Introducing Leviticus

Please read the Wikipedia article on Leviticus.

Notice that the author(s) of the book of Leviticus are unknown. One of the oldest pieces of The Torah known to exist is a burnt scrap of the second chapter of Leviticus, dated from the 5th or 6th century C. E.    Some older portions of Leviticus are found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. They date from the first to third centuries B.C.E.

I would like to remind the readers that, for the most part, I will be disregarding any extra-biblical oral  or written religious traditions. As far as is possible, this is a "just the facts" kind of study. Many Protestant denominations hold that the bible is inerrant, factual, and written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They often claim the position that the bible is all you need to know the truth about reality, where it came from, and where it is going. So, my goal is to measure what we read in Leviticus against what we can find out about the reality of history, science, and every day life.

Edited 10/20/15 for fact corrections.