What is the meaning of Leviticus 19 verse 28, "Thou shalt not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourself"??
Leviticus 19:28
ESV - 28 You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
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Asked 4 days ago
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Ken Brown
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Tim Maas
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The prohibitions in this verse concerned practices that were common among pagan nations at that time. Israelites were commanded to abstain from those actions to maintain their distinction as worshippers of the one true God. Making cuts on the body for the dead was linked to ritualized practices performed in connection with mourning for deceased persons, in order to appease their spirits. The marking of the body with tattoos was emblematic of devotion to idols through reproduction of their images on the skin, contrary to God's command to abstain from idolatry in Exodus 20:4-6.
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