With the eleventh and following verses comp. John viii. 4, 5. 12. confusion; Ch. xviii. 23. note. 17. see her nakedness,] Meaning the same as uncovering her nakedness, as appears from the latter part of the verse; ch. xviii. 6. note. With v. 18. comp. ch. xv. 24. note. 20. they shall die childless.] i. e. God will so order it that they shall either have no children, or shall leave none behind them. But some understand it, that their children shall not be legitimate, shall not inherit their estate, nor be reckoned as children. 22. spue] See ch. xviii. 25. With v. 25. comp. ch. xi. 43, 47. With v. 26. comp. v. 7, 24. ch. xix. 2. 27. their blood, &c.] See v. 9. note; comp. ch. xix. 31.; Exod. xxii. 18. CHAPTER XXI. 1. for the dead] Viz. no priest was to defile or make himself unclean by preparing a dead body for burial, by mourning over it, or entering the place where it was laid; for all these were legal pollutions; v. 11. ch. x. 6, 7.; Numb. xix. 11, 16.; Ezek. xliv. 25. et seq. There was an exception, v. 2, 3. as it would have been hard to debar them from those offices which natural affection prompts towards the bodies of near kindred. 4. being a chief man] Of the many renderings of this, the received version is the best supported, i. e. the priest being a principal person among the people, was not to contract any defilement, so as to profane himself," i. e. to render himself unfit for his sacred offices. With v. 5. comp. ch. xix. 27, 28. 6. the bread] Or, "food of their God," i. e. the oblations; v. 8. ch. iii. 11. comp. ch. xviii. 21. 7. or profane ;] i. e. one who has been violated, v. 9, 13, 14. comp. Deut. xxiv. 1, 2.; 1 Tim. iii. 11. With v. 8. comp. ch. xx. 7, 8. 9. profaneth her father:] Brings disgrace upon him; "she shall be burnt," i. e. as some think, after having been stoned to death; ch. xx. 14.; Gen. xxxviii. 24. In v. 10-12. the high-priest is forbidden to show the outward signs of mourning for, or to approach the dead body even of his father or mother, though the priests were allowed to do so; v. 1—3. 12. go out, &c.] Comp. ch. x. 7. note. 15. neither shall he profane his seed] i. e. render his sons unfit for the priesthood by marrying contrary to the rules given v. 13, 14. "for I the Lord do sanctify him," i. e. have separated him to my service. 20. 17. any blemish,] Viz. any of the following blemishes, v. 18Though these defects disqualified them for the sacred functions, they did not exclude them from their maintenance; v. 22. comp. ch. ii. 2, 3. note. 23. that he profane not] upon my sanctuaries; v. 9. Lest he bring dishonour and disgrace 12. ch. xv. 21. CHAPTER XXII. 2. separate themselves] That they abstain from eating of the holy things offered unto the Lord while they have any uncleanness upon them, v. 3—6. comp. ch. xv. 31. xviii. 21. “which they hallow," i. e. consecrate "to me;" v. 15, 32. comp. v. 3. "shall 3. that goeth unto the holy things,] Namely, to eat of them, "having his uncleanness upon him," i. e. when he is unclean, "shall be cut off from my presence," meaning the same as be cut off from his people," as is clear from ch. vii. 20, 21. With v. 4. comp. ch. xv. 2, 16; with v. 5, 6. comp. ch. xi. 24. et seq. xv. 7. and xv. 5. 7. his food.] The portion allowed him for food. With v. 8. comp. ch. xvii. 15. 10. stranger] i. e. one not of the priest's family; so v. 12, 13. 11. buy any soul] If he purchase any person for a servant; "he (the servant) shall eat of it," and also the slave "that is born in his house." 13. as in her youth,] i. e. to be a part of his family as before her marriage; ch. x. 14. With v. 14. comp. ch. v. 15, 16. 16. or suffer them, &c.] This and the former verse refer to the priests, who "shall not profane,” &c. v. 15. "nor suffer them (the people of Israel) to bring on themselves the guilt of trespass by their eating the holy things;" v. 9. 25. bread] See ch. xxi. 6. note. The precept in v. 28. seems intended to inculcate mercy and tenderness. With v. 30. comp. ch. vii. 15. and with v. 32. comp. v. 3. ch. x. 3. CHAPTER XXIII. 2. the feasts] The festivals, or seasons to be kept holy unto the Lord; "which ye shall proclaim," rather, "concerning the festivals of the Lord which ye shall celebrate, even the holy convocations; these are my festivals," v. 4. so v. 37. By "holy convocations" are meant convoked assemblies; and this term is applied to the festivals here enumerated because the people were called to assemble together for religious purposes. With v. 3. comp. Exod. xx. 9. With v. 5, 6. comp. Exod. xii. 6, et seq. 7,8. servile work] i. e. such work as servants usually perform; meaning the same as "no manner of work," Exod. xii. 16. 11. after the sabbath] Not the seventh day of the week, but the first day of unleavened bread, which is called a sabbath because no work was to be done on it, v. 7. the morrow after was the 16th day of Nisan. With v. 9-21. comp. Exod. xxiii. 16. xxxiv. 22. 15. seven sabbaths] i. e. seven entire weeks. With v. 22. comp. ch. xix. 9. 24. a memorial, &c.] Of what this feast of trumpets, as it is called, was a memorial, is not agreed among the learned. The Scriptures are silent on the subject. With v. 26-32. comp. ch. xvi. 30. et seq. 34. the feast of tabernacles] So called because at that time the Jews dwelt in booths or tabernacles. It is also called "the feast of ingathering," Exod. xxiii. 16. note. 36. it is a solemn assembly ;] The Hebrew signifies "a festival on which the people assemble." 39-43. enjoin some additional circumstances respecting the feast of tabernacles mentioned v. 34-36. They were on that festival to carry in their hands "boughs of goodly trees," &c.; or perhaps these boughs were to make tabernacles or booths, for they were to dwell in booths seven days," v. 42.; Neh. viii. 16. The reason of this is stated in v. 43.; comp. Deut. xxxi. 10-13. CHAPTER XXIV. 1-4. See Exod. xxv. 21, 31. xxvii. 20, 21. xxxi. 8. With v. 5-9. comp. Exod. xxv 24, 30. xxix. 32, 33. 10. the son, &c.] His father was doubtless among the mixed company who followed the Israelites out of Egypt, Exod. xii. 38. but whether he was a proselyte is uncertain. "Strove together," i. e. quarrelled. In v. 11. the words " of the Lord" are not in the original, but they are rightly supplied, for the man, as appears from v. 15. was guilty of blasphemy; Exod. vi. 3. 12. that the mind, &c.] This, though not literal, gives the true sense of the Hebrew; Exod. xviii. 14—23. 14. lay their hands, &c.] To signify that they all concurred in the justice of his condemnation. 13. 15. shall bear his sin,] Ch. v. 1. note; comp. 1 Kings xxi. 10, With v. 17-22. comp. Exod. xxi. 12, 24, 33, 49. CHAPTER XXV. 2. keep a sabbath] Shall rest from being tilled, or sown; and they were to subsist on the spontaneous growth of the land, v. 5. but this would not have sufficed without the land had produced a superabundance in the sixth year, which could only have been the case by God's especial blessing, v. 21, 22. Now this was a miracle respecting which the Jewish people could not be mistaken; and it forms a convincing proof of the Divine origin of their religion; comp. Exod. xxiii. 10, 11. 5. thou shalt not reap,] i. e. not gather in, and convert to thy particular use; not employ the harvest as in other years; but, for "the sabbath of the land," v. 6. i. e. that which grew of its own accord during the rest of the sabbatical year, "shall be meat for you all," &c. 8. forty and nine years] Meaning after the seventh sabbatical year, namely, on the fiftieth, as stated v. 10. In this year of jubilee, they were to "proclaim liberty," &c. i. e. all slaves were to be released and made free, even if they had not served six years, according to the law in Exod. xxi. 2. comp. v. 39-41.; comp. Isa. lxi. 2. "it shall be a [year of] jubilee to you;" so called probably because it was ushered in with the sound of horns or trumpets. 10. and ye shall return every man unto his possession,] i. e. the houses, lands, &c. which he had sold and alienated were to be restored to him, v. 13, 23, 24.; Numb. xxxvi. 4.; and they were to "return every man unto his family," from which he had been estranged by being sold, &c. The design of the year of jubilee was, 1st, to prevent a too great accumulation of property in some hands; 2dly, to prevent the oppression of the poor by debt, or perpetual slavery; 3dly, to preserve the distinction of the tribes. That it was also typical of the spiritual liberty proclaimed by our Lord, may be inferred from Isa. lxi. 1, 2. lxiii. 4. compared with Luke iv. 19. 15. years of the fruits] Viz. the years in which the fruits of the ground were gathered in, v. 3, 4. 21. for three years.] For the sabbatical year, and the one preceding and the one following it; v. 22. 24. ye shall grant, &c.] . e. whatever lands you have acquired you shall allow the power of redemption to the original owner, or his kinsman, v. 25, 26. where "he shall redeem," would be better rendered "then may he redeem that which his brother sold;" v. 29, 31. A dwelling-house in a walled city is excepted, v. 29, 30. With v. 35-38 comp. Exod. xxii. 25.; Deut. xxiii. 19.; Prov. xxviii. 8. With v. 39-46. comp. Exod. xxi. 2. et seq. CHAPTER XXVI. 1. a standing image,] A statue, whether a mere pillar or sculp tured: "image of stone;" the Hebrew denotes a stone carved and figured, perhaps like the obelisks of former times, with figures carved and painted upon them: Exod. xx. 4. With v. 2. comp. ch. xix. 30. The promises and threats which follow are of a temporal nature; and it has been questioned whether they extend to individuals, or are to be limited to the Israelites as a nation. But the happiness and prosperity of a nation necessarily involves that of individuals; and though individuals might not be uniformly rewarded or punished according to their obedience or disobedience, Ps. lxxii. passim; Jer. xii. 1-4.; Eccles. ix. 1-3. ; yet the temporal retribution promised was sufficiently uniform to evince the particular Providence which guided the people of Israel. 5. your threshing, &c.] Viz. your harvest shall be so abundant, that before you can thresh out the corn, the vintage will be ready; Amos ix. 13. comp. ch. xxv. 18, 19.; Job xi. 19. 8. and five, &c.] A proverbial expression, signifying that a few of them would be able to vanquish a far superior number; Deut. xxxii. 10.; Josh. xxiii. 10.; Judg. iii. 21. et al. 9. and establish, &c.] i. e. perform all that I have covenanted with you; Gen. vi. 18. 10. and ye shall eat old store, &c.] i. e. shall have much of the old corn, when the new is gathered in. 11. shall not abhor] i. e. shall take delight in you. With v. 12. comp. Exod. vi. 7.; 2 Cor. vi. 16. 13. the bonds of your yoke,] i. e. I freed you from your heavy bondage, "and made you go upright," i. e. as men in a state of liberty and enjoyment. The metaphor is taken from the erect posture of oxen when freed from the yoke. 16. over you] Rather, "upon you," i. e. I will afflict you with terror, &c. It is not certain what diseases are comprehended under these terms. With v. 17. comp. ch. xvii. 10.; Prov. xxviii. 1. 18. seven times] A definite is put for an indefinite number; so v. 21, 24. 19. your heaven, &c.] i. e. I will cause the heavens not to rain as if they were iron, and the earth to be as unproductive as if it were brass; Deut. xxviii. 23. 22. I will send wild beasts] We have examples in 1 Kings xiii. 24. xx. 36.; 2 Kings ii. 24. xvii. 25, 26.; comp. Jer. ii. 15. iv. 7. viii. 17. xv. 3. 24. walk contrary, &c.] i. e. then I will oppose you, v. 27, 28, 40, 41." and will punish you," &c. ; v. 18.; Ps. xviii. 26. 25. the quarrel of my covenant :] i. e. that shall execute vengeance for the violation of my covenant. 26. the staff of your bread,] i. e. when I have taken away from you bread, which is the great support of life, Ps. civ. 15.; Isa iii. 1. the famine shall be so great that "ten women shall bake your bread in one oven;" i. e. the quantity of bread shall be so small that one oven will suffice for baking the bread of several families, and that it will be distributed to every one in a family "by weight," in stated portions, "and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied," i. e. not have enough to satisfy your hunger. 29. describes the greatest distress that can befall a people; 2 Kings vi. 29.; Lament. iv. 10. 30. high places,] What these were is not agreed, but probably they were raised places, artificial eminences, upon which they were wont to worship their idols. The word rendered "images" clearly denotes some species of idol, though of what particular kind is doubtful comp. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 7. 31. your sanctuaries] i. e. which you have erected to idols and false gods: but some understand it of the several parts and courts of the Lord's sanctuary: " and I will not smell," &c. i. e. I will not accept your sacrifices. 34, 35, 43. enjoy her sabbaths] i. e. the rest of the sabbatical years; ch. xxv. 2. et seq. comp. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21. |