Old Testament · Law

Leviticus 24

The Bread and the Lamp

Twelve loaves arranged before the Lord. A lamp that never goes out. Provision and presence, side by side.

King James Version BSB KJV

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.

3Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.

4He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.

5And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.

6And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.

7And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

8Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

9And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.

10And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;

11And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)

12And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.

13And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

14Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

15And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.

16And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

17And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.

18And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast.

19And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;

20Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.

21And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.

22Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.

23And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Understand This

Leviticus 24, explained

What Leviticus 24 is saying

Instructions are given for the perpetual lamp (pure olive oil, tended morning and evening) and the showbread (twelve loaves, replaced weekly on the Sabbath). A narrative interlude describes a blasphemer—son of an Israelite mother and Egyptian father—who curses God's name during a fight. God prescribes death by stoning and establishes the principle of equal justice: the same law applies to the native-born and the immigrant. The lex talionis is restated.

The background behind it

The blasphemy narrative's placement between ritual instructions and the legal principle serves to ground the abstract holiness of God's name in a concrete case. The half-Egyptian identity of the blasphemer raises questions about community belonging that the equal-justice principle then addresses—the law applies equally regardless of ethnic origin.

Themes running underneath

The perpetual lamp and weekly bread symbolize continuous divine presence and provision. The blasphemy case establishes that the third commandment carries ultimate seriousness. The equal-justice principle—'you shall have one standard for the sojourner and the native'—is a remarkable statement of legal egalitarianism in the ancient world.

Why it still matters

The equal-justice principle challenges any legal system that applies different standards based on ethnicity or citizenship. God's law treats every person within the covenant community as equally accountable and equally protected.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.