Leviticus 24:1-23
Oil and Bread Before the LORD
1Then the LORD said to Moses,
2“Command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.
3Outside the veil of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps continually before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come.
4He shall tend the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually.
5You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf,
6and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the LORD.
7And you are to place pure frankincense near each row, so that it may serve as a memorial portion for the bread, a food offering to the LORD.
8Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant.
9It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place; for it is to him a most holy part of the food offerings to the LORD—his portion forever.”
10Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite.
11The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)
12They placed him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.
13Then the LORD said to Moses,
14“Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him.
15And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If anyone curses his God, he shall bear the consequences of his sin.
16Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.
17And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death.
18Whoever kills an animal must make restitution—life for life.
19If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him:
20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he injured the other person, the same must be inflicted on him.
21Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death.
22You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native; for I am the LORD your God.’”
23Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Berean Standard Bible
The LORD commands Israel to bring pure oil from crushed olives so that the lamps can be kept burning continually outside the veil of the Testimony. Aaron is responsible for tending them from evening until morning before the LORD.
Every Sabbath, twelve loaves of bread are arranged in two rows on the table of pure gold. Frankincense is placed with them as a memorial portion. The bread belongs to Aaron and his sons, who eat it in a holy place because it is a most holy portion.
The son of an Israelite mother and Egyptian father goes out among the Israelites and fights with another man. In the struggle, he blasphemes the Name and curses. He is brought to Moses and kept in custody until the LORD's decision is made known.
The LORD commands that anyone who blasphemes the Name bears the penalty, whether native or foreigner. The same legal principle is applied to taking a human life, killing an animal, and causing property damage: the harm must be answered fairly. Moses speaks to the Israelites, and the offender is taken outside the camp and executed.
How We Know
“Eye for eye” in this chapter is a principle of proportionate justice, not a private command to seek revenge. It limits retaliation by requiring the response to match the harm. The passage also places native Israelites and foreigners under the same standard, which guards against unequal justice.
Questions
1 What kept the lamps burning?
AnswerPure oil from crushed olives kept the lamps burning continually before the LORD.
2 How often was the bread arranged?
AnswerTwelve loaves were arranged every Sabbath in two rows on the table of pure gold.
3 What did the man in the dispute do?
AnswerHe blasphemed the Name and cursed during a fight with another Israelite.
4 Who was covered by the same legal principle?
AnswerBoth the native Israelite and the foreigner were covered by the same standard.
What This Means for Us
The chapter holds worship and justice together. Lamps and bread are tended before God, while a public case is heard carefully rather than decided by rumor or immediate anger.
Keep worship from becoming an escape from responsibility. Speak of God's name with reverence, and pursue fair consequences instead of personal revenge.
Prayer
Lord, keep our worship steady and our justice fair. Help us honor your name, listen before judging, and respond to harm with proportion rather than vengeance. Amen.