Commentary on the Holy Bible

3 And this is the offering which ye.!!!!L_

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that tliey ' bring me an " offer-

Verse 2. That they bring me an ofering] Tlie offering here mentioned, is tiie nnnn ierumah; a kind of free-will ofterinu, consisting- of any thing that was necessary for the occasion. It sisnifies properly, any thing that was lifted vp, the heaveoffering, because in jiresenting it to (Vod, it was lifted up to be laid on his altar, but see on chap. xxix. 36. God requires that they should build him a tent, suited in some sort to his dignity and eminence; because he was to act as their king, and to dwell among them; and they were to consider themselves as his subjects, and in this character, to bring him presents, which was considered to be the duty of every subject, appearing before his prince. — See chap, xxiii. 1.5.

Verse 3. This is the offering'] There were Uiree kinds of metals, 1. Gold, 3nT zahab, which may properly signify wrought gold, what was bright and resplendent, as the word implres. In Job xxviii. 15, 16, 17, 19. gold is mentioned./im times, and four of the words are diflerent in the original. 1. -lUO SECOR, from lio sugar, to shut up; gold in the mine, of shut up in Its ore. 2. C3n3 KETiiKM, from OPJ cutham, to sign, seal, or stamp; gold made current by being coined; standard or sterling gold, exhibiting the stamp expressive or its value. 3. nni zahau, wrought gold, pure, highly polished gold, probably what was used for overlaijing or gilding. 4. T2 PAi dtnoting ioliddy, compaclness, and strength; probably gold formed into different kinds o? plate, as it is joined in ver. 17. j of the above chapter, with ''53 keky, vessels. The zahab, or ' pure gold, is here mentioned, because it was in a state, that

2. Silver, r|D3 keseph, from casaph to he pale, wan, or vjhite; so called from its well known colour.

3. Brass, nwni nechosheth, copper; unless we suppose, that the factitious metal, commonly called brass, is intended: this is formed by a combination of the oxide or ore of zinc, called lapis calaminaris, with copper. Brass seems to have been very anciently in use, as we find it mentioned Gen. iv. 22. and die preparation of copper, to transform it into this factitious metal, seems to be very pointedly referred to. Job xxviii. 2. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is niolten out of the stone, r\mn: plV' px eben yutsuk nechushah, translated by the Vulgate, Laois solutus calore, in a:s verlitur, " The stone, liquefied by lieat, is turned into brass." Is it going too far to say, that the stone here, may refer to the lapis calaminaris, which was used to turn the copper into brass.? Because brass was capable of so fine a polish, so as to become exceedingly bright, and keep its lustre a considerable lime, hen«e it was used for all weapons of war, and defensive armour among! ancient nations; wd copper seetas to have been in no repute,} but for its use in makiug brass.,

shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,

1.5 And rams' skins dyed red, and

Scarlet] ry^in tolui'u, signifies a worm, of ^vliich this colouring matter was made, and joined with •':ur shani, which signifies to repeat, or douf/le, implies, that to strike this colour, 'the wool or cloth was twice dipped; hcnire tlie Vulijate renders the original coccum his tinclum, scarlet twice dyed; and to this Horace refers, Odar. lib. ii. od. IG. v. 35.

It is the same colour which the Arabs call al kermez, v hence itlie French crainoisi, and the English crimson. On this sub- [ject, much may be.*een in Bocharl, Calmet, and Sclieuclizer. I Fine linen] t;"j shesh; whether this means linm, cotton, If silk is not agreed on, among interpreters. Because iirar esh signifies «.r, the Rabbins suppose, that it always signiies the fine linen of Egypt, in which, six folds constituted le thread; and that when a sins;le fold was meant, na bad is e term used. See the note on Gen. xli. 4"2. Goats' hair.] 3'?^ izzim, goats, but used here elliptically tr goats' hair. In ditierent parts of Asia Minor, Syria, CiiCia, and Phrygia, the goats have long, fine, and beautiful lair; in some cases, almo.-t as fine as silk, which they shear iat proper times, and manufacture into garments. From Virgil, Geoi'g. iii. V. 305 — 311. we learn, that coats' hair manufactured into cloth, was nearly of eopial value \'. ith that tbrmed from xs;ool.

Hie quoque non cura nobis letiore tuendce; AVc minor itsus cTi't: guaymis Milesia magna Vellcrn mutentur Tyrius incocta rubores — Aef minus interea barbas incanuqUe meuta 'Cinyp/ui tondcnt Idrci, sctasquc comantes, U sum in castrorwn, ct miseris vdamina tiautis, " I'or liaiiy goats of etpial profit are With woolly sheep, and a.«k an e(|ual care. ■■Tis true ihe Jleece when drunk w ith Tyrian juice Is dearly sold, but not for needful u.-e: — Mean whik the j)astor shears their lioary beards Axid eases of their hair, the loaden herds. 'J heir camtlots, warm in tents, the.-oldicr hold. And shield the i>bivcunij niariner from the cold."

7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in tJie ""ephod, and in the "^ breastplate.

Verse 5. Rams' skins dyed red] S'CIKTS oV'K r."iy orotk eylini mcadamim, literally, tite skins of red rams, it is a fact that is attested by many respectable travellers, that in the Levant, sheep are often to be met with, that have red or violet coloured fleeces. And almost all ancient writers speak of the same thing. Honn r deicribes the rams of Polyphemus, as having a violet coloured fleece.

PUny, Aristotle, and others mention the same. And froai facts of this kind, it is very probable, that the fable of the golden jleece had its origin.

Badi;ers' skins] E'lynn mi' vroth techashim. Few terms have ailorded greater perjilcxity to critics and commentators, than this. Bochurt lia.s exhausted the subject, and seems to have proved, that no kind of animal is here intended, but a colour. None of the X'ersioiis acknowledge an animal of any kind, cxce))t the Chaldee; which seems to think the badger is intended, and from it, we have borrowed our translation of the «onl. The Septuagint, and Vulgate have, skins dyed a t'iote colour; the Syriac, «c«rt'; the Arabic, black; the Coptic, violet; the Persic, rum skins, &c. The colour contended for by Hochart, is the Iiysqinus, « hich is a very deep blue: so Plinj', Coccoque tinctum tyrio tingere, tit fieret hysginum. They dip crimson in piir]ile, to make tlie colour called hysginus. Hist. Nat. lib. ix. c. G5. edit, liipont.

Shittim vjood] By some sui)posed to be the finest species of the cedar; by others, the acacia Nilotica, a species of thorn, solid, light, and very beautiful. This acacia is known to have been plentiful in Egypt; and it abounds in Arabia Deserta, the veiy place in which Moses was, when lie builded the tabernacle; and henceit is rciusonable to suppose, that he built It of that wood, which was every way proper for his purpose.

Verse G. Oil for the light] This they must have brought with them from F^gypt, for they could not get any in the wilderness, where theie were no olives; but it is likely, that this, and soiiie other directions, refer more to what was to be done, \ihen in their tixetl and settled residence, than while wandering in the wilderness.

Spices] To make a conl'eclion for siveet incense, abounded in ditierent parts of t'atse countries.

Verse 7. Ony.t slone.-i] We have already met with the stone called rsns' shohum. Gen. ii. 12. and acknowledged the difficulty of ascertaining what is meant by it. Some tliink the onyx, some the sardine, and some the emerald is meant. We cannot say precisely what it was.

Stones to be set in the cphod] D's'^D 'J2N uheney miluim, stones of lining up. Stones so cut as to be proper to be set in the gold work of the breastplate.

The sayKtumnj is to be made. AM. mx 8 And let them make mc a ' sanctuary; that ^ I may dw.^ll among them. 9 " According to all that I shew ' thee, qfte-r the pattern of the taber- \ nacle, and the pattern of all the instruments' thereof, even so shall ye make it. 10 ^ "And they shall make an ark o/" shittim

wood: two cubits and a half slmll be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit

1 1 And thou shalt overlay it witli pure gold, within and v.ithout,shalt thou overlay it, and shalt

in Avhat form it Mas made. It was a garment of some kind peculiai- to tlie priests, and ever considered essential to all tinparts of divine worship; for without it, no person attemiitei! to enquire of God. As the word itself conies from the root n3N aphad, he tied, or bound close, Calmet supposes that it was a kind of girdle, which bronj;ht from behind the neck, and over the shoulders, and so hanging down before, was jDut cross ujion the stomach, and then carried round the waist, and thus made a girdle to the tunic. Where the ephod cros=^ed on the brea.st, there was a square ornament called ycTl choshen, the breiislpliite, in wliich twelve precious stones were set, each bearing; one of the names of the twelve sons of Jacob enj^ravcn on it. '^There were two sorts of ephods; one of plain hncn, for the priests, the other very much embroidered,, for the high-priest. As there was nothing singular in this common tort, no particular description is j;ivin; but that of the highpriest is described very much in detail, see chap, xxiiii. 6—8. It was dislingui-hed from the common ephod by being coml)0sed ol' gold, blue, puiph, scarlet, fm tv.i.stcd linen, and cunning u:ork; i. e. su]ierbly ornamented and embroidered. This ephod was fastened on tiie shouldi vs with two precious stones, on which, the twelve names of the twelve tribes of Israel wei-e eno-raved, six names on each stone. These two stones, thus engraved, were different from those on the breastplate, witli which they have been confounded. From Calmet's description, the ("phod seems to have been a series of bells, fastened to a collar, which were intended to keep the garments of the priest closely attached to his body; but there is some reason ' to believe, that it was a sort of garment, like that worn by our heralds: it covered the back, breast, and belly, and wa.- open at the sides. A piece of the same kind of stuff with itself, united it on the shoulders, where the two stones, already mentioned, were placed; and it was probably without sleeves..See em chap, xxxii. 3, &c.

Ver^e 8. Let them mule me a sanctuary'] tffnpo mik-edash, a holi/ place, such as God might dwell in; this was that part ot' the tabernacle, that was called tlie mobt holy place, into which the high-priest entered only once a year, on the great day of atonement.

Tiiut I may divell among them.] This, says Mr. Aisisworth, was the main end of all;^and to this all the particulars are to be referred; and by tins they are to be oj)ened. For this sanctuary, as Solomon's temple afterwards, was the place of jirayer, and of the public service of Cod, Levit. xVii. 4—6. Matt. xxi. ir.. and it signified the c//!i)t7(, which is the habitation of God through the spirit, 2 Cor. vi. 16. Eph. ii. 19 — 22. Rev. xxi. 2, i. and was a visible sign of God's presence and protection, Levit. xx\i. 11, 12. Ezek. sxxvii. 27,28. 1 Kings vi. 12, 13. an_d of his leading them to his heavenly glory. For as the high-prie.-t entered into the tabernacle, and tlirough the reil into the nffjst holy place, where (iod dwelt; so Christ entered into the holy of holies, iuid we also enter, tlirough the

make upon it a crown of gold round about.

veil, that is to say, his flesh. See the use made of this by the Apo-tle, Heb. ix. and x. Thus, the -sanctuary is to be aijpHed as a type, 1. To Christ's |x;r—on, Heb. viii. 2. ix. 11, 12. John ii. 19, 21. 2. To every Christian, 1 Cor. vi. 19. 3. To the church, both particular, Ikb. iii. 6. 1 Tim. iii. 15. and universal, Heb. x. 21. and it was because of the very extensive signification of this building, that the diftirrcnt things concerning this sanctuary, are particularly set down by Mo- 1 ses, and so variously applied by tiie Prophets, and by the Apostles. See Ainsx'.'orth. As. the dwelling in this tabernacle; was the highest proof of Ciod's grace and mercy towards the Israelites, so it typified Christ's dwelling, by faith, in the hearts of believers, and thus giving them the highest and surest-^ proof of their reconciliation to God, and of his love and favour to them. See Eph. i. 22. iii. 17.

Verse 9. After the pattern of the tabernacle] It has been; supposed that there had been a tabernacle before th^t erected by Moses; though it probably did not now exist; but the tabernacle which Moses is ordered to make, was to be formed exactly on the model of this ancient one, the ])attcrn of which, Ciod shewed him in the mount, ver. 40. The word pu'TD mishcan, signifies literally, the dneltiiig or habitation: and this was so called, because it was the dwellingplace of God; and the o?(/j/ place on the earth, in which' he made liimself manifest. — See the note on ver. 40. and on chap, xxxiii. 7 — '10.

Verse 10. They shall make an ark] pix aron signifies an ark, chest, coffer, or coffin. It is used particularly to designate that chest, or cotltr, in which the testimony, or two tables of the covenant were laid up; on the top of v Inch, was the propitiatory or mercy-scut, sec on ver. 17. and at the end of \\liich were the cherubim of gold, ver. 18 — 20. between whom, the visible sign of the presence of the supreme God, appeared as seated upon his throne. The ark, was the most excelknt of all the holy things which belonged to the Mosaic occononiy; and for its sake the tabernacle and the temple were built, chap. xxvi. 33. xl. 18, 21. It was considered as conferring a sanctity, wherever it was fixed, 2 Chron. viii. 11.2 Sam. vi. 12.

Tiuo cubits and a half shall be the length, &c.] About four ffctfive inches in length, taking the cubit at twenty-one inches; and txvo feet six inches in breadth and in dej)th. As this ark was chietly intended to deposit the two tables of stone in, wliich hatl been written by the finger of God, we may very reasonably conjecture, that the length of those tables was not less than four feet, and their breadth not less than two. A» to their thickness we can say nothing, as the depth of the art was intended for other matters besides the two tables, such as Aaron's rod, the pot of manna, &c. &c. though, probably, these were laid up beside, not in the ark.

Verse II. A cro-wn of gold round about] A border, or as the Septuagint has it, xK/xana X;i'^« rgtria hvk^x, 'waves of gMl urcathed round about.

12 And thou slialt cast four rings 1 of gold tor it, and put them in the I four corners thereof; and two rings }

13 And thou slialt make staves o/".shittim wood, and overlay thcni with gold.

14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings, by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with tl:eni.

15 ' The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.

16 And tliou shalt put into the ark ''the testimony which I shall give thee.

17 ^ And ""tliou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.,

. Verse 15. The staves — shall not be taken from it."] Because it should tvtT be considered, as in readint.ss to be removed; Gal not liavinf; told them, at what hour, he should command them to strike dieir tents. If the staves were never to be taken out, ho\r can it be said, as in Numb. iv. 6. that when the camp.should set lorward, they should put in the staves thereof, which intimates, that when they encamped, they took out the ttifces, whicii appears to be contrary to what is here said.' To reconcile these two places, it ha.i been supposed, ^^■ilh;Trtat show of probability, that besides the staves which passed through liic riiigs of the ark, and by which it was carried, there were t«o other staves or poles, in the form of a bier, or hand-barroxv, on which the ark was; laid, in order to be transported in their journeyings, when it and its own staves, still in their rin;js, had been v\ rapped uj) in tiie coveriiiji: of what is called bnilgers' fkins, and blue cloth. The staves of the ark itself, \vhich might be considered as its handles, simjily to iifl it by, were never taken out of their rings; but the staves or poles, which sened as a bier, were taken from mider it, when they encamped.

Verse IG. The testimony'] The two tables of stone, which Were not yet oiveri; these tables were called mj7 ecluih, froin "'* <"'> forvjard, onivard, to bear witness to, or of a i)ersoti or tiiuig. Not only the tables of sloue, but all the contents of the ark, Aaron's rod, the pot of manna, the holy anointing oil, &e. bore tcslimony to the Messiah in his prophetic, sacerdotal, and rei^at olRces.

Verse 17. A mercy-seat] rniJD caphorelh, from "^22 capher, to cover, or overspread, because by an act of pardon, sins are representeil as bemg covered, so that they no longer appear in tile eye of divine justice, to displease, irritate, and call for ^)iinishment; and the person of the olleiider is covered, or protected from the stroke of the broken law. In the Creek version of the Septuagint, the word IXaa-iti^iov hilasterion is used, wliich signifies a propitiatory, and is the name used by the Apostle, Ileb. ix. 5. This mercy-seat, ot propitiatory, was

18 And thou shalt make two die- a.m.?6i3. rubims of gt)ld, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

19 And make one cherub, on the one end, and the other cherub, on the other end: even " of the mercy seat, shall ye make the cf lerubims, on the two ends tiiereof.

20 And ' the chertibims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy scat with their wings, and their taccs shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

21 ^ And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and ^in the ark, thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

22 And " there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy

made of pure gold; it was properly the lid or covering of that vessel, so well known liy the name of the ark, and ark of the covenant. ()n, and before this, the higit-priest was to sprinkle I the blood of the expiatory sacrifices, on die great day of atonement; and it was in this place that God promised to meet the peojjle; see verse 22. For there he dwelt; and there was the j symbol of the divine presence. At each end of this propitia- I tory was a cherub, between whom, this glory was manifested: [ hence, in scripture, it is so often saiil, that he duelleth betiveen I the cherubim. As the word IXxo-tkjiov, propitiatory, or mercyseat, is ap[>lied to Christ, Rom. lii. 25. Ji/iowi God hath set ^ forth to be a puopitmtio.\ {iXnTTtt^im) through faith in his I blood — for the remission of sins that are past; hence we learn,; that Christ was the true mercy-seat, the thing signified by the j caphoreth, to th<; ancient believers. And we learn farther, that I it was by his bt,ood, that an atonement was to be made, for the I sins of the world. And as God shewed himself between the clierubiin, over this propitiatory or mercy-seat, so it is said, God was in Christ reconciling the luorld unto himself, 2 Cor. v. 19, &c. See on Lev. vii.

Verse 18. Thou, shalt make tv^o cherubims] What these were, we caimot distinctly ^ay: it is generally supposed, that a cherub was a creature with four heads, and one body; and the animals, of which these emblematical forms consisted, were tlie noblest of their kinds: the lion, among the uild beasts; the bull, among the tunie ones; the eagle, among the birds; and man, at the head of all; so that they might be, says I)r. Priestley, the representatives of a// nature. Concerning theW forms and design, there is much difle'ieiicc of opinion among di\ ines. It is probable, that the term often means a Jigure oi' Any kind, such as was ordinarily sculptured on stone; engraven on 7nelal; caned on nood; or embroidered on cloth. —See on chap. xxxv. 8. It may be only necessary to add, that cherub is the singular number, cherubim, not cherubim.«, the plural. See what has been said on lliiii subject, in the note on, Gen. iii. 24.

seat, from " between the two cherii bims, which are upon the ark of the

23 ^ '' Thou shalt also make a table o/'shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make tliereto a crown of gold round

25 And thou shalt make unto it a border, of an hand breadth, round about, and thou shalt

Verse 22. And there I ziill meet with thee] Tli.it is, over the mercy-seat, between the chorubim. In tliis place, Goii chose to give the most especial manit'e-.tations of himself: here the divine glory was to be seen; and here Moses was to come, in order to consLilt.lehovah, relative to the management of the people.

Ainsworth has remarked, that the Rabbins say, " The heart of man may be likened to (lod's sanctuary; for, as in the sanctuary, the shekinah or divine i^lori/ dwelt, because there, were the ark, the tables, and the cherubim; so, in the heart of man, it is meet that a place be made for the divine majesty to dwell in; and that it be the holy of holies." This is a doctrine most imj^licitly taught by the Apostles, and the iibsohite necessity of having the heart made a habitation of God, through the spirit, is strcpngly, and frecjuently insisted on, through tlie whole of the New Testament. See the note on tiie following verse.

Vcrte 23. Tiioii shah moke a talk- of shittim xi-oodl Tlie.same wood, the Acacia of wl.ich the ark staves, &c. were made. On the subject of the ark, talile of shew-bread, &c. Dr. Cudworth, in his very learjied and excellent treatise on the Lord's supper, has the following remarks:

" When God had brotight the children of Israel out of Egypt, resolving to manifest himself in a peculiar nuuiiier present among them, he thought good to dwell amongst them in a Visible and external manner; and therefore, while tlicy were in the wilderness,;uid sojourned in tents, he would have a tent or tabernacle built, 'to sojourn with them;lIso. This.^ mystery of the t.diernacle wa.s fully understood by •the learned Nachmanide-, who, in fe^v ^vo^ds, but pregnant, expresselh himself to this purpose; 'The mystery of the tiibernacle was this, that it was to be a place for the Shechinuli, or habitation of Divinity, to be fixed in;' and this, no doubt, as a special type of God's future dwelling in Christ's human nature, which was the TiiuE Shechinah: but when the Jews were come into their land, and had there built thetn houses, (iod intended to have a fixed fUvelling-house also; and therefore liis moveable tabernacle was to be turned into a.stanchng temple. Now, the tabernacle, or teini)le, being thus as a house, lor God to dwell m visibly, to make up the notion of dwelling or haliitation complete, there must be all things suitable to a house belonging to it. Hence, in the

EXODUS. for the shete-bread.

make a golden crown to the border thereof, round about.

26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners, that are on the four feet thereof.

27 Over against the border, shall the rings be for places of the staves, to bear the table.

28 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.

29 And thou shalt make "the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, " to cover withal: o/' pure gold shalt thou make them.

holy place, tVicre must be a table and a candlestick, because this \\ as the ordinary furniture of a room, a.s the fore-commended Nachmanides observes. The table must have its dishes, and spoons, and bowls, and covers belonging to it, though they «ere never used; and always be furnished with bread upon it. The candlestick must have its lamps continually burning. Hence also there must be a continual fire kept in this house of (Jod upon the altar, as the focus of it; to which notion, I conceive, the prophet Isaiah doth allude, ch. xxxi. 9. ii hose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem; and besides all this, to carry the notion still farther, there niu>t be some constant meat and jjrovision brought into this house; which was done in the sacrifices that were partly consumetl by fire upon God's own altar, and partly eaten by the priests, who were (iod's family, and therefore to be maintained by him. That which was consumed upon God's altar, was accounted God's mess, as appeareth from Mai. i. 12, where the altar is called God's tuhle, and the sacrifice upon it, God's meat: — Ye suj/, tlie table of the Lord is pal/uted, and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. And often, in the law, the sacrifice is called (iod's an"? lecliem, i. e. his bread or food. Wherefore it is further observable, that, besides the flesh of the beast oiRred u)) in sacrifice, there vi'as a ininrah, i. e. a meat or rather brcad-off'crings, made of flower and oil; and a libamen., or drink-otfering, ^\■hich was always joined whh the daily sicnfice, as the bread and drink which was to go along with (.oJ's meat. It was also strictly conmianded, that there should be salt in every sacrifice and oblation, because all meat is unsavoury without salt, as Nachmanides hath h(;re also well observed; ' because it was not honourable that God's meat should be unsavoiny, without salt.' Lastly, all these things were to be consumed on the altai' only by the holy fire, which came down from heaven, because i they were (jod's portion, and therefore to be eaten or consumed by himself, in an extraordinary manner." — See on ver. 32.

Verse 29. T/ie dishes thereof] vn-il'p kedrotaiv, probably the deep bowls in which they kneaded the mass, out of which they made the shcii-brcad.

A.M. 5513. 30 And thou shalt set upon the f and his branches, his bowls, his knops,

and his flowers, shall be of the same. 32 And six branches sliall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick, out of the one side, and

31 ^ " And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft.

vhere the same word is used; and the instrument, whatever it was, is ahvays represented as heing filled with incense.

Covers thcr(:<it"\ vnicp kcshiUah-, supposed to be a large cup, or limkard, in which pine v. im: was kept on the tahie aloni,^ with the shew-hread, fur Liha!/oiis, which weie pouied out before the Lord, every sal)bath, when tiie old bread was removed, and the new bread laiii on the table.

BoiL'ls thereof] ITi'pJD mcnuki^olaiv, from r\\>i nakiih, to clear axvay, remove, emptij, Ifc. supposed by Cahnct, to mean either the sia-ts by which the Levites cleansed the M'lieat they made into bread; for it is asserted, that the grain out of whicli the shew-bread was made, was sowed, reaped, };'ro»'r>*l. sifted, kneaded, baked, &c. by the Levites themselves; or the ovens, in which the bread was baked. Others suppose they! w.re vessels, which they dipped into the leshollt, to take out; the wine for libations.

f Ver.-e 30. S/iew-bread] C3'i3 snb techem panim, literally, I bread of faces, so called, eitlier because they were placed, before the presence or fucc of God, in the sanctuary; or, I because they were made sqvure, as the Jews will have it. It is probable, that they were in the form of cubes or hexagons, each side, prescnlin;;' the ^ame appearance, and hence the Jews might suppose they were called the bread or loaves of faces; but the Hebrew text seems to intimate, that they were called the bread effaces a'JS panim, because, as the Lord says, they were set 'js"? lepanai, before my face. These loaves or cakes WTre tict/ve, rejireseiiting, as is generally supposed, the twelve tribes of L-irael. They weru in two rows of six each. On the top of each low there was a golden dish, with frankincense, wliieh was burned liei'ort the Lord, as a memorial at the end of the week, when the old loaves were remo\ eil, and replaced by new ones; the priests taking the former for their domestic use.

It is more difficult to a.«certain tlie use of these, or what they represented, ihan almost any other emblem in the whole Jewi.-h oeeonomy. Many have conjectured their meaninjj; and I feel no disposition to increase their number by any addition of my own. Tlie note on ver. 23, from Dr. Cudworth, appears to me more rational than any thin-jf else I have met with. The tabernacle was God's house, and in it he had his table, his bread, his ivine, candkftick, &c. to shew thein that he had taken up his dwelling amon^ theni. — See tile note on ver. 23.

Verse 31. A candlestick of pure gold] 'This candlestick, or chandelier, is generally described as having one shaft or stock, with six branches proceeding from it, adorned, at equnl distances, with six flowers, like hlies, witii as many bonis and knops placed alternately. On eai^h of the branches there was a lamp; and one on the top of the shaft, which occupied I tlie centre, thus there were sezt« lamps in all, ver. 37. These teven lamps were lighted every evening, and extinguished every morning.

i We are not so certain of the precise /or;« of any instrument I or utensil of the tabernacle or temple, as we are of this, the I golden table, and the two silver trumpets.

Titus, after the overthrow of Jerusalem, A. D. 70, had the golden candlestick and the golden table of the shew-bread, the silver trumpets, aii'l tlie book of the La:u, taken out of the temple, and carried in triurn])h to Rome; and Vespasian lodged thein in the temple which he had consecrated to the goddess of Peace.' Some plants also of the balm of Jericho, are said to ha\e been carried in the procession. At the foot of mount Palatine there are the ruins of an arch, on which the triumph of Titus for his conquest of the Jews, is represented; and on which the several monuments, which were carried in the procession, are sculptured, and |)articularly the golden candlestick, the tabic of the shcu-bread, and the two silver trumpets. A correct.Model of this arch, taken on the spot, now stands before me; and the spoils of the temple, the candlestick, the golden table, and the two trumpets, are represented on the pannel, on the left hand, in the inside of the arch, in bassorelievo. The candlestick is not so ornamented, as it appears in many prints; at tlie same time, it looks much better than it does in the engraving of this arch, given by IMontfaucon, Antiq. Expliij. vol. iv. pi. 32. It is likely,' that on the real arch, tiiis candlestick is less in size than' the original, as it scarcely measures three feet in height. — See the Diariuni Italicum, p. 129. To see these sacred article? given up by that God «ho ordered them to be made, according to a pattern exhibited by himself, gracing the trium))h of a heathen emperor, and at la- 1, consecrated io tin idol, aiRmls melancholy reflections to a pious mind. — But those things had accompli.-hed the end for which they were instituted, and were now of no further use. The glorious Personage typifietl by all this ancient apparatus, had about «c:e«(y years before this, made his appearance. The true light was come, and the holy Spirit pouied out from on high; and therefore the golden candlestick, by which they were ty pitied, was given up: the ever-during bread had been sent from heaven, and thereibre the golden table, which bore its representative, the shevc-bread, was no^\ no loii'^er needful; i\\t joi/ful sound oi \\u: everlasting gospel was then published in the world; and therefore the silver trumpets, that tvpified this, were carried into capti\ity, and their sound was no more to be heard. Strange pro\ idence, but unutterable mercy of God! the Jews lost both the sign and the things signified; "and that very people who destroyed the holy city, cwried away the spoils of the temple, and dedicated them to the objects of their idolatry, were the first in the universe tt> receive the preaching of the gospel, the light of salvation, and the bread of life! There is a sort oi coincidence or association here, which is worthy of the most serious observati<)n. The Jews had these significant embleins, to had theiri to, and prepare thein for, the things signified. Tiiey trusted m the former, and rejected the latter! God therefore deprived them oi' both, and gave up their temple to the spoilers, their laud to desolation, and themselves to captivity and to the sword. The heathens then carried away the cnibhms of their salvation,. and God shortly gave unto tho.-e heathens, that very salvati**? of which these things were the emblems I Thus, because of theif unbelief and rebellion, the kingdom of heaven, according to the

three branches of the candlestick, out of the other side:

33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, "witli a knop and a flower branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, tvith a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.

34 And in the candlestick.shall be four bowls, made like unto almonds, tcith their knops and their flowers.

35 And ihere branches of the branches of the same, antl a branches of the same

35 Their knops and their branches "' T. ' "' shall be of the same: all of it shall '^"'°"- be one beaten work of pure gold. •

31 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and Hhey shall '' liglit the lamps thereof, that they may ' give light over against '' it.

38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuff-, dishes thereof, shall be o/'pure gold.!

39 Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it,| witli all these vessels. j

40 And ' look that thou make them aftefj their pattern, '^ which was shewed thee in the! mount.

I^rediction of our blessed Lord, ions taken from the Jews, and given to a nation, the Gentiles, that Inoitgin forth the fruits thereof.' Matt. xxi. 43. Behold the goodness and seveuity of God!

Verse 39. Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, -with all these vessels.] That is, a talent of!;Tild in weiglit was used in makincr the candlestick, and the ditFerent ve.ssels and instruments which belonged to it. Accordinc; to Bishop Cumberland, a talent was three thousand shekels. As the Israelites brought each /in If a shekel, ch. xxxviii. 26. so that one hundred talents, one thousand seven hundred and ■<:e7en/!;-fre shekels, were contributed by sir hundred and three thousand fire hundred and fifty persons. By halving the number of the Israelites, he finds they contriliuted three hundred and one thousand.seven hundred and scventy-fise shekels in all. Now, as we find that this number of shekels made one hundred talents, and one thousand seven hundred and sereiity-five shekels over, if we subtract o)?e thousand sezen hundred and seventy-five, the odd shekels, from three hundred and one thousand.seven hundred and seventy-five, we shall have for a remainder tlirce hundred thousand, [he v.ximheT of shekels in one hundred t?i\enU: and if this remainder be divided by one hundred, the number of talents, it quotes three thousand, the number of shekels in each talent. A silver shekel of the sanctuary, being ecjiial, according to Dr. Pridea\ix, to three shillings English, three thousand such shekels will amount {n four hundred and fif/y pounds sterling; and reckoning gold to silver as fifteen to one, a talent of gold will amount to six thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds sterling: to which add txvo hundred and sixty-three pounds for the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five' shekel.s, at three shillings eacli, and it makes a total of sexen thousand and thirteen pounds, which immen-e sum was t xficnded on the candlestiek and its furniture. It is no wonder, tlien, (if the candlestick in tin; second temple, were equal in vahic to that ni the ancient tabernacle) that Titus should think it of sufficient eonse(|uence to be one of the articles, with tht; golilcn table, and silver trumpets, that should be employed to grace his triumph. Their;'»/;7'»,s7C worth was a matter of no consequence to Ilim, \vlio>e are the silver and gold, the earth, and its fulness: they had accomplished their design, and were of no fartlier use.

either in the kingdom of Providence, or the kingdom of Grace. — See the note on ver. 31. and see that on chap, xxxviii. 3-t. ' Ver.-e 40. And look that thou tnake, &c.] 7"'his verse should i be understood as an order to Moses after the tabernacle, i^c.'l had been described to him: as if he had said, " Wlien thoui comest to make all the things that I have ah-eady described to thee, with the other matters of which I shall afterwards treat, see that thou make every thing according to the pattern which [ thou didst see in the mount." T'iie Septuagint have it, xarx | fashion, which was shewn thee. It ap]>ears to me, that.St. Paul had this command particularly in view, when he gave that to his son Timothy, which we find in the second Epistle, chap. 1. ver. 13. VTrownriia-tv?-)(,^ vyi'JAVorrtiiv \oyav, uv TTccf* f^ov flxouo-af. — " Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me." The tabernacle was a type of the chuich of God: that church is built ujjon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles, Jesus Clirist being the chief corner stone, Eph. ii. 20 — 22. the doctrines, therefore, delivered by the Prophets, Jesus Christ and his Apostles, are essential to the constitutir)n of this church. As (Jod, therefore, gave the plan, or form, according to which the tabernacle must ht constructed, so he gives the doctrines accordii\g to which the Christian church is to be modelled; and Apostles, and subordinate buiklers, are to have and hold fast that roiiM of sound words, and construct this iieavenly building accoiflmj lothat/orw, or pattern, which has come through the express revelation of God.

In dilKrent parts of this Work we have had occasion to remark, that the hinthens borrowed their best things from Divine Revelation, l>otb as it refers to what was pure in their doctrines, anii significant in then- religious rites, indeed, tliey seem in many eases to have studied the closest imitation possible, consistent with the adaptation of ail to their preposterous and idolatrous worshij). Tluy IkkI their Iao, or Jovt;, in imitation of the true JEllOVAll; and from diflerent rt«rjb?ites of the Divine Nature., they formed an innumerable groupe of gods and goddesses. They had also their temples, in imitation of the lempk; of Goil; and in these, they had their holy and more holy places, in imitation of the courts of the Loril's hou.-^e. Tlic heathtn tcni|)los couMsteil of several parU or divisions: I. The urea or ])orch; 3. the Nao,-, or temple, similar to ihe.imrr of our churches; 3. the adyiv.m, or holy placo, called also peiietralc, and sacrarhim; and, 4. the oTij-OiJo/^coi-, or the inner Icmple, the most secret recess, where they had their i»j/steri<!, and which answered to the Holy of Holies In the tabernacle. And as there is no evidence whatever, that there was any temple anion:; the lieathens, prior to the tahernacle, it is reasonable to conclude, that it served as a model for all that they afierwards biiildcd. Thry had even their portable temples, to imitate Ihe tabernacle: and the shrines for Diana, mentioned. Acts xix. 24. were of this kind. Tliey iiad even their <trks-, or saiM-ed cojf'ers, \vhere the)' kept their mo-,t holy tliinfi^s, and the mysterious emblems of their rclii^ion; together with candlesticks, or lamps, to illuminate their temples, which had few windows, to imitate the golden candlestick in the Mosajc tabernacle. Thej' had even their processions, in imitatit)n nf the carrying' about of the ark in the wil.lerness; accoui])auied by such ceremonies, as sufficiently shew, to an unprejudiced mind, that they borrowed them from this sacred original. Dr. Dudd has a L^ood note on this subject, which I shall take the liberty to extract.

ipulcius, describing a solemn idolatrous jn'ocession, De. Asin. lib. ii. after the Egyptian mode, says " A chest, or was carried by another, containing their secret things, rely concealing the mysteries of religion." 'lid riiitarch, in his treatise, JJe hide, &c. describing the of Osiris, says — "On the tenth day of the month, at 'if, they go down to the sea, and the stohsts, together: the ])riest, carry forth the sacred chat, in wliieii is a lil boat or vessel of gold."

PaK*fln/«s bkewise testifies (lib. vii. c. 19.) that the ancient Trojans had n sacred ark, wherein was tlie image of BacciU'S, made by Vulcan, which had been gi\eji to Dardanus by Jupiter. As the ark was de))o.-.ited in the i/y/y of Holies, to the heathens had, in the inino.st part of their temples, an adytum, or pcnetrale, to which none had access but the priests. And it is remarkable, that among the Mexicans, VitziiputzU, their supreme god, was represented under a human ^llapei sitting on a throne, supported by an azure globe, which they called Heaven: four poles or sticks came out from two sides of this ulobe, at the end of which, serpents' heads were carved, the whole making a litter, which the priests carried on their shoulders, whenever the idol was shewn in public." Rcligioui Ceremonies, vol. iii. p. 146.

Calmet remarks, that the ancients used to dedicate candlesticks in the temples of their gods, bearing a great number of lumps.

Pliny, Hist. Nat. lib. xxxiv. c. 3. mentions one made in the form of a tree, with lam))s in the likeness of apples, which Alexander the Great consecrated in the temple' of Aj)ollo.

And Jthenaus, lib. xv. c. 19, 20. mentions one tliat svipjiurted three hundred and sixti/-five lamps, which Dionysius the younger, king of Syracuse, dedicated in the Pri/taneum at Athens. As the Egyptians, according to the te.-tiinony of Clemens Alexandiinus',.SVrom. lib. i. were the fir^t who used lamps in their temples, they probably borrowed the use from the golden candlestick in the tabernacle and teinfile.

From the solemn and very particular charge — Look that thou make them after their pattern, ivhick ivas shelved thee in the mount, it appears plainly that God shewed IMoses a model of the taljernacle and all its furniture; and to receive instructions relative to this, was one part of his employment while on the mount forty days with God. As God designed that this building, aiid all that belonged to it, should be patterns or rejirescntations of good things to come, it was indispensably necessary that Moses should receive a model and specification of the whole, according to which he might direct the difltrent artificers in their c<instructiiig the work. 1. ^\'e may obsei've that the whole tabernacle and its furniture, resembled a dwellin;;- house and its furniture. 2. That this tabernacle was the house of (Jud; not merely for the jierl'ormance of his worship, but for his residence. 3. That God had jiromised to dwell among this people; and this was the habitation which he appointed tor his gloly. 4. That the tabernacle, as well as the temple, w as a type of the incarnai ion of Jcsus Christ, see John i. 14. and ii. 19,21..5. That as the glory of God was manifested between the cherubim, above the mercy-seat, in this tabernacle; so God was in Christ — and in him divell all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 6. As in the tabernacle were ftaind bread, light, &c. probably all these were emblematical of the ample provision made in Christ tor the direction, siii)port, and salvation of the soul of man. Of these, and many other things in the law and the jn'ophets,' we shall know more, when mortality is swallowed up of life.

Boards, S)X. fsr the Norlh nick, 20, 21. Boards, Sfc. for thc^ TVesl side, 22. For the corners, 23, their rings and foelceis, 24, 25. 2'he hays of the tabernacle, 26—30. The vail, its pillars, hooks, and tuches, 31 — 53. How to place the mercy-seat, 54, the table and the candlestick, 35, the hanging for the door of the tent, 36, and the hangings for the pillars, 3".

;jOREOVER ' thou shaltmakc J^lX the tabernacle, tr//// ten curtains nf fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: nifh cherubims ^ of cuiniiuj;- work, shall thou make them. '2 The length oi' one curtain shall he eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.

3 The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and oilier five curtains shall be coupled one to another.

4 And thou shall make loops of blue, upon the edge of the one curtain, from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of aiiolher curtain, in the coupling of the second.

5 Tifty loops shall thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shall thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another.

G And thou shall make fifty laclies of gold, and couple the curtains together with the laches: and it shall be one tabernacle.

Verse 1. Thou shah make the tahernacle'\ Mischan pti'n from piff shacfin, to dwelt, means simply a dwelling-placf, or habitation of any kind; but here it means the dwellinj;- place of Jchovp.h, wlio as a kinc; in liis camp, liad his duelling or pavillion amonfr his people, his table always spread, his lamps hghted, and the priests, Uc. his attendants, always in waiting. From the minute and accurate description here given, a good workman, had he the same materials, mii;iit make a perfect /rtc simile of the ancient Jewish taliernacle. It was a moveable buildin-j, and go constructed that it minrlit be eajiily taken to pieces, for the greater convenience of carria'j;e, as they were often obiicfcd to transport it from place to iilaee, in their various journevings. — For the txuined linen, blue, purple and scarlet, see the notes on chap. xxv. ver. 4, &c.

Cherubim] Ste the note on chap. xxv. 18.

Cunning ■work] Dfn choslieb, probably means a sort of diaper, in which tlic figures ajjpear triually perfect on both sides: this was probably fonncd in the loom. Another kind of curious work is mentioned ver. 36. cst rokent, which wc

hair, to be a covering upon the tabernacle; eleven curtains shalt thou make.

8 Tlie length of one curtain sliall he thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain foiu- cubits: and the cle\ en curtains shall be all of one measure.

9 And thou shall couple five curtains by ihem- Kcivcs, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle.

10 And thou shall make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain, that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loo])s in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.

1 1 And thou shall make fifty laches of brass, and put the laches into the loops, and couple llie " lent together, that it may be one.

12 And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that rcniaincth, sliall hang over the backside of the tabernacle.

1 3 And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side ' of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and on that side, to cover it.

term veedlc-n'ork: this was probably similar lo our embroidert/, tapestry, or cloth of arras. It has been thought unlikely tliat the:-e curious works, were alt inanufaetureri in the wildernes.s: what was done in the loem, they might have brought with them fiom F.gypt; what could be done by hand, without the use of eomj)le\ machinery, the Israeliti.-h women could readily perform with their needles, during their stay in the wilderne-s. But still it seems probable, that they brought even their looms with them. The whole of this account shews, that not only nccessarj/, but ornamental arts, had been carried to a considerable jiiteh of jierftction, both among the Israelites and F,gy|)tians. The inner curtains of the tabernacle were ten in number, and each in length tiL-enti/-eight cubits, kind four in breadth — about sixteen yards niclve inches long, and fi^o yards ticetve inches broad. The curtains were to be coupled together, five and five of a side, by fifty loops, ver. 5. and as many golden clasps, ver. G. so that each might look like one curtain, and the whole make one entire covering,which was thefirst. Verse 7. Curtains of goats' hair] Stuff made of goats' hairi See the note on chap. xxv. 4. Tliis was the second covcv'mg.

badti'erti' skins. I 15 if And thou slialt make boards for the ta- ■ bernacle o/'shittini wood standing up.

16 Ten cubits sliall be the lenglli of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of I one board.

j 17 Two "tenons shall there be in one board, I set in order one against another: thus shalt thou 1 make for all the boards of the tabernacle. j 18 And thou shalt make the boards lor the I tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side I southward.

I 19 And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver I under the twenty boards; two sockets under I one board f<)r his two tenons, and two sockets under another board t()r his two tenons. • 20 And for the second side of the tabernacle, ^on tlie north side, there shall be twenty boards:! '21 And their forty sockets of silver; two ^sockets under one board, and two sockets under 'another board.

22 And for the sides of the tabernacle west- \ ward, thou shalt make six boards. I

23 And two boards shalt thou make for the | corners of the Uibernaclc in the two sides.

Verse 15. Thou shall make ionn/.s] These formed, what niif^lit be called the walls of the tabernacle, and were made of Ishittim wo«l, the Acacia Nilolica, which, Dr..Shaw says, I "rows here in abundance. To have worked the acacia mto I these boards or planks, the Israelites nnist have had saxiycrs, Ijoir.ers, ^c. amonj;theni; but how they;;ot the too/.s, is a [question. But as the Israelites were the general ivurkmen of I i'pyp'. iind were broujjht up to every kind of trade for the ifeniee of llicir oppressors, we may naturally su[ipi>se, that i every artificer hrout;hf otf some of his tools with him. For I though it \* not at 4II likely, lhat tli«y had any armour or dc-!

cou})k'd logethc'r aI)ove the head of it unto one ring: tiuis siiail it be for tiiem botii; they shall be for the two corners.

2,T And tliey shall be eight boards, and their sockets {)/' silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets tuider one board, and two sockets under another board.

2G Ami thou shalt make bars o/'shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

27 And five bars for t!\e boards of the other side of the tal)ernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward.

28 And the middle bar, in the midst of the boards, shall reach from end to end.

29 And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings oj' goVl J'or places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with u-old.

30 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle, ** according to the fashion thereof, which was shewed thee in the momit.

31 ^ And ' thou shalt make a vail o/'blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:

fensive weapons in their power, yet, for the rea-oa abore assigned, they must have had the implements which were rc- (juisite, for their respective trades.

Verse IG. Ten cuhita shall bo the length of a hoard] Each of these boards, or planks, was about jive yards and itvo feet and a half lon^, an<l tltirty-txao inches broad; and as thev are said to be slandiri:; up, this was the lieii^ht of the tahcriKicle. Tlu- len^i'th b< in^r thirU/ c\il)it.^, tti-eiUy boai'ds, one cubit and a hu/f broad each, make about seventeen yards and a half, and the BRKAOTn was about fitc yards.

Verse i29. Thou shalt overluij the hoards with qold] It is not.said how thick the jiold was, by which these boards, ike. were overlaid: it was, no doubt, done with i;a!.l plates; but these, must have been very thin, elsT the boards, i*>;e. must have been iusupporiably lieavy. 'J he gold was proljably some!liiii>j- I like our gold-leaf, but not brought to so great a degree of tenuity.

Verse 31. Thou shall make a ••ail] n^na paroccth, from ins parac, to break, or rend, the inner rail of the tabernacle, or temple, i2 Chron. iii. 14. which broke, interrupted, or diridtd between the holy place and the nio.^t holi/ — The Holy Ghost, this signifyintr, that the '.i-ay into the hvliat of all mas not yet made manife:!, while as the Jirst tabernacle •."an sLunding, compare Heb. ix. 8. Tlie Septua^int con-lantly 3 F 2

32 And tliou slialt hang it upon four pillars of shittim tvood, overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of

33 'And thou shalt hang up the vail imder tlie taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail, " the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between " the holy place and the most holy.

S4 And ' thou shalt put the mercy seat, upon the ark of the testimony, in the most holy j^hice. 35 And '' thou shalt set the table without the

vail, and 'the candlestick over amsms. against the table, on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and

HQ *\\ And ^ thou shalt make a hanging for the door of the tent, o/'blue, and pui-ple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.

37 And thou shalt make for the hanging ^ five pillars of sliittim tvood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall he o/gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

render il by xara-fTacr^a. Does not the Hebrew name n3i3 paroceih moreover intimate the typical corre.-pondence of this vailio the body ov flesfi of Christ? For this xa.Tct.triTa,a-i/.cc, or vail, was his Jhsh, Heb. x. 20. Avhich being vent, afTords us a 71CIU and livinc; way into the holiest of all, i. e. into heaven itself— compare lieb. x. 19, 20. ix. 24. And according!}', when bis blessed body was rent upon the cross, this vail also (to xaTa^ETacrpa tou vaou) £a-;tia-Sn, icas RENT in iivain from the top to the bottom, Matt, xxvii. 51. — See Purkhurst, under tlie word "jia.

The vail in the tabernacle was exceedingly costly: it was made of the same materials with the inner covering, blue, purple, scarlet, fine twined linen, embroidered with cherubim, &c. It served to divide the tabernacle into two parts — one, the outermost, called the lioly place; the other, or innerm.ost, called the Holy of Holies, or the most holy place. In this was deposited the ark of the covenant, and the other things that were laid up by way of memorial. Into this the high-prie.'t alone was permitted to enter, and that only once in the year, on the great day of atonement. It was in this inner place that Jehovah manifested himself between the cherubim. The Jews say, that this vail was four fingers breadth in thickness, in order to prevent any person from seeing tkrovgh it; but of this, as Calmet observes, ihere was no necessity, as there was no window or place for light in the tabernacle, and consequently the most simple vail would have "been sufficient to olistmct the discovery of any thing behind it, which could only be discerned liy the light that came in at the door, or by that aflbrded by the golden candlestick, ■which stood on the outside of this vail.

Vei-se 32. Their hooks shall be of f^old'] anvi vaveyhem, which we translate their hooks, is rendered xiJaXi^;,-, capitals, by the Septnagint, and capita, by the Vulgate. As the worcl 11 vav, or vail, plural S?ni vavim, occurs only in this book, chap. xxvi. 32, 37. xxvii. 10, 11, 17. xxxvi. 30, 38. xxxviii. 10, 11, 12, 17, 19, 28. and is used in these places in reference to the same subject, it is very difficult to ascertain its precise meaning. Most cominentatoi's and lexicographers tiiink, Uiat the ideal meaning of the word is, to connect, attach, join to, hook; and that the letter van i has its name from its hook-like form; and its use as a particle in the Hebrew language, because il serves to connect the words and members of a sentence, and the sentences of a discourse, togethur; and that.

therefore, liook must be the obvious meaning of the word, in all the above texts. Calmet thinks this reason of no weight, because the vau 1 of the present Hebrew alphabet is widely dissimilar from the vau of the primitive Hebre\v alphaliet, as may be.seen on the ancient shekels: on these the characters appear as in the word Jehovah, chap, xxviii. 30. This form bears no resemblance to a hook; nor does the Samaritan ■^ vau, which ajipears to ha\ e been copied from this ancient character,

Calmet, therefore, contends, 1. That, if Moses does not mean the capitals of the pillars, by the D'll vavim of the text, he mentions them no where; and it would be strange that, while he describes the pillars, their sockets, bases, filets, &c. &c. with so much exactness, as will appear on consulting the preceding places, that he should make no mention of the capitals; or that pillars, every way so correctly formed, should have been destitute of this very necessary ornament.

2. As Moses was commanded to make the hooks C2'11 vavim, of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver, chap, xxvii, lO, 11. and the hooks vavim of the pillars of tile vail, of gold, chap, xxxvi. 36. and that one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels were emjiloyed in making these hooka vavim, overlaying their chapiters, arrCNT rasheyhem, their heads, and filleting them, chap, xxxviii. 28. it is more reasonable to suppose, that all this is spoken of the capitals of the pillars, than of any kind of hooks, especially as hooks are mentioned imder the word taches or clasps in other places. On the whole, it appears much more reasonable to translate the original by capitals than by hooks.

After this verse, the Samaritan Pentateuch introduces the ten first verses of chap. xxx. and this appears to be their jiroper place. Those ten verses are not repeated in the xxxth chapter in the Samaritan: the chapter beginning with the 11th verse.

Verse 36. A hanging for the door of the tent'] This may be called the first vail, as it occupied the door or entrance to the tabernacle: the vail that separated the holy idaee from the Holy of Holies, is called tlie.second vail, Ikb. i\. 3. These two vails, and the inner covering of the tabernacle, were all of the same materials, and of the same workmanship. — See chap, xxvii. 16.

1. For the meaning and design of the tabernacle, see the note on chap. xxy. 40. and \vliile the reader is struck with the curious and costly nature of this building, as described by Moe,-, let him consider how pure and holy that church should be, of which it was a very expressive type; and what manner of person he should be in all holy conversation and godliness, who profts-ies to be a member of that clnn-ch, for which, it is written, Christ has given himself, that he mij^ht sanctify and cleanse it — that he mi^ht present it unto himself a glorious church, not havinp; spot or wrinkle, or any such thin"-; but that it should be holy and without blenush. — See Eph. V. 25-^27.

-2. In the Jewish talxmacle, almost every thinj^ was placed vut of the sight of the people. The Holy of Holies was inaccessible, the testimony was comparatively hidden, as were also the mercy-seat, and the divine glory. Under the gospel, all these things are laid open — the way to the Holiest is made manifest — the z-ail is rent, and vie have an entrance to the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which Ik hath consecrated for us through the vail, that is to say, his flesh, Heb. X. 19, 20. How aljundantly has Go<l brou!,'ht life and immortality to light, by the gospel I The awful distance is aiiolished, the ministry of reconciliation is proclaimed, the kin'jjdom of heaven is opened to all believers, and tile Lord is in his holy temple. — Sinner, weary of thyself and tliy transgressions, fainting under the load of thy iniipiilies, look to-.Fesns! he died for thee, and will save thee. — Iteliever, stand fast in the liberty wherewith God has made thee free, and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage.

an altar 1)/ shittini wood, five cubits i long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the; height thereof shall be three cubits. j

2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the

Foursquare] As this altar was five cubits long, and fi\e broad, and the cubit is reckoned to be twenty-one inches, hence it must have been eight feet nine inches square, and about Ji'ce feet three inches in height, the amount of three cubits, taken at the.same ratio.

Verse 3. Thou shah make the horns of it] The horns might have three uses: 1. for ornament; 2. to prevent carcases, i:c. from falling off; 3. to tic (he victim to, previously to its being sacrificed. So David, — Bind the sacrifice with cords to ihe horns of the altar. — Psalm cx\iii. 27. Horns were much used in all ancient altars an)ong the heathen, and some of them were entirely construeled of the horns oT the beasts, that had been ottered in sacrifice; but such altars appear to be erected rather as trophies in honour of their gods. On the reverses of several Medals, we find altars represented with herns at the corners. There is a mc&Ji oi' Antoninus, on the reverse of which is an altar, on which a fire burns, consecrated, Divo Pio, where the horns appear on each of the corners.

There is one of Faustina, on which the altar and its horn.1 ai-e very distinct, tjie legend Pielas Augusta. All the follow-

3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and liis basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou slialt make (if brass.,

ing have altars with horns. One of Valerian, legend consecratio; one of Claudius Golhicus, same legend; one of muintillus, same legend; one of Crispina, wMx the legend Diis Genitalibus; and several others. — See Numismaticti Antiq. a MusELLio, under Consecratio, in the Index.

\'erse 3. Thou slialt make his pans] vm»D sirotaiv, a sort ((f large brazen dishes, which stood under the altar, to receive the a^lles that fell through the sjrating.

llis shovels] Vi" yaaiv. Some render this besoms: but as these were brazen instruments, it is more natural to suppose, that some kind of fire-shovels are intended, or scuttles, which were used to carry oil' the ashes that fell through the grating into the large pan or siroth.

His basons] vnpiTO mizrekutaiv, from piT zarak, to sprinkle or disperse: bowls or basons to receive the blood of the sacrifices, in order that it might be sprinkled on the people, before the altar, C\C.

His Jlesh-hooks] vnibio mitlegotaiv. Tliat this word is rightly ivMiA-iXc^Jlesh-haoks, is fully evident from 1 Sam. ii. 13. where the same word is used, in such a conn«:tion, as demonstrates its meaning: And the priest's custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came while the fesh was in the seething, with a Fleshhook, (ibto?nazleg) of three teeth (prongs) in his hand, and he struck it into the pan, &c. all thai the flesh-hook (;'7?0

4 And thou siialt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brascn rings in the four corners tlrereof.

5 And tliou slialt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.

6 And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.

7 And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.

8 PIollow with boards shalt thou make it: 'as'' it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

9 % And "^thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward, there xJiafl be hangings for the court, of fine twined linen of a lunidrcd cubits long for one side:

10 And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of' silver.

11 And likewise for the north side, in length there shall be hangings of a hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty

sockets <f l)rass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.

12 And77jr the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hansrino;,s of

prolialily, a kind of trident, or Jor/c witli tttree proriLjs, tliesf: bended to a ri^dit aniijle at tho middle, as the ideal meaninff of the Hebrew seems to imply crookedness, or curvature m general.

His f re-pans'] v~~n'0 machtotaiv. Bishop Patrick and ■others nippo-e, that, " this was a lar^'er sort of vessel, wherein, probably, the sacred fire, ^vhich came down from heaven, Lev. ix. 24. was kept burning, whilst they cleansed the altar and the jjrate from the coals and the ashes; auil while t!ie altar Ava.s ca-rried from one place to another, as it often was in the wildcrHsss.''

Verse i. Thou shalt make a ern/t] Calmet supposes this altar to have betai a sort of box, coverefl with lirass |)lates, on the top of which was a grating to supply the fire witli air, and permit the ashes to fall throut^li into the siroth, or ])an, that was placed below. At the four corners of the jjratiiifj were four rinijs ami four chains, by which it was attached to the four horns; and at the sides were rin^s tor the poles of shittim wood, with which if was carried. Even on this, there is a great variety of opinions.

ntty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

13 And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward, s/iall be fifty cubits.

14 The hangings of one side of the. gate shall be fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

13 And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

16 And for the gate of the court, shall be a hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined hnen, wrought \vith needlework: and their pillars shall be lour, and their sockets four.

17 All the pillars round about the court shall \ be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.

18^ The length of the court shall be a ' hundred cubits, and the breadth '' fifty, every, where, and tl;e height five cubits q/"fine twined linen, and their sockets q/'brass.

19 All the vessels of tlie tabernacle in all the I service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be 0/ brass.

of frajne-irork, and to have had notiiinf); solid in the inside, and only covered with the grating at the top. This rendered it more light and portable.

Verse 9. 'J7ic court qf the tabernacle'] Tlie tabernacle stood in an enclosure or court, open at the top. This court wag made with pillars or posts, and hangings. It was one hundred cubits in length, about, ^>j/-t'(i,'/i/ yards and half, the breadth, as we learn from verse 12. and IS. and five cubits, or nearly three yards high, verse 18. And as this was but half the height of the talx!rnacle, chap. xxvi. 16. that sacred building niinht easily he seen by the people from without.

Verse 16. And for the i^ate <f the court] It appears that the hangin<;s of this i;ate, were of the same materials and workmanship with that of the inner covering of the tabernacle, and the outer and iimer vail. — See cliap. xxvi. 36.

Verse 19. All the vessels »ha\\ beef brass.] It would have been improper to have vised instruments made of the more precio\is metals about this altar, as they must have been soon worn out, by the severity of the service.

Verse iJO. Pure oil olive beaten] That is, such oil as could easily be expressed from the olives, after they had been bruised in a mortar, the mother drop, as it is called, which drops out of Israel, tliat they bring tlice pure ]{ testimony: '^ Aaron and liis sons shall oil olive beaten, for the light, to; order it fi-om evening to niornins cause tlic lamp "to burn always, 21 In the tabernacle of the congrc- " without the vail, which is before the

; of itself, a<i soon as llie olives are a little broken; and whicli I is much purer, tiran that which is obtainwl, after the olives are I put uiuler the j'rcs.i.

' Columella, who is a legitimate cviilcnce in all such matters, j says, that the oil which flowed out of the fruit either sponta- ' iieously, or with little apj)liealion of the force of the |)ress, was of a much finer flavour than that which was obtained otherwise. — Qunniam lan:^e mcUoris saporis €-^t, (juod minore vi frvli, qiiiin liixiiiian<, dcftiixcrit. — C'oi.iM. lib. xii. c. f)0.

Jiefo'-e tlie lesiiniori/] That is, the ark where the tables of t'.ic (.'ovt nant were de|)0.ited. See chap. \xv. IG.

Aaron and his sont] 'ITiei-c and their de.-cendants bein^' the only li jjitimalc pne.>t.s, God having establi>hed the i)rie?-tiiood in this family.

.S7;«// order it from ctcniiii; to mornim;'].Tosepluis says, the •whole of the seven lamps burned all the nii;ht: in the nioriiinn; foKr wci"c extinuuisl'.ed, and Mrfe kept burning through the whole day. <')lhers assert that the whole seven were kept lighted both day and niglit continually; but it a]>pears sulH- ' ciently evident from 1 Sam. iii. 3. that these lamps were extinguislud in the morninp;: And ere the lamp of Cod wen! out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God ivas; and Samuel was laid down to sleep, SfC. See also <:ha|). xxx. 8. And when Aaron i.igiiteth the lamps at even. It ajjjiears therefore, that the bu>iness of the priests was to liylit the lamps in the evening; and either to extinguish them in the morning, or permit them to burn out; having put in, the ni^dit before,;is much oil as was necessary to last till daylight.

A statute for ever'] This ordering of the- lamps night and morning, and attendance on the service of the tabernacle, was a statute that was to be in full force while the tabernacle and temi)le stood; and should have its s]>iritual accomplishment in the Christian Church to the end of time. Header, the tabernacle and temple are both destroyed; the

l)ch)rc the l.oiu): " it.shall be a statute for ever unto their generations, on the behalf of the children of Israel.

church of Chri.st is established in their place. The serpen golden cmdlcstich were typical of this church and llie glo- Irious light it jiossesses; Kev. i. 12 — 20. and J e.us Christ, the i Fountain and ])ispenser of this true light, walks in the mid>t I of them. Hast thou that celestial llame to enliglitcn and animate thy heart, in all lho~e acts of devotion, which thou projfe.ssest to pay to hiin as thy IMaker, Redeemer, and Preserver.' I What is thy profession, and what, thy religious acts and ser- I vices without this > A sounding bras.s — a tinkling cymbal.

I Tertullian asserts that all the ancient iieathens borrowed their best notions from the Sacred Writings: " Which," says he, " of your poets, which of your sophists have not drunk from the fountain of the projihets r It is from those sacred springs that your philoso])hers have refre.-hed their thii'sty spirits: and if they found any thing in the Holy Scriptures which hit their fancy, or which served their hypothesis, they took and turned it to a compliance with their own curiosity; not con-idering those writings to be sacred and unalterable, nor understanding their true sense, every one altering thein according to his own fancy." Apologet.

The reader's attention has already been called to this point several times in the ]>recedmg ];arts of thi,- work, and the subject will frequently recur. At the conclusion of chap. xxv. we had occasion to observe, that the heathens had imitated many things in that divine worship i)reseribed by Mose<; but in ap- ])licalion to their own corrupt system, every thing was in a certain mea^ure falsified and di.-torted; yet not so tar, as to prevent the granil outlines of primitive truth from being discerned. One of the most complete imitations of the tabernacle and its whole service is found in the very ancient temple of llcrculeti, founded jirobably liy the Phanicians, at Gades, now Cadiz in Spain; so minutely described by Silius Itahcus I'rGin actual observation. lie observes, that though the tein])le was at that time very ancient, yet the beams were the same that had been))laced there by the founders, and that they were generally supposed to be incorruptible: a quality ascribed to the shittim « ood, termed iv>.ov ectrnrrTov, incorruptible wood, by the Sepluagint. That women were not permitted to enter this temple, and that no swine were ever siiilered to ci;me near it. That the priests did not wear parti-c -loured vestments, but were always clothed in Jhic linen, and their bonnets made of the same. That they offered incense to their god, their clothes being nngirded —i'or the same reason doubtless given chap. XX. 26. that in going up to the altar nothing unseemly might appear; and therefore they permitted their long robes to fall down to their feet. He adds, that by the laws of their forefathers, they bore on their sacerdotal j'estments the latus clai-us, which was a round knob or stud of purpk, with which the robes of the Roman knights and senators were adorned; whicli these priests seem to liavc cojiied from the bnast-platc ofjudg- Mfn^made of eimiiing work, embroidered with /ii«/)/e, blue, &c. sec d). \xvui. I j. They also miniitered bare^footed, their hair was trimmed or cut ofl", and Ibey observed the strictest conlinency; and kept a perpelaal fire burnina; on their altars. And he further add?, that lliere was no imas;^ or similitude of the gods to be seen in tliat sacred place. This is the substance of his description: but as some of my readers may wish to see the.original, I shall here subjoin it.

Vidgatum (ncc cassa fides) ah origine funi Impositas durare Irabes, solasque per tcvum Condentum novisse manus: Itic credere gaudent Consedisse Dcum, seniiiiiiqiie repelhre templis. TiDii, qiiei"! fas et lionos adyti penetralia nosse, Fannmeos prohibenl gressus, ac limine curant Scetigeros arcere sues: nee discolor ulli Ante aras ciiliiis: velantur corpora lino, Et Pelusiaco pnifulget stamine vertex. I)iscinctis mos tura dare, atque e lege parenlum Sacnficaui LATO vesteni distirizu.ere CLAVO.

Pes nudus, tonsaeque comsE, castumque cubile, Irrestincta /ociV, servant ultaria flammas. Sed nulla efligies, simuiacrave nota Deorum Blajeslate locum, et sacro iniplcvere timorc.

This is such a remarkable case, that I think myself justified in quoting it at length, as an extraordinary monument, though corrupted, of the tabernacle and its service. It is probable that the original founders had consecrated this temple to the true God, under the name of 7N KL, the strong God, or ni3J IX EL GIBBOR, the strong, prevailing, and victorious God, Isai. ix. 5. out of whom the Greeks and Romans made their Hercules, or god of strength: and to make it agree with this appropriation, the labours of Hercules, were sculptured on tlie doors of this temple at Gades.

Aaron and his sons are set apart for the priests' office, 1. Garments to he provided for them, 1, 3. What these gar^ merits zeere, 4, and of ti hat made, 5. I'/fe ephod, its shoulder pieces and girdle, 6 — 8. The fzco ony.x stones, on zdiich the names of the tivehe tribes zc^ere to be engraven, 9 — ^4. The breastplate of judgment, its twelve ^ precious stones, engravi)tg, rings, chains, and its use, 15 — 29- 3Vie Urim «wrf Thummim,.'30. The robe of the epliod, its border, bells, pomegranates, 6ic. and their use, 31 —.35. The plaie of pure gold, and its motto, od, to be placed on Jaron's mitre, 37,38. TZ/e embroidered coat /or ^nroH, 39.- Coats, girdles, and bonnets, 40. Aaron and his sons to be anointed for the priests' office, 41. Other arUcles of clothing, and their i/ve, 4'2, 4.''.

ND take thou unto thee " Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me

Verse I. Aaron — and liis sons] The priesthood was to be restrained to this family, because the public worship was to be confined to one place; and, ■ previously to this, the eldest in every family officiated as priest, there being no settled place of worship. It has been very properly observed, that if Aloses had not acted by the divine appointment, he would not have pas.sed by his own family, which continuetl in the con- <lition of ordinary Levites; and established the priesthood, the only dignity in tlie nation, in the family of his brotiier Aaron. " The priests, however, had no power of a secular nature; nor does it appear from hi.>-tury, that they ever arrived at any, till the time of the Asmoneans or Maccabees." See the note on chap. xix. 22.

Verse 2. For glort/ and for beauty] Four articles of dress were prescribed for the priests in ordinary; and four more fcr tlie hi^di priest. Those tor the priests in general, were a coat, drawers, a girdle, and a bonnet. Besides these, the high priest had a robe, an ephod, a breastplate, and a plate or diadem of gold on his forehead. The garments, says the sacred historian, were for honour and for beauty. They were emblematical of the office in which they ministered. 1. It was honourable. They were the ministers of the Most High; and employed by him in transacting the most important concerns between God and his people; concerns in which all tlie attributes of the Divine Being were interested, as well as those which referred to the present and eternal hajipiness of his creatures. 2. They were for beaiay. They were emblematical of that holiness and purity which ever characterize tlic divine nature, and the worship which is worthy of him; and which are essentially necessary to all those who wisli to serve him in the beauty of holiness here btlow; and without which none can ever see his face in the realm* of glory. Should not the garments of all those who minister in holy

A.M.ai.5. garments for Aaron tliy brother, ibr '| filled with tlio spirit of wisdom, that a.m.sm,-

3 And ' thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, "^ whom I have

fli'mcfs still be cmhlematical of the things in which they minister? Sbonkl tlu^y not be (or f^hty and beauty, exprci-ivc of the dignity of llie ^^o,<pel ministry, and llial beauty of lioliue>s, without which none can see the Lord } As the hi^h-priest's veslmenis, under tlie law, were emblematical of wiiat vias to come, should not the vestments of the ministers of the gospel, bear some resemblance of what is come? Is then tlie dismal black, now worn by almost all kinds of priests and niinislers, for ^tori/ and beauli/? Is it emblematical of any j thing that is jjood, glorious, or e.\cellent \ How unbecoming 1 of tlie glad tidings announced by Christian ministers, is a colour, emblematical of nothing but mourning and woe, sin, desolation, and deatli? How inconsistent the habit and of- Ijlce of these men? Should it be said, " these are only sha- \ioM:s, and are useless, because the substance is come." I ask, twhy then is black almost universally worn.' why is a parti- Icuiar colour preferred, if there be no signification in any? Is 'tliere not a danger, that in our zeal against sliadoii's, we shall fdestroy, or es.sentially change the substance itself? ^\'ould I niJt the same sort of argumentation exclude ivater in baptism, I and bread and li-ine in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.'; The u)hite surplice, in the service of the Church, is almost the I only thing', that remains of those ancient and becoming vcsti ments, which God commanded to be made for glory and ■ beauty. Clothing, emblematical of office, is of more consej quence than is generally imagined. \\ ere the great officers j of the crown, and the great officers of justice, to clothe themselves like the common people, when they appear in_ their I public capacity, both their persons and their decisions would i be soon held in little estimation.

\'erse 3. Whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom^.So we find that ingenuity in arts and sciences, even those of the ornamental kind, comes from God. It is not intimated here, that these persons were Tilled with the spirit of wisdom for this purpose only; for the direction to Moses is, to select those whom he found to be expert artists; and those who were »ufh, God shew.e, by these words, had derived their knowledge from him.self. Every man should be permitted, as far as possible, to tbilow the bent or direction of his own genius, when it evidently leads him to neiv inventions, and improi-etncnis on old plajis. llow much has both the labour of men and cattle been lessened, by improvements in machinery! And can we say that the wisdom, which found out these im- I provements, did not come from God? No man by course of reading, or study, ever acquired a genius of this kind: wc call it natural, and say it was born with the man: Moses teaches us to consider it as divine. Who taught NkWTON I to ascertain the laws, by which God governs the universe; I through which discovery, a new source of profit and pleasure has been opened to mankind, through every part of the civi- Ii;;cd world } No reading, no study, no exainplcj formed his genius. God, who made him, q^ve him that compass and bent of mind, by whxh lie made those discoveries; and for which his name is celebrated in the earth. \Vhen I see Na- PEIR inventing the logarithms; COPERMCLS, Des CakteS, and Keple a, contributing to pnll down the faUe systems of the un'werse, and 'Newton demoitstraiitig the true one; and when I see the long list of PATENTEES of useful inventions, by whose industry and skill, long and tedious processes in the necessary arts of life have been sliortcncd, labour greatly lessened, and much lime and expense saved; I then see with Mose-s men who are wise-hearted, whom God has filled W'ith the spirit of wisdom for these very purposes; that he might help man by man, and that as time rolls on, he might give to his intelligent creatures, such proofs of his Being, infinitely varied wisdom, and gracious providence, as should cause them to depend on him, and give him that glory which is due to his name. How pointedly does the jiiophet Isaiah refer to this sort of teaching, as coining from God, even in the most common, and less diihcult arts of life. The whole passage is wortliy of the reader's most.serious attention.

" Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat, and the appointed barley, and the rye in their place.? For HIS Gon DOTH instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing-instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a stall", and the cummin with a rod. Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with die \\heel of his cart, nor bniise It with his horsemen. This also cometh forth from the LoitD of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, arid excellent in working." See Isai. x.'cviii. 24 — 29.

This principle, that God is the author of all arts and sciences, is too little regarded: Every good gift, and every perfect gift, says St..lames, comes from abore, from jl he I'-».THEll of LKSIIT.-^. 'Why has God constructed every part of nature! with such a ])iofiiiion of reconouiy and skill, if he intended, this.skill should never be discovered by man, or that man should not attempt to examine his works in order to find them out? From the works of CREATION, what proofs, astonishing and overwhelming proofs, both to believers and iiifideb, have been drawn l)oth of the nature, Benig, attributes, and provi<lence of God! \V'hat dejnonstrations of all tliese have the Archbishop of Cambray, Dr. Nieuwcntyt, Dr. Dcrham, and Mr. Charles Bonnet, given in their phdosophical works! And who gave those men this wisdom.' GOD, from whom alone MIND, and all its attributes proceed. While we see Count de Buffon and Swammerdam examining and Iracinfj out all the curious relations, connections, and laws of the

4 And these are the garments which

and they shall make lioly garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister imto me in the priest's office.

5 And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen:

6 ^ ' And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, if scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.

7 It shall liave the two shoulder pieces thereof, joined at the two edges thereof; and.so it shall be joined together

ANIMAL kingdom; — Toumeforl, Rtty, and Linne, those of the VEGETABLE; — T/ieophriisliis, IVer/ier, Kl'iproth, Cronslcd\3'Iort-eau, Reaumur, Kirwan, atid a host of philosophical chemists, Boeihaare, Boyle, Stahl, Piiesllej/, Lavoisier, Fourcroy, and Black, those of the MINERAL; — the discoveries they have made, the latent and important properties of vegetables and minerals which they have developed, the powerful machines ■which, through their discoveries, have been constructed, by the operations of whicli, the human slate is restored to his own place in society, the brute saved from his destructive toil in our manufactories, and inanimate, unfeeling NATURE caused to perform the work of all these better, more expeditiously, and to much more profit, shall we not say, that the hajid of GOD is in all tliis } He alone girded those eminent men, though many of them knew him not; lie inspired tiiem with wisdom and "understanding; by his all-pervading and all-informing Spirit, he opened to them the entrance of the palhsof thedeptiis of science; guided them in their researches; opened to them successively, more and more of his astonishing treasures; crowned their persevering industry with his blessing, and made them his ministers for good to mankind. The antiquary and the me- </«/«< are also his agents: their discernment and penetration come from him alone. By them, how many dark ages of tlie world have been brought to light, how many names of men and places, how many customs and arts that were lost, restored! And by tlieir means, a few huits, images, stones, bricks, coins, rings, and culinary utensils, the remaining wrecks of long passed numerou.? centuries, have supplied the place of written documents, and cast a profusion of light on the history of man, and the history of providence! And let me add, that the providence, which preserved these materials, and raised up men to decypher and explain them, is, itself, gloriously illustrated by them.

Of all those men, and the noble list might be greatly swelled, ■we may say the same that Moses said of Bezaleel and Aholiub. GOD hath filled them with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge; and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works; to work in GOLD, and in SILVER, and in BRASS, in CUTTING of STONES, CARVING o/Tl.MBEU, an(i W ALL MANNER <i/ WORKMANSHIH. Chap. xxxi. 3 — 6. The WORKS of the Lord are great; sought out ef all them that have pleasure therein. Psal. cxi. 2.

8 And the 'curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to

Rohc] "j't'D mt'il, from Thy alah, to [^o up, go upon; hence the mcil may be considered as an upper coat, a surtout. It is described by Josepluis as a garment that reached down to the feet, not made of two distinct pieces, liut was one entire long garment, woven throughout. Tliis was immediately under 1 the ephod. See on ver. 31, &c.

Broidered coal] j'aUTI Piiro cetonel tashhcts, what Parkluirit translates a close straight coat or garment: — according to,losephus, " a tunic circumscribing, or closely encompassing the body, and having tight sleeves for the arms." This was immediately under the tneii or robe, and answered the same, purpose to the priests, that our shirts do to us. See on ver. 1 3.

3Titre] n£JSO mitsnepheth. As this word comes from the root ri^i* tsanaph, to roll or wrap round, it evidently means that covering of the head so universal in the Eastern countries, which we call turband, or turhant, corrupted from the Persian tXloJ %3 doolhend, which signifies what encompasses and binds the head or body; and hence is applied not only to this covering of the head, but to a sash in general. As the Persian word is compounded of \.^ dool or dawal, a revolution, ricissitude, ivheel, &c. and,J>jij binden, to bind; it is very likely that the Hebrew words in dur, to go round, and t3J3 henet, a bund, may have been the original of doolhend and turbant. The turbant consists generally of two parts, the cap, which goes on the head; and the long sash, of muslin, linen, or silk, that is wrapped round the head. The.se sashes are generally several yards in length.

A girdle] tjJ3X abnet, a belt or girdle: see before. This seems to have been the same kind of sash or girdle, so common in the Eastern countries, that confined the loose garments;ibout the waist; and in which their long skirts were tucked up, when they were employed in work, or on a journey. After being tied round the waist, the two ends of it fell down before, to the skirts of their robes.

Verse 8. The curious girdle of the ephod] The word aCTI chosheb, rendered here curious girdle, signifies merely a kind of diaper or embroidered work; see the note on chap. xxvi. 1. and is widely different from 13J2N abnet, which is properly translated girdle, ver. 4. The meaning, therefore, of the text, according to some, is this, that the two pieces, ver. 7. which connected the parts of the ephod at the shoulders, where the onyx stones were set, should be of the same texture with the ephod itself, i. e. of gold, blue, purple, scarlet^

The shoulder -pieces and itco onyx stones. CHAP. XXVIII. The 12 precious stonesfor the breaslplafe.

9 And thou shalt take two onj-x stones, and grave on them the names of the i children of Israel:

of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, o/bhic, and o/' pumle, and of. ^,, scarlet, and o/ nne twined hnen, i.

10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest, on the other stone, according to their birth.

11' With the work of an engraver in stone, lihe the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the | children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be j set in ouches of gold. ]

12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon' the shoulders of the ephod Jbr stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and '' Aax'on shall bear their names before the Lord, upon his two shoulders, "^ for a memorial.!j 13 And thou shalt make ouches of gold; I 14 And two chains <if pure gold at the J ^cnds; of wreathen work shalt thou make •them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the icuches. I

15 % And "thou shalt make the breastplate, of judgment witli ctnuiing work; after the work

IC Fourscpiare it shall be, bei7}g doubled; a span shall he the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.

17 'And thou.shalt 'set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the Jirst row shall be a ' sardius, a topaz, a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

IS And the second row shall be an emerald, a.sapphire, and a diamond.

19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

20 And tlic fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in tlieir '' inclosings.

21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according tQ the twelve tribes.

22 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate, chains at the ends of wreathen work, of ^lure gold.

and fine tivincd linen, enibroiJered together. Rut others stipjiosc, that soin.c kind ol a gh'ille is meant, diderent from tlie abnet, ver. 39. bcinij only of pluin Morkmanship. I

Verse 1 1. Like the engratlngs of a signttl So, signets or ' seals were in use at this time, and tn^}-nvi»g on precious stones, ' was then an art; and this art, which was one of the most i degant and onianientai, was carried, in ancient times, to a! very high pitch of perfection, and particularly among the | ancient Gretks; sucli a pitch of perfection, as has never been rivalled, and carmot now, he t:\ar \\d\ imitcded. And it is! very likely, that the Greeks themselves, borrowed this art from j the ancient JItbreios, as we know it tlonrislied in Egypt and ' Palestine, long before it was known in (Jrccce. I

Verse 12. Aaron shell bear their names before the Lord]' He was to considei-, tliat he was the rcpresentati-e of the children of Israel; and the stones on the ephod, and the stones on the breast-plate, were for a memorial, to put Aaron 1 in remembrance, that he was the priest and mediator of the twelve tribes; and, speaking after the manner of men, God was to be put in mind of the children of Israel, their wants, | &e. as frequently as the high-priest appeared before him with the breast-plate and the cphud. — See ver. 29.

soektts to insert the stones in, from J'3U? shabals, to close, inclose, sti-ailen. Socket, in this place, would be a more proper translation, as ouch cannot be traced up to any legitimate authority. It appears sometimes to signify a hook or some mode of attaching things together.

Verse 1 5. Tlic breaslplate of judgment] t3£"i'0 JliTI choshen mishput, the same as the JUTl choshen, see chap. xxv. 7. but here called the breastplate of judgment, because the highpriest «ore it upon his breast, when he went to ask counsel of the Lord, to give judgment in any particular case. As also when he sat as judge to teach the law, and to determine controversies. See Lev. x. 1 1. Deut. xvii. 8, 9.

Verse 16. Foursquare shall it be] Here we have the exact dimensions of this breastplate, or more properly breast-piece, or stomacher. It was a span in length and breadth when doubled, and consequently two spans long, one \iay, before it was doubled. 15etween these doublings, it is supposed, the Urim and Thummim were placed. See on ver. 30.

Verse 17. Four rovis of stones] With a name on each stone, making in all, the twelve names of the twelve tribes. And as these were disposed according to their birth, ver. 10. we may suppose thej' stood in this order, the stones being placed also in the order in which they are produced, ver.

23 And thou shalt make upon the

24 And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains

'25 And the other two ends of the two ''wrcath-

£n chains, thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put //.c'?h on the shoulderpieces " of the cphod before it.

26 And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate, in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod, inward.

In this order, the.lews in general agree to place them; see the Jerusakin Targiim on tliis place; and the Targian upon Canticles v. 14. and see also Ainsworlh. The Targum of Jonathan says, " these four rows were placed opposite to the i'our quarters of the world;" but this could only be when laid down horizontally, for when it hung on the breast of the High-priest, it could have had no such position. As it is diflicult to ascertain in every case, what these precious stones were, it may be necessary to consider this suliject more at large.

1. A Sardius, a"!X odem, from the root adam, he was ruddy; the ruby, a beautiful gem of a fine deep red colour. The sardius, or surdie.stone, is defined to he a precious stone of a blood red colour, tiie best of which come from Babylon.

2. A Topaz, n-it03 pitdak, a precious stone of a pale dead green, with a mixture o^ yellow; sometimes of a fine yellow, and hence it was called ckrysoUic by the ancients, from its gold colour. It is now considered by mineralogists as a variety of the sapphire.

3. Carbunx^LH, nnia bareket, from rro harak to lighten, glitter, or glister, a very elegant gem of a deep red colour, with an adniiNtiire of scarlet. From its bright lively colour, it had the name carlmncuhis, which signifies a little coal; and anioog the Greeks, avS^a^ anthrax a coal, because when held before the sun, it appears like a piece of bright burning charcoal. It is found only in the East Indies, and there but rarely.

4. Emerald, "^SO nophec, the same with the ancient Smaragdus; it is one of the most beautiful of all the gems, and is of a bright green colour without any other mixture. The true orient.d emerald is very scarce, and is only found at present m the kingdom of Cambay.

6. Diamond, Z^ni yahalom, from oSn halam, to beat, or smite upon; the diamond is supposed to have this name from its resistance to a blow, for the ancients have assured us, that if it be struck with a hammer, upon an anvil, it will not break, but either break them, or sink into the surface of that which is softest. This is a complete fable; as it is well known that the diamond can be easily broken, and is capal)le of being entirely volatilized or consumed by the action of fire. It is however the hardest, as it is the most valuable of all the precious stones hitherto discovered, and one of the most inflammable substances in nature.

7. Ligure, ^JWh leshem, the same as the jasyncth, or hyacinth, a precious stone of a dead red colourj with a considerable mixture of yellow.

8. Agate, laii' shebo, this is a stone that assume.? such a variety of hues and appearances, that Mr. Parkhurst;hinks it derives its name from the root 3!!^ shab, to turn, to change, " as from the circumstance of the agate changing its appearance without end, it might be called the varier." Agates are met with so variously figured in their substance, that they seem

A.M.eM.i. 27 And two other riiigs of gold,.,, thou shalt make, and shall put them

over ag'ainst the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. 28 And they sliall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof, unto the rings of the cphod >vi(h a lace of bhie, that // may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the

ephod. ji 29 And Aaron.sliall bear llie nar^cs;jof vlie chil(h-cn of Isniel in the ^•'""'- jl breastplate of judgment, upon lifs heart, vlicn he goetli in unto the holy place, 'for a memol| rial before the Loitn cinitinually. jj 30 ^ And '' thou shalt put in the breastplate to rrprcscnt the sky, the stars, clouds, carlh, water, rock?, villagis, Inrds, trtcs, flowers, nun, aiu! nnimals of (litFtreni kinds. Agates have a v:hiie, reddidit, yellowish or precnifh prounti. i They are only varieties of the Jlint, and the lowest in value of all the precious.stones. |

9. AiMETHVST, toShj* achflamah, a gem generally of a' \ purple colour, composed of" a strong blue and deep red. The i I oriental anieihyft is of a dove Colour, though some arc purple, j I' and other ivliite like diamonds. The name ameihi/st is Greek, j I a/xtQua-ro;, and it was so called, because it was supposed that |, it prevented inebrialion.

10. '1 he 13ei;vi.. tt^'unn?«rs/i/»A. Mr. Paikluirst derives this name from in tar to go round, and U'U? sh:ts to he tizid

I or bright in colour. If the beryl be inteiKled, it is a pellucid gem of a blueish green colour, found in the East Indies, and about the gold mines of Peru. But some of tiie most learned mineralogists and critics, suppose iXu- cliry.<!olite to he meant; This is a gem of a yel/oiviih gr^'tn colour, and ranks at present, amono' the topazes. Its name in Greek chrysolite,;^fi/- ccM^^oi literally signifies the golden stone.