Leviticus 1:1

And the Lord called unto Moses,.... Or "met him", as the phrase is rendered in Numbers 23:4.

And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, the Lord ... spake ... out of the tabernacle.

CHAPTER 1 God commands Moses concerning free-will burnt.offerings of bullock or sheep; male without blemish, Leviticus 1:1-3. The offerer to lay his hand on the head of the offering, that it might be accepted for him, Leviticus 1:4. The bullock to be slain, and its blood sprinkled on the altar, Leviticus 1:5. Its parts to be consumed by fire, Leviticus 1:7-9. Of sheep or goats, Leviticus 1:10-13. Of fowls, as turtledoves and young pigeons; their blood to be wrung out at the side of the altar, Leviticus 1:14-17 Moses stood without, Exodus 40:35, waiting for God's call. Out of the tabernacle of the congregation; from the mercyseat in the tabernacle.

Leviticus 1:1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,Ver. 1. And the Lord called.] A continuation of the former history, from the rearing of the tabernacle to the numbering of the people; being the history of one month only.

(1) And the Lord called . . . and spake.—Rather, And he called unto Moses, and the Lord spake, &c. (See Leviticus 8:15.) At the end of the previous book we are told that when the tent of meeting was completed, the Lord showed His approbation of it by covering the outside of the edifice with a heaven-sent cloud, and by filling the inside with His glory (Exodus 40:34-38). He therefore, who had filled the sanctuary with his glory now “called unto Moses,” thus indicating by “And he called,” which are one word in the original, the intimate connection between the two books. The ancient Jewish synagogue already pointed out the fact that this unusual phrase, “And he called unto Moses,” is used as an introductory formula on the three different occasions when the Lord made a special communication to this great law-giver. Thus when the Lord first communicated to Moses that He was about to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, “He called unto him” from the burning bush (Exodus 3:4). When the Lord was about to give to Moses the Ten Commandments for the people of Israel, “He called unto him” from the top of Sinai (Exodus 19:3; Exodus 19:20); and now when the Lord is about to give to His chosen people, through His servant Moses, the laws by which their Divine worship is to be regulated, “He called unto him” from the tent of meeting (Leviticus 1:1).

THE THIRD BOOK OF MOSES CALLED LEVITICUS -Year before the common Year of Christ, 1490. -Julian Period, 3224. -Cycle of the Sun, 27. -Dominical Letter, D. -Cycle of the Moon, 9. -Indiction, 6. -Creation from Tisri or September, 2514. CHAPTER I The Lord calls to Moses out of the tabernacle, and gives him directions concerning burnt-offerings of the beeve kind, 1,2. The burnt-offering to be a male without blemish, 3. The person bringing it to lay his hands upon its head, that it might be accepted for him, 4. He is to kill, flay, and cut it in pieces, and bring the blood to the priests, that they might sprinkle it round about the altar, 5, 6. All the pieces to be laid upon the altar and burnt, 7-9. Directions concerning offerings of the SMALLER CATTLE, such as sheep and goats, 10-13. Directions concerning offerings of FOWLS, such as doves and pigeons, 14-17. NOTES ON CHAP. I Verse 1. And the Lord called unto Moses] From the manner in which this book commences, it appears plainly to be a continuation or the preceding; and indeed the whole is but one law, though divided into five portions, and why thus divided is not easy to be conjectured. Previously to the erection of the tabernacle God had given no particular directions concerning the manner of offering the different kinds of sacrifices; but as soon as this Divine structure was established and consecrated, Jehovah took it as his dwelling place; described the rites and ceremonies which he would have observed in his worship, that his people might know what was best pleasing in his sight; and that, when thus worshipping him, they might have confidence that they pleased him, every thing being done according to his own directions. A consciousness of acting according to the revealed will of God gives strong confidence to an upright mind.

1. And the Lord called] The tabernacle had been reared up, and the cloud had covered it (Exodus 40:17-34); Moses, who was not able to enter into the tent of meeting (Exodus 40:35), remains without, and receives the first ordinances issued from within the tent. The verse connects these ordinances about sacrifice (chs. 1–7) with Exodus 40:35, and the erection of the tabernacle. out of the tent of meeting] The place from which God issues His commands is more exactly described (Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:89) as ‘from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim.’ The tent (‘tabernacle’ A.V.) is called the ‘tent of meeting’ (Heb. ’Ohel Mτ‘ηd) because it is the appointed place of meeting where the Lord meets Moses (Exodus 25:22; Exodus 30:6; Exodus 30:36), and the children of Israel (Exodus 29:43). The account of the tent of meeting in Exodus 33:7-11 (E), though different in some points from that of P, describes it as the place where the Lord meets Moses (‘the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door (opening) of the Tent: and the Lord spake with Moses’). See Driver’s notes on Exodus 27:21, and on the passages here quoted, and Intr. to Pent. pp. 84 f. The translation of A.V. tabernacle of the congregation renders mτ‘ηd (‘appointed meeting place’) as if it were ‘ηdβh (congregation), and suggests that the tabernacle was the place where the children of Israel assembled. But they were not allowed to come near it (Numbers 17:13); only priests and Levites were permitted to draw nigh.

The Lord - In the Hebrew text of Leviticus, Jehovah יהוה yehovâh is the name by which God is usually called.

1. Lord — The Hebrew for “Lord” is Jehovah, a name recently disclosed in its fulness of significance. See note on Exodus 3:11, and Concluding Note of the same chapter.