Code of Holiness

Code of Holiness, collection of secular, ritualistic, moral, and festival regulations in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus, chapters 17–26. The code stresses that the people of Israel are separated from the rest of the world because Yahweh (God) has chosen them. They are to demonstrate their unique election by disassociating themselves from profane worldliness and by retaining their ritualistic and moral purity.

The Code of Holiness includes regulations for animal sacrifices, eating, cleanliness, priestly conduct, speech, and sexual regulations. Also included are a list of days that are to be held sacred and laws concerning the sabbatical (jubilee) year, in which Israelite slaves were to be freed and interest was to be prohibited.