15 The "^rich shall not ^ give more, and the poor shall not ^ give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an ^ atonement for your souls.
16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and ^ shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be ^ a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.
was ordered to give as a ransom for his soul (i. e.,for his life) half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. From this we may learn, 1. That the life of every man was considered as being forfeited to Divine justice. 2. That the redemption money given, which was doubtless used in the service of the sanctuary, was ultimately devoted to the use and profit of those who gave it. 3. That the standard by which the value of coin was ascertained, was kept in the sanctuary; for this appears to be the meaning of the words, after the shekel of the sanctuary. 4. The shekel is here said to be twenty gerahs. A gerah, according to Maimonides, weighed sixteen barleycorns, a shekel three hundred and twenty of pure silver. The shekel is generally considered to be equal in value to three shillings English; the redemption money, therefore, must be about one shilling and sixpence. 5. The rich were not to give more, the poor not to give less; to signify that all souls were equally precious in the sight of God, and that no difference of outivard circumstances could affect the state of the soul; all had sinned, and all must be redeemed by the same price. 6. This atonement must be made that there might be no plague among them, intimating that a plague or curse from God must light on those souls for whom the atonement was not made. 7. This was to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, ver. 16, to bring to their remembrance their past deliverance, and to keep in view their future redemption. 8. St. Peter seems to allude to this, and to intimate that this mode of atonement was ineffectual in itself, and only pointed out the great sacrifice which, in the fulness of time, should be made for the sin of the world. " Ye know," says he, " that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world," &c.; 1 Pet. i. 18, 19, 20. 9. Therefore all these
17 And the Lord spake unto a. m. 2513.
18 -^Thou shalt also make a ""''■ Thammuz. laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt ^ put it between - the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar and thou shall put water therein.
19 For Aaron and his sons ^ shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord:
21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and ^ it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to
things seem to refer to Christ alone, and to the atonement made by his blood; and upon him who is not interested in this atonement, God's plagues must be expected to fall. Reader, acquaint now thyself with God and be at peace, and thereby good shall come unto
Verse 18. A laver of brass] "^VD kiyor sometimes signifies a caldron, 1 Sam. ii. 14; but it seems to signify any large round vessel or basin used for washing the hands and feet. There were doubtless cocks or spigots in it to draw off the water, as it is not likely the feet were put into it in order to be washed. The foot of the laver must mean the pedestal on which it stood.
Verse 20. They shall wash with ivater, that they die not] This was certainly an emblematical washing; and as the hands and the feet are particularly mentioned, it must refer to the purity of their whole conduct. Their hands — all their works, their feet — all their goings, must be ivashed — must be holiness unto the Lord. And this washing must be repeated every time they entered into the tabernacle, or when they came near to the altar to minister. This washing was needful because the priests all ministered barefoot; but it was equally so because of the guilt they might have contracted, for the washing was emblematical of the putting away of sin, or what St. Paul calls the laver of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, (Tit. iii. 5,) as the influences of the Spirit must be repeated for the purification of the soul, as frequently as any moral defilement has been contracted.
Verse 21. And it shall be a statute for ever] To continue, in its literal meaning, as long as the Jewish economy lasted, and, in its spiritual meaning, to the end of time. What an important lesson does this teach the ministers of the Gospel of Christ! Each time they minister in public, whether in dispensing the word or the SACRAMENTS, they should take heed that they have a fresh application of the grace and spirit of
23 Take thou also unto thee ^principal spices, of pure ^ myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet ' calamus two hundred and fifty shekels.
24 And of ^ cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive a Uiin.
25 And thou shall make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the "* apothecary: it shall be " a holy anointing oil.
26 ° And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,
27 And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,
Christ, to do away past transgressions or unfaithfulness, and to enable them to minister with the greater effect, as being in the Divine favour, and consequently entitled to expect all the necessary assistances of the Divine unction, to make their ministrations spirit and life to the people. See on chap. xxix. 20.
Verse 23. Take — unto thee principal spices] From this and the following verse we learn that the holy anointing oil was compounded of the following ingredients: —
500 shekels. — Myrrh is the produce of an oriental tree not well known, and is collected by making an incision in the tree. What is now called by this name is precisely the same with that of the ancients.
28 And the altar of burnt- a.m. 2513. offering with all his vessels, and An. JExod. isr.i.
29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: p whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
30 1 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
3 1 And thou, shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.
32 Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: ^ it is holy, a7id it shall be holy unto you.
33 ^ Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, * shall even be cut off from his people.
34 And the Lord said unto Moses, '^ Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frank-
Olive oil is supposed to be the best preservative of odours. As the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit are termed the anointing of the Holy Ghost, therefore this holy ointment appears to have been designed as emblematical of those gifts and graces. See Acts i. 5; X. 38; 2 Cor. i. 21; 1 John ii. 20, 27.
Verse 25. After the art of the apothecary'] The original, np"1 rokeach, signifies a compounder or confectioner; any person who compounds drugs, aromatics, &c.
Verse 30. Thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons] For the reason of this anointing, see the note on chap, xxix. 7. It seems that this anointing oil was an emblem of Divine teaching, and especially of those influences by which the Church of Christ was, in the beginning, guided into all truth; as is evident from the allusion to it by St. John: " Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. The anointing lohich ye have received from him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him; 1 John ii. 20, 27.
Verse 34. Take unto thee sweet spices] The holy perfume was compounded of the following ingredients:
Stacte] ^m nataph, supposed to be the same with what was afterwards called the balm of Jericho. Stacte is the gum which spontaneously flows from the tree which produces myrrh. See the note on ver. 23
a perfume, a confection " after the art of the apothecary, ^^ tempered together, pure and holy:
36 And thou shalt beat sojue of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, ^ where I will meet
Onycha] n^nti' shecheleth, allowed by the best critics to be the unguis odorifcrans described by Rumph, >vhich is the external crust of the shell-fish purpura W murex, and is the basis of the principal perfumes made in the East Indies.
Galhanuni] nj^/D chelhenah, the bulon gummiferum or African ferula; it rises with a ligneous stalk from eight to ten feet, and is garnished with leaves at each joint. The top of the stock is terminated by an umbel of yellow flowers, which are succeeded by oblong channelled seeds, which have a thin membrane or wing on their border. When any part of the plant is broken, there issues out a little thin milk of a cream colour. The gummy resinous juice which proceeds from this plant is what is commonly called galbanum, from the chelbcnah of the Hebrews.
Pure frankincense'l HOT HJD^ lelonah zaccah. Frankincense is supposed to derive its name horn frank, free, because of its liberal or ready distribution of its odours. It is a dry resinous substance, in pieces or drops of a pale yellowish white colour, has a strong smell, and bitter acrid taste. The tree which produces it is not well known. Dioscorides mentions it as gotten in India. What is called here pure frankincense is no doubt the same with the mascula thura of Virgil, and signifies what is first obtained from the tree — that which is strongest and most free from all adventitious mixtures. See the note on ver. 7.
The Israelites were most strictly prohibited, on the most awful penalties, from making any anointing oil or perfume similar to those described in this chapter. He that should compound such, or apply any of this
37 And as for the perfume '^"— Thammuz. which thou shalt make, ^ ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition there - of: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord.
38 '^ Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
to any common purpose, even to smell to, verse 38, should be cut off, that is, excommunicated from his people, and so lose all right, title, and interest in the promises of God and the redemption of Israel. From all this we may learn how careful the Divine Being is to preserve his own worship and his own truth, so as to prevent them from being adulterated by human inventions; for he will save men in his own ivay, and upon his own terms. What are called human inventions in matters of religion, are not only of no worth, but are in general deceptive and ruinous. Arts and sciences in a certain way may be called inventions of men, for the spirit of a man knoweth the things of a man — can comprehend, plan, and execute, under the general influence of God, every thing in which human life is immediately concerned; but religion, as it is the gift, so it is the invention, of God: its doctrines and its ceremonies proceed from his wisdom and goodness, for he alone could devise the plan by which the human race may be restored to his favour and image, and taught to worship him in spirit and in truth. And that worship which himself has prescribed, we may rest assured, will be most pleasing in his sight. Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord; and their destruction by the fire of Jehovah is recorded as a lasting warning to all presumptuous worshippers, and to all who attempt to model his religion, according to their own caprice, and to minister in sacred things without that authority which proceeds from himself alone. The imposition of hands whether of pope, cardinal, or bishop, can avail nothing here. The call and unction of God alone can qualify the minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Bezaleel appointed for the work of the tabernacle, 1-5. Aholiab appointed for the same, 6. The particular things on which they were to be employed, the ark and mercy-seat, 7. Table, candlestick, and altar of incense, 8. Altar of burnt-offering and the laver, 9. Priest's garments, 10. Anointing oil and sweet incense, II. God renews the command relative to the sanctification of the Sabbath, 12-17. Delivers to Moses the two tables of stone, 18.
Verse 2. I have called by name Bezaleel] Tliat is, I have particularly appointed this person to be the chief superintendent of the whole work. His name is significant, S.sS:f3 betsal-el, in or under the shadow of God, meaning, under the especial protection of the
4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
6 And I, behold, I have given with him ■^ Ahohab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are * wise-hearted 1 have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
7 '"The tabernacle of the congregation, and ^ the ark of the testimony, and ^ the mercyseat that is thereupon, and all the » furniture of the tabernacle,
Most High. He was the son of Uri, the son of Hur, the son of Caleb or Cheluiai, the son of Esron, the son of Pharez, the son of Judah. See 1 Chron. ii. 5, 9, 18, 19, 20, and the note on chap. xvii. 10.
Verse 3. / have filled him luith the spirit of God^ See the note on chap, xxviii. 3.
In ivisdoni] HiDDn chochmah, from DDn chacham., to be ivise, skilful, or prudent, denoting the compass of mind and strength of capacity necessary to form a wise man: hence our word ivisdom, the power of judging what is wise or best to be done; from the Saxon, piran, to teach, to advise, and beman, to judge; hence pipebom, the doom or judgment of the well taught, luise, or prudent man.
Understanding'] HJIDH tebunah, from p ban or bun, to separate, distinguish, discern; capacity to comprehend the different parts of a work, how to connect, arrange, &c., in order to make a complete whole.
Knowledge] nj^T daath, denoting particular acquaintance with a person or thing; practical, experimental knowledge.
Verse 4. Cunning works] J^DUTID machashaboth, works of invention or genius, in the goldsmith and silversmith line.
Verse 5. In cutting of stones, <SfC.] Every thing that concerned the lapidary'' s, jeweller's, and carver'' s art.
Verse 6. In the hearts of all that are tvise-hearted I have put tvisdom] So every man that had a natural genius, as we term it, had an increase of wisdom by immediate inspiration from God, so that he knew how to execute the different works which Divine wisdom designed for the tabernacle and its furniture. Dark as were the heathens, yet they acknowledged that all talents, and the seeds of all arts, came from God. Hence Seneca: Insita nobis omnium artium semina, magisterque ex occulta Deus producit ingenia.
9 And ™ the altar of bumt-oifering with all his furniture, and ^ the laver and his foot^
10 And ° the clothes of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's oflfice;
11 pAnd the anointing oil, and 1 sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee, shall they do.
1 3 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, 'Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may
to Minerva, the goddess of ivisdom, and Vulcan, the god of handicrafts.
Odyss., 1. vi., ver. 232. As by some artist, to whom Vulcan gives His skill divine, a breathing statue lives; By Pallas taught, he frames the wondrous mould, And o'er the silver pours the fusile gold. — Pope.
And all this the wisest of men long before them de • clared; when speaking of the wisdom of God he says, I, Wisdom, dwell with Prudence, and find out knowledge of ivilty inventions; Prov. viii. 12. See the note on chap, xxviii. 3, to which the reader is particularly desired to refer. There is something remarkable in the name of this second superintendent, HN'Shn Aholiab, the tabernacle of the father, or, the father is my tabernacle; a name nearly similar in its meaning to that of Bezaleel, see the note on ver. 1.
Verse 8. The pure candlestick] Called so either because of the pure gold of which it was made, or the brightness and splendour of its workmanship, or of the light which it imparted in the tabernacle, as the purest, finest oil was always burnt in it.
Verse 10. Clothes of service] Vestments for the ordinary work of their ministry; the holy garments those which were peculiar to the high priest.
Verse 13. My Sabbaths ye shall keep] See the notes on Gen. ii. 3; Exod. xx. 8.
An. E.xod.isr.i. doth saiictify you. cir. Thammuz. 14 sYe shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for * whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15^ Six days may work be done; but in the " seventh is the Sabbath of rest, ^ holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth aiiy work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall
Verse 14. Every 07ie that defileth W] By any kind of idolatrous or profane worship.
Shall surely he put to death} The magistrates shall examine into the business, and if the accused be found guilty, he shall be stoned to death.
Shall be cut off] Because that person who could so far contemn the Sabbath, which was a sign to them of the rest which remained for the people of God, was of course an infidel, and should be cut off from all the privileges and expectations of an Israelite.
Verse 16. A perpetual covenant.'] Because it is a sign of this future rest and blessedness, therefore the religious observance of it must be perpetually kept up. The type must continue in force till the antitype come.
Verse 17. Rested, and was refreshed.] God, in condescension to human weakness, applies to himself here what belongs to man. If a man religiously rests on the Sabbath, both his body and soul shall be refreshed; he shall acquire new light and life.
Verse 18. When he had made an end of communing] When the forty days and forty nights were ended. Tioo tables of testimony] See on chap, xxxiv. 1. Tables of stone] That the record might be lasting, because it was a testimony that referred to future generations, and therefore the materials should be durable.
Written with the finger of God.] All the letters cut by God himself Dr. Winder, in his History of Knowledge, thinks it probable that this was the first writing in alphabetical characters ever exhibited to the world, though there might have been marks or hieroglyphics cut on wood, stone, &c., before this time; see chap, xvii. 14. That these tables were written, not by the commandment but by the power of God himself, the following passages seem to prove: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mountain, and be thou there; and I will give thee tables of stone which I HAVE WRITTEN, that thou maycst teach them;" Exod. xxiv. 12. "And he gave unto Moses, upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, writ- TEN WITH THE FINGER OF GoD;" chap. xxxi. 18. "And Moses went down from the mount, and the two tables 9f testimony were in his hand; the tables were writen on both their sides. And the tables were the keep the Sabbath, to observe A. M. 2513. the Sabbath throughout their An.Exod.isri. generations, for a perpetual <'^'— Thammuz.
17 It w a ^ sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for ^ in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, ^ two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
WORK OF God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables;" chap, xxxii. 15, 16. "These words [the ten commandments] the Lord spake in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice; and he added no more, but he wrote them on two tables of stone;" Deut. v. 22. It is evident therefore that this writing was properly and literally the writing of God himself God wrote now on tables of stone what he had originally written on the heart of man, and in mercy he placed that before his eyes which by sin had been obliterated from his soul; and by this he shows us what, by the Spirit of Christ, must be rewritten in the mind, 2 Cor. iii. 3; and this is according to the covenant which God long before promised to make with mankind, Jer. xxxi. 33. See also what is said on this subject, chap. xx. 1, and see chap, xxxiv. 1. See the note on chap. xvii. 14.
" No time," says Dr. A. Bayley, " seems so proper from whence to date the introduction of letters among the Hebrews as this, for after this period we find continual mention of letters, reading, and ivriting, in the now proper sense of those words. See Deut. xxvii. 8; xxxi. 9. Moses, it is said, ETraiSev&j), ivas educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians — in all the learning they possessed; but it is manifest that he had not learned of them any method of writing, otherwise there had been no want of God's act and assistance in writing the two tables of the law, no need of a miraculous writing. Had Moses known this art, the Lord might have said to him, as he does often afterwards, Wi-ite thou these words; Exod. xxxiv. 27. Write on the stones the words of this law; Deut. xxvii. 3. Write you this song for you; xxxi. 19. Perhaps it may be said, God's writing the law gave it a sanction. True; but why might it not also teach the first use of letters, unless it can be proved that they were in use prior to this transaction 1 It might be thought too much to assert that letters no more than language were a natural discovery; that it was impossible for man to have invented ivriting, and that he did not invent it: yet this may appear really the case from the following reflections: — 1. Reason may show us how near to an impossibility it was that a just and proper number of convenient characters for the sounds in language should naturally be hit upon by any man, for whom it was easy to imitate and vary, but not to invent. 3. From evidence of the Mosaic history, it appears that the introduction of writing among the Hebrews was not from man, but God. 3. There are no evident vestiges of letters subsisting among other nations tUl after the delivery of the law at Mount Sinai; nor then, among some, till very late."
The Israelites, finding that Moses delayed his return, desire Aaron to make them, gods to go before them, 1 Aaron consents, and requires their ornaments, 2. They deliver them to him, and he makes a molten calf, 3, 4. He builds an altar before it, 5; and the people offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, 6. The Lord commands Moses to go doion, telling him that the people had corrupted themselves, 7, 8. The Lord is angry, and threatens to destroy them, 9, 10. Moses intercedes for them, 11-13; and the Lord promises to spare them, 14. Moses goes down loith the tables in his hands, 15, 16. Joshua, hearing the noise they made at their festival, makes some remarks on it, 17, 18. Moses, coming to the camp, and seeing their idolatrous tvorship, is greatly distressed, throivs down and breaks the tivo tables, 19. Takes the calf, reduces it to powder, strews it upon the ivater, and causes them to drink it, 20. Moses expostulates with Aaron, 21. Aaron vindicates himself, 22-24. Moses orders the Levites to slay the transgressors, 25—27. They do so, and 3000 fall, 28, 29. Moses returns to the Lord on the mount, and makes supplication for the people, 30-32. God threatens and yet spares, 33. Commands Moses to lead the people, and promises him the direction of an angel, 34. The people are plagued because of their sin, 35.
^^' down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, ^ Up, make us gods, which shall " go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Eg)rpt, w^e wot not what is become of him. 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the
Verse 1. When the people saw that Moses delayed^ How long this was before the expiration of the forty days, we cannot tell; but it certainly must have been some considerable time, as the ornaments must be collected, and the calf or ox, after having been founded, must require a considerable time to fashion it with the graving tool; and certainly not more than two or three persons could work on it at once. This work, therefore, must have required several days.
The people gathered themselves together^ They came in a tumultuous and seditious manner, insisting on having an object of religious worship made for them, as they intended under its direction to return to Egypt. See Acts vii. 39, 40.
As for this Moses, the man that brought us up] This seems to be the language of great contempt, and by it we may see the truth of the character given them by Aaron, verse 22, they ivere set on mischief. It is likely they might have supposed that Moses had perished in the fire, which they saw had invested the top of the mountain into which he went.
Verse 2. Golden ear-rings] Both men and women wore these ornaments, and we may suppose that these were a part of the spoils which they brought out of Egypt. How strange, that the very things which were granted them by an especial influence and pro-
3 And all the people brake off the golden ear-rings which ivere in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 ^ And he received the7n at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had
vidence of God, should be now abused to the basest idolatrous purposes! But it is frequently the case that the gifts of God become desecrated by being employed in the service of sin; / tvill curse your blessings, saitk the Lord, Mai. ii. 2.
Verse 3. And all the people brake off the golden earrings'] The human being is naturally fond of dress, though this has been improperly attributed to the female sex alone, and those are most fond of it who have the shallowest capacities; but on this occasion the bent of the people to idolatry was greater than even their love of dress, so that they readily stripped themselves of their ornaments in order to get a molten god. They made some compensation for this afterwards; see chap. XXXV., and the note on chap, xxxviii. 9.
Verse 4. Fashioned it ivith a graving tool] There has been much controversy about the meaning of the word Din cheret in the text: some make it a mould, others a garment, cloth, or apron; some a purse or bag, and others a graver. It is likely that some mould was made on this occasion, that the gold when fused was cast into it, and that afterwards it was brought into form and symmetry by the action of the chisel and graver.
5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made ^ proclamation and said, To-morrow is a feast to the Lord.
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peaceofferings; and the ^ people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7 And the Lord said unto Moses, ^ Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou brought-
8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which ^ I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worship-
1 0 Now therefore " let me alone that ° my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and p I will make of thee a great nation.
11^ And Moses besought ^ the Lord his God, and said. Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12 ^Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say. For mischief did he bring them out,
Was it possible that Aaron could have imagined that he could make any god that could help them "? And yet it does not appear that he ever remonstrated with the people! Possibly he only intended to make them some symbolical representation of the Divine power and energy, that might be as evident to them as the pillar of cloud and fire had been, and to which God might attach an always present energy and influence; or in requiring them to sacrifice their ornaments, he might have supposed they would have desisted from urging their request: but all this is mere conjecture, with very little probability to support it. It must however be granted that Aaron does not appear to have?'.ven designed a worship that should supersede the worship of the Most High; hence we find him making proclamation. To-morrow is a feast to the Lord, (mri'';) and we find farther that some of the proper rites of the true worship were observed on this occasion, for they brought burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, ver. G, 7: hence it is evident he intended that the true God should be the object of their worship, though he permitted and even encouraged them to offer this worship through an idolatrous medium, the molten calf. It has been supposed that this was an exact resemblance of the famous Egyptian god Apis who was worshipped under tlie form of an ox, which worship the Israelites no doubt saw often practised in Egypt. Some however think tiiat this worship of Apis was not then established; but we have already had sufficient proof that different animals were sacred among the Egj'ptians, nor have we any account of any worship in Egypt earlier than that oflfered to Apis, under the figure of an OX.
Verse 5. To-morrow is a feast to the Lord] In Bengal the officiating Brahmin, or an appointed person
Verse 6. The people sat down to eat and to drink] The burnt-offerings were wholly consumed; the peaceofferings, when the blood had been poured out, became the food of the priests, &c. When therefore the strictly religious part of these ceremonies was finished, the people sat down to eat of the peace-offerings, and this they did merely as the idolaters, eating and drinking to excess. And it appears they went much farther, for it is said they rose up to play, pni*7 letsachek, a word of ominous import, which seems to imply here fornicating and adulterous intercourse; and in some countries the verb to play is still used precisely in this sense. In this sense the original is evidently used. Gen. xxxix. 14.
Verse 7. Thy people — have corrupted themselves] They had not only got into the spirit of idolatry, but they had become abominable in their conduct, so that God disoiuns them to be his: Thy people have broken the covenant, and are no longer entitled to my protection and love.
This is one pretence that the Roman Catholics have for the idolatry in their image worship. Their high priest, the pope, collects the ornaments of the people, and makes an image, a crucifix, a madona, &c. The people worship it; but the pope says it is only to keep God in remembrance. But of the whole God says, Thy people have corrupted themselves; and thus, as they continue in their idolatry, they have forfeited the blessings of the Lord's covenant. They are not God's people, they are the pope's people, and he is called " our holy father the pope."
Verse 9. A stiff-necked people] Probably an allusion to the stiff"-necked ox, the object of their worship.
Verse 10. Now therefore let?ne alone] Moses had already begun to plead with God in the behalf of this rebellious and ungrateful people; and so powerful was
An.Exod. isr. 1. and to comsume them from the ^^- face of the earth? Turn from thy
fierce wrath, and ^ repent of this evil against thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou ^ swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, ' I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
14 And the Lord "'repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
1 5 And ^ Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were
his intercession that even the Omnipotent represents himself as incapable of doing any thing in the way of judgment, unless his creature desisted from praying for mercy! See an instance of the prevalence of fervent intercession in the case of Abraham, Gen. xviii. 23-33, from the model of which the intercession of Moses seems to have been formed.
Verse 14. And the Lord repented of the evil],This is spoken merely after the manner of men who. having formed a purpose, permit themselves to be diverted from it by strong and forcible reasons, and so change their minds relative to their former intentions.
Verse 15. The tables were written on both their sides] If we take this literally, it was certainly a very unusual thing; for in ancient times the two sides of the same substance were never written over. However, some rabbins suppose that by the turiting on both sides is meant the letters were cut through the tables, so that they might be read on both sides, though on one side they would appear reversed. Supposing this to be correct, if the letters were the same with those called Hebrew now in common use, the D samech, •.vhich occurs twice, and the final □ mem which occurs twenty-three times in the ten commandments, both of these being close letters, could not be cut through on both sides without farlling out, unless, as some of the Jews have imagined, they were held in by miracle; but if this ancient character were the same with the Samaritan, this thorough cutting might have been quite {)racticable, as there is not one close letter in the whole Samaritan alphabet. On this transaction there are the three following opinions: 1. We may conceive the tables of stone to have been thin slabs or a kind of slate, and the WTriting on the back side to have been a continuation of that on the front, the first not being sufficient to contain the whole. 2. Or the writing on the back side was probably the precepts that accompanied the ten commandments; the latter were vsTritten
16 And the ^ tables were the work of God, and the writing xuas the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
1 7 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
18 And he said. It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for ^ being overcome: hut the noise of them that sing do I hear.
1 9 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that ^ he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger wa:ie(i hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands.
by the Lord, the former by Moses; see the note on chap, xxxiv. 1, 27. 3. Or the same words were written on both sides, so that when held up, two parties might read at the same time. ■
Verse 16. The tables were the loork of God] Because such a law could proceed from none but himself; God alone is the fountain and author of laav, of what is right, just, holy, and good. See the meaning of the word law, Exod. xii. 49.
The ivriting was the ivriting of God] For as he is the sole author of laiu and justice, so he alone can write them on the heart of man. This is agreeable to the spirit of the neiu covenant which God had promised to make with men in the latter days: / will make a new covenant ivith the house of Israel — I ivill
THEIR HE.4.RTS, Jcr. xxxi. 33; Heb. viii. 10; 2 Cor. iii. 3. That the writing of these tables was the turiting of God, see proved at the conclusion of the last chapter.
Verse 17. Joshua — said — There is a noise of war in the camp.] How natural was this thought to the mind of a military man! Hearing a confused noise he supposed that the Israelitish camp had been attacked by some of the neighbouring tribes.
Verse 18. And he said] That is, Moses returned this answer to the observations of Joshua.
A'^erse 19. He saw the calf and the dancing] Dancing before the idol takes place in almost every Hindoo idolatrous feast. — Ward.
He cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them] He might have done this through distress and anguish of spirit, on beholding their abominable idolatry and dissolute conduct; or he probably did it emblematically, intimating thereby that, as by tliis act of his the tables were broken in pieces, on which the law of God was written; so they, by their present conduct, had made a breach in the covenant, and broken the laws of their Maker. But we must not excuse this act; it
Moses destroys the golden calf, and EXODUS. orders the transgressors to be slam.
he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it m the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
2 1 And Moses said unto Aaron, <= What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: "^ thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
23 For they said unto me, ^ Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what has become of him.
24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave
V&i^aO. He took the calf — andhurnt — and ground "-^ to poivder, <SfC.'\ How truly contemptible must the object of their idolatry appear when they were obliged to drink their god, reduced to powder and strewed on the water! " But," says an objector, " how could ^oW, the most ductile of all metals, and the most ponderous, be stamped into dust, and strewed on tvater V In, Deut. ix. 2 1 this matter is fully explained: / took, I says Moses, your sin, the calf lohich ye had made, and J burnt it with fire, that is, melted it down, probably into ingots, or gross plates, and stamped it, that is, beat into thin laminm, something like our gold leaf, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust, which might be very easily done by the action of the hands, when beat into thin plates or leaves, as the original words HDX eccoth and pT dak imply. And least the dust thereof into the hrook, and being thus lighter than the water, it would readily float, so that they could easily see, in this reduced and useless state, the idol to whicli they had been lately offering Divine honours, and from which they were vainly expecting protection and defence. No mode of argumentation could have served so forcibly to demonstrate the folly of their conduct, as this method pursued by Moses.
Verse 21. What did this people unto thee.] It seems if Aaron had been firm, this evil might have been prevented.
Verse 22. Thou knowest the people] He excuses himself by the wicked and seditious spirit of the people, intimating that he was obliged to accede to their desires.
Verse 24. / cast it into the fire and there came out this calf.] What a silly and ridiculous subterfuge! He seems to insinuate that he only threw the metal into the fire, and that the calf came unexpectedly out by mere accident. The Targum of Jonathan ben it me: then I cast it into the A. M. 2513. fire, and there ^ came out this An\?od'*?sr' 1 calf. Ab.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were & naked, (for Aaron ^^ had made them, naked, unto their shame, among ' their enemies:)
26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
27 And he said unto them. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and ^ slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the
Uzziel makes a similar excuse for him: " And I said unto them. Whosoever hath gold, let him break it off and give it to me; and I cast it into the fire, and Satan entered into it, and it came out in the form of this calf!" Just like the popish legend of the falling of the shrine of our Lady of Loretta out of heaven! These legends come from the same quarter. Satan can provide more when necessary for his purpose.
Verse 25. Moses saw that the people were Tiaked] They were stripped, says the Targum, of the holy crown that was upon their heads, on which the great and precious name sf^^/Tf Jehovah was engraved. But it is more likely that the word >nD parua implies that they were reduced to the most helpless and tvretched state, being abandoned by God in the midst of their enemies. This is exactly similar to that expression, 2 Chron. xxviii. 19: For the Lord brought Judah loiv, because of Ahaz king of Israel: for he made Judah naked, J^'liDn hiphria, and transgressed sore against the Lord. Their nakedness, therefore, though in the first sense it may imply that several of them were despoiled of their ornaments, yet it may also express their defenceless and abandoned state, in consequence of their sin. That they could not literally have all been despoiled of their ornaments, appears evident from their offerings. See chap. xxxv. 2 1, &c.
Verse 26. Who is on the Lord's side 1] That is, Who among you is free from this transgression?
And all the sons of Levi, dfc] It seems they had no part in this idolatrous business.
Verse 27. From gate to gate] It is probable that there was an enclosed or intrenched camp, in which the chief rulers and heads of the people were, and that this camp had two gates or outlets; and the Levites were commanded to pass from one to the other, slaying as many of the transgressors as they could find.
Verse 28. There fell — about three thousand men.] These were no doubt the chief transgressors; having
A. M. 2513. people that day, about three
" Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord,
even every man upon his son, and upon his
brother; that he may bestovsr upon you a
30 And it came to pass on the morrowr, that
Moses said unto the people, ° Ye have sinned
And Moses said, Consecrate yourselves to-day to the LORD, because every man hath been against his son, and against his brother, broken the covenant by having other gods besides Jehovah, they lost the Divine protection, and then the justice of God laid hold on and slew them. Moses doubtless had positive orders from God for this act of justice, (see ver. 27;) for though, through his intercession, the people were spared so as not to be exterminated as a nation, yet the principal transgressors, those who were set on mischief, ver. 22, were to be put to death.
Verse 29. For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves] Fill your hands to the Lord. See the reason of this form of speech in the note on chap. xxix. 19.
Verse 3 1. Moses returned unto the Lord ] Before he went down from the mountain God had acquainted him with the general defection of the people, whereupon he immediately, without knowing the extent of their crime, began to make intercession for them; and God, having given him a general assurance that they should not be cut off, hastened him to go down, and bring them off from their idolatry. Having descended, he finds matters much worse than he expected, and ordered three thousand of the principal delinquents to be slain; but knowing that an evil so extensive must be highly provoking in the sight of the just and holy God, he finds it highly expedient that an atonement be made for the sin: for although he had the promise of God that as a nation they should not be exterminated, yet he had reason to believe that Divine justice must continue to contend with them, and prevent them from ever entering the promised land. That he was apprehensive that this would be the case, we may see plainly from the following verse.
me — out of thy book] It is probable that one part of Moses' work during the forty days of his residence on the mount with God, was his regulating the muster-roll of all the tribes and families of Israel, in reference to the parts they were respectively to act in the different transactions in the wilderness, promised land, &c.; and this, being done under the immediate direction of God, is termed God''s book which he had written, (such muster-rolls or registers, called also genealogies, the Jews have had from the remotest period of their history;) and it is probable that God had told him, that those who should break the covenant which he had then made with them should be blotted out of that list, and never enter into the promised land. All this Moses appears to have particularly in view, and, without entering into any detail, immediately comes to the
3 1 And Moses ^ returned unto the Lord, and said, O, this people have sinned a great sin, and have ^ made them gods of gold;
32 Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin; and if not, * blot me, I pray the^j
point which he knew was fixed when this list or musterroll was made, namely, that those who should break the covenant should be blotted out, and never havfe any inheritance in the promised land: therefore he says, This people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold; thus they had broken the covenant, (see the first and second commandments,) and by this had forfeited their right to Canaan. Yet now, he adds, if thou wilt forgive their sin, that they may yet attain the promised inheritance; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written— if thou wilt blot out their names from this register, and never suffer them to enter Canaan, blot me out also; for I cannot bear the thought of enjoying that blessedness, while my people and their posterity shall be for ever excluded. And God, in kindness to Moses, spared him the mortification of going into Canaan without taking the people with him. They had forfeited their lives, and were sentenced to die in the wilderness; and Moses' prayer was answered in mercy to him, while the people suffered under the hand of justice. But the promise of God did not fail; for, although those who sinned were blotted out of the book, yet their posterity enjoyed the inheritance.
This seems to be the simple and pure light in which this place should be viewed; and in this sense St. Paul is to be understood, Rom. ix. 3, where he says: For I could tvish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh; who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants. Moses could not survive the destruction of his people by the neighbouring nations, nor their exclusion from the promised land; and St. Paul, seeing the Jews about to be cut off by the Roman sword for their rejection of the Gospel, was willing to be deprived of every earthly blessing, and even to become a sacrifice for them, if this might contribute to the preservation and salvation of the Jewish state. Both those eminent men, engaged in the same work, influenced by a spirit of unparalleled patriotism, were willing to forfeit every blessing of a secular kind, and even die for the welfare of the people. But certainly, neither of them could wish to go to eternal perdition, to save their countrymen from being cut off, the one by the sword of the Philistines, the other by that of the Romans. Even the supposition is monstrous.
On this mode of interpretation v?e may at once seer to lead the people forward.
A. M. 2513. ^ out of thy book which thou
^^- 33 And the Lord said unto
Moses, ^ Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee:
what is implied in the book of life, and being written in or blotted out of such a book. In the public registers, all that were born of a particular tribe were entered in the list of their respective families under that tribe. This was the book of life; but when any of those died, his name might be considered as blotted out from this list. Our baptismal registers, which record the births of all the inhabitants of a particular parish or district, and which are properly our books of life; and our bills of mortality, which are properly our books of death, or the lists of those who are thus blotted out from our baptismal registers or books of life; are very significant and illustrative remains of the ancient registers, or books of life and death among the Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, and most ancient nations. It is worthy of remark, that in China the names of the persons who have been tried on criminal processes are written in two distinct books, which are called the book of life and the book of death: those who have been acquitted, or who have not been capitally convicted, are written in the former; those who have been found guilty, in the latter. These two books are presented to the emperor by his ministers, who, as sovereign, has a right to erase any name from either: to place the living among the dead, that he may die; or the dead, that is, the person condemned to death, among the living, that he may be preserved. Thus he blots out of the book of life or the book of death according to his sovereign pleasure, on the representation of his ministers, or the intercession of friends, &c. An ancient and extremely rich picture, in my own possession, representing this circumstance, painted in China, was thus interpreted to me by a native Chinese.
Verse 33. Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out] As if the Divine Being had said: " All my conduct is regulated by infinite justice and righteousness: in no case shall the innocent ever suffer for the guilty. That no man may transgress through ignorance, I have given you my law, and thus published my covenant; the people themselves have acknowledged its justice and equity, and have voluntarily ratified it. He then that sins against me, (for sin is the tranrgression of the law, 1 John iii. 4, and the law must be published and known that it may be binding,) him will I blot out of my book." And is it not remarkable that to these conditions of the covenant God strictly adhered, so that not one soul of these transgressors ever entered into the promised rest 1 Here was justice. And yet, though they deserved death, they were spared! Here was mercy. Thus, as far as justice would permit, mercy extended; and as far as mercy would permit, justice proceeded. Bea 466
35 And the Lord plagued the people, be-* cause ythey made the calf, which Aaron made.
hold, O reader, the goodness and severity of GOD! Mercy saves all that justice can spare; and justice destroys all that mercy should not save.
Verse 34. Lead the people unto the place] The word place is not in the text, and is with great propriety omitted. For Moses never led this people into that place, they all died in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb; but Moses led them towards the place, and thus the particle Sn el here should be understood, unless we suppose that God designed to lead them to the borders of the land, but not to take them into it.
I will visit their sin] I will not destroy them, but they shall not enter into the promised land. They shall wander in the wilderness till the present generation become extinct.
Verse 35. The Lord plagued the people] Every time they transgressed afterwards Divine justice seems to have remembered this transgression against them. The Jews have a metaphorical saying, apparently founded on this text: " No affliction has ever happened to Israel in which there was not some particle of the dust of the golden calf."
1. The attentive reader has seen enough in this chapter to induce him to exclaim. How soon a clear sky may be overcast! How soon may the brightest prospects be obscured! Israel had just ratified its covenant with Jehovah, and had received the most encouraging and unequivocal pledges of his protection and love. But they sinned, and provoked the Lord to depart from them, and to destroy the work of his hands. A little more faith, patience, and perseverance, and they should have been safely brought into the promised land. For want of a little more dependence upon God, how often does an excellent beginning come to an unhappy conclusion! Many who were just on the borders of the promised land, and about to cross Jordan, have, through an act of unfaithfulness, been turned back to wander many a dreary year in the wilderness. Reader, be on thy guard. Trust in Christ, and watch unto prayer.
2. Many people have been greatly distressed on losing their baptismal register, and have been reduced in consequence to great political inconvenience. But still they had their lives, and should a living man complain ■? But a man may so sin as to provoke God to cut him off"; or, like a fruitless tree, be cut down, because he encumbers the ground. Or he may have sinned a sin unto death, 1 John v. 16, 17, that is, a sin which God will punish with temporal death, while he extends mercy to the soul.
3. With respect to the blotting out of God's hook, on which there has been so much controversy, is it not evident that a soul could not be blotted out of a book in vphich it had never been written? And is it not farther evident from ver. 32, 33, that, although a man be written tn God's book, if he stns he may be blotted out? Let him that readeth understand; and let him that standeth take heed lest he fall. Reader, be not high-minded, but fear. See the notes on verses 32 and 33.
Moses IS commanded to depart from the mount, and lead up the people towards the vromised In.^ i a The people mourn, and stnp themselves of their ornaments, 4-6. The tabernacle or tent isr>TtTJfl stlXt' tth Trr '" '' '" ''T''''' ^ord,andthecloudypUlar tcelfs onT^T^^^^^ standing at their tent doors wvtness this, 10. The Lord speaks familiarly with Moses; he returnrtothl camp, and leaves Joshua m the tabernacle, 11. Moses vlead^ with rn^ L^ a 7 returns to the
^ND the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence,
thou ^ and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham,' to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, i' Unto thy seed will I give it:
2 <= And I will send an angel before thee; ** and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
Verse 1. Unto the land] That is, towards it, or to the borders of it. See chap, xxxii. 34.
Verse 2. I will send an angel] In chap, xxiii. 20 God promises to send an angel to conduct them into the good land, in whom the name of God should be • that IS, in whom God should dwell. See the note there. Here he promises that an angel shall be their conductor; but as there is nothing particularly specified of him, It has been thought that an ordinary angel IS intended, and not that Angel of the Covenant promised before. And this sentiment seems to be confirmed by the following verse.
Verse 3. I will not go up in the midst of thee] Consequently, the angel here promised to be their guide was not that angel in whom Jehovah's name was: and so the people understood it; hence the mourning which is afterwards mentioned.
« rl"!f ^- ^'"^ P""^ ""ff % ornaments from thee] Ihe Septuagmt, in their translation, suppose that the chddren of Israel not only laid aside their ear-rings and such like ornaments, in a time of professed deep humiUation before God, but their upper or more beau-
3 ^ Unto a land flowing with A. m. 2513. milk and honey: ^ for I will not An^Exod.tsr. 1. go up in the midst of thee, for ^b. thou art a e stiff-necked people, lest ^ I consume thee in the way.
4 And when the people heard these evil tidings, i they mourned; ^ and no man did put on him his ornaments.
5 For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, ^Ye are a stiifnecked people: I will come up "» into the
tiful garments too. Moses says nothing of this last circumstance; but as it is a modern practice, so it appears by their version to have been as ancient as their time, and probably took place long before that. The Septuagint gives us this as the translation of the passage: ' The people, having heard this sad declaration, mourned with lamentations. And the Lord said unto the chHdren of Israel, Now, therefore, put off your robes of glory, and your ornaments, and I will show you the things I will do unto you. And the children of Israel put off their ornaments and robes by the mount, by Horeb.'
" If it had not been the custom to put off their upper garments in times of deep mourning, in the days that the Septuagint translation was made, they would not have inserted this circumstance in the account Moses gives of their mourning, and concerning which he was silent. They must have supposed too that this practice might be in use in those elder times.
" That it is now practised in the east, appears from the account Pitts gives of the ceremonies of the Mohammedan pilgrimage to Mecca. ' A few days after this we came to a place called Rabbock, about fou»
A. M. 2513. midst of thee in a moment, and An. Exod. isr! 1. consume thee; therefore now put ^^- off thy ornaments from thee, that
I may " know what to do unto thee.
6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.
7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, ° and called it the tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one
days' sail on this side of Mecca, where all the hagges or pilgrims, (excepting those of the female sex) do enter into hirraivem or ihram, i. e., they take off all their clothes, covering themselves with two hirrawems, or large white cotton wrappers; one they put about their middle, which reaches down to their ancles; with the other they cover the upper part of their body, except the head; and they wear no other thing on their bodies but these wrappers, only a pair of grimgameca, that is thin-soled shoes like sandals, the over-leather of which covers only the toes, the insteps being all naked. In this manner, like humble penitents, they go from Rabbock until they come to Mecca, to approach the temple, many times enduring the scorching heat of the sun ijntil the very skin is burnt off their backs and arms, and their heads swollen to a very great degree.' — pp. 115, 116. Presently after he informs us ' that the time of their wearing this mortifying habit is about the space of seven days.' Again, (p 138:) 'It was a sight, indeed, able to pierce one's heart, to behold so many thousands in their garments of humility and mortification, with their naked heads, and cheeks watered with tears; and to hear their grievous sighs and sobs, begging earnestly for the remission of their sins, promising newness of life, using a form of penitential expressions, and thus continuing for the space of four or five hours.'
" The Septuagint suppose the Israelites made much the same appearance as these Mohammedan pilgrims, when Israel stood in anguish of soul at the foot of Mount Horeb, though Moses says nothing of putting off any of their vestments.
" Some passages of the Jewish prophets seem to confirm the notion of their stripping themselves of some of their clothes in times of deep humiliation, particularly Micah i. 8: Therefore I will wail and howl; J will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.
" Saul's stripping himself, mentioned 1 Sam. xix. 24, la perhaps to be understood of his assuming the appearance of those that were deeply engaged in devotional exercises, into which he was unintentionally brought by the prophetic influences that came upon him, and in which he saw others engaged." — Harmer's Observat., vol. iv., p. 172.
The ancient Jewish commentators were of opinion that the Israelites had the name niiT' Jehovah inscribed 46S
8 And it came to pass, when ^^' Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man <i at ■ his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.
9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD ^ talked with Moses.
on them in such a way as to ensure them the Divine protection; and that this, inscribed probably on a plate of gold, was considered their choicest ornament; and that when they gave their ornaments to make the golden calf, this was given by many, in consequence of which they were considered as naked and defenceless. All the remaining parts of their ornaments, which it is likely were all emblematical of spiritual things, God commands them here to lay off; for they could not with propriety bear the symbols of the Divine protection, who had forfeited that protection for their transgression.
That I may know what to do unto thee.] For it seems that while they had these emblematic ornaments on them, they were still considered as under the Divine protection. These were a shield to them, which God commands them to throw aside. Though many had parted with their choicest ornaments, yet not all, only a few comparatively, of the wives, daughters, and sons of 600,000 men, could have been thus stripped to make one golden calf. The major part still had these ornaments, and they are now commanded to lay them aside.
Verse 7. Moses took the tabernacle] ITMiTi HX eth haohel, the tent; not ptyoH FIX eth hammishcan, the tabernacle, the dwelling-place of Jehovah, see chap. XXXV. 11, for this was not as yet erected; but probably the tent of Moses, which was before in the midst of the camp, and to which the congregation came for judgment, and where, no doubt, God frequently met with his servant. This is now removed to a considerable distance from the camp, {tivo thousand cubits, according to the Talmudists,) as God refuses to dwell any longer among this rebellious people. And as this was the place to which all the people came for justice and judgment, hence it was probably called the tabernacle, more properly the tent, of the congregation.
Verse 9. The cloudy pillar descended] This very circumstance precluded the possibility of deception. The cloud descending at these times, and at none others, was a full proof that it was miraculous, and a pledge of the Divine presence. It was beyond the power of human art to counterfeit such an appearance; and let it be observed that all the people ^aw; this, ver. 10. How many indubitable and irrefragable proofs of its own authenticity and Divine origin does the Pentateuch contain!
^^' tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and ® worshipped, every man in his tent door.
1 1 And * the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but ^ his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
12 And Moses said unto the Lord, See, ^ thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, "^ I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
13 Now therefore, I pray thee ^ if I have
CHAP. XXXIII. God's presence to go with them, found grace in thy sight, ^ show a. m. 2513.
Verse 1 1. The Lord spake unto Moses face to face] That there was no personal appearance here we may readily conceive; and that the communications made by God to Moses were not by visions, ecstacies, dreams, inward inspirations, or the mediation of angels, is sufficiently evident: we may therefore consider the passage as implying thzX familiarity and confidence with which the Divine Being treated his servant, and that he spake with him by articulate sounds in his own language, though no shape or 5tVn//«7u<fe was then to be seen.
Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man] There is a difficulty here. Joshua certainly was not a young man in the literal sense of the word; " but he was called so," says Mr. Ainsworth, " in respect of his service, not of his years; for he was now d.hove fifty years old, as may be gathered from Josh. xxiv. 29. But because ministry and service are usually by the younger sort, all servants are called young men, Gen. xiv. 24." See also Gen. xxii. 3, andxli. 12. Perhaps the word *1J,'J naar, here translated young man, means a single person, one unmarried.
Verse 12. Moses said unto the Lord] We may suppose that after Moses had quitted the tabernacle he went to the camp, and gave the people some general information relative to the conversation he lately had with the Lord; after which he returned to the tabernacle or tent, and began to plead with God, as we find in this and the following verses.
Thou hast not let me know, <^c.] As God had said he would not go up with this people, Moses wished to know whom he would send with him, as he had only said, in general terms, that he would send an angel.
Verse 13. Show me now thy way] Let me know the manner in which thou wouldst have this people led up and governed, because this nation is thy people, and should be governed and guided in thy oivn way.
Verse 14. My presence shall go with thee] dS"" 'JS panai yelechu, my faces shall go. I shall give thee
grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is ^ thy people.
14 And he said, ^My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee ^'rest.
1 5 And he said unto him, ° If thy presence. go not with me, carry us not up hence.
1 6 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? ^ is it not in that thou goest with us? so ^ shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of
1 7 And the Lord said unto Moses, *" I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for
manifestations of my grace and goodness through the whole of thy journey. I shall vary my appearances for thee, as thy necessities shall require.
Verse 15. If thy presence go not] O'dSh yiQ |'K DN im ein paneycha holechim., if thy faces do not go — if we have not manifestations of thy peculiar providence and grace, carry us not up hence. Without supernatural assistance, and a most particular providence, he knew that it would be impossible either to govern such a people, or support them in the desert; and therefore he wishes to be well assured on this head, that he may lead them up with confidence, and be able to give them the most explicit assurances of support and protection. But by what means should these manifestations take place 1 This question seems to be answered by the Prophet Isaiah, chap. Ixiii. 9: In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the Angel of his presence (VJ3 pa naiv, of his faces) saved them. So we find that the goodness and mercy of God were to be manifested by the Angel of the Covenant, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah; and this is the interpretation which the Jews themselves give of this place. Can any person lead men to the typical Canaan, who is not himself influ enced and directed by the Lord? And of what use are all the means of grace, if not crowned with the presence and blessing of the God of Israel ■? It is on this ground that Jesus Christ hath said, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of them. Matt, xviii. 20; without which, what woM preachings, prayers, and even sacraments avail ^
Verse 16. So shall loe be separated] By having this Divine protection we shall be saved from idolatry, and be preserved in thy truth and in the true worshipping of thee; and thus shall we be separated from all the people that are upon the face of the earth: as all the nations of the world, the Jews only excepted, were at this time idolaters.
A. M. 2513. & thou hast found grace in my Aii.'Exod.isr.i. sight, and I know thee by
18 And he said, I beseech thee, show me ^ thy glory.
1 9 And he said, ' I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, ^ and will be ^ gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
20 And he said. Thou canst not see my
shall go with thee, and I will keep thee separate from all the people of the earth. Both these promises have been remarkably fulfilled. God continued miraculously with them till he brought them into the promised land; and from the day in which he brought them out of Egypt to the present day, he has kept them a distinct, unmixed people! Who can account for this on any principle but that of a continual especial providence, and a constant Divine interference? The Jews have ever been a people fond of money; had they been mingled with the people of the earth among whom they have been scattered, their secular interests would have been greatly promoted by it; and they who have sacrificed every thing besides to their love of money, on this point have been incorruptible! They chose in every part of their dispersions rather to be a poor, despised, persecuted people, and continue separate from all the people of the earth, than to enjoy ease and affluence by becoming mixed with the nations. For what great purposes must God be preserving this people! for it does not appear that any moral principle binds them together — they seem lost to this; and yet in opposition to their interests, for which in other respects they would sacrifice every thing, they are still kept distinct from all the people of the earth: for this an especial providence alone can account.
Verse 18. Show me thy glory'] Moses probably desired to see that which constitutes the peculiar glory or excellence of the Divine nature as it stands in reference to man. By many this is thought to signify his eternal mercy in sending Christ Jesus into the world. Moses perceived that what God was now doing had the most important and gracious designs which at present he could not distinctly discover; therefore he desires God to show him his glory. God graciously promises to indulge him in this request as far as possible, hy proclaiming his name, and making all his goodness pass before him, ver. 19. But at the same time he assures him that he could not see his face — the fulness of his perfections and the grandeur of his designs, and live, as no human being could bear, in the present state, this full discovery. But he adds, Thou shalt see my back parts, ''inN HX eth achorai, probably meaning that appearance which he should assume in after times, when it should be said, God is manifest in the
face: for "* there shall no man see me, and live.
2 1 And the Lord said, Behold, the7-e is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee " in a cleft of the rock, and will ° cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall P not be seen.
flesh. This appearance did take place, for we find God putting him into a cleft of the rock, covering him with his hand, and passing by in such a way as to exhibit a human similitude. John may have had this in view when he said. The Word teas made flesh, and dwelt AMONG vs, full of grace and truth, and we beheld HIS GLORY. What this glory was, and what was implied by this grace and truth, we shall see in the succeeding chapter.
Verse 19. I will make all my goodness pass before thee] Thou shalt not have a sight of my justice, for thou couldst not bear the infinite splendour of my purity: but I shall show myself to thee as the fountain of inexhaustible compassion, the sovereign Dispenser of my own mercy in my own way, being gracious to whom 1 will be gracious, and showing mercy on whom I will show mercy.
Verse 20. No man see me, and live.] The splendour would be insufierable to 7nan; he only, whose mortality is swallowed up of life, can see God as he is. See 1 John iii. 2. From some disguised relation of the circumstances mentioned here, the fable of Jupiter and Semele was formed; she is reported to have entreated Jupiter to shoio her his glory, who was at first very reluctant, knowing that it would be fatal to her; but at last, yielding to her importunity, he discovered his divine majesty, and she was consumed by his presence. This story is told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, book iii., fable iii., 5.
Verse 2 1. Behold, there is a place by me] There seems to be a reference here to a well-known place on the mount where God was accustomed to meet with Moses. This was a rock; and it appears there was a cleft or cave in it, in which Moses was to stand while the Divine Majesty was pleased to show him all that human nature was capable of bearing: but this appears to have referred more to the counsels of his mercy and goodness, relative to his purpose of redeem ing the human race, than to any visible appearance of the Divine Majesty itself See on ver. 18.
1. The conclusion of this chapter is very obscure: we can scarcely pretend to say, in any precise mana ner, what it means; and it is very probable that the whole concerned Moses alone. He was in great perplexity and doubt; he was afraid that God was about to abandon this people; and he well knew that if he did so, their destruction must be the consequence. He had received general directions to decamp, and lead the people towards the promised land; but this was accompanied with a threat that Jehovah would not go with them. The prospect that was before him was exceedingly gloomy and discouraging; and it was rendered the more so because God predicted their persevering stifF-neckedness, and gave this as one reason why he would not go up among them, for their provocations would be so great and so frequent that his justice would be so provoked as to break through in a moment and consume them. Moses, well knowing that God must have some great and important designs in delivering them and bringing them thus far, earnestly entreated him to give him some discovery of it, that his own mind might be satisfied. God mercifully condescends to meet his wishes in such a way as no doubt gave him full satisfaction; but as this referred to himself alone, the circumstances are not related, as probably they could be of no farther use to us than the mere gratifying of a principle of curiosity.
2. On some occasions to be kept in the dark is as instructive as to be brought into the light. In many cases those words of the prophet are strictly applicable. Verily, thou art a God who hidest thyself, O
God of Israel, the Saviour! One point we see here very plainly, that while the people continued obstinate and rebellious, that presence of God by which his approhation was signified could not be manifested among them; and yet, without his presence to guide, protect, and provide for them, they could neither go up nor be saved. This presence is promised, and on the fulfilment of the promise the safety of Israel depended. The Church of God is often now in such a state that the approbation of God cannot be manifested in it; and yet if his presence were wholly withdrawn, truth would fall in the streets, equity go backward, and the Church must become extinct. How have the seeds of light and life been preserved during the long, dark, and cold periods when error was triumphant, and the pure worship of God adulterated by the impurities of idolatry and the thick darkness of superstition, by the presence of his endless mercy, preserving his own truth in circumstances in which he could not show his approbation! He was with the Church in the wilder ness, and preserved the living oracles, kept alive the heavenly seeds, and is now showing forth the glory of those designs which before he concealed from mankind. He cannot etr because he is infinitely wise; he can do nothing that is unkind, because he delighteth in mercy. We, as yet, see only through a glass darkly; by and by we shall see face to face. The Lord's presence is with his people; and those who trust in him have confident rest in his mercy.
Moses ts commanded to hew two tahles similar to the first, and bring them up to the mount, to get the covenant renewed, 1—3. He prepares the tables and goes up to meet the Lord, 4. The Lord descends, and proclaims his name JEHOVAH, 5. What this name signifies, 6, 7. Moses worships and intercedes, 8, 9. The Lord promises to renew the covenant, work miracles among the people, and drive out the Canaanites, <^c., 10, 11. No covenant to be made with the idolatrous nations, but their altars and images to be destroyed, 12-15. No matrimonial alliances to be contracted loith them, 16. The Israelites must have no molten gods, 17. The commandment of the feast of unleavened bread, and of the sanctification of the first-born, renewed, 18-20; as also that of the Sabbath, and the three great annual feasts, 2 1-23. The promise that the surrounding nations shall not invade their territories, ivhile all the males were at Jerusalem celebrating the annual feasts, 24. Directions concerning the passover, 25; and the first-fruits, 26. Moses is commanded to write all these words, as containing the covenant lohich God had now renewed luith the Israelites, 27. Moses, being forty days with God without eating or drinking, writes the ivords of the covenant; and the Lord writes the ten commandments upon the tables of stone, 28. Moses descends with the tables; his face shines, 29. Aaron and the people are afraid to approach him, because of his glorious appearance, 30. Moses delivers to them the covenant and commandments of the Lord; and puts a veil over his face while he is speaking, 31—33, but takes it off when he goes to minister before the Lord, 34, 35.
A ND- the Lord said unto Moses, * Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: '' and
Verse 1. Hew thee tivo tables of stone like unto the first] In chap, xxxii. 16 we are told that the two first tables loere the work of God, and the ivnting was the writing of God; but here Moses is commanded to provide tables of his own workmanship, and God promises to write on them the words which were on the
I will write upon these tables a. m. 2513. the words that were in the first An. isxod. Isr. 1. tables, which thou brakest. ^^' first. That God wrote the first tables himself, see proved by different passages of Scripture at the end of chap, xxxii. But here, in ver. 27, it seems as if Moses was commanded to ivrite these words, and ic ver. 28 it is said. And he wrote upon the tables; but in Deut. x. 1-4 it is expressly said that God wrote the second tables as well as the first.
thyself there to me " in the top of the mount.
3 And no man shall ^ come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount, neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.
4 And he hewed two tables of stone like
In order to reconcile these accounts let us suppose that the ten words, or ten commandments, were written on both tables by the hand of God himself, and that what Moses wrote, ver. 27, was a copy of these to be delivered to the people, while the tables themselves were laid up in the ark before the testimony, whither the people could not go to consult them, and therefore a copy was necessary for the use of the congregation; this copy, being taken off under the direction of God, was authenticated equally with the original, and the original itself was laid up as a record to which all succeeding copies might be continually referred, in order to prevent corruption. This supposition removes the apparent contradiction; and thus both God and Moses may be said to have written the covenant and the ten commandments: the former, the original; the latter, the copy. This supposition is rendered still more probable by the 27th verse itself: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words (that is, as I understand it, a copi/ of the words which God had already written;) for after the tenor (■•£3 hy al pi, ACCORDING to the mouth) of these words I have made a covenant with thee and ivith Israel.'''' Here the original writing is represented by an elegant prosopopoeia, or personification, as speaking and giving out from its own mouth a copy of itself. It may be supposed that this mode of interpretation is contradicted by the 28th verse: And he tvrote upon the tables the words of the covenant; but that the pronoun he refers to the Lord, and not to Moses, is sufficiently proved by the parallel place, Deut. x. 1-4: At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee tioo tables of stone like unto the first — and I will lorite on the tables the words that were in the first tables — and I heioed two tables of stone as at the first — And HE wrote on the tables according to the first writing. This determines the business, and proves that God wrote the second as well as the first tables, and that the pronoun in the 28th verse of this chapter refers to the Lord, and not to Moses. By this mode of interpretation all contradiction is removed. Houbigant imagines that the difficulty may be removed by supposing that God wrote the ten commandments, and that Moses wrote the other parts of the covenant from ver. 11 to ver. 26, and thus it might be said that both God and Moses wrote on the same tables. This is not an improbable case, and is left to the reader's consideration. See on ver. 27.
There still remains a controversy whether what are called the ten commandments were at all written on he first tables, those tables containing, according to up early m the morning, and An. Exod. isr. 1. went up unto Mount Sinai, as the ^^'
Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and * proclaimed the name of the Lord.
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and
some, only the terms of the covenant without the ten words, which are supposed to be added here for the first time. "The following is a general view of this subject. In chap. xx. the ten commandments are given; and at the same time various political and ecclesiastical statutes, which are detailed in chapters xxi., xxii., and xxiii. To receive these, Moses had drawn near unto the thick darkness where God was, chap. XX. 21, and having received them he came again with them to the people, according to their request before expressed, ver. 19: Speak thou loith us — but let not the Lord speak with us, lest we die, for they had been terrified by the manner in which God had uttered the ten commandments; see ver. 18. After this Moses, with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and the seventy elders, went up to the mountain; and on his return he announced all these laws unto the people, chap. xxiv. 1, &c., and they promised obedience. Still there is no word of the tables of stone. Then he wrote all in a book, chap. xxiv. 4, which was called the book of the covenant, ver. 7. After this there was a second going up of Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders, chap. xxiv. 9, when that glorious discovery of God mentioned in verses 10 and 11 of the same chapter took place. After their coming down Moses is again commanded to go up, and God promises to give him tables of stone, containing a laio and precepts, ver. 12. This is the first place these tables of stone are mentioned; and thus it appears that the ten commandments, and several other precepts, were given to and accepted by the people, and the covenant sacrifice offered, chap. xxiv. 5, before the tables of stone were either written or mentioned." It is very likely that the commandments, laws, &c., were first published by the Lord in the hearing of the people; repeated afterwards by Moses; and the ten tvords or commandments, containing the sum and substance of the whole, afterwards written on the first tables of stone, to be kept for a record in the ark. These being broken, as is related chap, xxxii. 19, Moses is commanded to hew out two tables like to the first, and bring them up to the mountain, that God might write upon them what he had written on the former, chap, xxxiv. 1. And that this was accordingly done, see the preceding part of this note.
Verse 6. And the Lord passed by — and proclaimed, The Lord, 4-c.] It would be much better to read this verse thus: "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed Jehovah," that is, showed Moses fully what was implied in this august name. Moses had requested God to show him his glory, (see the preced
7 ' Keeping mercy for thousands, ^ forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and ' that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the
ing chapter, 18th verse,) and God promised to proclaim or fully declare the name Jehovah, (verse 19;) by which proclamation or interpretation Moses should see how God would " be gracious to whom he would be gracious," and how he would " be merciful to those to whom he would show mercy." Here therefore God fulfils that promise by proclaiming this name. It has long been a question, what is the meaning of the word niiT Jehovah, Yehovah, Yehue, Yehveh, or Yeve,Jeue, Jao, lao, Jhueh, and Jove; for it has been as variously pronounced as it has been differently interpreted. Some have maintained that it is utterly inexplicable; these of course have offered no mode of interpretation. Others say that it implies the essence of the Divine nature. Others, that it expresses the doctrine of the Trinity connected with the incarnation; the letter ' yod standing for the Father, n he for the Son, and 1 vau (the connecting particle) for the Holy Spirit: and they add that the n he being repeated in the word, signifies the human nature united to the Divine in the incarnation. These speculations are calculated to give very little satisfaction. How strange is it that none of these learned men have discovered that God himself interprets this name in verses 6 and 7 of this chapter! " And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed mTT' Yehovah the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that ivill by no means clear the guilty.^'' These words contain the proper interpretation of the venerable and glorious name JEHOVAH. But it will be necessary to consider them in detail.
The different names in this and the following verse have been considered as so many attributes of the Divine nature. Commentators divide them into eleven, thus: — 1. mn'' Jehovah. 2. Sx El, the strong or mighty God. 3. U\n'^ Rachum, the merciful Being, who is full of tenderness and compassion. 4. njn Channun, the gracious One; he whose nature is goodness itself; the loving God. 5. D''t3X pX Erech appayim, long-suffering; the Being who, because of his goodness and tenderness, is not easily irritated, but •suffers long and is kind. 6. 31 Rab, the great or mighty One. 7. TDH Chesed, the bountiful Being; he who is exuberant in his beneficence. 8. riOX Emeth, the truth or true One; he alone who can neither deceive nor be deceived, who is the fountain of truth, and
8 And Moses made haste, and ™ bovi^ed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
9 And he said. If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, ° let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for ° it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our
from whom all ivisdom and knowledge must be derived. 9. non IX J Notser Chesed, the preserver of bountifulness; he whose beneficence never ends, keeping mercy for thousands of generations, showing compassion and mercy while the world endures. 10. ^^y NtyJ nxoni yiyai Nose avon vaphesha vechattaah, he who bears away iniquity and transgression and sin: properly, the Redeemer, the Pardoner, the Forgiver; the Being whose prerogative alone it is to forgive sin and save the soul. T\^y (lV) nS HpJ Nakkeh lo yenakkeh, the righteous Judge, who distributes justice with an impartial hand, with whom no innocent person can ever be condemned. And, 11. pj; Tp£3 Poked avon, &c.; he who visits iniquity, who punishes transgres sors, and from whose justice no sinner can escape. The God of retributive and vindictive justice.
These eleven attributes, as they have been termed, are all included in the name JEHOVAH, and are, as we have before seen, the proper interpretation of it; but the meaning of several of these words has been variously understood.
Verse 7. That luill by no means clear the guilty j This last clause is rather difficult; literally translated it signifies, in clearing he will not clear. But the Samaritan, reading r^ lo, to him, instead of the negative nS lo, not, renders the clause thus: With lohom the innocent shall be innocent; i. e., an innocent or holy person shall never be treated as if he were a transgressor, by this just and holy God. The Arabic version has it, He justifies and is not justified; and the Septuagint is nearly as our English text, Kai ov Kadapiei Tov evoxov, and he doth not purify the guilty. The Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint, edited by Dr. Grabe, has /cat tov evoxov Kadapiafiu ov Kadapui, and the guilty he will not cleanse with a purification'Offering. The Coptic is to the same purpose. The Vulgate is a paraphrase: nullusque apud te per se innocens est, " and no person is innocent by or of himself before thee." This gives a sound theologic sense, stating a great truth. That no man can make an atonement for his own sins, or purify his own heart; and that all have sinned and come short of the glory
Verse 9. O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us] The original is not mn' Jehovah, but 'nK Adonai in both these places, and seems to refer particularly to the Angel of the Covenant, the Messiah See the note on Gen. xv. 8.
10 And he said, Behold, il
make a covenant: before all thy people I will 'do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord; for it is ^ a terrible thing that I will do with thee.
1 1 * Observe thou that which I command thee this day; behold, " I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
12 ^ Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for "^ a snare in the midst of thee:
1 3 But ye shall ^ destroy their altars, break their ^ images, and ^ cut down their groves:
1 4 For thou shalt worship '^ no other god: for the Lord, whose ^ name is Jealous, is a ■= jealous God:
15"^ Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they ® go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one ^ call thee, and thou ^ eat of his sacrifice;
1 6 And thou take of ^ their daughters imto
thy sons, and their daughters * go A. M. 2513. a whoring after their gods, and An. Exod. isr.' i make thy sons go a whoring after ^^'
1 8 The feast of ^ unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the ™ month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.
19 ''All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.
20 But ° the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a p lamb: and if thou redeem hi?n not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me ^ empty.
21' Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
22 ^ And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the ' year's end.
23 " Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.
24 For I will " cast out the nations before thee, and "^ enlarge thy borders: ^ neither shall
Verse 10. I will do marvels] This seems to refer to what God did in putting them in possession of the land of Canaan, causing the walls of Jericho to fall down; making the sun and moon to stand still, &c. And thus God made his covenant with them; binding himself to put them in possession of the promised land, and binding them to observe the precepts laid down in the following verses, from the 11th to the 26th inclusive.
Verse 13. Ye shall destroy their — images] See the subjects of this and all the following verses, to the 28th, treated at large in the notes on chap, xxiii.
Verse 21. In caring time and in harvest thou shalt rest.] This commandment is worthy of especial note; many break the Sabbath on the pretence of absolute necessity, because, if in harvest time the weather happens to be what is called bad, and the Sabbath day be fair and fine, they judge it perfectly lawful to employ that day in endeavouring to save the fruits of the field, and think that the goodness of the day beyond the preceding, is an indication from Providence that it should be thus employed. But is not the above command pointed directly against this? I have known this law often broken on this pretence, and have never been able to discover a single instance where the persons who acted thus succeeded one whit better than their more conscientious neighbours, who availed themselves of no such favourable circumstances, being determined to keep God's law, even to the prejudice of their secular interests; but no man ever yet ultimately suffered loss by a conscientious attachment to his duty to God. He who is willing and obedient, shall eat the good of the land; but God will ever distinguish those in his providence who respect his commandments. »■ Verse 24. Neither shall any man desire thy land]
Ah. Exod. Isr! 1. thou shalt go up to appear before '^^' the Lord thy God thrice in
25 y Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; ^ neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.
26 * The feast of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. ^ Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
27 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou ^ these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
28 ^ And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And ^ he wrote upon
What a manifest proof was this of the power and particular providence of God! How easy would it have been for the surrounding nations to have taken possession of the whole Israelitish land, with all their fenced cities, when there were none left to protect them but women and children! Was not this a standing proof of the Divine origin of their religion, and a barrier which no deistical mind could possibly surmount ■? Thrice every year did God work an especial miracle for the protection of his people; controlling even the very desires of their enemies, that they might not so much as meditate evil against them. They who have God for their protector have a sure refuge; and how true is the proverb, The path of duty is the way of safety! While these people went up to Jerusalem to keep the Lord's ordinances, he kept their families in peace, and their land in safety.
Verse 25. The blood of my sacrifice] That is, the paschal lamb. See on chap, xxiii. 18.
Verse 26. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother^s milk.] See this amply considered chap, xxiii. 19.
Verse 27. Write thou these words] Either a transcript of the whole law now delivered, or the words included from verse 11 to 26. God certainly wrote the ten words on both sets of tables. Moses either wrote a transcript of these and the accompanying precepts for the use of the people, or he wrote the precepts themselves in addition to the ten commandments which were written by the finger of God. See on ver. 1. Allowing this mode of interpretation, the accompanying precepts were, probably, what was ^vritten on the lack side of the tables by Moses; the ten commandments, what were written on the front by the finger of Jehovah: for we must pay but little attention to the supposition of the rabbins, that the letters on each table were cut through the stone, so as to be legible on each side. See chap, xxxii. 15.
Moses came dawn from Mount An. Exod. isr. 1. Sinai with the? two tables of tes- ^^"^
timony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that ^ the skin of his face shone while he talked with
30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh
3 1 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.
32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: ' and he gave them in coramand-
Verse 29. The skin of his face shone] pp karan, was horned: having been long in familiar intercourse with his Maker, his flesh, as well as his soul, was penetrated with the effulgence of the Divine glory, and his looks expressed the light and life which dwelt within. Probably Moses appeared now as he did when, in our Lord's transfiguration, he was seen with Elijah on the mount, Matt. xvii. As the original word pp karan signifies to shine out, to dart forth, as horns on the head of an animal, or rays of light reflected from a polished surface, we may suppose that the heavenly glory which filled the soul of this holy man darted oiat from his face in coruscations, in that manner in which light is generally represented. The Vulgate renders the passage, et ignorabat quod cornuta esset fades sua, " and he did not know that his face was horned;" which version, misunderstood, has induced painters in general to represent Moses with two very large horns, one proceeding from each temple! But we might naturally ask, while they were indulging themselves in such fancies, why only two horns? for it is very likely that there were hundreds of these radiations, proceeding at once from the face of Moses. It was no doubt from this very circumstance that almost all the nations of the world who have heard of this transaction, have agreed in representing those men to whom they attributed extraordinary sanctity, and whom they supposed to have had familiar intercourse with the Deity, with a lucid nimbus or glory round their heads. This has prevailed both in the east and in the west; not only the Greek and Roman saints, or eminent persons, are thus represented, but those also among the Mohammedans, Hindoos, and Chinese.