Biblical Sense: The Book of Leviticus

In this third and most painful installment of the "Biblical Sense" series, you learn everything you've always wanted to know about being a Levite priest. Been dying to know how to build your own tabernacle, treat a leprous patch of skin, or atone for accidental homicide? We've got the answers right here, down to the cubit, ointment, and unblemished ram. Lots of unblemished rams, actually. Not to spoil the ending, but few of them make it out of Leviticus alive. Even fewer make it out with their intestines.

The "Biblical Sense" series is for people who want to have read the Bible but don't want to have to read it. We don't blame you. It's not what you'd call a whiz-bang action adventure, after all. Okay, we should admit that we don't think the Bible is true. But that's not the point. The fact is, a lot of people seem to live their lives according to what they think the Bible says (though we can't for a second believe a lot of folks have read it), and so we think a well-read and culturally literate person should familiarize himself with culturally and historically significant texts - no matter how mind-numbingly dull Leviticus might be.

Whether you believe the Bible or not, we hope this makes reading it a little more palatable. In any case, you'll come away from this book with a genuine appreciation for exactly how deeply intertwined communal religious devotion is with rampant animal slaughter.