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

30. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.

30. Sabbatha mea observabitis, et sanctuarium meum metuetis. Ego Jehova.

2. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.

2. Sabbatha mea custodite, et sanctuarium meum timete. Ego Jehova.

3. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

3. Sex diebus facietis opus, septimo die cessatio est quietis, celebritas sancta: nullum opus facietis in eo: Sabbathum eat Jehovae in cunctis habitationibus vestris.

21. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in eating time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

21. Sex diebus operaberis, septimo die quiesces in aratione et messe.

1. And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them.

1. Congregavit Moses universum coetum filiorum Israel, et dixit illis, Haec sunt verba quae princepit Jehova ut faciatis.

2. Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

2. Sex diebus facies opus, die septimo erit vobis sanctitas, Sabbathum cessationis Jehovae: quisquis fecerit opus in eo, morietur.

3. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

3. Ne accendatis ignem in omnibus habitaculis vestris die Sabbathi.

3.... keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

3. Sabbatha mea servate: ego Jehova Deus vester.

Leviticus 19:30; 26:2. Ye shall keep my Sabbaths. From these two passages it is manifest that the service of the tabernacle was annexed to the Sabbath, and that the two things were not only connected by an indissoluble tie, but that the rest from labor had reference to the sacrifices; since it would have been a mere mockery to rest without any ulterior object; nay more, after Moses has spoken of the rest, he seems to subjoin the reverencing of the sanctuary, as if it were the generic ordinance; so that the people might understand that all impediments were removed which are wont to withdraw them from the service of God. The expression, "fear the sanctuary,"¹ is a figurative one; but is equivalent to this, that they should shew by their very reverence of the sanctuary how truly and sincerely they fear God, who had promised that He would be present there, whenever He should be invoked.

12. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

12. Sex diebus facies opera tua: die autem septimo quiesces, ut quiescat bos tuus, et asinus tuus, et respiret filius ancillae tuae, et peregrinus.

12. Six days thou shalt do thy work. In this passage the incidental use of the Sabbath is again referred to, although it is no inherent part of its original institution, viz., that by its means the family also and the cattle shall be benefited. There is no impropriety in reckoning this amongst the other blessings which enhance the value of the Sabbath, although it is a portion of the Second Table. And we know that this rude people required to be attracted by every possible means to present cheerfully to God the worship due to Him. The sum therefore is, that they were thus to testify not only their piety towards God, but also their kindness towards their servants. I have already shewn that their authority as masters was to be exercised in moderation by them, if they were mindful of their former condition:, since they also had been servants in Egypt. If any one should suppose that the argument does not hold good, because; they were oppressed by cruel and dreadful tyranny, the reply is easy, that so much the better could they determine from their own feelings how detestable and intolerable a thing cruelty is.

12. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

12. Dixit praeterea Jehova ad Mosen, dicendo:

13. Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

13. Et tu alloquere filios Israel, dicendo: Veruntamen Sabbatha mea custodietis: qnia signum eat inter me et vos in generationibus vestris, ut sciatis quod sum Jehova sanctiffcans vos.

14. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

14. Custodietis igitur Sabbathum, quia sanctitus est vobis: quisquis profanaverit illud moriendo morietur: quia omnis faciens in eo opus, excidetur anima ipsa e medio populorum suorum.

15. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

15. Sex diebus fiet opus: at die septimo Sabbathum cessationis est, sanctitas Jehovae: quicunque fecerit opus die Sabbathi, moriendo morietur.

16. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

16. Observabunt itaque filii Israel Sabbathum, observando ipsum in generationibus suis, pactum est perpetuum.

17. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

17. Inter me et filios Israel signum est in perpetuum: quia sex diebus fecit Jehova coelos et terrain, die autem septimo cessavit et requievit.

13. Speak thou also unto the children of Israel. He inculcates the same things as before, with the addition of a few words, such as "for it is holiness unto you;"² by which expression he exhorts them to observe this rite as most sacred and inviolable, since by its neglect religion would fall³ And therefore he denounces capital punishment against any who should work on that day. Hence, again, we gather the dignity and excellency of the mystery, when God deemed an apparently light transgression of it worthy of death. Still this was an act of by no means excusable contempt, to overthrow professedly, as it were, what God would have to be a mark of distinction between His people and heathen nations. The passages which follow have the same tendency, which it would have been superfluous to repeat, unless because the people were thus reminded that it was a matter of the utmost importance. By prohibiting them from lighting a fire, He anticipates all the glosses which they would have been ready enough to invent; for they would have alleged that if the pot had been put on the fire the day before, the Sabbath would not have been violated by lighting the fire. What, then, would have been more allowable than anything else God excludes, viz., that they should not employ themselves in the preparation of their food, or undertake any other earthly work, however venial. When He calls it a "perpetual" or eternal "covenant," the Jews rest on it as a ground of their obstinacy, and wantonly rave against Christ as a covenant-breaker, because He abrogated the Sabbath. I will not contend with them as to the word gvlm, gnolam, which sometimes means a long time, and not perpetuity: I will simply insist on the thing itself. Whatever was spoken of under the Law as eternal, I maintain to have had reference to the new state of things which came to pass at the coming of Christ; and thus the eternity of the Law must not be extended beyond the fullness of time, when the truth of its shadows was manifested, and God's covenant assumed a different form. If the Jews cry out that what is perpetual, and what is temporary, are contraries to each other, we must deny it in various respects, since assuredly what was peculiar to the Law could not continue to exist beyond the day of Jesus Christ. Besides, the Sabbath, although its external observation is not now in use, still remains eternal in its reality, like circumcision. Thus the stability of both was best confirmed by their abrogation; since, if God now required the same of Christians, it would be putting a veil over the death and resurrection of His Son; and hence the more carefully the Jews persevere in the keeping the festival, the more do they derogate from its sanctity. But they calumniate us falsely, as if we disregarded the Sabbath; because there is nothing which more completely confirms its reality and substance than the abolition of its external use. To this point also may my readers apply what I have written on Genesis 17,⁴ lest I should weary them in vain by my prolixity; and again, in treating of the sacrifices, I have adverted to some things which relate to the same doctrine. When, in Exodus 34, God especially commands them to rest "in earing-time and harvest,"⁵ it is not as if He would let loose the rein for the rest of the year; but He rather draws it tighter, since no necessity must interrupt this sacred observance. Else it might have seemed a just pretext, if, on account of continued rains, or other ungenial weather, ploughing should be difficult, husbandmen were to be released from the obligation of the law, lest their resting should have produced sterility. The same opinion might have prevailed as to the ingathering of the harvest, lest it should have been spoilt on the ground. God, however, allows of no dispensation; but the Sabbath is to be observed, though at the risk of general loss.

10. And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:

10. Sex annis seres terram tuam et congregabis fructus ejus:

11. But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

11. Anno autem septimo omittes eam, et quiescere sines, ut comedant pauperes populi tui, et residuum comedant bestiae agri. Ita facies vineae et oliveto tuo.

10. And six years shalt thou sow. Another Sabbatical institution (Sabbathismus) follows, viz., that of years, in reference to the cultivation of the land; for as men and cattle rested on every seventh day, so God prescribed that the earth should rest on the seventh year. According to the fertility or barrenness of the soil, fields are fallowed every third or fourth year, lest they should become altogether unproductive through exhaustion. Indeed a soil can hardly be found of such fecundity as to be fitted for continual productiveness. Some relaxation is therefore given, until the land recovers its vigor; but this only pertains to wheat, barley, pease, beans, and other pulse, and seeds. As to meadows and vineyards the state of things is different, since, when meadows are mown every year, the fertility of the soil is not weakened; whilst vines degenerate unless they are cultivated. It was a sign of extraordinary and exceeding fertility that the land of Canaan could bear six years' sowing following, without being worn out. God honored it with this privilege in favor of His people; nor did He indeed ordain the rest from necessity, since on the sixth year He doubled the power of His blessing; but in order that the sanctity of the Sabbath might be everywhere conspicuous, and that thus the children of Israel, as they looked upon the land, might be the more encouraged to its observance. The nature of the rest was that they should not sow anything, nor prune their vineyards in the sacred year; and if anything should spring up from the scattered seeds of last harvest, it was the common property of the inhabitants of the land and strangers, although He peculiarly bestowed whatever grew of itself, whether corn or grapes, upon the poor, as a kind of gratuitous present for the relief of their wants. And this kindness and liberality was a kind of incidental adjunct to the performance of the religious duty. It was not indeed mainly or chiefly God's purpose to give relief to the poor, but, as we said before, there was nothing strange in it that the offices of charity should be consequent upon God's service.

If ungodly men should foolishly object that there is no connection between the senseless soil and a spiritual mystery, we have already answered, that although the Sabbath was deposited with believers only as a pledge of an inestimable blessing, still tokens of it appeared both in the flocks and herds, as well as in dead creatures, in order to renew the recollection of it, lest the people should grow cold, and their devotion should become languid. But if they mockingly persist that the Jews were finely dealt with,⁶ when in their highest privilege they had asses and oxen, as well as the fields themselves, for companions; I answer, why do they not apply the same scoff to a commoner matter? For since the doctrine of salvation is committed to paper or parchment before it comes to us, why do they not laugh with all their might at the obedience of our faith? since in our silly credulity we embrace the promises transmitted to us by a stinking skin or some other filthy material? God would have the observation of the Sabbath engraved on all creatures, that wherever the Jews turned their eyes they might be kept up to it. Why, then, should not the earth be a conspicuous and impressive sign (character) for the rude inculcation of this doctrine? When it is said, "What they leave the beasts of the field shall eat," the injunction does not extend to wild and noxious animals which they might drive away from their property; but God merely commands that whatever the earth produced should be exposed promiscuously for the food both of man and beast. And this affords an indirect answer to a question that might occur for God shews that the grass would not be lost, although there should be no hay-making; for the grass would be instead of hay for the beasts, so that they might feed abundantly in the fields and meadows.

Another question, however, arises from the passage in Leviticus, where God permits the owners of the land and their families to gather for food whatever shall then grow of itself. But there was nothing to prevent them, like the strangers, and anybody else, from eating of the fruits which were common to all, provided they did not defraud the poor by their covetousness.⁷ The same thing is soon afterwards added in the description of the Jubilee; for although that year, which completed seven times seven years, was more holy than the rest, still God allows all to eat in it the fruits grown of themselves. He speaks more restrictedly in Exodus, in order to inculcate greater liberality upon them; but in Leviticus He shews that there is no danger of any of the produce of the land being lost, because permission is given both for themselves and their servants and cattle, besides the hireling and the stranger, to partake of it. Where He says, "that which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest," I understand it of the land which they usually reaped; as also a little further on He calls their peculiar right of ownership in their vines "their separation."⁸ Although, therefore, the possessor might boast that the property was his own, and consequently that the harvest should be left entirely to himself, God reminds them that its fruits were nevertheless common to all during the Sabbatical year. The word "harvest," therefore, is applied to the land which was sown, and "separation" to the private vineyard, or its fruit. The old interpreter has translated them "the grapes of first-fruits." If it is preferred to adopt this sense, Moses would expressly declare that no oblation of them conferred on the owners of the property a right to claim as their own what grew in their vineyard (during the year;)⁹ else it would have been a good excuse to offer to God the first-fruits of the vintage, and under this pretext for the Jews to contend that they had consecrated the whole produce in the first-fruits. But God anticipates this gloss, by shewing that what was said respecting the ordinary cultivation was improperly turned aside to the extraordinary year of rest. But since the word n'zyr, nazir, means "separation," I do not see why we should change what accords very well. Still commentators differ as to the meaning of this word; some understand it "relinquishing," because every owner resigned his private property, so that the vintage might be common. Others explain it as expressing that they had abstained from its cultivation for that year. My own opinion, however, as I have said, is simply that the peculiar right of the possessor is called his "separation;" so that it was not lawful for others to touch the vintage except in the Sabbatical year. Thus separation is opposed to common fields free to the public.