are dealt with below.

In the following discussion as well as in other sections of this analysis, the closing formula is not considered part of the element proper, with the exception of א1A. Therefore, we can say, for example, that God does not appear in א1C and ב1C. According to Milgrom, the category of laws in א1 “usually suggested” is “religious duties” and in ב1 “ethical duties”.^[1] Even a cursory examination can reveal one of the reasons why Milgrom ultimately rejected these categories. Thread א contains "איש אמו ואביו תיראו" (Every man shall revere his mother and his father), and "לעני ולגר תעזב אתם" (For the poor and for the sojourner you shall leave them.) Both of these are more “ethical” than “religious”. In ב we find "וחללת את שם אלהיך" (profaning the name of your God) and "ויראת מאלהיך" (You shall fear your God). What makes these “ethical” rather than “religious”? Is there, then, any justification for classifying the two groups of four elements by these, or any other, categories?

The author has used obvious and redundant rhetorical devices, the opening and closing formulae, in order to divide the first eight elements into two groups of four, so we should make an effort to determine whether the distinction is meaningful. There is clearly a difference between the contents of the groups, even if not exactly according to the proposed dyad. Matters of ritual appear only in א. Antisocial behaviors appear only in ב. Therefore, we can see that there is an apparent content distinction, parallel to the rhetorical distinctions, and that it does have some connection to the dyad “religious” and “ethical”. By looking more closely at the exceptions to these two classes of “duties”, we will be able to describe the distinction between the groups more clearly.

The two significant exceptions to the rule of “religious” in א are leaving the gleanings for the poor and reverence of parents. Both of these are limited private acts. Concerning the gleanings, the text says, "לעני ולגר תעזב אתם" (For the poor and for the sojourner you shall leave them.) They are not given to the poor; they must be left for the poor to pick for themselves. The owner of the field is required to leave something in the field when he/she harvests. Therefore, there is no direct contact with an “other” besides parents in column א. This observation sharpens the distinction between the threads. After taking into account the apparent exceptions, we can modify the subject of א to “private acts” as opposed to the civil concerns of ב. This is reinforced by the exceptions in ב.

There are references to God in three of the elements of column ב: ב1A,"ולא תשבעו בשמי לשקר וחללת את שם אלהיך" (You shall not swear falsely in My name, profaning the name of your God); ב1B, "ויראת מאלהיך" (and you shall fear your God); ב1D, "את חקתי תשמרו" (My statutes you shall keep.) None of these mentions rituals or worship. They all relate to God as the ultimate guarantor of social order. Consequently, despite the apparent exceptions, we can say that the threads do indeed differ from each other in content and demonstrate two opposite fields of experience, private and public. This dyad is consistent with the “divine dyad” discussed in Part 1. We will soon see that there are even more satisfying relationships to be found between the threads than just a simple classification of the laws contained in them.

Segment ב1: Formal Progression

Wenham has noted that there is a progression built into the elements of ב.^[2] He bases the progression on the use of relational terms such as; עמית (countryman), רעך (fellow man) and אחיך (brother). Each element in ב contains such expressions.

Table 1. Relational Terms in ב1

The relational terms, as identified by Wenham, appear in the above table, with one addition. I have added שכיר (hired man) from בB because it too is a relational term. As a result, we can see that there is indeed a progression from בA to בD. Each successive element adds a term and the order of the terms is maintained throughout the four elements. In effect, the elements of this segment are numbered by the relational terms: the first, בA, has one; the second, בB, has two, etc. 

Conceptual Progression

Schwartz and Milgrom, who noted this progression, were not able to explain it as a significant element in the plan of Lev XIII (19). We will see that the “missing link” is found when we observe a similar phenomenon in the four elements of א1. Both segments contain a progression from element to element. The importance of the progression of relational terms in ב is that it provides a formal verification of the conceptual flow from ב1A to ב1D.

The first element, ב1A, warns against criminal behaviors לא תגנבו (“You shall not steal”), and concludes with the desecration of God’s name. The fourth element, ב1D, contains proactive relationships with another, reaching a peak with "ואהבת לרעך כמוך" (And you shall love your fellow man as yourself.) There is a transition from avoiding criminal antisocial behavior, to having positive relationships with others. The two intermediate elements (ב1B and ב1C) contain transitional stages. Element ב1B is similar to ב1A in that it proscribes actions that can damage another. However, there is no explicit warning that these actions can lead to the desecration of God’s name, as in ב1A.  ב1C is the first in this thread to require a positive act: "בצדק תשפט עמיתך" (In righteousness you shall judge your fellow.) Nonetheless, this act is limited to a judge. Only segment ב1D contains a positive act demanded of every individual "ואהבת לרעך כמוך" (And you shall love your fellow man as yourself.) There is a continuous gradient from the negative to the positive:

ב1A: avoid criminal behavior that can lead to desecrating God’s name

ב1B: avoid causing damage to others

ב1C: judge fairly

ב1D: be proactive: reprove, love

We can summarize this initial investigation of elements ב1A-ב1D as follows:

1.      Each has the same opening term and closing formula.

2.      They are numbered from one to four by an internal literary device: relational terms.

3.      The content is graded from antisocial acts to positive acts.

Segment א1

Let us look now at segment א1. Once we have noticed that there is a progression within ב1, we are led to investigate whether there exists a similar phenomenon in א1. א1A begins with God’s desire for people to identify with Him and share His quality of holiness: "קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני" (You shall be holy, for holy am I) This relationship is very similar to identifying with the “other” in ב1D, "ואהבת לרעך כמוך" (And you shall love your fellow man as yourself.) In א1A the individual is commanded to be like another, God. In ב1D he is told to consider that another is like him. While the perspective changes, the relationship, being like another, is consistent. The similarity is reinforced by a structural similarity between א1A and ב1D.

Both א1A and ב1D differ from the other segments structurally. In א1A, the closing formula, "אני יהוה אלהיכם" (I the Lord am your God), is a necessary part of the content of the segment, "כי קדוש אני יהוה אלהיכם", (for holy am I, the Lord your God). This is the reason to be holy. The words of the closing formula are part of the content of the element. This is not true in any of the other segments. In all of them, the closing formula is an appendix. This makes the first segment unique. Element ב1D is also unique. If the closing formula is an appendix, ב1D has a “super appendix”, an addition after an addition, "את חקתי תשמרו" (My statutes you shall keep). Properly speaking, element א1A has no appendix, since the closing phrase is part of its content, while ב1D has two appendices. In this way, the two elements complement each other structurally in a manner similar to the complimentary relationships between people and God in א1A, and between people and their fellows in ב1D. In the course of this investigation, we will see that the intense use of formal structure to complement conceptual relationships is the hallmark of Leviticus 19.

The structural link and content similarity between א1A and ב1D indicate that we could be looking at half of a chiasm between the two threads. This is verified in א1D, "כי את קדש יהוה חלל" (for he has profaned the Lord’s holiness), which parallels ב1A "וחללת את שם אלהיך" (profaning the name of your God). The chiasm created by the first and last segments in each column may indicate that opposite processes take place in the two segments. We have characterized the process in ב1 as graded from negative to positive. If the process in א1 is the opposite, it would be graded from positive to negative. This is verified by examining the contents of א1A‑א1D.

Segment	Content
א1A	דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני. Speak to all the community of Israelites, and you shall say to them: You shall be holy, for holy am I
א1B	איש אמו ואביו תיראו ואת שבתתי תשמרו Every man shall revere his mother and his father, and My sabbaths you shall keep.
א1C	אל תפנו אל האלילם ואלהי מסכה לא תעשו לכם Do not turn to the idols nor make molten gods for yourselves
א1D	ואכליו עונו ישא כי את קדש יהוה חלל ונכרתה הנפש ההוא מעמיה And he who eats it shall bear his guilt, for he has profaned the Lord’s holiness, and that person shall be cut off from his kin.

Element א1A begins with the entire community uniting through divine holiness. An isolated individual who is cut off for having desecrated the holy appears in the last element, א1D, "ונכרתה... מעמיה" (cut off from his kin). In the middle are two stages of separation from א1A "כל עדת בני ישראל" (the whole Israelite community): א1B "איש אמו ואביו תיראו" (Every man shall revere his mother and his father), and א1C "ואלהי מסכה לא תעשו לכם" (“nor make molten gods for yourselves”). The first level of division, into families, is positive. The second level, creating private gods, is negative. This creates a gradient from positive/group to negative/individual, in a manner similar but opposite to the gradient that we noted in segment ב1. Thus the chiasm between א1 and ב1 is reflected in opposite processes that take place in the threads; in א1 there is a negative process of separation or individualization and in ב1 a positive process of drawing closer to humanity, socialization of the individual. This implementation of the primal dyad of “one and many” from the creation is noteworthy.

We can now begin to appreciate the literary skill of the author. While Schwartz had noted that ב1 contained a progression in the number of relational terms, he had no explanation for why this progression existed. We can now see how this progression is consistent with other observations we have made, especially the chiastic relationship with א1, which contains a process of separation or individualization. We noted that the contents of segments ב1A‑D indicated a positive process of drawing closer to others, socialization. These segments demonstrate the same process by increasing the number of relational terms from segment to segment. They become more “sociable”! If the correlation between the flow of content from segment to segment and the parallel increase in relational terms is intentional, which seems most likely, we are looking at an extraordinarily sophisticated composition, a work of great artfulness and beauty.

The author has used literary devices, the closing formula reinforced by the openings, to differentiate between two equal blocks of text, each containing four segments. By separating the blocks according to the formula and comparing them, the reader discovers that the two blocks are apparently inverted parallels. Therefore, any exegesis of Leviticus 19 as a literary document should explore these eight segments as a highly contrived and well‑integrated structure.

Summary of Characteristics of the First Eight Segments:

1. Formal
   1. א1A-D end with "אני יהוה אלהיכם", (I am the Lord your God), while ב1A-D end with,  "אני יהוה", (I the am Lord).
   2. ב1A-D all begin with "לא", ( (You shall) not). None of elements א1 begins with this term.
2. Content

The content of א1A-D is generally characterized as “religious duties” and ב1A-D as “ethical duties”. Closer inspection has indicated that “private duties” and “social duties” may be more appropriate.

3. Developmental
   1. There is a progression from ב1A to ב1D based on the number of relational terms that appear in each element, from one in ב1A to four in ב1D.
   2. The formal progression of relational terms is mirrored in the contents of ב1A‑D, a progression from anti‑social acts that can lead to defiling God’s name in ב1A to "ואהבת לרעך כמוך" (Love your neighbor as yourself),in ב1D.
   3. Elements א1A-D are linked to ב1A-D by a chiasm.
   4. The contents of א1A-D create a progression that is the inverse of the flow from ב1A-D. The processes can be characterized as “individualization” in א and “socialization” in ב.
4. Combined content and developmental

Segment א, characterized as “private duties”, contains a process of “individualization.” Segment ב, characterized as “social duties”, contains a process of “socialization.”

Chapter 2. Analysis of Thread 3

א3	ב3
A 19:26 You shall not eat over the blood. You shall not divine nor interpret omens. 19:27 You shall not round off the edge-growth of your head nor ruin the edge of your beard. 19:28 No gash for the dead shall you make in your flesh, and no tatoo shall you make on yourselves. I am the LORD.	A 19:32 Before a gray head you shall rise, and you shall defer to an elder and fear your God. I am the LORD.{S}
B 19:29 Do not profane your daughter to make a whore of her, lest the land play the whore and the land be filled with depravity. 19:30 My sabbath you shall keep and My sanctuary you shall revere. I am the LORD	B 19:33 And should a sojourner sojourn with you, you shall not wrong him. 19:34 Like the native among you shall be the sojourner who sojourns with you, and you shall love him like yourself, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
C 19:31 Do not turn to the ghosts, and of the familiar spirits do not inquire to be defiled through them. I am the LORD.	C 19:35 You shall do no iniquity in justice—in measure, whether in weight or liquid measure.19:36 Honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin you shall have. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 19:37 And you shall keep all My statutes and all My laws and do them. I am the LORD.{P}

Thread 2 divides the rest of the chapter into threads 1 and 3, which are continuous. For the moment, we can consider the function of thread 2 as a form of punctuation. We will examine its content in chapter five. Threads 1 and 3 have similar closings: in ב1D "את חקתי תשמרו" (My statutes you shall keep), in ב3C "ושמרתם את כל חקתי" (And you shall keep all My statutes). This is another reason to see the placement of the apparently appended phrase at the end of ב1D as appropriate, in addition to the chiastic use we saw previously. We will see another reason in the next chapter. I will begin the presentation by noting that the last six elements of the Unit divide into two segments of three elements each and that they complete the two segments we identified in the previous section. After that I will detail the parallels between the warp threads. I will show that each element in 3 is closely tied to a element in the parallel cell of 1.

Continuing the Warp

As opposed to the first eight elements, which are distinguished by categories of “duties”, previous studies have seen the remainder of the Unit as containing “miscellaneous” laws. This description is inaccurate. The reason why others have reached the mistaken conclusion that there is no formal order in the remainder of the chapter is that it differs significantly from the first eight segments. By means of the closing‑formula and opening word devices, the author made it relatively simple to see the division by “duties” in thread 1. The one‑to‑one correlation between content and opening/closing formulae does not hold in the remainder of the Unit. However, the clear identification of the first eight elements as inverse parallels will enable us to sort out the organizing principles of the remaining “miscellaneous” elements.

The last six elements, vv. 26b‑37, divide into two segments of three elements each, according to the same content distinction observed between the two segments of thread 1, “religious/private” and “ethical/social”. They also follow the same order. The first three, א3A-C, contain "religious" duties, while the next three, ב3A-C, are "ethical". At first glance, the two closing formulae do not follow any rule in this section. However, the "duties" categories make it possible to see how the last segments continue the warp threads established in 1:

Table 2. Thread 3 Continues the Warp of Thread 1

 

Linguistic Parallels between the Weft Threads

Once the last six elements have been added to our original warp, the connections become all the more visible. Every one of the six elements in 3 has a strong linguistic link to an element in its own warp thread in 1, as indicted in the following table.

 

Linguistic Parallels in Warp Thread א

Elements א3A and א1D

א3A כו לא תאכלו על הדם לא תנחשו ולא תעוננו כז לא תקפו פאת ראשכם ולא תשחית את פאת זקנך כח ושרט לנפש לא תתנו בבשרכם וכתבת קעקע לא תתנו בכם

א1D ה וכי תזבחו זבח שלמים ליהוה לרצנכם תזבחהו ו ביום זבחכם יאכל וממחרת והנותר עד יום השלישי באש ישרף ז ואם האכל יאכל ביום השלישי פגול הוא לא ירצה ח ואכליו עונו ישא כי את קדש יהוה חלל ונכרתה הנפש ההוא מעמיה ט ובקצרכם את קציר ארצכם לא תכלה פאת שדך לקצר ולקט קצירך לא תלקט י וכרמך לא תעולל ופרט כרמך לא תלקט לעני ולגר תעזב אתם

א3A 19:26 You shall not eat over the blood. You shall not divine nor interpret omens. 19:27 You shall not round off the edge-growth of your head nor ruin the edge of your beard. 19:28 No gash for the dead (soul) shall you make in your flesh, and no tatoo shall you make on yourselves. I am the LORD.

א1D i 19:5 And when you sacrifice communion sacrifices to the LORD, you should sacrifice it so that it will be acceptable for you. 19:6 On the day you sacrifice, it shall be eaten and on the morrow, and what is left till the third day shall be burned in fire. 19:7 And if in fact it is eaten on the third day, it is desecrated meat, it shall not be acceptable. 19:8 And he who eats it shall bear his guilt, for he has profaned the LORD’s holiness, and that person (soul) shall be cut off from his kin.  ii 19:9 And when you reap your land’s harvest, you shall not finish off the edge of your field, nor pick up the gleanings of your harvest. 19:10 And your vineyard you shall not pluck bare, nor pick up the fallen fruit of your vineyard. For the poor and for the sojourner you shall leave them. I am the LORD your God.

Element א1D presents a special difficulty because it combines two totally unrelated laws, tithes and the two‑day limit for consuming the well‑being offering. The linguistic links between א1D and א3A provide verification that the two parts of א1D should indeed be viewed as a single element. There are three linguistic links between them that do not appear anywhere else in the chapter. Both elements refer to eating meat, פאה (edges) appears in both, referring to edges of the field in א1D and edges of the face in א3A. נפש (soul) appears only in these two elements in Lev XIII (19).

Elements א3B and א1B

א3B כט אל תחלל את בתך להזנותה ולא תזנה הארץ ומלאה הארץ זמה ל את שבתתי תשמרו ומקדשי תיראו	א1B ג איש אמו ואביו תיראו ואת שבתתי תשמרו
19:29 Do not profane your daughter to make a whore of her, lest the land play the whore and the land be filled with depravity. 19:30 My sabbath you shall keep and My sanctuary you shall revere.	19:3 Every man shall revere his mother and his father, and My sabbaths you shall keep.

Elements א1B and א3B present one of the clearest examples of what Douglas has termed “exact repetitions which had led earlier students to suppose the editor was nodding.” Both include את שבתתי תשמרו (My sabbaths you shall keep). Both also contain תיראו (revere), as well as a reference to parents and children.

Elements א3C and א1C

א3C  לא אל תפנו אל האבת ואל הידענים אל תבקשו לטמאה בהם	א1C  ד אל תפנו אל האלילים ואלהי מסכה לא תעשו לכם
19:31 Do not turn to the ghosts, and of the familiar spirits do not inquire to be defiled through them.	19:4 Do not turn to the idols nor make molten gods for yourselves.

Both א1C and א3C begin אל תפנו אל (do not turn to), and refer to supernatural entities.

Linguistic Parallels in Weft Thread ב

Elements ב3A and ב1B

ב3A לב מפני שיבה תקום והדרת פני זקן ויראת מאלהיך	ב1B יג לא תעשק את רעך ולא תגזל לא תלין פעלת שכיר אתך עד בקר יד לא תקלל חרש ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל ויראת מאלהיך
19:32 Before a gray head you shall rise, and you shall defer to an elder and fear your God.	19:13 You shall not defraud your fellow man and you shall not rob. You shall not keep the hired man’s wages with you through the night till morning. 19:14 You shall not vilify the deaf, and before the blind you shall not put a stumbling block, and you shall fear your God.

ויראת מאלהיך (you shall fear your God) closes both ב1B and ב3A. Both also refer to the proper treatment of others according to physical characteristics, including an interesting parallel between מפני שיבה תקום (Before a gray head you shall rise) and ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל (and before the blind you shall not put a stumbling block).

Elements ב3B and ב1D

ב3B לג וכי יגור אתך גר בארצכם לא תונו אתו לד כאזרח מכם יהיה לכם הגר הגר אתכם ואהבת לו כמוך כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים	ב1D יז לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך ולא תשא עליו חטא יח לא תקם ולא תטר את בני עמך ואהבת לרעך כמוך
19:33 And should a sojourner sojourn with you, you shall not wrong him. 19:34 Like the native among you shall be the sojourner who sojourns with you, and you shall love him like yourself, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.	19:17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely reprove your fellow and not bear guilt because of him.19:18 You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not harbor a grudge against the members of your people. And you shall love your fellow man as yourself.

 

Here is a very striking near repetition, ואהבת ל... כמוך (love him as yourself). Element ב3B appears to be the logical completion of ב1D.

Elements ב3C and ב1C

ב3C לה לא תעשו עול במשפט במדה במשקל ובמשורה לו מאזני צדק אבני צדק איפת צדק והין צדק יהיה לכם אני יהוה אלהיכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים לז ושמרתם את כל חקתי ואת כל משפטי ועשיתם אתם	ב1C  טו לא תעשו עול במשפט לא תשא פני דל ולא תהדר פני גדול בצדק תשפט עמיתך טז לא תלך רכיל בעמיך לא תעמד על דם רעך
19:35 You shall do no iniquity in justice—in measure, whether in weight or liquid measure.19:36 Honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin you shall have. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 19:37 And you shall keep all My statutes and all My laws and do them.	19:15 You shall do no iniquity in justice. You shall not favor the wretched and you shall not defer to the rich. In righteousness you shall judge your fellow. 19:16 You shall not go about slandering your kin. You shall not stand over the blood of your fellow man.

 

Elements ב3C and ב1C have the same openings, לא תעשו עול במשפט (You shall do no iniquity in justice), and include צדק, (honest, righteousness).

Coherent Columns

We had no problem demonstrating that the segments were coherent in thread 1 because of the common openings and closings of the elements within the segments. However, when we added thread 3 to the warp we could no longer depend on the evidence of the openings and closings since the formulae do not seem to continue in thread 3. Therefore, we had to resort to content similarities, the “duties”, even though this is a weaker form of evidence. However, once we considered the content similarities, and placed the elements of 3 in the warp threads defined by 1, we were rewarded with strong linguistic verification that the warp threads are indeed coherent. Every single element in 3 is firmly linked to an element within its own warp thread in I, by a linguistic hook. Now that we have established that there are two coherent warp threads, we can examine the evidence that that they are meant to be seen as structurally identical. 

Identical Warp Threads

The most obvious indication that the warp threads are structurally identical is that they both contain seven elements. While this fact in itself is sufficient to define the columns as structurally identical, the author has reinforced it by marking the first and last element of each warp thread as structurally parallel. Both of these parallels become apparent only after the text is arranged in the weave. The structural similarity of the first element of each warp thread is a function of the linguistic parallels between weft threads 1 and 3. We have noted that each element of 3 is closely linked to a segment in the same warp thread in 1. Since there are three elements in each cell in 3 and four elements per cell in 1, one element in each cell of 1 lacks a linguistic link to element in its warp thread of in 3. In both א and ב the “unlinked” element is the first, א1A and ב1A.

Just as the first element of each warp thread is set-off by a rhetorical device, the lack of a linguistic link to thread 3, so too is the last element of warp thread set-off. The device that is used to set-off א3C and ב3C is similar to the device that sets-off א1A and ב1A. It too bridges threads 1 and 3. In fact, it can be seen as the inverse of the device used in א1A and ב1A. Unlike other elements in 3, both א3C and ב3C follow the rule of the opening term as well as the rule of the closing formulae of thread 1. All elements in ב1 begin with “לא”, “(You shall) not”, and end with “אני יהוה”, (I am the Lord), and so does element ב3C. No element in א1 begins with “לא”, “(You shall) not”, and all end with “אני יהוה אלהיכם”, (I the Lord am your God), as does element א3C. Therefore, both א3C and ב3C follow the rules of their columns as established in thread 1. These are the only elements in 3 that match the opening and closing formulae of 1. Lest there be any possibility that we miss the fact that elements א3C and ב3C are structurally parallel, there is yet another strong parallel between them.

1C	א1C אל תפנו אל האלילים Do not turn the idols	ב1C לא תעשו עול במשפט ...בצדק תשפט עמיתך You shall do no iniquity in justice …In righteousness (honestly) you shall judge your fellow
3C	א3C אל תפנו אל האבת ואל הידענים Do not turn to the ghosts	ב3C לא תעשו עול במשפט ...והין צדק יהיה לכם You shall do no iniquity in justice—in measure …an honest hin you shall have

The third element in both א3 and ב3, begins with exactly the same words as the parallel third element of thread 1 and contain an additional parallel as well. In both א1C and א3C, the objects of אל תפנו אל (do not turn to), are supernatural entities, thus strengthening the parallel. Both ב1C and ב3C, beginלא תעשו עול במשפט  (You shall do no iniquity…), and also contain צדק (honest, fair). None of the other parallels between the blocks includes the first words of elements. It would seem that the author has placed a special emphasis on the last elements in 3, א3C and ב3C, by way of seemingly redundant parallels between them.

The Inverted Parallels Continue

We have now collected ample evidence that Leviticus XIII contains two parallel threads, which are structurally equivalent, and that elements א3A-ב3C are firmly connected to our original eight elements. We must still determine whether the progressions we observed within the segments of thread 1 continue with the additions from thread 3. We noted earlier that the “ethical duties”, ב, reached a peak in segment ב1 with ואהבת לרעך כמוך (love your fellow man as yourself). The identification with the “other” expands in ב3B to include the גר (sojourner), who is also to be loved כמוך (like yourself). This could indicate that the process in ב does continue into 3. In column א we saw a process of distancing from the holy. Elements א3A-C all include expressions of degenerate pagan practices. Therefore, the process of thread א also seems to continue in 3. More specifically, we noted in א1D that anyone who eats a well‑being offering on the third day is to be cut off from his people. Corruption is a matter concerning individuals in that element. However, in the continuation of א, in א3B, we find ולא תזנה הארץ ומלאה הארץ זמה (lest the land play the whore and the land be filled with depravity). Corruption has become a national concern. So the degenerative processes of א as well as the positive process of ב continue with the addition of 3.

We have seen evidence that the two extended warp threads of seven elements are:

a.      internally coherent, according to the “duties”

b.      structurally identical 

c.       conceptually ordered, indicating processes

d.      inversely parallel

In the next chapter, we will begin to see why they have been constructed so carefully.

Chapter 3. Five Pairs

Perhaps the most interesting characteristic that we have noted in the warp threads is that they can be read as inversely parallel progressions, from good to bad in א, and bad to good in ב. The next phenomenon that we will examine combines the two oppositely sensed threads to create a single unified composition. This new entity consists of a set of five pairs composed of parallel sections of the warp threads. The flow from pair to pair creates a third process, one that is independent of the two processes in the separate warp threads. In order to facilitate the discussion of the pairs, I will label them from A to E as follows:

 

New Parts, New Structure

We are about to see a transformation of the text as we decipher its structure. What began as fourteen elements that formed two seven-element inversely parallel structures is about to morph into a ten-part structure consisting of five pairs. According to this reading, the two three-element segments in thread 3 turn into a single pair, E. There is a similar phenomenon in the days of creation. Days three and six each contained two creations described as “good.” So, one might say that there are eight parts of creation, rather than six. Nevertheless, the formulaic repetition of “evening and morning” indicated that these two days should be taken as one of three pairs. The three elements in each segment of thread 3, as we shall see, can be compared, structurally, to the two double creations of days three and six: multiplicity which resolves into unity. In order to clarify the application of this point to thread 3, here is a brief review of the structural terminology I have been using and its associated labeling:

1. Weft thread

            A. Element

                          i. Part (of element)

Using this terminology, the segments of weft thread 3 should be seen as containing a single element which is sub-divided into three parts, rather than three elements. In this way, threads 1 and 3, taken together, consist of five pairs of elements. As in the creation, here too the identification of the formal structure is based on a formula. We have seen that amongst the six apparent elements of 3, only the last one in each segment, א3C and ב3C, follows the rules established in thread 1 for the opening word and closing formula. I have interpreted this fact to mean that the three elements in cell of 3 are to be taken together as the structural equivalent of one single complex element divided into three parts. This is the bases of the parallel to the days of creation where an established formula is the key to defining the formal structure. I will present further reasons for this interpretation, as well as its ramifications, through the analysis of the overall structure of the five resultant pairs.  

Pair E: Three Independent Parts

The two elements that compose each of the five pairs are structurally identical and yet, no two pairs have the same structure. This point is clearest in the last two pairs. Pairs E and D both contain multiple parts. Each member of pair E contains three fully articulated parts. The divisions within these members are marked as what we might call “pseudo‑elements”, the first two parts of each true element, א3A and א3B in א3, ב3A and ב3B in ב3. We have seen that these false elements do not follow the rules of their warp threads as established in 1. They apparently have two structural functions. First, they guarantee that the parallel segments the thread, א3 and ב3, will be seen as structurally identical. Second, they create complex elements, which clearly subdivide into three large components. This subdivision becomes significant as we observe the structures of the other pairs.

Pair D: Two Independent Segments

Pair D

א1D  (i)ה וכי תזבחו זבח שלמים ליהוה לרצנכם תזבחהו ו ביום זבחכם יאכל וממחרת והנותר עד יום השלישי באש ישרף ז ואם האכל יאכל ביום השלישי פגול הוא לא ירצה ח ואכליו עונו ישא כי את קדש יהוה חלל ונכרתה הנפש ההוא מעמיה  (ii)ט ובקצרכם את קציר ארצכם לא תכלה פאת שדך לקצר ולקט קצירך לא תלקט י וכרמך לא תעולל ופרט כרמך לא תלקט לעני ולגר תעזב אתם אני יהוה אלהיכם

ב1D  (i)יז לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך ולא תשא עליו חטא יח לא תקם ולא תטר את בני עמך ואהבת לרעך כמוך אני יהוה  (ii)יט את חקתי תשמרו

D i 19:5 And when you sacrifice communion sacrifices to the LORD, you should sacrifice it so that it will be acceptable for you. 19:6 On the day you sacrifice, it shall be eaten and on the morrow, and what is left till the third day shall be burned in fire. 19:7 And if in fact it is eaten on the third day, it is desecrated meat, it shall not be acceptable. 19:8 And he who eats it shall bear his guilt, for he has profaned the LORD’s holiness, and that person shall be cut off from his kin.  ii 19:9 And when you reap your land’s harvest, you shall not finish off the edge of your field, nor pick up the gleanings of your harvest. 19:10 And your vineyard you shall not pluck bare, nor pick up the fallen fruit of your vineyard. For the poor and for the sojourner you shall leave them.

D i 19:17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely reprove your fellow and not bear guilt because of him.19:18 You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not harbor a grudge against the members of your people. And you shall love your fellow man as yourself. I am the LORD. ii 19:19 My statutes you shall keep.

The elements of pair D each contain two well‑defined parts, (i) and (ii). They differ in the manner in which these parts are defined. א1D contains two independent subjects, the well‑being offering and gleanings. The parts of ב1D are separated by the closing formula. Therefore, both א1D and ב1D have two distinct components. I would like to limit the discussion at this point to purely formal matters. However, I can see that the argument for pair D needs some reinforcement and that it will force me to transcend the limits I have set. The problem is in the part of ב1D that comes after the closing formula, את חקתי תשמרו (You shall observe My laws). I gave some reasons earlier why this part of verse 19 should be placed at the end of element ב1D rather than in the beginning of thread 2, vis‑à‑vis the chiasm within thread 1 and the coda of threads 1 and 3. I will add a reason now that stems from the comparison with א1D.

The specific problem of the second part of ב1D is that it comes after the closing formula. We have no other example of such an addition in the first eight segments elements. I believe that it is meant to be a textual representation of the common thread of 1D. While I have stated that the well‑being offering and the gleanings are very different themes, closer inspection reveals a certain similarity. Both speak of leftovers. The leftover meat is forbidden. Some grain, on the other hand, must be leftover, not harvested. One is forbidden and one is required, but they are both leftovers. So is the second part of ב1D; it comes after the closing. The content of א1D speaks of leftovers while the structure of ב1D creates a leftover! We will return to this point after looking at pair C.

Pair C: Two Content Related Parts

א1C  (i)ד אל תפנו אל האלילים  (ii)ואלהי מסכה לא תעשו לכם	ב1C (i)טו לא תעשו עול במשפט לא תשא פני דל ולא תהדר פני גדול בצדק תשפט עמיתך   (ii)טז לא תלך רכיל בעמיך לא תעמד על דם רעך
(i) 19:4 Do not turn to the idols (ii) nor make molten gods for yourselves.	(i) 19:15  You shall do no iniquity in justice. You shall not favor the wretched and you shall not defer to the rich. In righteousness you shall judge your fellow. (ii) 19:16 You shall not go about slandering your kin. You shall not stand over the blood of your fellow man.

Unlike E and D, the common structure in pair C is not obvious. It requires a close reading. Both elements have a single broad subject, forbidden worship in א1C and social justice in ב1C, but it is possible to see that both elements divide in two. I have marked the parts as (i) and (ii). The distinction in א1C is between worshiping commonly accepted gods (i) and creating your own images (ii). In ב1C the distinction is between judges (i) and private individuals (ii). In both א1C and ב1C element (i) contains a public aspect of the subject, while element (ii) contains a private aspect.

The Structural Order of Pairs C, D and E

 We can now understand yet another reason for the unusual construction of pair D. Pairs C and E are each constructed according to different principles. Pair D, which is located between them, incorporates aspects of both adjacent pairs. The segments of E are structurally equivalent because they are similarly divided into three separate parts by the pseudo‑endings. The segments of C are subdivided by parallel content divisions. Pair D is divided by a content division in א1D and by a false ending in ב1D. Therefore, pair D is a structural middle between pairs C and E.

Pair B: Fear as an Ambivalent Connection

א1B (i)ג איש אמו ואביו תיראו  (ii)ואת שבתתי תשמרו	ב1B (i)יג לא תעשק את רעך ולא תגזל לא תלין פעלת שכיר אתך עד בקר יד לא תקלל חרש ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל  (ii)ויראת מאלהיך
(i) 19:3 Every man shall revere his mother and his father, (ii) and My sabbaths you shall keep.	(i) 19:13 You shall not defraud your fellow man and you shall not rob. You shall not keep the hired man’s wages with you through the night till morning. 19:14 You shall not vilify the deaf, and before the blind you shall not put a stumbling block, (ii) and you shall fear your God.

Pairs A and B are similar. The identification of both pairs depends on linguistic and syntactical parallels. The key element in B is the parallel use of the verb ירא (revere, fear). Both segments contain two parts, marked (i) and (ii), one of which contains ירא. In both segments, the reader must make a jump in order to connect the two elements. The only connection supplied by the author is the ubiquitous “ו”, a conjunction that requires over four pages of definitions in the BBD Lexicon^[3]. It is commonly understood that the fear of God in ב1B is given as a reason not to take advantage of others. The text itself is more equivocal. It does not spell out the connection between fear of God and the actions prohibited in part (i). It is left to the reader to deduce the connection from the syntax. The same problem exits concerning the connection between fear/awe of parents and observing God’s Sabbath. The text can be interpreted, in parallel to ב1B, as implying that reverence for (Sabbath‑observing) parents, leads to observing the Sabbath. Thus, the segments are a pair based on an ambivalent connection between ירא, fear or reverence, and the other element of the segment.

Pair A: Holy Reasons

א1A (i) קדשים תהיו  (ii)כי קדוש אני יהוה אלהיכם	ב1A (i)יא לא תגנבו ולא תכחשו ולא תשקרו איש בעמיתו (ii)יב ולא תשבעו בשמי לשקר וחללת את שם אלהיך
(i) You shall be holy, (ii) for holy am I the LORD your God.	(i) 19:11 You shall not steal. You shall not dissemble and you shall not lie, no man to his fellow, (ii) 19:12 so that you swear not falsely in My name, profaning the name of your God.

The elements of pair A consist of two inseparable parts. A key term links the parts within each element. א1A contains קדש‏ (“holy”) in (i) and (ii) while ב1A repeats שקר (“falsly”). Both elements also link their two parts through reasons dependent on God: כי קדוש אני (for holy am I the LORD your God) and וחללת את שם אלהיך (profaning the name of your God). The divine reasons make the links between the parts unequivocal, as opposed to the ambivalent causal link we found between the parts of B.

The Structural Order of Pairs A, B and C

We can now understand the arrangement of the first three pairs. Pair B plays a role that is similar to the role played by D in the arrangement we saw of C‑E. Pair A is based on a causal relationship between two inseparable parts. Pair C, on the other hand, has no such relationship between its parts. Although the parts within the elements of C do share a common subject, they are structurally independent. The elements of B fall between the dependency of A and the independence of C. The ambivalence built into the elements of B is evidently necessary for the organization of the pairs. It provides a step between A and C. The “ambivalence factor” in B also indicates that the demands of the non-linear reading may take precedence over the clarity of the linear reading. When reading the text linearly, the connection between respect for parents and observance of the Sabbath is obscured. It is purely a matter for speculation. The clarity of the linear reading suffers. Only when we read א1B in parallel with ב1B, in a non-linear reading, can we see that the ambiguity is part of the plan.

The Progression of the Five Pairs

Let us examine now the order of the five pairs according to their structures. We have noted that there is a similarity between A and B based on the interconnection of the parts of each pair. Likewise, pairs D and E are similar, including well‑articulated independent parts. Pair C forms a bridge between the first two and last two pairs. If we characterize the first two pairs as having syntactical links within their elements and the last two as having independent parts, then C can be seen as a medium between them. C is like A and B in that the parts of each element in C are linked to each other by their content. C is like D and E insofar as the separate parts within the elements are formally unlinked.

We have now noted that pairs B, C and D have all been constructed in such a manner that they can be seen as structural middles: B between A and C; D between C and E; and C between A‑B and D‑E. This exposes the literary technique employed to create a sense of progression or process in the text. We can see the implied process in the following table.

  We can see in the above table that the pairs are ordered according to the complexity of their common structures. The elements of pair A cannot be sub‑divided, while the elements of E contain three formally separated parts. Pairs B‑D are three intermediate stages between the inseparable parts of A, and the fully separated parts of E. The process, which appears across the five pairs, can be described as “separation”.

Pairs C‑E display a formal order based on the number of separate subjects in each element of the pairs. The elements of pair C each have two separate parts, but in both cases the parts form a single subject. In D, the two parts of each element are separate subjects. In E, each element contains three independent parts and subjects. So pairs C‑E are ordered by the number of subjects in each element, from one to three. This is similar to the internal numbering that we found in the four elements of א1. It also supports our decision to read each of the segments of E as a single tri‑part element rather than as three separate elements, as well as the addition of verse 19a at the end of ב1D.

From Structure to Meaning

We have now identified one of the literary devices that have been employed in the construction of the pairs, and its concomitant process. We have seen that each pair has its own internal structure. Taken together, the five structures create a process of “separation” as we progress from pair to pair. The separation that we have observed is purely structural; it is not connected to any specific content. Yet, it is unmistakably one of the more inclusive features of the text. The next literary device we will examine becomes apparent only after the discovery of the pairs. It verifies the importance of the pairs in defining the structure, as well as demonstrating the link between structure and meaning.

 The second literary device is based on references to God within the elements. Each pair combines these references with other material in a distinctive way. This phenomenon is systematic and embedded in the five‑pair configuration. Just as each pair has its own unique structure, it also has its own unique set of references to God. In other words, God plays a different role in each pair. Again, we will see a process of separation appear from pair to pair as God’s role becomes less and less significant for the meaning of the pair. An understanding of the process described by God’s changing role will lead us to an understanding of the meaning of Lev XIII as a literary construct, as opposed to an agglomeration of laws. 

References to God

Near the beginning of this section we noted that the author has used God’s appearances in the form אני יהוה (I am the Lord), as a literary device to mark the ends of elements, and as we have seen, pseudo-elements. We will now examine a further systematic use of references to God. He is referred to within the elements both directly, e.g. “you shall fear your God”, and indirectly, e.g. “You shall keep My statutes.” In the following discussion, I will include all of these references to God, both direct and indirect, within the general category of “God‑oriented” material. Selections of text that do not refer to God will be termed “not God‑oriented”. In the following table of the pairs, I have emphasized all of the God‑oriented material. For the sake of clarity, I have removed the closing formulae.

Table 3. God Oriented and not God Oriented Material in the Pairs

א	ב
A  (i) א וידבר יהוה אל משה לאמר ב דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם קדשים תהיו  (ii) כי קדוש אני יהוה אלהיכם	A  (i) יא לא תגנבו ולא תכחשו ולא תשקרו איש בעמיתו  (ii) יב ולא תשבעו בשמי לשקר וחללת את שם אלהיך
B  (i) ג איש אמו ואביו תיראו  (ii) ואת שבתתי תשמרו	B  (i) יג לא תעשק את רעך ולא תגזל לא תלין פעלת שכיר אתך עד בקר יד לא תקלל חרש ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל  (ii) ויראת מאלהיך
C  (i) ד אל תפנו אל האלילים  (ii) ואלהי מסכה לא תעשו לכם	C  (i) טו לא תעשו עול במשפט לא תשא פני דל ולא תהדר פני גדול בצדק תשפט עמיתך  (ii) טז לא תלך רכיל בעמיך לא תעמד על דם רעך
D  (i) ה וכי תזבחו זבח שלמים ליהוה לרצנכם תזבחהו ו ביום זבחכם יאכל וממחרת והנותר עד יום השלישי באש ישרף ז ואם האכל יאכל ביום השלישי פגול הוא לא ירצה ח ואכליו עונו ישא כי את קדש יהוה חלל ונכרתה הנפש ההוא מעמיה  (ii) ט ובקצרכם את קציר ארצכם לא תכלה פאת שדך לקצר ולקט קצירך לא תלקט י וכרמך לא תעולל ופרט כרמך לא תלקט לעני ולגר תעזב אתם	D  (i) יז לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך ולא תשא עליו חטא יח לא תקם ולא תטר את בני עמך ואהבת לרעך כמוך אני יהוה  (ii) יט את חקתי תשמרו
EA  כו לא תאכלו על הדם לא תנחשו ולא תעוננו כז לא תקפו פאת ראשכם ולא תשחית את פאת זקנך כח ושרט לנפש לא תתנו בבשרכם וכתבת קעקע לא תתנו בכם	EA  (i) לב מפני שיבה תקום והדרת פני זקן  (ii) ויראת מאלהיך
EB  (i) כט אל תחלל את בתך להזנותה ולא תזנה הארץ ומלאה הארץ זמה  (ii) ל את שבתתי תשמרו ומקדשי תיראו	EB לג וכי יגור אתך גר בארצכם לא תונו אתו לד כאזרח מכם יהיה לכם הגר הגר אתכם ואהבת לו כמוך כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים
EC לא אל תפנו אל האבת ואל הידענים אל תבקשו לטמאה בהם	EC  (i) לה לא תעשו עול במשפט במדה במשקל ובמשורה לו מאזני צדק אבני צדק איפת צדק והין צדק יהיה לכם  (ii) אני יהוה אלהיכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים לז ושמרתם את כל חקתי ואת כל משפטי ועשיתם אתם
A  (i) You shall be holy, (ii) for I, the Lord your God, am holy.	A (i) 11You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another. (ii) 12You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God
B  (i) 3You shall each revere his mother and his father, (ii) and keep My sabbaths	B  (i) 13You shall not defraud your neighbor. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning. 14You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. (ii) You shall fear your God
C (a) 4Do not turn to idols (ii) or make molten gods for yourselves	C  (a) 15You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly. (ii)16Do not deal basely with  your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow
D  (i) 5When you sacrifice an offering of well-being to the Lord, sacrifice it so that it may be accepted on your behalf. 6It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it, or on the day following; but what is left by the third day must be consumed in fire. 7If it should be eaten on the third day, it is an offensive thing, it will not be acceptable. 8And he who eats of it shall bear his guilt, for he has profaned what is sacred to the Lord; that person shall be cut off from his kin. (ii) 9When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger	D  (i) 17You shall not hate your brother in your heart. Reprove your fellow but  incur no guilt because of him. 18You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. (ii) 19You shall observe My laws.
EA 26You shall not eat anything with its blood. You shall not practice divination or soothsaying. 27You shall not round off the side-growth on your head, or destroy the side-growth of your beard. 28You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.	EA (i) 32You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old; (ii) you shall fear your God
EB (i) 29Do not degrade your daughter and make her a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry and the land be filled with depravity. (ii) 30You shall keep My sabbaths and venerate My sanctuary	EB 33When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. 34The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt
EC 31Do not turn to ghosts and do not inquire of familiar spirits, to be defiled by them	EC (i) 35You shall not falsify measures of length, weight, or capacity. 36You shall have an honest balance, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. (ii) I the Lord am your God who freed you from the land of Egypt. 37You shall faithfully observe all My laws and all My rules

The Pattern of References to God

In the above, the components of pair E are distinguished by the original notation of thread 3, A-C, as well as the notation for pair E. Taken together, the references to God create a pattern that indicates that they have been carefully arranged. The eight segments that contain God‑oriented material are arranged symmetrically around two segments that do not contain references to God. This symmetry is created by the absence of references to God in the central pair, C. Both segments in each of the other four pairs do contain references to God. The fact that the only segments lacking references to God are the two in C may indicate that the symmetrical arrangement around pair C is not arbitrary.

Another unifying characteristic of the references to God is the location of each reference within the individual segment. All of the God‑oriented material is found within segments that also contain not-God‑oriented material. Moreover, except in אDi, the God‑oriented material always follows a section that is not God‑oriented. This is indicated in the table above by the division into parts (i) and (ii). Except for אDi, the God‑oriented always appears in segment )ii(. This arrangement could lead us to see the two types of material as unequal; one is primary and the other is secondary. The not God‑oriented appears in all ten segments and appears first in seven of the eight mixed segments, so it would seem to be the primary stratum. The God‑oriented, not appearing in all the segments, and appearing second in seven of eight where it does appear, would seem to be a secondary stratum. 

These observations, taken together, are prima‑facie evidence that the references to God play a part in the overall plan according to which Lev XIII was constructed. We will verify this hypothesis by examining the God‑oriented material within each pair. We will see that there is a progression from pair to pair based on the nature of the connection between the God‑oriented and not God‑oriented material. From pair to pair, the connection between the two types of material becomes weaker and weaker, indicating a process of separation. I will refer to this process as the “divine process” in order to distinguish it from the “structural process”, which we have seen across the structures of the pairs.

 For the sake of this analysis, I have created the dyad “God‑oriented”, “not God‑oriented”. It should not be confused with the “religious” and “ethical” duties, which earlier characterized the columns. We have already seen that there are references to God in “ethical” segments such as “you shall fear your God” in בB. There is also a “religious” segment, אC, which does not mention God at all. Therefore, in my analysis I can say that אC is not “God‑oriented”, although it falls in the “religious duties” column.

Pair A: God and Meaning are Inseparable

Aא  (i) א וידבר יהוה אל משה לאמר ב דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם קדשים תהיו  (ii) כי קדוש אני יהוה אלהיכם	Aב  (i) יא לא תגנבו ולא תכחשו ולא תשקרו איש בעמיתו  (ii) יב ולא תשבעו בשמי לשקר וחללת את שם אלהיך
אA  (i) You shall be holy, (ii) for I, the Lord your God, am holy.	בA (i) 11You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another. (ii) 12You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God

The elements of pair A consist of an opening clause that does not mention God, (i), and a closing clause, (ii), that does. In our earlier analysis of pair A, we found that the two clauses in each element are inseparable, since they are parts of a single idea. God is an essential part of each element; removing Him would significantly change the meaning of what remains. God is the source of holiness in אA; dishonesty is to be avoided in בA because it can lead to the desecration of God’s name. Therefore, the element in which God appears, (ii) in each segment, is inseparable from the segment in which He does not appear, and God Himself is inseparable from the meaning of the pair. Now we will look at pair E, in which God’s appearances have so little to do with the surrounding text, that they seem virtually gratuitous.

Pair E: References to God are not Necessary

EAא  כו לא תאכלו על הדם לא תנחשו ולא תעוננו כז לא תקפו פאת ראשכם ולא תשחית את פאת זקנך כח ושרט לנפש לא תתנו בבשרכם וכתבת קעקע לא תתנו בכם	EAב  (i) לב מפני שיבה תקום והדרת פני זקן  (ii) ויראת מאלהיך
EBא  (i) כט אל תחלל את בתך להזנותה ולא תזנה הארץ ומלאה הארץ זמה  (ii) ל את שבתתי תשמרו ומקדשי תיראו	EBב לג וכי יגור אתך גר בארצכם לא תונו אתו לד כאזרח מכם יהיה לכם הגר הגר אתכם ואהבת לו כמוך כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים
ECא לא אל תפנו אל האבת ואל הידענים אל תבקשו לטמאה בהם	ECב  (i) לה לא תעשו עול במשפט במדה במשקל ובמשורה לו מאזני צדק אבני צדק איפת צדק והין צדק יהיה לכם  (ii) אני יהוה אלהיכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים לז ושמרתם את כל חקתי ואת כל משפטי ועשיתם אתם

 

אEA 26You shall not eat anything with its blood. You shall not practice divination or soothsaying. 27You shall not round off the side-growth on your head, or destroy the side-growth of your beard. 28You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves	בEA  (i) 32You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old; (ii) you shall fear your God
אEB  (i) 29Do not degrade your daughter and make her a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry and the land be filled with depravity. (ii) 30You shall keep My sabbaths and venerate My sanctuary	בEB 33When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. 34The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt
אEC 31Do not turn to ghosts and do not inquire of familiar spirits, to be defiled by them	בEC  (i) 35You shall not falsify measures of length, weight, or capacity. 36You shall have an honest balance, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. (ii) I the Lord am your God who freed you from the land of Egypt. 37You shall faithfully observe all My laws and all My rules

There are three references to God in pair E, in אEB, בEA and בEC. The symmetrical distribution of these three sub-segments creates a mirror image of the pericopes that do not mention God, אEA, אEC and בEB. This symmetrical distribution is reinforced by the repetition of the verbs associated with God‑oriented commands in אEB: שמר (keep, observe), appears in בEC and אEB; ירא (fear, venerate), appears in בEA and אEB. Only these two verbs have the divinity or His “possessions” as their objects in all of E. There are other common strands running through the three sub-elements in which God is mentioned.

All three God‑related sub-elements have two distinct parts, marked (i) and (ii). In all three, the first part, (i), contains no mention of God; only the second part, (ii), does, as in the elements of A. Unlike pair A, in these three sub-elements there are no semantic links between the parts that refer to God and the parts that do not. Given that the parts referring to God are all at the ends of the sub-elements, they have the appearance of accretions to the text. However, since we have already seen signs that references to God are part of a larger plan, we should ask ourselves why they have been arranged in E to give an impression that they are either an afterthought or superfluous.

The answer to our question can be found by positing that the author wishes us to see God as, in some way, unnecessary, or disconnected. The fact that the God‑related material in pair E is unrelated to the not God‑related material is consistent with our reading of the structure of the pairs. In our analysis of the common structures of the pairs, we characterized pair E as having fully separated structural components. Similarly, it contains independent semantic components: the God‑related and the not God‑related parts. This stands in opposition to the place of God‑related material in the elements of pair A, in which, as we saw, the God‑related is inseparable from the not God‑related. Just as the structures of the pairs indicated a process of separation, so too does the arrangement of God‑related material.

Two Strata

We earlier considered the possibility that the distribution of God‑oriented material throughout the five pairs might indicate a stratification in which the “not God‑oriented” is the primary stratum and the God‑oriented is the secondary stratum. What we have seen in pair E would seem to verify this notion. Only half of the six pericopes of E contain God‑oriented material. All of the three pericopes which contain God‑oriented material begin with the not God‑oriented. Most significantly, there is no apparent connection between the two types of material. So it would seem that we are justified in seeing the “not God” as the primary stratum. This distinction is important for understanding the function of the God‑related material and the process it creates. If the primary stratum is “not God”, then the secondary “God” stratum has been superimposed upon the “not God” in order to create a compound image. This textual overlay makes it possible to distinguish the changing role of the “God related” against the constant background of the “not God.” We will return to this discussion after examining God’s appearances in B and D.   

Pair D: References to God are Partially Superfluous

Dא  (i) ה וכי תזבחו זבח שלמים ליהוה לרצנכם תזבחהו ו ביום זבחכם יאכל וממחרת והנותר עד יום השלישי באש ישרף ז ואם האכל יאכל ביום השלישי פגול הוא לא ירצה ח ואכליו עונו ישא כי את קדש יהוה חלל ונכרתה הנפש ההוא מעמיה  (ii) ט ובקצרכם את קציר ארצכם לא תכלה פאת שדך לקצר ולקט קצירך לא תלקט י וכרמך לא תעולל ופרט כרמך לא תלקט לעני ולגר תעזב אתם

Dב  (i) יז לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך ולא תשא עליו חטא יח לא תקם ולא תטר את בני עמך ואהבת לרעך כמוך אני יהוה  (ii) יט את חקתי תשמרו

(i) 5When you sacrifice an offering of well-being to the Lord, sacrifice it so that it may be accepted on your behalf. 6It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it, or on the day following; but what is left by the third day must be consumed in fire. 7If it should be eaten on the third day, it is an offensive thing, it will not be acceptable. 8And he who eats of it shall bear his guilt, for he has profaned what is sacred to the Lord; that person shall be cut off from his kin. (ii) 9When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger

(i) 17You shall not hate your brother in your heart. Reprove your fellow but  incur no guilt because of him. 18You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. (ii) 19You shall observe My laws.

אD(i) and בD(ii) refer to God. בD(ii), את חקתי תשמרו (“You shall observe My laws”), is apparently superfluous, because it comes after the closing formula,אני יהוה  (“I am the Lord”). Therefore, half the references to God in pair D are effectively gratuitous, justifying its place between C and E.

Pair B: The Connection with God is Necessary by Implication

Bא  (i) ג איש אמו ואביו תיראו  (ii) ואת שבתתי תשמרו	Bב  (i) יג לא תעשק את רעך ולא תגזל לא תלין פעלת שכיר אתך עד בקר יד לא תקלל חרש ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל  (ii) ויראת מאלהיך
(i) 3You shall each revere his mother and his father, (ii) and keep My sabbaths	(i) 13You shall not defraud your neighbor. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning. 14You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. (ii) You shall fear your God

In contrast with pair A, Pair B does not contain directly stated divine reasons. However, the juxtaposition of the God‑oriented and not God‑oriented may imply a causal connection. ויראת מאלהיך (You shall fear your God), in בB(ii) is generally understood as the reason to obey the previous laws, although there is no linguistic connection to בB(i) that demands this understanding. Similarly, the fear/reverence of parents in אB may lead to Sabbath observance. However it is also possible to read, איש אמו ואביו תיראו (You shall each revere his mother and his father), and ואת שבתתי תשמרו (and keep My Sabbaths), as two independent clauses. We can conclude that the God‑oriented material in pair A is more closely connected to the not God‑oriented in A than the God‑oriented in B is to the not God in B. Therefore, pair B does belong between A and C. In the following table, I have added a new column summarizing the relevance of references to God in the pairs to the columns summarizing the structure of the pairs.

Table 4. The Divine Progression

The Conceptual Progression

We can now conclude that the structural process of separation that appears in the pairs has a semantic correlative associated with God. Just as the order of the five pairs indicates a progression from inseparable parts to fully separated parts, the references to God in the elements lead to a parallel progression. From pair to pair God is less and less connected to the “not God”, until pair E, in which He is completely disconnected from the underlying not God‑oriented text.

In addition to identifying the rule for references to God in the elements of Lev XIII, we have also identified the underlying mechanism by means of which the author has implemented the rule. The mechanism is based on the stratification into a primary “not‑God” stratum and a secondary “God” stratum. The primary “not God” stratum is the equivalent of a fixed point against which the motion of the secondary “God” stratum can be measured. The “not God” has been organized in a manner that makes God’s changing roles visible.

The significance of the pairs

We have now completed the demonstration that Lev XIII contains five structural pairs. In order to grasp the full significance of what we have found, let us review the earlier steps of our analysis. The discovery of the pairs was predicated upon the previous discovery of the parallel warp threads. We found that the two threads are structurally identical and that each has an independent theme, similar to Milgrom’s “duties.” The contents of each thread are ordered; thread א is ordered from good to bad and thread ב from bad to good. Taken together, the warp threads create an inverted parallel. These characteristics of the warp demonstrate that Lev XIII is a complex literary creation and not simply a collection of laws.

Having determined that the warp threads were parts of a literary composition, we faced the challenge of learning how to read that composition. The fact that the threads were structural parallels led us to examine them in parallel. We have seen that reading the threads in parallel leads to a redefining of the underlying structure. Now we can say that the structure consists of five well‑ordered pairs in the weft. Our situation has become a bit similar to that of the physicists examining the nature of light who must admit that it is apparently both a particle and wave energy. While this is intuitively impossible, it is the only way to explain the appearances. Our structure can be described both as two warp threads, which are inverted parallels, and as five hierarchically ordered weft threads containing direct parallels. The “intuitively impossible”, or at least “unlikely”, aspect of our description is that the warp and the weft seem to reflect two independent principles of organization. It is as if the warp threads were organized as inverted parallels according to principles of good and bad and the “duties” by one hand, while the weft threads were organized as direct parallels by rules of complexity and “God ‑ not God”, by another hand. The problem is that both the warp and the weft contain exactly the same elements of text. The challenge of reading the composition has grown exponentially with the discovery of the pairs. Lev XIII is thus a brilliant example of the ancient art of weaving text.

Chapter 4. The Decalogue and Leviticus XIII (19)

…if chap. 19 had the Decalogue in mind, why was it exemplified with such rare, ambiguous cases? Would anyone who heard or read this chapter have thought of these allusions without looking for them in advance?^[4]

Introduction

In this chapter, I demonstrate that Lev XIII (19) was modeled after the five-consecutive-pair reading of the Ex. 20 Decalogue developed in Part 1. The reason that others have explored the relationship between the Decalogue and Lev XIII (19) is that Lev XIII (19) contains word for word fragments of some components of the Decalogue, as well as some less literal allusions. Milgrom lists no less than six different “attempts to find the Decalogue in this chapter…both ancient and modern.”^[5] While the number of near repetitions has caused Schwartz to pose at least a common source, there is still no satisfying explanation for the parallels.^[6] My approach to this issue differs from the approach of my predecessors. I demonstrate two distinct connections between the structure of Lev XIII (19) and that of the Decalogue.

The first connection explains the appearances in Lev XIII (19) of components of the Decalogue. The demonstration of this connection is based on the reading of the Decalogue in pairs developed in Part 1. We will see that four of the five pairs can be found in Lev XIII (19). The arrangement of these pairs within the chapter is related to the progressions summarized in the last chart of the previous chapter. The second connection is based on the conceptual flow we identified from pair to pair in the Decalogue. We will see that it is extremely similar to the conceptual flow identified in pairs (A-E) of Lev XIII (19) in the previous chapter. While literary analysis may not be able to determine whether the Decalogue served as the paradigm for Lev XIII (19) or whether they both were formatted according yet another five-part text, the author has made his position quite clear. The author has declared the Decalogue as the paradigm by identifying it as a divine text.

The Decalogue Pairs in Lev XIII (19)

Lev XIII (19) contains literal fragments of the Decalogue as well as less clear references to it, as indicated in the various attempts to identify the Decalogue within Lev XIII (19). However, the confused order of these fragments, combined with the veiled character of the references, has prevented critics from agreeing as to the nature of the connection between the two texts. The evidence vis-à-vis the common structure of the two texts makes it possible to view the connection from a new perspective. This is a significant advance, because we are no longer limited to comparing individual laws in Lev XIII (19) with their parallels in the Decalogue. We can also compare structural elements. We will see now that the author of Lev XIII (19) read the Decalogue according to our five-pair arrangement and incorporated its first four pairs into Lev XIII (19). In the following paragraphs we will compare the five pairs of Words with the five pairs of Lev XIII (19), retaining the same notation used in previous chapters.

Pairs A

 Pair A in the Lev structure precisely corresponds to pair A in the Decalogue. In the first element of both structures, אA, God speaks about Himself: “I, the Lord your God, am holy”, “I the Lord your God am an impassioned God.” The second element in both structures, בA, speaks of swearing falsely by His name: “You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God”, “You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your God.” The common subject of both Words is God, His substance (א) and His name (ב). Pair A in Lev also contains clear references to pair D in the Dec, stealing and lying testimony. לא תגנבו ולא תכחשו ולא תשקרו איש בעמיתו (You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another) is virtually identical to לא  תגנוב, לא תענה ברעך עד שקר (You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.) So we have references to two Decalogue pairs in the first Lev XIII (19) pair, one in place, parallel to the first Dec pair, and one out of place, parallel to the fourth Dec pair. The parallel with the Dec pair A is especially impressive because it contains a one-to-one correspondence between both אA and בA. The parallel between Lev pair A and Dec pair D is more distant because both אD andב D of the Dec appear in בA of Lev. We will see that even this out-of-place parallel is part of a systematic plan.

Pairs B

	Bא	Bב
Lev XIII (19)	ג איש אמו ואביו תיראו ואת שבתתי תשמרו	יג לא תעשק את רעך ולא תגזל...
Dec	זזכור את יום השבת לקדשו...	יאכבד את אביך ואת אמך למען יארכון ימיך על האדמה אשר יהוה אלהיך נתן לך
Lev XIII (19)	3You shall each revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths	13You shall not defraud your neighbor….
Dec	8Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy…	12Honor your father and your mother, that you may lengthen your days on the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you.

Lev XIII (19) pair B, like Lev pair A, contains obvious literal references to the parallel Dec pair. איש אמו ואביו תיראו (“You shall each revere his mother and his father (Lev-אB) reflects כבד את אביך ואת אמך (“Honor your father and your mother”) (Dec-בB), and ואת שבתתי תשמרו (“keep My Sabbaths”) (Lev-אB) reflectsזכור את יום השבת  (“Remember the Sabbath day”)(Dec-אB). However, in this case there is not a one-to-one correspondence because both Dec Words appear in Lev-אB, much as we saw both Dec D Words in Lev בA. We have now identified three of the Dec pairs in Lev XIII (19), so there can be no doubt that the author of Lev XIII (19) was working with the five-pair arrangement of the Decalogue according to the scroll division.

Pairs C

	Cא	Cב
Lev XIII (19)	ד אל תפנו אל האלילים ואלהי מסכה לא תעשו לכם	טו לא תעשו עול במשפט לא תשא פני דל ולא תהדר פני גדול בצדק תשפט עמיתך טז לא תלך רכיל בעמיך לא תעמד על דם רעך
Dec	יבלא תרצח	לא תנאף
Lev XIII (19)	4Do not turn to idols or make molten gods for yourselves	15You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly. 16Do not deal basely with  your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow
Dec	13You shall not murder.	You shall not commit adultery.

 All six of the “ancient and modern” attempts to find the Decalogue in Lev XIII (19) quoted by Milgrom connect לא תעמד על דם רעך (Do not profit by the blood of your fellow” with לא תרצח (You shall not murder). Ezekiel echoes Lev 19:16 לא תלך רכיל בעמיך לא תעמד על דם רעך (Do not deal basely with your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow) in Ez. 22:9 אנשי רכיל היו בך למען שפך דם (In thee have been talebearers to shed blood) (Old JPS), equating murder with “talebearing” (“dealing basely” in NJPS). However, regardless of the precise meaning of the obscure phrase תעמד על דם and its connection with tale-bearing, it can only refer to a figurative murder. Our comparative reading of the two structures makes it possible to demonstrate that the author of Lev XIII (19) created the “figurative” murder in order to match a figurative adultery.

The Decalogue’s לא תנאף (You shall not commit adultery), is matched in Lev XIII (19) אC by אל תפנו אל האלילים ואלהי מסכה לא תעשו לכם (Do not turn to idols or make molten gods for yourselves). While the figurative usage of זנות (prostitution) meaning “idolatry” is widespread, נאוף, adultery, with this meaning appears together with the figurative use of “prostitution” in Jeremiah 3:9: והיה מקל זנותה ותחנף את הארץ ותנאף את האבן ואת העץ (and it came to pass through the lightness of her harlotry, that the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with stocks). It is clear now that the author of Lev XIII (19) has created figurative parallels to both Words of pair C. The figuration of the parallel Dec Words is accompanied by a reversal of their placement. Lev אC links to Dec בC and Lev בC links to Dec אC. We have now seen that each of the first four Dec pairs has a parallel in Lev XIII (19). Dec pair E has no parallel in Lev XIII (19). The following table summarizes what we have learned about the links between the Dec pairs and the pairs of Lev XIII (19).

The Links Create a Five-Step Process

Table 5 The Arrangement of Dec Pair References in Lev XIII (19)

1 Decalogue pair	2 Appears in Lev pair	3 Lev א contains	4 Lev ב contains	5 Type of link to Lev	6 Summary of Dec pair links in Lev XIII (19)
A	A	א	ב	Literal	Complete one-to-one in row correspondence, literal link
B	B	א+ב		Literal	In-row literal link, one Word in wrong column
C	C	ב	א	Figurative	In-row figurative link, both Words in wrong columns
D	A		ב+א	Literal	Literal link in wrong row, one Word in wrong column
E	-	-	-	None	No link

The above table summarizes the references to each Decalogue pair in Lev XIII (19). Column 1 lists the Dec pairs and column 2 indicates in which Lev pair the Dec pair appears. Columns 3 and 4 indicate which Word of the Dec pair appears in which column of Lev XIII (19). Column 5 describes the type of link and 6 summarizes the characteristics of each link. Each Dec pair has been linked to Lev XIII (19) in a unique way. The extremes are the most obvious. Dec pair A has a one-to-one literal link with Lev XIII (19) pair A, while Dec pair E has no link whatsoever with Lev XIII (19). The three intermediate Dec pairs are each linked to Lev XIII (19) to a different degree. Dec pair B is almost like A in that it appears with literal references to it in the parallel Lev pair, but one of its elements, ב, is in the wrong column. Dec pair C is less closely connected to its parallel pair in Lev XIII (19) than B because both of its elements are in the wrong columns. In addition, the references to it in Lev XIII (19) are not literal, but figurative. Finally, Dec pair D is totally out of place, appearing in Lev pair A. We can see from the table that the author of Lev XIII (19) has manipulated the arrangement of the Dec pairs in order to create a sequence that is similar to the process of separation we identified in chapter 3 as “the progression of the pairs.” The following table will clarify this point.

The above table is composed of sections of two previous tables, “the progression of the pairs” from the previous chapter, and the arrangement of the Dec pair references in this chapter. The comparison demonstrates that the two progressions are identical, because the central column, which was originally created to describe the process of separation in the pairs of Lev XIII (19), also precisely describes the procession of the links to the Decalogue. The comparison also justifies our decision to see a non-literal link between the C pairs, because the common structure of pair C in Lev XIII (19), as noted above, lacks the linguistic links that are found in pairs A and B. This point emphasizes just how much attention the author gave to engineering the parallels with the Decalogue. The result is the extraordinarily ordered set of links that demonstrates the same organizing principle as the pairs of Lev XIII (19). We have now seen three applications of a single five-step process within Lev XIII (19): 1) the formal structure of the pairs in Lev XIII (19); 2) references to God within these pairs; 3) references to the pairs of Words in the Decalogue. Our reading of the Decalogue in Part 1 revealed a similar progression from pair to pair.

Hypothetical Explanation

We will now consider a hypothesis that explains why Lev XIII (19) contains the formal structures we have found in it and the links to the Decalogue. The hypothesis is based on an analogical reading of Leviticus, which appears in the chapter on Leviticus in Part 4. Leviticus can be read as containing three concentric rings of material. Each ring is associated with a part of the Tabernacle; the outer ring the courtyard, the middle ring the holy Place and the inner ring the Holy of Holies. According to this reading, Lev XIII (19) is at the focus of the three rings. We can interpret its position within the ring of the Holy of Holies to imply that it represents the Ark of the Covenant. This would explain in part the appearance of Decalogue elements within the chapter, as well as the sixteen first-person divine speeches. The Ark of the Covenant served as the receptacle for the stone tablets as well as the source of divine communication between the cherubs. The solution that I propose is consistent with the view mentioned in the Talmud that the Ark contained the fragments of the first set of tablets as well as the intact second set.^[7] The hypothesis I propose is that the fragmented parallels to the Decalogue in Lev XIII (19) are to be seen as the fragments of the first tablets, while the five-pair structure embedded in the chapter should be seen as parallel to the second, unbroken, tablets. In this manner the author testifies about the nature of the Torah and reinforces our speculative thoughts from Part 1. It is more than appropriate that authorial testimony be found in the part of the text to be identified with the Ark of Testimony. It would appear that the place of authorial testimony, Lev XIII (19) has been planned to coincide with its analogical function. What exactly does the testimony include?

In order to understand the testimony embedded within Lev XIII (19), it is necessary to understand its place in the Torah. According to the reading of Leviticus presented in Part 4, it is the focus of both Leviticus and the whole Torah. In addition to the three rings of Leviticus focused on Lev XIII (19), Exodus and Numbers create two more concentric rings. The Tabernacle “ring” of material in the second half of exodus and the first part of numbers is surrounded by the historical ring, which includes the first half of Exodus and the second part of Numbers. So Lev XIII (19) is the focus of a five-ring structure which encompasses three full books of the Torah. Within it we have found verification that the Torah was created by a master craftsman to be read in two ways which are consistent with the audiences for whom the two sets of stone tablets were created. The first set appears shattered, with just a few clear remnants of the original text visible for all to see. The second tablets, the five pairs we have identified in Lev XIII (19), have been hidden deep within the structure just as the second, intact, tablets were hidden by Moses immediately upon receiving them. While we have noted the similarity between the progression created by the five pairs in Lev XIII (19) and the five consecutive pair reading of the Decalogue, we have not yet touched the relationship between the warp threads of Lev XIII (19) and the divine dyads of Part 1. We will turn to that connection in the next chapter.

Chapter 5. Analysis and Exegesis of Thread 2

Introduction

At this point, we are in a position similar to the mechanic who has rebuilt a motor only to find that there are a handful of parts left over. To continue this metaphor, our motor is up and running, showing no need whatsoever for the remaining pieces, verses 19b-25, thread 2. With the engine purring so beautifully, there is an enormous temptation to chuck the left over nuts and bolts with a response like “the editor was nodding.” Unfortunately, all the evidence we have gathered demonstrates that the editor was not nodding. In fact, there is no reason to posit the existence of an editor or redactor at all. The alignment of all the fine details indicates that we are reading an authored composition. No committee or series of editors could have constructed this Unit. It is just too coherent, given all its complexity. Therefore, unless we can prove otherwise, we will have to deal with thread 2 as part of the planned document. Close examination will have to show us what to do with the remaining nuts and bolts.

Table 6.The Three-Part Structure of Thread 2

Fractal Triads

Thread 2 is composed of three seemingly unrelated subjects: v. 19b, mixing types, vv. 20‑22, intercourse with a promised slave woman, and vv. 23‑25, first fruits. I have placed the three subject elements in three columns, א, ב, and ג in the above table. Each column is itself divided into three parts, A, B, and C. The division within column ב needs some clarification. My division of ב is based on three discernable stages: A) a man sins by having sexual intercourse with a betrothed slave woman; B) he repents by means of a ram offering; C) he is forgiven. The thread is thus composed of triads of two different orders, the whole three‑part thread (א-ג) and the three, three‑part segments (A-C). This makes it a fractal, a text in which the parts have the same structure as the whole. Besides the single closing formula, this tight structure is the first indication that the thread must be dealt with as a whole, rather than as an assortment of laws. We will now see that a single theme integrates the diverse parts.

Reproduction

Each of the three columns begins with a similar act: א, “mate”; ב, “has carnal relations”; ג, “plant.” Although these three actions are different, they share a kernel of similarity, much as the three elements of column א. The more closely we observe the details of the columns, the clearer the picture that appears. In אA, no actual engendering takes place; it is forbidden. The next column begins with an act of intercourse, בA. In the third column, planting is just a preliminary; the main subject is the fruit. The three columns form an ordered set. At first, in א, we are presented with potential breeding and sowing of seeds. However, since the mixtures are forbidden, they exist only as potential, seeds. This is followed by actual sowing, intercourse, in ב, and finally, harvesting the first fruits of planting in ג. The order is “realization” or increase: א, seeds; ב, sowing; ג, harvesting. This theme is emphasized in the last words before the closing formula, להוסיף לכם תבואתו (that its yield to you may be increased).

It appears that thread 2 is conceptually unified by means of a single metaphor, reproduction, even though it combines animals, people and plants to create the total image. The author has integrated diverse laws into a single theme, one that is inaccessible without an understanding of the structure. While we have considered, primarily, matters of formal structure in the previous sections, we have also gathered evidence that an understanding of the structure has the potential to deepen our understanding of meanings inherent in the text. Perhaps the clearest example of the interplay between structure and meaning that we have encountered so far was the analysis of the references to God vis à vis the pairs. We found a clear structural rule behind the distribution of these references. Nevertheless, it is impossible to relegate references to God within the segments to a purely technical function in the arrangement of the chapter, as opposed to the closing formula, which marks off the segments. The references to God are inseparable from the meaning. The case of thread 2 is even more dramatic. Identifying the structure has led us to see that the text demands to be read metaphorically. It may be, that the author has inserted this apparently out-of-place thread in an otherwise magnificently coherent Unit in order to indicate that the formal structure must lead to a metaphorical interpretation of the entire Unit, or more. In any case, we will take the opportunity regarding thread 2 to explore the way structural analysis can lead to metaphorical exegesis. But before we take the leap, let us be completely certain that segment thread 2 is a coherent element in the overall plan of Lev XIII (19).

Does Thread 2 Fit In?

Since we have seen that the other weft threads can be viewed as a weave consisting of five weft threads and two warp threads, we should try to determine whether thread 2 fits into this woven structure. There are arguments both pro and con. The fact that it is not a member of a pair would seem to preclude the possibility of integrating it into the tabular structure. However, there are other indications that the structure of thread 2 creates a good fit where it appears, between pairs D and E. Like the segments of E it contains three well defined parts. Unlike E, there is no formal division between the parts of 2. So 2 can be seen as a stage before the fully articulated triads of E. In fact, structurally, 2 is a perfect fit between the dyads of D and the fully articulated triads of E. We can deduce from this bit of analysis that 2, as we find it, containing three separate subjects, is a coherent element of the overall plan of Lev XIII (19).

Thread 2 and the Warp

Now that we have determined that 2 belongs where it is, we have to ask ourselves how it relates to the 5x2 weave formed by the remaining weft threads of the chapter. Could it be the exception “that comes to teach about the rule?” If so, which rule? I want to suggest that we view it figuratively as a clasp that holds the two weft threads together. In this view, threads א and ג of thread 2 link into columns א and ב of the larger structure while ב2 bridges the columns.

Table 7

Thread 2 can be read as the key to the chapter in much the same way that a map has a key to its symbols. The two extreme elements of 2, א2 and ג2, characterize the columns, while ב2 indicates how to integrate them. In order to see the relationship between columns א and ב in the larger structure of the chapter and א2 and ג2, we need to do two things. First, we must clarify some of the characteristics of א2 and ג2. Then we will review what we learned about the columns.

Legal Order

As soon as we see that the three columns of 2 form an ordered triad according to the theme of reproduction, it becomes apparent that it contains other themes that can also be read as ordered triads. One of these is found by considering the legal format of each of the columns. All the mixtures of א2, are strictly forbidden. On the other hand, planting fruit trees, ג2, is a positive commandment, and the fruit of the fifth year is the source of the blessing of plenty. In the center, between the negative of 2 א and the positive of 2ג, falls the shadow, the gray area. Intercourse with the promised slave is neither condoned nor fully punishable. The middle column is a conceptual middle. It includes the sense of “forbidden” in its first element, א2A like all of column א; and like column ג it contains a positive element, the assurance of forgiveness in ב2C.

One and Many

All the verbs in 2א are in the singular while all those in 2ג are in the plural. The prohibitions of 2א are addressed to an individual while the obligations of 2ג are addressed to a collective. This distinction between an individual and society as a whole clarifies the introduction to ג2A: “When you come into the land”. It indicates an historical perspective applicable to the group rather than an individual. Considering that ב2 concerns a couple, we can see that the three elements are ordered: 2א) one; ב2) two; 2ג) many. We should note that that the subjects of the three elements of 2 have been chosen to emphasize the numeric relationship indicated by the verb forms. The subject of א2 is separation or uniqueness, ג2 stresses multiplicity and increase, and ב2 concerns a couple. The emphasis on these numeric considerations will play a significant role in the exegesis of the segment. We have now seen that the three segments of 2 display three principles of organization: a) the theme of reproduction; b) legal order; c) numerical order. The last two principles will help us connect 2 with the columns of the larger structure.

Reviewing the Warp

Regarding the warp of Lev XIII (19), we began with a distinction between religious duties in א and ethical duties in ב. We have continued using this dyad as a matter of convenience although we have already noted that there may be a more basic dyad underlying the distinction between the columns. We considered the possibility that column א could be read as “private” duties as opposed to the “public” duties of ב. This distinction is consistent with the fact that there are no interactions with people outside of the family in א, while ב is based entirely on such interactions. The dyad “private‑public” fits the numeric characteristic of thread 2. א2 uses the singular and its content deals with individualization; ג2 uses the plural and is concerned with “increase.” Other characteristics of the warp are also similar to the outer columns of 2.

We noted that both of our original warp threads have “direction”, indicated by an inner process. Thread א is directed toward the negative and ב toward the positive. These tendencies are consistent with what we found in 2; א2 is negative and ג2 is positive. There is another correlation between 2 and a characteristic of the larger structure, which we have not yet touched on. Each “unmixable” element of א2 points to a class of objects. ג2 on the other hand is concerned with a process that is not only agricultural, but is also historical, “When you enter the land.” This historical process is picked up in 3בEB, “you were aliens in the land of Egypt”, and in 3בEC “who freed you from the land of Egypt”. אE has no such references. Like א2 it is concerned with objects rather than process.

It is quite clear now that thread 2 is not only a coherent part of Lev XIII (19), but also provides verification for two of our conclusions concerning the structure of the chapter. First, because it fits structurally between the pairs of D and the articulated triads of E, it verifies our identification of the triads in E as planning elements. Second, because the poles of 2 fit the pattern of the warp of the larger structure, we have verification that the author saw a distinction between the columns that could be defined in terms of individual and community.

A Reading of Thread 2

Reading the poles of 2, א2 and ג2, as “individual and community” provides an excellent framework for understanding 2 while creating the metaphorical exegesis we mentioned earlier. The narrative of ב2 depicts the tension between the desires of an individual and the accepted social norms. The protagonist has a one‑night fling with a promised slave. He cannot have serious intentions. She is both a slave and promised to another man, if she is released. The language of the text emphasizes that this is a one‑off event. The word that we have been translating “betrothed”, נחרפת, appears nowhere else in the Torah. In addition, בקרת, (an inquiry) also has no parallel in the Torah. This unique event is described in unique language. There is no crime of adultery since a slave cannot actually be engaged. Still, a public hearing is held in order to make known society’s disapproval. Even though this brief affair is not a crime or a sin, properly speaking, it is also not socially acceptable. (This is indicated by the parallel use of חטא here and in בD, הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך ולא תשא עליו חטא, to point to a social rather than religious offense.) If the offending individual cannot achieve retribution for his offense to society through punishment, what channels are left open to him? He must turn from his private passions, to a renewed identification with social norms. He demonstrates his identification with the common weal by presenting himself at the central social institution, the Tabernacle, with his guilt offering in hand. A public official, the priest, accepts the offering and effects his atonement before God. After he has participated in the ritual of atonement, he is forgiven and returns to the fold. The individual of א2 and the group of ג2 have made peace through the conceptual middle, ב2. I offer this reading of thread 2 in full knowledge that it is highly speculative. Nevertheless, I consider it to be important as an example of the goal of the type of close reading I have presented. I have attempted to integrate in it the characteristics of the text revealed by the analysis. I consider this integration to be the goal of close reading.

The Place of Unit XIII (19) in the Plan of Leviticus

In Part 4 in the chapter on Leviticus we will see an analogical reading of Leviticus according to which Lev XIII (19) represents the Ark of the Covenant. Our analysis of thread 2 enables us to clarify this analogy. It is based on a reading that sees Leviticus arranged with three concentric rings of material around Unit XIII (19). Each ring is a literary parallel to one of the three parts of the Tabernacle: the innermost, closest to Lev XIII (19), the Holy of Holies; the middle ring, the Holy place; the outer ring the courtyard. This configuration is not actually similar to the Tabernacle because it was not arranged in rings. The analogy does not fit. It order to see Leviticus as the Tabernacle, we have to consider the experience of the reader. Moreover, the reader must be viewed as analogous to the High Priest on the Day of Atonement!

The experience of reading Leviticus according to its (non-linear) literary structure has two components. The first traces the path of the High Priest inwards and the second covers the same path but facing outwards. This explains the ring format. In order to understand the differences between otherwise parallel material, such as Units XII (18) and XIV (20), it is only necessary to consider the two different perspectives of the High Priest. The first half of his “trip” is a turning inwards to face God one-to-one. For the second half, he must do an about face and turn outwards to the waiting community. Each stage thus has an inward facing and an outward facing phase. To clarify this point let us consider Units XII (18) and XIV (20), which seem to contain unnecessary duplications of sexual prohibitions. The difference between them is that XII (18), containing only the prohibitions, is addressed to individuals who might be tempted to engage in the prohibited acts. Unit XIV (20), on the other hand, containing punishments, is addressed to the community, which must carry out the punishments. This distinction characterizes the two perspectives of the inward and outward paths.  Lev XIII (19) is the turning point and contains within it one warp thread, א, addressed to the individual facing inwards, and one, ב, addressed to the outward facing individual. Thread 2, and especially ב2, would then reflect the actual turning point.