Commentary on the Holy Bible

Latvs relative to detention of property intrusted to the care of oTWther, to robbery, and deceit, 1, 2; finding of goods lost, keeping them from their owner, and swearing falsely, 3. Such a person shall not only restore v>hat he has thus unlawfully gotten, hut shall add a fifth part nfthe value of the property besides, 4, 5; and bring a ram without blemish, for a trc.tpass-nffering to the Lord, 6, 7. Latvs relative to the burntoflcring and the perpetual fire. 8-13. Law of the meat-ofleiing, and ivho may lawfully eat of it, 14-18. Imws relative to the offerings of.Varon and his sons and their successors, on the day of their anointing, 19-23. Laws relative to the sin-oflfering, and those who might cat of it, 21-30. 520 a

trespass against the Lord, and * lie unto his neighbour in that ° which was delivered him to keep, or in ^ fellowship, 'or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath ^ deceived his neighbour;

3 Or f have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and '' sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:

4 Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found.

NOTES ON CHAP. VI. Verse 2. Lie unto his neighbour, i^c.] This must refer to a case in which a person delivered his property to his neighbour to be preserved for him, and took no witness to attest the delivery of the goods; such a person therefore might deny that he had ever received such goods, for he who had deposited them with him could bring no proof of the delivery. On the other hand, a man might accuse his neighbour of detaining property which had never been confided to him, or, after having been confided, had been restored again; hence the law here is very cautious on these points: and because in many cases it was impossible to come at the whole truth without a direct revelation from God, which should in no common case be expected, the penalties are very moderate-; for in such cases, even when guilt was discovered, the man might not be so criminal as appearances might intimate. See the law concerning this laid down and explained on Exod. xxii. 7, &c.

Verse 3. Have found that which was lost] The Roman lawyers laid it down as a sound maxim of jurisprudence, " that he who found any property and applied it to his own use, should be considered as a thief whether he knew the owner or not; for in their view the crime was not lessened, supposing the finder was totally ignorant of the right owner." Qui alienum quid jaccns lucri faciendi causa sustulit,furti obstringitur, sive scit, cujus sit, sive ignoravit; nihil enim ad furtum minuendum facit, quod, cujus sit, ignoret. — DiGESTOB, lib. xlvii., Tit. ii., de furtis. Leg. xliii., sec. 4. On this subject every honest man must say, that the man who finds any lost property, and does not make all duo inquiry to find out the owner, should, in sound policy, be treated as a thief. It is said of the Dyrbaeans, a people who inhabited the tract between Baotria and India, that if they met with any lost pro-

5 Or all that about which he a. m. zsu. hath sworn falsely; he shall even An. Exod.l3r.2. ' restore it in the principal, and ^bib or Nisan. shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, '' in ^ the day of his trespass-offering.

6 And he shall bring his Irespass-offerins unto the Lord, "" a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass-offering unto the priest:

7 " And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.

9 Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt-offering: It is the burnt-offering, ° because of the burning

perty, even on the public road, they never even touched it. This was actually the case in this kingdom in the time of Alfred the Great, about A. D. 888; so that golden bracelets hung up on the public roads were untouched by the iinger of rapine. One of Solon's laws was, Take not up ivhat you laid not down. How easy to act by this principle in case of finding lost property: " This is not mine, and it would be criminal to convert it to my use unless the owner be dead and his family extinct." When all due inquiry is made, if no owner can be found, the lost property may be legally considered to be the property of the finder.

Verse 5. All that about which he hath sworn falsely] This supposes the case of a man who, being convicted by his own conscience, comes forward and confesses his sin.

Restore it in the principal] The property itself if still remaining, or the full value of it, to which 3. fifth part more was to be added.

Verse 8. And the Lord spake unto Moses] At this verse the Jews begin the 25th section of the law; and here, undoubtedly, the 6th chapter should commence, as the writer enters upon a new subject, and the preceding verses belong to the fifth chapter. The best edited Hebrew Bibles begin the 6th chapter at this verse.

Verse 9. This is the law of the bumt-offcring] This law properly refers to that burnt-offering which was daily made in what was termed the morning and evening sacrifice; and as he had explained the nature of this burnt-offering in general, with its necessary ceremonies, as far as the persons who brought them were concerned, he now takes up the same in relation to the priests who were to receive them from the hands of the offerer, and present them to the Lord on tha altar of burnt-offerings.

10 P And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his hncn breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes vviiicii the fire hath consumed with the burnt-offering on the altar, and he sliall put them i licside the altar.

1 1 And ' he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp ^ unto a clean place.

12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt-offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon ' the fat of the peace-offerings.

13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar, it shall never go out.

14" And this is the law of the meat-offering: tlie sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord, before tlie altar.

15 And he shall take of it his handful of the flour of the meat-offering, and of the oil thereof, and all llie frankincense which is upon

Because of the burning upon the altar all nighty If the burnt-offering were put all upon the fire at once, it could not be burning all night. We may therefore reasonably conclude that the priests sat up by turns the whole night, and fed the fire with portions of this offering till the whole was consumed, which they would t,ake care to lengthen out till the time of the morning sacrifice. The same we may suppose was done with the morning sacrifice; it was also consumed by piecemeal through the whole day, till the time of offering the evening sacrifice. Thus there was a co>itinual offering by fire unto the Lord; and hence in ver. 13 it is said: The fire shall ever he burning upon the altar, it shall never go out. If at any time any extraordinary offerings were to be made, the daily sacrifice was consumed more speedily, in order to make room for such extra offerings. See more on this subject in the note on ver. 23.

The Hebrew doctors teach that no sacrifice was ever offered in the morning before the morning sacrifice; and none, the passover excepted, ever offered in the evening after the evening sacrifice; for all sacrifices were made by day-light. Tlic fat seems to have been chiefly burned in the night season, for the greater light and conveniency of keeping the fire alive, which could not be so easily done in the night as in the d,iy time.

Verse 11. And ptit on other garments] The priests approached the altar in their holiest garments; when carrying the ashes, &e., from the altar, they put on il upon the altar for a sweet An. Exod.isr.Z. savour, even the 'memorial of ^^'^ °' '^'""- it, unto the Lord.

1 6 And " the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: ^ with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place: in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it.

17 ^ It shall not be baken with leaven. ^ I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; " it is most holy, as is the sin-offering, and as the trespass-offering.

18 '' All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. " It shall be a statute for ever in your generations, concerning the offerings of the Lord made by fire: "^ every one that touchclh them shall be holy.

20 ' This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the Lord in the day when he is anointed: the tenth part of an 'ephah of fine flour for a meatoffering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and lialf thereof at night.

Clean place.] A place where no dead carcasses, dung, or filth of any kind was laid; for the ashes were holi/, as being the remains of the offerings made by fire

Verse 13. The fire shall ever be burning] See on ver. 9 and ver. 20. In imitation of this perpetual fire, the ancient Persian Magi, and their descendants the Parsees, kept up a perpetual fire; the latter continue it to the present day. This is strictly enjoined in the Zend Avcsta, which is a code of laws as sacred among them as the Pentateuch is among the Jews. A

Sagnika Brahmin preserves the fire that was kindled at his investiture with the poita, and never suffers it to go out, using the same fire at his wedding and in all his burnt-offerings, till at length his body is burnt with it. — Ward's Customs.

Verse 15. His handful of the flour] An omer of flour, which was the tenth part of an ephah, and equal to about three quarts of our measure, was tlie least quantity that could be offered even bv the poorest sort, and this was generally accompanied with a log of oil, which was a little more than half a pint. This quantity both of flour and oil might be increased at pleasure, but no less could be offered.

Verse 20. In the day when he is anointed] Not only in that day, but from that day forward, for this

21 In a pan it shall be made with oil; and, when it is baken, thou shalt bring it in: and the baken pieces of the meat-offering shalt thou offer /or a sweet savour unto the Lord.

22 And the priest of his sons e that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute Tor ever unto the Lord; *" it shall be wholly burnt.

23 For every meat-offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.

25 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, • This is the law of the sin-offering: '' In the place where the burnt-offering is killed shall the sin-offering be killed before the Lord: ^ it is most holy.

26 " The priest that offereth it for sin shall

eat it: "in the holy place shall it A. M. 2514.

be eaten, in the court of the ta- An. Exod. isr.2 bernacle of the congregation. Abib or is.san.

27 ° Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place.

28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden p shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brazen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water.

29 1 All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: ' it is most holy.

30 ' And no sin-offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation, to reconcile ivithcd in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.

was to them and their successors a statute for ever. See verse 22.

Verse 23. For every meat-offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt] ■-^Vhatever the priest offered was loholhj the Lord's, and therefore must be entirely consumed: the sacrifices of the common people were offered to the Lord, but the priests partook of them; and thus they who ministered at the altar were fed by the altar. Had the priests been permitted to live on their own offerings as they did on those of the people, it would have been as if they had offered nothing, as they would have taken again to themselves what they appeared to give unto the Lord. Theodoret says that this marked " the high perfection which God required in the ministers of his sanctuary," as his not eating of his own sin-offering supposes him to stand free from all sin; but a better reason is given by Mr. Ainsworth: " The people's meat-offering was eaten by the priests that made atonement for them, ver. 15, 16, chap. vii. 7; but because no priest, being a sinner, could make atonement lor himself, therefore his meat-offering might not be eaten, but all burnt on the altar, to teach him to expect salvation, not by his legal service or works, but by Christ; for the eating of the sin-offering figured the bearing of the sinner's iniquity;" chap. x. 17.

Verse 25. In the place where the burnt-nffrring is hilled, c^-c] The place here referred to was the north side of the altar. See chap. i. 11.

Verse 20. The priest — shall eat it] From the expostulation of Moses with Aaron, chap. x. 17, we learn that the priest, by eating the sin-offering of the people, was considered as bearing their sin, and typically removing it from them: and besides, this was a part of their maintenance, or what the Scripture calls their inheritance; see Ezek. xliv. 27-30. This was afterwards greatly abused; for improper persons endeavoured to get into the priest's office merely that they might get a secular provision, which is a horrible pro-

Verse 27. Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy] The following note of Mr. Ainsworth is not less judicious than it is pious: —

"All this rite was peculiar to the sin-offering, (whether it were that which was to be eaten, or that which was to be burnt,) above all the other most holy things. As the sin-offering in special sort figured Christ, who was made sin for us, (2 Cor. v. 21,) so this ordinance — for all that touched the flesh of the sin-offering to be holy, the garments sprinkled with the blood to be washed, the vessels wherein the flesh was boiled to be broken, or scoured and rinsed — taught a holy use of this mystery of our redemption, whereof they that are made partakers ought to be washed, cleansed, and sanctified by the Spirit of God; that we possess our vessels in holiness and honour, and yield not our members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin," 1 Thess. iv. 4; Rom. vi. 13.

Verse 28. The earthen vessel — shall be broken] Calmet states that this should be considered as implying the vessels brought by individuals to the court of the temple or tabernacle, and not of the vessels that belonged to the priests for the ordinary service. That the people dressed their sacrifices sometimes in the court of the tabernacle, he gathers from 1 Sam. ii. 13, 1 4, to which the reader is desired to refer.

In addition to what has been already said on the different subjects in this chapter, it may be necessary to notice a few more particulars. The perpetual meatoffering, TOn nnjn minrhah tamid, ver. 20, the perpetual fire, TOn B'N esh tamid, ver. 13, and the perpetual burnt-offering, TOjI rhj! olath tamid, Exod. xxix. 42, translated by the Septuagint fivaa AoTravrof, Tni) SiairavTOU and oXoKavraair and iXoKOvra/ja HiaTravTOc, all cast much light on Heb. vii. 25, where it is said, Christ is able to save them to the uttermost (sif ->» r-avTrXef, perpetually, to all intents and purposes) that come unto God by him; seeing he ever liveth (ttok-otc fuv, ho is perpetually living) to make intercession for them; iu which words there is a manifest allusion to the perpetual minchah, the perpetual Jire, and the perpetual burnt-offering, mentioned here by Moses. As the minchah, or gratitude-ofTerinj:; should be perpetual, 80 our gratitude for the innumerable mercies of God should be perpetual. As the burnt-oflenng must be perpetual, so should the sacrifice of our blessed Lord be considered as a perpetual oirering, that all men, in all ages, should come unto God through him who is ever living, in his sacrificial character, to make intercession for men; and who is therefore represented even in the heavens as the Lamb just slain, standing before the throne. Rev. v. 6; Ileb. x. 19-22. And as the fire on the altar must be perpetual, so should the influences of the ]Ioly Spirit in every member of the Church, and the flame of pure devotion in the hearts of believers, be ever energetic and permanent. A continual sacrifice for continual successive generations of sinners was essentially necessary. Continual influences of the Holy Spirit on the souls of men were essentially necessary to apply and render effectual thin atonement, to the salvation of the soul. And incessant gratitude for the ineffable love of God, manifested by his unspeakable gift, is surely required of all those who have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Reader, dost thou feel thy obligations to thy Maker? Does the perpetual fire Imrn on the altar of thy heart 1 Art thou ever looking unto Jesus, and beholding, by faith, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world? And dost thou feel the influences of his Spirit, at all times witnessing wilh thy spirit that thou art his child, and exciting thee to acts of gratitude and obe dience? If not, of what benefit has the religion of Christ been to thee to the present day? Of a contrary state to that referred to above, it may be well said, This is not the way to heaven, for the way of life is above to the wise, that they may depart from the snares of death beneath. Arise, therefore, and shake thyself from the dust; and earnestly call upon the Lord thy God, that he may save thy soul, and that thou fall not into the bitter pains of an eternal death.

The law of the trespass-offering, and the priest's portion in it, 1-7. As also in the sin-offerings and meatofferings, 8—10. The law of the sacrifice of peace-offering, 11, whether it was a thanksgiving-ojferin^, 12-15; or a vow or voluntary offering, 16-18. Concerning the flesh that touched any unclean thing, 19. 20, and the person who touched any thing unclean, 21. Laws concerning eating of fat, 22—25, and concerning eating o/" blood, 26, 27. Farther ordinances concerning the peace-offerings and the priest's portion in them, 28-36. Conclusion of the laws and ordinances relative to burnt-offerings, meat-offerings, sin-offerings, and peace-offerings, delivered in this and the preceding chapters, 37, 38.

5 And tlie priest shall burn

them upon the altar /or an offer- An. Exodisr2 ins: made by fire unto the Lord: Abib or Nisan.

2 "^ In the place where they kill the burntoffering, shall they kill the trespass-offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar.

3 And he shall offer of it '' all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covercth the inwards,

4 And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away:

Verse 2. In the place where they kill the burnt-offering] Viz., on the north side of the altar, chap. i. 1 1.

Verse 3. The rump] See the notes on chap. iii. 9, where the principal subjects in this chapter are explained, being nearly the same in both. ■

Verse 4. The fat that is on them] Chiefly the fat that was found in a detached state, not mixed with the I to which the priests ever after had the skin of the oitucles; such as the omentum or cat*/, the fat of the I whole burnt-offerings for their portion, which was a 694 a

6 " Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: 'it is most holy.

7 As the sin-offering is, so is « the trespassoffering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.

8 And the priest that offereth any man's burnt-offering, even the priest shall have to

mesentery, the fat about the kidneys, &c. See the notes on chap. iii. 9, &C.

Verse 8. The priest shall have to himself the skin] Rishop Patrick supposes that this right of the priest to the skin commenced with the offering of Adam, " for it is ])rohable,"' says he, " that.\dam himself offered the first sacrifice, and had the skin given him by God to make garments for him and his wife; in conformity

A. M. 2514. himself the skin of the burnt- An. Exod. isr! 2. offering which he hath offered.

10 And every meat-offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall ail the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.

1 1 And ^ this is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he shall offer unto the

12 If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he

custom among the Gentiles as well as the Jews, who gave the skins of their sacrifices to their priests, when they were not burnt with the sacrifices, as in some sin-olTerings they were among the Jews, see chap. iv. 11. And they employed them to a superstitious use, by lying upon them in their temples, in hopes to have future things revealed to them in their dreams. Of this we have a proof in Virgil, jEn. lib. vii., ver. 86-95.

" hue dona sacerdos

Cum tulit, et ctesanim avium sub nocte silenti PelUbus incubuit stralis, somnosque petivit; Multa modus simulacra videt volitantia miris, Et varias audit voces, fruitarque deorum Colloquio, atque imis Acheronta aiTatur Avernis. Hie et turn pater ipse petens responsa Latinus Centum lanigp.ras mactahat rite biJentes, Atque harum effultus tergo stratisque jacehat Vellerihus. Subita ex alto vox reddita luco est."

First, on the fleeces of the slaughtered sheep By night the sacred priest dissolves in sleep, When in a train, before his slumbering eye. Thin airy forms and wondrous visions fly. He calls the powers who guard the infernal floods. And talks, inspired, familiar with the gods. To this dread oracle the prince withdrew, And first a hundred sheep the monarch slew; Then on their fleeces lay; and from the wood He heard, distinct, these accents of the god. — Pitt.

The same superstition, practised precisely in the same way and for the same purposes, prevails to the present day in the Highlands of Scotland, as the reader may sec from the following note of Sir Walter Scott, in his Ladi/ of the Lake: — -

" The Highlanders of Scotland, like all rude people, had various superstitious modes of inquiring into futurity. One of the most noted was the toghann. A person was wrapped up in the shin of a newly-slain bullock, and deposited beside a water-fall, or at the bottom of a precipice, or in some other strange, wild, and unusual situation, where the scenery around him suggested nothing but objects of horror. In this situation he revolved in his mind the question proposed; and whatever was impressed upon him by his exalted imagination, passed for the inspiration of the disem-

shall offer with the sacrifice of A. M. 2514. thanksgiving unleavened cakes An. Ejod.isr!2. mingled with oil, and unleavened ^b.b or Nisan. wafers ' anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.

13 Besides the cakes, he shall offer /or his offering " leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace-offerings.

14 And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for a heave-offering unto the Lord, " and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace-offerings.

15° And the flesh of the sacrifice of his

bodied spirits who haunt these desolate recesses. One way of consulting this oracle was by a party of men, who first retired to solitary places, remote from any house, and there they singled out one of their number, and wrapt him in a big cow^s hide, which they folded about him; his whole body was covered with it except his head, and so left in this posture all night, until his invisible friends relieved him by giving a proper answer to the question in hand; which he received, as he fancied, from several persons that he found about him all that time. His consorts returned to him at daybreak; and then he communicated his news to them, which often proved fatal to those concerned in such unwarrantable inquiries.

" Mr. Alexander Cooper, present minister of North Virt, told me that one John Erach, in the Isle of Lewis, assured him it was his fate to have been led by his curiosity with some who consulted this oracle, and that he was a night within the hide above mentioned, during which time he felt and heard such terrible things that he could not express them: the impression made on him was such as could never go off; and he said, for a thousand worlds he would never again be concerned in the like performance, for it had disordered him to a high degree. He confessed it ingenuously, and with an air of great remorse, and seemed to be very penitent under a just sense of so great a crime: he declared this about five years since, and is still living in the Isle of Lewis for any thing 1 know." — Description of the Western Isles, p. 110. See also Pennant's Scottish Tour,yo\. ii., p. 301; and Sir W. Scott's Lady of the Lake.

Verse 12. If he offer it for a thanksgiving] See the notes at the end of this chapter.

Verse 15. He shall not leave any of it until the morning^ Because in such a hot country it was apt to putrefy, and as it was considered to be holy, it would have been very improper to expose that to putrefaction which had been consecrated to the Divine Being. Mr. Harmer supposes that the law here refers rather to the custom of drying flesh which had been devoted to religious purposes, which is practised among the Mohammedans to the present time. This,

1 6 But P if the sacrifice of his ofTering be a vow, or a voKintary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrilicc: and on the morrow also the remainder of it sliall be eaten:

17 But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.

18 And if ani/ of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be i imputed unto him that olTereth it: it shall be an "■ abomination, and the soul that eatcth of it shall bear his iniquity.

1 9 Ai\d the flesh that touchcth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.

20 But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings that pertain unto the Lord, ' having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul ' shall be cut off from his

21 Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as " the uncleanness of man, or anrj " unclean beast, or any " abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice

of peace-offerings, whicli pertain A. M. 2514. unto the Lord, even that soul An. feiod. isr. 2. ' shall be cut off from his people. ^^'^ "' ^"^- he thinks, might have given rise to the prohihition, as the sacred flesh thus preserved might have been abused to superstitious purposes. Therefore God says, ver. 18, " If any of the flesh of tlie sacrifice — be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that ofiereth it; it is an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity." That is, on Mr. Harmer's hypothesis, This sacred flesh shall avail nothing to him that eats it after the first or second day on which it is offered; however consecrated before, it shall not be considered sacred after that time. See Harmer's Oh.i., vol. i., p. 394, edit. 1808.

Verse 20. Haring his tmeleanness upon hitn\ Having touched any unclean thing by which he became legally defiled, and had not washed his clothes, and bathed his flesh.

Verse 2 1. The uncleanness of man\.Vny ulcer, sore, or 1 sprosy; or any sort of cutaneous disorder, either toalhsome or infectious.

Verse 23. Fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. ^ Any vthtr fat they might eat, but the fat of these was sa-

23 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, >■ Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.

24 And the fat of the ^ beast that dieth ol itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in nowise eat of it.

25 For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth tt bhall be cut off from his people.

26 ^ Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.

27 Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

29 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, '' He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the Lord shall bring his oblation unto the Lord, of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings.

30 "^ His own hands shall bring the offerings of the Lord made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that ^ the breast may be waved /or a wave-offering before the Lord.

cred, because they were the only animals which were offered in sacrifice, though many others ranked among the clean animals as well as these. But it is likely that this prohibition is to be understood of these animals lehen offered in sacrifice, and then only in reference to the inward fat, as mentioned on ver. 4. Of the fat in any other circumstances it cannot be intended, as it was one of the especial blessings which God gave to the people. Butter of kine, and tnilk of sheep, with FAT of L.\.MBs, and [i.\.MS of the breed of Bashan, and ooATS, were the provision that he gave to his followers. See Deut. xxxii. 12—14.

Verse 27. Whatsoever soul — that eateth any manner of blood] See the note on Gen. ix. 4. Shall be cut off — excommunicated from the' people of God, and so deprived of any part in their inheritance, and in their blessings. See the note on Gen. xvii. 14.

Verse 29. Shall bring his oblation] Meaning those things which were given out of the peace-offerings to the Lord and to the priest. — Ainsworth.

32 And s the right shoulder shall ye give unto the pricst/or a heave-offering of the sacrifices of your peace-offerings.

33 He among the sons of Aaron, that offcreth the blood of the peace-offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part.

34 For ^ the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest, and unto his sons, by a statute for ever, from among the children of Israel.

35 This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out

of the offerings of the Lord a. m. 2514. made by fire, in the day when An. 'Eiod."i^; 2i lie presented them to minister ^^ib or Nisan. unto the Lord in the priest's ofiice,

36 Which the Lord commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, ' in the day that he anointed them, hy a statute for ever throughout their generations.

37 This is the law ^ of the burnt-offering, ' of the meat-offering, "" and of the sin-offering, " and of the trespass-offering, " and of the consecrations, and P of the sacrifice of the peaceofferings,

38 Whicli the Lord commanded Moses in Mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel 1 to offer their oblations unto the Lord, in the wilderness of Sinai.

Verse 36. In the day that he anointed them] See the note on Exod. xl. 15.

Verse 38. In the wilderness of Sinai.] These laws were probably given to Moses while he was on the mount with God; the time was quite sufficient, as he was there with God not less than fourscore days in all; forty days at the giving, and forty days at the ■renewing, of the law.

As in the course of this book the different kinds of sacrifices commanded to be offered are repeatedly occurring, I think it best, once for all, to give a general account of them, and a definition of the original terms, as well as of all others relative to this subject which are used in the Old Testament, and the reference in which they all stood to the great sacrifice offered by Christ.

1. Diyx ASH AM, TRESPASS-o^erwio-, from DjyS" ashani, to be guilty, or liable to punishment; for in this sacrifice the guilt was considered as being transferred to the animal offered up to God, and the offerer redeemed from the penalty of his sin, ver. 37. Christ is said to have made his soul an offering for sin, (DtyN,) Isa. liii. 10.

2. rTi^N ISHSUEH, FiRE-offcring, probably from a/tys ashash, to be grieved, angered, inflamed; either pointing out the distressing nature of sin, or its property of incensing Divine justice against the offender, who, in consequence, deserving burning for his offence, made use of this sacrifice to be freed from the punishment due to his transgression. It occurs Exod. xxix. 18, and in many places of this book.

3. □'Dn^n HABHABIM, WEBATED Or REPEATED offerings, from Drr yahab, to supply. The word occurs only m IIos. viii. 13, and probably means no more than the continual repetition of the accustomed offerings, or conlinuation of each part of the sacred service.

4. nUT ZEBACH, a SACRIFICE, (in Chaldee, n^l rfeiacA, the 1 zain being changed into 1 daleth,) a creature slain in sacrifice, from n^I zabach, to slay; hence the altar on which such sacrifices were offered was termed n^iO mizbeach, the place of sacrifice. See the note on Gen. viii. 2. Zebach is a common name for sacrifices in general.

5. Jn CHAG, 3, festival, especially such as had a periodical return, from Jjn chagag, to celebrate a festival, to dance round and round in circles. See Exod. v. 1; xii. 24. The circular dance was probably intended to pointout the revolution of the heavenly bodies, and the exact return of the different seasons. See Parkhursl.

ing, from X^n chata, to miss the mark; it also signifies sin in general, and is a very apt term to express its nature by. A sinner is continually aiming at and seeking happiness; but as he does not seek it in God, hence the Scripture represents him as missing his aim, or missing the mark. This is precisely the meaning of the Greek word upapria, translated sin and sin-offering in our version; and this is the term by which the Hebrew word is translated both by the Septuagint and tlie inspired writers of the New Testament. The sin-offering was at once an acknowledgment of guilt, in having forsaken the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns that could hold none; and also of the firm purpose of the offerer to return to God, the true and pure fountain of blessedness. This wcrd often occurs. See the note on Gen. iv. 7; xiii. 13.

7. 13J copHER, the EXPIATION Or ATONE.MENT, from 1i33 caphar, to cover, to smear over, or obliterate, or annul a contract. Used often to signify the atonement or expiation made for the pardon or cancelling of iniquity. See more in the note on Exod. -xxv. 17.

8. n>'n MOED, an APPOINTED on/JHuZ/M/'^a'^lrom Hi" yaad, to appoint or constitute, signifying such feasts as were instituted in commemoration of some great event or deliverance, such as the deliverance from Egypt.

See Exod. xiii. 10, and thus differing from the chag mentioned above. See the note on Gen. i. 14.

9. D'nSo hilluim, consecrations or consecrationofferings, from k'73 7n«/a, io Jill; those offerings made in consecrations, of which the priests partook, or, in 'he Hebrew phrase, had their hands filled, or which had filled the liands of them that offered them. See the note on Exod. xxix. 19; and see 3 Chron. xiii. 9.

10. nnOO MINCHAH, hiSKT-offciing, from nj nac/i, to rest, settle after toil. It generally consisted of things without hfc, sut^h as green ears of corn, full ears of corn, flour, oil, and frankincense; (see on chap. ii. 1, &c.;) and may be considered as having its name from that rest from labour and toil which a man had when the fruits of the autumn were brought in, or when, in consequence of obtaining any rest, ease, &c., a significant offering or sacrifice was made to God. It often occurs. See the note on Gen. iv. 3. The jealousy-offering (Num. v. 15) was a simple minchah, consisting of barlei/meal only.

11. "jDO MESECH and 13"d:d mimsach, a mixtureoffering, or mixed libation, called a DaiUK-offering, Isa. Iv. 11, from "^OT masach, to mingle; it seems in general to mean old wine mixed with the less, which made it extremely intoxicating. This offering does not appear to have had any place in the worship of the true God; but from Isa. Ixv. II, and Prov. xxiii. 30, it seems to have beeti u.scd for idolatrous purposes, such as the Bacchanalia among the Greeks and Romans, " when all got drunk in honour of the god."

12. nK'syo MAssEETii, an oblation, things carried to the temple to be presented to God, from ii'Ji nasa, to bear or carry, to bear sin; typically, Exod. xxviii. 38; chap. x. 17; xvi. 21; really, I.'ia. liii. 4, 12. The sufferings and death of Christ were the true masseeth or vicarious bearing of the sins of mankind, as the passage in Isaiah above referred to sufficiently proves. See this alluded to by the Evangelist John, chap. i. 29; and see the root in Parkhurst.

13. nmj NEDABAH, FKEE-wiLL or Voluntary offering; from 31J nadab, to be free, liberal, princely. An offering not commanded, but given as a particular proof of extraordinary gratitude to God for especial mercies, or on account of some vow or engagement voluntarily taken, ver. 16.

14. "^DJ NESECH, LiBjiTioN, Or ORtuK-offertng, from ■]DJ nasacli, to diffuse or pour out. Water or wine poured out at the conclusion or confirmation of a treaty or covenant. To this kind of offering there is frequent allusion and reference in the New Testament, as it tjrpified the blood of Christ poured out for the sin of the world; and to this our Lord himself alludes in the institution of the holy eucharist. The whole Gospel economy is represented as a covenant or treaty between God and man, Jesus Christ being not only the mediator, but the covenant sacrifice, whose blood was poured out for the ratification and confirmation of this covenant or agreement between God and man.

15. n'7>' and nSi;? OLAii, BVRST-offering, from nVi' alah, to ascend, because this offering, as being wholly consumed, ascended as it were to God in smoke and vapour. It was a very expressive type of the sacrifice of Christ, as nothing less than his complete and full sacrifice could make atonement for the sin of the world. In most other offerings the priest, and often the offerer, had a share, but in the whole burnt-offer. ing all was given to God.

from lOp katar, to bum, i. e. the frankincense, and other aromatics used as a perfume in different parts of the Divine service. To this St. Paul compares the agreeablcness of the sacrifice of Christ to God, Eph. v. 2: Christ hath given himself for us, an offering — to God for a sweet-smellinc savour. From Rev. V. 8 we learn that it was intended also to represent the prayers of the saints, which, offered up on that altar, Christ Jesus, that sanctifies every gift, are highly pleasing in the sight of God.

17. pip KORBAN, the GiFT-offering, from 31p karab, to draw nigh or approach. See this explained on chap, i. 2. Korban was a general name for any kind of offering, because through these it was supposed a man had access to his Maker.

18. D'o'?^' shelamiji, re.KCE-offering, from oSty shalam, to complete, make whole; for by these offerings that which was lacking was considered as being now made up, and that which was broken, viz., the covenant of God, by his creatures' transgression, was supposed to be made whole; so that after such an offering, the sincere and conscientious mind had a right to consider that the breach was made up between God and it, and that it might lay confident hold on this covenant of peace. To this the apostle evidently alludes, Eph. ii. 14-19: He is our peace, (i.e. out shalam or peace-oflering,) icho has made both one, and broken down the middle wall; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, &c. See the whole passage, and see the note on Gen. xiv. 18.

19. min TODAH, THANK-fl^erinn-, from m" yadah, to confess; offerings made to God with public confession of his power, goodness, mercy, &c.

20. niJljn TENUPH.4H, w.KVE-offering, from ^jj naph, to stretch out; an offering of the first-fruits stretched out before God, in acknowledgment of his providential goodness. This offering was moved from the right hand to the left. See the note on Exod. xxix. 27.

21. nonn tercmah, HEWE-offering, from DT ram, to lift up, because the offering was lifted up towards heaven, as the wave-offering, in token of the kindnesfi of God in granting rain and fruitful seasons, and fill ing the heart with food and gladness. As the wave offering was moved from right to left, so the heave offering was moved up and doten; and in both cases this was done several times. These offerings had a blessed tendency to keep alive in the breasts of the people a due sense of their dependence on the Divine providence and bounty, and of their obligation to God for his continual and liberal supply of all their wants. See the note on Exod. xxix. 27.

In the above collection are comprised, as far as I can recollect, an explanation of all the terms used in the Hebrew Scrijitures which signify sacrifice, oblation, atonement, olTcring, <fec., &c., as well as the reference they bear to the great and only sufficient atonement, sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction made by Christ Jesus for the sins of mankind. Larger accounts must be sought in authors who treat professedly on these subjects.

Moses is commanded to consecrate Aaron and his sons, 1—3. Moses convenes the congregation; washes, clothes, and anoints Aaron, 4-1 S. He also clothes Aaron'' s sons, 13. Offers a bullock for them as a sinoffering, 14-17. And a ram for a burnt-offering, 18-21. And another rayn for a consecration-offering, 22-24. The fat, with cakes of unleavened bread, and the right shoulder of the ram, he offers as a waveoffering, and afterwards burns, 25-28. The breast, which was the part of Moses, he also waves, 29. And sprinkles oil and blood upon Aaron and his sons, 30. The flesh of the consecration ram is to be boiled and eaten at the door of the tabernacle, 31, 32. Moses commands Aaron and his sons to abide seven days at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, which they do accordingly, 33—36.

2 °- Take Aaron, and his sons with him, and ■= the garments, and ■= the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin-offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

3 And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

4 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

5 And Moses said unto the congregation, ^ This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.

6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, * and washed them with water.

7 ^ And lie put upon him the s coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.

8 And he put the breastplate upon him: also he ''put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.

9 ■ And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord ^ commanded Moses.

10 'And Moses took the anointing oil, and

Verse 8. Take Aaron and his sons'\ The whole «ubject of this chapter has been anticipated in the notes on Exod. xxviii. l,&c., and x.\ix. l,&c., in which all the sacrifices, riles, and ceremonies have been explained in considerable detail; and to those notes the reader is referred. It is only necessary to observe that Aaron and his sons were not anointed until now. Before, the thing was commanded; now, first performed.

anointed the tabernacle and all a.m. 2514. that ivas therein, and sanctified An. Exod. isr. 2.

1 1 And he sprinkled thereof upon tlie altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify

12 And he "poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify

13 " And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and ° put bonnets upon them; as the Lord commanded Moses.

1 4 pAnd he brought the bullock for the sinoffering: and Aaron and his sons 1 laid their hands upon the iiead of the bullock for the sin-offering.

15 And he slew it; '"and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it.

1 6 ^ And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar.

17 But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the Lord ' commanded Moses.

Verse 8. He put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.] The Urim and Thummim are here supposed to be something different from the breastplate itself. See the notes on Exod. xxviii. 15, 16, 30.

Verse 14. The bullock for the sin-offering] This was offered each day during the seven days of oonse oration. See Exod. xxix. 36.

.\n. Exod. Isr. 2. lor the burnt-oiicnng: and Aaron *''"' °^ ^'^'^- and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.

19 And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.

20 And he cut tlie ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat.

21 And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it vms a burnt-sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the Lord; ^ as tiie Lord commanded Moses.

22 And ''■ he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid tlieir hands upon the head of the ram.

23 And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's

Verse 23. Put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, cj-c] See this significant ceremony explained in the note on Exod. xxix. 20. Calmet remarks that the consecration of the liigh priest among the Romans bore a considerable resemblance to the consecration of the Jewish high priest. " The Roman priest, clothed with a garment of silk, his head covered with a crown of gold adorned with sacred ribbons, was conducted into a subterranean place, over which there was a floor of planks pierced through with many holes. On this floor they sacrificed a bullock, whose blood was freely poured out on the planks or floor, which running through the holes fell upon the priest, who stood under to receive this sacred aspersion, and who, in order to be completely covered with the blood, took care to present the whole of his body, his clothes, face, eyes, nose, lips, and even his tongue, to receive the drops of blood falling through the pierced floor above. Being com])letely covered with this sanguineous shower, he ascended from his subterranean place, and was acknowledged and adored by the people as Pontifcx Maxjmus, or supreme high priest." These rites, which bear a striking allusion to those used in tlie consecration of Aaron, and from which they were probably borrowed, and disguised by the introduction of their own superstitions, are particularly described by Aurelitis Prudenlius, in his poem entitled Rnmani Marlyris Supplicium, from which I shall select those verses, the subject of which is given above, as the passage is:urious, and the work not common.

" Summus sacerdos ncmpc sub terram scrobe Acta in profundum consecrandus mergitur. Mire infulatus, fcsta vittis tempora Nectcns, corona turn rcpexus aurea, Cinctu Gabino scricam fultus togam.

Tabulis supcrnc strata tcxnnt pulpita, Rtmnsa rari prgniatis compagibus, Scmdunt subinde vel terebrant aream, Crebroque lignum perforant acumine,

right ear, and upon the thumb A. M. 2514. of his right hand, and upon the An. Eiod.isriz. great toe of his right foot. Ai.ii, w Ni.an.

24 And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.

25 " And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:

26 y And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that ivas before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:

Pateat minutts ut frequens hiatihus. —

Hie ut statuta est immolanda bellua. Pectus sacrata dividunt venabulo, Eiuctat amplum vulnus undam sanguinis — &c.

Turn \^er frcqtientes mille nmarum vias Illapsus imber, tabidum rorem pluit, Defossus intus quem sacerdos excipit, Guttas ad omnes turpe subjectans caput, Et vcste et omni putrefactus corpore:

Quin OS supinat, obvias ofTert genas Supponit aures, lahra, nares objicit, Oculos et ipsos perluit liquoribus,

Nee jam palato parcit, et linguam rigat. Donee cruorem totus atrum combibat. — Procedit inde pontifex visu horridus — &c. Onmes salutant atque adorant eminus, Vilis quod illuni sanguis, et bos mortuus Foedis latentem sub cavernis laverint."

Of these lines the reader will not be displeased to find the following poetical version: —

" For when, with sacred pomp and solemn state, Their great high priest the Romans consecrate, His silken vest in Gabine cincture bound, A festal fillet twines his temples round: And, while aloft the gorgeous mhre shines, His awful brow a golden crown confines. In a deep dyke, for mystic ritual made. He stands, surrounded with terrific shade. High o'er his holy head a stage they place, Adorn with paintings, and with statues grace; Then with keen i)ierccrs perforate the floor, Till thronging apertures admit no more. Thither the victim ox is now convey'd. To glut the vengeance of the thirsty blade. The sacred spear his sturdy throat divides, Down, instant streaming, gush the gory tides. Through countless crevices the gaping wood Distils corrupted dew and smoking blood;

Aaron and his sons, being anointed, CHAP. VIII. abide in the tabernacle seven days.

nacle of the congregation: and A. M. 2514. there eat it with the bread that An. kxod.isr:2. is in the basket of consecrations, ^bib or Nisan. as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it.

32 " And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the broad shall ye burn with fire.

33 And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for ^ seven days shall he consecrate you,

34 s As he hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.

35 Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and '^ keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not: for so I am com-

36 So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of

28 " And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt-offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savour: it is an offering made by fire

29 And Moses took tlie breast, and waved it for a wave-offering before the Lord: for of the rum of consecration it was Moses' '' part; as the Lord commanded Moses.

30 And ■= Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.

31 And Moses said unto Aaron and to liis sons, ^ Boil the flesh at the door of the taber-

Drop after drop, in swift succession shed.

Tails on tlie lioly pontiff's mitred iiead;

While, to imbibe the sanctifying power,

His outspread garments drink the crimson shower;

Then on his back in reeking streams he lies,

And laves in livid blood his lips and eyes;

Bares every limb, exposes every pore,

To catch the virtue of the streaming gore;

With open mouth expects the falling flood.

Moistens his palate and his tongue with blood;

Extends his ears to meet the sanguine rain,

Nor lets a single drop descend.in vain.

Then from the gloomy cave comes forth to light,

Bathed in black blood, and horrible to sight 1 —

By the vile torrent, and the victim slain,

In the dark cavern cleansed from mortal stain,

Their priest, enveloped in atoning gore,

With trembling awe surrounding throngs adore."

Prudentius was born about the middle of the fourth century, and was no doubt intimately acquainted with the circumstances he describes.

Verse 27. And waved them for a wave-offering] See the nature of this and the heave-nffering in the note on Exod. xxix. 27.

Verse 30. And Mvses took — the blood — and sprinkled it upon Aaron, cfc] Thus we find that the high priest himself must be sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice; and our blessed Lord, of whom Aaron was a type, was sprinkled with his own blood. 1. In his agony in the garden. 2. In his being crowned with thorns. 3. In the piercing of his hands and his feet. And, 4. In his side being pierced with the spear. All

Verse 33. For seven days shall he consecrate you.] This number was the number of perfection among tl.o Hebrews; and the seven days' consecration implied;i perfect and full consecration to the sacerdotal office. See the note on Exod. xxix. 30.

Verse 36. So Aaron and his sons did] This chapter shows the exact fulfilment of the commands delivered to Moses, Exod. xxix.; and consequently the complete preparation of Aaron and his sons to fill the awfully important office of priests and mediators between God and Israel, to offer sacrifices and make atonement for tlie sins of the people.

" Thus," says Mr. Ainsvvorth, " the covenant of the priesthood was confirmed unto the tribe of Levi in Aaron and his sons, which covenant was life and peace, Mai. ii. 5. But these are made priests without an oath; also, there were 7nany priests, because they were not suffered to coiilinue by reason of death; and they served unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, offering gifts and sacrifices which could not make hiui who did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience; for they were carnal ordinances imposed upon them till the time of reformation, that is, until the lime of Christ, who was made a priest of God ivith an oath, and made surety of a better covenani, estal)lishe(l on better promises. And because he continueth for ever, he hath a priesthood which passeth not from one to another, and is a minister of the tru^ tabernacle, w^iich God pitched and not man. Not by the blood of bulls and of goats, but by his own blood, he entered once into the lioly place, having found ever* lasting redemption for us; and is therefore able to save to the uttermost them who come unto God through him, as he ever hveth to make intercession for them." Taken in reference to liis priesthood and sacrifice, all these riles and ceremonies are sigTiificant and edify mg; but taken out of this relation, they would be as absurd and nugatory as the consecration of the Romao PonU» fux Maximus, mentioned above by Prudentius.

Aaron is commanded to offer, on the eighth day, a sin-offering and a burnt-offering, I, 2. The people are commanded also to offer a sin-offering, a humt-offering, peace-offerings, and a meat-offering, 3, 4. They do as Ihey were commanded; and Moses promises that God shall appear among them, 5, 6. Aaron w commanded to make an atonement for the people, 7. He and his sons prepare and offer the different sacrifices

A ND " it came to pass on the cightli day, /^a^ Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;

2 And he said unto Aaron, '' Take thee a young calf for a sin-offering, "= and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord.

3 And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, ^ Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin-offering; and a calf and a lamb, hoth of the first year, without blemish, for a burntoffering;

4 Also a bullock and a ram for peace-offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord; and ' a meat-offering mingled with oil: for '^ to-day the Lord will appear unto you.

5 And they brought that which Moses com-

Verse 1. On the eighth day] This was the first day after their consecration, before which they were deemed unfit to minister in holy things, being considered as in a state of imperfection. " All creatures," says.'Vinsworth, " for the most part were in their uncleaniiess and imperfection seven days, and perfected on the righth; as children by circumcision, Lev. xii. 2, 3; young beasts for sacrifice, chap. xxii. 27; persons that were unclean by leprosies, issues, and the like, chap. xiv. 8-10; xv. 13, 14; Num. vi. 9, 10. So here, the priests, until the eighth day, were not admitted to minister in their office."

Verse 2. Tale thee a young calf, <^c.] As these sacrifices were for Aaron himself, they are furnished by himself and not by the people, for they were designed to make atonement for his own sin. See chap, iv. 3. -\nd this is supposed by the Jews to have been intended to make an atonement for his sin in the matter of the golden calf. This is very probalile, as no formal atonement for that transgression had yet been made.

22, 23. And the fire of the Lord consumes tin manded before the tabernacle of A. M. 2514.

the congregation: and all the con- An. Exod. br. 2 giegation drew near and stood ^^*' "' ^'"^- before the Lord.

6 And Moses said. This is the thing which the Lord commanded that ye should do; and s the glory of the Lord shall appear unlo you.

7 And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and '' offer thy sin-offering, and thy burnt-offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and ' offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the Lord commanded.

8 Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin-offering, which was for himself.

9 '' And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the

Verse 3. Take ye a kid] In chap. iv. 14 a young bullock is commanded to be offered for the sin of the people; but here the offering is a kid, which was the sacrifice appointed for the sin of the ruler, chap. iv. 22, 23, and hence some think that the reading of the Samnritan and the Scptuagint is to be preferred. Speak unto the elders of Israel, these being the only princes or rulers of Israel at that time; and for them it is possible this sacrifice was designed. It is however supposed that the sacrifice appointed chap. iv. 14 was for a particular sin, but this for sin in general; and that it is on this account that the sacrifices differ.

Verse 6. And the glory of the Lord shall appear] God shall give the most sensible signs of his presence among you: this he did in general by the cloud on the tabernacle, hut in this case the particular proof was the fire that came out from before the Lord, and consumed the burnt-offering; see ver. 23, 24.

Verse 7. Make an atonement for thyself] This showed the imperfection of the Levitical law; the high priest was obliged to make an expiation for his own sins before he could make one for the sins of the

10 "'But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver, of the sin-offering, he burnt upon the altar; ° as the Lord commanded Moses.

11° And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.

12 And he slew the burnt-offering; and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, " which he sprinkled round about upon the altar.

13 lAnd they presented the burnt-offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the bead: and he burnt them upon tiie altar.

14 ■■ And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt-offering on the altar.

1 5 ' And he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin-offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.

16 And he brought the burnt-offering, and offered it ' according to the " manner.

I offering, and " took a handful An. Exod. isr. 2. thereof and burnt it upon the Abib or Nisan.

I 18 He slew also the bullock and the ram /or y a sacrifice of peace-offerings, vvhich was for the people: and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about;

19 And the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver:

20 And they put the fat upon the breasts, ^ and he burnt the fat upon the altar:

21 And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved " for a wave-offering before the Lord; as Moses commanded.

22 And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and '' blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin-offering, and the burnt-offering, and peace-offerings.

23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: " and the glory of

Verse 22. And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them] On lifting up the hands in prayer, see Exod. ix. 29. The form of the blessing we have in Num. vi. 23, &c.; "The Lord bless thee and keep thee! The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee! The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace!" See the notes on these passages.

And came down from offering of the sin-offering, 4-c.] A sin-offering, a burnt-offering, a meat-offering, and peace-offerings, were made to God that his glory might appear to the whole congregation. This was the end of all sacrifice and religious service; not to confer any obligation on God, but to make an atonement for sin, and to engage him to dwell among and influence his worshippers.

Verse 23. Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle] It is supposed that Moses accompanied Aaron into the tabernacle to show him how to offer the incense, prepare the lamps and the perfume, adjust the ehew-bread, &c., &c.

And the glory of the Lord appeared] To show that every thing was done according to the Divine mind,

2. A fire came out from before the Lord, and consumed the burnt-offering. This was the proof which CM gave upon extraordinary occasions of his accept- ance of tfie sacrifice. This was done probably, 1. In the case of Abel, Gen. iv. 4. 2. In the case of Aaron; see above, ver. 24. 3. In the case of Gideon, Judg. vi. 21. 4. In the case of Manoali and his wife. Compare Judg. xiii. 19-23. 5. In the case of David dedicating the threshing-floor of Oman, 1 Chron. xxi. 28. tj. In the case of Solomon dedicating the temple, 2 Chron. vii. 1. 7. In the case of Elijah, 1 Kings xviii. 38. Hence to express the accepting of an offering, sacrifice, &c., the verb pT dishshen is used, which signifies to reduce to ashes, i. e., by fire from heaven. See Psa. xx. 3. In such a case as this, it was necessary that the fire should appear to be divinely sent, and should come in such a way as to preclude the supposition that any art or deceit had been practised on the occasion. Hence it is not intimated that Moses and Aaron brought it out of the tabernacle, professing that God had kindled it there for them, but the fire came out from before tlie Lord, and all the PEOPLE SAW it. The victims were consumed by a fire evidently of no human kindling. Josephus says that " a fire proceeded from the victims themselves of its own accord, which had the appearance of a flash of lightning;" ef avruv izvp avti^dri avro/xa-ov, aai vfioiov aarpaTrric >.a/i7niSovi ipu/ievov Tij A'koyc "and consumed all that was upon the altar." — Antiq., lib. in., c. 8, s. 6, edit. Haverc. And it is very likely that by the agency of the ethereal or electric spark, sent immediately from the Divine presence, the victuiw d33

24 And ^ there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon

were consumed. The heathens, in order to give credit to their worship, imitated this miracle, and pretended that.Tupiter testified his approbation of the sacrifices offered to him by thunder and hghtning: to this ViBGiL seems to allude, though the words have been understood differently.

On which words Servius makes this remarkable comment: Quia cum fiunt foedera, si coruscatio fuerit, confirmantur. Vel certe quia apud majores arse non incendebantur, sed ignem divinum precibus eliciebant qui inccndebant altaria. " To sanction the covenant signifies to confirm it; for when a covenant was made, if there were a flash of lightning, it was considered to be tlicreljy confirmed: or rather because our ancestors lighted no fire upon the altars, but obtained by their supplications divine fire," &c. The expression apud majores, "among our ancestors," shows that they could boast of no such divine fire t/ien; nor could they ever before, as the whole account was borrowed from the Jews. Soliniis Polyhislor gives us an account to the same effect; for, speaking of the hill of Vulcan in Sicily, he says: In quo, qui diviuae rei operantui, ligna vitea super aras struunt, nee ignis apponitur in banc congeriem; cum prosicias intulerunt, si adest deus, si sacrum probatur, sarmenta licet viridia sponte concipiunt, et nullo inflagrante halitu, ah ipso numinc fit accendium, cap. v. in fine. " They who perform sacred rites in this place, put a bundle of vine-tree wood upon the altar, but put no fire to it; for when they lay the pieces of the victim upon it, if the deity be present, and he approve the sacrifice, the bundle, although of green wood, takes fire of itself, and without any other means the deity himself kindles the flame." These are remarkable instances, and show how exactly the heathen writers have borrowed from the sacred records. And in farther imitation of this miracle, they had their perpetual fire in the temple of Vcsla, which they feigned to have descended at first from heaven, and which they kept with the most religions veneration.

Verse 24. When all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.] 1. The miracle was done in such a way as gave the fullest conviction to the people of its reality. 2. They exuhed in the thought that the God of almighty power and energy had taken up his abode among them. 3. They prostrated themselves in his presence, thereby intimating the deep sense they had of his goodness, of their unworlhine.ss, and of the obligation they were under to live in subjection to his authority, and obedience to his will. —

This celestial fire was carefully preserved among the Israelites till the time of Solomon, when it was renewed, and continued among them till the Babylonish captivity. This Divine fire was the emblem of the Holy Spirit. And as no sacrifice could be acceptable to God which was not salted, i. e., seasoned and rendered pleasing, J.i/ this fire, as our Lord says, Mark ix. 49; so no soul can offer acceptable sacrifices to God, but through the influences of the Divine Spirit. Hence the promise of the Spirit under the emblem of fire, Matt. iii. 11, and its actual descent in this similitude on the day of pentecost. Acts ii. 3, 4.

The most remarkable circumstance in this cnapter is the manifestation of the presence of God, and the consuming of the victims by the miraculous fire. We have already seen that the chief design of these sacrificial rites w<is to obtain reconciliation to God, that the Divine Presence might dwell and be manifested among them. To encourage the people to make the necessary preparations, to offer the sacrifices in a proper spirit, and to expect especial mercies from the hand of God, Moses promises, ver. 4, that the Lord ivould appear unto them on the morrow, and that his glory should appear, ver. 6. In hope or expectation of this, the priest, the elders, and the people purified themselves by offering the different sacrifices which God had appointed; and when this was done God did appear, and gave the fullest proofs of his approbation, by miraculously consuming the sacrifices which were prepared on the occasion. Does not St. John evidently refer to these circumstances, 1st Epist., chap. iii. 2, 3: " Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; and every man that hath this hope in him, purificlh himself, even as he is pure." This manifestation of God in the tabernacle was a type of his presence, first, in the Church militant on earth; and secondly, in the Church triumphant in heaven. They who expect to have the presence of God here, must propitiate his throne of justice by the only available sacrifice; they who wish to enjoy everlasting felicily, must be purified from all unrighteousness, for without holiness none can see the Lord. If we hope to see him as he is, we must resemble him. How vain is the expectation of glory, where there is nc meetness for the place! And how can we enter into the holiest but by the blood of Jesus? Hob. x. 19..\nd of what use can this sacrifice be to those who do not properly believe in it ' And can any faith, oven in that sacrifice, be effectual to salvation, that does not purify the heart? Reader! earnestly pray to God tha.t thou hold not the truth in unrighteousness.

Nadab and Abihu offer strange fire before the Lord, and are destroyed, 1-5. Aaron and his family forbidden to mourn for them, 6, 7. He and his family are forbidden the use of wine, 8—11. Directions to Aaron and his sons concerning the eating of the mcat-nffcrings, cjc, 12—15. Moses chides Aaron for not having eaten the sin-offering, 16-18. Aaron excuses himself, and Moses is satisfied, 19, 20.

2 And there ^ went out fire from ihe Lord, and devoured tliem, and they died before tlie

3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sancti-

sons of Aaron, *" took cither of them his censor, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered " strange fire before the Lord, which lie commanded them not.

Veise 1. And Nadab and Abihu — took eillier of them his censer\ The manner of burning incense in the temple service was, according to the Jews, as follows: — " One went and gathered the ashes from off the altar into a golden vessel, a second brought a vessel full of incense, and a third brought a censer with fire, and put coals on the altar, and he whose office it was to bum the inceuse strewed it on the fire at the command of the governor. At the same time all the people went out of the temple from between the porch and the altar. Each day they burned the weight of a hundred denaries of incense, fifty in the morning, and fifty in the evening. The hundred denaries weighed fifty shekels of the sanctuary, each shekel w sighing three hundred and twenty barleycorns; and when the priest had burned the incense, he bowed himself down and went his way out. See Maimonides'' Treatise of the Daily Service, chap. iii. So when Zacharias, as his lot fell, burned incense in the temple, the whole multitude of the people were without at prayer while the incense was burning, Luke i. 9, 10. By this service God taught them that the prayers of his faithful people are pleasing to him, whilst our High Priest, Christ Jesus, by his mediation puts incense to their prayers; (see Psa. cxli. 2; Rom. viii. 34; Heb. viii. 1, 2; i.'i. 24; Rev. viii. 3, 4;) for the priests under the law served unto the example and shadow of heavenly things; Heb. viii. 5." See Ainsioorth in loco.

In the preceding chapter we have seen how God intended that every part of his service should be conducted; and that every sacrifice might be acceptable to him, he sent his own fire as the emblem of his presence, and the means of consuming the sacrifice. — Here we find Aaron's sons neglecting the Divine ordinance, and offering incense with strange, that is, co»jmon fire, — fire not of a celestial origin; and therefore the fire of God consumed them. So that very fire which, if properly appUed, would have sanctified and consumed their gift, become now the very instrument of their destruction! How true is the saying, The Lord is a consuming fire! He will either hallow or destroy us: he will purify our souls by the influence of his Spirit, or consume them with the breath of hi.s tnoulhi The tree which is properly planted in a f;ood foil is nourished by the genial influences of the sun:

pluck it up from its roots, and the sun which was the cause of its vegetative life and perfection now dries up its juices, decomposes its parts, and causes it to moulder into dust. Thus must it be done to those who grieve and do despite to the Spirit of God. Reader, hast thou tliis heavenly fire 1 Hear then the voice of God, Quench not the Spirit.

Some critics are of opinion that the fire used by the sons of Aaron was the sacred fire, and that it is only called strange from the manner of placing ihn incense on it. I cannot see the force of this opinion.

Which he commanded them not.] Every part of the religion of God is Divine. He alone knew what he designed by its rites and ceremonies, for that which they prefigured — the whole economy of redemption by Christ — was conceived in his own mind, and was out of the reach of human wi-sdom and conjecture. He therefore who altered any part of this representative system, who omitted or added any thing, assumed a prerogative which belonged to God alone, and was certainly guilty of a very high offence against the wisdom, justice, and righteousness of his Maker. This appears lo have been the sin of Nadab and Abihu, and tliis at once shovi's the reason why they were so severely punished. The most awful judgments are threatened against those who either add too, or take away from, the declarations of God. See Deut. iv. 2; Prov. XXX. 6; and Rev. xxii. 18, 19.

A'erse 3. And Aaron held his peace.] pnx DTI vaiyiddom Aharon, and Aaron ivas dumb. How elegantly expressive is this of his parental affection, his deep sense of the presumption of his sons, and his own submission to the justice of God! The flower and hope of his family was nipped in the bud and blasted; and while he exquisitely feels as a father, he submits without murmuring to this awful dispensation of Divine justice. It is an awful thing to introduce innovations either into the riles and ceremonies, or into the truths, of the religion of Christ: he who acts thus cannot stand guiltless before his God.

It has often been remarked that excessive grief stupifies the mind, so that amazement and deep angui.sh prevent at once both tears and complaints; hence that saying of Seneca, C»ra letes loquanlur; ■rraviorcs silent. " Slight sorrows are loquacious; deep anguish has no voice." See on ver. 19.

A.M. 2514. fied in them 'that come nigh An. Exod. isr.2. me, and before all the people I Abib or N.san. ^^^ (,^ f giprifieri. » And Aaron

4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of *• Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, ' carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.

5 So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.

6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, '' Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest ' wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled.

7 "■ And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: "for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.

8 And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying,

9 " Do not drink wine nor strong drink,

Verse 4. Uzziel the uncle of Aaroii] He was brother to Amram the father of Aaron; see Exod. vi. 18-22.

Verse 5. Carried them in their coats out of the camp] The modern impropriety of burying the dead within towns, cities, or places inliabited, had not yet been introduced; much less that abomination, at which both piety and common sense shudder, burying the dead ahout and even within places dedicated to the worship of God!

Verse 6. Uncover not your heads, cj-c] They were to use no sign of grief or mourning, 1. Because those who were employed in the service of the sanctuary should avoid every thing tlmt might incapacitate them for that service; and, 2. Because the crime of their brethren was so highly ])rovoking to God, and so t'ully merited the punishment which he had inflicted, that their mourning might be considered as accusing the Divine justice of undue severity.

Verse 7. The anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.] They were consecrated to the Divine service, and this required their constant attendance, and most willing and cheerful service.

Verse 9. Do not drink wine nor strong drink] The cabalistical coniincnlator, Baal Halturim, and others, have supposed, from the introduction of this command here, that.Varon's sons had sinned through excess of wine, and that they liad attempted to celebrate the Divine service in a state of incbriatioo. &36 when ye go into the tabernacle An. Exod. isr. 2. of the congregation, lest ye die: ^^'^ " '^''''°- I

1 0 And that ye may p put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;

111 And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them, by the hand of Moses.

12 And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take ' the meat-offering that remaineth

of the offerings of the Lord made hy fire, and ^ eat it without leaven beside the altar: for 'it ^ is most holy:

13 And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire: for ' so I am commanded.

1 4 And " the wave-breast and heave-shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they

Strong drink. — The word IDt? shechar, from shachar, to meJn'a/e, signifies any kind of fermented\\qfioTa This is exactly the same prohibition that was given in the case of John Baptist, Luke i. 15: Otfov aat atKcpa ov fir) TTiij- Wine and sikera he shall not drink. Any inebriating liquor, says St. Jerome, (Epist. ad ncpot.,) is called siccra, whether made of com, apples, honey, dates, or other fruit. One of the four prohibited drinks among the Mohammedans in India is called J^ sakar, (see the Hedaya, vol. iv., p. 15S,) which signifies inebriating drink in general, but especially date wine or arrack. From the original word probably we have borrowed our term cider or sider, which among us exclusively signifies the feniiented juice of apples. See on Luke i. 15.

Verse 10. That ye may put difference between hofy and unholy] This is a strong reason why they should drink no inebriating liquor, that their understanding being clear, and their judgment correct, they might be always able to discern between the clean and the unclean, and ever pronounce righteous judgment. Injunctions similar to this were found among the Egyptians, Carthaginians, and Greeks. Indeed, common sicnse itself shows that neither a drunkard nor a.vo< should ever be suffered to minister in holy things.

be thy due, and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace-offerings of the

15' The heave-shoulder and the wave-breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave-offering before the Lord; and it shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, by a statute for ever; as the Lord hath commanded.

1 6 And Moses diligently sought ™ the goat of the sin-offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which luere left alive, saying,

17'' Wherefore have ye not eaten the sinoffering in the holy place, seeing it is most

Verse 16. Moses diligently sought the goat] The goat which was offered the same day for the sins of the priests and the people, (see chap. ix. 15, 16,) and which, through the confusion that happened on account of the death of Nadab and Abihu, was burnt instead of being eaten. See ver. 18.

Verse 17. To bear the iniquity of the congregation] See on chap. vi. 26, &c.

Verse 19. And such things have befallen me, cjc] The excuse which Aaron makes for not feasting on the sin-offering according to the law is at once appropriate and dignified; as if he had said: "God certainly has commanded me to eat of the sin-offering; but when such things as these have happened unto me, could it be good in the sight of the Lord 1 Does he not expect that I should feel as a father under such afflicting circumstances?" With this spirited answer Moses was satisfied; and God, who knew his situation, took no notice of the irregularity which had taken place in the solemn service. To human nature God has given the privilege to weep in times of affliction and distress. In his infinite kindness he has ordained that tears, which are only external evidences of our grief, shall be the outlets to our sorrows, and tend to exhaust the cause from which they flow. See

Verse 20. When Moses heard that, he was content.] The argument used by Aaron had in it both good sense and strong reason, and Moses, as a reasonable man, felt its force; and as God evidenced no kind of displeasure at this irregularity, which was, in a measure at least, justified by the present necessity, he thought proper to urge the matter no farther.

TnonoH the punishment of Nadab and Abihu may appear severe, because the sacred text does not specify clearly the nature and extent of their crime, we may rest assured that it was of such a nature as not only to justify but to demand such a punishment. God has

holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord?

18 Behold, ^ the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, ^ as I com-

19 And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, " this day have they offered their sin-offering and their burnt-offering before the Lord; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin-offering to-day, * should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?

20 And when Moses heard that, he was content.

here given us a full proof that he will not suffer human institutions to take the place of his own prescribed worship. It is true this is frequently done, for by many what is called natural religion is put in the place of Divine revelation; and God seems not to regard it: but though vengeance is not speedily executed on an evil work, and therefore the hearts of the children of men are set to do wickedness, yet God ceases not to be just; and those who have taken from or added to his words, or put their own inventions in their place, shall be reproved and found liars in the great day. His long-suffering leads to repentance; but if men will harden their hearts, and put their own ceremonies, rites, and creeds, in the place of Divine ordinances and eternal truths, they must expect to give an awful account to him who is shortly to judge the quick and the dead.

Were the religion of Christ stripped of all that state policy, fleshly interest, and gross superstition have added to it, how plain and simple, and may we not add, how amiable and glorious, would it appear! Well may we say of human inventions in Divine worship what one said of the paintings on old cathedral windows, Their principal tendency is to prevent the light from coming in. Nadab and Abihu would perform the worship of God, not according to his command, but in their own way; and God not only would not receive the sacrifice from their hands, but, while encompassing themselves with their own sparks, and warming themselves with their own fire, this had they from the hand of the Lord — they lay down in sorrow, for there went out a fire from the Lord, and devoured them. What is written above is to be understood of persons who make a religion for themselves, leaving Divine rave lation; for, being wilfully ignorant of God's righteousness, they go about to establish their own. This is a high ofl"ence in the sight of God. Reader, God is a Spirit, and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. Such worshippers the Father seekelh.

ZjOws concerning c\ea.n and unclean animals, 1, 2. Of quadrupeds, those are clean which divide the hoof and chew the cud, 3. Those to be reputed unclean which do not divide the hoof, though they chew the cud 4—6. Those to be reputed unclean also which, though they divide the hoof, do not chew the cud, 7. Whosoe'er eals their flesh, or touches their carcasses, shall be reputed unclean, 8. 0/ fish, those are clean, and may be eaten which have fins and scales, 9. Those which have not fins and scales to be reputed unclean, 10-12. O/" FOWLS, those which are unclean, 13-21. Of i.nsects, the following may he eaten: the bald locust, beetle, and grasshopper, 22. All others are unclean and abominable, their flesh not to be eaten, nor their bodies touched, 23-25. Farther directions relative to unclean beasts, 26-28. Of reptiles, and some small quadrupeds, those which arc unclean, 29, 30. All that touch them shall be unclean, 31; and the things touched by their dead carcasses are unclean also, 32-35. Large fountains, or pits of water, are not defiled by their carcasses, provided a part of the water be drawn out, 36. Nor do they defile seed Jj accidentally touching it, provided the water which has touched their flesh do not touch or moisten the seed 37, 38. A beast thai dieth of itself is unclean, and may not be touched or eaten, 39, 40. All creeping things are abominable, 41-44. The reason given for these laws, 45-47.

2 Speak unto tlie children of Israel, saying, * These arc the beasts which ye shall eat

Verse 1. And the Lord spahe unto Moses] In the preceding chapter the priests are expressly forbidden to drink wine; and the reason for tliis law is given also, that they might be able at all times to distinguish between clean and unclean, and be qualified to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord had spoken, chap. x. 10, 11; for as inebriation unfits a person for the regular performance of every function of life, it must be especially sinful in those who minister in holy tilings, and to whom the teaching of the ignorant, and the cure of souls in general, are intrusted.

Schcuchzer has remarked that no Christian slate has made any civil law against drunkenness, (he must only mean the German states, for we have several acts of parliament against it in England,) and that it is only punished by contempt. " Custom," says he, "that tyrant of the human race, not only permits it, but in some sort authorizes the practice, insomuch that we see priests and ministers of the Church ascend the pulpit in a state of intoxication,^'urf»eiseat themselves uiion the benches, physicians attend their patients, and others attempt to perform the different avocations of life, in the same disgraceful state." — Physic. Sacr., vol. iii., p. 64.

This IS a horrible picture of German manners; and while we deplore the extensive ravages made by this vice, and the disgrace with which its votaries are overwhelmed, wo have reason to thank God that it very rarely has ever appeared in the pulpit, and perhaps was never once seen upon the bench, in our own country.

Having delivered the law against drinking wine, Moses proceeds to deliver a series of ordinances, all well calculated to prevent the Israelites from mixing with the surrounding nations, and consequently from being contaminated by their idolatry. In chap. xi. he treats of unclean meats. In chap, xii., xiii., xiv., and XV., he treats o( unclean persons, garments, and OWKLLINGS. In chap. xvi. he treats of the uncleanness

among all the beasts that are on the earth.

3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.

of the priests and the people, and prescribes the proper expiations and sacrifices for both. In chap. xvii. he continues the subject, and gives particular directions concerning the mode of offering, &c. In chap, xviii. he treats of unclean matrimonial connections. In chap' xix. he repeats sundry laws relative to these subjects, and introduces some new ones. In chap. xx. he mentions certain uncleannesses practised among the idolatrous nations, and prohibits them on pain of death. In chap. xxi. he treats of the mourning, marriages, a.nd personal defects o( the priests, which rendered them unclean. And in chap. xxii. he speaks of unclean sacrifices, or such as should not be offered to the Lord..\fter this, to the close of the book, many important and excellent political and domestic regulations are enjoined, the whole forming an ecclesiastico- political system superior to any thing the world ever saw.

Bishop Wilson very properly observes that, " by these laws of clean and unclean animals, &c., God did keep this people separated from the idolatrous world: and this is a standing proof, even to the present day, of the Divine authority of these Scriptures; for no power or art of man could have obliged so great and turbulent a nation to submit to such troublesome pre cepts as the Jews always have submitted to, had they not been fully convinced, from the very first, that the command was from God, and that it was to be obeyed at the peril of their souls."

A'erse 3. Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted] These two words mean the same thing — a divided hoof such as that of the ox, where the hoof is divided into two toes, and each toe is r asf i/ with horn.

Cheivrlh the cuif] Ruminates; casts up the grass, Ac, which had been taken into the stomach for the purjiose of mastication. Animals which chew the cud, or ruminate, are provided with two, three, or four stomachs. The ox has four: in the first or largest, called the ventriculus or paunch, the food is collected without

A. M. 2514. 4 Nevertheless these shall ye An. Exod. isr.2. not eat of them that chew the

hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean

5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but dividelh not the hoof; he is unclean

G And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean

7 And '' the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; " he is unclean to you.

8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their

being masticated, the grass, &c., being received into it as the beast crops it from the earth. The food, by the force of the muscular coats of this stomach, and the liquors poured in, is sufficiently macerated; after which, formed into small balls, it is thrown up by the oesophagus into the mouth, where it is made very small by mastication or chewing, and then sent down into the second stomach, into which the oesophagus or gullet opens, as well as into the first, ending exactly where the two stomachs meet. This is what is termed chewing the cud. The second stomach, which is called the rp.ticnhim, honey-comb, bonnet, or king's hood, has a great number of small shallow cells on its inward surface, of a pentagonal or five-sided form, exactly like the cells in a honey-comb; in this the food is farther macerated, and then pushed onward into the third stomach, called the omasum or manyplies, because its inward surface is covered with a great number of thin membraneous partitions. From this the food passes into the fourth stomach, called the abomasum, or reed. In this stomach it is digested, and from the digested mass the chyle is formed, which, being absorbed by the lacteal vessels, is afterwards thrown into the mass of blood, and becomes the principle of nutrition to all the solids and fluids of the body. The intention of rumination, or chewing the cud, seems to be, that the food may be sufficiently comminuted, that, being more fully acted on by the stomachs, it may afford the greatest possible portion of nutritive juices.

The word cud is probably not originally Saron, though found in that language in the same signification in which it is still used. Junius, with great show of probability, derives it from the Cambro-British chwyd, a vomit, as it is the ball of food vomited, or throvi-n up, from the Jirst stomach or paunch through the oesophagus into the mouth, which is called by this name. Those who prefer a Saxon derivation may have it in the verb ceopan, whence our word chew; and so cud might be considered a contraction of chewed, but this is not.so likely as the preceding.

9 « These shall ye eat of all ^bib or Nisan. that ore in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.

1 0 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an *^ abomination unto you:

1 1 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination.

12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

rather a creature nearly resembling it, which abounds in Judea, Palestine, and Arabia, and is called by Dr. Shaw daman Israel, and by Mr. Bruce ashkoko. As this creature nearly resembles the rabbit, with which Spain anciently abounded, Bochart supposes that the Phtenicians might have given it the name of n'JDiV spaniah, from the multitude of D'JD',^ shcphanim (or spanim, as others pronounce it) which were found there. Hence the emblem of Spain is a woman sitting with a rabbit at her feet. See a coin of Hadrian in Scheuchzer.

Verse 6. The hare] jIDJIX arnebeth, as Bochart and others suppose, from mx arah, to crop, and yi nib, the produce of the ground, these animals being remarkable for destroying the fruits of the earth. That they are notorious for destroying the tender blade of the young corn, is well known. It is very likely that different species of these animals are included under the general terms ]3"iy shaphan, and nnjIN arnebeth, for some travellers have observed that there are four or Jive sorts of these animals, which are used for food in the present day in those countries. See Harmer, vol. iii., p. 331, edit. 1808. Some think the mountain rat, marmot, squirrel, and hedgehog, may be intended under the word shaphan.

Verse 7. And the swine] Tin chazir, one of the most gluttonous, libidinous, and filthy quadrupeds in the universe; and, because of these qualities, sacred to the Venus of the Greeks and Romans, and the Friga of our Saxon ancestors; and perhaps on these accounts forbidden, as well as on account of its flesh being strong and difficult to digest, affording a very gross kind of aliment, apt to produce cutaneous, scorbutic, and scrofulous disorders, especially in hot climates.

Verse 9. Whatsoever hath fins and scales] Because these, of all the fish tribe, are the most nourishing; the others which are without scales, or whose bodies are covered with a thick glutinous matter, being in general very difficult of digestion.

Verse 13. And these — among the fowls — the eagle] TJ'3 nesher, from nashar, to lacerate, cut, or l«ar to

in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, tiiey are an abomination: the eagle, and

14 And the vulture, and the kite after

pieces; hence the eagle, a most rapacious bird of prey, from its tearing the flesh of the animals it feeds on; and for this purpose birds of prey have, in general, strong, crooked talons and a hooked beak. The eagle is a cruel bird, exceedingly ravenous, and almost insatiable.

The ossifrage] Or bone-breaker, from os, a hone, znd frango, I break, because it not only strips off the flesh, but breaks the bone in order to extract the marrow. In Hebrew it is called D13 percs, from paras, to break or divide in two, and probably signifies that species of the eagle anciently known by the name of ossifraga, and which we render ossifrage.

Ospray] iTM>' ozniyah, from ]ti' azan, to be strong, vigorous; generally supposed to mean the black eagle, such as that described by Homer, Iliad, lib. xxi., ver 252.

" Having the rapidity of the black eagle, that bird of prey, at once the swiftest and the strongest of the feathered race."

Among the Greeks and Romans the eagle was held sacred, and is represented as carrying the thunderbolts of Jupiter. This occurs so frequently, and is so well known, that references are almost needless. See Scheuchzer.

Verse 14. The vulture] nXT danli, from the root to fly, and therefore more probably the kite or glede, from its remarkable property of gliding or sailing with expanded wings through the air. The nsT daah is a different bird from the n'l daiyah, which signifies the vulture. See Bochart, vol. iii., coi. 195.

The kite] n"N aiyah, thought by some to be the vulture, by others the merlin. Parkhurst thinks it has its name from the root mx avah, to covet, because of its rapaciousness; some contend that the kite is meant. That it is a species of the hawk, most learned men allow. See Bochart, vol. iii., col. 192.

Verse 16. The owl] nyn n3 hath haiyaanah,l\ie daughter of vociferation, the female ostrich, probably so called from the noise they make. " In the lonesome part of the night," says Dr. Shaw, " the ostriches frequently make a very doleful and hideous noise, 8c.metimes resembling the roar of the lion; at other times, the hoarser voice of the hull or or." He adds, " I have heard I "lem groan as if in the deepest agonies."— Travels, 4to edition, p. 455. The ostrich is a very unclean animal, and eats its own ordure as soon as it voids it, and of this Dr..Shaw observes, (•ee above,) it is remarkably fond I This is a suBi-

16 And the owl, and the night An. Exod. isr 2.

17 And the little '' owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

cient reason, were others wanting, why such a fowl should be reputed to be unclean, and its use as an article of diet prohibited.

The night hawk] DOnn tachmas, from DDtl chamat, to force away, act violently and unjustly; supposed by Bochart and Scheuchzer to signify the male ostrich, from its cruelty towards its young; (see Job xxxix. 17—19;) but others, with more reason, suppose it to be the bird described by Hasselquist, which he calls the strix Orientalis, or Oriental owl. " It is of the size of the common owl, living in the ruins and old deserted houses of Egypt and Syria; and sometimes in inhabited houses. The Arabs in Egypt call it Massasa, the.Syrians Bona. It is very ravenous in Syria, and in the evenings, if the windows be left open, it flies into the house aJid kills infants, unless they are carefullv watched; wherefore the women are much afraid of it." — Travels, p. 196.

If this be the fowl intended, this is a suflBcient reason why it should be considered an abomination.

The cuckoo] 'jntS' shachaph, supposed rather to mean the sea mew; called shachaph, from risni? shachepheth, a wasting distemper, or atrophy, (mentioned chap. xxvi. 16; Deut. xxviii. 22,) because its body is the leanest, in proportion to its bones and feathers, of most other birds, always appearing as if under the influence of a wasting distemper. A foul which, from its natural constitution or manner of life, is incapable of becoming plump or fleshy, must always be unwholesome; and this is reason sufficient why such should be prohibited.

And the hawk] y: nets, from the root nX3 nalsah, to shoot forth or spring fonoard, because of the rapidity and length of its flight, the hawk being remarkable for both. As this is a bird of prey, it is forbidden, and all others of its kind.

Verse 17. The little owl] L>\':icos,\\iebittem,nightraven, or night-owl, according to most interpreters. Some think the onocrotalus or pelican may be intended; for as the word D13 cos signifies a cup in Hebrew, and the pelican is remarkable for a pouch or bag under the lower jaw, it might have had its Hebrew name from this circumstance; but the kaath in the following verse is rather supposed to mean this fowl, and the cos some species of the bubo or owl. See Bochart, vol. iii., col. 272.

The cormorant] "pio shalach, from the root which signifies to cast down; hence the Septuagint KarappaKTTic, the cataract, or bird which falls precipitately down upon its prey. It probably signifies the plungeon or diver, a sea fowl, which I have seen.at sea dart down as swift as an arrow into the water, and sieze the fish which it had discovered while even flying, 01 rather soaring, at a very great height.