Verse 16. Thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud — and the voice of the trumpet] The thunders, lightnings, &c., announced the coming, as they proclaimed the majesty, of God. Of the thunders and lightnings, and the deep, darJc, dismal, electric cloud, from which the thunders and lightnings proceeded, wa can form a tolerable apprehension; but of the loud, long-sounding trumpet, we can scarcely form a conjecture. Such were the appearances and the noise that all the people in the camp trembled, and Moses himself was constrained to sa}', " I exceedingly fear and quake," Heb. xii. 21. Probably the sound of the trumpet was something similar to that which shall be blown by the angel when he sweareth, by Him that liveth for ever, There shall be time no longer!
Verse 17. And Moses brought forth the people — to meet ivith God] For though they might not touch the mount till they had permission, yet when the trumpet sounded long, it appears they might come up to the nether part of the mount, (see ver. 13, and Deut. iv. 11;) and when the trumpet had ceased to sound, they
A. M. 2513. out of the camp to meet with An^ESd.'fsr: 1. God; and they stood at the ^'^'^"- nether part of the mount.
18 And ^ Mount Sinai was ahogether on a smoke, because the Lorb descended upon it e in fire: ^ and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and ' the whole mount quaked greatly.
19 And ''when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, * Moses spake, and ™ God answered him by a voice.
It was absolutely necessary that God should give the people at large some particular evidence of his being and power, that they might be saved from idolatry, to which they were most deplorably prone; and that they might the more readily credit Moses, who was to be the constant mediator between God and them. God, therefore, in his indescribable majesty, descended on the mount; and, by the thick dark cloud, the violent thunders, the vivid lightnings, the long and loud blasts of the trumpet, the smoke encompassing the whole mountain, and the excessive earthquake, proclaimed his power, his glory, and his holiness; so that the people, however unfaithful and disobedient afterwards, never once doubted the Divine interference, or suspected Moses of any cheat or imposture. Indeed, so absolute and unequivocal were the proofs of supernatural agency, that it was impossible these appearances could be attributed to any cause but the unlimited power of the author of Nature.
It is worthy of remark that the people were informed three daijs before, ver. 9—11, that such an appearance was to take place; and this answered two excellent purposes: 1. They had time to sanctify and prepare themselves for this solemn transaction; and, 2. Those who might be skeptical had sufficient opportunity to make use of every precaution to prevent and detect an itnposture; so this previous warning strongly serves the cause of Divine revelation.
Their being at first prohibited from touching the mount on the most awful penalties, and secondly, being permitted to see manifestations of the Divine majesty, and hear the words of God, subserved the same great purposes. Their being prohibited in the first instance would naturally whet their curiosity, make them cautious of being deceived, and ultimately impress them with a due sense of God's justice and their own sinfulness; and their being permitted afterwards to go up to the mount, must have deepened the conviction that all was fair and real, that there could be no imposture in the case, and that though the justice and purity of God forbade them to draw nigh for a time, yet his mercy, which had prescribed the means of purification, had permitted an access to his presence.
20 And the Lord came down a.m. 2513.
upon Mount feinai, on the top 01 Au. Exod. Isr. 1. the mount: and the Lord called ^'^"^°' Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
21 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, "^ charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord ° to gaze, and many of them perish.
22 And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, p sanctify themselves, lest the Lord ^ break forth upon them.
The directions given from ver. 10 to 15 inclusive show, not only the holiness of God, but the purity he requires in his worshippers.
Besides, the whole scope and design of the chapter prove that no soul can possibly approach this holy and terrible Being but through a mediator; and this is the use made of this whole transaction by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, chap. xii. 18—24.
Averse 20. The Lord came down] This was undoubtedly done in a visible manner, that the people might witness the awful appearance. We may suppose that every thing was arranged thus: the glory of the Lord occupied the top of the mountain, and near to this Moses was permitted to approach. Aaron and the seventy elders were permitted to advance some way up the mountain, while the people were only permitted to come up to its base. Moses, as the lawgiver, was to receive the statutes and judgments from God's mouth; Aaron and the elders were to receive them from Moses, and deliver them to the people; and the people were to act according to the direction received. Nothing can be imagined more glorious, terrible, majestic, and impressive, than the whole of this transac tion; but it was chiefly calculated to impress deep reverence, religious fear, and sacred awe; and he who attempts to worship God uninfluenced by these, has neither a proper sense of the Divine majesty, nor of the sinfulness of sin. It seems in reference to this that the apostle says, Let us have grace tvherehy tee may serve God acceptably icith reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire; Heb. xii. 28, 29. Who then shall dare to approach him in his oicn name, and without a mediator?
Verse 22. Let the priests also — sanctify themselvesi That there were priests among the Hebrews before the consecration of Aaron and his sons, cannot be doubted; though their functions might be in a considerable measure suspended while under persecution in Egypt, yet the persons existed whose right and duty it was to offer sacrifices to God. Moses requested liberty from Pharaoh to go into the wilderness to sacrifice; and had there not been among the people both sacrifices and priests, the request itself must have appeared nugatory and absurd. Sacrifices from the beginning had constituted an essential part of the
^'''^"- up to Mount Sinai: for thou
24 And the Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up.
worship of God, and there certainly were priests whose business it was to offer them to God before the giving of the law; though this, for especial reasons, was restricted to Aaron and his sons after the law had been given. As sacrifices had not been offered for a considerable time, the priests themselves were considered in a state of impurity; and therefore God requires that they also should be purified for the purpose of approaching the mountain, and hearing their Maker promulgate his laws. See the note on chap, xxviii. 1.
Verse 23. The people cannot come up] Either because they had been so solemnly forbidden that they would not dare, with the penalty of instant death before their eyes, to transgress the Divine command; or the bounds which were set about the mount were such as rendered their passing them physically impossible.
And sanctify it.\ IHtyTpl vekiddashto. Here the word jyip kadash is taken in its proper literal sense, signifying the separating of a thing, person, or place, from all profane or common uses, and devoting it to sacred purposes.
Verse 24. Let not the priests and the people break through] God knew that they were heedless, criminally curious, and stupidly obstinate; and therefore his mercy saw it right to give them line upon line, that they might not transgress to their own destruction.
From the very solemn and awful manner in which the LAW was introduced, we may behold it as the ministration of terror and death, 2 Cor. iii. 7, appearing rather to exclude men from God than to bring them nigh; and from this we may learn that an approach to God would have been for ever impossible, had not infinite mercy found out the Gospel scheme of salvation. By this, and this alone, we draw nigh let not the priests and the peo- An. Exod. isr. 1. pie break through, to come up ^"'^"- unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon
25 So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.
to God; for we have an entrance into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, Heb. x. 19. " For," says the apostle, " ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire; nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and to the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more, (for they could not endure that which was commanded. And if so much as a beast touch the mountain it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: and so terrible was the sight that Mosea said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) but ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the first-born, which are WTitten in heaven; and to God, the Judge of all; and to the spirits of just men made perfect; and to Jesus the MEDIATOR of the NEW COVENANT; and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel;" Heb. xii. 18-24.
Reader, art thou still under the influence and condemning power of that fiery law which proceeded from his right hand 1 Art thou yet afar off? Remem ber, thou canst only come nigh by the blood of sprink ling; and till justified by his blood, thou art under the curse. Consider the terrible majesty of God. If thou have his favour thou hast life; if his frown, death. Be instantly reconciled to God, for though thou hast deeply sinned, and he is just, yet he is the justifier oi him that believeth in Christ Jesus. Believe on him, receive his salvation, obey his voice indeed, and keep his covenant, and then shalt thou be a king and a priest unto God and the Lamb, and be finally saved with all the power of an endless life. Amen
The preface to the ten commandments, I, 2. The rmsT commandment, against mental or theoretic idolatry, 3. The SECOND, against making and worshipping images, or practical idolatry, 4—6. The third, against false swearing, blasphemy, and irreverent use of the name of God, 7. The fourth, against profanation of the Sabbath, and idleness on the other days of the week, 8—11. The fifth, against disrespect and disobedience to parents, 12. The sixth, against murder and cruelty, 13. The seventh, against adultery and uncleanness, 14. The eighth, against stealing and dishonesty, 15. The ninth, against false testimony, perjury, &c., 16. The tenth, ao-a;«5fcovetousness, 17. The people are alarmed at the awful appearance of God on the mount, and stand afar off, 18. They pray that Moses may be mediator between God and them, 19. Moses encourages them, 20. He draws near to the thick darkness, and God communes with.'Jm, 21, 22. Farther directions against idolatry, 23. Directions concerning making an altar of earth 24; and an altar of heum stone, 25. None of these to be ascended by steps, and the reason given, 26
Verse 1. All these tvords] Houbigant supposes, and with great plausibility of reason, that the clause n'7Nn D'"l3in Sj nx elk col haddebarim haelleh, " all these words," belong to the latter part of the concludipg verse of chap, xix., which he thinks should be read thus: And Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them all these words; i. e., delivered the solemn charge relative to their not attempting to come up to that part of the mountain on which God manifested himself in his glorious majesty, lest he should break forth upon them and consume them. For how could Divine justice and purity suffer a people so defiled to stand in his immediate presence ] When Moses, therefore, had gone down and spoken all these words, and he and Aaron had reascended the mount, then the Divine Being, as supreme legislator, is majestically introduced thus: And God spake, saying. T!lk^ gives a dignity to the commencement of this chapter of which the clause above mentioned, if not referred to the speech of Moses, deprives it. The Anglo-Saxon favours this emendation: Irob rpjiaec &uj", God spoke thus, which is the whole of the first verse as it stands in that version.
Some learned men are of opinion that the ten commandments were delivered on May 30, being then the day of pentecost.
The laws delivered on Mount Sinai have been variously named. In Deut. iv. 13, they are called miy;' D'^^TH asereth haddebarim, the ten words. In the preceding chapter, ver. 5, God calls them "nna nx eth herithi, my covenant, i. e., the agreement he entered into with the people of Israel to take them for his peculiar people, if they took him for their God and portion. If ye xoill obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto me. And the word covenant here evidently refers to the laws given in this chapter, as is evident from Deut. iv. 13: And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten com.mand.ments. They have been also termed the moral law, because they contain and lay down rules for the regulation of the inanners or conduct of men. Sometimes they have been termed the law, r\-y\?<r\ hattorah, by way of eminence, as containing the grand system of spiritual instruction, direction, guidance, &c. See on the word law, chap. xii. 40. And frequently the decalogue, Ae/coAoyof, which is a literal translation into s Greek of the D'IDnn T\~\'L'y asereth haddebarim, or ten Vk'DRDS, of Moses.
3 ^ Thou shalt have no other gods before nae.
of theology, the true notions we should form of the Divine nature, the reverence we owe and the relioioua service we should render to him. The second, containing the six last commandments, and comprehending a complete system of ethics, or moral duties which man owes to his fellows, and on the due performance of which the order, peace, and happiness of societydepend. By this division, the first table contains our duty to God; the second our duty to our neighbour. This division, which is natural enough, refers us to the grand principle, love to God and love to man, through which both tables are observed. 1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength. 2. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two hang all the law and the prophets. See Matt. xxii. 37-40.
Verse 2. I a-m the IiORD thy God] yn^N mrf YeAovah eloheycha. On the word Jehovah, which we here translate Lord, see the notes on Gen. ii. 4, and Exod. vi. 3. And on the word Elohim, here translated God, see on Gen. i. 1. It is worthy of remark that each individual is addressed here, and not the people collectively, though they are all necessarily included; that each might feel that he was bound for himself to hear and do all these words. Moses laboured to impress this personal interest on the people's minds, when he said, Deut. v. 3, 4: " The Lord made this covenant with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day."
Brought thee out of the land of Egypt, t^c.] And by this very thing have proved myself to be superior to all gods, unlimited in power, and most gracious as well as fearful in operation. This is the preface or introduction, but should not be separated from the commandment. Therefore, —
Verse 3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.] D'lnx D'H/X elohim acherim, no strange gods — none that thou art not acquainted with, none who has not given thee such proofs of his power and godhead as I have done in delivering thee from the Egyptians, dividing the Red Sea, bringing water out of the rock, quails into the desert, manna from heaven to feed thee, and the pillar of cloud to direct, enlighten, and shield thee. By these miracles God had rendered himself familiar to them, they were intimately acquainted with the operation of his hands; and therefore with great propriety he says, Thou shalt have no strange gods before me; 'ja hy al panai, before or in the place of those jnanifestations which I have made of myself.
This commandment prohibits every species of mental idolatry, and all inordinate attachment to earthly and sensible things. As God is the fountain of happiness, and no intelligent creature can be happy but through him, whoever seeks happiness in the creatura
An. Exod. isr. 1. thee any graven image, or any ^^^'"^" hkeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
is necessarily an idolater; as he puts the creature in the place of the Creator, expecting that from the gratification of his passions, in the use or abuse of earthly things, which is to be found in God alone. The very first commandment of the whole series is divinely calculated to prevent man's misery and promote his happiness, by taking him off from all false dependence, and leading him to God himself, the fountain of all good.
Verse 4. Thou shall not make unto thee any graven tmage^ As the word 7D3 pasal signifies to hew, carve, grave. Sic, "^DS pesel may here signify any kind of image, either of toood, stone, or metal, on which the axe, the chisel, or the graving tool has been employed. This commandment includes in its prohibitions every species of idolatry known to have been practised among the Egyptians. The reader will see this the more plainly by consulting the notes on the ten plagues, particularly those on chap. xii.
Or any likeness, iSfC.'\ To know the full spirit and extent of this commandment, this place must be collated with Deut. iv. 15, &c.: Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves — lest ye corrupt yourselves — and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female. All who have even the slightest acquaintance with the ancient history of Egypt, know that Osiris and his wife Isis were supreme divinities among that people.
The likeness of any beast. — 710713 hehemah, such as the ox and the heifer. Among the Egyptians the ox was not only sacred but adored, because the}'' supposed that in one of these animals Osiris took up his residence: hence they always had a living ox, which they supposed to be the habitation of this deity; and they imagined that on the death of one he entered into the body of another, and so on successively. This famous ox-god they called Apis and Mnevis.
The likeness of any ivinged fowl. — The ibis, or stork, or crane, and hawk, may be here intended, for all these were objects of Egyptian idolatry.
The likeness of any thing that creepeth. — The crocodile, serpents, the scarabeus or beetle, were all objects of their adoration; and Mr. Bryant has rendered it very probable that even the frog itself was a sacred animal, as from its inflation it was emblematic of the prophetic influence, for they supposed that the god inflated or distended the body of the person by whom he gave oracular answers.
The likeness of any fish. — AWfish were esteemed sacred animals among the Egyptians. One called Oxurunchus had, according to Strabo, lib. xvii., a temple, and divine honours paid to it. Another fish, called
Phagrus, was worshipped at Syene, according to Clemens Alexandrinus in his Cohortatio. And the Lepidotus and eel were objects of their adoration, as we find from Herodotus, lib. ii., cap. 72. In short, oxeriy heifers, sheep, goats, lions, dogs, monkeys, and cats; the ibis, the crane, and the hawk; the crocodile, serpents, frogs, flies, and the scarabeus or beetle; the Nile and its fish; the sun, moon, planets, and stars; fire, light, air, darkness, and night, were all objects of Egyptian idolatry, and all included in this very circumstantial prohibition as detailed in Deuteronomy, and very forcibly in the general terms of the text: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. And the reason of this becomes self evident, when the various objects of Egyptian idolatry are considered.
To countenance its image worship, the Roman Catholic Church has left the whole of this second commandment out of the decalogue, and thus lost one whole commandment out.of the teJi; but to keep up the number they have divided the tenth into two. This is totally contrary to the faith of God's elect and to the acknowledgment of that truth which is according to godliness. The verse is found in every MS. of the Hebrew Pentateuch that has ever yet been discovered. It is in all the ancient versions, Samaritan, Chaldee, Syriac, Septuagint, Vulgate, Coptic, and Arabic; also in the Persian, and in all modern versions. There is not one word of the whole verse wanting in the many hundreds of MSS. collected by Kennicott and De Rossi. This corruption of the word of God by the Roman Catholic Church stamps it, as a false and heretical Church, with the deepest brand of ever-during infamy!
This commandment also prohibits every species of external idolatry, as the first does all idolatry that majr be called internal or mental. All false worship may be considered of this kind, together with all image worship, and all other superstitious rites and ceremonies. See the note on ver. 23.
Verse 5. Jealous God^ This shows in a most expressive manner the love of God to this people. He felt for them as the most affectionate husband could do for his spouse; and was jealous for their fidelity, because he willed their invariable happiness.
Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children] This necessarily implies — if the children walk in the steps of their fathers; for no man can be condemned by Divine justice for a crime of which he was never guilty; see Ezek. xviii. Idolatry is however particularly intended, and visiting sins of this kind refers principally to national judgments. By withdrawing
^ND God spake words, saying, 2 '' I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of
Verse 1. All these tvords] Houbigant supposes, and with great plausibility of reason, that the clause n7xn Dnjnn ^2 nx elk col haddebarim haelleh, " all these words," belong to the latter part of the concluding verse of chap, xix., which he thinks should be read thus: And Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them all these words; i. e., delivered the solemn charge relative to their not attempting to come up to that part of the mountain on which God manifested himself in his glorious majesty, lest he should break forth upon them and consume them. For how could Divine justice and purity suffer a people so defiled to stand in his immediate presence? When Moses, therefore, had gone down and spoken all these words, and he and Aaron had reascended the mount, then the Divine Being, as supreme legislator, is ma- __ jestically introduced thus; And God spake, saying. This- givea a dignity to the commencement of this chapter of which the clause above mentioned, if not referred to the speech of Moses, deprives it. The Anglo-Saxon favours this emendation: Irob rpn«c &ur, God spoke thus, which is the whole of the first verse as it stands in that version.
Some learned men are of opinion that the ten commandments were delivered on May 30, being then the day of pentecost.
The laws delivered on Mount Sinai have been variously named. In Deut. iv. 13, they are called niiy;' D^^^in asereth haddebarim, the ten words. In the preceding chapter, ver. 5, God calls them '^\'^^2 nx eth berithi, my covenant, i. e., the agreement he entered into with the people of Israel to take them for his peculiar people, if they took him for their God and portion. If ye loill obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto me. And the word covenant here evidently refers to the laivs given in this chapter, as is evident from Deut. iv. 13: And he declared unto you his covenant, ivhich he commanded you to perform, even ten com.mandments. They have been also termed the jnoral law, because they contain and lay down rules for the regulation of the inanners or conduct of men. Sometimes they have been termed the law, minn hattorah, by way of eminence, as containing the grand system of spiritual instruction, direction, guidance, &c. See on the word LAW, chap. xii. 49. And frequently the decalogue, Ae«a?.o70f, which is a literal translation into Greek of the D'lmn mr;' asereth haddebarim, or ten WORDS, of Moses.
3 « Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
of theology, the true notions we should form of the Divine nature, the reverence we owe and the religious service we should render to him. The SEcoND.^containing the six last commandments, and comprehending a complete system of ethics, or moral duties which man owes to his fellows, and on the due performance of which the order, peace, and happiness of societydepend. By this division, the first table contains our duty to God; the second our duty to our neighbour. This division, which is natural enough, refers us to the grand principle, love to God and love to man, through which both tables are observed. 1. Thou Shalt love the Lord thy God with aU thy heart, soul, mind, and strength. 2. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two hang all the law and the prophets. See Matt. xxii. 37-40.
the first commandment. Against mental or theoretic idolatry. Verse 2. lascithe Lord thy God] "j^hSn nm" Yehovah eloheycha. On the word Jehovah, which we here translate Lord, see the notes on Gen. ii. 4, and Exod. vi. 3. And on the word Elohim., here translated God, see on Gen. i. 1. It is worthy of remark that each individual is addressed here, and not the people collectively, though they are all necessarily included; that each might feel that he was bound for himself to hear and do all these words. Moses laboured to impress this personal interest on the people's minds, when he said, Deut. v. 3, 4: " The Lord made this covenant with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day." Brought thee out of the land of Egypt, d^c] And by this very thing have proved myself to be superior to all gods, unlimited in power, and most gracious as well as fearful in operation. This is the preface or introduction, but should not be separated from the commandment. Therefore, —
Verse 3. Thou shalt have no other gods before?ne.] D''inx D'ri/N elohim acherim, no strange gods — none that thou art not acquainted with, none who has not given thee such proofs of his power and godhead as I have done in delivering thee from the Egyptians, dividing the Red Sea, bringing water out of the rock, quails into the desert, manna from heaven to feed thee, and the pillar of cloud to direct, enlighten, and shield thee. By these miracles God had rendered himself familiar to them, they were intimately acquainted with the operation of his hands; and therefore with great propriety he says. Thou shalt have no strange gods before me; '33 7>' al panai, before or in the place of those 7nanifestations which I have made of myself.
This commandment prohibits every species of mental idolatry, and all inordinate attachment to earthly and sensible things. As God is the fountain of happiness, and no intelligent creature can be happy but through him, whoever seeks happiness in the creature
4 ^Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
is necessarily an idolater; as he puts the creature in the place of the Creator, expecting; that from the gratification of his passions, in the use or abuse of earthlythings, which is to be found in God alone. The very first commandment of the whole series is divinely calculated to prevent man's misery and promote his happiness, by taking him oif from all false dependence, and leading him to God himself, the fountain of all good.
Verse 4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven tmagel As the word SdS pasal signifies to hew, carve, grave, &c., '703 pesel may here signify any kind of image, either of xoood, stone, or metal, on which the axe, the chisel, or the graving tool has been employed. This commandment includes in its prohibitions every species of idolatry known to have been practised among the Egyptians. The reader will see this the more plainly by consulting the notes on the ten plagues, particularly those on chap. xii.
Or any likeness, <SfC.^ To know the full spirit and extent of this commandment, this place must be collated with Deut. iv. 15, &c.: Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves — lest ye corrupt yourselves — and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female. All who have even the slightest acquaintance with the ancient history of Egypt, know that Osiris and his wife Isis were supreme divinities among that people.
The likeness of any beast. — nrDHn behemah, such as the ox and the heifer. Among the Egyptians the ox was not only sacred but adored, because they supposed that in one of these animals Osiris took up his residence: hence they always had a living ox, which they supposed to be the habitation of this deity; and they imagined that on the death of one he entered into the body of another, and so on successively. This famous ox-god they called Apis and Mnevis.
The likeness of any ivinged fowl. — The ibis, or stork, or crane, and hawk, may be here intended, for all these were objects of Egyptian idolatry.
The likeness of any thing that creepeth. — The crocodile, serpents, the scarabeus or beetle, were all objects of their adoration; and Mr. Bryant has rendered it very probable that even the frog itself was a sacred animal, as from its inflation it was emblematic of the prophetic influence, for they supposed that the god inflated or distended the body of the person by whom he gave oracular answers.
The likeness of any fish. — All^^A were esteemed sacred animals among the Egyptians. One called Oxurunchus had, according to Strabo, lib. xvii., a temple, and divine honours paid to it. Another fish, called
5 ^ Thou shalt not bow down A. M. 2513. thyself to them, nor serve them: An. JExod. isr. 1 for I the Lord thy God am ^ d. ^'^^°- jealous God, Wisiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and
Phagrus, was worshipped at Syene, according to Clemens Alexandrinus in his Cohortatio. And the Lepidotus and eel were objects of their adoration, as we find from Herodotus, lib. ii., cap. 72. In short, oxen, heifers, sheep, goats, lions, dogs, monkeys, and cats; the ibis, the crane, and the hawk; the crocodile, serpents, frogs, flies, and the scarabeus or beetle; the Nile and its fish; the sun, moon, planets, and stars; fire, light, air, darkness, and night, were all objects of Egyptian idolatry, and all included in this very circumstantial prohibition as detailed in Deuteronomy, and very forcibly in the general terms of the text: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the watee under the earth. And the reason of this becomes self evident, when the various objects of Egyptian idolatry are considered.
To countenance its image worship, the Roman Catholic Church has left the whole of this second commandment out of the decalogue, and thus lost one whole commandment out.of the ten; but to keep up the number they have divided the tenth into two. This is totally contrary to the faith of God's elect and to the acknowledgment of that truth which is according to godliness. The verse is found in every MS. of the Hebrew Pentateuch that has ever yet been discovered. It is in all the ancient versions, Samaritan, Chaldee, Syriac, Septuagint, Vulgate, Coptic, and Arabic; also in the Persian, and in all modern versions. There is not one word of the whole verse wanting in the many hundreds of MSS. collected by Kennicott and De Rossi. This corruption of the word of God by the Roman Catholic Church stamps it, as a false and heretical Church, with the deepest brand of ever-during inflimy!
This commandment also prohibits every species of external idolatry, as the first does all idolatry that maybe called internal or mental. All false luorship may be considered of this kind, together with all image worship, and all other superstitious rites and ceremonies. See the note on ver. 23.
Verse 5. Jealous God"] This shows in a most expressive manner the love of God to this people. He felt for them as the most affectionate husband could do for his spouse; and was jealous for their fidelity, because he willed their invariable happiness.
Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children] This necessarily implies — if the children walk in the steps of their fathers; for no man can be condemned by Divine justice for a crime of which he was never guilty; see Ezek. xviii. Idolatry is however particularly intended, and visiting sins of this kind refers principally to national judgments. By withdrawing
14 " Thou shalt not commit adultery.
4. All lad dispositions which lead men to wish evil to, or meditate mischief against, one another; for, says the Scripture, He that hateth his brother in his heart is a murderer. 5. AW want of charitij to the helpless and distressed; for he who has it in his power to save the life of another by a timely application of succour, food, raiment, &c., and does not do it, and the life of the person either falls or is abridged on this account, is in the sight of God a murderer. He who neglects to save life is, according to an incontrovertible maxim in law, the SAME as he who takes it away. 6. All riot and excess, all drunkenness and gluttony, all inactivity and slothfulness, and all superstitious mollifications and self-denials, by which life may be destroyed or shortened; all these are point-blank sins against "^ tXisth commandment.
man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's.
Against adultery and uncleanness. Verse 14. Thou shalt not commit adultery.'] Adultery, as defined by our laws, is of two kinds; double, when between two married persons; single, when one of the parties is married, the other single. One principal part of the criminality of adultery consists in its injustice. 1. It robs a man of his right by taking from him the affection of his wife. 2. It does him a wrong by fathering on him and obliging him to maintain as his own a spurious offspring — a child which is not his. The act itself, and every thing leading to the act, is prohibited by this commandment; for our Lord says. Even he who looks on a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery luith her in his heart. And not only adultery (the unlawful commerce between two married persons) is forbidden here, but also fornication and all kinds of mental and sensual uncleanness. All impure books, songs, paintings, &c., which tend to inflame and debauch the mind, are against this law, as well as another species of impurity, for the account of which the reader is referred to the notes on Gen. xxxviii. at the end. That fornication •was included under this command we may gather from St. Matthew, XV. 19, where our Saviour expresses the sense of the different commandments by a ivord for each, and mentions them in the order in which they stand; but when he comes to the seventh he uses two words, fxoix^iai, nopveiai, to express its meaning, and then goes on to the eighth, &c.; thus evidently showing that fornication was understood to be comprehended under the command, " Thou shalt not commit adultery." As to the word adultery, adulterium, it has probably been derived from the words ad altcrius torum, to another's bed; for it is going to the bed of another man that constitutes the act and the crime. Adultery often meane idolatry in the worship of God.
Against stealing and dishonesty. Verse 15. Thou shalt not steal.] All rapine and theft are forbidden by this precept; as well national and commercial wrongs as petty larceny, highway robberies, and private stealing: even the taking advantage of a seller's or buyer's ignorance, to give the one less and make the other pay mo7-c for a commodity than its worth, is a breach of this sacred law. All luithholding of rights and doing of wrongs are against the spirit of it. But the word is principally applicable to clandestine stealing, though it may undoubtedly include all political injustice and private wrongs. And consequently all kidnapping, crimping, and slave-dealing are prohibited here, whether practised by individuals or by the state. Crimes are not lessened in their demerit by -,^, JLthe. number, or political importance of those who commit them. ~iA_^^aie that enacts bad laivs is as criminal before God as the individual who breaks good ones.
It has been supposed thaf under the eighth commandment, injuries done to characi&r, the depriving a man of his reputation or good name, are included; hence those words of one of our poets: — Good name in man or woman Is the immediate jewel of their souls. Who steals my purse steals trash; — But he that filches from me ray good name, Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed.
Against /a/5e testimony, perjury, &c. Verse 16. Thou shalt not bear false witness, Sfc] Not only false oaths, to deprive a man of his life or of his right, are here prohibited, but all ichispering, tale-bearing, slander, and calumny; in a word, whatever is deposed as a truth, which is false in fact, and tends to injure another in his goods, person, or character, is against the spirit and letter of this law. Suppressing the truth when known, by which a person may be defrauded of his property or his good name, or lie under injuries or disabilities which a discovery of the truth would have prevented, is also a crime against this law. He who bears a false testimony against or belies even the devil himself, comes under the curse of this law, because his testimony is false. By the term neighbour any human being is intended, whether he rank among our enemies or frie7jds.
Against covetouaness. Verse 17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour'' s house — wife, c^c] Covet signifies to desire or long after, in order to enjoy as a properly the person or
'^'^^' nings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain '' smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off:
19 And they said unto Moses, ° Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but "^ let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20 And Moses said unto the people, ^ Fear not: ^ for God is come to prove you, and ^ that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
thing coveted. He breaks this command who by any means endeavours to deprive a man of his house or farm by taking them over his head, as it is expressed in some countries; who lusts after his neighbour's wife, and endeavours to ingratiate himself into her affections, and to lessen her husband in her esteem; and who endeavours to possess himself of the servatils, cattle, &c., of another in any clandestine or unjustifiable manner. " This is a most excellent moral precept, the observance of which will prevent all public crimes; for he who feels the force of the law that prohibits the inordinate desire of any thing that is the property of another, can never make a breach in the peace of society by an act of wrong to any of even its feeblest members."
Verse 18. And all the people saw the ihunderings, cfc] They had witnessed all these awful things before, (see chap. xi.x. 16,) but here they seem to have been repeated; probably at the end of each command, there was a peal of thunder, a blast of the trumpet, and a gleam of lightning, to impress their hearts the more deeply with a due sense of the Divine Majesty, of the holiness of the law which was now delivered, and of the fearful consequences of disobedience. This had the desired effect; the people were impressed with a deep religious fear and a terror of God's judgments; acknowledged themselves perfectly satisfied with the discoveries God had made of himself; and requested that Moses might be constituted the mediatorhelween God and them, as they were not able to bear these tremendous discoveries of the Divine Majesty. " Speah thou loith us, and ive loill Hear; but let not God speak with us, lest ice die;''"' ver. 19. This teaches us the absolute necessity of that great Mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus, as no man can come unto the Father but by him.
Verse 20. And Moses said — Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces] The maxim contained in this verse is, Fear not, that ye may fear — do not fear with such a fear as brings consternation into the soul, and produces nothing but terror and confusion; but fear with that fear which reverence and f/ial affection inspire,
2 1 And the people stood afar off, A. M. 2513. and Moses drew near unto ^ the An. Exod. isr. 1 thick darkness, where God was. ^^''^■
22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shall say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you ' from heaven.
23 Ye shall not make ^ with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offer ings, and thy peace-offerings, ^ thy sheep and
that ye sin not — that, through the love and reverence ye feel to your Maker and Sovereign, ye may abstain from every appearance of evil, lest you should forfeit that love which is to you better than life. He who fears in the first sense can neither love nor obey; he who fears not in the latter sense is sure to fall under the first temptation that may occur. Blessed is the man tvho \.h.VLS feareth always.
Verse 22. / have talked with you from heaven.] Though God manifested himself by the fire, the lightning, the earthquake, the thick darkness, &c., yet the ten ivords, or commandmemts were probably uttered from the higher regions of the air, which would be an additional proof to the people that there was no imposture in this case; for though strange appearances and voices might be counterfeited on earth, as was often, no doubt, done by the magicians of Egypt; yet it would be utterly impossible to represent a voice, in a long continued series of instruction, as proceeding from heaven itself, or the higher regions of the atmosphere. This, with the earthquake and repeated thunders, (see on verse 18,) would put the reality of this whole procedure beyond all doubt; and this enabled Moses, Deut. v. 26, to make such an appeal to the people on a fact incontrovertible and of infinite importance, that God had indeed talked with them face to face.
Verse 23. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver] The expressions here are very remarkable. Before it was said. Ye shall have no other gods before me, "J3 S;.' al panai, ver. 3. Here they are commanded, ye shall not make gods of silver or gold 'HX itti with me, as emblems or representatives of God, in order, as might be pretended, to keep these displays of his magnificence in memory; on the contrary, he would have only an altar of earth — of plain turf, on which they should offer those sacrifices by which they should commemorate their own guilt and the necessity of an atonement to reconcile themselves to God. See the note on verse 4.
Verse 24. Thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings] The law concerning which was shortly to be given, though sacrifices of this kind were in use from the days of Abel.
for if thou lift up thy tool upon a. m. 2513.
25 And ° if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not p build it of hewn stone;
In all places where I record my name] Wherever I am worshipped, whether in the open wilderness, at the tabernacle, in the temple, the synagogues, or elsew? ere, I will come unto thee and bless thee. These words are precisely the same in signification with those of our Lord, Matt, xviii. 20: For lohere two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. And as it was JESUS Avho was the angel that spoke to them in the wilderness, Acts vii. 38, from the same mouth this promise in the law and that in the Gospel proceeded.
Verse 25. Thou shalt not build it of hewn stone] Because they were now in a wandering state, and had as yet no fixed residence; and therefore no time should be wasted to rear costly altars, which could not be trtllKpGi ted with them, and which they must soon leave. Besides, they must not lavish skill or expense on the construction of an altar; the altar of itself, whether costly or mean, was nothing in the worship; it was only the place on which the victim should be laid, and their mind must be attentively fixed on that God to whom the sacrifice was offered, and on the sacrifice itself, as that appointed by the Lord to make an atonement for their sins.
Verse 26. Neither shalt thou go up hy steps unto mine altar] The word altar comes from altus, high or elevated, though the Hebrew word n!3T?D mizbach, from nDT zabach, to slay, kill, &c., signifies merely a place for sacrifice; see Gen. viii. 20. But the heathens, who imitated the rites of the true God in their idolatrous worship, made their altars very high; whence they derived their name altaria, altars, i. e., very high or elevated places; which they built thus, partly through pride and vain glory, and partly that their gods might the better hear them. Hence also the high places or idolatrous altars so often and so severely condemned in the Holy Scriptures. The heathens made some of their altars excessively high; and some imagine that the pyramids were altars of this kind, and that the inspired writer refers to those in these prohibitions. God therefore ordered his altars to be made, 1. either of simple turf, that there might be no unnecessary expense, which, in their present circumstances, the people could not well afford; and that they might be no incentives to idolatry from their costly or curious structure; or 2. of unhewn stone, that no images of animals or of the celestial bodies might be sculptured on them, as was the case among the idolaters, and especially among the Egyptians, as several of their ancient altars which remain to the present day amply testify; which altars themselves, and the images carved on them, became in process of time incentives to idolatry, and even objects of worship. In short, God formed every part of his worship so that every
by steps unto mine altar, ^ that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
thing belonging to it might be as dissimilar as possible from that of the surrounding heathenish nations, and especially the Egyptians, from whose land they had just now departed. This seems to have been the whole design of those statutes on which many commentators have written so largely and learnedly, imagining difldculties where probably there are none. The altars of the tabernacle were of a different kind.
In this and the preceding chapter we have met with some of the most awful displays of the Divine Majesty; manifestations of justice and holiness which have no parallel, and can have none till that day arrive in which he shall appear in his glory, to judge the quick and the dead. The glory was truly ten-ible, and to the children of Israel insufferable; and yet how highly privileged to have God himself speaking to them from the midst of the fire, giving them statutes and judgments so righteous, so pure, so holy, and so truly excellent in their operation and their end, that they have been the admiration of all the wise and upright in all countries and ages of the world, where their voice has been heard! Mohammed defied all the poets and literati of Arabia to match the language of the Koran; and for purity, elegance, and dignity it bore away the palm, and remained unrivalled. This indeed was the only advantage which the work derived from its author; for its other excellences it was indebted to Moses and the prophets, to Christ and the apostles; as there is scarcely a pure, consistent, theologic notion in it, that has not been borrowed from our sacred books. Moses calls the attention of the people, not to the language in which these Divine laws were given, though that is all that it should be, and every way worthy of its author; compressed yet perspicuous; simple yet dignified; in short, such as God should speak if he wished his creatures to compreliend; but he calls their attention to the purity, righteousness, and usefulness of the grand revelation which they had just received. For lohat nation, says he, is there so great, tvho hath God so nigh unto them, as Jehovah our God is, in all things that ive call upon hitn for? And ivhat nation hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law tohich I set before you this day? And that which was the sum of all excellence in the present case was this, that the God who gave these laws dwelt among his people; to him they had continual access, and from him received that power without which obedience so extensive and so holy would have been impossible; and yet not one of these laws exacted more than eternal reason, the nature and fitness of things, the prosperity of the community, and the peace and happiness of the individual, required. The law is holy, and the
To show still more clearly the excellence and great utility of the ten commandments, and to correct some mistaken notions concerning them, it may be necessary to make a few additional observations. And 1. It is worthy of remark that there is none of these commandments, nor any part of one, which can fairly be considered as merely ceremonial. All are moral, and consequently of everlasting obligation. 2. When considered merely as to the letter, there is certainly no difficulty in the moral obedience required to them. Let every reader take tliem up one by one, and ask his conscience before God, which of them he is under a fatal and uncontrollable necessity to break? 3. Though by the incarnation and death of Christ all the ceremonial law which referred to him and his sacrifice is necessarily abrogated, yet, as none of these ten commandments reler to any thing properly ceremonial, therefore they are not abrogated. 4. Though Christ came into the world to redeem them who believe from the curse of the law, he did not redeem them from the necessity of walking in that newness of life which these commandments so strongly inculcate. 5. Though Christ is said to have fulfilled the law for us, yet it is nowhere intimated in the Scripture that he has so fulfilled these ten laws, as to exempt us from the necessity and privilege of being no idolaters, swearers, Sabbath-breakers, disobedient and cruel children, murderers, adulterers, thieves, and corrupt witnesses. All these commandments, it is true, he punctually fulfilled himself; and all these he writes on the heart of every soul redeemed by his blood. 6. Do not those who scruple not to insinuate that the proper observation of these laws is impossible in this life, and that eveiy man since the fall does daily break them in thought, word, and deed, bear false witness against God and his truth! and do they not greatly err, not knoiving the Scripture, which teaches the necessity of such obedience, nor the potoer of God, by which the evil principle of the heart is destroyed, and the law of purity written on the soul? If even the regenerate man, as some have unwarily asserted, does daily break these commands, these ten words, in thought, word, and deed, he may be as bad as Satan for aught we know; for Satan himself cannot transgress in more forms than these, for sin can be committed in no other way, either by bodied or disembodied spirits, than by thought, or word, or deed. Such sayings as these tend to destroy the distinction between good and evil, and leave the infidel and the believer on a par as to their moral state. The people of God should be careful how they use them. 7. It must be granted, and indeed has sufliciently appeared from the preceding exposition of these commandments, that they are not only to be understood in the letter but also in the spirit, and that therefore they may be broken in the heart while outwardly kept inviolate; yet this does not prove that a soul influenced by the grace and spirit of Christ cannot most conscientiously observe them; for the grace of the Gospel not only saves a man from outward but also from inward sin; for, says the heavenly messenger, his name shall be called Jesus, (i. e., Saviour,) because he shall save, (i. e., deliver) his people FROM their sins. Therefore the weakness or corruption of human nature forms no argument here, because the blood of Christ cleanses from all unrighteousness; and he saves to the uttermost all who come unto the Father through him. It is therefore readily granted that no man unassisted and uninfluenced by the grace of Christ can keep these commandments, either in the letter or in the spirit; but he who is truly converted to God, and has Christ dwelling in his heart by faith, can, in the letter and in the spirit, do all these things, because Christ strengthens him. — - Reader, the following is a good prayer, and oftentimes thou hast said it; now learn to pray it: " Lord, have
mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep these laws I Lord, have mercy upon us, and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee!" — Com Se'mice
Latos concerning servants. They shall serve for only seven years, 1,2. If a servant brought a wife to servitude with him, both should go out free on the seventh year, 3. If his master had given him a wife, and she bore him children, he might go out free on the seventh year, but his ivife and children must remain, as the property of the master, 4. If, through love to his master, wife, and children, he did not choose to avail himself of the privilege granted by the law, of going out free on the seventh year, his ear luas to be bored to the door post with an awl, as an emblem of his being attached to the family for ever, 5, 6. Laws concerning maid-servants, betrothed to their masters or to the sons of their masters, 7-11. Laws concerning battery and murder, 12-15. Concerning men-stealing, 16. Concerning him that curses his parents, 17. Of strife between man and man, 18, 19; between a master and his servants, 20, 21. Of injuries done to women in pregnancy, 22. The lex talionis, or law of like for like, 23-25. Of injuries done to servants, by which they gain the right of freedom, 26, 27. Laws concerning the ox which has gored men, 28-32. Of the pit left uncovered, into ivhich a man or a beast has fallen, 33, 34. Laws concerning the ox that kills another, 35, 36.
A. M. 2513. IVrOW these are tlie judgments An^ESodS. 1. which thou shall * set before
2 ''' If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3 If he came in •= by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters; the
Verse 1. Now these dixe the judgments] There is so much good sense, feeling, humanity, equity, and justice in the following laws, that they cannot but be admired by every intelligent reader; and they are so very plain as to require very little comment. The laws in this chapter are termed political, those in the succeeding chapter judicial, laws; and are supposed to have been delivered to Moses alone, in consequence of the request of the people, chap. xx. 19, that God should communicate his will to Moses, and that Moses should, as mediator, convey it to them.
Verse 2. If thou buy a Hebreiu servantl Calmet enumerates six diiferent ways in which a Hebrew might lose his liberty: 1. In extreme poverty they might sell their liberty. Lev. xxv. 39: If thy brother be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee, &c. 2. A father might sell his children. If a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant; see ver. 7. 3. Insolvent debtors became the slaves of their creditors. My husband is dead — and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen, 2 Kings iv. 1. 4. A thief, if he had not money to pay the fine laid on him by the law, was to be sold for his profit whom he had robbed. If he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft; chap. xxii. 3, 4. 5. A Hebrew was liable to be taken prisoner in war, and so sold for a slave. 6. A Hebrew slave who had been ransomed from a Gentile by a Hebrew might be sold by him who ransomed him, to one of his own nation.
Six years he shall serve] It was an excellent provision in these laws, that no man could finally injure himself by any rash, foolish, or precipitate act. No man could make himself a servant or slave for more than seven years; and if he mortgaged the family inheritance, it must return to the family at the jubilee, which returned every fiftieth year.
It is supposed that the term six years is to be understood as referring to the sabbatical years; for let a man come into servitude at whatever part of the interim between two sabbatical years, he could not be detained in bondage beyond a sabbatical year; so that if he fell into bondage the third year after a sabbatical year, he had but three years to serve; if the fifth, but one. See on chap, xxiii. 11, &c. Others suppose that this privilege belonged only to the year of jubilee, beyond which no man could be detained wife and her children shall be a. M. 2513. her master's, and he shall go An. Exod. isr. 1 out by himself. ^''^°-
5 "^ And if the servant ^ shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6 Then his master shall bring him unto the ^judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall ^ bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.
Verse 3. If he came in by himself] If he and his wife came in together, they were to go out together: in all respects as he entered, so should he go out. This consideration seems to have induced St. Jerome to translate the passage thus: Cum quali veste intraverat, cum tali exeat. " He shall have the same coat in going out, as he had when he came in;" i. e., if he came in with a new one, he shall go out with a new one, which was perfectly just, as the former coat must have been worn out in his master's service, and not his own.
Verse 4. The wife and her children shall be her master'' s] It was a law among the Hebrews, that if a Hebrew had children by a Canaanitish woman, those children must be considered as Canaanitish only, and might be sold and bought, and serve for ever. The law here refers to such a case only.
Verse 6. Shall bring him unto the judges] DTl /NH vX el haelohim, literally, to God; or, as the Septuagint have it, npog to KpiTrjpiov Qeov, to the judgment of God; who condescended to dwell among his people; who determined all their differences till he had given them laws for all cases, and who, by his omniscience, brought to light the hidden things of dishonesty. See chap. xxii. 8.
Bore his ear through with an awl] This was a ceremony sufficiently significant, as it implied, 1. That he was closely attached to that house and family. 2. That he was bound to hear all his master's orders, and to obey them punctually. Boring of the ear was an ancient custom in the east. It is referred to by Juvenal: —
Prior, inquit, ego adsum. Cur timeam, dubitemve locutn defendere? quamvts Natus ad Euphraten, molles quod in aure fenestb.* Arguerint, licet ipse negcm. Sat. i. 102.
" First come, first served, he cries; and I, in spite Of your great lordships, will maintain my right: Though born a.slave, though my torn ears are boreu, 'Tis not the birth, 'tis money makes the lord" Drvden.
Calmet quotes a saying from Petronius as attesting the same thing; and one from Cicero, in which he rallies a Libyan who pretended he did not hear him: " It is not," said he, " because your ears are not sufficiently bored;" alluding to his having been a slave
8 If she ^ please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no pow^er, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, ^ and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
1 1 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free, without money.
12 "» He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
1 3 And ° if a man lie not in wait, but God ° deliver him into his hand; then p I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
14 But if a man come i presumptuously
Verse 1. If a man sell his daughter] This the Jews allowed no man to do but in extreme distress — when he had no goods, either movable or immovable left, even to the clothes on his back; and he had this permission only while she was unmarriageable. It may appear at first view strange that such a law should have been given; but let it be remembered, that this servitude could extend, at the utmost, only to six years; and that it was nearly the same as in some cases of apprenticeship among us, where the parents hind the child for seven years, and have from the master so much per week during that period.
Verse 9. Betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her] He shall give her the same dowry he would give to one of his own daughters. From these laws we learn, that if a man's son married his servant, by his father's consent, the father was obliged to treat her in every respect as a daughter; and if the son married another woman, as it appears he might do, ver. 10, he was obliged to make no abatement in the privileges of the ^^r^Mvife, either in her food, raiment, or duty of marriage. The word nnj;? onathah, here, is the same with St. Paul's o<*>eLlofxevr}v cvvoiav, the marriage debt, and with the 6/xiXcav of the Septuagint, which signifies the cohabitation of man and ivife.
Verse 11. These three] 1. B-ex food, r\^■iW sheer ah, herJJesh, for she must not, like a common slave, be fed merely on vegetables. 2. Her raiment — her private wardrobe, with all occasional necessary additions. And, 3. The marriage debt — a due proportion of the husband's time and company. a upon his neighbour, to slay him a. m. 2513. with guile; ^ thou shalt take An. Exod. isr. 1. him from mine altar, that he ^^''^'^" may die.
15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
1 6 And * he that stealeth a man, and * selleth him, or if he be ^ found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
1 7 And "^ he that "" curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
18 And if men strive together, and one smite ^ another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
1 9 If he rise again, and walk abroad ^ upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for ' the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely ^ punished.
Verse 13. I ivill appoint thee a place ivhither he shall flee.] From the earliest times the nearest akin had a right to revenge the murder of his relation, and as this right was universally acknowledged, no law was ever made on the subject; but as this might be abused, and a person who had killed another accidentally, having had no previous malice against him, might be put to death by the avenger of blood, as the nearest kinsman was termed, therefore God provided the cities of refuge to which the accidental manslayer might flee till the affair was inquired into, and settled by the civil magistrate.
Verse 14. Thou shalt take him from mine altar] Before the cities of refuge were assigned, the altar of God was the common asylum.
Verse 15. That smiteth his father, or his mother] As such a case argued peculiar depravity, therefore no mercy was to be shown to the culprit.
Verse 16. He that stealeth a man] By this law every man-stealer, and every receiver of the stolen person, should lose his life; no matter whether the latter stole the man himself, or gaA^e money to a slave captain or negro-dealer to steal him for him.
Verse 19. Shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.] This was a wise and excellent institution, and most courts of justice still regulate their decisions on such cases by this Mosaic precept.
Verse 21. If the slave who had been beaten by his master died under his hand, the master was punished with death; see Gen. ix. 5, 6. But if he survived
woman with child, so that her fruit depart fro?7i her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall "^ pay as the judges determine.
23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24 ^ Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
27 And if he smite out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
the beating a day or tioo the master was not punished, because it might be presumed that the man died through some other cause. And all penal laws should be construed as favourably as possible to the accused.
Verse 22. And hurt a ivoman ivilh child] As a ■posterity among the Jews was among the peculiar promises of their covenant, and as every man had some reason to think that the Messiah should spring from his family, therefore any injury done to a woman with child, by which the fruit of her womb might be destroyed, was considered a very heavy offence; and as the crime was committed principally against the husband, the degree of punishment was left to his discretion. But if mischief followed, that is, if the child had been fully formed, and was killed by this means, or the woman lost her life in consequence, then the punishment was as in other cases of murder — the person was put to death; ver. 23.
Verse 24. Eye for eye] This is the earliest account we have of the lex talionis, or law of like for like, which afterwards prevailed among the Greeks and Romans. Among the latter, it constituted a part of the twelve tables, so famous in antiquity; but the punishment was afterwards changed to a pecuniary fine, to be levied at the discretion of the praetor. It prevails less or more in most civilized countries, and is fully acted upon in the canon law, in reference to all calumniators: Calumniator, si in accusatione defecerit, talionem recipiat. " If the calumniator fail in the proof of his accusation, let him suffer the same punishment which he wished to have inflicted upon the man whom he falsely accused." Nothing, however, of this kind was left to private revenge; the magistrate awarded the punishment when the fact was proved, otherwise the lex talionis would have utterly destroyed the peace of society, and have sown the seeds of hatred, revenge, and all uncharitableness.
28 If an ox gore a man or a a. m. 2513. woman, that they die: then « the An. Exod. Isr. ox shall be surely stoned, and his ^^^^"-
flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
29 But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
30 If there be laid on him a sum of money, then shall he give for ^ the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
3 1 Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
32 If the ox shall push a man-servant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master ^ thirty shekels of silver, and the ^ ox shall be stoned.
Verse 27. If he smite out his — tooth] It was a noble law that obliged the unmerciful slave-holder to set the slave at liberty whose eye or tooth he had knocked out. If this did not teach them humanity, it taught them caution, as one rash blow might have deprived them of all right to the future services of the slave; and thus self-interest obliged them to be cautious and circumspect.
Verse 28. If an ox gore a inan] It is more likely that a bull is here intended, as the word signifies both, see chap. xxii. 1; and the Septuagint translate the "SWif shor of the original by ravpog, a bull. Mischief of this kind was provided against by most nations. It appears that the Romans twisted hay about the horns of their dangerous cattle, that people seeing it might shun them; hence that saying of Horace, Sat., lib. i., sat. 4, ver. 34: Fcenum habet in cornu, longefuge. " He has hay on his horns; fly for life!" The laws of the twelve tables ordered. That the owner of the beast should pay for what damages he committed, or deliver him to the person injured. See on chap. xxii. 1.
His flesh shall not be eaten] This served to keep up a due detestation of murder, whether committed by man or beast; and at the same time punished the man as far as possible, by the total loss of the beast.
Verse 30. If there he laid on him a sum of money — the ransom of his life] So it appears that, though by the law he forfeited his life, yet this might be commuted for a pecuniary mulct, at which the life of the deceased might be valued by the magistrates.
Verse 32. Thirty shekels] Each worth about three shillings English; see Gen. xx. 16; xxiii.l5. So, counting the shekel at its utmost value, the life of a slave was valued dit four pounds ten shillings. And at this price these same vile people valued the life of our blessed a
34 The owner of the pit shall make it good, a7id give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
35 And if one man's ox hurt another's, that
Lord; see Zech. xi. 12, 13; Matt. xxvi. 15. And in return, the justice of God has ordered it so, that they have been sold for slaves into every country of the universe. And yet, strange to tell, they see not \he hand of God in so visible a retribution!
Yerse 33. And if a man shall open a pit, or — dig a pit] That is, if a man shall open a luell or cistern that had been before closed up, or dig a new one; for these two cases are plainly intimated: and if he did this in some public place where there was danger that men or cattle might fall into it; for a man might do as he pleased in his oivn grounds, as those were his private right. In the above case, if he had neglected lo cover the pit, and his neighbour's ox or ass was killed by falling into it, he was to pay its value in money. The 33d and 34th verses seem to be out of their places. They probably should conclude the chap- he die; then they shall sell the a. m 2513. live ox, and divide the money of An. Exod. isr. 1 it; and the dead ox also they ^"'^"-
36 Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him. in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own,
ter, as, where they are, they interrupt the statutes concerning the goring ox, which begin at verse 28.
These different regulations are as remarkable for their justice and prudence as for their humanity. Their great tendency is to show the valuableness of human life, and the necessity of having peace and good understanding in every neighbourhood; and they possess that quality which should be the object of all good and wholesome laws — the prevention of crimes. Most criminal codes of jurisprudence seem more intent on the punishment of crimes than on preventing the commission of them. The law of God always teaches and ivarns, that his creatures may not fall into condemnation; for judgment is his strange work, i. e., one reluctantly and seldom executed, as this text is frequently understood.
Laws concerning theft, 1-4; concerning trespass, 5; concerning casualties, 6. Latos concerning deposits, or goods left in custody of others, ivhich may have been lost, stolen, or damaged, 7-13. Laws concerning things borrowed or let out on hire, 14, 15. Laivs concerning seAncXion, 16, 17. Laivs concerning -w'lXchcraft, 18; bestiality, 19; idolatry, 20. Laws concerning strangers, 21; concerning widows, 22-24; lending money to /Ae poor, 25; concerning pledges, 26; concerning respect io magistrates, 28; concerning the first ripe fruits, and the first-born of man and beast, 29, 30. Directions concerning carcasses found torn in the field, 31.
a =" sheep, and kill it, or sell he shall restore five oxen for
Verse I. If a man shall steal] This chapter consists chiefly of judicial laws, as the preceding chapter does of political; and in it the same good sense, and well-marked attention to the welfare of the community and the moral improvement of each individual, are equally evident.
In our translation of this verse, by rendering different Hebrew words by the same term in English, we have greatly obscured the sense. I shall produce the verse with the original words which I think improperly translated, because one English term is used for two Hebrew words, which in this place certainly do not mean the same thing. If a man shall steal an 9x (ma? shor) or a sheep, (nty seh,) and Ml it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen (1p3 ba/car) for an ox, ("^W shor,) and four sheep ({NY tson) for a sheep (HK' seh.) I think it must appear evident that the sacred writer did not intend that these words should be understood as above. A shor certainly is different from a bakar, and a seh from a tson. Where the difference in every case lies, wherever these words occur, it is difficult to say. The shor and the bakar are doubtless creatures of the beeve kind, and are used in different parts of the sacred writings to signify the bull, the ox, the heifer, the steer, and the calf. The seh and the tson are used to signify the ram, the wether, the ewe, the lamb, the he-goat, the she-goat, and the kid. And the latter word |t<i* tson seems frequently to signify the flock, composed of either of these lesser cattle, or both sorts conjoined.
As niiy shor is used, Job xxi. 10, for a bull, probably it may mean so here. If a man steal a bull he shah give five oxen /or him, which we may presume was
A. M. 2513. ing up, and be smitten that he An. Exod. Isr. 1. die, there shall "^ no blood be
f 3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be ^ sold for his theft.
4 If the theft be certainly ''found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall ^ restore double.
5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
no more thaa his real value, as very few bulls could be kept in a country destitute of horses, where oxen were so necessary to till the ground. For though some have imagined that there were no castrated cattle among the Jews, yet this cannot be admitted on the above reason; for as they had no horses, and bulls would have been unmanageable and dangerous, they must have had oxen for the purposes of agriculture. Tson |>{!f is used for a flock cither of sheep or goats, and seh T\lif for an individual of either species. For every seh, four, taken indifferently from the tson or flock, must be given; i. e., a sheep stolen might be recompensed with four out of the flock, whether of sheep or goats: so that a goat might be compensated with four sheep, or a sheep with four goats.
\^erse 2. If a thief be found] If a thief was found breaking into a house in the night season, he might be killed; but not if the sun had risen, for then he might be known and taken, and the restitution made which is mentioned in the succeeding verse. So by the law of England it is a burglary to break and enter a house by night; and " anciently the daj/ was accounted to begin only from sunrising, and to end immediately upon sunset: but it is now generally agreed that if there be daylight enough begun or left, either by tlie light of the sun or twilight, whereby the countenance of a person may reasonably be discerned, it is no burglary; but that this does not extend to moonlight, for then many midnight burglaries would go unpunished. And besides, the malignity of the offence does not so properly arise, as Mr. Justice Blachstone observes, from its being done in the dark, as at the dead of night, when all tlie creation except beasts of prey are at rest; when sleep has disarmed the owner, and rendered his castle defenceless." — EasCs Pleas of the Crown, vol. ii., p. 509.
Verse 4. He shall restore double.'] In no case of theft was the life of the offender taken away; the utmost that the law says on this point is, that, if when found breaking into a house, he should be smitten so t^Jo die, no blood should be shed for him; ver. 2.
6 If fire break out, and catch A. M. 2513. in thorns, so that the stacks of An.'Exod.isr."i.
7 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; ^ if the thief be found, let him pay double.
8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the ' judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.
9 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for
restore four 01- fivefold, \er. 1; but if the animal was found alive in his possession, he was to restore double.
Verse 6. If fire break out] Mr. Harmer observes that it is a common custom in the east to set the dry herbage on fire before the autumnal rains, wluch fires, for want of care, often do great damage: and in countries where gi-eat drought prevails, and the herbage is generally parched, great caution was peculiarly necessary; and a law to guard against such evils, and to punish inattention and neglect, was highly expedient. See Harmer''s Observat., vol. iii., p. 310, &c.
Verse 7. Deliver unto his neighbour] This is called pledging in the law of bailments; it is a deposit of goods by a debtor to his creditor, to be kept till the debt be discharged. Whatever goods were thus left in the hands of another person, that person, according to the Mosaic law, became responsible for them; if they were stolen, and the thief was found, he was to pay double; if he could not be found, the oath of the person who had them in keeping, made before the magistrates, that he knew nothing of them, was considered a full acquittance. Among the Romans, if goods were lost which a man had intrusted to his neighbour, the depositary was obliged to pay their full value. But if a man had been driven by necessity, as in case of fire, to lodge liis goods with one of his neighbours, and the goods were lost, the depositary was obliged to pay double their value, because of his unfaithfulness in a case of such distress, where his dishonesty, connected with the destruction by the fire, had completed the ruin of the sufferer. To this case the following law is applicable: Cum quisfidem elegit, nee depositum redditur, contentus esse debet simplo: cum vero extante necessitate deponat, crescit perfidies, crimen, &c. — Digest., lib. xvi., tit. 3, 1. 1.
Verse 9. Challengeth to be his] It was necessary that such a matter should come before the judges, because the person in whose possession the goods were found might have had them by a fair and honest purchase; and, by sifting the business, the thief might be
An. Exod. Isr! 1. another challengeth to be his, the ^'''^"" ^ cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.
10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:
1 1 Then shall an ^ oath of the Lord be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
12 And ""if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.
let mm bring it /or witness, and An. Exod. Isr. 1. he shall not make good that ^''''"'- which was torn.
14 And if a man borrow aught of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.
1 5 But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be a hired thing, it came for his hire.
1 6 And "^ if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.
17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall ° pay money, according to the P dowry of virgins.
18 1 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Verse 1 1. An oalh of the Lord he between the)ri\ So solemn and awful were all appeals to God considered in those ancient times, that it was taken for granted that the man was innocent who could by an oath appeal to the omniscient God that he had not put his hand to his neighbour's goods. Since oaths have become midtiplied, and since they have been administered on the most trifling occasions, their solemnity is gone, and their importance little regarded. Should the oath ever reacquire its \veight and importance, it must be when administered only in cases of peculiar delicacy and difficulty, and as sparingly as in the days of Moses.
Verse 13. If it be torn in pieces — let him bring it for witness^ Rather, Let him bring r\i^^^^v^ 1^' edhatterephah, a testimony/ or evidetice of the torn thing, such as the horns, hoofs, &c. This is still a law in some countries among graziers: if a horse, cow, sheep, or goat, intrusted to them, be lost, and the keeper asserts it was devoured by dogs, &c., the law obliges him to produce the ho7-ns and hoofs, because on these the owner's mark is generally found. If these can be produced, the keeper is acquitted by the law. The ear is often the place marked, but this is not absolutely required, because a ravenous beast may eat the ear as well as any other part, but he cannot eat the horns or the hoofs. It seems however that in after times two of the legs and the ear were required as evidences to acquit the shepherd of all guilt. See Amos iii. 12.
Verse 16. If a man entice a maid] This was an exceedingly wise and humane law, and must have operated powerfully against seduction and fornication; because the person who might feel inclined to take the advantage of a young woman knew that he must marry her, and give her a dowry, if her parents consented; and if they did not consent that their daughter should wed her seducer, in this case he was obliged to give her the full dowry which could have been demanded had she been still a virgin. According to the Targumist here, and to Deut. xxii. 29, the dowry was fifty shekels of silver, which the seducer was to pay to her father, and he was obliged to take her to wife; nor had he authority, according to the Jewish canons, ever to put her away by a hill of divorce. This one consideration was a powerful curb on disorderly pas sions, and must tend greatly to render marriages re spectable, and prevent all crimes of this nature.
Verse 18. Thou shalt not suffer aivitch to live.] If there had been no ivitches, such a law as this had never been made. The existence of the law, given under the direction of the Spirit of God, proves the existence of the thi?ig. It has been doubted whether n£3tiOa mecashshephah, which we translate loitch, really means a person who practised divination or sorcery by spiritual or infernal agency. Whether the persons thus denominated only pretended to have an art which had no existence, or whether they really possessed the power commonly attributed to them, are questions which it would be improper to discuss at length in a work of this kind; but that witches, wizards, those loho dealt with familiar spirits, &c., are represented in the sacred writings as actually possessing a power to evoke the dead, to perform sujiernatural operations, and to discover hidden or secret things by spells, charms, incantations, &c., is evident to every unprejudiced reader of the Bible. Of Manasseh it is said: He caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times [pU'1 veonen, he used divination by clouds] and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, ['WD^ vechishsheph,] and dealt ivith a familiar spirit, [31N Hii'j.'l veasah oh, performed a variety of operations by means of what was afterwards called the Ttvevfia Trvduvog, the spirit of Python,] and with wizards, ['J1>n' yiddeoni, the tuise or knoiving ones;] and he ivrought much evil vi the sight of the Lord; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 6. It is very likely that the Hebrew f]^3 cashaph, and the Arabic CJL&T cashafa, had originally the same meaning, to
20 ' He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
21 ' Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land
22 "* Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
bare or naked; and «!!» viLy»\X-o mecashefat is used to signify commerce with God. See Wilmet and Giggeius. The mecashshephah or ivitch, therefore, was probably a person who professed to reveal hidden mysteries, by commerce with God, or the invisible:iv07-ld.
From the severity of this law against witches, &c., we may see in what light these were viewed by Divine justice. They were seducers of the people from their allegiance to God, on whose judgment alone they should depend; and by impiously prying into futurity, assumed an attribute of God, the foretelling of future events, which implied in itself the grossest blasphemy, and tended to corrupt the minds of the people, by leading them away from God and the revelation he had made of himself. Many of the Israelites had, no doubt, learned these curious arts from their long residence with the Egyptians; and so much were the Israelites attached to them, that we find such arts in repute among them, and various practices of this kind prevailed through the whole of the Jewish history, notwithstanding the offence was capital, and in all cases punished with death.
Verse 19. Lieth with a beast] If this most abominable crime had not been common, it never would have been mentioned in a sacred code of laws. It is very likely that it was an Egyptian practice; and it is certain, from an account in Sonnini's Travels, that it is practised in Egypt to the present day.
Verse 20. Utterly destroyed.} The word Din cherem denotes a thing utterly and finally separated from God and devoted to destruction, without the possibility of redemption.
A''erse 21. Thou shalt neither I'cx a stranger, nor oppress hint] This was not only a very humane law, but it was also the offspring of a sound policy: " Do not vex a stranger; remember ye were strangers. Do not oppress a stranger; remember ye were oppressed. Therefore do unto all men as ye would they should do to you." It was the produce of a sound policy: " Let strangers be well treated among you, and many will come to take refuge among you, and thus tlie strength of your country will be increased. If refugees of this kind be treated well, they will become
23 If thou afflict them m any A. M. 2513.
Wise, and they ^ cry at all unto An. Exod.isr. 1. me, I will surely ^ hear their cry; ^"'°""
24 And my ' wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and ^ your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
25 ^ If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as a usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
proselytes to your religion, and thus their souls may be saved." In every point of view, therefore, justice, humanity, sound policy, and religion, say. Neither vex nor oppress a strayiger.
Verse 22. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.'] It is remarkable that offences against this law are not left to the discretion of the judges to be punished; God reserves the punishment to himself, and by this he strongly shows his abhorrence of the crime. It is no common crime, and shall not be pu-^ nished in a common way; the wrath of God shall ivax hot against him who in any wise afliicts or wrongs a ividow or s. fatherless child: and we may rest assured that he who helps either does a service highly acceptable in the sight of God.
Verse 25. Neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.] yai neshech, from nashach, to bite, cut, or pierce with the teeth; biting usury. So the Latins call it usura
vorax, devouring usury. " The increase of usury is called "Ityj neshech, because it resembles the biting of a serpent; for as this is so small as scarcely to be perceptible at first, but the venom soon spreads and diffuses itself till it reaches tho vitals, so the increase of usury, which at first is not perceived nor felt, at length grows so much as by degrees to devour another's substance." — Leigh.
It is evident that what is here said must be understood of accumulated usury, or what we call compound interest only; and accordingly "[Wl neshech is mentioned with and distinguished from n'D"\n tarbith and n'310 marbith, interest or simple interest. Lev. xxv. 36, 37; Prov. xxviii. 8; Ezek. xviii. 8, 13, 17, and xxii. 12. — Parkhurst.
Perhaps usury may be more properly defined unlaivful interest, receiving more for the loan of money than it is really worth, and more than the law allows. It is a wise regulation in the laws of England, that if a man be convicted of usury — taking unlawful interest, the bond or security is rendered void, and he forfeits treble the sum borrowed. Against such an oppressive practice the wisdom of God saw it essentially necessary to make a law to prevent a people, who were naturally what our Lord calls the Pharisees, (jiilapyvpoi, lovers of money, (Luke xvi. 14,) from oppressing each other; and who, notwithstanding the
27 For that is his covering only, it is his
raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep?
law in the text, practise usury in all places of their dispersion to the present day.
Verse 26. If thou — take thy neighhour''s raiment to pledge] It seems strange that any pledge should be taken which must be so speedily restored; but it is very likely that the pledge was restored by night only, and that he who pledged it brought it back to his creditor next morning. The opinion of the rabbins is, that whatever a man needed for the support of life, he had the use of it when absolutely necessary, though it was pledged. Thus he had the use of his working tools by day, but he brought them to his creditor in the evening. His hyke, which serves an Arab as a plaid does a Highlander, (see it described chap. xii. 34,) was probably the raiment here referred to: it is a sort of coarse blanket, about six yards long, and five or six feet broad, which an Arab always carries with him, and on which he sleeps at night, it being his only substitute for a bed. As the fashions in the east scarcely ever change, it is very likely that the raiment of the Israelites was precisely the same with that of the modern Arabs, who live in the very same desert in which the Hebrews were when this law was given. How necessary it was to restore the hyke to a poor man before the going down of the sun, that he might have something to repose on, will appear evident from the above considerations. At the same time, the returning it daily to the creditor was a continual acknowledgment of the debt, and served instead of a written acknowledgment or bond; as we may rest assured that writing, if practised at all before the giving of the law, was not common: but it is most likely that it did not exist.
Verse 28. Thou shalt not revile the gods] Most commentators believe that the word gods here means magistrates. The original is Q'nbx Elohim, and should be understood of the true God only: Thou shalt not blaspheme or make light of \hhpr\ tekallel] God, the fountain of justice and power, nor curse the ruler of thy people, who derives his authority from God. We shall ever find that he who despises a good civil government, and is disaffected to that under which he lives, is one who has little fear of God before his eyes. The spirit of disaffection and sedition is ever opposed to the religion of the Bible. When those who have been pious get under the spirit of misrule, they infallibly get shorn of their spiritual strength, and become like salt that has lost its savour. He who can indulge himself in speaking evil of the civil ruler, will soon learn to blaspheme God. The highest authority says, Fear God: honour the king.
28 ^ Thou shalt not revile the ® gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
29 Thou shalt not delay to offer ^ the ^ first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy ^ liquors: ' the first-born of thy sons shalt thou give unto me
Verse 29. The first of thy ripe fruits] This offering was a public acknowledgment of the bounty and goodness of God, who had given them their proper seed time, the first and the latter rain, and the appointed weeks of harvest.
From the practice of the people of God the heathens borrowed a similar one, founded on the same reason. The following passage from Censorinus, De Die Natali, is beautiful, and worthy of the deepest attention: —
Illi enim {majores nostri) qui alimenta, patriam, lucem, se denique ipsos deorum dono habebant, ex omnibus aliquid diis sacrabant, magis adeo, ut se gratos approbarent, quam quod deos arbitrarentur hoc indigere. Itaque cum perceperant fruges, antequam vescerentur, Diis libare inslittcerunt: et cum agros atque urbes, deorum munera, possiderent, partem quandam templis sacellisque, ubi eos colereni, dicavere.
" Our ancestors, who held their food, their country the light, and all that they possessed, from the bounty of the gods, consecrated to them a part of all theii property, rather as a token of their gratitude, than from a conviction that the gods needed any thing. Therefore as soon as the harvest was got in, before they had tasted of the fruits, they appointed libations to be made to the gods. And as they held their fields and cities as gifts from their gods, thej— consecrated a certain part for temples and shrines, where they migh worship them.-'
Pliny is express on the same point, who attests that the Romans never tasted either their new corn oi wine, till the priests had offered the first-fruits to the gods. Ac ne degustabant quidem, novas fruges aut vina, antequam sacerdotes pri.mitias libassent. — Hist. Nat., lib. xviii., c. 2.
Horace bears the same testimony, and shows that his countrymen offered, not only their first-fruits, but the choicest of all their fruits, to the Lares or household gods; and he shows also the wickedness of those who sent these as presents to the rich, before the gods had been thus honoured: —
Dulcia poma, Et quoscumque feret cultus tibi fundus honores Ante harem gustet venerabilior hare dives. Sat., lib. ii., s. v., ver. 13 " What your garden yields, The choicest honours of your cultured fields. To him be sacrificed, and let him taste, Before your gods, the vegetable feast." Dunkin. And to the same purpose Tibullus, in one of the most beautiful of his elegies: —
An. Exod. Isr. 1. With tliuie oxen, and with thy ^^'''^"" sheep: ' seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.
Et quodcutnque mihi pomum novus educat annus,
Libatum agricolcB ponitur ante deo. Flava Ceres, tibi sit nostra de riire corona
Spicea, qucB lempli pendeat ante fores.
"My gxaXei\x\ fruits, the earliest of the year, Before the rural god shall daily wait..From Ceres' gifts I '11 cull each browner ear, And hang a whcaten wreath before her gate."
The same subject he touches again in the fifth elegy of the same book, where he specifies the different offerings made for the produce of the fields, of the flocks, and of the vine, vex. 27: —
Ilia deo sciet agy'icolce pro vitibus uvam. Pro segete spicas, pro grege ferre dapem.
•' With pious care will load each rural shrine, For ripen\l crops a golden sheaf assign, Cates for my fold, rich clusters for my ivine." Id. — See Calmet.
The rejoicings at our harvest-home are distorted remains of that gratitude which our ancestors, with all the primitive inhabitants of the earth, expressed to God with appropriate signs and ceremonies. Is it not possible to restore, in some goodly form, a custom so pure, so edifying, and so becoming 1 There is a laudable cu.stom, observed by some pious people, of dedicating a new house to God by prayer, &c., which cannot be too highly commended.
Verse 30. Seven days it shall be luith his dam] For the mothcr''s health it was necessary that the young one should suck so long; and prior to this time the process of nutrition in a young animal can scarcely be
beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the doffs.
considered as completely formed. Among the Romans lambs were not considered as pure or clean before the eighth day; nor calves before the thirtieth: Pecoris fcetus die octavo purus est, bovis trigesimo. — Plin. Hist. Nat., lib. viii.
Verse 31. Neither shall ye eat — -fesh — torn of beasts in the field] This has been supposed to be an ordinance against eating flesh cut off the animal while alive, and so the Syriac seems to have understood it. If we can credit Mr. Bruce, this is a frequent custom in Abyssinia; but human nature revolts from it. The reason of the prohibition against eating the flesh of animals that had been torn, or as we term it worried in the field, appears to have been simply this: That the people might not eat the blood, which in this case must be coagulated in the flesh; and the blood, being the life of the beast, and emblematical of the blood of the covenant, was ever to be held sacred, and was prohibited from the days of Noah. See on Gen. ix. 4.
In the conclusion of this chapter we see the grand reason of all the ordinances and laws which it contains. No command was issued merely from the sovereignty of God. He gave them to the people as restraints on disorderly passions, and incentives to holiness; and hence he says. Ye shall be holy men unto me. Mere outward services could neither please him nor profit them; for from the very beginning of the world the end of the commandment was love out of a pure heart and good conscience, and faith unfeigned, 1 Tim. i. 5, And without these accompaniments no set of religious duties, however punctually performed, could be pleasing in the sight of that God who seeks truth in the inward parts, and in whose eyes the faith that worketh by love is alone valuable. A holy heart and a holy, useful life God invariably requires in all his worshippers. Reader, how standest thou in his sight %
Laws against evil-speaking, 1. Against bad company, 2. Against partiality, 3. Laivs commanding acts of kindness and humanity, 4, 5. Against oppression, 6. Against unrighteous decisions, 7. Against bribery and corruption, 8. Against unkindness to strangers, 9. The ordinance concerning the Sabbatical year, 10, II. The Sabbath a day of rest, 12. General directions concerning circumcision, <^c., 13. The three annual festivals, 14. The feast o/ unleavened bread, 15. The feast of harvest, and the feast of ingathering, IG. All the jnales to appear before God thrice in a year, 17. Different ordinances — no blood to be offered with leavened bread — no fat to he left till the next day — the first fruits to he brought to the house of God — and a kid not to be seethed in its mother^s milk, 18, 19. Description of the Angel of God, ivho ivas to lead the people into the promised land, and drive out the Amorites, 6fC., 20-23. Idolatry to be avoided, and the images of idols destroyed, 24. Different promises to obedience, 26-27. Hornets shall be sent to drive out the Canaanites, <}fc., 28. The ancient inhabitants to be driven out by little and little, and the reason ivhy, 29, 30. The boundaries of the promised land, 31. No league or covenant to