The Book Of Leviticus

Who is the Author?

The book of Leviticus—along with the rest of the Pentateuch—is traditionally attributed to Moses. This perspective, which is supported by biblical and extrabiblical testimony, prevailed until the modern era. In the nineteenth century, critical scholars began arguing that the first five books of the Bible were actually composed over a span of several centuries by various “redactors” who integrated assorted source materials into a coherentanthology.1 Over time, however, the relevance of this modern hypothesis declined as the soundness of its methods began to come under scrutiny.2

Twenty-first century scholars tend to be focused more on the final form of the Torah and less on its historical development.3 Most Evangelical scholars today recognize that the Pentateuch contains both pre-Mosaic sources and post-Mosaic glosses and elaborations.4 This does not change the fact that Evangelical scholars still see Moses as the predominant author of the Pentateuch.

In terms of Leviticus specifically, the consensus opinion within modern critical scholarship is that the third book of the Pentateuch is a post-Deuteronomic—and most likely an exilic or post-exilic—work.5 The internal witness of Leviticus, however, seems to indicate that Moses was, as the very least, the primary source for this book, if not its direct author. For example, the book opens with the phrase, “The Lord called to Moses” (1:1), and it details the Lord speaking to Moses over 30 different times.6 In many of these instances, the Lord explicitly commands Moses to communicate the message that he has just received to the people (Lev 1:1–2; 4:1; 6:8–9; etc.).