Exposition of the Whole Bible

HIS chapter treats of the beheading of the heifer, for the expiation of unknown murder, and the rules to be obferved init, ¥. 1— of a beautiful captive woman an J/raelite is defirous of having for his wife, and what methods he mutt take to accomplifh ic, ¥. 10—14. of giving the double portion to the firft-born, which he mutt not be deprived of in favour of the fon ofa beloved wife, ¥. 15, 16, 17. and of the ftubborn and rebellious fon, who remaining fo muft be put to death, y.:8—21. and of burying a perfon hanged on atreethe fame day he is executed, y. 22,

23. y.1. Tf one be found flain, &c.] After public war with an enemy, A/ojes proceeds to fpeak of a private quarrel and fight of one man with another, in which one is flain, as 4ben Ezra obferves: in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to poffefsit; where murders might be committed more fecretly, and remain undifcovered, when they came to live in feparate cities, towns, and villages, with fields adjacent to them, than now encamped together: Jing in the field, where the quarrel begun, and where the fight was fought; or however, where the murderer met with his enemy, and flew him, and left him 4 it being common for duels to be fought, and murders committed in a field; the firft murder in the world was committed in fuch a place, Gew. iv. 8. The Targum of Fonathan is, «* not hidden under an heap, not hanging ona tree, nor fwimming on the face of the waters 5” which fame things are obferved in the Mifnab*, and gathered from fome words in the text: in the land, and fo not under an heap: lying, and fo not hanging: iz the field, and fo not fwimming on the water: and it be not known who hath flain him, the parties being alone, and no witnefles of the fact, at leaft that appear; for if it was known the heifer was not beheaded, after mentioned *; and one witnefs in this cafe was fufficient, andeven one that ot otherwife admitted. ie oY Then thy elders and thy judges fall come forth, &c.] From the city or cities near to which the murder wascommitted, to make enquiry about it, and expiation for it; fo.4den Ezra interprets it of the elders of the cities near, but others underftand it of the elders of the great fanhedrim at Yerufalem, fo the Targum.of Jonathan, * then fhall go out from the great fanhedrim two of thy wife-men, and three of thy judges i and more expreisly the Mifnab rs three go out from. the great fanhedrim in Yerufalem;” R. Fudab fays five; ** it isfaid shy elders two, and thy Judges two, and there is no fanhedrim, or court of judicature equal (or even) therefore they add to them one place where the flain lies, as Jarchi rightly interprets it; on all fides of it, from the four corners, g.|as the Targum of Fonathan, the cities round about the flain. Maimonides ™ fays, they don’t behead the heifer for, nor meafure buc to a city in which there is a fanhedrim: if it is found between two cities (that is, at an equal diftance) both bring two heifers (Maimonides" {ays they bring one between them, which is moft reafonable}; but the city of Ferufalem does not bring an heifer to be beheaded: the reafon is, becaufe it was not divided to the tribeso. This meafuring, one would think, fhould be only neceffary when it was not certain which was the neareft city; and yet Maimonides ° fays, even when it was found on the fide of a city, which was certainly known to be neareft, they meafured; the command, he obferves, is to meafure. ¥. 3. And it fhall be, that the city which is next unto the flain man, &c.] And fo fulpected, as the Targum of Fonathan, of the murder; or the mur. derer is in it, or however belonged to it: even the elders of the city fall take an beifer, of a year old, as the fame Targum, and fo archi, and in this the Fewifh writers agree, that it muft be a year old, but not two; though heifers of three years old were fometimes ufed in facrifice, Gen. XV. Q. a type of Chrijt, in his ftrength, laborioufnefs, and patience; fee Numb. xix. 2. which hath not been wrought with; in plowing land, or treading out corn: and which hath not drawn-in the yoke 5 which never had any yoke put upon it; or however, if attempted to be put upon it, it would not come under it, and draw withit: no mention ig made, as ufual, that ic fhould be without blemifh; becaufe though in fome fenfe expiatory, yet was not properly a facrifice, it not being flain and of: fered where facrifices were y hence it is {aid in the Mifnab*, that a blemifh in it did not make it rejected, or unlawful for ufe: neverthele{s, this heifer may be a type of Chrift, whofe fufferings, bloodfhed, and death, atone for fecret and unknown

‘fins, as well as. for open and manifeft Ones, even for all fin; and its being free from labour, and without a yoke, may fignify the freedom of Chrift from the yoke of fin, and the fervice of it, and from human traditions; that he was not obliged to any toil and labour he had been concerned in, orto bear the yoke of the law, had he not voluntarily undertaken it of himfelf; and that he expiated the fins of fuch who were fons of Belial, children without ayoke; and for the fame reafon, this heifer not being required to be without blemith, might be becaufe Chri, though he had no fin of his own, was made fin for his people, and reckoned as if he had been a finner y though indeed had this been the defign of the type, all the facrifices which ty- ore: and they shall meafure unto the cities which et abaitk Biss that is flain;

pified Chrift would not have required fuch a qualifithat is, from thelcation, to be without blemifh, as they did.

¥. 4. The elders of that city foall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, Sec.) Cities being generally built on hills, and fo had adjacent vallies, to which there was a defcent 5 but here a rough valley, orthe rougher part of it, was felefted for this purpofe. Asa valley is low, and this a rough one, it may be an emblem of C4rif’s being brought into this lower world, from heaven to earth, to do the will of his. Father, which was to work out the falvation of his people; and of his coming into the lower parts of the earth, the womb of the virgin at his incarnation, and to the grave at his death, P/. exxxix. 15. Eph. iv. 9. and of the low eftate he came into by the affumption of human nature; through appearing in the form of a fervant, being in indigent circumftances, and miniftred to by others, and needing the affiftance of angels in the wildernefs and garden, by which it appeared he was made lower than they; by his being defpifed of men, and forfaken by his Father; all which are proofs of the low eftate he was brought into, fitly Ggnified by a valley, and which was a rough valley to him; in which he was roughly treated, his life being fought after in his in fancy by Herod, which obliged the flight of his parents with him into Hypt; and being not received, but rejected by his own, as the King Mfeffiah, whom they’ would not have to reign over them, and loaded. with opprobrious names by them; and. who often fought and attempted by various ways to take away his life; and when apprehended and examined before the high-prieft, and in Pilate’s hall; was ufed in the radeft manner, being pit upon, buffeted, and feourgéd; and: when led outto be crucified, was treated in the moft barbarous and {cornful manner, and was put to death in the moft painful and fhameful way; and, above all, was feverely handled by the juftice of God, being numbered among the tranfgreffors, when the fword of juftice was awaked againft him, and he was not in the leaft fpared, but wrath came upon him to the uttermoft for thé fins of his people; fo that this world he was brought into proved a rough valley indeed to him. This fomeée take to be an emblem of the hard heart of the murderer who had com mited fuch a barbarous‘and cruel action as to kill a man; or of the hard heart of a finner, into which Céri/? is brought through the miniftry of the word; or of the infamous place Ca/vgry, where Ghrift was brought to fuffer death; but the former is beft. Some interpret it, a rong fiream 4, or rapid torrent; {fo Maimonides" and others; and indeed in vallies there are generally ftreams or brooks of water, but this feems not fo well to agree with what follows: which 1s neither eared nor fown, that is, neither plowed nor fown, but quite an uncultivated place; and this the Fews underftand not of what it had been, or then was, but what it fhould be hereafter; that from henceforward it fhould never be manured, but lie barren and ufelefs; fo it is faid in the. Mifnab*, the place is forbid fowing or tilling, but is free to drefs dax in, or - go. dig: ftones out of it: fo R. Fofeph Kimchi ‘ interprets this of a fat and fruitful valley, which was not to be tilled nor fown from thence forward for time to come: the reafon of which he thinks was, that they might be the more careful of their countries and borders, and how they encouraged bloodyminded men to dwell among them; that no flain perfon might be found there, and fo they lofe a

NOMY. choice part of their poffeffions; and to the: ‘ and this became true j fruitful land of Fudea and Yerufalem, after the ferings and death of Chriff there, Luke xxi 24. and foall firike off the heifer’s neck there in the val- Jey; with an ax, onthe back part of it, in the midft of the valley, asthe Targum of Fonathan, and the fame is faid in the Mi/nab™: in this it was a type of Chriff, who was put to death at the inftigation of the elders of the Fewi/h nation, Matt, xxvii.

1, 12, 20. and without the gates of Ferufalem at

¥.5. And the priefts the fons of Levi foall ‘cme near, &c.] Who were clearly of the ttibe of Levi as Aben Ezra notes; about whom theré could be no’ difpute; for it feems there fometimes were perfons in that office, of whom there was fome doubt at leaft whether they were of that tribe; thefe feem to be fuch that belonged to the court of judicature at Ferufalem, fee ch. xvii. g. who were to be prefent at this folemnity, to direét in the per- © formance of it, and to judge and determine in any matter of difficulty that might arife: for them the Lord thy God hath chofen to minifter unto bim; in the fervice of the fanctuary, by offering facrifices, &c, and to blefs in the name of the Lord the people; fee Numb. vi. 23—27. and by their word fhall every controverfy and every flroke be tried; every controverfy between man and man refpetting civil things, and every ftroke or blow which one man may give another; and whatfoever came before them was tried by them, according to the refpective laws given concerning the things in queftion, and were not determined by them in an arbitrary way, according to their own will and pleafure; fee ch, XVil. 8, 9, 10, If.,

¥. 6. And all the elders of that city that are next

unto the fain man, &c.) The whole court of judicature belonging to it, all the magiftracy of it; even though there were an hundred of them, Mai. monides* {ays: Jhall wafb their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley; in token of their innocence, and this they did not only for themfelves, but for the whole city, being the reprefentatives of it; fee Pf xxvi. 6. Matt. xxvii. 24. Some think that this is a confirmation of the fenfe embraced by fome, that it was a ftrong ftream to which the heifer was brought; and there mighr be a ftream of water here, and a valley alfo; though it would be no great difficulty to get from the city, which was near, a fufficient quantity of water to wafh the hands of the elders with. This may denote the purification of fin by the blood of Chrift, when it is confeffed over him; and fhews that priefts and elders, minifters of the word, as well as others, ftand in need of it; and that even thofe concerned in the death of Cbréf thared in the benefits of it. tie elders of the city, at the time of the ue of blood;” which is more fully explained in the @ nab’, for had they beenaware of him, a a) fufpicion of him or his defign; they wi detained him, or at Jeaft would north him to have departed alone: neither b fren’ it; or him; fo the Targum of Ferufalem, blood;”? by which expreffion is meant, that they had no manner ‘of knowledge of the murderer, nor of any circumftance that could lead them to fafpect or conclude who he was, ¥. 8, Be merciful, O Lord, to thy people Lfrael whom thou bajt redeemed, &c.] Out of Egyptian bondage, and claimed as hisown; and therefore it is requefted he would be favourable to them, and fhew them mercy, and not punifh them for a fin they were entirely ignorant of, though done by fome one among them, whomas yet they could not Gifeover. The words feem to be the words of the elders continued, who having made a declaration of their innocence, humbly requeft mercy of God, not only for themfelves, but for all the people of Hrael, yet, both the Targums of Onkelos and Fonathan take them to be the words of the prieits, and fo does Yarchi, and the fame is affirmed in the Mifnah*: and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Irael’s charge; impute not the guilt of innocent blood to a people in general, when only a fingle perfon, and heunknown, is chargeable with it: or put it not in the midft of thy people; let it not be placed to the whole, becaufe it cannot be found out whofe it is, though it is certain it is one in the midft of them’ and the blood fhall be forgiven them; that is, God will not impute it, and lace it to their account, or lay it to their charge; Bat will gracioufly confider the beheading of the heifer as an expiation of it: itis faid in the Mi - nab», ‘* if the murderer is found before the heifer is beheaded, it goes forth and feeds among the herd; but if after it is beheaded, it is buried in the fame place; and again if the heifer is beheaded, and after that the murderer is found, he fhall be flain;” fo the Targums, and Farchi on the next verte.; y¥. 9. So foalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, &c.} Which otherwife the perfon not being found out, and brought to juit punifhment for it, would devolve upon the whole. Aben Ezra interprets it the punifhment of innocent blood, which by the above method being taken would not be inflicted on them: when thou shalt do that which is right in the fight of the Lord, as it was to obferve this law concerning the beheading the heifer, with al} the rites-and ceremonies be- Jonging to it here enjoimed; as well as every other command, ftatute, and ordinance of the Lord, which are all right to be done, P/, xix, 8. ¥. 10. When thou goeft forth to war againft thine enemies, &c.| This refers to an arbitrary war, as Jarchi remarks, which they entered into of themfelves, of choice, or through being provoked to it’ by their enemies; and not a war commanded by the Lord, as that againft the feven nations of Canaan, and againtt Amalek, fince there were to be no captives in that war, but all were to be deftroyed: and the Lord thy God bath delivered them into thine hands; given them the victory over their enemies, fo that they were obliged to furrender themfelves to them prifoners of war: and thou baft taken them captive, or led bis or their captivity » captive, led them captive who ufed to lead others, denoting their conqueft of victorious nations; fee a like ra‘e in Pf. \xviii. 18. '.y.11. And feet among the captives a beautiful awoman, &c.\ Whether a virgin, wife, or widow, according to the Fewi/h writers, even though an- © our eyes have not feer “him that hath fhed this other man’s wife; fo Farchi*, and Muimonides*,; the marriages of Gentiles being reckoned by the Jews no marriages: and haft a defire unto her s being captivated with her beauty; fome underftand this of the ftrength and rage of luft, but it rather fignifies a paffionate defire of enjoying her in a lawful way, as follows: that thou wouldeft have her to thy wife; to be married to her in a legal manner; for though it was not allowed the Jaelites to marry any of the feven nations of Canaan, nor indeed with any of other nations continuing in their idolatry; yet they might marry fuch as became their captives and fervants, and were wholly in their own power; and efpecially if profelytes to their religion, and which this fair captive was to become before marriage, as is by fome gathered from the following things to be done by her; though after all, this was only a permiffion, becaufe of the hardnefs of their hearts, as is faid of divorce; and that fuch marriages were not very grateful to God appears, as fome have obferved, from the ceremonies ufed before marriage, to render her contemptible; and the eafy difmiffion of her afterwards, according to the fenfe of fome interpreters. ¥. 12. Then thou fhalt bring her home to thine boufe, &c.} In order to make her his wife, after fome things were done here directed to; for this is not to be underftood of his taking her home with a view to defile her, as Maimonides ¢ interprets it; who obferves, that when a man’s luft fo rages that he can’t fubdue it, yet he ought not publickly to fatisty his luft, but to have the woman into a private and fecret place, as it is faid, thou shalt bring her into the midjft of thine houfe; nor was he permitted to lie with her in the camp, nor was it lawful for him to defile her a fecond time, until her mourning was at an end; though elfewhere ‘ he gives a different fenfe of this paffage, and fuppofes the man to have lain with the captive woman, before the introduction of her into his houfe; for it is a notion that prevails with the Yewz writers, that an Jjraelitifh foldier might lie once with an heathen woman taken captive, to gratify his luft, but might not repeatit; foitis faid in the Talmuds; yet it muft be obferved, that there are fome, tho” but few, who are of opinion that the firft congrefs was unlawful, and that he might not touch her until certain conditions were fulfilled, and they were married, as &. Fochanan*; and which is embraced, fupported, and defended by Abarbinel on the place, and in which he is undoubtedly right; and fo it is underftood by JFofepbus‘ and Philo*; for this law gives no liberty nor countenance to the violation of the beautiful captive. The plain meaning is, that when a fewi/h ioldier was paffionately in love with a captive, and was defirous of making her his wife, he was to take her home to his houfe, where the was toremain, to fee whether his paffion of love would fubfide, or the woman become a profelyte, or however till certain rites were obferved, and then he was permitted to marry her: aad fhe hall /have her bead, either that fhe might be the lefs engaging, her flowing locks, or piaited hair, or modith nead-drets, being removed from her, which hadferved to excite a paifion forher; or as a token of mourning for her prefent afflicted ftate and condition; and in afflicted circumftances it was ufual tofhave the head; {ce od i. 20, and though it was torbidden forbidden the J/raelites, yet not Gentiles; ch. xiv- 1. and pare her nails, this and the former fome think were ordered to make her fit to be his wife, and were a fort of purification of her, and an emblem of her havirig renounced heathenifm, and having departed from it, and laid afide all fuperfluity of former naughtinels; but this phrafe is interpreted in the Jargum of Onkelos, let her nails grow, and fo the z7abic verfion: and this the Fewifh writers fay was ordered to be done, that fhe _ might appear ugly and difagreeable to him, and be abhorted by him; fo Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Ben Melech, the fame is obferved by Maimonides’, and isthe fenfe of R, Akiba™. Another of their writers *thinks it refers to a cuftom in fome nations to dye their nails. ‘‘ The daughters of the heathens (he fays) ufed to adorn the nails of their hands and feet, and dye them with various colours, according to the cuftom of the Jbmaelites (or Turks); that there might be a variety in their hands, and men might look at them, take them and handle them, until the fire of hell, and an evil concupifcence burned; wherefore this is ordered that they might let them grow, without any preparation or dye.” But perhaps this neglect of their nails, and fuffering them to grow, was in token of mourning’ as well as fhaving the head, as alfo fometimes even paring the nails was done on the fame account. ¥.13- And fhe foall put the raiment of ber captivity from off ber, &c.] Her beautiful garments, and gay apparel, in which fhe was taken captive; and which tended to ftir up the ftronger affection for her, and greater defire after her; and therefore as fome think were ordered to be removed, to abate the ardour of love to her. ‘archi obferves, that the daughters of the Gentiles ufed to adorn themfelves in war, that they might caufe others to commit fornication with them; and another writer be-. fore teferred to fays°, the daughters of heathens ufed to adorn themfelves in raiment of filk, and purple, and fine linnen, and needle-work, to allure and entice men with them; and therefore the law obliges to put off her beautiful garments, and clothe her with old worn-out ones, that fhe might be lefs agreeable to him; though the putting off her fine clothes, and being clad with fordid ones, might be only as a token of mourning; as it was cuftomary at fuch times to lay afide richer clothing, and put on fackcloth, Fon. iii. 6. and fhall remain in thine boufé; fhut up there, and never ftir out, as the fame writer interprets it. Maimonides ° ays, that fhe was to be with him inthe houfe, that going in and out he might fee her, and fhe become abominable to him; though perhaps it was only that he might have an opportunity of obferving her manners, and of converfing with her, in order to make a protelyte of her; fo the Targum of Fonathan interprets it of dipping herfelf, and becoming a profelytefs in his houfe; or elfe, as the reft, her abiding in the houfe and not going out, might be on account of mourning, as follows: and bewail her father and her mother a full month; who _were either dead in the battle, or however fhe had no hope of feeing them any more, being a captive, and likely to be fettled in another man’s houfe in a idols, according to Jer. ii. 17. The Ze argum of Fonathan is, ** and weep for the idols of the houfe of her father and her mother;” meaning not for the lofs of them, but for the idolatry of her father’s houfe fhe was now convinced of, being become a profelytefs, according to the paraphraft; but the laft feems only to have refpeéct to the lofs of her father and mother, which fhe was to bewail a whole month, cr @ moon of days*; as many days as the moon is going its courfe, which it finifhes in 27 days, 7 hours, and 43 minutes, and this is called the periodical month; but is longer in paffing from one coniunction of it with the fun to another, called the fynodical month, and its quantity is 29 days, 12 hours, and 44 minutes. “Maimonides* fays, fhe was to ftay, in his houfe three months, one month of mourning, and two after that, and then he was to marry her. The reafon of this the Targum of Jonathan explains, by paraphrafing the words thus, ‘* and fhall ftay three months, that it may be known whether the is with child;”? that is, by his lying with her before when taken with her beauty, that fo he might diftinguith this child begotten on her in heathenifm, trom what he might have by her after marriage, which is fuppofed to be the cafe of Tamar and Abjalom; but as there is no foundation in the text for a permiffion to lye with her before marriage, fo neither for thefe additional months; only one month was required, which was the ufual time for mourning for deceafed relations; fee Numb. xx. 29. Deut. xxxiv. 8. and after that thou Jhalt goin unto ber, and not before: and be her bufband, and foe fhall be thy wife; he continuing to love her, and fhe having become a profelytefs.

¥. 14. And it fhall be, if thou have no delight in her, &c.| Either fome time after marriage: then thou fhalt let her go whither fhe will; by abill of divorce, as the Targum of ‘fonathan, who under- {tands it in this fenfe, and as the connexion of the words feems to require; or elf before marriage, at the month’s end, or any time before, that if his affections cooled towards her, and all the above methods tended to abate his love of her, then ne was obliged to difmifs her, orto grant her her freedom, and let her go wherever fhe pleafed; the was no longer his captive, nor his fervant: but thou fhalt not fell her at all for money; as he might-have done if he had not made fuch a propofal to her, and obliged her to the obfervance of fuch rites and ceremonies as he did, in order to make her his wife: thou foali not make merchandize of her; which feems to exprefs the fame thing, and therefore fomething elfe is rather intended; as that he fhould neither make any gain of her by felling her to another, nor retain her in his own fervice, nor make ufe of her as a flave; fo Farchi fays, that in the Perfian language they call fervice by this word, and which alfo he fays he learnt from an eminent writer of — theirs, R. Mofes Hadarfan; with which Maimonides ‘ agrees, who explains it, fhall make no ufe of her fervice, or ferve himfelf by her; he fhould have no profit by her, either by fale, or fervitude: becaufe thou haft humbled her, which phrafe it pa be owned is often ufed of unlawful commerce with a woman, of defiling her, or violating her cha- {tity; and fo may feem to confirm the notion of — thofe who think that he lay with her beforehe took — her to his houfe, and therefore upon a refufal to marry her afterwards, was obliged to this Jofs foreign country, and fo take her farewell of her father’s houfe in this mournful manner. The Yews are divided about the fenfe of thefe words; fome take them fimply to fignify her parents, others her though the word fignifies any kind of affliction, as this was a very great one, a great mortification to her, to be taken into his houfe, to have her head fhaved, and her nails pared, or fuffered to grow, and her fine clothes changed for fordid ones; and all this with a profeffion of a defign to marry her, and yet after all is deceived and difappointed by him; wherefore for fuch a conduct toward her was obliged to give her her freedom.

y.17. But he foall acknowledge the fon of the bated for the firft-born, &c.| Own him and declare him to be fo, both by his will and the divifion of goods by him; or he fhall /eparate him, as Onkelos; diftinguifh him from all his other fons, and make known to all, as the Targum of Fonathan, that he is his firft-born: dy giving hima double portion of all that he hath; or, that is found with him‘; which he was in the poffeffion of when he amade his will, or divided his goods; and fo refers ‘not to what might come into his hands afterwards, “or fhould be his in reverfion afterwards; in this the firft-born had not his double portion, only in what his father was for the prefent pofleffed of; fo that if a man had two fons, his goods were divided into three parts, and the firft-born took two parts, and the other the third; if three fons, they were divided into four parts, of which the firft-born had two parts, and the others each of them one; if four fons, they were divided into five parts, and the firft-born took two, and the other three one a piece, and fo in proportion; the divifion was made according to their number: Sor be is the beginning of bis frrength; as Jacob faid of Reuben, Gen. xlix. 3. fee the note there: she right of the firft-born is bis; before this law was given, there was a birth-right, hefor a privilege belonging to the firft-born, which gave him the pre-eminence in the family to his; but whether he was entitled to a double portion of goods, previous to this law, is not certain; however, by this it was his right, and might andJnot be alienated from him; for, according to the ¥ews/S canons*, “ if a man fay, fuch an one my on, the firft-born, fhall not take the double portion, and my fon fuch an one fhall not inherit with his brethren, he fays nothing, becaufe he difpofes contrary to what is written in the law.” This law thisjof the firft-born in the myftery of it may refpect our Lord Fefus Chri, the firft-born of God, and the firft-born of Mary; and who had a double portion of the gifts and grace of the Spirit, or rather the Spirit without meafure, the oil of gladnefs he was anointed -with above his fellows, and is the firft-born among many brethren, among \whom in all things he has the pre-eminence; and alfo the ele&t of God, the church of the firitborn, whofe names are written in heaven, who have a double portion, both temporal and {piritual things, the promife of this life and that to come, grace here and glory hereafter; and the ultimate glory is but one inheritance, they all fhare alike in, being equally children, and all firft-born; and it may have regard alfo to the Fewifh and Genthe hated,\tile churches, the former was the beloved wife, the latter fome time not beloved, and yet the children of the Gentile church have a larger meafure of the Spirit, than thofe of the ¥ewi/S church had 3 {ee Rom. ix. 25.

¥.15. If aman have two wives, &c.] Which}brethren is fuppofed, but not approved of, though permitted becaufe of the hardnefs of men’s hearts; for it was not fo from the beginning, when only one man one woman were created, and joined together in marriage; but as it was connived at, and become| cuftomary, a law is made to prevent confufion, and preferve order in families: ove beloved, and another bated; or lefs loved, yet continued his wife, and not divorced. ben Ezra obferves, follows upon the former, becaufe it is there faid, that though firft he had a defire to her (the captive beautiful woman) yet afterwards had no delight in her: and they have borne him childrenboth, the beloved and the hated; as Rachel and Leah didto Facob, who were, the one very much beloved by him, and the other lefs: andif the firft-born fon be bers that was bated, or not fo much beloved as the other, as was the cafe in the above inftance.

¥. 16. Then it foall be when he maketh bis fons to inherit that which he bath, &c.| By a will in writing, or by word of mouth, or by a deed of gift, actually beftowing his goods upon them, and dividing among them what he is for the prefent poffefled of; fee Lwkexv. 12. that he may not make the fon of the beloved firft-born, before the fon of which is indeed the firft-born; that is, when fuch is the cafe, that the fon of his wife he has the leaft value for is really his firft-born, he may not through favour and affection to the wife he loves better, prefer her fon, and declare him to be the firftborn, by devifing to him or beftowing on him the| double portion of his goods;. for fo todo would not be right, or agreeable to the will and law of God; for though previous to this law the birth-right was given to Fofeph, the eldeft fon of Rachel, the moft beloved wife of Facob, before Reuben wholin was the fon of Leah, lefs beloved by him, and was in fact his firft-born; yet this was owing to the fin of Reuben, and by the appointmentof God; fee Gen. xlix. 3, 4. 1 Chron. v. 2, 3.

y.18. If @ man have a fiubborn and rebellious on, &c.] It is cbferved “that this law quickly follows, and is fubjoined to that which relates to the marriage of a woman taken captive, becaufe often from fuch marriages, wicked and refractory children have fprung, and which they exemplify the cafe of Absalom, whofe mother they fay David took in war and married: the character of fuch a fon follows, and by which it may be known that he is ftubborn and.rebellious; ftubborn in his nature, and rebellious in his a€tions; behaves contrary to the laws of God, and the inftruétions of his parents; what he fhould do that he does not, and what he fhould not do that he does; will not do what is commanded him, and will do what is forbidden him, notwithftandine all counfels, admonitions and corrections given him: which will not obey the voice of bis father, or the voice of bis mother; is difobedient to the commands of either of them; fee Prov. xxx..17. and when they have chaftened him will not bearken to them; when they have reproved him by words, and corrected him with blows; the Fews underftand this of fcourging or beating by the order of the Sanhedrim, after admonition given; it is faid *, « they admonifh him before three, (a court of judicature confifting of three judges) and they beat him; but it feems rather to refpect private corrections of their own by words and ftripes, which, having no effect, they were to proceed as follows.

1 19. Then foall bis father and bis mothertay hold on, him, &c.) With their own hands, or caufe-him to be apprehended by others, in which they were to agree, and which the ews gather from hence; ‘* if, fay they, ¥ the father is willing, - (to'bring him to juftice) and the -mother: not willing, if his father is not willing andthe mother is willing, he is not reckoned a ftubborn or rebellious. fon, until they both agree:” and bring bim out unto the elders. of bis city; according. to the Mifnab *,.the Sanhedrim, or court of judicature, confifting of twenty-three; fot they fay, that after he has been admonifhed and fcourged by order of the. bench of three, if he returns. to his corrupt and wicked ways again, he is judged) by the court of twenty-three: and unto the gate of bis places or, city, where the court fat; fo the Tergums of Oukelos and Yonathan, to the gate of the Sanhedrim of his place, y. 20. And they fhail fay unto the elders of bis city, &¢c.] In open court what follows, at the fame.time, according to the Targum of Fonathan, acknowledging their own fins, for which fuch a calamity had befallen them, faying, ‘* we have tranfcrefled the decree of the word of the Lord, becaufe is born unto us a fon that is ftubborn, &c.” fee Fobu ix. 2. this our fou is fiubborn and rebelhious, he will not obey our voice 5, one of an. obftinate. difpofition, will have his. own will and way, is. perverfe and refractory; honours not, but defpifes his parents, and is. difobedient to their commands, unruly and ungovernable: the ews gather* many things from hence, for which there is little foundation, as that they muft be neither dumb, nor blind, nor deaf; though what they further obferve, is not much amifs, concerning this rebelious child, that the law refpeéts a fon and not a daughter, becaufe a daughter generally is more tractable, and lefs capable of doing mifchief than a-fon; and.a fon dnd not a-man,°for if_at- man’s eftate, and for himfelf, he is not under the power of -his parents; and yet not a child or a little one, for that isnot comprehended in the commands; he mutt be according to. them thirteen years of age and one day, and he muft be a fon and not a father®: he is a glutiow and a drunkard; which, according to the Mi/nah ‘, is one that eats half-a pound of flefh, and drinks half a log of Italian wine; R. Fofe fays, a pound of fiefh and a log of wine; but the decifion was not according to him;

the firft rule ftood: now half a pound of flefh, and half a log of wine; which was about three egefhells, or a quarter of a pint, would be at this day reckoned very little by our grandfons of Baechus, as Schickard obferves ¢; but in an age of feverer difcipline, as he fays, in the tender candidates of temperance, it was reckonéd» too much, and was. a prefage of a future glutton: and it muft be further obferved to denominate him a rebellious fon, what he eat and drank was to be what he ftole from his parents, and did not eat and drink it at home, but abroad, and in bad company; fo Farchi remarks on the text, he is not guilty until he fteals, and eats half a pound of flefh, and drinks half a log of wine; in which he feems to have refpect to the Fewi/h canon °, ‘if he fteals from his father:and eats it in a place in his father’s. power, or from others and eats it in a place in their power, or from others and eats it in a place born and rebellious fon, unlefs he fteals from hig father, and eats it in a’place in the power of othersy? fee Prov. xxiii. 20. the Jews feem to refert when they charged Chrift with being a glutton and a wine-bibber, Mai?. xi. 19. being defirous of having him thought as fuch an ones 8 18 y. 21. And all the incn of his city foall fone him with ftones that be die, &c.]' The populace; that ‘is, after ‘his trial is finifhed, and he’ is condemned ‘to die; and he was not {toried until the ‘three firft judges were there (by whom he was’ admonifhed; and ordered to be beaten) as it is faid, *his 7s our Jon, this is he that was beaten before you ‘5 and according to the Tarvum of Fonatban; ~** if he feared (God, and fhewed any token of repentance) and received inftruction, and they (his parents) defired to preferve him alive, they’ preférved him s but if he refufed and was rebellious; then they ftoned him 5” but the ‘fews\fay this lawy andthat of retaliation, were never put into execution: o fhalt thou put away evil from among you; puta ftop to, and -prevent fuch an: evil for ‘the future, and remove the guilt of it; or as the Zargam of Fonathaw, him that doeth that evil: and all Tfrael fhall hear and fear; it being to ‘be’ publickly notified throughout the land, that fuch an one fuffered death for fuch a crime, which would be a means of deterring others from the fame; fo Yarcbi remarks, ** here, fays he, a proclamation was ne= ceflary to be made by the Sanhedrim) as that fuch an one was ftoned becaufe he was ftubborn and rebellious;” for the myftical fenfe ofethis fee Eph: ii..2. Col. iii 6 ‘ta

y. 22. And if a man have committed a fin wor-.

thy of death, &c.|] ‘This before mentioned, or any other that deferves death, any kind of death, as ftrangling, killing with the fword, burning aed ftoning, to which the ‘Jews reftrain it here red be be to be put to death, and thou hang him ona tree; is condemned to ftoning, and after that they hang him, as the Targum of Fonathan; and according to the Fewi/h Rabbins, as archi obferves, all that were ftoned were to be hanged, and only men, not women ®; for it is remarked that it is faid him and not her*: about this there is a difpute in the Mifnab'; ‘all that are ftoned are hanged, they are the words of R. Ehezers but the wife men fay none are’to’ be hanged but the blafphemer and idolater; a man is to be hanged with his face to the people, a woman with her face-to the tree, they are the words of R. Eiexer; but the wife mén fay, a man is to be hanged, but not a woman, to whom R. Eliezer replied, did not Simeon Ben Shetach hang women in Afpkelon 2 thy anfwered him, he hung eighty women (at once) but they don’t judge or condemn two in a day;” {fo that this was a particular cafe atva particular time, and not to be drawn into an example = in his father’s powers he is not reckoned a ftub: — in the fame place it is afked, ‘“how they hang one?

they fix a beam in the earth, and a piece of wood goes out of it (near the top ‘of it, as one of the commentators * remarks) ‘and join his two together and hang him;” that is, by his ha by his neck, as with us, but rather in ner of crucifixion; only in that the fpread, and one hand is faftened to « the crofs-beam, and the other ‘to the ot! 1 _. 23. His body foail not remain all night 7 a the tree, 8c:] Which is to be underftood of any [the rigor of the law, the curfe of it, his body and every one that was hanged, and not of the}was ordered to be taken down; for the words are rebellious fon only; of whom Ye/ephus | fays, thatjnot a reafon of his being hanged, but a reafon why city, and having remained a whole day for a fpectacle unto all, was to be buried at night; and indeed fuch a perfon was not to remain hanging on the tree any part of the night, but to be taken down at fun-fetting; fo the Targum of Fonathan, “*ye fhall bury him at fun-fetting;” fo fays Maimonides™, they hang a man near the fetting of the fun and loofe him immediately, and if ‘he continues they tranfgrefs a negative precept, bis body foall not remain, &c. yea according to him and to the Mifnab », and which agrees with the. practice of the Yews to this day, not only thofe that were put to death by the Sanhedrim, but whoever fuf-

~fered his dead to remain unburied a night, tranf- grefled a negative command, unlefs he kept him for his honour, to get for him a coffin and fhroud: but thou foalt in any wife bury him in that day; by all means if poffible; malefactors were not buried in the fepulchre of their fathers, but there were two burying-places provided by the Sanhedrim, one for thofe that were ftoned and burnt, and another for thofe that were killed with the fword and ftrangled*; and even the inftruments of their death were to be buried alfo, as Maimonides? re- Jates, the tree on which he is hanged is buried with him, that there may be no remembrance of the evil, and they fay, this is the tree on which fuch an one was hanged; and fo the ftone with which he is ftoned, and ‘the fword with which he js killed, and the napkin with which he is ftrang- Jed, all are buried in the place where he is put to death, but’not in the grave itfelf: for be that is hanged is accurfed of God; plainly appears to be fo, having committed fome foul fin which has brought the curfe of God upon him, and which being hanged on a tree was a plain proof and declaration of; and therefore having hereby fuffered

N this chapter are various laws, concerning 1 care of a neighbour’s cattle gone aftray or in diftrefs, and of any thing loft by him, y. 1—4. forbidding one fex to wear the apparel of another, he was to be ftoned by the multitude without the being hanged and ‘fo openly accurfed, he fhould not remain. hanging, but be taken down and buried; the meaning is not as Ovkelos gives it, that *< becaufe he finned before the Lord he is hanged,” and particularly was guilty of blafphemy; which is given as the reafon of his being hanged, and as the fenfe of this paffage; on the mention of which tis faid ", ‘* it is as if he fhould fay, wherefore is he hanged? becaufe he curfed God, and the name of God was found prophaned:” but though this, or any other capital crime, may be allowed to be the reafon of the man’s being hanged, and fo apparently accurfed’; yet this is not the reafon of his being loofed from thence, but his having bore the' curfe and fatisfied the law: and hence this is applied to Chrift by the apoftle, in Gal. iii. 13. thewing, that his hanging on the tree was an indication and proof of his being made fin and a curfe for his people, or that he bore the curfe of the law for their fins, and that the taking of him down from the tree and burying him, fignified the removing the curfe fromi him and his people for whom he fuffered; or that thereby he redeemed them from the curfe of the law, as the apoftle exprefles it: that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inberitance; which is another reafon for taking down the body from the tree and burying it, left the land of Canaan, which the Lord had given them for an inheritance, and which was typical of the undefiled inheritance, 1 Pet. i. 4. fhould be polluted, both in a natural fenfe,.through the putrefaction and corruption, and the difagreeable fmell of a dead body, and in a ceremonial fenfe, as every carcafe was defiling, if a perfon but entered where it was; and therefore a dead body was not to be left hanging cpenly in the ‘air, and rotting there.