{N}8,{/}1 {N}AARON{/}
This consecration story about Aaron is just a means to explain how the ordination of a High Priest should take place (cf. Ex 31). The present ritual is attributed to Moses, but is most probably from a much later time. During the time of the kings, only a king was consecrated with anointing oil, following a rite taken from the Egyptians. When Egyptians appointed important government officials they anointed them with oil provided by the pharaoh himself. From this time on, the king was God's anointed one (in Hebrew: the messiah). Only after the return from Exile and the restoration of the Jewish community did the high priests inherit this type of investiture (cf. Dan 9,25; 2Mac 1,10) after assuming the power formerly exercised by the kings.

{N}10,{/}3 {N}THE HOLY GOD WHO CONSECRATES{/}
{C}Through those who approach me I will manifest my sacredness. {/}This is a clarification about the destiny of a holy people. Many think that belonging to a people or a church is a call to live a more demanding life (1Tes 4,7). They want the perfection of their daily life to testify to the truth in which they believe (1P 3,1) or to honor Him whose name they took (Mt 5,16; Rom 2,24). Others take just the opposite view. If the Church is holy, one assumes that its actions are positive. Any negative activities open to public criticism should be viewed only as the weaknesses of its all too human members. Still others maintain that the holiness of the church impels us to keep silence, obediently awaiting the approval or disapproval of those occupying the seat of Moses (Mt 23,2; He 4,19).
The Word of God manifests the great responsibility of those whom God has chosen. Whether they honor God or obscure his glory by their actions, God will be recognized through them. God's choice of a people to be holy and set apart from others does not mean that they are better than others are. For example, the disclosure at the end of this century that Christians had committed many grave injustices, even on a continental scale, occasioned criticism even by high officials. True or false, serious authors have felt justified in saying that religious violence reached its greatest intensity among Christians. And even though prelates may ask forgiveness for sins committed by their predecessors, they often forget scandals for which they themselves are presently responsible.
However, we may be certain that at some moment God will manifest his holiness. He will disclose to the world the sins committed in secret by his own (2Sa 12,12). He will humiliate those who should have made Him proud, and to some degree may even accept the scorn that those responsible rightfully suffer (Ez 36,20 and 22). In a word, no one will be able to hide behind God's name. God confuses anyone who thinks he can take advantage of Him, and He will confound even more those who wish to usurp His glory and authority (Is 42,8; 48,11). They are no more than a clay pot among other clay pots (Is 45,9). The author of the second book of Maccabees, who fiercely condemns persecutors of God's people, denounces his own people with equal severity. We deserve all the persecutions we receive, he says, because of our sins. A sure sign of God's special interest in us is that He never delays long in making us pay for our infidelities (2Mac 5,18; 7,18).

{N}12,{/}5 {N}PENALIZING WOMEN{/}
This paragraph blatantly discriminates against women, relegating them to the status of inferior beings. Later, in chapter 27, women are classified as being of less worth than men, albeit from the point of being sold cheaper as slaves. In the present text, however, women are indisputably declared to be less worthy to approach God. We can be happy that these discriminatory laws were rejected by the Council of Jerusalem (He 15,10) as manifesting only a transitory mentality limited to the time preceding the coming of {C}Abraham's descendant{/} (Gal 3,19) and addressed only to Jews.  
On the other hand, since {C}Scripture cannot be changed{/} (Jn 10:35) couldn't this discrimination serve as the occasion for a special gift from God? Since God is always anxious to take away acquired privileges, and since He tolerated this official discrimination for some time, was it not fitting for Him to endow women more generously with charisms than men hardly ever receive?

{N}15,{/}25 This paragraph is the curtain in the background of the cure carried out by Jesus in Mt 9,20. This was more a case of conscience for anyone who knew the Law, and the woman preferred taking the risk, and chose the sin.

{N}16,{/}5 {N}AZAZEL{/}
In the great parable of Mt 25,31, the sheep are good and the goats are bad. Jesus uses the long tradition of representing demons as goats living in desert places. Azazel is one such devil and logically the goat that was not sacrificed is returned to him.

{N}17,{/}7 Talks about goats. These could be either idols with the head of a goat or some type of goat-like-demons. In this case we must understand that the sacrifices contrary to the Law and being offered in the country, not in Jerusalem, are gladly received by bad spirits (Dt 32,17). Paul refers to this tradition in 1Co 10,20.

{N}18,{/}6 {N}SEXUAL PROHIBITIONS{/}
The paragraph 18,3 seems like a preamble to the laws that we read in this chapter. It justified the imposition of laws in places where the neighboring peoples had practically no scruples. Moral rules, especially regarding sexuality, have practically always resulted from a social consensus whose origins no one could remember. They formed part of the traditions of each people. The different peoples entering Canaan adopted both the customs and the naturalist religion of that land. God, however, imposes different customs on His people which are not open to discussion, only strict obedience. That obedience is reinforced by experiences that remain true for generations: That sexual license leads to death (Dt 4,3-4).
There follows a series of laws whose interpretation could vary in later times, as was the case of marriage among blood relations, a problem which occasioned a decree at the Council of Jerusalem (He 15,20). Nevertheless, Jewish tradition maintained these practices. Interestingly, however, when Paul criticizes the imposition of Jewish Law and customs on Christian Hellenist converts, he does not at any time argue against the sexual prohibitions of Leviticus. We find them again in the summaries on elemental morality in 1Cor 5,9-11 and 6,9-10. In Rom 1,22-27 Paul sees a close connection between homosexual relations and idolatry, proper of a greek society, of which he was a witness, since he was educated in a greek culture society.
It is surprising to see modern Christians opposing these laws, as if God's Word had to be interpreted, softened, and relegated to a museum simply because very important sectors of our contemporary world reject any type of sexual discipline. But what authority can they appeal to, since they themselves are spokespersons of a society without children, which consequently is in the process of disappearing? (Lev 18,25). The Christian way of life is not the result of a democratic consensus, but rather the authority of the Spirit imposes it. God's chosen people (1P 2,9) received a specific vision of humankind and of the way to reach maturity. Consequently, they cannot deny the Cross nor how they are to imitate God, which makes them different from non-Christians. In the commentary on 1Cor 7 we allude to Paul's major argument justifying Christian sexual discipline, that is, our consecration in Christ through Baptism. Paul did not invent these prohibitions; they come essentially from Leviticus.

{N}25,{/}1 {N}THE SABBATICAL YEAR{/}
The Sabbatical Year is rooted in the ancient traditions of Canaanite agricultural society. The ecological practice of letting the land lie fallow was religiously motivated. Above all, the Bible wants this practice to contribute to the liberation of humans burdened by constant work and anxious about tomorrow's bread and next year's food. The Sabbatical Year offered the chance to reorganize society, safeguarding the inalienable heritage of the defenseless poor... Is it necessary to argue that such humane regulations were not actually practiced?
It seems that the Jubilee Year may have been introduced as a means to maintain a minimum form of liberation by reducing the frequency of the previous law requiring this practice every seven years, which however was not being observed. Jer 34 also indicates how difficult it was to impose the Jubilee Year. After the Exile, Ne 10,32 and 1Mac 6,49 witness to this practice.

{N}26,{/}26 The text reads: "I will break your staff of bread." The same expression is found in Ez 4,16; 5,16; 14,13; Ps 105,16. Possibly this expression comes from loaves of bread shaped like a crown that were strung on a staff.

