The Scroll of the Covenant Moses Read at Mount Sinai Is the End of Leviticus

The revelation on Mount Sinai is described in greatest detail in Exodus 19–20. Moses is then called up to the mountain to get the tablets in chapter 24, comes down and breaks them upon seeing the golden calf in chapter 32, then ascends and descends again for the new set in 34. Following this, the מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan) “Tabernacle” is built (Exod 35–40), and Leviticus opens with YHWH speaking to Moses מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד “from the Tent of Meeting.” Near the end of Leviticus, however, we suddenly find ourselves again on Mount Sinai:

^{ויקרא כה:א} וַיְדַבֵּר יְ־הוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר.

^{Lev 25:1} YHWH spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.

The chapter lays out the laws of remission of slaves and return of land in the jubilee year. The next chapter presents blessings for people who keep YHWH’s laws and curses for those who do not, and ends with the same geographical marker:

^{ויקרא כו:מו} אֵלֶּה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וְהַתּוֹרֹת אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְ־הוָה בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהַר סִינַי בְּיַד מֹשֶׁה.

^{Lev 26:46} These are the laws, rules, and instructions that YHWH established, through Moses on Mount Sinai, between Himself and the Israelite people.^[1]

Why do these chapters describe events that transpire back on Mount Sinai?

Rashbam (R. Samuel ben Meir, ca. 1085 –1158) suggests that this set of laws was given on Mt. Sinai, before the construction of the Tabernacle:

^{רשב"ם ויקרא כו:א} "בהר סיני" – קודם שהוקם אוהל מועד.

^{Rashbam Lev 26:1} “On Mount Sinai”—before the Tent of Meeting was erected.

Similarly, Abraham ibn Ezra (1089–1167) writes that this set of laws was revealed earlier than the rest of the laws in Leviticus, and that the Torah does not present its laws in historical order:

^{אבן עזרא ויקרא כה:א} אין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה, וזו הפרשה קודם ויקרא וכל הפרשיות שהם אחריו, כי הדבור בהר סיני.

^{Ibn Ezra Lev 25:1} “The Torah is not necessarily in chronological order,”^[2] and this passage comes before the opening of Leviticus and all its subsequent passages, for this revelation happened at Mount Sinai.^[3]

Picking up on other elements of these chapters, the Mekhilta of R. Ishmael (ca. 3^rd cent. C.E.) takes the idea that this passage is connected to the revelation at Sinai much further.

The Covenant at Mount Sinai in Exodus

After the revelation at Sinai of the Decalogue and a collection of other laws (Exod 20–23), Moses brings the laws to the people and they express their willingness to keep them:

^{שמות כד:ג} וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וַיְסַפֵּר לָעָם אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי יְ־הוָה וְאֵת כָּל הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וַיַּעַן כָּל הָעָם קוֹל אֶחָד וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָּל הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְ־הוָה נַעֲשֶׂה [תה"ש: ונשמע].

^{Exod 24:3} Moses went and repeated to the people all the commands of YHWH and all the rules; and all the people answered with one voice, saying, “All the things that YHWH has commanded we will do [LXX: and heed]!”

Moses writes down the laws and builds an altar:

^{שמות כד:ד} וַיִּכְתֹּב מֹשֶׁה אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי יְ־הוָה וַיַּשְׁכֵּם בַּבֹּקֶר וַיִּבֶן מִזְבֵּחַ תַּחַת הָהָר וּשְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה מַצֵּבָה לִשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

^{Exod 24:4} Moses then wrote down all the commands of YHWH. Early in the morning, he set up an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

Moses then has animals sacrificed on the altar and gathers some of their blood:

^{שמות כד:ה} וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶת נַעֲרֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת וַיִּזְבְּחוּ זְבָחִים שְׁלָמִים לַי־הוָה פָּרִים. ^כד:ו וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה חֲצִי הַדָּם וַיָּשֶׂם בָּאַגָּנֹת וַחֲצִי הַדָּם זָרַק עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ.

^{Exod 24:5} He designated some young men among the Israelites, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as offerings of well-being to YHWH. ^24:6 Moses took one part of the blood and put it in basins, and the other part of the blood he dashed against the altar.

Moses then reads the laws he wrote aloud to the people, and once they accept it, he sprinkles them with blood and declares this to be a covenant ceremony:

^{שמות כד:ז} וַיִּקַּח סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית וַיִּקְרָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְ־הוָה נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע. ^כד:ח וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה אֶת הַדָּם וַיִּזְרֹק עַל הָעָם וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה דַם הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר כָּרַת יְ־הוָה עִמָּכֶם עַל כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה.

^{Exod 24:7} Then he took the scroll of the covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said, “All that YHWH has spoken we will do and heed!” ^24:8 Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that YHWH now makes with you concerning all these commands.”

What is written in the scroll of the covenant that forms the basis of this ritual?

The typical understanding is that this scroll contained the set of laws following the revelation at Sinai and immediately preceding this story (Exodus 20:19/21:1–23:19), called by scholars the Covenant Code or Collection. The Mekhilta of R. Ishmael (3^rd cent. C.E. rabbinic midrash), however, suggests other options.

What Scroll Did Moses Read at the Covenant Ceremony?

The Mekhilta begins by asking what exactly Moses read the people:

^{מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל, מסכתא דבחדש יתרו ג} "וַיִּקַּח סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית וַיִּקְרָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם" (שמות כד:ז) – אֲבָל לֹא שָׁמַעְנוּ מֵהֵיכָן קָרָא בְּאָזְנֵיהֶם!

^{Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, BaChodesh Yitro §3} “Then he took the record of the covenant and read it aloud to the people” (Exod 24:7)—But we have not heard from where he read to them?^[4]

The first answer is that Moses read them the whole Torah up to that point in the narrative:

רַבִּי יוֹסֵה בְּרַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: מִתְּחִלַּת בְּרֵאשִׁית וְעַד כָּאן.

R. Yossi son of R. Judah says: “From the beginning of Genesis up to here.”

The next answer is that Moses read them only the Torah commandments, starting with those that came before the revelation at Sinai:

רַבִּי אוֹמֵר: מִצְווֹת שֶׁנִּצְטַוָּה אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, וּמִצְווֹת שֶׁנִּצְטַוּוּ בְנֵי נֹחַ, וּמִצְווֹת שֶׁנִּצְטַוּוּ בְמִצְרַיִם וּבְמָרָה, וּשְׁאָר כָּל הַמִּצְווֹת כֻּלָּן.

Rabbi says: “He read to them the laws commanded to Adam, Noahide commandments, the commandments given to the Israelites in Egypt and at Marah, and all other commandments.”

Finally, R. Ishmael says that he read them Leviticus 25–26:

רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר: בִּתְחִלַּת הָעִנְיָן, מַה הוּא אוֹמֵר? "וְשָׁבְתָה הָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לַי"י. שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְרַע שָׂדֶךָ וְשֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְמֹר כַּרְמֶךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ אֶת תְּבוּאָתָהּ" (ויקרא כה:ב-ג). שְׁמִטִּים וְיוֹבְלוֹת, בְּרָכוֹת וּקְלָלוֹת.

R. Ishmael says: “What does it say in the beginning of the section? “The land shall observe a sabbath of YHWH. Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield” (Lev 25:2–3). shemittah (sabbatical) years and jubilees, blessings and curses.

בְּסוֹף הָעִנְיָן מַה הוּא אוֹמֵר? "אֵלֶּה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וְהַתּוֹרֹת" (ויקרא כו:מו).

What does it say at the closing of the section? “These are the statutes and ordinances and laws…” (Lev 26:46).

אָמְרוּ: "מְקַבְּלִין אָנוּ עָלֵינוּ!" כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה שֶׁקִּבְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶם, נָטַל הַדָּם וְזָרַק עַל הָעָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה אֶת הַדָּם, וַיִּזְרֹק עַל הָעָם" (שמות כד:י). אָמַר לָהֶם: "הֲרֵי אַתֶּם קְשׁוּרִים, עֲנוּבִים, תְּפוּסִים! מָחָר בֹּאוּ וְקַבְּלוּ עֲלֵיכֶם הַמִּצְווֹת כֻּלָּן!"

They said: We accept all these. When he saw that they accepted them, he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, as it is said: “And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people,” etc. (Exod 24.8). He said to them: Now you are bound, held and tied (i.e., required to comply); tomorrow come and receive all the commandments.

Part of the reason R. Ishmael’s understands the scroll of the covenant to be Leviticus 25–26 is certainly the section’s framing, which, as noted above, declares that it was given at Mount Sinai.

Similarly, Jubilees (2^nd cent. B.C.E.) notes that the laws of release and the jubilee were given to Moses upon the mountain, in accordance with the framing of these laws in the Bible:

^{Jub 50:1} And after this law I made you know the days of the Sabbaths in the wilderness of Sin which is between Elim and Sinai [ = Exodus 16]. ^50:2 And I also related to you the Sabbaths of the land on Mount Sinai [ = Leviticus 25 (behar)]. And the years of jubilee in the Sabbaths of years I related to you. But its year I have not related to you until you enter into the land which you will possess. ^50:3 And the land will keep its Sabbaths when they dwell upon it ( = Leviticus 26). And they will know the year of jubilee.^[5]

Here, the angel of the Presence reminds Moses how he “related to you the Sabbaths of the land on Mount Sinai” (Jub. 50:2), indicating that Leviticus 25-26 was revealed just before the events narrated in the Book of Jubilees.

Blessings, Curses, and Covenant

The other reason to connect Leviticus 25–26 with the scroll of the covenant has to do with the eight references to “covenant” found in the blessings and curses of Leviticus 26.^[6] The chapter begins with the promise of blessing if Israel follows YHWH’s laws:

^{ויקרא כו:ט} וּפָנִיתִי אֲלֵיכֶם וְהִפְרֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֶתְכֶם וַהֲקִימֹתִי אֶת בְּרִיתִי אִתְּכֶם.

^{Lev 26:9} I will look with favor upon you, and make you fertile and multiply you; and I will maintain My covenant with you.

But YHWH warns of terrible punishment if Israel violates this covenant:

^{ויקרא כו:טו} וְאִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי תִּמְאָסוּ וְאִם אֶת מִשְׁפָּטַי תִּגְעַל נַפְשְׁכֶם לְבִלְתִּי עֲשׂוֹת אֶת כׇּל מִצְוֺתַי לְהַפְרְכֶם אֶת בְּרִיתִי.... ^כו:כה וְהֵבֵאתִי עֲלֵיכֶם חֶרֶב נֹקֶמֶת נְקַם בְּרִית וְנֶאֱסַפְתֶּם אֶל עָרֵיכֶם וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי דֶבֶר בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְנִתַּתֶּם בְּיַד אוֹיֵב.

^{Lev 26:15} If you reject My laws and spurn My rules, so that you do not observe all My commandments and you break My covenant…. ^26:25 I will bring a sword against you to wreak vengeance for the covenant; and if you withdraw into your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into enemy hands.

After this harsh punishment, however, YHWH promises to remember the covenant and reinstate it:

^{ויקרא כו:מב} וְזָכַרְתִּי אֶת בְּרִיתִי יַעֲקוֹב וְאַף אֶת בְּרִיתִי יִצְחָק וְאַף אֶת בְּרִיתִי אַבְרָהָם אֶזְכֹּר וְהָאָרֶץ אֶזְכֹּר....

^{Lev 26:42} Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob; I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the land….

^כו:מד וְאַף גַּם זֹאת בִּהְיוֹתָם בְּאֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיהֶם לֹא מְאַסְתִּים וְלֹא גְעַלְתִּים לְכַלֹּתָם לְהָפֵר בְּרִיתִי אִתָּם כִּי אֲנִי יְ־הֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם. ^כו:מה וְזָכַרְתִּי לָהֶם בְּרִית רִאשֹׁנִים אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לְעֵינֵי הַגּוֹיִם לִהְיֹת לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים אֲנִי יְ־הוָה.

^26:44 Yet, even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or spurn them so as to destroy them, annulling My covenant with them: for I YHWH am their God. ^26:45 I will remember in their favor the covenant with the ancients, whom I freed from the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God: I, YHWH.

This emphasis on covenant, placed in the framing of a revelation at Mount Sinai, likely leads R. Ishmael to identify Leviticus 25–26 as none other that the Scroll of the Covenant mentioned in Exodus.

Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael: A Ritual Before the Revelation at Sinai

If the covenant ritual of reading the scroll and sprinkling the blood affirms Israel’s willingness to accept the covenant, why does it take place only after YHWH’s revelation of the Decalogue on Mount Sinai? Indeed, Rabbi Eliezer ben Parta’s suggests that the bloody covenant ceremony in Exodus 24 depicts the same event as that narrated in Exodus 19, i.e., before Moses goes up the mountain for the first time:

^{מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל, מסכתא דבחדש יתרו ב} רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן פַּרְטָא אוֹמֵר: וְכִי מָה אָמַר הַמָּקוֹם לֵאמֹר לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, אוֹ מָה אָמְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמֹשֶׁה לֵאמֹר לַמָּקוֹם? אֶלָּא מִתּוֹךְ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כד:ג): "וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וַיְסַפֵּר לָעָם." אָמַר לָהֶם: "אִם מְקַבְּלִים אַתֶּם עֲלֵיכֶם עוֹנְשִׁים בְּשִׂמְחָה, הֲרֵי אַתֶּם מְקַבְּלִים שָׁכָר, וְאִם לָאו, הֲרֵי אַתֶּם מְקַבְּלִים פֻּרְעָנוּת." וְקִבְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶן עֳנְשִׁין בְּשִׂמְחָה.

^{Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, BaChodesh Yitro §2} R. Eliezar b. Parta says: But what had God told Moses to tell Israel? Or what had the Israelites told Moses to tell God? It is merely in reference to what was said (Exod 24:3): “And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the ordinances.” He told them: “If you joyfully accept the stipulated penalties, you will receive a reward; but if not, you are going to get punishment. And they joyfully accepted the stipulated penalties.”

The suggestion that this ceremony took place before the revelation is partially based on the similarity of language between Exodus 24, quoted above, and that which we find in Exodus 19:

^{שמות יט:ז} וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וַיִּקְרָא לְזִקְנֵי הָעָם וַיָּשֶׂם לִפְנֵיהֶם אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ יְ־הוָה. ^יט:ח וַיַּעֲנוּ כָל הָעָם יַחְדָּו וַיֹּאמְרוּ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְ־הוָה נַעֲשֶׂה וַיָּשֶׁב מֹשֶׁה אֶת דִּבְרֵי הָעָם אֶל יְ־הוָה.

^{Exod 19:7} Moses came and summoned the elders of the people and put before them all that YHWH had commanded him. ^19:8 All the people answered as one, saying, “All that YHWH has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the people’s words to YHWH.

In R. Eliezer ben Parta’s view, therefore, both chapters describe the same event, during which the Israelites hear the laws and accept the covenant before Moses goes up the mountain for the first time.

Jubilees also Places the Ceremony before Sinai

Predating this midrash by centuries, the Book of Jubilees (2^nd cent. B.C.E.) already connects the ritual of Exodus 24 with the pre-Sinai message of Exodus 19 by interweaving verses from both sections in its opening. Exodus 19 begins with a date:

^{שמות יט:א} בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לְצֵאת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָּאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינָי.

^{Exod 19:1} On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone forth from the land of Egypt, on that very day, they entered the wilderness of Sinai.

Jubilees too opens with this date, but then continues by citing Exodus 24:12 (ch. 19 in blue, ch. 24 in red):

^{Jub 1:1} In the first year of the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, in the third month on the sixteenth day of that month, the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Come up to Me on the mountain, and I shall give you two stone tablets of the Law and the commandment, which I have written, so that you may teach them.”

^{שמות כד:יב} וַיֹּאמֶר יְ־הוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה עֲלֵה אֵלַי הָהָרָה וֶהְיֵה שָׁם וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ אֶת לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר כָּתַבְתִּי לְהוֹרֹתָם.

^{Exod 24:12} YHWH said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and wait there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the teachings and commandments which I have inscribed to instruct them.”

Tacked onto the quote from chapter 19 is the date for Shavuot, 15^th of Sivan, which differs from the rabbinic dating, and is a key element in Jubilees and the sectarian documents in Qumran, who celebrate Shavuot on this date.^[7]

Jubilees continues with verses from Exodus 24, some of which have parallels in chapter 19:

^1:2 And Moses went up to the mountain of the LORD. And the glory of the LORD dwelt upon Mount Sinai, and a cloud overshadowed it for six days. ^1:3 And He called to Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud. And the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like fire burning on top of the mountain. ^1:4 And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

The text is building off literary parallels between the two chapters (bold is exact parallel, bold italics is similar but not exact):

^{שמות יט:ב} ...וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר. ^ט:ג וּמֹשֶׁה עָלָה אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו יְ־הוָה מִן הָהָר לֵאמֹר...

^{Exod 19:2} ... Israel encamped there in front of the mountain, ^19:3 and Moses went up to God. YHWH called to him from the mountain, saying...

^{שמות כד:טו} וַיַּעַל מֹשֶׁה אֶל הָהָר וַיְכַס הֶעָנָן אֶת הָהָר. ^כד:טז וַיִּשְׁכֹּן כְּבוֹד יְ־הוָה עַל הַר סִינַי וַיְכַסֵּהוּ הֶעָנָן שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִתּוֹךְ הֶעָנָן. ^כד:יז וּמַרְאֵה כְּבוֹד יְ־הוָה כְּאֵשׁ אֹכֶלֶת בְּרֹאשׁ הָהָר לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. ^כד:יח וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה בְּתוֹךְ הֶעָנָן וַיַּעַל אֶל הָהָר וַיְהִי מֹשֶׁה בָּהָר אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לָיְלָה.

^{Exod 24:15} When Moses had ascended the mountain, the cloud covered the mountain. ^24:16 The Glory of YHWH abode on Mount Sinai, and the cloud hid it for six days. On the seventh day [YHWH] called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. ^24:17 Now the Glory of YHWH appeared in the sight of the Israelites as a consuming fire on the top of the mountain. ^24:18 Moses went inside the cloud and ascended the mountain; and Moses remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Thus, like R. Eliezer ben Parta, Jubilees understand the events of Exodus 24 to predate Moses going up to Sinai.

And It Happened on Shavuot/Shevuot

A few chapters later, while recounting the story of the flood, the angel who narrates the text of Jubilees from chapter 2 onwards suddenly breaks his narration to remind Moses (and inform the reader) about the covenant Noah made with God on the 15th of the month, i.e., Shavuot in Jubilees’ calendar (as noted above):

^{Jubilees 6:10} And Noah and his sons swore that they would not eat any blood which was in any flesh. And he made a covenant before the Lord God forever in all of the generations of the earth in that month. ^6:11 Therefore, He spoke to you [Moses] so that you also might make a covenant with the children of Israel with an oath in this month upon the mountain, so that you would sprinkle blood upon them on account of all of the words of the covenant which the Lord made with them for all time.

By connecting Noah’s covenant, which takes place on the 15^th of the month, with Moses sprinkling the blood on the same calendar day centuries later, Jubilees establishes these covenant ceremonies as the basis for the festival of Shavuot “Weeks” here reinterpreted as the festival of Shevuot, “Oaths,” because they swore נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע “we will do and heed.”^[8]