Without Defect

Without Defect August 10, 2016

In answer to the question, Who may sojourn in Yahweh’s tent, or dwell on His holy mountain? Psalm 15 answers: A man without defect. The word translated in the NASB as “with integrity” is the Levitical term tamim, “without defect,” and usually describes sacrificial animals (e.g., Leviticus 1:3, 10). The man without defect goes into God’s presence like an animal without physical blemish.

As the Psalm continues, it fills out the portrait of a man without defect. His walk, works, and speech are truthful and just (v. 2). He doesn’t slander, doesn’t reproach a friend, distributes honor and dishonor rightly. His whole body – heart (v. 2), tongue (v. 3), and eyes (v. 4) – forms a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. He gives and takes money well (v. 5).

That the Psalm uses a “ceremonial” term to describe this portrait of a just man indicates that the ceremonies have moral import. This is certainly true for the Psalmist.

And, according to Mary Douglas, it’s equally true for Leviticus: “Everything in the universe shows forth the righteousness of the Lord. Animals and humans, people and priests, animals for food, animals for the altar, their bodies are figures of righteousness and unrighteousness. The forbidden animal species exemplify the predators, on the one hand, that is those who eat blood, and on the other, the sufferers from injustice” (“Forbidden Animals of Leviticus,” JSOT 59 [1993] 21-22). Whether or not she’s right on the details of structure and interpretation, her interpretation of dietary laws and physical defects coheres with the Psalmist’s outlook.


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