Commentaries on the rest of the Bible (~45 volumes)

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

16. Quod superfuerit ex minha, comedent Aharon et filii ejus: azymum comedetur in loco sancto, in atrio tabernaculi conventionis, comedent illud.

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

17. Non coquetur fermentatum: portionem eorum dedi illud ex oblationibus meis ignitis: sanctitas sanctitatum est, sicut oblatio pro peccato, et sicut oblatio pro delicto.

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

18. Omnis masculus in filiis Aharon comedet illud, statutum perpetuum est satatibus vestris de oblationibus ignitis jehovae: qui tetigerit eas sanctificabitur.

26. The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.

26. Sacerdos oblationem pro peccato comedet, in loco sancto comedetur, in atrio tabernaculi conventionis.

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

27. Qui tetigerit carnem ejus sanetificabitur, et si defluxerit de sanguine ejus super vestera, illud super quod defiuxerit lavabis in loco sancto.

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

28. Et vas testaceum in quo coquetur, confringetur: quod si in vase aeneo cotta fuerit, defricabitur et lavabitur aqua.

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

29. Omnis masculus in sacerdotibus comedet illam: sanctitas sanctitatum est.

16. And the remainder thereof. He repeats what we have seen just before, that the residue of those oblations, in which there was peculiar holiness, should belong to the priests; but upon condition that they should be eaten nowhere except in the sanctuary. A special precept is also given as to the minha, (meat-offering,) that it should not be made into leavened bread; for thus the meal, which had been already dedicated to God, would be changed into common food, which could not be done without profanation. Since, then, God admits the priests, as it were, to His own table, the dignity of their office is not a little heightened by this privilege; yet in such a manner as that by their liberty the reverence due to God's service may not be impaired. Afterwards Moses confirms in general terms that right, which had been before assigned to them, that they should take what remained of the burnt-offerings, on condition that it should be eaten by males only, and in the sacred place; in order that God's presence may not only act as a restraint on their luxury and intemperance, but, also instruct them in the sobriety due from His servants, and, in a word, accustom them to exceeding purity, whilst they reflect that they are separated from all others. At the end of ver. 18, some translate it in the neuter gender, "every thing that shall have touched them shall be holy:" but in this passage Moses seems to me to prescribe that none but the priests should touch the minha. It was said elsewhere of the altar and its vessels, that by virtue of their anointing they sanctified whatever was placed upon them; but we now see that ordinary men are prohibited from touching sacred things, that their sanctity may be inviolate. For we know that the sons of Aaron were anointed with this object, that they alone might be allowed to touch whatever was consecrated to God. Therefore the verb in the future tense is put for the imperative. So also it is soon afterwards said of the victims, ver. 27, "Whosoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy:"¹ because Moses enacts this special law for the priests, that they alone should handle the sacrifices. Nor does what immediately follows contradict this, "when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof on any garment," etc.; for he does not mean to say that the garments or any vessels would be consecrated by the mere touch; but it is an argument from the less to the greater; if it were not lawful to take a garment sprinkled with the blood, or the pots in which the flesh was dressed, out of the tabernacle, unless the garment were washed, or the pots broken or rinsed, much more were they to beware lest any of the ordinary people should meddle with it. For how shall a mortal man dare to lay a hand upon that holy thing (sanctitati) which could not even cleave to the garment; of a priest without atonement? The sum is that a thing so holy should not be mixed with unhallowed things.

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

8. Si non fuerit viro redhibitor cui restituat delictum, delictum restituetur Jehovae, sacerdotis erit, procter arietem expiationum quo expiebit eum.

8 But if the man have no kinsman. This passage, which I have inserted from chapter 5 is connected² indeed with another subject, and yet, because it directly refers to the right of the priests, it was necessary to remove it to this place, especially since it expresses that kind of sacrifice which Moses has lately adverted to, i.e., when they expiated the crime of theft. God did not indeed desire that the priests should be enriched by others' losses, nor that thieves should go free, if they offered what they had stolen to the priests; but, if there were no one to whom they could restore it, He would have their houses delivered from (the proceeds of) their sin; and with very good reason, since otherwise the very gross offender would have never hesitated to plunder the goods of a dead man, if he were without heirs. First, therefore, He commanded their property to be restored to the lawful owners; and, if they were dead, He substituted their kinsmen, who are called g'lym, goelim, on account of the right of redemption, which God granted in the Law to relatives, as we shall see elsewhere; and because he who was next of kin was commanded to marry the widow of one who had left no seed. It was therefore a very uncommon thing that a person who had defrauded another had to recompense the loss to the priest; for in most cases some successor to the dead man would be found.

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

6. Omnis masculus in sacerdotibus comedet cam, in loco sancto comedetur, sanctificatio sanctifica tionum est.

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

7. Sicut hostia pro peccato, sic hostia pro delicto, lex eadem illis: sacerdotis erit qui expiabit eum.

8. And the priest that offereth any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered.

8. At sacerdos offerens hostiam holocausti alicujus, pellis holocausti quod obtulerit, sacerdotis ipsius erit.

9. And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest's that offereth it.

9. Omnis praeterea minha quae coquebatur in clibano, et omne praeparatum in sartagine et in craticula, erit sacerdotis offerentis illud.

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

10. Omnis item minha mista oleo et arida, omnibus filiis Aharon erit erit unicuique sicut fratri suo.

14.... it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace-offerings.

14. Panis sacerdotis spargentis sanguinem prosperitatum erit.

31. And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'.

31. Et erit pectusculum illud Aharoni et filiis ejus.

32. And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.

32. Armum autem dextrum dabitis ad elevationem sacerdoti de sacrificiis prosperitatum vestrarum.

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

33. Qui offeret sanguinem prosperitatum, et adipem e filiis Aharonis, ipsius erit armus dexter in portionem.

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

34. Quia pectusculum agitationis, et armum elevationis tull a filiis Israel de sacrificiis prosperitatum suarum, et dedi illa Aharoni sacerdoti, et filiis ejus in statutum perpetuum a filiis Israel.

35. This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest's office;

35. Haec est unctio Aharon, et unctio filiorum ejus ex oblationibus ignitis Jehovae, a die qua accedere fecit cos ut sacerdotio fungerentur Jehovae:

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

36. Quas praecepit Jehova ut darent eis a die qua unxit cos a filiis Israel statuto perpetuo in generationibus suis.

In these passages Moses confirms what we have seen before as to the rights of the priests, and also adds an exception to which he had not yet referred. In general, therefore, he claims for the priests whatever remained of the holier victims; and distinguishes them by this prerogative from the other Levites; from whence we gather how free from all self-seeking Moses was, when by God's command he deprives his own sons not only of the dignity which was conferred on his nephews, but also of their pecuniary advantages. Let none, he says, but the sons of Aaron enjoy the sacred oblations, because they are divinely anointed that they may approach the altar. But, since some rivalry might have arisen among themselves, he adds a special law, that certain kinds of offerings should only be taken by the priest who had offered them. For although they ought all to have disinterestedly discharged their duties, and not to have been attracted by lucre, yet, that all might perform their parts more cheerfully, he appoints a reward for their labor and diligence. On this account he prescribes that the residue of the minha in the peace-offerings, and also the right shoulder of the victim, and the flesh that remained of the trespass-offerings, should be the recompense of the priest who had performed the office of atonement and sprinkling the blood. It is unquestionable that many were attracted by the desire of gain, who would otherwise have neglected their duties; but this was a proof of God's fatherly indulgence, that He consulted their infirmity so that their hire might be a spur to their diligence. Meanwhile He did not desire to hire their services like those of slaves, so that they should be mercenaries in heart; but rather, when He reproves them by His Prophet because there were none of them who would "kindle fire on His altar for nought." (Malachi 1:10.) He aggravates their ingratitude, not only because they would not give their services gratuitously, but because, when they received their hire, they defrauded Him who had appointed them to be His ministers.

20. And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

20. Dixit autem Jehova ad Aharon, De terra eorum haereditatem non habebis, nec portio erit tibi in medio eorum: ego portio tua, et haereditas tua in medio filiorum Israel.

21. And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

21. Filiis autem Levi ecce dedi omnes decimas in Israele in haereditatem pro ministerio eorum quia ipsi exequuntur ministerium tabernaculi conventionis.

23.... that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

23. Et in medio filiorum Israel non possidebunt haereditatem.

24. But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

24. Decimas enim filiorum Israel quas offerent jehovae in elevationem, dedi Levitis in haereditatem: idcirco dixi de illis, In medio filiorum Israel non possidebunt haereditatem.