Leviticus

Leviticus is where many reading plans stall, and it helps to understand why: it is a manual, not a narrative. It deals with sacrifices, food, skin diseases, festivals and the conduct of priests. Behind the rules lies one organizing idea: distinguishing the common from the sacred, and living as the people of a holy God. Chapter 16 describes the Day of Atonement, and chapter 19 contains a line Jesus would quote centuries later: "you shall love your neighbor as yourself". Reading Leviticus takes historical patience — many prescriptions answer a specific second-millennium-BC context — but the book is indispensable for understanding the language of sacrifice used in the New Testament.