Leviticus. The third book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. The Eng. title follows the Gk. and Lat. versions, the Heb. title Vayyiqra (‘and he called’) being the first word of the text. The book is essentially a manual for priests (the tannaim called it Torat Kohanim, ‘Guidance for Priests’). In Judaism, Leviticus is, traditionally, the first book to be taught to school-children (Lev. R. 7. 3).

Leviticus the third book of the Bible, containing details of law and ritual; in Judaism, the Levitical rules concerning conduct and temple rituals are derived from this book. The Levitical degrees are the degrees of consanguinity within which marriage is forbidden in Leviticus 18:6–18.

Leviticus Third book of the Pentateuch or Torah. It is primarily a manual for the instruction of priests.