'pHOU » shall not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God ani/ bullock or '' sheep wherein is blemish, or any evil-favouredncss: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God.
2 ■= If there be found among you, within any of thy gales which the Lord thy God givelh thee, man or woman that halli wrought wicked-
Verse 1. Wherein is blemish] God must not have that offered to him which thou wouldsl not use thyself. This not only refers to the perfect sacrifice offered by Christ Jesus, but to that sincerity and uprightness of heart which God requires in all those who approach hmr in the way of worship.
Verse 4. If it be told thee] In a private way by iny confidential person. And thou hast heard of it; so that it appears to be notorious, very likely to be true,
3 And hath gone and served other gods and worshipped them, either " the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, ^ which I have not commanded;
4 ^ And it be told thee, and thou hast heard
and publicly scandalous. And hast inquired diligently — sought to find out the truth of the report by the most careful examination of persons reporting, circumstances of the case, &c. And, behold, it be true — the report is not founded on vague rumour, hearsay, or malice. And the thing certain — substantiated by the fullest evidence. Then shall thou bring forth that man, ver. 5. As the charge of idolatry was the most solemn and awful that could be brought against an Isr-aelite, because it affected his life, therefore God required that
5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and ^ shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
6 ' At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
7 '' The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So ' thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
8 " If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, " between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, ° and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:
9 And P thou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites, and i unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; "■ and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment:
10 And thou shalt do according to the sentence which they of that place which the Lord
'he charge should be substantiated hy the most unequivocal facts, and the most competent witnesses. Hence all the precautions mentioned in the fourth verse must be carefully used, in order to arrive at so affecting and so awful a truth.
Verse 6. Two witnesses] One might be deceived, or be prejudiced or malicious; therefore God required two substantial witnesses for the support of the charge.
Verse 8. If there arise a matter too hard for thee] These directions are given to the common magistrates, who might not be able to judge of or apply the law in all cases that might be brought before them. The priests and Levites, who were lawyers by birth and continual practice, were reasonably considered as the best qualified to decide on difficult points.
A'^erse 12. The man that icill do presumptuously] The man who refused to abide by this final determination forfi;ited his life, as being then in a state of rebellion against the highest authnrily, and consequently the public could have no pledge for his conduct.
Verse 15. One from among thy brethren shalt thou shall choose shall show thee; and a. m. 2553. thou shalt observe to do accord- An. Ex. isr. 40.
1 1 According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand nor to the left.
12 And Mhe man that will do presumptuously, ' and will not hearken unto the priest, " that standeth to minister there, before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die; and ' thou shalt put awav the evil from Israel.
13 ■^ And all the people shall hear, and feai, and do no more presumptuously.
14 When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dvsrell therein, and shalt say, '^ I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that a}-e about me;
1 5 Thou shalt in any wise set him king ovei thee 5' whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one ^ from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
1 6 But he shall not multiply " horses to him self, nor cause the people "^ to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: for-
set king over thee] It was on the ground of this command that the Jews proposed that insidious question to our Lord, Is it lawfid to give tribute to Casar, OR NO? Matt. xxii. 17; for they were then under the authority of a foreign power. Had Christ said Yes, then they would have condemned him by this law; had he said No, then they would have accused him to Ctesar. See this subject discussed in great detail in the notes on Matt. xxii. 16, &c.
Verse 16. He shall not multiply horses] As horses appear to have been generally furnished by Egypt, God prohibits these, 1. Lest there should be such commerce with Egypt as might lead to idolatry. 2. Lest the people might depend on a well-appointed cavalry as a means of security, and so cease from trusting in the strength and protection of God. And, 3. That they might not be tempted to extend their dominion by means of cavalry, and so get scattered among the surrounding idolatrous nations, and thus cease, in process of time, to be that distinct and separate people which God intended they should be and without which the
A. M. 2553. asmuch as " llie Lord hath said An. Ex. isr. 40. unto you, •" Yc shall henceforth *'"*'• return no more that way.
17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that " his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
18 'And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write iiim a copy of this law in a book, out of s that vhich is before the priests the Levites:
prophecies relative to the Messiah could not he known to have their duo ami full accomplishment.
Verse 17. Neither shall he muliiply wires] For this would necessarily lead to foreign alliances, and be the means of introducing the manners and customs of other nations, and their idolatry also. Solomon sinned against tliis precept, and brought ruin on himself and on the land by it; see 1 Kings xi. 4.
Verse 18. He shall write him a copy of this law"] nxin minn T\W0 miskneh haltorah hazzoth, an iteration or duplicate of this late; translated by the Septuagint, TO ilevrepovo/unv rovro, this deuteronnmy. From this version both the Vulgate Latin and all the modern versions have taken the name of this book; and from the original word the Jews call it Mishneh. See the preface to this book.
Out yfthat which is before the priests the Levites] It is likely this means, that the copy which the king was to write out was to be taken from the autograph kept in the tabernacle before the Lord, from which, as
19 And '' it shall be with him, A. M. 2553. and he shall read therein all the An. Ex. 1st. 40.
days of his life: that he may learn
of this law and these statutes, to do them:
20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he ' turn not aside from the commandment, to the right iiand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
a standard, every copy was taken, and with which doubtless every copy was compared; and it is probable that the priests and Levites had the revising of every copy that was taken off, in order to prevent errors from creeping into the sacred text.
Verse 19. And it shall be ivith him, <^c.] It way the surest way to bring the king to an acquaintance with the Divine law to oblige him to write out a fair copy of it with his own hand, in which he waste read daily. This was essentially necessary, as these laws of God were all permanent, and no Israelitish king could make any neie hue, the kings of this people being ever considered as only the vicegerents of Jehovah.
Verse 20. He, and his children, m the midst of Israel.] From this verse it has been inferred that the crown of Israel was designed to be hereditary, and this is very probable; for long experience ha.s proved to almost all the nations of the world that hereditary succession in the regal government is, on the whole, the safest, and best calculated to secure the public tranquillity.
The priests and Levites to have no inheritance, I, 2. What is the priesfs due,.S-5. Of the Levites that come from any of the other cities, 6-8. The Israelites must not copy the abominations of the former inhabitants, 9. None to cause his son or daughter to pass through the fire, or use any kind of divination or enchantment, as the former inhabitants did, 10-11. The great prophet which God promised to raise up, 15-19. Of false prophets, 20; and how to discern them, 21, 22.
have no part nor inheritance with Israel; they '' shall cat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and his inheritance.
Verse 1. Thcpriests the Levites — shall have no part] That is, says Rah. Maimon, they shall have no part in the spoils taken from an enemy.
Verse 2. The Lord is their inheritance] He is the portion of their souls; and as to their bodies, they shall live by the offerings of the Lord made by fire, i. c., the mcat-offermg, the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; and whatever was the Lord's
2 Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.
3 And this shall be the priest's due from
Verse 3. Offer a sacrifice] r\2J^ 'TMt zobechey hazzebach. The word n3I zcbach is used to signify, not only an animal sacrificed to the Lord, but also one killed hxcomtnonuse. See Gen. xliii. 15; Prov. xvii. 1; Ezek. xxv. 6. And in this latter sense it probably should be understood here; and, consequently, the command iu this verse relates to what the people
An. Ex. isr. 40. Sacrifice, wllfethcr it be ox or ^^''^*" sheep; and " they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.
4 '' The first-fruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
5 For " the Lord thy God hath chosen him out of all tliy tribes, ^ to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for ever.
6 And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he e sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind '' unto the place which the Lord shall choose;
7 Then he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God, ' as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the Lord.
8 They shall have like ^ portions to eat, beside ' that which cometli of the sale of his patrimony.
were to allow the priests and Levites from the animals slain for common use. The parts to be given to the priests were, I. The shoulder, probably cut off from the beast with the skin on; so Maimonides.
Verse 4. The first-fruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, <^c.] A\l these first-fruits and firstlings were the Lord's portion, and these he gave to the priests.
Verse 8. The sale of his patrimony.] So we find that, though the Levites might have no part of the land by lot, yet they were permitted to make purchases of houses, goods, and cattle, yea, of fields also. See the case of Abiathar, 1 Kings ii. 26, and of Jeremiah, Jer. xxxii. 7, 8.
Verse 10. To pass through the fire] Probably in the way of consecration to Molecli, or some other deity. It is not likely that their being btirnt to death is here intended. See on Lev. xviii. 21.
Divination] D'rJDp DOD kosem kesamim, one who endeavours to find out futurity by auguries, using lols, &c.
Obsei-ver of times] ] jl>'0 meonen, one who pretends to foretell future events by pre.sent occurrences, and who predicts great political or physical changes from the aspects of the planets, eclipses, motion of the clouds, <fec., &c. See on Gen. xii. 8.
Enchanter] KTIJO menachesh, from VlX^i nichesh, to view attentively; one who inspected the entrails of beasts, observed the flight of birds, &c., &c., and drew
9 When thou art come into the A. M. 2553. land which the Lord thy God An. Ex. isr. 4P giveth thee, ■" thou shalt not learn ^''''^'-
to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter " to pass through the fire, ° or that uselh divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch;
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and ' because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13 Thou shalt be '^ perfect with the Lord thy God.
14 For these nations, which thou shalt ' possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
15 " The Lord thy God will raise up unto
auguries thence. Some think divination by serpents is meant, which was common among the heathen.
A witch.] ']W2D mechashsheph, probably those who by means of drugs, herbs, perfumes, &c., pretended to bring certain celestial influences to their aid. See the note on Lev. xix. 26.
Verse 11. A charmei-] '^2T\'^'2X\ chober chaber, ous who uses spells; a peculiar conjunction, as the term implies, of words, or things, tying knots, &c., for the purposes of divination. This was a custom among the heathen, as we learn from the following verses: —
" Knit with three knots the fillets, knit them straight; Then say, these knots to love I consecrate."
A consulter ivith familiar spirits] 31N ^iW shoel oli a Pythoness, one who inquires by the means of one spirit to get oracular answers from another of a superior order. See on Lev. xix. 31.
A wizard] 'Ji'T yiddeoni, a wise one, a knowing one. Wizard was formerly considered as the masculine of %oitch, both practising divination by similar means. See on Exod. xxii. 18, and Lev. xix. 31.
Or a necromancer.] D'n"n '7N ^\S^^^ doresh el hammelhim, one who seeks from or inquires of the dead. Such as the witch at Endor, who professed to evoke the dead, in order to get them to disclose the secrets of the spiritual world.
An. Ex. isr. 10. of thcc, of tliy brethren, like unto ^''''"'' me; unto him ye shall hearken;
1 6 According to all that thou dcsircdst of the Loud thy God m Horeb " in the day of the assembly, saying, " Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
17 And the Lord said unto me, ' They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
18 y I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and ^ will put my words in his mouth; " and he shall speak unto ihcm all that I shall command him.
19'' And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he
a Prophet] Instead of diviners, observers of times, &c., God here promises to give them an infallible guide, who should tell them all things that make for their peace, so that his declarations should completely answer tlie end of all the knowledge that was pretended to be gained by the persons already specified.
Like unto me] Viz., a prophet, a legislator, a king, a mediator, and the head or chief of the people of God. This was the very person of whom Moses was the type, and who should accomplish all the great purposes of the Divine Being. Such a prophet as had never before appeared, and who should have no equal till the consummation of the world.
This prophet is the Lord Jesus, who was in the bosom of the Father, and who came to declare him to mankind. Every word spoken by him is a living infallible oracle from God himself; and must be received and obeyed as such, on pain of the eternal displeasure of the Almighty. See ver. 19, and Acts iii. 22, 23; and see the conclusion of this chapter.
Verse 22. If the thing follow not] It is worthy of remark that the prophets in general predicted those things which were shortly to come to pass, that the people might have the fullest proof of their Divine mission, and of the existence of God's providence in the administration of the affairs of men.
The promise contained in the 1 5th and 18th verses of this chapter has long been considered of the first importance in the controversies between the Christians and Jews. " Christ," says Ainsworth, " was to be a jnan, and of the stock of the Jews, by promise, because the people could not endure to hear the voice of God, ver. 16..'Vnd as in respect of his prophecy, so of the priesthood: for every high priest is taken from among men, Heb. v. 1; and also of his kingdom, as in Deut. xvii. 15: From among thy brethren shall thou set a king over thee like unto me.
" 1. Christ alone was like unto Moses as a prophet; for it is written, There arose not a prophet in Israel like unto Mosc», whom the Lord knew face to face, in
shall presume to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or '' that shall speak in the jiame of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
2 1 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
22 " When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, ' if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which tiie Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet liath spoken it B presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
all the signs and loonders which the Lord sent him to do, Deut. xxxiv. 10, 11, 12. This therefore cannot be understood of the ordinary prophets which were raised up in Israel, but of Christ only, as the apostles expound it Acts ii. 22-26. 2. Christ was like unto Moses in respect to his office of mediation between God and his people, Deut. v. 5; 1 Tim. ii. 5; but greater than Moses as being the mediator of a better covenant, (or testament,) which ivas established upon better promises, Heb. viii. 6. 3. Christ was like unto Moses in excellency; for as Moses excelled all the prophets in speaking to God mouth to mouth, Xuni. xii. 6, 7, 8, so Christ excelled him and all men in that, being in the bosom of the Father, he hath come down from heaven and declared God unto us, John i. 18, iii. 13. 4. Christ was like to Moses in faithfulness, but therein also excelling; for Moses was faithful in God's house as 3. servant, but Christ as the son over his own house, Heb. iii. 2, 5, 6. 5. Christ was like to Moses in signs and wonders, wherein he also excelled Moses, as the history of the Gospel shows; for he was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, Luke xxiv. 19. A man approved of God among them, by miracles, signs, and wonders, ivhich God did by him in the midst of them, Acts ii. 22. For he did among them the works ivhich no other man did. John xv, 24. Unto him. that is, not unto the diviners, wizards, or any such like, but unto him, and him only; as Ilim thou shalt serve, Deut. vi. 13, is expounded, Him only. Matt. iv. 10. And though this is principally meant of Christ in person, of whom God said, Hear him. Matt. xvii. 5; yet it imiilies also his ministers, as himself said. He that heareth you heareth me, Luke x. 10." To these may be added, 6. As Moses was king among his people, in this respect Christ is like to him, but infinitely greater; foi he is King of kings and Lord of lords. Rev. xlx. 16; 1 Tim. vi. l&. And, 7, He was like to Moses as a legislator. Moses gave laws to Israel by the authority and cominandment of Gou, which the Jews have ever acknowledged as coming from the immediate iuspira- tion of the Almighty: these are contained in the Pentateuch. Christ gave a new law, the Gospel contained in the four Evangelists and Acts of the Apostles, on which the Christian Church is founded, and by which all genuine Christians are governed- both in heart and life. To all which may be added, 8. That God never commissioned any human beings to give laws to mankind but Moses and Christ; and therefore, as a lawgiver, Christ alone resembles Moses; for to the present hour none but themselves have given laws in the name of God, which he has ratified and confirmed by the most indubitable and infallible signs, proofs, and miracles.
Dr. Jorlin, in his Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, has drawn a parallel between Moses and Christ in a great number of particulars, which he concludes thus: " Let us search all the records of universal history, and see if we can find a man who was so like to Moses as Christ was, and so like to Christ as Moses was. If we cannot find such a one, then have we found HIM of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write to be Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God." On this subject see Ainsworth, Calmet, and Dodd, who have all marked this striking correspondence between Moses and Christ.
Three cities of refuge to be appointed in the midst of the promised land; the land being divided into three parts, a city is to be placed in each, a proper way to which is to be prepared, 1-3. In what cases of manslaughter the benefit of those cities may be claimed, 4-6. Three cities more to be added should tlte Lord enlarge their coasts, and the reasons ichy, 7-10. The intentional murderer shall have no benefit from these cities, 11—13. The landmark is not to be shifted, 14. One witness shall not be deemed sufficient to convict a man, 15. How a false witness shall be dealt with — he shall bear the punishment which he designed should have been inflicted on his neighbour, 16-20. Another command to establish the lex talionis, 21.
^'^^''^- whose land the Lord thy God giveth thee, and thou '' succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;
2 ■= Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it.
3 Thou shall prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.
4 And ^ this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not '^ in time past;
5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neiglibour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the ' head slippeth from the = helve, and '' lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:
6 ' Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the
NOTES ON CHAP. XIX. Verse 2. Thou shalt separate three cities] See on Num. xx.\v. 10, &c.
Verse 3. Thou shalt prepare thee a teat/] The Jews inform us that the roads to the cities of refuge were made very broad, thirty-two cubits; and even, so that
was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not ' in time past.
7 Wherefore I command thee, saying. Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.
8 And if the Lord thy God " enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;
9 If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; " then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:
10 That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
1 1 But " if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and snnle him ''mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:
there should be no impediments in the way; and were constantly kept in good repair.
Josh. xxi. 1, &c. In imitation of these cities of
12 Then the elders of his city
\n. Ex. isr. 40. shall scnd and fetch him thence, ^^''"'- and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
1 3 '• Tiiinc eye shall not jiity him, ' but lliou shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go vifell with
14 ^Tliou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which tlicy of old time have set in ihinc inheritance, which tiiou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it.
1 5 ' One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
16 If a false witness " rise up against any
refuge the heathens had their asyla, and the Catholics their privileged altars. See Exod. xxi. 13, 14, and on Num. xxxv. 6, &c.
Verse 14. T/ioic shall not remove thy neighbour'' s landmark] Before the extensive use of fences, landed property was marked out by stones or posts, set up so as to ascertain the divisions of family estates. It was easy to remove one of these landmarks, and set it in a different place; and thus the dishonest man enlarged his own estate by contracting that of his neighbour. The termini or landmarks among the Romans were held very sacred, and were at last deified.
To these termini Numa Pompilius commanded offerings of broth, cakes, and first-fruits, to be made. And Ovid informs us that it was customary to sacrifice a lamb to them, and sprinkle them with its blood: —
Spargitur et ceeso communis terminus agno.
.Vnd from Tibullus it appears that they sometimes adorned them with flowers and garlands: —
Nam veneror, seu stipes habet dcsertus in agris,
Seu vetus in trivia florida scrta lapis.
That bounds the field, or points the doubtful way."
It appears from Juvenal that annual oblations were made to them: —
Convallem ruris aviti
Improbus, aut campum mihi si vicinus ademit, Aut sacrum effodit medio de limite saxum, Quod mea cum vetulo coluit puis annua libo.
man to testify against him " that which is wrong:
17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lokd, '" before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;
1 8 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against hi^. brother;
19' Then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so ^ shalt thou put the evil away from among you.
20 ^ And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.
2 1 ° And thine eye shall not pity; hut *" life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
" If any rogue vexatious suits advance Against me for my inotvn inheritance, Enter by violence my fruitful grounds. Or take the sacred landmark from my bounds. Those hounds which, with procession and with prayer And offered cakes, have been my annual care."
In the digests there is a vague law, de tcrminomoto, Digester, lib. xlvii., Tit. 21, on which Calmet remarks that though the Romans had no determined punishment for those who removed the ancient landmarks; yet if slaves were found to have done it with an evil design, they were put to death; that persons of quality were sometimes exiled when found guilty; and that others were sentenced to pecuniary fines, or corporal punishment.
Verse 19. Then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother] Nothing can be more equitable or proper th.an this, that if a man endeavour to do any injury to or take away the life of another, on detection he shall he caused to undergo the same evil which he intended for his innocent neighbour.
Some of our excellent English l.iws have been made on this very ground. In the 37th of Edw. III., chap. 18, it is ordained that all those who make suggestion shall incur the same pain which the other should have had, if he were attainted, in case his suggestions be found evil. A similar law was made in the 38th of the same reign, chap. 9. By a law of the twelve Tables, a false witness was thrown down the Tarpei.an rock. In short, false witnesses have been execrated by all nations.
operation of such a law as this must have been very salutary: if a man prized his own members, he would naturally avoid injuring those of others. It is a pity that this law were not still in force: it would certainly prevent many of those savage acts which now both disgrace and injure society. I speak this in reference to law generally, and the provision that should be made to prevent and punish ferocious and malevolent offences. A Christian may always act on the plan of forgiving injuries; and where the public peace and safety may not be affected, he should do so; but if law did not make a provision for the safety of the community by enactment agamst the profligate, civil society woult" soon be destroyed.
Directions concerning campaigns, 1. The priest shall encourage the people loith the assurance that God will accompany and fight for them, 2—4. The officers shall disjniss from the army all who had just built a new house, hut had not dedicated it, 5. All who had planted a vineyard, hut had not yet eaten of its fruits, 6. All who had hetrothed a wife, but had not brought her home, 7. And all who were timid and faint-hearted, 8. The commanders to be chosen after the timid, dfc, had retired, 9. No city to be attacked till they had proclaimed conditions of peace to it, provided it he a city beyond the hounds of the seven Canaanitish nations; if it submitted, it was to become tributary; if not, it was to be besieged, sacked, and all the males put to the sword; the women, children, and cattle to he taken as booty, 10—15. No such offers to be made to the cities of the Canaanites; of them riothing shall be preserved, and the reason, 16—18. In besieging a city no trees to be cut down but those u-hich do not bear fruit, 19, 20.
TyHEN thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and
seest ^ horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is ^ with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
3 And shall say unto them. Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts " faint, fear not, and do not '' tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;
Verse 1. When thou goest out to battle] This refers chiefly to the battles they were to have with the Canaanites, in order to get possession of the promised land; for it cannot be considered to apply to any wars which they might have with the surrounding nations for political reasons, as the Divine assistance could not be expected in wars which were not undertaken by the Divine command.
Verse 2. The priest shall approach, and speak unto the people] The priest on these occasions was the representative of that God whose servant he was, and whose worship he conducted. It is remarkable that almost all ancient nations took their priests with them to battle, as they did not expect success without having the object of their.adoration with them, and they supposed thev secured his presence by having that of his representative.
Verse 5. That hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it1\ From the title of Psa. xxx., — A Psalm or
4 For the Lord your God is he
5 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not ^ dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the bailie, and another man dedicate it.
6 And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet ^ eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the batde, and another man eat of it.
Sono- at the Dedication of the House of David — it is evident that it was a custom in Israel to dedicate a new house to God with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving; and this was done in order to secure the Divine presence and blessing, for no pious or sensible man could imagine he could dwell safely in a house that was not under the immediate protection of God. Hence it has been a custom in the most barbarous nations to consecrate a part of a new house to the deity they worshipped. The houses of the inhabitants of Bonny, in Africa, are generally divided into three apartments.- one is a kind of state room or parlour; another serves for a common room, or kitchen; and the third is dedicated to the Juju, the serpent god, which they worship; for even those savages believe that in every house their god should have his temple! At the times of dedication among the Jews, besides prayer and praise, a feast was made, to which the relatives and neighbours were invited..Something of this custom is observed in some parts of our own country in what is called
7 '■ And what man is there tliat hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken lier? let him go and
return unto his house, lest he die in liie Ixiltle,
8 And the officers shall speak forther unto tlic people, and they shall say, ' What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return to his house, lest his brethren's heart •= faint as well as iiis heart.
9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies ' to lead the people.
10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, ■" then proclaim peace unto it.
11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
wai-rning the house; but in these cases the feasting only is kept up — the prayer and praise forgotten! so that the dedication appears to be rather more to Bacchus tlian to Jehovah, the author of every good and perfect gift.
Verse 7. Betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her?] It was customary among the Jews to contract matrimony, espouse or betroth, and for some considerable time to leave the parties in the houses of their respective parents: when the bridegroom had made proper preparations, then the bride was brought home to his house, and thus the marriage was consummated. The provisions in this verse refer to a case of this kind; for it was deemed an excessive hardship for a person to be obliged to go to battle, where there was a probability of his being slain, who hJd left a new house unfinished; a newly purchased heritage half tilled; or a wife with whom he had just contracted marriage. Homer represents the case of Prolesilaus as very afflicting, who was obliged to go to the Trojan war, leaving his wife in the deepest distress, and his house unfinished.
" A wife lie left, To rend in Phylaco her lileeding checks, And an ttiifini.ih^d mansion: first he died Of all the Greeks; for as he Icap'd to land, Long ere the rest, a Dardan struck him dead."
Verse 8. What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted?] The original "]! rach, signifies tender or soft-hearted. Ajid a sift heart the man must have
1 2 And if it will make no peace witli thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shall besiege it:
13 And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, " thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
14 But the women, and the little ones, and ° the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou 'take unto thyself; and 1 thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.
15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
16 But 'of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
1 7 But thou shalt utlcrlj^ destroy them;
who, in such a contest, after such a permission, could turn his back upon his enemies and his brethren. However, such were the troops commanded by Gideon in his war against the Midianites; for after he gave this permission, out of 32,000 men only 10,000 remained to fight! Judges vii..3. There could be no deception in a business of this kind; for the departure of the 22,000 was the fullest proof of their dastardliness which they could possibly give.
Verse 10. Proclaim peace unto it.\ Interpreters are greatly divided concerning the objects of this law. The te.xt, taken in connection with the context,) see verses 15—18,) appears to state that this proclamation or olfer of peace to a city is only to be understood of those cities which were situated beyond the limits if the seven anathematized nations, because these latter are commanded to be totally destroyed. Nothing can be clearer than this from the hare letter of the text, unless some of the words, taken separately, can be shown to have a difierent meaning. For the common interpretation, tlie following reasons are given.
God, who knows all things, saw that they were incurable in their idolatry; that the cup of llieir iniquity was full; and as their Creator, Sovereign, and Judge, he determined to destroy them from off the face of the earth, " lest they should teach the Israelites to do after all their abominations," ver. 18. After all, many jilausible arguments have been brought to prove that even these seven Canaanilish nations might be received into mercy, provided they, 1. Renounced their idolatry; 2. Became subject to the Jews; and, 3. Paid annual tribute: and that it w.is only in case theso terms were rejected, that they were not to leave alivo in such a city any thing that breathed, ver. 16.
Verse 17. But tlwu shall utterly destroy them\ The above reasoning will gain considerable strength,
18 That ^ they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye ' sin against the
19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou
provided we could translate DO'inn D">nn O ki hacharem tacharimem, thou shall utterly subdue them — slaying them if they resist, and thus leaving nothing alive that breathed; or totally expel them from the land, or reduce them to a state of slavery in it, that they might no longer exist as a people. This certainly made them an anathema as a nation, wholly destroying their political existence. Probably this was so understood by the Gibeonites, viz., that they either must be slain or utterly leave the land, which last was certainly in their power, and therefore, by a stratagem, they pot the princes of Israel to make a league with them. When the deceit was discovered, the Israelites, though nrt bound by their oath, because they were deceived by the Gibeonites, and therefore were under no obligation to fulfil their part of the covenant; yet, though they had this command before their eyes, did not believe that they were bound to put even those deceivers to death; but they destroyed their political existence, by making them hewers of wood and draioers of water to the congregation; i. e., slaves to the Israelites. (See Josh, ix.) Rahab and her household also were spared. So that it does not appear that the Israelites believed that they were bound to put every Canaanite to death. Their political existence was under the anathema, and this the Hebrews annihilated.
That many of the Canaanites continued in the land even to the days of Solomon, we have the fullest proof; for we read, 2 Chron. viii. 7: "All the people of the land that were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were left in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute to this day." Thus Solomon destroyed their political existence, but did not consider himself bound by the law of God to put them to death.
Verse 19. {For the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege] The original is exceedingly obscure, and has been variously translated, "11X03 y:D-D K2h mu/n p' mxn -D kt haadam ets hassadeh laho mippancycha bammalsor. The following are the chief versions: For, O man, the trees of the field are for thee to employ them in the siege — oi. For it is man, and the tree of the field, that must go before thee for a bulwark — or. For it is a tree, and aot men, to increase the number of those who come
thou shalt not cut them down (" for the tree of the field is man's life) ' to emjjloy them in the siege:
20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they he not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until ''"' it be subdued.
"Or,/or, O man, the tree of the field \s to be employed in the siege, ^ Heb. to go from before thee. '^ Heb. it come down.
against thee to the siege — or, lastly, The tree of the field (is as) a man, to go before thy face for a bulwark. The sense is sufficiently clear, though the strict grammatical meaning of the words cannot be easily ascertained: it was a merciful provision to spare all fruitbearing trees, because they yielded the fruit which supported man's life; and it was sound policy also, for even the conquerors must perish if the means of life vi-ere cut off.
It is diabolic cruelty to add to the miseries of war the horrors of famine; and this is done where the trees of the field are cut down, the dykes broken to drown the land, the villages burnt, and the crops wilfully spoiled. O execrable war! subversive of all the charities of life!
There are several curious particulars in these verses: 1. The people had the most positive assurances from God that their enemies should not be able to prevail against them by strength, numbers, nor stratagem, because God should go with them to lead and direct them, and should fight for them; and against his might none could prevail. 2. All such interferences were standing proofs of the being of God, of his especial providence, and of the truth of their religion. 3. Though God promised them such protection, yet they were to expect it in the diligent use of their own prudence and industry. The priests, the officers, and the people, had their respective parts to act in this business; if they did their duty respectively, God would take care that they should be successful. Those who will not help themselves with the strength which God has already given them, shall not have any farther assistance from him. In all such cases, the parable of the talents affords an accurate rule. 4. Their going to war against their enemies must not deprive them of mercy and tenderness towards their brethren. He who had built a house and had not yet dwelt in it, who had planted a vineyard and had not eaten of its fruits, who had betrothed a wife and had not yet taken her to his house, was not obliged to go to b.ittlc, lest he should fall in the war, and the fruits of his industry and affection be enjoyed by others. He who was faint-hearted viras also permitted to return, lest he should give way in the heat of battle, and his example have a fatal influence on others.
Jf a man be found slain in a field, and the cause of his death be unknown, the murder shall be expiated by the sacrifice of a heifer in an uncultivated valley, 1—1- The rites to be used on the occasion, 5-9. The ordinance concerning marriage with a captive, 10-14. The law relative to the children of the hated and beloved wives: if the son of the hated wife should be the first-bom he shall not be disinherited by the son of the beloved wife, but shall have a double portion of all hisfather^s goods, 15-18. The law concerning the stubborn and rebellious son, who, when convicted, is to be stoned to death, 19—2 1. Of the perso7i who is to be hanged, 22. His body shall not be left on the tree all night; every one that is hanged on a tree is accursed of God, 23.
TF one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in tlic field, and it be not known who hath slain hiiu:
2 Then thy ciders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
3 And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;
4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley:
5 And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near; for " them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord; and *■ by their " word shall every controversy and every stroke be t7'ied:
t5 And all the elders of that city, that are
Verse 4. Shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley'] JiTX SnJ nachal eythan might be translated a rapid stream, i>r()bal)ly passing through a piece of uncultiv.atcd ground where the elders of the city were to strike olT Iho head of the heifer, and to wash their hands over her in token of their innocence. The spot of ground on which this sacrifice was made must be uncultivated, because it was considered to be a sacrifice to make atonement for the murder, and consequently would pollute the land. This regulation was calculated to keej) murder in abhorrence, and to make the magistrates alert in their office, that delinquents might be discovered and punished, and thus public expense saved.
Averse C. Shall wash their hands over the heifer] Washing tlie hands, in reference to such a subject as ibis, was a rite anciently used to signify that the persons thus washing were innocent of the crime in question. It was probably from the Jews that Pilate learned this symbolical method of expressing his innocence.
next unto the slain man, "^ shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:
7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
8 Be merciful, 0 Lord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, "> and lay not innocent blood ^ unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven
9 So s shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the
10 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,
1 1 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;
1 2 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine
Verse 1 1. And seest — a beautiful woman] No forcible possession was allowed even in this case, when the woman was taken in war, and was, by the general consent of ancient nations, adjudged as a part of the.spoils. The person to whose lot or share such a woman as is here described fell might, if he chose, have her for a wife on certain conditions; but he was not permitted to use her under any inferior character.
Verse 12. She shall shave her head] This was in token of her renouncing her religion, and becoming a proselyte to that of the Jews. This is still a custom in the East; when a Christian turns Moh.ammedan his head is shaven, and he is carried through the city crying.
c\»=EM< _5 i.'J! i)| ^!.ir la alahiia allah ire Mohammed resooli Allah; " There is no God hut God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God."
Pare her nails] n"J13i' ns nnty;'1 reaselhah eth tsippomeyha, " she shall make her nails." Now whether this signifies paring or letting them grow, is greatly doubted among learned men. Possibly it means neither
A. M. 2553. house; and she shall shave her An. Ex. isr. 40. head, and '' pare ' her nails. ^"■"^ 13 And she shall put the rai
ment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and ^ bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast ' humbled her.
15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, " and another hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be hers that was hated:
1 6 Then it shall be, " when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the first-born:
17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the first-born, " by giving him a double portion of all p that he hath: for he is * the beginning of his strength; ' the right of the first-born is his.
but colouring the nails, staining them red with the hennah, which is much practised" in India to the present day, and which was undoubtedly practised among the ancient Egyptians, as is evident from the nails of mummies which are found thus stained. The hennah, according to Hasselquist, grows in India, and in Upper and Lower Egypt; it flowers from May to August. The manner of using it is this: the leaves are powdered, and made into a paste with water: they bind this paste on the nails of their fingers and toes, and let it stand on all night; in the morning they are found to be of a beautiful reddish yellow, and this lasts three weeks or a month, after which they renew the application. They often stain the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet in the same way, as appears from many paintings of eastern ladies done in India and Persia, which now lie before me. This staining the soles of the feet with the hennah is probably meant in 2 Sam. xix. 24: Mephiboslieth had not dressed (literally made) his feet — they had not been thus coloured.
Verse 15. One beloved, and another hated] That is, one loved less than the other. This is the true notion of the word hate in Scripture. So Jacob hated Leah, that is, he loved her less than he did Rachel; a
18 If a man have a stubborn A. M. 2553. and rebellious son, which will An. Ex. isr. 40. not obey the voice of his father, ^'^''^'-
or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened lum, will not hearken unto them:
19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
2 1 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: ^ so shalt thou put evil away from among you; ' and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
22 And if a man have committed a sin ■^ worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
23 ■^ His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for "" he that is hanged is ^ accursed of God;) that ^ thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
and Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I h.\ted, that is, I have shown a more particular affection to the posterity of Jacob than I have to the posterity of Esau. See the note on Gen. xxix. 31. From this verse we see that polygamy did exist under the Mosaic laws, and that it was put under certain regulations; but it was not enjoined, Moses merely suffered it, because of the hardness of their hearts, as our Lord justly remarks Matt. xix. 8.
Verses 1 8—2 1. The stubborn, rebellious, gluttonous, and drunken son is to be stoned to death. — This law, severe as it may seem, must have acted as a powerful preventive of crime. If such a law were in force now, and duly executed, how many deaths of disobedient and profligate children would there be in all corners of the land!
Verse 23. His body shall not remain all night upon the tree] Its exposure for the space of one day was judged sufficient. The law which required this answered.ill the ends of public justice, exposed the shame and infamy of the conduct, but did not put to torture the feelings of humanity by requiring a perpetual exhibition of a human being, a slow prey to the most loathsome process of putrefaction. Did ever the spiking of the heads of state criminals prevent high treason • or the gibbeting of a thief or a murderer, prevent either murder or robbery \ These questions may be safely answered in the negative; and the remains of the ancient barbarism which requires these disgusting and abominable exiiibitions, and wtiich are deplored by every feeling heart, should be banished with all possible speed. In the ease given in the text, God considers the land as defiled while the body of the executed criminal lay exposed, hence it was enjoined, Thou shall in any loise htinj him that day.
For he that is hanged is accursed of God] That is.
he has forfeited his life to the law; for it is written. Cursed is every one who conlinueth not in ail things that are written in the book of the law to do them; and on his body, in the execution of the sentence of the law, the curse was considered as alighting; hence the necessity of removing the accursed thing out of sight. How excellent are all these laws! How wondrously well calculated to repress crimes by showing the enor mity of sin! It is worthy of remark that in the infliction of punishment prescribed by the Mosaic law, we ever find that Mercy walks hand in hand withJudgmeat
Ordinances relative to strayed cattle and lost goods, 1-3. Humanity to oppressed cattle, 4. Men and women sliall not wear each other's apparel, 5. No bird shall be taken with her nest of eggs or young ones, 6, 7. Battlements must be made on the roofs of houses, 8. Improper mixtures to be avoided, 9—11. Fringes on the garments, 12. Case of the hated loife, and the tokens of virginity, and the proceedings thereon, 13-21. The adulterer and adulteress to be put to death, 22. Case of the betrothed damsel corrupted in the city, 23, 24. Cases of rape and the punishment, 25-27; of fornication, 28, 29. No man shall take his father's wife, 30.
'' "'• astray, and '^ hide thyself from them: tliou shall in any case bring them again \into thy brother.
3 And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shall bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shall restore it to him again.
3 In like manner shall thou do with his ass; and so shall thou do with his raiment; and witii all lost things of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shall thou do
Verse 1. Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray] The same humane, merciful, and wise regulations which we met with before, Exod. xxiii. 'J, 5, well calculated to keep in remembrance the second grand branch of the law of God, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. A humane man cannot bear to see even an as.i fall under his burden, and not endeavour to relieve him; and a man who loves his neighbour as himself cannot see Ivis property in danger without endeavouring to preserve it. These comparatively small matters were tests and proofs of matters great in themselves, and in their consequences. See the note on Exod. xxiii. 4.
Verse 3. Thou mayest not hide thyself] Thou shalt not keep out of the way of affording help, nor pretend thou didst not see occasion to render thy neighbour any service. The priest and the Leviie, when they saw the wounded man, passed by on the other side of the way, Luke x. 31, 32. This was a notorious breach of the merciful law menti(uied above.
4 •= Tiiou shall not see thy bro- ^°'"''- iher's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift than up again.
5 The woman shall not vvear that which perlaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.
6 If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs,
Verse 5. The woman shall not wear that which pertainelh unto a man] 13 J 'Sd keligeber, the instruments or arms of a man. As the word 12J geber is here used, which properly signifies a strong man or man of war, it is very probable that armour is here intended; especially as we know that in the worship of Venus, to which that of Astarte or Ashtaroth among the Canaanites bnre a strikmg resemblance, the women were accustomed to appear in armour before her. It certainly cannot mean a simple change of dress, whereby the men might pass for women, and t-K-e versa. This would have been impossible in those countries where the dress of the sexes had but little to distinguish it, and where every man wore a long beard. It is, however, a very goo<l general precept understood literally, and applies particularly to those countries where the dress alone distinguishes between the male and the female. The close-shaved gentleman may at any time appear like a woman in the female dress, and the woman appear as a man in the male's attire. Were this to be tolerated in society, it would produce the gieitesjt
^ "' 7 But thou shalt in any wise
let the dam go, and take the young to thee; ' that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.
8 When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.
9 ^ Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the ^^ fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.
10'' Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.
11 ' Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.
confusion. Clodius, who dressed himself like a woman that he might mingle with the Roman ladies in the feast of the Bona Dea, was universally execrated. Vetse 7. Thou shall — lei the dam go, and lake the young to thee; that it may he well with thee] This passage may be understood literally. If they destroyed both young and old, must not the breed soon fail, and ■would it not in the end be ill with them; and by thus cutting off the means of their continual support, must not their days be shortened on the land ^ But we may look for a humane precept in this law. The young never knew the sweets of liberty; the dam did: they might be taken and used for any lawful purpose, but the dam must not be brought into a state of captivity. They who can act otherwise must be either very inconsiderate or devoid oi feeling; and such persons can never be objects of God's peculiar care and attention, and therefore need not expect that it shall be well with them, or that they shall prolong their days on the earth. Every thing contrary to the spirit of mercy and kindness the ever blessed God has in utter abhorrence. And we should remember a fact, that he who can exercise cruelty towards a sparrow or a wren, will, when circumstances are favourable, be cruel to his fellow creatures. The poet Phocylides has a maxim in his admonitory poem very similar to that in the sacred text: —
Phocyl. lloififta NoKfer., ver. 80. " Nor from a nest take all the birds away; The mother spare, she'll breed a future day."
Verse 8. A battlement for thy roof ] Houses in the East are in general built with Hat roofs, and on them men walk to enjoy the fresh air, converse together, sleep, &c.; it was therefore necessary to have a sort of battlement or balustrade to prevent persons from falling off. If a man neglected to make a sufficient defence against such accidents, and the death of ana
^ fringes upon the four ' quarters Ah.'ex. iL io. of thy vesture, wherewith thou ^'''^- coverest thyself.
1 3 If any man take a wife, and "" go in unto her, and hate her,
14 And give occasion of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found lier not a maid:
1 5 Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:
16 And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;
1 7 And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech
other was occasioned by it, the owner of the house must be considered in the light of a murderer.
Verse 10. Thou shalt not plough ivith an ox and an ass] It is generally supposed that mixtures of different sorts in seed, breed, &c., were employed for superstitious purposes, and therefore prohibited in this law. It is more likely, however, that there was a physical reason for this; two beasts of a different species cannot associate comfortably together, and on this ground never pull pleasantly either in cart or plough; and every farmer knows that it is of considerable consequence to the comfort of the cattle to put those together that have an affection for each other. This may be very frequently remarked in certain cattle, which, on this account, are termed true yoke-fellows. After all, it is very probable that the general design was to prevent improper alliances in civil and religious life. And to this St. Paul seems evidently to refer, 2 Cor. vi. 14: Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers; which is simply to be understood as prohibiting all intercourse between Christians and idolaters in social, matrimonial, and religious life. And to teach the Jews the propriety of this, a variety of precepts relative to improper and heterogeneous mixtures were interspersed through their law, so that in civil and do mestic life they might have them ever before their eyes.
Verse 15. Tokens of the damsel's virginity] This was a perfectly possible case in all places where girls were married at ten, twelve, and fourteen years of age, which is frequent in the East. I have knowr. several instances of persons having had two or three children at separate births before they were fourteen years of age. Such tokens, therefore, as the text speaks of, must be infallibly exhibited by females so very young on the consummation of their marriage.
Verse 17. They shall spread the cloth, <^c.] A usage of this kind argues a roughness of manners which
daugliter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.
18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;
19 And they shall amerce him in a hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
20 But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:
21 Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath "wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: ° so shall thou put evil away from among you.
22 P If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shall thou put away evil from Israel.
23 If a damsel that is a virgin be ^betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
would ill comport with the refinement of European ideas on so delicate a subject. Attempts have been made to show that the law here is to be understood metaphorically; but they so perfectly fail to establish any thing like probability, that it would be wasting my own and my reader's time to detail them. A custom similar to that above is observed among the Mohammedans to the present day.
Verso 22. Shall both of them die] Thus we find that in the most ancient of all laws adultery was punished with deatli in botli the parties.
Verse 25. And the man force /i(?r] A rape also, by these ancient institutions, was punished with death, because a woman's honour was considered equally as
city, and ye shall stone them ^''"'- with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath ' humbled his neighbour's wife: ' so thou shall put away evil from among you.
25 But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man ' force her, and lie with her: then the man only that "ky with her shall die:
26 But unto the damsel thou shall do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riselh against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter:
27 For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.
28 " If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;
29 Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; " because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.
30 ''A man shall not take his father's wife, nor ^ discover his father's skirt.
precious as her life; therefore the same punishment was inflicted on the ravisher as upon the murderer. This offence is considered in the same point of view in the British laws, and by them also it is punished with death.
Verse 30. A man shall not take his father'' s wife] This is to be understood as referring to the case of a stepmother. A man in his old age may have married a young wife, and on his dying, his son by a former wife may desire to espouse her: this the law prohibits. It was probal)Iy on pretence of having broken this law, that.Solomon put his brother Adonijah to death, because lie had desired to have his father's concubine to wife, 1 Kings ii. 13-35
Neither eunuchs, bastards. Ammonites, nor Moabites, shall he incorporated with the genuine Israelites, 1—3. The reason ivhi/ the Ammonites and Moabites tccrc excluded, 4-6. Edomites and Egyptians to be respected, 7. Their descendants in the third generation may be incorporated ivith the Israelites, 8. Cautions against wickedness when they go forth against their enemies, 9. To keep the camp free from every defilement, and the reason why, 10-14. The slave loho had taken refuge among them ts not to he deh- 794 a vered np to his former master, 15, 16. There shall he no prostitutes nor sodomites in the land, 17. The hire of a prostitute or the price of a dog is not to be brought into the house of God, 18. The Israelites shall not lend on usury to each other, 19; but they may take usury from strangers, 20. Vows must be diligently paid, 21-23. In passing through a vineyard or field a man may eat of the grapes or earn, but must carry away none with him, 24, 25.
^''''^^' member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.
2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord.
3 '' An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation, shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:
4 " Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and ^ because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor, of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
5 Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee.
6 " Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their ^ prosperity all thy days for ever.
7 Thou slialt not abhor an Edomite; s for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because "^ thou wast a stranger in his land.
8 The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the Lord in their third generation.
Verse 1. Shall not enter into the congregation, <!^c.] If by entering into the congregation be meant the bearing a civil office among the people, such as magistrate, judge, &c., then the reason of the law is very plain; no man with any such personal defect as might render him contemptible in the sight of others should bear rule among the people, lest the contempt felt for his personal defects might be transferred to his important office, and tlms his authority be disregarded. The general meaning of these words is, simply, that the persons here designated should not be so incorporated with the Jews as to partake of their civil privileges.
Verse 2.,4 bastard shall not enter] 1ID:d mamzer, which is here rendered bastard, should be understood as implying the offspring of an illegitimate or incestuous TTiixture.
9 When the host goeth forth A. M. 2553.
10 'If there be among you any man, that is not clean, by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
1 1 But it shall be, when evening "^ cometh on, ^ he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:
13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou ™ wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:
14 For the Lord thy God " walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no ° unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee:
1.5 P Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:
16 He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in
Verse 3. An Ammonite or Moabite] These nations were subjected for their impiety and wickedness, (see ver. 4 and 5,) to peculiar disgrace, and on this account were not permitted to hold any office among the Israelites. But this did not disqualify them from being proselytes: Ruth, who was a Moabitess, was married to Boaz, and she became one of the progenitors of our
Even to their tenth generation] That is, for ever, as the ne.\t clause explains; see Neh. xiii. 1.
Verse 12, ^r. J These directions may appear trifling to some, but they were essentially necessary to this people in their present circumstances. Decency and cleanliness promote health, and prevent many diseases.
Verse 15. Thou shalt not deliver — the servant which is escaped — unto thee] That is, a servant who left an idolatrous master that he might join himself to God
one of thy gates, where it i liketh liim best: ■■ thou shall not oppress him.
17 There shall be no ' whore ' of the daughters of Israel, nor a " sodomite of the sons of
1 S Thou shah not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these ars abomination unto the Lord thy God.
19 "Thou shall not lend upon usury to thy brother: usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:
20 "" Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: ' that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that tliou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
2 1 y When thou shalt vow a vow unto the
and to his people. In any other case, it would have been injustice to have harboured the runaway.
Verse 18. The hire of a whore, or the price of a liog] Many public prostitutes dedicated to their gods a part of their impure earnings; and some of these prostitutes were publicly kept in the temple of Venus Melylta, whose gains were applied to the support of her abominable worship.
Lord thy God, thou shalt not A. M. 2553. slack to pay it: for the Lord thy An. Ex. isr.w. God will surely require it of thee; ^''^'''- and it would be sin in thee.
22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.
23 ^ That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill-offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
24 When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, " then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, '' then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.
Verse 24. Thou shalt not put any in thy vessel."] Thou shalt carry none away with thee. The old English proverb, Eat thy fill, but pocket none, seems to have been founded on this law.
Verse 25. Thou mayest pluck the ears leith thine hand\ It was on the permission granted by this law that the disciples plucked the ears of corn, as related Matt. xii. 1. This was both a considerate and humane law, and is no dishonour to the Jewish code.
The case of a divorced wife, 1-4. No man shall he obliged to undertake any public service for the first year of his marriage, 5. The mill-stones shalt not be taken as a pledge, 6. The man-stealer shall be put to death,!. Concerning cases of leprosy, 8, 9. Of receiving pledges, and returning tho.ie of the poor before bed-time, 10-13. Of servants and their hire, 14, 15. Parents and children shall not be put to death for each other, 16. Of humanity to the stranger, fatherless, widow, and bondman, 17, 18. Gleanings of the harvest, cj-c, to be left for the poor, stranger, widoio, fatherless, Jfc, 19-22.
it come to pass that she find no
NOTES ON CHAP. XXIV. Verse 1. Some uncleanness] Any cause of rfij/iic, for this great latitude of meaning the fact itself authorizes us to adopt, for it is certain that a Jew might put away his wife for any cause that seemed good to himself; and so hard were their hearts, that Moses favour in liis eyes, because he A. M. 2553. hath found '' some uncleanness in An. Ex. isr. 40. her: then let him write her a bill ^''^'"- suffered this; and we find they continued this practice even to the time of our Lord, who strongly reprehended them on the account, and showed that such license was wholly inconsistent with the original design of marriage; see Matt. v. 31, &c.; xix. 3, &0.; and the notes there.
2 And when she is departed out of his house, ^ she may go and be another man's wife.
3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
4 " Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shall not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee _/br an inheritance.
•5 f When a man hath taken a new wife, he nhall not go out to war, s neither shall he be charged with any business: hut he shall be free at home one year, and shall '^ cheer up his wife which he hath taken.
Verse 3. And write her a bill of divorcement] These bills, though varying in expression, are the same in Bubstance among the Jews in all places. The following, collected from Mairaonides and others, is a general form, and contams all the particulars of such instruments. The reader who is curious may find a full account of divorces in the Biblioth. Rab. of Bartolocci, and the following _/b;-m in that work, voK iv., p. 550.
or from the supputation (of Alexander) after the account that we are accustomed to count by, here, in the place B., I, C, the son of D., of the place B., (or if there be any other name which I have, or my father hath had, or which my place or my father's place hath had,) have voluntarily, and with the willingness of niy soul, without constraint, dismissed, and left, and put away thee, even thee, E., the daughter of F., of the city G., (or if thou have any other tiame or surname, thou or thy father, or thy place or thy father's place,) who hast been my wife heretofore; but now I dismiss fhee, and leave thee, and put thee away, that thou mayest be free, and have power over thy own life, to go away to be married to any man whom thou wilt; and that no man be refused of thine hand, for my name, from tliis day and for ever. And thus thou art lawful for any man; and this is unto thee, from me, a writing of divorcement, and book {instrument) of dismission, and an epistle of jnitting away; according to the Law of Moses and Israel.
A., son of B., witness. C, son of D., witness." Yerse 4. She is defiled] Does not this refer to her having been divorced, and married ia consequence to
7 ' If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketb merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; '' and thou shalt put evil away from among you.
8 Take heed in ' the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, 50 ye sliall observe to do.
9 " Remember what the Lord thy God did " unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.
1 0 When thou dost ° lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.
1 1 Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to
" See Luke xvii. 32; 1 Cor. x. 6.- lend the loan of any thing tOy &c.
another] Though God, for the hardness of their hearts, sufl^ered them to put away their wives, yet he considered all after-marriages in that case to be pollution and defilement; and it is on this ground that our Lord argues in the places referred to above, that whoever marries the woman that is put away is an adulterer: now this could not have been the case if God had allowed the divorce to be a legal and proper separation of the man from his wife; but in the sight of God nothing can be a legal cause of separation but adultery on either side. In such a case, according to the law of God, a man may put away his wife, and a wife may put away her husband; (see Matt. xix. 9;) for it appears that the wife had as much right to put away her husband as the husband had to put away his wife, see Mark x. 12.
Verse 5. When a man hath taken a new wife] Other people made a similar provision for such circumstances. Alexander ordered those of his soldiers who had married that year to spend the winter with their wives, while the army was in winter quarters. See Arrian, lib. i.
Verse 6. The nether or the upper mill-stone] Small hand-mills which can be worked by a single person were formerly in use among the Jews, and are still used in many parts of the East. As therefore the day's meal was generally ground for each day, they keeping no stock beforehand, hence they were forbioden to take either of the stones to pledge, because in such a case the family must be without bread. On this account the text terms the mill-stone the man's life.
Verses 8, 9. The plague of leprosy] See on Ler. xiii. and xiv.
An. Ex. isr. 40. out tiic pledge abroad unto thee. ^'^''"'- 12 And if the man he poor,
1 3 P In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and i bless thee: and ■■ it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God.
14 Thou shalt not 'oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of liiy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
1 5 At his day ' thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and " setteth his heart upon it: ' lest he crj' against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.
10 "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall tho children be put to death for the fathers every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
17 ■'Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless;
Verse 12. And if the man be poor, cjc] Did not this law preclude pledging enlirely, especially in case of the abjectly poor \ For who would taUe a pledge in the morning which he knew, if not redeemed, he must restore at night 1 However, he might resume his claim in the morning, and have the pledge daily returned,;ind thus keep up his property in it till the debt was discharged; see the note on Exod. xxii. 26. The Jews in several cases did act contrary to this rnle, and we find them cuttingly reproved for it by the Prophet Amos, chap. ii. 8.
Verse 15. He is poor, and selteth his heart upon it] How exceedingly natural is this! The poor servant who seldom sees money, yet finds from his master's affluence that it procures all the conveniences and comforts of life, longs for the time when he shall receive his wages; should his pay be delayed after the time is expired, he in.iy naturally be expected to cry unto God against him who withholds it. See most of these subjects treated at large on Exod. xxii.
Verse 16. The fathers shall not be put to death for \ verses of this chapter.
1 8 But '• thou shalt remember
that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
19 "When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may '' bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
20 Wlien thou beatest thine olive tree, " thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
2 1 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it "^ afterward. it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
22 And ' thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
the children, c^c.] This law is explained and illustrated in sufficient detail, Ezek. xviii.
Verse 18. Thou shalt rcmemher that thou wast a bondman'] Most people who have affluence rose from comparative penury, for those who are born to estates frequently squander them away; such therefore should remember lohat their feelings, their fears, and anxieties were, when they were poor and abject. A want of attention to this most wholesome precept is the reason why pride and arrogance are the general characteristics of those who have risen in the world from poverty to affluence; and it is the conduct of those men which gave rise to the rugged proverb, " Set a beggar on horseback, and he will ride to the devil."
A'erse 19. When thou cuttest down thine harvest] This is an addition to the law. Lev. xix. 9; xxiii. 22. The corners of the field, the glcanins;s, and the forgotten sheaf, were all the property of the poor. This the Hebrews extended to any part of the fruit or produce of a field, which had been forgotten in the time of general ingathering, as appears from the concluding
Punishment hy whipping not to exceed forty stripes, 1-3. The ox that treads out the corn is not to he muz zhd, 4. The ordinance concerning marrying the wife of that brother ichn has died childless, 5-)0. Of the woman luho acts indecently in succouring her husband, 11, 12, Of false weights and measures, 13-16 Amalek is to be destroyed, 17-19.
Aji. Ei. isr. 40. twecn men, and they come ^''^'^^- unto judgment, that tfw judges may judge them; then they •> shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
2 And it shall be, if the wicked man be " worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause
Verse 1. They shall justify the righteous] This is a very important passage, and is a key to several others. The word pTi* tsadah is used here precisely in the same sense in which St. Paul sometimes uses the corresponding word dmaiou, not to justify or make just, but to acquit, declare innocent, to remit punishment, or give reasons why such a one should not be punished; so here the magistrates Ip'TSD hilsdiku, shall acquit, the righteous — declare him innocent, because he is found to be righteous and not wicked: so the.Septuagint: nai diuaiaaovaiv tov Smaiov, they shall make righteous the righteous — declare him free from blame, not liable to punishment, acquitted; using the same word with St. Paul when he speaks of a sinner's justification, i. e., his acquittance from blame and punishment, because of the death of Christ in his stead. Verse 2. The judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face] This precept is literally followed in China; the culprit receives in the presence of the magistrate the punishment which the law directs to be inflicted. Thus then justice is done, for the magistrate sees that the letter of the law is duly fulfilled, and that the officers do not transgress it, either by indulgence on the one hand, or severity on the other. The culprit receives nothing more nor less than what justice requires.
Verse 3. Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed] According to God's institution a criminal may receive forty stripes; not one more! But is the institution from above or tiot, that for any offence sentences a man to receive three hundred, yea, a thousand stripes 1 What horrible brutality is this! and what a reproach to human nature, and to the nation in which such shocking barbarities are exercised and tolerated! Blost of the inhabitants of Great Britain have heard of Lord Macartney's embassy to the emjieror of China, and they have also heard of its complete failure; but they have not heard the cause. It appears to have been partly occasioned by the following circumstance: A soldier had been convicied of some petty trafl!ic with one of the natives, and he was sentenced by a court- -.nartial to receive sixty lashes! Hear my author: " The soldiers were drawn up in form in the outer court of the palace where we resided; and the poor him to lie down,'' and to be beaten A. M. 2553. before his face, according to his An. E.v. isr. 40. fault, by a certain number. ''""''•
3 ° Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these, with many stripes, then thy brother should ^ seem vile unto thee.
culprit, being fastened to one of the pillars of the great portico, received his punishment without mitigation. The abhorrence e.vcited in the breasts of the Chinese at this cruel conduct, as it appeared to them, was demonstrably proved by their words and looks. They expressed their astonishment that a people professing the mildest, the most benevolent religion on earth, as they wished to have it believed, could be guilty of such flagrant inattention to its merciful dictates. One of the principal Mandarins, who knew a little English, expressed tlie general sentiment, Englishmen too much cruel, too much bad." — Accurate account of Lord Macartney's Embassy to China, by an attendant on the embassy, 12mo., 1797, p. 88.
The following is Mr. Ainsworth's note on this verse: " This number forty the Scripture uses sundry times in cases of humiliation, affliction, and punishment. As Moses twice humbled himself in fasting and prayer forty days and forty nights, Deut. ix. 9, 18. Elijah fasted forty days, 1 Kings xix. 8; and our Saviour, Matt. iv. 2. Forty years Israel was afflicted in the wilderness for their sins. Num. xiv. 33, 34. And forty years Egypt was desolate for treacherous dealing with Israel, Ezek. xxix. 11-13. Forty days every woman was in purification from her uncleanness for a man-child that she bare, and twice forty days for a woman-child, Lev. xii. 4, 5. Forty days and forty nights it rained at Noah's flood. Gen. vii. 12. Forty days did Ezekiel bear the iniquity of the house of Judah, Ezek. iv. fi. Jonah preached. Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown, Jonah iii. 4. Forty years' space the Canaanites had to repent after Israel came out of Egypt, and wandered so many years in the wilderness, Num. xiv. 33. And thrice forty years the old world had Noah preaching unto them repentance, Gen. vi. 3. It was forty days ere Christ ascended into heaven after his resurrection. Acts i. 3,9, And forty years' space he gave unto the Jews, from the time that they killed him., before he destroyed their city and temple by the Romans.
"By the Hebrews this law is expounded thus; How many stripes do they beat (an otTender) loith? With forty, lacking one: as it is written, (Deut. xxv. 2, 3,) by number forty, that is, the number which is next to forty, Talmud Bab, in Maccoth, chap. iii. This theil
5 ' If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without, unto a stranger: her "^ husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take h<;r to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her.
6 And it shall be, that the first-born whicli she bearelh ' shall succeed in tlie name of his brother which is dead, that " his name be not put out of Israel.
7 And if the man like not to take his ° brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the ° gate unto the elders, * and say, My hus-
understanding is very ancient, for so they practised in the apostles' days; as Paul testified: Of the Jews Jive times received I forly (stripes) save one; 2 Cor. xi. 24. But the reason which they give is not solid; as when they.say. If it had been written forty in Nu.^iBKR, / would say it were full forty; but being ivritten, in number fortv, it means the number which reckons forty next after it, that is, thirty-nine. By this exposition they confound the verses and take away the distinction. I rather think this custom was taken up hv reason of the manner of their beating forespoken of, which was with a scourge that had three cords, so that eveiv stroke was counted for three stripes, and then they could not give even forty, hut cither thirtynine or forty-two, which was above the number set of God. And hereof they write thus: When they judge (or condemn) a sinner to so many {stripes) as he can bear, they judge not but by strokes that are ft to be trebled [that is, to give three stripes to one stroke, by re;ison of the three cords.] If they judge that he can bear tiventy, they do not say lie shall be beaten with one and twenty, to the end that they may treble the stripes, but they give him eighteen. — Maimon in Sanhedrin, chap, xvii., sec. 2. Thus he that was able to bear twenty stripes, had but eighteen: the executioner smote him but six tiines, for if he had smitten him the seventh they were counted one aiul twenty stripes, which was.above the number adjudged: so he that was adjudged to forty was smitten thirteen times, wliich being counled one for three, make thirty-nine. And so R. Bechaios, writing hereof, says. The strokes arc trebled; that is, every one is three, and three times thirteen are nine and thirty."
Thi/ brother be rile, or be contemptible. — By this God teaches us to hate and despise the sin, not the sinner, who is by this chastisement to be amended; as the power which the liOrd hath given is to edification, not to destruction, 2 Cor. xiii. 10.
Verse 4. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox, cf-c] In ludea, as well as in Egypt, Greece, and Italy, they up unto lus brotlier a name m An. Ex. isr. 40. Israel, he will not perform the ^'' '''"''•
8 Tiien the ciders of his city shall call hun, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, p I like not to take her;
9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and "• loose hi.s shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say. So shall it be done unto that man that will not "■ build up his bro thcr's house.
10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
1 1 When men strive together one with an-
make use of beeves to tread out the com; and Dr. Shaw tells us that the people of Barbary continue to tread out their corn after the custom of the East. Instead of beeves they frequently made use of mules and horses, by tying by the neck three or four in like manner together, and whipping them afterwards round about the nedders, as they call the treading foors, (the Libyca; areae Hor,) where the sheaves lie open and expanded, in the same manner as they are placed and prepared with us for threshing. This indeed is a much quicker way than ours, though less cleanly, for as it is performed in the open air, (Hos. xiii. 3,) upon any round level plot of ground, daubed over with cow's dung to prevent as much as possible the earth, sand, or gravel from rising; a great quantity of them all, notwithstanding this precaution, must unavoid;ibly be taken up with the grain, at the same time that the straw, which is their chief and only fodder, is hereby shattered to pieces; a circumstance very pertinently alluded to in 2 Kings xiii. 7, where the king of Syria is said to have made the Israelites like the dust by threshing. — Travels, p. 138. While the oxen were at work some muzzled their mouths to hinder them from eating the corn, which Moses here forbids, instructing the people by this symbolical precept to be kind to their servants and hibourers, but especially to those who ministered to them in licly things; so St. Paul applies it 1 Cor. ix.!), &c.; 1 Tim. v. 18. Le Clcrc considers the injunction as wholly symbolical; and perhaps in this view it was intended to confirm the laws enjoined in the fourteenth and fil"teenth verses of the former chapter. See Dodd and Shaw.
In Bengal, where the s;ime mode of tre;i(ling out the corn is used, some muzzle the ox, and others do not, according to the disposition of the farmer. — Ward.
Verse 9. And loose his shoe] It is difficult to find the reason of these ceremonies of degradation. Perhaps the shoe was the emblem of power; and by stripping it off, deprivation of that power and authority was represented. Spitting in the face was a mark of the utmost
1 2 Then thou shalt cut off her hand, ^ thine eye shall not pity her.
1 3 ' Thou shalt not have in thy bag " divers weights, a great and a small.
14 Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small.
15 But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: " that thy days maybe lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
1 6 For ^ all that do such things, and all that
ignominy; but the Jews, who are legitimate judges in this case, say that the spitting was not in his face, but hefure his face on the ground. And this is the way in which the Asiatics e.vpress their detestation of a person to the present day, as Niebuhr and other intelligent travellers assure us. It has been remarked that the prefix 3 belh is seldom applied to 'JS peney; but when it is it signifies as well before as in the face. See. Josh. xxi. 44; xxiii. 9; Esther ix. 2; and Ezek. xlii. 13; which texts are supposed to be proofs in point. The act of spitting, whether in or before the face, marked the strong contempt the woman felt for the man who had slighted her. And it appears that the man was ever after disgraced in Israel; for so much is certainly implied in the saying, ver. 10: Ajid his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him thai hath his shoe loosed.
Verse 13. Divers weights] pSSl pX eJen uaaJera, a stone and a stone, because the weights were anciently made of stone, and.some had two sets of stones, a light and a heart/. With the latter they bought their wares, by the former they sold them. In our own
did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;
18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he '^ feared not God.
19 Therefore it shall be, "when- the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth the for an inheritance, to possess it, thai thou shalt ^ blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven: thou shalt not forget it.
country this was once a common ease; smooth, round, or oval stones were generally chosen by the simple country people for selling their wares, especially such as were sold in pounds and half pounds. And hence the term a stone u>eight, which is still in use, though lead or iruti be the matter that is used as a counterpoise: but the name itself shows us that a stone of a certain weight was the material formerly used as a weight. See the notes on Lev. xix. 35, 36.
Verse 14. Divers measures] Literally, an ephah and an ephah; one large, to buy thy neighbour's wares, another small, to sell thy own by. So there were knaves in all ages, and among all nations. See the notes on Exod. xvi. 16, and Lev. xix. 35.
Verse 18. Smote the hindmost of thee] See the note on Exod. xvii. 8. It is supposed that this command had its final accomplishment in the death of Haman and his ten sons, Esth. iii., vii., ix., as from this time the memory and name of Amalek was blotted out from under heaven, for through every period of their history it might be truly said. They feared not God.
Firstfruits must he offered to God, 1, 2. The form of confession to be used on the occasion, 3-11. The third year'j tithe to be given to the Levites and the poor, 12, and the form of confession to be used on this occasion, 13—15. The Israelites are to take Jehovah for their God, and to keep his testimonies, 16, 17. And Jehovah is to take them for his people, and make them high above all the nations of the earth, 18, 19.
A ND it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVI. Verse 2. Thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit, «jr.] This was intended to keep them in continual Vol I. ( "^2)
remembrance of the kindness of God, in preserving them through so many difficulties and literally fulfilling the promises he had rnade to them. God being
A. M. 2553. first of all the fruit of the earth, An. Ex. isr. 40. whicli thou shalt bring of thy ^*'""- land that the Lord thy God giveth
thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt '' go unto the place which the Lord thy God siiall choose, to place his name there.
.3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, tiiat I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.
4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God.
5 And thou shalt speak, and say before the Lord thy God, ■= A Syrian "^ ready to perish ivas my father, and " he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a ^ few, and Decame there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:
6 And ^ the Egj^ptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
7 And "^ when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression.
the author of all their blessings, the first-fruits of the land were consecrated to him, as the author of every good and perfect gift.
Verse 5. A Syrian ready to perish was my father] This passage has been variously understood, both by the ancient versions and by modern commentators. The Vulgate renders it thus: Syrus persequebatur patrcm meum, " A Syrian persecuted my father." The Septuagint thus: ^vpcav aireliaXev o jraTTjp /j.ov, " My father abandoned Syria." The Targum thus: X3.S n' NT21nS N;':i HNOIS pS Laban arammaah bea leobada yalh abba, " Laban the Syrian endeavoured to destroy my father." The Syriac: " My father was led out of.Syria into Egypt." The Arabic: " Surely, Laban the Syrian had almost destroyed my father." The Targiim of Jonathan ben Uzziel: " Our father Jacob went at first into Syria of Mesopotamia, and Laban sought to destroy him."
Father Houbtgant dissents from all, and renders the original thus: Fames urgcbat patrcm meum, qui in JEgyptnm dcscendit, " Famine oppressed my father, who went down into Egypt." This interpretation lloubigant gives the text, by taking the " yod from the word ""JIS aranimi, which signifies an Aramite or Syrian, and joining it to l^K' yeabud, the future for the perfect, which is common enough in Hebrew, and which may signify constrained; and seeking for the meaning of D"'N aram in the Arabic ^ A arama, which
8 And ' the Lord brought us a. M. 2553. forth out of Egypt with a mighty An! Ex. Isr. 40. hand, and with an outstretched ^*'""' arm, and '' with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:
9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even ' a land that floweth with milk and honey.