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Book of Leviticus

Book of Leviticus

1 7.9
A book in the Old Testament that gives rules for priests and the people of Israel
  • proper noun
  • /bʊk əv ləˈvɪtɪkəs/
translation icon : Libro de Levítico
  • Many scholars study the Book of Leviticus to understand the religious practices of ancient Israel.

Examples

  • Most of his teachings were from the book of Leviticus.

    Blog text (33)
  • The Jews put a strict rule in the book of Leviticus: "And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him."

    Academic text (2010)
  • The cardinal appeals to Pope Clement for an annulment of Henry and Catherine's marriage on the basis that the initial dispensation was void as the marriage clearly disobeyed instructions in the book of Leviticus, which states that the marriage of a brother's wife was incestuous and would bear no children.

  • In the Bible, the Book of Leviticus provides detailed laws for the Israelites regarding worship and daily living.

  • The teachings found in the Book of Leviticus emphasize the importance of holiness among the people.

Synonyms

Leviticus
vsBook of Leviticus
19 8.8

The third book of the Old Testament that gives laws and religious rules for the Israelites

is the fuller title specifying it as a book rather than the short name

Surface Forms

Morphology

book + of + Leviticus

The structure 'book of + proper name' is fully compositional: combining 'book' with 'of' and 'Leviticus' yields a book called/about Leviticus, which a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can infer. While detailed theological information (e.g., 'third book of the Old Testament') requires background knowledge, the basic referent as a specific book is transparently derivable and this construction is cross-linguistically common.

Etymology

The Book of Leviticus is named after the Levites, the priests of ancient Israel. It contains rules and duties for those priests, so the title means the 'book' about the Levites.