Commentary on the Holy Bible

Moses is commanded to take the sum of the sons of Kohath from thirty years old and upward, 1—4. The service which they had to perform, 5—15. The office of Eleazar, 16. The family of Kohath to be continued among the Levites, 17-19. They are not to go into the holy of holies, 20. The sum of the sons o/Gershon, 21-23. The service they had to perform, 24-27. They are to be under Ithamar, 28. The sum of the sons of Merari, 29, 30. The service they had to perform, 31-33. The sum of all the families o/ Kohath, 2,750, ver. 34-37. The sum of the families o/ Gershon, 2,630, ver. 38-41. TJie sum of the families of Merari, 3,200, ver. 42-45. The sum total of the families of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, 8,580, ver. 46-49.

2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from

Verse 3. From thirty years oW] In chap. viii. 24, the Levites are ordered to enter on the service of the tabernacle at the age of twenty five years; and in 1 Chron. xxiii. 24, they were ordered to commence that work at twenty years of age. How can these different times be reconciled! 1. At the time of which Moses speaks here, the Levitical service was exceedingly severe, and consequently required men full grown, strong, and stout, to perform it; the age therefore of thirty years was appointed as the period for commencing this service, the weightier part of which is probably here intended. 2. In chap. viii. 24, Moses seems to speak of the service in a general way; the severe, which was to be performed by the full-grown Levites, and the less laborious work which younger men might assist in; hence the age of twentyfive is fixed. 3. In David's time and afterwards, ia the fixed tabernacle and temple, the laboriousness of the service no longer existed, and hence twenty years was the age fixed on for all Levites to enter into the work of the sanctuary. The rabbins say that the Levites began to learn to do the service at twenty-five., and that having been instructed _^ue years, they began the public service at thirty, and thus they reconcile the two periods referred to above. We may well suppose that the 5on5 of the prophets continued a considerable time under instructions before they were called fully to exercise themselves in the prophetic office.

Until fifty years old] This was allowing ^wenfy years for public severe service; a very considerate

An. Exod. isr. 2. into the host, to do the work in

4 ^ This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about ^ the most holy things:

5 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down ^ the covering veil, and cover the ^ ark of testimony with it:

6 And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in ^ the staves

7 And upon the ^ table of shew-bread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to ^ cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon:

8 And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in the staves

9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the ' candlestick of the light, ^ and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuif dishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:

10 And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar.

1 1 And upon ^ the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:

12 And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the

and merciful ordinance. A preacher who devotes his whole time and strength to the service of the Church of God from twenty to fifty or sixty years of age, should be then excused from his severer labour, and maintained at the charge of the sanctuary. This would not only be a great comfort to a worn-out servant of Got but also of great use to the work of the ministry, which, to be faithfully and effectually performed, requires all the powers of the body and mind of man. Old faithful ministers are to be highly respected for their work's sake, and to be supplied with all the necessaries and comforts of life; but how little can they do in the public ministry of the word, however willing a 62G ot blue, and cover them with a An. Exod. isr. 2 covering of badgers' skins, and ijar or Zif. shall put them on a bar:

1 3 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:

14 And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the flesh hooks, and the shovels, and the ™ basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it.

1 5 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, "^ the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: ° but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. ^ These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

1 6 And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, pertaineth 1 the oil for the light, and the ' sweet incense, and * the daily meat-offering, and the * anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels

17 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

19 But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto '^ the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden:

20 "" But they shall not go in to see when

to work, when their eye waxes dim and their bodily strength fails! See on chap. viii. 25. Both for their own sakes, and for the good of the Church, they should be excused from a labour to which they must be almost every way inadequate. But notwithstanding this comparative inactivity, their counsels, advice, and experience will always be considered as a treasure to the Church of Christ.

Verse 20. When the holy things are covered] Literally, yh2D kehalla, when they are swalloivcd down; which shows the promptitude with which every thing belonging to the holy of holies was put out of sight, for these mysteries must ever be treated with the deep- C 41*)

22 Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families;

23 "^ From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in ^ to perform the service, to do the vsrork in the tabernacle of the congregation.

24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for ^ burdens:

25 And ^ they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

26 And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve.

27 At the ^ appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.

28 This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall he under the

est reverence; and indeed without this they could not have been to them the representatives of heavenly realities. See the concluding note.

Verse 36. Those that tvere numbered] In chapter iii. 27, &c., we have an account of the whole number of the Levites, and here of those only who were able to serve the Lord in the sanctuary. By comparing the two places we find the numbers to stand thus: — i Able men 2750 i Unable 5850

hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;

30 ^ From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the " service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.

3 1 And '^ this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; ^ the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,

32 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall *■ reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.

3 3 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

34 ^ And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

35 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:

36 And those that were numbered of them

Thus we find that the whole number of the Levites amounted to 22,300, of whom 8,580 were fit for service, and 13,720 unfit, being either too old or too young. What an astonishing number of men, all properly ecclesiastics; all performing some service by which God was glorified, and the congregation at large benefited! See Ainsworth.

From this and the preceding chapter we see the very severe labour which the Levites were obliged to perform while the journeyings of the Israelites lasted. When we consider that there was not less than 10 tons 13 cwt. 24 lb. 14. oz., i. e., almost ten tons and fourteen hundred pounds' weight of metal employed in the tabernacle, (see the notes on Exod. xxxviii.,) besides the immense weight of the skins, hangings, cords, boards, and posts, we shall find it was no very easy matter to transport this movable temple from place to place.

A. M. 2514. by their families were two ihou- An. Exod. Isr. 2. sand seven hundred and fifty.

^J"°'^'^- 37 These were they that were numbered of the famihes of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers,

39 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

40 Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

41^ These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the Lord.

42 And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,

The Kohathites, who were 8,600 men, had to carry the ark, table, candlestick, altars, and instruments of the sanctuary, chap. iii. 31.

The Merarites, who were 6,200 men, had to carry the boards, bars, pillars, sockets, and all matters connected with these belonging to the tabernacle, with the pillars of the court, their sockets, pins, and cords, chap. iii. 36, 37.

The tabernacle was an epitome of the temple: the temple and tabernacle were representatives of the Church of the living God, and of the humanity of our blessed Lord. As God dwelt in the tabernacle and temple, so his fulness dwelt in the man Christ Jesus. These again were types of the Christian Church, which is termed the body of Christ, Eph. i. 23, where he dwells in the plenitude of the graces of his Spirit.

Mr. Ainsworth has a very useful note on the 20th verse of this chapter, the most edifying part of which I shall here lay before the reader. He considers the tabernacle and temple, not only as pointing out the old dispensation, the annulling of which was typified by their desti-uction, but he considers also the former as emblematical of the body of man.

44 Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred.

45 These he those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered ' according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

46 All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

47 ^ From thirty years old and upward, even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation,

48 Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore.

49 According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, ^ every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, "^ as the Lord commanded

" The apostle," says he, " treating of the death of the saints, uses this similitude: ' If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life;' 2 Cor. v. 1-4. So Peter calls his death the putting q^ of his tabernacle, 2 Pet. i. 14. And this similitude is very fit; for, as here, in the tabernacle of Moses, the holy things were first covered and taken away, (see ver. 20,) so the soul and its powers are first withdrawn from the body by death. 2. As the curtains and coverings were taken off and folded up, so the skin and flesh of our bodies are pulled off and consumed. 3. As the boards of the tabernacle were disjointed and pulled asunder, so shall our bones and sinews: compare Job's description of the formation of man, chap. x. 8-12; and Solomon's account of his dissolution, Eccles. xii. 3, 4. 4. As the disjointed and dissolved tabernacle was afterwards set up again. Num. x. 21, so shall our bodies in the day of the resurrection; see 1 Cor. xv. 51-54."

The Israelites are commanded to purify the camp by excluding all lepers, and all diseased and unclean persons, 1-3. They do so, 4. Law concerning him who has defrauded another — he shall confess his sin, restore the principal, and add besides one fifth of its value, 5—7. If he have no kinsman to wh<mi the recompense can be made, it shall be given unto the Lord, 8. All the holy things offered to the Lord shall be the priesVs portion, 9, 10. The laiu concerning jealousy, 11—14. The suspected woman's offering, 15. She is to be brought before the Lord, 16. The priest shall take holy water, and put it in dust from the floor of the tabernacle, 17. Shall put the offering in her hand, and adjure her, 18-20. The form of the oath, 21, 22; which is to be written on a book, blotted out in the bitter waters, and these the suspected person shall be obliged to drink, 23, 24. The jealousy-offering shall be waved before the Lord, 25, 26. The effect tvhich shall be produced if the suspected person be guilty, 27. The effect if not guilty, 28. Recapitulation, with the purpose and design of the law, 29, 30.

2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every * leper, and every one that hath an ^ issue, and whosoever is defiled by the " dead:

3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, '^ in the midst whereof I dwell.

Verse 2. Put out of the camp every leper^ According to the preceding plan, it is sufficiently evident that each camp had a space behind it, and on one side, whither the infected might be removed, and where probably convenient places were erected for the accommodation of the infected; for we cannot suppose that they were driven out into the naked wilderness. But the expulsion mentioned here w^as founded, 1. On a jiurely physical reason, mj?., the diseases were contagious, and therefore there was a necessity of putting those afflicted by them apart, that the infection might not be communicated. 2. There was also a spiritual reason; the camp was the habitation of God, and nothing impure should be permitted to remain where he dwelt. 3. The camp was an emblem of the Church, where nothing that is defiled should enter, and in which nothing that is unholy should be tolerated. All lepers — all persevering impenitent sinners, should be driven from the sacred pale, nor should any such ever be permitted to enter.

Verse 4. And the children of Israel — put them out] This is the earliest account we have of such separations; and probably this ordinance gave the first idea of a hospital, where all those who are afflicted with contagious disorders are put into particular wards, under medical treatment. Though no mention be made of the situation, circumstances, &c.j of those expelled persons, we may certainly infer that they were treated with that humanity which their distressed state required. Though sinners must be separated from the Church of God, yet they should be treated with affectionate regard, because they may be reclaimed. It is too often the case when a man backslides

4 And the children of Israel A. M. 2514. did so, and put them out without An. Exod. Isr! 2. the camp: as the Lord =r.aL-<. ^J^"^ °^ Zif.

unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.

6 Speak unto the children of Israel, ^ When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty;

7 ^ Then they shall confess their sin which

from the way of truth, he is abandoned by all; finding his case desperate, he plunges yet deeper into the mire of sin, and the man who, with tender treatment, might have been reclaimed, becomes incurably hardened. One class says, he cannot finally fall, and shall in due time be restored; another class says, he may finally fall and utterly perish. If the unfortunate person be restored, his recovery is taken as a proof of the first doctrine; if he be not, his wretched end is considered a proof of the second. In the first case the person himself may presume on his restoration as a point infallibly determined in the Divine counsel; or in the second, he may consider his case hopeless, and so abandon himself to profligacy and desperation. Thus both parties leave him, and both opinions (misunderstood certainly) render him secure or desperate-; and in either case totally inactive in behalf of his own soul. Who is he that properly estimates the worth of one immortal spirit 1 He who does will at once feel that, in a state of probation, any man may fall through sin, and any sinner may be renewed again unto repentance, through the infinitely meritorious sacrifice, and all powerfully efficacious grace, of Christ. This truth properly felt equally precludes both presumption and despair, and will induce the followers of God to be active in preserving those who have escaped from the corruption that is in the world, and make them diligent to recover those who have turned back to earth and sin.

Verse 7. Shall confess their sin] Without confession or acknowledgment of sin, there was no hope of mercy held out.

He shall recompense] For without restitution, in every possible case, God will not forgive the iniquity

unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto htm against whom he hath trespassed.

8 But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the Lord, even to the priest; beside ^ the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.

9 And every ' offering ^ of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his.

10 And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be ^ his.

12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,

1 3 And a man ^ lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;

14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley

of a man's sin. How can any person in a case of defraud, with his neighbour's property in his possession, expect to receive mercy from the hand of a just and holy God 1 See this subject considered in the notes on Gen. xlii. at the close.

Verse 8. If the man have no kinsman] The Jews think that this law respects the stranger and the sojourner only, because every Israelite is in a state of affinity to all the rest; but there might be a stranger in the camp who has no relative in any of the tribes

Verse 14. The spirit of jealousy] nxjp nn ruach kinah, either a supernatural diabolic influence, exciting him to jealousy, or the passion or affection of jealousy, for so the words may be understood.

Verse 17. Holy ivate?-] Water out of the laver, called holy because consecrated to sacred uses. This is the most ancient case of the trial by ordeal. See at the end of the chapter.

It, nor put irankmcense thereon; An. Exod. isr.2. for it is an offering of jealousy, ijar or Zif. an offering of memorial, " bringing iniquity to remembrance.

1 6 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the Lord:

17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:

1 8 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy-offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:

19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman. If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness ° with another p instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:

20 But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:

2 1 Then the priest shall ^ charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, ^ The Lord make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the Lord doth make thy thigh to ^ rot, and thy belly to swell;

22 And this water that causeth the curse

In an earthen vessel] Supposed by the Jews to be such as had never been previously used.

Dust that is in the floor] Probably intended to point out the baseness of the crime of which she was accused.

Verse 18. Uncover the ivoman's head] To takeoff a woman's veil, and expose her to the sight of men, would be considered a very great degradation in the East. To this St. Paul appears to allude, 1 Cor. xi. 5, 6, 10.

Let thy name and punishment be remembered and mentioned as an example and terror to all others. Like that mentioned Jer. xxix. 22, 23: "The Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives." — Ainsworth.

23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:

24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter,

25 Then the priest shall take the jealousyoffering out of the woman's hand, and shall ' wave the offering before the Lord, and offer it upon the altar:

26 ^ And the priest shall take a handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.

27 And when he hath made her to drink the

WTiat is meant by these expressions cannot be easily ascertained. IT ^2ih lanpel yarech signifies literally thy thigh to fall. As the thigh, feet, &c., were used among the Hebrews delicately to express the parts which nature conceals, (see Gen. xlvi. 26,) the expression here is probably to be understood in this sense; and the falling doivn of the thigh here must mean something similar to the prolapsus uteri, or falling down of the womb, which might be a natural effect of the preternatural distension of the abdomen. In 1 Cor. xi. 29, St. Paul seems to allude to the case of the guilty woman drinking the bitter cursed waters that caused her destruction: He tvho eateth and drinketh uniuorthily, eateth and drinketh damnation {Kpi/ia, condemnation or judgment) to himself; and there is probably a reference to the same thing in Psalm cix. 18, and in Dan. ix. 11.

And the looman shall say, Amen, amen.] This is the first place where this word occurs in the common form of a concluding wish in prayer. The root pN aman signifies to be steady, true, permanent. And in prayer it signifies let it be so — make it steady — let it be ratified. Some have supposed that it is composed of the initial letters of pNJ "jSo ""JTN xdonai uelech veeman, My Lord the faithful King, but this derivation is both far-fetched and unnecessary.

Verse 23. The priest shall ivrite these curses — and he shall blot them out] It appears that the curses which were written down with a kind of ink prepared for the purpose, as some of the rabbins think, without any calx of iron or other material that could make a permanent dye, were washed off the parchment into the water which the woman was obliged to drink, so that she drank the very loords of the execration. The ink used in the East is almost all of this kind — a wet sponge will completely efface the finest of their writings. The rabbins say that the trial by the waters of water, then it shall come to pass, a. m. 2514. that, if she be defiled, and have An. Exod. isr'. 2. done trespass against her hus- ijar w Zif. band, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman ^ shall be a curse among her

28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.

29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another y instead of her husband, and is defiled;

30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.

3 1 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman ^ shall bear her iniquity

jealousy was omitted after the Babylonish captivity because adulteries were so frequent amongst them that they were afraid of having the name of the Lord profaned by being so frequently appealed to! This is a most humiliating confession. " Though," says pious Bishop Wilson, " this judgment is not executed now on adulteresses, yet they have reason from this to conclude that a more terrible vengeance will await them hereafter without a bitter repentance; these being only a shadow of heavenly things, i. e., of what the Gospel requires of its professors, viz., a strict purity, or a severe repentance." The pious bishop would not preclude the necessity of pardon through the blood of the cross, for without this the severest repentance would be of no avail.

Verse 24. The bitter water that causeth the curse] Though the rabbins think that the priest put some bitter substance in the water, yet, as nothing of the kind is intimated by Moses, we may consider the word as used here metaphorically for affliction, death, &c. These waters were afflicting and deadly to her who drank them, being guilty. In this sense afflictions are said to be bitter, Isa. xxxviii. 17; so also is death, 1 Sam. XV. 32; Eccles. vii. 26.

Verse 29. This is the law of jealousies] And this is the most singular law in the whole Pentateuch: a law that seems to have been copied by almost all the nations of the earth, whether civilized or barbarian, as we find that similar modes of trial for suspected offences were used when complete evidence was wanting to convict; and where it was expected that the object of their worship would interfere for the sake of justice, in order that the guilty should be brought to punishment, and the innocent be cleared. For general information on this head see at the end of this chapter.

That is, her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot; see onver. 22. But if not guilty after such a trial, she had great honour, and, according to the rabbins, became strong, healthy, and fruitful; for if she was before barren, she now began to bear children; if before she had only daughters, she now began to have sons; if before she had hard travail, she now had easy; in a word, she was blessed in her body, her soul, and her substance: so shall it be done unto the holy and faithful woman, for such the Lord delighteth to honour; see 1 Tim. ii. 15.

On the principal subject of this chapter, I shall here introduce a short account of the trial by ordeal, as practised in different parts of the world, and which is supposed to have taken its origin from the waters of jealousy.

The trial by what was afterwards called ordeal is certainly of very remote antiquity, and was evidently of Divine appointment. In this place we have an institution relative to a mode of trial precisely of that kind which among our ancestors was called ordeal; and from this all similar trials in Asia, Africa, and Europe, have very probably derived their origin.

Ordeal, Latin, ordalium, is, according to Verstegan, from the Saxon ojibsbl, ordal and ordel, and is derived by some from oji, great, and d^l, judgment, signifying the greatest, most solemn, and decisive mode of judgment. — Hickes. Others derive it from the Francic or Teutonic Urdela, which signifies simply to judge. But Lye, in his Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, derives the term from oii, which is often in Anglo-Saxon, a privative particle, and bsei, distinction or difference; and hence applied to that kind of judgment in which there was no respect of persons, but every one had absolute justice done him, as the decision of the business was supposed to belong to God alone. It always signified an appeal to the immediate interposition of God, and was therefore called Judicium Dei, God's Judgment; and we may naturally suppose was never resorted to but in very important cases, where persons accused of great crimes protested their innocence, and there was no sufficient evidence by which they could be cleared from the accusation, or proved to be guilty of the crime laid to their charge. Such were the cases of jealousy referred to in this chapter.

The rabbins who have commented on this text give us the following information: When any man, prompted by the spirit of jealousy, suspected his wife to have committed adultery, he brought her first before the judges, and accused her of the crime; but as she asserted her innocency, and refused to acknowledge herself guilty, and as he had no witnesses to produce, he required that she ^puld be sentenced to drink the waters of bitterness which the law had appointed; that God, by this means, might discover what she wished to conceal. After the judges had heard the accusation and the denial, the man and his wife were both sent to Jerusalem, to appear before the Sanliedrin, who were the sole judges in such matters. The rabbins say that the judges of the Sanhedrin, at first endeavoured with threatenings to confound the woman, and cause her to confess her crime; when she still persisted in her innocence, she was led to the eastern gate of the court of Israel, where she was stripped of the clothes she wore, and dressed in black before a number of persons of her own sex. The priest then told her that if she knew herself to be innocent she had no evil to apprehend; but if she were guilty, she might expect to suffer all that the law threatened; to which she answered. Amen, amen.

The priest then wrote the words of the law upon a piece of vellum, with ink that had no vitriol in it, tha it might be the more easOy blotted out. The words written on the vellum were, according to the rabbins, the following: —

" If a strange man have not come near thee, and thou art not polluted by forsaking the bed of thy husband, these bitter waters which I have cursed wOl not hurt thee: but if thou have gone astray from thy husband, and have polluted thyself by coming near to another man, may thou be accursed of the Lord, and become an example for all his people; may thy thigh rot, and thy belly swell till it burst! may these cursed waters enter into thy belly, and, being swelled therewith, may thy thigh putrefy!"

After this the priest took a new pitcher, filled it with water out of the brazen bason that was near the altar of burnt-offering, cast some dust into it taken from the pavement of the temple, mingled something bitter, as wormwood, with it, and having read the curses above mentioned to the woman, and received her answer of Amen, he scraped off the curses from the vellum into the pitcher of water. During this time another priest tore her clothes as low as her bosom, made her head bare, untied the tresses of her hair, fastened her torn clothes with a girdle below her breasts, and presented her with the tenth part of an ephah, or about three pints of barley-meal, which was in a frying pan, without oil or incense.

The other priest, who had prepared the waters of jealousy, then gave them to be drank by the accused person, and as soon as she had swallowed them, he put the pan with the meal in it into her hand. This was waved before the Lord, and a part of it thrown into the fire of the altar. If the woman was innocent, she returned with her husband; and the waters, instead of incommoding her, made her more healthy and fruitful than ever: if on the contrary she were guilty, she was seen immediately to grow pale, her eyes started out of her head, and, lest the temple should be defiled with her death, she was carried out, and died instantly with all the ignominious circumstances related in the curses, which the rabbins say had the same effect on him with whom she had been criminal, though he were absent and at a distance. They add, however, that if the husband himself had been guilty with another woman, then the waters had no bad effect even on his criminal wife; as in that case the transgression on the one part was, in a certain sense, balanced by the transgression on the other.

There is no instance in the Scriptures of this kind of ordeal having ever been resorted to; and probably it never was during the purer times of the Hebrew republic. God had rendered himself so terrible by his judgments, that no person would dare to appeal to this mode of trial who was conscious of her guilt; and in case of simple adultery, where the matter was either

We learn from Ferdusi, a Persian poet, whose authority we have no reason to suspect, that the fire ordeal was in use at a very early period among the ancient Persians. In the famous epic poem called the Shah Nameh of this author, who is not improperly styled the Homer of Persia, under the title Dastan Seeavesh ve Soodabeh, The account of Seeavesh and Soodabeh, he gives a very remarkable and circumstantial account of a trial of this kind.

It is very probable that the fire ordeal originated among the ancient Persians, for by them fire was not only held sacred, but considered as a god, or rather as the visible emblem of the supreme Deity; and indeed this kind of trial continues in extensive use among the Hindoos to the present day. In the code of Gentoo laws it is several times referred to under the title of Purrah Reh, but in the Shah Nameh, the word SJi^^y^u Suogend is used, which signifies literally an oath, as the persons were obliged to declare their innocence by an oath, and then put their veracity to test by passing through the fJiS] ^^^ kohi atesh, or fire pile; see the Shah Nameh in the title Dastan Seeavesh ve Soodabeh, and Halhed's code of Gentoo laws; Preliminary Discourse, p. Iviii., and chap, v., sec. iii., pp. 117, &c.

A circumstantial account of the different kinds of ordeal practised among the Hindoos, communicated by Warren Hastings, Esq., who received it from AH Ibrahim Khan, chief magistrate at Benares, may be found in the Asiatic Researches, vol. i., p. 389.

This trial was conducted among this people nine different ways: first, by the balance; secondly, by fire; thirdly, by ivater; fourthly, by poison; fifthly, by the cosha, or water in which an idol has been washed; sixthly, by rice; seventhly, by boiling oil; eighthly, by red hot iron; ninthly, by images.

There is, perhaps, no mode of judiciary decision that has been in more common use in ancient times, than that of ordeal, in some form or other. We find that it was also used by the ancient Greeks 500 years before the Christian era; for in the Antigone of Sophocles, a person suspected by Creon of a misdemeanor, declares himself ready "to handle hot iron, and to walk over fire," in proof of his innocence, which the scholiast tells us was then a very usual purgation. Hfiev 6' ETOi/ioi KOL nvdpovr acpeiv x^poi-v^ Kat 'Kvp SiepTTEiVj kql Oeovg opKu/ioTeiv. Ver. 270.

The scholiast on this line informs us that the custom in binding themselves by the most solemn oath, was this: they took red hot iron in their hands, and throwing it into the sea, swore that the oath should be inviolate till that iron made its appearance again.

Virgil informs us that the priests of Apollo at Soracie were accustomed to loalk over burning coals ^xnhurt.

Grotius gives many instances of water ordeal in Bithynia, Sardinia, and other places. Different species of fire and water ordeal are said to have prevailed among the Indians on the coast of Malabar; the negroes of Loango, Mosambique, &c., &c., and the Calmuc Tartars.

The first formal mention I find of this trial in Europe is in the laws of King Ina, composed about A. D. 700. See L. 77, entitled, Dom be hacen i^ene an& pasep, Decision hj hot iron and water. I find it also mentioned in: the council of Mentz, A. D. 847; but Agobard, archbishop of Lyons, wrote against it sixty years before this time. It is afterwards mentioned in the council of Trevers, A. D. 895. It did not exist in Normandy till after the Conquest, and was probably first introduced into England in the time of Ina, in whose laws and those of Athelstan and Ethelred, it was afterwards inserted. The ordeal by^zre was for noblemen and women, and such as were free born: the loater ordeal was for husbandmen, and the meaner classes of the people, and was of two sorts; by cold water and by hot. See the proceedings in these trials declared particularly in the law of King Ina; Wil- KiNs, Leges Anglo- Saxonicce, p. 27.

Several popes published edicts against this species of trial. Henry III. abolished trials by ordeal in the third year of his reign, 1219. See the act in Rr/mer, vol. i., p. 228; and see DugdaWs Origines Juridicales, fol. 87; Spelman's Glossary, Wilkins, Hickes, Lombard, Somner, and Du Cange, art. Ferrum.

The ordeal or trial by battle or combat is supposed to have come to us from the Lombards, who, leaving Scandinavia, overran Europe: it is thought that this mode of trial was instituted by Frotha III., king of Denmark, about the time of the birth of Christ; for he ordained that every controversy should be determined by the sivord. It continued in Holsatia till the tiirs.of Christian III., king of Denmark, who began his reign in }bZ5. From these northern nations the practice of duels was introduced into Great Britain.

I need scarcely aud; that this detestable form of trial was the foundation of the no less detestable crime of duelling, which so much disgraces our age and nation, a practice that is defended only by ignorance, false honour, and injustice: it is a relic of barbarous superstition, and was absolutely unknowri to those brave and generous nations, the Greeks and Romans, whom it is so much the fashion to admire; and who, in this particular, so well merit our admiration!

The general practice of duelling is supposed to have taken its rise in 1527, at the breaking up of a treaty between the Emperor Charles V. and Francis I. The former having sent a herald with an insulting message to Francis, the king of France sent back the herald with a cartel of defiance, in which he gave the emperor the lie, and challenged him to single combat: Charles accepted it; but after several messages concerning the arrangement of all the circumstances relative to the combat, the thoughts of it were entirely laid aside. The example of two personages so illustrious drew such general attention, and carried with it so much authority, that it had considerable influence in introducing an important change in manners all over

It was so much the custom in the middle ages of Christianity to respect the cross, even to superstition, that it would have been indeed wonderful if the same ignorant bigotry had not converted it into an ordeal: accordingly we find it used for this purpose in so many different ways as almost to preclude description.

Another trial of this kind was the Corsned, or the consecrated bread and cheese: this was the ordeal to which the clergy commonly appealed when they were accused of any crime. A few concluding observations from Dr. Henry may not be unacceptable to the reader: —

" If we suppose that few or none escaped conviction who exposed themselves to these fiery trials, we shall be very much mistaken. For the histories of those times contain innumerable examples of persons plunging their naked arras into boiling water, handling red hot balls of iron, and walking upon burning ploughshares, without receiving the least injury. Many learned men have been much puzzled to account for this, and disposed to think that Providence graciously iaterposed in a miraculous manner for the preservation of injured innocence.

" But if we examine every circumstance of these fiery ordeals with due attention, we shall see sufficient reason to suspect that the whole was a gross imposition on the credulity of mankind. The accused person was committed wholly to the priest who was to perform the ceremony three days before the trial, in Tvhich he had time enough to bargain with him for hi-s deliverance, and give him instructions how to act his part. On the day of trial no person was permitted to enter the church but the priest and the accused till after the iron was heated, when twelve friends of the accuser, and twelve of the accused, and no more, were admitted and ranged along the wall on each side

of the church, at a respectful distance. After the iron was taken out of the fixe several prayers were said: the accused drank a cup of holy water, and sprinkled his hand with it, which might take a considerable time if the priest were indulgent. The space of nine feet was measured by the accused himself, with his own feet, and he would probably give but scanty measure. He was obliged only to touch one of the marks with the toe of his right foot, and allowed to stretch the other foot as far towards the other mark as he could, so that the conveyance was almost instantaneous. His hand was not immediately examined, but wrapped in a cloth prepared for that purpose three days. May we not then, from all these precautions, suspect that these priests were in possession of some secret that secured the hand from the impression of such a momentary touch of hot iron, or removed all appearances of these impressions in three days; and that they made use of this secret when they saw reason ■? Such readers as are curious in matters of this kind may find two different directions for making ointments that will have this effect, in the work here quoted. What greatly strengthens these suspicions is, that we meet with no example of any champion of the Church who suffered the least injury from the touch of hot iron in this ordeal: but where any one was so foolhardy as to appeal to it, or to that of hot ivater, with a view to deprive the Church of any of her possessions, he never failed to burn his fingers, and lose his cause." I have made the scanty extract above from a very extensive history of the trial by ordeal, which I wrote several years ago, but never published.

All the forms of adjuration for the various ordeals of hot water, cold water, red hot iron, bread and cheese, &c., may be seen in the Codex Legum Antiquarum, Lindenbrogii, fol. Franc. 1613, p. 1299, &c.

The vow of the Nazarite, 1,2. In what it consisted, 3-8. When accidentally defiled, how he is to be purified, 9—12. The sacrifices he is to bring, and the rites he is to perform, when the voio of his separation is fulfilled, 13—21. The manner in ivhich the priests are to bless the people, 22—26. The name of the Lord is to be put on the children of Israel, whom He promises to bless, 27.

NOTES ON CHAP. VI. Verse 2. When either man or woman shall separate, ^•c.] The word 1'TJ nazir, from lij nazar, to separate, signifies merely a separated person, i. e., one peculiarly devoted to the service of God by being separated from all servile employments. From the Nazarites sprang the Rechabites, from the Rechahitcs the Essenes, from the Esscncs the Anchorites or Hermits, and in imitation of those, the different monastic orders. Some contend strongly that the Nazarite was a type of our Lord; but neither analogy nor proof can be pro- selves to vow a vow 01 a JN azarite, An. Exod. Isr. 2. to separate themselves unto the ijar or Zif. Lord:

duced. Our blessed Lord both drank wine and touched the dead, which no Nazarite would do: as to his either shaving his hair or letting it grow, we know nothing. His being called a Nazarene, Matt. ii. 23, is nothing to the purpose, as it can mean no mare than either that he was an inhabitant of Nazareth, which was a place of no credit, and therefore used as a term of reproach; or that he was in a general sense consecrated to the service of God — so were Samson, Samuel, Jeremiah, and John Baptist; or rather, that he was the lyj netser or branch, Isa. xi. 1, and POV

An. Exod. Isr. 2. irom winc and strong drink; and ^^^ "'" '^' shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

4 All the days of his ^ separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the ^ vine-tree, from the kernels even to the husk.

5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no ^ razor come upon his head; until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord, ^ he shall come at no dead body.

7 ^ He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die; because the * consecration of his God is upon his head.

8 All the days of his separation a. m. 2514.

9 And if any man die very ijarorzif. suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall ^ shave hi« head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.

10 And Ion the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congre gation:

1 1 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.

12 And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year ^ for a trespass-offering: but the days that were before shall ° be lost, because his separation was defiled.

tsemach, Zech. iii. 8; vi. 12, which is quite a different word; but this title is expressly applied to our blessed Lord by the above prophets; but in no place do they or any other prophets call him a Nazarite, in the sense in which "I'tJ nazir is used. Indeed it could not in truth be applied to him, as the distinguishing marks of a Nazarite never belonged to him. He was, it is true, the li'J netser or branch out of the root of Jesse, the genuine heir to the throne of David, whose dominion should extend over the universe, who should be King of kings, and Lord of lords; but the word ISial^upuLog, Matt. ii. 23, signifies merely a Nazorccan, or inhabitant of Nazareth.

Verse 3. No vinegar of ivine, c^c.] yor\ chomets sigmfies fermented wine, and is probably used here to signify wine of a strong body, or any highly intoxicating liquor. Dr. Lightfoot supposes that the leper being the most defiled and loathsome of creatures, was an emblem of the ^vretched, miserable state of man by the fall; and that the Nazarite was the emblem of man in his state of innocence. Wine and grapes are here particularly forbidden to the Nazarite because, as the doctor thinks, being an emblem of man in his paradisaical state, he was forbidden that tree and its fruits by eating of which Adam fell; for the doctor, as well as the Jewish rabbins, believed the tree of knowledge to have been none other than the vine.

Vinegar of strong drink] See the note on Lev. x. 9.

Verse 5. There shall no razor come upon his head] The vow of the Nazarite consisted in the following particulars: — 1. He consecrated himself in a very especial and extraordinary manner to God. 2. This was to continue for a certain season, probably never less than a whole year, that he might have a full growth of hair to burn in the fire ivhich is under the sacrifice of the peace-offering, ver. 18. 3. During the time of his separation, or nazarate, he drank no wine nor strong drink; nor used any vinegar formed from any inebriating liquor, nor ate flesh or dried grapes, nor tasted even the kernels or husks of any thing that had grown upon the vine. 4. He never shaved his head, but let his hair grow, as the proof of his being in this separated state, and under vows of peculiar austerity. 5. He never touched any dead body, nor did any of the last offices, even to his nearest kin; but was considered as the priests, who were wholly taken up with the service of God, and regarded nothing else. 6. All the days of his separation he was holy, ver. 8. During the whole time he was to be incessantly employed in religious acts.

Verse 7. The consecration of his God is upon his head.] Literally, The separation of his God is upon his head; meaning his hair, which was the proof and emblem of his separation. Now as the hair of the Nazarite was a token of his subjection to God through all the peculiarities of his nazarate, a woman, ivho is married, is considered as a Nazarite for life, i. e., separated from all others, and joined to one husband who is her lord; hence St. Paul, probably alluding to this circumstance, says, 1 Cor. xi. 10: The tvoman ought to have power upon her head, i. e., wear her hair and veil; for this hair is a proof of her nazarate, and of her being in subjection to her husband, as the Nazarite was under subjection to the LORD by the rq^ of his order. ^jg

Verse 10. Two turtles, or two young pigeons] ^^^ same kind of offering made by him who had a' Lev. xv. 14, «&c.

A. M. 2514. 1 3 And this is the law of the An. iExod.isr.2. Nazarite, ° when the days of his

fjarorZif. separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation;

14 And he shall offer his offering unto the Lord, one he-lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt-offering, and one ewe-lamb of the first year without blemish p for a sinoffering, and one ram without blemish i for peace-offerings;

1 5 And a basket of unleavened bread, "" cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread ^ anointed with oil, and their me-^.t-offering, and their * drink-offerings,

16 And the priest shall bring them before the Lord, and shall offer his sin-offering, and his burnt-offering:

1 7 And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat-offering, and his drinkoffering.

IS'* And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle

of the congregation, and shall A. M. 2514. take the hair of the head of his An. Exod. Isr. 2. separation, and put it in the fire ijar or Zif. which is under the sacrifice of the peaceofferings.

19 And the priest shall take the ^sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and ^ shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:

20 And the priest shall wave them for a wave-offering before the Lord: ^ this is holy for the priest, with the wave-breast and heaveshoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine.

2 1 This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the Lord for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.

23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ^ ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them.

Verse 18. Shall take the hair — and put it in thefire^ The hair was permitted to grow for this purpose; and as the Nazarite was a kind of sacrifice, offered to God through the whole term of his nazarate or sepaj'ution, and no human flesh or blood could be offered on the altar of the Lord, he offered his hair at the conclusion of his separation, as a sacrifice — that hair which was the token of his complete subjection to the Lord, and which was now considered as the Lord's property.

The Hindoos, after a vow, do not cut their hair during the term of their vow; but at the expiration of it they shave it off at the place where the vow was made.

That the hair of the head was superstitiously used among different nations, we have already had occasion-to remark; (see the notes on Lev. xix. 27;) and that the Gentiles might have learned this from the Jews is possible, though some learned men think that this consecration of the hair to a deity was in use among the heathens before the time of Moses, and in nations who had no intercourse or connection with the Jews.

Verse 21. This is the law of the Nazarite'] We learn from Maimonides, in his Treatise of the Nazarite, that a man might become a Nazarite in behalf of i^nother; that is, might assist him in bearing the ex- ■yfenses of the sacrifices, &c. "A son may fulfil the anu' his deceased father hath made, but did not live to Someplish: — He that saith, upon me be the shaving of our lazarite, he is bound to bring the offerings of shaving for cleanness, and may offer them by the hand of what Nazarite he will. If he say, Upon me be half the oblations of a Nazarite, then he bringeth half the offerings by what Nazarite he will, and that Nazarite payeth his offerings out of that which is his."

" By this," says Mr. Ainsvvorth, '• we may see the reason of that which James said to Paul, though he had no Nazarite's vow upon him: 'We have four men who have a vow on them; them take and sanctify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads, &c. Then Paul took the men, and the next day, sanctifying himself with them, entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of sanctification, (or Nazariteship,) until that an offering should be offered for every one of them;' see Acts xxi. 23-26. For though Paul had not vowed or fulfilled a Nazariteship himself, yet might he contribute with them, and partake of their charges about the sacrifices."

Verse 23. On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel] The prayer which God makes for his followers, and puts into their mouth, we are sure must be right; and to it, when sincerely, faithfully, and fervently offered, we may confidently expect an answer. If he condescended to give us a form of blessings or a form of prayer, we may rest assured that he will accept what he himself has made. This consideration may produce great confidence in them who come with either prayer or praise to the throne of grace, both of which should be, as far as circumstances will admit,

24 The Lord bless thee, and ^ keep thee:

25 The Lord "" make his face thee, and ^ be gracious unto

in the very words of Scripture; for we can readily attach a consequence to the loords of God, which we shall find difficult to attach to the best ordered words of men. Take ivith you words, and turn unto the Lord. What loords? Why those which God immediately puts into their mouths. Take aivay all iniquity, and receive us graciously; so will we render the calves of our lips; we shall then give the sacrifices of which our lips have spoken, when we made our vows unto thee. See Hos. xiv. 2.

Verse 24. The Lord bless thee] There are three forms of blessing here, any or all of which the priests might use on any occasion. The following is a verbal translation: —

2. May Jehovah cause his faces to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee!

3. May Jehovah lift up his faces upon thee, and may he put prosperity unto thee!

This is a very comprehensive and excellent prayer, and may be paraphrased thus: —

1. May God speak good unto thee, by giving thee his excellent promises! (See the note on Gen. ii. 3.) May he preserve thee in the possession of all the good thou hast, and from all the evil with which thou art threatened!

2. May the Holy Trinity illuminate thy heart, giving thee the true knowledge of thyself and of thy Maker; and may he show thee his graciousness in pardoning thy sins, and supporting thy soul!

26 ''The Lord hft up his countenance upon ^ give thee peace.

27 " And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and ^ I will bless them.

3. May God give thee communion with the Father, Son, and Spirit, with a constant sense of his approbation; and grant thee prosperity in thy soul, and in all thy secular affairs!

This I suppose to be the spirit and design of this form of benediction. Others will doubtless interpret it after their manner. Several wise and learned men believe that the mystery of the Holy Trinity is not obscurely hinted at in it. God the Father blesses and keeps his followers. God the Son is gracious unto sinners in remitting their offences, which he died to blot out. God the Holy Spirit takes of the things which are Christ's, and shows them unto genuine Christians, and diffuses the peace of God in their hearts. In a word, Christ, the gift of the Father by the energy of the Holy Spirit, came to bless every one of us by turning us away from our iniquities.

1. Every genuine Christian is a true Nazarite. He is separated from the world, and dedicated solely to the service of God. 2. His life is a life of self-denial; he mortifies and keeps the flesh in obedience to the Spirit. 3. All this enters into the spirit of his baptismal vow; for in that he promises to renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh — to keep God's holy word and commandments, and to walk in the same all the days of his life. 4. The person who is faithful has the blessing of God entailed upon him. Thus shall ye bless the children of Israel, &c., &c. See the notes on ver. 5 and 7.

When the tabernacle was fully set up, it appeared that the princes of the twelve tribes had prepared six covered wagons, drawn by two oxen each, one wagon for two tribes, for the service of the tabernacle, 1-3. Moses is commanded to receive this offering, and distribute the whole to the Levites according to their service, 4, 5. Moses does so, and gives two loagons and four oxen to the sons of Gershon, 6, 7; and four loagons and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, 8. The sons of Kohath have none, because they were to bear the ark, <5fC., on their shoulders, 9. Each prince is to take a day for presenting his offerings, 10, 11. On the first day Nahshon, of the tribe of Judah, offers a silver charger, a silver bowl, a golden spoon, a young bullock, a ram, a lamb, and a kid, for a sin-offering; two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five lambs, for a PEACE-OFFERING, 12-17. On the second day Nethaneel, of the tribe of Issachar, offers the like, 18-23. On the third day Eliab, of the tribe of Zebulun, offers the like, 24-29. On the fourth day Elizur, of the tribe of Reuben, offers the like, 30-35. On the fifth day Shelumiel, of the tribe of Simeon, made a similar offering, 36-41. On the sixth day Eliasaph, of the tribe o/ Gad, made his offering, 42-47. On the seventh day Elishama, of the tribe of Ephraim, made his offering, 48-53. On the eighth day Gamaliel, of the- tribe of Manasseh, made his offering, 54-59. On the ninth day Abidan, of the tribe of Benjamin, made his offering, 60-65. On the tenth day Ahiezer, of the tribe of Dan, made his offering, 66-71. On the eleventh day Pagiel, of the tribe o/ Asher, made his offering, 72-77. On the twelfth day Ahira, of the tribe of Naphtali, made the same kind of offering, 78-83. The sum total of all vessels and cattle tvhich ivere offered was twelve silver chargers, and twelve silver bowls; twelve golden spoons; twelve bullocks, twelve rams, and twelve kids; twenty-four bullocks, sixty rams, sixty he-goats, and sixty lambs, 84-88. The offerings being ended, Moses goes into the tabernacle, and hears the voice of the Lord from the mercy-seat, 89.

^•i^' °' ^^^- ^ set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them;

2 That ^ the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, <= and were over them that were numbered, offered:

3 And they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle.

5 ^ Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service.

6 And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites.

7 Two wagons and four oxen « he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service:

8 '' And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, ^ under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

9 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none;

Verse 1. On the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle] The transactions mentioned in this chapter took place on the second day of the second month of the second year after their departure from Egypt; and the proper place of this account is immediately after the tenth chapter of Leviticus.

Verse 3. Six covered loagons] 3i* nSj^' W^ shesh egloth tsab, six tilted wagons, the Septuagint translate if u/ia^ac Tia/xTrr/viKag, with which the Coptic agrees; but what lampenic chariots were, no person pretends to know. Covered or tilted is probably the meaning of the original. The wagons were given for the more convenient exporting of the heavier parts of the tabernacle, which could not be conveniently carried on men's shoulders.

Verse 5. According to his service.'] That is, distribute them among the Levites as they may need than, giving most to those who have the heaviest burdens to bear.

Verse 7. Two wagons — unto the sons of Gershon] The Get-shonites carried only the curtains, coverings, because ^ the service of the sane- a. m. 2514. tuary belonging unto them ' was An. Exod.isr.'2 that they should bear upon their ijar or Zif. shoulders.

10 And the princes offered for ''dedicating of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their offering before the altar,

1 1 And the Lord said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar.

1 2 And he that offered his offering the first day was ^ Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah:

13 And his offering was one silver charger, the weight thereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after ™ the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them were full of fine flour mingled with oil for a ^ meat-offering:

14 One spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of ° incense:

17 And for "■ a sacrifice of peace-offerings,

of the first year: this was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

1 8 On the second day Nethaneel, the son of

and hangings, chap. iv. 25. And although this was a cumbersome carriage, and they needed the wagons, yet it was not a heavy one.

Verse 8. Four wagons — unto the sons of Merari] Because they had the boards, bars, pillars, and socxets of the tabernacle to carry, chap. iv. 31, 32, therefore they had as many more wagons as the Gershonites.

Verse 9. Unto the sons of Kohath he gave none] Because they had the charge of the ark, table, candlestick, altars, &c., chap. iv. 5—15, which were to be carried upon their shoulders; for those sacred things must not be drawn by beasts.

Verse 10. And the princes offered] EveTy prince or chief offered in the behalf, and doubtless at the expense, of his whole tribe.

Verse 13. One silver charger] i^^i^p kaaralh, a dish, or deep bowl, in which they kneaded the paste. See Exod. xxv. 29.

One silver bowl] p"110 mizrak, a bason, to receive the blood of the sacrifice in. See on Exod. xxvii. 3.

one silver charger, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering:

20 One spoon of gold of ten shekels, full of

23 And for a sacrifice of * peace-offerings,

of the first year: this was the offering of Neihaneel the son of Zuar.

24 On the third day ^ Eliab, the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun, did offer:

shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering:

of the first year: this luas the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

It is worthy of remark that the different tribes are represented here as bringing their offerings precisely in the same order in which they encamped about the tabernacle. See chap. ii. and chap. x.

3 1 His offering was one silver charger of the weight of a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meatoffering:

of the first year: this was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

3 6 On the fifth day ^ Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon, did offer:

shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering:

4 1 And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings,

for its support, so each should testify an equal sense of obligation. Besides, the vessels were all sacrificial vessels, and the animals were all clean animals, such as were proper for sacrifices; and therefore every thing was intended to point out that the people were to be a holy people, fully dedicated to God, and that God was to dwell among them; hence there were fine flour and oil, for a meat-offering, ver. 13. A bullock, a ram, and a lamb, for a burnt-offering, ver. 15, 16. Five oxen, five rams, five he-goats, Siud five lambs, for a peace-offering, ver. 17. Thus, as the priests, altar, &c., were anointed, and the tabernacle dedicated, so the people, by this offering, became con secrated to God. Therefore every act here was religious act.

It is worthy of remark also, that every tribe offers I that were to be received thereby, they reconciled and the same kind of offering, and in the same quantity, to made themselves and theirs acceptablfi to God, and show, that as every tribe was equally indebted to God | were made partakers of his grace, to remission of sins,

A. M. 2514. of the first year: this was the An.Exod. isr.2. offering of Shelumiel the son of ^■i^'^"'"^^- Zurishaddai.

42 On the sixth day ^ EHasaph, the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, offered:

43 His offering was one silver charger of the weight of a hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bow^l of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled v^^ith oil for a meat-offering:

of the first year: this was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

48 On the seventh day ^ Elishama, the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim, offered:

weight whereof luas a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering:

of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.

54 On the eighth day offered y Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh:

55 His offering was one silver charger of the weight of a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of

59 And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

60 On the ninth day ^ Abidan, the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin, offered:

shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering:

of the first year: this luas the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.

66 On the tenth day ^Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan, offered:

shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering:

of the first year: this was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

and sanctification through faith, and in the work of the Holy Ghost, in the communion and feeling whereof they rojoieed before God."

Verse 48. On the seventh day] Both Jewish and Christian writers have been surprised tliat this work of oflFering went forward on the seventh day, which they suppose to have been a Sabbath, as well as on the other days. But 1. There is no absolute proof that this seventh day of offering was a Sabbath. 2. Were it even so, could the people be better employed than in thus consecrating themselves and their services to the Lord? We have already seen that every

73 His offering was one silver Charger, the

shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering:

of the first year: this was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran.

78 On the twelfth day "^Ahirathe son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali, offered:

shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering:

act was a religious act; and we may rest assured that no day was too holy for the performance of such acts as are recorded here.

Verse 72. On the eleventh day] The Hebrew form of expression, here and in the 78th verse, has something curious in it. DV T^^}^ T\\ifj; UV2 heyom ashtey asar yom. In the day, the first and tenth day; DV3 DV liyj/' D'JE' heyom sheneym asar yom, In the day, two and tenth day. But this is the idiom of the language, and to an original Hebrew our almost anomalous words eleventh and twelfth, by which we translate the original, would appear as strange as his, literally translated, would appear to us. In reckoning after twelve, it is easy to find out the composition of the words thirteen, as three xmd ten, fourteen, four and ten, and so on; but eleven and tivelve bear scarcely any analogy to ten and one, and ten and two, which nevertheless they intend. But this is a subject of philology rather than of Biblical criticism.

Verse 84. This was the dedication of the altar, in the day, <^c.] Meaning here the time in which it was dedicated; for as each tribe had a whole day for its representative or prince to present the offerings it of the first year: this was the A. M. 25i4. offering of Ahira the son of An. Exod. isr. 2. Enan. ij^i or Zif.

84 This was the dedication of th6 altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold:

85 Each charger of silver weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels weighed two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:

86 The golden spoons were twelve, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary: all the gold of the spoons was a hundred and twenty shekels.

87 All the oxen for the burnt-offering were twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the lambs of the first year twelve, with their meat-offeringand the kids of the goats for sin-offering twelve.

88 And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace-offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he-goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was ^ anointed.

89 And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation "^ to speak with ^ him, then he heard ^ the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy-seat, that was upon the ark of testimony, from ^ between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.

had provided, consequently the dedication, in which each had his day, must have lasted twelve days: the words therefore, in this text, refer to the last day or twelfth, in which this dedication was completed.

Verse 88. After that it ivas anointed.] By the anointing the altar was consecrated to God; by this dedication it was solemnly appointed to that service for which it had been erected.

Verse 89. To speak loilh him] To confer with God, and to receive farther discoveries of his will.

He heard the voice of one speaking unto him] Though Moses saw no similitude, but only heard a voice, yet he had the fullest proof of the presence as well as of the being of the Almighty. In this way God chose to manifest himself during that dispensation, till the fulness of the time came, in which the word ivas made fleshy and dwelt among us. No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

The mercy-seat] See the note on Exod. xxv. 1 7.

from 131 dahar, he spoke, 1 Kings vi. 23. And as this mercy-seat represented our blessed Redeemer, so the apostle says that God, who had at sundry times, and in divers manners, spoken in time past to the fathers by the prophets, hath, tn these last days, spoken unto us by his Son, Heb. i. 1,2. Hence the incarnated Christ is the true ^21 debir or oracle, in and by whom God speaks unto man.

On this occasion we find there were offered 12 silver chargers each weighing 130 shekels. 12 silver bowls, each 70 shekels.

12 golden spoons, each weighing 10 shekels. Total amount of golden vessels 120 shekels.

By which we may at once see that though the place in which they now sojourned was a wilderness, as to cities, villages, and regular inhabitants, yet there was plenty of pasturage, else the Israelites could not have furnished these cattle, with all the sacrifices necessary for different occasions, and especially for the passover, which was celebrated during their sojourning in the desert, and which itself must have required an immense number of lambs, (see chap, ix.,) when each family of the 600,000 males was obliged to provide one for itself.

Directions how the lamps are to be lighted, 1—3. How the candlestick ivas formed, 4. The Levites to be consecrated to their service by being cleansed, sprinkled, shaved, purified, and their clothes washed, 5—7. To offer a meat-offering and a sin-offering, 8. The people to put their hands upon them, 9, 10. Aaron is to offer them before the Lord, 11. The Levites to lay their hands on the heads of the bullocks, SfC, 12. The Levites are taken to assist Aaron and his sons in the place of all the first-born of Israel, 13—19. Moses and Aaron do as they ivere commanded, the Levites are presented, purified, and commence their service, 20-22. They are to begin their service at twenty-five years of age, and leave off at fifty, 23-25. After this they shall have the general inspection of the service, 26.

unto him, When thou ^ hghtest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the

Verse 2. The seven lamps shall give light] The whole seven shall be lighted at one time, that seven may be ever burning.

Verse 4. This loork of the candlestick, <5fC.'] See many curious particulars relative to this candlestick in the notes on Exod. xxv. 31 and 39. The candlestick itself was an emblem of the Church of Christ; the oil, of the graces and gifts of the Spirit of God; and the light, of those gifts and graces in action among men. See Rev. i. 12-20. God builds his Church and sends a 642

stick was of beaten gold, unto the An. Exod. isr. 2. shaft thereof, unto the flowers ^^^' "' ^'^- thereof, was ° beaten work: ^ according unto the pattern which the Lord had showed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.

forth his Spirit to dwell in it, to sanctify and cleanse it, that it may be shown unto the world as his own workmanship. The seven lights in the candlesticks point out the seven Spirits of God, the Holy Ghost being thus termed, Rev. iii. 1, from the variety and abundance of his gifts and influences; seven being used among the Hebrews to denote any thing /«//, complete, and perfect. A candlestick or lamp without oil is of no use; oil not burning is of no use. So a Church or society of religious people without the influence of the Holy Ghost are dead while they have a name to

A. M. 2514. 7 And thus shalt ihou do unto An. Exod. isr. 2. them, to clcanse them: Sprinkle •'^'^ °'^ ' • * water of purifying upon them, and ^ let ^ them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.

8 Then let them take a young bullock with ^ his meat-offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin-offering.

9 ' And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: ^ and thou shalt gather the v/hole assembly of the children of Israel together:

10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel ^ shall put their hands upon the Levites:

1 1 And Aaron shall ™ offer the Levites before the Lord for an •* offering of the children of Israel, that ° they may execute the service of

1 2 P And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin-offering, and the other /or a

live; and if they have a measure of this light, and do not let it shine hy purity of living and holy zeal before men, their religion is neither useful to themselves nor to others. Reader, it is possible to be in the Church of God and not be of that Church; it is possible to have a measure of the Spirit and neither profit nor be profited. Feel this dreadful possibility, and pray to God that thou be not a proof of it.

Verse 7. Sprinkle tvaier of purifying] nx£3n "'?D mey chaitath, water of sin, or toater of the sin-offering. As this purifying vv'ater was made by the ashes of the red heifer, cedar-wood, hyssop, and scarlet; and the heifer herself was sacrificed, and her blood sprinkled seven times before the tabernacle, Num. xix. 3-6; she may be considered as a proper sacrifice for sin, and consequently the water thus prepared be termed the water of the sin-offering. As the ashes were kept ready at hand for purifying from all legal pollutions, the preparation might be considered as a concentration of the essential properties of the sin-offering, and might be resorted to at all times with comparatively little expense or trouble, and no loss of time. As there were so many things by which legal pollution might be contracted, it was necessary to have always at hand, in all their dwellings, a mode of purifying at once convenient and unexpensive. As the tvaier by which the Levites were here purified must have been the water prepared from the ashes of the red heifer, this ordinance was undoubtedly instituted before this time, though not described till chap. xix. 1-10 of this I a

13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and oflfer them /or an offering unto the Lord.

14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be 1 mine.

1 5 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and ^ offer them for an offering.

1 6 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; ^ instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.

1 7 ' For all the first-born of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.

1 8 And I have taken the Levites for all the first-born of the children of Israel.

book; but that chapter might be in connection with any of the preceding ordinances, as well as where it is now found. We see from Heb. ix. 13, 14, that these ashes mingled with water, and sprinkled on the unclean, and which sanctified to the purification of the flesh, were intended to typify the blood of Christ, which purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God, ver. 15; for as without this sprinkling with the water of the sin-offering the Levites were not fit to serve God in the wilderness, so without this sprinkling of the blood of Christ no conscience can be purged from dead works to serve the living God. See the notes on chap. xix. 1—10.

Verse 10. Shall put their hands upon the Levites^ It has been argued from this that the congregation had a part in the appointment of their own ministers, and that this was done by the imposition of hands. However that may be, it appears that what was done on this occasion meant no more than that the people gave up this whole tribe to God in place of their firstborn; and that by this act they bound themselves to provide for them who, because of their sacred service, could follow no secular work. And surely it was right, that they who served the altar should live by the altar. The ministers of God perform oflices for the people which the people cannot perform for themselves; and nothing can be more reasonable than that the people should give them the necessaries and comforts of life while they are thus employed in their behalf.

of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: ^ that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.

20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.

21 ' And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; ^ and Aaron offered them as an offering before the Lord; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.

Verse 2 1. And Aaron made an atonement for them] Though the Levites had been most solemnly consecrated to the Lord's service, and though all legal washings and purifications were duly performed on the occasion, yet they could not approach God till an atonement had been made for them. How strange is it, after all these significations, of the will and purpose of God relative to man, that any priest or any people will attempt to draw nigh to God without an atonement! As sure as God hath spoken it, there is no entrance into the holiest but through the blood of Jesus, Heb. x. 19, 20.