Leviticus 19:1,2, 1518

Leviticus 19:1,2, 1518

Leviticus 19:1,2, 15–18
Scope, Selection and Content of Pericope
Leviticus 19:1,2, 15–18 is the Old Testament pericope appointed for 23 Pentecost A in the LBW. Verses 15-18 are a thematically related set of laws regarding relationships with “neighbors”. The pericope is in-complete without the introductory statement of 1,2, because the laws in this chapter are all expansion and commentary on v 2. The appro-pri-ate pericope is Lev 19:1,2, 15-18.
Sources/Traditions/Form
Leviticus as a whole is P material. Leviticus 17-26, the Holiness Code, is the remains of a pre-existing book brought into the P narra-tive. The theological center of this source is the meaning of “holiness” within Israel.   Within the Holiness Code are signs of a com-plex prior tradition history.  
According to Cozelle’s categories, the laws in the pericope are apo-dictic prohibitions with one concluding positive commandment.   Such laws are Israelite in origin, not borrowings from other cultures.   In form, these are absolute demands from God addressed to each single member of the community.
Summary of Content
Preceding context
Chapter 19, a new unit within the Holiness Code, is unrelated to the context, Lev 17, the centralization of sacrifice, and Lev 18, sexual purity.
Pericope
God speaks to Moses and commands him to transmit God’s words (which follow) to the people. “You will be holy, because I am holy; Yahweh is your God.”
(The pericope is interrupted by verses 3–14.)
“Make your judgments with justice--do not favor either the rich or the poor. Do not slander your people or profit from the death of your neighbor.   Do not hate anyone in your community. Give correction to your neighbor when your neighbor’s sins. If you do not correct your neighbor you will be guilty of what your neighbor does. Do not try to ‘get back’ at your neighbor. Do not keep your neighbor’s offenses against you in your mind. Love your neighbor instead, the same way you love yourself. You are to do these things...