text now wants muif words in each of the seven following plaoea; chap^ vii. between venes 13. and 19. end of chap. Tii. chap. viii. between 19 and 20. chap. x. between 2. and S. at Amo. xi. at versee 3. and 4. The reader will permit me to refer him (for all die words thus omitted) to my own tdUbm ^ Ike Hebrew BihU (Oxford 1790. '2 vols, fol.) where the whole differencea arc most clearly described. As this is a matter of very exteniive consequence, I cannot 1>ut observe hene, that the present Hebrew text of Exod. 'chap. xi. did formerly, and does still appear to me to furnish & dittum»tr<Uion against itself in proof of the doubU speech lieing formerly recorded there, as it is now in the SamaTi- Can. Ami some ver^ learned men have confessed the impoBsibili^ of ex|>laming this chapter without the assist- UIC0 of the Samaritan PentatmA. I riiall now give this important ehapter as I presume it stood originally, distinffuishing hy Itaiin all such words as are added to, or dtfier from, our present translation. And before this chap> ter must be placed the two lost verses of the chuiter preceding, Exod. x. 23. And Pharaok »aid unto him, Oct ihee from me, take heed to thyadf, tee my face no more; forinthatdaythauaeestmy face thou ^aU die. 29. And Motet latd. Thou hatt im// tpoken: IvriU at» tiu/faet ogafn no more.
1. And the Lord said unto 1. Then Jehovah said onto Mnses, Yet will I bring one Mases, Yet will I brinR one plaitue more upon Pharaoh and ptngue more upon PharBMi and npnn Egypt, afterward he upon Egypt, mnd snerward he will let yoa go hence, when will send you out hence, when he sbsll let you go. he shall hewill Kndyouawsy, bewill surely thrust you out heoce surely drive yoa hence alloal together. get her.
3. Speak now In the ears of 2. Speak now in the ears the people; and tot every man of the people; and let every berrme of his neightMur, snd man atk of his neighbour, and every woman of her neigh- every woman of her neighboar, jeteeU of silver and jne- hour vtattlt of silver, and etttU ofgoM. ttU ofgold, end reimunt.
X •imdtkeLerdgmvelktfeo- 3. ^nd I will give ihit peopla AiTonr la tbe sight of tbe ^e favour in tbe sight of ihe BiyptlanB. EgyptlaBS, ss iM uUy ikell
5. And tktre tlatt V» a greet tr$ tkrmtgk all Us Isatf ^ lUTfpt, sacA et there wot »ene Ute it, mer sJUa Is tike it any ssrs.
7. Bat ageimtt say if Us ejUMm ^ Jtretl tkeU ssc a d»g «sss Ms tengnt, ageintt MNsrrcsa sfalasl teast;(Aat Us* awycsf faisv blat Jsissai <rU pat a difkmus tawssN Us Efffttent mnd lertM. Moraorer the man Hoses was 6- And thou also slialt be very great In the land of graatly honoured In the land Egypt, in tha sight of Pha- of Egypt, in tbe slgtat of PhatMtrs aarvants, and in tlw ranb'a ssmata. and In tka rflbtortlitpao^ algUof thepeopla.
of months: it fAoUAe the first month of the year to you.
3 Tf Speak re unto all the congregation.of Israel, Baving, In the tenth tlay of this month they shall take to them every man a Iamb, accordiiie to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house:
4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take if, according to the number of ihe souls; every man accorainf to his eating, eball make your count for the lamb.
5 Your Iamb shall be * without blemiBh, a male of the first year: ye Bhall tak? it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6 And ye shall keep it up until the * fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole ass^nbly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it ' in tbtt evening.
4. And Moses snld. Thus II. And Moses said. Thus ■silh the Lord, About mid. 'aiihlehovah.Aboutraidnighl nishi will I go out into tbe will I go forih into tbe midst midst nfEgypi. ^ tke land of Efyju.
5. And all tlie flrsl-bnm in 19. And cvpry flrst-born the land of Egypt ^11 di«, tlw land of Ecypt shall die. ftom tlw ftrst-born of Pharaoh from the Arsl-born of Pbaraah that slttelh upon his throne, that siliMb upon bis tbraae, even unto Ihe flrst-born nfilw unto the firsi-boniorr be maidmaid-servant that is behind servant that Is behind lbs the mill; aad at! the flrst-born mill; and even unto tbe first, of beasts. bom of every beast.
«. And there aball baa great 13. And ibm shall ba a cry ihrouch all the land of graaicry tbraagli all (be tend %ypt, saobas there wasnona of Egypt, such as that* was like it, nor shall be Ukeli any none lik« it, nor sbaU ba Uka mora. it any more.
7. But against any of the 14. But against any of tha children of Israel shall not a cblldren of Israel shall ant a dog more his tongue, against dog move his tongna, anlasl man or beast; that man. or msh a/atest beast t ya nwy know how tbat tbe that Ihou mayest know that l^rd doth piit a dlOerence ba. the I»nt dnib put a difference tween tbe Egypliana and Is*, between tbe Ecyplians and Israffl. racT.
8. And all ibese thy ser- IS. Anil all these thy servants shall come down onto van is shall come down lo me, me, and bowdown thamselvea and bow down ibenselna ta nntn me, saying. Get thee ont, me. saying, Oo forth, tboa aai and all tbe people tbat Adiow all the people that follow ihaa; thee; and after that 1 will go and then 1 aill go forth.
out. And he went ont from 16. Tlten tvonl he forth f)«as Pharaoh in great anger. befiire Phorauta in great indif.
9. And the Lord saM onto 17. And Jsbnvab isid nna» Mnses, Pbsraoh ekelt not Moses. Pharaob dtUt not hearken unto yoa, that my hearken unto yoa. that mg wonders may be mnltiplied in wonders niny.be muUiplied ua tbe land of Egypt. tbe land nf Egypt.
10. And Moses and Aaron IB. And Moies and Asm did all these wonders before performed sH Ibese woadcv* Pharaoh: and tbe Lord hard. befMe Pharaoh: bat Jebonfe ened Pharaoh's Iwan, so that hardened Pharaob's bnait. s» be would not let tbe children that be would not 1st Ihe cfaUoflsraolgooat of bla land. drenof IsraeLgooaiofhisland.
"nie reafler has now the whole of this chapter befaa* him. When, llierefbre, he has first read the X8th and 89lh verses of the preceding chapter, and has then oheemd, wirti due surprise, the confusion of the J/e*tw text in chi^i. xi. he will be prepared to acknowledge with doa rinide, the regularity and truth of the SaviarUan text. ugh diese many and reiy ronairferabte digerencca:.'* Remarks on edeet pat»aee» in tkt Otd TVatamoU. 8v«. Ojtfd. 1797.
The reader will pnsa his own judgment on the weight of this reasoninf?, and the importance of the additions preserved in the Samuiton text; a c<mvic(ioR of tbsir otiH^f has induced me to insert them.
NOTES ON CHAPTER XIL Verse 2. Th\* month shall be anlo you the be^iaeing qf monl^] It is supposed that Ood now ehang«d the commnKement of the Jewish year. The month to Ate vene refers, the nanih Abtb, nnsweri to a pan of oar
7 And they shall take of die blood, and strike it on the two side posts, and on the apper doorpost of the houses, wherein tiiey shall eat it.
JIfiinA and April t whareaa it is nippoBed that pieriouaty ID thia, the y«ar began with 7\«n, which aiuwera to a nart of cnu Septen^er; for in ibis month the Jews suppose God created tha world, when the earth apprared at once viih all its fruits, in perfection. From this circuiDstance, the Jews have formed a twofold commencement of the jtar, whii^ has given rise to a twofold denomiaation of jit year itself to which they afterward attended in all their nckoaioga: tliat which began witti Tisri or SejdemttWt was called their civil year; (hat which began with Abih or MarA, was called the wend or axUsiastical year.
As the Exodua <^ the ImnuiUe* formed a particular era, ■mtatAi is referred to in Jewish reckonings down to the taiiWiRg of dte temple, I have marked it as such in the ehmoowgr in ttw nuugin; and shall carry it down to the tiine ui wnieh it eeaaed to be acknowledged.
Some eminently learned men mspule this) and aspecially Hoofaigant, who contends with great plausibility of^argument, that no new commencement of tlte year is noted in this place; for, that the year had always begtm in ' thismootb, and that the words moiJ b«, which are inserted by different versions, have nothing answering to them in the lUirew, w4iich he rendars literally thus, Hie mauit vofris Cf< eamit nuRttum; hie veibiM ptimut tU ami swntM. "Tliia month is to you -the head or chief of the BUNOths; it is to you die first month of the year." And he observes farther, that God only marks it thus, as is evident from the context, to iliow the people that this month, irtiioh was the beginning[ of their year, should be so deswnated as to point out to their posterity, cm what month ano on what day of dw month they were to celdirate the passover and tbe&astof unleavened bread. His wwds are these: Ergo tvpertat, et Uebr. ip«o ex eontexlu ^fflcitur, nan hie novi oninie annum conMtUui, ted eum anni menttm, gui eaaet priMUM, idea ammemerari, ut potteria eonttaret, quo men»e, et quo die tneneia paecha et axyma eelebranda
V«ne3. ^llUtenAdaif iff &e month] Inaftertimea, dwy began their preparation on the thirteenth dav, or day before 3ie Pamovib, which was not celebratea till the Jmrteenih day, see ver. 6. but oa the present occasion, as this was dieir first yaeemer, they probably required more tins to get ready m: as a slate of very greu confusion must have inevaiM at this time. Mr. Ainsworlh remarks, flwt on this day ihff Jbnwlites did afierwafd go tbrourii JovdaaiBtodMluidcrfCBnaBO, Joah.iv. 19. And Christ our pasdial Lamb, on this day, entered Jerusalem, ridLog oo an ass; the people bearing palm branches, and crying, Hosanna, John lii. 1, 12, 13, &c. and in him ihis type was Mlv fulfilled.
Ahmb] The original word nv teA, supiifies the young o( sfastti and of goats, and nay be indifiereotly translated eitber liunA or Aid. See ver. 6.
A lamb/or a houee} llie whole host of Israel was divided into tvtlve trOta, these tribes into^milies, the iamilies into hmtaeat and the houses into partiaUar permn»f Numb. i. JoMi. vii. 14. Ainavortli.
Varse 4. J(f thehoueehold be too UtUe] That is, If there be not persons enow in one &milv, to eat a whole lambs dtan two Gunilies must join togstoer. Tbn rsUnnsjsllow lhat there shall be at least ton persons to one pucballsinb) smd not more than twenty.
Take it aeeonlin^ to the number qf the soub] The persons ■wba were to eat of it were to be first ascertained, sad then the lamb to be slsin and dressed for that number.
Verse S. WilKoat Uemuft] Having no natural imperfisetion, no disease, no d^fdency or redundancy of parts. On this point the rabbins have trifled most egregioualy, fsokoning Jlfly blemishes that render a lamb or a kid, or may aniimu, improper to be sacrificed: Jhe in the ear, ttres in the eyU<^ eight in the eye, three in Ifas nost^ eix ia the nouAb, Ac dbc
A mat* ofAe Jtrwt year} TiiMt is, Any age in lite Jirel jau bsMssQ e^gnl dm* and tteehe monthe.
BS either; aiid either was e^juaUy proper, if without blemish. The Hebrew^ however, in general, preferred the lamb to the kid.
Verse 6. Kb ehall keep it up tintU the fourteenth day] The lamb or kid was to be tidcen from the flock on the teiiAifay^Bnd kept up aitd fed itself till tbe/ourtocnA di^i «WB it was to be sacrificed. This was never comnandsd nor practised afterward. The rabbins mark four
& And (hcrr shall eat the Aesh in that niffht. roast with fire, and ■ unleavened bread} owl with bitter hah9 thejr shall eat it things that were required in the first passover, that wei« never required afterward: 1. The eating of the lamb in their hotues dispersed through Gkwhen. 2. The taking the lamb on the tenth day. 3. Hie striking of iu blowl on the door-posts and lintels of their hows. And 4, Their eating it in haste. Hwse things were not reqairwf of the succeeding generations.
The tchoU aeeembltf—Aatl kill U] Any person kill it; the snerificisl set iii this oss^ not oeing confined to (heprieete.
In the evening] ansnyn p3 beyn ka-drabayim, "between the two evenings." The Jews divided the day into morning and evening i till the sun passed the mmdian, was morning or forenoon; sfter that, all was nflemoon or evening. Toot Jtret evening bwan just afler troebte if dock, and eoiUtnued till sunset; meir eecond efening bmn at nmeet, and continued till night, u e. duriiw tbs whole time of twiUgkt: — between twelve o'clock, £ersfore, and the termioation of ftnljgU, the passover was to be offered.
" The day, among the Jews, had Amies hours, Josh. xi. 9. Their ^et hour was about six <fdock in the morninK widk us. Their eixih hour was our noon. Ileir ninm hour answered to our three'o'dock in the afternoon. By this we may understand that the time in which Christ was crucified, b^an at the third hour, that is, at nine o'clock in the morning, the ordinary time for the daily morning eaerifice, and ended at the ninth hour, that is, three o'clock in the afternoon, (he time of the evening sacrifices, Mark XV. 25, 33, 34, 37. Wherefore their niiUh hour was their hour lif prayer, when they used to go into the temple at the daily evening sacrifice, Acts iii. I. and this was the ordinary time for the passover. It is wordiy of remark, that God sets no particular hour for the killing of the passover: any time between the two evenings, i. e. between twelve o'clock in the day and the termination ot twilight, was lawfiil. The daily sacrifice, see EiZod. xzix. 38, 39l was killed at ha^'paat 0ie etgMh hour, that is, ha^f an hour BETOKs three in the afternoon; and it was offered up at ha\f-paat the ninth hour, that is, half an hour Af-rsa three. In the evening of the passover it was killed at A< poet the eeventii hour, and offered at hal^pdet the eig^. that is, half '"^ hour befobs three: and it the evenii^ the panover fell on the evening of the sabbath, it was kUled at haff paet the sixth Aoti^ and o&red at hitif poet Ae ssvBnTH, that is, half an hour sbpobb two m the afternoon. Tlie reason otthia was, tbey were first obliged to kill the daily sacrifice, and then to kill and roast th,e paschal lamb, wad also to rest the evening before the pas^ over. Agreeably to this, Maymonidee says, The killing of ihe passover is after mid-day: and if they kill it before^ it is not lawful; and they do not kill it till after the doily evening sacrifice, and burning of incense: and after they have trimmed the lamps, they be«in to kill the naschal lambs untiT the end of the day. Bv this time of uie day. God foreshowed the sufferings of Cnrist in the evening of times, or in the lost days, Heb. i. 2. 1 Pet. i. 1^ 28. and about the same time of the day, when the paschal lanb ordinarily died, Hs died also, viz. at the ninth houri Halt, xxvii. 46 — 50." See AinsworA.
Terse 7. Take of the blood and etrike it on Ae two eide posts] This was to be done by dipping a bunch of hyssop into the blood, and thus sprinkling it upon the posts, &c. see ver 22. That this sprinkling of the blood of the paschal lamfa^ was an emblem of the sacrifice and atonement mode by the death of Jesus Christ is most clearly intimated in the Sacred Writinga, 1 PcL t. 2. Heb. ix. 13, 14. viii. 10. It is remarkable that no blood was to be sprinkled on die threehold, to teach, as Mr. Ainsworth properly observes, a reverent regard for ihe blood of Qiriat, that men diould not ireod under foot the Sen GOD, nor count the blood of ihe tovenani wherewin they were sanctified, an unAo^ thing. Hdb. x. 29.
Verse 8. TVy ehall eat the JteAr-nait wfA /rel As it wss the ordinary custom of the Jews to boil iheir oedi,' some think that the command given here was in opposition to the custom of die Egyptians, who ate raw flesh in honour of GiiiriB. The Ethiopians, are to this day remarkable for eating ra%BjUA; as is the ease with most savage nations.
Vnlaaventd frreadl n^ia mataoth, from mo maitah, to eguecze or eomprees, oecauae the bread prepared without ttaten or yeaet was generally compres-M^sad, or ktavy,
9 Sat not of it raw, nor todden at all with trater, but ^ roost mih fire; his head with his legs, and with the purteoance thereof.
10 I And ye ahall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning, ye ahali burn with fire.
11 IT And thus ehall ye eat it; with your loins ffirdea, yoor shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in baste: 'iti» the Lord's paseover.
as we tena it 1^ word here properly sJ^iSei unleavened caketj the word for leaven in Hebrew ufoncAanub, which simply aignifies toj^erment. It ia njppMed that leaven was forbidden on thU and other occantnu, that the bread being leas sfreeable to the taste, it might be emblematicftl of their Dowfage aod bitter territide: aalhis teems to have been one design of die bitUr herbs irtiidi were commanded to be used on fliiaoecaaion I bat this certain^ was not the sole design of the pndtibiti(»); ttavm itseji is a speciei of corruption, being produced hyjar' ffl<niat<on, which in such cases, teiKls to nifre/licfion^ In thia very light St. Paul considers the aabjeot in this plsee; henoe, alluding to the possover as a type of Chnst, he says, Purge out Ourtfare Ae old UavtA^^or C^riet our pattover it nerifleea for iu: Aartfore let u» keep the featt^ not wUk M leaven, fiejOer vUk Ae leaten malice oiuf vHe/cednete, but iffiA the unleavened bread ^ sinceriit/ and truth, i Cor. v. 6 — 8.
Bitter herbs] What kind of herbs or lallad is intended b(f the word o^-io Tnerarim, which literally signifies bittere, is not well known. The Jews think ciAmy, vnld lettuce, horthound, and the like, are intended. Whatever mav be implied under die tenn, whether bitter herbe, or bitter ingrediente in general, it was designed to put them in nund of their tntter and severe bondage in the land of Egypt, from which God was now about to deliver them.
Verse 9. With the purtenanee thereqf] AU the hitestinea, for these were abused by the heuwns tor purposes of divination; and when roasted in the manner here £- reeled, they could not be thus used. Hie command also implies, that the lamb was to be roasted whole; neidier dte head or lege were to be separated, nor the intestines removed. I suppose that these last simply included the A«ar^ lunge, /irer, kidnej/a, dec. and not the intestinal canal.
VerBs 10. Ye Aall let nothing of it remain untU the MenUnf] Herely to prevent;nio-f/ae<fon; for it was not meet that a diing offered to God should be subjected to corruption, which, in such hot countries it must speedily tmdergo. "Vbam the body of our blessed Lord aa-je no corrujaim, Psal. xvi. 10. AcU ii. 27. because, like the paschal lamb, it was a eacrytce offered to God.
It appears that, from the Jewish passover, the heathens borrowed their sacrifice, termed fboptb* viam. It was dieir custom previously to their undertaking a Journey, to offer a ssorifiee to their gods, and to eat the vhole, if possiUej but if any part was 1^ they burned itwith fire t and this was called propter viam; because it was made to procure a ppospm>u#iTOmej/. It was in reference to this, mat Cato is said to have rsUted a person called Q. Albldiue, who, having eaten up all his goods, set fire to his house, his only remaining proper^. "He has offered his asorifioe proo&r irfam," said Cato, " because he has burned what he eould not eat." tha account ii given by Maerohiue, Saturn, lib. it 2. edit Bipont. voi. I. p. 333. aod is a remarkable instance how closely some of uie religious ob- •ervances of the people oS God have been copied by the heathen lutiona.
Tene II. And Oau sftoU ye eat U: with your loins girdeaj Am in the eastern eountries they wear long loose garments, whenever they travel, they luck up the foreparts of their garmenta in then- girdle, which they wear round dieir loins.
Your sftoM on yourjiet} Tliis seems particularly mentioned, because not customary. "The easterns throw off their shoes when they eat, because it would be troublesome, says Sir J. Chardin, to keep dieir shoes upon th^ fcet, they sitting cross-leeged ou the floor, and having no hinder quarters to their shoes, which are made like eUppere; and as they do not use tabtee and dunre as we do in Europe, but have their floors covered with carpets, they throw their shoes when ^ley enter their aiwrtment^ test they should soil those beautiAil |»eoes of nimiaire." On the emunury, tha Israelites ware to have their aftoM on, baaatne now about to eommnee dmr JonmOT. It was enatooury among the Romans to hy aside their aboet
12 For I LwiH hum throng the land ofUmt this oight, and will smite aU the first^rn in tha land ofEgypt, both man and beast; and *acain«t all the gode of Egypt I will execute judgment: " I am the Lokd.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the faouaes where ye are: and when 1 see the tdoed, I will pass over you, and the fdagna shall not be upon you r to destroy yoit, wbm I amite the land of ETgypL
wlien they went to a banquet Tht servaata took tbe« off when they entered the house; and reOinicd tbamwhsil n departed to their own habitations: our etaff in your Aanrf] The same writer >bserfa% diot the eastern people uaivcnilly mah* «s» sf a afar vhMi they travel cn foot
Ts sftoff eof if <a Aoffe] Because Aty ware saddtal* to take their departure; the destroyiiMr angel was at YaaL their enemies were coming Bgainst Siem, and dtey tMi not a moment to lose.
A is f&e hor^e rAssovaa.] "niat ii^ Jdwnh is now about to pass owr the land, and tiw houses oaly when dis blood is sfMinkled, diall be safe from the stroke of deadk The Hebrew word np» jMsodL which we very properly tranalste rAsaovas, ana which ahoold be anrns m»' nottnced as ftw worm has its naaie from die ugefef CMI paeeing by or over the houses of the Israeli tM, on lim posts and lintels of whidi the blood of the loiab was sprinkled; while he eti^tped at the houses of Ibe Eigyptinns to Bl»r their first-bom.
Verse 12. Agairut all the gode tf Bgypt, Ac] As dififerent animtus were sacred among the ^yptians, As slaying of the Jlret-hom at all the beasta might be eolM ezecutmg judgment upon the ^otft of Bgypt. As thii^ however, does Dot appw very clear and satianctory, sons have imagined tliat me word •<rfjtt etehey should be traaslated prineee, vtiiich is the rendering in our margta; lee as these princes, which were rulers of the kingdoai ante Pbaraoh, wve equally hostile to the Hebrews with raoh himself therefore these judgmeius fell equally heavy on them also. But, we may adc, I>id not these jaagamte fall equally on aJl the families of Egypt, duMgfa nniltitudas of them hod no particular part either in the evil iiainl against the Israelites, or in their oppression'? Wiy Asa distinguiih diose in calamities, ia which all equally thuti 1 None oi^ diese interpretati<His, iherefore, appear aaliaftiiiicty. JBhtMgant, by a veiv simple and natoral emendatka, ime, he thinks, restored the whole passage to sense and rtassn. He supposes, that Thi* elohey, eons, is a mistake for *irm ahley, tents, or AoM^a/ions; the n M, and the S Isstw^ being merely interdwnged This eertainly gives a vesy consistent soise, and pomu out the tmiversdi^ of the dfrsolatioo, to which the whole context eontinuolly refata. He diM«fora eontends that the text should be read daia— And on ail Sie •nana at lunTATioifs ^ ^SVpt JwiM execute judgment! by which words the Lord signified, that not one dweliing in the whole land of Egvpt abouu be exempted from die judgment here ihreatenea. It is but justice to s^, that however imbable this erittown may appear, it is not supported by any of the ancient vawkaia, nor by uiy of the MSS. oolleted by Kennitolt and Da BoeeC 1%e parallel place also, Numh xaxiii. 4. is radtsr against Houbigan^s interpretauoo—.^br Ae Egyptiam buried alt thdr Jlret-bom, vhich the Lord had tmilttm among Aem: upon their gode also [BrffiVitat u be elm* hetfiem] the Lord executed judgment: But HoaUgsnl amends the word in this place, in (he same way as be ooea that in Exodus. ITiere appears also to be an allusioa la this former judgment, Isai. zix. 1. Bekold, the Lord thmtl come into Egypt, and the idoU etMay} <if Bgwat sAaU be moeco at hia presence. And in Jerwn. xliii. 13. The houeee qf the gode [vi^ batey dohey] ^ ilk* Egyptians ehaU he burn wUh Jtre. The raUnna say, that "when Israel came out of Egypt, the holy blessid God threw down all the images of their abominauons, and thw were broken to pieces.'*-— When a nation was uovqattaa, il was always supposed that theirgods bad etdwr abandoned them, or were overcome. Thus ^ypt was naned, and their gods eonfounded and destroyed by Jebofah.- the note on dup. zi. 7.
Terse 13. The blood ahall be to you for a token] ahall be the sign to the desbnmnc an^ that tha T on irttieh he sees this blood qvmUM ia tader the r tion of God, and diat no parson ui it is to be — oover. U.
li And this day shall be unto you tCor a memoHal: and ye shall keei} it a ' ftaat to the Lobd throu'ooat your generations; ye shall keep it a
15 If • Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, "that soul shoQ be cut olF from
16 And in the first day there ehall 6e * a holv convocattoD,'and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation to you; no manner of work ■hall be done in them, save that which every
17 And ye shall observe the feeut of unleavened bread; for * in this self-same day have I brought your armies out of the land or Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by cm ordinance for ever.
18 ' Id Uie first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, nntil the one and twentieth day of the ■loMh at even.
Tens 14. A mamorial] To keep ap a remembraace of ibe aeverity and goodnew, pr jtutice and mercy of God. YfhaUkttpU^Jeiut— it dmi be aanually observed, aud dnll be celebrated with solemn religious joy. — T^rou^A- 0ul your gtntration* — u long a« ye eontinue to be a atatinct people — an otdinaiue, a aivioB appointment— «a institution of Oodhimwl^ neidier to be altered oor set aoids by any human authority.
Fbr ever] t/ytv npn Auiatk Slam, an everlasting or endless statute, because repreBentalive of the Lamb of Qod who taketh away the no of the world; whose mediation, in Boosequence of his sacrifice, shall endure wUle Hme iistif la&U; and to whose merits and efficacy, the aalra- ' tioo of the sou] ^all be ascribable throughout eternity! This, therelore, is a statute and ordinance, that can have BO eod, either in this world or in the world to come. It is remarkaUfl that tbou^ the Jews have ceased from the whole of dieir sacrificial system, so that sacrifices are no looker offered by diem in any port of the world, yet (bey •U, in all their generations and in-all countries, koep up tHe Nmeabmiee of the paas-over, and observe the feast oif unleavened breadl But no lamb is eacrifioed. lleir safirifiees have all totally ceased, ever since the destruction of Jerusalem by the Biomans. Even the flesh that is used on this oceanon, is partlv rooaied, and partly boiled, that it ma]r not even rsMinble the primitive sacriaoe |_for they deem it unlot^/U to sacrifice out of Jerusalem. The iniih ia, the true Lamb of Ghid that takedi away the sin of die world, ha* frscn offered; and they have no power to restore the ancient type. See on ver. 27.
Verse 15. I Septra day almU ye eai unleavened bread] This has been considovd as a oistinct ordinance, and not — entially connected with the paasover. The possover was to be ohaerved on the fourteenth day of the first month: the feast of u a leavened bread began on UnJifUenth, and bwted sereo daysi the first soil the last of vhtob were holy coQvoc&tisos.
Thai tout thaU be cut o/H There are Ihirty-tix places, in which this eicin^n or cutting off is threatened against ifaa Jew* for iwwtecl of some particular duty; and wlial is iwplisd in the thing itself, is not well known. Some think it neaqs • ivAenl death: some a premature death; and some sa eternal death. It is very likely that it means no ■Mre, than the separation frmn the rif^bu and privileges •f ao Israelile; so ttiai after this excision, the person was eoassdered as a mere stranger, who had neither lot nor part in lamel, nor any right to the blessings of the covenant. lUs Is probably what St. Paul means, Rom. ix. 3. But wsDMurslly siqipoae this puniduoent was not inflicted, bat so those who bad showed a marked and obatinate eon- Maspt for the divine autnority. llus punishment appears as nave been nearly die same with excommtuncation among the ChriatisaB: and from this general notion of tfis mUing pff, the Christiaa exoommuaieatioa seems to ■aw been Dorrowed.
Tso* tfcA OxM JlrH day~and in the tcvtnih day Sure ' tUtt/nmtfMt!oeafion\ This is the first place wliere jaiMI j^l^M accTUJit oT an ofssmMy rolit;cted for the
19 * Seven days shall there be no leaven found in vour houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, ' even that soul uutll be cut offfirom the congregation of Israel, whether be be a stranger, or born in the land.
20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
21 t Then Mosea called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, * Draw out and take you a " lamb according to your families, and kiU the passover.
32 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and • strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that u in the boson; and none of you shidl go out at the door of hishouse until the morning.
23 *" For the Loho will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth die blood Qpon tne lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord wiU pass over the door, fmd ■ will not sufier the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to tby sons for ever.
35 And it shall come to pass, when ye be
mere purpose of rett^ons worship. Buch anemblies are called fton/ eonvocatitms, which is a very appropriate appellatiini for a religious assembly; they were coiled together Inr the express command of God; and were to be employed in a work of hotines»: tripD mikra, convocation, IS a word of similar import with the Greek ■■■*.«rio, which we eonunonly translate diureh, and which pn^eriy signifies an assembly convened by public call.
Verse 17. Self-9amt day\ niya bittern — in the body of thin day, or in the strength of this day—probably they began theu* march about day-break, colled fiere the body or strength of the day; and in Deut. zvi. 1. by night, sbDie time before the sun rose.
Verse 19. A'o leaven Jound in your hauata] To meet the letter of this precept in the fultesi manner possible, the Jews, on the eve of this festival, institute tlie most rigorous search through every part of their houses, not only removing all leavened oreorf, but sweeping every part dean, that no crumb of bread shall be left that liad any leaven In it. And so strict were they in their observance of the letter of this law, that if even a mouse was seen to run across the floor with a crumb of bread in its mouth, they considered the whole house as polluted, and began their purification afresh. We have already seen that learen was an emblem of sin, because it proceeded from corruption: and the putting away of this, implied the turning to God with simplici^ and uprightness « heart. See the note on ver. B. and on ver. 2T.
Verse 21. KUl Ae passorer.] Tliat is, the lamlt, whidi was called the pa»chal or passoter Iamb j the animal that was to be sacrificed on this occasion, got the name of the inatUulion itself: thus the word cotenant is put often for the soorifice oflcred in making the covenant — so the roek was Christ, 1 Cor. z. 4. bread and wine, the body and blood of ChrUt, Mark xiv. 22, 24. Sl Paul copies Oie expression, 1 Cor. V. 7. Christ our poM-oter (dist ii^ oox paschal lamb) is sacrificed Jbr us.
Verse 22. A bunch qf hyssop] The original word aw esob has been N-oriousIy translated musk, rosemary, polypody qf the -ttall, mint, origanum, mtirjoram, and HYSSOP i the latter seems to be the moat proper. Parkburst says it is named from its detersive and cleansing auolities, whence it was used in sprinkling the blood of le paschal lamb^ in cleansing the leprosy^Xev. ziv. 4, 0, Bl, 52. in composing the water of purification. Numb. xiz. 6. and sprinklins il, ver, 18. It was a type of the puftfying virtue of die bitter suflerings of Christ. And it u plain from Psal. li. 9. dtat the Psalmist understood its meaning. Among botanists, Hvssop is described as "a ^rasof the gymnwpermia (noxed seed) order, belonging to the didynamia class of plants. It has under shrubbv, low, bushy stalks, growingafoot and a half hi^h I small, spear-shaped, close -sitting, opposite leaves, with several smaller ones rising from the same joint; and all the stalks and branches terminated by erect whorled spikes of fiiowers of different colours, in the varieties of the plant, ilic leaves have an aromatic smell, and a warm pingsnt taste. Tlte le%v«> of uits plant are parU»i)a^y recap- come to the land which the Lord will give tou. ' according as be hath promite^i that ye uiall keep this service.
2ti k And it shaU come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean y« by this service?
27 That ye shall say, < It t«the'sacrtficeof the Ijobo's passover, who passed over the houses of the chiulren of Israel in Egypt, when he smote
mended in bninonl aithmas, and other discvden of tbe braal and lungi) and greatly promote ezpecbwation." Its medicinal qu^iliea were prombly the reason why tbia plant waa ao particularly recommended in the Scriptorea.
V«rBe26. What mean yt by th.uBennc4?] 'Hie eatab- Uahment of tbia service umutuly, was a very wise provision to keep up in remembrance tbia wondered deliverance. From the ranoteat antiquitr, the inatitution of feaata, games, Ac. has been used to iwg> up the memory of past grand events. Hence God inatiiHtsd the tabbattt, to Keep up ibe remembrance of the creation ■■ and the jKiM-oter to beep up the remamteaaca of the deUweranct Jrtmt EgypL All the other fisBata were instituted on nmilar leoaona. Tbs Jewa never took their aons to the tabunacle or temple tUl they were twUve yean age, nor Buflered th^ to eat of the fieah of any victim till thev bad themselves oSend a sacrifice at the teii^>le, wbicn ^y were not permitted to do before the twelfth year of theu age. It waa at this age that Joaeph and Mary took our blessed Lord to the temple, profaaUy tot the first time, to offbr hia sacrifice.— See Calioet.
Terse 27. R u &e wryfiee <if the Lor^% pasaoiwr] We have already intimaud, that the paschal lamb wss an illuatriouB type of Christ; and we ahall find, that every thing in this account vt b/pUal, or representative. 1. The bontugfl and affliction of die people of Israel may be considered OS emblems of the hard slavery and vretchedneae consequent on a state of aiufiilneu. Satap rei^na over both body and aouL bringing the whole into subjection to the law of ain and death; while various evil tempera, paaaiona, lusts^ and irregular awetitea, act aa subordinate tormentors, making the Uvea of the vaaaala of sin bitter, because of the rigour by which tbey are obliged to serve. Swder. ia this thy easel 2. ^Hie mercy of God projects the reaemption of man from this cruel bondage and oppression; sad asocrt/Ece is utpcnnted for the occasion, by Ood hiniBelf! to be Mfered with particular wul sigjiificant rites and cererDoniea, all of which represented tha pasei^m and death of our blessed Lord; and the gr^t end for which he became a eaeri^e, viz. the redemp^on of a lost world from the power, the guilt and the pollution of sin, Ac. And it is worthy of remark, laL That the anniveraary or annual comniemoratioo of the passovet wns strictly and religiously kept by (be Jews, on the day, and hour of the Aa.j, on which the original transaction took ^oe, thm^UMt all ibiax succeeding generations. Zdly, That on one of these snniveraariea, e^ aa many aunpose, on the very day and hour on which the paschal Iamb waa origioally otTered, our blesaed Lord expired on the cross for the salvation of the world. 3dly, That after the destruction of Jerusalem, the paschal lamb ceased to be raTered by the Jews throughout the world, though they continue to hold the anniversary of the paasover, but ■wAthmU aky oaerifice, notwitbstanding their deep-rooted, inveterate antipathy against the.^uthor and grace of the Gospel. 4lh1y, That the aacrament of the Lord's supper waa instituted to keep this true paschal sacrifice in commemoration, and that this has oeen religiously observed by the whole Christian world (one very small class <^ Christians excepted) firom the foundation of Qiriationily to the present day! Sthly, That the Jews were commanded to eat the paachal btmbi and our Lord, commemorating the paasover, commanded his disciples, saying, Take, eat, THIS ia my body, which ia given for ytmi do thia in remembrarue of MB. In the communion service of the Church of England, the spirit and design boili of the type and anti^rp^ are most expresaively condensed into one point of view, in the addreaa to the communicant "Take and eat this in remembrwMe that Christ died for thbi;; and r«BB upon him in thy heart by faith, with thankeotviira." Thus, God eontioues the memorial of that grand tmiuaction whit^ be has aaki should be an ordbiance for «r«v evidently meaning dwreby, that the paschal lamb should be the-einuficaior till the pejNon and death af ChriMj and that afterward broad and viine taken aaorameiually in eommemoialion of bis nudfizkm, should the Egyptians, and delivered our houaee. And thepeople " bowed the head and worshipped..
28 And the children of Israel went away, and " did as the Lord had commanded Moaea and Aaron, so did they.
29 Y " And it came to pass, that at midnight p the LoBD smote all the first-born in the laAd of Egypt, 'from the Crat-horn of Pharaoh that aat on nia throne, unto the firat-bom of the ea^
ba tha eaatiTaud rmeoentaHott of that aacrifiee till the end of the vrorld. Thus the passover in itottf, and in its r*/erenc«^ is an ordinanotfor ever; and thus dtp worda of the Lord are literal^ fulfilled. Reader, learn from thia, 1. That if thou art not rescued from the thraldom of sti^ thou must periA for ever. 2. That nothing less than the power and mercy of God can set thee free. 3. That God will save tlwe in na other way, (ban by bringini; thee am ot thy sinfiil 8tat& and from thy widted jmctiees, nd eompanions. 4. 'That in Mder to thy redeinptioo, H waa absolutely necessary Aat the Son ot God should take thy nature upon him, end die in thy Head. S. Tk&t unlea the blood of this sacrifice be quinkled in its sttHung aScaer and merits, on thy heart utd conseieoc^ ibe guilt ana
Cer of thy ain canna be takm away. 6. That as tbs d of the paschal lamb must be q)rinkled on esarjr houae, in order to the preservation of its inhabitanta, so there must be a poraonal application of the blood of the croaa to thy conscience, to take away thy sfns. 7. As it waa not enou^ that the passover waa mHUutedt but die blood must be aprinkUd on die lintels and door-posts cf every house, to make the rite effectual to the sal^nion of each individual; so, it is not enough that Christ ilwulil have taken human nature upon him, and died for the sin of the world; for no man who has the Opportuni^ of bearing the Gospel, is saved by that death, who does not, by fiUtn, get a personal application of it to his own hean.
8. T^at thoae who wish for an application of the atoning blood, must receive this spiritual passover, vriih a perfect readiness to depart fivm (be land of then- captivw, snf travel to the rest diat remaiiu for the people of God: it being impossible, not only to a grow nnnxr, contimdng Budl, to finally saved, (nowever he may premime upon the mercy of God) but lUao to a toortdly-mindod man, to get to the kingdom of Ood: for Christ died to save ns from the present evU world, aeeordingto the -will ^ God.
9. Tbax in order to commenooraie arignt, ia dw sacmmeat of the Lord's supper, the great atonement made fier ibe sin of the world, all leaven ot malice, bitteroeaa, and iasincerity, muat be put away; as God will have do man ta pariake of this mystery who doea notftilly enter into in spirit and meaning. See 1 Cor. v. 7. 8-
Ver. 29. Smote all thejirst-bom} If we take the tena Jtrst'bam in its literal sense only, vre shall be led to conclude, that in a vast number of the houses of the ^7P* tians' there could have been no death, aa it ia not ai aS likely tlidt every first-bom child of every Egyptian fiunilv, was still alive; and that all the first-txHn a their catoe atill remained. And yet it ts said, ver. 90. that then was not -a Aotise uAere there was not one dead. The word, therefore, must not be taken in ita literal sense mly. From iu use in B great varied of places in the Seripbtrcs it is evident that it means the Atvi 'no*' excellent, beet beheed, moet dielingui^ed, Ae, ■ In this sense our Ueand Lara is called the pimt-borm qf every ereatitre, Cotoas. i. IS. and, the msr-sonr among many bretkrmj Rom. vtiL 29. that i^ he ia more excellent than all creatures, sad greater tlum all the children of men. In the aame sense we may understand Rev. i. 6. where Cbsisi- ia called ft> nBST-BsooTTBN from the dead, i. e. the chi^ of all Aai have ever viailed the empire of death, and on whom dewh has had any power; and the orUy one, who by his mn might, quicxened himself. In the same sense wisdom is represented as being brought forth before aU the crtatttrm, and being poeBeaeed byme ijord in the beginning Us vaya, Prov. vui. 22—30. that is, the modom cCwi is peculiarly eonapieumu in the proddedon, anrangasMS^ and government of every part at the creation. So £p4- ratm is called the Lord's snffr-sosir, Jer. xxzi. 9. And the people of Israel are ottta called by the same nsma. ssa Exod. IT. 22. Jarael u my eon, my msr-soBir: dwt m die people in whom I particularly delight and wbom I shall eapecially support and detend. And because ths Jtret'bom are, in gsoeral, paeuliariy dear to ttietr paxaali^ and becauae annnig the JawiS ib^ bad a^aaW aBlt jtaoo* liar privU^es, ¥(hat«m oM daar, UW vmUit
Uve that was in the ■ dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and alt his servants, and all the Egyptians; and Acre was a * fcreat cry m EgTpt; lor titere was not a house where there wa$ not one dead.
31 T[ And "he caHed'for Moaes and Aaron by tucht, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from cunonk ray people, • both ye ami the children of Xsraer; and^ go. serve the Lord, as ye have said.
33 'Also take your flocks and yoor herds, as ye have said, and be ^one; and 'bless me also. " 33 ' And the Egyptians were urgent upon the ncople, that they might send them out of the land in haate; for they said, ' We ^wilII dead r;ten.
Ud most prised, was thuBdenomioated. So Micah vi. 7. Shail I ^tm nur nnrt-tOKt Jbr tny trojugrettum, the Jnit of my boay far Vu tin.^ mywul? Sliall } giro up the mott beloved child I have, he thu ia moet deOr and «io*t iMCMtary to m^, in order to make an atonement for my mnal la like - manner the prophet Zech. xiL 10. aMttking of tlw eooveruon of the Jews to the Gospel of OMm, repreaenti them aa looking on him vhom Uuy ka»c pureed, and beine aa one that u tn biUerrum for Aw mrr-BoaiT: that is, they ihatl Gael diatreaa and ■ anguuih aa.thoM who had lost their mogl behted child. So the church triamplkant in the kingdom of Qod. are called, Heb. xU. 23. Uke general aseembly and cnnrah i^f the mMff^eaw, L e, dm nuat noNa and cvecUnU of all Aiman if not ereaied beioga. So Huner, IL iv. v. 102.
laiDba, all firwUinee of the iotik." That the mott exeeUmt of th^tr kMd.
In a contrary Mnae, when the word ^rat-bom v» joined to another that aigniua any kind of mwery or dUaraee, it then agaifiet the depth ot mimry, the utmott ifi^iaoa. So tba nMrr-BOSK Ae jmot, liai. xiv. 30. ngnifisa die BOM al)jee^ dsatimte, and imgioveriafaed. TTu ruar- •owr <if dealh. Job xvitl 13. mcana the moat horrUde kind of death. So in the ihreqtening againat Pharaoh, chap. xL B. where he iRfbrma him diat he will slay all the firatb<MTi, from, Ihe firat-ham of P/taraoh that ntteih vpon Ou throne, to Vie Jiral-bom. if the mavA-aervarU that ia behind the milt, he tahea in the very faig^wat and lowest eonditisHs ef life. Aa there ma no atata in Egypt eupelior to the Arene, m dtere waa none inferior to uiat of the femtde etave that ground at ^e mill. The propiiet Hahakkak aeetne lo fix this as the eeose in whieh the word ia oaed here; for speaking of the plosuea of E^ypt in general, and die aalvation which Qod amnrded hia people, he •aya, chap. iit. 13. l^kou vimteat forth for iketmcation moat exceUenf) iff the houae qf the tnekedr—nf PbwiiA and the Egyptians. And the authM- nf the book of Wiadom uaderstoad it in the same wi^. T'he maeier Mut Ike aeroant vere puitiahed after one manner; and like a* ffu king, ao attfered the common people— for in one numuRj the NOai.uT orpspBiifa of them loae aeetroyed: chop, zviii. 11, 12. And in no other sense can we onderstaod the word in Paal. Isxxix. -27. where, amon^ the promtses of God to David, we find the following, Aleo I leiU make him wy FiaBT-aoaN, higher than the kinsre of the earth t in which passaM, the latter clause •plains Ihe former; David, ar Icing, should be the riaar- •nur of Ood, i. e. he should be higher than the kin^a <if Ae csrA — the most iMmirr potentate in the universe. In this sense, therefore, w« dtodd upderxand dte passage Intfieation: the most eminent person in every family in R^ypt, a« well as those who were literally die firal-hom, bein^ slain in this plague. Calmet and aome Mher oritica pamailajrlr contend for this sense.
Verae w. TTlere wis a great cnA No people in Ihe uniTene were more remarkable for iheir moumii^ than Ihe Egvptiana, e^noially in msttars of religiont they whipped, best, tore tbenuelv«^ and howled in all the exeen ef grief. When a relative died, the people left the bwiae, ran into the streeta, tmd howled in the most lawontable and frsntie maoner, see Oiod. Stoul. lib. i. and Herod. lih. ti. e. 96, 66. And this latur audtor, happening to be hi Enpt od one of their soleomities, saw myriads ot peo- riwm^iiff and faeadnglhooseWeM m this atanner, lib. &tO. and see Mr. Bryant on the Pli«aes ti Egypt, Wkeis many examples are givui, p. 162, Ac. Howdread- 1tf.AiBmttBCdMaflnMofborf«randdtstreaasppasr, whea 'AmwtmtiMtmiHmmorfKmafia BsTpivhaie dura
34 And the people took their dough before it waa leavened, their "kneading troughs being botuid up in their clothes upon Uieir shoulders.
35 And the children of Israel did according to the" word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians ''jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
36 ' And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And ^ they spoiled the Egyptians.
37 If And • the chimren of Israel journeyed fVom ' Rameses to Succoth, about < six hundred tho\reand on fOot that were men, besides ohil^ dren.
was not one dead; and according to dicir custom, all the family running out into ihe streets, bewailing tliie calamity I
Verse 31. Called for Moeca and Aaron\ That is, he sent the messafe here menaoned to tiiemj for it does ttot appear ttiat he nad any &nher interview with Moaea and Aaron, after what is mentioned, lAap. x, 26, 2& and xi. & See the notes there.
Verse 33. The EgyHana were urgent upon the peopUl They felt much, they feared more; and therefore wisfied (o gel immediately rid of a peoj^ on whose account they found they were smitten wim so many and such dreadftil plagues.
Verse 34. 7Vt^ took their dough before it was Uavaud, &0.} There waa no time now to nuke any regular pf». paration for dieir departure, audi waa the univmal huny and confiision. The laaelitea could cany hut litde of their household utensils with them; but some, a\uh as they Imeaded. their bread and kept their meal in, diey were obliged to carry with them. Ilie kneading IroughaotibA Arabs are comparatively small wooden bowls, which, aAer kneading their bread in, aerve them asdiiiies,eutof wbiob. thnr eat dieir viotunla. And as to these behig bound up in dieir elodies^ no more may be intended than tlwir vrai^iiur them up in their Ions loose garments, or in wliat is stiH used among the Arane, and called kykea, which is a long kii>d of blanket, something resembhng a Highland plai^ in which they oAen cmtt mieir proviaiona, wrap themselves by day, and sleep at night. Dr. Shaw has been pardcular in hia desoriptteo ot thus almoat entire wardrobe of an Arab. He eay% the? are <tf diflerent aises and of different qualities, but generally about six yarda in length, and five or aiz feet broad. He supposes, that what we call Buth'a veil, Ruthiii. 16. was a hyke, and that the same is to be understood of the elothes of the Israelites mentioned in this verse. Bee hia Travels, p. 224. 4to. edition.
Verse 35. TTiey bonwtd qf-the Egyptiana} Seeihs note on ohop. iii. 22. where uie very exceptionable term borrow is' Urgdy explained.
Verse 37. JProm JRameaea to Suecoth] Remesee. appeals to have been another name for Ooaaemf though it is probable that there might have been a chief city or villMi m that land where the children of Israel reDdezvousra,, previously to their departure, called Rameses. As the term Succoth ngnifies bootha or tmta, it is probuble that this place wee so named from its being the place of the fimt encampment of the Israelites.
i9ix hundred thouaand] Uiat is, there was this nuni> ber of effective men, twenty yetvs old and upwards, vbo were able to go out to war. But this was not the whole number, and Uimfore the sacred writer says, ihey were abotU 600,000i for when the numbers were taken about thirteen montlu after this, they were found to be *£jr Aundredandeireethouaand, Jive hundred and^ty, without reckoning those under tu^aUy years of age^ or onv of the of Levi, see N^p^ i. 4& But besides uiose m foot, or foot-men, there were no doubt many old and comparatively (r^jlrm peraona, who rode on camels, horses, or asses, besidw the immense number of women and childreo, which must have been, at least, three to one of the otbere) and the mhnd multitude, ver. 38. probably of reAigees in Egypt, who came to sojourn there, because of the dearth which had obliged Uiem to emigrate from their own eountriea ( and who now, seeing thai uie hand of Jehovah was againat the Egyptians, aiid wth Ihe Israelites, availed themselves of the general conBterntitian, and look their leave of Egypt; choosing Isracrs Ood for tiieir portion, and his people their ccsnpaniens. Such a.coupany moving at once, and emigratii^ from their own eountry, the vorU never before nor since witnessed; no doobt ignranb ef two milliODB of souls^ besides their jCoab
38 And ''a mixed multitude went up also With them; and flocks, and herds,eemvery much cattle.
39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough, which they brought forth out of Egypt, for It was not leavened; because ' they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any vlctuEd.
40 1[ Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, wot ^ four hundred and thirty years.
41 And It came to pass at the end of the four
and herda, vven very much eaUlt; and whai but the mere providence of Qod, could Mipport Bueh a mullitude, ud in the wilderness too, n-bera to Okia day, the necesnries ot life are QOjt to be found 1
Suppoab ve tatra them at a roog^ ealenloUoi^ ^aaa, two millioiu will be foniid too miftll a number.
Bfatfw ami, 10 jnut olj md iipwmli tBOfiKO
Besides a multitude of oMand infirm prraons, who wmild be obliged to hde on camela and asaee, &c. and who must, {torn the proportion that luch bear to the young and healthy, amount to many dumnnds more I ExcIudeeventheLevites and their bmilie^ aad itpwarde of three millioni will be left.
Had not Mom the AiUeat proof of bia divine misriim, h» nerer could hare mt himnlf at the head cpf euch an hnmense concourse oT people, who, without the most ea* ivetal and effective Provideoce, must all have periihed for laekoffood. Tbie ainele circumstance, unconnected with all oihera, is an ample demotutraiion of the divine miaaion <^ Hoses, and <rf tlie authenticity and divine inapiration of the Pentateuch. To suppose imt an impoator, or tme tiretemiUiw only to a divine call, eould have ventured to place himsen at ihe head of such an immense body of people, to lead them throu^ a trackless wildemass, utterly unprovided for auch a joiuney, to a land aa yet in the possessicm of several powernil nations, whom they must expel before theyeould possess the country, would have implied sut^ an extreme of madness and folly, as has never been witnessed in an individual; and such a blind credulity tn the multitude, aa la unpaitUleled in die annala of mankind I Tim succeeding atnpeniloua eveota proved that Mosea had (he authority of God to do what ne did: and the people had, at least, such a general conviction that he had this ftuihorin', that they implicitly followed his directions, and rscehred their law from bia mouth.
Verse 40. JVoia Vu tofvuming qf Ihe Aildren qf lamat; Ac.] The statement in ihia vnaa is allowed on all hands to be extremely difficult t and therefore the passage stands in especwl need of illustratioiL "lltat the descendants of Israel did not dwell 430 years in Egypt," says Dr. Kennioot^ ma^ be easily prov^; and has often been (bmonstrated. Some, therefore, imagine, that by Egypt here, both it and Canaan are to be understood. But this grniter latitude of place will not solve the diffitxitf ■■ ainee the Israelitea, mcluding Israel dteir &ther, did not sojoum 430 years in both countries, previous to duir departure from Egypt. Others, s«uible of the still remaining deficiency, would not only have Egypt in the text to Bigiiify it and Canaan; but, by a ^uie more eomprehensivr, would have the cAi/drm <if Arael to mean, hratta dtildrmt and Imul their fiufaer, and Uaac the fether of Israel, and part qf Uu Iffe ^ ilfrro- Aam, the father of Isaac.
'"nius, indoed," am Dr. Kemueott, " we arrive at the Bxacl aum, and by this method of reckoning we might arrive at any thing— but truth; which we may presume WIS never thus conveyed by an inspired writer." But can tfaa difficulty be removed without having teeourse to such ahaord ahiitsl Oertaialy it can. Tlie Samaritan PentatetulL in all iis manuscripta and printed copies, reads dkeptaoediust hundred and thirty yeare, even the self-name day it came to pass, tint all ■ the hosts of the LoBD went out from the land of Egypt.
42 It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord, for bringing them out from the hmd of Egypt: this t# tliat night of the Lord, to be observed of aU the chfloren of Israd in their generations.
43 IT And the Lonn said unto Moses and Aaron, This is ' the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
Umoihab beney Yithrael veabolam dahtr yas&eftu baareta Cenadn ubaaitts miltraim sAelocMm ihanah vearbd Tntoth sAanoA.
" Now the tOauming qf the diUdren o/" Urad^veA of their ftidier^ imidi lAey aq^inirnsd in the umd of and At eulmdqf Egypt, w 430." lie same sum is given by St. Paul, Gal. iii. 17. who reckons firom the promise made to Abraham, when God commanded him to go to Canaan, to the giving of (he law, which soon followed the departure from Egynt; and this chronology MT tha apostle is concordant wiln the Saniaritan Psatateuch, wnidi, preserving the two passages, they and Uuir fathert, and tn the bmd GmMD, which are kxt out of die present copies of the Hebrew text, has rescued this passage from all ohaeturity and oontriMliction. It may oe necessary to observe, that the Alexandrian copy of the SeptuajHriat has the same reading as ihot in the Samaritan, "nw Samaritan PentateticE is allowed by many learned men to exhibit the most correct copy of the five boohs Mosea; and die Alexandrian ct^ of the Septuagint must also be allowed lo be one oi Uie swst auUientio, as welt as most ancient eapieaof dus Mrsion which we possess. As to St. Paul, no man will dispute the authenticity of his statement; and thus in the mouth of diese three most respectable witnesses, the whole account is indubitably eatablisbed. That ibese three witnesses have the truth, die chronology itself proves; for, from Abraham's entry into Canaan to tht biHh of laaag was 26 year% Gen. xii. 4.— xvii. 1—81. Isaac was m jrean old at the birth of Jac(^ Gen, zzv. 26. And Jacob was 130 at his goiiw down into Egjiit, Gen. xlvii. 9. which three sums maKC 216 yeara. And then Jacob and his children having continued in Egn>t 215 yeara more, the whole sum of ISO years is r^^ularly completed. — See Kennieotf» Dissertation on the Hebrew Text.
Terse 42. A night to be nateh obetrvedl A night U be held in everlastmg remembrance, because of the peooliar display <rf the power and goodness of God; the wwrvance erf which annuallJ^ was to be considered a religioas precept, while the Jewish nation should continue.
Verse 43. TAis is the ordinance ^ the pamwer] From the last verse of diis chapter, it i^>pears pret^ enrideni, that this, lo the 50th verse inclusive, oonstituted a part of the directions given to Moses relative to the proper diservance of the first paasover, and should be read ooajointly with die precedii^ account, beginning at verse 2L It may be sup^ioBed that these latter verses contained Bu<^ particiUar directions aa God gave to Mosea after he had given those general ones mendoned is the preceding verses; but they seem all to belong to Ihts first paasover.
So atnmger ahall eatqfit^-oi la hm ntear, the ton qfaetranger, ot foreigner; i. e. one who was not of lbs genuine HeilMew stock, or who had not received cireumeision; for any eireumeiaed person miglit eat the passovtf^ as thetoUl exclusion extends only to the uneircumcued see ver. 4S. Aa there are two sorts of strangers mendoned indie Sacred WriUi^ I one who was admitted to aU the JewUi ordinancea, and anoOier, wh(\ diough be dwelt among the Jews, was not permitted to eat the paasover, or partake of any of their solemn feasts, it maybe neeeasary to ahow what was the essential point of distincdon, through which die one was admitted, and ibe odier excluded., -I
In treatises on the religious customs of the Jews, we frequendy meetwidi d» term ■proadyte, from the Greer T(»ni>n.Tit, a stranger, or foreigner, one who is oom« fivm Ma oi»«p«opie and country to aojoum with ano^- All who were not desceadaols of some one of the twehw sonsof Ja«ri>,orofEphiaimandManasseb,dienro sou of Josei*, were reputed etrangere or proselytes, among the Jews. But of diose atrangera or proselytea, there were two kinda, called among Ibem prose^s «r tt« gal^aadinws^rfwfriiutbsorof ihsspNitaiil. W
44 But every man's serTflknt that is bought ibrmone/, when thou hast p circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
45 'A foreigner, and a hired servant shall not eat thereof.
46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ouf ht of the flesh abroad out of the boose; *DeiUier ehall ye br«ak a bone
47 < All the congregation of Israel shall " keep farmer were sach u wished to dwell amon^ the Jewa, tnt WDold not aubmit to be circumcised: they, however, aclmovledged the true Clod, avoided all idolatry, and ob- ■erved the seven precepts of Noah; bat were not obliged to observe any of the Mosaic institutions. The loiter submitted to be circumcised, obliged themselves to observe •n the rights and ceremonies of the law, and were in no> thing dtfiereot from the JewK, but merely in their having Ofkee been k4aiJunM. The ibrmer, or proae^te$ <if the got*, mi^t not eat the panover, or partake otainr of (he Mcred fisstivala; bat the latter, the proeelytet of the covenant, had the some rights, spiritual and secular, as the Jswv themselves. — See ver. 43.
Verse 45, A foreigner] 3fwi tothab, from Str yaAab, to »it down, or dteeU, one who is a mere wfmrtur, for the purpose of trafBc,' merchandise, &c. but who ia neither proselyte of the gale, nor of the covenant.
Ana a hired »ereant^ Who, though he be bottght with money, or has indented nimself for a certain term, to serve a Jew i yet has not become either protelyte of the gate. Or of the covenant. None of these shall eat of it, beouise not eircumeiMed; not brou^c imder the bond of the covenant i and not bein^ under obligation to observe the Ho- Hte law, had no nght to its privileges and blessings. Even under the Oospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, He is the AuAof qf eternal salvaiion only to Ihtm- viio obit Mm, Hd>. T. 9. And those who become Christians, are choten to tatfoiion through samctificatiom of Qie Spirit, and belief of the truSt, 2 Thess. ii. 13. And the £Taet Ood, mat bringeih talvation to aii nun, hath appoand; ttadiing tu, lhat vKsnnto tnraoDinfm and and cODLT, in thia prutnt world, TiL 0. Il, 12. Sueh parsons onlv, walk worthy oC the vooadon ^irttarevidi ih^ are called.
Verae 46. In ana house ^utU U bt tatm] In one fiunily, if that be larse enough, if not, a neiffUwuriDg fiuzuly ni^t be invitea, verse 4.
Twu Aatt lut eafry^^trOt ought tt« jCodi) Every ' family must alnde wUftm daw*, because of tm destroying angel; none beingpermitted to go out of his house dJl the next day. ver. 22.
fitiiher tnall ye break a bone thereof.} As it was to ba eaten in haete, ver. 11. diere was no time either to ■epanta the bones, w to break them, in order to extraot the marrow; and lest ibey ahoald be tempted to eonsame time in thia way, dierefim diia ordinance was viven. It ia 'Very likely tnat, when the whole lamb was brought to table, they cut off the flesh without even separating any of the lar;ge joints, leaving the skeleton, with whatever flesh they could not eat, to be conaumed with fire, ver. 10. ^liB praeept was also given to point om a most remarkable eifeunutanoe, which IBOO yean after, waa to take ptaee in the cnieiAxioo of the Saviour of mankind, who was the tnw Paschal Lamb, that Lamb of God, diat takes nrmf ih^rin of the wmld t who, though be was oraeified as a common male&etor, and it was a universal eostom to break the Iws of such on the cross, yet so did the provideooe of aocTorder it, that a bone of hw was not Noken. — See the fiilfllment of this wondroosly ezpreative type, John ziz. 3a 38.
Verse 48. And when a etrangei — wi/i keep the yatttmtr, Ae.] Let all who sojoom among you, and who iliBire to partake of this saend otdinaiKe, not ontf be cireomdsed themselves, bat all the males of dieb- hmiliea Kkswise, that they may all have an equal right to the UeanigB of the covenant.
T«ne 49. One tow tMl ho to Mm. Oat is AomeAorn, Ae.] As Alia is the first place Uiat dw term rmn torak, or'uw, oecon^ atermof the greatest importanoe in Diwinawvelation, and on the propernnderstanding at whidi mcbdepends^ I judge it beat to give lu genuine ezplaaattoniwafiiruL '
48 And ' when a stranger shaQ sojourn with thee, and will keep the pass-over to the Lohd, let all his males oe circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it: and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no unciroumcised person ehall eat thereof.
49 * One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth amone you.
50 Thus did all the children of Israel: as the LoBD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
which ngniflea to afm of, Keodb, point out, direO, lead, guide, mate ttnttghtoi etmi mn from theae aienifications of the'word, and in all these senses it ia used in the Bible, we may see at once, the nature, properties, and design of the law of Ood. ' It is a ayslem of imstbuctiok tn righieautnesg: it teadtee the difference between moral good and evil; ascertains what ia right and ^ to be done, and what should be left undone, because impnmer to be performed. It continually aime at the gloiy of God, and die happiness of his creatures — teadtee the true knowledge of die true God, and the destructive nature of sin — pointe out the absolute necessity of an atonement, as the only means by which God con be reconciled to transgressors i and in its very significant rites and ceremonies, pointe oat the Son of Ood till he should cotne to put away iniqui^ by the sacrifice of himself. It is a revelation of Clod's wisdom and goodness, wonderfully well calculated to direef the hearts of men into the truth: to guide their feet into the path of life: and to make atraight, even, and pMn, that way which leads to God, and in which the soul must walk, in order to arrive at eternal life. It is the fountain wbenceeverye<H'rectnotionrelative toQod, hisperfectiona, providene& grace, justice, hiriiness. omniscience, and omnipotence, nas been derived. And it has been the origin whence all the true principles of taw and juatiee have been deduced. The pious study of it was the grand meana of producing the greatest kings, die most enlightened statesmen, the most accomplished poets, and the moat holy and useful men ^t ever adorned the world. It is exceeded only by the Gospel of Jeaua Christ, which is at once the aeemnpliahment of its rites and ivediodon% and the fiilfllment of its great plan and oudine. Ai a system of teaching or instruction, it is the most sovereign and most effectuu: as by it is tne knowledge of sin; and it alone is the sclioolmaater, wiuSnymytt, that Uade men to Christ, that they mi^-be justified through &ith. Gal. iii. 24. Who can afaaolutely ascertain the exact quantum of ^Hauiiy in a crooked Una, without the appUcadon of a airaigkl oool And could ain, in aU its twisting^ vinding% nnd varied invohitionB, have ever been truly aacertained, had not God given to man this perfect rule to judge by 7 The nations who acknowledge this revelation of Ood, have, as far as th^ attend to its dictates, the wisest, purest, moat equal, and most beneficial laws. Tttt nations that do not receive it, have laws at once eztmvagandy severe and extravagantly indokent. Hie proper disttnotions between moral good and evu, in soeh statsL are not known f hence the penal sanetiona are not founded on the principle of justice, weij^ng die exact proportion of moral turpitude t but on the moat arbitrary cafnices, which, in many cases, show the utmost indulgence to first-rate crimes, while they punish minor offisnces widi rigour and cruelty. What is the eonsequence 7 Just what mi^t be reasonably expected; the will and caprice of a man being put in the plaoa of the wisdtnn of God, the government ia <q>preasive; and the people frequently goaded to distraction, rise up in a mass atM overturn it: so that the monarch, howevw powerful tot a timi^ seldom live* out half bis days. This ims tiie case in dreece, in Rome, in the maior part of the Aaiatic gotemmanta, and ia the case in all nations of tho world to the present day, where the governor is deapoOe, and the laws not formed according to the revelation qf
The word Ikt, lair, among the Romans, has been derived from l^o, I read / because when a law or statute was made, it was hung up in the most public places, that it might be letn, read, and Jtnoten by all men; that thoee who were to ober the laws, might not bre^k them through ignoraDoe, and tnus incur the penalty, "niis was called pnmutlgatio Ugia, q. provuJgatio, the promulgation of the lav, i. 0. the laymg it before the common pebp/e. Or ~ from Hgo, Ibindf because the taw Mnds men to the strict obaanraaee td its preeeMs. TV Cheeka call a law Mm* araies^ ftvm mm, l» dMda,^dUtrUniU, mUtiater to, or
51 ' And it came to pass the aelf-same iaj, thai the Lord cUd bring the children of
ttne, becaiue die law dMdea to all their jiut ri^ta, af^mnU or dUtributet to each hia proper duty, and thus aerv€9 or minittert to tlie welfiue en the individtuU, and the Bupport of toeitty. Hence, where there are either no lawi, or unequal ai» unjxist ones, all ie diatnetion, violence, rtmine, oppreiaioo, aparchy, and ruin.
VeiaeBl. By Mr armies.] anttst ttebotan, bom h» Uaba, to asfcnul^ meet toget/^ io an orderly or regulated tmaaurt and hence to ttar, U) act together aatroopa in battle: wheux nutai Uebaolh, troops, armies, hosts. It ia from Mb dwt the Divine Being calls himaelf mtat rrtrn Yeiuh Vaktsibaotk, the uod <ff Bosra or armies becauae (he laaelitee were brought out of Egypt under hia direction, marahalled and ordered by himaelf; guided by hie wisdom, ■upjKirted by hia providence, and protected oy hia might. Thia ia the true and simple rtaaon why Qod ia ao Erequently s^led in the Scripture, 7^ Lord qf Hosts; for the LoBo ^d bring the children q/* brael out qf the land qf Bgypt by their ABJiiaa.
Oh thw chapter, the notaa have been to fiill and so ex- ^it, that little can be added to eet the aulgeet before the tMder in a clearer li^t. On the ordinance of the paee- OT«a, the reader is requested to oonault the notes on veraes 7, 14, and 27, For the diaplay of Qod'a power and providence ia smporting ao great a multitude, where, humanly ■peaking, there was no provision j and the fro^ that the Bxodus of the Israelites gives of the /ruA of the Mosaic history, he is refiured to ver. 37. And for the meaniog of Ae torn U.W, to tet. 49.
On the ten [Aigues, it may be but just necessary, after what has been aaid in the notea, to melee a few genereJ reflections. When the nature of the Egyptian idolatry is coosidered, and the plagues which were sent upon them; W« may tee at once the pecaliari^ of the judgment, and the grest prmrienr of iu being in&cled in the way related
SMeees. liie plane* were either inflicted on the ofrjecto dieir idolatiT, or^y Ibeir vuana.
1. That the river NiU was an objact of their woiahip, and one of their gieateat gods, we have idready seen, as the nasT plague, ita waters were therefore turned into blood I and the JEaA, many ot which were objecta alao of their adoration, died. Blood was particularly MSeosive to Aem, and the touch of any dead animal reitdered them unclean. Whm, then, thnr great god, the river, wea turned into blood, and its watera became putrid, ao that all the fish, minor objecta of their devotion, died, we see a judgment at once calculated to punish, correct, and refbrm them. Could they ever more trust in gods, who could neither save themselves nor their deluded worshimiers 1
2. Hr. Bryant has endeavoured to prove that yron, the noOMD j^gue, wen sacred animals in Egypt, and wen dedicated to Oairis; they certainly appear on many ancient Egyptian monumenta; and m aiich circumstances and amaeiions, aa to show that they were held in raligioua veneration. Tlteie therefore became an awful •COUi^; first, by their numbers, and their intrusion into phtec; fnd aeeondVy, their death, and the infection of ^ atmoephere which look place in conaequence.
3. We have seen, also, that the Egyptians, especially the priests, affected great eUanlineaei and would not wear woollen garments, lest any kind of vermin should harbour i^Mut them. The thibd flague, by nieans of lice, or suchlike vermin, was wisely calculated both to humble and confound them. In ihu, they immediately saw a power •uperior to any that could be exerted bv thnr gods or their magicians; and the latter wen obliged to onutai^ T^w At finger tif OodI.
4. That files were held sacred amoag the Egyptians, and among various other nations, admits of the strongest proof. It is mn probable that Baal-xebub himself was worshipped under the form of a^y, or great canAorMf. These, therefore, or some kind of winged noxious ioaeeta, became the prime agents in the ronsTH plague; and if the cvnomyia or dog-fii/ be intended, we have already aeeii in the notes, with what propriety and effect this judgment waa infiicted.
6. He murrain, or mortality among the cattle, waa dte fTiTH plague, and the moat decisive mark of the power and iiMignatioa of J^ovah. That dagm, cals, mmUcefs, rams, heifers, and buUs, were all objecu of their moat religioiia veneration, al) the world knowa. TTiese were amitten in a moat aingular manner by the hand of Ood: and the R^ptians saw themselves deprived at onee of all their iftii^inary helpers. Even AfH*, their OX-god, in whom they phrtfoolarlr trusted, now rnxBea, gttm^ Had S30 judgment against all the gods of Egypt. See. ver. 12.
6. Ilie SIXTH ptasue, viz. of bUss and blains, wea as urpropriate arany a the preceding; and the sprisUckng <^ the ashes, the means which it waa produced, pecnharl]f sicnificent. Pharmacy, Mr. BiTaot has ofaeerved, was in high repute amoiig Uie Egyptians, and Isis, their mo«t celebrated goddea^ was considered as the preventer or healer of all (useaaee. "For this goddeaa," says Diodonis, Hist lib. i. " used to reveal herself to pfcopte in their ale^ when thev laboured under any distMwr, and afford them reliet Many vho placed their confidence in her infiuence, »ata^t\mt aymntrtat, woTC mtraculoualy resUnred. Manv, likewise, who bad been despaired of^ ai^ over by tne physiciona on accotmt of the obatinacy M the distemper, were saved b^ thie goddeaa. Numbers who had been deprived of their eyea, and of other parte oi their bodies, were all restored on ^eir application to Isia." By this disorder, dierefore, which no application tu their goib could cure, and which waa upon the magicians alno, who were supposed to posaeas moat power and infiueuce, God confounded tlteir pride, showed the folly of their wtwdtin and the vanity of uieir dependence. The means by whidt these biles and btains were inflicted, riz. the sprinkluig of ashes from ihe/umace, were peculiarly appropria£ Plutarch aaaurea us, De laide et Osiride, that in se^-ersl cities in Egvpt. they were accuatomed to sacrifice human bebiga to TyjMion, whom (hey burnt alive upon a high altar } and at the close of die merifice, the priests gathered the ashes of these victims, and eeattcred tnem in the air; " I presume," aaya Mr. Bryant, " with this view, that where an atom of their dust was wafted, a blessing nie^ be entailed. T]ie like was done by Moeea with the ashes of tlie furnace, that wherever any, the amalleat portioiv alightecL it might prove a plague and a curae to this cruel, imgratefu], and inmtuated people. Thus there was a deaigned contraat in theae working of PnmdeDce: W af parent oppoaition to the superatition of the times.". 7. The grievous hail, the sxvknth plague, attended with rain, thunder, and lightning, in a country wfaera these scarcely ever occur, and according to an express prediction of Moses, must, in the moat si^al manner, point out the power and justice of Ood. Fire and voter were some of the principal objects of E^ptian idolatry; and fire, as Porphyry aaya they conaider ^uy«.,>._. j.i., to be a great god. To find, thei-efore, that these very elements, uie objecta of their adoration, were al the command «f a servant of Jehovah, brought aa a curse and scourge on the wlutle land, and upon men also, and cattle^ most have shaken their belief in dieM imapnary ddiiea, wtSh it proved to the luaeliles, that Acre was none like &e Gtd qf Jethurun.
8. In the eighth plague we see, by what inaignlficant creatures Ciod can brins about a general destruction. A caterpillar ia beyond all animala the moat conlempoU^ and taken singly, the leaat to be dreaded in the whole efttpire of nature; but in the hand of divine justice, it becomes one of the moat formidable fees of the human nee. From the examplea in the notes, we eee bow little fanman power, industry, or art, can avail against this most awful scourge. Not even the most contemptible animal should be conadered with disrespect, as iu the hand of God, it may become the most tarrUale instniment for the punishment u a criminal individual, or a guilty land.
9. The KiMTH plaguy the total and horrible darftaiML that lasted for nrse day*, afifarded both Israelites snd Egypthns the most illusirioiis proof of the power lad umversal dominion of Ood: and waa, particularly to the latter, a most awfiil, yet instmctive leaaon against a speciee of idolatry, which Md been long prevalent in that and other countries, vix. The worship of the celestial /imhnaries. I^e sun and moon were both adored aa supreme deities; aa the sole diqtenaera of light and life; arid the sun was invoked aa the giver of immortality and eternal bleaaedoesa. /^orTiAyry I>b Abatin. I. 4. preaervea the very form uaed by the Egyptian priest* in addreaaing the sua on behalf of a deceaaed person, that he might be admitted into the aocaety of the gods; a ttrwtut »*.>■, •■<• mma aaX ' ii n. Aoakl ta ■iitllii I auw tun, 1, 8. Onkn (ben to nmoibK ttsibr MVtaiehUlCTimlinnshi oiuof Ecrpt, win th^ itBuld bB Imnfhi lo (to^Iitft^wHiHi; iuiiluka(p(haMr>Mluawiiii«iliAuib.3— 3. Sfpeuiika liH fitC-fairi). MS of nail sn) IXM. fhmll tike pU» wEi'ii Oxj iliuiiU Di irUtnl bi Cuaul, W— Tu (H-burii. of nnu uiil Iv jjl u> tie rskantd, 13. Tbe na- Mn a( ilibtfljv ttkbtJibuwa lo i^bt chiUrcOt U, 15- - or pA^^oclfHr' fur
2 • Sanctify unto me all the first-born, whataoever openeth the womb atnong the children of bmel, both of man and of beast: It is mine.
3 ^ And Moses said unto the people^ *> Rememoer this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of * bondage; for * by sfreufth of haiid the Lord brought you out fVom this piace: * there ahall no leavened bread be eateo.
merely at his will and plesaure; and that the people might be coDTiaced ibal all tola cojiie by bis Mpointment atone, beprttUeUd this awful dorlnieas; and tnat their astrtmomen might have (he fullest proof that this was no natural •eeurrence, and could not be the effect of any kind of eclipse, which even when total, could endure only about Jbur minuUs, and thia caae could happen only once in 1000 years, he caused thia palpable darxness to eontiaue Cot thrie daya I
10. Tix TKMTH and last jilague, the slaying of die Jtritbom, or cfc^f person in each mmily, may be considered in the light of a divine rtiribuiUm; for, after that their nation had been preserved fay one of the laraelilieh hraily, they bai^aaysMr.BrTaot, "contrary to oil right, and ui defiance of original stipuution, enslaved the people to whom they had been so much indebted: and not contented with this, diey had proceeded to murder their ofTspring, and to render die people's bondage intolerable^ by a wanton exertion of power. It had been told dietn, OM the fiunilv of the Israelites were eaceeioed as OotPtJtrtt-bom, atap. iv. 22. therefore God said, Let mv son m, that he may serve me; and if thou refuse — beholo, I will slay thy son, evep thy Crst-born, ver. 23. But they heeded not mis admonition, and hence ibooe judgments came upon them, that termi' Dated in the death oithe eldest in each fiunily: a just retaliation for their disobedieQce and cruelty." See several curious and important remarks on thia sulnect, in a work entitled, Obmenaiiotu upon the Plaguea ii}/ttd«d on the E;xmtiana, by Jacob Bryant, 8vo. ISIO.
On the whole, ve may say, Behold the goodneas and severity of CSod! Snerity mixed with gooaneu, even to the same pe«>ple. He puni^itd and corrected them at the same time; for there was not one of these judgments, that had not, from its peculiar nature and circuntBtances. some emeoduory influence. Nor could a more effectual mode be adtmied^ to demonatrale to thai people, the absurdity of dieir idolatry, and the inefficacy of their dependence, than dial made use of on thia occaaion by the wise, just, and merciftil Ood. At the same time, the Israelites themselves must have received a leaaon of the most impressive instruction, on the vanity and wickedness of idolatry, to which they were at all times moat deplorably prone; and of wlUdi tti«y would no doubt have given many more exainplea, bad tbeyootb&dthe Egyptian plagues continually before their eyes. It was, pr<&blv,. these signal displaya of Qod'a power and justice, and the$e alone, that induced them toluve Egypt at his command by Moses and Aaron; Mherwiee, w ith the dreadful wilderness before them, totally unprovided for sudi a journey, in which, hiuuaoly speakiac, it was impossible for them and their househoma to Miosiat, they would have rather prederred Am ilia they thm •uffisred, than have run the risk of greater, by an attempt to escape from their present bondage. This is proved by their murmurings, chap. xvi. from which it is evident that they preferred Egypt, with all its curses, to their situation in the wildemesa, and never could have been induced to leave iL had they not had the Aillest evidence that it was tte will of God; which will, they were obliged, on paio n utXer dcatruction, to obey.
4 ' Thfe-day came ye out in the month Abib.
5 And it shall be when the Loud shall « bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the JebuBites, which he ^ sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honev, 1 that thou shalt keep this service in this month.
6 * Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day ahall be a feast to
7 Unleavened bread ahall be eaten seven days; and there shall > no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen witti thee to all thv quarters.
8 Ana -thou shalt ■ show thy eon in that day, saying, Thia is done because of that wAitA the Lord did unto me, when I came forth out of Egypt.
9 And it shall be for 'a si^ unto thee upoli thine hand, and for a memorial between thine ^es, that the Lord'8 law may be in thy mouth: ior with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.
in this chapter appear to have been given at Soecotfa, on the same dav in which they Icift E^ypt.
Verse 2. Sanctify ""'^ ail tht Jirat-borri[ To sanctify, nrtp kadaah, signifies to coTueerate, t^arate, and tet apart a thing or person from all secular purpoees, to eome religious use; and exactly answers to me import of the G^eek m-yimX,", from ■ prita^vt, and the earA, because every thing offered or conaecnUed to Ood, was separated from aU earthly vaee. Hence a holyperton, or saint, is termed A)-i»(, i. e. a person eeparatea from tbe earth — one who lives a holy liie, entirely devoted to the service of God. TTiuB the persons and animals sanctified to God, were em- |doyed in the service qf the tabernacle and temple; and the animala, au^ as wen proper, were offered in sacrifiee.
Whattoever openeth Ae vomb] i. e. the Jlrat-bom, if a mal& for females were not offered; nor the first male, if a female had been bom previously. Again, if a man had several wives, the firat-oom of each, if a male, vaa to be offered to God. And all this was done, to commemorrcte the preservation of the first-born of the Israelitei^ wbtD those of the ^yptiaos were destroyed.
Terse 5. Tf^cn the Lord ahall bring Aee into the land] Hence it ia pret^ evident, that the Israetiiea were not obliged to celebrate the paas-over, or keep the feast irf unleavened bread, tDl they were bronght mto the fntmuMct
Verse 9. And it shall be fir a nrn—upon thy haTidj Tium direction, repeated and enlarged; ver. 16, gave rise to Ph^laeleries, or [Tephitlin; and this is one of the passages \idiich the Jews write upon them, to the present day. "nie manner in which the Jews imderttood and kept these commands may appear in their prar tice. They wrote the fbllowing four portions of the Law upon slips of parchment or vdlTum: sanel^ unto ms the Jlrat-borTi, Exod. xiii. from ver. 2 — 10. inentsive. And it sftoll be men the Lor^ ahall bring Am into ttu land, Exod. xiii. from ver. U — 16. inclusive. Hear, O lerad, the Lord our Ood it one Lord, DeuL vi. from ver. 4—9. rnelusive. And it s&oU come to pass, {/* ye shall hearken diHgently, DeuU xi. from ver. IS— 21. inclusive. Thcscfour portions, making iniiT) 30 verses, written as mentioned above, and covered with leather, ftey lied to IhoTbreftsoA and to the Aowi artn. Those which wer9 lot the bcad, (the>Von/Iefa) they wrote on fourslipsofpBTchment, and rolled np each by itself and placed them in four compartment^ joined IqgeQier in one piece of skin or leather.
Hiose which were designed for die hand, were fbrmed of one piece of parchment the four portions being written upon it in four eolunma, and rolled up from one end to the ouier. These were nil correct transcripts from tbe Honis tex^ without one re<limdant or deficient letter, otherwise Aey were not lawfil to be worn. Tliose fiir the head, were tied on, so as to rest on die forehead. Those for the hand' or arm were usually tied on the left arm, a little above the elbow, on the inaide, that they might be near the heart, according to the command, Dcut. vi. 6. And Aeaemrrda ichich I command thee thia day, ahall be in Aine heart. These phylacteries formed no inconsidenUile part of a Jew's relinon; they wore thnn as a sign of their obligation to do^ md as representing some future Uesaedneaa. Heaee, they did not wear them on fe^days, nor on the sabbalh,
10 • Thou shalt therefore keep thii ordinance ia his season, from year to year.
11 1l And it shall be when the Lord shall brin£ thee into the land of the Canaaoltea, as he aware unto thee and to thy fathers, and ehaUgive it thee,
12 p That thou ahalt 'set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firatling <hat Cometh of a beast which thou East; the males thatl be the Lord's.
13 And ■ every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a ' lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his qeck: and all the first-born of man among thy children " shalt thou redeem.
14 ' And it shall be when thv son asketh thee * in time to come, s&yiag, What ig this? that thou shalt say unto him, 'By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egy^, Smm the house of bondage:
15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would
beeuue thcM Ihingi ven, in themselvM, Hgtu s but they wore Uiem alwaya when tber read (be E^w, or vhen tbcy pnysd; and hence they called them rV'on tephQlin, prayer omaminta, oralorieg, or inatemmU to jirayer. In proeenoftime, the spirit of thii lawwu loatin the letter, and when the word waa not in their mouth, nor the law in their htart, thev had their phylacteries on their httuJa, and on fheir hanat. And the Pnarifieea, who in our Lord's time affected extraordinary piety, made their phylacteriea very broad, that (bey might have many wotenoea written iqKin them, Of thgordhuuTpoitiouioTerylwgeHndobMnnUe letters.
1. Aa sieas or rmumbraneea. Hiia waa the original den^ aa the institution itaelf auffioiently prom.
2. TD pneurt reverence and rupeet in the uBht of the heathen. Thia reason ia given in the CFemara, Beraeotfa. ch^, i. " Whence ia it proved, that the phylacteriea, or tepoillin, are the strength of laraell Aiu. Vtma what written, DeuL zxviii. ID. All the people of the earth diall aee that thou art called by the name of the Loan, \Titrr YduMoh} and they aholl be afraid of thee."
3. Hiey uaed them aa amuUU or eharm*, to drive aw^ apirita. This ^pmrs from the Targum on Canticles
TiiL S.^ His left luituiiM under my head, &>c. "Thecongnsatioa of Israel hath aaid, I am elect above all people, because I bind my phylacteries on left hand and on my head, and the scroll ia fixed to the nght aide of my gate, the third part of which looks to my bed-chamber, tbat dmnoDa may not be permitted to injure me."
An original phylactery, or p^^sn tephiUin, now lies before me: it is a piece of fine vellum, about eighlem incha long, and an inm and a quarter broad. It ia divided mto fbar iinei)UBl cosqiartments; the letters are very well fimned, but wriuen with many ajneu, after the manner of the German Jews. In the firat compartment ia written the portion taken from Exod. xiii. 2 — 10. In the second, Biod. xiii. U — 16. In the third, Deut. vL 4—9. In the fourtb^ DeuL xL 13 — 21. as before related, "niia had origi- DaJiv Bcrved for the hand or arm.
TTieae pasai^;ea aeem to be chosen in vindication of the use of the phylactery itaeli^ aa the reader may aee on con- ■ultinff them at large. Bind them for a sigit upon thy BAVD; and for raoNTUTs between thy etss; write (hem upon the vosra of thy hoosib, and upon thy oatbs; all which commands the Jews take in the moatuta«l sense. To acquire the repaiation tA exinuadiaary aaoeiitr, tbcy wore the Mngta of their garments of an uncommon length. Hoses bad commaiMed them, Num. xv. 38, 39. to put frinsea to the bordera of iheir garmenia, that when they locked upon even theae distinct thready they mi^t remember not only the law in ntneral, but also the very minutiw or smaller parts of all the jrrecepl*, ritea, and ctremoniei beloagiBg to iL Aa those nypocritea, for such our Lord prove* then to be, were destitute of aU the life and power of religion leitiUn, they endeavoured to supply its place with pfaylactenea and binges vilAotij. The same principles diatinguish hypocrites eveiy where, and multitudea of them may be found among those termed Christtant, aa well aa among the Jcia. It ia probably to tliia institationj relative to the phylactery, that the woi^ Rev. xiv. 1. allude t Aikd I looked, and lo— 144,000 having his nuhcr'f name wiUen on their forAaads, Hot ti^ layi hardly let ub go, that i the Lord slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man, and the first-born of beast: thereibre 1 sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the m*8t-bom of my children, I redeem.
16 And it shall be for *a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lomi brought us forth out of Egypt.
17 1[ And it came topass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that waa near; for God said. Lest peradventiire the people ^repent when they see war, and
18 But God ' 1^ the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: aind the chiuren of Israel went up ■'haroassed out of the land of E^ypt
BIr. Ainsworth, as a ^gn of the profession of Ood's lawf for that which in the Cloml is called his nax a, Han. xii. 21. in the prophets is called his law, IsaL zliL 4. So again, anti-<dinst exacts the obedience to his neeepta, \tj a mark on men's rif^ hands, or on their.^nwead^ Rev. xiii. 16.'
Verse 13. Eivery Jtratltng ^ anas* Bum Aali redeem vith a taTiA] Or, a kid, as in the margin. In Num. xviii. 16. it is aaid, "The firat-born of man ahalt thou surslj redeem t Kod the flratling of ao nncleaa beast dtah ihou redeem." Hence we may inbr, that an ia pat heie for any unclean beaslf or for unclean beasts in general Urn lamb was to be given to the Lord, that ia, to hia priest. Num. xviii. 8, 16. And then the owner of the ass might use it for his own service, which, withoat this redemptiont he could not do, see Deut. xv. 19.
Thejlrst-born iff man—ehaU thou tvdeem.] This waa done, vt givii^; to (he priests jCve standard shekels, or abekels of uw sanetoary; eveiy Aekel weighing twenim gerah*. What the gerab inia aee on Oen. zx. 16. Ana tor the ahekel, aee Gen. xxiii. 15.
It may be necessaiy to observe here, diat the HArew doctors teach, that if a father had n^lected or refesed tfaos to redeem hia first-born, the son himself waa obliged to do it when he came of age. As this redeeming of the firstbom was Instituted in consequence of sparing the first-born of the Israelites, vrtien the first-bom both of man and beast among the Egyptians was destroyed; on this ground, all the first-born were the Lord's, and ahould have been employed in hia service; but he permitted the first-bom of a useful unclean animal to be redteiaedhy a elean animal of much less value. And he chose the tribe of Levi in place of all the firat-bom of the tribes in general; and the five shekels were ordered to be {nid in lieu of anch firatbom sons OS were liable to sAve in the sanctuaiy; and the monev waa applied to the support of the priests and Levitea: See (hia aubject at large, in Num. iiL 12, 13, 41, 43,46, 47—51.
Verse 16. R ahail be for a token, Ac.] See the lurts on ver. 9-
Terse 17, God ted them not through the tray qfthe tand qf the Philistines, Ac.} Had the Israelites been obliged to commence their journey to the promised land, by a military campaign, there is little room to doubt that they wouM have been discouraged, have rebelled against Hoaet and Aaron, and have returned back to Egypt. Their long slavery had to degraded their minds, that they were inoaimble of any great or noble exertitms: and i( is only on the ground of this mental d^radation, the infollible consequence of slavery, that we can account for their many dastardly acta, murraurings, and repininea after their escape from Egypt. The reader is requested to bear this tn mind, aa it wUl s^rve to elucidate aeveral circumstances in the ensuing historv. Besides, the laraelitea were in all protebili^ unarm^ and totallv unequipped for battle, encumbered with their nocks, ana certain culiiwy utensils, vdiicfa they were obliged to carry with dtom in the wilderaess to provide them with bread, &c.
Verse IS. But God led the people about] Dr. Shaw bu shown that there were two roads from Egypt to Cansaai one through the valleys of Jendilly, Rumeleah, and Bsideah, bounded on each side by the mountains of the lower ntOaUt (ha other Iteahi^r, liaving the oorthem nogs of (be mountains of SIbcatee running parallel with it, on
19 Aod Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had atraitlj' sworn the children of Israel, saying, *God will aurely visit you; and ye ehail carry up my bones away hence with you.
20 If And *■ they took their journey from Snceoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of
the right hsod, and the deaert of the Bgrptian Arabia, which lin alt ihe way open to the land ofthe Pbilietmea ID the left. See hie aeemnt of these floeampments at the ■nd of Exodoe.
Weni up hamcMtd] Q^van Aamuahim. It k truly avteoiehiiifwbatagTeat variety of opiniwu ere enterlaijied nlaiiTa to the -meaning of this word. After having maturely eonaidered all that I have met with od the subject, I thiok it prolnbl^ that ^ word re&ra simply to that orderly or wtU-arroBfeel tnanoer in- which the IsroeliteB commenced dieir journey firom Egypt. For to arrange, array, fx tel in. ordir, eeeme to be the ideal meaning ofthe word nn cftant4uA. As it was natural to expect, that in such oircnmitanees, there must have been mncn hurry and oonfusion, tbe inspired vhiter particularly marks the contrary, to show that God had so disposed matters, that the utmost rqpilority and order prevailed; and had it been otherwise, fliousands of men, Tromen, aitd children, must have been troddra to death. Our margin has it, by five in a rank, txtt had ibey marched only five abreast, auppoatng oitly one yard for each rank to move in, it would tuive required not IM than sixty-ei^ht miles for even the 600,000 to proee*d en recalarly m this way; for 600^000 divided by five gives 121^000 ranks of five each: and there being only 1760 jarda in a mile, the dividiiw 120;O0O by 1760 will give the number of mites such a column of people wouM take up, tAadi by fodt an operarion will be fotuid to be something more then 68 miles. But this the circumstances of the biitoiy will by no means admiL ffarmcr. The simple meaning therefore, appears to be that given above i and if the note on the concluding verse of die preeeding chapter be considered it tnay serve to place this explanation in a still clearer point of view- Verse 19. MaatM look Ae bona <{f Jotmh] See the note on Gen. 1. 26. It is supposed that the Isroelites carried with them the bones or remains ot ail Ike twelve aoiu Jaceb, each tribe taking care of the bones of its own nUriareh while Moses took care of the bones of Joseph. SL Stephen expressly s^a. Acts vii. 15, 16. that not only Jacobs out the jhOurt were carried from Egypt into Sydiem; and this, as Calmet remarks, was the only opportunity that seems to have presented itself for doing this: and certainbr the reason that rendered it proper to remove the bones oi Joseph to the promised land, nnd equal wei^t in reference to those of the other patriarcha. See the note on Oen. zliz. 29-
Terse 20; Encamped in EOiam] A% tor the reasons — signsd on ver. 17. God would not lead the Israelites by ftie way of the PhOistines* country, he directed them toward the wilderness of SAufjCh. xv. 22. upon tlie edge or extremity of which, next to Egypt, at the bottom of the Afsbion gul^ ley Elham,whitti u the second place of eneanpsnent mentioned. See the Extracts from Dr. Shaw •t iKe end of Bxodus.
Terse 21. The Lard tetnt htfort fAem] That by Ae Loan here, is meant the Lord Jesus, we have the audioritv of St. Paul to believe, 1 Cor. x. 9. it was he whose nrini thay tempted in the wilderness for it was he who lei) tfiein tliroiu4i uie desert to the promised rest.
Pillar qf a doud\ This pillar, or roliimn, which nppsared as a doud by day, and ^-[fire, by night, was tlic ^mbol of the Divine presence. Tliis uns the Sherkinah, or ^vine dwelling-place, and was the continual proof of the presence and protection of OOD. It was ncceesary that they should have a guide to direct them through the wilderness, even had they taken the moal direct rotuf; and bow much more so when they took a eirmUou* rmite, not usually travelled, and of which they knew nothing but just as the luminous pillar pointed out the way. Be- ■dee; it is very likely, that even Moses himself did not know the route which God had determined on, nor the idsces of encampment, till the pillar that went before them Boeame stationary, and thus pointed out not only the rood bat the diScreat places of rest. Whether there was more than OTU pillar is not clearly determined by the text. If dian was out on*, it certainly assumed thret dijttrent apjManmow^ for the performBnee of thku veiy important oflkss. 1. In the day Hnu, tat the purpose of jmrUing out Ou way, a eolamn, or mtlar of a ehud, wai all that
21 And ( the Lord went before thnn by da^^ in a^iiltar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by ni^ht in a pillar of fire, to give thnn ligrht; to
23 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fir* by night, from before the people.
was reouisite. 2. At nighl, to prevent that confusion which must otherwise have taken place, the pillar of ctoud became a DfUar <^ Jlre, not to direct their journeying^ for they seldom travelled by night, but to give light to every part of the Israelitish camp. 3. In such a scorching, bairen, thirsty desert, aoraething hriher was neceessary than a Ugkt and a guide. Women, children, and comparatively infirm persons, exposed to the rays of such a burning sun, must have been destroyed, if without a coveHn^: hence we find that a cloud overmadowed them: and from what Su Paul (^rves, I Cor. x. 1, 2. we are led to conclude, that this covering cloud was composed of aaueotwparfiefat for the cooling of the atmosphere, and refreuunent of themselves and their catde; for he ropresenu the whole camp as being tprinJded or tmfner«ad m the humidity of its vapours, ana expressly calls it a being under the eltmd, and beinc bopHxoi in the ebnid. To tfus eireumstance of the cloud e«Mr£tu' dwm, dien are sevaml retumtees in Seriptnre. Thus Fsal. ev. 39L Beopread a t^udjbr their eovtring. And the Lord mil ereaie upon esery dweUingptaee qf Mmni Zion, and upon, Iter aeeembliee a cuovo and SHOKB bt day, and the shining nf a muam nax by nighi; for upon all the ^lory shall be a DEraNO— QT oovzRiifo. Isai. iv. 6. whtcb words contain the most manifest alhision to the Ihre^old office of the cloud in dM wilderness. See Numb. is. 16, 17, 18^ At.
Verae 22. Be took not auxty the viUar qf Oie down Neither Jews nor Gentiles are agreed how long the oloua continued with the hmeliles. It is vay prouuile that k first visited them at Sueeoth, if it did not accompany dun from Rameses; and that it continued wUh them till they came to die river Jordan, to pass over opposite to Jericho; for after that, it eppeara that die ark alone was their guide, as it always marched at their head. See Josh. iii. 10, &c. But others diink that it went no fturthsr with them than Mount Hor, and neve* appeared after the death of Aaron. We may safely assert that while it was indisr penaably necessary, it continued with them t when it was not sa it was removed. But it is worthy of remark, that the ark of the covenant became its substitute. While a miracle was necessary, a miracle was granted; when that was no longer necessary, then the teetimony <rf the Lord deposited in the ark, was deemed snfficiont by Him who cannot err. 8o, under the Gospel dispensation, miracles were necessary at its first promulgation; but after that the canon of Scripture was completed, the new covenant having been made-, ratified l^the blood of the Lamb, and publitfied by the Holy Spirit; then Ood withdrew, geosrally, those outwud signs, leaving his wtd tor a conuiMial teetimony, and sealing it on the sooli of believen fay the Spirit of truth.