Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Vers. 15-24. When Moses departed from God with the two tables of the law in his hand (see at chap. xxxi. 18), and came to Joshua on the mountain (see at chap. xxiv. 13), the latter heard the shouting of the people {lit. the voice of the people in its noise, n'vn for ^in, from T). noise, tumult), and took it to be the noise of war; but Moses said (ver. 18), " It is not the sound of the answering of power, nor the sound of the answering of weakness,^* i.e. they are not such sounds as you hear in the heat of battle from the strong (the conquerors) and the weak (the conquered); " the sound of antiphonal songs I hear J^ {T\^V is to be understood, both here and in Ps. Ixxxviii. 1, in the same sense as in chap. XV. 21.) — Ver. 19. But when he came nearer to the camp, and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned, and he threw down the tables of the covenant and broke them at the foot of the mountain, as a sign that Israel had broken the covenant. — Ver. 20. He then proceeded to the destruction of the idol. " He burned it in (with) fire,^* by which process the wooden centre was calcined, and the golden coating either entirely or partially melted; and what was left by the fire he ground till it was fine, or, as it is expressed in Deut. ix. 21, he beat it to pieces, grind- iiig it well (i.e. crushing it with and between stones), till it was as fine as dust.^ The dust, which consisted of particles of charcoal and gold, he then " strewed upon the water" or, according to Deuteronomy, ".threw it into the brook which flowed down from the mountain, and made the children of Israel drink," i.e, compelled them to drink the dust that had been thrown in along with the water of the brook. The object of this was certainly not to make them ashamed, by showing them the worthlessness of their god, and humiliating them by such treatment as compelling them to swallow their own god (as Knohel supposes). It was intended rather to set forth in a visible manner both the sin and its consequences. The sin was poured as it were into their bowels along with the water, as a symbolical sign that they would have to bear it and atone for it, just as a woman who was suspected of adultery was obliged to drink the curse-water (Num. V. 24). — Yer. 21. After the calf had been destroyed, Moses called Aaron to account. " What has this people done to thee (" done" in a bad sense, as in Gen. xxvii. 45; Ex. xiv. 11), that thou hast brought a great sin upon it? " Even if Aaron had merely acted from weakness in carrying out the will of the people, he was the most to blame, for not having resisted the urgent entreaty of the people firmly and with strong faith, and even at the cost of his life. Consequently he could think of nothing better than the pitiful subterfuge, " Be not angry, my lord (he addresses Moses in this way on account of his office, and because of his anger, cf. Num. xii. 11): thou knowest the people, that it is in loickedness^^ (cf. 1 John V. 19), and the admission that he had been overcome by the urgency of the people, and had thrown the gold they handed him into the fire, and that this calf had come out (vers. 22-24), as if the image had come out of its own accord, without his intention or will. This excuse was so contemptible that Moses did not think it worthy of a reply, at the same time, as he told the people afterwards (Deut. ix. 20), he averted the great wrath of the Lord from him through his intercession.

Vers. 25-29. Moses then turned to the unbridled nation,

^ There is no necessity to refer to tbe process of calcining gold, either here or in connection with the destruction of the Asherah by Josiah (2 Kings xxiii. 4, 12; 2 Chron. xxxiv. 4, 7), apart altogether from the question, whether this chemical mode of reducing the precious metals was known at all to Moses and the Israelites.

whom Aaron had set free from all restraint, "/or a reproach among their foes ^^ inasmuch as they would necessarily become an object of scorn and derision among the heathen on account of the punishment which their conduct would bring down upon them from God (compare ver. 12 and Deut. xxviii. 37), and sought to restrain their licentiousness and ward off the threatened destruction of the nation through the infliction of a terrible punishment. If the effect of this punishment should show that there were still some remains of obedience and faithfulness towards God left in the nation, Moses might then hope, that in accordance with the pleading of Abraham in Gen. xviii. 23 sqq., he should obtain mercy from God for the whole nation for the sake of those who were righteous. He therefore went into the gate of t4ie camp (the entrance to the camp) and cried out: " Whoever (belongs) to the Lord, (come) to me T^ and his hope was not disappointed. '^All the Levites gathered together to MmJ* Why the Levites? Certainly not merely, nor chiefly, " because the Levites for the most part had not assented to the people's sin and the worship of the calf, but had been displeased on account of it " ( C. a Lapide); but partly because the Levites were more prompt in their determination to confess their crime, and return with penitence, and partly out of regard to Moses, who belonged to their tribe, in connection with which it must be borne in mind that the resolution and example of a few distinguished men was sure to be followed by all the rest of their tribe. The reason why no one came over to the side of Moses from any of the other tribes, must also be attributed, to some extent, to the bond that existed among members of the same tribe, and is not sufficiently explained by Calvin s hypothesis, that " they were held back, not by contempt or obstinacy, so much as by shame, and that they were' all so paralyzed by their alarm, that they waited to see what Moses was about to do and to what length he would proceed." — Ver. 27. The Levites had to allow their obedience to God to be subjected to a severe test. Moses issued this command to them in the name of Jehovah the God of Israel: ''Let every one gird on his sword, and go to and fro through the camp from one gate (end) to the other, and put to death brothers, friends, and neighbours," i.e. all whom they met, without regard to relationship, friendship, or acquaintance. And they stood the test. About 3000 men fell by their sword on that day. There are several difficulties connected with this account, which have furnished occasion for doubts as to its historical credibility. The one of least importance is that which arises from the supposed severity and recklessness of Moses' proceedings. The severity of the punishment corresponded to the magnitude of the crime. The worship of an image, being a manifest transgression of one of the fundamental laws of the covenant, was a breach of the covenant, and as such a capital crime, bringing the punishment of death or extermination in its train. Now, although the whole nation had been guilty of this crime, yet in this, as in every other rebellion, the guilt of all would not be the same, but many would simply follow the example of others; so that, instead of punishing all alike, it was necessary that a separation should be made, if not between the innocent and guilty, yet between the penitent and the stiff-necked transgressors. To effect this separation, Moses called out into the camp: " Over to me, whoever is for the Lord!" All the Levites responded to his call, but not the other tribes; and it was necessary that the refractory should be punished. Even these, however, had not all sinned, to the same extent, but might be divided into tempters and tempted; and as they were all mixed up together, nothing remained but to adopt that kind of punishment, which has been resorted to in all ages in such circumstances as these. " If at any time," as Calvin says, " mutiny has broken out in an army, and has led to violence, and even to bloodshed, by urdversal law sl commander proceeds to decimate the guilty." He then adds, " How much milder, however, was the punishment here, when out of six hundred thousand only three thousand were put to death!" This decimation Moses committed to the Levites; and just as in every other decimation the selection must be determined by lot or accidental choice, so here Moses left it to be determined by chance, upon whom the sword of the Levites would fall, knowing very well that even the socalled chance would be under the direction of God.

There is apparently a greatfer difficulty in the fact, that not only did the Levites execute the command of Moses withojit reserve, but the people let them pass through the camp, and kill every one who came within reach of their sword, without offering the slightest resistance. To remove this difficulty, there is no necessity that we should either assume that the Levites knew who were the originators and ringleaders of the worship of the calf, and only used their swords against them, as Calvin does, or that we should follow Kurtz, and introduce into the text a " formal conflict between the two parties, in which some of Moses' party were also slain," since the history says nothing about " the men who sided with Moses gaining a complete victory," and merely states that in obedience to the word of tJehovah the God of Israel, as declared by Moses, they put 3000 men of the people to death with the sword. The obedience of the Levites was an act of faith, which knows neither the fear of man nor regard to person. The unresisting attitude of the people generally may be explained, partly from their reverence for Moses, whom God had so mightily and marvellously accredited as His servant in the sight of all the nation, and partly from the despondency and fear so natural to a guilty conscience, which took away all capacity for opposing the bold and determined course that was adopted by the divinely appointed rulers and their servants in obedience to the command of God. It must also be borne in mind, that in the present instance the sin of the people was not connected with any rebellion against Moses.

Very different explanations have been given of the words which were spoken by Moses to the Levites (ver. 29): '^ Fill your hand to-day for Jehovah; for every one against his son and against his brother, and to bring a blessing upon you to-day T " To fill the hand for Jehovah " does not mean to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, but to provide something to offer to God (1 Chron. xxix. 5; 2 Chron. xxix. 31). Thus Jonathan's explanation, which Kurtz has revived in a modified form, viz. that Moses commanded the Levites to offer sacrifices as an expiation for the blood that they had shed, or for the rent made in the congregation by their reckless slaughter of their blood-relations, falls to the ground; though we cannot understand how the fulfilment of a divine command, or an act of obedience to the declared will of God, could be regarded as blood-guiltiness, or as a crime that needed expiation. As far as the clause which follows is concerned, so much is clear, viz. that the words can neither be rendered, " for every one is in his son," etc., nor "for every one was against his son," etc. To the former it is impossible to attach any sense; and the latter cannot be correct, because the preterite TS'^J^ could not be omitted after an imperative, if the explanatory clause referred to what was past. If ""S were a causal particle in this case, the meaning could only be, " for every one shall be against his son," etc. But it is much better to understand it as indicating the object, " that every one may be against his son and against his brother;" i.e, that in the cause of the Lord every one may not spare even his nearest relative, but deny either son or brother for the Lord's sake (Deut. xxxiii. 9). '^ And to give^^ (or bring), i.e. so that ye may bring, "a Messing upon yourselves to-day J^ The following, then, is the thought contained in the verse: Provide yourselves to-day with a gift for the Lord, consecrate yourselves to-day for the service of the Lord, by preserving the obedience you have just shown towards Him, by not knowing either son or brother in His service, and thus gain for yourselves a blessing. In the fulfilment of the command of God, with the denial of their own flesh and blood, Moses discerns such a disposition and act as would fit them for the service of the Lord. He therefore points to the blessing which it would bring them, and exhorts them by their election as the peculiar possession of Jehovah (Num. iii. iv.), which would be secured to them jrom this time forward, to persevere in this fidelity to the Lord. " The zeal of the tribe-father burned still in the Levites; but this time it was for the glory of God, and not for their own. Their ancestor had violated both truth and justice by his vengeance upon the Shechemites, from a false regard to blood-relationship, but now bis descendants hstd saved truth, justice, and the covenant by avenging Jehovah upon their own relations" (Kurtz, and Oehler in Herzo^s Cycl.)^ so that the curse which rested upon them (Gen. xlix. 7) could now be turned into a blessing (cf. Deut. xxxiii. 9).

Vers. 30-35. After Moses had thus avenged the honour of the Lord upon the sinful nation, he returned the next day to Jehovah as a mediator, who is not a mediator of one (Gal. iii. 20), that by the force of his intercession he might turn the divine wrath, which threatened destruction, into sparing grace and compassion, and that he might expiate the sin of the nation. He had received no assurance of mercy in reply to his first entreaty (vers. 11-13). He therefore announced his intention to the people in these words: " Peradventure I can make an atonement for your sin J* But to the Lord he said (vers. 31, 32),

" The sin of this people is a great sin; they have made themselves a god of gold ^"^ in opposition to the clear commandment in chap. XX. 23: " and now, if Thou unit forgive their sin, and if not, blot me out of the hook that Thou hast written. ^^ The book which Jehovah has written is the book of life, or of the living (Ps. Ixix. 29; Dan. xii. 1). This expression is founded upon the custom of writinfT the names of the burcjesses of a town or country in a burgess-list, whereby they are recognised as natives of the country, or citizens of the city, and all the privileges of citizenship are secured to them. The book of life contains the list of the righteous (Ps. Ixix. 29), and ensures to those whose names are written there, life before God, first in the earthly kingdom of God, and then eternal life also, according to the knowledge of salvation, which keeps pace with the progress of divine revelation, e.g. in the New Testament, where the heirs of eternal life are found written in the book of life (Phil. iv. 3; Rev. iii. 5, xiii. 8, etc.), — an advance for which the way was already prepared by Isa. iv. 3 and Dan. xii. 1. To blot out of Jehovah's book, therefore, is to cut off from fellowship with the living God, or from the kingdom of those who live before God, and to deliver over to death. As a true mediator of his people, Moses was ready to stake his own life for the deliverance of the nation, and not to live before God himself, if Jehovah did not forgive the people their sin. These words of Moses were the strongest expression of devoted, self-sacrificing love. And they were just as deep and true as the wish expressed by the Apostle Paul in Pom. ix. 3, that he might be accursed from Christ for the sake of his brethren according to the flesh. Bengel compares this wish of the apostle to the prayer of Moses, and says with regard to this unbounded fulness of love, " It is not easy to estimate the measure of love in a Moses and a Paul; for the narrow boundary of our reasoning powers does not comprehend it, as the little child is unable to comprehend the courage of warlike heroes" (Eng. Tr.). The infinite love of God is unable to withstand the importunity of such love. God, who is holy love, cannot sacrifice the righteous and good for the unrighteous and guilty, nor can He refuse the mediatorial intercession of His faithful servant, so long as the sinful nation has not filled up the measure of its guilt, in which case even the intercession of a Moses and a Samuel would not be able to avert the judgment

(Jer. XV. 1, cf. Ezek. xiv. 16). Hence, although Jehovah puts back the wish and prayer of Moses with the words, " Whoever ("IK^X ^Pj both here and in 2 Sam. xx. 11, is more emphatic than either one or the other alone) has sinned, him will I blot out of My hooh^^ He yields to the entreaty that He will ensure to Moses the continuance of the nsition under His guidance, and under the protection of His angel, which shall go before it (see at chap, xxxiii. 2, 3), and defer the punishment of their sin until the day of His visitation. — -Yer. 35. " Thus Jehovah smote the people because they had made the calfV With these words the historian closes the first act of Moses' negotiations with the Lord on account of this sin, from which it was apparent how God had repented of the evil with which He had threatened the nation (ver. 14), Moses had obtained the preservation of the people and their entrance into the promised land, under the protection of God, through his intercession, and averted from the nation the abrogation of the covenant; but the covenant relation which had existed before was not restored in its integrity. Though grace may modify and soften wrath, it cannot mar the justice of the holy God. No doubt an atonement had been made to justice, through the punishment which the Levites had inflicted upon the nation, but only a passing and imperfect one. Only a small portion of the guilty nation had been punished, and that without the others showing themselves worthy of forgiving grace through sorrow and repentance. The punishment, therefore, was not remitted, but only postponed in the long-suffering of God, "until the day of retribution" or visitation. The day of visitation came at length, when the stiff-necked people had filled up the measure of their sin through repeated rebellion against Jehovah and 'His servant Moses, and were sentenced at Kadesh to die out in the wilderness (Num. xiv. 26 sqq.). The sorrow manifested by the people (chap, xxxiii. 4), when the answer of God was made known to them, was a proof that the measure was not yet full.

Chap, xxxiii. 1-6. Moses' negotiations with the people, for the purpose of bringing them to sorrow and repentance, commenced with the announcement of what Jehovah had said. The words of Jehovah in vers. 1-3, which are only a still further expansion of the assurance contained in chap, xxxii. 34, commence in a similar manner to the covenant promise in chap.

xxiii. 20, 23; but there is this great difference, that whereas the name, i.e. the presence of Jehovah Himself, was to have gone before the Israelites in the angel promised to the people as a leader in chap, xxiii. 20, now, though Jehovah would still send an angel before Moses and Israel, He Himself would not go up to Canaan (a land flowing, etc., see at iii. 8) in the midst of Israel, lest He should destroy the people by the way, because they were stiff-necked (^r'?^^ for ^p^^,, see Ges, § 27, 3, Anm, 2). — Yer. 4. The people were so overwhelmed with sorrow by this evil word, that they all put off their ornaments, and showed by this outward sign the trouble of their heart. — Ver. 5. That this good beginning of repentance might lead to" a true and permanent change of heart, Jehovah repeated His threat in a most emphatic manner: " Thou art a stiff-necked people; if I go a moment in the midst of thee, I destroy/ thee:" i.e, if I were to go up in the midst of thee for only a single moment, I should be compelled to destroy thee because of thine obduracy. He then issued this command: " Throw thine ornament away from thee, and I shall know (by that) what to do to thee^ — Yer. 6. And the people obeyed this commandment, renouncing all that pleased the eye. " The children of Israel spoiled themselves (see at chap. xii. 36) of their ornament from. Mount Horeh onwards^ Thus they entered formally into a penitential condition. The expression, " from Mount Horeb onwards," can hardly be paraphrased as it is by Seh, Schmidt^ viz. " going from Mount Horeb into the camp," but in all probability expresses this idea, that from that time forward, Le. after the occurrence of this event at Horeb, they laid aside the ornaments which they had hitherto worn, and assumed the outward appearance of perpetual penitence.

Yers. 7—11. Moses then took a tent, and pitched it outside the camp, at some distance off, and called it " tent of meeting^ The " tent" is neither the sanctuary of the tabernacle described in chap. xxv. sqq., which was not made till after the perfect restoration of the covenant (chap. xxxv. sqq.), nor another sanctuary that had come down from their forefathers and was used before the tabernacle was built, as Clericus, J* D, Michaelisy Rosenmiiller, and others suppose; but a tent belonging to Moses, which was made into a temporary sanctuary by the fact that the pillar of cloud came down upon it, and Jehovah talked with Moses there, and which was called by the same name as the tabernacle, viz. ^V^^ 7ni< (see at chap, xxvii. 21), because Jehovah revealed Himself there, and every one who sought Him had to go to this tent outside the camp. There were two reasons for this: in the first place, Moses desired thereby to lead the people to a fuller recognition of their separation from their God, that their penitence might be deepened in consequence; and in the second place, he wished to provide such means of intercourse with Jehovah as would not only awaken in the minds of the people a longing for the renewal of the covenant, but render the restoration of the covenant possible. And this end w^as answered. Not only did every one who sought Jehovah go out to the tent, but the whole nation looked with the deepest reverence w^lien Moses went out to the tent, and bowed in adoration before the Lord, every one in front of his tent, when they saw the pillar of cloud come down upon the tent and stand before the door. Out of this cloud Jehovah talked with Moses (vers. 7—10) ^^ face to face, as a man talks with his friend^* (ver. 11); that is to say, not from the distance of heaven, through any kind of medium whatever, but " mouth to mouth," as it is called in Num. xii. 8, as closely and directly as friends

talk to one another. " These words indicate, therefore, a familiar conversation, just as much as if it had been said, that God appeared to Moses in some peculiar form of manifestation. If any one objects to this, that it is at variance with the assertion which w^e shall come to presently, ' Thou canst not see My face,' the answer is a very simple one. Although Jehovah shoyv^ed Himself to Mosds in some peculiar form of manifestation. He never appeared in His own essential glory, but only in such a mode as human weakness could bear. This solution contains a tacit comparison, viz. that there never was any one equal to Moses, or who had attained to the same dignity as he"

(Calvin). When Moses returned to the tent, his servant Joshua remained behind as guard. — This condescension on the part of Jehovah towards Moses could not fail to strengthen the people in their reliance upon their leader, as the confidant of Jehovah. And Moses himself was encouraged thereby to endeavour to effect a perfect restoration of the covenant bond that had been destroyed.

Vers. 12-23. Jehovah had commanded Moses to lead the people to Canaan, and promised him the guidance of an angel; but He had expressly distinguished this angel from His own personal presence (vers. 1-3). Moreover, though it has not been mentioned before, Jehovah had said to Moses, " / have known thee hy name,^ — i.e. I have recognised thee as Mine, and chosen and called thee to execute My will (cf. Isa. xliii. 1, xlix. 1), or put thee into " a specifically personal relation to God, which was peculiar to Moses, and therefore was associated with his name" (^Oehler); — " and thou hast also found grace in My eyes^"^ inasmuch as God had granted a hearing to his former intercession. Moses now reminded the Lord of this divine assurance with such courage as can only be produced by faith, which wrestles with God and will not let Him go without a blessing (Gen. xxxii. 27); and upon the strength of this he presented the petition (ver. 13), ''Let me know Thy way (the way which Thou wilt take with me and with this people), that I may know Thee, in order that I may find grace in Thine eyes, and see that this people is Thy people.^^ The meaning is this: If I have found grace in Thy sight, and Thou hast recognised me as Thy servant, and called me to be the leader of this people, do not leave me in uncertainty as to Thine intentions concerning the people, or as to the angel whom Thou wilt give as a guide to me and the nation, that I may know Thee, that is to say, that my finding grace in Thine eyes may become a reality;^ and if Thou wilt lead the people up to Canaan, consider that it is Thine own people, to whom Thou must acknowledge Thyself as its God. Such boldness of undoubting faith presses to the heart of God, and brings away the blessing. Jehovah replied (ver. 14), " My face will go, and I shall give thee rest,^^ — that is to say, shall bring thee and all this people into the land, where ye will find rest (Deut. iii. 20). The " face" of Jehovah is Jehovah in His own personal presence, and is identical with the " angel" in whom the name of Jehovah was (chap, xxiii. 20, 21), and who is therefore called in Isa. Ixiii. 9 " the angel of His face."

With this assurance on the part of God, the covenant bond was completely restored. But to make more sure of it, Moses replied (vers. 15, 16), " If Thy face is not going (with us), lead us not up hence And whereby shall it be known that I have found grace in thine eyes, I and Thy people, if not (lit. is it not known) ^ Domine/ac ut verbis tuis respondeat eventus {Calvin).

in Thy going with us, that we, I and Thy people, are distinguished (see at chap. viii. 18) before every nation upon the face of the earth f" These words do not express any doubt as to the truth of the divine assurance, " but a certain feeling of the insufficiency of the assurance," inasmuch as even with the restoration of the former condition of things there still remained " the fear lest the evil root of the people's rebellion, which had once manifested itself, should break forth again at any moment" {Baumgarten). For this reason Jehovah assured him that this request also should be granted (ver. 17). " There was nothing extraordinary in the fact that Moses desired for himself and his people that they might be distinguished before every nation upon the face of the earth; this was merely the firm hold of faith upon the calling and election of God (chap. xix. 5, 6)." — ^Ver. 18. Moses was emboldened by this, and now prayed to the Lord, " Let me see Thy glory. ^^ What Moses desired to see, as the answer of God clearly shows, must have been something surpassing all former revelations of the glory of Jehovah (chap. xvi. 7, 10, xxiv. 16, 17), and even going beyond Jehovah's talking with him face to face (ver. 11). When God talked with him face to face, or mouth to mouth, he merely saw a " similitude of Jehovah" (Num. xii. 8), a form which rendered the invisible being of God visible to the human eye, Le, a manifestation of the divine glory in a certain form, and not the direct or essential glory of Jehovah, whilst the people saw this glory under the veil of a dark cloud, rendered luminous by fire, that is to say, they only saw its splendour as it shone through the cloud; and even the elders, at the time when the covenant was made, only saw the God of Israel in a certain form which hid from their eyes the essential being of God (xxiv. 10, 11). What Moses desired, therefore, was a sight of the gloiy or essential being of God, without any figure, and without a veil. Moses was urged to offer this prayer, as Calvin truly says, not by " stulta curiositas, quce utplurimum titillat hominum mentes^ ut audacter penetrare tentent usque ad ultima coelorum arcana,^*

but by " a desire to cross the chasm which had been made by the apostasy of the nation, that for the future he might have a firmer footing than the previous history had given him. As so great a stress had been laid upon his own person in his present task of mediation between the offended Jehovah and the apostate nation, he felt that the separation, which existed between himself and Jeliovah, introduced a disturbing element into his office. For if his own personal fellowship with Jehovah was not fully established, and raised above all possibility of disturbance, there could be no eternal foundation for the perpetuity of his media-

tion" (Baumgarten). As a man called by God to be His servant, he was not yet the perfect mediator; but although he was faithful in all his house, it was only as a servant, called eU jxapTvpiov Tcov \a\7]6r]ao/ji6V(t)p (Heb. iii. 5), i.e. as a herald of the saving revelations of God, preparing the way for the coming of the perfect Mediator. Jehovah therefore granted his request, but only so far as the limit existing between the infinite and holy God and finite and sinful man allowed. " Twill make all My goodness pass before thy face^ and proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee (p^^'^ ^"^P see at Gen iv. 26), and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious^ and will shoiu mercy on whom I will sJioiu mercy. Thou canst not see My facCj for man cannot see Me and liveJ^ The words '1^1 ^^'^^\ although only connected with the previous clause by the cop. 1, are to be understood in a causative sense, as expressing the reason why Moses' request was granted, viz. that it was an act of unconditional grace and compassion on the part of God, to which no man, not even Moses, could lay any just claim. The Apostle Paul uses the words in the same sense in Rom. ix. 15, for the purpose of overthrow^ing the claims of self-righteous Jews to participate in the Messianic salvation. — No mortal man can see the face of God and remain alive; for not only is the holy God a consuming fire to unholy man, but a limit has been set, in and with the acofia ^(oIkov and '>^rvy^iK6v (the earthly and psychical body) of man, between the infinite God, the absolute Spirit, and the human spirit clothed in an earthly body, which will only be removed by the " redemption of our body," and our being clothed in a " spiritual body," and which, so long as it lasts, renders a direct sight of the glory of God impossible. As our bodily eye is dazzled, and its power of vision destroyed, by looking directly at the brightness of the sun, so would our whole nature be destroyed by an unveiled sight of the brilliancy of the glory of God. So long as we are clothed with this body, which was destined, indeed, from the very first to be transformed into the glorified state of the immortality of the spirit, but has become through the fall a prey to the corruption of death, we can only walk in faith, and only see God with the eye of faith,

SO far as He has revealed His glory to us in His works and His word. When we have become like God, and have been transformed into the " divine nature" (2 Pet. i. 4), th«n, and not till then, shall we see Him as He is; then we shall see His glorywithout a veil, and live before Him for ever. For this reason Moses had to content himself with the passing by of the glory of God before his face, and with the revelation of the name of Jehovah through the medium of the word, in which God discloses His inmost being, and, so to speak. His whole heart to faith. In ver. 22 " My glory" is used for " all My goodness," and in chap, xxxiv. 6 it is stated that Jehovah passed by before the face of Moses. ^(0 is not to be understood in the sense of beautiful, or beauty, but signifies goodness; not the brilliancy which strikes the senses, but the spiritual and ethical nature of the Divine Being. For the manifestation of Jehovah, which passed before Moses, was intended unquestionably to reveal nothing else than what Jehovah expressed in the proclamation of His name.

The manifested glory of the Lord would so surely be followed by the destruction of man, that even Moses needed to be protected before it (vers. 21, 22). Whilst Jehovah, therefore, allowed him to come to a place upon the rock near Him, Le, upon the summit of Sinai (chap, xxxiv. 2), He said that He would put him in a cleft of the rock whilst He was passing by, and cover him with His hand, i.e, with His protecting power, and only take away His hand when He had gone by, that he might see His back, because His face could not be seen. The back, as contrasted with the face, signifies the reflection of the glory of God that had just passed by. The words are transferred anthropomorphically from man to God, because human language and human thought can only conceive of the nature of the absolute Spirit according to the analogy of the human form. As the inward nature of man manifests itself in his face, and the sight of his back gives only an imperfect and outward view of him, so Moses saw only the back and not the face of Jehovah. It is impossible to put more into human words concerning this unparalleled vision, which far surpasses all human thought and comprehension. According to chap, xxxiv. 2, the place where Moses stood by the Lord was at the top (the head) of Sinai, and no more can be determined with certainty concerning it. The cleft in the rock (ver. 22) has been supposed by some to be the same place as the " cave" in which Elijah lodged at Horeb, and where the Lord appeared to him in the still small voice (1 Kings xix. 9 sqq.). The real summit of the Jebel Musa consists of " a small area of huge rocks, about 80 feet in diameter," upon which there is now a chapel that has almost fallen down, and about 40 feet to the south-west a dilapidated mosque {Robinson, Palestine, vol. i. p. 153). Below this mosque, according to Seetzen {Beise iii. pp. 83, 84), there is a very small grotto, into which you descend by several steps, and to which a large block of granite, about a fathom and a half long and six spans in height, serves as a roof. According to the Mussulman tradition, which the Greek monks also accept, it was in this small grotto that Moses received the law; though other monks point out a " hole, just large enough for a man," near the altar of the Elijah chapel, on the small plain upon the ridge of Sinai, above which the loftier peak rises about 700 feet, as the cave in which Elijah lodged on Horeb {Robinson, Pal. ut supra).

Chap, xxxiv. 1-10. When Moses had restored the covenant bond through his intercession (chap, xxxiii. 14), he was directed by Jehovah to hew out two stones, like the former ones which he had broken, and to come with them the next morning up the mountain, and Jehovah would write upon them the same words as upon the first,^ and thus restore the covenant record. It was also commanded, as in the former case (chap. xix. 12, 13), that no one should go up the mountain with him, or be seen upon it, and that not -even cattle should feed against the mountain, i.e. in the immediate neighbourhood (ver. 3). The first tables of the covenant w^ere called "tables of stone" (chap. xxiv. 12, xxxi. 18); the second, on the other hand, which were hewn by Moses, are called "tables of stones" (vers. 1 and 4); and the latter expression is applied indiscriminately to both of them in Deut. iv. 13, V. 19, ix. 9-11, x. 1-4. This difference does not indicate 1 diversity in the records, but may be explained very simply from the fact, that the tables prepared by Moses were hewn from two stones, and not both from the same block; whereas all that could be said of the former, which had been

* Namely, the ten words in chap. xx. 2-17, not the laws contained in vers. 12-26 of this chapter, as Gothe and Hitzig suppose. See Hengstenberg^ Dissertations ii. p. 319, and Kurtz on the Old Covenant iii. 182 sqq.

made by God Himself, was that they were of stone, since no one knew whether God had used one stone or two for the purpose. There is apparently far more importance in the following distinction, that the second tables were delivered by Moses and only written upon by God, whereas in the case of the former both the writing and the materials came from God. This cannot have been intended either as a punishment for the nation (Hengstenberg), or as " the sign of a higher stage of the covenant, inasmuch as the further the reciprocity extended, the firmer was the covenant" {Baumgarten), It is much more natural to seek for the cause, as Rashi does, in the fact, that Moses had broken the first in pieces; only we must not regard it as a sign that God disapproved of the manifestation of anger on the part of Moses, but rather as a recognition of his zealous exertions for the restoration of the covenant which had been broken by the sin of the nation. As Moses had restored the covenant through his energetic intercession, he should also provide the materials for the renewal of the covenant record, and bring them to God, for Him to complete and confirm the record by writing the covenant words upon the tables.

On the following morning, when Moses ascended the mountain, Jehovah granted him the promised manifestation of His glory (vers. 5 sqq.). The description of this unparalleled occurrence is in perfect harmony with the mysterious and majestic character of the revelation. " Jehovah descended (from heaven) in the cloudy and stood by hhn there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah; and Jehovah passed by in his sight, and proclaimed Jehovah, Jehovah God, merciful and gracious ^^ etc. What Moses saw we are not told^ but simply the words in which Jehovah proclaimed all the glory of His being; whilst it is recorded of Moses, that he bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped. This " sermon on the name of the Lord," as J^uther calls it, disclosed to Moses the most hidden nature of Jehovah. It proclaimed that God is love, but that kind of love in which mercy, grace, long-suifering, goodness, and truth are united with holiness and justice. As the merciful One, who is great in goodness and truth, Jehovah shows mercy to the thousandth, forgiving sin and iniquity in long-suffering and grace; but He does not leave sin altogether unpunished, and in His justice visits the sin of the fathers upon the children and the children's children even unto the fourth generation. The Lord had already revealed Himself to the whole nation from Mount Sinai as visiting sin and showing-mercy (chap. XX. 5 sqq.). But whereas on that occasion the bui'ning zeal of Jehovah which visits sin stood in the foreground, and mercy only followed afterwards, here grace, mercy, and goodness are placed in the front. And accordingly all the words which the language contained to express the idea of grace in its varied manifestations to the sinner, are crowded together here, to reveal the fact that in His inmost being God is love. But in order that grace may not be perverted by sinners into a ground of wantonness, justice is not wanting even here with its solemn threatenings, although it only follows mercy, to show that mercy is mightier than wrath, and that holy love does not punish till sinners despise the riches of the goodness, patience^ and long-suffering of God. As Jehovah here proclaimed His name, so did He continue to bear witness of it to the Israelites, from their departure from Sinai till their entrance into Canaan, and from that time forward till their dispersion among the heathen, and even now in their exile showing mercy to the thousandth, when they turn to the Redeemer who has come out of Zion. — Yer. 9. On this manifestation of mercy, Moses repeated the prayer that Jehovah would go in the midst of Israel. It is true the Lord had already promised thut His face should go with them (chap, xxxiii. 14); but as Moses had asked for a sight of the glory of the Lord as a seal to the promise, it was perfectly natural that, when this petition was granted, he should lay hold of the grace that had been revealed to him as it never had been before, and endeavour to give even greater stability to the covenant. To this end he repeated his former intercession on behalf of the nation, at the same time making this confession, " For it is a stiff-necked people; therefore forgive our iniquity and our sin, and make us the inheritance." Moses spoke collectively, including himself in the nation in the presence of God. The reason which he assigned pointed to the deep root of corruption that had broken out in the worship of the golden calf, and was appropriately pleaded as a motive for asking forgiveness, inasmuch as God Himself had assigned the natural corruption of the human race as a reason why He would not destroy it again with a flood (Gen. viii. 21). Wrath was mitigated by a regard to the natural condition. — p^^ in the Kaly with an accusative of the person, does not mean to lead a person into the inheritance, but to make a person into an inheritance; here, therefore, to make Israel the possession of Jehovah (Deut. iv. 20, ix. 26, cf. Zech. ii. 16). Jehovah at once declared (ver. 10) that He would conclude a covenant, i.e. restore the broken covenant, and do marvels before the whole nation, such as had not been done in all the earth or in any nation, and thus by these His works distinguish Israel before all nations as His own property (chap, xxxiii. 16). The nation was to see this, because it would be terrible; terrible, namely, through the overthrow of the powers that resisted the kingdom of God, every one of whom would be laid prostrate and destroyed by the majesty of the Almighty.

Vers. 11-26. To recall the duties of the covenant once more to the minds of the people, the Lord repeats from among the rights of Israel, upon the basis of which the covenant had been established (chap, xxi.-xxiii.), twa of the leading points which determined the attitude of the nation towards Him, and which constituted, as it were, the main pillars that were to support the covenant about to be renewed. These were, first, the warning against every kind of league with the Canaanites, who were to be driven out before the Israelites (vers. 11-16); and, secondly y the instructions concerning the true worship of Jehovah (vers. 17-26). The warning against friendship with the idolatrous Canaanites (vers. 11-16) is more fully developed and more strongly enforced than in chap, xxiii. 23 sqq. The Israelites, when received into the covenant with Jehovah, were not only to beware of forming any covenant with the inhabitants of Canaan (cf. xxiii. 32, 33), but were to destroy all the signs of their idolatrous worship, such as altars, monuments (see chap, xxiii. 24), and asherim, the idols of Astarte, the Canaan itish goddess of nature, which consisted for the most part of wooden pillars (see my Comm. on 1 Kings xiv. 23), and to worship no other god, because Jehovah was called jealous, i.e. had revealed Himself as jealous (see at chap. xx. 5), and was a jealous God. This was commanded, that the Israelites might not suffer themselves to be led astray by such an alliance; to go a whoring after their gods, and sacrifice to them, to take part in their sacrificial festivals, or to marry their sons to the daughters of the Canaanites, by whom they would be persuaded to join in the worship of idols. The use of the expression " go a whoring" in a spiritual sense, in re- latlon to idolatry, is to be accounted for on the ground, that the religious fellowship of Israel with Jehovah was a covenant resembling the marriage tie; and we meet with it for the first time here, immediately after the formation of this covenant between Israel and Jehovah. The phrase is all the more expressive on account of the literal prostitution tjiat was frequently associated with the worship of Baal and Astarte (cf. Lev. xvii. 7, XX. 5, 6; Num. xiv. 33, etc.). We may see from Num. xxv. 1 sqq. how Israel was led astray by this temptation in the wilderness.— Vers. 17-26. The true way to worship Jehovah is then pointed out, first of all negatively, in the prohibition against making molten images, with an allusion to the worship of the golden calf, as evinced by the use of the expression i^^t?^ '^[y^., w^hich only occurs again in Lev. xix. 4, instead of the phrase " gods of silver and gold" (chap. xx. 23); and then positively, by a command to observe the feast of Mazzoih and the consecration of the first-born connected with the Passover (see at chap, xiii. 2, 11, and 12), also the Sabbath (ver. 21),the feasts of Weeks and Ingathering, the appearance of the male members of the nation three times a year before the Lord (ver. 22, see at chap, xxiii. 14r-17), together with all the other instructions connected with them (vers. 25, 26). Before the last, however, the promise is introduced, that after the expulsion of the Canaanites, Jehovah would enlarge the borders of Israel (cf. xxiii. 31), and make their land so secure, that when they went up to the Lord three times in the year, no one should desire their land, sc, because of the universal dread of the might of their God (chap, xxiii. 27). Vers. 27-35. Moses w^as to write down these words, like the covenant rights and laws that had been given before (chap. xxiv. 4, 7), because Jehovah had concluded the covenant with Moses and Israel according to the tenor of them. By the renewed adoption of the nation, the covenant in chap. xxiv. was eo ipso iCstored; so that no fresh conclusion of this covenant was necessary, and the writing down of the fundamental conditions of the covenant was merely intended as a proof of its restoration. It does not appear in the least degree " irreconcilable," therefore, with the writing down of the covenant rights before (Knohel). — Ver. 28. Moses remained upon the mountain forty days, just as on the former occasion (cf. xxiv. 18). ''And He (Jehovah) wrote upon the tables the ten covenant words " (see at ver. 1). — ■

Vers. 29 sqq. The sight of the glory of Jehovah, though only of the back or reflection of it, produced such an effect upon Moses' face, that the skin of it shone, though without Moses observing it. When he came down from the mountain with the tables of the law in his hand, and the skin of his face shone i^^5 ^"^S'lSj i,e, on account of his talking with God, Aaron and the people were afraid to go near him when Ihey saw the brightness of his face. But Moses called, them to him, — viz. first of all Aaron and the princes of the congregation tg speak to them, and fhen all the people to give them the commandments of Jehovah; but on doing this (ver. 33), he put a veil upon (before) his face, and only took it away when he went in before Jehovah to speak with Him, and then, when he came out (from the Lord out of the tabernacle, of course after the erection of the tabernacle), he made known His commands to the people. But while doing this, he put the veil upon his face again, and always wore it in his ordinary intercourse with the people (vers. 34, 35). This reflection of the splendour thrown back by the glory of God was henceforth to serve as the most striking proof of the confidential relation in which Moses stood to Jehovah, and to set forth the glory of the office which Moses filled. The Apostle Paul embraces this view in 2 Cor. iii. 7 sqq., and lays stress upon Ihe fact that the glory was to be done away, which he was quite Justified in doing, although nothing is said in the Old Testament about the glory being transient, from the simple fact that Moses died. The apostle refers to it for the purpose of contrasting the perishable glory of the law with the far higher and imperishable glory of the Gospel. At the same time he regards the veil which covered Moses' face as a symbol of the obscuring of the truth revealed in the Old Testament. But this does not exhaust the significance of this splendour. The office could only confer such glory upon the possessor by virtue of the glory of the blessings which it contained, and conveyed to those for whom it was established. Consequently, the brilliant light on Moses' face also set forth the glory of the Old Covenant, and was intended both for Moses and the people as a foresight and pledge of the glory to which Jehovah had called, and would eventually exalt, the people of His possession.

Chap. XXXV. 1-xxxvi. 7. Preliminaries to the Work. — Chap. XXXV. 1-29. After the restoration of the covenant, Moses announced to the people the divine commands with reference to the holy place of the tabernacle which w^as to be built. He repeated first of all (vers. 1-3) the law of the Sabbath according to chap. xxxi. 13-17, and strengthened it by the announcement, that on the Sabbath no fire was to be kindled in their dwelliufj, because this rule was to be observed even in connection with the work to be done for the tabernacle. (For a fuller comment, see at chap. xx. 9 sqq.) Then, in accordance with the command of Jehovah, he first of all summoned the whole nation to present freewill-offerings for the holy things to be prepared (vers. 4, 5), mentioning one by one all the materials that would be required (vers. 5-9, as in chap. xxv. 3-7); and after that he called upon those who were endowed with understanding to prepare the different articles, as prescribed in chap, xxv.- XXX., mentioning these also one by one (vers. 11-19), even down to the pegs of the dwelling and court (xxvii. 19), and " their cords," i.e. the cords required to fasten the tent and the hangings round the court to the pegs that were driven into the ground, which had not been mentioned before, being altogether subordinate things. (On the "cloths of service," ver. 19, see at chap. xxxi. 10.) In vers. 20-29 we have an account of the fulfilment of this command. The people went from Moses, i.e. from the place where they were assembled round Moses, away to their tents, and willingly offered the things required as a heave-offering for Jehovah; every one "whom his heart lifted up," i.e. who felt himself inclined and stirred up in his heart to do this. The men along with (/V as in Gen. xxxil. 12; see Eiuald, § 217) the women brought with a willing heart all kinds of golden rings and jewellery: cJiak, lit. hook, here a clasp or ring; nezem, an ear or nose-ring (Gen. xxxv. 4, xxiv. 47); tahhaathy a finger-ring; cumaz, globulus aureus^ probably little golden balls strung together like beads, which were worn by the Israelites and Midianites (Num. xxxi. 50) as an ornament round the wrist and neck, as Diod. Sic. relates that they were by the Arabians (3, 44). ^' All kinds of golden jewellery ^ and every one who had waved (dedicated) a wave (offering) of gold to Jehovahj^ sc, offered it for the work of the tabernacle. The meaning is, that in addition to the many varieties of golden ornaments, w-hich were willingly offered for the work to be performed, every one brought whatever gold he had set apart as a wave-offering (a sacrificial gift) for Jehovah, ^""^n to wave^ lit, to swing or move to and fro, is used in connection with the sacrificial ritual to denote a peculiar ceremony, through which certain portions of a sacrifice, which were not intended for burning upon the altar, but for the maintenance of the priests (Num. xviii. 11), were consecrated to the Lord, or given up to Him in a symbolical manner (see at Lev. vii. 30). Tenuphahy the wave-offering, accordingly denoted primarily those portions of the sacrificial animal which were allotted to the priests as their share of the sacrifices; and then, in a more general sense, every gift or offering that was consecrated to the Lord for the establishment and maintenance of the sanctuary and its worship. In this wider sense the term tenuphah (wave-offering) is applied both here and in chap, xxxviii. 24, 29 to the gold and copper presented by the congregation for the building of the tabernacle. So that it does not really differ from terumahy a lift or heave-offering, as every gift intended for the erection and maintenance of the sanctuary was called, inasmuch as the offerer lifted it off from his own property, to dedicate it to the Lord for the purposes of His worship. Accordingly, in ver. 24 the freewill-offerings of the people in silver and gold for the erection of the tabernacle are called terumah; and in chap. xxxvi. 6, all the gifts of metal, wood, leather, and woven materials, presented by the people for the erection of the tabernacle, are called ^p HDnn (On heaving and the heave-offering, see at chap. xxv. 2 and Lev. ii. 9.) — Vers. 25, 26. All the women who understood it (were wise-hearted, as in chap, xxviii. 3) spun with their hands, and presented what they spun, viz. the yam required for the blue and red purple cloth, the crimson and the byssus; from which it is evident that the coloured cloths were dyed in the yarn or in the wool, as was the case in Egypt according to different specimens of old Egyptian cloths (see Hengstenherg, Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 144). Other women spun goats* hair for the upper or outer covering of the tent (xxvi. 7 sqq.). Spinning was done by the women in very early times (PUn, hist, n, 8, 48), particularly in Egypt, where women are represented on the monuments as busily engaged with the spindle (see Wilkinson, Manners ii. p. 60; ill. p. 133, 136), and at a later period among the Hebrews (Prov. xxxl. 19). At the present day the women in the peninsula of Sinai spin the materials for their tents from camels' and goats' hair, and prepare sheep's wool for their clothing (Ruppell, Nubien, p. 202); and at Neswa, in the province of Oman, the preparation of cotton yarn is the principal employment of the women {Wellstedt, i. p. 90). Weaving also was, and still is to a great extent, a woman's work (cf. 2 Kings xxiii. 7); it is so among the Arab tribes in the Wady Gharandel, for example (Russegger, iii. 24), and in Nubia (Burckhardt, Nub. p. 211); but at Neswa the weaving is done by the men ( Wellstedt), The woven cloths for the tabernacle were prepared by men, partly perhaps because the weaving in E^ypt was mostly done by the men {Herod, 2, 35; cf. Hengstenberg, p. 143), but chiefly for this reason, that the cloths for the hanorin^s and curtains were artistic works, which the women did not understand, but which the men had learned in Egypt, where artistic weaving was carried out to a great extent {Wilkinson, iii. pp. 113 sqq.).^ — Vers. 27, 28. The precious stones for the robes of the high priest, and the spices for the incense and anointing oil, were presented by the princes of the congregation, who had such costly things in their possession.

Ver. 30- chap, xxxvi. 7. Moses then Informed the people that God had called Bezaleel and Aholiah as master-builders, to complete the building and all the work connected with it, and had not only endowed them with His Spirit, that they might draw the plans for the different works and carry them out, but " had put it into his (Bezaleel' s) heart to teach" (ver. 34), that is to say, had qualified him to instruct labourers to prepare the different articles under his supervision and guidance. " He and Alioliab^^ (ver 34) are in apposition to "Ais heart:^^ into his and Aholiab's heart (see Ges. § 121, 3; Ewald, § 311 a). The concluding words in ver. 35 are in apposition to OriK {them): " them hath He filled with wisdom.... as performers of every kind of work and inventors of designs," i.e. that they may make

^ For drawings of the Egyptian weaving- stool, see Wilkinsort, iii. p. 135; also Ilartmann^ die Ilthrderinn am Putztisch i. Taf. 1.

every kind of work and may invent designs. In chap, xxxvi. 1, r[\^V] with vav consec. is dependent upon what precedes, and signifies either, "and so will make," or, so that he will make (see Ewaldj § 342 h). The idea is this, " Bezaleel, Akoliab, and the other men who understand, into whom Jehovah has infused (3 ir|3)r wisdom and understanding, that they may know how to do, shall do every work for the holy service (worship) with regard to Q as in chap, xxviii. 38, etc.) all that Jehovah has commanded."— Yers. 2-7. Moses then summoned the master-builders named, and all who were skilled in art, " every one whom his heart lifted up to come near to the work to do it " {i.e. who felt himself stirred up in heart to take part in the work), and handed over to them the heave-offering presented by the people for that purpose, whilst the children of Israel still continued bringing freewill-offerings every morning. — Ver. 4. Then the wise workmen came, every one from his work that they were making, and said to Moses, " Much maJce the people to bring, more than suffices for the labour (the finishing, as in chap, xxvii. 19) of the work,^* i.e. they are bringing more than will be wanted for carrying out the work (the ]'0 in ""^p is comparative); whereupon Moses let the cry go through the camp, i.e. had proclamation made, " No one is to make any more property ('"^J^^P as in chap, xxii. 7, 10, cf. Gen. xxxiii. 14) for a holy heave-offering," i.e. to prepare anything more from hi's own property to offer for the building of the sanctuary; and with this he put a stop to any further offerings.— Yer. 7. " And there was enough (D**! their sufficiency, i.e. the requisite supply for the different things to be made) of the property for every work to make it, and over " (lit. and to leave some over). By this liberal contribution of freewill gifts, for the work commanded by the Lord, the people proved their willingness to uphold their covenant relationship with Jehovah their God.

Chap, xxxvi. 8-xxxviii. 20. Execution of the Work. — Preparation of the dwelling-place: viz. the hangings and coverings (^chap. xxxvi. 8-19, as in chap. xxvi. 1-14); the wooden boards and bolts (vers. 20-34, as in chap. xxvi. 15-30); the two curtains, with the pillars, hooks, and rods that supported them (vers. 35-38, as in chap. xxvi. 31-37). As these have all been already explained, the only thing remaining to be noticed here is, that the verbs >^^V in ver. 8, "i^n^l In ver. 10, etc., are in the third person singular with an indefinite subject, corresponding to the German man (the French on). — Preparation of the vessels of the dwelling: viz. the ark of the covenant (chap, xxxvii. 1-9, as in chap. XXV. 10-22); the table of shew-brcad and its vessels (vers. 10-16, as in chap. xxv. 23-30); the candlestick (vers. 17-24, as in chap. xxv. 31-40); the altar of incense (vers. 25- 28, as in chap. xxx. 1-10); the anointing oil and incense (ver. 29), directions for the preparation of which are given in chap, xxx. 22-38; the altar of burnt-offering (chap, xxxviii. 1-7, as in chap, xxvii. 1-8); the laver (ver. 8, as in chap. xxx. 17-21); and the court (vers. 9-20, as in chap, xxvii. 9-19). The order corresponds on the whole to the list of the separate articles in chap. XXXV. 11-19, and to the construction of the entire sanctuary; but the holy chest (the ark), as being the most holy thing of all, is distinguished above all the rest, by being expressly mentioned as the work of Bezaleel, the chief architect of the whole.

Chap, xxxviii. 21-31. Estimate of the amount of Metal used. — Ver. 21. " These are the numbered things of the dwelling^ of the dwelling of the testimony^ that were numbered at the command of Hoses, through the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ifhamar, the son of Aaron the priest ^^ DH^pQ does not mean the numbering (equivalent to ^iJB^ 2 Sam. iv. 9, or iTHpS) 2 Chron. xvii. 14, xxvi. 11), as Knobel supposes, but here as elsewhere, even in Num. xxvi. 63, 64, it signifies " the numbered; " the only difference being, that in most cases it refers to persons, here to things, and that the reckoning consisted not merely in the counting and entering of the different things, but in ascertaining their weight and estimating their worth. Lyra has given the following correct rendering of this heading: " hcec est sumnia numeri pojideris eorum, quce facta sunt in tabernaculo ex auro, argento et mre^ It was apparently superfluous to enumerate the different articles again, as this had been repeatedly done before. The weight of the different metals, therefore, is all that is given. The " dwelling" is still further described as "the dwelling of the testimony," because the testimony, Le. the decalogue written with the finger of God upon the tables of stone, was kept in the dwelling, and this testimony formed the base of the throne of Jehovah, and was the material pledge that Jehovah would cause His name, His manifested presence, to dwell there, and would thus show Himself to His people in grace and righteousness. " That which was numbered " is an explanatory apposition to the previous clause, " the numbering of the dwelling; " and the words D^.vn Hlhi^, which follow, are an accusative construed freely to indicate more particularly the mode of numbering {Ewaldy § 204 a), viz. " through the service," or " by means of the service of the Levites," not for their service. " By the hand of Ithamar: " who presided over the calculations which the Levites carried out under his superintendence. — Vers. 22, 23. The allusion to the service of the Levites under Ithamar leads the historian to mention once more the architects of the whole building, and the different works connected with it (cf. chap. xxxi. 2 sqq.). — Yer. 24. " (As for) all the gold that was used (^'^^V\}) for the work in every kind of holy work, the gold of the wave-offering (the gold that was offered as a waveoffering, see at chap. xxxv. 22) was (amounted to) 29 talents and 730 shekels in holy shekel^'' that is to say, 87,370 shekels or 877,300 thalers (L. 131, 595), if we accept Thenius^ estimate, that the gold shekel was worth 10 thalers (L.l, 10s.), which is probably very near the truth. — Vers. 25 sqq. Of the silver, all that is mentioned is the amount of atonement-money raised from those who were numbered (see at chap. xxx. 12 sqq.) at the rate of half a shekel for every male, without including the freewillofferings of silver (chap. xxxv. 24, cf. chap. xxv. 3), whether it was that they were too insignificant, or that they were not used for the work, but were placed with the excess mentioned in chap, xxxvi. 7. The result of the numbering gave 603,550 men, every one of whom paid half a shekel. This would yield 301,775 shekels, or 100 talents and 1775 shekels, which proves by the way that a talent contained 3000 shekels. A hundred talents of this were used for casting 96 sockets for the 48 boards, and 4 sockets for the 4 pillars of the inner court, — one talent therefore for each socket, — and the 1775 shekels for the hooks of the pillars that sustained the curtains, for silvering their capitals, and " for binding the pillars," i.e. for making the silver connecting rods for the pillars of the court (chap, xxvii. 10, 11, xxxviii. 10 sqq.). — y evs. 29 sqq. The copper of the wave-offering amounted to 70 talents and 2400 shekels; and of this the sockets of the pillars at the entrance of the tabernacle (chap. xxvi. 37), the altar of burnt-offering with its network and vessels, the supports of the pillars of the court, all the pegs of the dwelling and court, and, what is not expressly mentioned here, the laver with its support (xxx. 18), were made. 3 nby to work in (with) copper, i,e. to make of copper.

If this quantity of the precious metals may possibly strike some readers as very large, and was in fact brought forward years ago as a reason for questioning the historical credibility of our account of the building of the tabernacle, it has been frequently urged, on the other hand, that it looks quite small, in comparison with the quantities of gold and silver that have been found accumulated in the East, in both ancient and modern times. According to the account before us, the requisite amount of silver was raised by the comparatively small payment of half a shekel, about fifteen pence, for every male Israelite of 20 years old and upwards. Now no tenable objection can be raised against the payment of such a tribute, since we have no reason whatever for supposing the Israelites to have been paupers, notwithstanding the oppression which they endured during the closing period of their stay in Egypt. They were settled in the most fertile part of Egypt; and coined silver was current in western Asia even in the time of the patriarchs (Gen. xxiii. 16). But with reference to the quantities of gold and copper that were delivered, we need not point to the immense stores of gold and other metals that were kept in the capitals of the Asiatic kingdoms of antiquity,^ but will merely call to mind the fact, that the kings of Egypt possessed many large gold mines on the frontiers of the country, and in the neighbouring lands of Arabia and Ethiopia, which were worked by criminals, prisoners of war, and others, under the harshest pressure, and the very earliest times copper mines were discovered on the

^ Thus, to mention only one or two examples, the images in the temple of Beliis, at Babylon, consisted of several thousand talents of gold, to say nothing of the golden tables, the bedsteads, and other articles of gold and silver (Diod. Sic. 2, 9; Herod. 1, 181, 183). In the siege of Nineveh, Sardanapalus erected a funeral pile, upon which he collected all his wealth, including 150 golden bedsteads, 150 golden tables, a million talents of gold, and ten times as much silver and other valuables, to prevent their falling into the hands of the foe {Ctesias in Athen. 12, 38, p. 529). According to a

Arabian peninsula, which were worked by a colony of labourers (Lepsius, Letters from Egypt, p. 336). Moreover, the love of the ancient Egyptians for valuable and elegant ornaments, gold rings, necklaces, etc., is sufficiently known from the monuments (see Rosellini in Hengstenherg' s Egypt, p. 137). Is it not likely, then, that the Israelites should have acquired a taste for jewellery of this kind, and should have possessed or discovered the means of procuring all kinds of gold and silver decorations, not to mention the gold and silver jewellery which they received from the Egyptians on their departure? The liking for such things even among nomad tribes is very well known. Thus, for example, after the defeat of the Midianites, the Israelites carried off so much gold, silver, copper, and other metals as spoil, that their princes alone were able to offer 16,750 shekels of gold as a heave-offering to Jehovah from the booty that had been obtained in this kind of jewellery^ (Num. xxxi. 50 sqq.). Diodorus Sic, (3, 44) and Strabo (xvi. p. 778) bear witness to the great wealth of the Nabateans and other Arab tribes on the Elanitic Gulf, and mention not only a river, said to flow through the land, carrying gold dust with it, but also gold that was dug up, and which was found, " not in the form of sand, but of nuggets, which did not require much cleaning, and the smallest of which were of the size of a nut, the average size being that of a medlar, whilst the largest pieces were as big as a walnut. These they bored, and made necklaces or bracelets by stringing them together alternately with transparent stones. They also sold the gold very cheap to their neighbours, giving three times the quantity for copper, and double the quantity for iron, both on account of their inability to work these metals, and also because of the scarcity of the metals which were so much more necessary for daily use** (Strabo), The Sabaeans and Gerrhgeans are also mentioned as the richest of all the tribes of Arabia, statement in Pliny's Hist. Nat. 33, 3, on the conquest of Asia by Cyrus, he carried off booty to the extent of 34,000 lbs. of gold, beside the golden vessels and 600,000 talents of silver, including the goblet of Semiramis, ■which alone weighed 15 talents. Alexander the Great found more than 40,000 talents of gold and silver and 9000 talents of coined gold in the royal treasury at Siisa (Diod. Sic. 17, 66), and a treasure of 120,000 talents of gold in the citadel of Persepolis (Diod. Sic. 17, 71; Curtius, v. 6, 9). For further accounts of the enormous wealth of Asia in gold and silver, see Bdhr^ Symbolik i. pp. 258 sqq.

through their trade in incense and in cinnamon and other spices. From the Arabs, who carried on a very extensive caravan trade through the desert even at that time, the IsraeHtes would be able to purchase such spices and materials for the building of the tabernacle as they had not brought with them from Egypt; and in Egypt itself, where all descriptions of art and handicraft were cultivated from the very earliest times (for proofs see Hengst. Egypt, pp. 133—139), they might so far have acquired all the mechanical and artistic ability required for the work, that skilled artisans could carry out all that was prescribed, under the superintendence of the two master-builders who had been specially inspired for the purpose.

Chap, xxxix. 1-31. Preparation of the priests' clothes. — Previous to the description of the dress itself, we have a statement in ver. 1 of the materials employed, and the purpose to which they were devoted (" cloths of service," see at chap. xxxi. 10). The robes consisted of the ephod (vers. 2-7, as in chap, xxviii. 6-12), the choshen or breastplate (vers. 8-21, as in chap, xxviii. 15-29), the meil or over-coat (vers. 22-26, as in chap, xxviii. 31-34); the hody-coats, turbansy drawers, and girdles, for Aaron and his sons (vers. 27-29, as in chap, xxviii. 39, 40, and 42). The Urim and Thummim are not mentioned (cf. chap, xxviii. 30). The head-dresses of the ordinary priests, which are simply called "bonnets" in chap, xxviii. 40, are called " goodly bonnets" or " ornamental caps" in ver. 28 of this chapter (ri'V^jp ""^i^Q, from "l^<Q an ornament, cf. ">^?Q ornatus fuit). The singular, '^ girdle^^ in ver. 29, with the definite article, " the girdle,'^ might appear to refer simply to Aaron's girdle, i.e, the girdle of the high priest; but as there is no special description of the girdles of Aaron's sons (the ordinary priests) in chap. xxix. 40, where they are distinctly mentioned and called by the same name {ahnet) as the girdle of Aaron himself, we can only conclude

^ " They possess an immense quantity of gold and silver articles, such as beds, tripods, bowls, and cups, in addition to the decorations of their houses; for doors, walls, and ceilings are all wrought with ivory, gold,

silver, and precious stones" {Straho ut sup,). In accordance with this, Pliny (h. n. 6, 28) not only calls the Sabseans " ditissimos silvarum fertilitate odori/era^ auri metallis^ e/c," but the tribes of Arabia in general, " in universum gentes ditissimas, ut apud quas maxima opes Romanorum Parthorum que subsistant^ vendentibus qux e marl aut silvis capiunt^ nihil invicem redimentibus.''^ that they were of the same materials and the same form and make as the latter, and that the singular, t^^KHj is used here either in the most general manner, or as a generic noun in a collective sense (see Ges, § 109, 1). The last thing mentioned is the diadem upon Aaron's turban (vers. 30, 31, as in chap, xxviii. 36-38), so that the order in which the priests' robes are given here is analogous to the position in which the ark of the covenant and the golden altar stand to one another in the directions concerning the sacred things in chap, xxv.-xxx. " For just as all the other things are there placed between the holy ark and the golden altar as the two poles, so here all the rest of the priests' robes are included between the shoulder-dress, the principal part of the official robes of the high priest, and the golden frontlet, the inscription upon which rendered it the most striking sign of the dignity of his office" {Baumgarten),

Vers. 32-43. Delivery of the work to Moses, — The different things are again mentioned one by one. By " the tent," in ver. 33, we are to understand the two tent-cloths, the one of purple and the other of goats' hair, by which the dwelling (l?^P, generally rendered tabernacle) was made into a tent (^^)^). From this it is perfectly obvious, that the variegated cloth formed the inner walls of the dwelling, or covered the boards on the inner side, and that the goats' hair-cloth formed the other covering. Moreover it is also obvious, that this is the way in which i'ni^n is to be understood, from the fact, that in the list of the things belonging to the ohel the first to be mentioned are the gold and copper hooks (xxvi. 6, 11) with which the two halves of the drapery that formed the tent were joined together, and then after that the boards, bolts, pillars, and sockets, as though subordinate to the tent-cloths, and only intended to answer the purpose of spreading them out into a tent or dwelling. — Ver. 37. " The lamps of the order,'' i.e. the lamps set in order upon the candlestick. In addition to all the vessels of the sanctuary, shew-bread (ver. 36), holy oil for the candlestick and for anointing, and fragrant incense (ver. 38), were also prepared and delivered to Moses, — everything, therefore, that was required for the institution of the daily worship, as soon as the tabernacle was set up. — Yer. 40. " Vessels of service:^' see chap, xxvii. 19. — Ver. 43. When Moses had received and examined all the different articles, and found that everything was made according to the directions of Jehovah, he blessed the children of IsraeL The readiness and liberality with which the people had presented the gifts required for this work, and the zeal which they had shown in executing the whole of the work in rather less than half a year (see at chap. xl. 17), were most cheering signs of the w^illingness of the Israelites to serve the Lord, for which they could not fail to receive the blessing of God.

Vers. 1-16. After the completion of all the w^orks, the command w^as given by God to Moses to set up the dwelling of the tabernacle on the first day of the first month (see at chap xix. 1), sc, in the second year of the Exodus (see ver. 17), and to put all the vessels, both of the dw^elling and court, in the places appointed by God; also to furnish the table of shew-bread with its fitting out (^2"}y = Dnp?jny ver. 23), i.e. to arrange the bread upon it in the manner prescribed (ver. 4 cf. Lev. xxiv. 6, 7), and to put water in the laver of the court (ver. 7). After that he was to anoint the dwelling and everything in it, also the altar of burnt-offering and laver, with the anointing oil, and to sanctify them (vers. 9-11); and to consecrate Aaron and his sons before the door of the tabernacle, and clothe them, anoint them, and sanctify them as priests (vers. 12-15). When w^e read here, however, that the dwelling and the vessels therein would be rendered '^ holy" through the anointing, but the altar of burnt-offering " most Jwly," we are not to understand this as attributing a higher degree of holiness to the altar of burnt-offering than to the dwelling and its furniture; but the former is called " most holy" merely in the sense ascribed to it in chap. xxx. 10, namely, that every one who touched it was to become holy; in other words, the distinction has reference to the fact, that, standing as it did in the court, it was more exposed to contact from the people than the vessels in the dwelling, which no layman was allowed to enter. In this relative sense we find the same statement in chap. xxx. 29, with reference to the tabernacle and all the vessels therein, the dwelling as well as the court, that they would become most holy in consequence of the anointing (see the remarks on chap. xxx. 10). It is stated provisionally, in ver. 16, that this command was fulfilled by Moses. But from the further history we find that the consecration of the priests did not take place contemporaneously with the erection of the tabernacle, but somewhat later, or not till after the promulgation of the laws of sacrifice (cf. Lev. viii. and Lev. i. 1 sqq.).

Vers. 17-33. On the day mentioned in ver. 2 the dwelling and court were erected. As not quite nine months had elapsed between the arrival of the Israelites at Sinai, in the third month after the Exodus (chap. xix. 1), and the first day of the second year, when the work was finished and handed over to Moses, the building, and all the work connected with it, had not occupied quite half a year; as we have to deduct from the nine months (or somewhat less) not only the eighty days which Moses spent upon Sinai (chap. xxiv. 18, xxxiv. 28), but the days of preparation for the giving of the law and conclusion of the covenant (chap. xix. 1-xxiv. 11), and the interval between the first and second stay that Moses made upon the mountain (chap. xxxii. and. xxxiii.). The erection of the dwelling commenced with the fixing of the sockets, into which the boards were placed and fastened with their bolts, and the setting up of the pillars for the curtains (ver. 18). " He (Moses) then spread the tent over the dwelling^ and laid the covering of the tent upon the topT By the " covering of the tent'* we are to understand the two coverings, made of red rams' skins and the skins of the sea-cow (chap, xxvi. 14). In analogy with this, pnknTiS b"i3 denotes not only the roofing with the goats' hair, but the spreading out of the inner cloth of mixed colours upon the wooden frame-work. — Vers. 20-21. Arrangement of the arh, " He took and put the testimony into the ark." '^'^^^.'^ does not mean " the revelation, so far as it existed already, viz. with regard to the erection of the sanctuary and institution of the priesthood (chap, xxv.-xxxi.), and so forth," as Knohel arbitrarily supposes, but " the testimony," i.e. the decalogue written upon the two tables of stone, or the tables of the covenant with the ten words; " the testimony," therefore, is an abbreviated expression for " the tables of testimony" (chap. xxxi. 18, see at chap. xxv. 16). After the ark had been brought into the dwelling, he "hung the curtain" (vail, see at chap. xxvi. 31; lit, placed it upon the hooks of the pillars), " and so covered over the ark of the testimony," since the ark, when placed in the back part of the dwelling, was covered or concealed from persons entering the dwelling or the holy place. — Vers. 22-28. Arrangement of the front room of the dwelling. The table was placed on the right side, towards the north, and the shew-bread was laid upon it. DH/? ^"]^ does not signify " a row of bread," but the "position or placing of bread;'' for, according to Lev. xxiv. 6, 7, the twelve loaves of shew-bread were placed upon the table in two rows, corresponding to the size of the tables (two cubits long and one cubit broad). The candlestick was placed upon the left side, opposite to the table, and the golden altar in front of the curtain, i.e, midway between the two sides, but near the curtain in front of the most holy place (see at chap. xxx. 6). After these things had been placed, the curtain was hung in the door of the dwelling. — Vers. 29-32. The altar of burnt-offering was then placed " before the door of the dwelling of the tabernacle,'^ and the laver " between the tabernacle and the altar,'' from which it is evident that the altar was not placed close to the entrance to the dwelling, but at some distance off, though in a straight line with the door. The laver, which stood between the altar and the entrance to the dwelling, was probably placed more to the side; so that w^hen the priests washed their hands and feet, before entering the dwelling or approaching the altar, there was no necessity for them to go round the altar, or to pass close by it, in order to get to the laver. Last of all the 9ourt was erected round about the dwelling and the altar, by the setting up of the pillars, which enclosed the space round the dwelling and the altar with their drapery, and the hanging up of the curtain at the entrance to the court. There is no allusion to the anointing of these holy places and things, as commanded in vers. 9-11, in the account of their erection; for this did not take place till afterw^ards, viz. at the consecration of Aaron -and his sons as priests (Lev. viii. 10, 11). It is stated, however, on the other hand, that as the vessels were arranged, Moses laid out the shew-bread upon the table (ver. 23), burned sweet incense upon the golden altar (ver. 27), and offered " the burnt-offering and meat-offering," i.e. the daily morning and evening sacrifice, upon the altar of burnt-offering (chap. xxix. 38-42). Consequently the sacrificial service was performed upon them before they had been anointed. Although this may appear surprising, there is no ground for rejecting a conclusioUj which follows so naturally from the words of the text. The tabernacle and its furniture were not made holy things for the first time by the anointing; this simply sanctified them for the use of the nation, i.e. for the service which the priests were to perform in connection with them on behalf of the congregation (see at Lev. viii. 10, 11). They were made holy things and holy vessels by the fact that they were built, prepared, and set up, according to the instructions given by Jehovah; and still more by the fact, that after the tabernacle had been erected as a dwelling, the "glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" (ver. 34). But the glory of the Lord entered the dwelling before the consecration of the priests, and the accompanying anointing of the tabernacle and its vessels; for, according to Lev. i. 1 sqq., it was from the tabernacle that Jehovah spake to Moses, when He gave him the laws of sacrifice, which were promulgated before the consecration of the priests, and were carried out in connection with it. But when the glory of the Lord had found a dwelling-place in the tabernacle, Moses was not required to offer continually the sacrifice prescribed for every morning and evening, and by means of this sacrifice to place the congregation in spiritual fellowship with its God, until Aaron and his sons had been consecrated for this service.

Vers. 34-38. When the sanctujary, that had been built for the Lord for a dwelling in Israel, had been set up with all its apparatus, " the cloud covered the tahernacUj and the glory of Jehovah filled the dwellingy^ so that Moses was unable to enter. The cloud, in which Jehovah had hitherto been present with His people, and guided and protected them upon their journeying (see at chap. xiii. 21, 22), now came down upon the tabernacle and filled the dwelling with the gracious presence of the Lord. So long as this cloud rested upon the tabernacle the children of Israel remained encamped; but when it ascended, they broke up the encampment to proceed onwards. This sign was Jehovah's command for encamping or going forward " throughout all their journeys" (vers. 36-38). This statement is repeated still more elaborately in Num. ix. 15—23. The mode in which the glory of Jehovah filled the dwelling, or in which Jehovah manifested His presence within it, is not described; but the glory of Jehovah filling the dwelling is clearly distinguished from the cloud coming down upon the tabernacle. It is obvious, however, from

Lev. XVI. 2, and 1 Kings viii. 10, 11, that in the dwelling the glory of God was also manifested in a cloud. At the dedication of the temple (1 Kings viii. 10, 11) the expression "the cloud filled the house of Jehovah " is used interchangeably with " the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah." To consecrate the sanctuary, which had been finished and erected as His dwelling, and to give to the people a visible proof that He had chosen it for His dwelling, Jehovah filled the dwelling in both its parts with the cloud which shadowed forth His presence, so that Moses was unable to enter it. This cloud afterwards drew back into the most holy place, to dwell there, above the outspread wings of the cherubim of the ark of the covenant; so that Moses and (at a later period) the priests were able to enter the holy place and perform the required service there, without seeing the sign of the gracious presence of God, which was hidden by the curtain of the most holy place. So long as the Israelites were on their journey to Canaan, the presence of Jehovah was manifested outwardly and visibly by the cloud, which settled upon the ark, and rose up from it when they were to travel onward.

With the completion of this building and its divine consecration, Israel had now received a real pledge of the permanence of the covenant of grace, which Jehovah had concluded with it; a sanctuary which perfectly corresponded to the existing circumstances of its religious development, and kept constantly before it the end of its calling from God. For although God dwelt in the tabernacle in the midst of His people, and the Israelites might appear before Him, to pray for and receive the covenant blessings that were promised them, they were still forbidden to go directly to God's throne of grace. The barrier, which sin had erected between the holy God and the unholy nation, was not yet taken away. To this end the law was given, which could only increase their consciousness of sin and un worthiness before God. But as this barrier had already been broken through by the promise of the.Lord, that He would meet the people in His glory before the door of the tabernacle at the altar of burntoffering (chap. xxix. 42, 43); so the entrance of the chosen people into the dwelling of God was effected mediatorially by the service of the sanctified priests in the holy place, which also prefigured their eventual reception into the house of the Lord. And even the curtain, which still hid the glory of God from the chosen priests and sanctified mediators of the nation, was to be lifted at least once a year by the anointed priest, who had been called by God to be the representative of the whole congregation. On the day of atonement the high priest was to sprinkle the blood of atonement in front of the throne of grace, to make expiation for the children of Israel because of all their sin (Lev. xvi.), and to prefigure the perfect atonement through the blood of the eternal Mediator, through which the way to the throne of grace is opened to all believers, that they may go into the house of God and abide there for ever, and for ever see God.

HE third book of Moses is headed snp^l in the original text, from the opening word. In the Septuagint and Vulgate it is called AevlnKoVj sc, jBl^tov, Leviticus, from the leading character of its contents, and probably also with some reference to the titles which had obtained currency among the Rabbins, viz. " law of the priests," " law-book of sacrificial offerings." It carries on to its completion the giving of the law at Sinai, which commenced at Ex. xxv., and by which the covenant constitution was firmly established. It contains more particularly the laws regulating the relation of Israel to its God, including both the fundamental principles upon which its covenant fellowship with the Lord depended, and the directions for the sanctification of the covenant people in that communion. Consequently the laws contained in this book might justly be described as the "spiritual statute-book of Israel as the congregation of Jehovah." As every treaty establishes a reciprocal relation between those who are parties to it, so not only did Jehovah as Lord of the whole earth enter into a special relation to His chosen people Israel in the covenant made by Him with the seed of Abraham, which He had chosen as His own possession out of all the nations, but the nation of Israel was also to be brought into a real and living fellowship with Him as its God and Lord. And whereas Jehovah would be Israel's God, manifesting Himself to it in all the fulness of

His divine nature; so was it also His purpose to train Israel as His own nation, to sanctify it for the truest life in fellowship with Him, and to bless it with all the fulness of His salvation. To give effect to the former, or the first condition of the covenant, God had commanded the erection of a sanctuary for the dwellingplace of His name, or the true manifestation of His own essence; and on its erection, i.e, on the setting up of the tabernacle, He filled the most holy place with a visible sign of His divine glory (Ex. xl. 34.), a proof that He would be ever near and present to His people with ffis almighty grace. When this was done, it was necessary that the other side of the covenant relation should be realized in a manner suited to the spiritual, religious, and moral condition of Israel, in order that Israel might become His people in truth. But as the nation of Israel was separated from God, the Holy One, by the sin and unholiness of its nature, the only way in which God could render access to His gracious presence possible, was by institutions and legal regulations, which served on the one hand to sharpen the consciousness of sin in the hearts of the people, and thereby to awaken the desire for mercy and for reconciliation with the holy God, and on the other hand furnished them with the means of expiating their sins and sanctifying their walk before God according to the standard of His holy commandments.

All the laws and regulations of Leviticus have this for their object, inasmuch as they, each and all, aim quite as much at the I'estoration of an inward fellowship on the part of the nation as a whole and the individual members with Jehovah their God, through the expiation or forgiveness of sin and the removal of all natural uncleanness, as at the strengthening and deepening of this fellowship by the sanctification of every relation of life. In accordance with this twofold object, the contents of the book are arranged in two larger series of laws and rules of life, the first extending from chap. i. to chap, xvi., the second from chap. xvii. to chap. xxv. The first of these, which occupies the earlier half of the book of Leviticus, opens with the laws of sacrifice in chap, i.-vii. As sacrifices had been from the very beginning the principal medium by which men entered into fellowship with God, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the world, to supplicate and appropriate His favour and grace, so Israel was not only permitted to draw near to its God with sacrificial gifts, but, by thus offering its sacrifices according to the precepts of the divine law, would have an ever open way of access to the throne of grace. The laws of sacrifice are followed in chap, viii.-x. by the consecration of Aaron and his sons, the divinely appointed priests, by their solemn entrance upon their official duties, and by the sanctification of their priesthood on the part of God, both in word and act. Then follow in chap, xi.-xv. the regulations concerning the clean and unclean animals, and various bodily impurities, with directions for tha removal of all defilements; and these regulations culminate in the institution of a yearly day of atonement (chap, xvi.), inasmuch as this day, with its all-embracing expiation, foreshadowed typically and prefigured prophetically the ultimate and highest aim of the Old Testament economyj viz. perfect reconciliation. Whilst all these laws and institutions opened up to the people of Israel the way of access to the throne of grace, the second series of laws, contained in the later half of the book (chap, xvii.-xxv.), set forth the demands made by the holiness of God upon His people, that they might remain in fellowship with Him, and rejoice in the blessings of His grace. This series of laws commences with directions for the sanctification of life in food, marriage, and morals (chap, xvii.— xx.); it then advances to the holiness of the priests and the sacrifices (chaps, xxi. and xxii.), and from that to the sanctification of the feasts and the daily worship of God (chaps, xxiii. and xxiv.), and closes with the sanctification of the whole land by the appointment of the sabbatical and jubilee years (chap. xxv.). In these the sanctification of Israel as the congregation of Jehovah was to be glorified into the blessedness of the sabbatical rest in the full enjoyment of the blessings of the saving grace of its God; and in the keeping of the year of jubilee more especially, the land and kingdom of Israel were to be transformed into a kingdom of peace and liberty, which also foreshadowed typically and prefigured prophetically the time of the completion of the kingdom of God, the dawn of the glorious liberty of the children of God, when the bondage of sin and death shall be abolished for ever.

Whilst, therefore, the laws of sacrifice and purification, on the one hand, culminate in the institution of the yearly day of atonement, so, on the other, do those relating to the sanctification of life culminate in the appointment of the sabbatical and jubilee years; and thus the two series of laws in Leviticus are placed in unmistakeable correspondence to one another. In the ordinances, rights, and laws thus given to the covenant nation, not only was the way clearly indicated, by which the end of its divine calling was to be attained,^ but a constitution was given to it, fully adapted to all the conditions incident to this end, and this completed the establishment of the kingdom of God in Israel. To give a finish, however, to the covenant transaction at Sinai, it was still necessary to impress upon the hearts of the people, on the one hand, the blessings that would follow the faithful observance of the covenant of their God, and on the other hand, the evil of transgressing it (chap. xxvi.). To this there are also added, in the form of an appendix, the instructions concerning vows. The book of Leviticus is thus rounded off, and its unity and independence within the Thorah are established, not only by the internal unity of its laws and their organic connection, but also by the fact, so clearly proved by the closing formula in chap. xxvi. 46 and xxvii. 34, that it finishes with the conclusion of the giving of the law at Sinai.