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LIBRARY

TORONTO

COMMENTARY

ON THE

HOLY SCRIPTURES .

CRITICAL, DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETICAL,

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MINISTERS AND STUDENTS.

JOHN PETER LANGE, D. D.

PROFESSOR OP THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OP BONN,

ASSISTED BY A NUMBER OF EMINENT EUROPEAN DIVINES.
TRANSLATED, ENLARGED, AND EDITED

PHILIP SCHAFF, D.D.

PROFESSOR OP SACRED LITERATURE IN THE UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK.

IN CONNECTION WITH AMERICAN AND ENGLISH SCHOLARS OF VARIOUS

DENOMINATIONS.

VOLUME II. OF THE OLD TESTAMENT:

EXODUS AND LEVITICUS.

NEW YORK:
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS,

743-745 BROADWAY.

EXODUS;

OK,

THE SECOND BOOK OF

JOHN PETER LANGE, D.D.,

PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BONN.

TRANSLATED BY

CHARLES M. MEAD, PH.D.,

PROFESSOR OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN THE THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARY AT ANDOVER, MASS.

NEW YORK.
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS,

743-745 BROADWAY.

GRANT & FAIRES,
PHILADELPHIA.

PREFACE BY THE GENERAL EDITOR.

DR. LANGE'S Commentary on Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers was not published till 1874.
Dr. SCHROEDER'S Deuteronomy was issued in 1868.

The two corresponding English volumes were begun several years ago. The present volume
contains : —

1. A general and special Introduction to Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. It unfolds Dr.
LANGE'S original and ingenious view of the organic unity and trilogy of the three Middle Books
of the Pentateuch and their typical import. The translation is by Rev. HOWARD OSGOOD, D. D.,
Professor in Rochester, N. Y.

2. The Commentary on Exodus by Dr. LANGE, translated, with many additions, by Re^. C. M.
MEAD, Ph. D., Professor in the Theological Seminary at Andover, Mass. The Textual and Gram
matical notes, some of which are very elaborate (e. g., pp. 72-75), belong wholly to the American
Edition, there being no corresponding part in the German of LANGE. The "Doctrinal" and
" Homiletical," which in the German edition are put together at the end of Numbers, have been
appended to the Commentary proper.

3. The Commentary on Leviticus by Rev. FREDERIC GARDINER, D. D., Professor in the Berke
ley Divinity School, Middletown, Conn. This part differs in one respect from most of the series.
It was already far advanced before the commentary of LANGE appeared, and it then seemed best
to complete it on the plan begun, incorporating into it as much as possible^ of the German work
of LANGE. For the general structure and arrangement of this commentary, therefore, Dr. GARDI
NER is responsible ; but the greater part of LANGE, including every thing of importance, and espe
cially every thing in which there is any difference of opinion, has been translated and included in
the work. Nearly the whole of LANGE'S "Homiletical," and a large part of his "Doctrinal," have
been distributed to the several chapters to which they pertain. Every thing from LANGE is care
fully indicated by his name and by quotation marks ; all matter not so indicated is by the trans
lator, and is not marked by his initials, except in the case of remarks introduced into the midst
of quotations from LANGE. A large part of the translation was prepared by Kev. HENRY FERGU
SON, of Exeter, N. H.

The Commentary on Numbers and Deuteronomy will appear in a separate volume early in au- ;
tumn. The remaining parts of the Old Testament division are also fast approaching completion.

PHILIP SCHAFF,

UNION THEOL. SEMINARY, NEW YORK, \
April 2Sth, 1876. J

INTRODUCTION

TO THE

JOHN PETER LANGE, D.D.,

PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BONN.

TRANSLATED BY

HOWARD OSGOOD, D.D.,

ROCHESTER, N. Y.

NEW YORE::

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS,

743-745 BROADWAY.

THE

THREE MIDDLE BOOKS OF THE PENTATEUCH.

A. GENERAL INTRODUCTION

OF THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS OF THE LAW CONSIDERED

AS A WHOLE.

§ 1. THE RELATION OF THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS OF THE PENTATEUCH TO THE

WHOLE PENTATEUCH.

WHILE the Pentateuch describes the Law of the Lord in its whole compass as the
symbolical, typical, fundamental law of the kingdom of God, its universal basis stated
in Genesis, and its universal purpose in Deuteronomy, it appears to be the unique
character of the three middle books to set forth this law as the law of Israel strictly
considered. They are the fixed, written, literal law of God for this people his
torically bounded and defined. But since this people should not live egotistically for
itself, but be a blessing of the nations, and also a type of the nations to be brought
into the kingdom of God, its law is not merely a law for the Israelites. Throughout
it has a typical meaning as far as its ordinances and shadows indicate the principles of
spiritual life and the divine regulations for all the nations of the kingdom of God, for all
Christian nations. Israel is the type of Christian nationalities. Israel's law is the type
of Christian theocratic systems in their ethical, ecclesiastical and political regulations.

It is therefore both one-sided and erroneous to mistake either the national and directly
popular meaning of the Mosaic law in earliest times or the Judaizing and superficiality con*
cerning this law in the Rationalistic era. This last view Rationalism has held equally with
the Pharisees. Paul had this in view in his opposition to mere legality. The law of the
three middle books is literally and particularly the law of the people of Israel; but this peo
ple Israel is essentially a type of the people of the kingdom of God ; not only of God's peo
ple in general, but also of national institutions, of Christian nationalities. The significance
of Israel in respect to Christian nationalities has been excellently set forth by Pastor Bram
of Neukirchen. Concerning the signi6cance of nationalities in the Christian Church, comp.
my Vermischte Sckriften, New Series 11, p. 185, and W. Hoffmann, Deutschland, 1870,
Vol. 2.

We may consider the special religion of the patriarchs as the subjective religion of the
individual conscience led by divine grace, as a walk before and with God directed by special
instruction from God and by complete obedience of faith. But now commences the predo
minantly objective form of religion in which the people of Israel, as an individual, are led by
an external social code of laws and by mysterious external tokens of God. The patriarchal
religion as compared with the Mosaic is more subjective, which gives it a gleam of New

2 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

Testament or of Protestant evangelical freedom and joy (Gal. iii.), as we see portrayed in
the life of the Sethites; whilst the religion of Moses is that of promise contained in the
training of the people, and therefore the external law and symbols are chiefly employed; as
in a similar manner in the Middle Ages Christendom served for the elementary training
of the nations. But on the other side a great progress is shown, in that now for the first
time a whole nation is made the people of God, instead of a holy family living by them
selves, and in that the simple word of God and the simple covenant of circumcision unfold
into a complete code of laws and an organization of worship arid of society. It is also an ex
ceedingly important fact that Deuteronomy again points out the spirituality of the law, or
throws a bridge over to the prophetic era — a fact frequently mistaken. Comp. Gen.
Introd. p. 49.

g 2. THE PARTICULAR RELATION OF THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS TO GENESIS.

According to the preceding, it is not correct to speak of Genesis as the introduction to
the following books. According to that view, the Old Testament was designed as a particu
lar and national Bible for the Jews. It is rather the archives of the foundation of the uni
versal and indestructible kingdom and people of God, whose coming is prefigured by the
typical people of God, Israel, and by the typical kingdom of God, the theocracy. For it is
the high destination of Israel that in becoming the representative of the concentration or
contraction of God's kingdom in process of development, it should prepare and bring about
the expansion or enlargement of the real and complete kingdom of God as it is promised in
the blessing of Abraham (Gen. xii. 3), but especially in the second part of the prophet Isaiah
(chap, xliii. 21 f.). Yet the Catholicism of Genesis tends to this typical speciality by defining
narrower circles for the Messianic promise. The first circle is the universe itself in the sig
nificant religious contrast, heaven and earth. The second circle is the earth, Adam with
his race. The third circle is the nobler line of Adam in the Sethites in contrast to the line
of Cain. The fourth circle is the family of Noah baptized with the water of the flood and
Jivided into the pious and blessed family of Shem and the humanitarian and blessed people
of Japhet. Then the distinctive genealogical speciality is begun by the setting apart of
Abraham. His posterity is ennobled by a series of exclusions; Ishmael, the children of
Keturah and Esau, are shut out from the consecrated circle of Israel. Indeed within this
circle great distinctions are indicated, though in the three books the tribes of Judah and
Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) stand far behind that of Levi. Thus Genesis, which in
its Catholicism is one with the loftier Genesis, the Apocalypse, ends with the foundation of
the Jewish nationality, with the seed-corn of the typical people of God in the house of
Jacob.

The three middle books in relation to Genesis are the record of the first typical fulfill
ment of the divine promise which was given to Israel, and through Israel to mankind (Gen.
xv. 13, 14). They inform us how a people of God grew out of the holy family, a people born
amid the travail of oppression and tyranny in Egypt. This people, consecrated to God,
come out through the typical redemption, which first makes them a people, and which is
based upon the fact that the Almighty God (El Shaddai) appears under the name Jehovah,
and proves Himself Jehovah. For in the revelation of God as Jehovah, as the covenant
God who ever remains the same, and ever glorifies Himself by His faithfulness, there inhere
two very diverse revelations, since by the first it was not proved that he would continue to
return. As in geometry we must have two separate points in order to determine the dis
tance of a third point, so in the region of faith we must have two indications of salvation in
order to conclude assuredly that the covenant-God will continue to return. In this way for
the first time the name Jehovah obtained its full significance, though it was known in ear
lier times in connection with the prevailing name El Shaddai : just as at the Reformation
the word "justification" was invested with a new meaning, though it had been known
before. On this redemption the theocracy (Ex. xix.) was founded, and appeared not in
abstract forms, but in concrete, historical characteristics, in ethical, ecclesiastical and politi
cal laws. This code of laws was a boundary separating Israel from all other peoples, placing

g 3. THEIR PARTICULAR RELATION TO DEUTERONOMY. 3

them in strongest contrast to other peoples, making them particularly the executioner of the
Canaanites, who had come to ruin through the practice of unnatural lust. By this Israel
would have become actually, according to the idea of the Pharisees, " odium generis hu-
mam," had they not been predestined to be educated as the teacher of the peoples and as the
mediator of their salvation.

| 3. THE PARTICULAR RELATION OF THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS TO DEUTERONOMY.

Doubt has been expressed whether the man Moses who, in the spirit of the severe jurist,
issued the code of laws contained in the three middle books, could also be the author of the
essential parts of Deuteronomy. Doubts of this sort appear to pre-suppose that a law
giver should make his own ideals, his loftiest thought a code for his people. But very
false conceptions of the best legislation lie at the foundation of this view. A wise lawgiver
will approve himself by the manner and mode in which he accommodates his loftiest views
of right to the culture or want of culture of his people. Moses therefore might have given
a law to his people corresponding to their culture as he found it, by mere external form, the
very letter of the law, and the enlargement of the bald form by picturesque representations
of a ceremonial worship which appealed to the senses and thought, not less than by a strong
organization of the whole people. All this Moses might have done in the character of a
Jewish Solon. But his giving an ethical, ecclesiastical and civil national law which was
throughout a transparent representation, the symbol and type of the kingdom of God, proved
him to be a prophet led and illumined by the Spirit of God.

Throughout his whole course Moses had been educated equally as a Jewish specialist of
his times and as a catholic embracing all future humanity. As the adopted child of the
daughter of a Pharaoh, he was educated in all the wisdom of Egypt, the most renowned cen
tre of human culture of that time, and he also became familiar among the sons of the desert,
the Midianites, with a noble patriarchal house. But as he was a true spiritual heir of Abra
ham, his personal experiences formed the basis for the catholic enlightenment imparted to
him.

But as a prophet of Jehovah it could not be hidden from Moses, that with the institution
of the covenant-religion in the forms of the external law, there was danger that the majority
of his people might go astray in the mere letter of the law and in seeking righteousness by
works. This danger of misunderstanding his law he met by bringing out in the second law,
in Deuteronomy, the germs of spirituality which lay in the first law, and thereby opened a
way from the isolation of Israel by its code to the spiritual catholicity which was to be de
veloped in the prophets. Such a transition is unmistakably shown in the original portions
of Deuteronomy which we distinguish from the final compilation. We are not called to treat
of this compilation, or to offer any review of treatises upon it (e.g. KLEINERT'S Treatise, Das
Deuteronomium und der DeuteronomiJcer}.

In the first place, there is throughout Deuteronomy a solemn prophetic tone. Then
there is the historical account of the miraculous leading of Israel in the light of Jehovah's
grace, who pardoned the transgressions of the people, and even made Moses a typical
substitute for the sins of the people (chap. iii. 26, 27). Israel and the law do not appear
here in the lightning-flame of Sinai; Israel is the glorious people among the nations (chap,
iv. 7), and the fiery law by which Jehovah made Himself known to Israel is comprised in
the words: "Yea, he loved the people" (chap, xxxiii. 3). Respecting the form of the reve
lation on Sinai, not the terrors at the giving of the law are recalled, but the fact
that Israel heard only the words of God ; they did not see His form, in order that the danger
of making images of God might be averfed (chap. iv. 15). Thus decidedly were the people
directed in the way of spiritual worship. The command against image worship in its length
and breadth becomes a long-continued, positive demand for spirituality in religion. In the
repetition of the ten commandments (chap, v.), in the tenth, the wife is placed before the
house, and the critics have greatly troubled themselves with the question whether this posi
tion (chap. v. 21) or the reverse in the decalogue (Ex. xx. 17) is the right one. This alter
native would make no essential change ; for in Exodus the lawgiver speaks, but in Deutero-

4 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

nomy the prophet who interprets the law. According to the law the wife is part of the
house and the property of the man ; according to her spiritual relations, she is above the
house. By the law of the Sabbath (its importance as regards worship in Leviticus must be
distinguished from its ethical value, Ex. xx.) the principle of humanity, which was stated in the
first sketch of the civil law (Ex. xxiii. 12), is further developed (Deut. v. 14, 15). Especially
remarkable is the expansion of the first commandment in the declaration : Thou shalt love
Jehovah thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (chap
vi. 5) The covenant-sign of circumcision is here referred to the circumcision of the heart,
regeneration (chap. x. 16; xxx. 6).

In Leviticus, after the curse and the blessing, come a few words of promise of the resto
ration of Israel (chap, xxvi.) ; but here how greatly is that promise expanded in prophecy
(Deut. chap, xxx.) ! This prophetic tendency in Deuteronomy is not obscured by the severe
enactments against the Canaanites (chap, vii.) ; they are rather, on the one side, moderated
(chap. vii. 22), and, on the other side, the reason for them is given (ver. 22). If more
is said in this book of the Levites than of the priests, it is a proof not of the exaltation,
but of the lessening of the priesthood, a step towards the general priesthood. To these are
added the laws of a genuine humanity in the laws of war (chap, xx.) and also in various
commands touching forbearance and morality. And finally the solemnity of the song and
of the blessing of Moses. The grand antithesis between the song and the blessing makes
these chapters the flower of Deuteronomy : in the song the curse referred to culminates; in
the blessing, the promise. As Genesis from a universal basis converges to the particularity
of the three middle books, so Deuteronomy diverges in the direction of catholicity. This
shows that the particularity of the three books is economical and temporary, and that a
golden thread of spiritual significance, of symbolical, typical suggestion runs through the
whole law.

For the distinction between Deuteronomy and each of the three middle books, comp.
the article " Pentateuch '* in HERZOG'S Real-Encyclopcedie.

\ 4. THE RELATION OF THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS OF THE LAW TO EACH OTHER.

The internal, essential relation of the throe middle books of the law to each other is not
defined with sufficient theological exactness either by the Hebrew names which are the first
words of the books, ntotf nStf, *npl, "13???, or by the Greek names of the Septuagint rep
resenting the principal subjects of the books (comp. HARTWIG'S Tabellen zur Einleitung des
Alien Testaments, 2 Aufl. S. 28).

An approximate distinction is found in the old division of the law into the moral, cere
monial and civil law. Yet these three forms do not sufficiently correspond to the concrete
character of the three books.

But in perfect accord with the distinguishing marks of Messianic prophecy, we may
designate the first book (Exodus) as the prophetic book of the theocracy, the second (Levi
ticus) as the priestly book, the third (Numbers) as the kingly book, the book of the army,
its preparation and marches, and service of the heavenly king. In the sequence of these
books there is mirrored the sequence of the offices of Christ, whilst in the history of Israel
the rule of the prophets (judges included) comes first, then the rule of the kings, and lastly
the rule of the priests.*

That in the preparation of the three books this distinction was intentionally maintained
appears from the plainest marks. A cursory consideration might, for instance, ask: why do
we not find the large section containing the erection-of the tabernacle in Leviticus rather than
in Exodus, since the tabernacle is the holy place of Levitical worship ? According to the
explanation of the Scriptures themselves, the tabernacle is primarily not the house of the
offerer, but of him to whom the offering is brought ; not the priest's house, but God's house,

* Ewald greatly misunderstands the matter when he makes the following order: God's rule, kings' rule, saints' rule.
God's rule, or the theocracy, is not a form of government; it is the principle of government ; but in permanent sovereignty
it controlled all the three forms of government until they ended with the destruction of Jerusalem.

\ 5. ORGANISM OF THE THREE BOOKS AS TO THEIR UNITY, ETC.

the temple-palace of Jehovah, where He is present as law-giver, and maintains the law given
on Sinai; we might say, it is the Sinai that moves with the people; and therefore it is the
house where Jehovah ever meets with His people through the mediation of His representa
tives. The significance of the tabernacle as the place of the revelation of the glory of God
comes out very clearly at the close of Exodus ("U^S vilfc and ™~U]^ ^D^)-

But we must more exactly define the two parts of Exodus.

The first part (chaps, i.-xviii.) narrates the formation of the people of Israel up to the
foundation of the theocracy by their redemption, that is, the typical redemption and creation
of the people of God and the typical foundation of the kingdom of God. The second part
(chaps, xix.-xl.) comprises the giving of the law, the ethical law, and the tabernacle as the
dwelling-place of the Law-giver. To this is added in Leviticus the law of worship and in
Numbers the political law, for the most part illustrated by examples.

The first part (chaps, i.-xviii.) is therefore the real foundation of the three books, the sin
gle trunk which is further on divided into three codes of laws. But the preponderance of
the prophetical and ethical law, of the decalogue over the law of worship and the civil law
is shown by its place in the foundation, and it also appears fro;n the fact that with the deca
logue the outline of the three-fold code of laws is given (Ex. xx.-xxiii.).

In accord with the same law of a definite characteristic distinction of the books, we find
in Leviticus the laws of the frstivals arranged. All those festivals are placed before them as
prii sts (chap, xxiii.) . The Sabbath appears here not in an ethical point of view as the day of rest
but in its relation to worship as the day of the great assembly and as the basis of all other
festivals ordained by God (chap, xxiii.). But all these festivals are preceded by the distinc
tive mark of Leviticus, the complete directions concerning the great day of atonement (chap,
xvi.). In like manner the ten commandments and all the statutes are conformed to the
priestly idea (chap, xix.),; and so the fourth book of Moses, the book of the army of God and
of the beginning of its marches, true to its character, commences with a muster of the people
fit for war.

Numbers therefore stands with the impress of the kingly revelation of Jehovah. It
forms the foundation for the conscription of the army of the Lord (chap, i.-iii.). And if the
Levites are again mentioned here, it is because they are now appointed to sanctify the march
of the people of God and their wars (chaps, iii. 44— chap. iv.). The laws of purification,
which were inculcated in Leviticus with respect to worship, are repeated here that the camp
of the army of God should be kept clean, in order that the army may be invincible (chap.
v.). All directions with respect to sacrifice which are repeated here are given more or less
for this end (chaps, vi.-x.). And therefore the two silver trumpets, which sounded the march,
form the last of all these regulations. But the offences of the people, their calamities and
judgments, afford visible proofs that it is the typical march of the people of God and the
divine guidance of the people which are set before us (chaps, xi.-xvii.), and that by severe, yet
gracious interposition, the errors of the people are removed. And then, preceded by new
ordinances for purification, and, since the assembly needed a new incitement, by the death
of Miriam and Aaron in due time, and by the purification of Moses himself with the assem
bly through great perturbation at the waters of Meribah (chap, xx.), the great conquests of
Jehovah (one had long before taken place) follow, though these are again interrupted by
new transgressions by the people (chap, xxi.-xxv.). The second enumeration of the people
marks the end of the preliminary foundation of the state (chap, xxvi.), and hence there fol
low sketches of the political and civil law (chap. xxvi. f ). The regulations of the festival
again occur here, because of their relation to the civil order of the state All further di
rections are merely outlines of the future typical state (chaps, xxx.-xxxvi.).

§ 5. THE ORGANISM OF THE THREE BOOKS AS TO THEIR UNITY AND THEIR SEPARATE

PARTS.

The ethical and prophetic legislation of Exodus is based on the formation and redemp
tion of the people of God: it is also the prophecy of the better legislation, the erection of a
true spiritual kingdom of God by the vivifying laws of the Spirit of God. The typical, sac-

GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

rificial rites of Leviticus are connected with this prophecy by internal relations. Then on
the basis of consecration through sacrifice, the army of God, according to the book of Num
bers, comes together in order that, being led by God in its marches and purified by peculiar
judgments, it may execute judgment upon the world and lay the foundation of God's state.

In accordance with the three-fold division Moses appears most prominently in Exodus
(Exodus is therefore peculiarly the book of Moses), Aaron in Leviticus, and the princes and
leaders of the twelve tribes in Numbers. We have already mentioned that this three-fold
division becomes four-fold because we must distinguish in Exodus the general fundamental
portion (chaps, i. — xviii.) from that which is special.

The organism of Exodus — The theocracy as prophetic and ethical, or as the sole foundation of

worship and of culture.

Exodus is divided in general into two parts ; the first part (chaps, i. — xviii.) narratesth^
formation and redemption of the people of God, more strictly, the formation of the people of
God and their redemption until the institution of God's state or the theocracy ; the second
part (chaps, xix. — xl.) narrates the institution of the covenant and the ethical and propheti
cal law of God by itself, a compendium of the whole law as special training unto Christ, until
the completion of the habitation of the ever-present Law giver.

The first larger division is divided again into the history of the typical origin and re
demption of Israel (chaps, i. — xii.), aud into the history of the confirmation of the redemp
tion by the typical consecration (chaps, xiii. — xviii.). The fundamental thought of the first
part of the history of redemption is deliverance through suffering, a deliverance marked by
the institution and celebration of the passover, with the solemn exodus begun with the re
past of the exodus, the passover (chap, xii.) The fundamental thought of the second part,
or of the history cf the confirmation of the redemption, is the separation of Israel from the
Egyptians by the passage through the Red Sea, accomplished by means of the pillar of cloud
and of fire (chap, xiv.), celebrated in Moses' song of victory, and taking shape in the prepa
ration for the theocratic covenant. The first part describes merely the pangs of birth until
the birth, the second describes merely separations or typical consecrations.

The second larger division (chaps, xix.— xl.) is divided into the history of the covenant
of the first legislation (chaps, xix. — xxiii.), of the institution of the covenant (chap, xxiv.),
and of the ordering of the tabernacle together with the reception of the written law (chaps.
xxv. — xxxi.) ; further into the history of the apostasy in the setting up of the golden calf,
of the restoration of .he covenant through chastisements, and of the law renewed partly in
severer, partly in nr der terms (chaps, xxxii. — xxxiv.); finally into the history of the erec
tion of the tabernac' ,, by which Mount Sinai or the house and the revelation of the Law-giver
is brought within th congregation of God (chaps, xxxv. — xl.).

Remark.— Some commentators and writers of Introductions never give themselves the
trouble to discover the arrangement of these books, but, on the contrary, tell us the sources
whence they were compiled. This is plainly scientific aberration, the result of an ambitious
but* owl-like criticism, an anatomical history of literature, which without right desires
to be called theology. However thoroughly one may pursue the question of the sources, that
will not release us from the duty of understanding the books as they are according to their
logical structure and religious intention.

The organism of Leviticus — The theocracy as priestly ; after the dedication of the covenant-con
gregation to God follows the dedication of the covenant-people to Jehovah, the holy covenant-
God, by means of theocratic consecration, for the purpose of manifesting theocratic holiness.
The fundamental thought of this book is offering, but offering as atonement or the typi
cal atonement with God (chap. xvi.). Both the principal divisions correspond with this.
First, the holy rites (chaps i. — xvi.) ; second, the holy life (chaps, xvii. — xxvii.). In the
first section the various offerings are set forth in order, beginning with the burnt offering and
ending with the peace offering (chaps, i. — vii.). It is worthy of remark that in this book it
is repeatedly said, " when one brings an offering," whilst the ethical decalogue speaks abso-

§ 5. ORGANISM OF THE THREE BOOKS AS TO THEIR UNITY, ETC. 7

lutely " thou shalt." In the second section follow the directions concerning those appointed
to the office of mediation by sacrifice, the priests, i. e., of those who in a typical sense are
worthy to draw near to God in behalf of the sinful people (Jer. xxx. 21) chaps, viii. — x.
Then follow the directions concerning the animals of the typical offering, clean beasts which
as distinguished from unclean beasts are alone fit for an offering (chap. xi.). Then is
described the typical cleanness or purification of the offerers, i. e., of the Israelites bringing
the offering. With these directions is reached the festival of the yearly offering for atone
ment, the central point and climax of worship by offerings (chap. xvi.).

Hence there now follow in the second division the typical consequents of the typical
offering for atonement, the precepts for maintaining holiness, a. All killing and eating of
flesh becomes in the light of the offering for atonement a thank offering (chap. xvii.). b.
Since the table of the Israelite as a priest is hallowed, so is also his marriage (chap, xviii.).
This priestly holiness pertains to all the relations of life; first, positively (chap, xix.) ; second,
negatively (chap. xx.). Above all it demands a typical positive maintenance of holiness in
the priestly office itself (chaps, xxi. — xxii. 16), as well as perfection in the very animals to
be offered (chap. xxii. 17-33). To the keeping holy the animals for offering is joined the
keeping holy the festivals on which the offerings are brought (chap, xxiii.) : so also the acts
of offering (chap. xxiv. 1-9). The keeping holy the name of Jehovah is inculcated by an
instance of punishment (chap. xxiv. 10-23). The very land of Israel must be kept holy by
the Sabbatic year and the great year of jubilee (chap. xxv.). The general law of the typical
holy keeping is then followed, as a conclusion, by the sanction or declaration of the holiness
of the law itself; the promise of the blessing, the threatening of the curse (chap. xxvi.).

But why does eh. xxvii. speak of special vows ? Here also the law points beyond itself.
Vows are the expressions of a free, prophetic, lofty piety. They point to a higher plane, as
the comilia erangelica of the Middle Ages sought to do this, but could do no more because
they made the law of the spirit of Christ a mere external law of the letter, and just as the
longings inspired by the consilii evangelica found their solution in a life of evangelical faith,
so the desires expressed by Old Testament vows found their solution in the New Testament.
But under the law they were to be regulated according to law. Yet even in the great day
of atonement there were two ceremonies which pointed beyond the Old Testament ; first, an
offering for atonement in accordance with all legal offerings ; second, the putting of the un
known, unatoned sins on Azazel* in the desert.

The organism of the Book of Numbers — The theocracy as kingly in its relation to the world.
The army of God. Its preparation. Its march to take possession of the inheritance of God.
Its transgressions, it* defeat and rejuvenescence under the discipline of its king Jehovah and
under the leading of Moses to the border of the promised land.

The fundamental thought of the book of Numbers is the march of the typical army of
God at the sound of the silver trumpets, the signals of war and victory for directing the wars
of Jehovah, until the firm founding of God's state, and the celebration of the festivals of vic
tory and blessing of Jehovah in the land of promise (chap. x. 1-10). Around this centre are
grouped the separate parts of the book.

The conscription and the order of the camp of the holy people form the first part: at the
same time the Levites are assigned to lead the army of God (in a symbolical sense as a banner,
not in a strategic sense, chap. iii. 22) ; they are also mentioned here as being the servants of
the ark of the covenant, the symbolic banner of the army, to precede the army (chs. i.-iv.).

Upon this in the second part follow the directions for the typical consecration of the
army, especially for putting away whatever would defile (chap, v.), and for self-denial on the
part of the army (chap. vi. 1-21.) ; then the solemn blessing of the army (chap. vi. 22-27),
and the gifts and offerings which the leaders of the army brought for the tabernacle as the
central point (staff and head-quarters) of the army of God (chap. vii.). Then in conformity
with this high purpose the splendid lights of the tabernacle and those who were to serve them,
the Levites, are spoken of (chap. viii.). In addition to these consecrations there are enact-

* [See note, p. 43].

8 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

merits for keeping clean the army by the feast of the passover and the supplementing of the
law of the passover by that of the second passover for those unclean at the first, stragglers in
the holy march, and by the law for strangers eating the passover (chap. ix. 1-14).

The third part, the central point of the book, forms a special .section. It describes the
pillar of cloud and of fire over the tabernacle as the divine signal for the marches of Israel,
and the blowing of the silver trumpets as the human signal following the divine (chap. ix.
15— x. 10).

Then in the fourth part the departure of Israel from Sinai and the first division of its
marches, its chastisement by a series of calamities, transgressions and judgments, which
proves that this army of God is only symbolical and typical. This occasions the institution
of a new purification of the people by the sprinkling of water, mixed with the ashes of a red
heifer, which has been made a curse. This section ends with the death of Miriam and of
the high-priest Aaron (chap. x. 11 — chap. xx.). This part includes the march to Kadesh
and the long sojourn there till the departure of the new generation for Mount Hor. Special
incidents are, the burning in the camp and the miraculous gift of food by manna and quails;
the boasting of Aaron and Miriam against Moses ; the dejection of the people at the report
of the spies and their defeat afterwards in their presumption ; a new regulation of the peace-
offerings, which encloses a new prediction of the promised land ; a violation of the Sabbath
and the judgment a'ccorded to it; the rebellion and destruction of Koran's faction; the mur
muring of the people against the judgment which had overtaken the faction, and the deliver
ance of the people from the judgment intended for them by the incense offered by Aaron, at
which time the position of the priesthood is still higher advanced. And finally, apart by
itself comes the catastrophe at Meribah, when both Moses and Aaron sinned and were
punished.

The fifth part describes the second division of the march of the Israelites, which appa
rently is to a large extent a return ; but it now begins to be a inarch of victory, though some
great transgressions of the people are followed by great punishments. On this march, which
begins at Mount Hor and continues through a great circuit around the land of the Edomites
to the encampment of the Israelites at Shittim in the plain of Moab, Eleazar the new high-
priest stands by the side of Moses ; at last Joshua comes forth more positively as the repre
sentative of Moses (chaps, xxi. — xxv.). The two transgressions of Israel, their murmuring
because of the long journey, and their thoughtless participation in the revels of the Midi-
anites in the land of Moab, are punished by suitable inflictions, which are again followed by
theocratic types of salvation. The blessings of Balaam form the central point of the exalta
tion of Israel now beginning.

With the sixth part begin the preparations for entrance into Canaan. First there is a
new enumeration of the now purified people, the new generation. Then an enlargement of
the law of inheritance, especially in reference to daughters who are heirs. Then the conse
cration of Joshua as the leader of Israel. The directions with regard to the offerings which
are now made more definite are a presage of the march into Canaan, or of the beginning of a
time when Israel will be able to bring these offerings. The new law of the feasts given here
bears a similar signification. The seventh new moon, the great Sabbath of the year, is made
chief of all, as a sign that Israel now enters into its rest. Here also the sphere of the vow
appears as one of greater freedom, and above that of the legal offerings; but at the same time
it must be brought under the rule of law. A last blow against the heathen, the campaign
for vengeance on the Midianites, by which Israel is purified, forms the conclusion of these
preparations (chaps, xxvi. — xxxi.).

The seventh part contains the commencement of the settlement of Israel in Canaan.
First, the settlement of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, are
described. This is followed by a retrospect of the wandering in the desert; and by an anti
cipation of the future, consisting of an encouragement to enter the land, defining the bounda
ries of the land and those who should allot the land, at the same time particularly mentioning
the cities of the Levites and of refuge. Finally the inheritance of the tribes is ensured against
division (chaps, xxxii. — xxxvi.).

6. RELATION OF THE THREE BOOKS TO HOLY SCRIPTURE IN GENERAL. 9

\ 6. THE RELATION OF THE THREE BOOKS TO HOLT SCRIPTURE IN GENERAL, AND TO
THE NEW TESTAMENT IN PARTICULAR.

These three middle books are in an especial sense the law books, or the law of the Jewish
people. But even for the Jewish people they are not books of a mere external law for the
regulation of an external state. With such a view these books would be read as the heathen
law books of a powerful heathenism, and the Jewish people would be regarded as a heathen
people among the heathen. In fact the Jewish people who made the law a covenant of the
partiality of God and of righteousness by works, has been shattered as a nation, and cast out
among all people.

In conjunction with the special legal and national signification, these books, as books of
revelation, have a symbolical side ; in their literal commands and historical features they
present in symbol lofty spiritual relations. The law of circumcision announced in Genesis
becomes the symbol of a circumcision of the heart. This symbolical side of the law in limited
construction, becomes further on through the law in broader construction, the larger revela
tion of God in prophecy, till the latter passes away in the morning beams of the Spirit.

But, thirdly, the three books have a typical side ; they set forth the future real, i. e., spi'
ritual redemption and its fruit, the new covenant and the real kingdom of God, that is, the
New Testament in preparatory and fundamental outlines. If we regard merely the symboli
cal and typical, that is the spiritual side of the three books, we have the New Testament in
the Old, the beginnings and foundations of the eternal revelation of salvation (Heb. xi. 1 f.);
if we regard only the exterior we have the national law of the Jews, whose burden and im
possibility of fulfillment must lead to Christ (Acts xv.). But regarding both sides at once,
we have the picture of a strong concentration or contraction of the kingdom of God as a pre
paration for its future unlimited expansion and catholicity;

The positive side of this history of legislation is the lofty spiritual aim and significance
of the law, its prophetical and Messianic bearing. Its negative side consists in its bringing
out prominently that the law as law cannot give life, but that under the law the people con
stantly stumble and fall, and only by divine chastisements and grace, by priestly intercession
and atonement, by true repentance and faith, do they again reach the path of salvation.

Within this law— irrespective of its expansion in Deuteronomy — there is great progress
and growth, as is shown in the difference of the relations before and after the setting up of
the golden calf, between the first and second tables of the taw.

At the first giving of the law the people see the lightning and hear the thunder on the
mount, and in mortal fear hurry away. Moses alone must speak with God for the people.
But Moses was able so far to quiet the people, that after the giving of the law Aaron, Nadab,
Abihu, and seventy elders, with Moses, were able to approach the top of the mount, and there
behold God, and eat and drink (Exod. xxiv.). At the second sojourn of Moses on the mount,
we do not hear of these fearful signs. From mysterious concealment and silence, he comes
forth with shining face, before which Aaron and the princes, who at the first giving of the
law beheld God, retreat ; and their slavish fear, and that of the people, is again quieted by
covering Moses' face with a vail. Jehovah Himself, also, in order to reassure the peoples
makes known from Sinai the meaning of the name Jehovah ; that He was " God, merciful
and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in grace and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, but leaving nothing unpunished, and visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third
and fourth generation." But on the other hand, it is now determined that Jehovah will
accompany the people, not as Jehovah Himself, in the midst of the people, but in the form
of an angel before them, that is, in the form of Old Testament revelation and law. As a
mark of this positive separation, Moses removes his tent as a provisional tabernacle outside
the camp ; an act which brings to mind John the Baptist in the wilderness ; and the congre
gation in the camp is by that declared unclean.

10 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

| 7. THE RELATION OF THE THREE BOOKS TO THE RECORDS ON WHICH THEY WERE FOUNDED.

The logical connection and the organic unity of these three books are exhibited in unde
niable precision, clearness, and beauty.

And not less clear is it that this whole complex of the Jewish national law is arranged
not according to the strict requirements of history but of religion ; a sacred tabernacle t bough
made of historical materials ; not a mere didactic composition, but a concrete didactic dispo
sition strung upon the threads of history. Separating the historical from the didactic ele
ments, we find that the first historical portion (Exodus, chaps, i.— xviii.), makes a book by
itself. Joined to this, as a second book, is the second part of Exodus ; the book of propheti
cal and ethical legislation. Leviticus contains no trace of historical progress; it is simply the
law-book of Levitical worship. The first section of Numbers (chaps, iv.— x. 10), forms the
outline of the theocratic, kingly legislation. Then at the blast of the silver trumpets the
people depart from Sinai. And now follow, the second historical part of the whole
work, the inarch from Sinai to the plain of Moab, and various new legal precepts, as special
circumstances occasioned them. Thus the three books arranged according to theocratic pur
poses make five books, a smaller Pentateuch in the greater. Though we may not lay special
stress upon the sacred trinity of this law, yet it is worthy of remark, that the ethical legisla
tion progresses through the stadia of development, that the legislation concerning worship
from beginning to end is a finished system, which is further on supplemented by the civil
legislation, while this last is enlarged as historical occasions required, in accordance with the
usual course of civil legislation. But that this concrete unity did not proceed from a single
human author under divine inspiration, appears from many proofs, as well as from the very
nature of these books. First of all, this is shown by the connection with Deuteronomy, in
which it is plain that previously-existing records were arranged by a subsequent editor. Such
records are also in these books quoted or presupposed, for instance, the songs (Numb. xxi. 17
ff., 27 ff.) : the history and especially the prophecies of Balaam.

In general we cannot with certainty decide between those parts which had Moses for
their aut ;or (as for instance BLEEK does in his Introduction, recognizing many such parts),
and those which are due to a later revision or addition ; but from satisfactory proofs we make
the following distinctions: 1, Those originals which are fundamental, to wit, the primary,
traditional and written records of the genesis of the people — especially of Joseph — then the
outlines of the theocratic legislation (the passover, the decalogue, the tabernacle, the law of
offerings, etc., songs, forms of blessing, encampments) ; 2, the arrangement of the law into
three parts by the hand of Moses ; 3, a final later revision, which, by arrangement and addi
tion, sought to present the complete unity of the Pentateuch.

That such collected originals were the foundation of these books needs no argument.
But that Moses himself distributed the materials into three parts, appears from the great sig
nificance of this organic three-fold unity with its Messianic impress, from the designation of
the tabernacle, not for Levitical but for ethical legislation, as well as from the break in the
whole construction before the death of Moses. It is particularly to be remarked that the
three legislations manifest their theocratic truth by their interdependence; either by itself
would present, judged by common rules, a distorted form.

That these three books were made by dividing up a larger book which enclosed within
itself that of Joshua, is a modern scholastic view without any proof. As regards the distinc
tion between Elohistic and Jehovistic portions, it may have some importance for Genesis.
But maintaining the great importance of the revelation in Exod. vi., thenceforth the distinction
between the two names must rest only on interrial relations, not upon portions to be critically
distinguished. For instance, when, from the calling of Moses (Ex. iii.) and from the inter
course of Jehovah with him (Exod. vi.) it is asserted that this is a compilation from two dif
ferent accounts, the assertion is made at the expense of the internal relations of the text,
which plainly show a perfectly logical progress from one section to the other. In consequence
of the decided refusal of Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go for a religious festival in the
desert, and on account of the increasing oppression of the people which brought them to

8. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF THE THREE BOOKS. 11

despair, Jehovah as the covenant-Gjd of Israel comes forth in the full glory of His name.
With this new significance which He gives to His name, He repeats previous promises (Exod.
iii. 8-15) and assures the redemption of the people by great miracles and judgments, and
their admission into a peculiar covenant relation. That the first general account anticipates
some particulars of the sacond transaction is not an argument against it.

In view of the totality of the Mosaic legislation the fundamental law asserts itself, that
as already mentioned, the essential parts are in the highest degree interdependent. Mose^,
as the author of the decalogue only, would no longer be Moses; but a system of offerings
which was not founded upon this ethical basis, would seem to be an institution of sorcery.
- The preparations recorded in the book of Numbers, without these conditions precedent, would
have to be regarded as measure < for a conquest of the world by war. The proof of this com
pact organism of the Pentateuch is the complete interdependence of the separate parts.

For the sources of the Pentateuch, especially of these three books, see BLEEK, Introd. to
Old Test. The various views, see in " Utbersicht der verschiedenen Vorstellungen uber
Ursprung und Zusammensefzang des Pentateucks," page 172. According to EWALD, the
Mosaic sources are difficult to disentangle. The defenders of a single authorship are
indicated in HARTWIG'S Tabellen, pp. 28, 29. Comp. BUNSEN'S Bibelwerk, 2 Abtheilung.
Bibelurkundtn, p. 108.

§ 8. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF THE THREE BOOKS.

The Range of this History.

CHRONOLOGY. — In these books of the Pentateuch we have narrated the history of tha
birth of the people of Israel up to its complete development as a nation. As the typical his
tory of the people of God, it is a miniature of the birth of Christianity. The course of the
history begins with the the6cratically noble origin of the people, and continues until they be
hold their inheritance, the promised land. Betwixt these is the history of an obscure embry
onic condition, in which they gradually become a people, though at the same time they sink
deeper and deeper into slavery, and of a birth as a nation in the midst of severe pangs, by
which redemption is accomplished, and which is then confirmed by the discipline of the law
and God's guidance of them through the desert, where the old generation dies away and a
new generation grows up.

The narrative is joined to Genesis by the recapitulation of the settlement of Israel in
Egypt, and of the death of Joseph, and continues to the time of the encampment in the plain
of Moab, shortly before the death of Moses. According to Exod. xii. 40, the Israelites dwelt
in Egypt four hundred and thirty years. To this must be added the sojourn in the desert,
forty years (Numb. xiv. 33 ; xxxii. 13). The whole period of this history is therefore four
hundred and seventy years. But out of this long period only a few special points are marked.
The origin of the people dates from the death of Joseph to the commencement of the oppres
sion. Of this interval we learn nothing. It is a period covered with a veil like that which
covered the birth of Christianity from the close of the Pauline epistles to the great perse
cutions of the second century.

The duration of Israel's oppression cannot be accurately defined ; it began at an unknown
date, which preceded the birth of Moses and continued till his mission to Pharaoh. Then
Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old (Exod. vii. 7). To this
must be added the forty years of the march in the desert (besides the period in which Egyp
tian plagues occurred), and accordingly Moses at his death was one hundred and twenty years
old (Deut. xxxiv. 7). That Moses was forty years old when he fled into the wilderness, and
then lived in the wilderness forty years with Jethro (Acts vii. 23-30) is the statement of Jew
ish tradition. See Comm., 1. c.

The undefined period of the Egyptian plagues, which from their connection followed one
another quickly, is terminated by the date of the exodus. The period from the departure
from Egypt to Sinai, and from Sinai through the desert to Kadesh, is clearly marked. De
parture on the 14th (15th) Abib or Nisan (Exod. xii. 17); arrival at Sinai in the third month
(ExoJ. xix. 1) ; departure from Sinai on the 20th day of the 2d month of the 2d year (Numb*

12 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

x. 11) ; arrival at Kadesh Barnea in the wilderness of Paran in the 2d year (the spies' forty
days, Numb. xiv. 34) ; abude at Kadesh (Numb. xxi. 1 ; Deut. i. 46) to the arrival at the
Ea^t bank of the Jordan thirty-eight years. In the fortieth year of the exodus they came to
Mount Hor, where Aaron died on the first day of the fifth month (Numb, xxxiii. 38). On
the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moses delivered his parting words to
Israel (Deut. i. 3).

Goethe was therefore right when he said that Israel might have reached Canaan in two
years. But he did not understand God's chastisement, nor, we may add, the human saga
city of Moses, which together occasioned a delay of thirty-eight years. And so Goethe's de
nial of Moses' talent as a ruler is a proof that he utterly misunderstood the exalted and sanc
tified worldly wisdom of Moses. But quite in accord with Goethe the Israelites, against the
will of Moses, did make an attempt to take possession of Canaan (Numb. xiv. 40).

The endeavor to fill up the obscure interval between the death of Joseph and the history
of Moses by the supposition of revelations proceeds from the idea that Old Testament reve
lation must be made continuous, agreeing with the continuity of the biblical books. But
this would obliterate the distinction between periods and epochs made in Old Testament
history, as well as the peculiar import of revelation at chosen times. It is only through a
perception of the spiritual rhythm in the history of the kingdom of God (of the distinction
between the xi'uv°l, in which a thousand years are as one day, and the Kaipoi} in which a day
is as a thousand years) that we reach an understanding of the great crises of revelation.
SCHILLER'S words : " es gibt im Menschenlebtn Augenblicke,'" etc,, may be paraphrased thus :
there are moments in human life when it is nearer than at other times to the spirit of reve
lation, to eternity, to the other world. Concerning the strictures of DE WETTE, VATKE, and
BRUNO BAUER on the "great chasm " in the chronology, see KURTZ'S Hist, of Old Covenant,
Vol. II., p. 21. Yet in that obscure interval came forth the special significance of the name
Jehovah as already mentioned.

On making the length of the sojourn in Egypt four hundred and thirty years, see this
Comm. on Gen. xv. 13. . This (Jomm. on Gen. xiii. DELITZSCH, Gen., p. 371. This Comm.
Acts viL In relation to the various readings in the Septuagint, Samaritan Codex, and in
Jonathan (the sojourn in Egypt 430-215 years), see KURTZ, Hint, of the Old Covenant, Vol.
II., p. 135, as well as concerning the statement of Paul (Gal. iii.)> which KURTZ explains
by his citation of the Septuagint, while we date from the end of the time of promise. The
objections which are made to the chronology of the Septuagint see examined in KURTZ as
above, On the amazing conjectures of BAUMGARTEN, see KURTZ, Vol. II., p. 143. Accord
ing to BUN SEX, the limit of the sojourn in Egypt is too short; according to Lepsius it was
only ninety years.

We compute as follows : the whole sojourn was four hundred and thirty years. The
thirty years were not counted because the oppression did not immediately begin ; therefore
four hundred years of oppression. But as the four hundred and thirty years (Gal. iii.) are
apparently counted from Abraham, it would appear that the period in which the promises
were- made to Abraham and the patriarchs ended with the death of Jacob.

Egypt.

For the description of this land, where the Israelites became a nation, we must refer the
reader to the literature of the subject, particularly to the articles on Egypt in WINER'S Bibl.
Realwortcrbueh ; ZELLER'S Bibl. Worterbuch (Egypt) ; HERZOG'S Real-Encyclopadie ; BUM-
SEN, Egypt's Place in History ; HENGSTENBERG, Egypt and tUe Books of Mosts, with Appen
dix, Berlin, 1841 ; UHLEMANN, Thoth, odtr die Wi*sen*chafte.n der atten Egypter, Gottingen,
1855; EBERS. Ejypten und die Biicher Mosts* . Vol. I., Leipzig, 1868; BRUGSCH, Reiseberichte
aus Egypten, Leipzig, 1855; BRUGSCH, Die Egyptische Grdbervdt, ein Vorlrag, Leipzig. 1868;
SAM. SHARPE, History of Egypt, 2 Vols., London, 1870 ; A. KNOETEL, Cheops, der Pyramiden-
erbauer, Leipzig, 1861 ; Travels, SCHUBERT [see also the maps in the Ordnance Survey under
direction of Sir Henry James, F. E. S.J, STRAUSS, /Sinai und Golgotha, etc. See the bibliog-

\ 8. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF THE THREE BOOKS. 13

raphy of the subject in KURTZ, Hist, of the Old Covenant, Vol. II., p. 380. Also in DANZ,
•Zgyptj Egyptians.

For a sound knowledge of the history of Israel in Egypt one must consult the maps, etc.
Kiepert, Atlas der alien Welt; Henry Lange, Bible-atlas in Bunsen's Bibelwerk; Chart and
Conspectus of the written characters in BRUGSCH. Reiseberichte. LONG'S Classical Atlas,
New York, 1867.

God's providential arrangement that Israel should become a nation in Egypt is shown
by the following plain proofs :

1. The people must prosper in that foreign land, and yet not feel at home. This was
brought about, first, by a government which knew Joseph, that is, by national gratitude ; then
by a government which knew not, or did not wish to know Joseph, and which made the
sojourn in Egypt very oppressive to the people.

2. The rapid growth of the people was favored by the great fertility of Egypt, which
not only supplied abundant food, especially to a pastoral people living by themselves, but
also revealed its blessing in the number of births.

3. A people who were to be educated to a complete understanding of the great antithesis
between the blessing and the curse in divine providence could be taught in Egypt better
than elsewhere to know the calamities attendant upon the curse. Here too were found the
natural prerequisites for the ( xtraordinary plagues which were to bring about the redemp
tion of the people from slavery.

4. The capacity of Israel, to receive in faith the revelations of salvation and to mani
fest them to the world, needed as a stimulus of its development, contact and attrition with
the various civilized nations (Egypt, Syria, Assyria, Phoenicia, Babylon, Persia, Greece,
Rome). The first contact was pre-eminently important; by it the people of faith were pre
pared by an intercourse during centuries with the oldest civilized nation. Their lawgiver
was educated in all the wisdom of Egypt, and the conditions of culture for the development
of the religion of promise as a religion of law, the knowledge of writing, education in art,
possession of property, etc., formed a great school of. instruction for the people of Israel.
The external culture of the theocracy and the Grecian culture of aesthetics grew from the
same stock in Egypt.

5. And yet the national as well as the spiritual commingling of the people with Egypt
must be precluded. The people were preserved from a national commingling by the antipa
thy between the higher Egyptian castes and that of shepherds, and by Israel's separate abode
in Goshen, as well as by the gloomy, reserved character of the Copts and by the constantly
increasing jealousy and antagonism of the Egyptians. The spiritual commingling was ob
viated by the degradation of the Egyptian worship of animals and the gloominess of their
worship of the dead to a people who had preserved though but an obscure tradition of mono
theistic worship of God. That the people were not altogether free from the infection of
Egyptian leaven is shown by the history of the golden calf; yet this infection was in some
degree refined by a knowledge of the symbolic interpretations held by the more cultured
classes of Egypt, for the golden calf was intended to be regarded as a symbol, not as an idol,
as was the case in later times among the ten tribes.

Israel in Egypt, the IlyJcsos, Pharaoh.

The date when the Israelites settled in Egypt has been, in earlier and later times,
variously given, and with this indefiniteness of times has been joined the relation of Israel
to the Hyksos mentioned by the Egyptian historians, who migrated into Egypt, and were
afterwards driven out.

For the Biblical Chronology we refer to the exhaustive article by ROESOH in HERZOG'S
Real-Encyclopddie. "Among chronologists who accept the scrip'tural accounts SCALIGER,
CALVISIUS and JACOB CAPPEL place the exodus in 1497, PETAVIUS in 1531, MARSHAM in
1487, USHER in 1491," etc. DE WETTE makes the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt to be
from 1921 to 1491 B. C. (Biblische Archaologie, p. 28). Various computations are found in
the treatises, Biblische Chronologic, Tubingen, 1857 ; BECKER, Eine Karte der Chronologic

11 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

der Heiligen Schri/t, Leipzig, 1859; V. GUTSCHMID, Beitrdge zur Gtschichte dex Alien Orients
zur W&rdigung von JBunsen's Egypten, Bd. 4 and 5. The chronology of MANETHO is exhaus
tively treated by UNGER, Chronologic des Manetho, Berlin, 1867.

Some chronologists of the present day by the combination of Egyptian traditions have
arrived at results very different from the above. According to LEPSIUS (see KURTZ, Vol.
II. 409), the Hyksos came into Egypt as conquerors about the year 2100 B. C., and after a
sojourn of five hundred and eleven years were driven back to Syria. "After this about two
hundred years pass away before the immigration of the Israelites into Egypt, which, as well
as their exodus about a hundred years after, took place under the nineteenth dynasty."
Sethos I. (1445-1394, by the Greeks called Sesostris) was the Pharaoh under whom Joseph
came to Egypt: his son Ramses II., Miainun the Great (1394-1328), was the king at whose
court Moses was brought up; and his son, Menephthes (1328-1309), the Amenophis of Jose-
phus, was the Pharaoh of the exodus, which took place in the year 1314. See the remarks
by KURTZ and this Comm., Introd. to Genesis.

According to BUNSEN {Bibelwerk, Blbelurkunden Theil /., $ 111), the Israelites live^I in
Egypt many hundred years before their enslavement. Then a few centuries more passed
until the oppression culminated under Ramses II., and under King Menophthah (1324r-1305)
the exodus took place. Here Biblical Chronology is made entirely dependent on conjec
tures in Egyptology. It does not speak well for the infallibility of the research, that one
requires only ninety years, the other about nine hundred years, for the sojourn of the Israel
ites in Egypt.

In tlm connection the following questions are to be considered :

1. What is the solution of the difference between the four hundred and thirty years as
given in Exodus and the period shortened by the two hundred and fifteen years of the patri
archs, as given by the Septuagint and the Samaritan codex ?

2. What is the solution of the statement of the Bible that the building of Solomon's tem
ple was begun four hundred and eighty years after the exodus of the children of Israel out
of Egypt (1 Kings vi. 1)?

3. What relation does the history of the Israelites bear to the account by MANETHO of
the Hyksos and the lepers?

As to the first question, we refer to the explanation in this Comm., Genesis xv. 14.
Comp. KURTZ, Vol. II., p. 133. As to the second question, see this Comm. ; The Books of
Kings by BAEHR, 1 Kings vi. 1. The reconciliation of this statement with other chronolo
gical statements of the Bible is found, first, in the view that many of the periods mentioned
in the Book of Judges are to be regarded as contemporaneous; second, in the indefiniteness
of the four hundred and fifty years of the judges (Acts xiii. 20).

The third question has become the subject of various learned conjectures. The account
of MANETHO concerning the expulsion of the Hyksos and the lepers from Egypt seems hith
erto to have obscured rather than illustrated the history of Israel in Egypt. According to
the first account of the Egyptian priest MANETHO (JOSEPHUS, c. Apion I. 14), people from
eastern lands invaded Egypt under King Timaus, conquered the land and its princes, and
ruled five hundred and eleven years. They were called Hyksos, that is, shepherd-kings,
At the en;l of this period they were overcome by a native king, and finally having capitu
lated, were driven out of their fortress, Avaris, by the king's son Thummosis. They then
retreated through the desert to Syria, settled in Judea, and there built a city (Hierosolyma)
which could hold their entire host (240,000 persons). JOSEPHUS referred this tradition to
the exodus of the Israelites.

The second account of MANETHO tells of an expulsion of the lepers (c. Apion, I. 26). Ame
nophis, an imaginary king, desired to see the gods, lie was commanded by another Ameno
phis first to clear the country of all lepers. From all Egypt he collected them, eighty thou
sand in number. The king sent them first into the eastern quarries, later into the city
Avaris, where the Hyksos were said to have entrenched themselves. A priest from Heliopolis,
chosen by them, taught them customs which were opposed to those of the Eg\ ptians. Then
he called the Hyksos from Jerusalem to a united struggle against the Egyptians. King

§ 8. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF THE THBEE BOOKS. 4

Amenophis marched against the united forces with 300,000 men. But fearing the gods ae
retired to Ethiopia, while the enemy committed the greatest atrocities in Egypt. The priest
(Osarsiph) who led the lepers, now called himself Moses. After thirteen years Amenophis carne
with Ethiopian confederates, defeated the shepherds and the lepers, and pursued them to the
Syrian boundary (see the full account in Kurtz, v. 2, pp. 380-429).

These utterly fabulous stories are well fitted as a stage for the higher learning. According
to Josephus and many others, the Hyksos were the Israelites, according to others the Hyksos
lived with the Israelites, and if so, according to one view, they were the protectors and de
fenders of Israel, according to an opposite view, they were the oppressors of Israel (Kurtz,
vol. 2, p. 380). According to Lepsius, the Hyksos were expelled two hundred years before
the immigration of the Israelites. According to Saalschutz, the destruction of Pharaoh in
the Red Sea, and the destruction of the dynasty of the Hyksos, occurred at the same time;
but the expulsion of the Hyksos took place later.

In a careful consideration of the stories of Manetho great difficulties arise against every
conjecture. If the Hyksos left Egypt for Jerusalem before the Jews, then history must show
some trace that the Jews in their march through the wilderness to Palestine came upon this
powerful people who preceded them in migration. If the Hyksos left Egypt after the Isra
elites, then the Hyksos in their journey to Jerusalem must have met with the Israelites.
Finally, if these pastoral people were together in Egypt, the shepherd-kings could not have
preserved an entire separation from the Jewish shepherds. KURTZ supposes that the Hyksos
were Canaanites, and the immigration of Israel took place under their supremacy. He also
finds in the legend of the lepers a reference to the Israelites, a view which requires some
modification, if Manetho's connecting the lepers with the Hyksos points to the Mosaic ac
count that a mixed multitude joined themselves to the departing Israelites.

HENGSTENBERG, in his work "Egypt aud the Books of Moses," with an appendix, "Mane
tho and the Hyksos/' opposes the prevailing view that Manetho was the chief of the priesthood
in Heliopolis, the most learned in Egypt, and wrote the history of Egypt by order of king
Ptolemy Philadelphus, using the works which were found in the temple. His reasons are
the following: evidences of striking ignorance of Egyptian mythology, of geography, etc.,
remarkable agreement of his account of the Jews with the statements of writers like Chaere-
mon, Lysimachus, Apion, Apollonius Molo, all of whom lived under the Eoman empire.
There are no other witnesses who corroborate his statements. Manetho was a forger of later
times, like Pseudo-Aristeas. In later times there was a large number of Jews who cast off
their nationality, only retaining the national pride and antipathies, of whom Apion was an
example. Accordingly HENGSTENBERG holds the view, " that the Hyksos were no other than
the Israelites, that no ancient Egyptian originals formed the basis of MANETHO'S accounts, but
that the history preserved by the Jews was transformed to suit Egyptian national vanity."

If we grant the statements concerning the historical character of MANETHO it is still pos
sible that there arose in Egypt false traditions of the sojourn of the Israelites and of their
exodus. It is easily conceivable that the national pride of the Egyptians did not perpetuate
this history, as it really was, on their monuments : and it is just as conceivable that the un
pleasant tradition of this history was transformed in accordance with Egyptian interests and
with different points of view. The legend of the Hyksos intimates the origin, mode of life,
and power of the Israelites, that by them great distress came upon Egypt, and that they went
away to Canaan and founded Jerusalem, while the legend of the lepers, to please Egyptian
pride and hatred, has made of the same history a fable. The names Avaris and Hierosolym ,
as well as other marks, prove that these two legends are very closely connected. A. KNOETEL
in his treatise " Cheops " presents a peculiar construction of Egyptian history, which pro
ceeds upon the supposition of the untrustworthiness of MANETHO. That the shepherd kings
came from Babylon, and imposed upon the Copts the building of the pyramids and the wor
ship of the dead, is a surprising statement in a work showing great research.

That an intimate acquaintance with Egypt is shown in the Pentateuch, is proved by
HENGSTENBERG with great learning in the work quoted above. He has also manifested un
deniable impartiality, as his departures from the orthodox traditions prove in his history of

1G GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

the sacrifice of Isaac, of Balaam, of Jephthah's daughter, and in the paragraphs on "The signs
and wonders in Egypt," " Traces of Egyptian customs in the religious institutions of che
books of Moses." That his purp jse was apologetic cannot obscure the worth of these inves
tigations.

The influence which Egyptian art and science must have exerted upon the culture of the
Israelites, as well as the antagonism between Israelitish and Egyptian character, has been
treated in a summary way by SAM SHAKPE in his History of Egypt* How much the Israel
ites owed to Egypt in respect to science and art is an interesting chapter in ancient history ;
and here something should be said on the relation of the religion of Egypt to that of Israel.
Moses, whose name is Egyptian, and means " son of water," was brought up in the neighbor
hood of Heliopolis, the chief school of Egyptian philosophy, and, according to the legend,
received through Jannes and Jambres most careful instruction in all the wisdom of the
Egyptians, while many Israelites had given themselves to the idolatry and superstition of the
land. This is the reason, according to Manetho, why so many Egyptian customs are expressly
forbidden in the Mosaic law, whilst others, which were harmless, are accepted in it. A
comparison of the customs of both nations would throw much light upon their relative posi
tions. The grand purpose of the separation of the Israelites from other nations was the un
equivocal maintenance of monotheism. Moses therefore declared that the gods which were
commended to the veneration of the ignorant masses by the Egyptian priests were false gods.
The Egyptians worshipped the stars as the representatives of the gods, the sun by the name
Ra, the moon as Joh or Isis ; but among the Israelites a worshipper of any of the heavenly
bodies was stoned. Among the Egyptians sculpture was the great support of religion; the
priests had the god hewn out in the temple, and there prayed to it ; they worshipped statues
of men, of irrational beasts, birds, and fishes ; but the Israelites were forbidden to bow down
before a chiseled or carved image. Egyptian priests shaved off their hair, but the Israelites
were forbidden to make a bald place, or even to cut the ends of the beard. The inhabitants
of lower Egypt cut marks on their bodies in honor of their gods, but the Israelites were for
bidden to cut their flesh or to make any marks in it. The Egyptians put food in the grave
with the corpses of their friends, and on their behalf sent presents of food into the temples ;
but the Israelites were forbiddenf to put any food with a corpse. The Egyptians planted
groves in the courts of their temples (like the later Alexandrine Jews in ihe courts of their
synagogues) ; but the Mosaic law forbid the Israelites to plant any tree near the altar of the
Lord. The sacred bull, Apis, was chosen by the priests of Memphis on account of black
c >lor and white spots, and Mnevis, the sacred bull of Heliopolis, bore nearly the same marks ;
but the Israelites were ordered in preparing the water of purification to take a red heifer,
perfect and young. Circumcision and abstention from swine's flesh was common to both
Egyptians arid Israelites; but the Egyptians offered swine's flesh to Isis and Osiris, and ate
of it once a month, on the day after the full moon, after the sacrifice.

In addition to their knowledge of nature, the Egyptian wise men were acquainted with
sorcery and magic, which they used for the deception of the common people. When Moses
came before Pharaoh with signs and wonders, their magicians imitated him in some cases'
The Egyptian sorcerers and magicians exerted a great and often injurious influence on the
spirit of the nation ; they spoke as if they were the messengers of heaven ; an abuse which
two thousand years after the law could hardly restrain, though it condemned to punishment
any who asked their advice. But the Mosaic law empowered the people to punish those who
would seduce them, and commanded them to stone any who practised magic or witchcraft.

We must now speak of some things which the Israelite law-giver borrowed from the land
he left. The Egyptians inscribed the praises of their kings and gods on the inner and outer
sides of the walls of their buildings, and in the'same manner the Israelites were commanded
to write the chief commands of their law upon the posts of their doors and gates. The Egyp
tians adorned the carved images of their gods with wings; the Israelites were commanded to
place at each end of the ark a cherub with outstretched wings. In a picture of a religioua

* [I have beeu unable to verify this reference in the last edition of SHARPE'S Egypt— H. O.J
f PS not the author mistaken as to any prohibition of this? — H. 0.]

$ 8. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF THE THREE BOOKS. 17

procession in the time of Rameses III., there is a representation of a statue of the god Chem
being carried, which measures two and a half cubits in length, and one and a half cubit in
height, agreeing in form and measure with the ark which the Israelites made for the taber
nacle. When the Israelites in the desert were bitten by serpents, Moses made a serpent of
copper, and fastened it upon a pole, that those bitten might look upon it and be healed ;
similar serpents are often seen on Egyptian standards ; and finally, when the Israelites fell
into idolatry, and demanded that Aaron should make them a god, he made them a golden
calf, the same animal they had frequent7.y seen worshipped at Heliopolis under the name
Mnevis, and which they themselves perhaps had worshipped.

The Israelites brought with them from Egypt a knowledge of the art of writing, and in
the perfection of the alphabet and the mode of writing, as well as the more important matters
of religion and philosophy, they soon surpassed their teachers. The Egyptian hieroglyphics,
at first representing syllables, made no further progress except that later they were used as
phonetic signs of syllables. In the enchorial character (current hand) on papyrus, the more
clumsy signs were omitted, and all strokes were made of equal thickness by a reed pen. Un
fortunately Egyptian religion forbade all attempts at change or reform, and therefore in all
ornamental and important writings the hieroglyphics were retained, which otherwise would
probably have been changed to signs of letters. The enchorial writing was used only in cur
rent hand ; but it never reached the simplicity of a modern alphabet. The Hebrew square
characters were derived directly from the hieroglyphics, and the world owes it to the He
brews that instead of writing in symbols an alphabet was formed by which a sign expresses
a sound. The Israelites admired the grand buildings of the Egyptians, but made no attempt
to imitate them. They early saw the great pyramids, and might have known when and how
they were built, but they probably satisfied themselves with the remark, that giants built
them. That Israelite religion and philosophy were not derived from the valley of the Nile
appears from the following : among the Israelites there was no encouragement to trade, for
the taking of interest was forbidden by law; women were not permitted to be priests; the
reward of the good and the punishment of the wicked was not, as among the Egyptians, ex
pected after death, but here on earth ;* religious mysteries were as foreign to the Israelites as
to the Egyptians the thought that the earth could be deluged by rain. In general, Helio
polis, from its close connection with Chaldea, received far more science and instruction from
Babylon than it returned thither. On the similarity between Egyptian and Israelite cus
toms comp. Thoth by UHLEMANN, p. 7. EBEES, Egypten und die Biicher Moses, Vol. I.,
Leipzig, 1868.

Growth of Israel in Egypt.
If we regard the sojourn of Israel in Egypt as so short in duration as Lepsius would

* [This is the common view, but it does not accord with some of the plainest facts of revelation. At the beginning of
the Pentateuch stands the account of the death of Abel by the hands of Cain. Accepted as righteous by God (Gen. iv. 4;
Heb. xi. 4), the younger brother, for DO crime on his part, is murdered by the elder; and this murderer, though under a
curse, lives to become the head of a long line of descendants, who enjoy in rich abundance the good things of this world.
The righteous is cut off in early youth. The wicked lives in security and wealth. If there were no other .revelation on
this subject in the Pentateuch, this account would be sufficient to teach every believer in God, who is just, that His re
wards and punishments are not confined to this world, but must be expected beyond death. Enoch was righteous I efore
God, but he had not lived to half the age of the other patriarchs before the Flood when he was translated. Was his reward
here ? Heb. xi. 5, 6. The expectations of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as to their reward, were utterly deceived, if they were
confined to this world. And what was the reward of Moses on earth ? He tells us in the 90th Psalm that after three-score
years and ten the strength of man is "labor and sorrow;" and in Deuteronomy he rehearses to the people the pangs of the
burden he had borne in leading the people, and declares that death on the eastern side of the Jordan was to be his punish
ment for his sin at Meribah. No, all these patriarchs prove by their lives the truth of Paul's words respecting all believers
that "if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." Their latter days must have been
shrouded in impenetrable gloom if they looked for their reward here— and in that gloom the promise of God must have va
nished for them and for us. But the New Testament plainly says that all these men were men of faith. " Now faith is as
surance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. ***** But
•without faith it is impossible to please God; for he that cometh to God mnst believe that He is, and that He is a Rewarder
of those who diligently seek Him." Heb. xi. 1, 2, 6. Jesus says the doctrine of the resurrection was taught by Moses
(Matt. xxii. 32; Ex. iii. 6), and the Epistle to the Hebrews asserts that both Abraham and Moses believed it (Heb. xi. 13-
19, 26). The only rational solution of their lives is a belief in rewards and punishments after death. The earliest revela
tion, in the first four chapters of Genesis, was enough by itself to establish this faith.— H. 0.]

18 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

make it, then it would not have been possible in that time for Jacob's family to become a
great nation. But if, on the other hand, we accept twice the length of time given in the
Bible it would be questionable whether the people, through so long an oppression, could
have preserved their Jewish peculiarities and religious traditions, as in this interim, they
were left to natural development on the basis of patriarchal revelation. " It has been argued
from 1 Sam. ii. 27 that there was not an interruption of divine revelation during the stay in
Egypt. But the argument is unsound. The meaning of the words, * I plainly appeared unto
the house of the fathers, when they were in Egypt, in Pharaoh's house,' etc., is fully ex
hausted if we suppose them to refer to the last year of the sojourn of the Israelites there.
At the same time it is a strong proof that religious consciousness was kept alive in the hearts
of the people, that in so many of the proper names which were given during that period
(Numb, iii.) the name of God is found as one of the component parts." KURTZ, Vol.
II, p. 177.

Moses found existing among his people an organization of the tribes, heads of tribes,
who as elders exercised authority in their tribes (Ex. iv. 29). The religious zeal which Levi
first manifested in fanaticism (Gen. xxxiv.) seems to have remained in a purer form in the
tribe of Levi, as appears from the call of Moses, from the course of the sons of Levi at the
punishment of the idolatry of the golden calf, and from the blessing of Moses.

A tendency of the Jews to dispersion, the opposite pole to their strong coherence in their
peculiarities, in its loftier motive prefigured by the emigration of Abraham (Gen. xii.), first
shows itself in the separation of Judah (Gen. xxxviii.), and seems to have been felt fre
quently during the settlement of the Israelites in Goshen. Concerning an earlier emigra
tion (1 Chron. vii. 21) of some of the sons of Ephraim to Canaan, and a colonization of some
of the sons of Judah in Moab (1 Chroii. iv. 22), comp. Kurtz, vol. 2, p. 177. The Danites in
the time of the Judges (Judg. xviii.) left their home and conquered the city Lais in northern
Canaan, and gave to it the name Dan. Later the tribe of Simeon left their narrow bounds
within the tribe of Judah and disappear among the other tribes (1 Chron. v.) : a circum
stance which throws light on the last statement of the tradition in the blessing of Moses in
which Simeon's name is wanting. Even in Egypt many Israelites seem to have exchanged
their home in Goshen for settlements among the Egyptians, for in this way alone could arise
the familiar relations with Egyptian neighbors, which appear in the presents to the Jews of
articles of silver and gold. Similar to the tax-gatherer •* under the Eomans in the time of
Christ were the Jewish scribes and bailiffs whom the Egyptians obtained among the Jews
themselves to confirm their despotic rule over them. In like manner the two midwives, who
probably were the heads of a class of midwives (Ex. i. 15), are described as Hebrews.

\ 9. MOSES.

Comp. the articles under this title in WmER, HERZOG, ZELLER (bibl. Worterbuch], and
the index of the literature further on. We regard as the peculiarity of Moses, legal consci
entiousness in a highly gifted nature under the leading of the revelation of God. Hence he
stands in the history of the kingdom of God as KO,T' igoxvv, the servant of God in contrast to
the Son in the house, who in a yet higher, the very highest sense, was the servant of God
(Heb. iii.). Hence his renunciation of the world is based upon his " respect to the recom
pense of the reward " (Heb. xi. 26). As a champion of the law, but in misunderstanding of
the law, he smote the Egyptian (Ex. ii. 12) ; then he became the protector of the oppressed
women in the desert. For forty years he maintained his faith clear ; then he thought he
had failed of the conditions of his call, and felt that by the wrath of God he was brought
near to death because his Midianite wife had probably long been a hindrance to the circum
cision of his sons (Ex. iv. 24). It is specially remarkable that though he governed the people
in the desert with a strong hand by the law, he condemned himself because for an apparently
small omission or transgression (Numb. xx. 12) he saw prescribed by Jehovah his great
punishment, which indeed he prescribed for himself,* that he should not with the people

* [There is no warrant for this in Numb. xx. 12; xxvii. 14; Deut. xxxii. 51, 52; Psalm cvi. 33, or elsewhere, that I am
aware of. Moses' death was not brought about by his remorse, but was accomplished as God had foretold and by God. — n.O.J

2 9. MOSES. 19

enter the land of promise. This is the legal conscience of an eminently ethical mind. Moses
thus stands in strong contrast to a fanatical spiritualization, which, like the c >mpany of
Korah, Would anticipate New Testament relations, as well as to the soulless perversion of the
law into mere rules, eke he could hardly have broken the first tables of the law, or have
come down with the second tables from Sinai with his face shining, or in the original docu
ments forming the basis of Deuteronomy, have drawn the lines of a spiritual inter
pretation of the law. Aaron, who could play the fanatic (Ex. xxxii. 5), as a man of mere
legal rules, together with Miriam, at times opposed Moses (Numb. xii.). As the faithful
steward of the law, Moses stands in harmonious contrast to the Gospel economy;
only a temporary and intermediate evangelist, who on Sinai (Ex. xxxiv.) had heard Jeho
vah's exposition of His name; the faithful theocrat, who bylaw and symbol pointed to
t'hrist (Numb. xi. 29).

As nature points beyond itself to the region of spirit, as the law points beyond itself to
the Gospel and its royal law of freedom (James i. 25 ; ii. 8), the law of the Spirit (Rom.
viii.), so the mediator of the divine law points beyond himself to the Prophet of the future
(Deut. xviii. 15). At the beginning and the end of his declaration of the ethical law in the de
calogue there are the germs of the coming law of freedom, " who brought thee out of the
house of bondage," " thou shalt not covet."

Besides Moses' relation to Christ we must mark within the Old Testament his relation
to Elijah and Elisha. Elijah is the Old Testament counterpart of Moses on the side of legal
retribution ; but Elisha is the expounder of Moses as to the spirituality of the law, its gentle
ness and mercy, the coming gospel.

The grandeur of the genius of Moses appears in striking contrasts, pre-eminently in the
contrast of his firm conscientiousness with his prophetic power as a seer ; then in the contrast
of his eminent worldly wisdom, with his inner spiritual life; in the contrast of his delicacy
with his heroic vigor ; in the contrast of his deep sensitiveness to the signs of the curse and
the signs of the blessing; and finally in the opposite traits of the mildest humanity, yea, of
priestly self-sacrifice (Ex. xxxii. 11, 31; Numb.: the laws of humanity) and of the inexora
ble firmness of the law-giver (Ex. xxxii. 27; Numb. xiv. 28; chap. xiv.).

That Moses should not be identified with Jewish superficial legality, with the letter of
the law that " killeth," though as a national law-giver he was compelled to exercise specially
the office of death (2 Cor. iii. 7), that this was not his whole office (as Luther would lead us
to infer), is apparent from the fact that by the side of the ethical law he has placed the law
of atonement, the theocratic reform of the traditional law of offerings. And that he did not
intend to establish a real hierarchy is proved by his laying the basis of civil rights, the first
article of which regulates the emancipation of slaves. We judge the Papacy too leniently
and wrongfully when we assert that it is a return to the Old Testament priesthood — a priest
hood that would absorb utterly all prophecy and all political authority !

Among the great law-givers of antiquity Moses stands in solitary grandeur. He alone
gave to others the two most popular offices in national life: the high-priesthood to Aaron,
the chief command of the army to Joshua. As prophet he points beyond himself and his
institutions to the future ; he does not obliterate the hope of the future which Abraham had
impressed upon his religion, but filled it with life and unfolded it chiefly through symbols,
But it was the Spirit of God who, in addition to his great genius, and by means of special
direction, made him capable of these great things. The common characteristic of all mighty
men of God and of faith, who made known the revelation of God, unconquerable patience
and endurance, the sign of the victorious perseverance of the kingdom of God, especially of
Christianity, as it appeared in many individuals, the firmness of Noah, Abraham, Jeremiah,
but pre-eminently the patient and long-suffering perseverance of the Lord, these also appear
in typical traits, and though imperfect, yet in peculiar beauty, as the special marks of the
character of Moses. Hence in his old age a single act of impatience, reflecting the severely
punished impatient act of his earlier years, was sorely requited, though this single false step
was so turned by God as to give to his life a solemn and glorious ending on the eve of enter-

20 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

ing Canaan (Deut. xxxiv.). He was not allowed to pass into obscurity behind Joshua, the
general, or to close his life without solemnity at an unimportant time.

Finally there is one trait in the character of Moses to be considered which has been
almost entirely overlooked, because, in the interest of an abstract supranaturalism, or of a
criticism which resolves them into myths, his miracles have been discussed without respect
to their means. If we believe in a charism, that is, that a gift of nature is always the basis
of a gift of grace, and this gift of nature becomes a charism by being purified and inspired
by the Spirit of grace, we will find this synthesis constantly appearing in heroic proportions
in the sphere of revelation. And accordingly it was a sense of nature grand and deep, an
instinctive sensibility for nature which Jehovah made the exponent of His revelations in
nature in Egypt and the wilderness, the miracles of Moses. For if every scriptural miracle
is a miracle both of knowledge and of power, then in the miracles of Moses there is surpass
ing knowledge, a piercing into the depths of nature which the Spirit of the Lord opened to
him. His power is a dauntless trust in God, by which he lifts his rod, which accomplishes
the miracle, not as by magic, but as a symbol, pointing to the strong arm of the Lord. With
respect to Moses' knowledge of the deep things of nature, we can distinguish his knowledge
of natural history, of the earth, of geology, of psychology, and of the laws of health; but
each of these the Spirit of revelation had made a charism.

$ 10. THE DESERT AND THE MIDIANTTES.

It seems to be a primary law of the divine economy and instruction that the people of
God should be born in servitude and brought up in the desert (Hos. ii. 14; ix. 10). For not
only did the nation of Israel come forth from the house of bondage and take its stamp in the
desert, but also Israel's reformation after the Babylonian captivity under Ezra, its second
Moses ; and Christians grew to be the people of God under the despotism of the old world
and in the great desert of asceticism, and the Christian Reformation was compelled to pass
through servitude and the desert. For the German Reformation the desert was prepared by
the devastations of the thirty years' war; the French Reformation received its purification
in the Church of the desert.

As the land arose out of the earlier formation of the sea (Gen. i.), so the deserts, like the
steppes, appear to have come forth by changes in the formation of the sea, as though they
were bottoms of seas, rocky, stony, salt and sandy plains, without water or vegetation. The
old world is to a large extent covered with deserts, and the Arabian desert, with which we
are concerned, with its many parts and projections, is pre eminently the desert (see WINER,
Worterbuch], having, in connection with the great stretch of desert from the northwest
coast of Africa to northern Asia, two great wings, the desert of Sahara in North Africa and
the desert of Zobi in Northern Asia. The desert is nearly allied to the region of the dead,
to Hades; it forms dead places of the living earth, and is the place of death to many pil
grims who attempt to cross it. Yet water has won for itself many parts of the desert (as
the earth has won a portion of the sea by the formation of islands), steppe-like pasture-lands,
real shepherds' commons p31D) and spice-bearing oases. The most remarkable conquest
has been that of the Nile, the father of Egypt, over the desert on its right and left bank.
The Red Sea also intersects the desert.

As to the configuration of the Arabian desert, we refer to the articles in the lexicons on
the desert and Arabia, as well as to the most important narratives of travels and to maps.

The Midianites, to whom Moses fled, and among whom he was prepared for his calling,
seem to have been a nomadic branch of an Arabian tribe, descendants of Abraham and Ke-
turah (Gen. xxv. 2-4), which had its home on the eastern side of the Elanitic gulf, where
the ruins of the city of Madian still testify to their settlement, and which carried on the
caravan-trade between Gilead and Arabia, from eastern lands to Egypt, whilst another
branch extended eastward to the plain of Moab. Thus they became closely interwoven with
the history of the Jews. Midianite merchants brought Joseph as a slave to Egypt; with the
nomad Midianite prince, Jethro, Moses found a refuge for many years; and Jethro exerted
important influence even in the organization of the Mosaic economy, and assisted the mis-

10. THE DESERT AND THE MIDIANITES. 21

sion of Moses by a fatherly care for his family (Ex. xviii.). On the other hand, it was the
Midianites who, in league with the Moabites, by means of their wanton idolatrous festivals,
almost brought the people of Israel to destruction (Num. ch. xxv. and xxxi.), so that Moses
found it necessary to take vengeance on the Midianites, that his people might be freed from
their customs, as they previously had been freed from Egyptian customs by the passage
through the Red Sea. Again, later in the time of the Judges they were a scourge of the
Israelites, from which the Israelites were delivered by the victory of Gideon (Judg. ch. vi.
and 8). In Isaiah Ix. 6 a nomad Midianite people is mentioned, part of whom were peace
ful shepherds in the desert, and others formed a band of Arabian robbers. Comp. the art.
"Midian " in WINER and KURTZ II. 192.

The March through the Desert.

For a comprehensive synopsis of the literature, see KURTZ II. 360 ; BR^M, Israels Wan-
derung von Gosen bis zum Sinai, Elberfeld, 1851; EBERS, Durch Gosen zum /Sinai, Leipzig,
1872.

From the Indian Ocean the Arabian gulf stretches north -westwardly, and divides Asia
from Africa until it reaches the isthmus of Suez. Its eastern side bounds Arabia, and its
western side bounds Ethiopia, Nubia and Egypt. On the north it branches fork-like ; the
left prong, the Sea of Sedge, or the Hero opolitanic Gulf, extends towards the Mediterranean
-with which, as is shown by the Bitter lakes and a Mediterranean gulf, it is loosely connected,
while the right prong, the Gulf of Akabeh, or the Eianitic gulf, seems by a long reach to seek
the Dead Sea, with which it is connected by the long ravine of the Arabah. Between the
two gulfs is the Arabian desert, through which lay a great part of the journey of the Israel
ites. This journey was first along the Gulf of Suez, and then by the west shore of the Eia
nitic gulf, and through the Arabah to Kadesh; then it returned to the head of the Eianitic
gulf. The smaller division of the journey begins with the crossing of the Arabah at the
head of the gulf, in order to pass around the mountains of Seir and in the plains of Moab to
exchange the toil of the pilgrim for the march of war.

In the adjustment of the minute, but not very clear accounts of the journey through
the desert (Ex. ch. xiv.-19; Deut. x. 12-21, 33), we must, as VON RAUMER rightly remarks,
distinguish between days' journeys and encampments or days of rest, as well as between
mere encampments and long settlements. So also we must distinguish between the stations
of the encampments of the people and the marches of the army.

It seems also very important to distinguish between the two sojourns of the army (not
of the mass of the people) in Kadesh. The true key for the solution of the greatest difficulty
in the determination of the stations appears to be in Deut. i. 46: "So ye abode in Kadesh "
(again) "many days," " according unto the days that ye abode there," (OvJ3B^ "^j* D'OT3,
Sao? TTore faepas eve/tdiJ^r^e). The Vulgate has only " multo tempore.'1 According to KNO-
BEL this means: they remained still in Kadesh a long time, to wit, just as long as they did
remain. But we prefer to translate: equal to a time ye wished to make it your abiding resi
dence. The two sojourns in Kadesh will not seem so improbable, if, as according to VON
RAUMER'S map, the people twice went over the route from the Eianitic gulf to Kadesh. In
Deut. i. 46 we are told, the Israelites at the first time left Kadesh to pass into Palestine; but
when they were smitten by the Amorites, they settled in Kadesh (Num. xx. 1).

The first division of the whole journey in the Arabian desert extends to the first settle
ment of Israel in Kadesh in the desert of Paran (Num. xiii. 1 ; Deut. i. 19). The sections
of this journey are as follows: 1. Journey from Rameses to Succoth and Etham, and turning
ia the direction of Pi-hahiroth on the sea-shore ; 2. Passage through the sea and journey to
the encampment in Elim ; 3. From Elim to Sinai, and encampment before Sinai (Ex. xiii.
17 — xix. 1) ; 4. Departure from Sinai, and journey parallel with the western coast of the
Eianitic gulf to Hazeroth and to Kadesh in the desert of Paran (Num. x. 12 — xiii. 1) ; 5.
Certain incidents of the first settlement in Kadesh ; the spies; the insurrection of the people
against Moses; the decree of God that that generation should die in the desert, and that the

22 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

wandering should last forty years (Num. xiv. 34) ; the fool-hardy march of the people and
their rout to Hormah, to which the supplementary account returns (Num xx. 1) : " And the
children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin ;" so that they
returned from Hormah back again to Kadesh. The second division of the journey through
the desert includes the obscure thirty-eight years' abode in Kadesh (Deut. i. 46). The de
cree of Jehovah was fulfilled in this period. After this comes the journey to Mount Hor,
the chain of mountains forming the eastern boundary of the Arabah (Num. xx. 23), and
not lying in the land of Edom. After that Moses was compelled by the threatening attitude
of the Edomites to give up the attempt to reach the eastern side of the Dead Sea f.om Ka
desh across the Arabah (Num. xx. 20). The death and burial of Aaron on Mount Hor (for
another name of the place, see Dt. x. 6) necessitated a longer sojourn (Num. xx 29). I is
again related that the king of the Canaanites at Arad fought Israel when he heard that they
would force their way into the land by the way to Athariin. The Vulgate translates: " by
the way of the spies," and exegetically this is doubtless right; it is the same history which
is told in Num. xiv. 45, as appears from the locality, Hormah (Num. xxi. 3). But the fact
is again mentioned because with it is joined the assertion that Israel received satisfaction for
this defeat.

The first countermarch was from Etham to Pi-hahiroth, the second from Hormah to
Kadesh and Hor, and the third makes a complete return from Hor to the head of the gulf
of Akabeh, "to compass the land of Edoin" (Num. xxi. 4; Deut. ii. 1). In the neighbor
hood of Elath and Ezion-geber the road led them between the gulf of Akabeh and the end
of the Arabah onwards to the desert of Moab. With the crossing of the brook Zered the
decree of the wandering was accomplished, and therefore the whole period of this wandering
is stated at thirty-eight years (Deut. ii. 14). The words "the space " (of time) " in which we
came from Kadesh- barnea,'' plainly indicate the first departure from Kadesh towards south
ern Palestine, and the second long sojourn in Kadesh is included in the thirty-eight years.
The Israelites were not to pass through the centre of Moab (Deut. ii. 18), or through the ter
ritory of Ammon (ver. 19). From the wilderness of Kedemoth, near by a city of the same
name in what was afterwards the territory of Reuben, the conquests begin. The embassy to
Sihon at Heshbon asks permission for a peaceful passage through his land, though Moses
foresaw the hostile refusal a jd its consequence, as he had when he asked Pharaoh to permit
the people to go into the desert to hold a feast (Ex. v. 1). This policy is justified by the
consideration that the grant, though highly improbable, would have obliged the grantor to
keep his word. After the conquest of Heshbon east of Jordan over against Jericho, northern
Gilead from Wady Arnon to Mount Hermon was the fruit of the victory over Og, King of
Bashan, who made the first attack (Num. xxi. 33; Deut. iii.). The conquered country wan
apportioned, and the army returned to the "valley over against Beth peor" (Deut. iii. 29;
Num. xxii. 1), where Moses gives his last orders before closing his course in mysterious soli
tude on Mount Nebo (Deut. xxxiv. 6). Here at Beth-peor, or in the plains of Moab, the
people were brought into great danger by Balak, the King of Moab. He did not succeed in
cursing Israel, but in enticing them by the counsel of the false prophet Balaam, who had
just before been made to bless them (Num. xxxi. 8). In Beth-peor they were near to the
temple of their idol, where obscene idol feasts were held. The enticement was accomplished
by the Moabites and by that branch of the Midianites which had its home in the mountains
to the east ; but the war of vengeance which Moses ordered, and which was intended to pre
vent the moral degeneracy of the young generation who had so grandly begun their mission,
was called a war against the Midianites, perhaps in tenderness to Moab. The war was con
cluded, and Moses' work was done.

There were the best reasons for the circuitous marches of the people. For the first cir
cuit the reasons are given. Had they gone direct through the desert to Canaan, they would
have been compelled to fight with the Philistines, and they were not prepared for this (Ex.
xiii 17) In addition to this, there was a second purpose in the counsel of God j Israel must

10. THE DESERT AND THE MIDIANITES.

pass through the Red Sea, that thereby destruction might come on Pharaoh pursuing them
(Ex. xiv. 1).

For the second circuit there are also two reasons. As Israel at first would not venture,
even with Jehovah's aid, to enter southern Palestine, and then made the attempt presump
tuously without Jehovah, and was punished with defeat, their courage, the courage of the
old generation, was broken. But when the new generation strove to march through Edoin
to attack Canaan from the east, they were forbidden to do so on account of their relationship
to Edom ; and hence the motive for their great circuit and return to the Red Sea. And
again they must make detours in order to avoid war with Moab and Ammon. On this
march the way led them between Moab and Ammon, so that the capital of Moab was on the
left and the territory of Ammon on the right.

The desert through which Israel passed, Arabia Petrsea, is divided into a succession of
separate deserts, of Shur, of Sin, of Sinai, of Paran, etc., stretches of sand, of gravel, of stones
and rocky wastes.

For the geography of Edom and the lands east of Jordan, see the articles Seir, Moab,
Ammon, in the Bible Dictionaries ; and the numerous books of travel, VON SCHUBERT,
STRAUSS, PALMER, TRISTAM, PORTER, BURTON ; the geographical works of RITTER, DAN
IEL and others, especially the geography of Palestine by VON RAUMER, ROBINSON and
others.

On the differences in the indications of the lines of March, comp. WINER, Arabische
Wuste, though he does not adhere to the simplicity of the Biblical narrative. In order to
harmonize these statements, we must suppose that the list (Num. xxxiii.) contains not only
the encampments and day's journeys, but also lesser way-stations, and we must also remem
ber the oriental custom of giving several names to the same object, and in addition, there
may be interpolations in places not well understood.

As has been remarked, there were two sojourns in Kadesh, but not as they are usually
conceived from a misunderstanding of Num. xiii. 1 ; xx. 1, and xxxiii. 36. The station
Moseroth (Num. xxxiii. 31) must be identical with Mount Hor, where, according to Num.
xxxiii. 38 (comp. Deut. x. 6 ; Num. xx. 22), Aaron died, and if we accept the list of stations
as without error (Num. xxxiii.), the sojourn in Kadesh must have been near Moseroth
(Num. xxxiii. 31). The verses 36 to 40 appear to be an explanation which perhaps was
taken from the margin into the text. According to Num. xxxiii. 31 the Israelites came from
Moseroth to Bene-jaakan ; but according to Deut. x. 6, they came from Bene-jaakan to Mo-
sera. This contradiction is solved by supposing that on their journey northward, they came
from Moseroth to Bene-jaakan, and marching southward, they removed from Beeroth Beiie-
jaakan to Moseroth, which agrees with the shorter narrative. It appears then from the
parallel accounts that Aaron died at Mount Hor on the return march to Moseroth, and fur
ther, that the sojourn in Kadesh is to be sought in the well-watered country of the sons of
Jaakan. It is also plain that we can speak as truly of the sojourns in Kadesh as of one.
There were two sojourns of the army in Kadesh, since after its march from Kadesh towards
Canaan, it was brought back to this encampment ; but the mass of the people had remained
there. The following is the list of stations (Num. xxxiii.) and the parallel statements:

1. FROM RAMESES TO RED SEA, PI-HAHIBOTH.

Rameses.
Succoth.

Etham.
Pi-hahiroth.

2. FROM RED SEA TO SINAI.

Marah.

Elim.

Red Sea.

Desert of Sin.

Dophkah.

Alush.

Rephidim.

Sinai

Exodus.

Succoth.

Etham.

Pi-hahiroth.

Desert of Shur; Marah.
Elim.

Desert of Sin, between Elim and Sinai
(Quails (anticipated on account of the manna, see
Num. xi.), Manna, Sabbath).

GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

3. FROM SINAI TO EZION-GEBER, AND THENCE TO BENE-JAAKAN
(Kadesh).
Kibroth-hattaavah.
Hazeroth.
Rithmah.
Rimmon-parez.
Libnah.
Rissah.
Kehelathah.
Mount Shapher.
Haradah.
Makheloth.
Tahath.
Tarah.
Mithcah.
Hashmonah.
Moseroth.
Bene-jaakan (Kadesh).

4. FROM KADESH TO EZION-SEBEK.

Hor-hagidgad (Moseroth ?).

Jotbathah.

Ebronah.

Ezion-geber (vers. 36-40, later addition).

5. FROM EZION-GEBER OR MOUNT SEIK ON ITS EAST SIDE TO

BOUNDARY OF MOAB.

Zalmonah.

Punon.

Oboth.

Ije-abarim.

6. FROM THE BOUNDARY OF MOAB TO THE PLAINS Or MOAB

OPPOSITE JERICHO.

Dibon-gad.

Almon-diblathaim.

Abarim near Nebo.

Plains of Moab, opposite Jericho.

Num. xi. From Sinai to Desert of Paran.

Taberah, Kibroth-hattaavah (Quails).
Hazeroth.

Desert of Paran and Kadesh-barnea (Deut. i. 19),

especially Zin (Kadesh, Deut. i. 46).
Kadesh-Hormah, Num. xiv. 45.
Hormah-Kadesh.

Num. xx. 22. Kadesh.
Hor.

Red Sea.

Oboth.
Ije-abarim.

Brook (Valley) of Zered.

Arnon.

Beer.

Mattanah.

Nahaliel.

Bamoth.

Mount Pisgah.

Plains of Moab.

The statements of the Book of Numbers are more clearly defined by those of Deutero
nomy.

1. General direction from Horeb or Sinai to the mount of the Amorites (Kadesh, Deut.
i. 6). March through the desert to Kadesh-barnea, ver. 19.

2. Sortie from Kadesh to the mount of the Amorites. Defeat and return to Kadesh.
Settlement there for a long time, ch. i. 43-46.

3. Return by Mount Seir to the Red Sea, chap. ii. 1.

4. From Elath and Ezion-geber march northward on the eastern side of Mount Seir.
March through desert of Moab, chap. ii. 8. Passage of brook Zered. March through the
boundary of Moab. Avoidance of the territory of the Ammonites. Passage of the Arnon,
chap. ii. 24.

Special notice, chap. x. 6, 7, concerning Aaron and the priesthood. These verses appear
to be an interpolation, as ver. 8 refers to ver. 5. At this time, by the ordination of Eleazar,
son of Aaron, the tribe of Levi was entrusted with the priesthood, chap. x. 8. March from
Beeroth-jaakan (Kadesh) to Mosera (Mount Hor). Thence to the stations Gudgodah and
Jotbath (Hor-hagidgad and Jotbathah, Numb, xxxiii.).

The whole narrative is made clearer by the well-founded view that Mount Hor is used in
a wider and in a narrower signification. According to the first, it signifies the range of Seir,
while the Hor on which Aaron died is also called Moseroth, near Hor-hagidgad or Gudgodah.
Similarly Kadesh, in its narrower signification (Kadesh-barnea) must be distinguished from.
Kadesh in its wider signification.

\ 11. THE SOJOURN OF THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS IN KADESH. 25

The common interpretations make the people to have marched twice from Ezion-geber
to Kadesh, and twice from Kadesh to Ezion-geber. This contradicts Deuteronomy.

After the decree of Jehovah that the old generation should die in the wilderness, there
could be no purpose in the people's making long marches hither and thither. They must
have moved only so far in the desert of Paran a/ound the central point, Kadesh, in the de
sert of Zin, as the mode of life and the sustenance of a nomadic people required.

On the question, whether Horeb or Serbal, see EBERS, Durch Gosen zum Sinai, Leip
zig, 1872.

| 11. THE SOJOURN OF THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS IN KADESH.

In the midst of the marvellous journey through the desert there is a period, like that
between Joseph and Moses, hidden in obscurity. We only know that Jehovah left the peo
ple to their natural development, so that the old generation trained in Egyptian servitude
died in the desert, and a new generation of brave sons of the desert grew up. The troubles
of Israel correspond to this difference between the old and the new generation.

The sins of the old generation are pre-eminently sins of despondency : as the displeasure
of the Israelites in Egypt at the mission of Moses (Ex. v. 21; vi. 9) ; the lamentation of the
people at Pi-hahiroth (Ex. xiv. 10, 11) ; the murmuring at the bitter water of Marah (Ex.
xv. 23, 24) ; the longing for the flesh-pots of Egypt in the desert of Sin (Ex. xvi. 3); the
murmuring on account of the want of water at Massah and Meribah (Ex. xvii. 7) ; the flight
of tin people from the mount of the law (Ex. xx. 18) ; the cowardly motive in setting up the
golden calf (Ex. xxxii. 1) ; the sin of impatience (Numb. xi. 1); the pusillanimous longing
for flesh to eat (Numb. xi. 4-10) ; the perversion of the law to a mere set of rules by Miriam
and Aaron (Numb. xii. 1) ; finally the faint-heartedness of the majority of the spies and of
the whole people (Numb. chap. xiii. — chap. xiv. 1 f), which they sought to atone for by a
presumptuous attempt.

During the sojourn in Kadesh there occurred the rebellion of Korah's company (Numb,
xvi. 1 f.), the rebellion of the whole people (Numb. xvi. 42), and the second rebellion on ac
count of the want of water (Numb. xx. 11). Here appears a youthful, presumptuous self-
assertion. The old generation demanded a hierarchy (Ex. xx. 19) ; on the other hand, the
new generation would anticipate the universal priesthood.

The sins of the new, strong generation that marches from Kadesh have the impress of
presumption. At first they were vexed because of 'the way and the food (Numb. xxi. 4, 5),
and they were punished with fiery serpents. Then, later, in Shittim, they took part in the
idolatry of the Moabites, and committed whoredom with their daughters (Numb. xxv.).
Soon after this the tribes of Reuben and Gad make demands for separation, which only the
authority of Moses suffices to direct aright (chap, xxxii.).

As regards the long middle period of the sojourn in Kadesh, KURTZ supposes a period
of defection or of exclusion for thirty-eight (Lehrbuch der heiligen Geschichte, p. 89) or thirty-
seven years (Hist, of Old Covenant). " The theocratic covenant was suspended, and therefore
the theocratic history had nothing to record. Circumcision, the sign of the covenant, was
omitted ; they profaned the Lord's Sabbaths, despised His laws, and did not live according to
His commands (Ezech. xx.). Burnt-offerings and meat-offerings they did not brinir, but they
carried the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of their god Remphan (Saturn), figures which
they made (Acts vii. 43 ; Amos v. 25, 26). But the Lord had compassion on the outcasts, and
restrained His anger, so as not to destroy them. He fed them with manna, and gave them
water from the rock to drink." KURTZ, in his History of the Old Covenant, rightly says, that
as the people could not have found food at one place for thirty-seven years, the mass of the
people must have been, after the decree against them, scattered in small bodies over the
whole (?) desert, and must have settled in the oases found by them until by the call of Moses
they were collected again at Kadesh.

But we must distinguish between falling away, exclusion, and repentance. A people
fallen away is not fed with manna and by miracle given drink from the rock. A peo
ple under excommunication is not disburdened of the excommunication by a promised ter-

26 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

mination of it. A repentant people is not one falling away. As regards the passage quoted
from Ezekiel, it speaks first of sins in Egypt (chap. xx. 8), which are not now under conside
ration; the more general sins in the desert (ver. 13) do not belong here; not until the fif-
t-enth verse is there an obscure hint of the time of punishment in Kadesh ; and ver. 21
speaks of a new generation, which was afterwards delivered to the service of Moloch (vers.
25, 26; cornp. chap, xxiii. 37). But this corruption is joined with the worship of lust, and
hence we can suppose that the mention of it refers to the great sin in Shittim. To the same
great sin, in all probability, Stephen refers in his speech. Acts vii., where he quotes the pas
sage in Amos. That the sins of omission of the sacrifices and meal-offerings and circumcision
were general, is explained by the temptations of their trials in the desert. The worship of
Moloch and that of Saturn are allied as the gloomy antithesis of the more cheerful worship
<>f Baal or of Jupiter, and yet they are connected with them. The history of the company of
Korah, which occurs at this time, shows that the covenant of Jehovah with Israel was not
suspended at this period.

For the position of Kadesh, see the Lexicons and Travels in this region.

§ 12. RELIGIOUS AND SYMBOLIC MODE OF REPRESENTATION — ESPECIALLY THE POETICAL
AND HISTORICAL SIDE OF THE THREE BOOKS.

In general, we refer to what was said in this Comm. Introd. to Genesis. But we
must reiterate that the religious mode of representation requires repetitions and insertions
which are foreign to a scientific exact treatise ; as, for instance, the mention of Aaron, Deut.
x.; the insertion of Kadesh, Numb, xxxiii. 36, etc.

More important is the consideration of symbolic expression. We have before ( Comm.
Genesis, page 23) distinguished it plainly from the mythical and the literal. It cannot
be understood without a perception of its specific character, as it is used to define
clearly (e. g., the Nile became blood), to generalize (bringing the quails), to hyperbolize
(Egyptian darkness), but constantly to idealize (words of Balaam's ass), for the vivid repre
sentation of the ideal meaning of facts. The mythical conception disregards not only the
essential constancy of the facts, but also their perennial religious effect; the literal concep
tion, on the other hand, disregards entirely their ideal meaning, as well as the spirit and the
mode of statement, the theocratic-epic coloring. Both are united in being opposed to
the peculiar mysterious character of revelation. This is specially true of the miracles of
the Mosaic period.

The highly poetic and yet essentially true history of the leading of Israel to Canaan cul
minates on its poetical side in its songs (SACK, Die Lieder in den historischen Buchern des
Alien Testaments, Barmen, 1864). The first lyrical note in Genesis is heard in God's words
on the destiny of man (Comm. Gen. i.), then in the song of Lamech and in other portions.
Again we hear it in Moses's song of redemption (Ex. xv.), and again, after the afflictions of
the old generation, it awakes with the new generation. In close connection with the original
poetic works (Book of the Wars of the Lord, Numb. xxi. 14) come the songs of victory and
festival (Numb. xxi. 14, 15, 17, 18, 27-30); the blessings of Moses (Numb. vi. 24-27; x. 35,
36) ; blessings even out of the mouth of Balaam, their enemy. The crown of those lyrics is
formed at the close of Deuteronomy by the two poems, the Song of Moses and the blessing
of Moses, the solemn expression of the fundamental thought of the whole law, especially of
Deuteronomy, blessing and curse. The first poem is well-nigh all shadow, the last is full
of light.

The historical side of the three books culminates in the lists of generations, in the direc
tions for building the tabernacle, in the list of encampments, in the statutes, and, above all,
in the decalogue. We must also remark that the history of Moses would be entirely misun
derstood if we should regard it as the beginning of the history of the Israelites, or if we should
sunder it entirely from the history of the patriarchs. Moses and his legislation are only un
derstood in connection with Abraham and the Abrahamitic basis of his religion. By this
measure those new theological opinions are to be judged which would commence this history
with Moses.

$ 13. MIRACLES OF THE MOSAIC PERIOD. 27

§ 13. MIRACLES OF THE MOSAIC PERIOD.

Abraham prayed to God under the name of El Shaddai, God Almighty. He learned to
know God's marvellous power by the birth of Isaac (Rom. iv. 17), and manifested his trust
in His omnipotence by his readiness to sacrifice his only son (Heb. xi. 17). Thus the foun
dation was laid for belief in miracles under the theocracy.

The miracles of the Mosaic period appear as peculiarly the miracles of Jehovah. He is
ever present with His miraculous help in the time of need. All changes and events in the
course of nature He orders for the needs of the theocracy, for the people of God but lately
-born, to whom such signs are a necessity. The prophet as the confidant of God has not only
the natural presentiment, but also the supernatural, God-given prescience of these great deeds
of God. Yet, since they are to serve for the education of the faith of the people, he is not
only to make them known beforehand, but performs them in symbolical acts as the organ
of the omnipotence of Jehovah. Hence we may call these miracles double miracles (see
Life of Christ, Vol. II., Part 1, p. 312).

The whole series of miracles is begun by a glorious vision. Moses beholds the Viush
burning with fire, and yet not consumed, but glowing in the bright flame. This was Israel,
his people, and how could he doubt that this vision would be fulfilled in the people of God
(Exod. iii.)? •

Also the three miracles of attestation which Moses at this time received (Ex. iv.) appear
to be miracles in vision and served to strengthen the faith of the prophet. The second sign,
the leprosy and its cure, is not used by Moses afterward, and the third, the change of the wa
ter into blood, became one of the series of Egyptian plagues. He only uses the miracle of
the rod; doubtless it comprehends a mysterious fact in symbolical expression; the swallow
ing of the rods of the sorcerers being called " destroying their works." The natural basis of the
Egyptian plagues has been well explained by HENGSTENBERG. They were all plagues usual
in Egypt, but were made miracles by their vnstness, their close connection and speedy se
quence, by their gradation from stroke to stroke, by the prophetic assurance of their predes
tination and intentional significance and use, and finally by their lofty symbolic expression.
In their totality they reveal the fearful rhythm in which, from curse to curse, great punitive
catastrophes come forth. Symbolic expression is also found in their number, ten. It is the
number of the historic course of the world. Their sequence corresponds to the course
of nature.

1. Water turned into blood.

2. Innumerable frogs.

3. Swarms of gnats (mosquitoes).

4. Dog-flies.

5. Murrain.

6. Boils and blains.

7. Storm and hail.

8. Locusts.

9. Darkness for three days (Hamsin).
10. Death of the first-born (pestilence).

For particulars see HENGSTENBERG, Egypt and the Books of Moses,- KURTZ, History of
the Old Covenant, Vol. II., 245-238.

The contest of theocratic miracle with magic represented by the Egyptian magicians is
very significant. It is an opposition of symbolic and allegorical significance, continued
through New Testament history (Acts viii.; Simon Magus- chap, xiii.; Elymas- 2 Tim. iii.
8; Jannes and Jambres), and still through Church history to its last decisive contest, when
the false prophet shall be destroyed together with his lying wonders (2 Thess. ii.;
Rev. xiii. 13).

To the miracles of the Egyptian plagues, which culminate in the overthrow of Pharaoh
and his host, is opposed the miracle of the passage of the Red Sea, the typical baptism of the
typical people of God, by which they were separated from Egypt, a reminiscence of the flood

28 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

and a type of Christian baptism (1 Cor. x. 1, 2; 1 Pet. iii. 20, 21). This miracle also has a
natural basis, as the Scriptures more than once mention. The Lord caused the sea to go
back by a strong east wind (Ex. xiv. 21). That a natural occurrence forms the basis of this
miracle is shown by the Egyptians pursuing the Israelites into the sea — for they would
hardly have ventured into it if there had been an absolutely miraculous drying up of the
sea; just as the natural explanation of the Egyptian plagues became the snare of Pharaoh's
unbelief. But on the other side, the Egyptians could hardly have made so great a mistake
in taking advantage of a natural occurrence : the ebb-tide* was miraculously great, just as
the sudden turn of the flood-tide was miraculously hastened, and therefore rightly celebrated
in the Song of Moses (Ex. xv.), and often afterwards (Ps. Ixvi. 6; cvi. 9; cxxxvi. 13-15;
Zech. x. 11).

In the investigation of the passage of the Red Sea there is a conflict between those who
seek to belittle the miracle and those who would enlarge it. Of those who take the first po
sition, K. VON RAUMER is one of the champions.

The leading of the people to the Red Sea is accomplished by the angel of the Lord in
the pillar of cloud and of fire. At the sea the cloud came between the Israelites and the
Egyptian host, so that they were separated by the cloud before they were separated by the
sea. For the distinction which the Hebrews made between this cloud and the pillar of cloud
see Ps. Ixviii. 8-10; 1 Cor. x. 2. The pillar of ftloud was a mystery, in which were united
the manifestation of the angel of the Lord and the flame ascending from the sanctuary. Af
terwards the ark of the covenant as a symbol led the people, and over it the glory of the Lord
was revealed in the cloud, and in New Testament times (Isa. iv. 5) it was to cover Zion with
its brightness. If we grasp these two miracles, the pillar of cloud and of fire and the Red
Sea, we shall gain some idea of the harmonia prcestabilita between the kingdom of grace and
the kingdom of nature, as it emerges at great deciswe epochs in ineffable glory.

The healing of the water at Marah from its bitterness is accounted for in the Scriptures
by natural means. The Lord showed Moses a tree (see the exegesis) by which the water was
made sweet. Here grace and nature work together, and here too a general idea, an ethical
law, is connected with the extraordinary fact; Jehovah will be the Physician of His people
if ihey will obey His voice (Ex. xv. 23-26).

The miracle of healing is followed by the miracle of feeding the people with manna.
The gift of quails appears to have been introduced into the account of the manna by a gene
ralizing attraction (Ex. xvi. 11-13). In Numb. xi. 31 the gift of quails appears as an entirely
new event: and they were far past Sinai then. The miracle of the manna enclosed a special
mysterious occurrence, which was made the symbol of the true relation between the labor of
the week and the rest of the Sabbath. The law also was symbolized, in that the food of hea
ven was common to all (Ex. xvi. 18). Concerning the natural basis of the miracle of manna
see exegesis.

* [By the plain and repeated words of Go 1 we are prohibited from assuming an extraordinary ebb and flood tide in this
miracle. The account is that "the Lord caused the sea to go (back) by a strong east wind all that night, and made the
sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground :
anl the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left." " But the children of Israel' walked upon
dry land in the midst of the s a: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left." Ex. xiv.
21,22,29. £'p2— here translated "divided"— is a's ) used of "clearing"1 wood (Gen. xxii. 3; 1 Sam. vi. 14; Ps. cxli. 7;
Ecclo-s. x. 9). "the ground clave asunder" (Numb. xvi. 31), of "rending," "ripping up," making a breach in a wall, etc.
A v ry close parallel to the use of this word in Ex. xiv. 21, etc., is found in Zech. xiv. 4:4"And the mount of Olives shall
cleave" (Niph. J7D33 — be cleft, divided) "in the midst thereof toward the ea*t anl toward the west, and there shall be a
great valley, and half of the mountain shall remov toward the nort \ and half of it toward thu south. ' The word is lure
confined to this Bonification of division, cleaving a«under, by the additional and repeated statement that "the waters were a
wall unto them on their right hand and on their left," which utterly excludes the idea of an ebb and flood tide, or that the
waters were driven out of a shallow arm of the sea by the wind. (RoBixsox's Researches, I. 54-59.) The same representa
tion is thrice repeated in Ex. xv. 8: "With the blast of thy nostrils th° waters were gathered together" (i. e., piled up);

* the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the ?ea." See also in Ps. Ixxviii. 13.
Conip. with this the account in Josh. iii. 13-17, where it is said the waters of the Jordan to the north of the passing host

* stood and rose up upon an heap." It is vain to indulge in theories to explain a miracle. The division of the waters of the
Jordan, descending an incline of three feet to the mile, laughs at all theories to account for it. In order to allow two or
three millions of people, men, women and children, to pass over (eastward six or eight miles) in a night, there must have
been a cleft in the sta several miles in width from north to south.— H. O.j

13. MIRACLES OF THE MOSAIC PERIOD. 29

At Kephidim, the last station before the eucampment at Sinai, the failure of water for the
murmuring people was the occasion of a miraculous gift of water from a rock in the Horeb
range of mountains. Paul, the Apostle, calls Christ the Rock from which Jsrael drank in
the desert (1 Cor. x. 4), and by this reveals the prophetic meaning of the springs from the
rocks and the desert. This event at Rephidiin stands in a certain opposition to a similar mi
racle which took place during the sojouru in Kadesh. At Rephidim, Moses was ordered to
strike the rock; at Meribah he was ordered, with Aaron, only to speak to the rock, and it
was accounted as his great sin that he twice smote it The victory also over the Amale-
kites was miraculous in its character, as it was obtained through the intercession of Moses
(Exod. xvii.).

There is also a striking contrast between the occurrences at the reception of the first and
of the second tables of the law. The reception of the first tables is introduced by the words:
"And all the people saw the thunderings and lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet and
the mountain smoking, and when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off," Ex.
xx. 8. But after the reception of the second tables, Moses descended tiie mountain, and his
face shone with a brightness before which Aaron retired affrighted, and Moses was compelled
to put a veil upon his face that the people might draw near him (Ex. xxxiv. 30). The glory
of the holy law, so fearful in its majesty, shines out from Moses himself as soon as he heard
the explanation of the gracious name of Jehovah given by Jehovah on Sinai (Ex. xxxiv G) ;
but even in its human mediation and beauty the law affrighted the unsanctified people as
well as the externally sanctified priests.

The pillar of cloud and of fire over the tabernacle consecrated it as the typical house of
God (Ex. xl. 34). Over against this shining mystery is set the darkness of the death of the
sons of Aarqn, Nadab and Abihu, by fire, because they brought strange fire in their censers
to the altar (Lev. x.). They died by fire (ver. 6 — BUNSEX speaks of an- execution) — and it is
remarkable that these words are addressed to Aaron : " Do not drink wine nor strong drink,
thou nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die."
An extraordinary doom became forever afterwards the symbol of the putting away of all
strange fire; that is, of fanaticism, of extravagance, of mere sensual enthusiasm in the ser
vice of the sanctuary, which required the pure flame of a holy inspiration. Miriam's leprosy,
the punishment of her fanatical rebellion against Moses, stands, in its spiritual significance,
on a plane with the doom of the sons of Aaron (Numb. xii.).

The departure of the children of Israel from Sinai is followed by the destruction of some
of the people by fire from the Lord at Taberah, to punish them for complaining to Jehovah
and longing for the flesh pots of Egypt. Then follows, in striking contrast to the manna,
the miraculous gift of flesh to eat, the flight of quails, which settle down over the camp.
While there was this murmuring among the people, there arose the opposite disposition on
the part of some near Moses : not only did the seventy elders, chosen by Moses to be his
helpers, begin to prophesy under the inspiration of the Mosaic spirit, but two other men in
the midst of the camp prophesied. This opposition of the inspired exaltation of chosen men
to the rebellious ill-humor of the people is well founded in the psychology of the theocratic
congregation. The greedy eating of flesh is followed by a new and naturally necessary judg
ment, from which the place itself takes its name, Kibbroth-hattaavah, the graves of lusl.

In this increase of theocratic inspiration, the following events may have their founda
tion. First, the legal, fanatical opposition of Aaron and Miriam to the mixed marriage of
Moses, whose wife is spitefully called a Cushite, but who was probably an Egyptian, a spi
ritual disciple of the prophet (Num. xii. 2). Miriam is smitten with leprosy to mark her as
the one chiefly responsible for the opposition. Nevertheless this new agitation continued,
and was shown in the despair of the people at the report by the spies of the strength of the
Canaanites, and then in the presumptuous and disastrous attack by the people in opposition
to the command of God, which was followed by a second and greater commotion. After the
well-deserved defeat of the people, Moses drew the reins of government more tightly by a
series of legal precepts and by a stricter maintenance of the law of the Sabbath. It is again
in accordance with the psychological oscillation of the life of the people that this is followed

SO GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE MIDDLE BOOKS.

by the insurrection of Koran's company, which, in the interest of an universal inspiration,
threa ened to put away the authority of Moses and Aaron (ch. xvi.). The revolt and the
miraculous destruction of Korah's company belong to the second sojourn in Kadesh ; and
connected with these is another punishment of the people and Aaron's staff that blossomed
(ch. xvi. 17).

The revolt of Korah's company was three-fold, and brought on one of the most danger
ous crises in the history of Israel. The Korahites, as Levites, revolted especially against the
priestly prerogative of Aaron ; the sons of Eliab, descendants of Reuben, Jacob's first-born,
were offended at Moses' position as prince ; but the people themselves were so puffed up with
their fanatical claims that even after the destruction of the company, they murmured again,
and brought upon themselves a new chastisement. The Korahites seem to have been led
into temptation by great natural gifts ; at any rate, we find in later times, what was appa
rently a remnant of them, the sous of Korah, employed as chief singers in the service of the
temple. The blossoming staff of Aaron indicated by an obscure, yet symbolic event the con
firmation of the Aaronic priesthood, and even by this fact it was with difficulty that the
excited spirit of the people was pacified (ch. xvii. 12, 13). The most important fact was that
the staffs of all the princes of Israel paid homage to the staff of Aaron. It is a striking con
trast to find the people who before had demanded a hierarchy now submitting to the estab
lished hierarchy with impatience and ill-humor.

The second murmuring about water, the occasion of the second miraculous gift of water,
so momentous for Moses and Aaron (Num. xx. 12), occurred in the beginning of the second
sojourn in Kadesh. The narrative in Num. xx. 1 is retrospective, for the want of water in
the desert of Zin, the northern part of the great desert of Paran (see Bible Diet. Paran and
Zin) would be found out on their entrance, not after a long sojourn. Their entrance into
the desert of Zin is particularly recorded, because the name of the desert of Zin, the
assembling of the whole people, and the long settlement there bring into prominence the
want of water. The murmuring of the people and the impatience of Moses show that the
discord which arose at the defeat at Hormah and at the insurrection of Korah's company
still continued, but subsided in the darkness of the thirty-eight years over which the narra
tive draws a veil.

The history of Balaam and his ass forms a miraculous episode in the narrative of the
exodus. It is in truth a double psychological miracle; the miracle of the trance of a sordid
prophet, who by inspiration is lifted above his covetous intention, and beholds the ethical
relations of the future of the theocracy ; a fact which is repeated again and again in litera
ture, and even in the pulpit ; and the miracle of the influence of spiritual powers on the
sensorium of animals, in order that they may make symbolic utterances. It is interesting
to observe how BAUMGARTEN, in the second volume of his commentary (against HENGSTEN-
BERG), adheres to the letter, as he had done earlier in the six days of creation.

The whole series of miraculous events, which made the exodus of Israel through the
desert one great miracle of providence, is grandly closed by the mysterious death of Aaron
on Mt. Hor and the mysterious death of Moses on Mt. Nebo. In both cases God's summons
home and the heart of the dying man agree; freely and gladly he goes home. The mystery
of Moses' death recalls the passing away of Enoch, the taking up of Elijah, and the last
words of the dying Christ.

$ 14. THE LEGISLATION" OP MOSES IN GENERAL.

We must ever remember that there is a distinction to be made between Moses the law
giver and Moses the prophet, for the true prophet or philosopher is never lost in the law
giver ; but his higher intelligence must accommodate itself to the culture and the moral
capability of his people as he finds them.

Further we must regard the legislation of Moses in general : 1. According to its three
divisions, which are plainly marked in the outline, Ex. xx.-xxiii., and are represented in
the three books, of the prophetical, of the sacerdotal, and of the civil law; but each of these
legislations, if considered by itself, would lose its theocratic impress. 2. According to its

\ 15 THE TYPOLOGY OF THE WRITINGS OF MOSES. 81

three evolutions : a. the outline, Ex. xx.-xxiii. ; b. the distinct form of the three books ;
and also the just modification of relations between the first and second tables of the law
acccording to the Epistle of Barnabas. 3. According to the interpretation of the letter of
the law by prophetic inspiration in Deuteronomy as an introduction to the New Testament
law of the Spirit.

Literature. — LANGE, Mosaisches Licht und R*,cht ; D. MICHAEL/IS, Das Mosaische Recht;
BERTHEAU, Die sieben Gruppen mosaischer Gesetze ; general title, Zur Geschichte der ;srael-
iten, Gott ngen, 1840; BLUHME, Collate leguin Romanorum et Mvsaicarum, 1843; SAAL-
SCHUETZ, Das mosaische Recht, Berlin, 1846; RIEHM, Die Genet zgebung im Lands Moab9
Gotha, 1854; GEORGE, Die dlterenjudischen Feste mit einer Kritik der Getetzyebuny dts Pen-
tafeuch, Berlin, 1835; J. SCHNELL, Das ism- lische Recht in seinen Gru'tdzitgen, Basel, 1855;
ROBERT KUEBEL, Das alttestamentliche Gesetz und seine Urkunde, Stuttgart, 1807 ; FRANZ
EBERHARD KUEBEL, Die soziale und volksthumliche Gesetzgebung det Alien Testaments,
Wiesbaden, 1870; MAYER, Die Rechte der Israeliten, Atkener und Rointr, mit Rucksicht auf
die neueren Gesetzgebungen, 2 vols., Leipzig, 1866.

g 15. THE TYPOLOGY OF THE WRITINGS OF MOSES,

On the types and symbols of Scripture, see this Commentary on Revelation, Introd., and
Genesis, Introd. As this subject must be treated when we come to consider the Mosaic ritual
• in Leviticus, we refer to that. For the works on the types, see DANZ, p. 971. On the
brazen serpent, see this Comm., John iii. 14, 15. KILLER'S work Neues System oiler Vor-
bilder Jesu Christi durch das ganze Alte Testament und die Vorbilder der Kirche des Neuen
Testaments in Alien Testament, was reissued in a new edition by ALBERT KNAPP, Ludwigs-
burg, 1857-8. It was written carefully and with a devout spirit, but defends some mistaken
views, e. g. that the scape-goat signified Christ's new life ; that the blood of the sacrifices was
burnt, and the significance of the red heifer is overstrained.

B. SPECIAL INTRODUCTION

TO THE THREE BOOKS.

1. EXODUS. -The first query, not only of this book, but of the whole trilogy of legis
lation, as indeed of all the historical books of Holy Scripture, is the right determination of
the connection between the facts and their symbolic meaning. The symbolism of the books
of legislation by Moses must be distinguished from the general significance of symbolism in
all religious history. If Moses was the great instructor directing men to Christ, it follows
that his legislation must also be pre-eminently symbolic; for instruction has two sides — le
gislative and symbolic. Hence, above all things, we must distinguish between the mere le
gal force of the laws of Moses, and their symbolic significance; and as respects the latter,
between a wider and a contracted symbolism, the first of which is divided into allegorical,
symbolical and typical figures.

EGYPT.

The history of Egypt has an especial charm, because Egypt was the earliest home of
culture in the old world, and because of its relation to the origin of the people of Israel, and
to the history of the kingdom of God. See the article on Egypt in WINER'S Bibl. Worter-

32 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS.

buck, and those of LEPSIUS on Ancient Egypt, and of W. HOFFMANN on Modern Egypt, in
HERZOG'S Real-Encyklopddie. In the last article there is a list of the later works of travels
in Egypt. There is also a full catalogue of the literature of the subject in BROCKHAUS'
smaller Oonversationslexicon, p. 68. The article in SCHENKEL'S Bibellexicon has specially-
treated Egypt's place in Old Testament prophecy. Every comprehensive history of the
world, in treating the history of antiquity, must especially treat of Egypt. HEGEL, in his
Lectures on the Philosophy of History, has enlarged on the history of Egypt ( Werke, Vol. IX.
p. 205) ; and on the religion of Egypt under the title "Die Religion des Rathsels," in his
Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion ( Werke, Vol. XI. p. 34-3). It would be a superfluous
comment if in a history of occidental philosophy, Egyptian mythology were spoken of as
dualistic, since no mythology has been found which ha I not a dualistic basis; and this
comment would be altogether erroneous if we should regard the worship of the dead and of
graves as an exotic growth imported into Egypt (KNOETEL, Cheops}. We have regarded the
Egyptian mythology as occupying a middle position between the Phoenician mourning for
the dead and the Grecian apotheosis of men. BUXSEN'S work, Egypt's Place in History, has
largely served to spread the knowledge of Egyptology. See also GFROERER, Die Urgeschichte
des Menschengeschlechts, Schaffhausen, 1855. BRUGSCH, Reiseberichte aus Egypten, Leipzig,
1855. UHLEMANN, Israeliten und Hyksos, Leipzig, 1856. G. EBERS, Egypten und die
Buclier Moses1, Leipzig, 1868. G. EBERS, Durch Gosen zum Sinai, Leipzig, 1872.

HISTORY OF ISRAEL.

This history in the literature of the present day is obscured in a twofold manner. First,
by separating the religion of Moses from the promises to the patriarchs. But Moses, with
out the religion of Abraham, cannot be understood (Rom. iv.; Gal. iii.). If the patriarchs
are remitted to the region of myths, Moses is made a caricature, a mere national lawgiver,
and nothing but a lawgiver, like Solon, Lycurgus, and others. On this theme, which, with
out further notice, we entrust to the theology of the future, frivolous correctors of the history
of Israel's ancient religion may expend their thought at their pleasure. Secondly, this his
tory is greatly disparaged by a severely literal interpretation of the narrative in entire disre
gard of its historical and symbolic character. This severely literal interpretation is only a
detriment to orthodoxy, because it serves negative criticism as a pretext for invalidating the
sacred history. Bishop COLENSO came to doubt the historical truth of the books of Moses
by the candid doubt expressed by one of his converts, who was assisting him in translating
the Bible. His first step was honest and honorable — he would not be a party to deception in
the exercise of his office. He sought counsel and help from his theological friends in Eng
land — and received none. The German theological works which he ordered gave him no
help. And so he gradually passed from a noble unrest of candor to the tumult of skepticism.
He passed the line which runs between a discreet continuance within a religious community
that cannot reduce its treasure of truth to the capacity of a special period or of a single indi
vidual, that is, between the continuance and quiet investigation of a pastor, a bishop, and
the tumble of an impatient spirit, which, after the first break with servility to the letter, finds
no rest in donbt. Yet, with all this, Bishop COLENSO bears a very favorable comparison
w th those novices who think they have reached the peak of critical illumination while they
really fall into the dense darkness of boundless negation.

As regards later criticism, we refer to the distinction previously made between originals
or records and the final compilations which were also under the guidance of the prophetic
spirit. Joseph and Moses, the mediators between Egyptian culture and theocratic tradition,
are said to have written little or nothing. It is a similar supposition to the one that the
Apostle John never before his old age recalled the discourses of Jesus, nor ever used
records.

Theological criticism, like classical philology, should above all things free itself from
the mere idea of book-making, from all plagiarism and literary patch-work, and estimate
the books of Scripture in their totality, as well as make itself familiar with the idea of a
synthetic inspiration, one of the canons of which is, if the idea of the book is inspired, and

MOSES AND IMMORTALITY. 33

the book itself appears in divine-human harmony as a literary organism, the whole book is
inspired. For the literature, see the bibliography, p. 49.

MOSES.

As in the life of Christ we must assume that there was no motion of Deity in Him with
out a corresponding motion of His ideal humanity, so we must assume with respect to
Moses, though most persons rend asunder his mysterious personality ; some by making him
merely the servant of an absolutely supernatural divine revelation of law; others by making
him only a human lawgiver of great political sagacity, or of great incompetence. For this
reason it is the more necessary to assert with respect to Moses the synthesis of the divine-hu
man life. In this regard we must ascribe to him a deep sympathy with nature. Who among
the men of antiquity was more sensitive to the life of nature — its signs and omens? Who
had such clear vision of the harmonia preestabilita between the course of nature and the
course of the kingdom of God ? As to the moral law, he was as firm and unyielding as the
mount of revelation, Sinai itself. That he should not enter Canaan, the object of his hope,
because in impatience he had struck the rock twice, is not only God's decree concerning
him, but also an expression of his heroic conscientiousness, the last subtle, tragical motive
of his lofty, consecrated life, a life which had been€uli of tragical motives, and whose crown*
according to the Epistle to the Hebrews, was a resolute self-denial, illumined by a steadfast
trust in the great reward. It was pre-eminently in this that Moses was a type of the
coming Christ.

MOSES AND IMMORTALITY.

This Moses, who, in the effulgence of the promise, passed from Mt. Nebo to the other
world, is said to have been ignorant of immortality, and his people are said to have remained
ignorant of it until in the Babylonian captivity they came in contact with the Persians.
This is LESSING'S view in his Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts. With respect to this fact,
"God winked at the times of this ignorance," Acts xvii. 30. The Jews came out of Egypt,
the land of the worship of the dead, where the doctrine of another world, a fancied immor
tality, was taught, and yet they are said to have been ignorant of immortality. What this
derivation of Moses and his people availed is shown by the fact that even heathenism held a
defective doctrine of the other world ; and this reappears in the mediaeval teaching and in
the worship of the dead by the Trappists. It was all-important that Moses should guard
against Egyptian heathenism, and make the sacredness of laws for this world, the revelation
of Jehovah, of His blessing and His curse in the present, fundamental articles of faith. Be
sides, Moses wrote of the tree of life, of Enoch, of Sheol, of the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, of the antithesis of prophecy in Israel to consultation of the dead, and of the resto
ration of a repentant people from waste places of the world. In this matter we must distin
guish between the metaphysical or ontological idea of immortality and the ethical idea of
eternal life, and then mark that the ethical idea is the main point for theocratic faith, but it
always presupposes the metaphysical idea of immortality. In the ethical view the sinner is
subject to death, the immeasurable sojourn in Sheol, because, in the metaphysical idea, his
continued existence is immeasurable. If this distinction is not made and maintained, con
fusion is sure to arise, as in the work of H. SCHULTZ, Die Voraussetzungen der christlichen
Lehre von der Unsterblichkeil.

LATEST WORKS ON SINAI.

See Die neue evangel. Ifirchenzeitung, Dec. 28, 1872, "Die neuesten Forschungen uber die
Lage des biblischen Sinai." PALMER, in his work, The Desert of the Exodus, has decided
against Serbal (LEPSIUS, BARTLETT, HERZOG) and for Sinai. So also the work of the Bri
tish Ordnance Survey. The London Athenaeum has said that the question is decided. Yet
Professor EBERS, in his work, Durch Gosen zum Sinai, maintains the hypothesis of Serbal.
BITTER and EWALD maintain that it is not yet decided. EITTER remarks : " Since the fifth
century there have been two opposite views — the Egyptian, which is for Serbal; and the
Byzantine, for the present Sinai."

34 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS.

THE LAW.

Since it is certain that the ethical law of the decalogue is identical with the law of the
conscience (Rom. ii, 14) — and it is also certain that the decalogue logically requires the law
of worship and sacrifice, as well as the law for the king, for the state, and for war — it
follows that these last two legislations are symbols and types .of the imperishable norms of
man's inner life, of the individual spirit as well as of the spiritual life of mankind. In the
New Testament the whole law of sacrifice is converted into spiritual ideas, and Christians
are represented as the spiritual host of their royal leader, Christ, or as the soldiers of God
who, through warfare with the kingdom of darkness, shall gain the inheritance of glory
(Eph. vi 11 f.).

The law was always two-fold. On the one side it must develope as the law of the Spi
rit ; on the other side, as a law of the letter, it could become a law of death — that is, in this
apparent contrast between its spirit and external form it must reveal itself. The solution
of this contrast is brought about by catastrophes which, on the worldly side, appear as the
consummation of tragedy; on the divine side, as the consummation of the priesthood.

The law as the principle of life is one, the law of love, of personality; the law as the
principle of society is two-fold, the law of love of God and love of man, the harmony of wor
ship and culture. The law as the statute of the kingdom is three-fold — prophetical, sacer
dotal, royal. The law as the statute of the kingdom is given under ten heads, the number
of the complete course of the world, and from this basis spring its multiplied ramifications,
the symbolism of all doctrines of faith and life, a tree of knowledge and a tree of life; rami
fications which Jewish theology of the letter has attempted to number exactly.

Jehovah's law is in exact correspondence, not only with the natural law of morals, but
also with the moral law of nature; and it is a one-sided view to regard these legal precepts
as either only abstract religious statutes, or as mere laws of health and of common weal, with
a religious purpose. In this respect there has been great confusion, as, for example, in
HENGSTENBERG'S works.

The development of the legislation was in accordance with the need for it — a fact which
must not be overlooked. The hierarchical law of worship is required because the people
were afraid to enter into immediate communion with Jehovah (Ex. xx.). After the people's
fall into idolatry, the law of the new tables is illustrated in two ways, by mildness and by
severity, by the announcement of Jehovah's grace, and by punishment. As the priests were
called to maintain the warfare of Israel within the people, so the army of God was called to
carry the law of God into the world as a priesthood ad extra. The unfolding of the spiritual
character of the law was provided for in Deuteronomy.

According to John vi., Acts xv., and Jewish theology, the basis of Mosaic legislation was
a still more ancient law — 1, the so-called Noachic patriarchal law ; 2, the Abrahainic patri
archal law of faith.

The so-called commands of Noah are a tradition connected with the general principle
of monotheism, which forbids idolatry, and with the fundamental law of humanity, which
forbids murder.

The first law of the Abrahamic covenant is circumcision, which, as a type of regenera
tion, signifies the consecration of the family to regeneration (Gen. xvii.), and in Exodus this
law is renewed by means of a striking fact (Ex. iv. 24). In patriarchal faith it was the sa
crament of consecration. It contains the germ of the monotheistic law of marriage. By
Abraham's great sacrifice, commanded and directed by Jehovah, Gen. xxii., the traditional
and corrupt ancient religious sacrifices were changed to a hallowed custom, and this tak( s
the form of law in the institution of the Passover, the sacred celebration of the covenant with
the house of Israel. The Passover is not only the central norm of all forms of sacrifice, but
it is also the basis of legislation ; for on it depend the ethical laws of the worship of God, of
the hallowing of His name, of the consecration of the house, of festivals, and of religious edu
cation, of the consecration of the first-born and of the Levites, and lastly the civil law, by
the regulation of the festivals and of the principal offices of the theocratic state.

THE TABERNACLE. 35

The three phases of religion, its prophetic, sacerdotal, and voluntary or kingly charac
ter, appear under peculiar lorras in the sphere of law. Prophecy becomes command, resig
nation becomes sacrifice, exaltation to royal freedom from the world and in communion with
God is the entrance into the army of Jehovah. It has been remarked above that these threo
phases are logically dependent upon each other and inseparable.

The relation of the law to the ideal, the law of the Spirit, is three-fold. First, the law
bounds life with its plain requirements, and each one who is in accord with it receives its
blessing, — he is a good citizen. But as the law is the representative of the moral ideal, it is
impossible for sinful men to avoid coming short of its requirements. Before the transgressor
there are two ways ; if he continues in malicious transgression, the law spews him out; — he
becomes "cherem," accursed; but if he confesses his transgression, the law accounts his guilt
as an error, and points him to the way of sacrifices of atonement. By the presentation of his
sacrifice he expresses in symbol his longing after righteousness. Yet through these very
sacrifices a consciousness is awakened in candid minds of the insufficiency of animal sacri
fices, of the blood of beasts. On the part of the insincere, the bringing of a sacrifice was a
mere service of pretence, instead of an earnest prayer. The sincere offerer was directed to
the future, and in hope of the coming real expiation his sacrifice became typical, just as the
law itself sets forth this typical character in the great sacrifice of atonement. Thus the son
of the law becomes a man of the Spirit, a soldier of God for the realization of His Kingdom,
though only in typical form. The decalogue may be regarded as the sign-manual of Christ
in outline; the law of sacrifice as the type of His atonement; the march of Israel as the
leading of the people of God under His royal orders.

Considered as to its essential character, the law is a treasure-house of veiled promises
of God's grace, since every requirement of God is an expression of what He gave man in
Paradise, and what He will again give him in accordance with his needs.

In addition to the literature already given, see the articles in HERZOG and in SCHEN-
KEL'S Lexicon. In WINER'S Real- Worterbuch will be found a very full list of the lite
rature.

THE TABERNACLE.

The idea that there was no central holy place before the Levitical tabernacle, gives rise
to certain critical assumptions. But one might as well doubt that there was a tabernacle in
the wilderness. The idea of the tabernacle arise»from the relation of the law to the life of
Israel, or from the requirement of a three-fold righteousness or holiness. The requirement
of social or legal holiness, of legal civic virtue, is the requirement of the court. But as civic
virtue cannot be separated from the religious and moral intent which is its spiritual basis, so
the court cannot be separated from the sanctuary. The court where sacrifices were brought
was one with the Holy place and the Most Holy place. The theocratic court was possible
only in its relation to the sanctuary. The Holy Place by its conformation was imperfect, as
the place of self-renunciation, of aspiration, of prayers, of moments of enlightenment of the
soul, hence an oblong structure, which finds its complement in the square of the Most Holy
Place, the place where God reigned supreme, where were the cherubim, the place of the per
fect satisfaction of the divine law or of atonement, and of a vision of God which did not kill but
made alive, the Shekinah. This gradation recurs in all sanctuaries. In Catholic, Greek, and
Roman temples the most holy place is, after the manner of the ancient sanctuary, more or
less shut off In the churches of radical Protestants the chancel as the place of the sacra
mental assurance of atonement for those who partake of the Supper is made level with the
floor of the church, which has no court.

See W. NEUMANN: Die Stiftshutie in Bild und Wort, 1861. EIGGENBACH : Die mosa-
ische StiftshiMe, 1863. He treats of the tabernacle also in the appendix to his pamphlet :
Die Zeugnisse des Evangelisten Johannes, 1867. J. POPPER : Der biblische Bericht uber die
Stiftshutte, 1862. WANGEMANN: Die Bedeulung der Stiftshutte, 1866.

Concerning the form of the tabernacle and the symbolism of the colors, see this Comm.
on Rev. xiii. WANGEMANN calls the number five, which is the basis of the measurement
of the court, the number of unfulfilled longing after perfection. But this longing does not

36 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS.

reach perfection in the parallelogram of the sanctuary. We have called five the number
of free-choice, Rev. xi. On the materials of the tabernacle, see WANGEMANN, p. 7 ; a\*o
on the coverings, p. 8, where the relation of the hidden to the revealed, according to the law
of theocratic appearance, is to be emphasized. The taste of the world presents the best and
most beautiful side without; the aesthetics of the theocracy turns the most beautiful side
within. For the symbolism of the three places, and of the priestly attire, we refer to
the exegesis.

2. LEVITICUS.

BIBLICAL ALLEGORY, SYMBOL AND TYPE. — The theory of the figures of Holy Scripture
belongs in general to the hermeneutics of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, but in a special
sense it belongs to an introduction to Leviticus. To avoid repetitions we refer for the general
theory to this Comm. Tntrod. to Matt xiii.; for the special theory to Introd. to Rev. These
points will be touched upon in the exegesis of the three books. See also rny Dogmatik, p. 360 f.

As the symbolism of Leviticus is largely treated by many authors, we append a list of
the more important works.

SPENCER : De legibus Hebraeorum ritualibus earumque rationibus, Tubingen, 1732.
HILLER, Die Vorbilder der Kirche des Neuen Testaments (see above). BAEHR: Die
symbolik des mosaischen Kultus, 1876. BAEHR: Der sahmonische Tempel, 1841.
FRIEDRICH : Symbolik der mosaischen Stiftshutte, 1841. HENGSTENBERG : Beitrage zur
Einleitung ins Alte Testament. THE SAME: Die Opfer der Heiligen Schrift, 1852.
Lisco : Das Ceremonialgesetz des Alien Testaments. Darstellung desselben und Nachweis
seiner Erfullung im Neuen Testament, 1842. KdRTz: Das mosaische Opfer, 1842. THE
SAME: Beitrage zur Symbolik des mosaischen Kultus, 1 Bd. (Die Kultus-stdtte], 1851.
THE SAME: History of the Old Covenant, CLARK, Edinburg. THE SAME: Der alttestament-
liche Opferkultus, 1 Theil (Das Kuttusgesetz], Mitau, 1862. THE SAME: Beitrage zur Sym
bolik des alttestamentlichen Kultus, 1859. SARTORIUS: Ueber den alt- und neutestamentlichen
Kultus, 1852. THE SAME : Die Bundeslade, ] 857. KLIEFOTH : Die Gottesdienstordnungen
in der deutschen Kirche, 1854. KARCH (Cath.) : Die m.osaizchen Opfer als Grundlage der
Bitten im Vater- Unser, 1856. KUEPFER : Das Priesterthum des Alien Bundes, 1865. WAN-
GEM ANN: Das Opfer nach der Heiligen Schrift, alien und neuen Testaments, 1866. THOLTJCK:
Das alte Testament im neuen Testament, 1868. BRAMESFELD: Der alttestamentliche Gottes-
dienst, 1864. HOFF : Die m.osaischen Opfer nach ihrer sinnbildlichen und rorbildlichen Bedeu-
tujig, 1859. BACHMANN: Die Festgesetze des Pentateuch, 1858. SCHOLTZ, Die heiligen Al-
terthumer des Volkes Israel, 1868. SOMMER : Biblische Abhandlungen, 1846. THIERSCH :
Das Verbot der Ehe innerhalb der nahen Verwandtschaft, 1869.

This part of Biblical theology is greatly in need of clear explanation to free it from the
confusion which frequently attaches to it. Allegorical figures ought to be carefully distin
guished from those which are typical or symbolical. We are to avoid the confusion which
results from commingling the exegesis of real allegories with an allegorizing of histories that
are not allegorical. Nor, to satisfy our prejudices, are we arbitrarily to allegorize history
and precept, or interpret severely according to the letter unmistakable allegorical figures, — a
mode of exegesis in which BAUR of Tubingen excels. (See this Comm. Introd. to Rev.)
The distrust aroused by this arbitrary allegorizing has led to a long-continued misunder
standing of all really symbolical and typical forms. But even when these forms are in gene
ral rightly understood, the types may be permitted to pass away into mere symbols; that is,
the classes of typical representations of the future into the classes of symbolical representa
tions of similarity, although both sorts of representations should be carefully distinguished.
As an allegory, the priest was a pre-eminent representative of his people ; as a symbol, he
was the expression of their longing after righteousness in perfect consecration to God; as a
type, he was the forerunner of the perfect High Priest who was to come.

SACRIFICE OR TYPICAL WORSHIP.

The antecedent and basis of sacrificial worship, of the typical completion of religious
consecration, is religion itself or the relation between God and man, who answers the end of

SACRIFICE OR TYPICAL WORSHIP. 37

his being by self-consecration to God. The expressed will of God is therefore the foundation
of sacrifices, and He manifests Himself to the offerer by His presence deciding the place
and time of sacrifice, and by His ritual of sacrifice and His word, which explains the
sacrifice.

The sacrifice needs explanation because in the life of the sinner it has taken the form
of a symbolic act. God, as the Omnipresent, primarily and universally demands the entire
consecration of man, the sacrifice of his will, as is proved by the sacrifice of prayer, "the
calves of the lips," and by the daily sacrifice of the powers of life in active service of God
(Rom. xii. 1).

Man's religious nature, conscious of the imperfection of this spiritual sacrifice, has set
up religious sacrifices as a sort of substitution. Therefore, from the beginning they have been
only conditionally acceptable to Jehovah (Gen. i.) ; they had their influence on the natural
development of heathenism, and in heathetiism sank to the sacrifice of abomination ; for this
reason, when Jehovah initiated the regeneration of man, He took them as wdl as man him
self under his care (Gen. xxii.). Hence in His first giving of the law He did not prescribe
but regulated by a few words a simple sacrificial worship (Ex. xx. 24) ; He accompanied the
sacrifice with His explanation, and gradually caused the antithesis between the external act
and the idea of sacrifice to appear (1 Sam. xv. 22; Psalm li.) ; afterwards he proclaimed the
abomination of a mere external sacrifice (Isa. Ixvi.), as he had from the beginning abhorred
the sacrifice of self-will (Isa. i.) ; but finally, with the fulfilment of all prophecy of sacrifice,
in the obedience and death of Christ, He made an end of all external sacrifices (Heb.
ix. 10, 14).

Sacrifice can no more be turned by man into a mere outward act than religion itself.
If he does not offer to God sacrifices that are well-pleasing, he offers sacrifices of abomina
tion, even though they may not bear the name of sacrifices in the Christian economy. The
theocratic ritual of sacrifice was the legal symbolic course of instruction which was to edu
cate men to offer to their God and Redeemer the true sacrifices of the heart as spiritual
burnt-offerings and sacrifices of thanksgiving.

The immediate occasion of sacrifice is God's manifestation of Himself by revelation and
personal presence, which arouses man to sacrifice. Its symbolic locality was indicated by a
sign from heaven, Gen. xii. 7 ; xxviii. 12, or was a grove, Gen. xiii. 18, a hill (Moriah), af
terwards, when established by law, the sanctuary, the tabernacle, the temple.

The temple was not merely the place for sacrifice, but primarily the dwelling-place of
Jehovah, indicated by the laver in the court, by the golden lamp-stand in the Holy Place, by
the cherubim and the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies. But, secondarily, it was the
place for sacrifice, as was shown by the brazen altar, by the altar of incense in the Holy
Place, by the mercy-seat in the Holy of Holies. Thirdly, the temple was the place where
man came most closely in communion with God. In the court every priest, and so relatively
every Israelite (in the peace-offerings), had his part in the sacrifice; in the Holy Place this
communion with God was represented in the show-bread; and in the Holy of Holies He
was granted the vision of the glory of God (the Shekinah).

The decisive act in the performance of the sacrifice was, on man's side, his approach to
God (Jer. xxx. 21), to God's altar with his sacrifice; on God's side, it was the reception of
the offering by fire; the divine human union in both acts was the burden of the temple
praises and of the priest's blessing.

As the temple was the holy place of sacrifice, BO the festival days of sacrifice were made
holy. Yet every week-day, according to the ideal, was a day of festival, over which the the
ocratic festivals were exalted as epochs, the higher symbolic units of time, just as all Israel
ite houses, from the tents of Abraham and Moses, were houses of God which weie united
and transfigured in the temple. The Passover was celebrated in houses, and so the principal
sacrifice, the burnt offering, was offered daily, and not only on the Sabbath. The season of
festivals had its three ascents, just as the temple had its three courts ascending one from the
other. On the basis of the Sabbath appears the Passover in connection with the feast of
unleavened bread ; then the festival of weeks or Pentecost, and finally the great festival of

38 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS.

the seventh month, the feast of tabernacles, founded on the great day of repentance, the day
of atonement. In the Sabbatic year man and nature rested, and the great year of Jubilee
was a symbol of the restoration of all things. The year of Jubilee was a diminutive Eon.

THE ORIGIN OF SACRIFICE.

It is no more true that sacrifice was the product of the childlike conceptions of the ori
ginal man, as a supposed means of obtaining the favor of God, than that it was intended by
man as a means of atonement, and contained a confession of the sinner's guilt; nor is a
m;tgical effect to be ascribed to it, so that it became the source of superstition. Comp. Winer,
Utber die verschiedenen Deutungen des Opfers.

The basis of sacrifice is the use and waste of life in work and pleasure, both of which,
according to the original destiny of man, should be, but are not in reality, sanctified to God.
There is this consciousness in man, and external sacrifice, as a prayer and as a vow, is the
confession of debt — a debt never paid.

But as the heathen, by reason of his carnal mind, changed God's symbols into myths
(Rom. i. 21), so also he changed sacrifice into a pretended meritorious service, and as he had
acted against nature and his myths, his sacrifices became abominable. On the contrary,
theocratic sacrifice was exalted until it found its solution in the holy human life of Christ.
This exaltation was accomplished by a clearer explanation of its spiritual meaning by the
word of God, whilst heathen sacrifice was covered with gross misinterpretation, and given
over to the corruption of demons. The first explanation of sacrifice is found in the revela
tion and promise which precede sacrifice; the second, in the principal of all sacrifices, the
Passover-lamb, the spiritual meaning of which is plainly told (Ex. xii. 2G) ; the third, in
the distinctions and appointments of separate sacrifices in their relation to definite spiritual
conditions; the last explanation, in prophecy accompanying the sacrifice.

As respects the significance of the sacrifices, we distinguish a legal, social and judicial,
a symbolic, with special purpose of instruction, and a typical, prophetic significance. The
legal aspect of sacrifice consists in the offerer's maintaining or restoring his legal relation to
the theocratic people. This maintenance of law as respects the people by sacrifice Pharisa
ism charged to the acquiring of merit before God, and many in these days have attributed
this heathen conception to sacrifice.

The symbolic significance of sacrifice is the chief point of worship by sacrifice. The
offerer expresses by the sacrifice his obligation to render in spirit and in truth the same sur
render which is represented by the animal to be sacrificed, that is, his sacrifice is a visible
act representing a higher and invisible act, to wit, his confession, his vow and prayer, as the
act of faith in hope with which he receives his absolution in hope (Trdpeatc, Rom. iii.). The
typical significance of sacrifice corresponds to the general character of the Old Testament.
The type is a description of that which is to come in prefigurative fundamental thought.
And since the religion of Israel was a religion looking to the future, all its aspects were pre
monitions of its future. We distinguish typical persons, typical acts, typical customs and
mental types. At the centre stand typical institutions, whose inner circle is sacrifice, and
the ultimate centre the sacrifice of atonement on the great day of atonement. Mental types
form the transition to oral prophecy, and often surround oral prophecy with significant
expression as the calyx the bursting flower (Gal. iii. 16).

THE DESIGN OF SACRIFICE.

The design of sacrifice was its fulfilment in New Testament times. Similarly the law
of worship as well as the law of the state was not abolished by being destroyed, but was ele
vated, exalted to the region of the Spirit.

Thus Christ, in the first place, is the High Priest (see Ep. to TTebr.), and the Temple
(John ii.), yea, the mercy-seat, l^avriwiov, in the Holy of Holies, brought out of the Holy
of Holies, and set before all men, that all may draw near (Rom. iii., see Comm.) Every
kind of sacrifice is fulfilled in Him; He is the true Passover (John i. 29; 1 Cor. v. 7), the

THE PURPOSES OF SACRIFICE AND THE VARIOUS KINDS OF SACRIFICES. 39

great burnt-offering for humanity (Eph. v. 2), the altar of incense by His intercession (John
xvii. ; Heb. v. 7); He is the trespass-offering (Isa. liii.) and the sin-offering (2 Cor. v. 21;
Bom. viii. 3) ; on one side the curse (Gal. iii. 13), on the other the peace-offering in His Sup
per (Matt. xxvi. 26), the sanctified, sacrificial food of believers (John vi.). As He by entrance
into the Holy of Holies of heaven has become the Eternal High Priest (Heb. ix. 10), so He
accomplished His life-sacrifice by the eternal efficacy of the eternal Spirit. In Him was per
fected the oneness of priest and sacrifice.

The High Priesthood of Christ imparts a priestly character to believers (1 Pet. ii. 9).
By union with Christ they are built up a spiritual temple (1 Cor. iii. 16 ; 1 Pet. ii. 5), their
prayer of faith is an entrance into the Holy of Holies (Rom. v. 2), and they take part in the
sufferings of Christ in their spiritual. Buffering in and for the world (Rom. vi. ; Col. i. 24).
They keep the true Passover (1 Cor. v.), which is founded upon the circumcision of the
heart, regeneration (John iii.). They consecrate their lives as a whole burnt-offering to God
in spiritual worship (Rom. xii. 1), and offer the incense of prayer; they are a holy, separate
people by their seclusion from the world, a sacrifice for others (Heb. xiii. 13), as opposed to
the unholy separation of the world from God. By repentance they partake of the condem
nation which Christ endured for them, and find their life in His sin-offering and atonement,
whilst they pray for deliverance from guilt, not only for themselves, but also for others (the
Lord's prayer) ; they enjoy their portion of the great sacrifice of peace and thanksgiving,
and in life and death present themselves as a thank-offering. This life grows more and
more manifest as life in the eternal priestly spirit, which is proved by obedience and conse
cration.

THE PURPOSE OF SACRIFICE AND THE VARIOUS KINDS OF SACRIFICES.

The Purpose.

It must not be forgotten that the sacrifices of the Israelites were not derived from rude
and untaught men, but that they presuppose circumcision or typical regeneration, and com
mence with the celebration of the Passover, that is, of typical redemption. Hence it is just
as one-sided to behold in each bloody sacrifice an expression of desert of death, on account
of the blood, which signifies life, and not death, and as sacrificial blood signifies the conse
cration of the life to God through death, as it is to deny that each sacrifice, even of thanks
giving, presupposes the sinfulness of man as a liability to death, and that therefore each the
ocratic sacrifice is of symbolical significance.

Israel predestinated to be the holy people of the holy God, built upon a holy foundation,
the covenant with Jehovah, should ever be holy unto Him. This holiness presupposes typi
cal purity. Hence this holy life must be surrounded with the discipline of the law of puri
fication. This holiness consists on the one side in utter rejection of sin and of that which is
unholy; on the other side, in positive consecration to God; and both these aspects concur
in every sacrifice (John xvii.). We can distinguish between the negative, exclusive sacri
fices (trespass-offering, sin-offering and atoning sacrifices), to which belong also the restora
tive sacrifices, and the positive consecrating sacrifices (burnt-offerings, peace-offerings and
food-offerings). But the distinction between the ideas of sin and guilt must precede that
between the different kinds of sacrifices. Sin is opposition to law regarded as a purely spi
ritual state ; guilt is sin conceived in its whole nature, in its consequences, a burdensome
indebtedness which calls for satisfaction, suffering, expiation or atonement. Sin of to-day is
guilt to-morrow, and perchance forever. The father's sin becomes the guilt of the family.
The sin of the natural man falls as guilt on the spiritual man. Sin is ever guilt, and, by
reason of the social nature of man, it falls not only on the transgressor, but also on his
neighbors. Guilt also is generally sin ; but in individuals it may be reduced to the minimum
of sin and indebtedness. In the sphere of love, through sympathy it falls as a burden
most upon the less guilty and the innocent through the medium of natural and historical
connection ; hence the touch of a dead body made one unclean. The sinner must suffer,
and his innocent companion must suffer; but the suffering of the sinner, while he persists in
sin, is quantitative, dark, immeasurable, while the suffering of his companion is qualitative.

40 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS.

illumined and efficacious expiation (CEdipus, Antigone), and thus there are innumerable
subordinate atonements in the history of the world which point to the only true atonement.

With sharper indication of their relations, we can distinguish three kinds of sin : 1. fein.s,
which not only bring guilt upon the ti ansgressor, but also cast a burden of guilt on others;
2. Guilt, which arises from the connection of the sinner with the usages of the world; 3.
Trangressions, in which both of the above kinds more or less inhere, yet so that the idea of
error is pre-eminent (^J^). A certain degree of error and possible exculpation was com
mon to all sins committed unwittingly, not in conscious antagonism (with uplifted hand) ;
these were objects of theocratic expiation, and did not make the transgressor a curse
(cherem).

As regards this curse (cherem), it may be asked, how far it belongs to the category of
sacrifice, as it is the antithesis of all sacrifices? Doubtless just so far as it is made sacred in
accordance with the decree of God, and not as an object given over to a miserable destruc
tion. Hence this curse (cherem) is not an absolute destruction, but only a conditional de
struction in this world. Among the first-born of the Egyptians who were made cherem on
the night of the Passover, there may have been innocent little children. The Canaanitcs
were made cherem because they were an insuperable stumbling-block to Israel. Even on
the great day of atonement, when all the sins of which the people wero unconscious were to
be put away, there yet remained a hidden remnant of unpardonable sins, an anathema in
Israel, which was sent away with the goat of Azazel to Azazel in the wilderness, not as a
theocratic sacrifice, but as a curse together with Azazel* under the decree of God (1 Cor. v.
3-5). Thus the curse in Israel sank out of sight into the depths of its life till it brought
Christ to the cross in spite of all Levitical expiations. Then by the victory of grace the
became a^eoig.

THE VARIOUS KINDS OF SACRIFICES.

The Chief Sacrifices by Fire; the Burnt-Offering and the Lesser Sin- Offerings and Trespass-

Offerings. Lev. i. and Hi.

The burnt offering derives its name from the fact that it was wholly burnt S), only
excepting the excrement. So also the real sin-offering. Yet this distinction marks a con
trast; the burnt-offering, its fat and flesh, was burned on the brazen altar; while of the sin-
offering of him who had brought guilt on others (Lev. iv. 3) only the fat, which, like the
blood (and the kidneys and caul), especially belonged to the sanctuary, was burned on the
altar; but of the sin-offering of a priest, or of the whole congregation, the entire body (the
skin, flesh, etc., ch. iv. 11) was burned without the camp on the ash-heap in a clean place.
The flesh of the sin-offering of a prince or of a common man was not burned (the priest
should eat it, ch. vi. 26) ; only the fat was burned. In thank-offerings the fat, kidneys and
caul were burned. Of the meal- offerings only a handful was burned, the rest was for the
priest ; but the meal-offering brought by a priest was wholly burned, as was all the incense
with each meal-offering. The lesser sin-offerings were treated just as the trespass-offerings
(ch. v. 6) ; the poor man brought a pigeon or a dove for a burnt-offering, and one for a sin-
offering. In the class of trespass-offerings, in which trespass and sin coincide (ch. v. 15 f.),
the buruing took place just as in the lesser trespass and sin-offerings ; the flesh was the
priests'. These offerings were also burdened with regulations of restoration and compensa
tion. More prominent still is the burning on the day of atonement of the goat which fell to
Jehovah by lot; as a sin-offering of the congregation it was wholly burned. The red heifer,
slaughtered and cut in pieces without the camp was also without the camp wholly burned
(Num. xix. 3). The extreme contrast to these is found in the burning of the remnants of
the Passover, which seem to have served in a certain way as an illumination of the Passover-
night.

The offerings by fire form a contrast to the offerings of blood, the offerings by death,
since they indicate the extinction of life by divine interposition. This interposition may be
that of love and of the Spirit, taking up Elijah in a chariot of fire, or that of condemnation,

* See note, p. 43.

PEACE OFFERINGS. 41

burning up the cities which were accursed, the bodies of those stoned to death (Josh. vii. 26)
and the bones of malefactors.

The burning of the red heifer was, by these flames of the curse (cherem), to the Israelites
a warning that the unclean must be cleansed with the water for purification, which -was min
gled with the ashes of the red heifer as a sin-offering (Num. xix. 9).

Either the one fire or the other, says Christ (Mark ix. 43-49). Hence it is the calling
of the Christian to offer his life as the burnt-offering of love and of the Spirit under God's
leading, not willfully, but willingly, in accordance with the symbolic representation of sac*
rifice.

THE OFFERINGS OF BLOOD, THE GREAT SIN-OFFERINGS, TRESPASS OFFERINGS AND

SACRIFICES OF EXPIATION.

With some commentators the offerings by fire retreat in just the degree in which the
offerings of blood become prominent; with others the offerings by fire and those of blood are
equally prominent.

Blood is the symbol of life and the soul ; hence the positive statement of the Lord con
cerning life and death (Lev. xvii. 11). But the offering of blood expresses the giving up of
the sinful life to God through the death decreed by God, which is the wages of sin.

The gradations in the movement of the sacrificial blood towards the mercy-seat in the
Holy of Holies mark the solemn progress from devoted suffering of death to real atonement.
The blood of the burnt-offering remained in the court; it was sprinkled upon the altar. The
blood of the lesser sin-offering was partly poured upon the brazen altar and partly put
upon the horns of the same altar. This appears to be the regulation also for the trespass-
offering.

The greater sin-offerings, the offerings for the priest who had sinned, or for the whole
congregation, seem to be the especial offerings of blood. In these only a part of the blood
is poured out on the brazen altar ; the other part was carried into the sanctuary, and not
only were the horns of the golden altar touched with it, but the priest was to sprinkle of this
blood seven times towards the curtain before the Holy of Holies. With what reserve and
timidity is the hopeful longing alter the perfected typical atonement expressed in this act
(ch. iv. 1-21).

On the great day of atonement the blood of atonement came into the Holy of Holies.
First, Aaron must atone for himself with the blood of the bullock by significant symbolical
sprinklings (ch. xvi. 14). Then he must atone for the sanctuary, because it, in a typical
sense, is answerable for the uncleanness of the children of Israel and for their transgression,
that is, this sacrifice was to supplement the imperfection of all ritual atonements, and by that
point prophetically to the true sacrifice.

PEACE -OFFERINGS.

These offerings which are divided into the three classes, of thanksgiving and praise-
offerings, of offerings because of vows, and of offerings of prosperity or contentment (ch. vii.),
have little in common with the offerings by fire or the offerings of blood. The fat on the
intestines, the two kidneys with their fat, and the caul upon the liver were to be burned.
The blood was sprinkled on the altar round about. The priest received his portion of the
flesh as well as of the meal-offering, of which a part was burned on the altar. The remainder
was for the offerer and his friends to feast upon. The thank or praise offering was to be
held as especially sacred. None of it was to be left till the next day. This occasioned the
calling in of poor guests. Both the other offerings might remain for a feast on the second
day, but not on the third. All remains of the peace offerings were to be burned ; they were
thus distinguished from common feasts. These individual solemn offerings point to the fes
tival offerings in a wider sense. Festival-offerings in a wider sense are those in which com
munion with God is celebrated. The first general festival-offering is the Passover, the offer
ing of communion with God through redemption ; the second general festival-offering ap-

42 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS.

pears at the extraordinary solemnization of the legislation on Sinai (Ex. xxiv. 11), and was
continued by ordinance in the new meal-offering at Pentecost (Lev. xxiii. 16), and then in
the weekly offering of the show-bread, which was brought every Sabbath in golden dishes
according to the number of the tribes of Israel (Ex. xxv. 30; Lev. xxiv. 5, 6; Num. iv. 7;
1 Sam. xxi. 6). The burnt offerings of usual worship were always attended by their
meal and drink-offerings (Lev. xxiii.). Besides these meal and drink-offerings of usual wor
ship, there were also the special meal and drink-offerings.

THE CONCRETE FORMS OF OFFERINGS.

The originally simple or elementary forms of offerings become concrete forms of offerings
through the religious idea. In the bloody offerings man brings to Jehovah his possession ;
in the unbloody, the meal and drink-offerings, he brings the support of life. The best of his
possessions and the best of his food are the expressions of the devotion of his whole being,
with all that he possesses and enjoys. Hence each offering is, to a certain extent, an epitome
of all the other offerings. This universality appears most plainly in that offering, which is
the foundation of all the rest, the Passover lamb. The great fire-offering, or burnt-offering,
which forms the centre of all offerings, is supplemented by various kinds of meal-offerings,
which are again supplemented by oil, salt and incense. But since the meal-offering in great
part was given to the priest, it became a peace-offering, except the meal-offering of the priest.
The drink-offering is peculiarly an expression of this totality, for it was not drunk in the
temple-enclosure, but was poured out on the altar. On the contrary, in the Passover, the
cup is the centre of the feast. Even in the great sin-offering, the chief parts of which were
burned without the camp, as a cherern, besides the expiation by sprinkling of the blood, the
fat of the animal was made a burnt-offering; but of the lesser sin-offerings and trespass-offer
ings a part was taken as food for the priest. Besides the concrete acts of sacrifice, the ele
mentary forms are also represented; the meal-offering with the drink-offering in the show-
bread, the fire-offering in the daily burnt-offering, the peace-offering in the slaughtering of
animals for food before the tabernacle finally the cherem in theocratic capital punishment.
Over the offering rose the offering of incense as the symbol of prayer.

It is plain from the distinct expressions of the Holy Scriptures (Ps. cxli. 2; Eev. viii.
4) that the offering of incense upon the golden altar is a symbolical and typical representa
tion of the sacrifice of prayer. The basis of the incense-offering is the incense of the offer
ings which rose from the sacrificial fires, "the sweet savor," Eph. v. 2, particularly of the
burnt-offering. There was no burnt-offering without incense, for no consecration to God is
complete without a life of prayer, and this life of prayer was the soul of the offering. Hence
it is placed in a class by itself, in the incense-offering on the altar of incense (Ex. xxx. 7,
10). And for this reason also it accompanies the various offerings, the meal-offering and
drink-offering (Lev. ii. 16), and the offering of show-bread (Lev. xxiv. 7). Finally the offer
ing of incense appears most prominently in connection with the offering on the great day of
atonement. Then the high-priest was to envelop himself in the Holy of Holies in a cloud
of incense lest he die (Lev. xvi. 13). Thus the offering of incense constantly pointed towards
the spiritualization of the offering, that is, from the law to prophecy.

THE ORGANISM OF SACRIFICIAL WORSHIP.

All the various phases are contained in the Passover-offering. The fact is important,
that in the offering of the Passover the father of the family acted as priest. The idea of the
universal priesthood therefore is the foundation of all the offerings, and this proves that the
office of the priesthood was only a legal and symbolical representation of the whole people.

The atoning blood, with which the door-posts of the house were smeared, was the most
important part of the Passover-offering. On one side of this was the cherem, the slaying
of the first-born of the Egyptians ; on the other side was the peace or thank-offering of which
the family partook in the Passover meal. On the one side were the slaughterings of animals
for food before the tabernacle and the use of them in the meal at home ; on the other, the

OFFERINGS EXPRESSIVE OF COMMUNION. 43

legal cherem of theocratic capital punishment extended in the death bringing curse which,
with the fall, came upon all men. The most important part of the Passover was concluded
by the burning of the remains of the feast.

From this basis are developed the various divisions of the offerings, to be united again
in the single apex of the great offering of atonement in connection with the feast of taberna
cles. By this apex Old Testament offerings point beyond themselves, making a plain dis
tinction by means of the goats between pardonable sin and unpardonable sin, which was
given over to the wilderness and Azazel.*

Between the basis and the apex of the offerings are found their numerous divisions. We
distinguish between initiative, that is, offerings at times of consecration, and those expressive
of communion, and offerings at times of restoration, with a parallel distinction between ordi
nary and extraordinary offerings. The distinction between bloody and unbloody offerings,
or meal offerings, belongs to the offerings expressive of communion. The meal-offerings and
drink-offerings may be regarded as the best expression of communion. They are connected
with the burnt-offerings. One of the chief distinctions is found between the usual offerings
in the worship of the congregation and the casual offerings. On the other hand there is a
correspondence between the prohibition of unclean animals and that of some unbloody
objects (honey, leaven).

1. OFFERINGS AT TIMES OF CONSECRATION.

1. The covenant-offering consisting of burnt-offerings and thank-offerings (Ex. xxiv. 5)
performed by young men from the people ; 2. The heave offering, or tax for the building of
the tabernacle (Ex. xxxv. 5) ; 3. The anointing of the tabernacle, its vessels, and the priests
(Ex. xl.: Lev. viii.) ; 4. The offerings at the consecration of the priests, consisting of the
sin-offering, the burnt-offering, and the offering of the priest for thanksgiving (Lev. viii.),
and, in connection with these, the offerings of the people as priests (Lev. ix. 3 ; ch. xv.) ; 5.
The offerings of the princes, as heads of the state and leaders in war, for the temple-treasury
(Num. vii. 1 ; the offerings at the consecration of the Levites (Num. viii. 6) ; the offerings
for the candlestick and the table of show-bread (Lev. xxiv.).

2. OFFERINGS EXPRESSIVE OF COMMUNION.

a. Continual Offerings in the Temple by the Congregation.

1. Daily offerings (the fire never to be put out, Lev. vi. 13).

2. Sabbath-offerings.

3. Passover. Daily offerings for seven days. The sheaf of first-fruits, Lev. xxiii.

4. Pentecost. The wave-loaves. A burnt-offering of seven lambs, two young bullocks,
one ram, a he-goat for a sin-offering, two he-lambs for a thank offering.

5. Day of Atonement, the great Sabbath on the tenth day of the seventh month, Lev.
xxiii. The atoning offering of this day plainly belongs to the restorative offerings. The
feast of tabernacles on the fifteenth of the seventh month. Daily offerings for seven days
from Sabbath to Sabbath. Fruits, branches of palm trees green boughs.

By the sabbatie year and year of jubilee the symbolic offerings pass into figurative ethi
cal acts (Lev. xxv.). So also the tithes form a transition from the law of worship to the
civil law, or rather indicate the influence of ecclesiastical law in the state.

Offerings expressive of communion, closely considered, are those from which the priests
received their portion as food. Of these the principal was the show-bread ; then the meal-
offerings and various other offerings.

* [The author, together with many commentators, regards the word azazel, which occurs only in Lev. xvi. 8, 10, 26 as
a proper name. Its position of antithesis to '• Jehovah " lends some color to this assumption. But with equal exactness of
plii'olojry, it may be a common noun, meaning ''removal," or "utter removal." If we assume it to be a prop r name,
Wrt enter into difficulties of interpretation that are insuperable: if we take it as a common noun, the meaning and inter
pretation are very plain and simple.— H. O.J

44 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS.

b. Individual, Casual and Free-will Offerings expressive of Communion.

The centre between the preceding and this division is formed by the Passover, supple
mented by the little Passover (Num. ix.), which was at the same time universal and indivi
dual. Connected with it in universality is the offering of the Nazarite (Num. vi. 13 f., burnt-
offering, sin-offering, thank-offering).

In the middle stands the burnt- offering.

On one side of the burnt-offering stand the peace-offerings, of three kinds.

a. Offerings in payment of vows.

b. Thank-offerings.

c. Offerings of prosperity.

Beyond these were the slaughtering of animals for food before the tabernacle, which
bore some similarity to a sacrifice, and marked the food of flesh as a special gift from God.
On the other side of the burnt-offering stand the sin-offerings and trespass-offerings, of three
kinds.

a. Sin-offerings.

b. Trespass-offerings, related to trespasses that became sin.

c. Trespass-offerings in the strict sense.

Beyond these was the curse, the cherem. The transition to the cherem was formed by
the burnings without the camp, as of the great sin-offerings, and particularly of the red
heifer from which the water for sprinkling was prepared (Num. xix.).

3. RESTORATIVE OFFERINGS, RESTORING COMMUNION.

The series of these offerings, which were preceded by purification, begins with the offer
ing of women after child-birth (Lev. xii.). This was followed by the offering of the healed
leper and the offering for houses cleansed of leprosy (Lev. xiii. and xiv.). All offerings of
restoration culminate in the mysterious offering of the great day of atonement (Lev xvi.).
To the casual offerings of this kind belong the offering of jealousy and the water causing the
curse (Num. v. 12 f ) ; the offering of a Nazarite made unclean by contact with a dead body
(Num vi. 10) ; the water mingled with the ashes of a red heifer (Num. xix.). The cherem
serves to distinguish the capital punishment with which those who sinned with uplifted hand
were threatened, from the offerings for atonement of those who sinned unwittingly, in order
to restore the purity of the people. Death is threatened against all conscious opposition to
the law, whether of omission or of commission ; the symbolic, significant putting away from
the congregation of the living.

The common offerings, the wave-offering and heave- offering, the tithes for the offerings,
and the supply of the oil for the light are closely connected with the life of the Israelite con
gregation, in which everything becomes an offering, the first-fruits of the field, the first-born
of the house, the tithes of the harvest, the host for war. The extraordinary offerings exhibit
the tendency of the offering towards a realization in the ideal offering. The Passover and
the offerings at times of consecration, the offerings of the Nazarite, the offering of the red
heifer, and even the offering of jealousy, were designed to exhibit the ideal host of God.
The offering of atonement, of all the offerings in this class, encloses within itself the most
complete types.

THE MATERIAL OF THE OFFERINGS AND THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE OFFERING TO

THE GUILT.

The chief of these is the Passover-lamb according to the legal conditions (Ex. xii.). The
burnt-offering was to consist of a male animal without blemish (Lev. i. 2). For spiritual
worship there was required the manly spirit of positive consecration (Rom. xii. 1). Even
when the offerer brought a sheep or a goat it must be a male (Lev. i. 10). But the poor,
instead of these, might bring doves or young pigeons. The sin-offering of the anointed
priest, as well as that of the whole congregation, was a young bullock. The sin-offering of

THE PORTIONS OF THE OFFERINGS FOR THE PRIESTS. 45

a prince must be a male ; when from the flock, it must be a he-goat. On the other hand,
one of the common people might offer a female, a she-goat; a very important scale of
responsibility for transgressions. The transgression of the high-priest was equivalent to the
transgression of the whole congregation, and greater than the transgression of a prince.

For the simple trespass-offering the least was required, a female of the flock, sheep or
goat; or, when from the poor, two doves or young pigeons; and, if he was not able to get
these, he might bring the tenth of an ephah of fine flour. But, for trespass-offerings, which
were ordained for great transgressions, a ram must be brought, and in addition to the resto
ration of that which was unjustly acquired, the fifth part of the same must be given. This
tax is uniform as respects affairs of the Church, religious laws and private property. In
peace-offerings it was optional with the offerer to offer an animal of the herd or of the flock,
male or female, provided that it was entirely without blemish The meal-offerings consisted
of fine flour, uncooked, or baked, or roasted, with the accompanying oil and frankincense
and salt. Honey and leaven were prohibited.

At the consecration of Aaron and his sons, at the beginning of the eight days of conse
cration, a bullock was offered as a sin-offering and a ram as a burnt-offering; in addition to
these, a ram of consecration (Lev. viii. 22) and " out of the basket of unleavened bread that
was before the Lord" "one unleavened cake, one cake of oiled bread and one wafer;" and
at the end of the eight days there was offered a young calf as a sin-offering and a ram as a
burnt-offering. The congregation of Israel also offered a he goat as a sin-offering, and a calf
and a lamb of a year old as a burnt offering. And, as expressive of the estimation of the
priesthood by the congregation, they offered a bullock and a ram as a thanV-offering. Even
on the great day of atonement the high-priest must first atone for himself with a young bul
lock as a sin-offering and a ram as a burnt-offering. But the congregation, as a confession
of their subordinate and less responsible spiritual position, offered two he-goats as a sin-
offering, and a ram as a burnt-offering.

THE RITUAL OF THE OFFERINGS.

For the ritual of the Passover, see this Comm., Matt. xxvi. 17-30. For the ritual of the
offerings generally, we refer to works on archaeology and our exegesis. The duties of the
offerer were : 1. The right ch'/ice of the animal ; 2. To bring it to the priest in the court of
the tabernacle ; 3. To lay his hand upon the head of the animal as the expression of his
making the animal the typical substitute of his own condition and intention ; 4. To slay the
animal; 5. To take off the skin. The duties of the officiating priest were: 1. The reception
of the blood and the sprinkling of it; 2. The lighting of the fire on the altar; 3. The burn
ing of the animal, and with this, 4. Cleansing the altar and keeping the ashes clean. Spe
cially to be marked are : 1. The gradations of the burning ; 2. The gradations of the sprin
kling of the blood ; 3. The gradations of the solemnity of the feast ; 4. The gradations of
the cherem.

THE PORTIONS OF THE OFFERINGS FOR THE PRIESTS.

The greater part of the meal-offerings was given to the priest; but his own meal-offering
he must entirely burn up Lev. vi. 23. The flesh of the sin-offerings (except the great sin-
offering of a priest or of the whole congregation, Lev. vi. 20) was given to the priest who
performed the sacrifice ; only the holy could eat it in a holy place Lev. vi. 27. and the
same was true of the trespass-offering, Lev. vii. 7; comp. the directions concerning the meal-
offering, ver. 9. Of the burnt-offering the priest received the skin, Lev. vii. 8. Of the meal-
offerings connected with the peace-offerings the priest received his portion, Lev. vii. 14. Of
the thank-offering he received the breast and the right shoulder, Lev. vii. 31, 33. These
portions of the offerings could support only those priests who officiated in the temple, not
their families, or the priests who were not officiating. Their support they received under
the ordinance respecting payments in kind, particularly the tithes paid by the people.

46 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS.

THE STRICTNESS OF THE RITUAL OF THE OFFERINGS AS THE EXPRESSION OF THE
DISTINCTNESS AND IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE OFFERINGS.

As respects the Passover, it is to be remarked, that the law threatened death to those
who should in the seven days of unleavened bread eat bread that was leavened, and thus
typically obliterate the dividing line between light and darkness. The significance of the
unleavened bread is the separation of the life of the Israelites from the worldly, heathen,
Egyptian life. Leaven is also excluded from the meal-offerings, not because in itself it rep
resents the unclean and the evil (see this Conim., Matt, xiii.), for at Pentecost two leavened
loaves were offered upon the altar, Lev. xxiii. 17, but because in the holy food all participa-i
tion in the common worldly life even of Israel should be avoided. Thus too honey is strin
gently prohibited from the meal-offering, probably as an emblem of Paradise, which was
typified by Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey; and so it was an expression of
the fact, that in Paradise offerings should cease, Lev. ii. 11. The assertion that leaven and
honey were prohibited, because of their quality of fermentation, is at variance with the per
mission of wine. The portion of the meal-offerings accruing to the priests were to be eaten
only by them in the temple-enclosure; for it represented communion with the Lord. There
was also a decided prohibition against eating of the thank-offering on the third day after it
was offered, Lev. vii. 18. Also no unclean person should eat of the flesh of the offering, nor
should one eat of the flesh of an offering which had become unclean ; it must be burned with
fire. A sacred feast of two days might easily become secularized by the third day. The
Passover-lamb must be eaten on the first day. There was also a stringent provision that
those about to be consecrated as priests should during the consecration remain seven days
and nights before the door of the tabernacle, Lev. viii. 35. The sons of Aaron, Nadab and
Abihu, were smitten with death because they brought strange fire on their censers before the
Lord. The service in the sanctuary excluded all seif-moved and purely human excitation;
and for this reason the sons of Aaron were to drink neither wine nor any strong drink during
service in the sanctuary on pain of death. There was also a stringent provision that the high-
priest when he went into the Holy of Holies should surround himself with a cloud of incense
lest he die. The' atonement was perfected only in the atmosphere of prayer, Lev. xvi. Even
over the common slaughtering of animals for daily food there was the threat of death.
Unthankful enjoyment of the gifts of God was punished with death, Lev. xvii. 4; and so
with the eating of blood, Lev. xvii. 10, 11. Besides, not only must the offerer be typically
pure, and offer only that which was typically pure, but there \vas the constantly repeated
requirement that the animal must be without blemish and in exact accordance with the
requirements of gender and age.

Eating blood was forbidden because it bore the life, the life of the flesh. Lev. xvii. 10.
The fat also of beasts fit for sacrifice was appointed for sacrifice; it belonged to the Lord,
Lev. iii. 17; vii. 23, 26; xvii. 6. As respects the offering for atonement particularly, we
must refer to the exegesis. The special point to be marked is the distinction between this
offering as the culmination of all purifications and of the series of festivals.

The typical contrast between clean and unclean, on which all the laws of purifications
rest, is of great significance. • See the treatise of Sommer in the synopsis of the literature.
Uncleannes'i was the ground for all exclusions from the holy congregation, and delivering
over to the unholy world without. Cleanness was the warrant of adhesion to the holy con
gregation. The particular means of purification was lustration, the theocratic type which
developed into the prophetic idea of sprinkling with clean water, into John's baptism, and
finally into Christian baptism.

The heathen having been previously circumcised might by lustration become a mem
ber of the theocratic congregation, and gradually, under the influence of this fact, the court
of the Israelites was enlarged for a court of the Gentiles.*

* [If by "lustration" the author menns sprinkling, that was ordained only in certain specified cases for those already
within the congregation, i. e., at the cleansing of the leper, Lev. xiv.; at the consecration of the Levites, Nuinb. viii. 7, and
at the cleansing of the Israelites made unclean by touching a dead body, Numb. xix. — H. O.J

THE STRICTNESS OF THE RITUAL OF THE OFFERINGS, ETC 47

Corresponding to the classification of clean and unclean men was that of clean and
unclean animals. The conceptions of the Pharisees concerning washing with unclean hands
as well as the antiquated ideas of Peter, Acts x., show us how the idea of cleanness, as well
as the idea of the law itself, might become materialized. It is not unimportant that the first
form of uncleanness, the uncleanness of a woman in childbirth, appears as a fruit of the
excess of natural life. With this excess of life correspond diseases. Among unclean ani
mals are found, on the one side, those most full of life ; on the other side, those which creep.
Cleanness by cleansing in water is only negative holiness; it became positive only through
sacrifice. For holiness has two sides : separation from the unholy world and consecration to
the service and fellowship of the holy God. On the laws of purification see JOACHIM LANGE,
Mosaisches Lichf, und Rtchty p. 673 f. That all the holy observances are connected with that
requiring purity of blood, and consequently of the relations of the sexes, is undeniably of
great significance. Concerning the forbidden degrees of intermarriage we must refer to the
exegesis and the works on this subject, especially to those of SPOESTDLI and THIERSCH. We
must also mention the noble codex of theocratic duties of humanity, Lev. xix. It is only in
the light of these laws of humanity that the punitive laws, Lev. xx., are rightly seen. They
are in the service of ideal humanity not less than the others. The theocratic sanctity of the
priest, Lev. xxi., is quite another picture of life, like the sanctity of the priest after Gregory
VII. and during the Middle Ages.

We must refer to the Exegesis and an abundant literature respecting the ordinances of
the beautiful festivals of Israel, an 1 respecting the special emphasis of the sanctity of the
light in Jehovah's sanctuary and the prophetic and typical Jubilee of the year of Jubilee.
The antithesis of the proclamation of the blessing and the curse assures us, that here we are
dealing with realities which must continue though the religious interpretation of them should
entirely cease. The law's estimate of the vow points to the sphere of freedom, in which
everything is God's own, committed to the conscientious keeping of man.

NUMBERS.

The most important points in the first section of the book of Numbers are the following:
1. The typical significance of the Israelite army; 2. The significance of the service of the
Levites with the army and in the tabernacle; 3. Eules for preserving the camp holy; 4. The
offering of jealousy and the water which brought the curse, or the hindrances of married life
in the holy war; 5. The vow of the Nazarite, or the significance of the self-denying warriors
in the holy war; 6. The free-will offerings of the princes (chief men and rich men) ; 7. The
care of the sanctuary; 8 Worship in the wilderness and God's guidance of the host, ch. ix.;
9. The signals of war and of peace, the trumpets.

After the commencement of the march we are brought to see the sin fulness of God's
host, their transgressions and punishments in their typical significance; especially the home
sickness for Egypt; the seventy elders to encourage the people as a blessing in this distress.
Against this blessing stands in contrast their calamity in eating the quails. Mixed marriage
on its bright side, ch. xii. Concerning the spies, the abode in Kadesh, the rebellion of Korah
and his company, the significance of the mediation of Aaron and of his staff that blossomed,
of the rights of the priests and Levites, the ashes of the red heifer, and the failure of Moses
at the water of strife, we must refer to the Exegesis.

For our views with respect to the second departure from Kadesh, which we trust will
serve to correct some errors, we must refer to the exegetical sections on the King of Arad,
the passage of the brooks of Arnon, the over-estimated prophecies of Balaam, the great dan
ger of Israel's addiction to a worship of lust, and especially the revision of the views con
cerning the stations of the march, ch. xxxiii.

The second census of the people illustrates the necessity and value of theocratic statistics.
The daughters of Zelophehad form a station in the history of the development of the rights
of women — rights which had been greatly marred by sin. The ordering of the festivals in
the book of Numbers shows us that the solemn festivals are also social festivals, and that
they are of great significance in the Ufe of the people and in the state The subordination
of the authority of woman in respect to the family, to domestic offerings, to external affairs.

SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS.

is of special significance for our times when woman has well-nigh freed herself. Concerning
the war for vengeance on the Midianites, we must also refer to the Exegesis. The treatment
of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh was a master-piece of theocratic
policy, as well as a strong testimony to the great blessing of the nation's unity. The Old
Testament limits and enclosure of the law by the boundaries of Canaan is also a testimony
against the claims of the absolute supremacy of the law. Concerning the legal signifi
cance of the free cities, see the Exegesis. The close of this book which treats of the
state significantly protects the rights of the tribes, and illustrates a doctrine of signal impor
tance for churches, states and nationalities in strong contrast with the notion of old and new
Babel that the uniformity of the world is the condition and soul of the unity of the world.
The plan of encampment will be seen by the following sketch :

WEST.

EPHRAIM, 40,500.
MANASSEH, 35,200. BENJAMIN, 35,400.

GERSON.

TABERNACLE.

ZEBULON, 75,000. ISSACHAR, 54,400.

JUDAH, 74,000.

EAST.

This, despite severe criticism, proves itself by certain marks to be a very ancient record.
Benjamin is separated from Judah, and is under the leading of Ephraim. Nothing is said
of a division of the tribe of Manasseh, and its position is far from that of Eeuben and Gad.
Ephraim appears as one of the smaller tribes.

The abundant care for the poor in Israel has been treated at length by ZELLER, Super
intendent of the School for the Poor in Beuggen, in the Monatsblatt von Beuggen, August,
1845, No. 8. On Kadesh see TUCH on Gen. xiv. in Zeitschriftderdeutschenmorgenl'dndischen

THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE OF THE THREE BOOKS. 49

Gesellschaft, 1847, p. 179 f. Also see the articles on Kadesh in HERZOG'S Encyclopaedic and
SCHENKEL'S Bibdlexicon. The most important works on the Book of Numbers are quoted
as occasioi requires; G. D. KRUMMACHER; MENKEN, Die eherne Schlange; HENGSTEN-
BERG, Balaam; RIEHM, et al. See also DANZ, Universalworterbuch, p. 699. WINER, I.,
p. 202.

THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE OF THE THREE BOOKS.

See this Comm., Indexes of the Literature in Introduction to Gen. and to Matt. ;
HEIDEGGER, Enchiridion, p. 15 ; WALCH, Biblioth. iv. 437 ; WINER, 134 ff., 202 ; Appendix,
p. 27-31 ; DANZ, p. 745 ff. ; ^uppl. p. 81 ; HARTWIG'S Tabellen, p. 29 ; HAGENBACH, pp 186,
199 ; Works by J. J HESS, KUINOEL, G. L. BAUER, DE WETTE, JOST, LEO, BERTHEAU,
EWALD, LENGERKE and others. Later, BUNSEN'S Bibelwerk, D^CHSEL'S BibeJwerk, BRES-
LAU, DUELFER. Comprehensive treatises on the three books are found in histories of Old
Testament religion, of the kingdom of God and in compendiums of biblical theology. We
must also include in this list the writings of JOSEPHUS, PHILO, ORIGEN, EUSEBIUS, JEROME
and others which refer to this subject.

Lexicons. — SCHENKEL'S Bibdlexicon.

Biblical Theology. — BRUNO BAUER, Religion des Alien Testaments; VATKE, BAUR,
SCHULTZ, VON DER GOLTZ; EWALD, Die Lehre der Bibel von Gott, Vol. I.; Die Lehre vom
Worte Gottes, Vol. II. ; Die Glaubenslehre, erste haelfte, Leipzig, 1871 ; DIESTEL, Geschichte
des A/ten Testaments in der Chrixtlichen Kirche, Jena, 1869; ZAHN, Ein Gang durch die
Heilige Geschichte, Gotha, 1868; BAUR, Geschichte der altteatamentlichen Weissagung, 1 Theil,
1861 ; ZIEGLER, Historische Enlwicklung der gottlichen Offenbarung ; DE WETTE, Diebiblische
Geschichte als Geschichte der Offenbarung Gottes, Berlin, 1846.

Consult the works of earlier writers, as ARETIUS, BRENZ, GROTIUS, OSIANDER, DATHE,
VATER, HARTMANN. Five Books of Moses, Berleburger Bibel, new ed., Stuttgart, 1856 ;
CLERICCJS on Pentateuch, Amsterdam, 1693 ; JOACHIM LANGE, Mosaisches Licht und Recht ;
HENGSTENBERG, Christotogy of the Old Testament, Egypt and the Book* of Moses, Balaam, Die
Opfer der Heiligen S''hrift, Die Geschichte des Reaches Gottes; BLEEK, Introduction to the (Id
Testament; BAUMGARTEN, Kommentar zum Alien Testament, 2 Theil e; KURTZ, History of
the Old Covenant, 3 vols. ; KNOBEL, Kommentare zu Exodus, Leviticus und Kumeri"; KEIL
and DELITZSCH, Biblical Commentary, Pentateuch, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh.

Works by Jews. — SALVADOR, Histoire des Institutions de Moyse et du peuple hebreux, 3
vols., Paris, 1828; PHILIPPSON. Die Israelilische Bibel, Der Pentateuch, Leipzig, 1858;
ZUNZ, Uebersetzung des Alien Testament* ; R. S. HIRSCH, Der Pentateuch ubersetzt und erldu-
tert, Frankfurt, a. m., 1867-9; HARZHEIMER, Die 24 Bucher der Bibel, Pentateuch, Leipzig;
MANDELBAUM, Die Bibel neu ubersetzt und erkldrt, Einleitung in dem Pentateuch, Berlin,
1864.

Historical Works. — ARNAUD, Le Pentateuch mosaique, defendu contre les attaques de la
critique negative, Paris, 1865; FUERST, Geschichte der biblischen Literatur, 2 Bande, Leipzig,
1867; H. WRIGHT, The Pentateuch with ** Translation, specimen part, Gen. i.-iv., London,
1869; BRAEM, Israel's Wanderung von Gosenbis zum Sinai, Elberfeld, 1859; COLENSO, The
Pentateurh, 1863 (a sample of traditional, abstractly literal interpretation). In opposition to
COLENSO. Th". Historic Character of the Pentateuch Vindicated, Lond , 1863 ; The Mosaic Ori
gin of the Pentateuch, by a Layman, London, 1864; GRAF, Die geschichtlichen Bucher des
Alien Testaments, Leipzig, 1866; HITZIG, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, Leipzig, 1869 ; EBERS,
Egypten und die Bucher Motes; writings of BRUGSCH, LiPSIUS and GUTSCHMID, Beitrdge zur
Geschichte des Alien Orients zur Wiirdigung von Bunserfs Egypten, 1857; J. BRAUN, Histo
rische Landschaften, Stuttgart, 1867; K. VON RAUMER, Der Zug der Israeliten aus Egypten
nach Kanaan, Langensalza, 1860 ; VOELTER, Das heilige Land und das Land der israelitschen
Wanderung; HOLTZMANN und WEBER, Geschichte des Volkes Israel und der Entstehung des
Chrintenlhums, Leipzig, 1867 ; NOELDEKE, Die alttestamentliche Literatur in einer Reihe von
Aufsdizen, Leipzig, 1868; BUNSEN, God in History; BUSCH, Urgeschichte des Orients, 2
Bande, Leipzig; STIER, Heilsgeschichte des Alten Testaments, Halle, 1872; LABORDE, Com-
4

60 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE THREE BOOKS.

mentaire geographique sur VExode et les Fombres, Paris, 1841 ; FAIRBAIRN, The Typo:ogy of
Scripture, Edinburgh, 1854; MILLS, Sacred Symbology, or an Inquiry into the Principles of
the Interpretation of the Prophetic Symbols, Edinburgh, 1853; BEKE, Irigines biblicae, Lon
don, 1854.

Special Treatises. — EANKE, Untersuchungen ; NETTELER, Studien uber die ^Echtheit des
Pentateuchs, Munster, 1867; KOHX, Samaritanische Studien, Breslau, 1866; TRIP, Theopha-
nien in den Geschichts buchern des Allen Testaments, Leiden, 1858; TuCH, Sinaitische Inschrif-
ten, Leipzig, 1846; APPIA, Essai biographique sur Moyse, Strasburg, 1853; CHAPPUIS, De
Vancien Testament, consider 'e dan ses Rapports avec le Christianisme, Lausanne, 1858; SALO
MON, Moses der Mann Gottes, 1835; SlEGEL, Moses; BOETTCHER, Exegetische ^EhrenJese zum
Alien Testament, Leipzig, 1864; FRIEDERICH, Zur Bibel; HARTMANN, Historisch Kritische
Forschungen Berlin, 1831 ; HUELLMA.NN, titaatsverfassung der Israeliten; UNGER, Chronolo
gic des Manethi, Berlin, 1866; treatises of a popular character by KIRCHLOFER, STAUDT,
STEGLICH, POSTEL and others; special articles in Herzog's Encyclopsedie and in the Jahr-
bucher fur deutsche Theologie from 1858-1872, and in the Studien und Kritiken, 1872.

On Hebrew art, see the Archaeologies by KEIL and others. On Hebrew poetry LOWTH,
HERDER, SAALSCHUETZ, SACK, TAYLOR.

On the relation of the Old Testament to Assyria, SCHRADER, Die Keilinschriften und
das Alte Testamentt Giessen, 1872.

EXODUS.

THE SECOND BOOK OF MOSES.

: Exodui.)

THE PROPHETICO-MESSIANIC THEOCEACY— OR THE GENESIS, REDEMPTION
AND SANCTIFICATION OF THE COVENANT PEOPLE.

FIRST DIVISION: MOSES AND PHARAOH.

THE TYPICALLY SIGNIFICANT REDEMPTION OP ISRAEL OUT OF HIS SERVITUDE IN EGYPT AS PRELI
MINARY CONDITION OF AND PREPARATION FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TYPICAL KINGDOM
OF GOD (THE THEOCRACY) BY MEANS OF THE MOSAIC LEGISLATION — OR THE THEOCRATIC
FOUNDATION FOR THE LEGISLATION OF ALL THE THREE BOOKS.

CHAPTERS I.— XVIII.

FIRST SECTION.

The Genesis of the Covenant People of Israel, of their Servitude, and of the Fore
tokens of their Redemption as one people. An analogue of the Development of
Mankind as a unit, of their Corruption and the Preparation for their Salvation.
The calling of Moses and his twofold Mission to his people and to Pharaoh.

CHAPS. I.— VII. 7.

A.— GROWTH AND SERVITUDE OF THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT— AND
PHARAOH'S PURPOSE TO DESTROY THEM.

CHAP. I. 1-22.*

1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel which [who] came into

2 Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi,
3, 4 and Judah ; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin ; Dan, and Naphtali, Gad and

5 Asher. And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls ;

6 for [and] Joseph was in Egypt already. And Joseph died, and all his brethren,

7 and all that generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased
abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty, and the land was filled

8 with them. Now [And] there arose a new king over Egypt which [who] knew not

9 Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel
10 are more and mightier than we. Come on [Come], let us deal wisely [pru
dently1] with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, when there falleth

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 10. HDSnnj. Lange, Gesenius, Arnheim, and Pliilippson, translate this iiberlislen, "outwit," But the Hithp.

T : ~* ; •
form occurs, besides here, only in Eccl. Tii. 16, and there has the signification proper to the Hithpael, viz., to deem one'a-

* [The Authorizid Version is followed in the translation from the Hebrewvexcept that "Jehovah" is everywhere sub
stituted for " the LORD." In other cases, where a change in the translation is thought to be desirable, the proposed emen
dation is inserted in brackets.— TR]

EXODUS.

out any war [when a war occurreth], they join also [they also join themselves] unto
our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up [and go up] out of the

11 land. Therefore they did set [And they appointed] over them taskmasters, to
afflict them with their burdens ; and they built treasure-cities [store-cities] for Pha-

12 raoh, Pithoin and Raemses. But the more [lit, And as] they afflicted them the
more [lit., so] they multiplied and grew [spread]. And they were grieved because

13 of [horrified in view of] the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the chil-

14 dren of Israel to serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard
bondage [service] in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field;
alt2 their service wherein they made them serve was [which they laid on them]

15 with rigor. And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives (of \
which [whom] the name of one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah),

16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to [When ye deliver] the He
brew women, and see them [then look] upon the stools ; if it be a son, then ye

17 shall kill him ; but, if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives
feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded, but [and] saved the

18 men-children alive. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto

19 them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive ? And
the midwi v^es said unto Pharaoh,3 Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyp
tian, for they are lively [vigorous], and are delivered ere the midwives come in

20 unto them [before the midwife cometh in unto them, they are delivered]. There
fore [And] God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and waxed

21 [grew] very mighty. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that

22 he made them houses [households]. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying,
Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall
save alive.

self wise, to act the part of a wise man. Here, therefore, it is better to render it in nearly the same way.— rU&Opjl, a
plural verb with a singular subject. Knobel, following the Samaritan version (IJJOpfU translates wird uns trefen, "shall
befall us." But there is no need of this assumption of a corrupt text. S?e EWALD, AUK/. Gram., $ 191 c. — Tu.J.

2 [Ver. 14. Lange, with many others, takes j"\X here as a preposition, meaning " together with," "besides,'' and sup
plies " other '' before " service." Gram mat irally tl.is is perhaps easier than to take it (as we have done"* ns the sign of the
Ace. But it requires us to .supply the word on which the whole force of the clause depends. — TR.].

3 [Ver. 19. Lange translates, unaccountably. njnipSx as being equivalent to a geni'ive: die nebammm des Pharaoh,
" Pharaoh's midwives."— Tii.].

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Vers. I-7. Fulfillment of the promise, Gen.
xlvi. 3. Also fulfillment of the prediction of suf
fering for the descendants of Abraham, Gen.
xv. 13.

Vers. 2-4. The names of the children are
given according to the rank of the mothers. So
Gen. xxxv. 23-26.

Ver. 5. The small number of seventy souls
(vid. Gen. xlvi. 27) who entered Egypt, illustrates
the wonderful increase. At the exodus 600,000
men, besides children, etc. Vid. ch. xii. 37. On
the terms denoting increase, W^tf] ^3 ^T.
see Gen. i. 28 ; viii. 17.

Ver. 8. A new king. — DjTjl_ has a special
significance. He rose up, as a man opposed to
the previous policy. The LXX. translate KHn
by ETEpoq. Josephus and others inferred the rise
of a new dynasty. — Who knew not Joseph,
i. e., cared nothing for his services and the re
sults of them, the high regard in which his peo
ple had been held.

Vers. 9, 10. " They are greater and stronger
than we," says despotic fear. "Come, let us be

more prudent (more cunning) than they," is the
language of despotic craftiness and malice. Des
potic policy adds, that in case of a war the peo
ple might join the enemy. A clanger to the
country might indeed grow out of the fact that
the Israelites did not become Egyptianized. The
power of IsraelitisL traditions is shown espe
cially in the circumstance that even the descend
ants of Joseph, though they had an Egyptian
mother, certainly became Jews. Perhaps it was
dislike of Egyptian manners which led the sons
of Ephraim early to migrate towards Palestine,
1 Chron. vii. 22. An honorable policy would,
however, have provided moans to help the Jews
to secure a foreign dwelling-place.

Ver. 11. Taskmasters. — The organs of op
pression and enslavement. «' That foreigners
were employed in these labors, is illustrated by
a sepulchral monument, discovered in the ruins
of Thebes, and copied in the Egyptological works
of Rosellini and Wilkinson, which represents
laborers, who are not Egyptians, as employed in
making brick, and by them two Egyptians with
rods, as overseers ; even though these laborers
may not be designed to represent Israelites, as
their Jewish features would indicate" (Keil).
See also Keil's reference to Aristotle and Livy,

CHAP. II. 1-25.

(p. 422)* on the despotic method of enfeebling a
people physically and mentally by enforced labor.
Store-cities. — For the harvests. See Keil (p,
422) on Pithorn (Gr. ndrowuof, Egypt. Thou,
Thourn), situated on the canal which connects
the Nile with the Arabian gulf. Raemses, the
same as Heroopolis.

Ver. 12. Horror is the appropriate designa
tion of the feeling with which bad men see the
opposite of their plans wonderfully brought
about. Hengstenherg: Sie hatten Ekel vor ihnen.
" They were disgusted at them." But this was
the case before. On ^p see the lexicons.

Vers. 13, 14. Aggravation of the servitude.
Two principal forms of service. Brickmaking
for other buildings, and field labor. The bricks
were hardened in the hot Egyptian sun ; the field
labor consisted especially in the hard work of
irrigating the soil.

Vers. 15-18. Second measure. Resort to bru
tal violence, but still concealed under demoniacal
artifice. Probably there was an organized order
of midwives, and the two midwives mentioned
were at their head. — He said unto them. — •
And again: he said. He tried to persuade
them, and at last the devilish command came
out — probably secret instructions like those of
Herod, to kill the children in Bethlehem. — Over
the bathing-tub. [So Lange. — TR.]. Knobel
and Keil assume a figurative designation of the
vagina in the phrase D'J3Xn, referring to Jer.
xviii. 3 Since the child is generally born head
first, there is only a moment from the time when
the sex can be recognized to the use of the bath
ing-tub. On the various interpretations, comp.
the lexicons and the Studien und Kritiken, 1834,
S. 81 ff.,f etc. A heathenish way, all over the

* [Aristotle, Polit. v. 9; Livy, Hist. i. 56, 59. The references
to Roil c >nform to the translation published by the Clarks,
Edinburgh. But the translations, when g ven hero, are made
directly from the original, and from a later edition than that
from vvhicii the Edinburgh translation was made. — TR.].

f [An article by Prof. Rettig. There is, however, still an
other article on t"e same subject in th • 8;ime volume of this
periodical, jt. 641 sqq., by Redslon. Th" principal views on
this vexed phrase are these : (1) That D'JJDX, being tue same

word as is used (and elsewhere only nued) in Jer. xviii. 3, of
a potter's wheel, must denote the same tiling; or, rather, the
seat on which thy potter sits, this being adapted to the uso

world, of killing the males and forcing the wo
men and girls to accommodate themselves to the
mode of life of the murderers.

Ver. 19. " With this answer they could deceive
the king, since the Arab women bear children
with extraordinary ease and rapidity. See
Burcknardt, Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabis,
I., p. 96; Tischendorf, Rnse I., p. 108," (Keil).

Vers. 20, 21. God built them houses —He
blessed them with abundant prosperity. Ac
cording to Keil, the expression is figurative :
because they labored for the upbuildiag of the
families of Israel, their families al-=o were built
up by God. Their lie, which Augustine excuses
on the ground that their fear of God outweighed
the sintulness of the falsehood, seems, like sirni
lar things in the life of Abraham, to be the wild
utterance of a state of extreme moral exigency,
and is here palliated by a real fact, the ease of
parturition.

Ver. 22. Now at last open brutality follows the
failure of the scheme intervening between arti
fice and violence. On similar occurrences in
profane history, see Keil.J Probably also this
command was paralyzed, and the deliverance of
Moses by the daughter of Pharaoh might well
have had the effect of nullifying the king's com
mand; for even the worst of the heathen were
often terrified by unexpected divine manifesta
tions.

of a parturient woman. (2) That it means bathing-tub, the
dual form being accounted for by the supposition that a cover
belonged to it. (3) That it is derived Irom T£)J<, in the sense

of turn, and refers to the pudenda of the parturient, from
which the child is, as it were, turned forth, like the vessel
from the potter's wheel. (4) That the word, being radically
the same as f I3X, and being in tue dual, may be used for the

testiculi of the "male child. (5) That D'J^tf, from J3K, may
mean lands, sexes. (6) That being derived from ?3N> in the

sense of to separate (and so a stone is that which is separated

from a rock), it means the two distinctions (so Meier. Studien

und Kritiken, 1$42, p. 1050). It is obvious to remark that, in

order to determine the sex of the child, the thing to be looked

at is not the bathing-tub, or the stool, or any part of the mo-

I ther. This consideration is almost, if not quite, conclusive

I against the first three interpretations. But it is perhaps use-

lesi to hope for a complete solution of the meaning of the

phrase. — TR.].

$ [Probably a slip of the pen for Krobel. See his com
mentary on Exodus, p. 9, in the Kurzgefasstes exegetischet
Handbuch sum alttn Testament.— TR.].

B.— THE BTRTH AND MIRACULOUS PRESERVATION OF MOSES. HTS ELEVATION AND
FIDELITY TO THE ISRAELITES. HIS TYPICAL ACT OF DELIVERANCE AND AP
PARENTLY FINAL DISAPPEARANCE. GOD'S CONTINUED PURPOSE TO RELEASE
ISRAEL.

CHAP. II. 1-25.

AND there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a [the] daughter of
Levi.1 And the woman conceived and bare a son ; and when she [and she] saw
him, that he was a goodly child [was goodly, and] she hid him three months.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 1. .nX, disregarded by the most of the commentators, is noticed by Glaire, who remarks that it " may imply that

this daughter, named Jochebed (vi. 20) was the only one of the family of Levi still living, or the only one of that house who
was then marriageable." According to vi. 20, and Num. xxvi. 59, Jochebed was Levi's own daughter; she may have beeu

EXODUS.

3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and
daubed it with slime [bitumen] and with pitch, and put the child therein ; and she

4 k*d it in the flags [sedge] by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to

5 wit [in order tj learn] what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh
came down to wash herself [bathe] at the river ; and her maidens walked along by
the river's side ; aod when she *[and she] saw the ark among the flags [sedge,

6 and] she sent her maid to fetch it [maid, and she fetched it]. And when she had
opened it she [And she opened it, and] saw the child, and behold, the babe [a boy]
wept [weeping]. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the He-

7 brews' children. Then said his sistvr [And his sister said] to Pharaoh s daughter,
Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the

8 child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Go. And th^ maid went

9 and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this
child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman

10 took the child and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pha
raoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses : and she

11 said, Because I drew him out of the water. And it came to pass in those days when
Moses was grown [that Moses grew up], that [and] he went out unto his brethren,
and looked on their burdens ; and he spied [saw] an Egyptian smiting an [a] He-

12 brew, one of his brethren. And he looked [turned] this way and that way, and
when he [and he] saw that there was no man [man, and] he slew the Egyptian

13 a -)d hid [buried] him in the sand. And when he [And he] went out the second
day [day, and] behold, two men of the Hebrews [two Hebrew men] strove together
[were quarreling] ; and he said to him that did the wrong [to the guilty one],

14 Wherefore sniitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a
judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst ihe Egyptian ? And

15 Moses feared, and said, Surely this [the] tiling is known. Now when [And] Pha
raoh heard this thing, [thing, and] he sought to slay Moses. But [And] Moses
fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the laud of Midian ; and he sat down

16 [dwelt2] by a [the] well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters ; and they

17 came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. And the
shepherds came a-id drove them away ; but Moses stood up and helped them, and

18 watered their flock. And when they came to Eeuel their lather, he said, How is it

19 that ye are [Wherefore have ye] come so soon to-day? And they said, An Egyp
tian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew ivater enough3

20 for [drew water for] us, and watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters, And
where is he ?* why is it that ye have [why then have ye] left the man ? call him, that

21 he may eat bread. And Moses was content [consented5] to dwell with the man;

an only daiighter. Still it i i possible that j"|J$, though almost always used only before a definite object, is here used as in
xxi. 28. "If an ox gore a man (HP tf~,nN) or a woman (n^^riN)-'1 Cuuip. Evr AID'S Kritisclie GrammatiJc, $ 318, Note
09.-TR.].

2 [\\r. 15. Whether the second UtJTl means " aud he sat down," or "and he dwelt,'' is not < asily determined. It

V " T

seems unnatural that the word should have two meanings in the two consecutive sentences, although undoubtedly it ia
elsewhere freely used in both senses. If, moreover, tho writer meant to say that Moses, while dwelling in Midian, once
happened to be sitting by the well, and so became acquainted with Rebel's daughters, ho would probably not have used the
Future with the Vav c nsecutive, but rather the Perfect, or the Participle. Comp. R^M, Ausfiihrl. Gr., \ 341 a.— Ti>.].

3 [Ver. 19. nSl rtSl'DJV Lange translates : Auch hat er anlidltend geschifft, " Also he kept drawing," as if the Inf.
Acs. followed, instead of preceding H M- There is no reason for assigning to the Inf. Ab«. here any other than its common

use. viz., t~> e.mphasiz" the moaning of the finite verb. Nor does the rendering of the A. V., "drew water enough,'' quite
reproduce its force. The daughters of Ileuel evidently thought it would have been a remarkable occuirence if Moses had
only defended them from the shepherds. But more than this: " he even tin w for us." — TR.].

* [Ver. 20. TNI- Kalisch renders, " Where then is he ?" Correctly enough, so far as the sense is concerned ; but un

necessarily deviating from the more literal rendering in flip A. Y., which exactly expresses the force of tho original.— TR.].

6 [Ver. 21. Sfctn. Glaire insists that in all the passages where ^N"1 occurs, even where it has the meaning "to bo

foolish," the radical menning is "to venture." Most lexicograhpers assume a separate root for the signification, which it
has in Niph., "to be foolish." Meier (Wurzelworterbuch), however, reduces all the significations to that of "opening" or

being open,'' from the root 7^ = l"!- But better, with Fiirst, to assume two root-', and make the radical signification

f this one to be "to resolve, determine." This rovers all CT

inier, i. 27, " The Caiiaanitfs determined to dwell." In cases

icsulution, being the result of persuasion, is a consetit. — TR.].

of this one to be "to resolve, determine." This rovers all CTSPS. e. g. G?n. xviii. 27. ''I have resolved '' i. ?., undertaken.
.Tinier, i. 27, " The Caiiaanitfs determined to dwell." In cases like tiie one before us, aud 2 Kings v. 23; Judg. xix. 6, the

CHAP. II. 1-25.

22 and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare him a [bare a] son, and
he called his name Gershom, for ha said, I have been a stranger [A sojourner have

23 I been] in a strange laud. And it came to pass in process of time [lit. in those
many days], that the king of Egypt died ; and the children of Israel sighed by rea
son of the bondage [service], and they cried ; and their cry6 came up to God by rea-

24 son of the bondage [service]. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered

25 his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon
the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them [lit. knew them''].

6 Ver. 23.

7
sie vend

cry for help "—a different root from that of th3 verb ^pjJPV— TR.].

[Ver 25 LanVe translates : Und Gott sdh an die Kinder Israels, und afs der Gottlieit war's ihm beiousst (er durcJischcmf",
d ihre Situation). "And God looked on the children of Israel, au-l it was known by Him as the Godhead (He saw

through them and their situation)." This translation seems to be suggested by the emphatic repetition of D^Jl^X. But
better to find the emphatic word in j»Tl_ " God Jcnew (thorn)," i. «., had a tender regard for them— a frequent use 'of J»T
Couip. Ps. cxliv. 3. Or, simply, "God knew," leaving the object indefinite, as iu the Hebrew. — TR.]

with the customs of ancient Egypt (comp. the
copy of a bathing-scene of a noble Egyptian wo
man, with four female attendants, in Wilkinson,
Ancient Egyptians, Vol. III., Plate 417), and be
sides is perhaps connected with the notion held
by the ancient Egyptians concerning the sacred-
ness of the Nile, to which even divine honors
were paid (vid. HENGSTENBERG, Egypt and the
Books of Moses, p. 113), and with the fructifying,
life-preserving power of its waters." (Keil).

Ver. 6. The compassion of Pharaoh's daughter
towards the beautiful child led her to adopt him;
and when she did so, making him, therefore,
prospectively an Egyptian, she did not need, we
may suppose, to educate him " behind the king's
back" [as Keil thinks. — TR.]. We might rather
assume that this event, more or less neutralized
the cruel edict of the king.

Ver. 9. Nor is it to be assumed that the daugh
ter of Pharaoh had no suspicion of the Hebrew
nationality of the mother. How often, in cases
of such national hostilities, the feelings of indi
vidual women are those of general humanity in
contradistinction to those of the great mass of
fanatical women.

Ver. 10. She brought him unto Pha
raoh's daughter. — The boy in the meantime
had drunk in not only his mother's milk, but
also the Hebrew spirit, and had been intrusted
with the secret of his descent and deliverance.
Legally and formally he became her son,
whilst he inwardly had become the son of an
other mother ; and though she gave him the
Egyptian name, " Mousheh," i. e., saved from the
water (Josephus II., 9, 6), yet it was at once
changed in the mind of Divine Providence into
the name " Mosheh ;" the one taken out became
the one taking out. (Kurtz). For other expla
nations of the name, vid. Gesenius, Knobel, Keil.
Thus the Egyptian princess herself had to bring
up the deliverer and avenger of Israel, and, by
instructing him in all the wisdom of Egypt, pre
pare him both negatively and positively for his
vocation.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 1. And there went. — }Sn, according
to Keil, serves to give a pictorial description.
Inasmuch as the woman had already borne Mi
riam and Aaron, it would mislead us to take the
word in this sense. The expression properly
means that he had gone ; he had, in these dan
gerous times which, to be sure, at Aaron's birth
had not yet reached the climax (he was three
years o'der than Moses) taken the step of enter
ing the married state. — The descent of these pa
rents from the tribe of Levi is .remarked. Ener
getic boldness had distinguished it even in the
ancestor (Gen. xlix. 5 ; Ex. xxxii. 26 ; Deut.
xxxiii. 8). Although originally not without fa
naticism, this boldness yet indicated the quali
ties needed for the future priesthood.

Ver. 2. She recognized it as a good omen, that
the child was so fair pl£9 aarelo^ LXX. ; vid.,
Heb. xi. 23), Josephus traces this intuition of
faith, which harmonized with the maternal feel
ing of complacency and desire to preserve his
life, to a special revelation. But this was here
not needed.

Ver. 3. The means of preservation chosen by
the parents is especially attributed to the daugh
ter of Levi. It is all the more daring, since in
the use of it she had, or seemed to have, from the
outset, the daughter of the child-murderer in
mind. The phrase !"On designates the box as a
miniature ark, a ship of deliverance. On the pa
per-reed, vid. WINER, Renl-worterbuch, II., p. 411.
The box, cemented and made water-tight by
means of asphalt and pitch, was made fast by the
same reed out of which it had b?en constructed.
This extraordinarily useful kind of reed seems
by excessive use to have become extirpated.

Ver. 4. And his sister. — Miriam (xv. 20).
The sagacious child, certainly older than Aaron,
early showed that she was qualified to become a
prophetess (xv. 20) of such distinction that she
could afterwards be puffed up by it.

Ver. 5. "The daughter of Pharaoh is called
Qspfiov&i^ (Josephus et al.) or Me/V»f. . . . The
bathing of the king's daughjer in the open stream
is contrary indeed to the custom of the modern
Mohammedan Orient, where this is done only by
women of low rank in retired places (Lane, Man
ners and Customs, p. 336, 5th ed.), but accords

Ver. 11. When Moses was grown. — Had

become a man. According to Acts vii. 23, and
therefore according to Jewish tradition, he was
then forty years old. He had remained true to his
destination (Heb. xi. 24), but had also learned,
like William of Orange, the Silent, to restrain
himself, until finally a special occasion caused

EXODUS.

the flame hidden in him to burst forth. An Egyp
tian smote one of his brethren. — This phrase
suggests the ebullient emo ion with which he
now decided upon his future career.

Ver. 12. That Moses looked this way and that
way before committing the deed, marks, on the
one hand, the mature man who knew how to
control his heated feeling, but, on the other
hand, the man not yet mature in faith ; since by
this act, which was neither simple murder nor
simple self-defence, and which was not sustained
by a pure peace of conscience, he anticipated
Divine Provide ice. It cannot be attributed to
"a carnal thirst for achievement " [Kurtz] ; but
as little can it be called a pure act of faith ; al
though the illegal deed, in which he was even
strengthened by the consciousness of being an
Egyptian prince (as David in bis sin and fall
might have been misled by feeling himself to be
an oriental despot) was a display of his faith, in
view of which Stephen (Acts vii.) could justly
rebuke the unbelief of the Jews. Vid. more in
Keil, p. 431.

Ver. 14. The Jew who thus spoke was a repre
sentative of the unbelieving spirit of which Ste
phen speaks in Acts vii.

Ver. 15. The Midianites had made a settle
ment not only beyond the Elanitic Gulf near
Moab, but also, a nomadic branch of them, on
the peninsula of Sinai. These seem to have re
mained more faithful to Shemitic traditions than
the trading Midianites on the other side, who

joined in the voluptuous worship of Baal.
"Reuel" means: Friend of God. He does not
seem, by virtue of his priesthood, to have had
princely authority.

Ver. 16. By the well. — A case similar to that
in which Jacob helped Rachel at the well, Gen.
xxix

Ver. 18. On the relation of the three names,
Reuel, Jethro (iii. 1) and Hobab (Num. x. 29)
vid. t!ie commentaries and Wiuer. The assump
tion that jHn, used of Hobab, means brother-in-
law, but useu of Jethro ("preference," like
Reuel's name of dignity "friend of God") means
father-in-law, seems to be the most plausible.
Jethro in years and experience is above Moses ;
but Hobab becomes a guide of the Hebrew cara
van through the wilderness, and his descendants
remain among the Israelites. Vid. also Judg.
iv. 11 and the commentary on it.

Ver. 22. Gershom. — Always a sojourner. So
he lived at the court of Pharaoh, so with the
priest in Midian. Zipporah hardly understood
him (vid. iv. 24). As sojourner he passed through
the wilderness, and stood almost among his own
people. Yet the view of Canaan from Nebo be
came a pledge to him of entrance to a higher
fatherland.

Ver. 23. Also the successor of the child-mur
dering king continued the oppression. But God
heard the cry of the children of Israel. He re
membered his covenant, and looked into it, and
saw through the case as God.

C.— THE CALL OF MOSES. HIS REFUSAL AND OBEDIENCE. HIS ASSOCIATION WITH
AARON AND THEIR FIRST MISSION TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL.

CHAPTERS III., IV.

1 Now Moses kept [was pasturing] the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest
of Midian ; and he led the flock to the back side of [behind] the desert, and came

2 to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto
him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a [the] bush ; and he looked, and behold,

3 the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I
will now turn aside [Let me turn aside] and see this great sight, why the bush is

4 not burnt. And when Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto
him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses ! And he said, Here am

5 I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither ; put off thy shoes from off [from] thy feet,

6 for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover [And] he said, I
am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of

7 Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And Jeho
vah said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which [who] are in Egypt,
and have heard their cry by reason of1 their taskmasters ; for I know their sorrows ;

8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to
bring them up out of that land unto a good land, and a large, unto a land flowing

•

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. T. "33*3 may be rendered more literally "from before," the people being represented ae followed up in their
work by the taskmastera.— TE.].

CHAP. III. 1— IV 31.

with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the

9 Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore

behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me, and I have also seen the

10 oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore and I will
send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth [and bring thou forth] my

11 people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt, And Moses said unto God, Who am
I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of

12 Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall
be a [the] token unto thee that I have sent thee : When thou hast brought [bring-

13 est] forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And
Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall
say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you ; and they shall say

14 to me, What is his name ? What shall I say unto them ? And God said unto
Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,

15 I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, God [the God] of your fathers, the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you : this
is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations [lit. to genera-

16 tion of generation]. Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto
them, Jehovah, God [the God] of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and
of Jacob hath appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited [looked upon] you,

17 and seen that [and that] which is done to you in Egypt. And I have said, I will
bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, unto the land of the Canaanites, and the
Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites,

18 unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And they shall [will] hearken to thy
voice ; and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt,
and ye shall say unto him, Jehovah, God [the God] of the Hebrews, hath met2 with
us, and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that

19 we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God. And I am sure [know] that the king of

20 Egypt will not let you go, no [even] not3 by a mighty hand. And I will stretch
out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst

21 thereof; and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in
the sight of the Egyptians ; and it shall come to pass that, when ye go, ye shall not

22 go empty. But [And] every woman shall borrow [ask] of her neighbor and of
her that sojourneth in her house jewels [articles] of silver and jewels [articles] of
gold and raiment [garments] ; and ye shall put them upon your sons and upon your
daughters ; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

CHAP. IV. 1 AND Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me,
nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, Jehovah hath not appeared unto

2 thee. And Jehovah said unto him, What is that [this] in thine [thy] hand ? And he

3 said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground,

4 and it became a serpent ; and Moses fled from before it. And Jehovah said unto
Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand,

5 and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand : That they may believe that Je
hovah, God [the God] of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and

6 the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And Jehovah said furthermore unto
him, Put now thine [thy] hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bo-

7 som ; and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said,
Put thine [thy] hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom
iigain, and plucked [took] it out of his bosom, and behold, it was turned again as

2 [Ver. 18. rppj is taken by Rosenmiiller, after same of the older versions, as = fcODJ, vocatur super nos. But, as

TIJ ' I Tit '

Winer remarks, ita tamen intolerabilis tautologies inesl in verbis D^^JJH st"t /N-" The LXX. translate Trpoo-Ke/cAr/Tat ^M»SI

—which mflkes better sense, but in grammatically still more inadmissible, as rpDJ is thus made = X*^p.— Ta.J.

.1 rl:- TIT

3 [Ver. 19. X 7} is rendered by the LXX., Vulg., Luther, and others, " unless/' But this is incorrect. The more obvi

ous translation may indeed seem to be inconsistent with the statement in the next verse, " after that he will let you go."
But the difficulty is not serious. We need only to supply in thought " at first " in thia verse. — TB.].

8 EXODUS.

8 his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither
[nor] hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the

9 latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also [even] these
two signs, neither [nor] hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water
of the river, and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which thou takest out

10 of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. And Moses said unto Jehovah,
O my Lrord, [O Lord], I am not eloquent [lit. a man of words], neither heretofore,
nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant ; but [for] I am slow of speech [mouth]

11 and of a slow [slow of] tongue. And Jehovah said unto him. Who hath made
man's mouth? or who maketh the [maketh] dumb, or deaf, or the seeing [or see-

12 ing], or the blind ? [or blind ?] Have [Do] not I, Jehovah ? Now therefore go, and
131 will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, O my

14 Lord [O Lord], send, I pray thse, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. And
the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron, the Le-
vite, thy brother ? I know [Do I not know Aaron, thy brother, the Levite,] that he
can speak well ?4 And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee, and when he seeth

15 thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words
[the words] in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and

16 will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman [shall speak for
thee] unto the people, and he [it] shall be, even [that] he shall be to thee instead of

17 [for] a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of [for a] God. And thou shalt

18 take this rod in thine [thy] hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs [the signs]. And
Moses went, and returned to Jethro [Jether] his father-in-law, and said unto him,
Let me go, I pray thee,5 acd return unto my brethren which [who] are in Egypt,
and see whether they be [are] yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

19 Arid Jehovah said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt ; for all the men

20 are dead which [who] sought thy life. And Moses took his wife, and his sons, and
set them [made them ride] upon an [the] ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt.

21 And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And Jehovah said unto Moses, When
thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh
which I have put in thy hand [consider all the wonders which I have put in thy
hand, and do them before Pharaoh] ; but I will harden his heart that he shall [and

22 he will] not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith

23 Jehovah, Israel is my son, even my first-born. And I say [said]6 unto
thee, Let my son go that he may serve me ; and if thou refuse [and thou didst

24 refuse]6 to let him go : behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born. And it came

25 to pass by the way in the inn, that Jehovah met him, and sought to kill him. Then
[And] Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it
at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband [a bridegroom of blood]

« [CHAP. IV. Ver. 14. We have ventured to follow the Vulg., Luther, Cranmer, the Geneva Version, De Wette, Gla:re,
and Kalisch, in this rendering ; for, though grammatically the reading of the A. V. is more natural, yet it is difficult to s ;e
the force of th < question, "Is not Aaron thy brocher?' Furst, Arnheim, and Murphy, t'-y to avoid the difficulty by ren
dering, " Js there not Aaron, thy brother, the Levita?" etc. This, however, is putting in what is not in the original. Hu,-h,
following Rnshi, trausla es, "Is not Aaron thy brother, the Levite?" and understands ti " question to intimate that, in.
consequence of Moses' reluctance to obey the divine commission, the priesthood, which otherwise would have been con
ferred on him, will be given to Aaron. As nothing ia saH about th« priesthood, it is hard to see how the phrase " the Le
vite," at this time, before a"y priesthood bad been established, could have been understood in this way. Kuobel, trans
lating in the s;ime way, understands it as pointing forward to the duty of the priests to give public instruction. But the
same objection lies against thin, as against the previous explanation ; Moses was a I.evite as much as Aaron was. , Lansre,
translating also th > same way, understands the meaning to be: Aaron is a more genuine Lovite than Moses. But in this
case tue definite article is quite out of place; and even without it such a thought would be very obscundy exp:essed. Keil,

following Baumgarten, finds the significance of the question in the etymological meaning of SV7, viz., to join, associate

one's-self to. This certainly has the advantage cf suggesting a reason for the use of the phrase "the Levite," which on
oth-r theories seems to be sup-'rflnous. But the definite article is out of place on this hypothesis also. Besides, as the
special point here is Aaron's ability to talk, the notion of association is not just the one needed to bo suggested by the leroi,
to say nothing of the subtlety of tue m xle of conveying either conception. — TR.].

5 [Ver. 18. fcO'rD?^ " not to be understood as a request, as the A. V. seems to imply, especially by the phrase, "I
pray thee," which corresponds to &O- We have exactly the same form in iii. 3, where Moses said &O~rppN, " I will turn

aside," or, " Let me turn aside."— TR.].

6 [Ver. 23. "1DK1 *nd ftf Epl ate most naturally to be rendered as preterites. It is very doubtful whether

- T I -T : -

can be taken as protasis to the following clause. The translation of the A. V. and of others, seems to have been prompted
by the idea that this is the opening message to Pharaoh. But the threat to kill the first-born was in reality the last one
made. The declaration, ver. 21, covers all the first part of the efforts of Moses to secure the deliverance of the people. la
epite of all the plagues and signs, Pharaoh " will not let tho people go." Therefore (ve-. 22) Moses is to make his final ap
pearance, and threaten the death of the first-born because of Pharaou'd past refusal to obey. — TR.].

CHAP. III. 1— IV. 31.

26 art thou to me. So [And] he [i. e., Jehovah] let him go [desisted from him] ; then she

27 said, A bloody husband [A bridegroom of blood] thou art, because of the circumcision.
And Jehovah said to Aaron, Go into [to] the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went,

28 and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all
the words of Jehovah who had srnt him [with which he had charged him]7, and all

29 the signs which he had commanded him. And Moses and Aaron went, and gath-

30 ered together all the elders of the children of Israel. And Aaron spake all the
words which Jehovah had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the

31 people. And the people believed, and when they heard8 that Jehovah had visited
the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they
bowed their heads [bowed down], and worshipped.

7 [Ver. 28. flStf may take a double accusative, as e.g. in 2 Sam. xi. 22; 1 Kings xiv. 6. As Kaliscb observes, "the

— T

usual translation, who had sent him, is languid in tho extreme." — TR.].

8 [Ver. 31. Knobel, following the reading e^aprj, of the LXX., would change ^rpl!H into ^flDbH. There seems to
be strong reason for the change. The people, according to the present text, seem to believe, before hearing. Moreover,
•we have, as Knobel points out, another almost unmistakable instance of the same error. The narrative in 2 Kings xx. 13
is identical with that in Isa. xxxix. 2, with the exception that the first passage has J?ni!^1 whcyo the second has HO^V
The LXX. has here, too c^api? in both cases. In reference to 2 Kings xx. 1:3, Keil says that "J^^Pl seems to be an trrur
of transcription for fl^tyi." though ho says of Knobel's conjecture concerning the verse before us, that it is "without
ground." If we adopt the amended reading, we translate, " and they rejoiced because Jehovah had visited," etc. — TR.].

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 1. "Jethro's residence therefore was
separated from Horeb by a wilderness, and is to
be sought not north-east, but south-east of it.
For only by this assumption con we easily
account for the two-fold fact that (1) Moses, in
his return from Midian to Egypt, again touches
Horeb, where Aaron, coming from E;:ypt, meets
him (iv. 27), and that (2) the Israelites, in their
journey through the wilderness, nowhere come
upon Midianites, and in leaving Sinai the ways
of Israel and of the Midiariite Hobab separate"
(Keil). Horeb here is used in the wider sense,
embracing the whole range, including Sinai, so
that the two names are often identical, although
Horeb, strictly so called, lay further north. —
Mountain of God — According to Knobel, it
was a sacred place even before the call of Moses;
according to Kt il, not till afterwards, and is
here named according to its later importance.
But there must have been something which led
the shepherd Moses to drive his flock so far as
to this mountain, and afterwards to select Sinai
as the place from which to give the law. The
more general ground for the special regard in
which this majestic mountain-range is held is
without doubt the reverence felt for the moun
tains of God in general. The word "Bl^H
might be taken as=/> fixture, and the passage
understood to mean that Moses, in profound
meditation, forgetting himself as shepherd, drove
the flock far out beyond the ordinary pasture-
ground. Yet Rosenmiiller observes: "On this
highest region of the peninsula are to be found
the most fruitful valleys, in which also fruit
trees grow. Water in abundance is found in
this district, and therefore it is the refuge of all
the Bedouins, when the lower regions are dried
up." Tradition fixes upon the Monastery of
Sinai as the place of the thorn-bush and the
calling of Moses.

Ver. 2. The Angel of Jehovah. — Accord

ing to ver. 4, it is Jehovah Himself, or even God
Himself, Elohim.* — The Bush. — Representing
the poor Israelites in their low estate in contrast
with the people that resemble lofty trees, Judg.
ix. 15. According to Kurtz, the flame of fire is
a symbol of the holiness of God ; according to
Keil, who observes that God's holiness is denoted
by light (e. g. Isa. x. 17), the fire is rather, in
its capacity of burning and consuming, a sym
bol of purifying affliction and annihilating pun
ishment, or of the chastening and punitive jus
tice of God. But this is certainly not the signi
fication of the sacrificial fire on the altar of
burnt-offering, the "holy" fire, or of the fiery
chariot of Elijah, or of the tongues of fire over
the heads of the apostles on the day of Pente
cost.. Fire, as an emblem of the divine life, of
the life which through death destroys death, of
God's jealous love and authority, has two oppo
site sides: it is a fire of the jealous love which
visits, brings home, purifies, and rejuvenates, as
well as a fire of consuming wrath and judgment.
Tliis double signification of fire manifests itself
especially also in the northern mythology.

* [See a full disr-nssion on the Angel of Jehovah in th«
Commentary on Genesis, p. 380 sqq., where the view is main
tained that this Angel is Christ himself. This is perhaps
the current opinion among Protestants. But the arguments
for it, plausible as they are, are insufficient to establish it.
The one fatil objection to it is that the New Testament no
where endorses if. When we consider how the New Testa
ment writers seem almost to go to an extreme in finding
traces of Christ in the Old Testament writings and history,
it is marvellous (if the theory in question is correct) that
this striking feature of the self-manifestation of God in the
Angel of Jehovah i-hould not once have been used in this
way. Hengstenberg indeed quotes John x<i. 41, where Is dab.
is said to have seen Christ. But the reierence is to Isa. vi.
1, where not the Angel of Jehovah, but Jehovah bimself, ia
said to have been seen. But, what is still more significant,
when Stephen (Acts vii. 30) refers to this very appearance
of the angvl in the hush, he not only d ;es not insinuate that
the snigel was Christ, but cal's him simply "an angel of the
Lord." Moreover, jusr afterwards he quotes Dent, xviii. 15
as Moses' prophecy of Christ, showing that he was disyose I
to find Christ in the Mosaic history. Other objections to the
identification of the Angel of Jehovah with Christ might be
urged ; but they are superfluous, so long as this one remains
unanswered. — TR.]

EXODUS.

That light has the priority over fire, Keil justly
observes. While then the fire here may sym
bolize the Egyptian affliction iu which Israel is
burning, yet the presence of Jehovah in the fire
signifies not something contrasted with it, mean
ing that he controls the fire, so that it purifies,
without consuming, the Israelit-s; but rather
the fire represents Jehovah himself in His
government, and so the oppression of the Egypt
ians is lifted up into the light of the divine
government. This holds also prophetically of
all the future afflictions of the theocracy and of
the Christian Church itself. The Church of God
is to appear at the end of the world as the last
burning thorn-bush which yet is not consumed.

" The *»p_ Stf is nVDK tfK (Deut, iv. 24) in the
midst ofTIsrael (Deut.'vi. 15)." Keil.

Yers. 3-5. Turn aside. — Comp. Gen. xix. 2.
— Moses, Moses. — Comp. Gen. xxii. 11. An
expression of the most earnest warning and of
the deepest sense of the sacredness and danger
of the moment. The address involves a two-fold
element. First, Moses must not approach any
nearer to Jehovah; and, secondly, he must,
regard the place itself on which he is standing
as holy ground, on which he must not stand in
his dusty shoes. The putting off" of the shoes must
in general have the same character as the wash
ing of the feet, and is therefore not only a gene
ral expression of reverence for the sacred place
and for the presence of God, like the taking off
of the hat with us, but also a reminder of the
moral dust which through one's walk in life
clings to the shoes or feet, i. e. of the venial sins
on account of which one must humble himself
in the sacred moment. On the custom of taking
off the shoes in the East upon entering pagodas,
mosques, etc., s^e Keil, p. 439.

Ver. 6. Of thy father.— The singular doubt-
loss comprehends the three patriarchs as first
existing in. Abraham.* Moses, in his religion
of the second revelation, everywhere refers to
the first revelation, which begins with Abraham ;
and thus the name of Jehovah first acquires its
new specific meaning. The revelation of the
law presupposes the revelation of promise
(Rom. iv. ; Gal. iii.). — And Moses covered
his face. — In addition to the two commands:
draw not nigh, put off thy shoes, comes this act,
as a voluntary expression of the heart. Vid. 1
Kings xix. l3. "Sinful man cannot endure the
s-ght of the holy God" (Keil). Also the eye of
sense is overcome by the splendor of the mani
festation which is inwardly seen, somewhat as
by the splendor of the sun. Vid. Rev. i.

Ver. 8. lam come down. — Comp. Gen. xi.
6. A. good land, i. e. a fruitful. A large land,
i. e. not hemmed in like the Nile Valley. Flow
ing, i. e. overflowing with milk and honey ; rich,
therefore, in flowers and flowery pastures. On
the fruitfulness of Canaan, comp. the geographi
cal works. — Into the place. — More particular
description of the land. Vid. Gen. x. 19;
xv. 18.

Ver. 11. And Moses said unto God. — He
who once would, when as yet he ought not, now
will no longer, when he ought. Both faults, the

* [More iritnrdly, Mos°s' own f.ither, or his ancestors in
geneial. Bo Keil, Knobel, Murphy, Kalisch. — TR.]

rashness and the subsequent slowness, corres
pond to each other. Moses has indeed " learned
Jjumility iu the school of Midian " [Keil]; but
this humility cannot be conceived as without a
mixture of dejection, since humility of itself
does not stand in the way of a bold faith, but is
rather the source of it. After being forty years
an unknown shepherd, he has, as he thinks,
given up, with his rancor, also his hope. More
over, he feels, no doubt, otherwise than formerly
about the momentous deed which seems to have
done his people no good, and himself only mis
chief, and which in Egypt is probably not for-
gitten. As in the Egyptian bondage, the old
guilt of Joseph's brethren manifested itself even
up to the third and fourth generation, so a sha
dow of that former rashness seems to manifest
itself in the emb.irra' sment of his spirit.

Ver. 12. The promise that God will go with,
him and give success to his mission is to be
sealed by his delivering the Israelites, bringing
them to Sinai, and ihere engaging with them in
divine service, i. e., as the expression in its full
ness probably means, entering formally into the
relation of worshipper of Jehovah. The central
point of this worship consisted, it is true, after
wards in the sacrificial offerings, particularly
the burnt offering, which sealed the covenant.
This first and greatest sign involved all that fol
low, and is designed for Moses himself; with it
God gives his pledge of the successful issue of
the whole. It must not be overlooked that this
great promise stands in close relation to the
great hope which is reviving in his soul.

Ver. 13. It is very significant, that Moses,
first of all, desires, in behalf of his mission, and,
we may say, in behalf of his whole future reli
gious system, to know definitely the name of
God. The name, God, even in the form of El
Shaddai, was too general for the new relation
into which the Israelites were to enter, as a
people alongside of the other nations which all
had their own deities. Though he was the only
God, yet it was necessary for him to have a
name of specific significance for Israel ; and
though the name .Tehovali was already known
hy them, still it had not yet its unique signifi
cance, as the paternal name of God first ac
quired its meaning in the New Testament, and
the word "justification," at the Reformation.
Moses, therefore, implies that he can liberate
the people only in the name of God; that he
must bring to them the religion of their fathers
in a new phase. Dl^ expresses not solely "the
objective manifestation of the divine essence"
[Keil], but rather the human apprehension of
it. The objective manifestation cannot in itself
bo desecrated, as the name of God can be.

Ver. 14. Can it be that rmrf IffK JTnK
means only "I am He who I am?" that it de
signates only the absoluteness of God, or God
as the Eternal One ? We suppose that the two
tTntf's do not denote an identical form of exist
ence, but the S'ime existence in two different
future times. From future to future I will be
the same — the same in visiting and delivering
the people of God, the faithful covenant-God,
and, as such, radically different from the con
stant variation in the representations of God

CHAP. III. 1— IV. 31.

among the heathen. This his consciousness is
the immediate form of his name ; transposed to
the third person, it is Jehovah. Hence also the
expression: "the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob," is equivalent in
meaning. When the repetition of this name in
ch. vi. is taken for another account of the same
fact, it is overlooked that in that case the point
was to get an assurance that the name "Jeho
vah" would surpass that of "Almighty God" —
an assurance of which Moses, momentarily dis
couraged, was just then in need.*

Ver. 15. My name forever. — Forward into
all the future, and backward into all the past

COT).

Vers. 16-18. Moses is to execute his commis
sion to Pharaoh not only in the name of Jehovah,
but also in connection with the elders of Israel,
in the name of the people. The expression
"elders" denotes, it is true, primarily the
heads of tribes and families, but also a simple,
patriarchal, legal organization based upon that
system. — Now let us go three days' journey.

The phrase K3~J"D7J is diplomatically exactly
suited to the situation. Strictly, they have a
perfect right to go ; but it is conditioned on
Pharaoh's consent. Knobel says: "The dele
gates, therefore, were to practice deception on
the king." This is a rather clumsy judgment

* [Comp. Introduction to Genesis, p. Ill sqq. From so
bald a term as " He is " or " He will be " (the exact transla
tion of n'lTT> or rather of j~PiT)> one can hardly be ex
pected to gather the precise notion intended to be conveyed.
We doubt, however, whether, if we are to confine the con
ception to any one of those which are suggested bjrthe sen
tence: "I am He who I am," we should be right in under
standing, with Lange, immutability as the one. This
requires the second verb to refer to a different time from the
first, for which there is no warrant in the Hebrew. Quite
as little ground is there for singling out the notion of eternity
as the distinctive one belonging to the name. Self-fxistence
might seem more directly suggested by the phrase; but
even this is not expressed unequivocally. Certainly those
are wrong who translate HliT uniformly "the Eternal."

Th" word has become strictly a proper name. We might as
well (and even with more correctness) always read "the
supplanter" instead ot "Jacob," and "the ewe" instead of
" Rachel." — There ran be little doubt, we think, that Von
Hofmann (Schri/fbeweis I., p. 86) has furnished the clue to
the true explanation. The comparison of other passages in
which there is the same seemingly pleonastic repetition of a
verb as in our verse ought to serve HS a guide. Especially
Ex. xxxiii. 19: "I will be gracious to whom I will be jjra-
ciou-, and will show rnercy on whom I will show mercy."
It is true that Lange att mpts to interpret this expression
in accordance witti his interpretation of the phrase now
before us ; but he stands in opposition to the other commen
tators and to the obvious sense of the passage, which evi
dently expresses the sovereignty of God in the exercise of hia
compassion. Comp. p]x. iv. 13; 2 Kings viii. 1, and perhaps
E/ek. xii. 25. By this pleonastic expression, and then by
the emphatic single term, " He is," is denoted existence KOLT
*t°Xni'\ or rather, since the verb HTI is r>ot used to denote

existence in the abstract, so much as to serve as a copula
b'-tween subject and predicate, the phrase is an elliptical
one, and signifies that God is sovereign and absolute in the
possession and manifestation of his attributes. Self-exist
ence, eternity and immutability are implied, but not directly
affirmed. Personality is perhaps still more clearly involved
as one of the elements. As contrasted with Elohitn (whose
radical meaning is probably power, and does m>t necessarily
involve personality), it contains in i'eelf (whether we take
the form (THX or Hin^), as being a verbal form inclu
ding a pronominal element, an expression of personality :
J am — Ho, is. Jehovah is the living God, the God who
reveals Himself to His people, and holds a personal relation
to them.— TK.]

of the psychological process. If Pharaoh granted
the request, he would be seen to be in a benevo
lent mood, and they might gradually ask for
more. If he denied it, it would be well for them
not at once, by an open proposal of emancipa
tion, to have exposed themselves to ruin, and
introduced the contest with his hardness of
heart, which the guiding thought of Jehovah
already foresaw. Moses knew better how to
deal with a despot. Accordingly he soon in
creases his demand, till he demands emancipa
tion, vi. 10; vii. 16; viii. 25; ix. 1, 13; x. 3.
From the outset it must, moreover, have greatly
impressed the king, that the people should wish
to go out to engage in an act of divine service;
still more, that they should, in making their
offering, desire to avoid offending the Egyptians,
viii. 26. But gradually Jehovah, as the legiti
mate king of the people of Israel, comes out in
opposition to the usurper of His rights, ix. 1 sq.
Moses, to be sure, even during the hardening
process, does not let his whole purpose distinctly
appear; but he nevertheless gives intimations
of it, when, after Pharaoh concedes to them the
privilege of making an offering in the country,
he stipulates for a three days' journey, and, in
an obscure additional remark, hints that he
then will still wait for Jehovah to give further
directions.

Ver. 19. Even not by a mighty hand. —
Although God really frees Israel by a mighty
hand. Pharaoh does not, even after the ten
plagues, permanently submit to Jehovah; there
fore he perishes in the Red Sea.

Ver. 20. Announcement of the miracles by
which Jehovah will glorify Himself.

Ver. 21. Announcement of the terror of the
Egyptians, in which they will give to the Israel
ites, upon a modest request for a loan, the most
costly vessels (Keil: "jewels"). The announce
ment becomes a command in xi. 2 sq. On the
ancient misunderstanding of this fact, vid. Keil,
p. 445 pq., and the references to Hengstenberg,
Kurtz, Reinke ; also Commentary on Genesis, p.
19. "Egypt had robbed Israel by the unwar
ranted and unjust exactions imposed upon him ;
now Israel carries off the prey of Egypt. A pre
lude of the victory which the people of God will
always gain in the contest with the powers of the
world. Comp. Zech. xiv. 14" (Keil).*

Chap. iv. 1. Four hundred years of natural
development had succeeded the era of patriarchal

* [The various explanations of this transaction are given
by Henpstenberg, Dissertations on the Pentateuch, p. 419 sqq.
Briefly they are the following: (1) That God, being the so
vereign disposer of all things, had a right thus to transfer the
property of the Egyptians to the Israelites. (2) That the Is
raelites received no more than their just due in taking t» ese
articles, in view of the oppressive treatment they bad under
gone. (3) That, though the Israelites in form asked for a
loan, it was understood by the Egyptians as a gifr, there being
no expectation th;it the Israelites would return. (4) That the
Israelites 1 on-owed with the intention of returning, being
ignorant of the Divine plan of removing them from the coun
try so suddenly that a restoration of the borrowed articles to
their proper owners would be impossible. — These explana
tions, unsatisfactory as they are, aro as good as the case would
admit, were the terms "borrow" and "lend," derived from
the LXX. and reproduced in almost all the translations, the
equivalents of the He* rew words. But the simple fact is that
tite Israelites are said to have asked for the things, and the
E-yptians to have given them. The circumstances (xii. 33
sqq.) also under which the Israelites went away makes it
seem every way provable that the Egyptians never expected
a restoration of the things bestowed on the Israelites. — TK.].

EXODUS.

revelations, and the people were no longer ac
customed to prophetic voices. The more ground
therefore did Moses seem to have for his anxiety
lest the people would not believe him. Jehovah,
moreover, does not blame him for his doubts, but,
gives him three marks of authentication. The
symbolical nature of these miraculous signs is
noticed also by Keil.

Vers. 2-5. The casting down of the shepherd's
rod may signify the giving up of his previous
pastoral occupation. As a seemingly impotent
shepherd's rod he becomes a serpent, he excites
all the hostile craft and power of the Egyptians.
Pharaoh especially appears in the whole process
also as a serpent-like liar. But as to the ser
pent, it is enough to understand by it the dark,
hostile power of the Egyptians which now at first
frightened him. It is true, the enemy of the
woman's seed, the old serpent, constitutes the
background of the Egyptian hostility ; but here
the symbol ,of the Egyptian snake kind is suffi
cient. When Moses, However, seizes the serpent
by the tail, by its weaponless natural part, as is
illustrated in the Egyptian plagues, it becomes a
rod again, and now a divine rod of the shepherd
of the people-.

Vers. 6-8. The white leprosy is here meant.
Comp. Lev. xiii. 3. " As to the significance of
this sign, it is quite arbitrary, with Theodoret
and others, down to Kurtz, to understand the
hand to represent the people of Israel ; and still
more arbitrary, with Kurtz, to make the bosom
represent first Egypt, and then Canaan, as the
hiding-place of Israel. If the shepherd's rod
symbolizes Moses' vocation, it is the hand which
bears the rod, and governs. In his bosom the
Attendant carries the babe," etc. (Keil). The
leprosy has been explained, now as signifying
the miserable condition of the Jews, now as the
contagious influence upon them of Egyptian im
purity. Through the sympathy of his bosom
with the leprosy of his people Moses' hand itself
becomes in his bosom leprous ; but through the
same sympathy his hand becomes clean again.
The actions of his sympathy cause him to ap
pear as an accomplice in the guilt of Israel; and
he really is not free from guilt; but the same
actions have a sort of propitiatory power, which
also inures to the benefit of the people. Jeho-
hovah raises the voice of this second, sacerdotal
sign above the voice of the first.

Ver. 9. As the first miraculous sign symbo
lized a predominantly prophetic action, the se
cond a sacerdotal, so the third a kingly kind. It
gives him the power to turn into blood the water
of the Nile, which is for Egypt a source of life,
a sort of deity ; i. e., out of the very life-force
to evoke the doom of death. Let us not forget
that, a whole succession of Egyptian plagues pro
ceeds from the first one, the corruption of the
Nile water.

As these miraculous signs are throughout sym
bolical, so, in their first application, they are
probably conditioned by a state of ecstasy. Yet the
first miracle is also literally performed before
Pharaoh, and in its natural basis is allied with
the Egyptian serpent charming. Vid. Hengst.
\_Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 100 sqq.].

The third sign, however, is expanded i-n the
result into the transformation of the water of the

Nile into blood. This, too, has its connection
with Egypt ; therefore there must doubtless have
been some mysterious fact involved in the second
sign, inasmuch moreover as the text reports that
Moses did the signs before the people, and thus
authenticated his mission before them (iv. 30,
31), although indeed in iv. 17 the signs seem to
be reduced to signs done with the staff.

Vers. 10-12. There were wanted no more
signs, but, as Moses' modesty led him to feel,
more oratorical ability. How could Moses have
exercised his slow tongue in his long isolation in
the desert, associating with few men, and those
who could but little understand him ? This dif
ficulty Jehovah also regards. He will impart to
him the divine eloquence, which from that time
through the history of the whole kingdom of God
remains different from that of the natural man.
He ordained for him his peculiar organs, and
the organic defect of a heavy tongue, as all or
gans and organic defects in general, and will
know how to make of his tongue his divine or
gan, as the history of the kingdom of God has so
richly proved.

Vers. 13, 14. It cannot be said (with Keil)
that now the secret depth of his heart becomes
open, in the sense that he will not undertake the
mission. If this were the case, Jehovah would
no longer deal with him. But the last sigh of
his ill-humor, of his despondency, finds vent in
these words, which are indeed sinful enough to
excite the anger of Jehovah, and so also to make
him feel as if death were about to overtake him.
We are reminded here of similar utterances of
Isaiah (ch. vi.), of Jeremiah, (ch. i.), of the de
tention of Calvin in Geneva by the adjurations
of Farel, and similar scenes. The anger of Je
hovah is not of a sort which leads him to break
with Moses : and in the further expression of it
it appears that the hesitation on account of the
slow tongue is still not yet overcome. — Is not
Aaron thy brother ? — " The Levite " means
probably a genuine Levite, a model of a Levite,
more than Moses.* With the cautious genius a
more lively talent was to be associated. Also he
seems, in reference to the affairs of the Israel
ites, to be more prompt than Moses ; for he is
already on the way to look for Moses (doubtless
in consequence of divine instigation). Vid. ver.
27, where the sense is pluperfect. Moses, then,
has two things to encourage him: he is to have
a spokesman, and the spokesman is already
coming in the firm of his own brother. For a
similar mysterious connection of spirits, vid.
Acts x.

Vers. 15, 16. The fixing of the relation be
tween Moses and God, and between Moses and
Aaron, must have entirely quieted the doubter.
The relation between Moses and Aaron is to be
analogous to that between God and his prophet.
This assignment does not favor the notion of a
literal verbal inspiration, but all the more de
cidedly that of a real one. It accords with the
spirit of Judaistic caution, when the Targums

tone down D
or teacher."-}-

into

f°r a master

* [On this point comp. under " Textual and Grammatical."
— TR.I.

f [The A. V. also softens the expression by using the phrase

CHAP. III. 1— IV. 31.

Ver. 17. And this staff. — Out of the rustic
shepherd's staff was to be made a divine shep
herd's staff, the symbolic organ of the divine
signs. This ordinance, too, must have elevated
his soul. Here there was to be no occasion to
say, " 0 gentle staff, would I had ne'er exchanged
thee for the sword!"

Ver. 18. This request for a leave of absence is
truthful, but does not express the whole truth.
This Jethro could not have borne. His brethren
are the Israelites, and his investigating whether
they are yet alive has a higher significance.

Ver. 19. All the men are dead. — This dis
closure is introduced with eminent fitness.
Among the motives which made Moses willing to
undertake the mission, this assurance should not
be one. He had first to form his resolution at
the risk of finding them still living. Moreover,
he has on account of these men at least expressed
no hesitation.

Vers. 20-26. What is here related belongs to
Moses' journey from Jethro' s residence to the
Mount Horeb, i. e., from the south-eastern part
of the desert.

Ver. 20. His sons. — Only the one, Gershom,
has been named, and that because his name
served to express Moses' feeling of expatriation
in Midian. The other, Eliezer, is named after
wards (xviii. 3, 4). But his name is introduced
here by the Vulgate (according to some MSS.,
by the LXX.), and by Luther. Moses went on
foot by the side of those riding on asses, but
bears the staff of God in his hand. "Poor as
his outward appearance is, yet he has in his hand
the staff before which Pharaoh's pride and all his
power must bow " [Keil].

Ver. 21. On the way from Midian to Horeb,
towards Egypt, Jehovah repeats and expands the
first commission, as it was in accordance with
Moses' disposition to become absorbed in medi
tations on his vocation. All the •wonders. —

l). The repara, or the terrible signs
•which are committed to him constitute a whole ;
and accordingly he is to unfold the whole series
in order (on miracles vid. theComm. on Matt., p.
153). And why ? Because this is made neces
sary in order to meet the successive displays of
obduracy with which Pharaoh is to resist these
terrific signs. But, that he may not on this ac
count become discouraged in his work, he is told
thus early that God himself will harden the
heart of Pharaoh with his judgments, for the
purpose of bringing about the final glorious issue
( Vid. the Comm. on Rom., ch. ix.). The three
terms expressive of hardening, pin, to make firm

(ver. 21), Htfp, to make hard (vii. 3), and 133,

to make heavy or blunt (x. 1), denote a gradual
progress. The first term occurs, it is true, as
the designation of the fundamental notion, whea
the hardening has aq entirely new beginning,
and a new scope (xiv. 4; xiv. 17). It is rightly

" instead of," whereas the Hebrew would more exactly be
rendered, '' He shall be a mouth to thee, and tliou shalt be a
God to him." We have here langua^n similar to, and illus
trated by, that in vii. 1, " See, I have made thee a God to Pha
raoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet." As the
prophet (7rpo<£rjTTjs one who speaks for another) is the spokes
man (mouth) of God, so Aaron is to receive and communicate
messages from Moaes. — TE. ].

brought forward as a significant circumstance by
Hengstenberg, Keil, and others, that the harden
ing of Pharaoh's heart is ten times ascribed to
God, and ten times to himself. Pharaoh's self-
determination has the priority throughout. The
hardening influence of God presupposes the self-
obduration of the sinner. But God hardens him
who thus hardens himself, by furthering the pro
cess of self-obduration through the same influ
ences which would awaken a pious spirit. This
he does as an act not merely of permission, but
of judicial sovereignty. Vid. Keil, p. 453 sqq.

Ver. 23. Israel is my son, my first-born.
Comp. Deut. xiv. 1, 2; Hos. xi. 1. The doctrine
of the Son of God here first appears in its typi
cal germinal form. Keil makes the choosing of
Israel begin with Abraham, and excludes from it
the fact of creation,* as well as the spiritual
generation, so that there remains only an elec
tion of unconditional adoption and of subsequent
education, or ethical creation. But the applica
tion of these abstractions to the Christology of
the N. T. would perhaps be difficult. Vid. Com.
on Rom. viii. The expression, first-born son, sug
gests the future adoption of other nations. I
will slay thy son. — This threat looks forward
to the close of the Egyptian plagues.

Ver. 24. Seemingly sudden turn of affairs.
Yet it is occasioned by a previous moral incon
sistency, which now for the first time is brought
close to the prophet's conscience. He who is on
his way to liberate the people of the circumci
sion, has in Midian even neglected to circumcise
his second son Eliezer. The wrath of God comes
upon him in an attack of mortal weakness, in a
distressing deathly feeling (Ps. xc.). Probably
Zipporah had opposed the circumcision of Eli
ezer; hence she now interposes to save her hus
band. She circumcises the child with a stone-
knife (more sacred than a metallic knife, on
account of tradition); but she is still unable to
conceal her ill-humor, and lays the foreskin at
his feet with the words: "A bridegroom of blood
art thou to me."f

Ver. 26. Zipporah seems to be surly about
the whole train of circumcisions. Probably
Moses is thereby led to send her with the chil
dren back to her father to remain during the re
mainder of his undertaking. For not until his
return to the peninsula of Sinai does his father-
in-law bring his family to him.

Ver. 27. On the one hand, Moses is freed from
a hindrance, which is only obscurely hinted at,
by the return of Zipporah ; on the other hand, a
great comfort awaits him in the coming of his
brother Aaron to meet him.

* [Lange's language is : "Keil lasst AM, Erwahlung Israeli
mit Abraham anfanaen, und schliesst von ihr aus auf die. That'
sache der Schopfung," etc. In translating we have ignored the
preposition " auf" which, if recognized, would require the
sentence to read: " Keil . . . infers from it [the choosing of
Israel] the fact of creation," etc. But this would certainly be
a misrepresentation of Keil, even if it would convey any clear
sense in itself. We conclude that "auf" is inserted by a
typographical error. — TR.].

f [The text and the commentary borh leave it somewhat
doubtful whether these words are addressed to Moses or the
child; but there can be little doubt that Moses is the one.
The meaning is that Moses had been well-nigh lost to her
by disease. She regains him by circumcising the son ; but
the bloody effect excites her displeasure, and by the say
ing, "A bridegroom of blood art thou to me," she means that
she has, as it were, regained him as a husband by the blood
of her child.— TR.J.

14 EXODUS.

Ver. 29. They went. — This is the journey
from Horeb to Egypt.

Vers. 30, 31. The elders of the people, after
hearing Aaron's message, and seeing his signs,

believingly accept the fact of Jehovah's
sion, and bow adoringly before His messengers.
Thereby the people organized themselves. They
accepted the vocation of being the people of Je
hovah.

D.— MOSES AND AARON BEFORE PHARAOH. THE SEEMINGLY MISCHIEVOUS EF
FECT OF THEIR DIVINE MESSAGE, AND THE DISCOURAGEMENT OF THE PEOPLE
AND THE MESSENGERS THEMSELVES. GOD REVERSES THIS EFFECT BY SO
LEMNLY PROMISING DELIVERANCE, REVEALING HIS NAME JEHOVAH, SUM
MONING THE HEADS OF THE TRIBES TO UNITE WITH MOSES AND AARON,
RAISING MOSES' FAITH ABOVE PHARAOH'S DEFIANCE, AND DECLARING THE
GLORIOUS OBJECT AND ISSUE OF PHARAOH'S OBDURACY.

CHAPTERS V. 1— VII. 7.

1 AND afterward Moses and Aaron went in [came] and told [said unto] Pharaoh,
Thus saith Jehovah, God [the God] of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a

2 feast unto rue in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, that I should
obey his voice to let Israel go ? I know not Jehovah, neither will I [and moreover

3 I will not] let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with
[met] us : let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice
unto Jehovah our God, lest he fall upon us with the pestilence, or with the sword.

4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let

5 [release] the people from their works ? get you unto your burdens [tasks]. And
Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them

6 rest from their burdens [tasks]. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the

7 taskmasters of the people, and their officers [overseers], saying, Ye shall no more
give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore ; let them go and gather straw

8 for themselves. And the tale of the bricks which they did make [have been
making] heretofore, ye shall lay upon them ; ye shall not diminish aught thereof:
for they be [are] idle ; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our

9 God. Let there more work be laid upon the men [let the work be heavy for2 the
men], that they may labor therein [be busied with it] ;3 and let them not regard

10 vain [lying] words. And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers
[overseers], and they spake unto the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will

11 not give you straw. Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it ; yet [for] not aught

12 of your work shall be diminished. So [And] the people were scattered abroad

13 throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of [for] straw. And
the taskmasters hasted [urged] them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks,

14 as when there was straw. And the officers [overseers] of the children of Israel ,
which [whom] Pharaoh had set over them, were beaten, and demanded [were
asked], Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday

15 and to-day as heretofore? Then [And] the officers [overseers] of the children of

16 Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy
servants ? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say unto us, Make
brick ;* and, behold, thy servants are beaten ; but the fault is in thine own people

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 3. This expression is the same as the one in iii. 18 (on which see the note), excfpt that here we have tOpJ,

T(: •

instead of rPpl But the interchange of these forms is so frequent that it is most natural to understand the two words
•

as equivalent in sense. — TR.]

2 [Ver. 9. Literally "upon," the work being represented as a burden imposed upon the Israelites. — TR.]

8 [Ver. 9. Literally, " do in it," i. e. have enough to do in the work given. — TR.]

* [Ver. 16. If we retain the order of Ihe words as they stand in the original, we get a much more forcible translation
of the first part of this verse : " Straw, none is given to thy servants; and ' Brick,' they say to us, ' make ye.' " This brings
out forcibly the antithesis between " straw " and " brick."— TR.]

CHAP. V. 1— VII. 7. 15

17 [thy people are in fault]. But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle [Idle are ye, idle] ;

18 therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice [and sacrifice] to Jehovah. Go there
fore now [And now go], and work ; for [and] there shall no straw be given you ;

19 yet shall ye [and ye shall] deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers [overseers]
of the children of Israel did see that they were in [saw themselves in] evil case
[trouble], after it was said, Ye shall not minish [diminish] aught from your bricks

20 of [bricks,] your daily task. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the
"21 way [who were standing to meet them], as they came forth from Pharaoh : And

they said unto them, Jehovah look upon you, and judge; because ye have made
our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants,
22 to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto Jehovah, and
said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated [thou done evil to] this people?
why is it that thou hast [why hast thou] sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh
to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people ; neither hast thou delivered
thy people at all.

CHAP. VI. 1 Then [And] Jehovah said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will
do to Pharaoh ; for with [through]5 a strong hand shall he let them go, and with

2 [through] a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spake

3 unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah. And I appeared unto Abraham,
unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of [as]6 God Almighty, but by7 my name

4 Jehovah was I not known to them. And I have also [I also] established my cove
nant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage

5 [sojourn], wherein they were strangers [sojourners]. And I have also heard the
groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I

6 have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am
Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and
I will rid [deliver] you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched-

7 out arm and with great judgments. And I will take you to me for a people, and
I will be to you a God ; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, which

3 [who] bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will
bring you in unto the land concerning the which [the land which] I did swear to
give it [to give] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob ; and I will give it you for

9 an heritage [a possession] : I am Jehovah. And Moses spake so unto the children

of Israel : but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish [vexation] of spirit and

10, 11 for cruel bondage. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Go in, speak unto

12 Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And
Moses spake before Jehovah, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hear
kened unto me; how then [and how] shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircum-

13 cised lips [uncircumcised of lips] ? And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto
Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel and unto Pharaoh king

14 of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. These be \are~]
the heads of their fathers' houses (their ancestral houses) : The sons of Reuben, the
firstborn of Israel ; Hauoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi ; these be [are] the

15 families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon ; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Thad, and
Jachin, and Zohar, and Sliaul, the son of a [the] Canaanitish woman ; these are

16 the families of Simeon. And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to
their generations [genealogies] ; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years

17 of the life of Levi were an [a] hundred thirty and seven years. The sons of Ger-

18 shon : Libni, and Shimi, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath :
Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel ; and the years of the life of Kohath

19 were an [a] hundred thirty and three years. And the sons of Merari : Mahali,
and Mushi : These are the families of Levi according to their generations [genealo-

20 gies]. And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife ; and she bare

6 [Chap. VI. Ver. 1. I. e. 1 y virtue, or in consequence, of Jehovah's strong hand, not Pharaoh's, as one might imagino.
— TR.]

6 [Ver. ?>. Literally, " I appeared ... in Gol Almighty" — a case of 3 essential, meaning "in the capacity of." Vid
Ewald, Ausf. Gr.$ 299, ft ; Ges. Heh. Gr. g 154, 3 a (y).— TR.]

1 [Ver. 3. The original has no preposition. Literally: "My name Jehovah, I was not known.''— TR.]
5

! i

EXODUS.

him Aaron and Moses : and the years of the life of Amram were an [a] hundred

21 and thirty and seven years. And the sons of Izhar : Korah, and Nephez, and

22 Zichri. And the- sons of Uzziel : Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri [Sithri].

23 And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to

24 wife ; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And the sons
of Korah : Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph : these are the families of the Kor-

25 hites. And Eleazar, Aaron's son, took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife ;
and she bare him Phinehas : these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites

26 according to their families. These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom Jehovah
said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their

27 armies [hosts]. These are they which [who] spake unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt : these are that Moses and Aaron.

28 And it came to pass on the day when Jehovah spake unto Moses in the land of

29 Egypt, That Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, I am Jehovah : speak thou unto

30 Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I say unto thee. And Moses said before Jehovah,
Behold I am of uncircumcised lips [uncircumcised of lips]3 and how shall [will]
Pharaoh hearken unto me ?

CHAP. VII. 1 And Jehovah said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god [God] to

2 Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that
I command thee ; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh that he send

3 the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and

4 multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall
[will] not hearken unto you, that I may [and I will] lay my hand upon Egypt,
and bring forth mine armies, and my people [my hosts, my people], the children

5 of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall
know that I am Jehovah, when I stretch forth mine [my] hand upon Egypt, and

6 bring out the children of Israel from among them. And Moses and Aaron did as

7 [did so ; as] Jehovah commanded them, so did they. And Moses was fourscore
years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pha
raoh.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 1. Afterward Moses and Aaron
went. — Their message is quite in accordance
with the philosophical notions of the ancients,
and especially with the Israelitish faith. Having
accepted the message from Horeb, Israel became
Jehovah's people, Jehovah Israel's God; and as
Israel's God, He through His ambassadors meets
Pharaoh, and demands that the people be re
leased, in order to render Him service in a reli
gious festival. The message accords with the
situation. Jehovah, the God of Israel, may
seem to Pharaoh chiefly the national deity of
Israel; but there is an intimation in the words
that He is also the Lord of Pharaoh, of Egypt,
and of its worship. Under the petition for a
furlough lurks the command to set free ; under
the recognition of the power of Pharaoh over
the people, the declaration that Israel is Jeho
vah's free people ; under the duty of celebrating
a feast of Jehovah in the wilderness, the thought
of separating from Egypt and of celebrating the
Exodus. The words seemed like a petition
which had an echo like a thunder tone. Per
haps the instinct of the tyrant detected some
thing of this thunder-tone. But even if not, the
modest petition was enough to enrage him.

Ver. 2. Who is Jehovah ? — As the heathen
had the notion that the gods governed territo
rially, the Jews seemed to fall under the domi
nion of the Egyptian gods. They had no land,
had moreover in Pharaoh's eyes no right to be

called a nation ; therefore, even if they had a
deity, it must have been, in his opinion, an
anonymous one. This seemed to him to be
proved by the new name, Jehovah (which there
fore could not have been of Egyptian origin).
But even disregard of a known foreign deity
was impiety ; still more, disregard of the un
known God who, as such, was the very object
towards which all his higher aspirations and
conscientious compunctions pointed.* Thus his
obduracy began with an act of impiety, which
was at the same time inhumanity, inasmuch as
he denied to the people freedom of worship.
He was the prototype of all religious tyrants.
Ver. 3. He is glorified by us.— [This i»

Lange's translation of U'SjJ *OpJ].f The cor-

* [This is putting a rather fine point on Pharaoh's wick
edness. A bail man cannot, as such, be required to have
aspirations toward* nnv hitln rto unknown god of whom lie
may chance to hear, and to have such aspirations just be
cause he has never before heard of him. It is enough to fay
that, BB a polytheist, he ought to have respected the religion
of the Hebrews.— TR.]

f [See un-'er "Textual and Grammatical." It is true that
would be the usual form for the meaning "ha1) met;''

but on the other hand it is certain that &Op sometimes is
=rpp> and the analogy of Hi. 18 points almost unmistakably

to such a use. Moreover, even if this were not the case, it is
hard to see how the Hebrew can be rendertd: "He is glori
fied by us." For JOpJ does not mean "is glorified," and

Why does not mean " by us." If the verb is to be taken

in its ordinary sense, the whole expression would read :
"He is called upon us," i. e. we bear his name, though evee
this would ba only imperfectly expressed.— TR.]

CHAP. V. 1— VII. 7.

rection: "He hath met us"

, weakens

the force of a significant word. They appeal to
the fact that Jehovah from of old has been their
fathers' God; and also in their calling them
selves Hebrews is disclosed the recollection of
ancient dignities and the love of freedom grow
ing out of it.— Three days' journey. — Keil
says: " (n Egypt offerings may he made to the
gods of Egypt, but not to the God of the He
brews." but see viii. 26. In the "three days'
journey " also is expressed the hope of freedom.
— With the pestilence. — A reference to the
power of Jehovah, as able to inflict pestilence
and war, and to His jealousy, as able so severely
to punish the neglect of the worship due Him.
Not without truth, but also not without subtile-
ness, did they say, "lest He fall upon us;" in
the background was the thought: "lest He fall
upon thee." Clericus remarks that, according
to the belief of the heathen, the gods punish the
neglect of their wor.ship.

Ver. 4. Wherefore, Moses and Aaron. —
He thus declares their allegation about a mes
sage from Jehovah to be fictitious. He conceives
himself to have to do only with two serfs. —
Release the people. — And so introduce an
archy and barbarism. The s^me objection has
been made against propositions to introduce
freedom of evangelical religion. — Get you to
your burdens. — To all the other traits of the
tyrant this trait of ignorance must also be added.
As he thinks that Moses and Aaron belong
among the serfs, so he also thinks that servile
labor is the proper employment of the people.

Ver. 5. The people of the land (peasants).
The simple notion of countrymen can, according
to the parallel passages, Jer. lii. 25 and Ezek.
vii. 27, denote neither bondmen nor Egyptian
countrymen as a caste, although both ideas are
alluded to in the expression, a people of pea
sants, who as such must be kept at work, espe
cially as there are becoming too many of them.
The perfect senso, " Ye have made them rest,"
is to be ascribed to the fancy of the tyrant.

Ver. 6. The same day. — Restlessness of the
persecuting spirit. The D>?3 D^JJ, or the
"drivers over them," are the Egyptian over
seers who were appointed over them; the
DHD!#, or the scribes belonging to them, were
takenfrom the Jewish people, officers subordinate
to the others, in themselves leaders of the people.

Ver. 7. " The bricks in tue old monuments
of Egypt, al^o in many pyramids, are not burnt,
but, only dried in tne s .n, as Herodotus (II
180) mentions of a pyramid " (Keil) The bricks
were made firm by me^ns of the chopped straw,
generally gathered from the stubble of the har
vested fields, which was mixed with the clay.
This too is confirmed by ancient monuments.
Hengstenberg, Eyypt, etc., p. 80 sq. — Hereto
fore. — Ileb. : "yesterday and the day before
yesterday." The usual Hebrew method of de
signating past time.

Ver. 9. Regard lying words.— Ipt? nTI —
Thus he calls the words of Moses concerning
Jehovah's revelation.

Ver. 10. Even the Jewish scribes yield with
out opposition. They have become slavish tools
of the foreign heathen desDotism.

Ver. 16. Thy people is in fault (or sin-
neth). — According to Knobel, the phrase "thy
people" refers to Israel; according to Keil, to
the Egyptians. Tiie latter view i.s preferable;
it is an indirect complaint conceraing the con
duct of the king himself, against whom they do
not dare to make direct reproaches. " r\X£3!~l
is a rare feminine form for HXDn (see on Gen.

T : T v

xxxiii. 11) and Dj£ is construed as feminine, as
in Judg. xviii. 7; Jer. viii. 5" (Keil) *

Ver. 21. Ye have made our savor to be
abhorred (Heb. to stink) in the eyes. — The

strong figurativeness of the expression is seen
in the incongruity between odor and eyes. The
meaning is: ye have brought us into ill-repute.

Ver. 22. Augustine's interpretation: ffsec non
contumacise verb a, sunt, vd indiynalionis sed inquisi-
tionis ft oralionix, is not a sufficient explanation
of the mood in which Moses speaks. It is the
mark of the genuineness of the personal relation
between the believers and Jehovah, that they
may give expression even to their vexation in
view of Jehovah's unsearchable dealings. Ex
pressions of this sort run through the book of
Job, the Psalms, and the Prophets, and over
into the New Testament, and prove tuat the ideal
religion is not. that in which souls stand related
to God as selfless creatures to an absolute des
tiny.

Chap. VI. 1-3. Knobel finds here a new ac
count of the call of Moses, and that, by the Elo-
hist. A correct understanding of the connec
tion destroys this hypothesis. Moses is in need
of new encouragement. Therefore Jehovah, first,
repeats His promise, by vigorous measures to
compel Pharaoh to release Israel, in a stronger
form (comp. iii. 19; iv. 21); and then lollows
the declaration that this result is pledged in the
name Jehovah, that the name Jehovah, in its
significance as the source of promise, surpasses
even the name God Almighty. If the fathers, in
the experience of His miraculous help, have be
come acquainted with Him as God Almighty,
they are now to get a true knowledge of Him as
the God of helpful covenant faithfulness. This
is (he reason why he recurs to the name Jeho-
hovah. Comp. Keil. p. 467. f

[The opinion of Knobel, here rejected, is held also by
Glair •, Arnheim, Filrst and others. The meaning, according
to this, H: "Thy people (i. e. the Israelites) are treated as if
guilty." The LXX. und» rstood .nxtDH as a verb in the
second person, and r n ered a8i(c^o-ei<; TOV Aaoc erou, "tbou
doest wrong to thy people." Still other explanations have
been r sorted to ; but the one given by Lange is the most

latural, and is quiti- satisfactory. — TR.]

f [Notice shoul I b» taken of the fact that from ver. 3 it
has been inferred by many that the name Jehovah had
actually (or, at least, in the opinion of the writer of this paa-

age) never been kuown or used before this time; conse
quently that wherever the name occurs in Genesis or Ex. i.—
v., it is a proof i hat the passage containing it was written
iifter tbe time here indicated. Tbis is mi important elem* nt>
in the theories concerning the authorship of the Pentateuch.
Certainly if we press the literal meaning of the last clause
of ver. 3, it would seem to follow that the name Jehovah
(Yah veh) was now tor the firsr, time made known. Bu^, to
say nothing of the fact that the name Jehovah is not only
familiarly used by the author of the book of Genesis, but i<
also put into the mouths of the earliest ratriarchs (all which
might be regarded as a proleptic use of the wo~d, or a ca'-eless
anachronism), it is perhaps sufficient to reply, that such an
inf -rence from the passage before us betrays a very superfi
cial view of the significance of the word "name," as used in
the Bible, and especially in the Hebrew Scriptures The
name of a person was conceived as reprosen'ing his character

EXODUS.

Ver. 4. Vid. the promises, Gen. xvii. 7, 8 ;
xxvi. 3 ; xxxv. 11. 12.

Ver. 6. I am Jehovah. With this name He
begins and ends (ver. 8) His promise. With the
name Jehovah, then, He pledges Himself to the
threefold promise: (1) To deliver the people
from bondage; (2) to adopt them as His people;
(3) to leal them lo Canaan, their future posses
sion. — With a stretched-out arm. A stronger
expression than Hj^rn T. Comp. Deut. iv. 34 ;
v. 15 ; vii. 19.

Ver. 9. For vexation of spirit. Gesenius :
Impatience. Keil: Shortness of breath, i. e.,
anguish, distress.

Vers. 10, 11. While Moses' courage quite gives
way, Jehovah intensifies the language descrip
tive of his mission.

Ver. 12. On the other hand, Moses intensifies
the expression with which he made (iv. 10) his
want of eloquence an excuse for declining the
commission. — Of uncircumcised lips. Since
circumcision was symbolic of renewal or regene
ration, this expression involved a new phase of
thought. If he was of uncircumcised or unclean
lips (L<a. vi. 5), then even Aaron's eloquence
could not help him, because in that ca^-e Moses
could not trans i) it in its purity the pure word
of God. In his strict conscientiousness he sin
cerely assumes that there must be a moral hin-
derance in his manner of speaking itself.

Ver. 13. This time Jehovah answers with an
express command to Moses and Aaron together,
and to the children of Israel and Pharaoh toge
ther. This comprehensive command alone can
beat down Most-s' last feeling of hesitation.

Vers. 14-27. But as a sign that the mission of
Moses is n iw determined, that Moses and Aaron,
therefore, are constituted these prominent men
of God, their genealogy is now inserted, the form
of which shows that, it is to be regarded as an
extract from a genealogy of the twelve tribes,
since the genealogy begins with Reuben, but does
not go beyond Levi.

Ver. 14. lYttX-rra. "Father-houses, not fa
ther-house " [Keil]. The compound form has
become a simple word. See Keil, p. 409. The
father-houses are the ramifications of the tribes.
The tribes branch offfir^t into families, or clans,
or heads of the father-houses ; these again branch
off into the father-houses themselves. The Am-
ram of ver. 20 is to be distinguished from the
Amram of ver. 18. See the proof of this in Tiele,
Chronologic des A. T ; Keil, p. 4G9.* The text,

his personality. When Jacob's name was changed, it was
said: "Thv name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel ;"
and th • reason given lor the change i< that ho has now
entered int > a new relation with God. Yet, notwithstanding
the new appellation, the na-ne Jaco1^ continued to be u«e1,
and ev-n more frequently than Israel. In the case before
U8, then, the statement respecting the names amounts sim
ply to this, that God had not been understand in the character
represented by the name Jehovah. The use of the phrase
"my name" instead of "the name,'' itself points to t» e pre
vious use of the name. — TR.]

* [The proof, as given by Tiele, is this : "According to
Num. iii. 27 sq., tho Kohathites were divided (at the time of

to be sure, does not clearly indicate the distinc
tion. "The enumeration of only four genera
tions — Levi, Kohath, Amrarn, Moses — points un
mistakably to Gen. xv. 16' (Keil).

Ver. 20. His father's sister — That was be
fore the giving of the law in Lev. xviii. 12. The
LXX. and Vulg. understand the word mil of
the daughter of the father's brother. According
to ch. vii. 7, Aaron was three years older than
Moses ; that Miriam was older than either is
seen from the history.

Ver. 23. Aaron's wifi was from the tribe of
Judah. Vid. Num. ii. 3.

Ver. 25. ffaS ^JO. Abbreviation of 'effcO
rVOX jTD [" heads of the father-houses "].

Ver. 26. These are that Aaron and
Moses. — Thus the reason is given for inserting
this piece of genealogy in this place.

Ver. 28. Resumption of the narrative inter
rupted at ver. 12. What is there said is here
and afterward repeated more fully. In the
land of Egypt.— This addition is not a s gn of
another account, but only gives emphasis to the
fact that Jehovah represented Himself in the ver/
midst of Egypt as the Lord of the country, and
gave Mo«es, for the furtherance of his aim, a
sort of divine dominion, namely, a theocratic
dominion over Pharaoh.

CHAP. VII. 1. What Moses at first was to be
for Aaron as the inspiring Spirit of GoJ, that lie
is now to be for Aaron as representative of God
in His almighty miraculous sway. So far Aaron's
position also is raised. It must not be overlooked
that, with this word of divine revelation, Moses'
growing feeling of lofty confidence and assurance
of victory corresponds; it was developed in
Egypt itself, and from out of his feeling of in
ability. " For Aaron Moses is God as the re-
vealer, for Pharaoh as the executor, of the divine
will" (Keil).

Ver. 2. That he send.— Keil's translation,
" and so he will let go," does not accord with
the following verse.

Ver. 4. My hosts. — Israel becomes a host
of Jehovah. Vid. xiii. 18, and the book of Num
bers. This is the first definite germ of the later
name, God, or Jehovah, of hosts; although the
name in that form chiefly refers to heavenly
hosts; these under another name have been
mentioned in Gen. xxxii. 2.

Moses) into the fonr branches : Amramites, Izharites, He-
bronites, and Uzziehtes ; taese together cuiisti uted 8,6D>t
inen and boys (women and girls not being reckoned). Of
these the Amramites would include about one fourth, or
2,150. Moses himself, according to Ex. xviii. 3, 4, had onlv
tw>> sons. If, the efore, Amram, the BOH of Koliath, the an
cestor of the Amramites, were identical with Amram th<>
father of Moses, then Moses must have had 2,147 broth<">
and brothers' son-* (the brothers' daughters, the sisters and
sisters' children not being reckoned). But this being qnir<<
an impossible supposition, it must be conceded that it s de
monstrated that Amram the son of Kohath is not Moses' fa
ther, but that between the former and his descendant of the
same name an indefinitely long list of generations has fallen
out."— TR.].

CHAP. VII. 8-25. 19

SECOND SECTION.

The miracles of Moses, or the result of the nine Egyptian Plagues, preliminary to
the last. Pharaoh's alternate repentance and obduracy.

CHAPS. VII. 8— X. 29.

A.— MOSES' MIRACULOUS ROD AND THE EGYPTIAN MAGICIANS. THE FIRST PLAGUE
INFLICTED WITH THE ROD: CHANGE OF THE WATER INTO BLOOD.

CHAPTER VII. 8-25.

8, 9 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh shall
speak unto you, saving, Shew a miracle for you [yourselves] : then thou shalt say
unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become [Jet it

10 become] a serpent. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so
as Jeho/ah had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and

11 before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then [And] Pharaoh also called the
wise men and the sorcerers : now [and] the magicians of Egypt, they also did in

12 like manner with their euchantm nts [secret arts]. For [And] they cast down
every man his rod, and they became serpents ; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their

13 rods. And he hardened Pharaoh's heart [Pharaoh's heart was hardened]1, that

14 [and] he hearkened not unto them, as Jehoveh had said. And Jehovah said unto

15 Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened [ha»d]2, he refuseth to let the people go. Get
thee unto Pharaoh in the morning ; lo, he goeth out unto the water ; and thou shalt
stand by the river's brink against he come [to meet him] ; and the rod which was

16 turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine [thy] hand. And thou shalt say unto
him, Jehovah, God [the God] of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let
my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto

17 thou wouldest not hear [hast not heard, i. e., obeyed]. Thus saith Jehovah, In this
thou shait know that I am Jehovah : behold, I will smite with the rod that is in
mine [my] hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned

18 to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink ; and

19 the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of [drink] the water of [from] the river. Aud
Jehovah spake [said] unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out
thine [thy] hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their
rivers [canals],3 upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may
become bl-iod; and that there may [and there shall] be blood throughout all the

20 land of Egypt, both in vessel of wood, and in vessels of stone. And Mos*s and
Aaron did so, as Jehovah commanded ; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the
waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his ser-

21 vants ; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the
fi^h that was in the river died ; and the river stank ; and the Egyptians could not
drink of [drink] the water of [from] the river ; and there was blood throughout

22 all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchant
ments [secret arts] : and Pharaoh's heart M as hardened, neither did he [and he did

23 not] hearken unto them; as Jehovah had said. And Pharaoh turned and went

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 13. The same form here, p'TV, as in ver. 22, where the A. V. correctly renders it intransitively. Literally,
" was firm, or strong," i. e., unyielding, iniimpre^ible. — Tn.J.

2 [Ver. 14. The Hebrew has here a different won), IDJ. Literally, ' heavy "—the same word which Moses used respect
ing hi* tonsrnp, iv. 10.— TR.].

3 [Ver. 19. DiTlJT, plural of the wrrd wlrch is u-^ed almost exclusively of the Nile. Hers probably it signifies the
Mtific'al canals leading'from the \ilp-Ta.].

4 [Ver. 23. Or, according to the English idiom : " nor did he lay even this to heart."— TR.].

EXODUS.

into his house, neither did he [and he did not] set his heart to this also [even to

24 this].4 And ail the Egyptians digged round ajout the riv^ r for water to drink;

25 for they could not drink of the water of the rive.. And seven days were fulfilled,
after that Jehovah had smitten the river.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

On the whole series of Egyptian plagues, see
the Introduction. But we reckon not nine
plagues (with Keil), but ten, as a complete num
ber symbolizing the history of the visitation.
Moses' miraculous rod forms the prologue to it ;
the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in the
Red Sea, the epilogue.

1. Moses' miraculous rod in contest with the
divining rods of the Egyptian wise men, vers. 8-13.

Vers. 8, 9. Shew a miracle for yourselves.
— It is a general assumption, shared also by the
Egyptians, that an ambassador of God must at
test his mission by signs., miraculous signs. Ta e
thy rod. — Aaron's rod is Moses' rod, whi- h,
however, passes over into his hand, as Mos;,s'
word into his mouth. — A serpent. The He
brew is j';3f;V LXX. dpanuv. According to Keil
the expression is selected with reference to the
Egyptian snake-charmers. He says, " Comp.
Bo-chart, Hieroz. III., p. 162 sqq., ed. Eosenmiil-
ler; and Hengstenberg, Eyypt and the Books, etc.,
p. 100 sqq. Probably the Israelites in Egypt
designated by I'-i^, vvtiich occurs in Deut. xxxii.
33; Ps. xci. 13, in parallelism with jna, the snake
with which the Egyptian serpent-charmerschiefly
carry on their business, the Hayeh of the Arabs."
Of the so-called Psylli it is only known that they
are ab'e to put serpents into a rigid state, and in
this sense to transform them into sticks. This
then is the natural fact in relation and opposi
tion to which the sign, by which Moses attested
his mission, stands. The relation between the
mysterious miracle of Moses and the symbolical
development of it is rather difficult to define.

Ver. 11. " These sorcerers (D*£)t!/3!p), whom
the Apostle Paul, according to the Jewish legend,
names Jannes and Jambres (2 Tim. iii. 8), were
not common jugglers, but D^ipDn, wise men, . . .
and D^pP^n iepoypa^/iaTelt;, belonging to the

caste of priests, Gen. xli. 8" (Keil).

Vers. 12, 13. Verse 13 does not stand in di
rect relation to the close of ver. 12. The hard
ening of Pharaoh cannot well relate to the fact
that Aaron's rod swallowed up the rods of the
sorcerers, although (his is probably to be under
stood metaphorically, but to the fact that the
Egyptian sorcerers do the same thing as Aaron
does. The essential difference between the acts
of God and the demoniac il false miracles is not
obvious to the world and the worldly tyrants.

2. The transformation of the water of the Nile
into blood, v«rs. 14-25.

Ver. 1 o. Lo, he goeth out unto the "wa
ter. To worship the Nj^.

Ver. 17. " The transformation of the water

into blool is, according to Joel iii. 4 [ii. 31],
according to which the moon is changed into
blood, to be conceived as a bloo 1-red coloring by
which it acquired the appearance of blood (2
Kings iii. 21), uot as a chemical transformation
into real blood. According to the reports of
many traveller.-", the Nile water, when lowest,
changes its color, becomes greenish and almost
undrinkable, whereas, when rising, it becomes
red, of an ochre hue, and then begins to be more
wholesome. The causes of this change have not
yet been properly investigated" (Keil). Two
causes are alleged: the red earth in Sennaar. or,
according to Ehrenberg, microscopic infusoria.
Even the Rhine furnishes a feeble analogue. The
heightening of the natural event hito a miracu
lous one lies in the prediction of its pudden oc
currence and in its magnitude, so that the red
Nile water instead of becoming more wholesome
assumes deadly or injurious properties.

Ver. 19. That blood should come into all the
ramifications of the water, even to the stone and
wooden vessels, is evidently the result of the pre
vious reddening of the Nile. Kurtz exaggerates
the miracle by inverting the order of the red
dening of the water. His notion is refuted by
Keil, p. 479.*

Ver. 2'2. How could the Egyptian sorcerers do
the like, when the water had already been all
changed to blood ? Kurtz says, they took well-
water. But see Keil in reply. •}• According to
the scriptural representation of huch miracles of
darkness, thpy knew how, by means of lying
tricks, to produce the appearance of having made
the water. In this ca.-e it was not difficult, if
they also used incantations, arjd tli« reddening
of the water subsequently increased.

Ver. 25. Seven days were fulfilled. The
duration of the plague. The beginning of the
plagueis by manyplacedin Juneor July, "accord
ing to which view all the plagues up to the killing
of the first-born, which occurred in the night of
the 14th of Abib, i. e., about the middle of April,
must have occurred in the course of about nine
months. Yet this assumption is very insecure,
and only so much is tolerably certain, that the
seventh plague (of the hail) took place in Feb
ruary (see on ix. 31 sq.) " (Keil). Clearly, how
ever, the natural basis of the miraculous plagues
is a chain of ciuses arid effects.

* [The point made by K>il is that, according to Kurd's
theory, the vessels of wood and of stone oii^ht to hav<> been
mentioned immediat-ly after the " pools of water."— Tn.].

f [The reply made by Keil (and a very pertinent one) is that
if the Egyptians already hat well w..ter there wou'-l IIHVO
been no need of thnr digging wells (ver. 24) in order to o -
tain drinkable water. Keil understands that the phrases in
ver. 19 are not to be in'er|,ret-ed K> etrictly as to iniplv that
absolutely all water, even what had already < eentiken f <>m
the Nile before the miracle, was turned into \ lood. Murphy
and Kahili prefer to assume that the magicians dug wells,
and practiced their arts on the water drawn from them. — TK.].

CHAP. VIII. 1-15.

B.— THE FROGS.

CHAPS. VII. 26— VIII. 11 [in the English Bible, CHAP. VIII. 1-15].

26 [1] And Jehovah spake [said] unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him,

27 [^J Thus saith Jehovah, Let my people go, taac they may serve me. And if thou

28 13] refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders1 with frogs. And the

river shall bring forth frogs abundantly [swarm with frogs], which [and they]
shall go up and come into thy house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy
bed, and into the houses of thy servants, and upon thy people and into thine

29 [4] ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs : And the frogs shall come up both on

thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants?

CHAP. VIII. 1 [5]. And Jehovah spake [said] unto M< ses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch
forth thine [thy] hand with thy rod over the streams, and over the rivers [ca
nals], and over the ponds, and cause frogs [the frogs] to come up upon the land

2 [6] of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and

3 [7] the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so

with their enchantments [secret arts], and brought up frogs [the frogs] upon

4 [8] the land of Egypt. Then [And] Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and

said, Intreat Jehovah, that he may take away the frogs from me and from my
people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice [may sacrifice]

5 [9] unto Jehovah. Ami Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory [Have thou honor]

over me :3 when [against what time] shall I intreat for thee, and for thy ser
vants, and for thy people to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that

6 [10] they may remain in the river only? And he said, To-morrow [Against to

morrow]. And he said, Be it according to thy word ; that thou mayest know

7 [11] that there is uone like unto Jehovah our God. And the frogs shall depart

from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people ;

8 [12] they shall remain in the river only. Ami Moses and Aaron went out from

Pharaoh, and Moses cried unto Jehovah because of the Jrogs which he had

9 [13] brought against Pharaoh. And Jehovah did according to the word of Moses :

and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages [courts], and out of

10 [14] the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps [piled them up m

11 [15] heaps] : and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite,4

he hardened5 his heart, and hearkened not unto them, as Jehovah had said.

[VII. 27 (VIII. 2).

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

here, as often, has a \vitk-r meaning than border; it is equiva'ent to our " territory."— TR.].

2 [VII. 29 (VIII. 4). This sounds more pleonastic than the original, where the order of the words is reversed : " Upon
thee, and upon thy people . . . shall the frogs com - up."— TR.].

3 [VIII. 5 (9). "liSiDnn is var.ously rendered. Gesenius and Flirst assume a root distinct from the one the HitLp. of

which means to boast, and" render it " prescribe," '• declare." " Prescribe for me when I shall intreat," etc. The LXX. and
Vulfr. give it the same meaning. Others understand the meaning to be : " Take to thyself honor ; for win n shall I intreat "
etc. i e., I will give thee the honor of fixing the time when the plague shall cease. These two explanations yield nearly
the samu sense. Others have been resorted to (e. g., "Give glory over me," i. e., I will run the risk of a failure, by allowing
thte to fix the tinv), but are les.s plausible. — TR.J.

4 [VIII. 11 (15). Pinion has the articl-, and the sentence reads, "saw that the respite (literally, breathing-space)

8ame," /. ?., the hoped for 'espite. — TR.].

* [VIII. 11 (15). T-DrP "And he made heavy." Coinp. note on vii. 14. The Inf. Abs. is used for the finite verb.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

VII. 20 [VIII. 1] sqq. The second plague;
the frogs. They come up out of the mire of the
Nile when the water falls, especially from the
marshes of the Nile. On the small Nile-frog
called rana Mosaica or Nilotica by Seetzen, see

Keil.*
racle ?

How did the natural event become a mi-
(1) By the announcement of the extra-

* [Keil gives no inrormation except by referring toSeetzf n.
Seetzen disringuishes the rana Nilotica from the rana Mo
saica, the latter being ttin most abundant. Frogs of thi^ kind
cree > rather than jump, and are called toads by Soetznu,
though they are found in water until after the inundation
(which continues three months, beginning about Juno 25).
The Egyptian name for this frcg is dnfda. — TR.].

EXODUS.

ordinary enhancement of it to the extent of making
it a plague; vid. vers. 28, 29 [viii. 3, 4] ; (2) by
the equally confident promise of the sudden death
of the frogs. The imitation of this miracle by
the sorcerers may here too have consisted in

their seeming, during the continuance of the
plague, to have increased it by their incanta

tions.

VIII. 10 [14]. ")pn, the largest dry measure
of the Hebrews.

C.— THE GNATS.
CHAPTER VIII. 12-15 [16-19].

12 [16] And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and

smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice [gnats] throughout all the

13 [17] land of Egypt. And they did so; for [and] Aaron stretched out his hand

with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth [land], and it became lice [gnats]
in [on] man, and in [on] beast ; all the dust of the land became lice [gnats]

14 [18] throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their en

chantments [secret arts] to bring forth lice [the gnats], but they could not :

15 [19] so [and] there were lice [gnats] upon man, and upon beast. Then [And] the

magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart
was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them ; as Jehovah had said.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.
Ver. 12 [16] seq. Gnats. Dp or D'33. Jo-
sephus, the Rabbins, [the A. V.], and Luther ren
der : "lice." The LXX., anvlfas ; the Vulg.,
tciniphes. Very small, painfully stinging gnats,
crawling on the skin, arid even in the nose and
ears. They are very abundant in Egypt. The
dust marks the transition from the mire to the
time of drought. The transformation of the dust
into gnats is a symbolic act, like the transforma
tion of water into blood. They come out of the
dust, and fly around like the dust, too small to
measure or to seize. Keil says: "The gnats co-ne
out of the eggs laid in the dust or ground by the
preceding generation. . . . The miracle consists
in both cases not in an immediate creation, but
in the pre-announcement, and the corresponding
sudden creative (?) generation and supernatural
(?) increase of these animals." Out of the eggs,
and at the same time supernatural — this is dis
cordant.

Ver. 14 [18]. The scribes. D'Stp'in. Of
the three forms of designation, D'£3l!O'b sorcer
ers, D^3n wise men, and D'ptt'in iepoypa/ifia-
T£l£, Egyptian scribes, attached to the court,
interpreters of hieroglyphic writings, the chief
one is here selected, making the expression of
their impotence the stronger. They cannot imi
tate this miracle. Why not? Knobel says:
Because, according to the writer's view, this was
a case involving the production of creatures.
Keil: Because God's omnipotence in the case of
this miracle put a check upon the demoniacal
forces which the sorcerers had employed. Strange
that the characteristic mark of magic wonders is
again continually overlooked. The agency of
Satan consists in lying forces and signs and nii-

rncles. Satan, in all that he says (Matt, iv.) is
ihe liar. If we take vcr. 13 literally, we might
say that Moses had already transformed all the
dust of Egypt into gnats, and that hence there
was no dust left for them to work miracles on.
But it. is more obvious to assume that in this case
they found the deception harder, or rather, that
they were seized with a religious terror, and now
declared to Pharaoh that they could go with him
no further, in order to induce him to retrace his
steps. This seems to be implied in their decla
ration: " This is the finger of God." According
to Bochart this means: nos non cohibent A foxes el,
Aaron, S'd divina vis, uirisque major. Keil adds:
"If they had meant the God of Israel, DIH'
would be used." But, did they know Jehovah ?
And did they not also, ns Egyptian priests, refer
all their doings to the influence of the Godhead ?
According to Kurtz, by "finger" they meant an
indication [Fingerzoig],a warning of the Egyptian
gods themselves. Keil, on the other hand, finds
in the finger of God simply an expression of cre
ative omnipotence, as in Ps. viii. 4 [3] ; Luke xi.
20; Ex. xxxi. 18. Yet theeducatingwisdomof God
is emphasized, especially in Ex. xxxi. 18. The
recognition of the fact that God's finger displayed
itself is the prelude of the perception of His
strong hand and His outstretched arm. Therefore
the phrase cannot be intended to designate either
the gods of Egypt, who could not possibly, in the
mind of the priests, take part with Moses and
Aaron, or the God of Israel according to the
Egyptian notion of Him, but only the deity, as
conceived by a general overpowering religious
feeling.

Ver. 15 [10]. Was hardened. Keil's infer
ence, "This punitive miracle, therefore, made on
Pharaoh no impression," obliterates the antithe
sis which the text, brings out [r?'z., that although
the magicians saw a divine hand in the miracle,
yet Pharaoh remained obdurate].

CHAP. VIII. 16-28.

D.— THE BLOOD-SUCKING GAD-FLY.
CHAP. VIII. 16-28 [20-32],

16 [20] AND Jehovah said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand

before Pharaoh: Jo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus

17 [21] saith Jehovah, L^t my people go, that they may serve me. Else [For] if

thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies [send the
flies] upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy
houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies [full

18 [22] of the flies], and also the ground whereon they are. And I will sever [sepa

rate] in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no

swarms of flies [no flies] shall be there : to the end thou mayest know that I

j9 [23] am Jehovah in the midst of the earth [UndJ. And I will put a division be-

20 [24] tween my people and thy people : to-morrow shall this sign be. And Jehovah

did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies [came grievous flies] into
the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of
Egypt ; the land was corrupted [was like to be destroyed1] by reason of the
swarm of flies [the flies].

21 [25] And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to

22 [26] your God in the land.' And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall

[should] sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God ; lo,
shall we [if we should] sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their

23 [27] eyes, and will they [ayes, would they] not stone us?2 We will go three days'

journey into the wilderness, and sacriice to Jehovah our God, as he shall

24 [28] command us. And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to

Jehovah your God in the wilderness; onlv ye shall not go very far away:

25 [29] entreat for me. And Moses s'ud, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will

entreat Jehovah that the swarms of flies may [and the flies will] depart from
Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to-morrow; but [only] let
not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice

26 [30] to Jehovah. And Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Jehovah.

27 [31] And Jehovah did according to the word of Moses ; and he removed the swarms

of flies [the flies] from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there

28 [32] remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this [heart this] time

also, neither would he [and he did not] let the people go.

TEXTUAL A!ND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 20 [24]. The Hebrew is r\nt^r\- There is no propriety in rendering the future verb here, as is commonly

done, by the Preterite. Besides, from the nature of th<* cas*1, the Preterite is too strong; the land was not wholly de
stroyed; there was a danger that it would be, and therefore Pharaoh called for Moses and A iron in order to avert the
prospective ruin of the land. The future tense expresses an action as strictly future, or as future with reference to another
past event, or as customary, or as going on »ither at a past or present time. Here we must understand that the devasta
tion was going on, and t»tal ruin was impending. Henco we may render: "was being destroyed," or (as we have done)
" was like to be destroyed."— T«.]

2 [Ver. 22 [26]. The particle ?n» commonly meaning, " behold," sterns to have here, as occasionally elsewhere, the

force of a conditional particle. Ther.i is no mark of interrogation in the sentence, and apparently Moses says : " Lo, we ,
shall sacrifice . . . and they will not stone us." But the sense seems to require the lasc clause to be taken interroga
tively.— TR.]

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Vers. 16 [20] sqq. The gnats are followed by
a worse plague, called S'TJJ. This definite
phrase cannot signify "all kinds of vermin"

(Luther, Trdu/nua, Sym.). The LXX. render
Kvv6/uvia, "dog-fly," by which is to he under
stood the larger species of flies, the blood-sucking
gad-fly, as is especially to be seen in the plague
of the cattle (vid. Hengstenberg, Egypt, etc., p.
116). Raphael Hirsch : "beast of the desert."

EXODUS.

There is no reason why the adjective 133, ver.
20, should not be rendered literally, the heavy
(grievous) dog-fly. If 133 is to convey the
notion of multitude, this must also be indicated
by the substantive. Moreover, the attributive
''numerous" would rather weaken than strength
en the thought. Numerous flies !* — In this
plague two new factors enter : (1) It is expressly
noticed that the land of Goshen, i. e., Israel, shall
be exempt from this plague. (2) Tnis time,
without the symbolic us? of Moses' rod, the
visitation is announced only, and announced by
Jehov.ih as His own act. Moses and Aaron are
already sufficiently accredited as messengers of
God; now their God will manifest Himself more
definitely as the God of Israel, Jehovah, as He
is al o at the same time the God (Elohirn) abso
lutely, and, therefore, also in the midst of Egypt.
Vers. 17, 18 [21, 22]. Notice the sententious
form of the antithesis, nSiyr and

[Literally: "If thou will not send my people
away, I will send the fliej upon thee," etc.
-Tu.]

Ver. 19 [28]. "fina," says Keil, "does not
signify diaaroMj, divisio (LXX., Vulg.), but ran
som, redemption.'1 At all events, however, it
would be obscure to translate: "I will put a
redemption between my people and thy people. '
We understand: a quarantine.^

Ver. 21 [25]. Pharaoh's first concession. He
is willing to givuit to the people a sacrificial fes
tival, accompanied by cessation from labor, but
not to let them go out of the laud, because h ^
forebodes the consequence of a conditional
emancipation, whereas he is unwilling to relax
his despotic power over them.

Ver. 22 [2(j]. It is not meet [Lange: safe].
De Wette translates pJJ by "fitting,'1 Keil by

* [Lange apparently hai here in mind Kdl's inter r'ta-
tion, sclnuere Mc»g<', " grievous multitude,'' a meaning borne
out by x. l-l ; Gen. 1. 9, etc. — TR. |

f [Lange s translation agrees with that of A. V. Knobel
conjectures that iu-.tead of D-Tl^D, we should read rh%,
"separation," from the verb D73i which is used in the

preceding verse. But such a noun nowhere occurs, though
it would be an allowable formation. Better assume, with
OJesenius, Fiirst, and the mo->t, that the noun has here a rare,
though perh'ips its original, meaning, that of redemption
being deiived from it. — TR.]

"established." The first expresses too little,
the second too much.* — The abomination of
the Egyptians. — Knobel says: "The Egypt
ians sacrificed only bulls, calves and geese (He
rod. II. 45), but no cows, as being sacred to
Isis (Herod. II. 41; Porphyr. Abstin. 2, 11);
also no turtle-doves (Porphyr. 4, 7). Also no
sheep and goats, at least, not generally; in the
worship of Isis at Thiborna in Phocis none coull
be offered (Pausan. 10, 32, 9), and in Egypt
those who belonged to the temple and district
of Mendes offered no she-goats or he-goats,
though they did offer sheep ; whereas the oppo
site was the case in Upper Egypt (Herod. II. 42,
46). The Egyptians were greatly scandalize I
when sacred animals were sacrificed or eaten
(Josephus, Apion I. 26). The Hebrews, on the
other hand, sacrificed sheep, goats and rams,
and cows no less, e. g. for peace-offerings (Lev.
iii. 1), burnt -offerings (1 Sam. vi. 14), sin-offer
ings (Num. xix.), and others (Gen. xv. 9)."
It is singular that Keil can suppose the meaning
to be only lhat the ceremonial rules and ordi
nances [of the Egyptians] were so painfully
minute that the Jewish method of offering sac
rifices might well scandalize the Egyptians.
The sacrifice of cows would of itseif be to them
abominable enough. The more sacred the ani
mal was, the more abominable did the sacrifice
of it seem to be. But the chief point in the
matter seems to be overlooked. It was the offer
ing in Egypt of sacrifices to Jehovah, a god
foreign to the Egyptians, which must have b>>en
an abomination. Even af<er the Reformation
many Catholic princes thought that each land
could have but one religion.

Ver. 24 [28]. Pharaoh permits them to go out
a little distance on condition that they will in
tercede for him. Moses assents, without re
peating the demand for a three days' journey,
but requires that Pharaoh shall not deceive him,
but keep his word.

Ver. 28 [32]. The fourth hardening of the
heart.

* [Lange's rendering "sicber" is without analogy except
as "sich.r" may mean "certain," "sure," which can hardly
bo Lange'rt intern ion here. Keil's explanat/on H the usual
one: ^frstr/estellt," denned by statntum, rectum, "r.gut." 'J lie
more common mcaniug is "fixed;" but this cannot be the
force of tiie word here.— TR.]

E.— THE PESTILENCE OF THE BEASTS.
CHAPTER IX. 1-7.

1 THEN [And] Jehovah said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell [speak
unto] him, Thus saith Jehovah, God [the God] of the Hebrews, Let my people go,

2 that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold 'the-n

3 still [and still hold them], Behold, the hand of Jehovah is1 upon thy cattle which

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.
1 [Ver. 3. lYiri- This is a solitary instance of the participial form of PlTl, though in Neh. vi. 6 and Eccl. ii. 22 the

T T T

participle of the archaic and Aramaic form of the verb, rPHj occurs. It might be rendered: "Behold, the hand of Jeho-

van will come upon," etc. — TR.]

CHAP. IX. &-12.

is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen,

4 and upon the sheep : there sJiall be a very grievous murrain [pestilence]. And'
Jehovah shall sever [will make a distinction] between th^ cattle of Israel and the
cattle of Egypt : and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.

5 And Jehovah appointed a set time, saying, To-morrow Jehovah shall [will] do this

6 thing in the land. And Jehovah did that [this] thing on the morrow, and all the
cattle of Egypt died : but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not [behold, not even] one of the cattle
of the Israelites dead [was dead]. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened [hard],
and he did not let the people go.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 1. Categorical demand of Jehovah as the
God of the Hebrews.

Ver. 2. A more definite assumption, in view
of past experience, that Pharaoh may defiantly
harden himself.

Ver. 3. A very grievous pestilence. —
The more general term "Oil is used. The pes
tilence is to come upon cattle of all sorts found
in the field.

Ver. 4. The separation of Israel is more
marked here than in viii. 18 [22].

Ver. 5. Besides the foregoing sign, this fixing

of the near time for the infliction of the plague
is the most miraculous circumstance, since, as
Keil says, "pestilences among the cattle of Egypt
are wont to occur from time to time (comp.
Pruner, Die Krankheiten des Orients, pp 108
112 sq.)." '

Ver. 6. All the cattle.— The word all is not
to be taken absolutely, but only in opposition to
the cattle of the Israelites. Conip. vers. 9
and 10.

Ver. 7. It is another characteristic of the tyrant
that he cares the Itast for this calamity, which
affects chiefly his poor subjects, though' he has
become convinced of the miraculous sparing of
the Israelites.

F.— THE BOILS AND BLAINS.

8 And Jehovah said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of
the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven [toward heaven] in the

9 sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small [fine] dust in [upon] all the land of
Egypt, and shall be a boil [become boils] breaking forth with blains upon man,

10 and upon beast throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the
furnace, and stood before Pharaoh, and Mouses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and
it became a boil [became boils] breaking forth luith blains upon man, and upon

11 beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for

12 the boil was [boils were] upou the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And
Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not u ..to them, as
Jehovah had spoken unto Moses.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 8. "Ttiat the sixih plague, that of the
boils, was extraordinary only in its extent, is
shown by comparing Deut. xxviii. 27, where the
same disease occurs with the name 'boils [A. V.
botch] of Egyp .' as a common one in Egypt/'
(Hengstenberg). llosenmiiller (on Deut. xxviii
27) understands it of the elephantiasis, which is
peculiar (?) to Egypt. But between diseases
which chiefly work inward and boils there is a
radical d fference. Also " the elephantiasis does
not affect cattle" [Hengstenberg] See other
interpretations in Hengstenberg, Egypt and the

Books of Moses. His own explanation is: in
flammatory pustules — not merely heat-pimples,
pni^ from JTYu, to be hot. LXX. £/,/c/; ^AVKTI-
(fef. "Vi^g« ulrcrn et vc.xicx t urgent es. Keil (fol
lowing Seetzen) : the so-called Nile-pox. Ley-
rer (iu Herzog's Real-Encyclopadie] : Anthrax, a
black inflammatory ulcer, " whose occurrence
lias been frequently observed after pestilences
among beasts, especially utter the innatnmatiou
of the spleen among cattle."

Ver. 9. The symbolic element in the transac
tions is here especially prominent. The shower
of ashes which Moses made before Pharaoh's
eyes was only the symbolic cause of the boils

EXODUS.

which Jehovah inflicted. Kurtz and others
associate this with a propitiatory rite of the
Egyptians, the sprinkling of the ashes of sacri
fices, especially of human sacrifices. But here
no propitiatory act is performed, but a curse
inflicted ; and it is a far- fetched explanation to
say that the Egyptian religious paritieatiou was
thus to be designated as defilement. Keil lays
Btress on the fact that the furnace (JKQ3), ac
cording to Kimchi, was a smelting furnace or
lime-kiln, and not a cooking-stove, and since the
great buildings of the cities and pyramids came
from «t he lime-kilns, "the sixth plague was to
show the proud king that Jehovah was even able
to produce ruin for him out of the workshops of
his splendid buildings in which he was using
the strength of the Israelites, and was so cruelly
oppressing them with burdensome labors that
they found themselves in Egypt as it were in a
furnace heated for the melting of iron (Deut. iv.
20)." This view he would confirm by the conside
ration that "in the first three plagues the natu
ral resources of the land were transformed into
sources of misery." The thought might be fur

ther expanded thus: All the glories of Egypt
were one after another turned into judgments:
the divine Nile was changed into filthy blood
and brought forth frogs and guats; the fruit
ful soil produced the land-plagues, dog-flies,
pestilences, boils and hail; Egypt, so much
praised for its situation, was smitten with the
curse of the locusts and of the desert wind which
darkened the day ; finally, the pride of the peo
ple was changed into grief by the infliction of
death on the first-born; and, to conclude all,
Jehovah sat in judgment on the Egyptian mili
tary power, Pharaoh's chariots and horsemen in
the Red Sea. But with all this the boils are not
shown to be a judgment upon Pharaoh's splen
dor. Also the alleged symbol would be not
easily understood. The ashes without doubt in
a pictorial and symbolic way by their color and
fiery nature point to the inflammatory boils and
their color. With reason, however, does Keil
nail attention to the fact that this plague is the
first one which attacked the lives of men, and
thus it constituted a premonition of death for
Pharaoh in his continued resistance.

G.— THE PLAGUE OF THE HAIL.
CHAPTER IX. 13-35.

13 AND Jehovah said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before
Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah. God [the God] of the Hebrews,

14 Let my people g>, that they may serve me. For I, will at [will] this time send all
my plagues upon thine [into thy] heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy peo-

15 pie ; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I
will stretch [I would have stretched]1 nut my hand, that I may smite [and smitten] thee

..and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be [wouldst have been] cut off from

16 the earth. And in very deed [But] for this cause [for this] have I raised thee up
[established thee] for to shew in thee [to shew thee] my power, and that my name

17 may be declared [to declare my natne] throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest
thou [Thou art still exalting]2 thyself against my people, that thou wilt not Jet

18 them go? [not to let them go]. Behold, to-morrow about, [at] this time I will cause
it to rain [1 will rain] a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Vers. 15, 1C. The Perf. ^nStf and the following Imperfects with the Vtiv Consecutive certainly cannot be ren
dered (with the A. V.) by the F-itur«. It is simply a case of apodo«is with the protasis omitted. Precisely similar is the
construction in 1 Sain. xui. 13, '"jwSjDO-JlK 71171' j'DTl Hr^ *3, which the A. V. correctly renders : "For now would
the Lord have establish -d thy kinKll.mi." GompJEwal 1. Aiisfuhrl. Gr. % 358 a. Our translators seem in both these verses

•ilowe.i tie LXX., the Vulg., and older v rsioiw to the neglect of the Hebrew. E-p eially does this appear in
ver. 1C. where '"]nfc")n "N3£3_ is rendered: "for to how in thee." Literally: "in order to cause thee to see." There

is no p gs'ble ambiguity in tin- Hebrew. God's power was to be shown to Pharaoh, not in him. Probably our translators

re also influenced by th- qu .latou of this v r*e in R on. ix. 17, where Paul f -Hows t»e LXX. In t».e translation of

*| rnpj^jT however, iho LXX. arc more exact than Paul. In ver. 15 Jehovah Bays: "I might have suiitien thee," etc.

"But," h- adds, "fo- thin I have preserved thee (literally, caused thee to stand) in order to show thee," ftc. The LXX.
have SteTTjprjflijf, in Rom. ix. 17 efrjyeipa o-e.-QS.1X1 means simply "but," " neverthel S3," and not "in very deed.''— TR.]

2 [Ver. 17. There is no interrogative particle here, and no need of translating the verse as a question. It might b<-
nslat-d as a conditional clause: " If thou yet exalt thyself," etc., ver. 18 giving the conclusion.— Tn.J

CHAP. IX. 13-35. 27

19 the foundation thereof even until now. Send therefore now [And now send], and
gather [save] thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field ; for upon [as for] every
man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought [gathered]

20 home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. He that feared
the word of Jehovah among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his

21 cattle flee into the houses : And he that regarded not t;ie word of Jehovah left his

22 servants and his cattle in the field. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch forth
thine [thy] hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of E^rypt,
upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field throughout the land

23 of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven : and Jehovah sent
thunder and hail ; and the fire [and fire] ran along upon the ground [came to the

24 earth] ; and Jehovah rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and
fire mingled with [continuous fire3 in the midst of] the bail, very grievous, such as
there was none like it [had not been] in all the laud of Egypt since it became a

25 nation. And the hail smota throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the
field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake

26 every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel

27 were, was there no hail. And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and
said unto them, I have sinned this t'me: Jehovah is righteous [is the righteous

28 one], and I and my people are wicked [the wicked]. Entreat Jehovah (for it is
enough) that there be no wore [for it is too much that there should be]4 mighty thun-

29 derings and hail ; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. And Moses
said unto him, As sowi as I am gone [When I go] out of the city, I will spread abroad
my hands unto Jehovah : and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any

30 more hail; that thou mayest know how [know] that the earth .is Jehovah's. But
as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will [do] not yet fear Jehovah God.

31 And the flax and the barley was smitten; for the barley was in the ear, and the

32 flax was boiled [in the blossom]. But the wheat and the rye [spelt] were not smit-

33 ten ; for they were not grown up [for they are late]. And Moses \\ent out of the
city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto Jehovah : and the thunders

34 and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh
saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more

33 [again], and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh
was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as Jehovah had spoken
by Moses.

? [Ver. 21. The Hithp. of Hp7 occurs, besides here, only in Ezek. i. 4, where it is also usel of lightning, and is r. u-

derel in the A. V. : " infolding itself" (marg. " catching itself"). The idea seems to be that of different flashes of light
ning c 'mini so thickly tliat the one seem- d to tike hold (if the other; or, perhaps, ic is descriptive of chain-lightning.
Lange, following l>e Wette, and others understand it to mean balls of fire. This seems hardly to be borue out by >he
phrass.— TR.]

4 [Ver. 23. Lango render*: "Pray to Jehovah, that it may be enough of God's voices of thunder." So, substantially,
Murphy, Keil, Knobel, Arnheim, llerxheimer, De We'te, Flirst, Pliilippson, Kosenmull. r, following LXX., Vulg. But 'ic
is hard to see what right we have to give the expression this turn, whereas the original simply siys: ";ind much." If we
must <mpply a verb, we are hardly justified in making it Jussive. And if we were, by wi at rkht can the express! n : " let
there be much of there being thunder and hail, be mad" to menu, " let, there be no morf thunder .«nd hail ?" For this is what
" enougli " is assumed to mean. But while J3"^ (sometimes do s meau " enough,' that is a very different conception from '' no

more." If one prays: "let there be enough of thunder," the presnim tion is ih >t h^ wants more rather than less. Further
more, 7*3 with the Inf., though often employed to (It-note the negation, of a resul , jet is perha s never used elsewhere to

denote an object nega'ively, and is certainly no where else used after verbs of entreaty to denote the thing d • pr citnd.
There is also no analogy for the use of ?p with the Inf. in a partitive sense, as Keil and others would he.e

understand it. And even if T?3 d'd have the partitive sense (though even in the multitude of instances in which
it is connec'ed with nouns after ^~\ it only once — Ezek. xliv. 6 — has a partitive sense), the use of the Inf. would

he pleonastic. In view of these considerations, th^re seems hardly to be any other way than to follow Ka-
lisch, Glaire, and Ewald (Gram, g 217 6, §28f>di, and render: "It in too much that there sli ukl be." Literacy,
"much from being," or, this bein^ the Hebrew method of expressing a companion, "more than l/eing.'' But our

idiom frequently requires '• more than " to be rendered by "too much f^r." E.g. Ruth i. 12, ii/'X/ nVPID <l.FOi~'T, "I

am old from belonging to a husband," i. e. "older thin to belong ti," or rather, "too old to belong to." So here: ''it is
much from [moie than] there being thunder," etc. That is, - it is too much tnat there be." A still more apposite case is

to be found in 1 Kings xii. 28, D/UH'V fli/J^D 03^ 3~1, "it is much to you from going up to Jerusalem," i. e. (as
Luther, A. V., and Keil render itX "it is too much for you to go up." A still more ind-'sputablo analogy is found in Is.
xlix. G, i:j£ "S ^jnrrn "?pj, " It is light from thy being a servant," i. e. " It is too light a tbJng that thou shouldfst

be a servant." So Ezek. viii. 17. With thi t construction we get a clear and appropriate sense without lorcing the origi
nal.— TR.J

EXODUS.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 13. The Seventh Plague. Hail and Thun
der-storms.— Rise up early in the morning.

—Even in reference to the forms of politeness
there seems to be an intentional letting down.
According to viii. 10 [20] Moses was to avail him
self of that time in the morning when Pharaoh was
going to the Nile. This consideration here disap
pears. The demand is more imperative; the
threat more fearful.

Ver. 14. This time all the plagues are to be
dirci-tcd, in a concentrated form, primarily to
the heart of Pharaoh, to his own personal inte
rests, aifecting first himself, then his servants,
then his people, beginning at thu top, and going
down. " From the plural fii3JE it appears that
this threat relates not merely to the seventh
plague, the hail, but to all the rein lining ones"
(Ketl). It appears also that now Pharaoh's
obduracy is to be regarded as quite determined.
This is still more evident, from the two following
verses (see Comrn. on Horn. ix.). From this
lime forward, therefore, ensue Jehovah's acts
of hardening Pnaraoh's heart in the narrower
sense of the term. -That there is none like
me. Comp. ver. !<•. Tue exodus of the Israel
ites from Egypt, following the last act of divine
judgment upon Egypt, may be designated as
the specific date ot the victory of monotheism
over tue heathen gods, or of the theocratic faith
over the heathen religions.

Ver. 15. For now I would have stretched
out my hand. — If Pharaoh's person and sur
roundings alone had been in question, Jehovah
would have already destroyed him with the pes
tilence. We do not, with Keil, render: If I had
stretched out my hand . . . tliou wouldest have been
destroyed; for this would present a tautological
sentence, obscuring the connection and funda
mental thought. Jehovah's declaration means:
Thou, considered by thyself alone, art already
doomed to condemnation ; but I establish thee,
as it were, anew, in order to judge thee more
completely and to glorify my name in theo.
Vid. Comm. on Rom. ix. This is the gift of
divine forbearance which the godless enjoy on
account of the pious. — rp^7?>T} accordingly
does not mean merely cause to stand; and Paul,
quite in accordance wilh the sense of the text,
chose a stronger expression, whereas the LXX.
had weakened it, employing dtErrjprj&ric;. The
first spread of the news of Jehovah's victory is
recorded in ch. xv. 14.

Ver. 17. A fine antithesis, analogous to that
of ch. viii. 17 [-11]. The form of the thought
likewise intimates that man, by the change of
his disposition, may become different, and that
then Jehovah may, as it were, present Himself
to him as a different being. — Exalting thyself.

—Properly, setting thyself up as a dam,
Israel, as the people of the future, is like a
stream whose current the hostile powers of the
world, like dams and dykes, are checking.
First, it breaks through the power of Pharaoh
with theocratic impetuosity amidst psalms of
triumph. Something like this was true of the
Reformation ; in the highest sense, it was true
of Apostolic Christianity; and it was no mere
play of the fancy, when the great Egyptian
plagues were associated with the great Christian
martyrdoms.

Ver. 19. And now send.— Had Pharaoh
done so, he would at the last moment have ac
knowledged Jehovah's power. 13ut the word,
which he himself without doubt disregarded,
served to warn and preserve other God-learing
Egyptians.

Ver. 22. Stretch forth thy hand toward
heaven. — Still another symbolic form, and that
of the finest appropriateness. Here the out
stretched hand is more important than the sym
bolic rod, though the latter terves for a sign
this time also.

Ver. 23. Sublime description of the hail and
thunder-storm, like Ps. xviii. and xxix. ; Job
xxxvii. and xxxviii. "Thunder-storms are not
frequent in Lower and Centra! Egypt, yet occa
sionally occur between December and April, and
in connection with them hail sometimes falls,
but seldom in considerable quantity. Comp.
Hengstenberg, Egypt, etc., p. 121 sq." (Keil.)
In Egypt the cattle are driven to the pastures
from January to April. Vid. Ilengstenberg,
1. c.. p. 123, where he quotes from Niebuhr and
others.

Ver. 25. ^13 in ver. 25, like the preceding
"balls of fi-e" (for lightning), harmonizes with
the hyperbolic style of the description.

Vers. 26, 27. In such a heavy storm the ex
ceptional condition ot Goshen must have been
the more striking. Now even Pharaoh has
recognized in the thunder the voice of Jehovah.
The first declaration, that Jehovah is riyhteous,
comes, remarkably enough, from his mouth.
His repentance, however, soon shows itself to
be a mere attrit>r>, a transitory, slavish terror.
The contritio is wanting ; this was at once seen
by Moses. The same is indicated in the charac
teristic utterance : I have siiu ed this time.

Vers. 31, 32. This specification gives a cine
to the season of ihe ye,ir. It was towards the
end of January. Vid. Ilengstenberg, p. 12-i,
and Keil, p. 492. The barley was an important
article of food for men and cattle, although spelt
and wheat furnished finer bread. The flax fur
nished the light linen which the hot climate
made a necessity ; " according to Herodotus II.
81, 105, a very important product of Egypt"
(Keil).

CHAP. X. 1-20. 29

H.— THE LOCUSTS.
CHAP. X. 1-20.

1 AND Jehovah said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh ; for I have hardened his
heart and the heart of his servants, that I might shew [may do] these my signs

2 before him [in the midst of them] ; And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy
son and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt [what I have done
with the Egyptians]1, and my signs which I have done among them ; that ye may

3 know how [may know] that I am Jehovah. And Moses and Aaron came [went]
in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, God [the God] of the
Hebrews, How long w-lt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people

4 go, that they may serve me. Else [For] if thou refuse to let my people go, behold,

5 to-morrow will I bring the [bring] locusts into thy coast [borders] : And they shall
cover the face of the earth, that |/o that] one cannot [shall not] be able to see the
earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth [is
left] unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of

6 the field; And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and
the houses of all the Egyptians, which [as] neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers'
fathers have seen, sioce the day tiat they were upon the earth unto this day. And

7 he turned himself [turned], and went out from Pharaoh. And Pharaoh's servants
said unto him ; How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that
they may serve Jehovah their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again [back] unto Pharaoh: and he said unto
them, Go, serve Jehovah, your God: but who are they that shall go [are going]?

9 And Moses sdd, We will go with our young and with our old; wifhour srrns and with
our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go ; for VJQ must hold [we

10 have] a feast unt ) [of] Jehovah. And he said unto them, Let [May] Jehovah be
so with you, as I will let you go and your little ones! Look to it [See] ; for evil is

11 before you. Not so: go now, ye that are men [ye men], and serve Jehovah; for
that ye did desire [that is what ye are seeking]. And they were driven out from Pha-

12 raoh's presence. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thine [thy] hand over
the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt,

13 and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. And Moses
stretched forth his rad over the land of Egypt, and Jehovah brought [drove] an
east wind upon the land all that day and all that [the] night : and when it was

14 morning the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went [came] up over
[upon] all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts [borders] of Egypt; very
grievous were they: before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after

15 them shall be such. For [And] they covered the face of the whole earth [land],
so that [and] the land was darkened ; and they did eat every herb of the land, and
all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green
thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through [in] all the land of Egypt.

16 Then [And] Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste ; and he said, I have

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 2. Tint D'lVD here means "Egyptians," and not "Egypt," is evident from the plural pronoun which fol
lows. And the whole phrase D"^¥u)3 ''jlSbjhin is poorly reproduced in the A. V. This verb in the Hithpael is
always followed by 2 with the name of a person. The meaning of it [3, " to do one's pleasun with." Except here, and 1
Sam. vi. 6, the phrase is used in a bad senso, e. g., 1 Sam. xxxi. 4, " lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through,
nnl abuse me." Conip. Judg. xix. 25. tlerc.ther fore, the meaning is, " how I did my plcaaur • wi h the Egyptians."— TR.].

EXODUS.

17 sinned against Jehovah your God, and against you. Now therefore [And now]
forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat Jehovah your God that he

18 may take away from me this death only. And he went out from Pharaoh, and

19 entreated Jehovah. And Jehovah turned a mighty [very] strong west wind, which
[aud] took away the locusts, and cast [thrust] them into the Red Sea: there re-

20 mained not one locust in all the coasts [borders] of Egypt. But Jehovah hard
ened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not [and he did not] let the children of
Israel go.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 1. I have hardened his heart. — Ac
cording to shallow rationalistic views, this be
trays «i low sta'e of intelligence; viewed from
the ethical relations of life, it indicates a very
high one. Pharaoh's acts of self-hardening pre
ceded this ; but after the seventh one, his sen
tence was determined; the following plagues,
therefore, must complete his obduracy. Moses
must know this beforehand, in order that he may
not be discouraged respecting his mission. But
that, uinler divine revelation, he can foreknow
it, is characteristic of the man who, being emi
nent in religious conscientiousness, has a won
derfully profound insight, into the justice and
judgments of God. The general prediction of
ch. vii. 3-5 is now for the first time completely
fulfilled; hence it is here repeated.

Ver. 2. That thou mayest tell.—" How Is
rael related these miraculous signs to children
and children's children, is shown in Ps. Ixxviii.
and cv." (Keil).

Ver. 3. To humble thyself. — Jehovahspeaks
now in a severer tone. After so many apparent
failures, this is a proof that Moses has his con
fidence and his word from God. Analogous is
the heathen legend of the Sibyl who, for the
prophetical books twice reduced in number, kept
asking the same price.

Ver. 4. The antithesis is sharp. Similar
forms in ix. 17 and viii. 17 [21]. It is not merely
the antithesis between a divine and a human ac
tion; the almighty personality of Jehovah con
fronts the defiant personality of Pharaoh. The
assurance with which the locusts are predicted
for the morrow marks the miracle, as also after
wards the sudden removal of them at Moses' in
tercession.

Ver. 5. The face [lit. eye] of the land.—
" This phraseology, peculiar to the Pentateuch,
and occurring elsewhere only ver. 15 and Num.
xxii. 5, 11, rests on the ancient and genuinely
poetic conception, that the earth with its floral
ornamentation looks upon man " (Keil).

Ver. 0. Fill thy houses.— Vid. Joel ii. 9.
On locusts finding their way into houses, vid. the
quotations in Keil.

Ver. 7. Pharaoh's servants. — The courtiers
begin to tremble. But they are governed by no
noble motive to intercede for Israel, but by the
fear that by resistance Egypt may go to ruin. —
A snare. — In whose fatal toils they are be
coming entangled to their destruction.

Ver. 8. For the first time Pharaoh enters upon
negotiations before the plague; yet without con
sistency. — "Who are they? (lit. who and
who) ""p^ SD. Immediately the timorous policy

of the tyrant withdraws more than half of the
concession.

Ver. 9. To make a festival are needed not only
the whole assembly, old and young, but also the
cattle and possessions in general, on account of
the offerings. Pharaoh suspects that freedom
also is involved in the plan. According to
Keil, the women, who are seemingly omitted, are
designed to be included in the " we." They are
also included in the phrase "young and old."

Ver. 10. The thought, "Jehovah be with you
on your journey, ' )s transformed by Pharaoh
into mockery : As little as I will let you go with
your children, so little shall ye go on your jour
ney, so little shall Jehovah be with you. Inas
much as he has been obliged to refer the pre
ceding experiences to Jehovah, his audacity here
passes over into blasphemy.

Ver. 11. Go now, ye men. — D^3Jn. The
expression forms an antithesis to the D^J^n, ia
the use of which the servants proposed the re
lease of the Israelites in general. But that he
is not even willing to let only the men go is
shown by the fact that the messengers of God
were at once driven out. The expression "je
men," "ye heroes," may involve a scornful allu
sion to the power with which they have risen

up against him. Also in the form NJ oS the
irony (according to Keil) is continued. — They
were driven out. — As we should say, they
were turned out of doors. " The restriction of
the right of departure to the men was pure
caprice, inasmuch as according to Herodotus II.
60 the Egyptians also had religious festivals in
which the women were accustomed to go out with
the men " (Keil).

Ver. 12. Stretch out thy hand. — Accord
ing to ver. 13, with the rod in it. Was it in or
der that they might rise up like a hostile military
force? More probably the idea is that they are
to rise up in the distance like clouds carried by
the wind. With the wind, brought by it, locusts
are wont to come. Vid. the citations in Keil.

Ver 13. And Jehovah drove. — Jehovah
Himself is the real performer of miracles. When
He seems in His government to follow Moses'
suggestion, while, on the other hand, the action
of Moses is only a symbolical one resting on pro
phetic foresight, this all signifies that God's do
minion in nature answers to God's dominion in
His kingdom, therefore, also, in the mind of
Moses. It is a pre-established harmony, in
which the outward things of nature- are made
serviceable to the inward necessities of the spi
ritual life. Vid. Matt, xxviii. 18.— An east
wind, D"!pT~nn. "Not V6ng (LXX.), south
wind, as even Bochart (Hierozoicon III., p. 287)

CHAP. X. 21-29.

thought, For although the swarms of locusts
come to Egypt generally from Ethiopia or Libya,
yet they are sometimes brought by the east wind
from Arabia, as has been observed, among others,
by Denon, quoted by Hengstenberg, Egypt, etc.,
p. 125" (Keil).

Vers. 13-15. Further miraculous features:
(a) that the locusts come from so far (the
wind blew twenty-four hours) ; (b) that they
cover the whole land, whereas they generally
attack only particular regions. Among the va
rious forms of the preludes of the final judgment,
(blood, .fire, war, pestilence, darkness), the
plagues of locusts are also especially prominent,.
According to Joel, the fundamental significance
of them is the incessant destruction of thfe flesh
on all sides.*

* [This is obscure. If, is true that the invasion of the lo
custs is described by Jool as the precursor of " the dty of
Jehovah " (i. 1) ; ii. 1); but where or in what sense he ivpr--
sents them as dentrnying thefl'sh, it is impossible to see. Cer
tainly if the literal language of Joel is referred to, there is
nothing of the sort. An i no inors is there any indication
that Joel means to intimate that locusts symbolize the de
struction of the flesh. Lange moreover leaves us in doubt
whether he mes the word "flesh " in the literal or figurative
sense.— TR.].

Vers. 16, 17. And Pharaoh called in
haste. — This is his second confession of sin,
more distinct than the first, ix. 27. For the third
time he implores Moses' intercession; viii. 24
(28), ix. 28, and here. His penitence, however,
again exhibits the character of an insincere sub
mission, attritio; he begs Moses' forgiveness, but
wishes him to intercede with God to avert this
death, this deadly ruin, which he sees in the
plague of locusts. He condemns himself, how
ever, for what follows, inasmuch as he asks for
exemption only this once.

Ver. 18. Moses' intercession has a twofold sig
nificance: It is, first, an expression of divine
forbearance; secondly, the attestation of the
miracle displayed in the plague of locusts.

Ver. 19. The east wind is changed to a west
wind, or, more probably, to a northwest wind.
" That the locusts perish in the sea is variously
attested. Q-regatirn sublatse vento in maria aut
stagna decidunt, says Pliny" (Keil). For Pha
raoh the help may have been ominous, as he
himself afterwards with his host was to perish,
like the locusts, in the Red Sea.

I.— THE DARKNESS.
CHAP. X. 21-29.

21 AND Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thine [thy] hand toward heaven,
that there may ba darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be

22 felt. And Moses stratched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick

23 darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They saw not one another,
neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had

24 light in their dwellings. And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve
Jehovah ; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed [kept back] ; let your

25 little ones also [also your little ones shall] go with you. And Moses said, Thou
must give us also [Thou shalt also put into our hands] sacrifices and burnt-offer-

26 ings, that we may sacrifice unto Jehovah our God. Our cattle also shall go with
us; there shall not an [a] hoof be left behind; for thereof [from them] must we
[shall we] take to serve Jehovah our God ; and we know not with what we must

27 serve Jehovah until we come thither. But Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart,

28 and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me,
take heed to thyself, see my face no more ; for in that [the] day thou seest my face

29 thou shalt die. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well ; I will see thy face again
no more.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Vers. 21—23. The natural phenomenon under
lying this minaculous infliction of Egyptian dark
ness is generally taken to be the Chamsin, the
scorching hot south wind (in Italy the Sirocco,
in Switzerland the Fohnj, "referred to appa
rently by the LXX., where they render
6

•"1 ':?- ky <7/cdrof Kal yvofine, KCII #{>e/l/la. This
wind, which in Egypt is accustomed to blow be
fore and after the vernal equinox, and generally
lasts two or three days, usually rises very sud
denly and fills the air with such a mass of fine
dust and coarser sand, that the sun ceases to
shine, the sky is covered with a thick veil, and
the obscuration becomes eo nocturnal that the
darkness of the thickest fog of our late autumn

EXODUS.

or -vinter ckys is not to be compared with it (vid.
Schubert's Rrisc, II., p. 409)." (Keil). See fur-
rher citations in Keil. Hengstenberg interprets
the darkness in Egypt as the image of the divine
anger, the light in Goshen as image of the divine
grace. But the preceding plagues also were at
least signs of the divine anger. The judgment
of darkness doubtless expresses more specifically
the 1'act, that the wisdom of Egypt has become
transformed into a spiritual night, in which the
night of death soon to follow is pre-announced,
whereas the light in Goshen in contrast with it
may signify the dawn of a higher wisdom which
finally brings freedom. The miraculousness of
it consisted, first, in its following the symbolic
action and prediction of Moses : secondly, in
its intensity ami the exceptional condition of
Goshen. — In their dwellings. — Keil correctly
refers this, in opposition to Kurtz, to the coun
try ; whereas the latter understands that the
Egyptians were even unable to illumine their
houses. But one might as readily infer that
the Israelites obtained light only by artificial
means. — Darkness which may be felt. —
Beautiful hyperbolic expression; yet the dust
brought by the tornado could indeed be felt by
the hand.

Ver. 24. Pharaoh, frightened, makes a new
concession, but again with a shrewd reservation.
The concession consists, strictly speaking, of two
parts, and the reservation is very turtively in
serted between the two. — Go ye, he says at first,

this time not only the strong men ; and at last,
as if with the intention of entrapping Moses by
the excitement of his emotions: Also your
little ones shall go with you. — Nevertheless
all their c.-ittle were to be left in the hands of the
Egyptians as a pledge of their return. " J2T,
j sistatur, be stopped, kept in certain places under
the charge of the Egyptians as a pledge of your
return " (Keil).

Ver. 25. Moses invalidates Pharaoh's demand

by reference to th<j religious duty of his people.

I Taey must make an offering, must therefore have

! their cattle with them. But, together with the

i clums of religious feeling, those of justice are

also insisted on, in the utterance which has even

become parabolical: " There shall not a hoof be

left behind." This bold utterance, on the other

hand, is softened by the declaration that they

did not know what offerings (and how many)

they would have to bring to Jehovah.

Ver. 28. The negotiation becomes more and
more unequivocal. The one intention has strug
gled with the other in carefully chosen terms up
to the point of Decision. The tyrant's defiance
now flames up, and Moses, with a calm conscious
ness of superiority, tinged with irony, assents to
the decree that ho shall not again, on penalty of
death, appear before Pharaoh. It is an indirect
announcement of the last plague. But its first
consequence wilt oe that Pharaoh must take back
his threat, xii. 31.

THIRD SECTION.

Announcement of the last or tenth plague, the immediate miraculous interposition
of God. The commands respecting the indemnification of the Israelites, and
the Passover, as the festival preliminary to their deliverance. The midnight
of terror and of the festival of deliverance. The release and the exodus. The
legal consequences of the liberation : the Passover, the consecration of the
first-born, the feast of unleavened bread. CHAPS. XI. 1— XIII. 16.

A.— ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE LAST PLAGUE.
CHAPTER XI. 1-10.

AND Jehovah said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more [One more
plague will I bring] .upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt ; afterwards he will let you go
hence: when he shall let you go, he shall [will] surely thrust you out hence alto-

2 gether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow [ask] of
his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels [articles] of silver, and

3 jewels [articles] of gold. And Jehovah gave the people favor in the fright of the
Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt,

4 in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses
said, Thus saith Jehovah, About [At] midnight will I go o'it into the midst of

5 Egypt: And all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born
of Pharaoh that sitteth u-xm his throne, even [throne], unto the first-born of the

6 maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts. And there
shall be a great cry throughout [in] all the land of Egypt, such as there was none
like it [the like of which hath not been], nor shall be like it [nor shall be] any

CHAP. XL 1-10.

7 more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move [sharpen]
his tongue, against man or beast ; that ye may know how [know] that Jehovah

8 doth put a difference [doth distinguish] between the Egyptians and Israel. And
all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves [bow
down] unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee : and after
thit I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great [burning] anger.

9 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall [will] not hearken unto you ; that
10 my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. And Moses and Aaron did

all these wonders before Pharaoh; and Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that
he would not [and he did not] let the children of Israel go out of his land.

have preceded the Passover. Also the indefi
nitely protracted expectation of the stroke must
have heightened the fear in Egypt, and made the
stroke the more effectual. At midnight will I
go out. — The servant with his symbolic action
retires; Jehovah will Himself step forth from
His hidden throne, and m irch through the whole
of hostile Egypt in judicial majesty. The judg
ment will be so severe that even Moses with his
rod must reverently retire, all the more, as in
this last scene there is to be made manifest on
Israel's part also a relative complicity in guilt,
which can be expiated only by the blood of the
paschal lamb. Moses must here re ire on ac
count also of the infliction of death on the first
born children of Egypt. — The maid servant
that is behind the mill. — From the king's
son down to the lowest female slave. A still
stronger expression is used for the latter extreme
in xii. 29.* — All the first-born. — The first
born are the natural heads, representatives,
priests, and chief sufferers, of families ; and to
the first-born as priests correspond the first-born
of beasts as offerings (vid. xiii. 2). Here, it is
true, the offering spoken of is the curse-offering,
D^.H. According to Keil, the beasts also are
mentioned because Pharaoh was going to keep
back the men and the cattle of the Israelites.
But this judgment goes so deep that the first
born Israelitish children must likewise be atoned
for ; therefore also faultless lambs must, be of
fered. The first-born among lambs cannot have
been meant.

Ver. 7. Not a dog sharpen his tongue. —
A proverbial expression, signifying that not tho
slightest trouble could be experienced. Hence,
too, not even the cattle of the Jews were to suf
fer the least disturbance (vid. Judith xi. 19).
The proverbial expression may seem strange in
this connection ; but the thought readily occurs,
that the Egyptians, in this great calamity which
they had to experience on accoupt of the Israel
ites, might come against them with revengeful
purpose. But even this will so little be the case
that rather all of Pharaoh's servants will fall at
Moses' feet and beg him to go out together with
his people.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 1. And Jehovah said. — According to
Keil, Jehovah's address to Moses here reported
was made before the interview with Pharaoh re
corded in x. 24-29, but is given here by the nar
rator because it explains Moses' confident answer
in x. 29. But we cannot suppose that Moses
would have preannounced the tenth plague be
fore Pharaoh's obduracy in reference to the ninth
had showed irself. Also, it is clear from ver. 8
that the announcement made in vers. 4-8 imme
diately follows Moses' declaration in x. 29. The
difference between this announcement and the
former ones consists in the fact that this last one
is made immediately after Pharaoh's obdurate
answer. By a sort of attraction other parti -u-
lars are added to this central part of the section :
Vers. 9 and 10 as a recollection which the theo
cratic spirit loves to repeat. Vers. 1-3, how
ever, are put before vers. 4-8, evidently from
pragmatic considerations; in historical order
they form the immediate consequence of what is
there related. Only the matter of the silver and
gold articles seems to have bsjeti often talked of:
the idea is advance,! as e;irly as iii. 21.

Ver. 8. That follow thee.— Here for the
first time the thought a;>pjars, that the people
are to form a military host. — In a burning
anger. — Patience is exhausted, and the prophet's
anger breaking forth is a foretoken of judgment,

Vers. 9, 10. What Jehovah has predicted (iv.
21; vii. 3) has thus far all been fulfilled. The
pause before the last thunder-bolt has inter
vened, and occasions a review.

Vers. 4, 5. At midnight. — The day is not
fixed, only the dreadful hour of the night. Keil
correctly observes, in opposition to Baurngarten,
that the institution of the feast of the Passover
does not come till after the announcement of the
last plague, and in accordance with this direc
tion at least nine* days, according to xii. 3, must

* [Pr >bably a misprint fir '• foil'-,'' i. e., tho four days inter
vening between the 10 li and th < 14th of th < month. Mur-
phv agrees with Baum marten that the midn ght here spoken
of i-< the one following the announcement of the plague,
which, therefore, according 1 1 xii. 6, 29, must have taken
place on the 14fh. This of course requires us to assume that
the injunction of xii. 1-3 preceded this announcement. In
it -self considered, however, there is certainly no more diffi
culty in this than in the view held by Keil respecting xi.
1-3, viz., that chronologically it belongs before x. 24-29. — TH.].

* [Where prisoners are substituted for grinders. But, as
Keil remarks, according to Judg. xvi. 21 ; Isa. xlvii. 2, it
was not uncommon to employ prisoners as grinders. — TR.J.

34 EXODUS.

B.— THE DIVINE ORDINANCE OF THE PASSOVER.
CHAPTER XII. 1-20.

1, 2 AND Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This
month shall be unto you the beginning of months ; it shall be the first month of the

3 year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In [On] the
tenth day of this mouth they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to

4 the house of their fathers [according to households], a lamb for a house : And if
the household be too little for the [a] lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto
his house take it according to the number of the souls ; every man according to his

5 eating, shall [shall ye] make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be [ye
shell have a lamb] without blemish, a male of the first year [one year old] : ye shall

6 take it out [take if] from the sheep, or from the goats. And ye shall keep it up
[keep it] until the fourteenth day of the same [this] month : and the whole assem-

7 bly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take
of the blood, and strike [put] it on the two side-posts and on the upper door-post

8 [the lintel] of the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh
in that night roast [roasted] with fire, and unleavened bread; and [bread]: with

9 bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not [nothing] of it raw, nor sodden at all
[boiled] with water, but roast [roasted] with fire- his [its] head with his [its] legs,

10 and with the purteuance [inwards] thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain
until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye&hallburn

11 with fire. And thus shall ye eat it : with your loins girded, your shoes on your
feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste1: it is the Lord's

12 passover [a passover unto Jehovah]. For [And] I will pass through the land of
Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man
and beast ; and against all the gods of Eirypt I will execute judgment : I am Je-

13 hovah. And the blood shall be to you for a token [sign] upon the houses where
ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be
upon you to destroy you [there shall be no destroying plague upon you], when I

14 smite the lani of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye
shall keep [celebrate] it a feast to Jehovah ; throughout your generations ye shall
keep it a feast by an ordinance forever [celebrate it as a perpetual ordinance].

15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread ; even [yea, on] the first day ye shall
put away leaven out of your houses ; for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the

16 first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the
first day there shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be a
holy convocation to T-OU [on the first day ye shall have a holy convocation, and on
the seventh day a holy convocation] ; no manner of work [no work] shall be done
in them ; save [only] that which every man mast eat [is eaten by every man], thar,

17 only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread;
for in [on] this self-same day have I brought your armies [hosts] out of the land
of Egypt; therefore shall ye [and ye shall] observe this day in [throughout] your

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 11. pT2n3- Lango translates: in Flucht-bereitschaft, " in readiness for flight," condemning De Wette's render
ing, Eilffrtigkeit, " baste," " precipitation." But in the only othor two passages where the word occurs, Lingo's transla
tion is hardly admissible. Dcut. xvi. 3, t; Thou earnest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste, p'fDn3-" It could not be

said, " Thou earnest forth in readiness for flight." So Isa. lii. 12, " Ye shall not go out with haste (p?3n3), nor go by

I T * ;
flight." Uere the word also denotes anxious haste. The verb TDH likewise everywhere conveys the notion of hurried

nos', or anxiety connected with haste. — Tn.].

CHAP. XII. 1-20.

18 generations by [as] an ordinance forever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day
of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth

19 day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your
houses : for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even [leavened], that soul
shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger [sojourner]

20 or born in the land. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall
ye eat unleavened bread.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 1 sqq. Institution of the Passover. As
Christendom reckons its years according to- the
salvation in. Christ, so the Israelites were to
reckon the months of the year from the first
month of their redemption. The first month,
in which the redemption took place, Abib (month
of green ears) or Nisan, was to become the first
month of their year. Hereby likewise the feast
of the Passover was to be made the foundation
of all the Jewish feasts, and the Passover sacri
fice the foun lation of all the various kinds of
offering. The feast, however, becomes a double
one. The Passover, as the feast of redemption,
lasis, together with the day of preparation, only
one night ; the feast of unleavened bread (including
the Passover) seven days. Since the feast of
the great day of atonement also coalesces with
the feast of tabernacles which follows close upon
it, it wouM seem that the feast of Pentecost, aUo,
as the feast of ingathering, requires to be cou
pled with something. The -institution of the
least of the Passover, connected with the an
nouncement of the destruction of the first-born
of Egypt, is narrated in vers. 1—14; in 15—20
the institution of the feast of unleavened bread
The two feasts, however, are so thoroughly
blended into one, that the whole feast may
be called either the Passover, or the feast
of unleavened bread. The festival as a whole
signifies separation from the corruption of
Egypt, this being a symbol of the corruption
of the world. Tne foundation of the whole con
sists in the divine act of redemption celebrated
by the Passover. The result consists in the act
of the Israelites, the removal of the leaven,
which denotes community wLh Egyptian princi
ples ( Vid. Comm. on Matthew, pp. 245, 289).
We have here, therefore, a typical purification
based on a typical redemption.

Vers. 1, 2. In the land of Egypt. — It is a
mark of the dominion of Jehovah in the midst
of His enemies, that He established the Jewish
community in the land of Fgypt, as also the
Christian community in the midst of Judaism,
and the Evangelical community under the domi
nion of the Papacy. To the triumphant assu
rance in regard to the place corresponds the
triumphant assurance in regard to the time:
the Passover, as a typical festival of redemption,
was celebrated before the typical redemption
itself; the Lord's Supper before the real redemp
tion; and in the constant, repetition of its cele
bration it points forward to the final redemption
which is to take place when the Lord comes.
Keil calls attention to this legislation in the land
ot' Egypt, as the first, in distinction from the
legisla'ion on Mt. Sinai and the fields of Aloab.

— The beginning of months. — It does not
definitely follow from this ordinance that the
Jews before had a different beginning of the
year; but this is probable, inasmuch as the
Egyptians had a different one. Vid. Keil, Vol.
11.. p. 10. Nisan nearly corresponds to our
April.

Ver. 3. Unto all the congregation of
Israel. — As heretofore, through the elders. —
A lamb. — A lamb or kid. — According to
households. — The companies were not to be
formed arbitrarily, but were to be formed ac
cording to families. Vid. ver. 21. — On the
tenth day of this month. — Vid. ver. 6.

Ver. 4. Of course more than two families
might unite, if some of them were childless.
Also perhaps the gaps in smaller families might
be filled by members from excessively large
ones. Later tradition fixed upon ten as the nor
mal number of participants.

Ver. 5. Quality of the lamb : without blemish,
male, one year old. For divergent opinions,
see Keil, Vol. IT, p. 11.* That the lamb, as
free from blemish, was designed to represent
the moral integrity of the offerer (Keil), is a
very doubtful proposition, since moral integrity
needs no expiatory blood ; it might, with more
propriety, be taken to represent theocratic in
tegrity. Also the requirement that the lamb be
a male can hardly [as Keil assumes] have ex
clusive reference to the first-born sons [for
whom the lambs were substituted]. The re
quirement of one year as the age probably is
connected with the necessity that the lamb be
weaned; furthermore, it was for a meal wh'ch
was to suffice for an ordinary family. The first
born of beasts which were sacrificed on other
occasions than at the Passover needed unly to

* [The age of the lamb is expressed in He'.rew by the
phrase: " sou of a year." The Rabbinical interpretation is
that this mean* a year old or le.ss. and in practice it has
been applied t > lamr>s from the age of eight (lay* to that of
one year. Apparently our translators bad that interpreta
tion in mind in rendering: "of the first year." But not
withstanding the wide currency of this view (adapted even
by Rosenmiiller, B inmg.irteu, Murphy and other modern
connne .tators), it seems to le almo-t stupidly incorrect, as
Rnobel very clearly shows. Murphy says: "The phrase
'son of a year' me i ns of any age fr.-m a moutu to a full
year." and refers to Gen. vii. f>, 11. Hut why '' from a
month?" Wny not " eight days" as w^ll? Why not one
day, or one second, from the time of birth? Isaac, we are
told in Gen. xxi 4, was ci'cumcised wluMi he was the "son
of night days." How old xva-, h-? In Lev. xxvii. 6 w*
read: "If it be fro -i the S.HI of a iiumth unto the son of five
years," where the A. V. reads correctly "a month old," a-id
'• five years old." It would be a singular w»y of fixing two
limits, it both expressions are so indeterminate as the R»b-
bini al inti-rpretat on wo-ild m*ke r>em. If the "son of a
year" may lei as young as eight days, and the ''son or a
month " may h* t w nty-nine days ol«', what is the use of tho
phrase " son of a month " at all? Or what is the sen«e of
using the latter phrase as the ear y limit? Why not say
simply: " It' it be the sou of n*e years?" which, according
to tlie Rabbinical interpretation, ought to cover the whole
period.— TR.]

EXODUS.

be eight days old. As the lamb was of more
value than the kid, it is natural that for this
occasion it became more and more predomi
nantly used.

Vcr. 0. Ye shall keep it. — Does this mean
simply: ye shall keep it in storo ? Probably it
is intimated that the lamb was designed either
to represent the persons, or to be held in cu-tody
for them. Why did this keeping of the animal
last from the 10th to the 14th of Nissin ? " Which
regulation, however, Jonathan and llaschi re
garded as applicable only to the passover slain
in tigypt" (Keil). According to Hofmann, the
lour days retVr to the four generations fpent by
the Israelites in Egypt. In that case the whole
analogy would lie in the number four. If the
10th day of Nisan was near the day of the com
mand, and Moses foresaw that the last plague
would not cume till after four days, it was natu
ral for him nut to leave so important a prepara
tion to the last day; the four days, moreover,
were by the ordinance itself devoted entirely to
wholesome suspense and preparation ; in ano
ther form Fagius refers to this when he says: " ut
occasionem hab-rent inter se colloquf'ndi el dispu-
tamli" etc. Vid. Keil. — The whole assem
bly of the congregation of Israel. — Although
every head of a family killed his lamb, yet the
individual acts were a common act of the people
in the view of the author of the rite. Israel
was the household enlarged ; the separate house
hold was the community in miniature. Hence
later the lambs were slain in the court. — In
the evening (literally ''between the two eve
nings"). Tins regulation, which distinguishes
two ^veilings in one day, is explained in three
ways: (1) between sunset and dark ( \hen-Ezra,
the Karaites and Samaritans, Keil and others) ;
('!) just be.'ore and just after sunset (Kiinchi,
Rascbi, Ilitzig) ; (3) between the decline of the
day and sunset (Jo.sephus, the Mishna, and the
practice of the Jews). Without doubt this is
the correct explanation ; in favor of it may be ad
duced xvi. 12; Dent. xvi. 6; Johaxiii. 2. Accord
ing to this passage, preparation for the Passover
was begun, before the sun was fully set. Consi
derable time was needed for the removal of the
leaven and the killing of the lamb. According
to the Jewish conception of the day as reckoned
from 6 A. M. to 6 P. M., there was in fact a
double evening: first, the decline of the day of
twelve hours: secondly, the night-time, begin
ning at 6 P. M., which, according to Gen. i. 5
and Matt, xxviii. 1, was always evening in the
wider sense — the evening of the day of twenty-
four hours — whijh preceded the morning, the
day in the narrower sense.*

* [Gitisbiirtf in Alexander's Kitto's Cyclopaedia. Art. Pass
over, his shown tint the second <>f the thr e views al.out
'•th"t\vo evenings" was not held hv Kirachi and Raschi
(otherwise called .Tarchi), but tliar, they agreed with the
tcroit utiioiof J^wi'h commentators in adopting the third
vi'-w. Tie p ' ' rase itself is so vague that from it alone the
71 e^niiii: c.nn t with certainty he gathered. Most mo lern
Christian commentators, it should i e said, adopt the fi at
view. I>eur. xvi. 6, where the time for sacrificing the P.is-
sovt-r is hxed "at Me going down i.f the sun." i* quot d as
f'vuring that view, while Lange quotas it on the other side.
Whatever m ,y h >ve been the exact meaning of the ph-as*
originally, it is probable tliat the very early Jewish practice
corresponded with the II ibliini al interpretation. The trans
actions recorded in I Kings xviii. indicate this. There we
read (ver. 26j that the prophets of Baal called on Baal from

Ver. 7. Take of the blood. — The two door
posts, as well as the hntel of the door, denote
the whole door; the threshold is excepted be
cause the atoning blood should not be trodden
underfoot. "The door," says Keil, "through
which one goes into the house, stands for the
house it elf; as is shown by the frequent ex
pression : 'in iliy g'lteV for 'in thy cities,' cii.
xx. 10, etc." It is here assumed that every
house or tent had a door properly so calUd.
" Expiation was made for the house, and it wa.>
consecrated as an altar" (Keil;. This is a con
fused conception. It was tho household that was
atoned for; the building did thus indeed be
come a sort of sanctuary; but in what sense
was it to ho an altar? For here all kinds of
offerings were united in one central offering:
the Df)n, or the slaughter of the Egyptian fiist-
born ; the expiatory offering, or the blood sprin
kled by the hyssop-branch on the door-posts
(Lev. xiv. 49; Num. xix. 18), which, therefore,
as such represent the several parts of the altar ;
the thank-offering, or the Passover-meal; the
burnt-offering, or the burning of the parts left
over. Because the door-po.-ts themselves stand
for the altar, the smearing of them was after
wards given up, and, instead, the lamb was
killed in tue court; and this change must have
been made as soon as there was a court.

Ver. 8. On that night.— The one following
the 14th of Nisan. Why only on the fame night?
Otherwise it would not have been a festive meal.
Why roasted? The fire (itself symbolically sig
nificant) concentrates the strength of the meat;
by boiling a part of it passes into the water.
The unleavened bread has a two-fold significance.
When eaten at the Pas=over, it denotes separa
tion from the leaveu of Egypt (Mutt. xvi. (i, 12;
2 Cor. v. 8) ; as a feast by itself, the feast of
unleavened bread, called bread of affliction,
denotes remembrance of the afflictions which
were connected with the flight from Egypt
(Deut. xvi. 3). Thia is overlooked, when it is
inferred f i om ver. 17 that the ordinance of the
feast of unleavened bread was made at a later
time (as Ke 1 doe-, 11., p. 20). — With bitter
herbs. — D'^^D, -tKpifc? (LXX.), lactucse iiyrestes
(Vulg.), the wild lettuce, tho endive, etc. Vid.
Keil II., p. 15, Knobel, p. 91). " According to
Russell,' says Knobel, "there are endives in
Syria from the beginning of the winter months
to the end of March; then conies lettuce in
April and May." According to Keil, "the bit
ter herbs are not called accompaniments of the
meal, but ar.e represented as ihe p-incipal part
of the meal, here and in Num. ix. 11." P'or

morning till noon, and afterwards (ver. 29) from mid-day
" un il the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice''
(more exactly, "until t >warls the time "). According to
Kx. xxix. 39 the evening sacrifice also was offered "between
the two evening-*." If the meaning were "from mi d-d y nil
inset." tuere would seem to t>e uo teas -n why it should not
have been so expressed. Besides, it i-< intrinsically irnproh.i-
that the bowlings of the false prophets continu d ihrouiih
the whole day. Especially is it difficult, if not im i.ss Me,
to find lime enough in the evening of that day fo the events
which are narrated to have followed, viz. Elijah'-* prayer,
the consumption of the burnt-offering, the slaying of tii •
false prophets, the r turn from the Kishon, the prayer f< r
rain, the nervant's going seven times to look, Elijah'^ goii.g
to Jezreel. — TR.]

CHAP. XII. 1-20.

S#, he says, does not mean almg with, together
with, bui retains its fundamental meaning, upon,
ovtr. In tins way the following strange sym
bolic meaning is deduced: "The bitter herbs
are to call to mind the bitterness of life ex
perienced by Israel in Egypt, and this bitterness
is to be overcome by the sweet flesh of the lamb."
If only the bitter herbs did not taste pleasant!
If only the lamb did not, form a meal of thank-
off -ring, and in this meal were not the chief
filing! M*ay not the lamb, according to the
usual custom, have lain upon a setting of bitter
herbs? In the pass.ige before us only the U'i-
leavened bread is said to be put upon the bi'ter
herbs. The modification of the arrangement in
Num. ix. 11 is unimportant. It is a strange
noiioii that the bitter herbs and the sweet bread
rortned ' the basis of the Passover-meal " (Keil).
In that case the ',' sweet" bread ought to have
male the "sweet" flesh of the lamb superfluous.
Moreover, the opposite of sweet is not bitter,
>>ut sour. According to Knobel, the bitter herbs
correspond to the frankincense which used to
accompany many offerings of grain, inasmuch
as <h^y had, for the most part, a pleasant odor.
But frankincense has a special reference to
pr.iyer. If the bitter herbs are to be interpreted
as symbolic, we may understand that they sup
plement the negative significance of the unlea
vened bread by something positive, as being
health-giving, vitalizing, consecratory herbs.

Ver. 9. Its head with its legs. [" From
the head to the thighs," is Lange's translation.]
"I.e., as Rase li correctly explains, whole, not
cut in pieces, so that the head and legs are not
separated from the animal, no bone of him is
broken (ver. 4ti), and the inward parts together
with the (nobler?) entrails these of course first
cleansed, are roasted in and with the body."*
The. unity of the lamb was to remain intact; on
which point c >mp. B'ahr, Symbolik des Mosaischen
Cultns II., p. 635, Keil, and others.f The sym
bolic significance of the lamb thus tended to
wards the notion of personality and inviolability,
thai on which rested also the fact and continu
ance of the unity of the family which partook of it.

Ver. 10. Let nothing of it remain. " But
what nevertheless does remain till morning is to
be burnt with fire" (Keil). But was any of it
allowed to remain till morning? Vid. rny hy
pothesis, Life of Christ, Vol. IV., p. 262.J

Ver. 11. And thus. The preparation for the
journey is here at once real and symbolic. The
readiness to start is expressed by three marks: the
loins girded (tucked up) ; the travelling shoes on
the feet; the walking-stick in the hand. That even
the 0. T. ritual was no rigid ordinance is proved

* [This sentence is marked as a quotation by Lange, but
the source, as very often in the German original, is not indi
cated ; and in this case I have not been able to tra e it
out— Tii.J.

f [B'ilir, ?. c. say* on this point : " This had no other o> je< t
than that all who received a part of that one intact lamb,
t. «., who at- of it, should regard themselves as a unit a-id a
whole, as a community, just like 'hose who eit the New Tes
tament Pa-sover, the body of Christ (1 Cor. v. 7), of whi< h
the Apo-irle, in 1 Cor. x. 17, siys, 'For we being many are
one bread and one body; for we are all partakers of that one
brPal.' '— TK.I.

J [The hyiiothe-iis is that the remains of the paschal lamb,
if there were any, were burnt up the same night, and there-
for-- w TO not allown-i to remain tdl the next day. But this
8 j«u»a t J conflict with the plai i language of the verse. — TR.].

by the remarkable fact that at the time of Christ
they ate the passover lying on couches. — In
haste. [•' In readiness for flight," Lange.] A
meal could hardly have been taken in "anxious
flight " ( Keil), or in "anxious haste " (Knobel).*
—It is Jehovah's Passover. Not the Pass
over unto Jehovah, as Keil takes it, referring to
xx. 10, xxxii. 5. For the Passover designates
Jehovah's own going through, going by, passing
over (sparing), as symbolically represented and
appropriated by the Passover festival. The feast,
it is true, is celebrated to Jehovah ; but it cele
brates Jehovah's act, and in the place where the
rite is first instituted, it cannot appear as al
ready instituted.f The LXX. say: Trdaxa earl
Kvpitf). The Vulg. ^ est enim Phase (id est tran-
situs) domini. On the meaning of J1D3 vid. the
lexicons and Keil II., p. 17. The pesach is pri
marily the divine act of "passing over;" next
the lamh with the killing of which this exemp
tion is connected; finally, the whole eight days'
festival, including that of unleavened bread
( Deut. xvi 1-6), as, on the other hand, the latter
feast al<o included that of the Passover. That
this first Passover was really a sacrificial feast,
Keil proves, in opposition to Hofmaun, II., p. 17.
Coinp. Hofmann's Schriftbeweis II., p. 271. J

Vers. 1-, 13. Explanation of the Passover.
And I. The counterpart and prototype of the
Passover festival are historic facts. First, Jeho
vah, as judge, passes through all Egypt. Se
condly, He visits upon the young life in the
land a plague whose miraculousness consists
especially in the fact that the first-born fall, the

* [Why not in "anxious haste?" A man can surely eat
in haste as well as do an\ thing else in haste. That there
WHS to be a " readiness f>r flight " ia sufficiently indicated
by the piece-. t concerning the girdles, sandals, and staves.
Vid. unler ''Textual and Grammatical."— Ta.J.

f[\Ve have let the A. V. reading stand; nevertheless it
is by no me ins so clear that Keil is not right. He certainly
is supported not only by many ft' the best versions an-i
commentator-*, but by th • Hebrew, which literally rendered
ran re id only, '-I- is a Passover to Jehovah," or " It is-a
Passovir of Jehovah.' The latter differs from Lange' in
translation as making " Passover" indefinite, whereas "Je
hovah's Passover" is equivalent t" '•'•the Passover of Jeho
vah." Furthermore, tin- Mibject of the sentence naturally,
if n -t necessarily, reft-rs to \\ielumh; but the lamb cannot
tie called J. hovah's pnf-sing over. The last point made in
opposition to Ked is not just, inasmuch as Keil does not
render (as Lange makes him) " the Passover unto Jenovah,1'
but distinctly leaves tha noun indefinite, so that there
is no implicition that it was an already existent institu
tion.— TR ].

J [Hofmanu takes rUT in x«- 27 in the general sense of

iltnghter, instead of the ceremonial sense of sacrifice, and
argu-s that, as the lamb was killed in order to be eaten, it
was in no proper sense an offering to Jehovah, although ihe
kill inn and eating of it was divinely commanded. He dis-
t nguishea also between the original ordinance and the later
celebration of it. Keil, on the contrary, lays stress on the
fact that nHf and HDT everywhere, except Prov. xvii. 1,

~ T — '.'

and 1 Sam. xxviii. 24, denote sacrifice in the narrow ceremo
nial sense, and that the Passover in Num. ix. 7 is called
|2^pi offering. Knobel likewise says, " Without doubt the

Passover was a sort of offering." But he contends that it
waa not (as Keil and others hold) a sin-offering, for the rea
sons: (1) that the O. T. gives no indication of such a charac
ter; (2) tha the mode of observing the rite differed from
that belonging to the sin-offering, particularly in that the
lamb was eaten, whereas none of the animal constituting
the sin-offering was e.tten ; and (3) that it was a joyous fe^
tival, whereas everything connected with the Bin-offering
was solemn. He classes it, therefore, rather with the burnt-
offering But the latt-r was not eaten, and had (though not
exclusively, yet partially) an expiatory character. Vid.
Lev. i. 4.— TR J.

EXODUS.

infliction beginning with the house of Pharaoh.
The result is that all the gods of Egypt are judged
by Jehovah. What does that meau ? Keil says :
the gods of Egypt were spiritual powers, 6ai/j.6vta.
Pseudo-Jonathan : idols. Kuobel compares Num.
xxxiii. 4, and says: "We are to think espe
cially of the death of the first-born beasts, since
the Egyptians worshipped beasts as gods," (!)etc.
The essential thing in the subjective notion of gods
are the religious conceptions and traditions of
the heathen, in so far as they, as real powers,
inhere in national ideals and sympathies. Le
gends in point, vid. in Kuobel, p. luO. Thirdly,
Jehovah spares the first-boru of the Israelites. —
The blood shall be to you for a sign. The
expression is of psychological importance, even
for the notion of atonement. It does not read:
it shall be to me for a sign. The Israelites were
to have in the blood the sacramental sign that
by the offering of blood the guilt of Israel in
connection with Egypt was expiated, in that
Jehovah had seen the same blood. This look
ing on the blood which warded off the pestilence
reminds us of the looking up to the brazen ser
pent, and of the believer's contemplation of the
perfect atonement on the cross. Keil says, " In
the meal the sacrificium becomes a sacramentum."

Ver. 14. The solemn sanction of the Passover.
— As an ordinance for ever. The institution
of the Passover continues still in its completed
form in the new institution of the Lord's Supper.

Ver. 15. The solemn institution of the seven
days' feast of unleavened bread. It was con
temporaneous with the Passover ; not afterwards
appended to it, for this is not implied by ver. 17.
(See above on ver. 8). The real motive was the
uniform removal of the Egyptian leaven, a sym
bol of entire separation from everything Egyp
tian. Hence the clearing away of the leaven
had to be done on the first day, even before the
incoming of the 15th of Nisan, on the evening of
the 14th. Vid. ver. 18. Hence also every one
who during this time ate anything leavened was
to be punished with death. He showed symboli
cally that he wished to side with Egypt, not j
with Israel. The explanation, " The unleavened j
bread is the symbol of the new life, cleansed
from the leaven of sin," (Keil), is founded on j
the fundamentally false assumption, revived |
again especially by Hengstenberg, that the |

leaven is in itself a symbol of the sinful life. If
this were the case, the Israelites would have
had to eat unleavened bread all the time, and
certainly would not have been commanded on
the day cf Pentecost to put leavened bread on
the altar (Lev. xxiii. 17). The leaven is symbol
only of transmission and fellowship, hence, in
some cases, of the old or of the corrupt life.
" Leaven of the Egyptian character," says Keil
himself, II., p. 21.

Ver. 16. On the first day. This- is the day
following the holy night, the second half of the
15th of Nisan. Like the seventh day it is ap
pointed a festival, but to be observed less rigidly
than the Sabbath. According to Lev. xxiii. 7,
the only employments forbidden are the regular
labors of one's vocation or service, and food may
be prepared according to the necessities of the
day; this was not allowed on the Sabbath.

Ver. 17. For on this self-same day. Strictly
speaking then, the days of unleavened bread
began with the beginning of the 15th of Nisan,
and in commemoration of the exodus itself,
whereas the Passover was devoted to the com
memoration of the preceding dreadful night of
judgment and deliverance, the real adoption or
birth of God's people Israel.

Ver. 18. On the fourteenth day of the
month. This is the feast of unleavened bread
in the wider sense, including the Passover. The
Passover, according to the very idea of it, could
not be celebrated with leavened bread, i. e., in
connection with anything Egyptian, for it repre
sented a separation, in principle, from what was
Egyptian.

Ver. 19. Also the foreigner, who wishes to
live among the Israelites, must submit to this ordi
nance, even though he has continued to be a fo
reigner, i. e., has not been circumcised. The one
born in the land is the Israelite himself, so called
either in anticipation of his destined place of
settlement, or in the wider sense of nationality.
Keil approves Leclerc's interpretation : quia
oriundi erant ex Isaaco et Jacobo, [" because they
were to take their origin from Isaac and Jacob."]

Ver. 20. Eat nothing leavened. Again
and again is this most sacred symbolic ceremony
enjoined, for it symbolizes the consecration
of God's people, a consecration based on their
redemption.

C.— THE INSTITUTION OF THE FIRST PASSOVER. THE LAST PLAGUE.
LEASE AND THE PREPARATION FOR DEPARTURE.

THE RE-

CHAPTER XII. 21-3G.

21 Then [And] Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw
[Go] out,1 and take you a lamb [take you lambs] according to your families, and

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 21. "Draw out," as the rendering of Ot^ID, is acquiesced in by Lange, De Wette, Wordsworth, Murphy, and

Canon Cook fin the Speaker's Commentary), and is defended by Kali-ch and Bush. The latter, in a not* on Juris, iv. 0,
> that TJtfJS never means "to approach." Ho assigns to it there the meaning "to draft," or "enlist," sc. soldiers for

his army— a meaning which certainly is no where else (therefore not "frequently," as Bush says) to be found. That

CHAP. XII. 21-36.

22 kill the passover. And ye shall [And] take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the
blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts [two posts]
with the blood that is in the basin ; and none of you shall go out at the door of his

23 house until the morning. For [And] Jehovah will pass through to smite the
Egyptians ; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts
[two posts], Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to

24 come in unto [come into] your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing

25 for [as] an ordinance to [for] thee and to [for] thy sons for ever. And it shall
come to pass, when ye be [are] come to the land which Jehovah will give you, ac-

2fi cording as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to

27 pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That
ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of Jehovah's passover [the passover of Jehovah], who
passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the
Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head [bowed

28 down] and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away [went], and did

29 [did so;] as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it
came to pass that at midnight [at midnight that] Jehovah smote all the
first-born in the laud of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat
on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon ;

30 and all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and
all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt;

31 for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses
and Aaron by night, and said Rise up, and get you forth from among my people,

32 b >th ye and the children of Israel ; and go, serve Jehovah, as ye have said. Also
take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone ; and bless me also.

33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out

34 of the land in haste ; for they said, We be [are] all dead men. And the people
took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in

35 their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the
word of Moses ; and they borrowed [asked] of the Egyptians jewels [articles] of

36 silver, and jewels [articles] of gold, and raiment. And Jehovah gave the people fa
vor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that [and] they lent unto them such things as
they required [they gave unto them] : and they spoiled [despoiled] the Egyptians.

may In used intransitively. Bush does not deny ; and indeed in Judg. xx. 37 he himself follows the rendering "drow them
selves aim <r," and expla ns it as de-criptivo of a ma*s ot men "stretching themselves out in a 1 >ng tram and rapidly
iiriins; their way to the city." This certainly is not far f om the moaning which he denies to the word. What significance
could b<( attached to the phrase "draw out," as here used of the paschal lamb, is uot clear. Nc.t "draw out," in the sense
of "pull out," — a meaning which the word has in such cases as that of Jeremiah, who was drawn up with cords out of the
dungeon, Jer. xxxviii. 13. Not "draw out" in the sense of "draw by lot;'' for th« word no where has this meaning, and
the lambs were not drawn by lot. It could mean only "take" — a meaning which, thoueh assigned to it here by Kalisch,
the word no where else has, and which, it it had it, would be the same, as that of the following word. There is therefore
little doiil)'. that we arc to understand the word, with the LXX., Vulg., Gesenius, Furst, Bunsen, Arnheim, Alford, Keil,
Knobel, and others, as used intransitively. — TR.]

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The narrative evidently transports us to the
14th day of Nisan, the days of preparation being
passed over.

Ver. 21. For this reason we do not translate
Ol^tt intransitively, "go hence," etc. The pas
chal lambs have been for four days in a special
enclosure; now they are to be drawn out, seized
and slaughtered. Hence also the injunction pro
ceeds at once to the further directions concern
ing the transaction.

Ver. 22. A bunch of hyssop. — A handful,
says Maimonides. Hyssop "designates proba
bly not the plant which we call hyssop, not the
hyssopus officinal™, it being doubtful whether this
is found in Syria and Arabia (vid. Ritter, Erd-
kunde, XVII., p. 680), but a species of the origa
num similar to the hyssop" (Keil). — That is in
the basin — i. e.t in which the blood was caught.

None of you shall go out. — They are pro
tected only in the house, behind the propitiatory
blood.
Ver. 23. The destroyer to come in. —

Cnmp. the bhodpevuv of Heb. xi. 28 with 2 Sam.
xxiv. 16; Isa. xxxvii. 36. So Keil and others,
whereas Knobel and others take JVnCJ>p as ab-

strn,ci=dcs/ri(ctwn. Knobel's reasons (p. 105)
are easily refuted ; e.g., though Jehovah Him
self goes through Egypt, yet it does not thence
follow that He might not make use of an angel
of judgment in the judicial inflictions (to be un- '
derstood symbolically, vid. Ps. Ixxviii. 49); Ho
Himself, however, distinguishes between His peo
ple and the Egyptians.

Vers. 21-26. The establishment of the Passover
festival is again enjoined, and at the same time
there is connected with it an injunction to in
struct children concerning it. The Israelitish
child will not unthinkingly practice a dead wor
ship; he will ask: What does it mean? And the

EXODUS.

Israeli tish fa* hers must not suppress the ques
tions of the growing mind, but answer them, and
thus begin the spiritualizing of the paschal rite.

Vrr. 27. "Worshipped. — Expression of faith,
allegiance, joy, and gratitude.

Ver. 28. Brief reference to the festive meal
of faith in contrast with the dreadful judgment
now beginning. At midnight. — According to
Keil, we have no occasion here to look for any
nat'iral force as underlying the punishment, but
to regard it as a purely supernatural operation
of divine omnipotence, inasmuch as here the
pestilence is not named, as in 2 Sam. xxiv. 15.
Also (he says) Jehovah administers the last
plague without Moses' mediation. But here too
Moses' prophetic prediction has a place; and
also the teleological design of the facts. And
this was the main feature of all these punitive
miracles, provided we do not conceive Moses'
rod as having i'self wrought them. According
to Knobel, the miracle consisted in the pestilence
"which from the oldest, time to the present day
has had its chief seat in Egypt.'' He gives a
series of examples, p. 106. Also statements con
cerning the season in which the pestilence is ac-
cmtomed to appear in Egypt : December, Febru
ary, March. u It is most destructive from March
to May." "Q'lite in accordance with the facts,
the series of plagues ends with the pe-tilence,
which generally lasts till the Nile inundation."
"The pestilence spares many region-", e.g., the
deserts (Prunor. p. 41'.))." On the death of the
cattle: "According to Hartmann (Erdbexchreibun;)
von Afrika, I., p. 08), the dogs in Cairo almost
constantly have the pestilence; and when it
rages among thorn, it ceases to prevail among
men." Accord'ng to Knobel, the occurrence
was expanded by legendary tradition into a mi
racle. But miraculous are: (1) The prediction of
the fact, its object, and its results; (2) the sud
den spread of the plague over the younger gene
ration, the first-born, especially the first-born
of the kins, being singled out; (3) the fact that
both beasts and men suffered; (4) the liberation
of Israel. That the religious expression of this
great event has its peculiarity, that it makes ge
neralizations, and leaves out subordinate fea
tures in accordance with its idealizing tendency
and symbolic design — on this point one must
shape his views by means of a thorough herme-
neutical apprehension of thereligious style. Even
Keil cannot quite adopt the assumption of Cor
nelius a Lapide, that in many housos grandfa
thers, fathers, sons, and wives, in case they were
all first-born, were killed. But literally under
stood, the narrative warrants this. But the per
fect realization of the object aimed at lifts the
event above the character of a legend.

Vers. 30, 31. The great lamentation which in
the night of terror resounds through Egypt be
comes the immediate motive for releasing Israel.
And he called for Moses. — We need not, with
Calvin, lay any stress on the fact that Pharaoh,
x. 28, had commanded the men not to show them
selves agam to him, as if a humiliating incon
sistency of the tyrant with himself were not cha
racteristic, aud as if in the history of despotism
it were not a frequent feature. This crushing
humiliation Pharaoh could not escape. Moses
and Aaron had to receive the permission from
his own mouth. And we cannot call it mere
permission. He drives him out by a mandate
which b'.'ars unmistakable marks of excitement.
Serve Jehovah, as ye have said. — These
words involve the promise of complete libera
tion, and at the same time the intention to re
quire the Israelites to return. As ye have
said — he repeats — and finally he even begs for
their intercession: "bless me also." According
to Keil, every thing, even the request for their
blessing, looks to a manifest and quite uncondi
tional dismissal and emancipation. But this
thought is expressed more positively in the be
havior of the Egyptians, who were the most ter
rified."

Ver. 33. At all events the Israelites had a
right to understand the disnrssion as an eman
cipation, although formally this )u;ht was not
complete until Pharaoh hostilely pursued them.
Keil refers to xiv. 4. 5. The report brought to
the king, that the people had fled, seems, how
ever, to imply that in the mind of the Egyptians
there had been no thought of unconditional
emancipation, but only of an unconditional fur
lough. And when Pharaoh was disposed vio
lently to take back even this promise, that, was a
new instance of hardness of heart, the last and
the fatal one. We are all dead men : as it
were, already dead. Expression of the greatest
consternation.

Ver. 34. And the people took their
dough, before it was leavened. That is (ac
cording to Keil): "The Israelites intended to
leaven the dough, because the command to eat
unleavened bread for seven days had not yet
been made known to them." But the text evi
dently means to say just the opposite of this:
they carried, in accordance with the command,
dough which was entirely free from leaven.
They had already put enough for seven days
into the baking-pans, and carried these on their
shoulders, wrapped up in their outer garments,
or rather in wrapping cloths, such as might be
used for mantles or wallets.

Vers. 35, 36. Vid. iii. 21 and Comm. on Gene
sis, p. 83.

D.— THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT. LEGAL ENACTMENTS CONSEQUENT ON LIBERATION.

CHAPTER XII. 37— XIII. 16.

37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six huri-

38 dred thousand on foot, that were men [the men] beside [besides] children. Ai:d
mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very II.ULJ

CHAP. XII. 37— XIII. 16. 41

39 cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth
out of Egypt, for it was not leaveued; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and

40 could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual. Now the
s ijju ruing [duelling, i. e. time of dwelling] of the children of Israel, who dwelt

41 [which they dwelt] in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to
pass at the end of the [end of] four Hundred and thirty years, even [on] the self
same day it came to pass, that all the hosts of Jehovah went out from the laud of

42 Egypt. It is a night to be much observed [of solemnities] unto Jehovah for bring
ing them o it fro u the land of Egypt: this is that night of Jehovah to be observed
of [night of solemnities unto Jehovah for] all the children of Israel in [through-

43 out] their generations. And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the

44 ordinance of the Passover : There shall no stranger [foreigner] eat thereof: But
every man's servant [every servant] that is bought for money, when thou hast cir-

4") cumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. A foreigner [stranger] aud an [a] hired

46 servant shall not eat thereof. In one house shall it be eaten ; thou shalt not carrv

forth aught of the fle^h abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a b >ne

47, 48 thereof. All the congregation of Isriel shall keep [sacrifice] it. And when a

stranger [sojourner] shall sojourn with thee and will keep the [sacrifice a] passover

to Jehovah, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and

keep [sacrifice] it: and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for [but] no

49 uneircumcised person shall eat thereof. One law shall be to [shall there be for] him

50 that is home-born, and unto [for] the stranger that sojourneth among you. Thus
did all the children of Israel] ; as Jehovah commanded Moses, so did they.

51 And it carne to pass the self-same day, that Jehovah did bring the children of
Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies [according to their hosts].

CHIP. XIII. 1, 2 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the
[every] first-born, whatsoever opeueth the [any] womb among the children of

3 Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. And Moses said unto the people,
Rsmember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage :
for by strength of hand Jehovah brought you out from this place [thence]: there

4 shall no leaven 3d bread be eaten. This day came [come] ye out in the month

5 Abib. And it shall be, when Jehovah shall bring thee into the laud of the Ca-
naanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites,-
which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey,

6 that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days thou shalt eat unlea-

7 veiled bread ; aud in the seventh day shall be a feast to Jehovah. Unleavened
bread shall be eaten seven [the seven] days ; and there shall no leavened bread be
seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters

8 [borders]. Aud thou shalt show [tell] thy son in that day, saying, This is done
[It is] because of that which Jehovah did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.

9 Aud it shall be for n sign unto thee upon thine [thy] hand, and for a memorial
between thine eyes, that Jehovah's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong

10 hand hath Jehovah brought thee out of Eaypt. Thou shalt therefore [Ai d thou

11 shalt] k^ep this ordinance in his [its] season from year to year. And it sluill be,
when Jehovah shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto

12 thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee. That thou shalt set apart unto Jeho
vah all that openeth the matrix [womb], and every firstling that cometh [every
first-born] of a beast [of beasts] which thou hast; the males shall bo Jehovah's.

13 And every firstling [first-born] of an ass thou shalt redetm with a lamb; and if
thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck : and all the first-born of

14 man among thy children shalt thou redeem. And it shall be, when thy son asketh
thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou f-halt say unto him, By
strength ofhand Jehovah brought us out from Egvpt, from the house of bondage:

15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that Jehovah slew all
the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man a» d the first-born of
beast: therefore I sacrifice to Jehovah all that openeth the matrix [wombl, being

16 [the] males; but all the first-born of my children I redeem. And it shall be for
a token upon thine [thy] hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes ; for by strength
of hand Jehovah brought us forth out of Egypt.

EXODUS.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 37. And the children of Israel jour
neyed. — Oa the journey see the Introduction,
Keil II., p. 20, the literature above quoted, and
Eeil II., p. 28, Xote, Kuobel, p. Ill sq.— About

600,000 on foot. — """^-H, as in Num. xi. 21,
the infantry of an army, is added, because they
went out. as a warlike host (ver. 41). and in the
number given only the men able to bear arms,
those over twenty years of age, are reckoned ;

D*"OJin is added because of the following "l^1?
HLDD : 'besides the little ones.' ^D is used here
in the wider significance of the dependent part
of the family, including wife and children, as in
Gen. xlvii. 12; Num. xxxii. 10, 24, and often,
those who did not travel on foot, but on beasts
of burden or in wagons" (Keil). On the round
number, as well as the increase of Israel in
Egypt, comp. Knobel, p. 121, Keil, I. c , and the
Introduction. On the fruUfulncss of the land
of Goshen, see Keil II., p. 29. Kurtz and Ber-
theau have suggested as an explanation of the
great, number, that we may assume that the
seventy Israelites who emigrated to Egypt had
several thousand men-servants and maid-ser
vants. Keil insists that only the posterity of
the seventy souls is spoken of. But compare
the antithesis in Gen. xxxii. 10: "one statf"
and ''two bands." In Israel the faith consti
tuted the nationality, as well as the nationality the
faith, as is shown by so many examples (Rahab,
Ruth, the Gibeonitos, etc.), and Israel had in its
religion a great attractive power.

Ver. 38. And a mised multitude. — 2^j7
3"\ Vulg. : v illy us proiniscuum ; Luther: vicl
Pobelvolk, " a great rabble" — "In typical ful
fillment of the promise, Gen. xii. 3, without
doubt stimulated by the signs and wonders of
the Lord in Egypt (comp. ix. 20; x. 7; xi. 3)
to seek their salvation with Israel, a great mul
titude of mixed people joined themselves to the
departing Israelites; and, according to the gov
erning idea of the Jewish commonwealth, they
could not be repelled, although these people
afterwards became a snare to them. Vid. Num.
xi. 4, where they are called ^DSDX, medley"
(Keil). Literally, a collection.' Comp. Deut.
xxix. 11.

Ver. 30. Vid. ver. 34. It does not mean that
they had no time to leaven their dough, but that
they had no time to prepare themselves other
provisions besides. The deliverance came upon
them like a storm ; they were even thrust out
of Egypt.

Ver. 40. Vid. the Introduction, Keil II., p
30. Knobel, p. 121.

Ver. 41. On the self-same day. — Knobel
says very strangely, that the meaning is that
Jacob entered Egypt on the same day, the 14th
of Abib. Keil understands the day before de-
pignuted, vers. 11-14. We assume that "day"
here denotes "time" in the more general sense.

Ver. 42. Keil renders: night of preservation.
Knobel: a festival. Both ideas are involved in
"IStf, and evidently the text aims to express the

antithesis indicated in our translation [Lange
renders: festliche Wacht, "festive vigil." — Tn.J
Vers. 43-45. The ordinance of the Pas

sover. — njSTJ, i q. pn, law, statute. As Israel
now begins to become a people and a popular
congregation, the main features of their legal
constitution are at once defined. It all starts
with the Passover as the religious communion
of the people, for which now circumcision is
prescribed as a prerequisite. As circumcision
constitutes the incipient boundary-line and sepa
ration between Israel and the life of secular peo
ple, so the paschal communion is the character
istic feature of the completed separation. First,
the congregation is instituted ; then follows the
preliminary institution of the priesthood in the
sanctification of the first-born ; then the first
tiace of the fixed line of distinction, in the ordi
nance of the feast of unleavened bread; then
the first provision for the permanent sacrificial
service, in Jehovah's claiming for Himself the
first-born of beasts, xiii. 12, while a distinction
is at the same time made between clean and
unclean beasts, ver. 13; and finally the intima
tion is made that the natural sacerdotal duty of
the first born shall be redeemed and transferred
to a positive priesthood. The circumstance that
Israel thereby came into a new relation to fo
reigners, " that a crowd of strangers joined
themselves to the departing Israelites" (Keil),
can only be regarded as one of the occasions f»r
that fixing of the first features of the law which
was here quite in place. — No stranger. — What
is said of the "DJ~j3, or non-Israelite, in gene
ral, is more particularly said of the sojourner
(3u/lFO and of the hireling, day-laborer ("rptyj.
The latter, if not an Israelite, is a "U who re
sides a longer or shorter time among the Israel
ites. Yet the exclusion is not, absolute, except
as regards the uucircumcised ; every servant,
on the other hand, who submits to circumcision
(for no one could be circumcised by force,
although circumcision was within the option of
all) assumes the privileges and obligations of
the communion. Thus, therefore, the distinc
tion of classes, as related to the communion of
the people of God, is here excluded.

Ver. 46. In one house shall it be eaten.
— A new enforcement of the law that the com
munion, as such, must be maintained. The sig
nificance of the words: "Thou shalt not carry
forth aught of the flesh abroad," the mediaeval
Church had little conception of.*

Vers. 50, 61. The next to the last verse de
clares that this became a fixed custom in Israel ;
and the last one recurs again to the identity of
the festive day with the day of the deliverance
of Israel from Egypt.

Ch. XIII., ver. 1. Sanctify unto rne every
first-born. — " The sanct .fication of the first
born is closely connected wi'h the Passover.
The Passover effects (?) the exemption of the
first-born of Israel, and the exemption has as
its aim their sanctification" (Keil). But the
thing meant is sanctification in the narrower

* [The reference is to the. Corpus-Christ! festival, charac
terized by the public process ons which are held in honor of
the host.— Tu.J

CHAP. XII. 37— XIII. 16.

sense, the preparation of the sacerdotal order and
of the offerings ; for the general sanctification com
prised the whole people. Here we have to do with
sanctification for the specific service of Jehovah.
It is assumed that, the fir.-jt-born are representa
tives and sureties of the whole race, arid that
therefore, without, the intervention of grace and
forbearance, the first-born of Israel also would
have been slain. Accordingly, the phrase: "it
is mine," refers certainly not only to the fact
that Jehovah created the first-born, as Kurtz
maintains, but still more to the right of posses
sion which this gracious favor establishes.
Keil denies this. It refers, he says, according
to Num. iii. 13; viii. 17, to the fact that Jeho
vah, on the day when he slew the first-bora of
Egypt, sanctified the first-born of Israel, and
therefore spared them. An ultra-Calvinistio dis
position of things, which seems to ground the
exemption on Jehovah's caprice. While the
sanctification cannot be dissociated from the
exemption, as little can the exemption be disso
ciated from the creation. The election of Israel
is indeed the prerequisite of the exemption of
the Israelitish first-born ; but this exemption
again, as an act of grace, is a condition of the
special sanctification of the first-born.

Ver. 3. Remember this day. " In vers.
3-10, the ordinance respecting the seven days'
feast of unleavened bread (xii. 15-20), is made
known by Moses to the people on the day of the
exodus at the station Succoth" (Keil). We
have already ;ibove (on xii. 8) pointed out the
incorrectness of this view. It is all the more
incorrect, if, with Keil and others, we find in the
leaven a symbol of sinfulness. The leaven which
tlie Jews had heretofore had was connected with
the leaven of Egypt, and was thus fitted to serve
as a symbol of the fact that they were connected
with ihe siufulncss of Egypt, and that this con
nection must be broken off. If now they had
not been driven out so hastily, they would have
had time to produce for themselves a pure
and specifically Jewish leaven, and this perhaps
seemed the more desirable thing, as the un
leavened bread was not very palatable. But for
this there was no time. With this understand
ing of the. case, we render the last clause of ver.
3, " so that nothing leavened was eaten." [This
translation, however, is hardly possible. — TR.].
— The house of servants. Servants of private
persons they were not, it is true, but all Egypt was
made for them by Pharaoh one house of slaves.

Vers. 4, 5. The urgency in the enforcement of
this feast is doubtless owing to the fact that there
was no pleasure in eating the unleavened bread.
Hence the festival is represented as chiefly a ser
vice rendered to God. The meals accompanying
thank-offerings preserved the equilibrium.

Ver. G. On the seventh day. In the line
of the feast-days the seventh day is specially
mentioned as the festive termination ; on it
work ceased, and the people assembled together.

Ver. 9. For a sign upon thy hand. Ac
cording to Spencer, allusion is made to the
heathen custom of branding marks on the fore
head or hand of soldiers and slaves. Keil, re
ferring to Deut. vi. 8 and xi. 18, assumes that,
we are probably to understand bracelets or
frontlets. But in the passages quoted a much

more general inculcation of Moses' words is
meant. Inasmuch as the Jews were to observe
several great festivals, it is not to be assumed
that they were to be required to wear the signs
only on the feast of unleavened bread ; all the
less, as the day was so definitely fixed. We
therefore regard the expression both here and in
Deuteronomy as symbolic, but suggested by a
proverbial phrase borrowed from the nations
of antiquity. Our language has a similar pro
verbial, but less elegant, expression. That the
Pharisaic Jews afterwards actually made them
selves such phylacteries grew out of their slavery
to the letter of the law. See more in detail in
Keil, I[. p. 37.

Ver. 12. Every first-born of beasts. First,
the text recurs to the common statute respecting
the first-born of men and beasts; hence: "all
that openeth the womb." According to Keil,
the term "V3£n, to set apart, offer, is used to
point a contrast to the Canaanitish custom of con
secrating the first-born to Moloch; he quotes
Lev. xviii. 21. But the verb seems to express a
more original and general separation of what is
offered from what is not offered ; or it means to
let depart. — The males. Wish this matter,
therefore, the female first-born have nothing to
do. The first-born son is the head of the young
house, the heir of the old house. As the heir
of the old houso he also assumes its guilt; as
the head of the young house he must represent
it. More particular specifications concerning
the first-born male clean beast are given in xxii.
29 (30), Deut. xv. 21.

Ver. 13. The germ of the distinction between
clean and unclean beasts. The substitution of a
sheep or kid for the ass is a proof that the unclean
beast signifies not the evil, but the profane, that
which is not fitted to serve as a religious symbol.

Ver. 14. When thy son asketh thee.
Even in the theocracy the ceremonial worship
is to be not a dumb one, repressing, or even
suppressing, questions and instruction, but is to
be spiritualized by questions and instruction.

Ver. 15. All the first-born of my children.
Keil opposes the view, very prevalent of old,
that the sanctification of the first-born is to be
derived from (lie destination of the first-born to
be priests. But he afterwards (II., p. 30) himself
brings forwards reasons which refute his own
view, founded on that of Outram and Vitringa,
especially by citing Num. iii. Nothing cau be
clearer than Num. iii 12.*

Ver. 16. Also in reference to the phylacterios
we hold to the symbolical interpretation of the
Caraites in opposition to the literal one of the
Talmudists; so Keil II., p. 37.

* [Keil nays: " In what way they were to consecrate tlie:r
life to the Lord depended on the Lord's dir ction, which pie-
scribed that they should perform the noi -sacerdotal labors
connected with the (•anctuary, and so be the priests' servants
in the sacred service. Ytt « ven this service was aft- rxvanl*
transferred to the Levites (Num. iii.): but in place of it the
people were required to redeem their first-bofn f-ons from
the service which was incumbent on them, and which had
been transferred to the Levitts who were substituted for
them, ?'. e., to r insom them by the payment to the priests • f
five shekels of silver for every person, Num. iii. 47 ; xviii.
Ifi." Num. iM. 12, above referred to as confuting Keil's view,
Bays simply t hut the Lrrites were sut stitnt d tor the first
born, but does, not say that the first born wer^ originally
destine! to be priests. Lange'a statement, therefore, seems
to be unwarranted. — TR.J.

44 EXODUS.

FOURTH SECTION.

Direction of the Exodus. The Pursuit. The Distress. The Red Sea. The Song

of Triumph.

CHAPTERS XI II. 17— XV. 21.

A. -DIRECTION OF THE MARCH. THE DISTRESS. PASSAGE THROUGH
THE RED SEA. JUDGMENT AND DELIVERANCE.

CHAP. XIII. 17— XIV. 31.

17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that G d led them
not through \by] tin way of the land of the Philistines, although [for]1 that was
near ; for God said, Lest peradveuture the [Lest the] people repent, when they

18 see war, and they return to Egypt: But God led the people about through \by]
the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up har-

19 nessed [armed] out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph
w th him; for he had s trait ly [strictly] sworn the children of Israel, saying, God

20 v.ill surely vHt you, and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. And
they took th^ir journey [they journeyed] from Succoth, and encamped in Etham in

21 [on] the edg3 of the wilderness. And Jehovah went before them by day in a pil
lar of a c'oud [of cloud], to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire,

22 to give them light; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the
cloud [of cloud] by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

CHAP. XIV. 1, 2 AND Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children
of Israel, that they turn [turn b jck] and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Mig-
dol and the sea, over against [before] Baal-zephon ; before [over against] it shall

3 ye encamp by the sea. For [And] Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They

4 "are entangled [bewildered] in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. And I
will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he sh-.ill [and he will] follow after them, and I
will be honored [get me honor] upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host ; that [and]

5 the Egyptians may [shall] know that I am Jehovah. And they did so. And it
was told the king of Egypt tint the people fled : and the heart of Pharaoh and of
his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this
[What is this that we have done], that we have let Israel go from serving us?

6, 7 And he made ready his chariot, and t"ok his people with him. And 'he took
six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, aid captains over every

8 one [all] of them. And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt,

9 and he pursued after the children of Israel, and the children of Israel went out with
an [a] high hand. But [And] the Egyptians pursued after them, all the hoiscs
and chariots [chariot-horses] of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [XIII. 17. " For that vas near." A v.; Murphy, Kalisch, Gesenins, Glaire, Alford retain the rendering "although"
for '3 in this sentence. But such a meaning ior "3 cannot be well substantiated. Ps. xlix. 10, addm ed b.> Fur^t, is cer
tainly not an instance of such u«e. Ps. rxvi. 10 is more plausible. The A. V. renderng: " I believed, therefore [*3] have

T spoken," is incorrect. But it is not necessary, with some, to translate; "T believed, sl'hi.ngh 1 speak." The particle
h'-n- probably bai the meaning "when." In Ps. xlix. 19, adflu- ed by Gesf>nius (Ti esanrus), it means •' because," the npo-
dosis following in ver. 20. The s*me may b» said of Gen. viii. 21 : Job xv. 27-29 ; Zecb. y i. 6. The rendering ' when "
suffices in Jer. iv. 30; xxx. 11; xlix. 1(5;' 1. 11 ; I*. 5:1.; Mir. vii. 8; Ps xx\ji. l<>: xxi. 12 The rendering " t< r r suffices in
Hon. xiii. 15; Nah. i. K); Dent, xviii. 14; xxix. 19; Jt-r. xlvi. 23; Ps. Ixxi. 10; 1 rbr-n. xxviii. 5 T e rendering " where
as," or '• while," may be adopte 1 in Mai. i. 4; Keel iv. 14 Probably thes- comprise all the passages in which the meaning
!l though " can with any plausibility be maintained. S3 can be assumed to have; tin- meaning " although " only as being

equivalent to '3 D3, "even when." Even though this should be assumed som times to occur, sti'l the case btfore us is

not of that sort. The true explanation (T such constructions is to assume a slight, ellipsis in the expression: "God led
them nor by the way of the land ot th" Philistines, [as migH have been expected], seeing that was near." Or: " for that
wa- near [and return to Egypt in cas • of danger w uld be more readily resorted to]." — TR.]

CHAP. XIII. 17— XIV. 31. 45

10 overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. And
when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold,
the Egyptians [E.<ypt] marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the

11 children of Israel cried out unto Jehovah. And they said unto Moses, Because
[Is it because] there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou [that thou hast] taken us
away to die in the wilderness ? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with [what is this

12 that thou hast done to] us, 10 carry [in bringing] us forth out of Egypt? Is not
this the word that we did tell [spake unto] thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone,
that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been [is] better for us to serve the

13 Egyptians than that we shou'd die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the
people, Fear ye not, stand stid, and see the salvation of Jehovah, which he will shew
to [work for] you to-day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall

14 see them again no more foreyer. Jehovah shall fight for you, and ye shall hold

15 your peace. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me ? speak

16 unto the children of Israel, that they go forward : But [And] lift thou up thy rod,
and stretch out thine [thy] hand over the sea, and divide it : and the children of

17 Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will
harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them : and I will get me
honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horse-

18 men. And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have gotten [get]

19 me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the an
gel of God, which [who] went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind
them ; and the pillar of the cloud [of cloud] went [removed] from before their face

20 [before them], and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the
Egyptians and the camp of Israel ; and it was a cloud and darkness to them [and
darkness], but it gave light by night to these [it lightened the night] :2 so that [and]

21 the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand
over the sea; at d Jehovah caused the sea to go back [flow] by a strong east wind
all that niiht, and made the sea dry land [bare ground]? and the waters were di-

22 videl. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry
ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their

23 leit. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea,

24 even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass that
in the morning watch Jehovah looked unto [looked down at] the host of the
Egyptians through [in] the pillar of fire and of the cloud [of cloud], and troubled

25 the host of the Egyptians, And took off [turned aside] their chariot wheels, that they
drave them [and made them drive] heavily : so that [and] the Egyptians said, Let
us flee from the face of Israel ; for Jehovah fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

26 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thiin [thy] hand over the sea, that the
waters may come again [back] upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon

27 their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea re
turned to his strength [to its course] when the morning appeared; and the
Egyptians fled against it ; and Jehovah overthrew [shook] the Egyptians in [into]

28 the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the
horsemen and [of]4 all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them ;

2 [XIV. 20. nn~riN l^l lltfnm ?Jl*n TPI- The construction is difficult. The only literal rendering is :

T:T~ V YT- ' v -; IT T Y • :-

" And it WHS (or, became) the cloud and the darkness, and it illumined the night." The difficulty is gotten over bv Knobol
and Ewald by altering Tjl^nm into T^nTll> reading: "And it came to pass as to the cloud, that it made darkness."

But even with th:s conjectural chang<\ it in no less necessary to assume an ellipsis of "to the one " and " to the other," or
" on the one H le ' and " on the other," as is done by A. V. and the great majority of versions and commentator <. The a~ ti
de may be explained as pointing back to xiii. 21 : "And it was the cloud and tne darkness which have been already de
scribed." Or it is even possible to take "-JX^D (ver. 19) es the subject of the verb: "And he became the cloud and dark

ness; but he illunrned the night." — TR.]

3 [XIV. 21. The Hebrew word here used, PD^n, is cifferent from the one rendered " dry ground " in the next verse;

T T T

and there is a clear distinction in the meani" g, ai is quite apparent from a comparieon of Gen viii. 13, where it is said, that
on the first day of the fivst month the Around was 3~in, with ver. 14, where it is said, tbat on the twenty-seventh day of

•• T
the second month the ear h was $IT. The nr*t means : free from water, drained ; the second means : free from moisture,

dry. The distinction is generally .clear, though sometimes not exactly observed. — TR.]

4 [XIV. 28. The preposition 7 certainly cannot here be rendered ''and ;" but it may have a sort of resumptive force,

equivalent to "even," " namely.'' " in phort.'' — TR.]

EXODUS.

29 there remained not so much as one of them [of them not even one]. But the chil
dren of Israel walked upon dry land in th3 midst of the s*a ; and the waters were a

30 wall uiito them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus [And] Jehovah saved
Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians ; and Israel saw the Egyptians

31 dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that [the,] great work which Jehovah
did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared Jehovah, and believed in Jehovah
and his servant Moses.

Ver. 19. The bones of Joseph. Another
testimony to the tenacity with which the Isra
elites retained moral impressions and old tradi

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Chap. xiii. 17. Not by the way of the
land of the Philistines. Decidedly wise,
theocratic policy ou the part of Moses, rightly
ascribed to God. The people, disheartened by
servitude, could not at once maintain a conflict
with the warlike Philistines, without being
driven back to Egypt. They must first acquire
in the wilderness the qualities of heroes. And
that, according to Goethe, was accomplished in
a few years ! On the exodus, comp. Introduc
tion; Keil, II. p. 42; Knobel, p. 131.

Ver. 18. Led the people about. It is a
question whether the round-about way spoken
of has reference simply to the absolutely direct
route through the Philistine country, or to
another more direct one which they had al
ready begun to take, but which they were to
give up. According to xiv. 2, the latter is to
be assumed. Moreover, reference is made not
only to the small distance to the Red Sea, but to
the whole distance through the wilderness along
the Red Sea, first southward along the Gulf of
Suez, then along the Elanitic Gulf northwards,
(see Knobel, p. 131). For we have here to do
wiih an introductory and summary account. It
was natural that nothing but the prophetic
divine word of Moses should have the control
of the march, inasmuch as the people would
have rushed impetuously towards the old cara
van road of their fathers. Moses himself was
further influenced by his former journey to
Sinai and the revelation there made to him.
'• From llaemses to the head of the Gulf would
be a distance of some 35 miles, which might
easily have been passed over by the Israelites irx
three days" (Robinson I., 80). The deviation
from the direct way must, however, be taken
into consideration, even though it may have
added little to the distance. On the three routes
from Cairo to Suez, see Robinson, p. 73. — Of
the Red Sea. See the Lexicons, Travels,
Knobel, p. 181,577.* — Especially as the chil
dren of Israel went up armed for battle.
So we understand the force of the 1 before D^pn.
A march in order of battle would have looked like
a challenge to the Philistines. Moreover, W®r\
signifies, among other things, to provoke to
anger. f

* [Knohel after a learned discussion comes to th"> conclu

sion that the Hebrew name for the lied Sea

"D1 (lite

rally " sea of sedge ") was probably derived from some town
on the sea, named from the abundance of sedgu growing
near it. He tikes this view in preference to the one which
derives the name of the sea dir-ctly from the sedge, for the
reason that the sedge is not a general feature of the sea, and
from the uniform omission of the article before n:)~). — TR. I.

f fit is hardly possible to translate the simple conjunction
1 by " especially as." If any such connection of thought had

tions. The vow, 480 years old, and the oath
which sealed it, were still fresh. Vid. Gen. i.
25. On th^fruitfulaess of the land of Goshen,
see Robinson, p. 76. "From the Land of Goshen
to the Red Sea the direct and only route was along
the valley of the ancient canal" (Ibid. p. 79).

Ver. 20. From Succoth. Inasmuch as they
had already, according to chap. xii. 37, gone from
llaemses to Succoth in battle array, Succoth
(Tent-town, or Booths) would seem to designate
not the first gathering-place of the people (Keil),
but the point at which the first instinctive move
ment towards the Philistine border was checked
by the oracle of Moses, and by the appearancs
of the pillar of fire and of smoke. While they at
first wished to go from Succoth (say, by the
northern extremity of the Bitter Lakes, or even
farther on), directly to Palestine, they now had
to go along on the west side of the Bitter Lakes
towards the Red Sea. Thus they come from Suc
coth to Etham. " Etham lay at the end of the
wilderness, which in Num. xxxiii. 8 is called
the wilderness of Etham; but in Ex. xv. 22, the
wilderness of Shur, that is, where Egypt ends
and the desert of Arabia begins" (Keil). "Etham
is to be looked for either on the isthmus of Ar-
bek, in the region of the later Serapcum, or the
south end of tlie Ditter Lakes. Against the first
view (that of Stickel, Kurtz, Knobel), and for the
second, a decisive consideration is the distance,
which, although Seetzen went from Suez to Arbek
in eight hours, yet according to the statement
of the French scholar, Du Bois Ayme, amounts to
00,000 metres (16 hours, about 37 miles), a dis
tance such that the people of Israel could not in
one day have traveled from Etham to Hahiroth.
We must therefore look for Etham at the south
end of the basin of the Bitter Lakes, whither
Israel may have come in two days from Abu
Keisheib, and then on the third day have
reached the plain of Suez between Ajrud and
the sea" (Keil). Abu Keisheib is Heroopolis
near Raemses; Ajrud is thought to be identical
with Pi-Hahiroth. Vid. Num. xxxiii. 5 sq*

been intended '3 would more probably have been used. Be

sides, such a statement would be almost contradictory of that
in the preceding verse. The fact that they were armed,
would make them less likely to l>e afraid of war than if they
were unarmed. The remark that ^DTl signifies, among

other things, to provoke to anger, bas little force in this con
nection, tor the reasons: (1) that it is doubtful whether that
is its etymo o^ical significance; (2. that, even if this were
its etymological significance, it is a meaning nowhere found
in actual use; (3) that this meaning cannot possibly have
any application here, since the part ciple is pass v<>, a <1 we
should have to translate, "went up provoked t» au-

* [Notice may here be taken of a theory of the Exodua
prjp,unded by Brugsch at the International Congress of

CHAP. XIIL 17— XIV. 31.

Ver. 21. And Jehovah went before them.

According to Keil this first took place at Etham;
but it is to be observed that the decisive move
ment began at Succoth. Keil says indeed that
in verse 17 it reads that Elohim [God] led
them, not till here that Jehovah went before
them. But Jehovah and Elohim are not two
different Gods. Jehovah, as Elohim, knew the
Philistines well, and knew that Israel must avoid
a contest with them. God, as Jehovah, was the
miracle-working leader of His people. — By day
in a pillar of cloud. — " This sign of the divine
presence and guidance has a natural analogue
in the caravan fire, viz. small iron vessels or
stoves containing a wood fire, which, fastened
on the tops of long poles, are carried as way-
marks before caravans, and according to Curtius
(de gestis Alex. mag. V. 2, 7), in trackless regions,
are also carried before armies on the march,
the smoke indicating to the soldiers the direc
tion by day, the flame, by night. Comp. liar
mar, Observations II., p. 278, Pococke, Descrip
tion of the East, II., p. 33. Still more analogous
is the custom (mentioned by Curtius III. 3, 9i
of the ancient Persians, who carried before the
marching army on silver altars a fire quern ipsi
sacrum et seternum vacant. Yet one must not
identify the cloudy and fiery pillar of the Israel-
itish exodus with such caravan or army fires,
and regard it as only a mythical conception or
embellishment of this natural fact" (Keil). He
opposes Koster's view, that the cloud was pro
duced by an ordinary caravan fire, and became a
symbol of the divine presence, thus setting aside
also Knobel's theory (Comm., p. 134) of a legend
which was derived from this usage. Here too
Keil is concerned about supernaturalism in the
abstract, and about something purely outward,
so that we do not need here to move in the
sphere of faith, of vision, of symbol, and of
mystery. The internal world is left out of con
sideration, while the inspired letter has to servo
as evidence for the miraculous appearance.
According to him the phenomenon was a cloud
which inclosed a fire, and which, when the

Orientalists in London, Sopt. 1874, a'so published at Alex
andria in Freuc'i ("La S >rti>. d'.s Hebrenx (V E<j>jpte»t les monu
ment* Egyptiem "). T ie theory is state 1 and criticised by
Dr. J. P. Thompson in the Bibliotheca Sacra for Jan. 1875
In brier it is as follows: Rameses he identifies with Zan, the
Zoan of the Scriptures, situated near the mo ith of Ihe r.mitic
braucli of the Nile Su -coth is identified with Thukut, a
place mentioned on the Egyptian monuments as lying to the
right of the I'elusiac branch of the Nile. Etham is found in
the place known by the Egyptians as Khat .m, east of Lake
Menzaleh. Migdol is identified with the town called Ma»--
dolot by the Greeks, a fortress on th^ e Ige of the desert, not
tar from the Mediterranein. Thus Brugsch holds that the
hue of the jo .rney lay m ich farther north than is . om-
monly assumed. And tin sea which the Israelites crossed
was ac wording to him, not the Rod Sea, but Lake Serbonis
between w uch and the Mediterranean the Israelites
marched m their flight from Pharaoh, and in which the
latter with his host was destroyed. The principal objections
to this theory are stated by Dr. Thompson : (1) In order to
reac'i their renclezcom, the Israelites, according to Brunch
must have tr.ivell.-d nearly twenty miles north? crossing* the
I elusi IC branch of the Nile ; and then on the next day must,
have recrossed it— a great improha'.ility. (2) It would hav
bo.-n a blunder in strategy for Moses to have led the peonl<-
irit » the treacherous S Tbonjan bog. ,3) The sacred narra
tive plamly declares that t.ie Israelites were commanded
D° '° S° by th« way towards the Philistine country (Ex.
xin. 17), whereas this way led directly towards it (4) Thr
bcnptures declare that it was by the way of the Red Sea that
£* **r.a°ll'eVvere to S° (Ex- x'i'. IS), and that it wast
e Red Sea through which they passed (Ex xv 4) — TR ]

Israelites were on the march, as umed the form
of motion £" a dark pillar of smoke rising
towards heaven," Keil], but, when the taberna
cle rested, "perhaps more the form of a round
ball cf cloud." It was the same fire, he says
further, in which the Lord revealed Himself to
Moses out of the bush (iii. 2), and afterwards
descended upon Sinai amidst thunder and light
ning. He calls it the symbol of the divine fiery
jealousy. Even the Prophets and Psalms are
made to share in this literalness (Is. iv. 5 sq. ;
xlix. 10; Ps. xci. 5 sq. ; cxxi. 6). A sort of
solution is cited from Sartorius in his Medita
tions, to the effect that God, by special ac'ion on
the earthly element, formed out of its sphere
and atmosphere a body, which He then assumed
and permeated, in order in it to reveal His real
presence. But is not that Indian mythology as
much as is the modern theological doctrine of
the Kevuatg'i We leave the mystery in its unique
ness suspended between this world and the
Oiher, only observing that the problem will have
to be solved, how, in later times, the smoke of
the offering which rose up from the tabernacle
was related to the pillar of cloud. Likewise the
question arises: What was the relation between
the light of the perpetual lamp, or the laf.e ex
piring and early kindling fire of the burnt-offer
ing, and the pillar of fire ? Vid. Ex. xxix. 39;
Num. xxviii. 4. The burnt-offering derives its
name from the notion of rising ; comp. especially
Judg. xiii. 20. The ark, as the central object
in the tabernacle, which generally preceded the
host, retired in decisive moments behind the
host, according to Josh. iv. 11 ; so the pillar of
cloud here, xiv. 19. Rationalism finds nothing
but a popular legend in the religious and sym
bolic contemplation of the guidance of the living
God ; literalism seeks to paint the letters with
fantastic, golden arabesques. Assumption (as
cension) of a cloud in the form of a ball whose
interior consists of fire !

XIV. 2. Turn back and encamp before
Pi-hahiroth.* — In Num. xxxiii. 8 Hahiroth;
Pi is the Egyptian article. This camping-place
is identified by ma.uy with the place named
Ajrud or Agirud, "now a fortress with a well
two hundred and fifty feet deep, which, how
ever, contains such bitter water that camels can
hardly drink It, on the pilgrims' road from
Cairo to Mecca, four hours' distance northwest,

* [The significance of the term 3^, used here and in
Num. xxxiii. 7, is generally nvi-i looked or nmvarranttbly
modified by tne comment ttors. Knobel (on ch. v. 2- an i here)
argues that it means here only to turn; but the pus-ages he
adduc s (among them on-, Ps. xxxv. 11 (P aim xxxv. Hi?), in
which the word does not occur at all) are none of them in
\ oiut. The word uniformly means to turn ba-k, return, espe
cially when physical motion is intend d It merely turning
aside ha 1 been meaut, HO or DJ3 would have been used.

The use of this word is conclusion against the hypothesis,
that Etham lay on the west of the BiUer Lake*. Ewald
(II'' st. «f the People of Isra*l, II. p. G8) argues thai the us" of it
a's i disproves the more current view of Robinson and oth- rs,
that it lay south of the basin of these laki s. Possibly, h >w-
ever, this is not necessary ; for Ethum, being in the '• edge
of t ->e wildern- ss," may have been just east of the line of the
Gulf or canal fas Kobinson siiu'gpsfs); and if Pi-hahiroth is
to be found in the present Ajrud, the peopln niay, indeed, in
go ng from Etham thither, have had to turn "back." Srill
there is no ronchnive evidence that Etham may not have
bi"'n north or north-east of the Bitter Lukes, and that, in
stead of pa-sing rtown on the e;»st sido of the basin, they
turned back, and went along the west side. So, amon^
others, Canon Cook (in the Speaker's Commentary).— TR.]

EXODUS.

of Suez, comp. Niebuhr, Reise I., p. 216; Burck-
hardt, Syria, p. 626, and Robinson, Researches
I , p. 68. From Ajrud there stretches out a
plain, ten miles long and as many broad, towards
the sea west of Suez, and from the foot of the
Atakah to the arm of the sea north of Su z
(Robinson I., p. 65). This plain very probably
served the Israelites as a camping-place, so that
they encamped before, *. e. east of Ajrud towards
the sea. In the neighborhood of Hahiroth (Aj
rud) must be sought also the other places, of
which thus far no trace has been discovered"
(Keil). On Migdol and Baal-zephon, vid. Keil
II., p. 43. Silica tlie names Migdol and Baal-
zephon are without doubt designed to mark the
line of travel, it is natural to assume that they
indicate the whence and the whither of the route.
According to Robinson (I., p. 64) a rocky defile
called Muntula leads to the region of Ajrud (Pi-
hahiroth) on the left, and Suez on the right, on
the Red Sea. Strauss (Sinai und Golgotha, p.
122) called the defile Muktala, and identifies
Baal-zephon with Suez. The question about
the passage of the Israelites through the Red
Sea is obscured by theological bias in both
directions. It is regarded as a natural event,
raised by legendary tradition into a miracle, by
Knobel, p. 135 sq., where the historical remarks
on the Red Sea and the analogies of the passage
are very noteworthy. Karl von Raumer, on the
contrary (Palastina, p 478, under the head,
Zug der Israelites, aus Egypten nach Kanaan],
regards as rationalistic even the view of Nie
buhr, Robinson and others, that the passage
took place at Suez or north of Suez, quoting the
opinion of Wilson and other Americans (p. 480).
He adopts the view of Schubert, Wilson and
others, that the Israelites marched south of Suez
by Bessantin to the Red Sea. Robinson's re
mark, that the hypothesis that the Israelites
passed over from the plain of Bede (Wady Ta-
warik) is overthrown by the circumstance that
there the sea is twelve miles wide, and that the
people did not have but two hours for the pas
sage, Von Raumer overthrows by means of a
dictum of Luther s concerning the miraculous
power of God. Von Raumer also will not hear
to uny natural event as the substratum of the
miracle. "The Holy Scriptures," he says,
•' know nothing of a N. N. E. wind, but say that
an east wind divided the waters, that they stood
up on the right and the left like walls ; there is
nothing said about an ebb, hence the duration
of the ebb is not to be taken into account," He
seems even to be embarrassed by the fact that
there is an alternation of ebb and flood in the
Red Sea; and in places where others also, in
individual cases, at the ebb-tide have ridden
through, he holds that the passage could not
have take place, e. a. where Napoleon in 1799
crossed the ford near Suez, and thus endangered
his life (Robinson I., p. 85). Even the co-ope
ration of the wind, he holds, can be taken into
account only in the interest, of the magnified
miracle, although it is designated not only in
ver. 21 as the cause of the drying of the sea,
but the like fact is also referred to in Moses'
song of praise (xv. 8; comp. Ps. cvi. 9 and
other passages). Hence, too, he holds, the east
wind must not be understood as being, more

exactly, a north-east wind.* Similar biblical
passages are given by Knobel, p. 189. The
objection that north of Suez there is not water
enough to have overwhelmed Pharaoh's host, is
removed by the observation of Stickel and
Kurtz, that, according to travellers, the Gulf of
Suez formerly extended much farther north than
now, and in course of time through the blowing
in of sand has become shorter, and hence also
more shallow (Knobel, p. 140). Also Strauss
(Sinai und Golgotha, p. 128) icgards the hypo-
tnesis that the passage took place as far south
as below the mountain Atakah, where the sea
is nearly twelve miles wide, as inadmissible,
all hough he insists, on the other hand, that
natural forces are insufficient to explain the
event. While the subject has been very care
fully examined in this aspect, two principal fac
tors of the miracle have been too little regarded:
( 1 ) the assurance and foresight of the prophet that
in the moment of the greatest need a mirj^cle of
deliverance would be performed ; (2) the mira
culously intensify d natural phenomenon, corre
sponding to the harmonia prsestabilita between the
kingdom of God and the kingdom of nature,
such that an extraordinary ebb, by the aid of a
continuous night-storm which blew against the
current, laid bare the whole ford for the entire
passage of all the people of Israel with their
flocks, and that an equally violent wind from
the opposite direction might have made the flood,
hitherto restrained, a high tide, which must
have buried Pharaoh. He who in all this sees
only a natural occurrence will of course even
press the letter of the symbolic expression, that
the water stood up on both sides like a wall.-}-

Ver. 3. For Pharaoh will say. — We must
here remember the law regulating the writing
of theocratic history, according to which, as the
record of religious history, it puts foremost the
divine purpose, and passes over the human mo
tives and calculations, by means of which this
purpose was effected, yet without leaving, in
the spirit of an abstract supernaturalism, such
motives out of the account. Here, accordingly,
Moses cannot from the first have had the inten
tion, in marching to the Red Sea, of alluring
Pharaoh to the extreme of obduracy, and thereby
into destruction. But he may well have antici
pated that Pharaoh, pursuing him on the high
way around the sea, might be quite as danger
ous to him as a collision with the Philistines.
As one long acquainted with the Red Sea, he
saw only a single means of deliverance, viz., the
taking advantage of the ebb for his people, who
then by means of the returning flood could get

* [Hengstenberg nlso, III tory of the. Kingdom of God, IT. p.
292, wliil(! agreeing with Robinson, against Wilson, Von hati-
mer, e'c., in regird to the place of the passage, rejects tlie
tli- ry of an ebb tide, ailed by a northeast wind, asserting
that D'Tp never demotes anything but an east wind. — Tn.J

f [This seems at first sight almost self-contradictory
Those \vho see in the events described only natum! qpcur-
jcnces would seem to b^ just those who, disoelieving in miy-
thing supernatural, would not press, or would reject, the
Biblical statement, that tlie water stood up as a wall on both
sides. But probably Lange means that the literal, prosaic
cast of mind wli-ch could not, discern the supernatural de
ment in the apparently natural plv nomena, would hlso b<-
unable to discern in the Biblical ntyl« the poetii'o-symbolic
element, an 1 s<>, whether iiccepting the Biblical staiementi
or n-t, would undeivtand them only in their most literal,
prosaic sense. — Tn.].

CHAP. XIII. 17— XIV-31.

a long distance ahead of Poaraoh, in case he
should follow them. So fir human calculation
could reach ; but it received a splendid trans
formation through the Spirit of revelation, who
disclosed to the prophet, together with the cer
tainty of deliverance, the ultimate object of this
form of deliverance, viz , the final judgment on
Pharaoh, which was yet to be inflicted. — They
are bewildered in the land. — The round
about way from Etham to the sea might seem
like an uncertain nrirching hither and thither.
— The wilderness hath shut them in. —
They cannot go through, and are held fast. The
section vers. 1-4 is a comprehensive summary.

Ver. 5. That the people fled —This state
ment probaMy preceded Pharaoh's judgment,
that the people wished to flee but wer^ arrested.
So much seemed to be proved, that they were
not thinking only of a three days' journey in
the wilderne'H in order to hold a festival. — The
heart of Pharaoh . . . was turned.— Pha
raoh may have been stirred up alike by the
thought of a fleeing host, an 1 by that of one
wandering about helplessly. For they seemed
to he no longer a people of God protected by
God's servants, but «miften at the outset, and
doomed to slavery. But the king and his cour
tiers needed to use an imposing military force
in order to bring them back, seeing they were
at least concentrated and armed. All the more,
inasmuch as his pledge, their right, and the con
sciousness of perjury, determined the tyrant to
assume the appearance of carrying on war
against them. Whatever distinction may in
other cases be made between camping places
and days' journey^, the three stations, Succoth,
Etham and Pi-hahiroth, doubtless designate
both, that there may be also no doubt concern
ing Pharaoh's injustice.* Useless trouble has
been taken to determine when Pharaoh received
the news, and pursued after the Israelites; also
where he received the news, whether in Tanis or
elsewhere. According to Num. xxxiii. 7 they
pitched in Pihahiro'h ; but this was probably not
limited to an encampment for a night. Here then
after three days' journey they were to celebrate a
feast of Jehovah in the wilderness in a much
higher sense than they could before have ima
gine 1.

Vers 6, 7. And he made ready his cha
riot. — The grorp-que preparations made by hea
then powers are described in detail, as if with
a sort of irony. So the arming of Goliath, 1
Sam xvii , comp also 2 f!hron. xxxii. ; Dan. iv.
and v. Knobel, in a droll manner, puts together
Pharaoh's army, from th<; several narratives of

the Elohist and the Jehovist— D'trStf, "Three
men." " On the Assyrian chariots one and two
persons are represented but sometimes three
(Layard, Nineveh, Fig. 19, 51)" [Knobel].

Ver. 8. And Jehovah hardened. — $ot a
repetition of ver. 4. There we have the sum
mary pre-announcement, here the history itself.

* [I f. Pharaoh must be 8upr>o«ed to have pot out witMn
the throe days through which the furlonsrh extended. But
this is an unsafe and inconclusive mo 'o of reasoning. Mor ••-
over. Pharaoh, may in any case liave I'ojrun to niak<" h s prr--
p 'rations for purs'iit before the three davs had ex' in-d, »•>-•• n
though it may have heen longer than that before he actually
pursued the fugitives.— TR.].

I Over against Pharaoh's obdurtcy (which here
I also is represented as effected by Jehovah, be
cause occasioned by Israel's seemingly bewil
dered flight, because Jehovah by the appearance
of the impotence of Israel brought this judgment
of blindness upon him) is raised the high hand
of Jehovah; the divine sovereignty, which Pha
raoh, to his own destruction, failed to recognize,
has decided in favor of Israel's deliverance.

Vers. 10-12. The children of Israel lifted
up their eyes. — Tneir condition seemed to be
desperate. On the east, the sea; on the south
the mountains ; on the north-west, the host of
Pharaoh. True, they cried unto the Lord; but
the reproaches which they heap upon Moses
show that the confidence pf genuine prayer is
wanting, or at least is disappearing. — No
graves in Egypt. — As Egypt was so rich in
sepulchral monuments and worship of the dead,
this expression has a certain piquancy ; it also
expresses the thought that they saw death before
their eyes. — Is not this the word? — Here he
has the foretoken of all similar experiences
which he is to encounter in leading the people.
The exaggeration of their recollection of a
doubt formerly expressed reaches the pitch of
falsehood.

Vers. 13, 14. Over against the despondent
people Moses appears in all the heroic courage
of his confidence.

Ver. 15. Wherefore criest thou unto
me ? — The Israelites cried to Jehovah, and
Jehovah did not hear them. Moses outwardly
was silent; but Jehovah heard how he inwardly
cried to Him. The confidence, therefore, which
he displayed to the people was founded on a
fervent inward struggle of spirit. While there-
fore JehovaU's word is no reproof, there is
something of a contrast in what follows,: Speak
unto the children of Israel, etc. That, is: No
further continuance .of the spiritual struggle;
forward into the Rod Sea!

Ver. 16. And lift thou up thy rod.— The
miraculous rod is for the present still the banner
of the people. It marks the foresight of Moses,
his confidence, and the sacramental union of the
divine help with this sign. Or shall we take
this also literally: "while Moses divides the
water with his rod" (Keil)?

Ver. 17. I will harden the hearts of the
Egyptians. — The obduracy which spread from
Pharaoh over the whole host was brought on bv
the strong fascination of overtaking a fugitive
people and by the miraculous condition of things
on the sea. — I will get me honor. — God's
miraculous sway was to become manifest as His
just judgment.

Ver. 19. The angel of God.— He is the
angel of Elohim for the Egyptian heathen. The
invisible movement of the angel was recognized
in the visible motion of the pillnr of cloud.

Ver. 20. Darkness, but it lightened the
night. — What the pillar of cloud at other
times was alternately, it was this time si
multaneously: darkness for the one, light for
the other. The direction of the smoke under
the north-east wind is not sufficient to explain
the symbolically highly-significant phenomenon.
That which gives light to the believers consti
tutes nocturnal darkness for the unbelievers ;

EXODUS.

and that is the irremovable barrier between
the two. The Egyptians are unable for the
whole night to find the Israelites ; all night long
the east wind blows, and dries the sea, and in
the same night the passage of the Israelites
through the sea began, and was finished in the
morning.

Ver. 21. East wind. — The east wind, D"1p.
under which term the south-east and north-east
wind may be included, inasmuch as the Hebrew
language has developed special terms only for
the four cardinal points. The notion that a
simple east wind could have divided the waters
to the right and left, as Von Rauruer and Keil
hold, implies that the wind itself was a simple
product of miraculous power. A mere natural
east wind would have driven the water which
remained against the Israelites. And this all
the more, the more the wind operated, as Keil
says, -'with omnipotent power;" but, apart
from that, it would, merely as an opposite wind,
alone have made it almost impossible for the
Israelites to proceed. The notion of such a
wind enables us to hold fast the literal assertion
that the water stood up on the north side also
like a wall, although in regard to the phrase
"like a wall" religious poetry and symbolism
must be allowed to have a word. Keil's quota
tions from Tisehendorf and Schubert point to
the natural substratum of the miracle. See also
Knobel, p. 149. "How wide the gulf was in
the places made bare, cannot be exactly deter
mined. At the narrowest place above Suez it is
now only two-thirds of a mile wide, or according
to Niebuhr 3450 [German] feet, but was proba
bly formerly wider, and is also at present wider
farther up, opposite Tell Kolzum (Robinson, p.
81 and 71). The place where the Israelites
crossed must have been wider, since otherwise
tbe Egyptian army with more than six hundred
chariots and many horsemen could not have
been overtaken and destroyed by the return of
the water" (Keil). According to Tischendorf
(R'ise I., p. 183), it is the north-east wind which
still serves to increase the ebb-tide. When a
strong north-west wind drives the floods south
ward, one can cross the gulf; but if the wind
changes to the south-east, it drives the water
northward, so that it then rises to a height of
from six to nine feet (see Schubert, Reise II. , p.
269; Dobel, Wanderungen II., p. 12; Knobel p
149).

Vers. 24, 25. Out of the pillar of cloud
and fire. — Without this addition, we should have
to understand the effect to be purely supernatu
ral. But since it is said: out of the pillar of

cloud and fire, this must in some way have been
made by Jehovah a token of terror to the Egypt
ians. It may be conjectured that, instead of
cloudy darkness, the pillar of tire, when the fur
ther shore was reached, appeared to the Egypt
ians as a lofty body of light, and brought confu
sion into the Egyptian ranks, especially by its
movement. ' So Keil. Josephus (Ant. \\. 16, 3)
and Rosenmiiller understand thunder and light
ning to be meant, according to Ps. Ixxvii. 18.
Keil regards a thunder-shower as something too
slight in comparison with the fiery glance of
Jehovah. But compare Ps. xviii. and Ps. xxix.
Here, however, only the pillar of smoke and fire
is spoken of. Fear now arises with the confu
sion, and with the fear new confusion, as so
otten happened in the history of the enemies of
Israel. Comp. Judg. vii. 21 gqq. ; 1 Sam. xiv.
20; 2 Kings iii. 20 sqq.

Ver. 20. Stretch out thy hand. — Again the
prophetico-symbolic action, with an opposite re
sult. And again is the wind in league with Is
rael, this time to destroy the Egyptians. Vid.
Ch. xv. 10. That can only mean that the wind,
in accordance with God's sovereign control,
changed to the south, in order miraculously to
increase the flood now released. According to
Keil, the wind now blew from the west. But if
the east wind made a dry path for the Jews,
without reference to the ebb, we should expect
that the west wind would have made a path for
the Egyptians. According to Keil, we are also
to assume that the host perished "to the last
man." But generally in this sphere of dynamic
relations the important point is not that of abso
lute universality, but that of thorough effective
ness.

On the traces of the passage through the Red
Sea in heathen legends and secular history,
especially in Diodorus of Sicily (III. 39), in
Justinus (xxxvi. 2), in Artapanus. quoted by
Eusebius. see the monograph of K. H. Sack,
^Die Lieder in den histori^chen Bdchern des Alien
Testaments," p. 51.*

* ["Diodorus of Sicily, who had been in Egypt shortly
before th" birth ot Christ, tells of a naming prevalent among
the [chthyophagi, a people on the east of ti.e Arabia . Gulf,
to the effect that the whole gulf once became d<y, and that
there then followed a violent flood. Justinus, the Roman
historian, who drew from an older source, Mates that the
Egyptians pursued Moses and the Israelites, but were f >rced
to return by a violent thunder-shower. Eusebiu-, the l hiis-
tian Church historian, in his Preparatin Evangel' ca ix. 27,
quotes from Aitapanus, a Greek writer, who flourished some
time before the birth of Christ, who reports that the priests
at Memphis had a Buying about Moses being acquaint* d with
the ebbs and floods, and that the priests at Heliopolis had
one about Moses miraculously smiting the waters with his
rod, and the consequent destruction of the Egyptians." Sack,

CHAP. XV. 1-21. 51

B.— THE SONG OF TRIUMPH.
CHAPTER XV. 1-21.*

1 THEN sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto Jehovah, and said:

I will sing unto Jehovah, for he is highly exalted j1
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

2 My strength and ray song is Jah, and he hath become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will glorify him,

My father's God, and I will exalt him.

3 Jehovah is a man of war, Jehovah is his name.

4 Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea ;
And his choicest captains were plunged into the Red Sea.

5 The floods cover2 them, they went down into the depths like a stone.

6 Thy riijht hand, Jehovah, glorious in strength,

Thy right hand, Jehovah, dasheth3 enemies in pieces.

7 And in tHe greatness of thy majesty thou overthrowest thy foes ;
Thou send '.at out thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble.

8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were heaped up ;
Fixed like a dam were the waters,

The floods were congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 Said the enemy : I will pursue, overtake, divide spoil ;
My lust shall be sated with them ;

I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

10 Thou blewest with thy breath, the sea covered them;
They sank like lead into the mighty waters.

11 Who is like uoto thee, Jehovah, among the gods?
Who is like unto thee, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swalloweth them,,

13 Thou leddest forth in thy mercy the people that thou hast redeemed;
Thou guidedst them by thy power unto thy holy habitation.

14 Peoples heard, they tremble ;

Anguish took hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.

15 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed ;

The mighty ones of Moab — trembling taketh hold of them ;
All the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.

16 Fear and dread fall upon them ;

By the greatness of thine arm they are still as a stone ;

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 1. There seems to be no warrant for the rendering of the A. V.: "He hath triumphed gloriously." HXJ, in
the other three passages (Job viii. 11 ; x. 16; Ezek. xlvii. 5) in which it is used, has clearly the meaning "rise," "grow
large." The adjective HX.3 means "high," or "high-minded," "proud." The renderings of the LXX. and Vulg., are
better than that: of the A. V., viz , erSo^co? yd.p erSdf ao-roii , and " gloriose enim magnificatus esf." — TR.].

2 Ver. 5. JID'OD11 is a peculiar form, J|Q for 10 (only here), and VD3"1 for ^03% as not unfrequently in pause. The
A. V. here as in several casfs afterwards in this chapter, quite m gleets the alternation of tenses. The Imperfect is best
lemlered by our present. — TR.].

3 [Ver. 6. Here too the force and life of the original require the present tense; the Ptatement is general rather than
sp c fie. 3")X, being without the article, may be understood collectively. — Is..].

* [For convenience sake the translation of this song is given without indicating in what particulars it differs from
that of the A. V.— TR.].

EXODUS.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Till thy people pass over, Jehovah,

Till the people pass over whom thou hast purchased.

17 Tiiou shalt bring iheoi in, aud plant them iu the mountain of thine inheritance,
The place which thou hast made for thy dwelling. Jehovah,

The sanctuary, Lord, which thy hands bave established.

18 Jshovah shall reigu for ever and ever.

19 For the horse [horses] of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horse
men into the sea, aud Jehovah brought again [back] the waters of the sea upon
them ; but the children of Israel went on dry laud in the micUt of the sea.

20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aarou, took a [the] timbrel in her
-i hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And

Miriam answered [responded to] them, Sing ye to Jehovah, for he hath triumphed
gloriously [is highly exalted] ; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the

sea.

for the collection of the Psalms shows that, within,
the sphere of revelation such reconstructions
have taken place, Vid. Ps. xiv. ; Ps. liii. Yet
as to the facts in the case before us, we need to
look more carefully. Even ver. 13, considered
as a triumphant prophetic anticipation, may be
regarded as original. The holy dwelling-place
stands in Moses' mind all complete, after the
further shore of the Red Sea has been happily
reached; whilst the scholastic spirit cannot see
the holy dwelling-place till the tabernacle or
even the temple is a finished fact. But letting
this verse pass, without, challenge, as an interpo
lation, and even also the second half of ver. 17,
which as a whole seems even to contain contra
dictory elements, yet the following verses corre
spond excellently to the occasion. For fear of
the Philistines the circuitous way through the
Sinaitic desert was commanded; consequently it
would accord with psychological laws that the
Philistines next to the Egyptians should be first
in the thoughts of the people. With this is con
nected the second thought. The direction now
taken would bring them into collision with Edom
and Moab, and finally with Canaan : to this fact
corresponds the joyous presentiment that Jeho
vah, by this great fact, IIHS prepared the way for
the deliverance of His people to the end. It is
characteristic that the scholastic spirit, throws into
the scale the questionable use of an archaeological

term (12^7$), in opposition to the internal lead-

A list of treatises on this theme is given by
Knobel, p. 152. To it. may be added the ex
haustive monograph of K. H. Sack, Die Li?der
in den hi.«torischen Biichern des Alien Testaments,
p. 41-04

The passage through the Red Sea. as a funda
mental fact, of the typical kingdom of God,
reaches in its relations through all the Holy
Scriptures, referring backwards to the deluge,
and forwards to Christian baptism, and finally
to the last judgment ; and so the echoes of this
song of Moses extend through all the Scriptures.
Preliminary to it are the poetic passages of
Genesis and the blessing of Jacob; following it,
after some epio passages, comes the parting song
of Moses with his blessings, Deut. xxxii , xxxiii.
Two grand companion-pieces, following this,
Deborah's song of triumph, and David's song of
deliverance (2 Sam. xxii.; Ps. xviii.), introduce
the poetry of the Psalms, in which the key-note,
struck by Moses' song, is heard again. Comp.
Ps. Ixxvii., Ixxviii., cv., cvi., cxiv. Finally
mention is made again of the song of Moses at
the close of the New Testament; its notes re
sound forward as the typical song of triumph of
the people of God even into the next world,
Rev. xv. 3.

As to the historical originality of the song in
this place, three opinions may be specified. Ac
cording to the older view, represented especially
by Kurtz and Sack, the song is wholly Mosaic.
According to the modern, critical view, repre
sented especially by Knobel (Bunsen regards the
song of Moses and Miriam as including vers. 1-3 ;
V. 2, p. 147), the song belongs to a later period.
He says that, according to ver. 17, it cannot have
originated before the times of David and Solo
mon, for which view he adduces also the phrase
$'7t2f, ver. 4 ; but adds that, in its peculiarity it
certainly belongs to an old period. This state
ment involves a rather distinct contradiction.
Meek (Introfi. I. p. 303) assumes that the song
in its original form was genuinely Mosaic, i. e.,
"that a genuinely Mosaic song lies at the foun-
da'ion, but later, as used by the people, received
some addition, or was in general somewhat
worked over." This assumption does not con
tradict in principle the spirit of biblical theology ;

ing features of

the song, which every way
period. Thus, here nothing is

suits the Mosaic

said of Jehovah's righteousness, but the idea of
His holiness here for the first time comes dis
tinctly out, ver. 11. This accords with the de
mands of internal biblical sequence: first, the
El-elyon [Most High God] of the primeval tiraes
and of Melchizedek; then the El-shaddai [God
Almighty], the miracle-working God of Abra
ham ; then Jehovah the Holy One in the age of
Moses. Also the prayer in ver. 10 and, in part,
ver. 17 [rendered by Lange jussively, " Let fear
. . . fall," etc.~\, prove that Israel was still on the
journey.

Analysis of the Song. — "The song may be di
vided into three strophes increasing successively
in length, of which each one begins with the
praise of Jehovah and ends with a description of
the overthrow of the Egyptian host, vers. 2-5. 6-
10, and 11-18" (Keil). Knobel, however, makes

CHAP. XV. 1-21.

*he first strophe consist of vers. 1-3 (Jehovah as
the lofty hero); the secon:!, vers. 4-11 (as the
highest God); the third, vers. 12-18 (as the King
of Israel). Sack divides still differently. The
festive, subjective mood which produces the song
(the introduction or foundation) is properly set
off by itself in ver. 2. Also vers. 3-8 may be taken
together as a magnifying of Jehovah's heroism
(which here makes up for I-rael's unfitness for
warfare) as displayed against Pharaoh. Then
comes the contrast presented in the enemy's d»-
fitnee and defeat, ver.s. 9 and 10. Thence fol
lows the conclusion, that Jehovah is Israel's God,
exalted above all the gods (religions) of the hea
then, vers. 11-13 To this is appended the cele
bration of the terrifying effect of this achievement
of Jehovah on the heathen people; according to
Sack, from ver. 14 to ver. 18. We regard vers.
17-18 as a concluding prayer belonging by itself.
Especially is to be noticed here the relation of
the following words. Evidently Miriam here in
stitutes the antiphony, and that in the simplest
an 1 mo-it natural form. Tbis moment might be
called the birth of the theocratic antiphony. It
corresponds to the position of females, that the
song is very short, the refrain of the song of
Moses, but ennobled by the sound of timbrel and
by the danc1, in which Miriam is the represen
tative of the women, as Moses of the men.

Vers. 1. 2. Jehovah's exploit; Israel's song. T#,
" Strength, might ; not praise and glory" (Keil).
But that strength which the poet experiences,
that which bee >ines in him a fountain of song,
is his inspiration. Jah, concentration of the name
Jehovah, perhaps a more familiar form of the
awe-inspiring name.

Vers. 3-8. Jehovah as a warlike hero in contrast
with Pharaoh. — A man of war. — As such he
had become Israel's consolation and reliance by
his annihilation of Egypt's dreadful military
power, which Israel alone could not have resisted.
Thy right hand, Jehovah (ver. 6) does not
form a contrast with what is said of Jehovah as
a man of war, but is a further celebration of the
warlike power of Jehovah as displayed against
his foes.

Vers. 9, 10 Pharaoh, Jehovah's enemy, as the
persecutor of Hix people, in his arrogance, in con
trast with Jehovah. — I will pursue. — The spirit
of the eager enemy is pictured in a masterly way
by the incomplete sentenced following one another
without the copula. — They sank (plunged).

*>jY is translated by Knobel: "they whirled."
But lead falling upon water does anything but
whirl around. Keil translates 77¥ here '-sank

into the depth?," referring to rii' an 1
the abyss of the sea, an 1 alleging that lead cast
into water can neither whir nor whirl. Yet it
might cause the peculiar sound of water desig
nated by the words dash, splash, etc. The ques
tion might be aslced, whether a new picturesque
expression would not be preferable to the repe
tition of the thought of ver. 5. But this is de
cided by the consideration that they did not fall
upon the water, but the water came over them.

Vers. 11-13. Jehovah therefore has shown Himself
to be the God of His people Israel. — Who is like

unto thee. — The germ of the name Michael.
Jehovah appears here as the exalted God of
God's people, before whom the gods (the hea
then — and anti-Christian — forms of religion)
cannot stand. — Who is like unto thee, again
in fine repetition, for now Jehovah is celebrated
as He who glorifies Himself (or is glorified) in
holiness. He is made glorious by His holiness, by
the august distinction of His personality from all
hostile elements, of His people from the Egypt
ians by the waters of the Red Sea, of His light
from darkness. The passage through the Red
Sea has made manifest the holiness of Jehovah,
who henceforward through His revelation will
sanctify His people, as was first typically pro
mised by the deluge; comp. Ps. Ixxvii. 14 [13]. *
— Fearful in praises. — The obscure expression

means not only summe venerandus,
but also that "man, because God performs fear
ful miracles, can sing to Him praises worthy of
his wonderful deeds only with fear and trem
bling" (Keil). But can one sing praises with
fear and trembling? Yet songs of praise them
selves may disseminate fear and terror in the
kingdom of darkness ; at any rate, Jehovah can
reveal His dreadfulness so as to call forth songs
of praise from His people. — Doing wonders.

— The notion of the miraculous likewise here
first appears more marked, as tnat of something
new and extraordinary, which through God's
creative power transcends the extraordinary
phenomena of the ancient natural world. — Only
a stretching out of His hand, and the earth swal
lows them up. The words, says Keil, have no
thing more to do with the Egyptians, but with
the enemies of the Lord in general, since the
Egyptians were swallowed by the sea. But the
contrast is between God's outstretched hand in
heaven and the absolute subordination of the
whole earth, which certainly includes the sea. —
In thy mercy. — Here the notion of grace be
comes more definite iu connection with the typi
cal deliverance. — Unto thy holy habitation.

— See above. According to Knobel, this expres
sion indicates that the song was composed at a
later period. Noticeable is the expression

HI! The Red Sea being the boundary-
line between Egypt and God's people, the region
or pasture (H1J) of holiness began on the other
shore of the sea. Keil refers the phrase to Ca
naan, the leading of the people into that land
being now pledged to them, so that the expres
sion, like many others, would have to be under
stood in a prophetic sense.

Vers. 14-16. The terrifying effect of this exploit
of Jehovah among the heathen. — Even the singers
at the Red Sea could proclaim this effect as an
accomplished fact. Rumors of wars and victo
ries even in the East circulate rapidly, and the
facts, through the reports, assume an imposing
form. Vid. Josh. ii. 9 ; ix. 9. The ramification
of this effect is entirely in accordance with the
plan of the journey, comp. Num. xx. 18 sqq. ;
xxi. 4; Deut. ii. 3, 8. See above.— Still as

* [Where t*np3, the same expression which in Ex. xV.

11 is rendered "in holiness," is in the A. V. incorrectly
rendered " in the sanctuary." — TB.]

EXODUS.

a. stone. D31 may mean either to stand still,

cr to be rigid and silent. We regard the first
sense as the more probable. As Israel must
march among the stones of the wilderness, so he
wishes also to march through the nations clean
to his goal. To this refers also the two-fold

li.JP'TP ["pass over"], which Knobel refers
to the crossing of the Jordan— a proof of the
degree of senselessness to which modern criti
cism can attain in its prejudices.

Vers. 17, 18. Concluding prayer and doxology. —
A part of ver. 17, as an original conclusion,
could not be at all dispensed with.— Thou shalt
bring them in. — According to Knobel, the
futures are preterites (!); according to Keil,
they should not be read as wishes, but as simple
predictions. Predictions in reference to Jeho
vah's actions!— In the mountain of thine
inheritance. — According to Knobel, this is the
mountain-region of Canaan ; according to Keil,
the mountain which Jehovah had chosen, by the
offering of Isaac (Gen. xxii.), as his dwelling-
place, his sanctuary, Ps. Ixxviii. 54. There is
no ground for regarding this expression as a
vatirinium post eventum ; it seems, however, also
very one-sided to refer the prophecy directly to
the definite locality of the sanctuary on Moriah.
How long the tabernacle, first stood in Shiloh,
how often the ark changed its place! In sym
bolical language a mountain is a secure height
on which the people of Israel, Jehovah's posses
sion, gained a firm lodgment. The centre of
this mountain is, on the one hand, the dwelling-
place of Jehovah ; on the other, the sanctuary
of the Lord ("J^X) for His people. The brief
concluding sentence forms a worthy close; a
simple expression of unlimited confidence:
Jehovah shall reign for ever and ever.

Vers. 19, 20. Transition to the antiphvny of
Miriam. — The horses of Pharaoh. — Keil un
derstands that Pharaoh rode on his horse in
front of the army. But this is neither ancient
nor modern custom. Moreover, DO evidently
refers to chariots and horsemen. — The pro
phetess. — "Not ob poeticam et musicam faculta-
tem (Rosenmiiller), but on account of her pro
phetic gifts " (Keil). It is not well to distinguish
the two kinds of endowment within the theocracy
so sharply, in so far, that is, as the question of
endowment is concerned. — The sister of
Aaron. — So in Num. xii. 1-6, where, together
with Aaron, she takes sides against Moses.
According to Kurtz, she is so called because she
was co-ordinate with Aaron, but subordinate to
Moses. She stood, as the leader of Jewish wo
men, appropriately by the side of the future
conductor of the religious service. According
to the New Testament, it was also customary to
name younger children after the older ones (e.g.
Judas of James). — The timbrel in her hand.
— The tabor, tambourine. — And with dances.
— Here first appears the religious dance, intro
duced by Miriam with religious festivities, but
probably not without Aaron's influence. The
frequent occurrence of this dance is seen from a
concordance.*

Ver. 21. Sing ye to Jehovah. — From this
derives the antiphony in the Old Testament and
New Testament, e. g. Judg. xi 34; 1 Sam. xviii.
G; xxi. 11; xxix. 5. Is not the occasion great
enough in itself, that, the orgin of the antiphony
should have been looked for in Egypt? For the
rest, vid. on the ancient Egyptian female dancers
with tambourines, Keil, Archaoloyie, $ 137,
Note 8.

* [Accnrdiugto some, the word here rendered "dances"
roally denotes a musical instrument usi'd in connection with
dances. So, e. g., Pruf. Marks in Smith's Bible Dictionary,
Am. Ed., p. 538.— TR. ].

FIFTH SECTION.

The journey through the "wilderness to Sinai. Want of water. Marah. Elim. The
Wilderness of Sin. Quails. Manna. Rephidim (Massah and Meribah). The
Amalekites. Jethro and his advice, a human prelude of the divine legislation.

CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27.
THE STATIONS AS FAR AS SINAI.

1 . Marah.
CHAPTER XV. 22-26.

22 So [And] Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the
wilderness of Shur ; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no

23 water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the [drink the]
waters of Marah, for they were bitter ; therefore the name of it was called Marah.

24, 25 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink ? And
he cried unto Jehovah, and Jehovah showed him a tree, which, when he had cast
[and he cast it] into the waters, the [and the] waters were made sweet : there he

26 made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved [tried] them, And

CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27. 55

said, If thou wilt diligently [indeed] hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God,
and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his command
ments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these [the] diseases upon thee,
which I have brought [put] upon the Egyptians: for I am Jehovah that healeth
thee.

2. Elim. CHAP. XV. 27.

27 And they came to Elim, where ivere twelve wells [fountains] of water, and three
score and ten palm trees : and they encamped there by the waters.

3. The Wilderness of Sin. (T>.e Manna and the Quails.}
CHAPTER XVI. 1-36.

1 AND they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children
of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the
fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and

3 Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to
God [Would that] we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt,
when we sat by the flesh-pots, and [flesh-pots,] when we did eat bread to the full ;
for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with

4 hunger. Then said Jehovah [And Jehovah said] unto Moses, Behold, I will rain
bread from heaven for you ; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate
[a daily portion] every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my

5 law, or no [not]. And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall pre
pare that which they bring in ; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then shall ye

7 know that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt. And in the
morninsr, then ye shall see the glory of Jehovah ; for that [since] he heareth your
nmrmurings against Jehovah: and what are we, that ye murmur sgainst us?

8 And Mos°s said, This shall be, when [And Moses said, Since] Jehovah shall give
you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full ; for that
[since] Jehovah heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him, and
[against him,] what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against

9 Jehovah. And Moses spake [said] unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of
the children of Israel, Come near before Jehovah : for he hath heard your mur-

10 murings. And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of
the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the

11 glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel : speak unto them, saying,
At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and

13 ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God. And it came to pass that at even
[at even that] the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the

14 dew lay round about the host [camp]. And when the dew that lay [the layer of
dew] was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay [the wilderness]

15 a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the
children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna [What is this?],1
for they wist [knew] not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the

16 bread which Jehovah hath given you to eat [for food]. This is the thing which
Jehovah hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an
omer for every man [a head], according to tha number of your persons ; take ye

17 every man for them which [that] are in his tents [tent]. And the children of

18 Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete [And

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [XVI. 15. WH |D- Gesenius and Knobel derive jft from M^, to apportion; Furst (Concordance) from the San
scrit mani. But most scholars, following the evident implication of the narrative itself, regard f^ as the Aramaic equiva
lent of 7TD. Even Furst so renders it in his " Illustrirt* Pracht-Bibd," Comp. Michaelis, Supplementa ad Lexica Hebraica.
-TE.]

56 EXODUS.

they measured] it with an [the] omer, he [and he] that gathered much had no
thing over, and he that gathered little had no lack ; they gathered every man

19 according to his eating. And Moses said [said unto them], Let no man leave of

20 it till the morning. Notwithstanding [But] they hearkened not unto Moses ; but
some of them [and some] left of it until the morning, and it bred worms,2 and

21 stank : and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it every morning,

22 every man according to his eating : and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. And
it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers
for one man [each man] : and all the rulers of the congregation came and told

23 Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which Jehovah hath spoken, To mor
row is the rest of the holy sabbath [is a day of rest, a holy sabbath] unto Jehovah :
bake that which ye will bake to-day [bake], and seethe [boil] that [that which] ye
will stethe [boil]; and that which [all that] remaineth over lay up for you to be

24 kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade : and

25 it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that
to-day ; for to-day is a sabbath unto Jehovah : to-day ye shall [will] not find it in

26 the field. Six days ye shall gather it ; but on the seventh day, which is the [on

27 the seventh day is a] sabbath, in [on] it there shall be none. And it came to pass,
that there went out some of the people on the sew nth day for to [day to] gather,

28 and they found none. And Jehovah said unto Mo-es, How long refuse ye to keep

29 my commandments and my laws? See, for that Jehovah hath given you the sab
bath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye

30 every man hi his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the

31 people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called the name thereof
Manna: and it ivas like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers

32 made [like cake] with honey. And Moses said, This is the thing which Jehovah
commandeth, Fill an omer of it [An omer full of it] to be kept for [throughout]
your generations ; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the

33 wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said
unto Aaron, Take a pot [basket], and put an omer full of mnuna therein, and lay

34 it up before Jehovah, to be kept for [throughout] your generations. As Jehovah

35 commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. And
the children of Israel did eat manna [the manna] forty years, until they came to
a land inhabited; they did eat manna [the manna], until they came unto the bor-

36 ders of the laud of Canaan. Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

4. Rephidim, The place called Massah and Meribah.

CHAPTER XVII. 1-7.

XVII. 1 AND all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the
wilderness of Sin, after their journeys [journey by journey], according to the com
mandment of Jehovah, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the

2 people to drink. Wherefore [And] the people did chide with Moses, and said,
Give us water, that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye

3 with me? wherefore do ye tempt Jehovah? And the people thirsted there for
water ; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that
thou hast [Wherefore hast thou] brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our

4 children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried" unto Jehovah, saying,
What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to [a little more, and they

5 will] stone me. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go on [Pass on] before the people,
and take with thee of the elders of the people ; and thy rod wherewith thou smotest

2 [XVI. 20. "And it bred worms:" D^SlFl QT1. The Heb. word seems to be the Fut. of QH defectively written,
and therefore to mean : "rose up into (or with) wonna." Kalisch says, that the form QVI is used instead of QVI to
show that it comes from rm (03^ ?) in the sense of putrefy. So Maurer and Ewald ((jr., § 281, d). Rut it is doubtful
whether QO1! (assumed as the root from which comes fTD"} "worm ") really means putrefy at all. Furst defines it by
"crawl." Moreover, it would be inverting the natural order of things to Pay, that the manna became putrid with worms ;
onus ai B the consequence, not the cause, of the piitridness. Ko-enmuller, Furst, Arnheim and others render by
ind, but probabl* as a fr» e roinlenng for " rose up." Do Wette : da wuchsen Warmer. The A. V. render
ing may stand as u sub.-tantiall., correct reproduction of the sense.— TR.].

CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27. 57

6 the river, take in thine [thy] hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there
upon the rock in Horeb ; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come wattr
out of it, that [and] the people may [shall] drink. And Moses did so in the sight

7 of the elders of I-rael. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah,
because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted Jehovah,
saying, Is Jehovah among us, or not ?

5. Amalek. The dark side of heathenism.

CHAPTER XVII. 8-16.

8^ 9 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said
unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek : to-morrow I will

10 stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine [my] hand. So [And]
Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek : and Moses, Aaron,

11 and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held
up his hand, that Israel prevailed : and when he let down his hand, Amalek pre-
12 vailed. But Moses' hands were heavy : and they took a stone, and put it under

him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the
one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going

13 down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge

14 of the sword. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a [the]
book, and rehearse [lit. put] it in the ears of Joshua : for [that] I will utterly put

15 [blot] out th^ remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an

16 altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi : For [And] he said, Because Jehovah
hath sworn tlird [For a hand is upon the throne of Jah ;3] Jehovah will have war
with Amalek from generation to generation.

6. Rephidim and Jethro. The bright side of heathinism.
CHAPTER XVIII. 1-27.

1 WHEX [Now] Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard of all that God had done for
Moses, and for Israel his people, and [how] that Jehovah had brought Israel out

2 of Egy-pt ; Then [And] Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife,

3 after he had saut her back [after she had been sent away], And her two sons; of
which [whom] the name of the one was Gershom ; for he said, I have been an, alien

4 [a sojourner] in a strange land : And the name of the other ivas Eliezer ; for the
God of my father, said he, was mine [my] help, and delivered me from the sword

5 of Pharaoh: And Jtthro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife
unto Mose3 into the wilderness, where he encamped [was encamped] at the mount

6 of God : And he said unto Moses, I thy father-in-law Jethro am come unto thee,

7 and thy wife, and her two sons with her. And Moses went out to meet his father-
in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him ; and they asked each other of their wel-

8 fare; and they came into the tent. And Moses told his father-in-law all that
Jehovah had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and [sake]
all the travail [trouble] that had come upon them by the way, and how Jehovah

9 delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for [over] all the goodness [good] which
Jehovah had done to Israel whom he had delivered [in that he had deliver*- d them]

10 out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jediro said, Blessed be Jehovah, who hath

3 [XVII. 16. We have given the most literal rendering of this difficult passage. But possibly ""3, instead of meaning

" for " (or " becau-e "), may (as on oft- n in Greek) he the mere mark of a quotation, to be omitted in the translation. The
meaning of the expression itself \s very doubtful. The A. V., following some ancient a thorirics, takes it as an oath ; but
for this there ia lift e ground. K>il interprets : "The hand raised to the, thro..e of Jehovah in h-aven; Jehovah's war
a ;ainsr. Amalek," i. e. the hands of the Israelites, like those of Moses, must l>« raised heavenward towards Jehovah's
throne, while they wage war against Ama'ek. Others interpret: " He^ause a h*nd (v'z. the hand of the AmaUkites) ia
against the throne . f Jah, the i-for.) Jehovah will forever have war with Amalek." This interpretation has the advantage

over Keil's of giving a more natural rendering to Sj?, whi -h indeed in a few cases does mean "up to," but only when it
is (as it is not here) conneot-d with a verb which requires the preposition to be so rendered. Others (perhaps the majority
of modern exegetes) would r ad QJ ("banner"), instead of 03 ("throne"), and interpret: ' The hand upon Jehovah's
banner; Jehovah has war," etc. This conjecture is less objectionable than many attempted improvements of the text,
inasmuch as the name of the alt ir, "Jehovah-nissi " (''Jehovah, my banuer"), seems to require an explanation, and would
receive it if the reading were QJ, instead of 03 — TR.].

EXODUS.

delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh,

11 who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I
know that Jehovah in greater than all [all the] gods : for [yea], in the thing

12 wherein they dealt proudly lie was above [dealt proudly against] them. And
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God : and
Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law

13 before God. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the peo-

14 pie: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And
when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this
thing that thou doest to the people? Why tittest thou thyself alone, and all the

15 people stand by thee from morning unto even? And Moses said unto his father-
13 in-law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God : When they have a

matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, md I do make

17 [I make] tliem know the statutes of God, and his laws. And Moses' father-in-law

18 said unto him, The thing that ihou doest is not g^od. Thou wilt surely wear
away, both thou, and this people that is with thee : for this [the] thing is too
heavy for thee ; thou art not able to perform it thyself [able to do it] alone.

19 Hearken now unto my voice I w-11 g've thee counsel, and God shall be [God be]
with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward [before God], that thou mayest

20 bring [and bring thou] the causes [matters] unto God : And thou shalt teach [And
teach] them ordinances and laws [the statutes and the laws], and shalt shew [and
shew] them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

21 Moreover [But] thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear
God, men of truth, hatiug covetousness [unjust gain]; and place such over them,
to be [as] rulers of thousands, and [thousands,] rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties,

22 and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons [times]: and it
shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter
they [they themselves] shall judge : so shall it be [so make it] easier for thyself,

23 and they shall [let them] bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing,
and God command thee so, then thou shalt [wilt] be able to endure, and all this

24 people shall also [people also will] go to their place in peace. So [And] Moses

25 hearkened to the voice of his father in-law, and did all that he had paid. And
Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people,

26 rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And
they judged the people at all seasons [times]: the hard causes [matters] they

27 brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. And Moses
let his father-in-law depart ; aud he went his way into his own land.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

General Survey of the Section. Israel's jour
ney from the shore of the Red Sea to Mt. Sinai.
The host enters the wilderness of Shur (the same
as the wilderness of Etham), and its first camp
ing-place is hy the bitter waters of Marah. The
second is Elim. Next comes the encampment on
the Red Sea recorded in Num. xxxiii. Still
later the entrance into the wilderness of Sin,
and the encampment in it. With this is con
nected the sending of the manna and of the
quails. Then follows the stay in Rephidim with
three leading events: the water from the rock,
the victory over Amalek, and Jethro's advice
concerning an orderly judicial system. Accord
ing to Num. xxxiii. it must be assumed that the
people encamped on the Red Sea just as they
touched the wilderness of Sin; for it was not till
after this that they entered the wilderness (ver.
Ill, as they also at (lie first entered the wilder-
derness of Shur. on the borders of which they
found themselves at the very outset. Between

the encampment on the Red Sea and that in Re-
phidirn we find in the Book of Numbers Dophkah
and Alush ; and it is said that they journeyed
from the wilderness of Sin to Dophkah. Knobel
observes that these two stations, not mentioned
in Exodus, aive omitted because nothing of his
torical importance is connected with them. Also
about this journey from Ayun Musa to Sinai there
has been an immense deal of discussion, as well
as about the journey from Raemses to the Red
Sea. Vid. Robinson I., p. 90, Bj'am, Israel's Wan-
deru-ng von Oosen bis zum Sinai (Elberfeld, 1859) ;
Strauss, Sinai und Golffotha, p. 124 ; von Rau-
mer, Paliislina, p. 480; Tischendorf, Atts dein
hciligen L-nde, p. 23; Kurtz, History of the. Old
Covenant III., p. 15 sqq.; Bunsen V., 2, p. 155;
and the commentaries.

There is general agreement as to the locality
of the first stations. It is assumed that Israel,
after the passage of the sea, encamped at Ayun
Musa (the Wells of Moses), opposite the high
mountain Atakah, on the other side of the Red
Sea. The next camping-place, Marah (Bitter
ness), is found about sixteen and a half hours, or

CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27.

a t-hree days' journey beyond, by the well Howara
or Hawara, of which Robinson says: "The basin
is six or eight feet in diameter, and the water
about two feet deep. Its taste is unpleasant,
saltish, and somewhat bitter. . . . The Arabs ...
consider it as the worst water in all these re
gions" (Pal II., p. 96). Cf. Seetzen III., p. 117,
and Keil ![., p. 58, who quotes divergent opinions
of Ewald and Lepsius. — The next camping-place,
Eliiu, is two and a half hour.s further south, in
what is now the Wady Ghurundel, with a beau
tiful vegetation consisting in palms, tamarisks,
acacias, and tall grass. — a prominent stopping-
place on the way from Suez to Sinai. "The
way from Howara to this place is short, but the
camping-places of an army in march, like that of
the Israelites, are always determined by the sup
ply of water" (Keil). The fourth stopping- place,
called in Num. xxxiii. 10 the one on the Red Sea,
is found at the mouth of Wady Taiyibeh (Robin
son L, p. 105), eight hours beyond Wady Ghu-
rund •!. From this point the route becomes less
easy to fix In Nana. xxxiii. 11 we read: "They
removed from the Red Sea, and encamped in the
wilderness of Sin." * Here in Exodus it is said
that the wilderness lies between Elim and Sinai.
This addition seems designed not only to give
the general direction (since that would be quite
superfluous), but to designate the middle point
between Elim and Sinai. The chief question
here is, whether the wilderness of Sin as tra
versed by the Israelites, is to be located further
south on a sea coist, where the plain is for the
most part a good hour wide-, as is assumed by
many (not all, as Br'am says), or whether the
high table land el Uebbe, or Debbet en Nash,
with its red sand and sand-stones, is to be taken
for the Wilderness of Sin (Knobel). Accord
ingly. there are two principal routes, of which
the first again branches into two. By the coast
ro ite one can go along the coast as far as Tur
(Ewald), and from that in a northeast direction
come to Sinai; or more directly (i. e., at first in
an inland direction from the fountain Vturkha)
enrer through the wadies Shellal and Badireh
(Butera) into the wadies Mukatteb and Peiran,
and reach Mt. Horeb (de la Borde, von Raumer,
and others). f The other route, the mountain or
highland route (Burckhardt and others) turns
from Taiyibeh "southeast through Wady Shu-
heikah over a high table-land, with the'mountain
Sarbut el Jem el, then through Wady Humr upon

* Inasmuch as P.-lusium, as being a marshy city, is called
S-'n, an I S nai, heing a rocky mountain, is just the opposite,
the question arises: What is tiie common feature of a marshy
wilderness, and of a rocky mountain range? Possibly, the
points an<l denMculations of the thorn-bush. An old 'inter
pretation culls Sinai itself a thorn-bush, fr >rn the thorn-bn^h
which Jehovah revealed Himself to Moses. The

stony wilde-ness may have thi thorn-bush in common with
th" marshy funs.

f [Lringe omits another way which might have been taken,
viz., from el-Murkhah along the coast, and thence up Wady
Feiran, instead of 'he more direct way through the wadies
Shellal and Mukatteb into Wady Feiran. This is the course
which the members of the Sinai Survey Expedition unani
mously decided t> be the m >st probable, inasmuch as the
road over the pass of Nugb Buderah, between the wadi s Shel
lal and Mukatteb, must have l>een constructed at a time pos
terior to the Exodus (K. H. Palmer: The Desert nfthe E.eodm,
p. 275). Roldnson also mentions this route as at least equall v
probable wi h the other (I., p. 107). Palmer is quite decided
that no other route afforded facilities for a large caravan such
aa that of the sraelites.— TR.]

the wide sandy plain el Debbe, or Debbet en
Nasb " (Keil), and on through several wadies
directly to Horeb. For and against each of the°e
routes much may be said. Cf. Knobel, p. 162
sqq. ; Keil II. p. 61. According to the latter
view, advocated by Knobel and Keil, the camp
ing place in the wilderness of Sin is to be sought
in Wady Nasb, where among date-palms a well
of ample and excellent water is to be found.
The second seacoast route was taken by Strauss
and Krafft. (Sinai und Golgotha, p. 127). Also
the last time by Tischendorf (Am dm heiliyen
Lande, p. 35). The same way is preferred by
Briim in his work " Israels Wanderuny" etc.
Likewise Robinson regards this as the course
taken by the Israelites, though he himself took the
one on the table-land. To decide is riot easy,
and is of little importance for our purpose. But
the following observations may serve as guides:
(1) If, as is most probable, the names Sin and
Sinai are connected etymologically, this is an
argument for the table-land route, especially as
it also seems to lie more nearly midway between
Elim and Sinai ; (2) the water seems here to be.
though less abundant, yet better, than in most of
the salty fountains on the seacoast, whose tur-
bidness also is easily to be explained by its situ
ation on the coast (vid. Robinson, p. 110); (3)
on the table-land, in the depressions of which ve
getation was everywhere found, there was cer
tainly better provision for the cattle than on the
seacoast, where they were often entirely sepa
rated from pasture land by mountain barriers;
(4) if the encampment in the wilderness of Sin
was also an encampment on the Red Sea, the
preceding encampment could not, without causing
confusion, be designated by the term " on the
Red Sea." So much for the mountain route.
Ritter has argued against the view that the jour
ney was made on the table-land through Wady
N«sb, in the Evangelncher Kalender. Vid. Kurtz
III., p. 61. For the rest, each way had its pecu
liar attractions as well as its peculiar difficulties.
The mountain route allowed the host to spread
itself, as there was much occasion for doing; it
presented grand views, and prepared the people
for a long time beforehand for its destination.
Sinai. It is distinguished by "the singular and
mysterious monuments of Surabit el-Khadim"
(Robinson I., p. 113; Niebuhr, p. 235). By the
way which runs half on the seacoast, half
through the mountains, we pass through the re
markable valley of inscriptions, Mukatteb, and
through the grand valley Feiran, rich in tnma-
risks, in whose vicinity lies the lofty Serbal, re
garded by Lepsius as the mountain on which the
law was given. On the inscriptions on the
rocks and cliffs in the valley Mukatteb, see Ti
schendorf, "Aus dem h. Lande," p. 39 sqq.; Kurtz
III., p. 64. By these they are ascribed for the
most part to Nabatsean emigrants and to pilgrims
going to attend heathen festivals. On the "rock
of inscriptions" see also Ritter's reference to
Wellsfed and von Schubert, Vol. XIV., p 459.
On the former city Faran in Feiran, see Tischen
dorf, p. 46. The camping-place in the wilder
ness of Sin is, as follows from the above, vari
ously fixed; according to some it is the plain on
the sea south of Taiyibeh, which, however, must
then be called the wilderness of Sin up to the

EXODUS.

mountain range, if (he camping-place is to be
distinguished from the one on the Red Sea; ac
cording to Bunsen and others, the camping-place
was in the place called el Munkhah. According
to others, it is the large table-land el Debbe ot
Debbet en Nasb. The camping-places in the
derness of Sin being indeterminate, so are also the
two following ones at Dophkah and Alush (Num.
xxxiii. 12). Conjectures respecting the two sta
tions beyond the wilderness of Sin are made by
Knobel, p. 174, and 13unsen, p. 156. The last
station before the host arrives at iSinai is R?phi-
dim. This must have been at the foot of Horeb,
for "Jehovah .stood on the rock on Iloreb, when
He gave water to the people encamped in Rephi
dim (xvii. 6), and at the same place Moses was
visited by Jethro, who came to him at the mourn
of God" (Knobel). This is a very important
point fixed, inasmuch as it seems to result fi om
it, that Serbal is to be looked for north of, or be
hind, Rephidim and Horeb, but the Mt. Sinai of
the Horeb r^nge in the south. * The great plain
at, the foot of Horeb, where the ctinp of the Is
raelites is sought, is called the plain er-Raka
(Kuobel derives D"T£3"^, ''breadth, ' " surface, ':
"plain," from "lip, to be spread). f For a refu
tation of Lepslus who finds Rephidim in Wady
Feiran, and Sinai in Seibal, see Knobel, p. 174.
On Serbal itself (Palm grove of Baal) vid. Kurtz
ILf., p. (i7. Between Serbal and the Horeb group
lies Wady es-Sheikh. From the mouth of this
wady towards Horeb the plain of Rephidim is
thought to begin. Other assumptions: The de
file with Moses' seat, Mokad Seidoa Musa,
or the plain of Suweiri. Perhaps not very dif
ferent from the last mentioned (vid. KeillL, p. 79;
Strauss, p. 1 :-51). The most improbable hypothesis
identifies Rephidim with Wady Feiran (Lcpsius).t

1. Marah. Chap. xv. 22-26.

On the wilderness of Shur, v>d Keil IT., p. 57.

Particulars about Howara [Hawara (Robinson),

Hawwara (Palmer)], Knobel, p. I GO. — The bitter

salt ivater at Marah.fy The miracle here consists

* [Thi< is not perspicuous. Inasmuch us Serbal is not
mentioned in the Bible, no infere icecun lie drawn from these
circumstance-; respecting its location. Moreover, Serbil is
not north of Sinai (Jcbel Musa). hut nearly e*st— a. little
north only. And why i- "north" calli'l "behind' ? The
"hinder'' region, a cording to Hebrew conceptions, is in the
we*t.- TR.l

f [The theorv tlv»t Rephid'm is t > be snneht in er-Riha
(advocated by Knobel, K>il, Lange. and others), is certainly
open to the objection that that plain is c'ose'by Mt. Sinai
itself, and is in all i robabilitv the ciimpin^-pla^e "before the
mount," mentioned in xix. 1, v. Palmer (p. 112) and Rob
inson CT., p. 155) are emphatic in the opinion that the plain
of Se' ai eh, smith-ens- of Jebel Musa. H q-ii •• insufficient to
have accommodated the Israel itish cam]). R-phidim. there
fore, being (ac ordmj: to x'x. '1\ \<\ lea^t a ilay s march from
the place whence Moses we t up t > receive the law, cannot
well have heen er-Kahn. Stanley (Sinai and Palext ne, p. 40)
><nd Palmer defend the old vi -w that it is t . be looked for at
Feiian. near Mt. Serial. P.. liner argues that the distance,
apparently nine i too great to have been traversed in a single
day, is n-> insuperable objection, provided that by "the wil
derness of Sinai" we understand the month of Nagb Hawa
which may have b:-en n ached in a single day by the direct
ro'ite fro. n Feir.m.— Tit.)

J[On -his point see the last note. A g >od map of th" whole
peninsiil t is to be found in Smith and Grove's A f las "f Ancient
Geography. — TR.]

# "The Aralw call the well exitnnn, i't.p-itus. probalily jn
iiccor Ian e with the no-ion ih-it tha wbich is b tier is deadly
(2 Kinzs iv.40.." Knob 1. The Aral" ma»- make humorous
re Jiark< aliout bad w -Us of water, lik • t;,e Germans on ba 1

in great part in the fact that, Jehovah showed
Moses a tree by which the water was made drink
able. That the tree itself was a natural tree is
not denied by the strictest advocates of a literal
interpretation. A part of the miracle is to be
charged to the assurance of the prophetic act,
and the trustful acceptance of it on the part of
the people. Various explanations: The well was
half emptied, so that pure water flowed in (Jo-
sephus) ; the berries of the ghurlud shrub were
thrown in (Burckhardt). According to Robin
son, the Bnduins of the desert know no means of
changing bitter salt water to sweet. 4i Tn Egypt,"
as Josephus relates, "bad water was once puri
fied by throwing in certain split sticks of wood "
(Bram). This leads to the question, how far
the salt water might have been made more
drinkable by Moses' dipping into it a crisp,
branchy shrub, as a sort of distilling agent.
For this the numerous clumps of the ghurkud
shrub which stand around the well, and whose
berries Burckhardt wished to make use of, are
very well suited. The distillation consists in
the art of separating, in one way or another,
salt, from water, especially by means of brush
wood ; generally, tor the purpose of getting
salt; bul it might be done for the opposite pur
pose of getting water. In proportion as a bunch
of brushwoo'l should become incrusted with the
salt, the water would become more free from the
salt. For the rest, Robinson observe*, concern
ing the waier of the fountain Hawara, "Its
taste is unpleasant, saltish, and somewhat bitter;
but we could not perceive that it was very much
worse than that of Ayun Musa." It must fur
ther be considered that the Jews had the soft,
agreeable Nile water in recollection. Kurtz has
even found an antithesis in the fact that Moses
made the uridi inkahle water at Marah drinkable,
as he had made the sweet water of the Nile un-
Irinkable. We are here also to notice that the
effect of Moses' act was not permanent, bin con
sisted only in the act itself, the same as is true
of the saving effect of the sacraments in i elation
to faith. Here, too, is another proof that Moses
liad a quite peculiar sense for the life of nature,
a sense which Jehovah made an organ of His
Spirit. With the curing of the well Jehovah
connected a fundamental law, stating on what
condition He would be the Saviour of the people.
Bram (p. 114) points out, with reason, that the
Israelites, in drinking salty water, which has a
axative effect, might well apprehend that the
nuch-dreaded sicknesses of Egypt, the pesti-
ence, the small-pox, the leprosy, and the inflam-
nation of the eyes, caused by the heat and the
ine dry sand, together with the intense reflection
)f light, might attack them here ali-'O in the wil-
lerness, the atmosphere of which otherwise has
\ healing effect on many diseased constitutions,
herefore, in curing that well. Jehovah esta-
ilishe-1 the chief sanitary law for Israel. It is
ery definit", as if from the mouth of a very
areful physician well acquaint d with his case.
General rule: perfect compliance with Jehovah's
irection ! Explanation of it : if thou doest what
right in His eyes, and wilt give ear to His
omrnandments, and keep all His statutes (in re-

ines. in hyperbolical expressions wi ich are not to be taken
e rally.

CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27.

ference to the means of spiritual recovery, diet
etics), then I will put none of the diseases
upon thee which I have put upon the
Egyptians, for I am Jehovah, thy physi
cian. — ttut how can it be added, "and there he
prove 1 them?" The whole history has been a
test of the question, whether the people would
obey the directions of Jehovah given through
Moses, and particularly whether, after the sin
gular mean-* employed by Moses, they would
drink in faith. Ev.ry test of faith is a tempta
tion for sinful man, because in his habituation to
the common order of things lies an incitement
not to believe in any extraordinary remedy, such
as seems to contradict nature. But out of the
actual temptation which the people had now
pissel through, proceeded this theocratic sani
tary law. as a temptation perpetually repeating
itself. There is even still a temptation in the
principle of the theocratic therapeutics, that ab
solute certainty of life lies in absolute obedience
to God's commands and directions. According
to Keil, the statute here spoken of does not con
sist in the divine utterance recorded in ver. 26,
but in an allegorical significance of the fact
itself: the leading of the Israelites to bitter
water which the natural man cannot and w-11
rot drink, 1 ogether with the making of this water
sweet and wholesome, is to be a pt"l, that is, a sta
tute and a law, showing how God at all times will
lead and govern His people, and a DDt^D, that is,
an ordinance, inasmuch as Israel may continu
ally depend on the divine help, etc. If this is so,
then the text must receive an allegorical inter
pretation not obviously required.

Furthermore, it is a question whether, after the
tremendous excitements through which the peo
ple had passed, bitter and salty water like that
at Marah, might not have been more beneficial
than hurtful to (hem. Salt water restores the
digestion when it has been disturbed by excite
ment. Notice, moreover, the stiff-neckedness or
stubbornness peculiar to the disposition of slaves
just made fr--e, as it gradually makes its appear
ance and increases. It was in their distress at
Pi-hahiroth that they first gave utterance to their
moroseness ; true, they cried to Jehovah, but
quarrelled with Moses. They seemed to have
forgotten the miracle of deliverance wrought in
the night of Egypt's terror. Here they even
murmur over water that is somewhat poorer than
usual. The passage through the Red Sea and
the song of praise seem to be forgotten. In the
wilderness of Sin the whole congregation mur
murs against Moses and Aaron, i. e., their divinely
appointed leaders, from fear of impending fa
mine, probably because the supplies brought
from Egypt were running low ; — the amp]e re
freshment enjoyed at Elim seems to be forgotten.
In Rephidim they murmur on account of want of
water; — the miraculous supply of manna and
quails seems to be forgotten. On the other hand,
however, the wise augmentation of severity in the
divine discipline becomes prominent. At* Marah
nothing is said of any rebuke uttered by Jeho-
vih, as is done later, Num. xi. 14, 20. Espe
cially noticeable is the great difference between
the altercation at Marah, in the wilderness of
Sin, and the mutiny at Kadesh, Num. xx. The

altercation there is expressly called a striving
with Jehovah, ver. 13.

2. Elim. Chap. xv. 27.

A fine contrast with Marah is afforded here,
both in nature, and in the guidance of the peo
ple of God, and in (he history of the inner life.
In Elim, Baumgarten and Kurtz find a place
expressly prepared for Israel, inasmuch as by
the number of its wel's and p-ilm trees it bears in
itself the seal of this people : every tribe havm £
a well for man and beast, and the tent of each
one of the elders of the people (xxiv. 9) having
the shade (according to Baumgarten, the dates)
of a palm-tree. Even Keil finds this too su-
pernaturalistic ; at least, he observes that, while
the number, of the wells corresponds to the
twelve tribes of Israel, yet the number of the
palm trees dors not correspond to that of the
elders, whi h, according to xxiv. 9, was much
(?) greater. On neither side is the possibility
of a symbolical significance in the numbering
thought of; without doubt, however, the em
phasis given to the number seventy is as signifi
cant as that given to the number twelve. Keil's
allusion to the 23d Psalm is appropriate. See
particulars about Elim in Knobel, p. 101 ; Tisch-
endorf, p. 36.*

3. The Wilderness of Sin. Chap. xvi. 1-36.
Notice first the aggravated character of the
murmuring. Now the whole congregation mur
murs. And not against Moses alone, but against
Moses and Aaron, so that the murmuring is more
defiLitely directed against the divine commission
of the two men, and so against the divine act of
bringing them out of Egypt, that is, against
Jehovah Himself. Moreover, the expression of
a longing after Egypt becomes more passionate
and sensual. At first they longed resignedly
for the graves of Egypt, in view of the danger
of death in the desert. The next time, too, they
say nothing about their hankering after the
Nile water in view of the bitter water of Marah.
But now the flesh-pots of Egypt and the Egyp
tian bread become prominent in their imagina
tion, because they conceive themselves to be
threatened with famine. Corresponding to the
aggravation of the murmuring are the bpginnings
of rebuke. Says Knobel, ''What the congre
gation "had brought with them from Esypt
had been consumed in the thirty days which had
elapsed since their exodus (ver. 1), although
the cattle brought from Egypt, (xii. 38) had not
yet all been slaughtered or killed by thirst (?),
since after their departure from the wilderness
of Sin they still possessed cattle at Rephidim,
which they wished to save from thirsting to
death (xvii. 3). For the herds had not been
taken merely to be at once slaughtered ; and
meat could not take the place of bread. In their
vexation the people wish that they had died in
Egypt, while filling themselves from (lie flesh-
pots, 'by the hand of Jehovah,' i. c., in the last
plague inflicted by Jehovah upon Egypt, rather
than gradually to starve to death here in the

* [Wilson. (Land* of tie Bible. Vol. I., p. 174), would iden
tify with E im, not Wady Ghnrundd, hut \Va,r!y W asrit
(Useit), five or six niilos south of Wady Ghuruudel. — TR.].

EXODUS.

wilderness." In the verb used (|V7 Niph.) is
expressed a murmuring just passing over into
contumacy. Yet here too Jehovah looks with
compassion upon the hard situation of the peo
ple, and hence regards their weakness with
indulgence.

The natural substratum of the double miracle
of feeding, now aunounced and brought to pass,
is found in the food furnished by the desert to
nomadic emigrants. The manna is the miracu
lous representative of all vegetable food; the
quails denote the choicest of animal prey fur
nished by the desert. The first element in the
miracle is here too the prophetic foresight and
assuiance of Moses. The second is the actual
miraculous enhancement of natural phenomena;
the third is here also the trustful acceptance of
it: the miracle of faith and the religious mani
festation answering to it. The ultra-superna-
turalistic view, it is true, is not satisfied with
this. It holds to a different manna from that
provided by God in nature, and ought, in con
sistency, to distinguish the quails miraculously
given from ordinary quails.

in this case, too, the trial of faith was to be a
temptation (ver. 4), to determine whether the
people would appropriate the miraculous blessing
to themselves in accordance with the divine pre
cept, and so recognize Jehovah as the giver, or
whether they would go out without restraint
and on their own responsibility to seize it, as if
in a wild chase. Here, therefore, conies in the
establishment of the fundamental law concerning
the healing of life; and this is done by the or
daining of the seventh day as a day of rest, the
Sabbath. As man, when given over to a merely
natural life, is inclined to seek health and re
cuperation without regarding the inner life and
the commandments of God, so he is also inclined
to yield himself passionately and without re-
strauit to the indulgence of the natural appetite
for food, and, in his collection of the means
of nourishment, to lose self-collection, the self-
possession of an interior life. As a token of this
the Sabbath here comes in at the right point,
and therefore points at once from the earthly
manna to the heavenl}' manna, (vid. John vi.).*

The announcement of the miracle. I will rain.
The first fundamental condition of the feeding:
recognition of the Giver, comp. James i. 17.—
From heaven. Though this in general might
also be said of bread "from the earth," yet
here a contrast is intended. From the sky
above, i. e., as a direct gift.— The people shall
go out and gather. A perpetual harvest, but
limited by divine ordinance.— A daily portion
every day. Reminding one of the petition,
''Give us this day,' etc. An injunction of con
tentment.— On the sixth day. They will
find, on making their preparation of the food,
that the blessing of this day is sufficient also for
the seventh.— At even. A gift, of flesh was to
precede the gift of manna. Thereby they are
to understand that Jehovah has led them out of
Egypt, that He has provided for them a substi
tute for the flesh-pots of Egypt. But on the next

* Further on follows the fundamental law of warfare in s If-

efMico a.'ninst heathen enemies, as well an th« fundamental

law for the unhes taring appropriation of heathen wisdom.

morning they shall see the glory of Jehovah, i. e.
they shall recognize the glorious presence of
Jehovah in the fact that He has heard their mur
muring against Moses and Aaron, and has ap
plied it to Himself, in that He presents them the
manna — For what are we ? Thus do the
holy men retire and disappear behind Jehovah. —
But the people also mubt come to this same con
viction, must repent of their murmurings, and
feel that they have murmured against Jehovah,
not against His servants. Thus with perfect
propriety is a sanction of the sacred office inter
woven into the same history into which the his
tory of the Sabbath is interwoven. Hence it
follows also that the true sacred office must au
thenticate itself by miraculous blessings. Both
are sealed by a specially mysterious revelation.
It is significant that in this connection Aaron
must be the speaker (ver. 9), that he must sum
mon the people before Jehovah to humble them
selves before His face on account of- their mur
muring. Equally significant is it. that the con
gregation, while Aaron speaks, sees the mani
festation of Jehovah's glory in the cloud.
Especially significant, however, is it, that they
see this glory rest over the wide wilderness, as
they turn and look towards it. A most beauti
ful touch! With the wilderness itself the way
through the wilderness is transfigured at this
moment. If we assume (with Keil) that the
j summons to appear before Jehovah is equivalent
to a summons to come out of the tents to the
place where the cloud stood, then it must be
further assumed, that the cloud suddenly changed
its position, and removed to the wilderness, or
else appeared in a double form. Neither thing
can be admitted. Hereupon follows the last
solemn announcement of the miraculous feeding,
as the immediate announcement of Jehovah
Himself.

The double miracle itself. — The quails came
up. — This narrative has its counterpart in the
narrative of the quails in Num. xi. 4 sqq., just
as the chiding on account of want of water at
Rephidirn has its counterpart in the st< ry of the
water of strife (Meribah), distinctively so-called
in Num. xx. The relation of the narratives to
one another is important. The murmuring of
the people in the beginning of their journey
through the wilderness is treated with the
greatest mildness, almost as a child's sickness ;
but their murmuring towards the end of the
journey is regarded as a severe offence, and is
severely punished; it is like the offence of a
mature man, committed in view of many years'
experience of God's miraculous help. At the
water of strife even Moses himself is involved
in the guilt, through his impatience; and the
gift of quails in abundance is made a judgment
on the people for their immoderate indulgence.
Another difference corresponds to the natural
features of the desert: the quails do not keep
coming; but the people find themselves accom
panied by the manna till they are tired of eating
it. — Came up. — nSj£. The coming on of a host
of locusts or birds has the optical appearance
with the article of a

of a coming up. — 1

word used collectively of a class " (Keil). LXX.

CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27.

, Vulg. coturnices. Large quails,
whoso name in Arabic comes from (heir fatness

— 1/#, fat. Says Knobel : " They become very
fat, increase enormously, and in the spring mi
grate northward, in the autumn southward.
Here we are to conceive of a spring migration.
For the events described took phce in the second
month, i. e. about our May (xvi. 1 ; Num. x. 11),
and the quails came to the Israelites from the
south-cast, from the Arabian Gulf (Ps. Ixxviii.
26 sq. ; Num. xi. 31"i. In his journey from
8inai to Edomitis in March, Schubert (II., p.
330 sq.) saw whole clouds of migratory birds,
of sucli extent and denseness as never before ;
they came from their southern winter-quarters,
and were hastening toward the sea-coast (?).
Probably they were quails, at least in part."
Furs her particulars on the abundance of quails
in those region", sec in Knobel (p. 106) and
Keil (II., p. 66). " They are sometimes so
exhausted that they can be caught with the
hand" (Keil). Some identify the fowl with the
kataot' t le Arabs [a sort of partridge]. Of course
it must be assumed that the Israelites in the wil
derness were no more confined to the quails for
meat than to the manna for bread.

The manna. Vers. 13, 14. A layer of dew.
A deposit or fall of dew. — A dust, i. e. an
abundance of small kernels. If the arra^ 2ey.
DSprTp is explained simply according to the
verb ^Dn, to peal off, scale off, we get the no
tion of scaly or leaf-shaped kernels, but not that
of coagulated kernels. But .perhaps the notion
of shelled kernels of grain is transferred, in ac
cordance with appearance, to these kernels.
" According to ver. 31 and Num. xi. 7," says
Knobel, " the manna resembled in appearance
the white coriander seeds (small, r Hind kernels
of dull white or yellowish green color) and the
bdellium (resin)." Again he says : '-According
to the Old Testament, the dew comes from hea
ven (Deut. xxxiii. 13, 28; Prov. iii. 20: Zech.
yiii. 12; Hag. i. 10); with it the manna de
scended (Num. xi. 9) ; this seems therefore like
bread rained down irom heaven, and is called
' corn of heaven,' « bread of heaven ' (Ps. Ixxviii.
24; cv. 40) " Further on Knobel relates that
the ancients also supposed, that honey rained
down from the air; hence he should more
exactly distinguish between the notions of at
mosphere ;ind of heaven as the dwelling-place
of God, comp. John vi 31, 32.— Man hu. — The
explanation that |3 is to be derived from fJ*3,
to apportion, and that this expression therefore
means: "a present is that" (Kimchi, Luther,
Gesenius, Knobel Kurtz), does not suit the con
text, winch would make Moses repeat what the
people had said before him, to say nothing of
the fact that the derivation of the notion " pre
sent" from the verb is disputed. On the con
trary, the interpretation of the LXX., Keil and
others, -I. eari TOVTO, perfectly accords with the
connection. They said: "What is that?" be
cause they did not know what it was. "JO for
i~n belongs to the popular language, and is pre
served in Chaldee and Ethiopia, so that it is
indisputably to be regarded as an old Shemitic
form" (Keil).

The natural manna and the miraculous manna. — •
Comp. the articles in the Bible Dictionaries.
K' il says : '• This bread of heaven was given by
Jehovah to His people for the first time at a sea
son and in a place where natural manna is still
found. The natural manna is now found in the
peninsula of Sinai usually in June and July,
often even as early as in May, most abundantly
in the vicinity of Alt. Sinai, in Wady Feiran and
Es-sheikh, but also in Wady Ghurundel and
Tayibeh (Seetzen, Reisen, ILL, p. 76, 129), and
some valleys south-east of Mt. Sinai (Hitter,
XIV., p. 676), where it in warm weather oozes
by night out of the branches of the tarfa-free, a
sort of tamarisk, and in the form of small glo
bules falls down upon the dry leaves, branches,
and thorns which lie under the trees, and is
gathered before sunrise, but melts in the heat
of the sun. In years when rain is abundant, it
falls more plentifully for six weeks; in many
years it is entirely wanting. It has the appear
ance of gum, and has a sweet, honey-like taste,
and when copiously used, is said to be a gentle
laxative (Burckhardt, Syria, p. 600 ; Wellsted in
Ritter, p. 674). There are thus presented some
striking points of resemblance between the man
na of the Bible and the tamarisk manna. Not
only is the place where the Israelites first re
ceived manna the same as that in which it is
obtained now, but the time of the year is the
same, inasmuch as the 15th day of the second
month (ver. 1) falls in the middle of our May,
or even siill later. Also in color, form and ap
pearance the resemblance is unmistakable, since
the tamarisk manna, though of a dull yellow
color, jet when it falls upon stones is described
as white ; the resemblance is likewise seen in
the fact, that it falls in kernels upon the earth,
is gathered in the morning, melts in the sun,
and tastes like honey. While these points of
agreement indubitably point to a connection be
tween the natural and the Biblical manna, yet
the differences which run parallel with all of
the resemblances indicate no less clearly the
miraculous character of the heavenly bread."
Thus Keil leaves the matter, without reconciling
the two positions. The miraculous manna, he
says, was enjoyed by the Israelites forty years
long everywhere in the wilderness and at all
seasons of the year in quantity equal to the
wants of the very numerous people. Hengsten-
berg's theory (Geschichle des Bileam, p. 280) that
the natural manna which is formed on the leaves
of the tarfa-bush by the sting of an insect
(according to a discovery of Ehrenberg's), is
the natural substratum of the miraculous abun
dance of manna, is combated by Kurtz III , p.
34. Kurtz can conceive that the people lived at
Kadesh thirty-seven years in apostasy, and that
nevertheless during all this time they received
regularly their portion of manna for every man.
By this method of distinguishing the miraculous
from the natural manna, we come to the hypo
thesis, that the people of Israel were fed with
two kinds of manna ; for it will certainly not be
assumed that the natural fall of manna during
all this time was supernaturally suspended, as
in a similar manner Keil on xvi. 10 makes out
two pillars of cloud. Von Raumer and Kurtz,
we may remark, go as much beyond Keil,

EXODUS.

as Keil does beyond Hengstenberg. V\
Keil, p. 72, arid (he note on the same page
Between the baldly literal interpre'ation an
the embellishments of wonder-loving legends th
•view above described recognizes nothing higher
it does not understand the symbolic language o
the theocratic religion, nor see how an under
standing of this lifts us as much above the mythi
cal as the literal interpretation. The defect o
the latter consists, as to substance, in the circum
stance that it identifies the conception of natur
with that of the common external world raised b_
a Providential government only a little above ;
material system: as to form, it is defective ii
that it identifies the word and the letter, and can
not understand and appreciate the specific dif
ference between the heathen myth and the sym
bolical expression of the theocratic spirit as i
blends together ideas and facts. Kurtz refer:
to the miracle in John ii., without clearly appre
bending that this miracle would be the meres
trifle, if his notion of the miracle of the manna
is the correct one, to say nothing of the eviden
conflict of this with John vi. 32. Knobel, whose
learned disquisition on the manna (p. 171 sqq.
should be consulted, thus states the distinctive
features of the miraculous manna, which he re
gards as a legendary thing: (a) The manna, ac
cording to the Biblical account, "conies withthi
mist and dew from heaven (xvi. 14) ;" — so Kurtz
III., p. 28 But since the mist does not conn
down from the throne of God, the meaning is
simply that, it comes from above, not from below
(b) " It falls in such immense abundance thai
every person of the very numerous people daily
receives an omer (vers. 16, 36)." The omer,
however, is a very moderate hand measure, the
tenth part of an ephah, originally hardly a defi
nite quantity, vid. Keil II., p. 74. (c) Further
more, " those who gather the manna collect al
ways only just what they need, no more and m
less." This is clearly to be symbolically ex
plained of contentedness and community, (d)
" The manna f.ill^ only on the six working-days,
not on the seventh day, it being the Sabbath,
(ver. 20 sq. )." On th's is to be observed that this
extraord nary fact was needed only once, in order
to sanction the Sabbath; the fact may also be
explained by the circumstance that on the day
before an extraordinary, double fall of manna
took place, (e) " The manna which is kept over
from one working-day to another becomes wormy
and offensive (ver. 2 >), whilst that preserved
from the sixth day to the seventh keeps good
(ver. 24), for which reason, except on the sixth
day, the manna must always be eaten on the day
when it is gathered." Th's too is a singular,
enigmatical fact; but it, is cleared up by looking
at it in its rich ideal light. The supply which
heathen providence heaps up breeds worms, de
cays, and smells offensively: not so the supply
required by the Sabbath rest, sacred festivities,
and divine service, (f ) « It is ground in the
hand-mill, crushed in the mortar, and cooked hy
baking or boiling, made e. g. into cakes (ver. 23,
Num. xi. 8). (g) It appears in general as a sort
of bread, tasting like baked food (ver. 31, Num.
xi. 8}, and is always called DnS. even |JH (vid.
ver. 15), to say nothing of the miraculous dou

bling of the quantity (vers. 5, 22)." This latter
feature comes at once to nothing, if we assume
that on the sixth day there was a double fall of
manna.* How far the manna, which contains no
farinaceous elements, but only glucose, was min
gled with farinaceous elements, in order to b^
used after the manner of farinaceous food, we
need not inquire; at all events the Israelites
could not. afterwards have said, of a properly
farinaceous substance, and that too of a superior
kind, ''Our soul loatheth this light food." The
splendor with which faith, wonder, and grati
tude had invested the enjoyment of the miracu
lous food had vanished. According to Keil, the
connection of the natural manna with the miracu
lous manna is not to be denied, but we are also not
to conceive of a mere augmentation, but the om
nipotence of God created from the natural sub
stance a new one, " which in quality and quan
tity as far transcends the products of nature as
the kingdom of grace and glory outshines the
kingdoms of nature." But Christ, in John vi.,
speaks of a manna in the kingdom of grace and
glory, in contrast with the Mosaic manna. — Ac
cording to Kurtz, who, especially in opposition
to Karl Hitter, follows the opinion of Schubert,
the manna was prepared by a miracle of omnipo
tence in the atmosphere; according to Schubert,
that "tendency to the production of manna which
at the right time permeated the vitalizing air,
and with it all the vital forces of the land, has
propagated itself still, at least in the living
thickets of the manna-tamarisks." The natural
manna, then, is a descendant of the Biblical
manna, but a degenerate sort, developed by the
puncture made by the cochineal insect in the
branches of the tarfa-shrub !

We are specially to consider further (1) the
preservation of a pot, containing an omer of
manna, in the sanctuary; (2) the specification of
the time during which the use of manna by the
Israelites lasted. As to the first point, the ob
ject was to preserve the manna as a religious me
morial; hence the expression of the LLX., oraa-
XPva°v£i is exegetical. "The historian here
evidently anticipates the later execution oi the
charge now given. Comp. Hengstenberg, Pen
tateuch II., p. 169 sqq." (Kurtz). As to the se
cond point, it is expressively said that Israel had
10 lack of the miraculous manna so long as they
vere going through the wilderness ; but Kurtz
nfers from Josh. v. 11, 12, that the Jews did not
cease to eat manna till after the passover in Gil-
al, though they had other food besides The
correct view is presented in the Commentary on
oshua, ch. v. 12, where stress is laid on the con-
rast between Jehovah's immediate preservation
if the food of the wilderness, on the one hand,
ind the historical development that, took the
dace of this, on the other hand, i. e., the natural
>rder of things which belongs to civilized life;
orresponding to the fact that the ark took the
>lace of the pillar of cloud and fire, as leader of
he people.
The question whether in this narrative the

* [This reply, apparently not very Hear, is the same aa
le on^ made. above to specification (d) of Knoliel. L.nge
istinguishes between a miraculms fall and an extraordinary
ill, and supposes besides that the extraordinary (double) fall
lay have been limited to one occasion. — TR.]

CHAP. XV. 22— XVIII. 27.

Sabbath is institute 1 for the first time (Heng-
sienbcrg), or again renewed (Liebetrut), is thus
decided by Kurtz (III., p. 42): The observance
of the Sabbath was instituted before the law,
nay even in Paradise, but " the law of the Sab-
b ith first received a legal character through the
revelation on Sinai, and lost it again through the
love which is the fulfilling of the law, in the new
covenant (Col. ii. 16, 17)." In the fulfilment
nothing indeed is lost, but every law becomes a
liberating principle. It is noticeable how in the
history of Moses, patriarchal customs, to which
also probably the Sabbath belonged, are sanc
tioned by miraculous events aad receive a legal
character; as has already been seen in various
instances (festivals, worship, sanitary laws, offi
cial rank, the Sabbath).

4. Replddim.

a. Rephidim and the place called Temptation
and Strife.

Following the route of the mountain road the
Israelites now came out of the region of the red
sands'tone into that of porphyry and granite
(Knobel, p. 174). They came thither " accord
ing to their day's journeys," i. e., after several
day's journeys. In Num. xxx ii. 12 the two sta
tions Dophk ih and Alush are mentioned. On
the conjecture of Knobel (p. 174) concerning
these places, vid. Keil II., p. 76.

According to Knobel (p. 176), "popular tra
dition transfers the occurrence here mentioned
5so Kadesh, therefore to a later time, (Num. xx.
o)." It is a universal characteristic of modern
scientists that, not being free from the propen-
^i'y to give predominant weight to sensible
£ lings, they are easily carried away with exter
nal resemblances hence with allegories, and so
may disregard the greatest internal differences
&f things. Thus as the external resemblance of
man to the monkey is more impressive to the
naturalist than the immense inward contrast, so
Biblical criticism often becomes entangled in this
modern allegorizing ; even Hengstenberg pays
tribute to it in identifying the Simon of Bethany
with the Pharisee Simon on the Lake of Galilee,
and so, the Mary of Bethany with the sinful
woman who anointed Jesus.

As the sending of the quails in Num. xi. 5
pqq., forms a companion-piece to that in Ex. xvi.,
so the water of strife in Num. xx. 2 sqq., to the
water of strife in Rephidim. There is a resem
blance even in the sounds of the names of the
deserts Sin (pD thorn?), and Zin (j¥ low palm).
So also the want of water and the "murmurs of
the people, and in consequence of this the seem
ingly identical designation of the place; also the
giving of water out of the rock. Aside from the
d IFerence of time and place, the internal features
-•f the two histories are also very different ; even
the difference in the designations is to be ob
served, the place Massah and Meribah (temp
tation and strife), and the water Meribah, over
which the children of Israel strove with Jehovah,
and He was sanctified (shown to be holy) among
them. In the first account Jehovah is only
tempted by the people; in the second, He is
almost denied. In the one, Moses is said to
smite the rock, away from the paople, in the

presence of the elders; in the other, he and
Aaron are said to speak with the rock before all
the people. Also the summary description of
the journey in Deut. i. 37, leaves no doubt that
the second incident is entirely different from the
first. Likewise in Deut. xxxiii. 8, two different
things are mentioned, and the temptation at
Massah is distinguished from the strife at the
water of strife, (comp. Ps. xcv. 8). It lies in
the nature of the case that the religious mind
would celebrate in a comprehensive way its
recollection of the most essential thing in the
two events, viz., the miraculous help of Jehovah,
Deut. viii. 15, Is. xlviii. 21, Ps. Ixxviii. 15, ^0, cv.
41, cxiv. 8, Neh. ix. 15. Why chide ye with
me? — The true significance of this chiding with
him Moses at once characterizes: it is a tempt
ing of Jehovah. This he could do after what he
had affirmed in xvi. 8, 9. After the giving of
the quails and the manna, designed to confirm
the divine mission of Moses and Aaron, they
had now to do with Jehovah, when thoy quar
relled with Moses. But how far did they tempt
Jehovah? Not simply "by unbeli ving doubt
of the gracious presence of the Lord" (Keil).
They sinfully tested the question whether Jeho
vah would again stand by Moses, or would this
time forsake him. Hence their reproach against
Moses reaches the point of complaining that he
is to blame for their impending ruin — a com
plaint which might well have been followed by
stoning. Jehovah's command corresponds with
this state of things. Moses is to go confidently
away from the people to the still distant Horeb,
but to take with him the elders of the people as
witnesses, and there to smite the rock with his
rod. But Jehovah is to stand there before him
on the rock. Does this mean, as Keil represents,
that God humbles Himself like a servant before
his master? He rather appears as Moses' visible
representative, who rent the rock and produced
the miraculous spring The rock that followed
them, says Paul, was Christ (1 Cor. x. 4).
Thence again is seen the divine human nature
of the miracle, a mysterious synthesis of natural
feeling and prophecy of grace. On Tacitus' in
vidious narrative of Moses' having discovered a
spring of water by means of a drove of wild
asses, see Kurtz III., p. 48.

b. Rephidim and Amalek. Hostile Heathen
dom.

As in the account of Amalek we see typically
presented the relation of the people of God to the
irreconcilably hostile heathendom; so in that
of Jethro their relation to heathendom as mani
festing a kindly disposition towards the theo
cracy.

Exhaustive treatises on the Amalekites may
be found in the dictionaries and commentaries,
especially also in Hengstenberg (Pentateuch
II., p. 247 sqq., and Kurtz III., p. 48). In the way
nations used to be formed, Amalek, a grandson
of Esau, might quite well have become a nation
by Moses' time (vid. Gen. xxxvi.), Edomite
leaders forming a nucleus around which a con
glomerate multitude gathered. The Edomite ten
dency to barbarism was perpetuated in Amalek,
and so in his descendants was developed a nation
of Bedouin robbers, who might have spread from

EXODUS.

Idu-nea to Sinai, and perhaps in their capacity
a~i way layers had come to give name to a moun-
tion of the Amalekites in the tribe of Ephraim
(Judg. xii. 15). Thus might a little people,
which was kindred to Israel in the same way as
Edom was, after Israel was regenerated to be
the people of God, be the first to throw them-
solves hostilely in their way, and thus become
the representative of all hostile heathendom, as
opposed to the people and kingdom of God. In
accordance with this was shaped the theocratic
method of warfare against Amalek. and the
typical law of war (see Keil II., p. 77). It is
significant that the Midianites in the branch
represented by Jethro should present heathen
dom on friendly terms with Israel, although the
relationship was much less close. On the denial
of the identity between the Amalekites and the
above-mentioned descendants of Esau, see Kurtz
III., p. 49. The descendant of Esau might, how
ever, have received his name Amalek by transfer
from the Bedouin horde which became subser
vient to him.

Then came Amalek. According to Dent,
xxv. 18, the attack of the Amalekites was a des
picable surprise of the feeble stragglers of the
Israelites. " We hav^ to conceive the order of
the events to be about as follows: The murmur
ing on account of want of water and the relief
of that want took place immediately after the
arrival at llephidim of the main part of the host
which had hurried forward, whilst the rear,
whose arrival had been delayed by fatigue, was
still on the way. These were attacked by the
Amalekites" (Kurtz). The several features in
the contest now beginning are these: Joshua
with his chosen men; Moses on the mountain;
the victory; the memorial of the fight; the altar
Nissi and its typical significance — eternal war
against Amalek !

Joshua, Jehonah is help, or salvation. Thus,
accord rig to Num. xi;i. 10, his former name,
Ifovhea (help, or salixition] was enriched; and
perhaps the present war and victory occasioned
the change. — Choose us out men. It was
the first war which the people of God had to
wage, and it was against, a wild and insidious
foe. Hence no troops of doubtful courage could
be sent, against, the enemy, but a select company
must fight, the battle, with Joshua at the head,
whose heroic spirit Moses had already discovered.
Precipitancy also was avoided. They let the enemy
remain secure until the following day. The host
of warriors, however, had to be supported by the
host of spirits in the congregation interceding
and blessing, as represented by Moses in con
junction with Aaron and Hur. See my pamphlet
" Vom Krieg undvom Sicg."

The completed victory was to be immortalized
by ^t lie military annals ("the book") and by the
living recollections of the host (" in the ears of
Joshua"). — The altar Nissi ( Jehovah my banner),
however, was to serve the purpose of inaugura
ting the consecration of war by means of right
military religious service. Accordingly, the two
essential conditions of the war were, first, Jeho
vah's summoning the people to the sacred work
of defense, secondly, Jehovah's own help. And
also the war against Amalek is perpetuated until
he is utterly destroyed only in the sense that

Amalek typically represents malicious hostility
to the people and kingdom of God.

" Hur comes repeatedly before us (xxiv. 14,
xxxi. 2) as a man of high repute, and as an as
sistant of Moses. Josephus (Ant. III. 2, 4), fol
lowing a Jewish tradition, of the correctness of
which there is much probability, calls him the
husband of Miriam, Moses' sister" (Kurtz).
According to xxxi. 2. he was the grandfather of
Bezaleel, the architect of tne tabernacle, of the
tribe of Judah, and the son of Caleb (Chron.
i. 17.)

It is clear that the transaction with the rod of
Moses was in this case too a symbolic and pro
phetic, a divine and human, assurance of victory.
Therefore the rod must be held on high, and in
asmuch as Moses' hands cannot permanently
hold it up, they must be supported by Aaron and
Hur. In the holy war the priesthood and no
bility must support the prophetical ruler. Thus
is produced an immovable confidence in Jehovah
Nissi, afterwards called Jehovah Sabaoth (of
hosts). From His throne, through Moses' hand,
victorious power and confidence flow into the host
of warriors. The book begun by Moses, in which
the victory over Amalek is recorded, is important
in reference to the question concerning the autho
rity of the Bible. " When Jehovah further com
mands Moses to intrust to Joshua the future ex
tirpation of Amalek, it becomes evident ev-en
now that he is destined to be Moses' successor"
(Kurtz). A conjecture about the hill where
Moses stood may be found in Knobel, p. 177;
Keil, II., p. 79.- Subsequent wars waged against
Amalek by Saul and David are narrated in 1 Sam.
xv., xxvii., xxx. Kurtz regards the elevated hand
of Moses not as a symbol ot prayer to Jehovah, but
only of victorious confidence derived from Jeho
vah, III,, p. 51. Keil rightly opposes the sepa
ration of the bestowment of victory from prayer,
p. 79, but goes to the other extreme when he
says, "The elevated rod was a sign not for the
fighting Israelites, since it cannot even be made
out that they, in the confusion of battle, could
see it, but for Jehovah.'' In all human acts of
benediction prayer and the impartation of the
blessing are united.

c. Jethro, and heathendom as friendly to the
people of God.

Inasmuch as chap. xix. records the establish
ment of the theocracy, or of the typical kingdom
of God, it is in the highest degree significant that
the two preceding sections fix the relation and
bearing of the people of God towards heathen
dom. Out of one principle are to flow two op
posing ones, in accordance wiih the twofold
bearing of heathendom. The heathen, repre
sented by Amalek, who are persistently hostile,
wage war against Jehovah Himself; on them de
struction is eventually to be visited. The hea
then, however, represented by Jethro, who are
humane and cherish friendship towards the peo
ple of God, sustain towards Christianity, as it
were, the relation of catechumens. The people
of God enter into commercial and social inter
course with thenj under the impulse of religion
and humanity; similarly James defines the rela
tion of Christianity to Judaism. [There is no
thing about this in his Epistle. Is the reference
to Acts xv. 20, 21 ?— TR.]

CHAP. XIX. 1-.I5.

(i.) The pious heathen as guest, relative, and
protector of Moses' family, and as guardian of
the spiritual treasures of Israel. Vers. 1-4.

It seems like too legal a conception, when Keil
calls Jethro the "first-fruits among the heathen
that seek the living God," and incidentally ad
duces his descent from Abraham. Jethro did
not become a Jew, but remained a priest in
Midian, just as John the Baptist did not become,
properly speaking, a Christian, but remained a
Jew. It is more correct, when Keil says that
Amalek and Jethro typify and represent the two
fold attitude of the heathen world towards the
kingdom of God. In opposition to the special
conjectures of Kurtz and Ranke, especially also
the assumption that, there was not time enough in
Repliidira for this new incident, see Keil, II. p. 84.*

(ii.) The pious heathen as sympathetic friend
of Moses and of the people of God in their victo
ries. Vers. 5-9. *

Notice the delicate discretion which both men
observe, with all their friendship towards each
other. Jethro does not rush impetuously for
ward; he sends word of his approach. Moses
receives him with appropriate reverence, but first
louls him into his tent; for whether and how he
m.iy introduce him to his people, is yet to be de
termined.

(Hi.) Religious song and thank-offering of the
pious heathen. Vers. 10-12.

The lyrical,f festive recognition of the great
ness of Jehovah in His mode of bringing the
Egyptians to confusion through their very arro-
g.ince does not involve conversion to Judaism ;

* [Kurtz's conjecture is that what led .h-thro to visit Mos^s
was the report of the victory of the Israelites over Amal-'k ;
to which tho reply is that notuing is sal I of thN, but, OH t e
contrary, that it was the report, of the de iverance fr m
Kgypt tli it od-aii'>ned the visit. Eanke's conjo.'-tiire is 'hat
Jethro's visit took place after the giving of the law, on the
ground that the stay at Rephidim wa-i too short; to which it
is replied that, if (as is assume I from xvi. 1 and xix. 1) half a
month intervened between the arrival at the wilderness of
Sin and the arrival at the wilderness of Sinai, ample time is
afforded for all that is recor led in chap, xviii. — TR.]

f [Lauge regards xviii. 10, It as poetic in lorm. — TR.]

neither does the burnt -offering and the Ihank-
offering: but they do indicate ideal spiritual fel
lowship, aside from social intercourse.

(iv.) The religious and social fellowship of the
people of God, even of Aaron the priest, and of
the elders, with the pious heathen. Ver. 12.

A proof that the religious spirit of the Israelites
was as yet free from the fanaticism of the later
Judaism is seen in the fact that Aaron and the
elders could take part in a sacrificial feast with
Jethro. Common participation in the Passover
meal would have been conditioned on circum
cision.

(v.) The political wisdom and organizing talent
of the pious heathen thankfully recognized and
humbly used by the great prophet himself. Vers.
13-26.

Jethro's advice given to Moses, like political
institutions and po itical wisdom, is not a gift of
immediate revelation, but a fruit of the sentus
communis. But observe, that Jethro acknowledges
the prophetic vocation of Moses, and Jehovah's
revelation in regard to all great matters (ques
tions of principle), just as Moses acknowledges
the piety of his political wisdom. Moses ond
Jethro came nearer together than the mediaeval
church and ordinary liberalism. Vers. 17 and
18 contain very important utterances concerning
the consequences of such a hierarchy. On the
distribution of the people according to the deci
mal system, see Keil, IL, p. 87. The decimal
numbers are supposed by him to designate ap
proximately the natural ramifications of the people
[ten being assumed to represent the average size
of a family]. A further development of the in
stitution (comp. Deut. i. 9) took place later, ac
cording to Num. xi. 16.

(vi.) Distinct economies on a friendly footing
with each other. Ver. 27.

Analogous to this occurrence is the covenant
of Abraham with Abimelech; the friendly rela
tions maintained by Divid and Solomon with
Hiram, king of Tyre, the queen of Sheba, etc.

SECOND DIVISION: MOSES AND SINAI.

FOUNDATION IN THE LARGER SENSE.
CHAPTERS XIX.— XXXL

FIRST SECTION.

The Arrival at Sinai and the Preparation for the Giving of the Law. The Covenant
People and Covenant Kingdom. Institution of the Covenant.

CHAP. XIX. 1-25.

1 IN the third month when [after] the children of Israel were gone forth out of

2 th<3 land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they
were departed [And they journeyed] from Rephidim, and were come [and came]
to the desert of ^inai, and had pitched [and encamped] in the wilderness, and there

3 Israel camped [was encamped] before the mount. And Moses went up unto God,
and Jehovah called unto him out of [from] the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou

68 EXODUS.

4 say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did
unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto

5 myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant,
then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people [peoples] : for ail the

6 earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an [a] holy nation.

7 These are the words which tliou shalt speak unto the chi'dreu of Israel. And
Moses cune and called fur the elders of the people, and laid before their faces

8 [before them] all these words which Jehovah commanded hi u. And all the people
answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses

9 returned [brought back] the words of the people un'o Jehovah. And Jehovah
said unto Moses, L:), I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear
when I speak with thee and believe [trust] thee for ever. And Moses told the

10 words of the people unto Jehovah. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the
people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their clothes,

11 And be ready against the third day: for [for on] the third day Jehovah will c me

12 down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds
unto the people round about, saying, Take herd to yourselves, that ye go not up
[Beware of going up] into the mount, or touch [touching] the border of it: whoso-

] > ever toucheth the mount shall be surely [surely b/] put to death. There shall not
an [no] hand touch it [him],1 but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whe-
t'ler it lie beast or man, it [he] shall not live : when the trumpet soundeth long, they

14 sluill com?, up to the mount. And Moses went down from the mount unto the peo-

15 pie, and san -tified the people; and they washed their clothes. And he said unto
the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives [near a woman].

16 And it came to pass on the third day, in the morning [when morning came],
that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick clou I upon the mount, and
the voice of the [a] trumpet exceeding loud; so that [and] all the people that was

17 [were] in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the
camp to meet with [to meet] God ; and they stood at the nether part [the foot] of

18 the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke [all mount Sinai smoked],
because Jehovah descended upon it in fire ; and the smoke thereof ascended as the

19 smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly And when the voice of
the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder [And the voice of the trum
pet waxed louder and louder], Moses spake [speaking] and God answered [auswer-

20 ing] him by a voice.2 And Jehovah came down upon mount Sinai, on [to] the top
of the mount ; and Jehovah called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went

21 up. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break

22 through unto Jehovah to gaze [behold], and many of them perish. And let the
priests also, which [who] come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah

23 break forth upon them. And Moses said unto Jehovah, The people cannot come
up to mount Sinai : for thou chargedst [hast charged] us, saying, feet bounds about

24 the mount, and sanctify it. And Jehovah said unto him, Away [Go], get thee
down ; and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests
and the people break through to comf» up unto Jehovah, lest he break forth upon

25 them. So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto [told] them.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 13. The repetition of the word "touch" (J,'JJ) naturally suggests the thought that the object is the same as in
the prevedin« verse, viz., " mo-nt." But this cannot be the case. For (1) if this were so, it is not probaMe that the wor 1
'•hand" would be used, especially after the more general prohibition. The second prohibition would be weaker than the
first, for one would most natural 'y touch tli^ mountain with th^ foot, not the hand. But (2) more decisive still is the con-
s.-eration that the conjunction *j) do.s noc admit of this construction. It can here only have the meaning "but" in the

sense of th ' German " sondern," i. e, " but on the contrary." As the verse atand-i in A. V., a read T would most na^ural'y
un ers^a id "hut" to be equivalent to '• but tint," an-l tlie meaning to b''. "N> hind shall touch it without his bein^c
ht m d," >te., which, however, cannot have been the meaning of the translators, and cert.iinly not of the H brew author.
On the other hand, it makes no sense to say, "No hand shall touch the mountain, but on the comrarv he sh .11 be i-toned."
The meaning must be: "No hand shall touch him," i. e., the offender; "bat he shall be killed without such contact by
being stoned or shot." — TR.J.

2 [The last two verbs in this verse are in the Imperfect tense, an I hence express continued a":t'on. The Hebrew does
not siy, •• n-hen the voice .... waxed louder and 1 mder, [then] Moses spake,11 ate., esp -dally n->t, it' "when" is under
stood to bo equivalent to "after." We have endeavored to give the true sense >y the participial rendering.— TR.]

CHAP. XIX. 1-25.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

1. Sinai and the Arrival there.

A full geographical treatise on the whole Ho
reb group, and especially Sinai, is given by Ritter
VIII. 2, p. 527 sqq.; Robinson, 1., p. 140 sqq.;
Tischendorf, Aus dem heiligen Lande, p. 61 sqq.;
Strauss, p. 133 sqq. See also the lexicons and
commentaries. We quote from Zeller's Biblisches
Worterbuch, II., p. 482: "A few remarks on the
question respecting the scene of the giving of the
liw. There are two different localities which
have their advocates. Some find the place in
Sinai proper, Jebal Musa and the plain es-Se-
baiyeh lying south of it; others, in the north
ern terrace of Sinai, that which is now called
Horeb, especially the peak of Ras es-Safsafeh,
with the plain er-Rahah, which stretches out
before it in the north. Both plains would be in
themselves suitable for the purpose; for they are
about equally large, and furnish room for the
marshalling of a Urge multitude. Each is so
bh .rply distinguished from the mountain rising
up fro (ii it that the latter might in the most literal
sense be said to be touched by oae in the plain; —
which gives an excellent illustration of the ex
pression used by Moses (Ex. xiK. 12): 'whoso
ever toucheth the mo mt,' etc. Yet perhaps the
weight of the evidence is in favor of the southern
plain, es-Sebaiyeh. For (I) the mountains within
which the plain reposes, like a secluded asylum,
rise up from it in an ainphitheatrical form and
very gradually, and therefore its slopes coul I
have been used for the marshalling of the people
if at any time there was not quite space enough
in the plain itself; whereas the mountains bor
dering on the plain er-Rahah are so abrupt and
steep that they could not have been used for this
purpose. (2) Toe plain or-Rihahhasa water-shed
from which the ground to the north falls away
more and more, so that to the view of those stand
ing there, Ras es-Safsafeh must have become
less and less prominent, whereas the plain es-
Sebaiyeh rises higher and higher towards the
south, and Jebel Musa or Sinai becomes more
and more majestic in appearance. (3) The
view on the south side of Sinai, where this moun
tain towers up perpendicularly nearly 2000 feet,
like an immense altar, is decidedly more grand.
(4) In Ex xix. 17 it is said that Moses brought
the people out of the camp to meet God. Now
we can hardly conceive a place better fitted for
a camping-place than the plain er-Rahah with
the valleys and pastures of the environs, espe
cially the wady es-Sheikh closely adjoining it.
But if this was the camping place, and at the
same time the place where the people were drawn
up at the time of the giving of the law, how
sire we to conceive of that bringing forth out of
t lie camp ? This expression would have no mean-
ing. Whereas this expression becomes full -of
appositeness, if we assume the plain er-Rahah on
tne north of Horeb to he the camping-place, but
the plain es-Sebaiyeh south of Jebel Musa to be
• he standing-place of the people when the law
w*s given. From that northern plain 600,000
men (for children and minors, as well as women
and old men doubtless remained behind in the
camp) might well have gone in the course of a

day through the short wadies es-Sebaiyeh and
Shoeib into the southern plain, and back again
into the camp; for the distance is only a short
hour's journey." — On the difficulties attending
the combination of both places, see Keil, II., p.
94. The expression, "Israel camped before the
mount" (ver. 2), is certainly opposed to the as
sumption of two camps over against two moun
tains. Comp. the graphic description in Strauss.
On the relation between the names Sinai and
Horeb, comp. Kuobel, p. 188. Note: (1) that
the whole region is named, after the mountain
where the law was given, sometimes Sinai, some
times Horeb; (2) that Horeb, being reached while
the people were in Rephidim, may include Sinai;
(3) that Horeb, as a separate mountain, lies to
the north of Sinai, and therefore was first reached
by the Israelites. See also Keil, p. 90, and Phi-
lippson, p. 403. — This group of lofiy granite
mountains cannot primarily be designed to serve
as a terror to sinners ; it rather represents the
majesty and immovable fixedness of God's moral
revelation, of His law, in a physical form; it is
therefore a positive, imposing fact, which disse
minates no life, yet on which the sinner's false life
may bedashed to destructijn. — "Lepsius' hypo
thesis, that Sinai or Horeb is to be looked for in
Mt. Serbal, has rightly met no approval. In op
position to it consult Dieterici, Reisebilder, II., p.
53 sqq.; Ritter, Erdkunde, XIV"., p. 738 sqq.; and
Kurtz, History, etc., III., p. 93" (Keil).

The Arrival at Sinai. — In the third month.
Two months then have passed thus far, of whicii
probably the greater part belongs to the encamp
ment in Elim and Rephidim. The same day. —
According to the Jewish tradition this means on
the first day of the third month, but grammati
cally it may be taken more indefinitely =; " at thia
time."

2. Jehovah's Proposal of a Covenant, and tlie
Assent of the People Vers. 3-8.

And Moses went up. — On Sinai Moses re
ceived his commission from Jehovah to lead out
the people. Therefore he must now again appear
before Jehovah on Sinai, to complete his first
mission, and receive Jehovah's further com
mands. It is a characteristic feature of the fol
lowing transaction concerning the covenant, that
Jehovah calls out to Moses as he goes up. A
covenant is a coming together of two parties. It,
has been said indeed, that /VH3, diafirjitrj, testa-
mentum, means, not covenant, but institution. It
is true, the divine institution is the starting-
point and foundation, but the product of this in
stitution is the covenant. This is true of all the
covenants throughout the Bible. They every
where presuppose personal relations, recipro
city, freedom; i. e., free self-determination.

So here the people are induced by Jehovah's
proposal to declare their voluntary adoption of
the covenant (ver. 8). After this general adop
tion of the covenant, there follows a special adop
tion of the covenant law, xxiv. 3. Not till after
this does the solemn covenant transaction take
place, in which the people again avow their as
sent, their free subjection to the law of Jehovah
(xxiv. 7). This relation is so far from being an
absolute enslavement of the human individuality

EXODUS.

by the majesty of the divine personality, as He
gel imagines (Vol. xi. 2, 4ti), that on the basis
of this relation the notion of a bridal and conju
gal relation between Jehovah and His people
gradually comes to view. But the characteristic
feature of the law is, that it rests, in general, on
a germ of idealiiy, of knowledge, of redemption,
but, in particular, everywhere requires an un-
couditional, and even blind, obedience. Hence
it may be said: In general it is doctrine (Thorah),
in particular it is statute. The ideal and empiri
cal basis is the typical redemption: I am Jeho
vah, thy God, that have brought thee out of
Egypt, etc., as a fact of divine goodness and
grace; and the spirit of it is expressed in the
rhythmically solemn form in which the covenant
is proclaimed in vers. 3-6. The parallel phrases,
"House of Jacob," and "Children of Israel,"
present in conjunction the natural descent of the
people, and the spiritual blessings allotted to
them. Ye have seen. — A certain degree of
religious experience is essential in order to be
able to enter into covenant relations with Jeho
vah. This experience is specifically an experience
of the sway of His justice over His enemies, and
of His grace over His chosen people. Eagles'
wings. — " Tlie eagle's wings are an image of the
strong and affectionate care of God; for the e.igle
cberishes and fosters her young very carefully;
she flies under them, when she takes them out of the
nest, iu order that they may not fall down upon
rocks and injure themselves or perish. Comp. Dent,
xxxii. 11, and illustrations from profane writers,
in Bochart, Zfim>z. II., pp. 762, 705 sqq." (Keil). —
And brought you unto myself. — Knobel:
to the dwelling-place on Sinai. Keil: unto my
protection and care. It probably means : to the
revelation of myself in the form of law, symbol
ized indeed by the sanctuary of the lawgiver, viz.,
Sinai. But that is a very outward conception of
Keil's, that the pillar of cloud probably retired
to mount Sinai. Now therefore, if ye will
obey my voice indeed. — According to Keil
the promise precedes the requirement, " for God's
grace always anticipates man's action; it de
mands nothing before it has given." But here
evidently the requirement precedes the promise ;
and this is appropriate to the legal religion
of Moses in the narrower sense. In the pa
triarchal religion of Abraham the promise pre
cedes the requirement; under Moses the require
ment precedes ttie promise, but not till after the
fulfilment of a former patriarchal promise, an
act of redemption, had preceded the requirement.
The requirement is very definite and decided,
accordant with the law. — The promise is, first:
Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me. —
Keil s.iys : H9.Jp signifies not possession in gene
ral, but a prec'ious possession, which1, one saves,
lays up (/JD), hence treasure of gold and silver,
1 Chron. xxix. 3, etc. (Aaof irepiovGiog^ etc. Mai.
iii. 17; Tit. ii. 14; 1 Pet. ii. 9). We translate,
"above all people," not, " out of all people," in
accordance with the following words: .for all
the earth is mine. — "This reason for choosing
Israel at once guards against the exclusiveness
which would regard Jehovah as merely a national
God': (Keil). It may be observed that the' peo
ple are to be as distinctively the lot (x^f/pag) of

Jehovah, as Jehovah desires to be the lot of His
people. — In the second place, the first promise,
or the n^Jp, is explained: Ye shall be unto
me a kingdom of priests. — The LXX. trans
late, paaiAeiov is par ev pa; so Peter, I Pet. ii. 9.
Onkelos: "kings, priests." Jonathan: "crowned
kings, ministering priests." According to the
Hebrew text, the kingdom as a unit, or the realm
as a body of citizens, is a nation or' priests. The
individuals are priests; the unity of their com
monwealth is a kingdom, whose king is Jehovah.
It is therefore a kingdom whose royal authority
operates every way to liberate and ennoble, to
sanctify and dignity; the priests are related to
the king; in their totality under the king they
constitute the priesthood, but only under the
condition that they offer sacrifice as priests.
The N. T. term, "a royal priesthood," derived
from the LXX., merges the several priests in the
higher unity of a single priesthood, whose attri
bute, "royal," expresses the truth that the king,
through his royal spirit, has incorporated him
self into the midst of his people. All this, now,
the Israelites are to be, in their general attitude,
first in the typical sense, which points forward
to the actual fulfilment, and prophetically in
cludes it. Keil, therefore, is wrong in saying
that " the notion of theocracy or divine rule (re
ferring to the preceding explanations, II., p. 97),
as founded by the establishment of the Sinaitic

covenant, does not at all lie in the phrase roSo-D

D'jrG ['kingdom of prie.-ts']. The theocracy
established by the formation of the covenant
(chap, xxiv.) is o.ily the means by which Jeho
vah designs to make His chosen people a king
dom of priests." Whilst here the theocracy is
made not even a type, but only the medium
of a type, of the New Testament kingdom
of heaven, the people of Israel are raised
high above their typical significance (p. 98),
much as is done in the Judaiz ng theories of
Hofmann and others. The relations are rather
quite homogeneous: a typical people, atypical
kingdom of God, a typical law, a typical sacri
fice, etc. On the other hand, Keil's sentiment,
that Israel, as a nation of priests, has a part to
act in behalf of other people, is every way accord
ant with the Old Testament prophecy and with
the New Testament. (Isa. xlii. ; Rom. xi. 15 ;
xv. 16.) And a holy nation. — The notion of
the holiness of Jehovah first appears in chap. xv.
Here the notion of a holy people. The holiness
of Jehovah is the originating cause of the crea
tion of a holy people. On the various explana
tions of the notion of holiness, vid. Keil, p. 99.
Neither the notion of newness or brilliancy, nor
that of purify or clearness satisfies the concrete
import of holiness. Jehovah keeps Himself ;-':re
in His personality, He protects His glory bv liis
purity, His universality by His particular.'/ —
thus is He the Holy One. And so He creates for
Himself a holy people that in a peculiar sense
exist for Him, separated from the ungodly world,
as He in a peculiar sense exists for them, and
keeps Himself aloof from notions and forms of
worship that conflict with true views of His per
sonality. The opposite of t?np is Vn, Koiv6$,

CHAP. XIX. 1-25.

prof anus" (Keil). See the passages 1 Pet. i. 15;
e jmp. Lev. xi. 44 ; xix. 2. — And all the people
answered together. Thus a historical, posi
tive, conscious obligation is entered into, rest
ing, it is true, on an obligation inherent in the
nature of things.

3. Provisions for the Negotiation of the Covenant.
Vers. 9-13.

First : Jehovah will repeal Himself to Moses in
the thick clou 1. Tiie psopleare to listen while He
talks vvith Moses. Keil seems to assume that the
people also are to hear with their own ears the
words of the fundamental law. But vers. 10-19
show what is meant by the people's hearing.
The sound of thunder and of the trumpet which
the people hear sanctions the words which MOS-JS
hears. In consequence of this the people are to
believe him for ever. The perpetual belief in
Moses is the perpetual belief in the revelation
and authority of the law. What follows shows
that mediately the people did hear the words.

Secondly: The people, in order to receive the
law, are to be s inclined for three days, i. e., are
to dispose themselves to give exclusive attention
to it. The symbolical expression for this con
sists in their washing their garments, ceremo
nially purifying them. It shows a want of ap
preciation of propriety to include, as Keil does,
the explanatory precept of ver. 15 among the im
mediate requirements of Jehovah

Tuir lly : The people are to be kept back by a
fence enclosing the mountain. That is, the re
straining of the people from profaning the moun
tain as ttie throne of legislation serves to protect
them; conip. the significance of the parables in
Matt. xiii. The transgressor is exposed to capital
punishment; but inasmuch as his transgression
finds him on the other side of the limit, no one
could seize him without himself becoming guilty
of the transgression; hence the direction that
he should be killed from a distance with stones
or dirts. * Consistency requires that the same
should be done with beasts that break through.
Reverence for the law is thus to be cultivated by
the most, terrifying and rigorous means. "When

the trumpet. r

out the horn [as the Hebrew expresses it] is the
same as to blow the horn in prolonged no'es"
( Keil). Vid. Winer, Realwortcrbuch, Art. Masika-
lische Inntrumente. It is a question when the pro
hibition to corne near the mountain was to be
terminated. According to Keil, a signal was to
be given summoning the people to approach, and
that then the people, as represented by the elders,
were to ascend the mountain. But nothing is
anywhere said of such a signal. It is simpler,
with Knobel, thus to understand the direction :
" When at the close of the divine appearances
and communications an alarm is sounded, and so
the people are summoned to start, to separate. "f
When the tabernacle was finished, this became
the sacred meeting-place of the people, to which
they were called. Soon afterwards the trumpets

* This is perhaps in general the reason for stoning.

f [There seems to he no inconsistency between Knobel's
view and that of Keil. Tne lart -r understands the s >und of
the trumpet (ver. 1:3) to be the signal, and so does Knobel. And
both assume that the signal was to follow the promulgation
of the law.— TR.].

summoned them to set forth, perhaps re-enforced,
oa account of the importance of the occasion, by
the jubilee horn, or itself identified with it.

4. The Preparation of the People. Vers. 14, 15.
The direction given by Jehovah respecting the

sancrification of the p -ople is further expl lined
by Moses. The distinction between the divine
revelation and the human expansion of it appears
here ;is in 1 Cor. vii.

5. The Signs accompam/ing the Appearance of
Jthovali, the Lawgiver, on Sinai. Vers. 16-19.

And it came to pass ou the third day.
Here is another prominent, element in the mira
cle of Sinai, that is generally overlooked, viz.,
the fact that Moses through divine illumination
so definitely predicted that the miraculous occur
rence would take place in rh^ee days. By iden
tifying him all along with God's revelation the
miraculous mystery of his inner life is oblite
rated. That there were thunders and light
nings. —All this animated description of the
miraculous event Keil takes literally, and follow
ing Deut. iv. 11, v. 20 (23), expands the account,
although if the mountain was burning in the
literal sense of the word so that its fla-ne as
cended up to heaven, there would be no place for
clouds and cloudy darkness. In a thunder-storm
are united both nocturnal darkness and flaming
light. Keil quotes various conjectures concern
ing the trumpet sound. No reference is had
to the trumpet sound made by the voice of
God in the ghostly sphere of the remorspf.il con
science of a waole people. Bur, comp. John xii.
29. That the darkness indicates the invisibility
and un ipproachableness of the holy God who
veils Himself from mortals even when He dis
closes Himself, is evident from all the analogies
of clouds up to the sacred one in which Christ
ascended. Fire has a twofold side, according to
mau's attitude towards the divine government;
it is therefore, as Keil says, at once the fire or* the
zeal of auger and the zeal of love. To unite both
ideas in one, it is the fire of tho power that sanc
tifies, which therefore purges, transforms, vivi
fies, and draws upward, as is shown by the as
cension of Elijah and the phenomena of the day
of Pentecost. The same is true of thunder.
Since the law is now given for the first time, this
can have nothing to do with the thunder of the
last judirmMit. Vid. on Revelation, p. 197. —
All the people trembled. While in this mood
they are led by Moses out of the camp to the foot
of the mountain. It is, to be sure, hardly to be
supposed that this denotes a march from the plain
of Rah ah into that of Sebaiyeh. " The people,
i.e., the men," says Keil, — a limitation for which
there is little reason. — And all mount Sinai
smoked. — The view of the scene is renewed
and intensified, the nearer the people come to the
foot of the mountain. Moses speaking, and
God answering. — Glorious definition of the
nature of law! All of God's commands are,
so to speak, answers to the commands and ques
tions of God's chosen servant; they grow out of
a reciprocal action of God and the inmost heart
of humanity.

6. The Calling of Moses alone up to the Mount,
etc. Vers. 20-25.

And Jehovah said unto Moses. — There
muit be some significance in the fajt that Moses

EXODUS.

is required again to descend from Sinai, in order
repeatedly to charge the people not to cross the
limit in order to gaze, because by this sin many
might perish. This direction is now even extended
to the priests; and in accordance with their posi
tion they are exposed to the sentence of death even
in the camp unless they sanctify themselves; only
Aaron is permitted to go up in company with
Moses. So sharp a distinction is made between
the theocratic life of the people, between the
sphere of sacerdotal ordinances (which, there
fore, already exist), and the sphere of revelation,
of which Moses is the organ. That Aaron is al
lowed to acco npany him when the fir^t. oral reve-
la'ion of the law is made, indicates that in and
with him the priests, and gradually also the
whole priestly nation, which begins to assume
a priestly relation to mankind in the near pre
sence of the law, are to be lifted up into the light
of revelation. Various views of this passage,
especially a discussion of Kurtz's opinion, are to
b^ found in Keil. Knobel finds here "an interpo
lation of the Jehovist."

Inasmuch now as the narrative makes the law
of the ten commandments follow immediately,
whilst Moses seems to be standing below with
the people, a literal interpretation concludes that

Jehovah communicated the ten commandments
down from Mt. Sinai immediately to the people,
and so " the fundamental law of the theocracy
has a precedence over all others" (Knobel; see
also Keil, p. 106). The fact that Jehovah has
already given answer to Moses on the mountain,
is overlooked; as also the passages xxiv. 15 sqq. ;
xxxiv. ; Deut. v. 5, xxxiii. 4, to say nothing of
Gal. iii. and other passages. It is true, the re
presentation here is designed to make the im
pression that the law of the ten commandments,
although mediated by Moses, has yet the same
authority as if Jehovah had spoken it directly to
the people from Sinai; and no less does it ex
press the pre-eminent importance of the ten
commandments. The following distinctions arc
marked: As oral (or spiritual) words Moses re
ceives the divine answers on the mountain (xix.
19). Then God addresses the same words from
Sinai in the voices of thunder to the people at
the foot of the mountain; and Moses, who stands
below with the people, is the interpreter of these
voices, as is clearly t-hown by Deut. v. 5 This
oral, spiritual law of principles, which is echoed
in the conscience of all the people, as if Jehovah
were directly talking with them, is the founda
tion for the establishment and enforcement of the
written law engraved on the stone tablets.

SECOND SECTION.

The Threefold Law of the Covenant for the Covenant People on the Basis of the
Prophetic, Ethico-religious Divine Law of the Ten Commandments. Histo
rical Prophecy.

CHAPTERS XX.— XXXI.

A.— THE TEN WORDS, OR THE ETHICAL LAW; AND THE TERRIFIED PEOPLE,
OR THE RISE OF THE NEED OF SACRIFICIAL RITES.

CHAPTER XX. 1-21.
1, 2 AND God spake all these words, saying, I am Jehovah thy God, which [who]

3 have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou

4 shalt have no other gods before me [over against me].1 Thou shalt not make unto
thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

i [The exact meaning of ' ^~h^ here aud iu Deut. v. 7 is disputed. The rendering " before me " was doubt ess meant
by our Translators to convey the notion, "in my presence" = •'JD1?. Perhaps the ordinary rearer is apt to understand it
-to mean, " ^preference to me." Luther, Kalisch, Gedde^, Keil, Kno'bel, Bunsen, and Jli<r<rs (Sugge*t<>d Emendations], follow
ing th-» LXX. (n-Arj* eMoO), translate, "besides me." De Wette, Rosenmuller, Manner, Philipuson, Furst, Arnheim, Bush,
Murphy, Cook (in Speaker's Commentary), and Lange, following the Vulgate ("coram me"), translate "before me,v i. e., in
my presence. In order to a satisfactory settlement of the question, it is necessary to investigate the use of the phrase
'?.?''# in 6*ne»l. An examination of all the passages in which it occurs yields the following result: The phrase, fol
lowed by a Genitive or a Pronominal Suffix, occurs 210 times. In 125 of these cases, it has its Moral s^n^e <,f " upon the face
(or surface) of:" a<, e.g., 2 Sam. xvii. 19, " The woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth ;'' Gen. 1. 1, " Joseph
foil upon his father'* face;" or it is merely a longer form for the simpler ^ (upon); as, e. g., Job v. 10, " Who . . . sendeth
water* upon t*e fields." The remaining 85 cases are divided aa follows: (1) 28 times 'Jp-^ is used in describing the
relation of Joca'iti^ In Mch nfher. E. g., Jn,ls. xvi. 3, " Samson .... carried thorn up to the top . f an hill that is before H«-
bron." Sonietim.s (and more properly) in such caai-a the phrase is rendered "over against" in the A. V. The other pas-

CHAP. XX 1-21. 73

5 that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou
shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I Jehovah thy God
am a jealous God, visaing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto [upon]

6 the third aud [and upon the] fourth generation of them that hate me; And show-

7 ing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my command
ments. Thou shalt uot take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah

sages in which ^J3~7J7 is thus used are Gen. xxiii. 19; xxv. 9, 18; xlix. 30; 1. 13; Num. xxi. 11; xxxiii. 7 ; Deut. xxxii.
49; xxxiv. 1; Josh. xiii. 3, 25; xv. 8; xvii 7; xviii. 14, 16; xix. 11; 1 Sam. xv. 7; xxvi. 1, 3; 2 Sam. ii. 24; 1 Kings xi. 7;
xvii. 3, 15 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 115; Ez^k. xlviii 15, 21 ; Zech. xiv. 4. It is a mistake to suppose, as some do, that in these con-
. nt'Ctious ""^"vj? means "to the east of," according to the Hebrew mode of conceiving of the cardinal points. For in Josh,
xviii. 14 we read of " the hill that lieth before (*33~/j?) Beth-horon southward;" and in Josh. xv. 8, of " the top of the
mountain th;it lieth before the valley of Hinnom u-estivard.'1'' We are rather to t-uppose that the phrase indicates such a re
lation of two places as is expressed by "over against," the physical conformation of the localities naturally suggesting such
a description.— (2) We observe, next, that 13 times ""JS-Sj? i* used of the position of things in relation to buildings. E. g.,

1 Kings vi. 3, " the porch before the temple. ' In the same verse *}Q-^y occurs twice more in the same sense. The other
passages are 1 Kings vii. 6 (bis) ; viii. 8 ; 2 Cbron. iii. 4 (bis), 8, 17 ; v. 9 ; Ezek. xl. 15 ; xlii. 8. In these cases the meaning is
obvious : " on the fiont of," " confronting."— (3) Six times "33-^ is used in the sense of " towards " or " down upon " after

verbs of looking, or (once) of going. E. g., Gen. xviii. 16, " The men looked toward ('jQ-Sj?, down upon)

Sodom." So Gen. xix. 28 (bis}, Num. xxi. 20; xxii'. 28; 2 Sam. xv. 23. .Here *J2~SjP may be regarded as a fuller ferni
of 7JJ as sometimes used after verbs of motion. — (4) Five times it is used after verbs signifying " pass by," and is rendered
"before." E. g , Ex. xxxiii. 19, " I will make all my goodnrss pass before thee." So Ex. xxxiv. 6; Gen. xxxii. 22 (21);

2 Sam. xv. 18; Job iv. 15. In these pass.'tges 'J3~7^ differs from 'J3/ as used, e. g., in 2 Kings iv. 31, "Gehazi
passed on before thrm ;" whore * J 3 7 indicates that Gehazi went on in advance of the others ; whereas, e. g., in 2 Sam. xv. 18,
the meaning is that the king stopped, and the others went by him. — (5) In 12 passages *J3~ 7^'D is used after verbs meaning
to "cast out," and is usually rendered "from the presence (or sight) of." They are 1 King-i ix. 7; 2 Kings xiii. 23;
xvii. IS, 23 ; xxiv. 3. 20 ; 2 Chron. vii. 20 ; Jer. vii. 15 ; xv 1 ; xxiii. 39 ; xxxii. 31 ; Iii. 3. Possibly also Gen. xxiii. 3, "Abraham
stood up from before his dead,'' i. e,. went away from the presence of ; but we may understand it more literally, viz., "stood
up from upon the face of." There is a manifest difference between ''JS-SjJD and "OS^D- The former is used of a remo
val from a state of juxtaposition or opposition. The latter is used in the stricter sense of " from before." E. g., in Deut. ix.
4, "For the wickedtiess of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee (TJ37D)-'1 Here it is not moant
that the relation between the Jews and the other nations was to be broken up, but rather that it was never to bo formed ;
whereas, e. g., in Jer. vii. 15, '-I will cast you out of my sight," the implica ion is that the people had been near Jehovah,
but were now to be banished.— (6) Four times "JS"1?^ is used with the meaning, " to the face of." E. g., Is. Ixv. 3, "A
people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face." So Job i. 11 (parallel with ii. 5, where ^"Sx is used) ; vi.
28 as correctly rend- red) ; xxi. 31. Here the notion of hostility, often expressed by the simple j]}, is involved. — Similar to
these are (7) the three passages. E/ek. xxxii. 10, Nah. ii. 2 (1), and Ps. xxi. 13 (12), where "• J3~ 7jJ is used after verbs descrip
tive of hostile demonstrations, an i moans either, literally, "against the face of," or " over against" in defiance. — (8) In Ex.
xx. 20, where the A. V. renders, " that his fear may be before your faces," the meaning clearly is the same as in such ex
pressions as Ex. xv. 16, where the simple 7^ is used. So Deut. ii. 25. — (9) In one ca?e, Ps. xviii. 43 (42), '33/JP is used
o:' the dust " before" the wind, just as '•JS/ is used in Job xxi. 18, "They are as stub>le before the wind. ' — (10) The pas
s-age, Job xvi. 14, "He breaketh me with breach upon C'J3~7^) breach," has no precise parallel. But here, too it is most
natural to understand "* J3~ 7^? as a fuller, poetic form for /y. Comp. Gen. xxxii. 12 (11), " the mother with ( 7j?) the chil
dren;" Amos iii. 15, i;I will smite the winter-house with (/J,*, i. e., together with, in addition to) the summer-house." — (11)
There are three passages (possibly four), in which <IJ3~'7J? has a peculiar meaning, as denoting the relation of two persons
to each other. Haran, we are told, Gen. xi. 28, "died before 033~Sj?) bis father Terah." This seems to mean, " died before
his father did." But though such a priority is implied, it is not directly expressed. ^37 is sometimes used to denote such
priority in time, e. g., Gen. xxx. 30; Ex. x. 14; Josh. x. 14; but *J3~7j> is nowhere clearly used in this sense, so that it is
more natural to vimle-rstandit (as the commentators do) here to mean either "in the presence of," or " during the life-time
of.*' The next passage, Num. iii. 4, illustrates the meaning: "Eleazar and Ithainar ministered in the priest's office in the
sight of C1 33~7j?) Aaron their father." It is hardly possible that pains would be taken to lay stress on the tact that Aaron

saw them acting the part of priests, especially as the verb JH3 hardly moans anything more than "to be priest." Not more

I ... .

admisfdbl • is the interpretation of Gesonius and others, who here translate 'J3~7^ ''under the supervision of." Thero is
not the faintest analogy for such a meaning of the phrase At the same time, it is hardly supposable that it can bo lite
rally translated, " during the life-time of." The notion of physical presence, or nearness, is so uniformly involved in ' J3~ 7J7
that we must, in strictness, here understand it to mean, " over against," " in view of," the point of the expression, bowere'-,
not consisting in the circumstance that Aaron watched them in thoir ministrations, but that they performed th«m over
against him, i. e., as coup'ed with him, together with him, (and so) during his lift-time. Here belongs also probably Deut.

74 EXODUS.

8 will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vaiu. Remember the sab-

9 bath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work ;

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of [a sabbath unto] Jehovah thy God: in it
thou shalt not do auy work, thou, nor thy sou, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant,

11 nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For
in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and
rested the seventh day : wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

xxi. 16, " He may not make the son of the beloved first-born before (\J3-Sj^) «IP «>n of the hated." One might naturally
understand "before" here to mean, <:in prrfere^ce to:'' and this certainly would yield nn appropriate sense— a sense cer
tainly involved, yet probably not directly expressed. At least there is no clear analogy for such a meaning unless we find
it in the passages now under consideration, viz., Ex. xx. 3 and Deut. v. 7. Th- best comnv-ntators underhand 'JS-Sj? in
Deut. xxi. 16, to mean " during the life-time of." An analogous use of - ;j£)S is found in Ps. Ixxii 5, where it is said of the king,
"They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure,1' literally "before OKP) the sun and moon." Similarly ver.
17.— The other of the four passages above mentioned is Gen. xxv. 18. Ther- we read : " He (i. e., Ishroaf 1) died (literally, fell)
in the presence of OJ3-Sj?) *»<* brethren." There is n w, however ge oral unanimity in translating 7£)J here "settled"
rather than "died," so that tne passage is to be reckoned in the following clas«, in which also the relation of persons to
e-ch other is expressed, but in a somewhat afferent sense.— (12) Knobel explains <IJ3~71J' in Gen- xx^. 18 as = "to the
east of." So Del., Lange, Keil, Muurer, DP W., and others. But, as we have already seen, "33"" /J? does not have this meaning.
This passage is to be explained by the parallel one, Gen. x vi. 12, where it is also sa'tl of Ishmael, " He shall dwell in the presence
of 033"^) a11 llis Brethren.'' Here the context i->, "His hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against
him ; and he slu'll dwell 'pS'S;* «U h« brethren." Keil and Lauge are unable to satisfy themselves with the interpret i-
ti'.n "east of" here; and it is clear that that would not be a statement at all in place here, even if 'JsJ—^JP ordinarily
had the meaning "east of." Evidently tbe angel expresses the fact that the Ishmaelites were t > dwell over against their
brethren as an independent, defiant, nation. If so, then xxv. 18 is to be understood in the same way, ns a ?tate<:ient of the
fulfilment of the prophecy here made. In addition to these two passages there are three others in which the relation of
p. rsons to each other is expressed. They are Lev. x. 3, Ps. ix. 20 (19), and Je-. vi. 7. In the first we read that Jehovah
gaid, '• Before (* J3~ SjM all tbe people I will be glorified ;" this is preceded by the statement, " I will be sanctified in th' m
tli»t come nigh me." The verse follows the afcoiv.t of the destruction of Nadab and Abihu. To render "in view of." or
" in the pr. sence of," would mak" good and appropriate sens ; and certa'nly it is implied that by the summary p-ni hmevt
of the presumptuous priests Jehovah intended to glorify Himself in the sight of His people. Yet, while men are frequently
represnnted as being or acting before ('33 7) Jehovah, it is extremely unusual t-> speak of Jehovah as being or doing anything
before (in the sight of) men. And sin<e, if that were here meant, *J3 7 would probably have been used, it is much he-tor
her0 to understand the meaning to be "over against." implying separation an I contrast. Likewise Ps. ix. 20 (10): 'Let
the heathen be judged in thy sight (?TJ3~ 7j?)." Certainly the meaning cannot simply be: Let the heathen be judged,
while God looks 0^1 as a spectator. God is Himself the judge; and t^e heathen are to be judg- d over against Him ; i. e., in
such a way as to exhibit the contrast between them and Him. There remains ouly Jer. vi. 7, " Before me (*J3~7j^) con
tinually is erief and wounds." The context describes the proapf ctive destruction of Jerusalem. Per wickedness is described
in ver. 7 : "As -x fountain casteth out her water-*, so she casteth out her wickednes8 ; violence and spoil is heard in her;
before me continually is grief and wounds (sickness and blows)." Undoubtedly this implies that tl~e manifestations of the
wickedness of the people were in Jehovah's sight; but here, too, there is implied the notion that these things are over against
Him : on the one side, Jehovah in His holiness: on the other, Jerusalem in her wickedness. This conception is naturally
suggested by the representation that Jehovah is about to make war upon her.

Having now gheii a complete exhibition of the use of 'J3~7^ in all the other passages, we are, prepared to consider
what it means in the first commandment. Several things maybe regarded as established: (i) ^3-7^ i* far from being
synonymous with "337- The latter is used hundreds of times in the simple sense of " before " in reference t > persons ; the
former is used most frequently of places, and in all cases 7j; has more or less of its ordinary meaning, " upon," or " against "
(over againstX (ii) The phrase has nowhere unequivocally the meaning " besides." The nearest approach to this is in Job
xvi. 14, under (10), where ^£)-7jJ may be rendered "in addition to." But this is not quite the same as "besides," and
the phrase has there evidently a poeti^ use. A solita-y ca«e like thi«, where too not p-i-scin. but things, are spoken <yf is
altog ther insufficient to establish the hypothesis that "J3~ ~)y in the first commandment me ins " besides." (iii) The m< st
general notion conveyed by the phrase in question is that'of one object confronting another. Leaving out of account, as ..f
no sp-cial pertinency, those instances in which it verges upon the literal sense of " upon (or against) the face of," and tlu se
in which the meaning of 7j£ predominates, (viz., classes (3), (6), (7), (8), (10). we find that all othe-s are sufficiently explained
by this generic notion of confronting. Thus, in all the cases where places are spoken of -s "^~hy one another, class (1) ;
where objects are described as in front of buildings, class (2) ; and where persons are spok«>n of 'as passing in front of others,
class (4).— So, too, in the cas s in which '•JjfJ-Sj^D is used, class (o), in every instance it follows a ve b which implies a pre-
Ti «« state of hostility ; men are to be removed from being orer against Jehovah, from confronting Him with their offen?'v>
deedg.-So the instance iu Ps xviii. 43 (42), class (9); the dust lefore the wind is compared with God's enemies destroyed

CHAP. XX. 1-21.

12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which
13, 14 Jehovah thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit
15, 16 adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy

17 neighbor. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass.

18 nor anything that is thy neighbor's. And all the people saw the thunderings, and
the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when

19 the people saw it, they removed [reeled backward], and stood afar off. And they
said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, aud we will hear: but let not God speak with

20 us, lest we die. And Mr-ses said unto the people, Fear not; for God is come to
prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces [upon you], that ye sin not.

21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where
God was.

by Him ; the dust confronting the wind illustrates the powei-lessness of men confronting an angry God. — So the examples
under (12). The translation "over again*t" satisfies all of the rases. A relation of contrast an 1 opposition is impl'ed. —
Likewise, also, the ihroe passages under (11). The son of the beloved wife (Dent. xxi. 1G) is not to be invested with the
rights of primogeniture over against the son of the hated one, z". e., in contrast with, distinction from, the other one, while yet by
natural right the latter is entitled to the privilege. The plrase "JS"1?^' may here, therefore, be understood to mean " in
preference to," or "in the lire-time of," btit neither one nor the other literally and ("irecfly, yet both one and the other by
implication. In Num. iii. 4 Aaron's sons are represented as being priests over against their father, i. e., not succeeding him,
but together with him, as two hills, instead of being distant from one another, are, as it were, companions, confronting each
oth- r. So in Gen. xi. 28 Haran is said to have died over against his father. In his death he confronted his father, t. "., did
not, as mrst naturally happens, die after him, when his father would have been taken away from being with him By thus
anticipating his father in his decease he, as it were, passed in front of him, confronted him, so that this case is quite analo
gous to those under class (4). In this case, therefore, as in some others, the meaning of 'J3~/J? closely borders upon that
'of "JD1"1, yet is not the Fame.

The applicat'on of this discussion to Ex. xx. 3 and Dent. v. 7 is obvious. Israel is to havo no other gods " over against. "
Jehovah. The simple meaning " before," i. e., in the presence of, would have little point and force, aud besides would have
been expressed by "OsS. The meaning "besides" would have been expressed by HJJ^S. T^T, or some o'her of the
phrases having that meaning. The meaning " over against," the usual meaning of the phrase, is perfectly appropriate here.
All filse gods are opposed to the true God. The worship of them is incompatible with the worship of Jehovah. The com
mand therefore is, " Tliou shalt have no other gods to confront me," to be set up as rival objects of service and adoration.
All th'tt is pertin' nt ;n the other two renderings is involved here. Gods that are set up over against Jehovah may be sail
to be before Him, in His sight; that they are gods besides, in addition to, Him, is a matter of course: but, more than this,
they are gods opposed to Him. — Tn.J.

This first legislation, the law or book of the

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

typical

covenant in the narrower sense, is evidently the
i outline of the whole legislation. The presenta-

law is found in
the outline

Analysis. — The whole Mosaic legislation is ! tion of the prophetico-ethical law
ical and Messianic. Typical, as is evident the ten commandments (xx. 1-17) ;
from the existence of Deuteronomy, inasmuch as ' of the ceremonial law and the reasons for it fol-
this presents the first instance of an interpreta- j low on (vers. 18-26); in conclusion comes the

third part, the outline of the social laws of the
Israelites (xxi -xxiii.).

Three questions are here to be settled: (1)

/»T • 1 »• 1 „ i .

tion which gives to the law a more profound and
spiritual meaning. Messianic, for the ten com
mandments contain a description of Christ's ac

tive obedience, whilst the sacrificial rites contain i How are the several acts of legislation related to
the leading features of His passive obedience, j the history? (2) How are the several groups of
Everywhere in the three books are shadowed ; laws related to each other? (3) How is there
forth the three offices of the Messiah. The first indicated in this relation a gradual development
book comprises, together with the prophetico- of legislation ?

ethical covenant law of the ten commandments, i As to the ten commandments in particular, we
also the outlines of the ceremonial and social ! are to consider: (1) the form of the promulga-
(civil) law, because those two subjects of legis- | tion: (2) the relation of the law in Exodus to
lation flow as consequences out of the ethical t-he phase it presents in Deuteronomy; (3) the

The priesthood (or* the church) and the
state depend, in their unity as well as in their
diversity, on the ethico-religious legislation of
the life of the God-man.

The first form of elemental ethico-religions,
but therefore all-embracing legislation, com
prises the law, the festivals, and the house, of the
covenant (chaps, xx.-xxxi. ). It is different from
the second form of the legislation (chaps, xxxii.-
xxxiv. sqq ) on account of the breaking of the
covenant.

analysis of the ten commandments themselves.

That, the laws are not artificially introduced
into the history of Israel, as e. g. Bertheau as
sumes, is shown by their definite connection with
the historical occasions of them. Thus, e. g., the
law of the ten commandments is occasioned by
the vow of covenant obedience made beforehand
by the people. The ceremonial law as a law of
atonement is occasioned by the fright and flight
of the people at the thunders of Sinai (chap. xx.
21). Thus the ho^ nation is established; and

EXODUS.

not till now is there occasion for the theocratico-
social legislation, according to which every indi
vidual is to be recognised as a worthy member of
this nation. The setting up of the golden calf fur
nished historical occasion for special precepts.
The gradually progressive legislation recorded
in the Book of Numbers most markedly illus
trates the influence of historical events. We
have before become acquainted with similar in
stances. This is true in a general way of the
Passover and the unleavened bread. The com
mands concerning the sanctification of the first
born and concerning the reckoning of time refer
to the exodus from Egypt. The hallowing of the
seventh day is connected with the gift of mannn ;
the bitter water occasions the fundamental law
of hygienics, ch. xv. The attack of Arnalek is
the actual foundation of the ordinance concern
ing holy wars. So in earlier times the Noachian
command (flen. ix.) vas a law which looked back
to the godless viol -nee of the perished genera
tion; it connected the command to reverenco
God with the precept to hold human life sacred.
So the fundamental command of the covenant
with Abraham, the command of circumcision, as
a symbol of generation consecrated with refer
ence to regeneration, appears after the history
of the expulsion of Ishmael, wlio was born accord
ing to the flesh (comp. Gen. xvii. with Gon. xvi.).
But that the book of Deuteronomy — according to
the memorabilia on whinh it is founded — grew out.
of the dang >rthat Fsrael might be led by the giving
of the law to de -line into observance of the mere
letter, we have already e^ewhere noticed. It
may be remarked by the way that the Song of
Moses and Moses' Blessing at the close of Deu
teronomy seem like the heart's blood of the whole
book, a song of cursing, and a song of blessing;
in the Psalter and prophetic books scarcely any
thing similar can be f mnd.

How are the individual groups of laws relate!
to one another? That they essentially and un
conditionally require one ano-her, and that ac
cordingly they could not have appeared sepa
rately, is not hard to show. The decalogue,
taken by itself, would lead into scholastic casu
istry ; the system of sacrifice, taken by itself,
into magic rites; the political marshalling of the
host, into despotism or greed'of conquest. Com-
pa»-e Schleiermacher's argument in his "Dogma-
tik," to show that the three offices of Christ re
quire each o'her.

From what has been said it follows also that
the development of the legislation was gradual.
We may distinguish four stages in the Mosaic
period: (1) The Passover as the foundation of
the whole legislation, and the several special laws
up to the arrival at Sinai (primogeniture, reck
oning of time, sanitary regulation, Sabbath) ; (2)
the covenant law, or book of the covenant, before
the covenant was broken by the erecting1 of the
golden calf; (3) the expansion and modification
of the law, on account of the breach of the cove-
n>m' in the direction of the hierarchy, the ritual,
and the beginning of the proclamation of grace
in tlu> name of .Jehovah; (4) the deeper and more
inward meaning given to the law in Deuteronomy,
as an intro •luciiou to the ago of the Psalms and
Prophets.

The Form of the Promulgation of the Decalogue.

We assume that this form is indicated in xix.
19. The passage, Deut. v. 4, "Jehovah talked
with you face to face in the mount," is defined
by ver. 5, "I stood between Jehovah and you at
that time, to show you the word of Jehovah." In
spite of this declaration and the mysterious pas
sages, Acts vii. 53, Gal. iii. 19, Heb. ii. 2, the no
tion has arisen, not only among the Jews, but also
within the sphere of Christian scholastic theolo
gy, that God spoke audibly from Mt. Sinai to the
wholepeople. Vid. Keil,II. p. lOGsqq. Buxt.:<'ZTe-
brseorum interprets adunum psene omnes: deumverba
decalogi per se immediate locutum esse, dei ncmpe po-
tentia, non autem angelorum opera, ac ministerio voces
in aere formulas fuisKe" The interpolation of spi
rits of nature by von Hofmann (vid. Keil, p 108)
must he as far from the reality as from the literal
meaning of the language. It must not be forgot
ten that Moses, at the head of his people in the
breadless and waterless desert, moves, as it were,
on the border region of this world. A sort of sym
bolical element is without doubt to be found even
in the Rabbinical tradition, that God spoke from
Sinai in a language which Divided itself into all
the languages of the seventy nations, and ex
tended audibly over all the earth ; — evidently a
symbol of the fact that the language of the ten
commandments gave expression to the language
of the conscience of all mankind.

The Relation of the Law in Exodus to the Form of
it in Deuteronomy.

First of all is to be noticed that in the most
literal part of the Holy Scriptures, where eveiy-
thing seems to depend on the most exact phrase
ology, viz., in the statement of the law, there is
yet not a perfect agreement between tlm two state
ments- just asist ho case in t heN.T. with the Lord's
Prayer, and in church history withtheecumenical
symbols, which, moreover, have failed to agree on
a seven-fold division of it. Keil rightly nv-kes the
text in Exodus the original one ; whilst Kurtz, in
a manner hazardous for his standpoint, inverts
the relation, making the form in Deuteronomy
the original one. Both of Ihern overlook the
fact that according to the spirit of the letter the
one edition is a-< original as the other. We have
already (Genesis, p. 92) attempted to explain the
reason of the discrepancies which Keil in note 1,
IT., p. 105, has cited. In the repetition of the
Sabbath law the ethical and humane bearing of
it is unmistakably made prominent (Dent. v.
15), as in relation to the tenth commandment the
wife is put before the house. In the form of th>;
command to honor father and mother, the bless
ing of prosperity is made more emphatic. The
expressions KIBf 1# for ")p27 1#, JTUXnn for the
repetition of "loniH (in the second part of the
tenth commandment) savor also of a spiritual
izing tendency. By the copula 1, moreover, the
commandment, ''Tiiou shalt not kill," and the
following ones are, so to speak, united into one
commandment.

Furthermore is to be noticed the difference
between the first oral proclamation of the law
through the mediation of M«scs and the engraved
inscription of it on two tablets. This begins after

CHAP. XX. 1-21.

the solemn ratification of the covenant, xxiv. 15,
xxxi. 18, xxxii. 19, xxxiv. 1. Thus at this point
also in the giving of the law the oral revelation
precedi-s the written, although at the same point
the revealed word and the written word blend
intiraa'ely together, in order typically to -ex
hibit the intimate relation between the two
throughout the Holy Scriptures. A positive
command of Holy Scripture has already been
made, xvii. 14: eternal war against Amalek. in
a typical sense. The fact also is of permanent,
significance, that Aaron the priest was making
the golden calf for the people at the same time
that Moses on the mo'int was receiving the tables
of the law. That the ten commandments were
written on the two tables, that therefore the
ethico-religious law of the covenant is divided
into ten commandments, is affirmed in Ex. xxxiv.
28, and Deut. x. 4. But on the question, how
they are to be counted, and how divided bet ween
the two tables, opinions differ. Says Keil: " The
words of the covenant, or the ten commandments,
were written by Gol on two tables of stone (xxxi.
18), and, as being the sum and kernel of th^ law,
are called as early as in xxiv. 12 nii"pni rplf^n
[the law and the commandment]. But. as to their
number, and their twofold division, the Biblical
text furnishes neither positive statements nor
certain indications — a clear proof that these
points are of le->s importance than dogmatic zeal
has often attached to them. Tn the course of the
centuries two leading views have been developed.
Some divide the commandments into two divisions
of five each, and assign to the first table the com-
mandmen'S respecting (1) other gods, (2) images,
(3) the name of God, (4) the Sabhath, and (5)
parents; to the second those concerning (1) mur
der, (2) adultery, (3) stealing, (4) false witness,
and (5) covetousness. Others assign to the first
table three commandments, and to the second,
seven. They specify, as the first three, the com
mandments concerning (1) other gods, (2) the
name of God, (3) the Sabbath; which three com
prise the duties owed to God: and, as the seven
of the second table, those concerning (1) parents,
(2) murder, (3) adultery, (4) stealing, (5) false
witness, (6) coveting one's neighbor's house, (7)
coveting a neighbor's wife, servants, cattle, and
other possessions; as comprising the duties owed
to one's neighbor. — The first opinion, with the
division into two tables of five commandments
each, is found in Josephus (Ant. III., 5, 8) and
Philo (Quis rer. divin. hser. \ 35, De Decal. $ 12
et al.). It is unanimously approved by the
church fathers of the first four centuries, and
Lag been retained by the Oriental and Reformed
churches to this day. The later Jews also agree
with this, so far as that they assume only one
commandment respecting covetousness, but dis
sent, from it in that they unite the prohibition of
images with the prohibition of strange gods, but
regard the introductory sentence, " [ am Jeho
vah, thy God," as the first commandment. This
method of enumeration, of which the first traces
are found in Julian, the Apostate, quoted by
Cyril of Alexandria, adv. Julianuin, Lib. V. inif.,
and in a casual remark of Jerome on Hos. x. 10,
is certainly of later origin, and perhaps pro
pounded only from opposition to the Christians ;
but it still prevails among the modern Jews.

The second leading view was brought into fa
vor by Augustine; and before him°no one is
known to have advocated it. In Qusexf 71 in
Exod., Augustine expresses himself on the ques
tion how the ten commandments are to be di
vided : (" Utrum quatuor sint usque ad prseceptum de
Sabbatho. gusc ad ipsum Deum pertinent, sex aute.m
rehqua quorum primum: Honor a, patrem et matrem,
quse ad hominem pertinent: an potius ilia tria, sint et
i«ta septem") after a further presentation of the
two views, as follows: "Hihi tamen videntur con-
gruentius accipi ilia tria et ista septem, quoniam Tri-
nitatem videntur ilia quse ad Dtum pertinent, insinu-
are diligentius intumtibus ;" and he then aims to
show, further, that by the prohibition of images
the prohibition of other gods is only explained
"perfectms," while the prohibition of covetous-
ness, although " concitpiscentia uxoris alienee et con-
cupiscen'ia domus aliense tantum in peccando dif-
ferant," is divided by the repetition of the "non
cnncupisces " into two commandments. In this
division Augustine, following the text of Deuter
onomy, generally reckoned the command not to
covet one's neighbor's wife as the ninth, though
in individual passages, following the text of Ex
odus, he puts the one concerning the neighbor's
house first (vid. Oeffkcn. (Jebcr die verscliifdene
Eintheiluny d's Dekalog*, Hamburg. 1838, p. 174).
Through Augustine's great influence this divi
sion of the commandments became the prevalent
one in the Western church, and wa^ also adopted
by Luther and the Lutheran church, with the
difference, however, that the Catholic find Lu
theran churches, following Exodus, made the
ninth commandment refer to the house, while only
a few, with Augustine, gave the pre erence to the
order as found in Deuteronomy.*

We have the more readily borrowed the lan
guage of a decided Lu heran on this question, in
asmuch as he, in distinction from some others
who seem to regard adherence to the mediaeval
division as essential to Lutheran orthodoxy, dis
plays a commendable impartiality. The leading
reasons for the aticient, theocratic division are
the following: (1) The transposition of th« first
object of covefousness in Exodus and Deuterono
my, "thy neighbor's house," "thy neighbor's
wife." The advocates of the ecclesiastical view
would here rather assume a corruption of the

* In modern discussions of this pubjprt, the AusrusHnian
division is defended by Sonntasr, in t'v« The I. Stiiflvn mid
KrUlkfn. 1836, p. 61 sqq. and 1837, p. 243 pqq., and by Kurtz
in his Histon/ of the Old Covenant, IIT., p. 1-J3 sqq., anil in the
KircJil. Zeitsclm'ft of Kliefoth nnd Meier. 1835, part* 4- 0. The
Lutheran view, by 0. W. Ot'o. Dfkdlnrf. Un'ermclinngfn, Halle,
1857. The Reformed vie.w, as the original one, »nd the one
borne out by the text, hv Ziilli", in 'ho Tlir<>l. Shidien und
KrUiken, 1837, p. 47 sqq. ; J. Geff k^n. in the above-mentioned
treatise, which fully treats the historical teitimony; Ber-
thean, Die. 1 Oruppen inosaisclfr Ge.sdze, Goningen, 1840, p.
10 gqq. ; 0 Oiler, in Jlerzorf* ReaUncyklop'ddie, Ait. n^knlng;
b / anonymous writers in the Erang. KircJiRnzcilun;/, 1857, No.
62 sq., and in the Erlinrjer Zeitschrift fur Protestantisms,
Vol. 33, parts 1 and 2; finally, by P. W. Sennits, in a full,
thorough, and candid treatment of the question in Rudelbach
and Gnericke's Zvtschrift, 1858, pa--t 1. and in his Oomm. on
Deut. v. 6 sqq. — E. in the Erhntqcr Ze>t<ch if I, Vol. 3(5, p-irt 4,
p. 293 sqq.; and Knobel on Ex. xx., ent r the lii-ts for the
Rabbinical view. Finally, E. Meier, D/e ur prilngliche F rm
de< Dekalogx (Mannheim, 1836) liunches out into arbitrary

I con] cture-s" (Keil). See more on Rabbini al and Catholic di-

1 visions in Keil II.. p. HI. and R->rthe<ui, p. 13. [Comp. also
Stinley, Jewish Chur<h, L'^t. VIT., a-id the Article Ten Com-

i mandmmt* in Smith's Bi.le Dic'.iinari/, and Decalogue in

j Kitto's Cyclnpctlia.— TR.J

EXODUS.

tpx', even in the tables of the law, than see in
this transposition a weaving of the two precepts
into one commandment. (2) The difference, am
ply established by sacred history, as well as by
the history of religion in general, between the
worship of symbolic images, and the worship of
mythological dei'ies: in accordance with which
distinction the two prohibitions are not, to be
blended into one commandment. (3) Of very
special importance is the brief explanation of the
law given by Paul in Rom. vii. 7 with the words,
"Thou shall not covfit." According to this ex
planation, the emphasis rests on the prohibition
of covetousness, and the expansion "thy neigh
bor's house," etc., serves merely to exemplify it.
But when the commandment is divided into two,
the chief force of the prohibition rests on the
several objects of desire, so that these two last
commandments would lead one to make the law
consist in the vague prohibition of external
things, and need to be supplemented by a great
" etc. ;" whereas the emphasizing of covetousness
as an important point leads one to refer the law to
the inward life, and, so understood, looks back
to the spiritual foundation of the whole law in
the first commandment, whilst a kindred element
of spirituality is found in the middle of the law,
connected with the precept to honor father and
mother. — As to the distribution of the law into
two ideal tables, the division into two groups of
five commandments each is favored especially by
the fact that, all the commandments of the second
table from the sixth commandment on are con
nected by the conjunction 1 [" and;" in the A. V.
rendered, together with the negative, ''neither"]
in Deuteronomy (ver. 17, etc.). Moreover, in fa
vor of the same division is the consideration that
parents in the fifth commandment stand as repre
sentatives of the Deity and of the divine rule. As
the first commandment expresses the law of true
religion, and the second, the requirement to make
one's religious conceptions spiritual and to keep
them pure; so the three following commandments
evidently designate ramifications of religious con
duct: the duty of maintaining the sanctity of reli
gious knowledge and doctrine; of religious hu
manity (or of worship), and of the most original
nursery of religion, (he household, and of its most
original form, piety. Nevertheless, when one
would divide the ten commandments between the
two actual tables of Moses, he fails to find dis
tinct indications; hardly, however, can the as
sumption be established that only the precepts
themselves stood on the tables, but not the rea
sons that are given for some of them.

As to the whole system of the Mosaic legisla
tion, we are to consider the arrangement which
Bortlieau has made in his work "Die sieben Grup-
pcn mnsaischer Gesetze in den drei mitlleren B'dchern
dea Pentateuchs" (Gottingen, 1840). According to
him, the number 7, multiplied by 10, taken seven
times, lies at the foundation of the arrangement.
We have already observed that we do not regard
as well grounded the dissolution of the Mosaic
code of laws from history as its basis. Moreover,
a clear carrying out of the system would show
that we could regard the origin of it only as in-
etinctive, not as the conscious work of Rabbinic
design. The ten commandments, Ex. xx. 1-17,
form the introduction of this arrangement. But

the ritual law follows immediately, beginning
with a group, not of ten, but of four laws, xx.
23 sqq.

1. The Lawgiver. That Jehovah is the lawgiver
does not exclude the mediation mentioned Gal.
iii. 19 and elsewhere. Comp. Comm. on Genesis,
vi. 1 8. Quite as little, however, does this me
diation obscure the name of the lawgiver, Jeho
vah. Keil (II. p. 114) inconclusively opposes
the view of Knobel, who takes the first words,
"I am Jehovah," as a confession, or as the foun
dation of the whole theocratic law. Just, because
the words have this force, are they also the foun
dation of the obligation of the people to keep the
theocratic commandments. For the lawgiver
puts the people under the highest obligation by
their recognising him as benefactor and libera
tor. An absolute despot, as such is no lawgiver.
Israel's law is based on his typical liberation,
and his obedience to the law on faith in that
liberation. The law itself is the objective form
in which for educational purposes the obligations
are expressed, which are involved in its founda
tion.

2. The first Commandment. The absolute nega
tion N7 stands significantly at the beginning.
So further on, Antithetic to it is the absolute

'JJN ["I"] of Jehovah at the opening of His
commandments. — D'rPN "TIT, the gods becom',
spring up gradually in the conceptions of the sin
ful people, hence *J7. D'^.n^ in connection with
D^ri/tf is to be explained as = srtpot (according
to Gal i. 6) with the LXX. arid the Vulgate
(alieni, foreign), not = alii, other. "'JS"/^ may
mean before my face, over against my face, against
my face, besides my face, beyond it. The central
feature of the thought may be: beyond my per
sonal, revealed form, and in opposition to it — re
cognizing, together with the error a remnant of
religiosity in the worship of the gods. — Tlie " co-
ram me" of the Vulgate expresses ore factor of
the notion, as Luther's " neben mir" ["by my
side"] does another. [Founder "Textual and
Grammatical "].

8. The Prohibition of Image Worship, vers. 4-C.

Image, ^D3, from /D3, to hew wood or stone.
It therefore denotes primarily a plastic image.
nj}Q.n does not signify an image made by man,
but only a form which appears to him, Num.
xii. 8, Deut. iv. 12, 15 sqq., Job iv. 16, Psalm
xvii. 15. In Deut. v. 8 (comp. iv. 16) we find

nj^Drr/J) vpD, '• image of any form." Accord
ingly iTHDJV/DI is here to be taken as explana
tory of 7p3, and ^ as explicative, "even any
form" (Keil). "Image" is therefore used ab
solutely in the sense of religious representa
tion of the Deity, and the various forms are con
ceived as the forms of the image. Comp. Deut.
iv. 15, '* for ye saw no manner of similitude [no
form] on the day that Jehovah spake unto you
in Horeb." The medium of legislation therefore
continued to be a miracle of hearing; it became
a miracle of sight, only in the accompanying
phenomena given for the purpose of perpetually

CHAP. XX. 1-21.

preventing every kind of image-worship. — In
heaven. Keil says: " on the heaven," explain
ing it as referring to the birds, and, not the an
gels, at the most, according to Deut. iv. 19, as
perhaps including the stars. The angels proper
could not possibly have been meant as copies of
Jehovah, since they themselves appear only in
visions ; and even if the constellations were spe
cially meant, yet they too were for the most part
pictorially represented [and in this sense only is
the worship of them here prohibited]. The wor
ship of stars as such is covered by the first com
mandment. Comp. Rom. i. — Under the earth.
Beneath, under the level of the solid land, lower
than it. Marine creatures are therefore meant.
This commandment deals throughout only with
religious conduct. The bowing down designates
the act of adoration; the serving denotes the sys
tem of worship. Keil quotes from Calvin: " qu^d
stulte guidam putarunt, hie damnari sculpturas et pic-
turas quaslibet, refutatione non indiget" Still it is
clear from Rom. i. that the gradual transition from
the over-estimate of the symbolical image to the
superstitious reverence for it is included.

According to Keil the threat and promise fol
lowing the second commandment refer to the two
first as being embraced in a higher unity. But
this higher unity is resolvable in this way, that the
sin against the second commandment is to be re
garded as the source of the sin against the first.
With image worship, or the deification of sym
bols, idolatry begins. Hence image worship is
condemned as being the germ of the whole suc
ceeding development of sin. . That which in the
classical writings of the Greeks and Romans is
signified by vfipig, the fatal beginning of a con
nected series of crimes which come to a conclusion
only in one or more tragic catastrophes, is sig
nified in the theocratic sphere by j'lj), perversion,
perverseness. The evil-doing of the fathers has
a genealogical succession which cannot be broken
till the third or fourth generations (grandchil
dren and great-grandchildren) are visited. This
is shown also by the Greek tragedy, and the third
and fourth generation is still to be traced in the
five acts of the modern tragedy. Now the image-
worshipper is worse than the idolater in that he
makes this fatal beginning. But as the vppiq
proceeds from, an insolence towards the gods
which may be called hatred, so also image-wor
ship arises out of an insolent apostasy from the
active control of the pure conception of God,
from the control of the Spirit. In the Old Tes
tament, it is the golden calves of Jeroboam at
Dan and Beersheba which are followed by such
catastrophes in Israel. It may also be asked :
What has the mediaeval image-worship cost cer
tain European nations in particular ? That the
hereditary guilt thus contracted forms no abso
lute fatality, is shown by the addition, '* of them
that hate me." This is a condition, or limita
tion, which is echoed in the £0' cJ Trdtrff rjfiapTov
of Rom. v. 12. But the condition cannot be made
the foundation, as is done by Keil, who says that

by the words Wiz and 'irw [" of them that
hate me" and "of them that love me"] the
punishment and the grace are traced back to
their ultimate ground. This would vitiate the
force of what he afterwards says of the organic
9

relations of humanity. The organic hereditary
conditions of guilt, of which even the heathen,
know how to speak (vid. Keil, p. 117), are lim
ited by morally guilty actions. Because refer
ence is here made to organic consequences, the
fathers themselves are not mentioned. Because
the transmission of the curse is hindered by the
counter influence of ethical forces and natures,
checks grow up as early as between the third
and fourth generations. The sovereignty of
grace is concerned in this, as also in the oppo
site parallel, ''unto the thousands," i. e., unto
a thousand generations. This wonderfully sub
tle and profound doctrine of original sin is not
Augustinian, inasmuch as it assumes special cases
of sin and individual and generic counteracting
influences within the sphere of the general con
dition of sin. It is, however, still less Pelagian;
yet, as compared with the notion of guilt embo
died in the Greek tragedians, it is exceedingly-
mild. The hereditaty descendants of such a
guilty parentage fill up the measure of the guilt
of their fathers, Matt, xxiii. 32. In this passage
also the notion of guilt, as distinguished from
that of sin, is brought out. Guilt is the organic
side of sin ; sin is the ethical side of guilt. The
whole judicial economy, moreover, is founded on
the jealousy of God ; i. e., as being the absolute
personality, He insists that persons shall not dis
solve the bond of personal communion with Him,
that they shall not descend from the sphere of
love into that of sensuous conceptions.

4. The third commandment. The sin against the
first commandment banishes the name of Jeho
vah by means of idol names; the sin against the
second obscures and disfigures it; the sin against
this third one abuses it. Here then the name,
the right apprehension, or at least knowledge
and confession, of the name, are presupposed ;
but the correctness of the apprehension is hypo
critically employed by the transgressor of this
commandment in the interest of selfishness and
vice. According to Keil Di^ NJ^J does not mean
"to utter the name," and frOt^ does not mean
"lie." But to lift up a name must surely mean
to lift it up by uttering it, though doubtless in a
solemn way; and though \R\VJ signifies wasteness
and emptiness, yet it is here to be understood of
wasteness and emptiness in speech. The moral
culmination of this sin is perjury, Lev. xix. 12;
hypocrisy in the application of sacred things to
criminal uses, especially also sorcery in all forms.
— Here the punitive retribution is put imme
diately upon the person who sins, as an una
voidable one which surely finds its object-, and
whose law rests on the nature of Jehovah Himself.

5. Vers. 9-11. Here is to be considered: (1)
The significance of the law of the Sabbath; (2) the
institution of the Sabbath; (3) the ordinance of the
Sabbath; (4) the reason for the Sabbath. The idea
of the Sabbath will never be rightly apprehended,
unless it is seen to be a union of two laws. The
first is the ethical law of humanity, which here
predominates; the second is the strictly religious
law, which is made prominent in Lev. xxiii.
The law of the Sabbath would not stand in the
decalogue, if it did not have a moral principle to
establish as much as the commandmeuts not to
kill, commit adultery, or steal. The physical

EXODUS.

nature shall no* be worn out, dishonored, and
slowly murdered by restless occupation. Hence
the specification: "No kind of work or busi
ness;" and that, not only in reference to son
and daughter, man-servant and maid-servant,
but also in reference to the beasts themselves
and the stranger within the gates of Israel (i. e.,
in their cities and villages, not in the houses of
the stranger), as the foreigner might imagine
that he could publicly emancipate himself from
this sacred humane ordinance. This point is
brought out in Deut. v. 14, 15; Ex. xxiii. 12.
It, is seen further on, in the sabbatical year and
in the great year of jubilee. Reference is made
to it in Deut. xvi. It. — That there existed already
a tradition of the Sabbath rest, may be inferred
from the tradition of the days of creation; so
also circumcision as a custom prevailed before
the institution of it as a sacrament. But that
circumcision, as a patriarchal law, symbolically
comprehending all the ten commandments, con
tinued to outrank the Mosaic law of the Sabbath,
which was not till now raised to the rank of one
of the chief ethical commandments, is shown by
the Jewish custom as indicated in Christ's decla
ration, John vii. 22, 23. — The ordinance of the
Sabbath first, specifies the subjects of the com
mand : " Those who are to rest are divided into
two classes by the omission of the conjunction 1
before ^3$" (Keil). Next, the degree of rest:
"roxSo, business (comp. Gen. ii. 2), in distinc
tion from mb>% labor, means not so much the
lighter work (Schultz) as rather, in general, the
accomplishment of any task, whether hard or
easy ; mb;r is the execution of a particular work,
whether agricultural (Ps. civ. 23), or mechani
cal (Ex. xxxix. 32), or sacerdotal, including both
the priestly service and the labor necessary for
the performance of the ritual (Ex. xii. 25 sq.,
Num. iv. 47). On the Sabbath, as also on the
day of atonement (Lev. xxiii. 28, 31) every em
ployment was to cease ; on the other feast-days,
only laborious occupations, n*J!3^ rOxSa (Lev.
xxiii. 7 sqq.), i. e., occupations which come under
the head of toilsome labor, civil business, and
the prosecution of one's trade" (Keil). — The
reason: " for in six days," etc. "This implies
that God blessed and hallowed the seventh day
because He rested on it" (Keil). According to
Schultz man should, in a degree, make the pul
sations of the divine life his own. So much is
certainly true, that the rhythmical antithesis
between labor and rest in the divine creation
should be not only the prototype, but also the
rule for human activity. All the more, inas
much as not only human nature, but nature in
general, needs intervals of rest to keep it from
being consumed with disquietude. Hence the
commandment contains an ethical principle, a
law designed to secure vigor of life, as the sixth
commandment protects life itself, xxiii. 12, Deut.
v. 14 sq. Furthermore is to be considered that
the seventh day of God has a beginning, but
no end; accordingly man's day of rest should
have its issue, not in time, but in eternity (vid.
Htb. iv. 10, Rev. xiv. 13). Keil would here make

a distinction between the labor of Paralise and
labor after the fall ; but the typical days of cre
ation preceded the fall. The positive side of the
day of rest, the solemn celebration, first appears
in "the form of the ritual law of the Sabbath.
The ritual makes the day of rest a festival. And,
inasmuch as the festival is the soul of the day
of rest, a day in which man should rest, and keep
holy day in God, as on that day God rests and
keeps holy day in man, it could also be trans
formed from the Jewish Sabbath into the Chris
tian Sunday.

6. Ver. 12. The fifth commandment. This con
cludes the first table, and forms at the same time
a transition to the second. " In the requisition
of honor to parents it lays the foundation for the
sanctification of all social life, in that it teaches
us to recognise a divine authority in it" (Oehler,
in Herzog's Real- Ency 'dop adie, under "Dekalog").
In the parental house the distinction between
the dynamical majority that is to train and go
vern, and the numerical majority which is to be
subject to the other, becomes conspicuous : one
pair of parents, and perhaps two, three, or four
times as many children. Here the government
of an absolute majority would be an absolute ab
surdity. On the. fifth commandment vid. Keil,
p. 122.

7. The sixth commandment. The protection of
life in its existence. It is at the same time
the basis of all the following commandments.
Lev. xix. 18, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself." Hence killing, when permitted or
even commanded, is to be regarded as in prin
ciple a consequence of the duty of the preserva
tion of life in the higher sense. So the seventh
commandment serves to protect marriage as the
source of life and the means of keeping it, pure;
the eighth commandment, to protect property and
equity, as the condition of the dignity of life; the
ninth commandment, to protect truth and the ju
diciary against falsehood and slander, as being
the spiritual vitiation of life; the tenth com
mandment, to guard the issues of life from within
outwards. The progress from violence to seduc
tion, and thence on to fraud, prepares the way
for the transition to the chief sin of the tongue
and the chief sin of the thought, primarily as
related to one's neighbor. On this "mirum et
aptum ordintm" as Luther calls it, see Keil II.,
p. 123. Thus the circle is formed; the law re
turns to the beginning: only by the sanctifica
tion of the heart according to the tenth com
mandment can the worship of God according to
the first commandment be secured. — Not kill.
Every thing belonging here is taught in the cate
chism ; vid. also Keil, p. 123 (comp. Gen. ix 6).
In the exposition, suicide, the killing of beasts,
etc., are to be considered. By the omission of
the object the emphasis lying on the notion of
killing is strengthened. In so far as the beast,
has no complete life, it cannot be killed in the
same sense as a man can be. But every form of
cruelty to beasts is an offence against the image
of human life.

8. Not commit adultery. This command
ment holds the same relation to the sixth as the
second to the first. Idolatry proper corresponds
with the murder of one's neighbor, the latter
being an offence against the divine in man. Im

CHAP. XX. 22-26.

age-worsbip, however, corresponds with adul
tery, as this too rests on a subtle deification of
the image of man; it is spiritual idolatry, as
image-worship is spiritual adultery, Lev. xx. 10.
Here observe also the expansion of the thought
in the catechism, according to which siraplo
whoredom too iu all its forms, as well as unchas-
tity, is included.

9. Not steal. Vid. the expansion, ch. xxi.
83, xxii. 13, xxiii. 4, 5, Deut. xxii. 1-4. The
correspondence between this commandment and
the misuse of the name of God, which robs God
of His honor, is also not to be overlooked. In
the case of false oaths in business the two offences
coalesce.

10 Bear false -witness against thy neigh
bor. "lp$ Ij;, Deut. Kit? Ij;, an intensification
of the expression. "Not only every lying, but
in general every untrue and unfounded, testi
mony is forbidden ; also not only testimony be
fore the judge, but in general every untrue tes
timony" (Keil). Aside from the tact that the
judicial oaths in court form a sort of religious
ceremony, which reminds one of the law of the
Sabbath, it is also the office of the Sabbath to
suppress the false excitements of the week of la
bor, out of which sins of the tongue, especially
also false testimony, proceed.

11. Thou shalt not covet. The emphasis
lies on coveting, not on the several objects of co
veting. This emphasis of the inward state is
made secure by reckoning the commandment as

one. "The repetition of TDnn X' [<thou shalt
not covet'] no more proves that the words form
two distinct commandments than the substitution

['desire'] forlnn [< covet'] in Deut.
v. 18(21)" (Keil). TherepetitioninExodusgives
prominence to the thought that the house, the sum
total of domestic life, as a unit, is superior to the
individual; in Deut., that the wife, ideally con
sidered, is superior to the house (Prov. xii. 4,
xxxi. 10). Vid. Keil's note in reply to Kurtz,
who regards the text in Exodus as corrupt.* The

* [The n'^te is not given in the Enelish edition. Kurtz
argues that lusting after one's neighbor's wile, and coveting
his possessions, are two quite distinct sins; hence he regards
th" use of two distinct verbs for the two sins in Deuteronomy
aa the most accurate form of the commandments, and there-

relation between the fifth and the tenth com
mandment is less marked, yet it may be said : a
genuine pupil of a pious house will not covet his
neighbor's house. The house of God in the pious
family keeps peace with the house of the neigh
bor. Every house is to the pious man a house
consecrated by justice, like a house of God.

The Effect.

Vers. 18-21 ; Deut, v. 28-33. According to
Keil, the frightful phenomena under which the
Lord manifested His majesty made the designed
impression on the people. It was indeed de
signed that the people should be penetrated with
the fear of God, in order that they might not sin ;
but not that in their fear they should stand off
and beg Moses as their mediator to talk with
God. Hence it is said, " God is come to try
you." A trial is always a test, which, through
the influence of false notions, may occasion a
twofold view of it. That the Jews as sinners
should be startled by the phenomena of the ma
jesty of God, was the intent of this revelation ; but
that they should retire trembling and desire a
mediator, was a misunderstanding occasioned by
their carnal fear and spiritual sluggishness.
Here, therefore, is the key to the understanding
of the hierarchy. The lay feeling of the people
desired a mediating priesthood, which the person
of Moses first had to represent. For the priest
is the man who can dare to approach Gvd with
out being overwhelmed with the fear of death
(Jer. xxx. 21). The people now, although they
have found out by experience that men can hear
God speak without dying, yet yield to the fear
that they will be destroyed by fire when in im
mediate intercourse with God (Deut. v. 21, 25).
And because this is now their attitude of soul,
Jehovah complies wi h it (Deut. v. 28), just as
He afterwards gave to the people a king. This
origin of the Old Testament hierarchy explains
why immediately afterwards mention is made of
altars. In consequence of that arrangement,
therefore, the people now stood henceforth afar
off: Moses hid for the present assumed the
whole mediatorship.

fore conjectures that through some copyist the text of Exo
dus has been changed. Ho confesses, however, that there is
no external evidence of any weight in favor of the conjec
ture.— TB.]

B.— THE FIRST COMPENDIOUS LAW OF SACRIFICE.

CHAPTER XX. 22-26.

22 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,

23 Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with

24 me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.1 An altar of earth

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 23. If we follow the Ma^orctin punctuation, the literal tr!in=l-ition would ho : " Ye shall not mnko with me;
gods of silver and gods uf gold y • shall no make unt > you." With this d vision of t'ie verse,, an object must b" mpplied in
the first clause, c. </., " Ye shall not make anything," ?. e., any gods, " with mo," /.. c., to lie objects of worship together with
me. In favor of this construction jilso is the consideration that in "h^ rendering of the A. V. an unwarranted distinct on
seems to bo made between " gods of'silvor " and " gods of gold." On the other hand, however, the parallelism of t'ic clauses
favors the rendering of the A. V. The latt->ri< adopted by LXX. (where, however, we find v/^v instead of vvv e/uot) and
Vulg. (where ^X is left entirely untranslated). But the m ijority of sen lars prefer the other division.— TR.]

EXODUS.

thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy
peace-offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen : in all places where I record my name I

25 will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make [thou make] me
"an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone; for if thou lift up thy tool

26 upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar,
that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

We have to do here with an altogether peculiar
section, the germ of all Leviticus, or even of the
whole ritual law. This is too little recognized
when Keil gives as one division: chaps, xx. 22-
xxiv. 2, under the title, " Leading Features in
the Covenant Constitution," and then makes the
subdivision: (1) The general form of Israel's
worship of God ; (2) The laws of Israel. Knobel
has observed the turning-point in one respect at
all events: "The frightful phenomena amidst
which Jehovah announces the fundamental law
of the theocracy, fill the people with terror;
hence another mode of revelation is employed for
the further divine disclosures. They beg that
Moses rather than God should speak with them,
inasmuch as they are filled with mortal dread,
and fear for their lives. In this way the author
explains why Jehovah revealed the other laws to
Moses, and through him brought them to the
people, whereas He had addressed the ten com
mandments immediately to the people." How
little more was needed in order to discern the
genesis of the hierarchical mediatorship.

Vers. 22, 23. Have talked with you from
heaven. — This is the basis for the negative part
of the theocratic ritual, and at the same time the
explanation of the worship of images and idols.
This rests on the fancy that Jehovah, cannot ap
proach men from heaven, and that man cannot
hear the word of Jehovah from heaven; that
therefore images of gods and heavenly objecfs
are necessary as media between the Deity and
mankind. It is to be inferred from the forego
ing that this prohibition does not exclude the
mediatorship of Moses, still less the mediatorship
of Christ in the New Covenant, for it is through
this real mediation that, heaven is to be brought
to earth, and humanity united in the Holy Ghost.
Furthermore, it is to be noticed that this prohibi
tion is given here as a law respecting worship,
whereas in the decalogue it has a fundamental
ethical significance. Hence we read here: <;Ye
shall not make *.HK, with me," by which is desig
nated the adoration of images in religious ser
vices, as involving the germ of idolatry. It is
here incidentally suggested that images are pro
hibited because Jehovah was veiled in a cloud,
and, "as a heavenly being, can be pictured by no
earthly material." (Keil.)

Ver. 24. The. positive, law of worship. Regard
ing it as certain that there had been already a
traditional service of God, connected with sacri
ficial rites, we cannot fail to discern here a design
to counteract extravagances, and to present in
the simplest possible form this ritual devoted to
theocratic worship. It may be taken as signifi
cant for the service of the Church also, that this
fundamental, simple regulation did not exclude
further developments, or even modifications. Of

course the modifications of this outward mani
festation of piety must have an inward ground.
How then did the altar of the tabernacle grow
out of the low altar of earth or of unhewa
stones ? First, it is to be considered that the altar
of the tabernacle was threefold: the altar of
burnt-offering in the court (xxvii. 1); the altar
of incense in the sanctuary (xxx. 1); and the
mercy-seat in the Holy of holies (xxvi. 34; xxv.
21). The altar of burnt-offering was of acacia
wood, overlaid with copper, and three cubits
high. The altar of incense, also of acacia wood,
was overlaid with gold; finally, the mercy-seat
was of pure gold. This gradation points back
from the gold through the gilding and the copper
to the starting-point, the altar of earth or of
stone. This primitive form continued to be the
normal type for the altars which, not withstanding
the fixed' centre in the exclusive place of wor
ship, were always prescribed for extraordinary
places of revelation (Deut. xxvii. 5; Josh. viii.
30; Judg. vi. 26). Not only the right, but also
the duty, of marking by altars real places of re
velations, was therefore reserved ; the worship in
high places easily followed as an abuse. Only in
opposition to this abuse was the central sanctuary
the exclusive place of worship; but it was to be
expected that a permanent altar in the sanctuary
could not continue to be so much like a natural
growth, but had to be symbolically conformed to
its surroundings in the sanctuary.

An altar of earth. — "The altar, as an ele
vation built of earth or unhewn stones, symbolizes
the elevation of man to the God who is enthroned
on high, in heaven" (Keil). Most especially it
is a monument of the place where God is re
vealed; then a symbol of the response of a hu
man soul yielding to the divine call, Gen. xii. 7;
xxii. 9; xxviii. 18; Ex. iii. 12, etc. Hence it is
said: '' In all places where I cause my name to
be remembered." ''Generally," says Knobel,
"the passage is referred to the altar of the taber
nacle, which subsequently was to stand now here,
now there. But this will not do. For (1) The
author in no way points to this single, particular
altar, but speaks quite generally of any sacrificial
worship of Jehovah, and gives no occasion to
bring in the tabernacle here contrary to the con
nection. (2) The altar of burnt-offering in the
tabernacle was not made of earth, but consisted
of boards overlaid with copper (xxvii. 1 sq ).
(3) Jehovah could not say that He would come
to Israel at every place where the tabernacle
stood, because He dwelt in the tabernacle, and
in it went with Israel (xiii. 21 sq., etc.)" But
though the tabernacle denotes the legal and sym
bolical residence of Jehovah, yet that does not
mean that Jehovah in a human way and perpe
tually dwells in the tabernacle. The tabernacle
was only the place where He was generally to be
found, more than elsewhere, and for the whole
people; but Jehovah was not confined to the ta-

CHAP. XXL 1— XXIII. 33.

bernacle. The designation of the altar of burnt-
offering as one of copper shows that a rising scale
was formed: from the earth to stone, and from
stone to copper, and from this still higher to gold
plate and to solid gold. So in the way of self-
surrender, of offerings under the fire of God's
self-revelation, out of the man of earth is
formed the second man, the child of golden
light. On the original form of altars, earth en
closed with turf, vid. Knobel, p. 211. As simple
as the original form of the altar are the original
forms of offerings: burnt-offerings and thank-
offerings. Both constitute the first ramification
of the Passover, which in the Levitical ritual
branches out still further.

Ver. 25. An altar of stone. — The aspiration
of religious men after more imposing forms of
worship is not prohibited by Jehovah, but it is
restricted. The stone altar was to be no splen
did structure. By any sharp iron p7.D» gene
rally sword) the stone is desecrated — i. e., under
these circumstances; for how can the worship
per, when receiving a new revelation from God,
be thinking of decking the altar? "The precept
occurs again in Deut. xxvii. 5 sq.; and altars of
unhewn stone are mentioned in Josh. viii. 31; 1
Kings xviii. 32; 1 Mace. iv. 47. They were
found also elsewhere, e.g., in Trebizond." (Kno
bel.) The opinion that hewn stone was looked

on as spurious can hardly be maintained, consi
dering the recognition of culture and art in other
relations. But vid. Knobel, p. 212.* Connected
with the first restriction in regard to the splendor
of the stone altar is the second: Neither . . . by
steps. — The more steps, the more imposing the
altar; therefore no steps! The reason is: "that
thy nakedness be not uncovered before it." Be
fore it, as being the symbol of God's presence.
[But the Hebrew says: "on it." — TR.] As the
sacrifice symbolically covers the sin of man be
fore God, so the nakedness of the offerer should
remain covered, as a reminder of his siufulness
before God and before His altar. The ethical
side of the thought is this: that a knowledge
of this exposure might disturb the reverence of
the offerer. But inasmuch as the later altar of
the ritual service in the tabernacle was three
cubits high, and therefore probably needed steps
(Lev. ix. 22), the priests had to put on trowsers
(xxviii. 42).

* [" It would seem that the stone which was unhewn, there
fore uninjured and unfashioned, found in the condition in.
which the Creator left it, was regarded as unadulterated and
pure, and was therefore required to be us'id. Similar are the
reasons for the commands not to offer castrate 1 animals (Lev.
xxii. 24), 10 rereive into the congregation a mutilated man
(Deut. xxiii. 1), to propagate mongrel beasts and grain
(Lev. xix. 19), nor to put on the clothes of the opposite sex
(Deut. xxii. 5)." Knobel, 1. c.— TR.]

C.— FIRST FORM OF THE LAW OF THE POLITICAL COMMONWEALTH.

CHAPTER XXI. 1— XXIII. 33.
a. Right of Personal Freedom (according to J3ertheau, ten in number],

1 Now these are the judgments [ordinances] which thou shalt set before them.

2 If [when] thou buy [buyest] an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve : and in

3 the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came [come] in by himself, he
shall go out by himself: if he were [be] married, then his wife shall go out with

4 him. If his master have given [give] him a wife, and she have borne [bear] him
sous or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go

5 out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife,

6 and my children ; I will not go out free : then his master shall bring him unto the
judges [God] ; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his
master shall bore his ear through with an awl ; and he shall serve him forever.

7 And if [when] a man sell [selleth] his daughter to be a maid servant, she shall not

8 go out as the men-servants do. If she please not her master who hath betrothed
her to himself,Uhen shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation

9 he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. And if he have
betrothed [betroth] her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of

10 daughters. If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 8. The Hebrew here, according to the K'thibh, is J<7» an<i if this were followed, we should have to translate
with Geddea, Rosenmilller and others : "so that he hath not betrothed (or will not betroth) her." The K'ri reads V?,
"unto him" or "unto himself." This yields much the easiest sense, and is especially confirmed by the consideration that
"1JT of itself means, not "betroth," but "appoint," "destine." Followed by the Dative, it may in the connection convey
the notion of betrothal ; but used absolutely, it cannot convey it. — TR.]

84 EXODUS.

11 marriage [marriage due] shall he not diminish. And if he do not these three unto
her, then shall she go out free [for nothing], without money.

b. On Murder and Bodily Injuries. Sins against the Life of one's Neighbor. (Ten in number, accord
ing to Bertheau.)

12 He that smiteth a man, so that he die [dieth], shall be surely put to death.

13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand [make it happen

14 to his hand2] ; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. But [And]
if [when] a man come [cometh] presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him

15 with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. And he tlat

16 smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. And he that steal-
eth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to

17 death. And he that curseth [revileth]3 his father, or his mother, shall surely be

18 put to death. And if [when] men strive together, and one smite [smiteth] another
[the other] with a stone, or with his fist, and he die [dieth] not, but keepeth

19 his bed : If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote
him be quit : only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be

20 thoroughly healed. And if [when] a man smite [smiteth] his servant, or his maid,
with a rod, and he die [dieth] under his hand; he shall be surely punished.

21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished : for he is

22 his money. If [And when] men strive, and hurt a woman with child, sr> that her
fruit depart from her [depart], and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely
punished [fined], according as the woman's husband will [shall] lay upon him :

23 and he shall pay as the judges determine* And if any mischief follow, then thou

24 shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25, 26 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. And if [when] a

man smite [smiteth] the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish

27 [and destroyeth it] : he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. And if he smite
out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth ; he shall let him go free
for his tooth's sake.

c. Injuries resulting from Relations of Property. Through Property and of_ Property. Acts of
Carelessness and Theft. (Ten, according to Btrtheau.)

28 If [And when] an ox gore [goreth] a man or a woman, that they die, then the ox
shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox

29 shall be quit. But if the ox were [hath been] wont to push with his horn [to gore]
in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in
[keepeth him not in], but that he hath killed [and he killeth] a man or a woman ;

30 the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. If there be laid
on him a sum of money [ransom], then he shall give for the ransom [redemption]

31 of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. Whether he have gored a son, or have
3^ gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. If the ox

shall push [gore] a man-servant or maid-servant, he shall give unto their master

33 thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. And if [when] a man shall
open a pit, or if [when] a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or yn

34 ass fall therein ; The owner of the pit shall make it good, and [good ; he shall] give

35 money unto the owner of them ; and the dead beast shall be his. And if [when] one
man's ox hurt [hurteth] another's, that he die [dieth] ; then they shall sell the live ox,

36 and divide the money [price] of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide. Or if

2 [Ver. 13. nilN cannot mean "deliver," and no object is expressed. It is therefore unwarrantable to render, with

A. V., "deliver him," or even with Lange, "let him accident >llv fall into his hand." The object to be supplied is the inde-
nu.te one suggested by the preceding sentence, viz. homicide.— TK.J

8 [Ver. 17. 77p, though generally rendered "curse" in A. V , yet differs unmistakably from TIN in being used not
merely of cursing, but of evil ape iking in general, e. g. Judg. ix. 27 and 2 Sam. xvi. 9. The LXX. render it correctly i y
Ka/coAoyeto. And this word, where the passage is quoted in tbe New Testament, is render d bj the same Greek word, v>z.
JVtitt. xv, 4. — Tit.]

4 [Ver. 23. Tbe Heb. reads D^77i)3, lit. " with judges" or "among judges." Some render "unto tbe judges;" others

"before the judges;" but tbe preposition does not naturally convey either of these senses. The A. V. probably expresses
the true meaning: " with judges," i. e. the nue bung judicially imposed.— TB.]

CHAP. XXT. 1— XXIIT. 33. 85

it be known that the ox hath used to push [hath been wont to gore] in time past,
and his owner hath not kept him in ; he shall surely pay ox for ox ; and the dead
shall be his own.

CHAP. XXII. 1 IF [WHEN] a man shall steal [stealeth] an ox, or a sheep, and kill
[killeth] it, or sell [selleth] it ; he shall restore [pay] five oxen for an ox, and four sheep

2 for a sheep. If a [the] thief be f mnd breaking up [in], and be smitten that he die

3 [so that he dieth], there shall no blood be shed [no blood-guiltiness] for him. If
the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed [blood-guiltiness] for him ; for
he [him ; he] should make full restitution ; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold

4 for his theft. If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox,

5 or ass, or sheep ; he shall restore [pay] double. If [When] a man shall cause
[causeth] a field or vineyard to be eaten [fed upon], and shall put in his beast [letteth
his beast loose], and shall feed [and it feedeth] in another man's field; of the best

6 of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. If
[When] fire break [breaketh] out, and catch [catcheth] in thorns, so that the
stacks of corn [grain], or the standing corn [grain], or the field, be [is] consumed
therewith; he [consumed; he] that kindled the fire shall surely make [make full]
restitution.

d. Things Entrusted and Things Lost.

7 If [When] a man shall deliver unto his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it
be [is] stolen out of the giau's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.

8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the
judges [unto God], to see whether he have put [have not put] his hand unto his

9 neighbor's goods. For all manner of trespass [In every case of trespass], whether
• it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for rainier t, or for any manner of lost [any lost]

thing, which another challengeth to be his [of which one saith, This is it], the cause
of both parties shall come before the judges [God] ; and [he] whom the judges

10 [God] shall condemn, he [condemn] shall pay double unto his neighbor. If [When]
a man deliver [delivereth] unto his neighbor an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any
beast, to keep ; and it die [dieth], or be [is] hurt, or driven away, no man seeing

11 it: Then shall an [the] oath of Jehovah be between them both, that [whether] he
hath not put his hand unto his neighbor's goods ; and the owner of it shall accept

12 thereof [it], and he shall not make it good [make restitution]. And if it be stolen from

13 him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. If it be torn in pieces, then
let him bring it for witness; and [witness;] he shall not make good that which was

14 torn. And if [when] a man borrow [borroweth] aught of his neighbor, and it be
[is] hurt, or die [dieth], the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make

15 it good [shall make full restitution]. But if [If] the owner thereof fee with it, he

16 shall not make it good : if it be an hired thing, it came for his [its] hire. And if
[when] a man entice [enticeth] a maid [virgin] that is not betrothed, and lie [lieth]

17 with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuse to
give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

e. Unnatural Crimes. Religious and Inhumane Abominations. (Arranged according to Bertheau.}
18, 10 (1) Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. (2) Whosoever lieth with a beast

20 shall surely be put to death. (3) He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto
Jehovah only, he [only,] shall be utterly destroyed [devoted to destruction].

21 (4) Thou shalt neither vex [wrong] a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were

22 strangers in the land of Egypt. (5) Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless

23 child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely

24 hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword;

25 and your wives .6hall be widows, and your children fatherless. (6) If thou lend
money to any of my people that is poor by thee [with thee that is poor], thou shalt
not be to him as an usurer; neither shalt thou [shall ye] lay upon him usury [interest].

26 (7) If thou at all take thy neighbor's raiment to pledge,'thou shalt deliver [restore]

27 it unto him by that the sun goeth down: For that is his covering only [only cover
ing], it is his raiment for his skin : wherein shall he sleep ? And it shall come to

86 EXODUS.

28 pass; when he crieth unto me, that I will hear ; for I am gracious. (8) Thou shalt

29 not revile the gods [God], nor curse the [a] ruler of [among] thy^ people. (9)
Thou shalt not delay to offer [not keep back] the first of thy ripe fruits and of thy
liquors [the first-fruits of thy threshing-floor and of thy press] :5 the first-born of

30 thy sons shalt thou give unto rne. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and
with thy sheep : seven days it shall be with his [its] dam ; on the eighth day thou

31 shalt give it me. (10) And ye shall be holy men unto me; neither shall ye [and
ye shall not] eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field ; ye shall cast it to the
dogs.

/. Judicial Proceedings.

XXIII. 1 (1) Thou shalt raise [carry] a false report : (2) put not thine [thy] hand

2 with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. (3) Thou shalt not follow a multi
tude to do evil ; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline [turn aside] after

3 many [a multitude] to wrest judgment : (4) Neither shalt thou countenance [be

4 partial to] a poor man in his cause. (5) If [When] thou meet [meetest] thine
enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again

5 [to him]. (6) If [When] thou see [seest] the ass of him that hateth thee lying
under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him [thou shalt forbear to leave

6 him], thou shalt surely help [release if] with him.6 (7) Thou shalt not wrest the

7 judgment of thy poor in his cause. (8) Keep thee far from a false matter; and

8 the innocent and righteous slay them not: for I will not justify the wicked. (9)
And thou shalt take no gift [bribe] : for the gift [a bribe] blindeth the wise [the

9 seeing], and perverteth the words of the righteous. (10) Also thou shalt not op
press a stranger : for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in
the land of Egypt.

g. Rules for Holidays and Festivals.

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

11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still [fallow] ; that the poor of
thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like

12 manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy olive-yard. (2) Six days
thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and
thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger may be refreshed.

13 And in [unto] all things that I have said unto you be circumspect [take heed]:
and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard [gods ; let it

14 not be heard] out of thy mouth. (3 ) Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in

15 the year. (4) Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread : thou shalt eat
unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed [at the
set time] of [in] the month Abib ; for in it thou earnest out from Egypt : and

16 none shall appear before me empty: (5) And the feast of harvest, the [of the] first
fruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown [sowest] in the field: (6) and the feast
of ingathering, which is in [ingathering, at] the end of the year, when thou hast

17 gathered [thou gatherest] in thy labors out of the field. (7) Three times in the

18 year all thy males shall appear "before the Lord GOD [Jehovah]. (8) Thou shalt
not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread ; neither shall the fat of my

19 sacrifice [feast] remain until the morning. (9) The first of the first-fruits of thy
land thou shalt bring into the house of Jehovah, thy God. (10) Thou shalt not seethe
[boil] a kid in his [its] mother's milk.

h. The Promises.

20 (1) Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee, in [by] the way, and to

[XII. 29. Literally : " thy fullness and thy tear." The phrase " ripe fruits " is ohjpctionable as including too much ;
• liquors as suggwiiig a wrong conception. The first refers to the crops generally, exclusive of the olive and the grape,
rn winch oil and wine, the liquid products ("tear"), were derived. Cranmer's Bible renders, not inaptly: "thy fruits,
whether they be dry or moist."— TR.]

6 [XXIII. 5. The rendering of A. V. : "and wouldest forbear," is utterly untenable. Not less so is the rendering of
DTj; by "help." The simplest explanation assumes a double meaning of 3TJ7, viz. to "loose," and to "leave." We

might Borrow a vulgar phrase, and read : " Thou shalt forbear to cut loose from him. thou shalt cut loose with him." Do
tte and Murphy attf mpt to avoid the double meaning by emphasizing " with." Thus : " Thou shalt forbear to leave it
: thou shalt leave it with him." But this is a nicety quite alien from the Hebrew.— TE.]

CHAP. XX. 1— XXIII.

21 bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his
voice, provoke him not : for he will not pardon your trangressions : for my name

22 is in him. But [For] if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak ;
then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversa-

23 ries. (2) For mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amo-
rites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the

24 Jebusites: and I will cut them off. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor
serve them, nor do after their works : but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and

25 quite break down their images. (3) And ye shall serve Jehovah your God, and
he shall [will] bless thy bread and thy water ; (4) and I will take sickness away

26 from the midst of thee. (5) There shall nothing [no one] cast their [her] young,

27 nor be barren, in thy land ; (6) the number of thy days I will fulfil. (7) I will send
my fear [terror] before thee, and will destroy [discomfit] all the people to whom

28 thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. (8)
And I will send [send the] hornets before thee, which [and they^ -hall drive out the

29 Hivite, the Canaam'te, and the Hittite, from before thee. (9) I will not drive
them out from before thee in one year ; lest the land become desolate, and the beast

30 of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive their out from

31 before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. (10) And I will set thy
bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistiaes, and from the
desert unto the river : for I will deliver the inhabitants of the lane into your

32 hand ; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. Thou shalt make r.o covenant

33 with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make
thee sin against me : for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

the commandment. Thou shalt not steal, (d)
Akin to the foregoing, and yet different, are the
regulations concerning goods put in another's
care^ and goods lost, (e) The regulations con
cerning unnatural crimes, offences against reli
gion and humanity are more specially connected
with the first and with the fifth and tenth com
mandments. (/) The section on judicial pro
cesses reminds us of the prohibition of false
witness, (r/) The division relating to holidays
and feast-days reminds us of the third com
mandment, but is more especially an unfolding
oMhe law of the Sabbath, (k) Also the pro
mises which are annexed to the fifth and second
commandments are in the last division expanded
into a fuller form.

Here must be noticed one more circumstance.
When regulations of similar import are found
in different sections of the law, this is not to be
regarded as mere repetition, still less as confu
sion. The moral law of the Sabbath, e. g., comes
here (xxiii. 12) under consideration again, from
a social point of view ; in Leviticus still again
as connected with the ceremonial law. For the
Sabbath, there are moral and ritual reasons, and
likewise social or civil reasons, the latter uniting
the two former. In like manner the great festi
vals of the Israelites are here regarded from
a national, or civil, point of view ; in Leviti
cus they are associated with the idea of wor
ship. The occasional precepts concerning pu
rification and sacrifice in the book of Numbers
relate to the keeping pure of the social common
wealth of Jehovah, and are therefore not prima
rily ceremonial. The tabernacle is found in Exo
dus, not in Leviticus, because it is primarily the
house of the theocratic lawgiver, and is the re
pository of the decalogue; only secondarily the
place of worship, the place where the lawgiver
meets his people.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

This section is very clearly to be distinguished
from the two preceding, so that after the purely
religious and ethical legislation, and after the
ritual, now the social and political legislation is
instituted. The genuinely theocratic character
of this legislation here at once appears. It is
not a criminal law in the first instance, but a
system of legal regulations for a people that is to
be trained for freedom. Hence these ordinances
begin at once very significantly with the regula
ting of the laws concerning emancipation ; and in
directly all the main points of this law point to the
rights of freedom. Just. as the sacrificial usages
were found already existing, and were thence
forth theocratically regulated, so now the rela
tions of slavery, found as an existing fact, were
regulated in the spirit of the typical people of
God. So Keil entitles the section: "The fun
damental rights of the Israelites in their civil
and social relations." Less satisfactorily Kno-
bel : " The further rights, i. e. laws," etc. But
the parallels which he draws between the Jew
ish legislation and that of other ancient people,
and of heathen people in general, as also of the
modern Mohammedan Arabs, are excellent.
We divide thus : (a) The law of personal free
dom. That this may correspond with the first
commandment of the decalogue, the duty of hold
ing sacred the divine personality, is obvious.
(b) The second division, on murder and bodily
injuries, quite as unmistakably aims to secure
the human form from abuse or disfigurement, as
the second commandment to keep the divine
image from being deformed ; but it is also con
nected with the commandment : Thou shalt not
kill, (c) The third division, on injuries which
result from the relations of property, points to

EXODUS.

a. Law of Personal Freedom,

(1) The Hebrew man-servant, vers. 1-6 ; (2)
The Hebrew maid-servant, vers. 7-11. The fur
ther development of, and reasons for, the law of
emancipation, vid. in Deut. xv. 12-18. "The
Hebrew man-servant after six years of service
is to receive his freedom gratis. According to
Dout. xv. 12 this holds also of the Hebrew maid
servant. The attributive '"Otf designates the
servant as an Israelite (comp. ^'HX in Deiit.) in
distinction from the slaves derived from non-
Israelitish foreign nations, to whom this law
does not apply" (Keil). The law evidently
tends towards securing the universality of perso
nal freedom. But it also knows that within the
theocracy, in the servitude which is mitigated
by it, there is an element susceptible of educa
tion. Therefore the servant is not compelled to
become free in the seventh year. We are to con
sider that the sons of the household also then
stood in the relation of strict subjection, so that
a dutiful servant became more and more like
them. Vid. xxiii. 12, Lev. xxv. 6, etc. The
servant might also be led by devotion to his wife,
given to him by his master during his servi
tude, and to her children, to remain a servant.
With reference to this the three cases in vers. 3
and 4 were to be distinguished. The fixing of
the seventh year as the year of emancipation is
connected with the sabbatical year, but does
not coincide with it. How one could become a
slave among the Israelites is told in xxii. 3, Lev.
xxv. 39. But how the emancipation was to be
beautified and enriched is seen in the parallel
passage in Deuteronomy [xv. 12-15]. On the
manner of emancipation vid. Keil p. 130. Unto
God. — Not to the priests, but to the court of
the assembly, which passed judgment in the
name of God, and whose sentence was a divine
dispensation. Similar expressions vid. in Kno-
bel, p. 214. There had therefore to be a public
declaration that the servant voluntarily re
mained a servant. " The boring of the ears was
among the Orientals a sign of slavery" (Kno-
bel). The ear-rings among the Carthaginians
from being a symbol of slavery came to be an
ornament, like the cross among Christians. The
case mentioned in Lev. xxv. 39 is probably a
modification, but according to Knobel is a con
tradiction, of the law before us. — Vers. 7-11 :
Tlie Israelitish daughter as servant and concubine.
Knobel makes no distinction between concubinage
as it is found among the patriarchs, and the
usual custom of the Jews. But in reply seethe
Commentary on Genesis, p. 80. She shall not
go out as the men-servants do.— It follows
from the nature of her position that it is a benefit
to her if she can remain in the house of her mas
ter, provided that the rights of the concubine
are respected. It is therefore presupposed
either that he takes her for himself, or gives her
to his son, or maintains her honor by the side
of his son's wife. In the first case, he must let
her be redeemed ; in the second case, he must
accord to her the domestic rights of an associate
wife. If he is not willing to give her this pro
tection, he must let her go free for nothing.
lu this connection the precepts of Deut. xv. 12 are

also to be considered. Vers. 8, 9. Who hath

betrothed her to himself. — "The tih before
UT belongs to the 15 passages designated by

the Massorah in which K/ stands for V7"
(Keil; compare Knobel). To sell her unto a
strange people- — Knobel: ''The Greek, too,
did not sell a Greek slave to go beyond the
boundary of the land." Seeing he hath
dealt deceitfully with her. — It would cer
tainly create a difficulty to translate, "on ac
count of his infidelity towards her," as if this
unfaithfulness were the only reason why an Is-
raelitess might not be sold to heathen. There
fore the emphasis probably lies on the thought
that his injustice would be doubly great if even
in this case, in which he has gone so far as to
send her away, he should also in his treachery
to her violate the theocratic law. That the
word 1J3 has a specially important meaning, is
seen from Ps. Ixxiii. 15. Comp Deut. xxi. 14,
and the account of the Arabian customs in Kno
bel, p. 216. If he betroth her unto his
son. — Comp. Knobel also on a Persian or Ara-
an custom of a similar sort. As his son's
concubine she is to be regarded by him as a
laughter. Ver. 9. If he take him another
wife. — That is, the father for his son. So Keil;
but Knobel understands it to mean : If he takes
another for himself. Keil well disposes of the
views, according to which either the son is the
subject, or the father takes for himself.* Her
food, etc. — All of her domestic rights are to re
main secure. ~\XVJ, meat, as the chief article of
food, "because the lawgiver has men of wealth
in mind." Keil. To understand njlj?, which

(Keil).

properly means lying, of cohabitation, yields no
tolerable sense. How could the father in this
thing control the son ? Or how could the sou
be obliged to conduct himself towards several
wives in the same way as towards one. Either,
therefore, the expression has in it something
figurative, meaning: She must not as wife be
neglected; or it refers to a seat, a resting-place
(see the meaning of j-\J?), which would well har
monize with the reference to food and raiment.
It is therefore assumed that under the conditions
imposed she has in the house of her servitude a
much better position than if she should be dis
missed, especially if she has borne children who be
long to the permanent members of the household.

b. On Murder, Homicide, and Bodily Injuries.

(1) Homicide proper, vers. 12-14. (a) Sim
ple homi :ide in consequence of beating ; (6) un
intentional, resulting from misfortune and mis
take ; (c) murder proper. (2) Spiritual homi
cide. (//) Smiting of parents; (6) deprivation
of freedom (as spiritual fratricide); (c) cursing
of parents (spiritual suicide). (3) Bodily inju
ries. (a) Of uncertain, perhaps fatal result; (i)
to a free man ; (ii) a man-servant or maid-ser-

* [The reasons are thus stated by Keil : " If the language
in ver. 9 is referred to the son, so 8 to mean, ' \vh-n he takes
to himself another wife,' them there must be assumed a
change of subject of which there is no ind cation ; but if we
understand the language to mean that the father (the pur
chaser) takes to himself another wire, then this precept
ought to have been given before ver. 9." — TR.]

CHAP. XX. 1— XXIII. 33.

vant; (Hi) a pregnant woman, in which connec
tion id to be noticed that the jus tulionis is laid
down in close connection with an extremely hu
mane law of protection, vers. 22-25; (b) local
injuries to men-servants or maid-servants.

Ver. 12. He that smiteth a man.— Says
Keil : " Higher than personal freedom stands
life." It may then be asked, why is capital
punishment prescribed (ver. 16) for the violent
taking away of freedom? The slavery treated
of in the preceding section was no innovation,
but as a traditional custom it was restricted, and
moreover in great part was based on guilt or
voluntary assent; it had besides an educational
end. It is true, the law of retaliation, as in
stituted in Gen. ix. 6, underlies all this section;
but it is noticeable that this law is expressly
prescribed just where the protection of a preg
nant woman is involved. It is repeated (Lev.
xxiv. 17) in connection with the ordinance that
the blasphemer shall be stoned. The reason for
the repetition is the principle that in respect to
these points perfect equality of rights should be
accorded to the stranger and the Israelite; and
it was occasioned by the fact that the blasphe
mer was a Jew on his mother's side, but an
Egyptian on his father's side. So that he
dieth. — Three cases are specified: first, the se
vere blow which in fact, but not in intention,
proves mortal; secondly, the unfortunate killing
through mistake, a providential homicide ;
thirdly, intentional, and hence criminal and
guileful, murder.

Ver. 13. And if a man lie not in wait. —
When, therefore, not only the murderous blow,
but any blow, was unintentional, so that the case
is one of severe divine dispensation. I will
appoint thee a place. — A place of refuge,
with reference to the avengers of blood who
pursue him. A check, therefore, upon the cus
tom, prevalent in the East, of avenging murder.
It is worthy of notice, from a critical point of
view, that no place is now fixed ; this was done
later, vid. Num. xxxv. 11 ; Dent. xix. 1-10. Here
too the innocent homicide is expres-ly distin
guished from the violent one, Nutn. xxxv. 22 sqq.
Together with the prescribed place of refuge for
the one who kills by mistake is found the stern
provision that a real murderer, who has com
mitted his murder with criminal and guileful
intent, cannot be protected even by fleeing to the
altar of the sanctuary, as it was customary in
ancient times for those to do whom vengeance
right.y or wrongly pursued, because, as some
would say, the altar was a place of expiation.
Even from the altar of God he is to be torn
away. The expression IP is not adequately re
presented by "behave viciously, or arrogantly."
It denotes the act of breaking through, in ebul
lient rage, the sacred restraints which protect
one's neighbor as God's image. Particular
cases, Num. xxxv. 30, Deut. xix. 11. Murder
could be expiated only with death, Num. xxxv.
31. Examples of fleeing to the altar, 1 Kings i.
50; ii. 28. This was also customary among the
Greeks.

Ver. 15. Smiteth his father.— The simple
act of smiting, co umitted on a father or mother,
is made equivalent to man-slaughter committed

on one's neighbor. " Parricide, as not occur
ring and not conceivable, is not at all mentioned"
(Keil). Similar ordinances among the Greeks,
Romans, and Egyptians are mentioned by Kno-
bel, p. 217. The two following provision* rest
on the same ground. The parents are God's
vicegerents for the children ; the neighbor ia
God's image; hence a violent abuse of bis per
son is equivalent to murder, vid. Deut. xxiv. 7.
We explain the insertion of the prohibition of
man-stealing between verses 15 and 17 by the
fact that in cursing his parents the curser mo
rally destroys himself, vid. Lev. xx. 9, Deut.
xxvii. 16. The order is: undutifulness, man-
stealing, self-destruction.* See various views
of ver. 16 in Keil, p. 133.

Ver. 18 sq. And when men strive. — The

section concerning bodily injuries as such is dis
tinguished from the section beginning with ver.
12 in that there injuries are spoken of which re
sult in death. The injuries here mentioned
would accordingly also be punished with death
if they resulted in death. This is shown espe
cially by ver. 20. Here, then, an injury is con
templated which only confines the injured one
to his bed. The penalty is twofold : First, the
offender must make good his sitting still, i. e.
what he might have earned during this time ;
secondly, he must pay the expenses of h's cure,
ver. 19. In the case of a man-servant or maid
servant a different custom prevailed. If man
slaughter took place, the manhood of the slain
one is fully recognized, i. e. the penal retribution
takes place. Probably sentence was to be ren
dered by the court, which was to decide accord
ing to the circumstances. According to Jewish
interpretations capital punishment was to be in
flicted with the sword; but vid. Knobelfor a dif
ferent view.f On the one hand, the danger of a
fatal blow was greater than in other relations,
for it was lawful for a master to smite his slave
(md. Prov. x. 13 ; the rod was also used on chil
dren); but on the other hand an intention to
kill could not easily be assumed, because the
slave had a pecuniary value. Furthermore, the
owner is exempted from punishment, if the
beaten one survives a day or two ; and the pun
ishment then consists in the fact that the slave
was his money, ?'.<?. thatin injuring the slave he iiaa
lost his own money. The Rabbins hold that this
applied only to slaves of a foreign race, accorl-
ing ta Lev. xxv. 44. This is not likely, if at the
same time, in case of death, execution by the
sword was to be prescribed ; also according to
this view there would have been a great gap in
the law as regards Hebrew slaves. It is true,
reference is here had only to injuries inflicted
by the rod. Wh^n one was killed with an iron
instrument, an intention to kill was assumed,
and then capital punishment was inflictpd un
conditionally, Num. xxxv. 16, Lev. xxiv. 17, 21,

* [This • xplanatinn or the order of the verses ran hardly
lie regarded as sansf »ctory. In fact, any attempt to discover
deep metaphysictl or psychological reasons for the order
and number of these laws is open to suspi:ion as implying a
degree <-f subtlety an 1 regard for logical order whicii w.ta
quite all <n fro u the Hebrew spirit.— TR j

f [Viz that tin onvssion of th> direcMon, "he shall surely
be put to death," impl^s that his punish nent was something
milder ; as does alao the spirit of the piecept in ver. 21. — T.R.J

EXODUS.

Deut. xix 1 i sqq. On the Egyptian, Greek, and
Roman legislation, see Knobel, p. 219.*

Vers. 22-25. Special legal protection of preg
nant women. It might often happen that in
quarrelling men would injure a pregnant woman,
since wives on such occasions instinctively inter
pose, Deut. xxv. 11. In the latter passage the
rudenesses which the woman, protected by law,
might indulge in are guarded against.— So that
her fruit depart. Literally: so that her chil
dren come out; i e., so that abortion takes place.
According to Keil, the expression designates
only the case of her bearing real children, not a
fetus imperfectly developed; i. e., a premature
birth, not an abortion, is meant. " The expres
sion n"lV is used for the sake of indefiniteness,
8inceTpossibIy there might be more than one
child iu her body." Strange interpretation of
the precept, according to which the plural in in
dividual cases denotes indefiniteness ! Accord
ing to this view, the most, and perhaps the worst,
cases, would not be provided for, since women
far advanced in pregnancy are most apt, to guard
against the danger of such injuries. The plural
may also indicate that the capacity for bearing
was injured. k4 If no other injury results from
the quarrel, reparation is to be made, according
as the husband of the woman imposes it on the
perpetrator, and the latter is to give it ' with
judges' i- e-< ln company with, on application to
them, in order that excessive demands may be
suitably reduced. The amount of indemnity de
manded doubtless was determined by the consi
deration, whether the injured man had many or
few children, was poor or rich, etc. The law
stands appropriately at the end of the cases
which relate to life and the inviolability of the
person. The unborn child is reckoned as be
longing to, and, as it were, a part of, the mo
ther" (Knobel). — Ver. 23. And if any mis
chief follow. It is to the credit of the legisla
tion that the law of retaliation (vid. Lev. xxiv.
19, Deut. xix. 21) is here so particularly laid
down. In i's connection it r^ads: The injury of
such a woman must be most sternly expiated
according to the degree of it. But even this ex
plication of the law of retaliation must be guarded
from a lifeless literalism, as is shown by the pro
visions in vers. 26 and 27. It would surely have
been contrary to nature to put out the eye of a
master who had put out his servant's eye, or to
make him lose tooth for tooth. Keil says, " The
principle of retaliation, however, is good only for
the free Israelite, not for the s^ave." In the
laiter case, he adds, emancipation takes place
Emancipation, even on account of a tooth knocked
out, has nevertheless the force of retaliation,
which, even in the relations of free Israelites,
could not have been everywhere literally applied,
e. g., in the case of burns. On the jus taUonit
in the ancient, heathen world, and generally ii:
the Orient, vid. Knobel, p. 220.

c. Injuries resulting from Property relations
Spentill>/ from acts of Carelessness. Chs. xxi
28— xxii. 6.

* [According to whom, the Egyptians punished all murder
with death ; the Greeks punished all murders, but punishe
the m mler of a si <ve onlv by requiring certain expiator.
rites ; the Rom <n law, however, until the time of the emperors
allowed master* to treat their slaves as they pleased.— Til. j

We follow in general Bertheau's classification,
which makes property the determining thought.
£eil and Knobel divide otherwise. Keil with
he words, " Also against danger from cattle is
man's life secured." The conflict between life
and property, and the subordination of property

here certainly everywhere observed. In a
critical respect it may not be without signifi
cance that there is here no trace of horses ; also
:he dog is not mentioned. At the time of Solo-
non and Ahab the case was quite ditferent.
First are to be considered the accidents occa
sioned by oxen that hook, vers. 28-32. But this
ist is connected with the following one, which
treats of the misfortunes which men may suffer
in respect to their oxen or asses throagh the
fault of neighbors, in which case a distinction is
made between the injuries resulting from care
lessness and those resulting from theft, ver.
33-xxii. 4. Then follow injuries done to fields
or estates through carelessness in the use of cat
tle or of fire, vers. 5 and 6. Then the criminal
misuse of goods held in trust constitute a sepa
rate section, vers. 7—17, which we do not, like
Bertheau, make a subdivision of the division (c),
but must distinguish from it.

Ver. 28. First cas». And if an ox.— The in
stinct of oxen to hook is so general that every
ac ddent of this sort could not be foreseen and
prevented. Therefore when an ox has not been
described to the owner as properly a goring ox,
the owner is essentially innocent. Yet for a
possible want of carefulness he is punished by
the loss of his animal. But the ox is stoned to
death. Legally it would involve physical un-
cleanness to eat. of the flesh. But the stoning
of the ox does not mean that the ox is " tainted
with capital crime" (Keil), but that he has b*-
come the symbol of a homicide, and so the vic
tim of a curse (D^n). It is therefore an appli
cation of Gen. ix. 6 in a symbolical sense, on
account of the connection of cattle with men.
Comp. also Lev. xx 15. Similar provisions
among the Persians and Greeks vid. in Knobel,
p. 220.

Ver. 29. Second case. The owner has been
cautioned that his ox is given to hooking. In
this case he himself is put to death as well as
his ox. This is the rule. But as there may be
mitigating considerations, especially in the case
of the injured family; as in general the guilt
was only that of carelessness, not of evil inten
tion, the owner might save his life by means of
a random imposed on him by the relatives of the
man that had been killed. Probably with the
mediation of the judges, as in ver. 22. Refer
ence to the Salic law made by Knobel. Ran

som. — *^23, covering, expiation.

Ver. 31. Third case. The son or the daughter
of a freeman are treated in the same manner as,
according to the foregoing, he himself is treated.

Ver. 32. Fourth case. The ox gores a man
servant or a mai 1- servant, to death. The stoning
of the ox is still enjoined, but the owner in this
c.»se is not doomed to death. He must pay the
master of the slave 30 shekels of silver. "Pro
bably the usual market price of a slave, since
the ransom mon<>y of a free Israelite amounted
to 5'J shekels, Lev. xxvii. 3." (Keil). On the

CHAP. XXI. 1— XXIII. 33.

value of the shekel ( /)7.^ <r/«:/lof) vid. Winer,
Realworterbuch, p. 433 sqq.* The result of the
perplexing investigation is that its value is 25 or
26 silver groschen.f The shekel afterwards used
for the revenue of the temple and of the king
was different from that used in common life.
This legal inequality [between the slave and
the freeman] is to he explained by the con
sideration that the capital punishment inflicted
on the owner formed an offset, to the revenge
to which otherwise the relatives of the mur
dered man might resort. But this revenge
for bloodshed was in no danger of being exer
cised in the cise of a murdered slave, since he
was removed from the circle of his relations.
The seemingly great, difference in the penalty
amounts finally to this, that the ransom money
for a free man was 50 shekels, and that for a
s'ave 30 shekels. On the estimate of the Attic
slave, vid. Knobel; but the great difference in
the period of time must be taken info account.
"In the legal codes of other ancient nations
also are found laws concerning the punishment
of beasts that have killed or injured a man.
Comp. Clericus and Knobel on this passage.
But no nation had a law which made the owner
of such a beast responsible, because none of
them had recognized the divine image in human
life" (Keil). The responsibility of the owner
could certainly be grounded only on the myste
rious solidarity of the Hebrew household ("thy
man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cat
tle"), a unity which was not taken into account
where a more atomistic view of liberty prevailed.
. Vers. 33, 34. Fifth case. And when a man
shall open a pit (cistern). This is connected
with the foregoing cases as coming under the
head of punishable carelessness. The ox or ass
are named as examples of domestic animals in
general. In this case only property is destroyed;
and the careless man has to pay for it, but re
ceives the dead beast, of which he could only
use the skin and other such parts, since the
flesh was unclean.

Ver. 35. Sixth case. A specially fine provision.
In the ox that has killed another ox there is
nothing abominable, but yet a stain ; the sight
of him is obnoxious. He is therefore sold and
comes into another place where his f.-iult is not
known. But the two owners share the price of
sale and the dead animal. This is an alleviation
of a misfortune that is common to both parties.
Without doubt the dead ox- also must have hooked.

Ver. 36. Seventh case. But here too is to be
considered the special circumstance that the ox
may have been a notorious hooker. In this case
the owner must make full compensation for the
loss with a live ox, in return for which he re
ceives the dead beast.

Chap. xxii. 1-4. Eighth ca*e. The cattle-
thief. Five-fold indemnity for the stolen ox ;
four-fold for the stolen sheep or goat. In the
case of the five-fold indemnity any kind of large
animal may be delivered over. The difference
of five-fold and four-fold points to the greater

* [See also Smith's Bible Dictionary, Art. Weight* a*>d Mea
sures.— TH.]

f | I. e.., about 60 or 62^ cents. Mr. Poole, in the article
above referred to, mak-s the s \\&<- shekel =220 grains, i. e.,
about 53^ cents, or 2 shillings and 2 pence.— TR.]

guilt of the greater theft. "The four-fold re
stitution is also mentioned in 2 Sam. xii. 6 : the
seven-fold, Prov. vi. 31, is not to be understood
literally, but only in a general way as manifold"
(Knobel). From the five-fold and four-fold re
stitution is distinguished the two-fold, which
is prescribed in case the thief has not yet
sla-ightered or sold the animal, but is able to
return it alive. The reasons for this distinction
are differently given; vid. Keil; also his note,
II. p. 137 * In the latter case the thief had not
carried out his purpose to the full extent, espe
cially as he has not put the object of his theft
out of the way. The case differed therefore ma
terially from the other. Vid. Knobel on the Ro
man laws. Others indicating the value set on.
ploughing oxen, Knobel, p. 222.

Vers. 2, 3. If the thief be found break
ing in. — This is obviously an incidental interpo
lation, which properly belongs to the class (b).
There shall be no blood to him; i. e. no
blood guiltiness is incurred by the homicide;
vid. Num. xxxv. 27; Deut. xix. 10; Job xxiv. 16.
One might understand this chiefly of an attack
on the fold, since the topic is the stealing of cat
tle ; at all events a nocturnal irruption is meant,
vid. ver. 3. Accordingly the watchman, or the
one who is awaked, is in a condition of defense.
He must protect his property, and therefore
fight; and the thief is liable to become a robber
and murderer. If the sun be risen upon
him. — It might be thought that this refers to
the early dawn or early day, when he might, re
cognize the thief, or frighten him away unre
cognized, or with the help of others capture
him. But inasmuch as further on it is assumed
that the thief has really accomplished his theft,
the expression probably means: If some time
has elapsed. If in this case the owner kills the
thief, he incurs blood-guiltiness; but on account
of the great variety in the cases the sentence of
death is not here immediately pronounced upon
him. Since the life of the thief is under the
protection of the law, the case comes before the
criminal court, vid. xxi. 20. For Calvin on the
" ratio disparitatis inter fur em nocturnum et diur-
nwn," vid. Kfil, p. 137. The real punishment
for the thief is determined by the law concern
ing restitution, xxii. 1, 3. But in case the thief
can restore nothing, he is sold for the theft, for
that which is stolen, i. e. for the value of it.
".This can mean only a sale for a period of time.
The buyer reckoned the restitution which the
thief was to render, and used the thief as a slave
until the whole loss was made good" (Knobel).
Similar arrangements among the Romans vid. in
Knobel, p. 2^3. Likewise laws concerning
theft, p. 224. The thief could not. be sold to a
foreigner, according to Josephus, Ant. XVI. ], 1.

* ["Thf> d i fference," savs Keil, I. c., " cannot be explained
by the consideration ' tbat theanimal slHugntmed or coM was
lost to it< o vner, while yet t may have lmd for him aspccixl
individual value' (Knobel), for such regard for personal
feelings is foreign to the law, to say nothing of tbe fret that
an animal when sold might have been regain"d by purchase ;
nor b/ the consideration that thn thief in that casn has < ar-
ri'jd his c-ime to a higher point (Banmgarten), for th<> main
thinsf was the stealing, not the disposition or c nsumption
of the t-tolen object. The reason can have lain onlv in the
educational aim of th« law, viz., to induce the thief to thirk
of himself, recognize his siu, and restore what he has sto
len."— TE.]

EXODUS.

Ver. 5. Ninth case. A field or a vineyard
to be fed upon. — There are various views of
this. (1) Si Iseserit quispiam agrum vel vineam,
etc. (Vulg.). Luther: " When any one injures a
field or vineyard, so that he lets his cattle do
damage." (2) Knobel : "When one pastures a
field or a vineyard by sending his cattle to it."
(3) Keil : "When any one pastures a. field or a
vineyard, and lets his cattle loose." rhtf bears
either meaning, to send away, or to let go free ;
but according to the connection only the latter
can be meant here. The sense given to it by
the Vulgite might accordingly be accepted: he
injures the field or vineyard of his neighbor so
that (in that) etc. But it is more obvious to as
sume an incidental carelessness to be meant.
The beast feeds on his field (perhaps also on the
grass between the grape-vines) ; from this pas
ture ground he lets him pass over so that he
does damage to his neighbor. Knobel even af
firms that an intentional damage is meant. And
yet only a simple, though ample, indemnity is to
be rendered from the best of his field and of his
vineyard. Keil rightly contends against Knobel's
theory. Talmudic provisions on this point are
found in Saalschiitz, Mosaisches Recht, p. 875 sq.

Ver. 6. Tenth case. This is about a fire in a
field, which might the more readily sweep over
into the neighbor's field, inasmuch as it was
likely to be kindled at the edge of the field, in
the thorn-hedge. Clearly an act of carelessness
is meant; comp. Is. v. 5. He that hath kin
dled the fire. — The carelessness is imputed to
h,m as a virtual incendiary, because he did not
guard the fire.

d. Things entrusted and lost.

Ver. 7. First case. The money or articles or
stuff (on D'Sj see Deut. xxii. 5) left for safe
keeping are stolen from the keeper, but the thief
is discovered. The affair is settled by the thief
being required to pay back double, vid. ver. 4.

Ver. 8. Second case. The thief is not disco
vered. In this case suspicion falls on the
keeper ; he may have embezzled the property
entrusted to him. Therefore such a case
must come before the court, which was es
teemed a divine court, hence the expression,

D^rnxrVvK. The penalty ispaid accordingtothe
decision of the case. The man under suspicion
must, approach unto God. Such an approach
produced an excitement of conscience. The true
high-priest is the one who may approach unto
God. In case the keeper is adjudged guilty, he
has to pay double.

Ver. 9. The foregoing provision is designated
as an example for a general rule. The cleansing
of the suspected man was probably often effected
by an oath of purificition. The LXX. and
Vulgate interpolate KOI. buKtrai, etjurabit. In all
cases in which the concealer made a confession,
an oath was unnecessary. Also dishonesty re
specting objects found is placed under this rule.
On the oath among the Arabs and Egyptians,
see Knobel, p. 225. Knobel seems to assume
without reason that the plaintiff also is meant in
the words, "whom God shall condemn." etc.*

. * [This is a mistake. Kn ibel translates: "If G d makes

Vers. 10, 11. Third case This is about beasts
put in others' cnre, whichdie in their possession,
or are mutilated in the pasture, or injure them
selves, or are driven away by robbers. Here
the oath is positively required, in case the guar
dian alone has seen the thing; but it is also de
cisive. On a similar Indian law vid. Koobel.

Ver. 12. Fourth case. Stolen from him. —
It is assumed that the thief is not found.
" Here," says Knobel, "restitution is prescribed,
but not in ver. 8, because he who has an animal
in charge is the guardian of it, whereas he who
has things in charge cannot be regarded as ex
actly a watchman." But according to ver. 9 the
judges could even adjudge a double restitution,
while here only simple restitution is spoken of.
There a complication was referred to, in which
the approach of the master of the house
hold to God and the attitude of his con-
sci«nce formed the main ground for the judicial
sentence. In the case described in vers. 10 and
11 the oath determines the main decision ; in the
present case the simple restitution is prescribed
upon the simple declaration: "stolen."

Ver. 13. Fifth case. The production of the
animal torn by a beast of prey (not, ''or a part
of it," as Keil says) proved not only the fact
itself, but also that the guardian had watched,
and had driven off the beast of prey by a violent
exertion. From this we see the severity of La-
ban who, according to Gen. xxxi. 39, required
his son-in-law in such cases to make the loss
good. Comp. 1 Sam. xvii. 34, Amos iii. 12. On
the Indian law, vid. Knobel, p. 2J7.

Ver. 14. Sixth case. A hired beast is injured,
or dies, when the owner is not present. The
sentence requires restitution, because neglect
may be presumed.

Ver. 15. Seventh case. The owner is present
when the accident occurs. In that case it be
longed especially to himself to prevent the acci
dent, if prevention was possible.

Eiylith case. The borrower is in the hired
service of the owner of the beast. In this case
he gets the dead beast instead of his pay ; it is
subtracted from his pay. For the owner as a
hired laborer would have had to do only with
himself; and a hired servant with a hired beast
cannot be meant. It is therefore a day-laborer
to whom the animal or' the owner has been en
trusted. TJtl? can hardly (with Stier and Keil)
be referred to the hired beast. Knobel has a
forced explanation, in which the hired servant
becomes the one who lets the beast.*

(one) a malefactor, (»'. e. if the court decides that a misde-
in-anor has been comm tied), then he shall restore double to
his neighbor." And in opposition to the translation " which
ever one God condemn-, he shall restore double," he *>ays,
'• How could the plain tiff be c mdemnnd to make rrsti'ution,
if be, ev n though the complaint »vas ungrounded, had yet
taken nothing from the ot >er? " — Ta.]

* [The mijority of interpreters (like the A. V.) regard
°V3i^ as referring t > the beast, not the borrower. Knobel

explains thus : " If th*1 bea^t was not merely lent out of kind
ness, but let for pay, the loss comes upon the hire by tne re
ceipt of which the owner is paid. In fixing ihe I ir • he h id
regard to the danger of the lo<s, and, wh-n th • l"ss takes
place, mu>t content him-elf with the hire." So Keil. The
explanation of Kn^h I's 'abovn referred to by Linge, is a
B'-cond one, evide itly not preferred by Knobel, but merely
stated as possible, e-pecinlly in view of the fact that TjilP

everywh re else is used of men. — Ta J

CHAP. XX. 1— XXIII.

Ver. 16. Ninth case. The seducer of an unbe-
trothed virgin (the case is different with the
seduction of a betrothed one (Deut. xxii. 23),
who has entrusted to him the wealth of her vir
ginity, valuable not only in a moral, but in a
Civil point of view, must make restitution to her
by marrying her, and to her father by giving a
dowry.

Ver. 17. Tenth case. The seducer himself can
not refuse the settlement; but the father of the
seduced maiden may have reasons for refusing
it. In this case the seducer must pay him the
dowry (vid. Gen. xxxiv. 12), with which she is,
in a sort, reinstated as a virgin, and as after
wards a legally divorced woman. The case is
not differently provided for in Deut. xxii. 28, as
Knobel affirms. There only the price of sale is
fixed, viz., at 50 shekels; the right of the father
to refuse his daughter to the seducer is simply
not repeated. The dowry was not properly a
price of sale.

" The precepts in ver. 18 and onwards," says
Keil, " differ in form and contents from the fore
going laws; in form, by the omission of "3 [when],
with which the foregoing are almost without ex
ception introduced ; in substance, by the fact
that they impose on the Israelites, on the ground
of their election to be the holy people of Jeho
vah, requirements which transcend the sphere of
natural law." Yet the two divisions are not to
be distinguished as natural and supernatural.
But Keil has correctly found a new section here,
whilst Knobel begins a new section, poorly de
fined, with ver. 16.

e. Unnatural Crimes. Abominations committed
against Religion and Humanity.

Ver. 18. First offence. The sorceress is con
demned to death. This term is not to be made
synonymous with witch, as Knobel makes it.
The mediaeval witch may practice, or wish to
practice, sorcery ; but she may also be a calum
niated woman. She gets her name from the
popular conception, whereas the sorceress gets
her name from the real practice of a lying, dark
art. She operates on the assumption that demo
niacal powers co-operate with her, and so she
promotes radical irrel'gion. She injures her
neighbor in body and life, as being the instru
ment of hostile passions, which she nourishes ;
or, when she enters into the mood of the ques
tioner, she nourishes ruinous hopes (Macbeth)
or despair (the soothsayer of Endor), and often
from being a mixer of herbs becomes a mixer of
poisons (Gesina). "The sorceress is named in
stead of the sorcerer, as Calovius says, not be
cause the same thing is not punishahle in men,
but because the female sex is more addicted to
this crime" (Keil). According to Knobel the
expression, "not suffer to live," intimates that
perhaps a foreign sorceress might be punished
with banishment; but Keil supposes that she
may have been allowed to live, if she gave up
her occupation. Sorcery was connected not only
with simple idolatry, but in many ways with the
worship of demons, and the sorceress was re
garded as seducing to such things.

Ver. 1ft. Second offence. Sexual intercourse
with a beast. Comp. Lev. xviii. 23; xx. 15; Deut.
xxvii. 21. This unnatural thing also was pun

ished with death, like the kindred one of sodomy,
a prominent vice of the Canaanites, Lev xx. lo.

Ver. 20. Third offence. Idolatry. Keil s expla
nation, " Israel must not sacrifice to foreign gods,
but must not only tolerate foreigners in the midst,
of them," etc., almost seems intended to intimate
that the heathen in Israel had an edict of tole
rance for their offerings. Opposed to this con
ception is tne Sabbath law, and the ordinance in
xxiii. 24. In both cases, however, the explana
tion is that a public worship of strange gods was
not tolerated in Israel ; but an inquisition to ferret
out such worship secretly carried on is nut coun
tenanced by the Mosaic law. The words are:
" whosoever sacrificeth unto any god. ' The ad
dition, ''save unto Jehovah only" (as likewise
xx. 24), is a mild expression also as regards the
theocratic offerings, and also secures a right un
derstanding of the word "Elohiui." — He is to
be devoted, i. «., to the judgment of Jehovah
sentencing him to death. Here the notion of
D"in (hherem, ban) comes out distinctly. Every
capital punishment was essentially a hherem; but
here is found the root of the notion; an idolater
by his offering has withdrawn from Jehovah the
offering due to Him alone ; he has, so to speak, re
moved the offering away from the true divine idea,
and perverted it into its opposite. " He is to be
devoted by death to the Lord, to whom in life
he would not devote himself" (Keil). It may
be that a sort of irony lies in the notion of the
hherem; as being consecration reversed, it se
cures to God the glory belonging to Him alone;
but it does this also as being consecration to the
judging God in His judgment. "No living
thing," says Knobel, " devoted to Jehovah could
be redeemed, but had to be destroyed, Lev. xxvii.
28 sq. ; 1 Sarn. xv. 3." But only when it was a
case of hherem, vid. Deut. xiii. 12 sqq.

Ver. 21. Fourth offence. A beautiful contrast
to the foregoing is formed by the statement of
offences against humanity. Maltreatment of the
foreigner is put first of all. He must not, be
wronged, "for ye were strangers," etc. A moral
principle which re-appears in the N. T. (Matt.
vii. 12), as also in Kant. The particular rules
concerning the treatment of aliens are given by
Knobel. p. 228, who also gives the appropriate
references to Michaelis and Saalschiitz. Vid.
iii. 9, Dent. xxvi. 7. Knobel says, "The per
sons meant are the Canaanitish and non-Ca-
naanitish strangers who staid as individuals
among the Israelites; the Canaanites as a whole
are, according to this lawgiver also, to be extir
pated (vid. xxiii. 33)." It, belongs to the defini
tion of the "stranger," that he is dissociated
from his own nationality, and has become sub
ject to another, i. e here, to the national laws
of the Israelites. The failure to affix a penalty
to this law implies that the noble emotion of gra
titude was probably depended on to secure its ful
filment.

Vers. 22 24. Fifth offence. Against widows
and orphans. On this point see Knobel's collec
tion of the various passages, p. 229. God takes
the place of the deceased fathers and husbands
by His special protection; whence follows that
they on their part when living are to exercise a
divine protection in the house over wife and

EXODUS.

children. And because, through the selfishness
of the strong, widows and orphans were so liable
to be oppressed, being easily despoiled on ac
count of their impotence, chief prominence is
given to the significance of their crying. This
need not. always be a conscious prayer uttered in
one's extremity, for crying, on the part of living
things and before God, has a special meaning, even
down to the crying of the young ravens. The
threatened punishment, in the first place, is con
nected with the guilt, and in the second place
corresponds with it. Despotism begins with the
oppression of the weak (widows and orphans),
and reaches its consummation in unrighteous
wars and military catastrophes, out of which
again widows and orphans are made. Vid. Isa.
ix 17.

Ver. 25. Sixth offence. Prohibition of usury,
by which the exigency of the poor is abused,
Lev. xxv. 36. Two grounds: the poor man be
longs to the people of God as a free man, and
has lost his freedom through his troubles. By
usury he is burdened.

Vers. 26, 27. Seventh offence. Excessive taking
of pawn. The lender may require a pledge of
the creditor, but his covering (outer garment) he
must return to him before sunset, lest he suffer
from the nocturnal cold. The mantle marks the
extreme of poverty in general, vid. Deut. xxiv.
6 sqq. The compassion which J ehovah here pro
mises to the helpless ones that cry has an ob
verse side for the pitiless. The expression in
ver. 27 becomes even a rhetorical plea for the
poor. Matt. v. 7. James ii. 13. "The indigent
Oriental covers himself at night in his outer gar
ment. Shaw, Travels, p. 224, Niebuhr, Arabien,
p. 64" (Knobel). On the pawning of clothes,
see Amos ii. 8, Job xxii. 6, Prov. xx. 16, xxvii. 13.
Ver. 28. Eighth offence. Contempt of the Deity
and of princely magistrates. Keil says, " Elo-
him means neither the gods of the other nations,
as Josephus (Ant. IV. 8, 10, contra Apionem II.
33), Philo (vita Mos. III. 864) and others explain
the word in their dead and Pharisaic monothe
ism: nor the magistrates, as Onkelos, Jonathan,
Aben Ezra and others think; but God, the Deity
in general, whose majesty is despised in every
transgression of Jehovah's commands, and should
be honored in the person of the prince. Comp.
Prov. xxiv. 21; 1 Pet. ii. 17," etc. So Knobel.
This explanation is certainly favored by the con
text, particularly the following; especially also
by the fact that the prince (the exalted, the high
one) is mentioned next to God. Yet this is to be
observed in the line of Josephus and Philo's
opinion, that the theocracy does not reject the
divine element in the religions themselves, but
the false ideal images of the gods (Elilim), and
the actual idols, and that even in this sphere
there are reservations in reference to Satan
( Epistle of Jude). There are two reasons for it :
first, the element of truth which underlies the
errors; secondly, the moral injury of the reli
gious feelings of the neighbor who is in error.
We prefer to render, "the Deity;" at all events
the reviling of the Deity, which may have many
degrees, is sharply distinguished from the posi
tive reviling of Jehovah (Lev. xxiv. 15, 16). The
world of to-day would perhaps invert the order
of guilt in this relation. Luther's translation

transposes the meanings of the verbs ["Dm Got
tern .... nicht fluchen, und den Obersten . . .
nicht liistern" " not curse the gods, and not re
vile the magistrates"]. The princes are under
God as His vicegerents. Passages relative to the
defamation of princes are given by Kuobel. The

word p comprehends all forms of evil-speaking
of God.

Vers. 29, 30. Ninth offence. Holding back of the
natural products due to the sanctuary. "HN^D
means the produce of grain (Deut. xxii. 9), and
the word .P?"}, which occurs only here, properly
'tear,' something flowing, liquor slillans, is a
poetic designation of the produce of the wine-
vat, the wine and the oil, comp. ddupvov rtiv dev-
rSprjv. Theoph.: arborum lacrymse; Pliny XI. 6."
(Keil.) Vid. xxiii. 19; Deut. xxvi. 2-11 ; Num.
xviii. 12. These gifts to the temple retained
their festal character and their value only as they
were freely and joyfully presented. The first
born of thy sons. — Repetition of the precept
to sanctify the first-born to Jehovali, xiii. 2, 12.
In the passage before us, however, the precept
is put under the point of view of the civil com
monwealth. This needs religious institutions in
order to its perpetuity. Knobel attempts in vain
to make out a difference between this passage
and others which prescribe the redemption of the
first born. A week of existence with the dam.
must also be secured to the sacrificial victims
taken from the cattle and from the sheep or
goats.

Ver. 31. Tenth offence. Use of unclean meat,
As men of holiness consecrated to the sanctuary,
they must refrain from the use of unclean meat,
especially of that which is torn of beasts. The
carcass is to be given to the dogs, whose charac
teristic here appears. Comp. xix. 6 ; Lev. xvii. 15.

/. Legal Proceedings.

Chap, xxiii. 1. First precept. Against rashness
in cherishing and uttering suspicion?. Comp.
Lev. xix. 16 ; Deut, xxii. 13 sqq. Vid. the refer
ences to Michaelis and Saalschiitz in Knobel.

Second precept. No one shall allow himself to
be misled by wicked men into the utterance of
false witness.

Ver. 2. Third precept. Base compliance with
the judgment of the multitude.

Ver. 3. Fourth precept. Not to favor the poor
man in his suit, Affectation in sympathy with
the lowly. The error of many modern minds.
Against Knobel' s conjecture, vid. Keil.*

Ver. 4. Fifth precept. To keep even an enemy
from suffering loss. One's enemy is in this case
a brother, according to Deut. xxii. 1. Neglect
of this duty is positive and culpable violation
of law.

Ver. 5. Sixth precept. It is still harder to la
bor in company with the enemy (the hater), in

* [Knobel's conjecture is that instead of 711 (" and a poor
man") we should read ^H.3 (" a great man ")— since in Lev.

xix. 15 it is th« " mighty " who is not to he " honored," and
partiality to the poor " was not to he anticipated, and needed
not to he forbidden." Keil r plies th«t this is mifficieutly an
swered hy the fact that the same passage has a command not
to "respect the person of the poor." — TK.]

CHAP. XX. 1— XXIII. 33.

order to help him in his extremity. In this case
the inclination to avoid the enemy must be over
come. On the pun see Geseuius under 3_T^-
Comp. BertheiU, p. 41. The neglect of this dif
ficult self-denial also comes into the category of
violation of law.

Ver. (J. Seventh precept. Of thy poor. — The
poor must be the protegZ of the rich. But The
temptations to violate his rights, to pervert it
this way and that, is strong, since he is defence
less. Hence Moses puts him specially under the
protection of the law. Comp. Deut. xxvii. 19; 1
Sam. viii. 3; Lam. iii. 35.

Ver. 7. Eighth precept. This looks like the
first. But there the subject is false testimony —
here, the false judge; because his conduct may
possibly bring death to the innocent man. Here,
therefore, judicial murder is specifically treated
of, with the declaration that God will not acquit
the wicked one, L e., will judge him; and the
wicked judge is probably meant. Bertheau, di
viding this one precept into two, fails to make
out the tenth — wherefore Keil is led to pro
nounce his hypothesis of decades to be arbitrary
throughout.

Ver. 8. Ninth precept. Prohibition of the
taking of presents in law-suits. Out of such
presents corruption grows. They pervert the
cause of the righteous — make right wrong.

Ver. 9. Tenth precept. This is not identical I
with the general precept in xxii. 21, since here
the question is about law-suits. It should be
considered especially in courts of law how a
stranger feels. He is timi.d, faint-hearted, and
readily surrenders a part or the whole of his just
claim before the mighty judge. Israel is to learn
this from his experience in Egypt. Vid. Deut.
xxiv. 17; xxvii. 19.

g. Ordinances concerning Feast-days and Days
of Rest.

Vers. 10, 11. First ordinance. The land must
rest the seventh year. It is the Sabbath of the
years, the continuation of the Sabbath of the
month^, as of the Sabbath of the days, while they
all look back to the Sabbath of God s creation,
and look forward to the Sabbath of the genera
tion, the great year of jubilee, the type of the
future foundation and completion of the Sabbath
by Christ. The civil side of the religious ordi
nances here made should not be overlooked, as
is done by Keil and Knobel. In Lev. xxv. the
ordinance bears a predominantly religious as
pect. What the land produces of itself, without
culture, belongs to all as a common possession to
be freely enjoyed; likewise to the stranger and
to the cattle, and even to the wild beasts. Thus
this festal year forms a reflex of Paradise. And
if this festal year in point of fact was poorly ob
served in Israel, critics may well infer that this
law was written long before the time of the later
national life of the Israelites. In its ideal signi
ficance, however, it belongs to all times : not only
the field, but also the forest, the river, and the
mine, may be spoiled ^y unintermittent labor.

Vers. 12, 13. Second ordinance. Man and beast
must rest on the seventh day. The humane ob
ject of the Sabbath in its civil aspect comes out
prominently in the text. Mention is first made
10

even of the rest needed by the ox and the ass, then,
of the hand-maid's son, i. e., the one born a
slave, and the stranger; they must on the Sab
bath have a breathing-spell, as the verb properly
means. Ver. 13 enjoins the proper celebration
for this sacred list of feast-days, strictly ex
cluding the names of all heathen deities, and
containing a suggestion for the revision of the
Christian calendar in view of the medieval deifi
cations. Says Knobel: "The most important
point is the exclusive adoration of Jehovah. The
Hebrew is not even to mention — i.e., utter — the
name of another god; not to take it into his
mouth, still less recognize or reverence such a
god. So, too, the strict worshippers of Jehovah
did (Ps xvi. 4; Hos. ii. 17; Zech. xiii. 2). Ac
cordingly the Hebrew was to swear only by Je
hovah (Deut vi. 13; x. 20; Jer. xii. 16). So
the Phenician could not swear op/cot^ few/cowf
(Josephus c. Apionem I. 22)." But we must dis
tinguish between the proper meaning of this
command and the superstitious Jewish interpre
tation of it, which has even imposed a penalty
on the utterance of the name of Jehovah. The
so-called "killing by silence" \_Todtschtveigeri],
generally a sin, has therefore here, too, its mo
ral side.

Ver. 14. Third ordinance. Three annual festi
vals are to be celebrated in accordance with the
wants of God's people in their civil capacity. At
the head stands the feast of unleavened bread, as
the festival of freedom; then follow the two prin
cipal harvest festivals, of which the second at
the same time marks the close of the year with
reference to the notion of the civil year. Vid.
xxxiv. 23; Deut. xvi. 16; 2 Chr. viii. 13. "Other
wise," says Knobel, "the Elohist, on which
point see Lev. xxiii." But it must be observed
that there the festivals are spoken of in their re
lation to religion and religious rites. Therefore,
at that place special prominence is given to the
Pas.«over and the day of atonement. The arrange
ment of the three festivals, however, was, for the
most part, prophetic, since in the wilderness
there could be no harvesting, nor even sacrifices,
vid. Lev. xxiii. 10.

Ver. 15. Fourth ordinance. The feast of un
leavened bread as the birth-day festival of the
people and of their freedom; whereas the Pass
over stands at the head of their religious offer
ings, w'd. xii. 40 sqq. On Hitzig's view in his
"Ostern u»d Pfingxten," vid. Knobel,* p. 233;
Bertheau, p. 57. — "Not empty," i.e., not with
empty hands, but with sacrificial gifts. Even
the* general festival offerings had to come from
the sacrificial gifts of the people — a fact which
Knobel seems to overlook; to these were added
the peace-offerings made by individuals. So the
Oriental never came before his king without pre
sents ; vid. the citations from jElian and Paulsen
in Keil. The offering is the surplus of the gain

* [Hitzig 1. c. holds that 3*3X71

means the new

moon of the month of grpen ears— to which Knobel replies
that in that case the phrase " time appointed" would be su

perfluous ; that t e Hebrew expression, i

means " new-

moon," would have to be rendered '• new moon of the green
ears"— a very improttab'e translation; and that according to
Lev. xxiii. 6 the festival was to besdn on the fifteenth day
of the month, t. e., at tbe time of the full moon.— TR.]

EXODUS.

which ftod has blessed, and by the effort to se
cure this surplus a barrier is built against want
in civil life. While the offerings serve to main
tain the religious rites, they also serve indirectly
to maintain the common weal. The same holds
of the true church and of its wants.

Ver. 16. Fifth ordinance. The feast of har
vest. — Here named for the first time, as also the
third feast, vid. Ley. xxiii. 15: Num. xxviii. 26.
Also called the feast of weeks, because it was
celebrated seven weeks after the feast of unlea
vened bread ; or the feast of the first fruits of the
wheat-harvest, because the loaves offered as
first-fruits at that time were to be made of wheat
flour, xxxiv. 22. On the Pentecost, see the
lexicons.

Sixth ordinance. — The feast of ingathering.
— Gathering or plucking characterizes this har
vest: the fruit -harvest and vintage. Further
particulars, as that it is to be held on the 15th
day of the 7th month, seven days like that of
unleavened bread, a feast of rich abundance in
contrast with that of great privation, see in Lev.
xxiii. 34, Num. xxix. 12, Winer, Realworterbuch,
Art. Laubhuttenfest, [Smith's Bible Dictionary,
Art. Tabernacles, Feast of]. In the end of the
year. — Knobel, on account of this passage, as
sumes that the Hebrews had two new-years, the
one in autumn, when the agricultural season of
the year ended with the harvesting of the fruits,
and the following one. beginning with the
ploughing and sowing of the fields. The for
mer, he ssys, seems to have been the usual mode
of reckoning in the East ; and he cites many
proofs, p. 235. His view that this is a contra
diction of the Elohist, who puts the beginning of
the year in the spring (xii. 2), is not perspicu
ous ; neither, on the other hand, is Keil's — that
reference is here made only to the agricultural
year, by which he must mean the natural sea-
pons, II. p. 148. We find here a new proof th it
the Mosaic law distinguishes the civil from the
religious ordinances. But because the civil is
subordinate to the religious, the determinative
regulation proceeds from the feast of Passover,
as is seen especially from Num. xxix. 12. That
in Lev. xxiii. 34 the date is religious, is self-evi
dent,

Ver. 17. Seventh ordinance. Three times in
the year; i. e. of course at the three above
mentioned feasts. The place where the Israel
ites are to appear before Jehovah, i. e. in the
place where He reveals Himself, is not yet fixed,
an omission explained by the fact that they were
still wandering. That only the males are held
obliged to do thi", shows the civil side of this
legislation. "NDT for "O7, thy males. "Proba
bly," says Keil, "from the twentieth year and
upwards, those who were included in the census.
Num. i. 3. But this does not prohibit the ad
mission of the women (comp. 1 Sam. i. 3 sqq.)
and boys (Luke ii. 41 sqq.)." More exactly:
by the side of the civil ordinance the religious
custom was developed in a natural way. Kno
bel thinks he finds here another discrepancy, p.
235.

Ver. 18. Eighth ordinance. Not offer with
leavened bread. — The duty of keeping sacred
things pure is enjoined especially by references

to the feast of the Passover. The connection of
the feast of unleavened bread with the Passover
is here assumed. Backwards and forwards the
paschal feast is to be kept pure in view of the fact
that the blood of the offering (/. e. of the offering
emphatically so called, the Passover offering)
belongs to Jehovah, that therefore the surrender
must be unmixed. In reference to the past,
therefore, everything leavened must be removed
(xii. 15, 20). In reference to the future, the
fatty parts of the paschal offering, which also
belong to Jehovah, must not remain over night,
and so serve for ordinary food. They must
therefore be burned in the night. That cannot
mean, as Knobel understands it, that the fatty
pieces are to be at the outset separated from the
paschal lamb, as was done with other offerings,
since the lamb was to remain whole; but it was
natural that the fatty parts would be for the most
part left over ; and then they were to be burned
with the other things left over. Thus these
fatty remains, which, however, were not burnt
on the altar, became a type of the fatty pieces
which were from the first designed for the altar.
So then this regulation is made to refer to the
more detailed laws of the festivals as found in
Lev. ii. 11, etc. As the Passover was to be con
trasted with the ordinary mode of life, so also
with the feast of unleavened bread. The three
stages are : (1) the old life (leaven) ; (2) the of
fering of life (Passover); (3) the beginning of
the new life (unleavened bread).

Ver. 19. Ninth ordinance. Precept in refer
ence chiefly to the feast of weeks, or the first feast
of harvest, but with a more general significance.
"The pentecostal loaves (Lev. xxiii. 17) are
meant," says Knobel. Keil with reason under
stands the precept of a bringing of firstlings in
general, vid. Num. xviii. 12, Dt. xxvi. 2 sqq. " The
sheaf of barley which was to be offered on the
second day of the feast of unleavened bread (Lev.
xxiii. 10) belongs to the same" [Keil]. It may
be asked how the expression ^D3~n'^&O is to
be understood ; whether, according to the LXX.,
followed by Keil, as the first of the first fruits,
the first gathering of the first fruits; or, accord
ing to Aben Ezra and others, including Knobel
(p. 236), as the best, the choicest, of the first
fruits. Inasmuch as not the very first, that came
to hand was also the best, the latter explanation
is to be taken as a more precise statement of the
other: the first, provided it was the best, or the
first-fruits, properly so called (for not even every
first-born beast was a true firstling). The chro
nological element in the term "first," however,
takes precedence, and forbids every delay and
sequestration, according to xxii. 29. The mean
ing of these offerings is seen from the liturgical
forms prescribed for them in Deut. xxvi. 3 sqq.,
13 sqq. Everything is a gift from Jehovah ; there
fore the first fruits are brought back to Him, and
their acceptance is effected by the priest, who,
however, represents also the Levites, the widows
and orphans, and the stranger. As in the N. T.
Christ pictures Himself to His church as poor, in
the person of the poor and the little ones, so Je
hovah in the 0. T. symbolically pictures Himself
as in a human state of want, in the priests
under whose protection all, especially all needy

CHAP. XX. 1— XX[[[. 33.

ones stand. So then the church ought conti
nually to care for the poor, as a religious du.y.
Ver. 19. Tenth ordinance. Not boil a kid. —
This precept seems strange, probably for the
reason that it may be in a high degree symboli
cal. First, we must pronounce incorrect Lu
ther's translation : "Not boil the kid while it is
at, its mother's milk" (vid. 1 Sam. vii. 9). Other
incorrect interpretations see in Knobel: (1)
not to cook and eat meat and milk together; (2)
injunction not to use" butter instead of the oil of
trees; (3) prohibition of an odious barbarity
and cruelty. According to Knobel there is a re
ference to a custom of heathen religions which
is to be kept away from the worship of Jehovah.
Vid. his commentary, p. 237, where are accounts
of Jewish opinions and Arabian usages. "Aben
Ezra and Abarbanel," he says, "mention the
boiling of the kid in milk by the Arabs of their
time; and they are right. Up to the present
day the Arabs generally boil the flesh of lambs in
sour milk, thus giving to it a peculiar relish
(Berggren, Reisen, ttc.)." Further on Knobel,
following Spencer, professes to give proofs that
a peculiar superstition underlay the custom. But
the heathen element, if there was one in the
practice, might have been excluded without pro
hibiting the practice itself. If we assume that
the precept in ver. 18 referred to the first feast,
and was designed to prevent the profanation of
the offering, and that the one in ver. 19 referred
to the second one, and was designed to prevent
the neglect of the peace-offering and the priest
hood with its family of Levites and of the poor,
it is natural, with Abarbauel and others, to refer
this precept especially to the third feast; and
because this was in the highest degree the joy
ous feast of the Israelites, it is furthermore pro
bable that this prohibition was designed to pre
vent a luxury which was inconsistent with sim
ple comfort, and which moreover was hideous in
a symbolical point of view, the kid here being,
as it were, tortured even in death by the milk
of the dam. The same precept condemns all the
heathen refinements of festive gormandizing,
such as are still practiced (e. g. roasting live
animals). This epicurism might also pitchupon
the eating of unclean animals or other haul go&t;
vid. Deut. xiv. 21, where the same prohibition is
connected with the one before us. Keil's expla
nation, that the practice marked a reversal of
the divine order of things in regard to the rela
tion between old and young, is less intelligible
than that the kids were a very favorite article of
food, according to Gen. xxvii. 9, 14; Judg. vi. 19,
xiii. 15; 1 Sam. xvi. 20. To be sure, the usage
considered in its symbolical aspect was a sort of
unnature such as the keen sense of natural fit
ness which characterized the Mosaic laws re
jected in every form, so that it even denounced
the production of hybrid animals and grains, the
mixing of different materials in cloth, as well as
human misalliances, Lev. xix. 19, 20.

h. The Promises. Vcrs. 20-33.
That this last division also of the religio-civil
legislation relates to the political commonwealth,
is seen from the whole contents of it, especially
from vers. 22, 24 sqq., 27, 33. Knobel culls
them " Some more promises ;" Keil, " The con

duct of Jehovah towards Israel." The promises
here given are not some, but a whole ; not, how
ever, the whole of Jehovah's promises, but the
sum of the civil and political blessings condi
tioned on good behavior. (1) Protection of an
gelic guidance, of the religion of revelation; and
invincibility founded on religious obedience.
(2) Victory over the Canaanit.es. Possession of
th^ holy land on condition of their purifying the
land from idolatry. (3) Abundance of food. (4)
Blessing of health. (5) Fertility of man and
beast. (6) Long life. (7] The respect and fear
of all neighboring peoples. (8) Mysterious con
trol of natural forces in favor of Israel, ver 28.
(9) The subjected Canaanites themselv --s made
to serve for the protection of the growth of
Israel. (10) Wide extent of territory and sure
possession of it on condition of not mingling
with the Canaanites and their idolatry.

Vers. 20-22. First promise. I send an angel.
— That which the people, as the religious con
gregation of God, afterwards have imposed upon
them as a check on account of their misbeha
vior (chap, xxxiii.), is here promised to the civil
congregation as a protection. This cannot well
be an anticipation, and cannot, with Knobel, be
accounted for on the theory of "another narra
tor" who calls this angel rPTT \]3. For in
xxxiii. 2, 3 two forms of revelation are clearly dis
tinguished. In xxxiii. 18, 19 this distinction is
between tkegfory of Jehovah and the goodness of
Jehovah. Further on it is said that no one can
see the glory in its full display, i. e. Jehovah' H
face, but can see its r fleeted splendor as it
passes by in sacred obscurity (ver. 23). It is
therefore a private relation between Jehovah
and Moses, when Jehovah speaks with him face
to face (xxxiii. 11), and hence in Moses' con
sciousness the two degrees of revelation go to
gether. The prophet Moses stands as Abra
ham's son higher than Moses the lawgiver. So
Paul (in Gal. iii ) distinguishes positively be
tween the form of revelation which Abraham re
ceived and the form of revelation by which the
people of Israel received the law (vers. 16 and
19). This difference in degree is presented an
tithetically as early as in Jer. xxxi. 32-34. It
harmonizes entirely with this distinction, when
the angel of Jehovah first appears to Hngar,
Gen. xvi. 7; also in the circumstance that he
directs her to return to the household to whio^
she legitimately belonged. Comp. Gen. xxi. 17.
Later also the immediate revelations madebyGod
o Abraham are distinguished from the appear
ance of the angel of Jehovah in a legal aspect,

en. xxii. 1, 11. The difference resembles that
between inspiration and manifestation, as these

wo through ecstatic vision are made to assume
forms different in degree. The angel of Jehovah
s therefore the revelation of Jehovah for the
people of Israel in a predominantly legal rela-
ion; hence also the form of the political theo-

racy as it is instituted through the mediation
of Moses and Aaron, chiefly of Moses. The sal
vation of the people will depend on their obedi
ence to the theocratic religion, as shaped by
he higher form of the ceremonial revelation.
This angel prepares the way for the Israelites,
and conducts them to their goal. His counte-

EXODUS.

Dance in the theocratic legal institutions is
turned towards Israel ; Jehovah's name, the re
velation of His essential being, is within him,
under the cover of this angelic form. He re
quires awe ; he can be easily offended; he pun
ishes acts of disloyalty, for he is legal ; hence
he goes before Israel as the terror of God to in
timidate the enemies. Knobel identifies this
Angel of the Lord with the pillar of cloud and
fire; and in fact this was a sign of the hidden
presence of the angel, xxxiii. 9.

Vers. 23,24. Vid. Gen. xv. 18sqq. Annihila
tion of the public heathen worship in Canaan af
ter its conquest by Israel. That the system
of worship was connected with the morals, which
were horrible and criminal, is even thus early
made prominent. Vid. the parallel passages in
Knobel, p. 2 58.

Ver. 25. The pure service of Jehovah is the
condition of well-being and health; vid. xv. 26;
comp. Lev. xxvi. 16, 2-3; Deut. xxviii. 20. Bread
and water, the most important articles of nutri
tion, symbols of all kinds of welfare.

Ver. 26. Prevention of miscarriages. Only
one item in a whole category: diminution of the
population through miscarriages, unchastity,
conjugal sins against procreation, exposure of
children, etc.; comp. Lev. xxvi. 9; Deut. xxviii.
11; xxx. 9; vid. Is. xxv. 8; Ixv. 23. Respecting
the blessing of long life, vid. chap, xx.; Deut. v.;
1 Cor. xv. 51.

Yer. 27. My fear. — This marks the sphere
of intimidating influences exerted by the religious
power of Israel on the heathen in general;
whereas the hornets (ver. 28) represent the ter
rifying or destructive effects of this power in
particular. Vid. Gen. xxxv. 5; Ex. xv. 14; Ps.
xviii. 41 (40); xxi. 13 (12); Josh. vii. 8, 12.

Ver. 28. Hornets.— Vid. Deut. vii. 20; Wis
dom of Solomon xii. 8. Says Knobel: "Accord
ing to Josh. xxiv. the kings of the Amorites, Si-
hon and Og, were driven out not by Israel's wea
pons, but by the H>^^. Elsewhere neither the
word nor the thing occurs in the 0. T." Differ
ent explanations: (1) The promise is literally
meant. So Jarchi, Clericus, and others. (2)
Plagues in general. So Saadias, Michaelis, and
others. (3) The expression is figurative. So
most modern interpreters. Yet the text evidently
does not mean to identify the hornets with the
great general terror of God, as Knobel holds, but
distinguishes them from it as small, isolated, but
very powerful evils, as Keil, following Augus
tine, has correctly observed. It is a question
even whether the hornets are not meant to repre
sent the same thing as the bees, Deut. i. 44; Ps.

cxviii. 12; Isa. vii. 18. The bee frightens by the
multitude of the irresistible swarm; the hornets
by the frightful attack and sting of the indivi
dual insect. In the petty religious and moral
conflicts between Judaism and heathenism, civil
ized Christian nations and barbarians, Indians,
and other savages, it is just these hornets, these
thousand-fold particular sources of terror, moral
thorns, and even physical stings, under which the
enemies gradually succumb. The three Canaan-
itish nations which are hej-e named denote the
totality; perhaps, however, in the heathen tri
nity may be found a reference to the spiritual
impotence of heathenism.

Ver. 29. Not in one year. — Comp. Deut. vii.
22; Lev. xxvi. 22; Ezek. xiv. 15, 21; 2 Kings
xvii. 25; Josh. xiii. 1-7. From this it appears
that the destruction denounced by Jebovuh on
the Canaanites was intended primarily for them
in their collective and public capacity, not for
the individuals. The individuals, in so far as
they submit, Jehovah will allow, as individuals, to
live; and to live, in so far as they remain heathen
and enemies, for the purpose of preventing the
wild beasts from getting the upper hand aud di
minishing the number of the people of Israel,
which as yet is far too small to subdue the wild
beasts, and the wildness of nature in general.
The higher races of mankind are still indebted
for this service to the lowest races throughout
the five continents. Even savages constitute still
a sort of barrier against what is monstrous in na
ture, which without them would lapse into wild-
ness. These Canaanites serve this purpose only
as being incorrigible. In proportion as nature
is reclaimed, they sink away. It was therefore
not the fact that these individuals continued to
live in Israel, but that the Israelites mingled
with them, which led to ruinous consequences.
Comp. Judg. i. and ii.

Ver. 31. Set thy bounds. — Vid. Gen. xv.
18. The Red Sea on the south — the sea of the
Philistines, or Mediterranean Sea, on the west —
the Arabian desert on the east (Deut. xi. 24), the
Euphrates on the north. These ideal boundaries
are assured to the Israelites, in so far as they
conduct themselves in relation to the heathen
according to the ideal standard. Forming al
liances with the heathen and recognizing their
political existence would not of itself be actual
apostasy, but it would be a snare to the Israelites
through which they would be drawn into idola
try by way of false consistency in the policy of
toleration. The lesson is to be applied even at
the present day. The several precepts are given
by Knobel, p. 241.

CHAP. XXIV. 1-8.

D.— THE FEAST OF THE COVENANT COMMANDED.
CHAP. XXIV. 1-2.

1 AND he said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and

2 Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ; and worship ye afar off. And Moses
alone shall [let Moses alone] come near Jehovah : but they shall not [let them not]
come nigh ; neither shall [and let not] the people go up with him.

darkness of the mountain; by which however, is
not exactly meant that he was on the mountain
(xx. 21). It is therefore not to be supposed
(with Keil arid Knohel) that Moses, according to
xx. 21, had again betaken himself to the mountain ;
for in this case it would have to be assumed that
the descent had been forgot ten. But now an ascend
ing to Jehovah takes place, with most significant
distinctions. Moses, the prophet, alone is per
mitted to go to the top of i he mountain, and ap
proach Jehovah. At the declivity of the moun
tain the priests must stop, represented by Aaron
and his sons, Nadab and Abihu; and with a like
limitation, but also with a like right, the state,
the popular assembly, represented by the seventy
elders. They occupy a middle position between
the prophet above and the people below. On
Nadab and Abihu vid. Lsv. x. 1 sqq.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The connection of this passage with the fore
going is correctly stated by Keil in opposition to
Knobel. In xx. 22 God spoke through Moses to
the people. What He now speaks at the end of
the giving of the law i&for Moses himself, al
though he must communicate with the people
about it. After Jehovah has proclaimed the law
of the covenant to the people, the feast of the
covenant must be celebrated. It is presupposed,
first, that God has spoken from rtinai the ten
commandments to Moses and the people at the
foot of the mountain (xix. 25). Then that He
gave the ceremonial laws and the civil laws for
the people, while the latter had removed from
the mountain, but Moses, was standing in the

E.— RATIFICATION OF THE COVENANT.
CHAP. XXIV. 3-8.

3 AND Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judg-

4 ments [ordinances]: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the
words which Jehovah hath said [spoken] will we do. And Moses wrote all the
words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under

5 the hill [mountain], and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And
he sent young [the young] men of the children of Israel, which [and they] offered
burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen [bullocks] unto Jehovah.

6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he

7 sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the au
dience [hearing] of the people: and they said, All that Jehovah hath said [spoken]

8 will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the
people, and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant which Jehovah hath made with
you concerning all these words.

evidently the report must have included the
whole threefold law (therefore not only the deca
logue), because the covenant now to be con
cluded was to relate to the whole law. But it is
also self-evident that Moses was a better hearer
of the ten commandments than the people were,
and had to be for them a mediator of the law
which they themselves had heard. Once more
the assent of the people is given to the law of
the covenant unanimously — with one voice ; prac-

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 3. And Moses came. — That is, out of
the darkness of the mountain, not exactly from

the mountain itself. And told the people.

"Not the decalogue (as Delitzsch holds, Hebr'der-
brief, p. 414), for the people had heard this im
mediately from the mouth of God, but the words
of xx. 22-26, and all the laws" (Keil). But

100

EXODUS.

tically, the third expression of compliance (vid.
xx. 19 and xix. 8). How then can there be any
more thought of despotic subjection of the peo
ple ? Thus far everything has been done orally ;
aud for the first time Moses makes a provisional
copy of the law. — Ver. 4. The covenant is con
cluded, aud DOW it is sealed by the feast of the
covenant. Moses builds early on the follow
ing morning an altar (for Jehovah), and in addi
tion twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
"As the altar," says Keil, "being the place
where the Lord comes to bless His people (xx.
24), indicates the presence of Jehovah, so the
twelve pillars, or signal stones, were not to serve
as mere memorial signs of the ratification of the
covenant, but, as the dwelling-placa of the twelve
tribes, to represent their presence." Vid. Gen.
xxviii. 18, xxxi. 45 (Knobel on Gen. xxi. 31),
Josh. iv. (memorial stones), Josh. xxii. 11 sqq.
(the altar a symbol of unity).

Ver. 5. And he sent the young men.
The young men must officiate in offering the sa
crifices of ratification. Why? Different views:
(1) As first-born children, who constitute the
naiural basis for the priesthood (Onkelos), or
even the sons of Aaron (Augustine). (2) Vigor
ous men, as Moses' assistants in making the
offering (Knobel: first-born youths). (3) As
representatives of the youthful people (Kurtz
III., p. 143). The young men of the nation
stand midway between the children and the
men; they share with the first their innocence,
and with the latter their strength, and, as being
the bloom of the national life, are the fittest re
presentatives of an incipient national life. When
the national life is to be restored by wars of
liberation or defence, the young men enter the
lists. Thus Israel concludes its -covenant with
Jehovah through the bloom of its national life,
the young men — according to a general law of
the life of nations, which Kurtz has at least sug
gested (but criticised by Keil, note 1, p. 157).*
It is, however, an observation needed only by
the high-churchly, when Kurtz lays stress on the
f.ict that the bringing and slaying of the victims
\vas not a sacerdotal function. For as yet " the
universal priesthood" officiates, although Moses
alone as jet exercises the function of high-priest.
Archaeological notes on the young men offering,
vid. in Knobel, p. 242. — Burnt-offerings and
peace-offerings. The burnt-offerings symbol
ize Jehovah's part of the festive solemnities; the
peace-offerings that of the people. — Bullocks.
The great, covenant cannot be ratified by the sa
crifice of sheep or goats. — Half of the blood.
On the division of the blood, vid. Keil, p. 158. f We

* The English edition omits the note. Keil argues that
there is nowhere any indication that a nation in general ap
proaches Jehovah through an offerm*. These \ouig men
officiated, he thinks, merely MS Hosts' assistants, as is indi
cated by the circumstance that lie aent them (ver. 5). — TR.

t [Keil, I. c. 8-iyi: "The halving of the hi >od bus nothing
in cninniun vvith the heathen customs <ited by Biihr (i>ym-
bnlik, II., p. 421 ) and Knobel (on this passage) according to
which the contracting parties mingled their own blood. For
it is not two different kinds of blood that are mixed together,
lint o-,e blood, and that, sacrificial blood, in which animal

life is taken away instead of hnman life Inasmuch as

the blood is divided only hecau.se what is sprinkled on the
altar cannot be takeu up again from the altar and sprinkled

have no hesitation, in spite of superstitious in
terpretations of the Lord's Supper and of the
ritual, to conceive of the one-half of this blood
as a sacrifice, and the other as a sacrament typi
cally foreshadowed. In accordance with this
reference the sacrificial element is traceable in

the burnt-offering, the sacrament in the D'Q 7^,
peace-offerings, or thank-offerings. Keil, refer
ring to B'ahr and Knobel, rightly opposes the
adducing of the analogy of heathen usages, in
so far as thereby an identification of the usage
is intended (vid. Knobel, p. 243); but an affinity
of the profane with the theocratic sacrificial
usages cannot be denied. Keil is also incorrect,
when, in reference to these offerings, he speaks
of expiation in the proper sense of the word.
This could least of all be applied to the peace-
offerings, or festive-offerings. The offerings in
general, it is true, rest on the consciousness of
the sinfulness which leads man. with his good
will, aud in symbolic form, to bring to God, as con
fession, prayer, and vow, whar in his real condi
tion as sinful in bis spiritual life he cannot bring
Him — in the burnt-offering the sinless consecra
tion of his whole life, in the peace-offering the
sinless consecration of all his prosperity and en
joyment. It is quite in accordance with the
legal stand-point that Moses at first pours out the
blood designed for God at the altar of God;
thereby he symbolically effects a general and
complete surrender of the people to God. But
not till after he has read the book of the cove
nant, the laws of chs. xx.-xxiii., and the people
have given their fullest assent (vid. the transla
tion), does he sprinkle the people with the other
half of the blood of the offering, which till then
was kept in the basin, while he calls it the blood
of the covenant that has been completed. It
can hardly be correct, with Keil, to understand
the blood to have been halved only because the
blood sprinkled on the altar could not be again
taken from it and sprinkled on the people ; but
he is right in assuming that the halves belong
together. Clearly there is formed out of the
identity of the blood a contrast in actu. In this
contrast, however, the thought comes out that
surrender in general, in accordance with the
conditions of grace, must precede obedience in
particular, according to the law. This is the
patriarchal and evangelical seal impressed on
the law, such as also introduces the decilogue —
the language about, the redeeming God. The
expression, "blood of the covenant," is, it is
true, a marked one, denoting an ideally symboli
cal exchange of blood, as a foundation for blood
relationship. But no human blood is here ii£,ed,
and still less can there be any thought of real
blood of God, although, as sacrificial blood, it
comes from God (and so far forth is a typical
mystery), and is sprinkled upon men, symboli
cally expiating them and devoting them to saac-
tification, vid. xxix. 21, Lev. viii. 30.

on the people, the two halves of the blood are to he regarded
as belonging together and so forming one blood, which is tii et
sprinkled on the altar an i then on the p> ople, as was really
done at the consecration of the priests, xxix. 21, Lev. viii.
30."— TK. I

CHAP. XXIV. 9-11.

101

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

A wonderfully beautiful, sublime, but also
mysterious feature of the history of the giving
of the law. In it we sec the significance of the
sprinkling of the blood further carried out. It
is the communion festival of the law — a commu
nion of the Israelites, in the persons of their no
blest representatives, with Jehovah, — the other
side of the picture presented by the communion
of Moses, his brother Aaron, and the elders, with
Jethro, Moses' heathen father-in-law, after the
latter offered burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and
doubtless also, as her.1, peace-offerings, xviii.
12. — A prophetic form of the communion feast
is given by Isaiah, ch. xxv. 6-8. The first reali
zation of it, the celebration of the Lord's supper,
frequently made to point, figuratively to the la<»t
supper of the kingdom of Christ (Matt. xix. 28),
finds its last fulfilment in the marriage of the
Lamb, Rev. xix. 7-9.

Ver. 9. Therefore the representatives of Israel
went up, according to the prophetic, ceremo
nial, and political elements of the community.
Aaron's sons mark the genealogical succession
of the Levitical priesthood; the prophets have
no genealogical succession; the elders must
grow up to attain their dignity, and from the
whole of them seventy are chosen as representa
tives, according to the sacred number seventy.
Vid. Gen. xlvi. 27.

Ver. 10. And they saw the God of Israel.
It is not said that they saw Jehovah, though He
is meant ; for Jehovah is the God of Israel.
Therefore not HUT 1133, as Knobel conceives,
referring to xvi. 10. He says. "According to the
chief narrator this favor was shown only to
Moses, and that too later than this, and at his
special request." Two discrepancies are said
to be found here: (1) That Moses "does not see
the glory of Jehovah till afterwards, xxxiii. 18;"
(2) That "according to the chief narrator the
people themselves at the proclamation of the ten
commandments perceived only thunder, light
ning, clouds, noise of trumpets, and the voice of
Jehovah;" but here also the njpl 1133 [glory of
Jehovah], according to ver. 17 ! The narrative
evidently brings out two marked contrasts. The
first is the peeing of Elohim, and the seeing of
Jehovah; the second is the heavenly clear
ness above the mountain during the feast of the

P.— FEAST OF THE COVENANT.
CHAP. XXIV. 9-11.

9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders

10 of Israel : And they saw the God of Israel : and there was under his feet as it were
a paved work of a sapphire stone [as it were work of bright sapphire], and as it

11 were the body of heaven [the very heaven] in his clearness [for clearness]. And
upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also [and] they saw
God, and did eat and drink.

covenant, and the subsequent darkening of the
mountain by cloud and fire which took place when
the law was drawn up. The vision of Jehovah in
its several stages of development is marked by Isa.
vi. 1 and Ezek. i. 26, Dan. vii. 9-13 (comp. Num.
xii. 8). During the feast of the covenant at the
declivity of the mountain (according to ver. 1
prescribed before the covenant was formed) the
representatives of Israel saw the God of Israel.
It was a vision, for which no objective image is
furnished. But the nign of the objective image
is called the image of a work or footstool under
God's feet, of brilliant sapphire, of sky blue there
fore, like the heaven in its full brightness, as is
added by way of further explanation. This
ethereally delicate picture of the vision of the co
venant God of Israel in His grace and covenant
faithfulness has been coarsened and obscured in
two directions. According to Knobel, the figure
under God's feet is "likfc a work of sapphire
slabs ;" and he refers t£> Ezek. i. 2t>. and reads

HJ37. vid. p. 244. According to Baumgarten
there was no image of God, because the vision of
the men was imperfect. According to Hofraannthe
fire was separated from the cloud and turned itxtoa
form. According to Keil they saw aviso a form of
God, which, however, is not described, "inas
much as Moses, according to Num. xii. 8, saw
the form of Jehovah." But here we are told of
a vision of the supermundane God as the God of
Israel, not of a vision of Jehovah becoming in
carnate. This is the first contrast. The second
is the fact that at the feast of the covenant the
cloud and the darkness are entirely gone, that
the heavens open themselves, as it were, to the
transported gazers in the full splendor of the
heavenly blue, as at the baptism of Jesus; whereas
immediately afterwards, at the beginning of the
drawing up of the law, the mountain was obscured
again, even more than before, as was the case when
the ten commandments were first proclaimed. This
is now again a phenomenal image of the glory of
Jehovah as a law-giver, the same one who also in
ch. xxxiii. does not show Moses, the law-giver, the
face of His glory, but only its reflected splen
dor. The exegetical assumption that an external
j image must correspond to a vision of God, or
that the sight must always be an external see
ing, has no Biblical basis, although even here
the inward vision is connected with the sight of
an outward corresponding sign.

102

EXODUS.

Ver. 11. He laid not his hand. It is dan
gerous for sinful man to approach God, because
the holiness and justice of God repel him; hence
the true priest is he who can summon courage
to approach God (Jer. xxx. 21). But the view
of the countenance of Jehovah annihilates, as it
were, the sinful man (slays the old man) ; hence
the Jewish popular saying, that no one can see
God without dying, vid. Judg. xiii. 22. At that
very place the error in the popular notion is cor
rected by Manoah's wife; yet the full revelation
of Jehovah is still dangerous and agitating even
for one who sacerdotally approaches and sees
Him (vid. Rev. i.). Hence to the legal mind of the
narrator it is an astonishing and joyous wonder of
grace that the God of Israel did not punish the no
bles of Israel for their temerity. In the enjoy
ment of this theocratic peace of God " the nobles
of the children of Israel" received a pledge that
the people of Israel themselves were a1 so called
to this dignity. They received this peace for
the benefit of Israel. And they saw God.—

Luther's translation makes the sentence describe
two successive events: "and when they had seen
God, they ate and drank." But the two are
simultaneous; the seeing of God and the eating
and drinking are intimately connected, forming
a prelude of sacramental enjoyments. Fear
might report : " they saw God and died ;" but
instead of that faith reports: "they saw God,
and ate and drank." In ver. 14 is found an in
dication that the nobles of Israel were on a de
clivity of the mountain, which, as contrasted with
the summit, might be regarded as in the valley,
and from which they could keep up their con
nection with the people. According to Keil,
Moses also had first left the mountain with them,
and afterwards ascended it again. This assump
tion may be favored by the fact that Joshua
now comes into company with Moses. Moses
needed his servant, since there was now to be a
longer stay on the mountain. Knobel also under
stands the command, " Tarry here," of the stay
at the foot of Sinai.

Q.— THE SUMMONS TO COMMIT THE LAW TO WRITING.
CHAPTER XXIV. 12-18.

12 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there :
and I will give thee [thee the] tables of stone, and a [the] law, and commandments
[the commandment] which I have written, that thou mayest teach [written, to

13 teach] them. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up

14 into the mount of God. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until
we come again [back] unto you : and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you : if anv

15 man have any matters to do [whosoever hath a suit], let him come unto them. And

16 Moses went up into the mount, and a [the] cloud covered the mount. And the
glory of Jehovah abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and

17 the [on the] seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And
the sight [appearance] of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top

18 of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst
of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount : and Moses was in the mount forty
days and forty nights.

was added a new, grand task: the construction
of the tabernacle. The law (or, the instruc
tion) and the commandment. Not as two
parts, but as two fundamental forms of the legis
lation. The law is originally oral instruction
(thorah), but is written down as commandment
only by Jehovah as the proper author, and is
again to be transferred into living instruction
for the people by the mouth of the prophet.

Ver. 13. And Joshua. Vid. xvii. 9, xxxii.
17, xxxiii. 11. Mount of God. Vid. iii. 1.

Ver. 14. Tarry ye here for us. At the foot

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 12. And Jehovah said. The particu
lar legislative relation of Jehovah here becomes
again prominent, whereas heretofore the seventy
elders of Israel may have represented Israel's
vocation to become a shepherd of the nations in
their relation to Elohim. Moses is now sum
moned to a longer stay on the summit of the
mountain. The mere reception of the tables is
related in xxxi. 18. No very long stay was
needed for that. What Moses as mediator of
the law did upon the mountain, Jehovah did in
deed do through him.* But besides this there

* fin representing the commandments as committed to
•writing by Moses, and not by Jehovah, Lange certainly has
to strain the language of the' text It is true that God may
bo said to do what He commands Moses to do. But that

would not justify the narrator in declaring with such par
ticularity that the two tables were "-written with the finger
of God " (xxxi. 18), ami that " the tables were the work oi
God, and the writing was the writing of God" (xxxii. 16).
A man may be said to write what an amanuensis writes at his
dictation; but if he expressly states that certain things are
written with his own hand, it is unreasonable to suppose that
they are written by the hand of another.— TK.J

CHAP XXV. 1— XXXI. 18.

103

of the mountain ? That they were not to go any
further with the people must have been quite
self-evident. Moses goes now through the flame
and the darkness as it were to death ; he there
fore institutes for the interim a government,
which, standing between the mountain and the
people, represents the outward sanctuary which
was still wanting, and at the same time governs
the people. Aaron and Hur (vid. xvii. 12) are
nominated as chief magistrates to settle suits
that might arise.

Ver. 15 sqq. Moses ascends the mountain, and
is concealed by the cloud for six days. It is the
cloud which at once reveals and conceals the
glory of Jehovah, identical in significance with
the pillar of cloud, but different from -it in form,
pince it covers the mountain. On the seventh
day Johovah calls Moses to Himself out of the
cloud, and the cloud is now transformed, to
the people at the foot of the mountain, in
its outward appearance, into the radiance of
a consuming fire. Into this fiery radiance
Moses enters, through the fiery flame, as
it were, of the unapproachable justice of God
(Heb. xii. 18, 29), as it were, through the light
nings of the flaming sword of the cherubim (Gen.

iii.), in order to receive the fiery law (Deut.
xxxiii. 2) which goes through the world's his
tory under the protection of the cloudy darkness
and of the fire (Ps. xviii. 8-13, civ. 4, Isa. vi. 2-4,
Zepb. i. 15, Zech. xiv. 7, Mai. iv. 1, Matt. xxiv.
29, 2 Pet. iii. 10, Rev. xviii.), in order to sanctify
the people of God by means of judgment and de
liverance, and to prepare for the reconstruction
of the old world. The lawgiver had to be fa
miliar with this design of the sacred fire,
whose typical significance reaches its climax
and turning-point in the life of Elijah. So then
he seemed to the people to have disappeared ; and
after his stay of forty days and n-ghts on the
mountain where he had a vision of the taberna
cle, the image of the kingdom of God, the peo
ple might imagine that h^ had perished in the
terrors of the mountain. Kriohel confounds the
first stay of forty days on the mountain with the
second. The origin of the idea of tho tabernacle
on the mountain coincides in time with the
origin of the golden calf, aad so there arises a
contrast, in which nevertheless the tabernacle
outweighs the golden calf. On the significance
of the forty days, vid. the Introduction, as also
the Introduction to Revelation.

H.— THE VISION OR THE IDEAL OF THE TABERNACLE. THE ORDERING OF THE ARK
AND OF THE HOUSE OF THE COVENANT; OF THE LIVING PRESENCE OF THE LAW
AND OF THE DWELLING-PLACE OF THE LAW-GIVER.

CHAPTERS XXV.— XXXT.

I. Contributions for the Building. Preliminary Condition.

1, 2 AND Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
that they bring me an offering : of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart

3 [whose heart maketh him willing] ye shall take my offering. And this is the of-

4 fering which ye shall take of them ; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and pur-

5 pie, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, And rams' skins dyed red, and

6 badgers' [seals'] skins, and ehittirn [acacia] wood, Oil for the light, spices for

7 anointing [the anointing] oil, and for sweet [the sweet] incense, Onyx stones, and

8 stones to be set in [set, for] the ephod, and in [for] the breast-plate. And let them

9 make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew
thee, after [thee,] the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instru
ments [furniture] thereof, even so shall ye make it.

IT. The Structure itself. The Place of Worship.
1. The Ark.

10 AND they shall make an ark of shittim [acacia] wood : two cubits and a half
shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit

11 and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within
and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown [moulding] of

12 gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in
the four corners [feet] thereof; and two rings shall be in [on] the one side of it, and

13 two rings in [on] the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of shittim

14 [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the slaves into
the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them [to bear the

15 ark with]. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark : they shall not be taken

104 EXODUS.

16 from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.

17 And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold : two cubits and a half shall be the

18 length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make
two cherubims [cherubim] of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them in [at]

19 the two ends of the mercy-seat. And make one cherub on [at] the one end, and
the other cherub on [at] the other end: even of [of one piece with] the mercy-seat1

20 shall ye make the cherubims [cherubim] on [at] the two ends thereof. And the
cherubims [cherubim] shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy-
seat with their wings, and their faces shall look [with their faces] one to another :

21 toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubims [cherubim] be. And thou
shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark ; an 1 iu the ark thou shalt put the

22 testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will com
mune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubims [cheru
bim] which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee
in commandment unto the children of Israel.

2. The Table.

23 Thou shalt also make a table o/shittim [acacia] wood : two cubits shall be the length
thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

24 And thou halt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown [moulding] of gold
2-3 roundabout. And thoushaltmakeuntoitaborderof an [a] haudbreadth round about,

and thou shalt make a golden crown [moulding] to the border thereof round about.

26 And thou fhalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in [on] the four

27 corners that are on [belong to] the four feet thereof. Over against [Close by] the

28 border shall the rings be for places of [for] the staves to bear the table. And thou
shalt make the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold, that

29 the table may be borne with them. And thou shalt make the dishes [plates]
thereof, and spoons [the cups] thereof, and covers [the flagons] thereof, and bowls
[the bowls] thereof, to cover [pour out] withal: o/pure gold shalt thou make them.

30 And thou shalt set upon the table shew-bread before me alway.

3. The Candlestick.

31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the can
dlestick ba made : his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers
shall be of the same [of beaten work shall be made the candlestick, its base and

32 its shaft : its cups, its knobs, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it].2 And
six branches hhall come out [coming out] of the sides of it: three branches of the
candlestick out of the one side [one side of it], and three branches of the candle-

33 stick out of the other side [side of it] : Three bowls [cups] made like unto al
monds [almond-blossoms] with a knop and a flower in one branch [in one branch,
a knob and a flower] ; and three bowls [cups] made like almonds [almond-
blossoms] in the other branch, with [branch,] a knop [knob] and a flower : so in

34 [for] the six branches that come out of the candlestick. And in the candlestick
shall be four bowls [cups] made like unto almonds, with [almond-blossoms,] their

35 [its] knops [knobs] and their [its] flowers. And there shall be a knop [knob]
under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two
branches of the same [of one piece with it], and u kuop [knob] under two branches
of the same [of one piece with it], according to [for] the six branches that proceed

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

i [XXV. 19. rnj33rr"jD, efc. Literally, "From the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim." This is understood
ly some to mean : " rising up from the mercy-seat." But the simple tft hardly conveys that notion; it has, perhaps, some
what of its original import, "part," so that the direction is to make the cherubim a part of the mercy-seat, i.e., of one piece
with it.— TR.]

- [XXV. 31. The change proposed in the punctuation is one required by the Masoretic accentuation, as well as by the
sense, though adopted by only a few commentators (Knobel, De Wette, Bunsen). When it is said, "its base and its shaft,
efc., shall 1)" ma'le of the >anv," the question arises, the same with what? For the several specifications include the u-hole
of the candlestick. The direction thus would be to make all the several parts of the candlestick of the same piece with the
candlestick— which is senseless.— Ta.]

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18. 105

36 [come] out of the candlestick. Their knops [knobs] and their branches shall be of
the same [of one piece with it] : all it [all of it] ah ill be o ie beaten work of pure

37 gold. And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof; and they shall light [set up]

38 the lamps there >f, that they may give light over against it. And the tongs [snuf-

39 fers] thereof, and the snuff-dishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure

40 gold shall he make it [shall it be made], with all these vessels [instruments]. And
look [see] that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the
mount.

4. The Dwelling (the Tent}.

CHAP. XXVI. 1. MOREOVER thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of
[curtains: of] fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with [scarlet,
with] cherubims [cherubim] of cunning work [the work of a skilful weaver ] shalt

2 ttn>u make them. The length of one [each] curtain shall be eight and twenty
cubits, and the breadth of one [each] curtain four cubits : and every one of the

3 [all the] curtains shall have one measure. The five [Five of the] curtains shall be
coupled together one to another ; and other [the other] five curtains shall be cou-

4 pled one to another. And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one
[first] curtain from the selvedge [at the border] in the coupling [the set of curtains] ;
and likewise shalt thou make in [so shalt thou do with] the uttermost edge of another
curtain [the edge of the outmost curtain] in the coupling of the second [in the second

5 set of curtains]. Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt
thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second [in the
second set of curtains] ; that the loops may take hold one of [the loops shall be

6 opposite one to] another. And thou shalt make fifty taches [clasps] of gold, and
couple th^ curtains together [one to anothsr] with the taches [clasps] ; and it shall

7 be one tabernacle [the tabernacle shall be one]. And thou shalt make curtains of
goat's hair to be a [for a] covering [tent] upon [over] the tabernacle : eleven cur-

8 tains shalt thou make. The length of one [each] curtain shall be thirty cubits, and
the breadth of one [each] curtain four cubits: and [cubits:] th.3 eleven curtains

9 shall be all of [shall have] one measure. And thou shalt couple five curtains by
themselves and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double [fold together] the

1$ sixth curtain in the forefront [front] of the tabernacle [tent]. And thou shalt
make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling [first
set of curtains], and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second

11 [is the second set]. And thou shalt make fifty taches [clasps] of brass, and put
the taches [clasps] into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may [and it

12 shall] be one. And the remnant [excess] that remaineth, of the curtains of the
tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the back-side [back] of the

13 tabernacle. And a [the] cubit on the one side, and a [the] cubit on the other side
of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it [tent,] shall
hang over the sides of the tabernacle o.i this side and on that sido, to cover it.

14 And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a cover-

15 ing above of badgers' skins [of seal-skins above]. And thou shalt make boards

16 [the boards] for the tabernacle of shittim [acacia] wood standing up. Ten cubits
shall be the length of a boatd, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one

17 [each] board. Two tenons sha/l there be in one [each] board, set in order one
against [equally distant from one] another: thus shalt thou make for [do unto] all

18 the boards of the tabernacle. And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle,

19 twenty boards on [for] the south side southward. And thou shalt make forty
sockets of silver under the twenty boards ; two sockets under one board for his [its]

20 two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his [its] two tenons. And for
the second side of the tabernacle on [for] the north side there shall be twenty

21 boards : And their forty sockets of silver ; two sockets under one board, and two

22 sockets under another board. And for tha sides [rear] of the tabernacle westward

23 thou shalt make six boards. And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of

24 the tabernacle in the two sidej [in the rear]. And they shall be coupled together
[be double] beneath, and they shall be coupled together3 above the head of it unto

3 [XXVI. 2i. The A. V. rendering (favored also by Kalis :h, Ges.-nius, Glaire, De Wette, Fiirst, and Canon Cook) assumes

106 EXODUS.

one ring [and together they shall be whole up to the top of it, unto the first ring] :

25 thus shall it be for them both ; they shall be for the two corners. And they [there]
shill be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets ; two sockets under

26 one board and two sockets under another board. And thou shalt make bars of

27 shittim [acacia] wood ; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, And
five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the

28 boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides [the rear] westward. And the
middle bar in the midst [middle] of the boards shall reach [pass through] from

29 end to end. And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of

30 gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold. And thou
shalt rear [set] up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was [hath
been] shewed thee in the mount.

5. The Veil.

31 And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined
linen of cunning work : with cherubims [linen : with cherubim, the work of a

32 skilful workman] shall it be made. And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of
shittim [acacia] wood overlaid with gold : their hooks shall be of gold, upon

33 four sockets of silver. And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches
[clasps], that thou mayest bring [and shalt bring] in thither within the veil the
ark of the testimony : and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy

34 place and the most holy [the holy of holies]. And thou shalt put the mercy -seat

35 upm the ark of the testimony in the most holy place [holy of holies]. And thou
shalt set the table without the veil, and the candlestick over against the table on
the side of the tabernacle toward the south : and thou shalt put the table on the

36 north side. And thou shalt make an hanging [a screen] for the door of the tent,
of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needle-work

37 [the work of the embroiderer]. And thou shalt make for the hanging [screen]
five pillars of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold ; and their hooks
shall be of gold : and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

6. The Altar of Burnt-offering.

CHAP. XXVII. 1. AND thou shalt make an [the] altar of shittim [acacia] wood,
five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be four-square: and the

2 height thereof shall be three cubits. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the
four corners thereof: his [its] horns shall be of the same [of one piece with it] :

3 and thou sh lit overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make his [its] pans [pots]
to receive his [to take away its] ashes, and his [its] shovels, and his [its] basins,
and his [its] fleshhooks, and his [its] firepms: all the vessels thereof thou shalt

4 make of brass [copper]. And thou sha't make for it a grate [grating] of network
of brass [copper] ; and upon the nst shalt thou make four brazen [copper] rings in

5 [on] the fojr corners thereof. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the
altar beneath [below, under the ledge of the altar], that the net may be even to the

6 midst [and the net shall reach up to the middle] of the altar. And thou shalt
make staves for the altar, staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with

7 brass [copper]. And the staves [staves thereof] shall be put into the rings, and

8 the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it [in bearing it]. Hol
low with b <ards shalt thou make it: as it was [hath been] shewed thee in the mount;
so shall they make it.

7. The Court.

9 And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle : for the south side south ^ard there
shall be hangings for the court o/fine-twined linen of an hundred [linen a hundred] cu-

10 bits long for one side : And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shail be

D"pr> to be a contracted form of D'DNrV But it is singular (if this is the case) t'aat both forms should occur in the same

verse, and more singular sMll that, there should be the same conjunction of the two fo-ms ia the para'lel passage xxxvi. 29.
So long as at the Ivst the o> scarify of the descrip ion is not relieved by such an assumpt on, it net-ins much more reason
able 10 take O'Tp.n iu its natural sense of "perfect," "whole," and elucidate the meaning, if possibl , on that assump
tion.— Taj

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18. 107

11 of brass [copper] ; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] shall be of silver. And
likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangiugs of an hundred [hangings
a hundred] cubits long, and his [its] twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass

12 [copper] ; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] of silver. And for the
breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits [hangings fifty

13 cubits long] : their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. And the breadth of the court

14 on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. The hangings of one side of the gate
shall be fifteen cubits [Fifteen cubits of hangings shall be on one side of the gate'] :

15 their pillars three, and their sockets three. And on the other side shall be hangings
fifteen cubits [fifteen cubits of hangings] : their pillars three, and their sockets three.

16 And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging [a screen] of twenty cubits, of
blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen, wrought with needle-work
[linen, embroidered work] : and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.

17 All the pillars round about the court [of the court round about] shall be filleted
with silver [joined with rods of silver] ; their hooks shall be of silver, and their

18 sockets of brass [copper]. The length of the court shall be an [a] hundred cubits,
and the breadth fifty everywhere, and the height five cubits, of tine-twined linen,

19 and their sockets of brass [copper]. All the vessels [furniture] of the tabernacle
in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court shall
be of brass [copper],

III. The Persons and Things occupying the Building. The Ritual Worship.
1. The. Oil for the Lamp.

20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive
beaten [beaten olive oil] for the light, to cause the [a] lamp to burn always [conti-

21 nually]. In the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] without the veil,
which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order [trim] it from evening
to morning before Jehovah : it shall be a statute forever unto [throughout] their
generations on the behalf of [on the part of] the children of Israel.

2. The Clothing of the Priest and of his Sacerdotal Assistants.

CHAP. XXVIII. 1 AND take thou [bring thou near] unto thee Aaron thy brother,
and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister
unto me in the priest's office [that he may be a priest unto me], even Aaron, Nadab

2 and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. And thou shalt make holy [sacred]

3 garments for Aaron thy brother for glory [honor] and for beauty. And thou sha't
speak unto all that are wise-hearted [all the skilful-hearted], whom I have filled
with the spirit of wisdom [skill], that they may make Aaron's garments to conse
crate [sanctify] him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office [that he

4 may be a priest unto me]. And these are the garments which they shall make :
a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered [checkered] coat, a mitre
[turban], and a girdle: and they shall make holy [sacred] garments for Aaron thy
brother, and [and for] his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office

5 [that he may be a priest unto me]. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple,

6 and scarlet, and fine linen. And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and
of purple, of scarlet, and fine-twined linen, with cunning work [linen, the work of a

7 skilful weaver]. It shall have the two shoulder-pieces thereof joined at [have two
shoulder-pieces joined to] the two edges thereof: and so it [and it] shall be joined

8 together. And the curious girdle of the ephod [the embroidered belt for girding
it], which is upon it, shall be of the same [same piece], according to the work thereof;

9 even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen. And thou shalt
take two onyx stones and grave [engrave] on them the names of the children of

10 Israel: Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest [and the

11 names of the six remaining ones] on the other stone, according to their birth. With
the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave
the two stones with [according to] the names of the children of Israel : thou shalt

12 make them to be set [inclosed] in ouches [settings] of gold. And thou shalt put

108 EXODUS.

the two stones upon the shoulders [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod for stones of memo
rial unto [as memorial stones for] the children of Israel : and Aaron shall bear

13 their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And thou shalt

14 make ouches [settings] of gold ; And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen
work shalt thou make them [pure gold ; like cords shalt thou make them, of
wreathen work] : and fasten [and thou shalt put] the wreathen chains to the ouches

15 [on the settings]. Aud thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment, with cunning
work [the work of a skilful weaver]; after [like] the work of the ephod thou shalt
make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt

16 thou make it. Four square it shall be being doubled [It shall be square and double] ;

17 a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. And
thou yhalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows < f stones : the first row shall, be
a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be [stones: a row of sardius, topaz,

18 and emerald shall be] the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, [car-

19 buncle], a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an

20 amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl [chrysolite], and an onyx, and a jasper:

21 they shall set in gold in their inclosings. And the stones shall be with [according
to] the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like
[names: like'] the engravings of a signet; every [signet, every] one with [according

22 to] his name shall they be according to [be for] the twelve tribes. And thou shalt
make u;»on the breast-plate chains at the ends [like cords] of wreathen work o/pure

23 gold. And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate two rings of gold, and shalt put

24 the two rings on the two ends of the breast-plate. And thou shalt put the two wrtathen

25 chains of gold in [on] the two rings which are on the ends of the breast-plate. And
the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches [put
on the two settings], and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it [on

26 the fr >nt of it]. And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them
upon the two ends of the breast-plate, in [on] the border thereof which is in [to-

27 ward] the side of the ephod inward. And two other rings of gold thou shalt make,
and shall put them on the two sides [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod underneath, to
ward [on] the fore-part thereof, over against [close by] the other coupling [the cou
pling] thereof, above the curious girdle of the fphod [the embroidered belt of the

28 ephod]. And they shall bind the breast-plate by the rings thereof unto the rings
of the ephod with a lace [cord] <>f blue, thatil may be above the curious girdle [the
embroidered belt] of the ephod, and that the breast-plate be not loosed from the

29 ephod. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breast
plate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a me-

30 morial before Jehovah continually. And thou shalt put in the breast-plate of
judgment the Urim and the Thummim ; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when
he goeth in before Jehovah : and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of

31 Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually. And thou shalt make the iobe

32 of the ephod ail o/blue. And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst
thereof [And its opening for the head shall be in the middle of it] : it shall have a
binding of woven work round about the hole of it [its opening], as it were the hole

33 of an habergeon [like the opening of a coat of mail], that it be not rent. And be
neath upon [And upon] the hem of it [its skirts] thou shalt make pomegranates of
blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem [skirts] thereof; and bells

34 of gold between them round about: A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell

35 and a pomegranate, upon the hem [skirts] of the robe round about. And it shall
be upon Aaron to minister [for ministering] : and his sound [the sound thereof]
shall be h°ard when he jroeth in unto [goeth into] the holy place before Jehovah,

36 and when he cometh out, that he die not. And thou shalt make a plate of pure
£<»ld, and grave [engrave] upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS

37 TO JEHOVAH. And th"U shalt put it on a blue lace [cord], that it may be
[and it shall be] upon the mitre [turban] ; upon the forefront [front] of the mitre

38 [turban] it shall be And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may [and
Aaron shall] bear the iniquity of the holy [sacred] things, which the children of
Israel shall hallow in all their holy [sacred] gifts ; and it shall bs always upon his

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18. 109

39 forehead, that they may be accepted before Jehovah. And thou shalt embroider
[weave] the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre [turban] of fine linen,

40 an 1 thou shalt make the [a] girdle of needle-work [embroidered work]. And for
Aarou's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and

41 bonnets [caps] shalt thou make for them, for glory [honor] and for beautv. And
thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt an
oint them, and consecrate [ordain] them, and sanctify them, that they may minister

42 unto me in the priest's office [and they shall be priests unto me]. And thou shalt
make them linen breeches to cover their [the flesh of their] nakedness; from the

43 loins even unto [loins unto] the thighs they shall reach: And they shall be upon
Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto [come into] the tabernacle of
the congregation [tent of meeting], or when they come near unto the altar to minis
ter in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute fur
ever unto him and his [and unto his] seed after him.

3. The Consecration of the Priests.
CHAP. XXIX. 1 AND this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to

2 minister unto me in the priests' office [to be priests unto me] : Take one young bul
lock, and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened
tempered [mingled] with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil : of wheaten

3 flour shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring

4 them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. And Aaron and his sons
thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meet-

5 ing], and shalt wash them with water. And thou shalt take the garments, and put
upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breast-

6 plate, and gird him with the curious girdle [embroidered belt] of the ephod. And
thou shalt put the mitre [turban] upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the

7 mitre [turban]. Then shalt thou [And thou shalt] take the anointing oil, and pour it

8 upon his head, and anoint him. And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon

9 them. And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets
[biud caps] on them: and the priests' office [priesthood] shall be theirs for [by] a

10 perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. And thou shalt
cause a bullonk to be brought [bring the bullock] before the tabernacle of the con
gregation [tent of meeting] : and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon

11 the head of the bullock. And thou shalt kill the bullock before Jehovah, by the

12 door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]. And thou shalt take
of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger,

13 and po-ur all the blood beside the bottom [at the base] of the altar. And thou
shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above [lobe
above] the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them, and burn them

14 upon the altar. But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou

15 burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin-offering. Thou shalt also take one
[the one] ram ; and Aaron and his sons shall put [lay] their hands upon the head

16 of the ram. And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and spi inkle

17 it round about upon the altar. And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash
the inwards of him [his inwards], and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and

18 unto his head. And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-
offering unto Jehovah : it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire [a fire-offering]

19 unto Jehovah. And thou shalt take the other ram ; and Aaron and his sons shall

20 put [lay] their hands upon the head of the ram. Then shalt thou kill the ram, and
take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the
tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and. upon
the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and
sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the gar
ments of his sons with him : and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and

22 his sons' garments with him. Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump [the
fat tail], and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above [lobe of] the liver,

110 EXODUS.

and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon upon them, and the right shoulder ; for it

23 is a ram of consecration : And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one

24 wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before Jehovah : And thou &halt
put all [the whole] in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons ; and shalt

25 wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah. And thou shalt receive [take] them
of [from] their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a [upon the] burnt-offering,
for a sweet savor before Jehovah : it is an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto

26 Jehovah. And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration [of
Aaron's ram of consecration], and wave it for [as] a wave-offering before Jehovah :

27 and it shall be thy part. And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave-offering,
and the shoulder of the heave-offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of
the ram of the [of] consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which

28 is for his sons : And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the
children of Israel ; for it is an [a] heave-offering : and it shall be an [a] heave-offering
from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their [Israel of their] peace-offerings,

29 even their heave-offering unto Jehovah. And the holy garments of Aaron shall be

30 his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. And
that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days [Seven days shall
he of his sons who is priest in his stead put them on], when he cometh into the ta-

31 bernacle of the congregation [tent cf meeting] to minister in the holy place. And
thou shalt take the ram of the [of] consecration, and seethe [boil] his flesh in the

32 [a] ho]y place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the
bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent

33 of meeting]. And they shall eat those things wherewith the [wherewith] atonement
was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but a stranger shall not eat thereof,

34 because they are holy. And if aught of the flesh of the consecrations [consecration],
or of the bread, remain unto [until] the morning, then thou shalt burn the re-

35 maiuder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. And thus shalt thou
do unto Aaron and to his sons, according to all things which [all that] I have
commanded thee : seven days shalt thou consecrate them.

4. Consecration and Design of the Altar of Burnt -offering.

36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin-offering for atonement: and
thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an [by making] atonement for

37 it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. Seven days thou shalt make an [make]
atonement for the altar, and sanctify it ; and it shall be an altar most holy : what-

38 soever toucheth the altar shall be holy. Now this is that which thou shalt offer
upon the altar : two lambs of the first year [a year old] day by day continually.

39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning ; and the other Jamb thou shalt offer

40 at even : And with the one lamb a tenth deal [part] of flour mingled with the
fourth part of an [a] hin of beaten oil ; and the fourth part of an [a] hin of wine

41 for a drink-offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do
thereto according to the meat-offering of [shalt offer with it the same meal-offering
as in] the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof [and the same drink-
offering], for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto Jehovah.

42 This shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] before Jehovah; where I will

43 meet [meet with] you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the

44 children of Israel, and the tabernacle [and it] shall be sanctified by my glory. And
I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and the altar:
I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office

45 [to be priests unto me]. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be

46 their God. And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, that brought them
forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may [might] dwell among them: I am Jeho
vah their God.

5. The Altar of Incense.

CHAP. XXX. 1. AND thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim
2 [acacia] wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit

CHAP. XXV. I— XXXI. 18. Ill

the breadth thereof; four-square shall it be : and two cubits shall be the height

3 thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same [of one piece with it]. And thou
shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about,
and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto [for] it a crown of gold round

4 about. And two golden rings shalt thou make to [for] it under the crown of it,
by the two corners [upon the two flanks] thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou

5 make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal [with]. And
thou shalt make the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold.

6 And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the

7 mercy-seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron
shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth [trimmeth] the

' 8 lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth [setteth up] the

lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it [burn it], a perpetual incense before

9 Jehovah throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense then on,

nor burnt-sacrifice [burnt-offering], nor meat-offering [meal-offering]; neither shall

10 ye pour [and ye shall pour no] drink-offering thereon. And Aaron shall make an
[make] atonement upon [for] the horns of it once in a [the] year with the blood of
the sin-offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon [for]
it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto Jehovah.

6. The Contributions for the Sanctuary (Poll-tax}.

11, 12 And Jehovah spake unto Moses saying, When thou takest the sum of the
children of Israel after [according to] their number, then shall they give every man
a ransom for his soul unto Jehovah, when thou numberest them ; that there be [may

13 be] no plague among them, when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every
one that passeth among [over unto] them that are numbered, half a shekel after
[according to] the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs): an [a] half

14 shekel shall be the offering of [unto] Jehovah. Every one that passeth among
[over unto] them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give

15 an offering unto Jehovah [Jehovah's offering]. The rich shall not give more, and
the poor shall not give less than half a [the half] shekel, when they give an offer
ing unto Jehovah [give Jehovah's offering], to make an [make] atonement for your

16 souls. And thou shalt take the atonement money of [from] the children of Israel,
and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of
meeting] ; that it may be [and it shall be] a memorial unto [for] the children of
Israel before Jehovah, to make an [make] atonement for your souls.

7. The Laver.

17, 18 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Thou shalt also make a laver of brass
[copper], and his foot also of brass [its base of copper], to wash withal [in]: and
thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] and

19 the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall uash

20 their hands and their feet thereat [from it] : When they go into the tabernacle of
the congregation [tent of meeting], they shall wash with water, that they die not ;
or wh^n they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire [a

21 fire-offering] unto Jehovah : So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they
die not : and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed
throughout their generations.

8. The holy Anointing Oil.

22, 23 Moreover Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Take thou also unto thee prin
cipal spices [the chief spices], of pure [flowing] myrrh five hundred shekels, and
of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet

24 calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after [ac-

25 cording to] the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an [olive oil a] hin : And thou
shalt make it an oil of holy ointment [a holy anointing oil], an ointment compound
[compounded] after the art of the apothecary [a perfumed ointment, the work of the

112 EXODUS.

26 perfumer]: it shall be an [a] holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint the
tabernacle of the congregation therewith [therewith the tent of meeting],

27 and the ark of the testimony, And the table and all his vessels [its furniture],
and the candlestick and his vessels [its furniture] and the. altar of incense,

28 And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels [its furniture], and the laver

29 and his foot [its base]. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most

30 holy: whatsoever [whosoever] toucheth them shall be holy. And thou shalt
anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto

31 me in the priest's office [to be priests unto me]. And thou shalt speak unto the
children of Israel, saying, This shall be an [a] holy anointing oil unto me throngh-

32 out your generations. Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make
any other like it, after the composition of it [and ye shall make none like it with its

33 proportions] : it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compounded any
like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even [he shall] be cut
off from his people.

9. The Incense.

34 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha,
and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a

35 like weight [an equal part] : And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection, after
the art of the apothecary, tempered together [make of it an incense, a perfume, the

36 work of the perfumer, salted], pure, and holy: And thou shalt beat some of it very
small [it fine], and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congrega
tion [tent of meeting], where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.

37 And as for the perfume [And the incense] which thou shalt make, ye shall not make
to [for] yourselves according to the composition [with its proportions] : it shall bQ,

38 unto thee holy for [unto] Jehovah. Whosoever shall make [make any] like unto
that, to smell thereto [thereof], shall even [lie shall] be cut off from his people.

IV. The Architects. The Master-workman Beznloel and his Vocation. Sacred Art.
CHAP. XXXI. 1, 2. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by

3 name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah : And I have
filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge,

4 and in all manner [kinds] of workmanship, To devise cunning [skilful] works, to

5 work in gold, and in silver, and in brass [copper], And in cutting of stones, to set
them [stones for setting], and in carving of timber, to work in all manner [kinds]

6 of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisa-
mach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have p-'t

7 wisdom, that they make all that I have commanded thee: The tabernacle of the
congregation [tent of meeting], and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat

8 that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle [tent], And the table and
his [its] furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his [its] furniture, and the altar

9 of incense, And the altar of burnt-offering with all his [its] furniture, and the laver

10 and his foot [its base], And the cloths [garments] of service, and the holy garments for
Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office [as

11 priests], And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to
all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

V. The Condition of the Vitality of the Ritual. The Sabbath.

12, 13 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of
Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and
you throughout your generations ; that ye moy know that I am Jehovah that doth
4 sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore [And ye shall keep the sabbath] ;
for it is holy unto you : every one that defileth [profaneth] it shall surely be put to
death : for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among

15 his people. Six days may work be done; but in [on] the seventh is the [a] sab
bath of rest, holy to Jehovah : whosoever doeth any work in [on] the sabbath day,

16 he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the
sabbath, to observe the sabbith throughout their generations for [as] a perpetual

17 covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18.

113

days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was
18 refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing
[speaking] with him upoa mount^inai, two [the two] tables of [of the] testimony,
tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The origin of the tabernacle is twice recorded
in Exodus: first, (considered from its divine
side) as a command of God, or (considered from
its human side) as a vision or ideal (the taber
nacle which God showed Moses on the mount),
xxv.-xxxi. ; secondly, as the historical fact of
the execution of the building of the work com
manded by Jehovah, but interrupted by the his
tory of the golden calf, xxxv.-xl.

The tabernacle is not merely a place of wor
ship; but, as being the house of the ark of the
covenant or ot' the tab'es of the law, and as being
the house of the Lord of the covenant who mani
fests Himself in the Holy of holies, it is first, of
all the centre of the whole legislation and the
residence of the lawgiver Himself, who holds
sway beiween the cherubim over His law, and
will not let it become a dead ordinance, but
makes sure that from out of the Holy of holies it
shall grow into a living power. Hence, there
fore, the history of this institution properly
stands in Exodus, not in Leviticus. Jehovah has
redeemed His people out of the house of bond
age, and brought them to His holy house, which
is at once palace, temple, and court-house, or
public gathering-place — the house in which Je
hovah meets with Hia people.

The tabernacle has been called a nomadic tem
ple. It is indeed the preliminary form of the
temple, but itself continued, after the people
ceased their wanderings, for a long time to
change its location in Israel until Solomon's
temple was built. As the prototype and oppo
site of garish heathen temples; as the historical
model of the Israelitish temple in its three prin
cipal historical forms (temples of Solomon, Ze-
rubbabel, and Herod); as the religious model,
or outline, the type of Christian places of wor
ship; and as the symbol of the proportions of
the kingdom of God, both outwardly and in
wardly considered; accordingly, as the funda
mental form of every real sanctuary, the taber
nacle preserves an imperishable significance —
almost more significant in its nakei simplicity
than with its ornamentation and wealth. When
the outward glory of the temple is gone, God
will rebuild the tabernacle of David (Amos ix.
11. 12).

The tabernacle as Moses' idea, which indeed
he owes to divine revelation, characterizes Moses
as also a great and original man in Hebrew art.
Bezaleel was only the artist or master-workman
who carried out the idea, working according to
Moses' plan; and even Michel Angelo, who chi
selled the figure of Moses, worked, as architect,
according to the theocratic outline which had
been introduced into the world through Moses.

Of the numerous treatises on this sanctuary
comp. besides Bahr (Symbolik dot mosaischen
Kvlt'w I. p. 53sqq.) and Keil (Ribl. Archaologie
1, 1 17sqq.), especially Leyrer in Herzog's Real-

Encyklopadie, Art. Stiftsh'dtte, which gives a con
densed view of all the opinions and conjectures
which have been propounded respecting its
structure and significance. The latest mono
grams are: Wilh. Neumann, Die Stiftshutte in
Bild und Wort gezeichnet, Gotha, 1861 (rich in
fantastic hypotheses derived from the discoveries
at Nineveh), and C. J. Riggenbach, Die mosaische
Stiftshutte mil drei lithogr. Tafeln. (Basel, 1862-4).
Vid. Knobel, Commentary, pp. 249-257. Pop
per, Der biblische Bericht ilber die Stiftshutte, etc.
(Leipzig, 1862). Wangemann, Die Bedeutung der
Stiftshutte. Wissenschafllicher Vortrag, etc. (Ber
lin, 1866). Also Winer's Reallexicon and Zeller's
Biblisches Worterbnch [To these may be added,
besides Smith's Bible Dictionary and Kitto's Cy
clopedia. Kurtz, Sacrificial Offerings of the 0. T.;
Haneberg, Die religiosen Alterthumcr der Bibel
(Munich, 1869); T. 0. Paine, Solomon's Temple
(Boston, H. H. & T. W Carter, 1870); and E. E.
At water, History and Significance of the Sacred Ta
bernacle of the Hebrews (Dodd & Mead, New York,
1875).— TR.]

I. GENERAL VIEW OF THE IDEAL PLAN OF THE
BUILDING. CHAPS. XXV.-XXXI 11.

External Prerequisites. Building Materials.
Assessments for the Building. Chap xxv. 1-9.

a. The Divine Side of the Dwelling.

1. The Ark of the Covenant, with the Mercy-
seat and the Cherubim, a" the chief thing in the
whole Building, vers. 10-22. Object of it: the
continual, living Revelation of God. Ve»\ 22.
The Holy of Holies.

2. The Table of Shew-bread (of Communion
with God, consecrated to God, ver. 30), and the
Candlestick with its Appurtenances (the Divine
Illumination in accordance with the Ideal, ver.
40), vers. 23-40.

3. The Sanctuary. Divine and Human. The
Tent, or the Dwelling itself, chap. xxvi. 1-30.
Conformed to the Ideal, ver. 30.

4. The Veil to distinguish and divide the Holy
of Holies from the Sanctuary, vers. 31-37.

b. The Human Side of the Dwelling.

1. The Altar of Burnt-offering. Chap, xxvii.
1-8. Conformed to the Ideal, ver. 8.

2. The Court, vers. 9-19.

c. Function* Connected with the Building.

1. Bringing of the holy Oil, and the Prepara
tion of the Candlestick, vers. 20, 21.

2. Equipment of the Priest, the High priest
and his Assistants, chap, xxviii. 1-43. Object
of it, vers. 35, 43.

3. Consecration of the Priests and the Sacrifi
cial Functions of the Priest, chap. xxix. 1-46.
Object, vers. 43-46.

4. Altar of Incense, and its Use, chap. xxx.
1-10.

114

EXODUS.

•3. Assessment for the Sanctuary as a Continual
Memorial for the People, vers. 11-16.

6. The Brazen Laver in the Court for the Priests
to wash from, vers. 17—21.

7. The Anointing of the Holy Things. The
most holy Ointment, vers. 22-33.

8. The Most Holy Incense, vers. 34-38.

d. The Master-workmen.
Chapter xxxi. 1-11.

CONCLUSION. — The fundamental condition on
which the meeting between Jehovah and His peo
ple ideally rests: the Sabbath, vers. 12-17. The
addition of the Directions concerning the Taber
nacle to the completed written Law, ver. 18.

II. GENERAL VIEW OF THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION
OF THE BUILDING.

Foundation: The Sabbath as Prerequisite to
the Tabernacle. Chap. xxxv. 1-3 (Chap. xxxi.
14-17).

1. The Assessments for the Building, and the
Preparation of the Material made under the di
rection of the Master workmen, xxxv. 4 — xxxvi.
7 (xxv. 1-9; xxxi. 1-11).

2. The Work on the Dwelling, xxxvi. 8-38
(xxvi. 1-37).

3. The Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy-seat,
and the Cherubim, xxxvii. 1-9 (xxv. 10-22).

4. The Table, with its Appurtenances, xxxvii.
10-16 (xxv. 23-30).

5. The CandK stick, xxxvii. 17-24 (xxv. 31-
40).

6 The Altar of Incense, the Incensp, and the
Anointing Oil, xxxvii. 25-29 (XKX. 1-10. 23-38).

7. The Altar of Burnt-offering, xxxviii. 1-7
(xxvii. 1-8).

8. The Brazen Laver, and the Court, xxxviii.
8-20 (yxvii. 9-19).

9. The Reckoning of the Material used, xxxviii.
21-81,

10. The official Garments of the Priests, xxxix.
1-31 (xxviii. 1-43). The Consecration of the
Priests, and the Ordinance of the Sacrifices,
xxix. 1-46.

11. The Presentation of the Constituent Parts
of the Dwelling, xxxix. 32-43.

12. The Erection of the Dwelling, and the
Heavenly Consecration of it by means of the
Pillar of Cloud and Fire, the Sign of the Veiled
Presence of the Glory of the Lord, chap. xl.

Knoh.'l calls attention " to the exact reckoning
in xxxviii. 21 sqq. and the extraordinary cir
cumstantiality and diffuseness which is found in
no other narrator to the same degree. So ex
tended a repetition does not occur elsewhere in
all the Old Testament." As to the diffuseness,
the 0. T everywhere gives details when the
sanctuary is concerned, as becomes the symboli
cal significance of the sanctuary and the religious
spirit of the Israelites, vid. I Sam. iv.-vii.; 1
Kings v.-ix. 15: 2 Kings xii.; 2 Chron. ii.-v'ii.;
Ezek. xl.-xlvii.; the whole of Haggai; Zech. Hi.,
iv. It is taken for granted that here in every
individual feature there is to be recognized the
reflection of a religious thought. As to the re
petition, however, stress is to be laid on the ge

neral consciousness of connection between ideal
and real worship, as well as the spec al conscious
ness that the real tabernacle was built exactly
according to the idea of it. Moreover, the se
cond account is not a mere repetition of the firsi.
In the presentation of the idea, the master-work
men come at the end; in the narrative of the ac
tual erection of the building, at, the beginning, —
quite in accordance with the relations of real
life. In the execution ot the work of the taber
nacle the sacerdotal garments are described, and
even the calculation of the cost of the building —
the church account, so to speak. So the denun
ciation of a severe penalty on the manufacture,
for private use, of the holy anointing oil and of
the incense, is one of the means used to prevent
the profanation of a legally prescribed system of
worship. Even the hinderance in the execution
of the work prescribed in the mount, occasioned
by the golden c^lf, is not without meaning. How
often it is a golden calf which hinders the execu
tion of pure ideal ecclesiastical conceptions!
Here, however, is everywhere manifested this
feature of revelation, that the idea must become
fact, and that the fact must answer lo the idea.

We make five general divisions in the things
commanded: I. The Prerequisite — the Materials.
IF. The Precept concerning the Structure itself.
III. The Persons and Things occupying the Build
ing. IV. Tfie Architects and their Work. V.
The Condition of the Vitality of the Institution —
the Sabbath.

i. PREREQUISITES: THE MATERIAJS; THE ASSESS
MENTS. CHAP. XXV. 1-9.

As the real temple of God must consist in be
lieving hearts which offer themselves and build
themselves into a temple of the Spirit of God,
so the typical sanctuary must be built of volun
tary offerings of the people of God : " Every one
whose heart maketh him willing."

On the assessments for the building

heave offering), the blue purple (fi/DFl), the pur
ple proper, the white cloth (WW, (3vacro£, fine
inen), etc., comp. Keil, II., p. 163. There is dis
pute concerning the Tahush skins (V?r\F\ accord-
ng to some, the seal; Hccording to others, the
adg^r), the shittim wood (probably acacia; see
KeiTs note, p. 164), the Shoham stone (beryl, or
onyx), the garment for the shoulder (ephod), and
the breastplate. The materials were: (1) The me
tals. Vid. Knob. ?p. 257. Iron came into use later.*
[2) I he materials for cloths. (8) The woven fab-
lics (brocades, variegated cloths, plain cloths).
(4) Skins. (5) Wood. (6) Oil. (7) Spices. (8)
Precious stones. These materials were to be made
nto the sanctuary, Jehovah's dwelling-place, in
which He is to dwell in the midst of His people,
and meet with them. — "According to all that I
show thee;" not, "have shown thee." The ideal
significance of the pattern is contested by Keil
n such a way as really leaves only a meaningless
model for a meaningless structure; though after
wards this view is modified, II., p. 165.

* [So Knobel says. But the use of iron is ascribed to
Tubal-cain (Gen. iv. 22), and iron instruments are referred to
n Num xxxv. 16, to say nothing of the frequent mention of
ron iu Deuteronomy and Joshua.— TB.]

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18.

115

II. THE BUILDING ITSELF. CHAPTERS XXV. 10 —
XXVII. 19.

1. The Ark. Vers. 10-22.
The Holy of holies in the strictest sense — the
essential, principal thing in it. Three items are
here to be considered: (1) The Ark; (2) The
Mercy-seat; (8) The Cherubim. In other words:
the preservation of the law as expressing the
divine will in its special demands; the altar in
its highest form, viz., the mercy-seat (kapporeth),
as a symbol of God's gracious willingness to ac
cept expiation as'such a fulfilment of His general
will as covers and removes the demands imposed
by the law, or the special will, on account of
guilt ; finally, the two cherubim as symbols of
God's righteous dominion in the world, proceed
ing out of God's gracious will and the law, in
or<ier to the maintenance of the justice which is
r presented by the union of the ark and the
cover [the mercy-seat]. The whole is accord
ingly the place where God reveals Himself in
His glory under the conditions nccording to
which the high-priest is to appear before Him.
For a description of the ark vid. Keil, II., p. 167. —
Why are the tables of the lav which are to be
put in it called the testimony (so xxxi. 18; xxxiv.
29)? Because they are to be a witness of the
foundation of the covenant which Jehovah has
made with Israel, — the original records, there
fore, of the exact phraseology of the covenant.
So, too, they might become a witness fur Jeho

vah against Israel. — Why is the lid called r^23?
Certainly not simply because it covers the ark.
But when Keil (p. 168) denies that the religious
significance of the term originated with that of
covering, on the ground that this older meaning
cannot b* substantiated, the literal sense of
133 in Gen. vi. 14 is against him ; and when in 1
Chron. xxviii. 11 the Holy of holies is called
ri133n JV3, that may indeed not mean "lid-
house," but it does not therefore for that reason
mean house of expiation, but house of the kappor-
elh of the lid of expiation. The transition, too,
from the first meaning to the second is very natu
ral. The covering up of the demands of t-pecific
law formulated in commandments, and the cover
ing up of guilt itself are reciprocal notions. The
verb 133, when relating to guilt, is construed with

theAecus.,Ps.lxxviii. 38; also with SjJ, Jer. xviii.
23. The word in relation to persons is construed
with S, with S#, and with IJ^B, all in the general
sense of "for." From the last preposition ["in
behalf of"] it clearly follows that the senseless
explanation which makes 133 denote a covering
(concealing) of the sinful person himself from the
eyes of Jehovah, an explanation which aims to
invalidate the doctrine of the atonement, is en
tirely untenable. The transaction indicated by
133 is performed by the priest both on the part
of man and on the part of Jehovah. — Examples
of the full construction, Lev. v. 18; iv. 26. — On
the 'O.aGTfjfitav see Commentary on Rom. iii. — Tne
symbol of the cherubim was gradually developed
out of the passage Gen. iii. 24; vid. Comm on

Genesis, p. 241. Here there are as yet only two
forms, as also in 2 Chron. iii. 13 ; the full develop
ment is found in the symbol of Ezek el, cli. i.
From Ezekiel we might be led to conjecture that
the first two forms were the face of a man and
that of a lion; but it is of chief importance 10
maintain that the central thought is not th*t of
representative forms of animal life, but only of
representative mundane forms symbolizing the
divine sovereignty as protecting the ark of
the covenant; they are forms which come forth
out of the substance of the mercy-seat. On these
forms see Keil, p. 168, the lexicons, and works
on archaeology. On the staves see Knobel, who
without reason denies that by "testimony" the
two tables are meant. These, he says, were al
ready prepared; but the context disproves this.
That the images of the cherubim are to be cou-
Cvived as hollow, does not agree with the repre
sentation that they are of beaten work, of one
piece with the mercy-seat. — Finally, the tent
under the designation 1^10 'D^> " tent °f meef-
ing," means somewhat more than that Jehovah
therein has a fixed place of meeting with Moses
and Israel, just as ruij;n "|3^D cannot mean ta
bernacle of attestation, i. e., God's place of reve
lation, but tabernacle of the testimony ; for Jeho
vah's revelation was not confined to this place
in Israel.

2. The Table. Vers. 23-30.
The symbol of communion between Jehovah
and His people. See Revelation of J«.hn. On
the two crowns (rims) of the table see Keil. The
vessels belonging to the table were plates for the
shew-bread, bowls for the incense (Lev. xxiv. 7),
pitchers to hold the wine, and goblets for the
drink-offering. — The "bread of the face," or
shew-bread, is, according to Keil, "symbol of
the spiritual food which Israel was to produce,"
referring to John vi. 27, and doubtless also to
Hengstenbei g. But what spiritual fond was Is
rael, according to John vi 27, to produce? A
food which the Son of God would give them, the
bread which came from heaven. We must also
avoid confounding, with Keil, the shew-bread
with the bloodless offerings, vid. Lev. ii. The
shew-bread wa« one of the permanent in-timtions
of the temple, not one of the special offerings of
the people. "The table," says Knobel, "siood
in the holy place on the north side (xxvi. 35),
while the candlestick belonged on the i-cuth side
(ver. 35), and the altar of incense in the mid
dle (xxx. 6)." Archaeological observations vid.
in his Comm, p. 266, especially on the dishes.
On the use to which the pitchers and the goblets
or bowls were put, Keil HTM! Knobel come to op
posite conclusions, the latter with grammatical
proofs.*

3. The Golden Candlestick. Vers. 31-40.
First is to be considered the form of the golden
* [Their conclusions are different only as regards the jllt^D
and JVpJO, Keil making the first mean the bowls from

whi"h the wine was poured out as a drntk-offering; the se
cond, the pit'hers in which the wine stood on the table.
Knobel revers a this lelatiou, arguing that JYpJO is derived

from npj, to pour out. With him agree Gesenius and
Furs*.— TK.].

116

EXODUS.

candlestick ; next, its use ; finally, its signifi
cance. The candlestick has been often described
and pictured (vid. Thenius, Backer der Konige,
Tab. Ill , 11). Comp. Winer, Reallexicon; Zel-
ler's Worterbuch, and the Commentaries. [More
especially, Reland, de Spoliis templi Hierosolymi-
tani in arcu Titiano, TR.]. On tne base, which
mast necessarily have had feet, stood the can
dlestick, first as a single thing. It extended
upwards in the form of a middle shaft, which
had on each side three shafts in one plane, bend
ing around in the form of quarter-circles, — a
unit, therefore, branching out into the sacred
number, seven.

The general form is easily pictured: a base; a
perpendicular central shaft, the trunk, as it were,
of the luminous tree; and proceeding out of it at
regular distances three branches on either side.
The description is made obscure or difficult by
the ornaments. The principal feature of the
ornamentation is the almond-shaped cup; it is
divided into the knob, or apple, and the flower.
The main shaft has four such cups; out of the
lowest proceeds the shaft itself, as well as the
first pair of branches. Out of the second pro
ceeds the second pair of branches; out of the
third, the third ; its fourth cup is its top. The
six branches, or side shafts, have each three
cups. The one forms the top; i he second may
have been in the middle of the curve of the
branch ; the third seems to have lain against
one of the three divisions, or cups, of the main
shaft. The seven cups which form the top stand
in a horizontal line; the lamps are set up into
their flowers. But the explanations of the diffi
cult passage are various.*

But the main shaft is distinguished by having
four cups. So the one unit, branches into the
three, the three into the seven, and the seven
into the twenty-two. " The golden candlestick
was placed on the south side in the holy place
of the tabernacle. For the south is the direction
from which the light comes, and is therefore
called also D1"n. The seven lamps of the candle
stick were set up every evening at the time of
the evi-ning incense offering, and were kept burn
ing until morning" (Knobel). They lighted the
whole s;mc!uary, but cast their light especially

* [According to some («. gr., Philippson) the line connect
ing the seven lamps formed a curve, not a s' might line It
wo, ild seem probable that the <rnament«l fl mers were not
crowded together on the central shaft, as Lang* conceives
but p .t at equ .1 ntervals from one another. It ia also pro
bable that there w. re three fl ,wers on ea«-h branch b-twten
the main shaft and the lamp, and that the fourth flower of
the main shaft was between its lamp and the upper branch.
— IR.J.

northwards towards the altar of incense and the
table of shew-bread ; for the life of prayer and
the communion of salvation are conditioned on
the light of revelation, enlightenment. Keil's
explanation of the candlestick is, in our opinion,
as mistaken as that of the table: " In the shining
lamps, as receivers, bearers of light, Israel is to
present itself continually to Jehovah as a people
that lets its light shine in the night of this world."
Did the nocturnal darkness of the sanctuary
symbolize " the night of this world ?" Israel is
indeed appointed to bear light, but the light
which it is to diffuse is the light of the revela
tion of Jehovah, and the bearers of the light are
primarily the select ones, the prophets of God.
Keil himself urges that the oil is a symbol of
God's Spirit, as also the olive-tree described in
Zech. iv., and the seven candlesticks in Rev. i.
-0. The significance of the sacred numbers, as
well as that of the pure gold, is obvious. On
the almond flowers, comp. Keil and Knobel. On
the appurtenances of the candlestick see Knobel.

4. The Tent, or the Dwelling itself. Chap. xxvi.

1-3J.
i. The Component Parts of the Tent as to Form.

a. The tent itself. (1) Ten curtains of byssus
each 28 cubits long, and 4 cubits wide. (2) Fifty
loops to each curtain, to connect together five
curtains. (3) Five times fifty golden clasps, to
connect the loops *

b. The covering of the tent. First covering, of
goats' hair: eleven curtains, each 30 cubits long,
and 4 cubits wide, divided into sets of 5 and 6.
For them 50 [or rather, 100] loops and 50 copper
clasps. One curtain is folded double on the front
side of the tent. The surplus cubits hang over on
the two sides. A similar excess hangs over on the
back end of the tent. — Second covering, rams'
skins dyed red. — Third covering, the outer one,
seal-skins.

c. The supports of the tent. The boards of
acacia wood. Each board 10 cubits long, 1£
cubits wide. Two tenons in each board. Twenty
boards on the south side resting on forty silver
sockets (feet). — Twenty boards on the north side
with the same number of sockets. Six boards
for the rear. Two boards for the corners of the
rear. In addition, the bars (cross-bars or con
necting bars), 5 for each side, the middle one
passing the whole length of the framework. The
bars and boards gilt. Also the rings for the
bars.f

* [This is incorrect. Fifty loops to each curtain would
make five hundred loops, whereas there were only one I u*,-
dred. For these loops were not to connect the five curtains
to one another, as Lanare says, but to connect the one curtain
made up of five (coupled together we are not told how) witii
the curtain made up of t e other five. Accordingly, also,
there wera only fift. clasps, not two hundred and fifty. — TR.]

f [Lnnjre say." nothing about the shape of the tabarnacle, or
about ihe manner in which the cur'ains are arranged. It is
a vexed question. The following are the principal views : (1)
It, being clear and undisputed that the board framework was
3d cubits long, 10 I road, and 10 nigh, one theory is that the
ten curtains, cal'ed "tl.e tabernacle" in xxvi. 1, were eo
joine'i toge her si<ie to s:de >•$ to form two curtains of eqir-tl
size, each 2S cubits long, and 20 cubits broad; that these two
were looped -ogether (vcr. 5), and the wiiole was spread h'.ii-
zontally over the top- of 'he boards, thus hanging down 9
cubits on each side, i. e., within one cub't of the ground, since
the two sides (each 10 cubits) and the width (10 < ubits) to
gether are equal to 30 cubits. The breadth of both curtaiua

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18.

117

ii. The Component Parts as to material. Bys-
sus, linen, goats' -hair, and the two kinds of skin.
A< acia wood, gold, silver, copper.

iii. The Colors. Especially significant. The
covering proper of the tent contains tiie four co
lors: white, purplish-blue, purplish-red, crimson.

being 40 cubits, and the lenath of the woolen structure only
30, and the entrance (nccording to vers. 9 and 36) being pro
vided with a special curtain, it follows that 10 cubits must
have hung down on the west (back) end, and so tue curtain
just reached the ground. (2) Another view (brought iuto
favor by Bahr) differs from th.siu that the lower (linen) cur
tains rre conceived a* hanging down inside, not outs de, < f
the boards. (3) Saalschutz supposes that the curtains formed
a roofed t«.nt above the boards, the bottom of the uuder-cur-
tain just touching the top of the boards. This roof would
r «ch about 13 cubits above the top of the board*, the ridge
having an angle of about 40°. Paine's theory is somewhat
simila-, but in its details is so fantastical and arbitrary as
hardly to merit a full statement. (4) Fergusson (in Smith's
Siibl'. Dictionary, Art. Temple) also holds that there was a
rin"ge above the boards and half-way between them, so that
the goats'-hair curtain formed a tent proper (as it is called in
xxvi. 7, where A. V. mistranslates, "covering"). But his
view diffets from that of Saalscblitz, in that he makes the
anacle at the ridg« a right angle (the more natural angle for
a roof), so tnat the two sides of the roof projected beyond the
boards, the lower point being 5 cubits above the ground and
5 cubits horizontally from the boards. He also assumes that
the roof extended 5 cubits beyond the boa?ds in the front
and in the rear, so that the extra 10 cubits did not hang down
at all over the west end. The accompanying diagram exhibits
a section of the tabernacle according to Ferguson's theory.
The apparent absence of all allusion to a ridge-pole Fergusson
would supply by explaining "the middle bar" of ver. 28 as

r s. \

5 CUBITS

10 CUBITS

3
O

referring not to a bar like the otn> rs at Hie side, but to ihe
ridge-pole. He supposes also (though no exp e*s mention is
made of it) that ttie sides of ihe verandah and the w stern
end were enclosed with curtains, and that the ridge-pole must
have been supported at the middle by a pillar. — The p inci-
j>al reasons urged by Mr. Fergusson for this theory are th«
following: (1) According to the common view only about one-
third of the inner or ornamental curtain would have been visi
ble. Biihr's theory obviates this oitficult^, but creates ano
ther, viz., by making out that the gdded boards were almost
entirely covered up. If so, why so expensively constructed?
(2) The curtain spread flat over the boards would have
been no protection against the rain. The skins above the
<loth and hair curtains would, when wet, only have depressed
the centre and torn the curtains under them. (3) The com
mon view contradicts the description in xxvi. 9, 12, 13, ac
cording to which on<y two cubits of the goats'-hair curtain
hung over at the we»t end, and onl- one cubit at ea. h side;

s hung down
ment mav be

whereas th« other theory assunv s that 10 cub
on every side but the front. — The latter arm

met by th« supposition that the Biblical state ients referred

to only assert tha' the goats'-hair curtain 1
tabernacle, i. e,., the linen cu'tain, half a culi

ing over the
t at the weit,

end, and ->ne < ubit at eich side. — The second reason is un
doubtedly the strongest one. The tabernacle, according to
the traditional view, is an ungainly stiucture, ill protected
again-t rain or snow, and unlike either house or tent; while
yet a pail of it is distinctly called a tent.— Mr. Atwater points
out the mo^t ohviou* objection to Mr. Fergusson's theory, viz.,
that, according to xxvi. 33, the veil of the Holy of holies was
hung under the clasps that connect the two parts of the co
vering. Tlies • must have been 20 cubits from the front of the
building, and 10 cuMts trom the tear, according to th« tra
ditional view, entirely in accordance with the supposed posi-

iv. The Work of the Curtains. The work of
skilful weavers, i. e., with figures interwoven, viz.,
with figures of cherubim.

v. The different kinds of woven work.

5. The Veil. Vers. 31-37.

The division between the holy place and the
Holy of holies. According to modern notions there
is no difference between the wide, savage world
and the court, no difference between the court
and the holy place, none, in fine, between the
holy place and the most holy. The Biblical no
tions are infinitely purer and finer. Even be
tween the holy place and the most holy hangs a
thick curtain, as between the Old and New Tes
tament. The passage from the holy place into
the Holy of holies has been made free to His
people by Christ.

As the heaven of heavens is to be conceived as
a high heaven consisting of individual heavens,
the age (xon) of ages (aeons) as an age which
consists of individual agrs, the Sabhath of
Sabbaths as one whose several week days
are seven Sabbaths; so the Holy of holies is a

sanctuary of sanctuaries, D^lp EHD, and so,
most holy. Especially is it to be observed that the
three principal features of the holy place, viz.,
the table of shew-bread, the candlestick, and the
altar of incense, here coalesce into one.

As there were three altars, so three curtains.
The first screened the court; the second, the
holy place; tbe third, the Holy of holies. The
latter was the principal one. Keil and Knobel
give details about the construction and arrange
ment of the curtain, as also about the Arab tents
and Egyptian temples.*

tion of the veil, the Holy of holies being in the form of a
cube, 10 cubits in every direction, while tbe holy place was
20 cubits long. Hut Ferr,usson's theory would bring the
clasps 15 cubits from each" end, though lie distinctly adapts
the view that the veil was 10 cubits from the western end.

I'his difficulty seems entirely to have escaped his attention.
Mr. Atwater calls it " fatal," and deems it useless to consider

he theory any further, remarking that "nothing is more
certain in regard to the tabernacle, than that the two apart
ments into which it was divided by this partition-veil were
of unequal size, the eastern being thirty feet long and fifteen
wide, and the wt stern an exact cube of fifteen feet in dimen
sion." It might be asked, however, how is it ma >e so cer
tain that the two apaitments were of the size specified?
The Bible nowhere gives the slightest information respecting
this matter, excepting the statement of xxvi. 33 above cited.
Where the clasps were, depends on what disposition was
made of the curtains; and it we choose to adopt Mr. Ferjus-
son's theory respecting them, it would follow that the build
ing was equally divided ; and where is the proof that it was
not? Only Joseph us's assertion, and the corresponding
apartments of folomon's temple, in which the Holy of holies
was h .If the size of the other part of the sanctuary. It must
be admitted that these two items of evidence are very weighty;
but they by no means prove the theory so incontestably as
to make it unwarrantable to hold a different one. At all
events, if any stress had been meant to be laid upon the
dimensions of the Holy of holies, it is -ingular that th y were
not plain'y given, instead of beine: left to be inferred from
the very indefinite directions concerning the position of the
i attains.— TR.].

* f" The temples of the ancient Egyptians were constructed
HS follows : First, u square in front 100 or less feet, wide and
three or four times as loner: then porticoes (irponvXaia), in-
d' finite in number; next tlie i/eu>s itself with a irp6vao<;, and
finally the trij/co? with a sacred animal as the object of wor
ship (Strabo, 17, p. 805). The Egyptian temples still pie-
served confirm in general this description. A larg-e gateway
lea'ls into the court, sur-ounded with pillars: then follows a
' portico, and oft> n a second one ; then two or three halls, in
the last of which the r acred animal or the idol-image stood.'
Heeren, Idem, II. 2, p. 173;." Knobel, Comm., p 275.— TB.].

118

EXODUS.

6. The Altar of Burnt-offering. Chap, xxvii. 1-8.

The fact that the altar of burnt -offering was
separated not only from the Holy of holies, but
also from the holy place, and stood in the court,
serves to express this religious idea: that faith
begins with the first approach to God, with obe
dience to His law and surrender to His judg
ment ; but that it does not for that reason entitle
one to an entrance into the inferior communion
with God in the sanctuary, still less to a com
plete union with God in the Holy of holies; al
though it has this as its aim, and is a prepara
tion for it, and also through religious fellowship
with the high -priest gives to him who makes the
offering a conditional participation in the bless
ing of the Holy of holies, and gives him a hope
of future entrance into the Holy of holies itself.
This distance between the holy place and the
Holy of holies is also represented by the grada
tions in the value of the metallic ornamentations.
The altar of burnt offering was overlaid with
copper: the seven-branched candlestick in the
holy place consisted of fine or hollow vessels; the
table of shew-bread was gilt; the ark of the co
venant was gilt inside and outside, while its lid
and tb.3 cherubim on it, as also the rim of the
ark, were of solid gold. A similar relation exists
between the curtains The veil of the Holy of
holies was the work of a skilled weaver, adorned
with figures of cherubim in which the reflection
of the cherubim in the Holy of holies appears.
The second curtain, which screened the holy
place, was simply woven in variegated colors,
striped, or perhaps checkered; so also the screen
at the entrance of the court. Significant special
features in the altar of burnt offering are particu
larly its horns, the points of the corners, the
permanent power of the altar, so to speak, in
contrast with the fire which now appears and
now disappears; "hence," as Keil says, "the
blood of the sin-offering was put upon them (Lev
iv. 7). and also those who sought the protection
of their lives at the altar seized hold of them (vid.
xxi. 14)." Among the vessels bowls appear again,
but here to be used for sprinkling the blood.
Special mention, moreover, is made of the grating

of the altar under the ledge or rim (32H3), and
of this ledge itself. "Upon the karkob, the ledge
or rim, the priest stepped when an offering was
made, or when he wished to add more wood, or
do anything else on the altar" (Keil). Knobel
has a different view, holding [that the rim was
only an ornatient, that such a ledge to step on
would have disfigured the altar, and moreover]
that the altar was so high that it could not have
been served without steps; which is contrary to
xx. 26. Keil, on the contrary, supposes that the
earth was s'ightly heaped up, so that tin* priest
could step from it to the ledge. Neither does
the height of the altar in Solomon's temple (2
tjhron. iv. 1) exclude the assumption of such a
gradual ascent. The grating was an enclosure
to protect the altar; the rings by which the altar
was carried were also fastened to it. The altar
itself was a wooden structure consisting of four
plane sides overlaid with copper, forming a hol
low square, which was probably filled with earth, |

gravel, or stones (vid. xx. 24). The place for the
fire had to be adequately separated from the
wooden border.

7. The Court. Vers. 9-19.
The hangings which enclosed the court were
not wrought in the four sacred colors, like the
covering of the tabernacle itself, but, were simply
white. Moreover, they formed no roof, as that
did, but only a boundary, an enclosure. The pil
lars here, moreover, have copper sockets, not
silver ones ; only the hooks of the pillars and the
rods connecting them were of silver, the latter
perhaps only overlaid with silver, as the pillars
at the entrance of the tabernacle were gilt. It
is to be further observed, that the court properly
unites the notions of a porch and of a quadran
gular wall of enclosure, since it passed around
the tabernacle from east to west.

III. THE PERSONS AND THINGS OCCUPYING THE
BUILDING THE RITUAL WORSHIP. CHAPS.

xxvii. 20-xxx. 38.

In speaking now exclusively of the features
of the ritual worship, it is to be observed that we
must distinguish the general worship of the house
of God from the specific, Levitical worship,
the sacrificial ritual described in Laviticus.

1. The Oil for the Light. The Lamps. Chap.

xxvii. 20, 21.

The first condition of life, in the house of the
Lord as well as elsewhere, is light; and the pre
requisite of that is oil. Light is the spirit in
action, symbolized by oil, which is a symbol of
the spiritual life itself. The first business of the
priest was to be to prepare and produce light —
even in the Old Testament. How is it in this
respect with the sacrificial priesthood of the pre
sent time? The text says that this is to be a
perpetual statute. On the oil vid Knobel.*

2. The Sacerdotal Vocation. The Priest— his Assist

ants and Apparel. Chap, xxviii.

The consecration of the priests is not treated
of here, as Knobel thinks, but the priestly call
ing and its symbolic representation by means of
the clothing; the consecration is not distinctly
spoken of till the next chapter.

First, then, the vocation of the Priest, vers. 1-5.
That Aaron is to be the priest (i. e.y high priest),
is presupposed; or, rather, it is Jehovah s com
mandment which is fulfilled by his coming be
fore Moses, the prophet of God. The prophetic
order is therefore perpetually the medium through
which, and the condition on which, the priestly
order officiates. But the priest is essentially
only one — a truth which in the N. T. is fulfilled
in the high-priesthood of Christ. His sons there
fore must approach with him, as being; his de
scendants and legal successors, and as being his

* "The oil which the children of Israel wore to bring to
Moses was to be oil of the olive tree, Tjl, pure, i. e,, made of

oln es which, before being crushed, were cleansed from leaves,
twigs, dust, dc.; and JVP3, beaten, i. e.. obtained from cri^hed

• T

olives. The olivpg, when plucked, were beaten and crushed,
and put into a basket; tt.erice the oil was allowed to run out
of itself. Tins was the finest of all kinds; what was .-«ecured

re so the longer

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18.

119

actua' assistants. So they are first publicly pre
sented to the congregation, and the latter take
part in their appointment by furnishing men of
sacred skill able to prepare the sacred garments
which are to portray the symbolic phenomenon
of the sacerdotal vocation, and by furnishing the
materials for them (all of which is shadowed
forth in Christianity, but not in the least in the
"infallible" Pope). The main particulars are
given in a significant order. As in the house
of Jehovah the chief thing is the ark, so in the
service of Jehovah is the breast plate of the high-
priest, with which, however, the shoulder-piece
or ephod is immediately connected; for the
priest is not only as a sympathizing intercessor
to bear his people on his heart, but also, as a
fellow-sufferer and laborer, on his shouldeis.
The shoulder-piece and the breast-plate form sub
stantially one whole, whose most important part
is the breast-plate; just as the mercy-seat is
connected witQ the ark of the law, and yet forms
in itself the principal thing in the Holy of holies,
being, so to speak, the New Testament in the
Old. So also in the breast-plate the eternal in
tercession of the eternal High Priest is adum
brated. Then follow the robe, the coat, the tur
ban, and the girdle.

Next, therefore, is described the. shoulder-piece
or ephod, this being designed to underlie the
breast-plate, vers. 6-14. From the whole cast
of the precept it is evident that the culminating
feature was its serving to bear the breast-plate.
The material of the shoulder-piece is of as costly
work, in all the four colors of the covenant, as
the veil of the Holy of holies, "except that in
stead of the figures of cherubim woven into the
veil, this is to be artistically inwrought with
gold, i. e., goldthreads" (Keil). According to
Knobel, the ephod consisted of one piece, which
had holes slit in it for the arms. But this leaves
us no clear conception of it, for in this case there
mu^t have been another slit for the head too;
and moreover in that case the symbolic reference
to the two shoulders would be lost. According
to Keil's representation, the two shoulder-pieces
seem to be too much separated; but they are not
"connecting" so much as connected. The Rab
binical conception which h^ accepts seems quite
untenable. It seems almost necessary to suppose
that there was a connection not only on the front
side, but also on the back ; for only on this con
dition could the girdle, of like material and co

lor, fasten the ephod.* The girdle itself also is
of one piece with the ephod; for firmness and
collectedness are necessary in order to bear the
burden of the people on the shoulders. That
, this was to be done by the high-priest, is ex
pressed by the onyx (slivham} stones which were
i fastened on the right and left shoulder pieces
! and had engraved on them the names ot the sons
' of Israel in the order of age — a foreshadowing of
I the names on the breast-plate, as the cherubim in
the veil foreshadow the cherubim in ihe Holy
of holies itself, and the altar of burnt-offering
(used also for sin and trespass-offe. ings, and for
the great sin-offering) foreshadows the propi
tiatory lid or mercy seat. Finally in the ephod
are to be considered the gol >en settings or rings,
with their golden chains, by means of which the
breast-plate is to be fastened to the ephod.

Now follows the most important article — the
breast-plate — vers. 15-30: the breast-plate of ju
dicial sentence. By this phrase would we repre
sent the meaning of ftSi^lp, because it comprises
both factors, light and right [Urim and Thum-
mim], the sentence of salvation or of righteous
ness, and the sentence of judgment. The source
and combination of both elements is found in the
sympathy of the high-priest with I he people of
God. The material of the bivast -plate is like
that of the shoulder-pieces. Its form is square ;
for ihe people of God signify symbolically God's
perfect world; they are eventually to dwell in the
Holy of holies (Rev. xxi. 24). The doubling of
it, aside from any other reference (e.g., to make it
a pocket for the stones used in draw.ny; lots), may
have this meaning: that the inner fo d represents
the divine justice ; the outer one »he people. The
people are laid upon the heart of the high-priest,
with the twelve precious stones set in four tows:
four, the mundane number [the four points of
the compass], multiplied by three, the number
of the spirit [intellect, feelings, will], thus point
ing to the world as made complete in and by the
people of God. The twelve precious stones de
note the variety, manifoldness, and totality of the
natural and gracious gifts bestowed on the
people of God, and united in the one spirit
of heavenly preciousness. This wonderful idea
goes from the twelve sons of Jacob through
the whole Bible, and at last, proceeding from the
number of the twelve apostles, attains its com
plete expression in the Apocalyps •, vid. Comm.
on Revelation, p. 385. The rows are as follows;

SARDIUS.
(Flesh Color.)

TOPAZ.

(Golden-Yellow.)

EMERALD.

(Brilliant Green.)

CARBUNCLE.

(Red.)

SAPPHIRE.

(Sky-Blue)

DIAMOND.

(Transparent or Reddish-Yellow.)

LIGURE (HYACINTH?)
(Pale— Variegated.)

AGATE.

(Glistening — Variegated.)

AMETHYST.

(Mostly Violet.)

BERYL (CHRYSOLITE.)

(Yellow-Green.)

ONYX (BERYL.)
(Greenish.)

JASPER.
(Dull-Red—Cloudy.)

* [The meaning of this apparently is that the shou'der-piecest were joined not merely to the two parts of tbe ephod,
but also to one another, both in front or, and behind, the neck, so that the girdle pass ng aroun-1 at the bottom of the
ephort would close it tosieiher thoroughly, not leaving the npp r parts loose, as they would be if they were only connected
by two disconnected pieces passing over the bhoulders.— TR.]

120

EXODUS.

For archaeological and oth-r details, see Kno-
bei, p. 283, and my Vermischte Schrifien, I. p. 18.

The fastening of the breast-plaie to the ephod
was an important task ; no part was to be injured
in the process. The description is hard to un
derstand. We find a clue by the use of two sug
gestions. First, by determining that two golden
chains hang down from the ephod towards the
breast-pla'e. Secondly, by determining that the
breast-plate must be loose at the top, as a pocket,
for which reason also only two corners, viz., those
at the bottom, are spoken of. On these corners
two golden rings are fixed, into which the golden
chains of the ephod are inserted, they themselves
passing down by the breast plate and then return
ing into the connecting hooks of the ephod. Thus
the breast-plate is held secure from falling, but
may still become displaced. Hence two more
golden rings have to be put upon the corners of
the edge of the pocket, towards the inner part,
i.e., on the inside part of the pocket, in order
that the pocket itself may be left open. These
rings correspond 10 two golden rings on the
ephod which are fixed upon the breast side of it
above where the two parts are joined together.
These corresponding rings are tied fast together
with a purplish-blue cord. So much importance
and particularity belong to the business of fast
ening the breast-plate to the high-priest's breast ;
and this fact has doubtless its significance. Kno-
bel has a different conception.* The ordinance
that Aaron must appear with the breast-plate
before Jehovah ( ver. 29) is designed to be a sym
bolical reference to the high-priestly interces
sion ; and so the opposite of this is quite appro
priate, viz., the direction that he shall proclaim
light and right to the people in the name of Je
hovah, with royal authority, as it were, after he
has consecrated this commission in Jehovah's
presence, ver. 30. Vid. Num. xxvii. 21 ; Deut.
xxxiii. 8. Cotnp. Comm. on John, xi. 51. On
the various explanations of D"1"^ and D'QjH [Urim
and Thummim] see the Dictionaries an'd Com
mentaries. Liuher's translation, "Licht und
Recht" ["light and right (justice)"] is much
better than that of the LXX., M/toaic *at aty-
tfe/a, or that of the Vulg., doctrina et veritas.
We translate: "Lights and decision," connect
ing Dh with the meaning "to be finished," "to
be at an end," which DOJT) has in Kal ; and "to
finish," "to terminate," in Hiphil. So also
Symmachus and Theodotion translate (^una/wi
KOL Tefoi6ae/£. As to the question what the ob
ject of them was, as stated in Num. xxvii. 21, the
Urim and Thummim mark a kind of permanent
judgment-hall where prophetico-royal decisions
were rendered. There were not always prophets
in Israel, and also not always kings; but the
priest was always to be found, and so also the

* [Knobel's d.-scuption is as follows : Th • two chains which
pass down from the shonld^r-pieres of the ophod (vera 13 ->5)
are connected with two rirms ;it the upper corners of the
breast-plat-. Then t*o more riu*8 »t the lower corners of
the same are connected by means of two more chains to two
rings 'nuditrueath, on the for<- part" of the ephod (ver 27)
i.e., lower down than the shoulder-pieces, but "close bv the
coupl ng." i.e., at the place where the shoulder-piects »re
Conner ted with the upper part of the ephod. Thus the lower

part of Jhl epht-T^]8 J°iB6d ^ thC ChuiM l° tLe UW>er

living God, who was the King of Israel, and after
whose will Israel was always to inquire. Hence
it was the high-priest's duty, when the prophetic
voice was wanting, always to give answer when
the people asked what was to be done. Herein
(he priest was the vicar of the prophet, as in
other cases the reverse happened. But because
the priest was a hereditary one, he was as such
neither prophet nor king, and could therefore
jiive answer only through a special medium, the
oracle of the Urim nnd Thummim. In many
cases the answer of Jehovah was at once light
and right; in favorable cases, when the inquirers
were pious, as is assumed in the case mentioned
in Num. xxvii. 21, it was Urim ; also in the worst
case, such as is implied in John xi. 51, the de
cision, necessary in all cases, took the form of
Thummim in bringing on judgment. It was re
garded as a condition of peculiar distress when
there was at hand neither a prophet, nor a king,
nor the priest with Urim and Thummim. (Ezra
ii. 63; Neb. vii 65), or when the oracle Urim
gave no answer — a circumstance which might
grow out of the institution itself (1 Sam. xiv. 37),
or out of a variance between the high-priest and
the inquirer. As to the question what the Urim
and Thummim were, they could not have consisted
in the stones of the breast-plate themselves,
which, as Josephus and Saalschiitz suppose, in
spired the high-priest as he looked down upon
them ; still less in two small oracular images, te-
raphim, which, as Philo probably or perhaps con
ceives, were inserted in the orifice of the breast
plate. The Urim and Thummim must certainly
have been an object distinct from the breast plate
itself, and something which Moses was to put into
it. The Rabbins conceived that in the inside of
the breast-plate was the sacred tetragrammaton
(Jehovah), and that this illuminated the names
on the breast-plate; the Cabbalists assumed, in
stead of this, two similarly efficacious names of
God. Ziillig understands the object to have been
two diamond dice to be used in drawing lots
(Apokalypse, I. p. 408). So much is established,
that the phrase "to ask of Jehovah " may be ex
plained both by the phrase "ask of the Urim and
Thummim," and by the notion of decision by
lot, (1 Sam. x. 20 ; xiv. 36). It is noticeable that
in 1 Sam. xxviii. 6 the lot is not mentioned in
connection with Urim. Comp. on the lot Winer,
Rcalworterbuch, It. p. 31. On the derivation of
the Urim and Thummim from an Egyptian judi
cial symbol, vid. Winer, II. p. 644 [and Smith's
Bible Dictionary, Art. Urim and Thummim']. Re
ference can only be assumed to something ana
logous in the Egyptian institution. The main
point is that the resolute spirit of the Holy Scrip
tures regarded hesitation as the evil of evils —
. g., in the life of Saul and of Judas. Hence the
lot, hence the need of decision. In accordance
with his coarse anthropopathic conceptions, Kno-
bel holds that the precious stones were in the
proper sense to remind Jehovah of Israel, p. 287.
The directions concerning the Urim and Thum
mim seem to have been intentionally made very
brief and kept mysterious. Vid. more in
Knobel.

The outer robe, ver. 31. Luther's translation
s here very arbitrary, but was probably occa
sioned by the desire to leave the breast-plate

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18.

121

uncovered : " Thou sbalt also make the silk robe
under the coat all of yellow silk." For if a
Vjfp, a covering (uot to be absolutely confounded
with the ordinary Lf^), was made for ihe ephod,
such an over-garment must necessarily have co
vered the breast-plate also, if it. was a long robe
closely titling (acoordiug to Keil), reaching to
the knees, and, according to the Alexandrians,
even reaching, as Tro6r/pr/e, to the feet. Against
both assumptions is not only the fact that in that
case the breast-plate would have been covered,
but also the manner in which the robe was put
on, viz., over the head, by means of an opening
(as in the case of a coat of mail) — which also
implies the absence of sleeves. Besides, there
would then come two girdles at nearly the same
place, since the coat bad its own girdle, vid. ver.
39. The representation in Lev. viii. 7 seems, it
is true, somewhat inexact.* The significance
of this hyacinth-colored, dark-blue, purple orna
ment may be sought in this, that the burden of
the high-priest symbolized by the ephod was not
to be made a spectacle to the world, but was to
be hidden by a symbol of the royal splendor of his
vocation. Two questions are raised by this con
ception of the covering for the ephod. First:
If the robe was so short, what was the case with
the rest of the garments? This is answered by
ver. 39 and the parallel description, xxxix. 27.
They made the coats (^Jj"13ri) of white byssus.
Secondly: How could the bells ring, if they lay
so h>gh up that even the breast-plate was to be
exposed? This question is solved if we take

\*i*M ["its skirts"] in its original sense, i.e.,
not as its hem, but its train, and assume that the
robe was so cut that it left the breast-plate free,
while it flowed out sidewise in trains.

On the various interpretations of the bells and
pomegranates, vid. Keil.j- According to Keil or
Bahr, the pomegranates are symbols of the word
and testimony of God : the bells, with their ring-

* [Lange's notion of the robi seems to he rather peculiar,
viz., that it was a very short garment, covi-ring the fh Milder-
pieces of the ephod, bir- leaving the br ast-plite exposed un
der it. H~) se -inn to assume that the ephod and breast-plate
were to he put on before the robe, though for what reason it
is diflicu t to imagine. The reason cannot be found in cho
circumstance that the robe is (It-scribed after the ephod and
breast-plate; tor the coat is described still later, and the
liiie?i b eeches last of all. Uesides, we have in Lev. viii. 7 a
clear ndication of th*> order in which these articles were put
on. .Tosephus (Ant. III. 7, 4) s-.ys that the robe, though
without sleeves, had a»m-'-oles, and this sufficiently harmo
nizes nil the apparent difficulties. — TR.~|

f [Keil rejects the view pr ipounded by the son of Sirach
(xlv. 9, " that us he went th«re might be a sound, and a nois*-
made thnt might be heard in the temple, for a memorial to
the children of the people"), on the ground tbnt the last
clause of the verse is evidently borrowed from Ex. xxviii.
12, where the stones of the eph >d are spoken of, a 'id also on
the ground that the clause " that he die nor, " is not explained
by t"is hypothesis; for the assumption >s "hat the high-
pri-st's life would be endangered if h« went into th- Hoi- of
holies without being accompanied by the prayers of Ins peo
ple — which would mak» his life depend on their capri-e, ir-
T'-sp-ctiveof his own character. He also rejects as trivial the
notion that th« ringing of the IHls was imendnd to t.« equi
valent to rapping at the i>O'>r, so as nor to enter into the pre
sence of Jehovah unannounced, as well as Kn Abel's notion
tlw. the sound was to stmd for a revemn'ial greeting and a
musical ascription of praise. Keil holds that the re«aon
for Aaron's nor, dying lies "in the significance that belongs
to the rm&ring of the bells or the garment of Aar >n, with
the>r aupendages of artificial pomegranates and ringing
bells." — Ta.j

ing, symbols of the sound of this word. But in
this case Moses the prophet would have abdi
cated his functions to Aaron the priest. The sym
bolic meaning of the pomegranate is very hard to
fix (vid. Friedrich, Symbolik und Mythoiogie der
Natur); perhaps the most natural assumption is
that in the alternation of pomegranates and bells
is to be discerned the connection of nature, as
represented in its abundance and beauty by the
pomegranate, wi'h the theocracy as designed to
manifest itself in the sacrificial vocation of the
high-priest through holy time, and through the
awakening voice of the thunder, the trumpet, and
the bells. The gifts of nature and of grace are
the offerings which the high-priest brings to Je
hovah over his shoulders.

The clause, " that he die not," can hardly
mean that sudden death would follow the neglect
of the precept, but that this would be an official
misdemeanor worthy of death, an offence con
sisting chiefly in contempt ot Jehovah and of the
customs of the sanctuary, but also particularly in
the fact that the connection between Jehovah
and the congregation is not only effected in
general by means of these bells, but is also
enlivened by the sacred moment [the advent
of which they announce]. From the farthest
distance, as it were, the sound of the bells ia
heard, indicating holy time (as the organ indi
cates the holy place), although the large bell is not
immediately derived from an enlargement of these
small ones.

The plate of gold for the forehead, ver. 36. A
plate of gold fastened to the turban by a dark-
blue purple string, with the inscription, '< Holi
ness (or holy) to Jehovah," and designated iu
xxxix. 30 as the holy crown. The meaning is
that Aaron is to bear the expiation (j'l£, i. e., ex
piation of the guilt) of the gifts of the sanctuary,
which the children of Israel shall hallow, etc.
That is, the high-priest has to effect the expia
tion of the expiations before Jehovah. The chil
dren of Israel also bring expiatory offerings of all
kinds before Jehovah; but guilt cleaves even to
their offerings; the high-priest, however, is
symbolically to accomplish the expiation of all
these guilt-stained expiations Thus, then, the
high-priest's plate of gold points to the chief
function which he was to discharge on the great
day of atonement, on which day, even on his en
trance into the Holy of holies, he had, if not ex
actly to supplement, yet to complete, the whole
abundance of the expiatory offerings of the chil
dren of Israel, to cleanse them from the stain
of guilt (the negative guilt of deficiency, and the
positive guilt of wrong-doifg) which cleaves
to them How rich in instruction this sym
bol is in its relation to the high-priesthood
and sacrifice of Christ! From the instituting
of this pla'e to the fulfilment of the prophecy in
Zech. xiv. 20 is a great distance. The general
fulfilment is announced in John xvii.: th« escha-
tological fulfilment is pictured in Revelation, ch.
xxi. Knobel, referring to ancient heathen cus
toms, resolves the thing itself wholly into sensu
ous conceptions, speaking of "external lapses
of the children of Israel in connection with their
offering of gifts — the conciliatory appearance of
the high-priest," and referring to a custom of
the ancients, in offering sacrifices to put garlands

122

EXODUS.

on themselves aud on the victims. But vid. the
quotation from Calvin in a note in Keil, II. p.
204 : ['' The iniquity of the yacred offerings was
to be borne and cleansed by the priest. It is a
frigid explanation to say that whatever error
crept into the ceremonies was remitted through
the prayers of the priest. For we must look
further back, and see that the iniquity of the of
ferings was obliterated by the priest for the rea
son that no offering, so far as it is man's is wholly
free from defect. It sounds harsh and almost
paradoxical to say that holy things themselves are
unclean, so as to need pardon ; but it is to be held
that there is absolutely nothing so pure but that
it contracts some stain from us. . . Nothing is more
excellent than the worship of God; and yet the
people could offer nothing, even when it was pre
scribed by law, without the intervention of pardon,
which they could obtain only through the priest."]

Aaron's coat, ver. 89. The tunic proper, with
which also his sons were clothed. It reached to
the ankles, and was also provided with sleeves,
It wa-< made of white byssus ; but Aaron's coat
was distinguished by being more artistically
wrought. The girdle of his coat was also of
variegated work. According to Josephus (Ant.
III. 7, 2) purple and crimson flowers were woven
into the linen girdles of the priests.

The clothing of the suns, ver. 40. Of Aaron's
assistants, or the ordinary priests. It consisted
in the coat of white byssus, the girdle, and the
cap. These articles are not included in the de
scription of Aaron's clothing, because there were
differences. The sons do not, receive the prerogi-
tives of the high-priest; and Aaron's head-gear
is the turban with the gold plate, while the sons
receive caps. ' • Hj/'jU? *s or^v use(i of the head
dress of the common priests, xxix. 9; xxxix. 28;
Lev. viii. 13. The word is related to JT3JI, gob
let, cup (xxv. 31), so that these head-tires
seem to have had a conical form. This was also
customary in reference to other sacerdotal per
sons of antiquity" (Knobel). The passage, 1
Sam. xxii. 18, seems to merge the whole family
of priests into one, as inheriting in that capacity
the high-priesthood, and therefore the ephod.
A different point of view would lead critics to
make a sharp distinction between the time of the
original giving of the law and the time of Samuel.

The investment, anointing, and consecration of
the pries's, ver. 41. This equipment is common
to all, but conferred wholly by Moses, not even
in part by Aaron after he himself has been
equipped. Nor does Aaron anoint even his sons,
but the prophet does it. That which was genea
logically transmitted from Aaron to his de
scendants must therefore be continually sup
plemented by the transmission of spiritual
life in the theocracy. The clothes denote
the dignity and burden of the office; the an
ointment is a symbol of the Spirit; the hands
filled are the signs of the sacrificial gifts furnished
by the congregation — of the emoluments which
they themselves first of all have to bring as an
offering to Jehovah. With this investment is
completed the potential sanctification or conse
cration ; the strict, actual consecration of the
priests is yet to follow.

The breeches and the object of them, vers. 42, 43.

This ordinance forms a transition to the actual
consecration of the priests. It is significant
that it follows the official investment. The offi
cial clothing in the narrow sense conferred dig
nity and ornament; these, on the other hand,
were only to avert dishonor and disgrace. The
reason for this covering, according to Baumgar-
ten, lay in the fact that "the sins of nature have
their principal seat in the ' flesh of nakedness !' "
According to Keil the physical members men
tioned, " which subserve the natural secretions,
fire pudendv, or objects of shame, because in these
secretions is made evident the mortality and cor
ruptibility of the body which through sin has
permeated human nature." Neither the first,
theosophic explanation, nor the latter, most pe
culiarly orthodox one, can be derived from
Gen. iii. The organs of the strongest impulses,
those which through sin have been morbidly
deranged, belong, even physiologically, to the
dark side of life, and are therefore to be kept
mysterious, like births themselves, in connec-
nection with which there can be no thought of
lust ; but in an ethical respect, affecting the whole
human race, they are not objects of a dispassion
ate aesthetic contemplation, but confusing to the
senses, for which reason also there is a difference
between naked children and naked adults: reli
giously considered, finally, they are indeed signs
of the moral nakedness of man, of his natural and
hereditary guilt. Furthermore, "religious reve
rence demands that, when they officially approach
the altar, they should cover still more the above-
mentioned parts, which, even in common life,
through natural bashfulness are carefully covered,
whereas for the rest of the body a single cover
ing suffices" (Knobel). But in a sense the altar
also becomes to the mind of the priest, accord
ing to chap, xxiii., a symbol of God as seeing.
This duty, too, is declared to be most holy for
ever, and so it obtains also a symbolic character,
signifying that everything sexual is to be avoided
in the service of thesanctuary. Itmarkstheoppo-
site extreme of the voluptuous rites of the heathen,
and of the commingling of sexual passion with the
religious fanaticism. But as shatm-lessness in
worship is particularly designated as a capital of
fence, so in general every other shameless act.

3. The Consecration of the Priests, xxix. 1-36.
The direction here given for the actual conse
cration of the priests is not carried out till Lev.
viii.— x. This raises two questions: First, why
does not the execution of the precept, as of all
the preceding ones, follow in Exodus, where it
might be regarded as simply omitted in ch. xxxix. ?
Secondly, why nevertheless are the calling and
investment of the priests, which have been here-
toforeconsidered, described inExodus? Astothe
first question, we see from ch. xl. that even the
sanctuary had to be erected and arranged, and con
secrated by the first-fruits of the offerings, not by
Aaron, but by Moses, the royal prophet himself,
justashe hadalso called and invested, or prepared,
the priests. For the tabernacle was designed in a
universal sense for Jehovah as presiding over
all three forms of revelation, the prophetic, the
ritual or Levitical, and the princely or royal, i. e.,
Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers: but the initia
tive belonged to the prophetic office. This rela-

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18.

123

tion would have been wholly altered if the actual
consecration of the priests had preceded -he erec
tion of the tabernacle. Thus is answered also the
second question, why the actual consecration of
' the priests is prescribed so early? The answer
lies in the fact that the priesthood has a more
universal significance than the merely ritual
one. In relation to the prophetic office the
priesthood has to represent symbolically reli
gious ideas in itself, in its clothing, and in its
functions; in relation to the ritual worship, how
ever, it has not only to symbolize the ethical
idea -i of sacrifice, but also to conduct the edu
cational training of the people of Israel — in th°>
Middle Ages of the Old Testament — by means of
the sacrificial service and the administration of the
laws of purification; but in relation to the politi
co-theocratic side of the theocracy, the high-priest
c irries on his breast, for times of exigency, the
oracular Urira and Thummim, which make
good the temporary failure of the prophetic
word and the royal government; and the Levites
as bearers of the ark of the covenant have to at
tend to the banners of the host of the Lord. But
since nevertheless the sacrificial worship is the
chief vocation of the priests, the actual con^ecra-
tion of the priests serves to introduce the sacrifi
cial system as developed in Leviticus. — Keil finds
it most suitable to his purpose not to explain
the consecration of the priests till Lev. viii. On
this point, however, Knobel has yielded to the
requirements of the text.

The preparation of the offerings which Aaron and
his sons are to bring, vers. 1-3. The three fun
damental forms of offering, already involved in
the Paschal rites, are here indicated by the ani
mals specified in the command : (1) The bullock
is appointed for a sin-offering, the great sin-offer
ing such as the guilty priest has to bring accord
ing to Lev. iv. ; in this sin-offering the more spe
cific sin-offering, the trespass-offering and the sin-
offering of a lower grade, are imp'icitly included.
The first ram is then made the centre of all the
offerings. (2) The burnt-offering has likewise its
ramifications, viz., in the morning and evening sa
crifices, in daily offerings, in offerings for the Sab
bath and feast-days, according to Num. xxviii.
The other ram is designed for an offering of abun
dance or heave- offering of the priests from the
Eeace offerings of the children of Israel, i. e., it
! the peace- or thank-offering of the priest, who
has no property or means of earning it, and
whose hands must therefore be filled by the con
gregation with a heave-offering or sacred tribute
which is regarded as a surplus from the peace
offerings of the people. (3) The peace-offering
also is subdivided into three parts : the thank-
offering, the vow, and the free-will offering (Lev.
vii.). A basket holds the three principal forms
of the meal-offering or bloodless offering, us
originally connected with the burnt-offering.
The principal material of the three kinds of
baked articles is wheat flour, prepared in three
ways, but always unleavened. The bread and
the cake are mixed with oil; but the wafer or
flat cake is to be smeared with oil (on the prepa
ration of them vid. Lev. ii. 4 sqq.). The meal-
offering is subdivided still further into the
meal-offering in the narrow sense, the drink-
offering, and the offering of baken flour and of

roasted fruits, and is to be as scrupulously sup
plemented with salt, oil, and frankincense, as it
is to be kept free from honey and leaven, the
last being excepted in case of the feast of har
vest; on which po nt more hereafter.

The washing and the investment. Moses has to
bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent,
i e , into the court, and there administer to them
a symbolic ablution. It is an interpolated notion
of Keil's, that Moses had them wash themselves;
and he also misconceives the symbolic nature of
the initiatory act, when he says : " without doubt
the whole body, not only the hands and feet."
Were they to bathe themselves, or at any rate
exhibit themselves naked, in the presence of the
assembled congregation in the court ? The wash
ing is the symbolic expression of purification
from the stains and defilement incurred in real
life, whilst the sacrifices removed not only the
daily weaknesses, but also the guilt of life down
to its foundation in the sinful nature; vid. John
xiii. 10. In the description of the investment
every article is specially mentioned, and its im
port emphasized.

The unction. As the clothes symbolize the
burden and the dignity of office, so the anointing
with oil, profusely poured out on the high-priest's
head, symbolizes the promises of official grace,
of endowment with the Spirit of God. The
anointing of Aaron's sons is not here treated of,
as Keil assumes. Nor in Lev. viii. 10, where yet
further on reference is made to a sprinkling of
the sons of Aaron with the blood of the ram of
consecration and with anointing oil, in connection
with the sprinkling of their father, ver. 30. It is
also a strange notion of Keil's (II. p. 337) that the
vessels of the sanctuary were by the sprinkling
made media and vessels of the blessings of grace
and salvation.

Still harsher seems Keil's explanation of the
notion of sanctifying. Even ot'the altar of burnt-
offering, he says: " To sanctify means not merely
>o set apart to sacred uses, but to endow or fill
with powers from God's sanctifying Spirit."
Here is not only all distinction between the 0. and
N. Testaments obliterated, but also all distinc
tion between the altar and the priest, to say not hing
of the distinction between the different altars.

The investiture of Aaron and his sons as priests,
vers. 8 and 9. The characteristic garment of the
common priest is the white wrought coat, and
with it the girdle of the coat, of embroidered
work ornamented with the four colors of the
sanctu-try, and the white cap of the priest. In
the girdle is exhibited the likeness of the com
mon priest to the high-priest; in the white coat
ind the conical cap* is exhibited the likeness of
he high-priest to the common priest. The dress
n which, according to Lev. xvi. 4, the high-
priest is to enter the Holy of holies is even mtV-
•ior to that of the common priest. And though
\aron is distinguished by having the high-
priestly unction, yet at the sacrifice by which
ic is purified and consecrated he must be at—

* [This can refrr only to the material of the cap, not its
or'ii. At least, the h''a'l-.ear of the high-priest is always
; tiled byadiffuren, uame (HSi^O) fl'°m that <>f the com

mon priest

The former is commonly (also by

nge) called a turlian, and therefore can hardly be con
ceived as conical. — TR.]

124

EXODUS.

social ed with his sons. Also his hands must be
filled together with those of his sons. ["Fill
the hands of" — the literal translation of the
Hebrew phrase rendered in A. V. "consecrate,"
e. g., xxviii. 41 ~|. For the poor priest has nothing
of his own; the congregation must provide for
him, and, first of all, even the sacrificial gifts which
he needs to offer. Thus then the hands of him
and his sons are filled, they being declared to
be t.he owners of the objects of sacrifice. And
so Aaron does not make himself a priest. Moses,
the servant of God, commissioned by Jehovah,
must consecrate him to the office. The prophet
stands MS high priest over against the candidate
for the priesthood: the future high-priest stands
over against the prophetical Levite almost- in the
attitude of a layman.

The bullock for the sin-offering, vers. 10-14. Not
every sacrifice is a confession of mortal guilt;
but every sacrifice is a confession of such a culpa
bility of the life as makes it unable, in real spi
rituality, to satisfy the righteousness of God ;
for which reason the symbolic representation of
satisfaction by means of sacrifice is introduced, — •
sacrifice as a confession of gui't, as a longing
after willingness to surrender one's self to the
divine judgment, as a prayer for pardon, and as
a vow. But as soon as the congregation of God
is organized as symbolically holy, sacrifices as
sume a threefold purpose. (1) As national offer
ings, they assume the form of the discharge of a
legal obligation, the expiation of a violated na
tional law; and in this sense they may also be
said to work justification. (2) As Mosaic offer
ings, they become a symbolic expression of moral
offences against the law. and of the need of ex
piatory surrender. (3) As the continuation and
symbolic expression of the Abrahamic faith, they
become a typical adumbration of the absolute
realization of the sacrificial idea in the future
kingdom of the Messiah. Vid. Comm. on Gene
sis, pp. 256, 470.

In the act of laying his hand on the victim
the offerer confesses as his own the debt of guilt
which the animal pays for him as his symbolic
substitute. The loss of the animal, the animal's
innocence, its dying pain, form in their union an
emphatic expression of his condition ; the ani
mal symbolically takes the place of his life.
In all cases he lays symbolically his guilt and
his deficiencies upon the animal — even in the case
of the peace-offering. The hand in this con
nection is the symbolic and mystical conductor
of the soul's life ; as in other cases, of its spiritual
fulness, so here, of its defects and need of ex
piation.

The killing of the animal is done by Moses be
fore the Lord, i. e., before the door of the taber
nacle. But even the sin-offering is not the sym
bol of a death-sentence, but the expiation of a
guilt which would have led to death if it had
not been atoned for before the gracious Jehovah.
For a known mortal sin (Num. xv. 30) is not
expiated by offerings, but is punished with death ;
it makes the sinner a hh>rem. The system of
sacrificial expiation in general is instituted only
for sins committed in weakness (L^v. iv. 2. 27).
Hence the sin-offering is composed of different
elements. First, the offering of blood. With
out the shedding of blood there is no expiation

(Heb. ix. 22); it designates the deathly earnest
ness, the death-defying courage, by means of
which all the disorders of the religious and moral
nature are rectified. A part of the blood of the
sin-offering is put on the horns of the altar, thus
perfecting the sinner's refuge: the greater part
of it is poured out at the base of the altar; i. e.,
submission to the judgment of God constitutes
expiation. It is an incorrect representation of
Keil's that, "whereas, according to the general
rule for the sin-offerings whose flesh was burned
outside of the camp, the blood was brought into
the holy place itself (Lev. vi. 23 [30]), it is here
only put. on the altar of burnt-offering, in order to
give this sin-offering the character of a consecra-
tory offering." Tins is contradicted by Lev. iv.
7, 18, 25, 30. The blood was always poured out
at the foot of the altar of burnt offering, while
only a little of it comes into the holy place, espe
cially upon the horns of the aliar of incense, vid.
Lev. iv. 7 sqq. The difference, therefore, can be
only that, here the blood of sprinkling was put
upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and
it is to be remarked that nothing has yet been
said of the altar of incense. — And the fat.
The bloom of life, even in the case of the tragi
cally guilty, — that which is deposited on his
entrails, his physical nature, on his liver or on
his nobler affections, on his reins, which through
their effects might symbolize the conscience (Ps.
xvi. 7), — this falls to Jehovah as His part; that
it has ministered to Him in His actual govern
ment, of men, is expressed by their being offered
to Him in fire on the altar. Thus one feature of
the burnt-offering belongs also to the sin offer
ing. The fat. of the offering, or the bloom of
life, all falls to Jehovah as His part (Lev. iv. 31,
35). But the sin-offering has also one feature
that belongs to the hherem: the flesh, skin, and
dung of the sin-offering are burnt outside before
the camp; they are given back to the old earth of
the old man as a symbol of the sinner's outward
mode of life. — It is a burnt offering, vers. 15-
18. The first, ram denotes the offering up to
Jehovah of the whole conduct of life, not through
death, but in life itself (Rom. xii 1). Here the
blood is sprinkled round about on tue altar: this
expresses one's complete, voluntary surrender,
and readiness to die while yet living. The whole
ram (after the removal of the skin and the un
clean parts) is cut in pieces and burnt upon the
altar together with the inwards and thighs; it all
goes up in the fire of that gracious sovereignty
which saves while it judges; and surely such an
offering of life is a sweet savor, a fire-offering to
Jehovah. The other ram, designed as an offering
of consecration, or as Aaron's peace-offering or
as a welfare offering (vers. 19-28), is likewise
offered in accordance with its design. The blood,
or the readiness for death, is first of all put upon
the ear-lap of Aaron and his sons: obedience,
as spiritual hearing, is the first duty, especially
of -the priests. Nexr. the hand, as symbolizing
human activity, is specially consecrated by being
sprinkled with blood: fimlly, the great toe of
the right foot, as symbolizing the walk of life in
general. After this the blood, which in this case
also is sprinkled around the altar, in order to
express the most complete surrender, is taken
again in part from the altar, and together with

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18.

125

some of the anointing oil is sprinkled upon Aaron
and his clothes, aud on his sous and their clothes.
Devotion to God and to a spiritual life is to con
secrate, first of all, the priests' character, but
also their official lite. Next follows the burnt-
offering as a f.ictor in the consecratory offering
of the priests. 1 ogether with the fat already
specified, the ram'y tail also and the kidneys
themselves are devoted to the fire; i. e., the vigor
of life, comfort, and conscientiousness are conse
crated to God, being united with a part of the
meal-offering, closely related as it is to the
peace-offering, viz., with three different articles
from the basket. These sacrificial gifts, how
ever, are not at once burnt up. It must be made
evident that they are offerings of the priests;
hence they are laid upon their hands. But, to
gether with their hands, they are waved, i. e.,
moved to and fro. What does that mean ? It
costs labor, a struggle, a shaking loose, before
the priests are ready voluntarily to give back
their emoluments, their fulness, to Jehovah ; as
history teaches. All the more then what is really
offered is a sweet savor before the Lord, a fire-
offering to Him. But now Moses himself gets
his part of the priestly offering, the breast of
the rain. History also amply proves that this
part of the fulness of the sacerdotal revenue that
is given back to the prophet and prince, to the
spiritual and political li e in the theocracy, must
be waved, must be shaken looRe. The thigh,
however, falls to Aaron and his sons; in this
connection the waving is less prominent than the
heaving, or is altogether given up. As nothing
is said of the disposition of other parts of the
ram, it is probable that the neck and head were
joined with the breast for Moses, and that all
the rest of the body went with the thigh. In
this sense the heave-offerings were to revert to
Jehovah; they are tnken away from the peace-
offerings and heave-offerings of the children of
Israel, and He gives them to His priests. Vid.
also ver. 32.

The prerogatives of the priests, vers. 29-35 (vid.
also ver. 28.) In the foregoing verse the reversion
of the greater part of the consecratory offering
to the priest is designated as also belonging to
the sacerdotal prerogatives. It is the central
item in his revenue, the particulars of which are
specified afterwards. In what now follows the
hereditary prerogatives of the priests are first
named. The sacerdotal dignity of Aaron passes
over, with its symbol, the sacred garments, to
his sons, according to the right of primogeniture
of course, and gives them a right to the anoint
ing and to the filling of the hands. The rite of
consecration is to last seven days. During this
time Aaron and his sons live on the offering of
consecration in the court; their food is exclu
sively sacred food belonging to priests and to fes
tivals; hence what is left, over is burnt. Further
more one bullock a day is slaughtered as a sin-
offering.
4. The Sanctification of the Altar. Vers. 36-46.

The consecration of the priests is accompanied
by that of the altar. When Moses brings the sin-
offering for the priests, he at the same time
makes atonement for the altar, which, although
holy in itself, was built by sinful men, and in a
symbolic sense is to be cleansed from defilement.

( Vid. Keil on Lev. viii. 15) [who exp^ins the cere-
mouial uncleanness of ttie altar as caused by the
sinfulness of the officiating priests]. But as yet
there can be no reference to this source of im
purity; for in that case how could the piiests
ever make atonement for the altar? It was to
b^ consecrated by two acts: negatively, by the
atonement, positively, by the anointment. The
anointment of the altar can signify only that, ii is
to be dedicated exclusively to the spiritual life,
to the spiritual object of the altar service. At
the same time the altar is declared to b* designed
for permanent use. Two yearling lambs are
offered each day, one in the morning, the other
at evening, i. e.., in their tender youth the peo
ple of God are to dedicate themselves to Jeho
vah, not only for the life of the day, but also for
that of the night. The meal-offering, like the
sacrifice, is the same for the morning as for the
evening. The tenth part (of an ephah), or the
issaron (an omer), as a measure of grain or flour
is variously reckoned (vid Knobel, p. 295): pro
bably, according to Knobel, somewhat more than
a Dresden measure, or 2^ Dresden pounds.* The
oil with which the flour is mingled is to be ob
tained by pounding. " Tn the case of no other
offering is beaten oil prescribed" (Knobel). The
hin, as a liquid measure, is the sixth part, of a
bath, and contains 12 logs, reckoned by Thenius
(Studien und Kritiken, 1846) as equivalent to 3
Dresden cans [such a can containing about 71
cubic inches, or about 1 English quart]. The
wheat symbolizes vital force, or even tat ; the
wine always symbolizes joy. This burnt ottering
is the whole-offering, signifying that the life all
goes up in self-surrender to Jehovah : hence
also this will be responded to by a complete s< If-
communication of Jehovah, a revelation of His
glory, this itself having been in fact the c;mse of
Israel's self-surrender or holiness (vers. 43, 44).
The text plainly distinguishes a higher kind of
panctification from the symbolic one of the law,
which proceeds from man. That h;gher sancti-
fication is to proceed from Jehovah Himself. The
place of the offering is to be sanctified by the glory
of Jehovah ; in particular, the tent, the altar, the
high-priest and his sons. The aim of this institu
tion points on into the N. T. and the Apocalypse:
Jehovah desires to dwell in the' midst of Israel
and to be the God of His people.

5. The Altar of Incense Chap. xxx. 1-10.
The reason why the directions concerning the
altar of incense are given so late is seen in the
design of it, which puts it among the things
directly connected with the ritual worship; also
in the fact that it marks the last point in the
movement of the priest towards the Holy of ho
lies, the highest point in the ritual before the
entrance into the Holy of holies. This eminent
position is even indicated in the circumstance
that, being slender in form, gilt all over, adorned
besides with a golden rim, furnished with golden
rings, even with golden staves to carry it with,
it stands at the middle of the veil of the Holy of
holies, bearing a direct relation to the mercy-
seat. For this reason we would rather find a

* [According; to Smith's Bible, Dictionary, Art, Weights and
Measures, probably n litile less than two quarts. But Jose-
phua makes it about twice as much. — Tn.].

126

EXODUS.

theological idea than an archaeological error in
that passage of the Epistle to the Hebrews (ix.
4) which puts it in the Holy of holies. For this
is the altar which by its incense symbolizes the
prayer of the high-priest (Rev. v. 8; Heb. v. 7).
On the day of atonement (according to Lev. xvi.
13) the incense is to be carried into the Holy
of holies and fill the whole room. The morning
and evening sacrifice on the altar of burnt-offer
ing are here to find their higher expression in
the fragrant incense which Aaron has to offer
morning and evening in the holy place; and it
is not without significance that this incense is
intimately connected with those sacrifices. In
the morning he is to burn incense when he
trim* the lamps, and in the evening when he
lights them; for without illumination and the
light of knowledge even his prayer does not
attain its higher form of sacerdotal intercession.
The incense, moreover, is to be a perpetual one
before Jehovah, and so to continue throughout
the future generations. This implies the exclu
sion, in the first place, of common incense, for
not all prayers are true prayers, e. g. those of
selfishness and fanaticism ; secondly, of the
burnt-offering, for here the material point is the
offering of the heart, not mortifications of the
body; finally, of meal-offerings and drink-offer
ings, for prayer requires abstemiousness. Fi
nally, the altar of prayer is to have its horns
sprinkled once a year with the blood of the sin-
offering as an atonement. This doubtless was si
multaneous with the sprinkling of the mercy-seat,
but had not the same meaning. The expiation is
offered to the mercy-seat; the altar of incense is
covered with the expiation newly dedicated by it.

6. The Assessments for the Temple. Vers. 11-16.
It should be here observed that in this section
there is no reference to the temporary work of
building the tabernacle, but to those things
which enter into the regular ritual service which
is to continue through future time. It is there
fore certainly an error when Keil and Knobel
start out with the notion that the shekel or half-
shekel of the sanctuary is to be expended once
for all on the erection of the tabernacle. The
tabernacle itself was to be built from voluntary
contributions (fxxv. 5), not. from legally imposed
taxes, and in this voluntary way more was given
than was needed (xxxvi. 5 sqq.) Moreover,
the designation of the use of the money,

Igto Snx mby-bj; ["for the service of the
tent of meeting/' ver. 16], does not mean: for
the work of the building, but: for the perpetual
service of God in the building. This is implied
also in Luther's translation [and in the A. V.].
Moreover, it is said, that this tax is to be col
lected from the Israelites when the census of the
adult males is taken. But such an enumeration
did not take place till after the tabernacle was
erected (Num. i. 1-18).* These enumerations,
too, had to be repeated from time to time. The
question is easily solved when we reflect on the

* [Rpil and Knobel infer from xxxviii. 26 that a census
was taken before the tabernacle was finished, and that the
one mentioned in Num. i. is the smne thing more formally
executed and recorded. The id-ntity of the numbers in
xxxviii. 26 and Num. i. 46 seems to favor this supposition.

continuous pecuniary demands made by the
sacrificial service. Besides the personal occa
sions for special offerings (Lev. i. sqq. }, a per
petual sacrificial service was ordained. For
this service (xxix. 38 and in this place.),
which is to be distinguished from the great
offering at the dedication of the tabernacle
(Num. vii.), and not less from the consecratory
offerings or heave-offerings for the priests
(Ex. xxix. 9 sqq.) a legally-imposed tax for the
temple was necessary; for the priests had them
selves no means for U. This explains also how
this contribution serves for expiation (ver. 12) ;
it did not do this directly, but because it served
for the permanent expiation of the people by
means of the offerings. In this connection it is
important to observe the directions, that only
adult men make the contribution for this expia
tion, and that every man, as representative of
the whole congregation of the people, without
distinction of poor and rich, contributed the
same amount, viz. half a shekel. As a conse
quence of the census this tax had also to be
paid by the Levites. The sacred shekel, differ
ent from the common one, is afterwards more
exaatly defined; and as the half-shekel amounted
to 13 groschen [z. e., 31 cents, or 1 shilling and
3 pence; but vid. note on p. 91], the tax could
not fall heavily on any man able to bear arms.
Only it is to be remarked, that the taxation —
as well as the census itself — is imposed on the
adult members of the political congregation of
the people. By this payment the consecrated
congregation of the people is distinguished from
a people in the unconsecrated state of nature. —

133 is the term applied to the payment on
account of the use for which it was designed.
So also the enumeration is indirectly an enume
ration, or review, whi<-h Jehovah instiiutes with
His people. It is true that in the voluntary
gifts of silver for the building of the sanctuary
the precept concerning the half-shekel was taken
as a standard.*

7. The Laver. Vers. 17-21 (xxxviii. 8).

The command concerning the copper laver is
not, as some would think, to be regarded as a
supplementary direction: it is connected with
the foregoing as being the last thing through
the medium of which the regular services of the
tabernacle were carried on. The expiation
which the Israelites have to pay for with the
half-shekel applies to the Levites and priests
(comp. Matt. xvii. 25, where no exception seems
to be made). Besides this there were special
expiations for the priests, when they were con
secrated, and on the day of atonement. But all
this was not sufficient to make them appear as
pure men in reference to their daily deportment.
They were obliged on penalty of death to wash
their hands and feet, when they were about to
enter the inner sanctuary, or even only to ap
proach the altar of burnt-offering to minister.

* [This refers to the above-mantioned correspondence be
tween xxxviii. 26 and Num. i. 46. Lange apparently makes
the former describe the voluntary contributions of the people
for the coi struetion of the tabernacle. But if it was, it is
singular that a purely volun'ary contribution, when summed
up, should have proved to amount to exactly one-half a shekel
for each adult male.— TB.J

CHAP. XXV. 1— XXXI. 18.

127

This washing symbolizes a purification from the
daily (even unconscious) defilements. Later
the Pharisees applied the practice of washing
the hands also to preparation for the daily meals
(Mark vii. 3 sqq. ,) ; and little as Christ sanc
tioned this ordinance, He yet made the washing
of the feet a highly significant transaction be
fore the Passover meal and the first Lord's sup
per.— As to the base (|3) of the laver in parti
cular, the passage xxxviii. 8 has led to extended
discussions. The expression nfc"]D3, etc., may
mean "from [of] the mirrors," as the LXX.
and Vulg. translate. This explanation is re
duced to an ascetic or pietistic form by Heng-
stenberg, who says that what heretofore had
served as a means of gaining the good-will of
the world was henceforth to become a means of
gaining the good-will of God. According to
this, tben, there ought to be no mirrors in pious
households, and especially none in a pastor's
robing-room. We would confidently [with B'ahr]
render: "[provided] with women's mirrors,"
were it not that brass itself had been used for
metal mirrors, and that 3 might also mean
"as," "in the character of," according to which
the passage would mean: "to serve as mirrors
for women."* — Observing here again the general
connection, we see that the topic is not the erec
tion of the tabernacle, but life in the tabernacle
as marked by the sacred utensils permanently
belonging to it. Furthermore, it is clear that
reference is made to crowds of women who were
to come into the court. Keil, it is true, observes
with regard to the character of these women:

" The PJOif are indeed, according to 1 Sam. i. 22,
women; not washer-women, however, but women
who devoted their lives to pious exercises," etc.
But, it may be asked, might not the pious exer
cises consist just in the washing of the sanctuary
and keeping it clenn ? Or could not the women
who did the washing be pious women ? Luther,
it is well known, thought otherwise. Knobel
remarks, with entire correctness, that before
the erection of the tabernacle there could be
nothing said of women coming into the court of
the tabernacle; but he adds a most singular
explanation of the passage. Furthermore, we
must ask, what could here be the use of the ex-

* [This certainly is not a satisfactory explanation. Not
to mention that grammatically it i« the least probable, it is
almost inconceivable that it should be said, that the laver
was made of brass in order thai it might serve as a mirror
for the women who ministered at the tabernacle! If Heng-
stenberg's interpretation partakes of a pietistic spirit, surely
this is the opposite extreme. Knobel renders fl^D, etc.,

by " Anblicken," i.e., views, or figures, "of women marching
up to the door of the tabernacle." He adds: "Probably
they were Levite women who at particular times presented
themselves in a sort of procession at the sanctuary, in order
there to wash, to clean, to furbish." But we can hardly
agree with him that " such figures were appropriate on the
vessel which was for the priests to wash from." Grammati
cally too this rendering is open to the same objection as that
ot'Bahr's, viz. that 3 cannot naturally he rendered "with,"'

In the sense of "accompanied by" or "furnished with."
Keil's statement, that 3 "never signifies with in the sense

of outward addition," Is too strong (comp. Ps. Ixvi. 13); hut
certainly that is a rare use of the preposition. The transla
tion, " made the laver of brass . ... of the mirrors,'1 etc., is
the easiest; but it is not necessary in adopting it to adopt
Hengstenberg'd theory of the significance of the thiog.
— TB.]

pression, "out of the mirrors of the women,"
since it is related beforehand that all the mate
rials for the building and its furniture were fur
nished voluntarily and in the mass ?* The LXX.
seem first, to have invented this ascetic notion —
one which in the connection has no sense at all.
As to this connection, however, we are to ob
serve that this base sustained the laver of the
priests. If now they had to cleanse themselves
in preparation for their service, is it not to be
expected that a similar command was imposed
on the women who kept the court in order?
To be sure, they could not wash themselves in
the court, at least not their feet, from considera
tions of modesty; and they did not need to do
it, since they did not have to touch the altar.
But they were quite fittingly reminded of their
duty to appear comely by the mirrors of the
base,f on which the laver rested, and in which
the priests were to cleanse themselves. It is
easy to see that this use of the base was for the
purposes of symbolic admonition rather than
of the toilette. We also find it more natural
that the mirror, at its first appearance in the
Scriptures, should receive this higher symbolic
significance, according to which the law is aNo
called a mirror, than that it should at the outset
be proscribed with the remark, that henceforth
the pious women used no more mirrors. In its
spiritual sense the washing of the priests is also
a perpetual ordinance.

8. The Holy Anointing Oil. Vers. 22-33.

In the case of the anointing oil, it is at once
obvious that it is not, designed to be used simply
at the erection of the tabernacle. In the first
place, direction is given of what materials and
in what proportions it shall be compounded ;
next, the use of the oil is stated, i. e., to anoint
the several parts of the sanctuary; finally, there
is enunciated the sternest prohibition against
any imitation of this sacred anointing oil for
common use. The number four being the mun
dane number [the four points of the compass],
the union of four fragrant spices with olive oil
indicates that the sanctuary is to be dedicated
with the noblest of the world's products, as com
bined with the oil of unction, the spirit of the
sanctuary. If one were to look for pairs of op-
posites. myrrh and cinnamon might be taken as
related to one another; so calamus and cassia.
It might be said of the myrrh, that it denotes that
fine, higher kind of pain which enables one to
overcome natural pain ; cinnamon denotes the
warmest feeling of light and life; the bitterness
of calamus might also be noticed; but the signi
ficance of the cassia is difficult to determine.

* [The use of the observation was to state a fact. And
this supposition is in no way interfered with by the circum
stance that the contributions for the tabernacle were made
voluntirily.— TR.]

f [Lange understands that only the base, not the whole
laver, was made to serve for this purpose. The attempt
made in what follows to niPft the obvious objection to his
theory, viz. that the use attributed to this copper base is
! quite out of keeping with the t^nor of the narrative, is rather
j strained. Th« symbolic use certainly cannot exclude the
lite al use. The declaration, therefore, must stand that the
liase (or the whole laver) was mude in order to serve for the
purpose of mirrors for the attendant women. But if the
symbolic use was the chief or only one, why confine it to the
women ? Did not the priests need such admonition as well as
they»

128

EXODUS.

With this ointment everything in the sanctuary
is anointed, Aaron not excepted. But it is pro
nounced to be a most severe and punishable
offence for common men to aspire to make this
composition (this reconciliation) of the spiritua
perfumes of the world and the spiritual oil of
the sanctuary. On the anointing oil vid. Bahr
Symbolik II., p. 173. The correct method of pre
paring it is called a sacred art.

9. The Holy Incense. Vers. 34-38.

As in the anointing o'l four kinds of spices are
combined with oil as the base of the ointment
and are subsidiary to it, so it is here the pure
frankincense which constitutes the base; but the
spices combined with it are three in number
Inasmuch as the incense certainly symbolizes
prayer (Ps. cxli. 2), we may naturally look for
three principal occasions of prayer. The first
and noblest resembles the spontaneous exuda
tion of trees, suggesting the breathings of prayer
prompted by the higher life. The second sub
stance is a pulverized shell of a mollusk — some
thing obtained by crushing; the meaning of this
is readily understood, vid Ps. li. 19 [17]. "Ac
cording to modern authorities, when burnt alone
it (the onycha) has a bad odor; but everywhere,
e. g., in India, it is made the fundamental ingre
dient of incense, and imparts to the materials
of the incense their real strength" (Knobel).
The third substance, galbanum, being used as
an antidote to the most diverse injurious forces,
seems fitted to denote the divine remedial force
in the soul, as being liable to be irritated by the
most manifold injurious influences. Says Kno
bel: "I had the sacred incense of the Hebrews
prepared in the laboratory of Prof. Mettenheimer
in Giessen; I tested it, and found its odor strong,
r -freshing, and very agreeable." In this case the
i ngredients are of equal weight; the rigorous pro
hibition of imitation for common use is the same.
This may symbolize that prayer is not to be used
for selfish or worldly purposes. It is incorrect,
with Knobel, to say that the incense consists of
the same number of ingredients as the anointing
oil.

IV. The Architects. Chap. xxxi. 1-11.

The summoning of Bezaleel and his assistants,
Aholiab and other master-workmen, is at once
a definition of sacred art and a recognition of
natural artistic talent. The idea of the sanctu
ary is indeed a gift of Jehovah, transmitted by
Moses to Bezaleel. Yet even in the wider sense
the fact respecting art is that the artist exhibits
himself more purely, the more he follows objec
tive images, found in actual life, and formed by
God. This limitation does not exclude the ori
ginality of the wise-hearted; but it shows itself
in four ways: (1) In the plastic impulse, or the
talent of construction, such as was shown by
Wisdom, as artist, at the formation of the earth
(Gen. i. ; Prov. viii.). Wisdom effects the execu
tion of the impulse in beautiful phenomenal
f>rms. (2) But what she creates in general,
must be realized in particular by perception, or
good sense, in its patient studies. Then (3) in
order to true creation there is needed further
more, on the one hand, knowledge, in the form

of ideal reflection, standing over the plastic im
pulse, and, on the other hand, (4) practical un
derstanding, such as enables one to work up the
material. But the artistic talent of the " wise-
hearted" becomes sacred art only through the
Spirit of God. Ke 1 understands by this a super
natural endowment. It is not to be denied that
there is something supernatural in every sancti-
fication of a natural endowment. But it is a
question whether he so meant it. As to the
names Bezaleel and Aholiab, vid. the Encyclo
pedias. On the obscure expression Tlt^n HJ3,
comp. Keil. The context confirms his assump
tion, that this phrase denotes those garments
which belonged to the high-priest alone, while
the other garments belonged to him and his sons
alike. See other very divergent explanations in
Keil. Gesenius refers the word to the curtains
of the tabernacle — an interpretation which does
not accord with the explanatory expression. *' to
do service in the holy place" [xxxv. 19]. Per
haps, in accordance with the meaning of "Pfr II.
[in Gesenius], the phrase may designate an ex
ceptional kind of clothing, to be distinguished
from all other garments.

V. The Condition of Vitality in the Ritual Wor
ship, the Sabbath, vers. 12-17. Conclusion,
ver. 18.

The reason why the observance of the Sabbath
is here again so strictly inculcated, Keil finds in
the fact that one might easily regard the neglect
of the observance as permissible in the construc
tion of a great work designed for the worship of
Jehovah. Similarly Knobel. But. the perpetual
observance of the Sabbath is here enjoined — »,
fact which Keil himself afterwards notices, but
which does not accord with this merely outward
reason for the injunction. It should also be ob
served that in xxxv. 1 sqq. the command respect-
'ng the Sabbath recurs again, and this time pre
cedes the order concerning the erection of the
abernacle. The Sabbath belonged as essentially
o the tabernacle and the temple as the Christian
Sunday to Christian worship. — A sign between
me and you. /. e., so to speak, the public
ymbol of the relation between Jehovah and
tsrael. Hence breaking the Sabbath is punished
as a capital crime. This doom is twice de
nounced, and the Sabbath itself is called by the
emphatic name J1A3E? 1*13$. "Properly," says
\nobel, "rest of restfulness [Ruhe der Ruhiakeit~\
'. e., entire rest, complete abandonment of busi-
TCSS. the combination of synonyms (?) enhancing
he notion (vid. x. 22). This term is applied
•nly to the Sabbath (xxxv. 2; Lev. xxiii. 3), the
lay of atonement (Lev. xvi. 31; xxiii 32), and to
he Sabbatical year (Lev. xxv. 4) " — Keil feels
constrained to take the words of ver. 18 literally.
According to xxxii. 16 the tables also are a work
f God. Only, he says, we are not to think of

bodily finger of God as implied in the state
ment about the tables being written with His
inger. It is true that Moses' co-operation with
"ehovah (for he did not need to be on the moun-
ain forty days merely in order to receive the
ables) is to be conceived as absolutely merged
n God's authority and authorship. Conjectures

CHAP. XXXI !. l-;to. 129

en the size of the tables rid. in Keil.* Alleged
contradictions vid. in Knobel, p. 310.

* [The tables, Keil remarks, could hardly have been as long
and wide as the interior of the ark (into which taey were put) ;
for two stone table's, each four feet long and over two feet

wide, an 1 thick enough not to break with their own weight,
must havrt been too heavy for any one but a Samson to carr>
down the m >unta n. As they were written on both sid' s,
and had to contain only one hundred snd seventy-two words,
a length of about two feet and a width of one and a half feet
would have been ample. — TR.]

THIRD DIVISION.

THE LEGISLATION AS MODIFIED BY THE LAPSE OF THE PEOPLE, AND THE INTENSI
FIED DISTINCTION BETWEEN JEHOVAH AND ISRAEL AS EXPRESSED IN THE
MORE HIERARCHICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE THEOCRACY.

CHAPS. XXXII.— XXXIV.

FIRST SECTION.

The Erection and Worship of the Golden Calf. God's Judgment and Moses' Inter
cession. His Anger. The Sentence of Destruction on the Golden Calf, and of
Punishment on the People. The Conditional Pardon.

CHAP. XXXII. 1-35.

A.— THE GOLDEN CALF.

VERS. 1-6.

1 AND when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of [down from]
the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him,
Up, make us gods1 which shall go before us ; for as for this Moses, the man that

2 brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot [know] not what is become of him.
And Aaron said unto them, Break [PJuck] off the golden ear-rings [rings], which are
in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto

3 me. And all the people brake [plucked] off the golden ear-rings [rings] which

4 were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at [took
them from] their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made
[and he made] it a molten calf:2 and they said, These be [are] thy gods, O Israel,

5 which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he
built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a

6 feast to Jehovah. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-
offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people eat down to eat and to drink,
and rose up to play.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 1. QTJ JX is here connected with a plural verb, arid in ver. 4 with a plural pronoun, so that the A. V. certainly

seems to be correct. Yet the term is used on'y of the golden calf, and there i - no inclination that it referred to anything:
else. Probably th« plural veib and prono'in a"e used for the Vf ry purpos • of Distinguishing the calf as a false god — ono of
the many gods of polytheism. Yet iu other cases, K. g., Jud^. xi 24. xvi. 23, 24, the siiignl.r verb is used of a heathen
g,.d.-TR.]

eave the A. V. r"n lering, only subs itufing "and he" for "xfter he had ;" but it. must be confessed t'*at the
passage is obscure. Fiirst, Gesen us, Kuobel, Muurer, Glaire, Roseumulltr, Cook, Kurtz, and others understand £D">n to be

= 13 '"in (i'i'1" 2 Kings v. 23), meaning " a bag " It occurs only once more, viz., Isa. viii. 1, where it means " a pen " (motal

• T

sty'")- If the word here ni^nns "Ing,1" flier) "ly"! must mnnn "bound up," as indeed it mo.=t naturally do s (coming from
"ML", not "ly*), thorgh it i, a' so u.sud JKI; iurel_>, i . the seu.^e of 'f rm" or "fashion." We are therefore compelled to

decide nmin y according to the s 'nse Agu>st the A. T. rendering is to he urged that a molten ima°re would not be mp.de
with a ffmvn / tool. Tin- reply, that the tool was used only to polish the image after it was cast, is a mere assumption, and
mor-ov.T requires us to resort to tlie device, adopted i>y the A. V., but unwarranted by the ^rammatioal construction, of in
verting the natural relation of time between the two c auses, "fashioned it with a graving tool," and, " made it a moltem
Wlf." The other rendering would be : " He took it from their hands, and bound it up in a bag," etc.— TR.]

EXODUS.

B.-GOD'S JUDGMENT, AND MOSES' INTERCESSION.
Vers. 7-14.

7 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go, get thee down, for thy people, which thou
broughtest out of the laud of Egypt, have corrupted themselves [behaved corruptly] :

8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them : ihey
have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed there
unto, and said, These be [are] thy gods, O Israel, which have brought th^e up out

9 of the land of Egypf. And Jehovah said unto Mos-s, I have seen this people and

10 behold, it is a stiff-necked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may
wax hot a/ainst them, and that I may consume them : and I will make of thee a

11 great nation. And Moses besought Jehovah his God. and said, Jehovah, why doth
thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the

J2 land of Egypt with great pow r, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the
Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief [evil] did he bring them out, to slay them
in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from

13 thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham,
Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst
unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I

14 have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And
Jehovah repented of ihe evil wlii. h he thought [threatened] to do unto his people.

C.— THE TRIAL AND PUNISHMENT OF AARON.
Vers. 15-24.

15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the
testimony were in his hand : the tables were written on both their side?; on the one

16 side and on the other ivere they written. And the tables were the work of God,

17 and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when
Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses,

18 There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that
shout for mastery [noise of the cry of victory], neither in it the voice of them that
cry for being overcome [the noise of the cry of defeat] : but the noise of them that

19 sing [of singing] do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto
the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and

20 he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he
took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the [with] fire, and ground it
to powder, and strawed [scattered] it upon the water, atid made the children of

21 Israel drink of it. And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people [hath this
people done] unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a [a great] sin upon them?

22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowcst the people,

23 that they are set on mischief [evil]. For [And] they said unto me, Make us gods,
which shall go before us : for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of

24 the land of Egypt, we wot [know] not what is become of him. And I said unto
them, Whosoever hath any gold, Jet them break [pluck] it off. So they gave it
me : then [and] I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

D.— THE PUNISHMENT OF THE PEOPLE.
Vers. 25-29.

25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked [unrestrained], (for Aaron had
made them naked unto their shame [had left them unrestrained for a hissing] among

26 their enemies :) Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the
LORD'S side ? [Whoso is for Jehovah,] let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi

27 gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto th^m, Thus saith Jehovah,
God [the God] of Israel, Put [Put ye] every man his sword by his side, and go in
and out [go to and fro] from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man

CHAP. XXXII. 1-35.

131

28 his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the
children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people

29 that day about three thousand men. For Moses had [And Moses] said, Consecrate
yourselves to day to Jehovah, even every man upon [against] his son, and upon
[against] his brother; that he may bestow upon you [so as to bring upon yourselves]
a blessing this day.

E. -MOSES' INTERCESSION, AND JEHOVAH'S CONDITIONAL PARDON OF THE PEOPLE.

Vers. 30-35.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Mosts said unto the people, Ye have
sinned a great sin; and now I will go up unto Jehovah; perad venture I shall make

31 an [make] atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto Jehovah, and said,

32 Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet
now, if thou wilt forgive their sin ; — and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book

33 which thou hast written. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned

34 against me, him will I blot out of rny book. Therefore now go, lead the people
unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee : behold, mine angel shall go before

35 thee : nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them. And
Jehovah plagued [smote] the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron
made.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

One of the grandest contrasts contained in
the Scriptures is presented in the fact that
Moses on the top of the mountain was having
his vision of the tabernacle, i. e., was receiving
the revelation of the true system of worship,
and, as the central feature of it, the tables of
the law, whilst the people at the foot of the
mountain in their impatience resorted to the
worship of the golden calf, and in this lapse even
secured the services of the man just called to be
high-priest. The Bible, it is true, is rich in
kindred contrasts, e. g., the transfiguration of
Christ on the mount contrasted with the scene
of the impotence of the disciples in relation to
the demoniac in the valley; or the institution of
the Lord's Supper contrasted with Juda^'s trea
son. But this Old Testament contrast is distin
guished above others by its scenic and artis'ic
grandeur. For all periods of the history of the
kingdom of God and of the church the fact is
here set forth, that every individual period of
time has a double history — the one above on the
mount, the other beneath in the valley : whenever
the popular rabble, with the connivance of high-
priests, are dancing around the golden calf, there
is taking place above upon the mountain of light,
of terror, and of salvation something new and
mysterious, which also in due time manifests
itself in judgment and deliverance.

a. The Golden Calf. Vers. 1-6.
Knobel calls the account o^' the tables of the
law and of the golden calf a Jehovistic interpola
tion, p. 310. The manner in which he unfolds
his thought strikingly illustrates the dulriess in
apprehending the spirit of t he text which charac
terizes the theory that the text is a patchwork
of two heterogeneous elements. According to
him, xxxiii. 7—11 presents nn account, of the ta
bernacle, whereas the Elohist does not narrate
the erection of it till as late as chap. xxxv. This
style of criticism seems not to have the faintest

conception of the reason why, in xxxiii. 7, Moses
is said to have removed the tent (by which un
doubtedly is meant the chief or central tent
which as a matter of course any army must
have had before the building of a tabernacle) far
away outside of the camp, and erected it at a
distance from the camp; although the reason is
unfolded throughout chaps, xxxiii. and xxxiv.
in the thought of a conditional separation be
tween Jehovah and the camp of the sinful people,
or of an intensified unapproachableness of Jeho
vah, expressed in a stricter form of the hierarchy.
As the people at first (xx. 18, 19) gave provocation
for the hierarchical mediatorship which Moses
still provisionally administers, so now by their
guilt they have made it stricter. Here belongs the
circumstance that, they could not endure the splen
dor on Modes' face. That the real tabernacle is
not here treated of, is evident from the fact that
Moses at once applied to this tent the n.ime '-tent
(or tabernacle) of the testimony" in the sense
that Jehovah was to be accessible to the people
only at a distance from the camp.* According
to the familiar style of criticism the idea of a
sanctuary arises only in connection with the
actual building, whereas, on the contrary, in
fact the idea of the sanctuary long preceded the
erection of the symbolic building, and might
w« 11 have been all along provisionally repre
sented. See further conclusions in Knobel,
p. 310 sqq. It is to be considered, in reference
to this theory of a combination of different docu
ments, that each part by itself would yield only
a caricature, though one may admit the thought
of editorial changes to accord with further de
velopments ot the same institution. On the tables
of the law vid. archaeological observations in
Kri«.bel, p. 314.

Ver. 1 When the people saw. — Moses'

* [Tins is o scnre. If the reference is (as apparently it is)
to 'he t nt spnki-n of in xxxiii. 7 sqq., then it is incorrect to
say that Moses called it "the tent of the testimony." And
even if he had so called it, it is not clear how that name
would indicate that Jehovah was to be lound only outside
the camp.— TR.]

132

EXODUS.

long absence made the people feel like a swarm
of bees that have lost their queen. We must
consider that they were waiting, idle, and in
suspense, at the foot of the mountain ; that they
were accustomed to see in Moses a representa
tive of the Deity that was now wanting; that nil
the way from Egypt they had in their mem .ry
visible signs from God, and were conscious that
they were required to go onward from Sinai.
Moreover, they h<id seen how Moses went into
the darkness and fiery flames of the mountain,
so that it was natural to imagine that he had
perished. Furthermore, Aaron, on account of
liis personal weakness, could not satisfy them as
Moses' representative. Therefore impatience,
tear, sensuous religious conceptions, vexation at
Moses' audacious marching into the terrors of
Jehovah and into invisible regions, — these things,
mid in addition Aaron's weakness as a substitute
for Moses, worked together to transform the trial
of faith which was laid on the people into a great,
temptation, to which they succumbed. Their
vexation is directed against Aaron, the second
leader, whom they now wish violently to make
their chief, but on condition that he yields to
them and supplements himself by means of an
idol. That they are not asking for foreign gods
(plural), is shown by the connection. For the
theocracy, therefore, they wish to substitute a
hierarchical democracy and a superstitious wor
ship. This is not strictly an apostasy from
Jehovali; they only want an image of Him to
symbolize His leadership. The image of the

golden calf, the young bull (^JN), borrowed from
the Egyptian Api-1, but designed symbolically to
represent Jehovah, is not expressly named in
their request, but was doubtless from the first in
their minds. Tins image is to go before them,
.•in ill-chosen symbol for them, since the ox, which
iifierwards again appears in the vision of the
cherubim, acquires a significance in t ue theocratic
system only as supplemented by the lion or the
eagle; by itself alone it represented the Egyptian
conception of death (»r the generative power of
nature). Nevertheless the Israelites are not con-
^ious that their demand implies an apostasy,
just as Jeroboam also thought that he could pr -
^erve the Israeli! ish faith in the form of the calf-
worship. They intend to associate Jehovah with
the image, and to go on under His guidance.
But how hopeless they are respecting Moses'
leadership, as if he had brought them out of
Egypt to leave them in the wilderness (a mood
of mind which Protestants often cherish and
express in reference to the Reformers), is to be
seen in their utterance concerning Moses; and
how far advanced they are on the downward
road to apostasy, is shown ar once by the jovial
festival which is connected with the new worship,
in imitation of heathen rites.

Ver. L». And Aaron said unto them.— With
a mistaken cunning, such as is apt to grow up
with a hierarchy, he hopes to deter them from
their desire by hru^kly demanding a great
sacrifice; but he deceived himself. Religions
that are the outgrowth «>f sensuous and selfish
passions generally produce a fanatical readiness
to make sacrifices.

Ver. 3. And fashioned [Lange: sketched]

it. It seems to us more natural to refer 1DK [it]
forwards to the golden calf than backwards to
the ear-rings, instead of which "gold" must be
understood as the object. Moreover it would
be an inversion of the na'ural order tc speak first
of the polishing of the cast with a chisel, and
then of the casting itself. W«* ther«fore trans
late with Luther, "he sketched it with a pen
(style)" — a more probable meaning of Bin
than " chisel. "* On Aaron's excuse, see ver. 24.
That the golden calf consisted of a wooden figure
overlaid with gold plate, is urged by Keil
[especially from Isa. xl. 19 and xxx 22, where
such images are described and in the latter pas
sage are called even "molten images," and] from
the circumstance that the manner of its destruc-
tionimpliestheexistence of wooden [combustible]
elements. And they said. — The god is pro
claimed. Aaron thinks he can relieve the matter
by building an altar and proclaiming a feast to
Jehovah for the morrow.

Ver. 6. And offered burnt-offerings. -There
is nothing about sin-offerings in connection with
this new worship. The chief feature consists in
the pea'ce-offerings and the sacrificial meal, fol
lowed by the merry festive games.

b. God's Judgment and Moses' Intercession. Vers.

7-14.

Ver. 7. And Jehovah said. — Tt is not known
below what is taking place upon the mountain ;
but on the mountain it is well known what is
going on below. — Go, get thee down. Lively
expression of indignation, Affecting even Moses.
Under such a condition of God's people. His work
on the mountain is interrupted. '• TV'//" people,
t is significantly said, though Keil questions
his [explaining the phrase as merely meaning
hat Moses, as mediator of the people, must re
present them.] The covenant is broken. Thus
the people practically deny that Jehovah has
brought them up out of Egypt.

Ver. 8. Turned aside quickly. — As if they
had been in a hurry about it. Hence the guilt
was all the greater, comp. Gal. i — And have
worshipped it. So Jehovah judges concerning
the image-worship of the people ; that they intend
to worship Him in their service, He does not
acknowledge. Hence we translate here too,
<; These are thy gods;" in the pretended image
of God He sees the germ of idolatry, a deviation
from the way of revelation which He had com
manded.

Ver. 9. A stiff necked people. -Vid. xxxiii.
3,5; xxxiv. 9; Deut. ix. 6. Literally, "hard of
neck." The expression seems to have been bor
rowed from the trait of an unruly draught-animal.
The self-will of the people has shown itself to he
an obstinate repugnance to Jehovah's guidance,
hard to overcome.

Ver. 10. Let me alone — That which delays the
destruction of the people is even now Moses' me
diatorial connection with his people, as expressed
in his mood of mind even before he made any
utterance. Yet the promise given to Abraham

* [See un<1er "Textual «nd Grammatical." Lang 'siofpr-
pretaiion is plausible; but "^1 can hardly * e made to mean

"sketched" — all the less, inasmuch as the supp' sed object,
the calf, has not yet been h uted at. — TR.]

CHAP. XXXII. 1-35.

133

c.uiniir tail — a fact continually re-appearing in
the prophetic writings, and, in all its grandeur,
in the New Testament (vid. Rotn.iv. 11). Therem- .
nant. of Israelitish fidelity is now concentrated
in Moses ; hence God says, " I will make of thee
a great nation." The judgment is a Kpiaic, dis
tinction and separation. It was natural to think i
that Moses nvght separate himself from his !
people, and that then the people would fall a i
prey to destruction in the wildernees. The mo
tives contend with one another in Moses' soul, '
as if between God and Moses. The phrase "let
me alone," according to Gregory the Great and
Keil, vvas designed only to give to Moses an
opportunity to utter deprecations. But this
neat remark of theirs obliterates the sentiment
of righteousness expressed in the phrase.

Vers. 11, 12. And Moses besought Jeho
vah — Here appears the original, real priest.
He contends in a most fervent prayer with the
face of Jehovah, with His revealed form now
present to him; not, however, chiefly for him
self, but- for his peoplp, even with a renunciation
of self and of the grand prospect opened to him.
He appeals to Jehovah's self-consistency, and,
in contrast with Jehovah's expression 'thy peo
ple, Moses," he says, " thy people, Jehovah,
which thou hast brought out of Egypt." His
appeal to Jehovah's honor, as not enduring that
the Egyptians should scoff at His word and revile
Him. expresses the genuinely religious sentiment,
which pervades the whole Bible, that the ruin of
God's people, merited as it is on accoun^ of their
nins. would also plunge the heathen nations into
complete destruction. According to Keil the
expression, " I will make of thee a great nation,"
was only a great temptation. Vid Num. xiv. 12;
Deut. ix. 14. — Turn from thy fierce wrath,
and repent of this evil. Thi* strong anthro-
popathic expression conveys the correct senti
ment, that Jehovah may assume another attitude
towards the people, when He sees that Moses'
compassion for, and adherence to, his people
op< ns to them a different and better prospect.

Ver. 13. Remember Abraham. — This call
ing to Jehovah's m>nd the great promises which
He had made to the patriarchs is seen in its full
importance, when we consider that Moses not
only has declined the splendid offer of becoming
the patriarch of God's people, but also in his
humility is not conscious of the fact that his own
intercession for the people has any weight.

Ver. 14. And Jehovah repented of the
evil. — In the sphere of personal life, of t'»e th^o-
cratic world, of the kingdom of God, the b^iever
may talk, — may even reason, with his God. It
is not here man's part to be absolutely s lent
before the silent infliction, and give way to ran
cor and despair, but as a personal being to talk
with the personal God, as a child with his mo
ther. Of course headstrong selfishness is in
this case entirely forbidden; but to make in
quiry of Jehovah is not only allowable, but is in
accordance with the spiritual nature; and it is
only by way of inquiry, wrestling inquiry, that
rnan obtains the answer which brings at, once
tranquillity and knowledge, and whose consum
mate result is that lofty absence of will which
consists in surrender to, and union with, the will
of God. Thus then Moses asks, "Wherefore?"

as afterwards so many saints, and as at last
Christ did in Gethsemane and on the cross.
With man's attitude towards God, however,
God's attitude towards man is changed; and He
repents of the threatened evil, because He is the
unchangeable one, not in fatalistic caprice, but
in truth and grace. On ver. 14 Keil remarks,
by way of correction, "Thi-i is a remark which
anticipates the history. G d dismissed Moses
without any such assurance, in ord r that He
might disclose to the people the full severity of
the divine wrath." This explanation destroys
the fine contrast between the two facts that, on
the one hand, Moses in the mountain presents
nothing but intercessions to God, and also re
ceives the assurance that the people are par
doned ; while, on the other hand, at the foot of
the mountain he denounces a stern judgment on
the sin of the people with an anger which is
heightened especially by the sight of the apos
tasy. The full severity of the divine anger
would have been the destruction of the people.
Moses' intercession in ver. 32 does not refer to
the existence of the people, but their covenant
relations. Peter, too. needed a twofold assurance
of pardon, vid. John xx. 21.

c. The Trial and Punishment of Aaron. Vers. 15-24.

Vers. 15, 16. And Moses turned. Special
mention is made of the fact that he was carrying
in his hand an invaluable treasure, the two tables
of the testimony. The tables themselves had
been prepared by God, the writing also by God;
and the tables were written all over. It was
therefore all the more frightful, that the people
at the foot of the mountain had so entirely de
stroyed the value of the heavenly treasure, had
so decidedly annulled the covenant writing by
their breach of the covenant, that Moses felt
moved to dash the tables to pieces.

Vers. 17, 18. When Joshua heard — It is a
very characteristic feature, that the young hero
(vid. chap, xvii ) imagines that in the noise he
hears the tumult of war. Keil, referring to xxiv.
1 3, conceives that Moses, as he was " going away
from God," met Joshua on the mountain. The
text clearly represents Joshua as having gone
upon the mountain in company with Vloses. As
a servant he belongs to his master, and in so far
he has the precedence over Aaron. But Moses
correctly detects the antiphonies of the new wor
ship amidst the tumult. That which was common
to the two in their apprehension seems to have
been the perception of two kinds of sound. — We
are to distinguish between the Kal and the Piel
of the verb njy. Keil renders: "It is not the
sound of the answer of power, and not the sound
of the answer of weakness, i. e., they are not
sounds such as the strong (the victorious) and
the weak (the conquered) utter." The antipho-
nal songs were sung for the round dance. —
Knobel thinks there is a contradiction between
this and ver 7 [where it is said that Moses was
informed of what was going on below. But it is
not said that Joshua had been informed, and
there is no evidence that Moses had mistaken
the sound. — TR.]

Ver. 19. Moses' anger waxed hot. — And
yet he is the same one who by his intercession

134

EXODUS.

has saved Israel. His anger and his compas
sion have a common source. But he is excited
by the actual sight. Of this power of physical
perception the Scriptures mention many in
stances, e. g., " when Jacob saw the wagons," etc.
(Gen. xlv. 27). The breaking of the tables is
nowhere rebuked; therefore his emotion was
justifiable. The tables as representing the enact
ment of the covenant had been annulled by the
people; the breaking of them symbolizes the
breach of the covenant. Moreover this act of
breaking the tables shows that Moses did not
regard the law as a law of curses, but as a gr-eat
gift from Jehovah of which the people had made
themselves unworthy; otherwise he would just
at this time have been inclined to hold the tables
aloft. But could he not have concealed them?
This question suggests another point. The tables
of the law, in case the people repentejl, might
have become to them an object of superstitious
adoration. Hence afterwards the new tables lay
covered in the ark in the obscurity of the Holy
of holies. So also at a later time Hezekiah had
to destroy the brazen serpent in order to keep it
from superstitious regard. The temple had to
be twice consumed with fire. God's people often
had to be driven by the terrors of God from the
outward to the inward ; for it is only as one looks
within that he looks up.

Ver. 20 And he took the calf.— First of
all the object of their adoration, the idol, had to
be destroyed. A calf of solid gold could not be
burned, but it might have been put into the fire.
The wooden image was thus burned. The golden
plate was melted, and this was then in particular
beaten to pieces. The whole powdered mass
was thrown upon the water, the gold sinking and
serving then only a symbolic purpose, whilst the
ashes of the wood might have been served up to
the people as a drink of penance or of cursing -
;ill which is doubtless to be conceived as a sym
bolic act enforced chiefly on the mo*t guilty,
especially as the brook into which the dust had
been thrown was a flowing one (Deut. ix. 21).
Knobel says, " He shames them by making clear
to them the nothingness of their god, and humbles
them by such a treatment of it: they are obliged
even to devour their own god — a severe punish
ment for the idolaters. The Egyptians had a very
lively horror of consuming the animals revered
as deities, and would sooner have eaten human
flesh (Diod. I, 84)." This is intelligible. But
what Keil says is unintelligible : " This making
the people drink was certainly (!) not for the
purpose of shaming them by making manifest to

them the nothingness of their god but

was designed symbolically to incorporate (?). for
them sin with its consequences, to pour it, as it
were, with the water, into their inwards, as a
symbolic sign that they would have to bear it
and suffer for it, just as the woman suspected of
adultery was obliged to drink the water of cursing
(Num. v. 24 )." The cases here made parallel are
entirely different. In the precept in Num. v. no
guilr is to be "incorporated" by the water of
cursing, but it is to be determined whether there
is any guilt. But in the present case there was
no occasion for any process of detecting guilt;
the Jews themselves certainly had an immediate
consciousness of it in consequence of Moses' de

nunciation, whereas they would hardly have
understood Moses' obscure symbol. If we con
sider the analogy of the red heifer, whose
ashes were sprinkled as a hherem, it would be
more natural to assume that the people by drink
ing the ashes of this hherem were themselves
marked as involved in the hherem, and so were
prepared for a sentence which was soon after
wards executed. Anxiety to maintain the letter
of the narrative has led some to speak of a che
mical calcination of the gold, as being necessary
in order to its being ground fine (Rosenmuller
and others). Knobel imputes this meaning to
the writer in order to convict him of error, while
Keil seems inclined to suppose that the gold for
the most part disappeared in the melting process.
Ver. 21 sqq. And Moses said unto Aaron.
The question is sharp. — It makes Aaron morally
the chief author of the sin, pven though in re
ference to the motive it admits some excuse.
The word ntJ^ ("hath done") maybe under
stood in two ways. Keil explains it to mean,
"What have they done unto thee? ' so that the
question implies that the people have compelled
Aaron by some act of great violence. But it is
more obvious to find in the question the sharper
rebuke: "Has this people committed an offence
against thee, that thou couldst let them fall into
such a sin?" Aaron's excuse is an expression
of his weakness of character. The best thing
about him is, that he submits entirely to Moses'
authority; the worst, that he throws the blame
entirely on the people, and that he represents
the golden calf as an almost accidental image
produced by the fire, while he pretends that he
himself threw the gold into the fire with a feeling
of contempt, and for the purpose of destroying
it. Deut. ix. 20 supplements the narrative. That
Moses makes no reply, must mean something
more than "that he deems him not worthy of an
answer" (Keil); his answer is involved in the
ensuing judgment, in which it must be made
manifest that there is a difference between.
Aaron's sin of weakness and the wickedness of
the apostates.

d. The Punishment of the People. Vers. 25-29.
The ground for the severe procedure now fol
lowing is given in ver. 25. A real distinction is
made between the principal sin, that of the apos
tate people, and the sin of Aaron (or the Levites).
The cure of the evil is quite analogous to the
cure effected for the ppople by the campaign
against the Midianites (Num. xxxi.) In this
case the Midianites were the tempters, the Jews
the tempted. But they were to be healed of their
moral torpor by being required to inflict punitive
judgment on the Midianites. So here it is the
Levites, involved in the guilty weakness, whose
approach in response to his call Moses seems
from the first to have expected. Knobel can
understand the procedure only by assuming con
tradictions : "The narrative," he says, "is en
tirely improbable ; such a bloody command one
cannot believe Moses to have made." Of course
he has no conception of the significance of an.
army of God, nor of the fact that the decimations
which still take place in the modern military
history of Christendom are not yet recorded in
archaeological statistics, although they date from

CHAP. XXXII. 1-35.

135

antiquity. — For a hissing among their ene
mies. Keil understands this of tne punishment
of the people; but by this very punishment the
hissing of the adversaries was suppressed.

Ver. 26. Then Moses stood in the gate of
the camp. — The camp is unclean and lies under
sentence ( Heb. xiii, 13), from without the camp
new purity must be procured. With this circum
stance is connected the subsequent removal of
the provisional tabernacle from the camp, as
well as Jehovah's refusal to go with the people in
the midst of the camp. Knobel says, "He takes
his stand at. the head-quarters of the camp" (!).
Moses' heroic decisio », expressed in the most
energetic language, has the effect of bringing all
the Levites to his side. But since the other tribes,
although terrified, did not come to him, a divi
sion, a contest, and condemnation became neces
sary. Why the Levites? Keil quotes, in answer
to this, Cornelius a Lapide : [" Because the most
of the Levites did not join in the sin of the peo
ple and the worship of the calf, and because this
displeased them."] Why not the other tribes?
Keil quotes Calvin's answer: ["They were not
held back by contempt or obstinacy, but only by
shame, and all of them were so smitten with ter
ror that they waited in astonishment to see what
Modes' intention was, and how far he would pro
ceed."]* In this matter one must gu ird against
such a view of historic causes as deals with
merely outward motives. A. peculiar religious
energy was inherited by the tribe of Levi from
their ancestor (Oen. xxxiv.) ; and though it was
liable to lead astray, yet here it followed a higher
summons, as it also atoned for the wrong done
at the water of strife, Deut. xxxiii. 8 sqq.

Vers. 27,28. Put ye every man his sword by
his side. — The frightful command clearly does
not contemplate a slaughter as great as possible.
They are to pass twice through the length of the
camp, going and returning. In this course every
on* is to kill his brother, friend, neighbor. Does
that mean, simply, wHiout nny regard to exist
ing relations of frendship? Chiefly this, no
doubt. But when we consider that the Levite
had no longer any literal brother in the camp,
the Levites having all joined Moses, it follows
that reference is made to figurative brotherhood
and friendship, such as had just acted as a snare
to the Levite. That only three thousand men
fell indicates that a selection was made according
to special considerations. And in this way also
the fact is explained, that the terified people
could let this punitive infliction take place. Va
rious solutions of the difficulty involved in this
event are given by Keil.

Ver. 29. Consecrate yourselves [Lit. Fill
your hands]. — According to the context it is
necessary to suppose that Moses uttered these
words before the' execution of the offenders, and
in order to explain that it was like an offering for
Jehovah, an offering of the hardest kind of self-
denial and self-renunciation; furthermore we

* [It should be said that Koil re^anls neither of th*-se an
swers as satisfactory. On the first p int he says that rhe
reason assigned is not the only or the chief one, but that it
is to be found partly in the fact that " tti Levites came mo e
promptly to a recognition of their offence a>id to a resolution
of penitence and conversion, partly in their regard for
Moses, who belonged to their t.'ibe."— TB.

must suppose that he did not mean this in the
literal sense, but comparatively, in order in the
strongest manner to express the truth that their
obedience and self-deuial were pleasing to God.
The slain were indeed made a hfierern, or curse-
offering, because after their great wickedness
they h*d defiantly remained in the camp; but
the hherem was nevertheless not properly an
offering for Jehovah. The addition, so that a
blessing may be given to you, also presents
the execution in the light of the removal of a
curse. On the untenable explanation, that they
were obliged, after the slaughter, to make atone
ment by means of an offering < J mathan, Kurtz),
see Keil [who says, "To fill the hands for Jeho
vah does not mean to bring If rn >n offering, but
to provide one's self with something to bring to

God Moreover it is iiuompreiensible how

the execution of a divine command, or an act
of obedience towards the expressed will of God,
can be imputed to one as blood-guiltiness or as
an offence needing expiation."]

e. Moses' Intercession and Jehovah's Conditional
Pardon of the Peopl . Vers. 30-35.

Ver. 30. As in the history of the fallen Peter
we must distinguish between the pardon which
he received as a Christian (John xx.) and that
which he received as an apostle (John xxi.), so
iu reference to Israel we must distinguish be
tween the first abrogation or the sentence of de-
si ruction and the renewal of ihe people's call
ing. The first pardon is expressed in ver. 14;
tin other is first introduced by the judgment
upon the people, and in this section it is condi
tionally secured through Moses' powerful inter
cession and mediation. Keil makes so little
distinction between the two things that he even
says that Moses after his first petition (vers. 11-
13) received no assurance of favor — which is
inconsistent with ver. 14. But we have here
nothing to do, as Keil represents, with " an anger
that threatens destruction." Israel might now
indeed continue to exist as a people, but yet have
forfeited their vocation. This is just the point
here treated of. Hence Moses does not say to
ihe people, The offence is expiated; but he
also does not speak of a crime which is still to
be expiated with a hherem. He speaks of a great
sin which, however, may perhaps be covered
by means of an expiation. In what this expia
tion is to consist, he does not telithe people — for
therein, too, his nobleness appears — but he says
to Jehovah that he will surrender himself to the
judgment of God in behalf of the people. Since
now the question is here not one of existence,
but one of vocation, Moses' offer to bacrifice
himself is also modified accordingly. It is
true, this intercession is vastly more intense than
the former one (ver. 11). He would rather bej
blotted, with the people, out of the book of life,
of theocratic citizenship, than without the people
to stand in the book al«ne. As mediating priest
he has come as far as to the thought of going to
destruction with the people, but not for them.
Moreover he offers to submit to the sentence only
hypothetically — in case Jehovah will not pnrdon
tbe people. But he is primarily seeking for the
pardon of only this one great sin. Thus we see

136

EXODUS.

expiation germinant in the form of suffering loss ;
it is not yet seen in its bloom and fruitage: else
the condition would not be, "Grace or judg
ment," but, "Through judgment the highest
grace." Nevertheless this is the moment when
Moses comes into closest contact with the priest
hood of the New Testament. Abraham's inter
cession for Sodom is one precursor of it; stronger
still is Judah's intercession for Benjamin (vid.
Comm. on Gen. xliv. 18 f^qq.); and, as a N. T.
analogy, Paul's language in Rom. ix. 3 has been
adduced (vid. Comm. on Romans). In Paul's
words appears indeed the phrase "/or the Jewish
people ; ' but it is a question what the exact mean-
ing is. lu intercession there are indeed degrees
of self-denial and ecstasy in which human logic
seems almost to be swallowed up in a sort of
divine folly. — Jehovah brings Moses back to the
legal stand -point, and all the more, as he has not
yet attained the full expression and full act of
txpintion, and the realization of it is conditioned
on an antecedent visitation of the people (ver.
34). This visitation, however, can be realized
only as the people are conducted further on
their way. So then there is involved a condi
tional re-adoption of the people in the words,
"Go, lead the people," etc. It is conditioned,
in the first place, by the bscure expression,

" My angel shall go before thee," the stern mean
ing of which is afterwards explained ; secondly,
by the proviso of a future visitation which was
to be at once a gracious and a judicial visitation.
Thus the people are smitten doubly: first, by
Moses' judicial punishment (ver. 27); secondly,
by the above-mentioned conditions connected
with their re-adoption. And this is done be
cause, as ver. 35 declares, the people, strictly
speaking, had made the calf which they had in
duced Aaron to make. " The book which Jeho
vah has written is the book of life, or of the
living, Ps. Ixix. 29 (28); Dan.xii. 1. This concep
tion is derived from the custom of making a list
of the names of the citizens of a kingdom or of a
city" (Keil). — From this it appears that the book
is primarily the roll of citizens of the kingdom
of God, in the theocratic sense; and the notion
becomes more and more profound as we Advance
through the Scriptures, comp. Isa. iv. 3; Dan.
xii. 1; Phil. iv. 3; Rev. iii. 5. Keil finds the
day of visitation in the judicial infliction at Ka-
desh (Num. xiv. 26 sqq.), according to whi h that
generation was to die in the wilderness. But
the text allows a distinction to be made between
the day of visitation in the more general sense
and the special retributive visitation. It desig
nates the whole perspective of punitive judg
ments as seen in the light of grace.

SECOND SECTION.

Stricter Separation between Jehovah and the People. Removal of Moses1 Tent —
the Provisional Tabernacle— out of the Camp. The Gracious Token.

CHAPTER XXXIII. 1-23.

A.— APPOINTMENT OF AN ANGEL TO BE ISRAEL'S LEADER, INSTEAD OF JEHOVAH'S

IMMEDIATE GUIDANCE.

Vers. 1-6.

1 AND Jehovah said unto Moses, Depart and go uo [Away, go up] hence, thou
and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the
land which [of which] I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto

2 thy seed will I give it: And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out
the Caua nite, the Arnorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivire, and the

3 J -Ivisito: Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the
midst of thee; for thou art a stifi-necked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

4 And whpn the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned, and no man did put

5 on him his ornaments. For Jehovah had said [And Jehovah said] unto Moses,
Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiff-necked people : I will come up into
the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee [were I to go un in the midst of
thee one moment, I should consume thee] : therefore now pu off thy ornaments

6 from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel
stripped themselves of their ornaments, by the mount Horeb [from Mount Horeb
onward].

CHAP. XXXI I. 1-123. 1C7

B —REMOVAL OF MOSES' TENT, AS A SORT OF TRADITIONAL TABERNACLE, BLFOHE
THE CAMP. THE THEOCRATIC DISCIPLINARY CHASTISEMENT.

Vers. 7-11.

7 And Moses took the tabernacle [tent], and pitched it without the camp, afar off
from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting].
And it came to pass, that every one which [who] sought Jehovah went out unto the
tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], which was without the camp.

8 And it came t j pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle [tent], that all the
people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until

9 he was gone into the tabernacle [tent]. And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the
tabernacle [tent], the cloudy pillar [pillar of cloud] descended, and stood at the

10 door of the tabernacle [tent], and Jehovah talked with Moses. And all the people
saw the cloudy pillar [pillar of cloud] stand [standing] at the tabernacle dof>r [door
of the tent] : and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in \it] his tent

11 door. And Jehovah spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his
friend. And he turned again into the camp : but his servant Joshua, the son of
Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle [tent].1

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Vers. 7-11. We have left the A. V. substantially unchanged out of deferf nee to the uniform translation of the versions
»n<1 c mmentators. But the fact ought to he noticed that the verbs in this section are Future verbs throughout. This fact
has an important bearing on the exegesis of the passage.

There a-e three opinions about this tent: (1) That it is Mos s' own tent. (2) That it is sime old sacred tent us?d pro
visional!,/ : s a sanctuary. (3) That it is the real tabernacle, but that the passage is out of place. The hrt r hypothesis,
of course, should bo adopted only as a last resort. Against both the others it is to be said: (a) The phrase "the tent" is

not easily to be ac.ouuted for. If it was Moses' tent, why not l^PX, "his tent?" If another, nowhere else hinted at,

T: T

why so indefinite a designation of it? As Rosenmuller pertinently observes, it rannot well be Moses' own tent, since he is
represented an - oing into it only for tlin sp cial purpoi»- of commui.ing with God. (b) Even 0:1 either of these two hypo-
thes s there is an interruption in ihe narra ive as real, if not as straiue, as on the theory that we have here an account of
what was done with the real tabernacle before it was built. Ver. 12 is clear y a lesnmption of ver. 3— Moses' intercess on
with Jehovah. That vers. 7-11 should here intervene, not by way of an announcement on Jehovah's part of Ri* purpose, but
as a historical account of the ordinary subsequent/ac', is extremely unnatural, especially as at the close of it, the same tone
of entreaty and personal interc >ur«e is resumed, (c) It seems improbable that anything but the real Tent of meeting should
have been called such before the veal one was built, (d) The fact that the verbs in this section are future furnishes a natu
ral solution of the whole difficulty. So far as I have observed, no one has noticed this fact at all except Knobel and Bottcher
(Lf'irhuch tier Heb. Sprac/ie, II., p. 10^). Knobel simply refers to the case in xv. 5 as a parallel. But there, he says cor
rectly, rhe Future is used as a prachic f >rm lor the Present. This is an explanation not Batista tory here, where there is
no po try, and where the very ui.if <rmity and frequency of the Future verbs are sufficii nt to overthrow any sm.h theory.
Bottc er more plausibly classes this auionsi the instances in which cu-toiimry past actions are described by the use of the
Future. But e^en on this assumption we get no relL f from the va ions p rplexities above described.

Now by simply translating the Futures as Futures we at i-nce bee light. We thus make it a ci utinuation of ver. 5 (ver.

6 being parenth tical). The reasons tor HO translating are simple and cogent: (1) It is the most natural and obvious way
to render the verbs. The burden of proof rests with those who render them otherwise. (2) It relieves us of the necessity
of suppos;ng that, the section is out of place. (3) It relieves us of the necessity of drawing on our imagination tor "'the
tent" so mysteriously introduced. It is neither "his (Moses') tent," nor some unLeard-of old tent with sacred associations,
but simply " the tent" which has been so minutely described and which is soon to be built. (4) The section thus translated
is in excel I' nt ha mon v with the context. In ver. 5 God says to the people, " Put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may
know what to do unto thee." What follows in vers. 7-11 is a descript on of what God will do vnto them. It contains a
general dire' tiou concerning the way in which God is to lea 1 the p ople. This is the question considered in xxxii. 34-xxxiii.3.
In what now follows (ver. 12 sqq.) the same theme is still discuss d. Moseu' language, " See, thou sayest unto me, Hring up
tliit people," obviously po nts back to vers. 1-3. What intervenes is only an expansion of the statement of ver. 3, " I will
not go up in the m dst of thee." The antithesis is between gomtf in the midst of, and ffoing far tfffrom. According to ver.

7 the tent was to be pitched " ufar off from the camp ;" there J hovah might be sought and found : and there (v. r. 9) J- ho-
vah talked with Moses. We thus see thac the angel spoken of in xxxii. 34 and xxx ii. 2 is not s t over against Jehovah as
a su>'Siit ite for Him : the angel himself is not to go "in the midst of," but '"before" the people.

Ir remains to notice some objections: (1) Joshua was to r< main in the tent, whereas, according to Num. iii. 10, 38,
xviii. 7, only ihe pri' sts besides Moses could enter it. — But lo this it may be replied that, it Joshua, as Moses' confidential
seivant, could go with him to the mountain top when the law w^s to be given, he might accompany him into thesanc'uary ;
,'inii this fact, would need no special mention in the passages just referred to. — (2) The object of this tent seems to be dif
ferent from that of the sanctuary ; no nvntion is ma-le of Aaron and th* sacrifices, but only of Moses and the people going
to ir, to mei t with G >d. — But this is all that it is necessary or proper to mention in this connecti n. And the same thing is
a -o said of ihe real Tent of meetin '; e. (/., xxv. 22, "There [by the m> rcy-seat] I will meer with thee [Moses "J; xxix. 43,
"And there [at t'»e tabernacle] I will meet with the children of Israel." — (3) These verses do not seem to be the language
of Jehovah, heinir immediately preceded by the historical statement (v- r. 6), "the children of Israel stripped themselves of
f'eir ornaments." — i'lin <1 rriculty 's easily removed by regarding ver. 0 as parenthetical, thus making ver. 7 sqq. a con
tinuation of the 'lire-tiorH b siun ia vr. 5. Examples of surh a construction, in which a histon'cal statement immediately
connected with the »opic tr«'at"d of is interpolated i i the midst of language quoted from another, are abundant. An exact
parallel is found in Ex. iv. 4, 5, " And the Lord said unt> Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. (And he put

forth Irs hand, and cuight it, and it became a rod in his hand:) '! hat they may believe that the Lord hath appeared

unto thee." Precisel- so, iv. 7, 8 ; Matt. ix. fi; Mark i'. 10; Luke v. 24. In the passage before us the statement of ver. 6 is
natnraMy intr» duced in immediate connection with the corresponding command of ver. 5. — (4) The preceding objection
seems to be strengthened by the c nsideration, th t if v. rs. 7-11 are the words of Jehovah it is unnatural that both Jehovah
iiml Moses should be spoken tf here in the Iliird p rson. — hut such changes of person are too numerous in Hebrew to occa
sion any serious perplexity. In v r. 5 itself we have an instance of'a loos-ness of this sort. We read : "Jehovah said unto
Mose1, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiff-necked people: were I [i. f., Moses is to say to the p ople 'were I']
to go up in the midst ot thee," etc. The prophetical writings are full of similar instances of interchange of p rsona. la

138

EXODUS.

C —JEHOVAH'S DETERMINATION MODIFIED IN CONSEQUENCE OF MOSES' INTER
CESSION. THE PEOPLE HAVE A &IIAKE.1N THE GRACE SHOWN TO MOSES.

Vers. 12-23.

12 And Moses said unto Jehovah, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people:
and thou hast not let me know whom [him whom] thou wilt send with me. Yet
thou h^st said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also iound grace in my sight.

13 Now, therefore, I pray thee, if [Now therefore, if indeed] I have found grace in thy
sight, show me now [I pray thee] thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find

14 grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My

15 presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he s^id unto him, If thy

16 presence go not with me, carry [take] us not up hence. For wherein shall it be
known here [whereby now shall it be known] that I and thy people have found
grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be [with us,
and that we shall be] separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon
the face of the earth ? And Jehovah said unto Moses, I will do this thing also
that thou hast spoken : for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by
name. And he said, I beseech thee, shew me [said, Shew me, I pray thee] thy glorv.
And he said, I will make all my goodness [excellence] pass before thee, and I will
proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee: and will [I will] be gracious to whom

20 I vull be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said,
Thou canst not see my face,for there shall no man [for man sir-ill not] see me, and live.

21 And Jehovah said, Behold there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a [the]

22 rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in

23 a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by : And I will
take away mine [my] hand, and thou shalt see my back parts [back] : but my face
shall not be seen.

Ex. xxxiv., as fr< quently elsewhere, we have also instances of Jehovah speaking of Himself in the third person, vid. vers. 10,
14, 'J3, 24, '_G.— (">'). The real tabernacle was not in fact set up at a distance iroin the camp, but in the centre of it, according
to Num. ii. 2 sqq. But it we assume, as we must, that the sternness of Jehovah's regulations was relaxed in consequence
of Moses' impor.unate petition in ver. 12 sqq., there is no difficulty in the case.— TR.]

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

This is one of the moct mysterious chapters in
all the three books of the covenant. It charac
terizes the Mosaic Middle Ages in the Old Tes
tament as essentially a theocratic conflict of the
pure law with the guilt incurred by the people
through their idolatry. The people are par
doned; but their pardon is hierarchically condi
tioned. The first limitation consists in the fact
that Jehovah will riot go in the midst of the peo
ple to Canaan, because in that case they would
expo«e themselves to condemnation through their
transgressions; but that He will go before them
by sending, or in the form of, an angel. The
second limitation consists in the fact that Moses
removes the provisional tabernacle out of the
carnp, by which act even the camp of the people
of God, as being a place needing purification, is
distinguished from the sanctuary. The third
limitation consists in the fact that Moses himself,
needing on account of his vocation a more dis
tinct revelation, is to behold, in the angel, the
face of Jehovah — the gracious form in which Je-
liovah reveals Himself; yet only in such a way
that he is to see the glory of Jehovah in this apo
calyptic form not in a front view, as the face of
the face, but from behind, i. e., in the after-splen
dor of the sudden phenomenal effects produced
by Jehovah, and rapidly passing by the prophet's

covered eyes. The first of these limitations marks
the veiled revelation ; the second, rhe increased
difficulty of holding communion with God ; the
third, the fact that the knowlt dge of sacred things
is removed from the sphere of intuition, — is to be
not so much an original perception as a matter
of practical experience. — In his hunt for contra
dictions Knobel imagines that he has discovered
several contradictions in this chapter. — "Accord
ing to the Elohist," he says, "Jehovah was going
to dwell in the midst of Israel in the tabernacle;
otherwise this account." According to the Elo-
hift, he says again, the tabernacle was made
from contributions; whereas here the ornaments
delivered up were used in building the taber
nacle (! ). Here, then, the real tabernacle is im
plied to be in existence before the time when it
was afterwards built. According to the Elohist
only the priests, besides Moses, could enter the
tabernacle; here Joshua is represented as dwell
ing in it, etc.

a. — Appointment of the Angel. Vers. 1—6.
Ver. 1. Away, go up. — Since the tables of
the law were broken, and the tabernacle was
not yet built (for the erection of it presupposed
the existence of the new tables), the pardon of
the people appears again in this command as a
very limited one. God still says, "Thou and the
people which thou hast brought up out of the
land of Egypt," etc. (as in xxxii. 7). And be-

CHAP. XXXIII. 1-23.

139

cause Jehovah is still determined to keep His
word and to give the land of Canaan to Abraham's
seed, He will also help them to conquer it. He
will send an angel of terror before the marching
host to drive out the Cauaanites, so that they
shall come into the land that flows with milk and
honey (vid Hi. 8). But it is not said that this
angel is to be the angel of Jehovah in the most
special sense of that term, the angel of His pre
sence, or of the covenant (the one in whom Je
hovah's name is, according to xxiii. 21); for the
revelation of Go 1 has veiled itself again. The
people obtain primarily only life, the advantage
over the Canaanites. and the promise of the land
of Canaan "flowing with milk and honey," to
shame them for their ingratitude. On the other
hand Jehovah declares, "I will not go up in the
midst of thee," etc. This, too, like the promise
of the angel, is an obscure utterance. At all
events, it implies the temporary suspension of
legislation and of the building of the tabernacle.
But after the people repent, the form of the
angel becomes richer in significance, and access
to the tabernacle is refused to the people only
as a common matter. The reason assigned is,
that the people in their stiff-neckedness cannot
endure the immediate presence of Jehovah with
out incurring a sentence of destruction through
their continual transgressions. This announce
ment of the obscuration of revelation — of the
curtailment of the prom se — falls on the people
as a heavy infliction. Therein is recognized Is
rael's religious temperament, as also in the first
symbolic expression of the common repentance
of the people, ver. 4. How many heathen na
tions would have rejoiced, if God had declared
that, He would not dwell in the midst of them!
This recognition of the fact that the people are
in mourning and do not put on their ornaments as
at other times, is not followed (in ver. 5), as Keil
conceives, by another threat from Jehovah. It is
nearly the same language as that in ver. 3, but
yet is now used to give comfort. It would be
the destruction of them, if He should go with
them in the fullness of His revealed glory, in lull
fellowship, because this is simply beyond their
capacity, because they are born and grown up
as a stiff-necked people. Here is found a key
to the understanding of the Catholic Middle
Ages, and of the parables of our Lord in Matt,
xiii. How many a pietistic Christian, in conse
quence of an excess of religious fellowship and
edification, in connection with a coarse nature,
has fallen! — Nevertheless Jehovah gives them
hape by turning into a precept their repentant
act of laying off their ornaments. So then the
children of Israel strip themselves of their orna
ments. We translate the Words 3"V>n "^O, "on
account of mount Horeb," i. e., on account of
the guilt here contracted, and of the divine
punishment denounced from Horeb.* Horeb
rests on them now as a burden. As to the
explanation, "from mount Horeb onwards,"

* [This seems to be an original interpretation of the phrase.
Some understand it to mean: "returning from Horeb to
their camp;" others (with A. V.): "by Mount Horeb." but
the most: "from Mount Horeb onwards," i. e., t e people
from this time on retrained from usinac them. To say, '• from.
Mount Horeb," is certainly a very enigmatical way of saying
" on account of the sin committed at Mt. Horeb." — TR.J

one cannot but ask, what is the terminus ad
quern? The terminus a quo also would be open to
misunderstanding. " They put on none of their
rings, bracelets, jewels, or other ornaments, as
was done on festive occasions, but went about as
mourners. During the time of mourning it was
customary to avoid all pomp, an-t not to deck
one's self again till it was over (Ezek. xxiv. 17 ;
xxvi. 16; Judith x. 3 sq.)" (Kuobel).

b. Removal of the. Tent of Revelation, or Central
Tent, as a sort of Traditional Tabernacle, before the
Camp. The Theocratic Chastisement. Vers. 7—11.
The people are not restored to full communion

with God ; but in the person of Moses this is re
served even for the people. Hence the new, pro
visional order of things. Moses removes his
tent outside of the camp. Emphasis is laid on
the fact that it was set up far from the camp,
and also, that it was called by Moses the tent of
meeting, showing that it was not the tabernacle
iiself which had been before prescribed. The
same is also shown by the fact that Joshua re
mains permanently in this tent to keep guard,
and that Moses keeps up the connection between
the camp and the tent by remaining a part of
the time in the camp, doubtless to maintain
order, and a part of the time in the tent
of meeting with Jehovah, to receive His reve
lations and commands.* Tims Moses has se
cured a new stand- point designed to bring the
penitent people to a renewed life. The people
must go out to him outside of the camp (Heb.
xiii. 13), and there seek Jehovah. The effect of
this is shown, first, in the fact that individuals
among the people go out in order to seek and
consult Jehovah at the tent of meeting (ver. 7) ;
next, in the expression of reverence with which
all the people accompanied Moses' going to the
tent (ver. 8) ; but especially in the fact that all
the people cast themselves on their faces, when
the mysterious pillar of cloud appeared before
the tent, i. e., where at a later time the altar of
"burnt-offering stood, and beyond the cloud Je
hovah talked with Moses face to face, i. e., in
the perfect intercourse of God with the friend of
God, not in the full revelation of His glory (vid.
ver. 19). Thus the people are consecrated in
preparation for the restoration of the covenant,
vid. Num. xii. 8 ; Deut. v. 4. Knobel finds here
again a contradiction. He says, " Reference is
made not to Moses' tent (LXX., Syr., Jarchi,
Aben Ezra, Piscator, Baumgarten), or to another
sanctuary used before the completion of the ta
bernacle (Clericus, J. D. Michaelis, Vatablus,
Rosenmiiller), but the tabernacle," etc. That the
camp must from the first have had a central tent,
religious head-quarters, is in this chase after
contradictions never dreamed of.f A strange
assumption it is, too, that the people delivered
up their ornaments to Moses to build the taber
nacle with.

c. Modification of Jehovah? s Determination in con
sequence of MoseS Intercession. Vers. 12—23.

Moses' humble request that Jehovah would

* [But where did he sleep an \ eat? Where was his proper
abidiug-place, if bis own tent could be used only when he
needed special revelations? — TR.]

t [On this point vid. under "Textual and Grammatical."

140

EXODUS.

express Himself more definitely respecting the
promise of angelic guidance is founded partly
on the progress of repentance manifested by his
people, but partly and especially on the assu
rance of tavor which he had personally receive i.
As before he would not hear to a destruction of
the people in which he should not be involved,
so now he cannot conceive that he has found
grace in Jehovah's eyes for himself alone ; ra
ther, in this personal favor he finds a reference
to his people — a hopeful prospect which he must
become acquainted with. But he at once draws
the inference that Jehovah must again recognize
ns Ilis people those whom lie has before called
thy (Modes') people [xxxii. "]. If 1 am Thine,
let the people be Thine also — this is again the sa
cerdotal, mediatorial thought. Here [ver. 13]
is to h? noticed the difference between "U ["na
tion';] and D>* [" people"]. The former term,
derived from HU, denotes a feature of nature, in
which is involved the contrast of mountain and
valley; the latter, derived from D^>|, denotes a
commonwealth ethically gathered and bound to
gether. In reply to this petition Moses receives
the declaration, " My presence [lit. f.ice] shall
go." The indefinite angel (ver. 2), therefore,
now becomes the face of Jehovah, i. e., at least,
the angel by whom He reveals Himself, the one of
ten manifested in Genesis and afterwards (angel of
God, angel of Jehovah, an angel, Jehovah's face,
vid. Comm. on Genesis, p. 386 sqq.) ; for which
reason Isaiah combines both not iom and ppeaksof
the angel of His face [''presence" A. V.] inlxiii. 9.
In Mal.iii. 1 occurs the expression, ''angel [A.V.
''messenger"] of the covenant." Moreover God
here no long -r says, "He shall go before thee,"
but '• he shall go," go outand give thee rest. Here,
then, the discourse is about something more thnn
milk and honey. But the form of revelation is
still obscure, an I the promise is connected with
the p rson of Moses, though now the people are
at the ^ame time included. But Moses is con
sistent with himself, and firmly seizing hold of
Jehovah's promise, he again at once gives it a
turn in favor of the people. He takes it for
granted that, with him, the people also have
found grace with Jehovah; thereon he founds
the entreaty that this mny not remain concealed,
that Jehovah may make it manifest by distin
guishing him and his people, in His guidance of
them, from all other nations on earth. To this
also Jehovah assents, but explains that He does
it for Moses' sake. But Moses in his prayer
grows bolder and bolder, and now prays, "Let
me see thy glory!" Heretofore all of Moses'
requests have had almost more reference to the
good of t he people than to his own. We must t here-
fore conjecture that there is such a reference
here. But i is entirely excluded by Keil, when
he (•ays, " What Moses desires, then, is to behold
the glory, i. e., the glorious essence of God."
But the two notions, glory and glorious essence,
must not be confounded. The glory (1133 rfofa)
is the apocalyptic splendor of the divine essenc *,
and is to be distinguished from this essence it-
splf ; it is the revelation of God in (he totality of
Ilis attributes, such as that of which a dim vision
terrified Isaiah (Isa. vi.), and s.ich as was ma

nifested in its main features in Christ (John i.
14). According to Keil, Mosesdesiresaview t-uch
as cannot be realized except in the other world;
but there is nothing about that here. Yet. it is
true that the revelation of Jehovah in His glory
is fulfilled in the N. T. in Christ. And Moses
unconsciously aims at this very thing, and as
much in behalf of his people as of himself. For
only in the fulfilment of the promises can Jeho
vah's glory be revealed. This seems indeed to
be contradicted by Jehovah's declaration, " Thou
canst not see my face, for man shall not see me,
and live." But we are to infer from this that
the notion of the perfect revelation of God's glory
in the future life, of the great Epiphany, is to be
sharply distinguished from the revelation of the
glory in its original form. This distinction, ne
vertheless, belonged to a later time than that of
Moses. But this original form of the glory, the
grace revealed in the N. T., which is what Moses
must have had chiefly in mind, he was to behold
at least in a figure. So then his petition is
granted according to the measure of his capa
city, while at the same time he is made to under
stand that God's glory in its perfect revelation
transcends his petition nml comprehension —
And he said, I will make all my goodness
pass before thee (sl.ouivi we render "beauty"
instead of " goodness 1 ' The Greek includes
the good in his notion of the beautiful; the He
brew, the beautiful in the good — but not first or
chiefly the beautiful*). Accordingly He will
expound to him Jehovah's name, whose most es
sential significance is eternal fidelity in His eter
nal grace — a second promise, whose fulfilment is
related in xxxiv. 5 sqq. When now Jehovah
further says. " Thou canst not see my face," re
ference is made to His face in the highest pense,
as also to His glory, which means the same thing,
or even to the visibility of God Himself. — "For
man shall not see me, and live." That here
there is an occult intimation of existence in an
other world, should not be overlooked. A glory
which no one in this life sees, or a view which
can be attained only by losing this life, certainly
could not be spoken of, if it were not man's goal in
the future life to attain it. Preparation is now
made for the vision which Jehovah is going to
vouchsafe to Moses. Moses is to siand in a ca
vity of a rock. Jehovah's glory is to pass by.
But while it is coining and passing by, Jehovah
is to hold His hand over his eyes until His glory
has passed by, lest he be overcome by the sight,
and perish. But then he may look after the
glory that has passed, and see it on the back side
in the lingering splendor of its effvcts, i. e., see
all the goodness of Jehovah, the eternity of His
grace. Who, moreover, could see Him in His
frightfully glorious appearance and dominion
without being crushed and snatched away from
earth ! When Christ, uttering the words, " It is
finished, ' s-iw the full glory of God on Ilis cross,
Re bowed II<s head ami died. Over His eyes,
too, was gently placed the hand of Omnipotence,
as He cried out, " My God, mv God. why hast
Taou forsaken me ?" So the hand of Omnipo-

* [31C3 i51 usr-d unquestionably in bot'i senses ; but as onr
vord "goodness" has a limi ed s use, we have substituted
•excellence" in the translation, MS rompr»hen ins; both the
lotion of mo al goodness an 1 that of m ij,-sty.— T.t.J

CHAP. XXXIII. 1-23.

141

tence covers the eye of the pious man with fear
and terror, with sleep and faintness, with night
and darkness, whilst the heavenly day of God's
glory passes over the world's stage in His light
and in His judgments; afterwards faith discerns
that everything was goodness and grace.

On the realization of the vision, which took
place after Moses ascended the mountain, vid.,
chap, xxxiv. Probably Moses saw beforehand
in images the gloriom meaning of Jehovah's pro
clamation. Of Jehovah's grace in its manifesta
tion nothing more can be said than that Moses
himself saw only the after-gleam of the mysteri
ous revelation ; yet it was the after-gleam of the
glory. But it is a wonderfully grind and beau
tiful fact, that Moses the law-giver, and Elijah
the zealot for the law, both received in a cave in
frightful Sinai the vision of the fulness of good
ness and grace, the vision of the gentle rustling*
— the vision of the Gospel. Is this the same
Sinai which has been so often pic'ured by me
diaeval doctors and ascetic*? "How He loved
the people, with His fiery law in His hand," we
read in Deuteronomy xxxiii. 3.f

Ver. 12. Thou hast said. I know thee by
name. — Not every word of Jehovah to Moses
needs to have been reported beforehand. Ac
cording to Knobel, interpreting as usual with a
literalness amounting to caricature, this means,
" Thou art my near and intimate acquaintance."
The name is in God's mind the idea of the being,
and accordingly this declaration of Jehovah's
expresses a very special, personal election of
Moses. But Moses knows also, according to ver.
18, that his election and the grace shown to him
involve a determination to promote the good of
his people.

Ver. 15. He will be led to Canaan only under
the direction of the gracious countenance, or not
at all. Better to die in the wilderness thaa to
reach his goal witto it that guidance.

* [This phrase, des sa»fifn Sausens, is from Luther's trans
lation of njTl ri^ bip in 1 Kings xix. 12, ein stales

sanftes Sausen ; i the A. V., "a s ill small voice;" literally,
"a voice of gentle -tillness." — TR ]

f [A somewhat f ee trans ation and inversion of the last
part of ver. 2 and the fir-t part of ver. 3, the former, more
over, of Tery doubtful meaning. — TR.]

Ver. 18. On the climax in reference to the
seeing of Jehovah comp. Keil, II. p. 236; but ob
serve the distinction between God's glory and
His essence, as also between the primary vision
of His glory in the New Testament and the vision
of His glory in the other world.

Ver. 19. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious [Lange : I have been gra
cious, or I am gracious to whom I shall be
gracious]. The LXX. invert the order of time;
" I will be gracious to whom I am gracious "
The Vulg. led to Luther's translation [Wem ich
gnddig bin, dem bin ich gnddig — '• I am gracious
to him to whom I am gracious "] by rendering,
''miserebor cui voltiero.'" Paul, in Rom. ix. 15,
follows the LXX. At all events the text, taken
literally, does not involve an expression of abso
lute freedom of choice, still less of caprice. It
distinguishes two periods of time, and thus be
comes an interpretation of toe name Jehovah,
which comprehends the three periods of time.
Accordingly the Hebrew expression affirms:
" My grace is in such a sense consistent and per
sistent that, wherever 1 show it, it is based on
profound reasons belonging to the past." The
expression in the LXX. implies essentially the
same: "As I am gracious to one to-day, so will
I show myself gracious to him continually."
Luther's translation restores the distinction be
tween grace and compassion, which the Vulgate
has obliterated.* Concerning the cave on Sinai,
as well as the smaller one situated lower down,
in which Moses, according to tradition, and Eli-
j th. according to conjecture, stood, vid Keil, II.
p. 239.f

* [This discussion is singularly infelicitous. The two verbs
are in the Hebrew both Future (the first made such by the
Vav Consecutive), so that L;inge's statement-, t<"nt the text
" distinguishes two periods of time.'' and his own tra'is'ation,
"I have been (or am) gracious to whom I s lull be gracious,"
convey a misrepre entat on which it is et impossible to im-
put,n either t>> his igno ance o Hebrew or to consi-i'ous un-
tairness His c miment o-i tli • analogous expr^ssio < in iii.
14 is open to the same critic! m. Vid. tne note on p. 11. Ap
parently Lange's theo y of the meaning of the name 711 J"P
and of the nature of the divine attributes has led him uncon
sciously to put into the Hebrew what cannot be got out of
it.— TR.]

f [This makes the impression, for which Keil is not respon
sible, that born Mospsand Elijah have been supposed to have
atood in the lower cave. There is no evidence of this. Comp.
Robinson, I., p. 152- Palmer, Desert of the Exodus, pp. 1U6,
130.-T.B.]

142 EXODUS.

THIRD SECTION.

The New Tables of the Law for the People prone to a Hierarchy. Clearer Revela
tion of God's Grace. Sterner Prohibition of Idolatry. Stricter Commands
concerning the Passover, the First-born, the Sabbath, and the Feasts. Return
of Moses with the Tables. Moses' Shining Face and his Veil.

CHAP. XXXIV. 1-35.

A.— THE NEW STONE TABLES FOR THE DIVINE WRITING.
Vers. 1-4.

1 AND Jehovah said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first :
and I will write upon these [the] tables the words that were in [on] the first tables,

2 which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come [go] up in the morn
ing unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in [on] the top of the mount.

3 And no man shall come [go] up with thee, neither let any [and also let no] man
be seen throughout [in] all the mount ; neither let the flocks nor [also let not the

4 flocks and the] herds feed before that mount And he hewed two tables of stone
like unto the first ; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto
mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took [him : and he took] in his
hand the [hand] two tables of stone.

B.— JEHOVAH'S GRAND PROCLAMATION OP JEHOVAH'S GRACE ON MOUNT SINAI—
HENCEFORTH AN ACCOMPANIMENT OF THE TABLES OF THE LAW.

Vers. 5-10.

5 And Jehovah descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed

6 the name of Jehovah. And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jeho
vah, Jehovah God, merciful [Jehovah, a God merciful] and gracious, long-suffer-

7 ing, and abundant in goodness [kindness] and truth, Keeping mercy [kindness] for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will [sin : but he
will]1 by no means clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children [of fathers upon children] and upon the [upon] children's children, unto

8 [upon] the third and to [upon] the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and

9 bowed his head toward [himself to] the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If
now I have found grace in thy sight, O Jehovah, let my Lord [the Lord], I pray
thee, go among us ; for it is a stiff-necked people ; and pardon our iniquity and our

10 s;n, and take us for thine inheritance. And he said, Behold, I make a covenant:
before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth,
nor in any nation : and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of
Jehovah : for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 [Ver. 7. The A. V. hera entirely neglects the accentuation, and thus almost creates a paradox out of these antithetic
clause*. By translating HDJI as a relative clause (and that will, ftc.), it makes the impression that the same construction
Is continued, whereas not only does the Athnach precede it, but, instead of the pirticiple of the preceding clause, we have
here a finite verb without the Relative Pronoun. The A. V., moreover, mnkes the chief division of the verse before " visit
ing," contrary to the Hebrew accentuation, which, quife in accordance with the sense, connects the last clause with the
declaration: "he will not clear," etc.; the confusion of thought is thus made complete.— TR.J.

CHAP. XXXIV. 1-35. 143

C— THE GOLDEN CALF AN OCCASION FOR A MOST STRINGENT PROHIBITION OF
INTERCOURSE WITH THE HEATHEN CANAANITES. THE MORE DEFINITE ES
TABLISHMENT OF THE 1SRAEL1TISH COMMONWEALTH IN ITS NEGATIVE RE
LATIONS.

Vers. 11-17.

11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before
[from before] thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Periz-

12 zite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a co
venant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for [become]

13 a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy [tear down] their altars, break

14 their images, and cut down their groves [Asherim] r For thou shalt worship no
other God : for Jehovah whose name is Jealous, is [Jehovah — his name is Jealous ;

15 he is] a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land,
and they go a whoring after their gods, and do [and] sacrifice unto their gods, and

16 one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice ; And thou take of their daughters unto
thy sous, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go

17 a whoring after their gods. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

D.— LEADING POSITIVE FEATURES OF THE RELIGIOUS COMMONWEALTH OF IS
RAEL. SUPPLEMENTARY LAWS LIKEWISE OCCASIONED BY THE NEWLY ARISEN
NECESSITY OF EMPHASIZING THE DISTINCTIONS.

Vers. 18-24.

18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat un
leavened bread, as I commanded thee in the time [set time] of the month Abib:

19 for in the month Abib thou earnest out from Egypt. All that openeth the matrix
[womb] is mine : and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is

20 male [all thy male cattle, the first-born of ox and sheep]. But the firstling of an
ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb : and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou
break his neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall

21 appear before me empty. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou

22 shalt rest : in earing [ploughing] time and in harvest thou shalt rest. And thou
shah observe the feast of weeks, of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast

23 of ingathering at the year's end. Thrice in the year shall all your men-< hildren

24 [thy males] appear before the Lord GOD [Jehovah], the God of Israel. For I will
cast out the nations before [from before] thee, and enlarge thy borders : neither
shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go [goest] up to appear before
Jehovah thy God thrice in the year.

E.— THE THREE SYMBOLIC PRINCIPAL RULES FOR THEOCRATIC CULTURE.

Vers. 25, 26.

25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven [leavened bread] ;
neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

26 The first of the first-fruits of thy land [ground] thou shalt bring unto the house of
Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not seethe [boil] a kid in his [its] mother's milk.

p.— MOSES' LOFTY AND INSPIRED MOOD AT THE RENEWED GIVING OF THE LAW.
CONTRAST BETWEEN THE PRESENT AND THE OTHER DESCENT FROM THE
MOUNTAIN.

Vers. 27-35.

27 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Write thou these words : for after the tenor of

28 these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was there

2 [Ver. 13. The word !~Pt!W, here aud elsewhere rendorei "groves" in the A. V., always refers either to a heathen
goddess or to imasres representing her — commonly the latter, especially when (as here and most frequently) it is used in
the plural (Q'Hl^X)- It must denote the goddess, e.g. in 1 King< xv. 13, where it is said: "She had made an idol for

Asherah" (A. V. "in a prove"). This goddess sometimes seems to be identical with Ashtaroth. For partic"lars ri<7. th«
Lexicons an I Encyclopedias. That the word cannot mean " prove" is snffi ienily shown hy such passages «s 2 Kin^s xvii.
10, whete the Asherim are said to have been set up in every high hill and under every green tree; and 2 Kings xxii . (5,
Where it is said that JosiVi " br ught out the Asherah from th*, hcuu of the Lord.''— TR.].

144

EXODUS.

with Jehovah forty days and forty nights ; he did neither eat bread nor drink wa
ter. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant the ten command-

29 ments. And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount iSinai with the
two tables of [of the] testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the
mount, that Moses wist [knew] not that the skin of his face shone3 while he talked

30 [because of his talking] with him. And when [And] Aaron and a)l the children
of Israel saw Moses, behold [and behold], the skin of his face shone; and they were

31 afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them ; and Aaron and all the
rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with [spake unto]

32 them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh ; and he gave th^m hi

33 commandment all that Jehovah had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till
Moses had done speaking [And Moses left off speaking] with them, he [and he]

34 put a veil on his face. But when Moses went in before Jehovah to speak with
him, he took the veil off, until he came out. And he came out and spake unto the

35 children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw
the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone : and Moses put the veil upon
his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

3 [Ver. 29. The verb tip occurs only in this section in Kal ; it is used once (Pa. Ixix. 31) in Iliph 1, where it means

I -IT

" to have horns," while the noun tip ordinarily means "horn." Honce originated the Latin translation of the Vulgate

"corwwto," "horned;" and this accounts for the not'on, incorporated in art representit'ons of Mos '8, that he had horns
growing out of his face The point of resemblance is in th * appearance of the rays of a luminary shooting out like horns.
— TR.].

presupposed the preparation of the tables of
the law and a covenant-feast. Since now nothing
is said of a ne«v covenant-feast, Keil's assump
tion may in some sense be admitted. For the
covenant is not, simply restored; it is at the
same time modified. The law is now made to
rest on pardon, and is accompanied by Jehovah's
proclamation of grace ; yet nevertheless in many
of its provisions it is made stricter in this chap
ter. The relation between the tabernacle and
the camp is made more hierarchical; and in
relation to His form of revelation, Jehovah dis
tinguishes more sharply between His face and
the display of His essence. But with the notion
of the face* is introduced also a further deve
lopment of revelation, as also with the pro
clamation of grace. Jehovah's comman 1, Hew
thee two tables of stone, leads Keil to ex
press the opinion that the first tables, both as to
writing and material, ''originated with God,"
as contrasted with any co-operaiion from Moses,
i. e. that they were made by God in an entirely
supernatural way. This literalness of interpre
tation is made to receive support from the dis
tinction between "tables of stone ' (xxiv. 12;
xxxi. 18) and "tables of stones" (vers. 1 and
4 of this chapter j.f Hengstenberg and Baum-
garten have in a similar way vexed themselves
with this variation of the letter. It is barely
possible that the stony hardness of the law was
meant to be more strongly emphasized in the
second case than in the first.

Ver. 3 And no man. — The sharp command
not to approach the mountain is, it is true, sub
stantially a repetition of the previous one; but
ir, is to be considered that the mountain after
the conclusion of the covenant had been made
accessible up to a certain height to Aaron, his

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

This chapter contains the acme and bloom of
the Mosaic revelation, and so, of the three mid
dle books of the Pentateuch. In the first place,
the renewed law is wholly removed into the
light of grace by Jehovah's grand proclamation
of the significance of the name Jehovah — Jeho
vah's own proclamation on Sinai itself concern
ing the very name Jehovah, that it means that
He is "a God merciful, gracious, long-suffering,
and abundant in grace and truth," etc.: — all this
most prominently ; but for this v ry reason,
next in prominence, and on aco--imt of His
righteousness, that He is a punisher of all sin
and g lilt.

Next, the Israelitish community is put on its
guard against the danger of wrong intercourse
with the Canaanites; and everything severe
that is ordained against these is founded on a
religious and moral ground. In contrast with
the corruptions of the heathen worship the out
lines of the worship designed for Israel are then
summarily given, and finally the great blessing
of peace secured by this worship is proclaimed.
In this attempt to give the main features of the
chapter a universal applica'ion, the specific pre
cepts inserted in vers. 25, 2(>, create a difficulty.
We regard them as symbolic precepts, requiring
a strict form of worship, sanctified rultur^,
humane festivity free from luxury. The last
section, however, presents unmistakably the real
glory of the Mosaic covenant in Moses' shining
f.ice (vid. 2 Cor. iii. 7).

a. The New Stone Tables for the Divine Writing

Vers. '1-4.

Ver. 1 And Jehovah said unto Moses.
Kcil holds that Moses has already restored the
covenant-relation through his intercession, ac
cording to xxxiii. 14. But if we refer to the
first ratification of the covenant, we find that it

* [Lange refer •«, in what is here said, more especially
to the preceding chapter, ver. 14 sqq., where 'J3 (literally

"m1 f.icrc") is rendered in A. V. "my presence. — TR.).
f [So according to the literal translation of the Hebrew.

-TB.I.

CHAP. XXXIV. 1-35.

145

two oldest sons, and the seven'y elders of Israel
— nay, that they had been invited by Jehovah to
celebrate there a feast. This is now changed
since the sin in the matter of the golden calf.

Ver. 4. And Moses hewed two tables
of stone. — Was he obliged to do it himself,
because he had broken the first, as Rashi holds?
Or, was he not rather obliged to do it before
the eyes of the people, in order by this act to
give the people another sermon? The tables
were designed for the ten words (ver. 1) — a truth
which ought to be self-evident, though Gothe and
Hitzig have conjectured that the precepts of vers.
12-26 are meant; vid. Keil's note IT., p. 239.
The Epistle of Barnabas (Epistola XIV.) takes
quite another view, and gives an allegorical
interpretation of the difference between the first
tables and the second. It was not till now that
the ten words of the instruction (thorah, law),
the angelic words (Acts vii. 53), really became
words of stony ordinance.

b. The grand Proclamation of Grace on Sinai, hence
forth an Accompaniment of the Tables of the Law.
Vers. 5-10.

Ver 5. And Jehovah descended. — This
is the heading. Then in ver. 6 first follows the
fulfilment of the promise that He would let all
His goodness pass before him. The narrative
goes beyond this in the grandly mysterious ex
pression, "Jehovah passed by before him." Then
follows the proclamation. Here much depends
on the construction. Would Jehovah Himself
call out "Jehovah, Jehovah?" This is a form
of expression appropriate to human adoration,
but not to the mouth of Jehovah Himself. We
therefore construe thus: "and Jehovah pro
claimed" — a rendering favored by the fact that
we are thus obliged to make a decided pause af
ter the words," Jehovah passed by before him."*
Jehovah, then, has expounded the name Jehovah
on Mount Sinai; and what is the proclamation?
It is not said, Jehovah is the Eternal one, but

Jehovah as the Strong one (Stt) is Lord of time,
in that He remains the same yesterday, to-day,
and forever, in His faithfulness. His loving-
kindness pon) branches out in compassion (He
is WPP) on "the miserable, grace (He is |Un) to
wards the guilty, long-suffering towards human
weakness and perverseri ss. But He is rich in
His loving-kindness and in the reconciliation of
it \vith His truth, or faithfulness (flDK). His
kindness He keeps unto the thousands (begin
ning with one pardoned man); in His truth
lie lakes away (as Judge, Expiator, and Sanc-
iifieri guilt, unfaithfulness, and sins; but He
tslso b'ts not the least offence pass unpunished,
but visits, in final retribution, the guilt of the
transgression of fathers upon children and chil
dren's children, upon the third a id the fourth
generation — grand-children and great -gran-i-

* TTliis chan-re is seen ml hy simply nejrl"<;ting the M= -s >-
retir p iiictuation, an<i making tho ".Jehovah" following
"UP claimed " thesiit>,j«-cr of the ve b. Hut there seem* to
be hardly ^uffi lent reason lor the change. The repetition
(.f the name is, on 'he contrary, natural and impre^ive, and
need not in this connection be mad i to seem at all like an
expression of mere awe.— TK.]

children, vid. ch. xx. As Elijah afterwards co
vered his face with his mantle at the still
small voice, Moses at these words quickly
prostrates himself on the ground. Thus the
presentiment and the anticipation of the Gos
pel casts the strongest heroes of the law upon
their faces in homage, vid. Luke ix. 30, 31.
The petition which Moses feels encouraged by
this great revelation of graoe to offer is also a
proof that the first covenant relation is not yet
quite restored. He asks that Jehovah Himself,
as the Lord ("iPK) may go with them. This must
mean, as a mighty, stern ruler of the stiff necked
people, in distinction from the angel of Jehovah's
face; this is one point. But he then asks that
God, as the Lord, may go with them in the very
midst of them, not merely go before them at a dis
tance ; this is the second point, little in harmony
with the first. For it is again in a more definite
form, as in the petition, "let me see thy face" —
a petition for New Testament relations, a petition
for the presence of Jehovah as the guiding Lord
in the midst of the congregation. The addition,
" for it is a stiff-necked people," would be a poor
reason for the request, were it not this time an
excuse for the people's sin on the ground of
their natural slavery to sin, their inborn wretch
edness, which makes it necessary that the per
sonal presence of the Lord should be vouchsafed
in order to overcome and control it. The thing
aimed at in his petition is perfect fellowship ;
hence he says, " Pardon our iniquity and our
sin, and make us thine inheritance." He has in
mind an ideal servile relation bordering on tho
N. T. idea of adoption, but one more likely to be
realized in the N. T. hierarchy, just as the Pla
tonic ideal state is realized in monasticism. Je
hovah's answer now does not point to a complete
restoration of the violated covenant, but as little
does it involve an immediate promise of the new
covenant; Iledescribesralher His future rule as a
constant, continuous establishment of a covenant

OJX nin, "behold, lam making a cove
nant"), a transition, therefore, from the old co
venant, which already as a legal covenant has
been violated, to a new covenant. And this is
the means by which He will establish it: " Be
fore all thy people I will do marvels." The mi-
raclesare by this description putaboveall others
that have been done in all the earth. "All the
people in the midst, of which thou art," it is saij
in contrast with Moses' desire that Jehovah
should be in the midst of them, " shall see the work
of Jehovah, how terribly great that is which I
shall accomplish with thee." Thus Moses him
self is prominently elevated and appointed to be
the animating soul of the people; the sublime
and terrifying miracles of Jehovah are to pro
ceed from Jehovah's intercourse with him as the
administrator of the law. Doubtless the sight
which the people are to have of these miracles
is designed to be a salutary one; but the strong
expression indicates the decisive solemnity of the
sight. Keil makes prominent among the terrib'e
works of Jehovah the overthrow of all the pow
ers that hostilely resist the kingdom of God.

Keil says: " This 'sermon on the name of the
Lord,' as Luther culls it, discloses to Moses the
inmost essence of Jehovah. It proclaims that

146

EXODUS.

God is love." But in this way the old covenant is
made the perfect new one. It is true, however, that
here compassion, grace, and long-suffering are
combined by means of kindness and truth — not
merely in addition to kindness and truth— wit h ho
liness and justice, and that grace here appears in
the foreground. Keil also rightly notices the col
lective expression,"" it is a stiff-necked people ; and
pardon our iniquity," etc. Keil's remark, more
over, that "the reference made to the natural
ground of the sin mitigates the wrath," is not
Augustinian.

According to Knobel Jehovah is to call out His
name to Moses only in order that he may by
means of it recognize Jehovah's appearance.

Also he makes fljpr xS HJ53 mean, " He will
not leave entirely unpunished."* Vers. 9-28 he
calls a repetition, and therefore ascribes to the
"second narrator."

c. The Golden Calf an Occasion for a most Strin
gent Prohibition of Intercourse with the Heathen
Canaanites. The more Definite Establishment
of the ffsraelitish Commonwealth negatively con
sidered. Vers. 11-17.

To the religion of the law, supplemented by
the proclamation of grace, corresponds the reli
gious community, destined to be the upholders
of this religion. A more exact fixing of their
relation than that laid down in xxiii. 23 has
become necessary on account of the affair of the
golden calf. In the paragraph before us this
community is defined chiefly in a negative way.
It lias been already said, that Jehovah would
drive out the Carnanites (vid. the names, xxiii.
23), but not all at once. This may well refer to
a destruction of them in war, but not to a de
struction of them in so far as they have sub
mitted themselves to the civil law. We know
how, as being strangers, they are even put
under the protection of the law. But inasmuch
as they may tend to ruin Israel with their hea
thenish abominations, all intimate alliances with
them are forbidden at the outset. Religion
is the thing here chiefly concerned. The signs
of a public heathen worship, especially the
wooden pillars of the voluptuous worship, as
well as the images of Asherah, they are to ex
tirpate; they are to destroy the seductive sym
bols wherever found. There is here no trace
of a persecution of private religious opinions
and devotions. Moreover, the reason for that
sevority is given in ver. 14: it is to secure the
adoration of the true God, who is jealous of His
relation to Israel. Over against the dark, vo-

* [This seems 1'ke a verv questionable transition, since
th" Absolute Infinitive in a negative clause strengthens, ra
ther than weakens the negation. But ther^ art* some c ises
in which the reverse seems to be the case, e. <j. Jer. xxx. 11,
where we have precisely th°> same phraseology as hero in
ver. 7, and where the A. V. translates, "Yet will I not rmko
a full end of thee : but I will correct thee in measure, and

vill not leave thee altogether unpunished, ^pJX X1? HP}!/'

The context makes this translation natural, but not neces-
snry. A more plausible case is Amoi jx. 8, "I will destroy
it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly

destroy (TD$K TDtfH X'S) the home of Jacob." Here

it ia necessary t< give the Inf. Abs. a qualifying force; but
here the negative precedes the Inf. Aba. — TE.J

luptuous religious worship is presented the pure
image of conjugal fellowship between Jehovah
and His people (vid. Keil II., p. 243) — a repre
sentation growing more and more definite all the
way through the Scriptures to the Apocalypse,
and introduced as early as xx. 5. where Jehovah
is called WP ["jealous"] in the giving of the
law — an expression which twice recurs here.
As heathen idolatry is in itself to be regarded
as whoredom, i. e. as apostasy from the living
God, so the Canaanitish heathenism particularly
has developed within itself the consequences of
moral whoredom. But Israel may become in
volved in this double whoredom, especially in
two ways. In the first place, by taking part in
the seductive sacrificial meals of the heathen, to
which they will be invited, as afterwards such par
ticipation became a snare to the people at Shittirn
(Num. xxv.); but especially by intermarriages
between Israelitish sons and heathen women,
such as afterwards caused Solomon to fall. The
dangerous influence of female bigotry on the reli
gion of the men, the dangerousness, therefore,
of mingling religions in marriage, is thus early
expressed with the strongest words of warning.
An impure marriage — often induced by lustful
views of spiritual .Asherah-images — easily works
destruction to the archetype of pure mar
riage, the relation of Jehovah to His congrega
tion. Therefore also the law here expressly
treats of the setting up of molten gods, as being
a transition to the lapse into complete idolatry.
On the notion of who' edom in the religious sense,
as well as on the names Asherah and Astarte,
comp. especially Winer, Realworterbuch. That
the name Asherah denotes the idol-image of
Astarte, the Syrian goddess, who was worshipped
with voluptuous rites, is proved by the fact that
it stands together with other monuments, and
can be destroyed; but whether the form of it
suggests Phallic worship is not determined ; at
all events the name might indicate something of
the sort, as containing an allusion to lust.*
The LXX. and Luther [so A. V.] have rendered
the word by '• grove" (idol-grove).

d. Leading Positive Features of the Religious Com
monwealth of Israel. Vers. 18-24.

The leading features of the theocratic com
monwealth are sacred feasts, resting on the facts
and doctrines which have given the community
an organized existence. This section insists on
the three chief feasts of Israel as essential to
the life of the Israelitish commonwealth. But why
is the first feast, which is a double feast, called
the feast of unleavened bread rather than the
Passover ? The unleavened bread was the sym
bol of separation from Egypt and heathenism —
a separation combined with abstemiousness ; for
this reason probably this idea is here made pro
minent, since the thing in point is to establish
a perpetual opposition to heathenism. With this

* [Geaeniua finds no such meaning in the root
fK, the radical significance of which he defines as " bap-
pi nes," "fortune." Hence he regards 7"P$N ns=Forluna.

Fil-st, however, a«8nmfs as the radical meaning "to be
united," sc. by love; and Lange probably refers to this deri
vation.— TE.]

CHAP. XXXLV. 1-35.

147

there is also united the fundamental law of the
sacrifice of renunciation. With the claim ac
tually made by Jehovah on all the male first
born is asserted His right to all that are born,
as being represented by the first-born; or, con
versely, the entire dependence of the people,
with all their possessions, on Jehovah. This
consecration of the first-born has three leading
forms. The fir^t-born son is by birth a priest;
he must therefore be released by an offering
from the service legally required of priests.
Also the first-born ass (this code of laws knows
nothing of horses) must be either ransomed or
killed. The first-born of cattle is the choicest
offering; the calf, moreover, as an offering fiorn
among the larger animals, forms a suggestive
contrast to the calf as an idol. It is then inti
mated, furthermore, that other offerings, besides
those of the firs'-born. are to be brought, in the
expression: "None shall appear before me
empty."

The first distinction between the people of
God and heathendom involves renunciation of
the world; the second, labor. In heathendom
labor and holidays are confusedly blended; in
the theocracy a clear contrast is made. Labor
is marked by the time devoted to it, the week
days. The Sabbath, as the seventh day, marks
consecrated labor which has reached its goal in
a holiday. After seven weeks, or seven times
seven days, comes next the second feast, the
feast of weeks, Pentecost. The grain harvest,
which began after the Passover-Sabbath, is now
finished ; the feast of harvest is celebrated as
the annual festival of the blessing of labor.
The feast which embodies the highest form of
theocratic enjoyment, the feast of the fruit-ga
thering and the vintage, or the feast of taberna
cles, is here only briefly mentioned. It forms a
contrast to the first feast of harvest; for Pente
cost is the feast of the daily bread which is ob
tained by labor and at last by reaping, and two
specimens of which are laid on the altar. The
feast of tabernacles is the feast of the gathering
up of the blessing poured out by God in gifts
which contribute to joy and prosperity. This
festival of joy and blessing is the real vital oil
of the theocratic community. It is, however, a
condition of the three feasts, that a'l the men
(voluntary attendance of women and children
not being excluded) must appear three times a
year before Jehovah, i. e. at the sanctuary.
There is something grand in the assurance of
the security which the land will enj «y, in that
no danger will accrue from the going up to the
feasts. But never was the nation stronger and
more warlike than when it had in this way
obtained concentration and inspiration (vid. xii.
15; xiii. 6, 12; xxiii. 17; Lev. xvi., xxiii. ;
Num. xxix. ). Knobel records oniy one contra
diction in this section.

e. The Three Symbolic Principal Rules for Theo
cratic Culture. Vers. 25, 26.

The first of these main rules requires first of
all that the feast of unleavened bread shall be
kept pure, and so stands for the duty of keeping
worship in general pure; it is marked by the
precept requiring all leaven to be removed be

fore the time when the passover was slain, and
not less by the requirement that the remains of
the passover must be burnt, not desecrated by
common use, and not allowed to pass over, as an
element of desecration, into the abstemious sea
son of unleavened bread.

The second main rule requires that labor anid
enjoyment shall be kept sacred, and is marked
by the requirement to bring, first of all, the first-
fruits into the house of Jehovah. It has a spe
cial relation to the second feast.

The third main rule requires that the enjoy
ment of food shall be kept sacred by the avoid
ance of inhuman and luxurious forms of it (vid.
xxiii. 19; Dent. xiv. 21). This indicates a spe
cial relation to the third feast.

/. Moses' Lofty and Inspir»d Mood at the Renewed
Giving of the Law. Contrast between the Pre
sent and the Foimer Descent from 'he Mountain.
Vers. 27-35.

Here is to be observed, first of all, a difference
in the law which is given. The ten command
ments were originally addressed directly to
Israel, and through Israel designed for mankind,
as the immutable fundamental laws of morality,
which are now also repeated on the new tables,
ver. 28. But Moses received the fundamental
laws of the Israelitish theocracy for Israel;
before the conclusion of the covenant he received
the outlines of the three-fold code of laws (xx.
2_'-xxiii.), which, it is implied, are also written
down ; but after the conclusion of the covenant
he received the ordinance concerning the taber
nacle, xxv.-xxxi. Now, however, he is com
manded 1 1 write down also the more minute
regulations for the theocratic community, which
have been shown to be necessary by the apostasy
of the people, xxxiv. 11-26. We may therefore
distinguish three clashes: (1) The general ethi
cal law of the ten commandments ; (2) the gene
ral legislation for the Jewish national theocracy ;
(3) the special regulations made necessary by
the alteration of the covenant, in which connec
tion it is not to be overlooked that the covenant
is here defined as a covenant which Jehovah
has made with Moses and with Israel; more
positively than before, therefore, is the covenant
now made dependent on the mediation of Mose«.
The stay of forty days and nights on the moun
tain is then only briefly mentioned. Observe,
first, the sacred number of forty days, a repeti
tion of the first forty days (xxiv. 18) ; next, the
circumstance that Moses neither ate nor drank,
one that recurs in the sacred history of the Old
and the New Testament (1 Kings xix. 8; Matt,
iv.), and is to be conceived as indicating a total
self t'orgetfulness as regards the ordinary need
of nourishment (vid. Comrn. on Matthew, ch. iv.);
finally, the specific statement that Moses again
wrote the ten commandments on the tables —
which, literally taken, may be understood as
different from the first account of the writing,
but, according to the spirit, as a supplementary
interpretation of the first report. Keil makes
"Jehovah" the subject of "he wrote" [in ver.
28], referring to ver. 1.

When Moses now came down from the moun
tain, his face shone, or beamed, without hia

148

EXODUS

knowing it. A strongly materialistic conception
(such as Keil's) may regard this as a reflection
of the outward splendor of the glory that had
appeared to him ; but his face was covered by
God's hand. Doubtless the resplendence is a
reflection of the divine splendor, produced
through the agency of the soul, this splendor,
together with the law, having passed through
his soul, filled it. aud put it into an elevated
mood. Thus Christ in a higher sense came with
divine power from the mount of beatitudes
(Matt. viii. 1 sqq.); so, in some degree at least,
preachers of the Gospel ought to come down
from their pulpit eminence; but how far they
fall short of it in many cases !

The great difference between the lofty stand
point of the Law-giver and that of the people at
the foot of the mountain becomes evident in the
fact that not only the Common Israelites are ter
rified by the splendor, and fear to approach
him, but even Aaron also; and that Moses is
obliged to encourage him and the rulers of the
congregation to come near to talk with him, and
in this way to inspire the people also with cou
rage to approach in order to hear Jehovah's
precepts.

After giving the message Moses puts a veil
on his face, in order to make it possible to hold
familiar intercourse with the people. This con
tinued for a period of time not definitely stated ;

when Moses entered the provisional tabernacle
and came out again to proclaim Jehovah's direc
tions, he uncovered his face, but afterwards he
veiled it again. This, too, serves as a type for
those who hold office in the New Testament
Church. Christian people should not be fright
ened away by the splendor of the priest or
preacher, and a separation thus effected between
the officials and the congregation.

This narrative, however, became a symbol of
two things: first, of the glory of the Mosaic law
and covenant (2 Cor. iii. 7 sqq.); secondly, of
the predominantly slavish fear of the people,
which makes them unable, in the exercise of an
enthusiastic devotion, to understand Moses'
mood and to get a view of the spiritual nature
of his law. The veil remains even to-day, as in
Paul's time, on the face of Jews proper, and, in
a degree, of .Judaizing Christians— even on the
face of those who imagine that they are far be
yond the spir't of this law. In Moses' case we
cannof, with Keil. call it 'a symbol of the veil
ing of the saving truths revealed in the Old Tes
tament," for Moses always took the covering
away, after he had spoken to the people ; but it
is a symbol of the great distance between the
Old Testament revelation and the popular Juda
ism — between two things which modern theology
loves to identify. Knobel here records again
several contradictions.

FOURTH DIVISION.

THE BUILDING OF THE TABERNACLE. THE HOUSE OF THE REDEEMER AND LAW
GIVER, THE RESIDENCE OF THE KING OF ISRAEL; OR THE ERECTION OF THE
TENT OF MEETING.

CHAPTERS XXXV.— XL.

FIRST SECTION.

Summons to Build and to Furnish Voluntarily the Building Materials.

CHAP. XXXV. 1-19.

AND Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and
said unto them, The.-e are the words which Jehovah hath commanded, that ye

2 should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall
be to you an [a] holy day, a sabbath of rest to Jehovah : whosoever doeth work

3 therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations
[in any of your dwellings] upon the sabbath day.

4 And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying,

5 This is the thing which Jehovah commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an
offering unto [for] Jehovah : whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it. an

T> offering of the Lord [Jehovah's offering] ; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue,

7 and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, And rams' skins dyed r«-d,

8 and badgers' [stals'] skins, and shittim [acacia] wood, And oil for the light, and

9 spices for [for the] anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, And onyx stones, and stones
10 to be set, for the ephod, and for the breast-plate. And every wise-hearted [wise-
hearted man] among you shall come, and make all that Jehovah hath commanded ;

CHAP. XXXV. 20-29.

149

11 The tabernacle, his [its] tent, and his [its] covering, his taches [its clasps], and his

12 [its] boards, his [its] bars, his [its] pillars, aLd his [its] sockets, The ark, and the
staves thereof, with [thereof,] the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering [screen],

13 The table, and his [its] staves, and all his [its] vessels, and the shew-bread,

14 The candlestick also for the light, and his [its] furniture, and his [its] lamps, with

15 [and] the oil for the light, And the incense altar, and his [its] staves, and the
anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging [screen] for the door, at the

10 entering in [door] of the tabernacle, The altar of burnt-ottering, with his [its]
brazen grate [grating], his [its] staves, and all his [its] vessels [furniture], the

17 laver, and his foot [its base], The hangings of the court, his [its] pillars, and their

18 sockets, and the hanging [screen] for the door of the court, The pins of the taber-

19 nacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, The cloths [garments] of service,
to do service [for ministering] in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the
priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office [to serve as
priests].

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

In general we refer, as other commentaries do,
to (he previous directions concerning the taberna
cle, xxv.-xxxi., the execution of which is treated
of here. The execution is the practical proof that
the covenant-relation has been restored, with
the afore-mentioned mod fications designed for
a religion of the covenant in process of forma
tion

Ver. 2. The repetition of the precept concern
ing the Sabbath is interpreted by Knobel and
Keil as having for its object to apply the law of
the Sabbath to the time of the building of the
tabernacle. But though this object may be

included, yet a more general object, is to he
inferred from the circumstance that the Sabbath
law concludes the command concerning the
building (xxxi. 12 sqq.), as well as here opens
the summons to carry out the command. The
Sabbath, or the holy time, is the prerequisite
of worship, or the coming together in the holy
place. The addition, prohibiting the kindling
of fire, indicates that the law of the Sabbath is
made more rigorous in the matter of abstinence.

Vers. 5-9. Summons to take the voluntary
contributions, vid. xxv. 2-7.

Vers. 10-19. Invitation to men of artistic
talent to render voluntary assistance on the
building ; and specification of their duties, vid.
xxv. 8; xxxi. 6-11.

SECOND SECTION.

The Voluntary Consecratory Gifts, or the Holy Tributes for the Building.

CHAPTER XXXV. 20-29.

20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence

21 of Moses And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one
whom his spirit made willing, and they brought Jehovah's offering to [for] the
work of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and for all his [its] ser-

22 vice, and for the holy garments And they came, both men and women [the men with
the women], as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets [hooks], and ear
rings, and rings [signet-rings], and tablets [necklaces], all jewels of gold [all kinds
of golden things] : and every n an that offered offered an [that offered an] offering of

-3 gold unto Jehovah. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scar
let, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams [rams' skins dyed red],

24 and badgers' [seals'] skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of
silver and brass [copper] brought Jehovah's offering : and every man, with whom

25 was found shittim [acacia] wood for any work of the service, brought it. And all
the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that
which they had spun, both of [spun, the] blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of

26 [and the purple, the scarlet, and the] fine linen. And all the women whose heart

27 stirred them up in wisdom spun [spun the] goats' hair. And the rulers brought
onyx [the onyx] stores, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breast-plate ;

150

EXOUUS.

28 And spice [the spice], and oil [the oil ;] for the light, and for the anointing oil, and

29 for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto
Jehovah, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all
manner of [all the] work, which Jehovah had commanded to be made by the hand
of Moses.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ver. 20 sqq. A charming passage, illumined
by the clear light of spontaneity, gladsomeness
and joy ; an appearance of New Testament fea
tures in the Old Testament. At the same time
there is involved a fine contrast between Moses'
animated summons, issued at God's command,
together with the glad willingness of the people
to build a true sanctifying sanctuary, on the one
hand, and the people's cowardly and false-hearted
summons, extorted by the sensuous passions of
the multitude, and followed by the tumultuous
readiness to make offerings for the establish
ment of an equivocal, barbarizing system of
worship, on the other.

Ver. 22. The men with the women
[Lange: to the women]. — Keil, referring to
hy_, as used in Gen. xxxii. 12 (11), would read:
"the men together with the children." But it
is probably meant here that the women antici
pated the men, as in such religious movements
is often the case. In thp passage in Genesis,
moreover, there is probably an intimation that
the enemy first attacks the children, then the
mother, who is defending the children ; this

was suggested in our Commentary on Genesis,
though the rendering "together with" is re
tained.

Ver. 23. Every man with whom was
found. — At first ornaments for tlie body are
offei ed ; then, possessions and treasures; after
wards, the products of female labor ; finally also,
princely jewels. " According to the Talmudists
and Rabbins, followed by Braun ( Vestifus sacer-
dotum, p. 92), Bahr (Symbolik'L. p. 265), and
others, the purple and crimson cloths were of
wool, the Kf'iy (byssus) of linen. But if so. the
costume of the high-priest must have consisted
of a diversity of materials, which conflicts with
Lev. xix. 19; Dent. xxii. 11, and also Ezek.xliv.
17 sq., where wool is foi-bidden to be used in
sacerdotal garments (vid. Gen. xli. 42; xlvi.
34). It is therefore safer to suppose that all
the four kinds of material were flaxen yarn, the
first three colored, the last bleached find white"
(Knobel). But it is to be observed in reference
to this, that the garments of the high-priest did
not consist of a single article, and that the pre
cept in Ezekiel relates to the symbolic aspects
of a new, idfal sanctuary.*

* [But the ephod was a single thingr. and according to Ex.
xxviii. 6 it was made out of all four of these materials. The
same is true of the breast-plate (ver. 15).— TE.].

THIRD SECTION.

Bezaleel and his Assistants Introduced to the People to Receive the Consecrated

Materials for the Building.

CHAPTER XXXV. 30— XXXVI. 7.

30 AND Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, Jehovah hath called by name

31 Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah ; And he hath filled
him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in

32 all manner [kinds] of workmanship ; And to devise curious works [skilful designs],

33 to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass [copper], And in the cutting of stones,
to set them [stones for setting |, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cun-

34 ning work [to work in all kinds of skilful work]. And he hath put in his heart
that he may teach, both he [to teach, in him], and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach,

35 of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner
[to do all kinds] of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman [skilful
weaver], and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine li
nen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cun
ning work [skilful designs].

CHAP. XXXVI. 1 Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab [And Bezaleel and Aholiab
shall work], and every wise-hearted man, in whom Jehovah put [hath put] wisdom and
understanding to know how to work all manner of work for [do all the work of] the

CHAP. XXXV. 30— XXXVI. 7.

151

2 service of the sanctuary, according to all that Jehovah had [hath] commanded. And
Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart
Jehovah had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto

3 the work to do it ; And they received of [from] Moses all t^ie offering, which the
children of Israel had brought for the work of tli3 service of the sanctuary, to make
it withal. And they brought yet [besides] unto him free [free-wid] offerings

4 every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary,

5 came every man from his work which they made [were doing] ; And they spake
unto Moses saying, The people bring much more [are bringing too much — more]
than enough for the service of the work, which Jehovah commanded to make [to

6 be done]. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed
throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more woik for

7 the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing For
the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make [do] it, and to j much [and
there was left over].

wpnver who works together tlie different colors
(Dp^); and the plain weaver (J?^).

Chan, xxxvi. 5. And they spake unto
Moses. — On all sides there is a superfluity of
building material, so that Mos^s has occasion
to cause a proclamation to be made in the camp,
asking the contributions to b^ suspended. A
rare instance in the history of collections, though
also mediaeval and evangelical institutions have
often attained an excess pf prosperity. Knobel
remarks on this point: "The Elo 'list has a more
favorable opinion of Israel in Moses' time than
the later narrator has." But his archaeological
knowledge ought surely to have presented him
here too with examples of how a nation in great
crises is Lfted above its ordinary level.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Vers. 30sqq. This is not merely a disclosure
respecting the future. The skilled workmen
under the master workman Bezaleel are intro
duced to the people as those who, in Moses' pre
sence, are to receive the offerings which have al
ready been presented, and to judge of the propor
tion of them to the need. Two principal classes
of workmen are named. The K^n [smith] in
cludes at least three different occupations, ac
cording as the work is in metal, stone, or wood.
I he weavers are of three classes: the skilled
workman, who inweaves figures pETl ; the

FOURTH SECTION.

The "Work of the Building and the Priests' Ornaments.

cal Sacred Structure.

The Elements of the Typi-

CHAPTERS XXXVI. 8— XXXIX. 31.

A..— THE CURTAINS OF THE TENT AND THE COVERINGS.
VERS. 8-19.

8 AND every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work of the taber
nacle made ten [work made the tabernacle with ten] curtains o/[curtaius : o/] fine-
twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubims [cherubim] of

9 cunning work [the work of the skilful weaver] made he them. The length of one
[each] curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one [each] curtain

10 four cubits ; the curtains were all of one size [had all one measure]. And he cou
pled the five curtains one unto another : and the other five curtains he coupled one

11 unto another. And he made loops of blue on the edge of one [the on ] curtain
from the selvedge in the coupling [at the border in the first set] : likewise he made
in the uttermost side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second [the same

12 made he at the edge of the outmost curtain in the second set]. Fifty loops made
he in one [the one] curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which
was in the coupling of the second [which was in the second set] : the loops held one

13 curtain to another [were opposite one to another]. And he made fifty taches
[clasps] of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches [clasps] :
so it became one tabernacle [and the tabernacle became one].

EXODUS.

14, 15 Arid he made curtains of goats' hair for the [a] tent over the tabernacle; ele
ven curtains he made them. The length of one [each] curtain was thirty cubits,
and four cubits was the breadth of one [each] curtain : the eleven curtains were of

16 one size [had one measure]. And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six

17 curtains by themselves. And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the
curtain in'the coupling [upon the edge of the outermost curtain in the one set], and
fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second [cur-

18 tain, the second set]. And he made fifty taches [clasps] of brass [copper] to couple

19 the tent together, that it might be one. And he made a covering for the tent of
rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that [seals' skins
above].

B— THE FRAME-WORK OF THE TENT.
VERS. 20-34.

20 And he made boards [the boards] for the tabernacle of shittim [acacia] wood,

21 standing up. The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a [each]

22 board one cubit and a half. One [each] board had two tenons, equally distant one

23 from another : thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle And he made
boards [the boards] for the tabernacle ; twenty boards for the south side southward:

24 And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards ; two sockets under
one board for his [its] two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his [its]

25 two tenons. And for the other side of the tabernacle which is toward the north

26 corner [tabernacle, the north side], he made twenty boards, And their forty sockets

27 of silver ; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. And

28 for the sides [rear] of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. And two boards

29 made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides [the rear]. And they were
coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring [double be
neath, and they were together whole up to the top of it, unto the first ring] : thus

30 he did to both of them in [at] both the corners. And there were eight boards ;
and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver [sockets of silver, sixteen sockets],

31 under every board two sockets. And he made bars of shittim [acacia] wood; five

32 for the boards of the one siiie of the tabernacle, And five bars for the boards of the
other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the

33 sides [rear] westward. And he made the middle bar to shoot through [pass along

34 at the middle of] the boards from the one end to the other. And he overlaid the
boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to &e [for] places for the bars, and
overlaid the bars with gold.

C.— THE VEIL AND THE SCREEN.
VERS. 35-38.

35 And he made a [the] veil o/blue, and purple, and scarlet, arid fine-twined linen:
with cherubims made he it of cunning work [cherubim, the work of a skilful weaver

36 made he it~|. And he made thereunto [for it] four pillars of shittim [acacia] wood,
and overlaid them with gold : their hooks were of gold ; and he cast for them four

37 sockets of silver. And he made an hanging [a screen] for the tabernacle door
[door of the tent] of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen, of needle-

38 work [linen, embroidered work] : And the five pillars of it with their hooks : and
he overlaid their chapiters [capitals] and their fillets [rods] with gold ; but [and]
their five sockets were of brass.

D.— THE ARK AND THE MERCY-SEAT,* AND THE CHERUBIM.

CHAP. XXXVII. 1-9.

1 And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim [acacia] wood : two cubits and a half was
the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the

* [Lange renders fpbj " lid of expiation," and remarks that the term " is as difficult to translate with one word as
is the name rPIT." Luther's rendering, Gnadenstuhl (" mercy-seat"), he commends as co .veying substantially the right

impression. But it is questionable whether one can properly c >mbine the literal and the top cal in a translation, as Lange
does.— Tfi.]

CHAP. XXXVI. 8— XXXIX. 31. 153

2 height of it: And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a

3 crown [rim] of gold to [for] it round about. And he cast for it four rings of gold,
to be stt by [gold, on] the four corners of it [its four feet] ; even two rings upon the

4 one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it. And he made staves of shit-

5 tim [acacia] w od, and overlaid them with gold. And he put the staves into the

6 rings by [on] the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. Aud he made the [a] mercy-
seat o/pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and

7 a half the breadth thereof. And he made two cherubims [cherubim] o/gold, beaten
out of one piece [of beaten work] made he them, on [at] the two ends of the mercy -

8 seat. One cherub on the end on this side [at the one end], and another ["one] che
rub on the other end on that side [at the other end] : out of [of one piece with] the

9 mercy-seat made he the cherubims on [at] the two ends thereof. And the cheru
bims [cherubim] spread out their wings on high [upwards], and covered [covering]
with their wings over [wings] the mercy-seat, with their faces one to [towards] ano
ther: even to the mercy -seat ward [towards the mercy-seat] were the faces of the che
rubims [cherubim].

E— THE TABLE AND ITS VESSELS.

VERS. 10-16.

10 And he made the table o/shittim [acacia] wood : two cubits was the length thereof,

11 and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof: And he
overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown [for it a rim] of gold round

12 about. Also [And] he made thereunto [for it] a border of an [a] handbreadth
round about; and made a crown [rim] of gold for the border thereof round about.

13 Aud he cast t'ur it four rings of gold, and put, the rings upon [in] the four corners

14 that were in [on] the four feet thereof. Over against [Close by] the border were the
I* ri igs, the places for the staves to bear the table. And he made the staves o/shit-
16 tim [acacia] wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table. And he made

the vessels which were u on the table, his dishes [its plates], and his spoons [its cups],
and his [its] bowls, and his covers to cover withal [its flagons to pour out with], of
pure gold.

F.— THE CANDLESTICK AND THE UTENSILS BELONGING TO IT.

17 And he made the candlestick of pure gol 1 : of beaten work made he the candle-
st ck ; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the
same [the candlestick, its base, and its shaft : its cups, its knobs, and its flowers were

18 of one piece with it] : And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three
branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the

19 candlestick out of the other side thereof: Three bowls made after the fashion of
almonds in [Three cups made like almond-blossoms on] one branch, a knop
[knob] and a flower ; and three bowls made like almonds in [almond-blossoms « n]
another branch, a, knop [knob] and a flower : so throughout [for] the six branches

20 going out of the candlestick. And in [on] the candlestick were four bowls [cups]
made 1'ke almonds [almond-blossoms], his knops [its knobs], and his [its] flowers:

21 And a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a
kuop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop
[knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], according to [for]

22 the six branches going [that go] out of it. Their knops [knobs] and truir branches
were of the same [of one piece with it] : ail of it was one beaten work of pure gold.

23 And he made his [its] seven lamps, and his [its] snuffers, and his [its] snuff-dishes,

24 of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels thereof.

G.— THE ALTAR OF INCE\TSE AND ITS APPURTENANCES.
Vers. 25-29.

25 And he made the incense altar [altar of incense] of shittim [acacia] wood : the
length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit ; it was foursquare ; and two
cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same [of one piece with

26 it]. And he overlaid it with pure gold, both [gold,] the top of it, and the sides

EXODUS.

thereof round about, and the horns of it: also he made unto [for] it a crown [rim]
27 of gold round about. Aud he made two rings of gold for it under the crown [rim]

thereof, by the two corners [on the two flanks] of it, upon the two sides thereof, to
'28 be [for] places for the staves to bear it withal. And he made the staves o/ shittim
29 [acacia] wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he n ade the holy anointing oil,

and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary [spices,

the work of the perfumer].

H.— THE ALTAR OF BURNT-OFFERING WITH ITS UTENSILS, AND THE LAYER.

CHAP. XXXVIII. 1-8.

1 And he made the altar of burnt-offering of shittim [acacia] wood : five cubits ivas
the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three

2 cubits the height thereof. And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of
it ; the horns thereof were of the same [of one piece with it] : and he overlaid it with

3 brass [copper]. And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots and the shovels,
and the basins, and the fleshhooks, and the fire-pans: all the vessels thereof made

4 he of brass [copper]. And he made for the altar a brazen grate of network [a
grating of network of copper] under the compass [ledge] thereof beneath unto the

5 midst of it [reaching to the middle of it]. And he cast four rings for the four ends
[corners] of the grate of brass [copper grating], to be [for] places for the staves.

6 And he made the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlaid them with brass

7 [copper]. And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it

8 withal ; he made the altar [made it] hollow with boards. And he made the laver
of brass [copper], and the foot [base] of it of brass [copper], of the looking-glasses
of the women assembling, which assembled [the serving women, who served] at the
door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting].

I.— THE COURT.

Vers. 9-20.

9 And he made the court : on [for] the south side southward the hangings of the

10 court were of fine-twined linen, an [a] hundred cubits : Their pillars were twenty,
and their brazen [copper] sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets

11 [rods] were of silver. And for the north side the hangings were an [side a] hundred
cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass [copper] twenty ; the

12 hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] of silver. And for the west side were
hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the

13 pillars and their fillets [rods] of silver. And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.

14 The hangings for the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits ; their pillars three, and

15 their sockets three. And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and
that hand [So for the other side; on th;s hand, and on that hand, by the gate of
the court], were hangings of fifteen cubits ; their pillars three and their sockets

16 three. All the hangings of the court r >und about were of fine-twined linen.

17 And the sockets for the pillars were of brass [copper] ; the hooks of the pillars and
their fillets [rods] of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters [capitals] of silver;

18 and all the pillars of the court were filleted with [joined with rods of] silver. And
the hanging [screen] for the gate of the court was needlework [embroidered work],
of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen : and twenty cubits was the
length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable [corresponding]

19 to the hangings of the court. And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass
[copper] four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters [capitals]

20 and their fillets [rods] of silver. And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the
court round about, were of brass [copper].

J.— AMOUNT OF THE METAL USED.

Vers. 21-31.

This is the sum of [These are the amounts for] the tabernacle, even the tabernacle
of [of the] testimony, as it was [they were] counted, according to the commandment
of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the

CHAP. XXXVI. 8— XXXIX. 31, 156

22 priest. And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made

23 all that Jehovah commanded Moses. And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisa-
mach, of the tiibe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman [a skilful weaver],
and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.

24 All the gold that was occupied [used] for the work in all the work of the holy
place [sanctuary], even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and

25 seven hundred ^nd thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And the silver
of them that were numbered of the congregation was an [a] hundred talents, and a
thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the

26 sanctuary : A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the
sanctuary, for every one that went to be [passed over to them that were] numbered,
from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand

27 and five hundred and fifty men. And of the hundred talents of silver were cast
the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; an [a] hundred sockets of

28 [for] the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. And of the thousand seven hun
dred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapi-

29 ters [capitals], and filleted them [joined them with rods]. And the brass [copper]
of the offering wan seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.

30 And therewith he made the sockets to [for] the door of the tabernacle of the con
gregation [tent of meeting], and the brazen [copper] altar, and the brazen grate

31 [copper grating] for it, and all the vessels of the altar, And the sockets ot the court
round about, and the sockets of the court gate [gate of the court], and all the pins
of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.

K.— PREPARATION OF THE PRIESTS' VESTMENT.
CHAP. XXXIX. 1-31.

1 AND of the blue, an purple, and scarlet they made cloths [garments] of service,
to do service [for ministering] in the holy place and made the holy garments for
Aaron; as Jehovah commanded Moses.

1. The Ephod.

2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, aud purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined

3 linen. And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires [thieads],
to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen,

4 with cunning work [linen, the work of the skilful weaver]. They made shoulder-
pieces for it, to couple it together [joined together] : by [at] the two edges was it

5 coupled [joined] together. And the curious girdle of his ephod [the embroidered
belt for girding it], that was upon it, was of the same [of one piece with it], accord
ing to the work [like the work] thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and

6 fine-twined linen ; as Jehovah commanded Moses. And they wrought onyx stones
inclosed in ouches [settings] of gold, graven as signets are graven [graven with the

7 engravings of a signet], with the names of the children of Israel. And be put them
on the shoulders [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod, that they should be stones for a me
morial to [ephod, as memorial stones for] the children of Israel; as Jehovah com
manded Moses.

2. The Breast-plate.

8 And he made the breast-plate of cunning work [with the work of the skilful
weaver], like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and

9 fine-twined linen. It was four-square; they made the breast-plate double:
a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled.

10 And they set in it four rows of stones : the first row was a sardius, a topaz,
and a carbuncle: this was the first row: [stones: a row of sardius, topaz,

11 and emerald was the first row]. And the second row, an emerald [a car-

12 buncle], a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row, a ligure, an agate,

13 and an amethyst. And the fourth row, a beryl [chrysolite], an onyx, and a jasper:

14 they were inclosed in ouches [settings] of gold in their inclosings. And the stones
were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to

EXODUS.

their Dames, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to

15 [for] the twelve tribes. And they made upon the breast- pi ate chains at the ends

16 [chains like cords] of wreathen work of pure gold. And they made two ouches
[settings] of gold, and two gold rings [rings of gold]; and put the two rings in [on]

17 the two ends of the breast-plate. And they put the two wreathen chains of gold

18 in [on] the two rings on [at] the ends of the breast-plate. And the two ends of
the two wreathen chains they fastened iti [put on] the two ouches [settings], and

19 put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, before it [on the front of it]. And
they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breast-plate, upon

20 the border of it, which was on [toward] the side of the ephod inward. And they
made two other [two] golden rin-s, and put them on the two sides [shoulder- pieces)
of the ephod underneath, toward [on] the forepart of it, over against [close by] the
other [the] coupling thereof, above the curious girdle [embroidered belt] of the

21 ephod. And they did bind the breast pla,te by his [>ts] rings unto the rings of the
ephod with a lace [cord] of blue, that it might be ab ve the curious girdle of [em
broidered belt] the ephod, and that the breast- plate might not be loosed from the
ephod; as Jehovah commanded Moses.

3. The Role.

'2'2, 23 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. And there
was an hole in the midst of the robe, [And the opening of the robe in the middle
of it was] as the hole of an habergeon [like the opening of a coat of mail], with a
band [binding] round about the hole [opening], that it should not rend [might not

24 \ e rent]. And they made upon the hems [skirts] of the robe pomegranates of blue,

25 and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen [scarlet, twined]. And they made bells
of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem [skirts]

26 of the robe, round about between the pomegranates ; A bell and a pomegranate, a
bell and a pomegranate, round about t^e hem of the robe [upon the skirts of the
robe round about], to minister in; as Jehovah commanded Moses.

4. The Coat, Breeches, and Girdle.

27 And they made coats [the coats] of fine linen of woven work for Aaron and for

28 his sons, And a mitre [the turban] of fiue linen, and goodly bonnets [tbe goodly

29 caps] of fine line •, and linen [the linen] breeches of fine-twined linen, And a [the]
girdle of fine-twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needle work [scar
let, embroidered work] ; as Jehovah commanded Moses.

5. The Plate of Gold.

30 And they made the plate of the holy cro'wn of pure gold, and wrote upon it a

31 writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH. And
they tied unto it a lace [cord] of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre [turban] ;
as Jehovah commanded Moses.

b. The Frame-work of the Tent, vers. 20-34;

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

a. The Curtains of the Tent and their Cover
ings. Chap, xxxvi. 8-19. Vid. chap. xxvi. 1-14.
Jacobi, in his pamphlet, Die Lehre der Irvingitcn

vid. xxvi. 15-30.

C. The Veil and the Screen, vers. 35-38; vid.
xxvi. 31-37. Ver. 38. Not the whole of the pil
lars of the screen was overlaid with gold, but

(Berlin, 1853), *p. 52sqq.? has told how the" Ir- j only the tips, and the rods running across the up-

vingites interpret, in a fantastic, allegorical way, ! per ends. The o^her pillars of the court only had

tho curtains of the tabernacle as pointing to ! their tips and cross-rods overlaid with silver.

their offices; and, in general, their arbitrary

trifling with Old Testament symbol,. In a simi ! d' Jhe Ark, the Mercy seat the Cherubim,

lar way they deal with the Apocalypse Vid I XXXV1K ^ md' f^v. 10-22. It is called the

Sr,ckrm>yer, Kurze Nachricht uber den Irviw*- \ mnster-workman Bezaleel s own work.

HIV*, p. 1 Roil ob-erves that the verbs Hg^ j e The Table of Shew-bread and its Vessels,

in ver. 8, 13TT1 in ver 10, and frjH in ver. l~l] ' Vers. 10-16; vid. xxv. 23-30. In the direction the

snhwT ^ RhVlhr<I Per"' f Kg' WUh ftnJndefinUQe dishes are called n^P. nb3, ntep, and nVpJD;
subject. But this is not borne out by ver. 8, 'I:

where TV&y first stands in the plural. It is more the same here> e*cePl that the order of the last
likely that the whole work is called Bezaleel' s. two is inverted.

CHAP. XXXIX. 32-43.

157

f. The Candlestick and the Utensils belonging
to it, vers. 17-24; vid. xxv. 31-40.

g. The Altar of Incense with its Appurte
nances, vers. 25-29; vid. xxx. 1-10. The An
ointing 0 1 and the Incense, xxx. 22-28.

h. Tlu Altar of Burnt-offering, with its Im
plements, and the Laver, xxxviii. 1-8. On the
Altar vid. xxvii. 1-8. On the Laver vid. xxx.
17-21. Knobel's notion about ver. 8 is very
strange [vid. above, p. 127]. He thinks that on
the base there were fashioned figures of the wo
men who, as Levite women, came into the court
to wash and furbish. [But Knobel does not re
present the figures as on the base.'}

i. The Court, vers. 9-20: vid. xxvii. 9-19.

j. Summation of the Metal used, vers. 21-31.
"The estimations" (ver. 21). Keil, "The enu
merated things." The duty of counting the
amount was committed to the Levites under the
direction of Aaron's son, [tham ir.

Ver. 24. The Gold. I'henius and Keil reckon
it at 87,730 shekels, or 877,300 Thaler,—* gold
shekel being estimate.! as = 10 Thaler [ = 7 Dol
lars and 2'i cents. Poole, in Smith's Bible Dic
tionary, makes it a little more. — TR.]

Vers. 25-28. The Silver. "Of the silver
there is reckoned only the amount of the atone
ment money collected from those who were
numbered, a half-shekel to every male, the vo

luntary gifts of silver not being mentioned"
(Keil). It is not to be supposed tuat amidst the
voluntary contributions of gold, copper, etc., a
legally imposed tax would be specified. But it
may well be conjectured that the standard, after
wards fixed for the tax for the sanctuary, served
as a guide in the voluntary contributions, as has
been already remarked [p. 126] On the abun
dance of gold and silver among the ancient Ori
entals, as showing the possibility of the actual
correctness of these accounts iu opposition to
modern doubts, vid. Keil, page 251; Knobel?
page 333.

k. Chap, xxxix. 1-31. "The preparation of
the priestly garments, to the description of which
a transition is formed by a statement of the ma
terials for them and of the design of them. The
ephod, vers. 2-7, corresponds to xxviii. 6-12;
the breast-plate, vers. 8-21, to xxviii. 15-29 — the
Urim and Thummim, which needed no special
preparation, being passed over. The robe, vers.
22-26, answers to xxviii. 31-34; the coats, head
pieces, breeches, and girdles for Aaron and his
sons, vers. 27-29 to xxviii. 39, 40 and 42. The
head-covering of the common priests in xxviii. 40
(n'lJ?3W) is here (ver. 28) called Apajsn nX3_
ornamental caps" (Keil). Vid. Knobel for ar
chaeological notes, p. 334.

FIFTH SECTION.

The Religious Presentation of all the Component Parts of the Sanctuary, and

Moses' Blessing.

CHAPTER XXXIX. 32-43.

32 THUS was all the work of the tabernacleof the tent of the congregation [tent of meet
ing] finished : and the children of Israel did accordingto all that Jehovah commanded

33 Mos-^s, so did they. And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and
all his [it?] furniture, his taches [its clasps], his [its] boards, his [its] bars, and his

o4 [its] pillars, and his [its] sockets, And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the

35 covering of badgers' [seals'] skins, and the veil of the covering [screen], The ark of

36 the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy-seat, The table, and all the

37 vessels thereof, and the shew-bread, The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof,
even with the [thereof, the] lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels [utensils]

38 thereof and the oil for light [the light], Ami the golden altar, and the anointing
oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging [screen] for the tabernacle-door [door

39 of the tent of meeting], The brazen [copper] altar, and his grate of bras; [its cop
per grating], his [its] staves, anH nil his [its] vessels, the laver and his foot [its

40 base], Tta hanging of the court, his [its] pillars, and his [its] sockets, and the
hanging [screen] for the court-gate his [its] rords, and his [its] pins, and all the
vessels [furniture] of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation

41 [of meeting], The cloths [garments] of servic .? to do service [for ministering] in
the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sous' garments,

42 to minister in the priest's office [to minister in as priests]. According to all that
Jehovah commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made [did] all the work.

158

EXODUS.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Besides the minute enumeration of the several
parts of the tabernacle, is especially noticeable
the repeated observation that they had done
everything according to Jehovah's command-
mem, vers. 32 and 43. The enthusiasm and the
joy in making offerings was at the same time a
punctilious obedience to the law — an obedience
which, being rendered primarily to Moses,
shows that the new order of things, or the Old
covenant, is again established.

Vers. 33, 34. "By Sri^n are meant the two
tent-cloths composed of curtains, the purple one
and the one made of goats' hair, which made the

43 And Moses did look upon [saw] all the work, and, behold, they had done it as
Jehovah had commanded, even [commanded,] so had they done it: and Moses
blessed them.

tabernacle (|3tf») a tent (^HN). It thence
follows beyond a doubt that the variegated cur
tains formed the inner walls of the tabernacle,
or covered the boards on the inside (? how then
could they be stretched?). On the other hand,
the goats' hair curtains formed the outer cover
ing" (Keil). The colored curtains formed the in
side even if they were stretched over the boards.
Ver. 43. "The readiness with which the peo
ple had brought in abundance the requisite gifts
for this work, and the zeal with which they had
accomplished the work in half a year or less
(vid. xl. 17), were delightful signs of Israel's
willingness to serve the Lord; and for this the
blessing of God could not fail to be given"
(Keil).

SIXTH SECTION.

The Erection of the Tabernacle and its Dedication as the Place of the Revela
tion of the Glory of Jehovah (Analogies: Abraham's Grove at Mamre ;
Jacob's Bethel ; Solomon's Temple ; Zerubbabel's Temple ; Temple Dedication
of Judas Maccabeus ; Christ in the Temple.)

CHAPTER XL. 1-38.

A.— THE COMMAND.

VERS. 1-15.

1, 2 AND Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month

3 shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation [of meeting]. And
thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the veil.

4 And thou shait bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in
order upon it [set it in order] ; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light

5 [set up] the lamps thereof. And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense
[golden altar of incense] before the ark of the testimony, and put [set up] the

6 haiK-insc [screen] of the door to [of] the tabernacle. And thou shalt set the altar
of the [of] burnt-offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the con-

7 gregation [of meeting]. And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the con-

8 gregcatiou [of meeting] and the altar, and shalt put water therein. And thou shalt
set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate [put up

9 the screen of the gate of the court]. And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and
anoint, the tabernacle and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the ves-

10 sels furniture] thereof : and itphallbeholy. And thou shalt anoint the altar of the [of]
burnt-offering, and all his vessels [its utensils], and sanctify the altar : and it shall

11 be an altar most holy [and the altar shall be most holy]. And thou shalt anoint

12 the laver and his foot [its base], and sanctify it. And thou shalt bring Aaron and
his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and

13 wash them wi h water. And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and
[garments; and thou shalt] anoint him, and sanctify him : that [h'm, that] he may

14 minister unto me in the priest's office [be priest unto me]. And thou shalt bring

CHAP. XL. 1-38.

159

15 his sons, and clothe them with coats : And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst
anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office [be priests
unto me] : for [and] their anointing shall su^ly be [shall be to them for] an ever
lasting priesthood throughout their generations.

B.— THE ERECTION OF THE BUILDING (NOT THE CONSECRATION OF IT).

VERS. 16-33. *

16 Thus did Moses: according to all that Jehovah commanded him, so did he.

17 And it came to pass in the first mouth iu the second year, on the first day of the

18 month, that the tabernacle was reared [set] up. And Moses reared [set] up the
tabernacle, and fastened his [its] sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put

19 in the hars thereof, and reared [set] up his [its] pillars. And he spread abroad
[spread] the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon

20 it ; as Jehovah commanded Moses. And he took and put the testimony into the
ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy-seat above upon the ark :

21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the covering,
and covered [screened] the ark of the testimony ; as Jehovah commanded Moses.

22 And he put the table in the tent of the congregation [of meeting], upon the side of

23 the tabernacle northward, without the veil And he set the bread in order upon it

24 before Jehovah ; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And he put the candlestick in
the tent of the congregation [of meeting], over against the table, on the side of the

25 tabernacle southward. And he lighted [set up] the lamps before Jehovah ; as

26 Jehovah commanded Moses. And he put the golden altar in the tent of the con-

27 gregation [of meeting] before the veil : And he burnt sweet incense thereon ; as

28 Jehovah commanded Moses. And he set up the hanging at [put up the screen of]

29 the door of the tabernacle. And he put the altar of burnt-offering by the door of
the tabernacle of the, tent of the congregation [of meeting], and offered upon it the
burnt-offering, and the meat-offering [meal offering] ; as Jehovah commanded

30 Moses. And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation [of meeting]

31 and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal. And Moses and Aaron and

32 his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat [therefrom] : When they went
into the tent of the congregation [of meeting], and when they came near unto the

33 altar, they washed; as Jehovah commanded Moses. And he reared [set] up the
court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging [screen]
of the court-gate. So Moses finished the work.

C.— THE DIVIDE DEDICATION OF THE TABERNACLE ANTERIOR TO THE HUMAN

DEDICATION.

VERS. 34-38.

34 Then a [the] cloud covered the tent of the congregation [of meeting], and the

35 glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the
tent of the congregation [of meeting], because the cloud abode thereon, and the

36 glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from

37 over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But
if [whenever] the cloud were [was] not taken up. then they journeyed not till the

38 day that it was taken up. For the cloud of Jehovah was upon the taberna' le by
day, and fire was on [in] it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, through
out all their journeys.

of the arrangement of the parts. As to the time,
the first day of the first month, Nisan (of the se
cond year of the exodus) is selected, as if in order
that it might be ready for the first Passover fes
tival in the middle of Nisan.

Ver. 3. The ark of the testimony is the
real soul of the sanctuary. It represents the
presence of Jehovah. Next to it the veil is the
most important, since it expresses the unap-

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

a. The Command to Erect the Building.

Chap. xl. 1-15.

Ver. 1. Though Moses knows that the taber
nacle is to be erected, yet he mu^t receive Jeho
vah's command in reference to the time and order
14

160

EXODUS.

proachableness of Jehovah, and protects the ark
from profanation, but still more protects from
the sentence of destruction those who approach
without authority.

Ver. 4. Next comes the table. With the table
Jehovah comes, in a li mi' ed degree, out of the Holy
of holies into the holy place. By this symbolic
communion with the priests He discloses to the
people the hope of fellowship with Him, the fel
lowship of His Spirit, of His blessings. Then
the lamps are lighted as if for a feast; for en
lightenment is dependent on the communion of
the heart with God.

Ver. 5. As Jehovah comes, with the table, in
a sense into the holy place, so the priesthood of
Israel on its part comes in a sense into the Holy of
holies with the altar of iucense which symbolizes
prayer. These holy things, too, which denote
and illustrate communion with Jehovah, must be
screened by the curtain of the holy place.

Ver. 6. As the altar of incense bears a relation
to the door of the Holy of holies, so the altar of
burnt-offering to the door of the holy place.
The laver stands nearer the holy place than the
altar does, because it is for the priests, and con
tains, in the water, the means of purification for
the sacrificial service — in which circumstance is
disclosed an adumbration of the N. T. baptism,
which separates animal offerings from the
temple.

Ver. 8. The court also has its screen, for the
court, too, is an enclosed vestibule of the holy
piace, as contrasted with the profane heathen
world and defiled Israelites, or even such as
approach wiih empty hands.

Ver. 9. The anointing of the dwelling and all
of its individual parts expresses the truth, that all
the worship in this house depends on the life of
the spirit — is from the spirit and for the spirit.
But, in what sense is the altar of burnt-offering,
standing as it does in the court, most holy, [lite
rally, " holy of holies"] ? Because the offering of
sacrifice, and the self-surrender which consists in
trustful obedienc^, and which underlies the offer
ing, are the fundamental condition of the genu
ineness of the whole ritual worship. According
to Keil, the phrase designates the fact that the
altar is not to be approached by the people who
offer sacrifices.*

Ver. 15. Aaron's sons also are anointed to
gether with him, because they represent the
hereditary perpetuity of the priesthood. Keil
holds that the consecration of the priests was
not contemporaneous with the erection of the
tabernacle, but took place later. But here too
only the command is first given, and then the
erection of the tabernacle precedes its execution.
Knobel says: The statement [of ver. 16] antici
pates Lev. viii. If we distinguish between com
mand and execution, the anticipation is only
seeming, or at least only grows out of the sum-
mariness of the narrative.

b. The Erection of the Building. Vers. 16-33.

Ver. 17. And it came to pass. — "Inasmuch
as from the arrival of the Israelites at Sinai in

* \I. e., as being, on account of its position, more exposed
to the contact of laymen than th^ other site ert objects, which
were where no layman was allowed to come at all. — TR.]

the third month after the exodus (xix. 1) until
the first day of the second year, when the work
was delivered to Moses complete, not quite nine
months elapsed, all the work of the building was
done in less than half a year" (Keil).*

Ver. 19. He spread the tent over the ta
bernacle. — By the "tent" here Keil correctly
understands the two principal coverings; by the
" covering," the two outer coverings.

Ver. 20. The testimony.— The tables of the
law, as records which were to bear perpetual wit
ness to the divine will orally revealed to the people,
Knobel refers it to the whole revelation so far
as then existent — which Keil rightly disputes.

Ver. 23. On the arrangement of the twelve
loaves in two rows, vid Lev xxiv. 6.

Ver. 30. Between the tent of meeting
and the altar — "Probably more to one side,
so that the priests did not need to go around the
altar" (Keil.).

The offering of sacrifice, ver. 20, and the
burning of incense, ver. 27, are to be regarded
as extraordinary acts of Moses, the founder
of the system of worship, and not belonging to
the ordinary worship of the people, which pre
supposed the anointing of the sanctuary, and
which began with a sin-offering, whereas here
only burnt-offerings and meal-offerings are
spoken of.

Ver. 33. The court was not only a court; it
enclosed the tabernacle. According to Josephus
(Ant<q. III. 6, 3) the tabernacle stood in the
middle of the court.

c. The Divine Dedication of the Building Ante
rior to the Human Dedication.

Vers. 34-38.

Ver. 34. If anything is fitted to exhibit the
Levitical ritual as a transitory one, as an edu
cational institution designed for the training of
the people up to the time of their maturity, it
is the fact that the completed tabernacle forms
the conclusion of Exodus, not the beginning of
Leviticus; that Moses offered sacrifices and
burned incense in it before Aaron the priest
did; but especially that Jehovah Himself conse
crated the sanctuary by His manifestation of
Himself in the sacred cloud before it was conse
crated by the priesthood. In the Middle Ages
it was a saying that a church was consecrated
by angels in the night before it was going to be
cpnsecrated by priests. Perhaps the saying was
a reminiscence of the mystery here recorded.
For Jehovah's manifestation of Himself is some
thing very mysterious a holy token, viewed
only by the eyes of faith. Above the tabernacle
the cloud appears, and covers it, in order to
remove the glory of Jehovah, which fills the
dwelling, from the view of all, even of Moses.
It is not said that this condition became a per
manent one; on the contrary, the tabernacle
soon afterwards became accessible, except as
regards the regulations concerning the Holy of
holies. But up to that time it was unapproach-

* [This is made out by deducting from th<> nine m.-ntlis
the eighty days (xxiv. 18: xxxiv. 28) spent by Moses on the
mountain, the time sp^nt in preparation for ihe givine of
the law, and in the ratification « f the covenant (xix. 1— xxiv.
11), and the interval between Moses' ttrst and his second Btay
on the mountain (xxxii.and xxxiii.). — TR.]

DOCTRINAL AND HOMILET1C APPENDIX.

161

able, locked up, as it were, and had to be un
locked by sacerdotal expiations according to
the Levitical rites.

At, the close is given a genera] statement con
cerning the future of the tabernacle, which,
however, also discloses the design of it. "The
Future verbs designate the action as a repeated
and perpetual one" (Knobel). It was designed
as a divine token for the people on their march.
When the cloud rose up from the tabernacle,
this was the signal for starting — an expressive
signal ; for the divine token then visibly sepa
rated itself from the sacerdotal dwelling; Jeho
vah seemed to abandon it, as He in truth in the
strictest sense did leave the temple in the Jew

ish war. It was the signal for the people to
break camp and move onward. But the cloud
only showed the way, in order, at a new stop
ping-place, to rest down again on the tabernacle,
and thus to order a halt. Thus the book closes
with the profoundest thought concerning the
history of the kingdom of God, expressed in a
symbolic form and so graphically as to be ap
prehensible by a child. The pillar of cloud above
the tabernacle by day; the fiery brightness in it
by night — before the eyes of all Israel; — thus
was made sensible to the people that presence
of their covenant-God which accompanied them
in all their journeyings. Comp. the consecra
tion of the temple, 1 Kings viii. and Ezek. xliii.
4; Num. ix. 15.

DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX.

FIRST DIVISION : DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL REFLECTIONS.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

THE division of the Bible of which we are
treating, the Thorah (law) in the narrow sense,
wa-^ in former times used much more as a source
of doctrinal and ethical rules and of homiletical
observations than now-a-days. The causes of
this changed attitude of theology and the Church
to the Law lie in the change of views on Old
Testament Judaism and the Old Testament itself,
on inspiration, on hermeneutics, and on the
wants of the Christian Church.

The disregard of the Old Testament scheme
of revelation, which prevailed almost universally
among the Gnostics, drove the Church in the
other direction, to an over-estimation of the
stage of religious development exhibited in the
Old Testament, so that it was almost put on an
equality, and in many ways was confounded,
with the New Testament. Th° common warfare
which heathen and Jewish Christians had to
wage against heathenism tended very early to
beget Judaizing forms of Christianity in theo
logy, forms of worship, and polity. To this
opposition between the Jewish and the heathen
was adde \ the opposition between the divine
arid the human, which through the unconscious
influence of heathen conceptions so emphasized
the divne side as to lead to a one Hided theory
of inspiration, which caused the Old Testament
to appear as substantially one with the New
rather than as contrasted with it. But the dif
ficulties which thus arose were bridged over by
the allegorical style of interpretation. This
was done in two ways : In the form of a philoso

phical allegorizing of the heathen myths, it
mediated between the ancient, superstitious hea
thenism and the later skeptical hea'henism ; in
the form of the Alexandrian allegorizing of
Jewish history, it mediated between the Old
Testament and the Hellenic literature an i style
of thought. Thus then Christian theology also
was led to make a bridge, by allegorical means,
between the Old and the New Testament. By
this means the Old Testament, already in great
part Christianized, was made wholly Christian,
the children of the two Testaments in a sense
exchanging forms. For just as far as the Jews
were pushed forwards and made Christians, the
Christians were pushed backwards and made a
sort of Jews.

On account of the manifold confusion of ideas
which thus arises, let it be here remarked that,
by the allegorizing method of interpretation, we
do not mean the thorough explanation of passages
really intended to be allegorical, but the style of
exposition which perverts the historical and di
dactic meaning of the Scriptures into what is
claimed to be a higher and more spiritual one
by sporting with analogies.

In consequence of this Judaizing theology the
Old Testament, arid particularly the three books
of the law, became a deep fountain of Christian
and religious reflections, especially an inex
haustible mine for Christian mysticism and the-
osophy.

Following, however, the extreme legal ten
dency, which transformed Christian ministers
into Levites, bishops into descendants of Aaron,
the Christian churches into laymen, the eucha-
rist into a sin-offering, churches into temples,

EXODUS.

and which was destroyed only in its central
features by the theology of the Reformation,
came the great reaction of the critical school,
which passed over more and more into the ex
treme of rationalism.

Now, therefore, the Old Testament, and with
it the Old Teslament religion itself, was more and
more degraded and caricatured by many mon
strous disfigurements bearing witness to arrogant
ignorance. In connection with tins there grew
out of the single product of Old Testament inspi
ration a meagre mesh of human legends, fictions,
historic reminiscences and errors, with the de
struction of which the youthful criticism carried
on its child's play. But the science of hermt1-
neutics rejected, together with the allegorizing
theory, more and more decidedly also the sym
bolism atid typology which were veiled in it ;
aud while it rightly laid down the law of gram
matico-hist.orical interpretation of the Scrip
tures, it yet at once, and more and more, fell into
the mistake of taking the letter according to the
narrowest literal sense, and the historical matter
as only an unessential modification of earlier be
ginnings of history. For this new theulogy there
were no new spirits, n> new things, no new words.
Side by side with this theological revolution
there has, to be sure, maintained itself the work
ing of the old allegorizing spirit — sometimes
carried even to the pitch of absurdity. What,
e. g. have not the Irving.tes been able to make
out of the skins which covered the tabernacle!

But a new epo3>i has dawned in theology and
the Church, an I is gradually taking shape in a
more successful attempt correctly to estirn ite the
Old Testament. The general statement, of the cor
rect relation between the Old and the New Testa
ment may be made in a few words: Oneness of
substance, contrast in the form of development
as regards both the records aud the facts of re
velation underlying them.

Yet as, in this view, the Old Testament is
Christianity in the germ, so thus far the correct
theology and exegesis of the Old Testament are
in a germinant condition — a condition subject to
many oscillations connected with defective dis
tinctions.

In the first place, not distinction enough is
made between the Judaism of the Jewish people,
as the vehicles of the Old Testament revelation,
and the sacred history of the revelation itself.
So the French Encyclopedists identified Chris
tendom and Christianity, especially Roman Catho
lic Christendom.

Again, not distinction enough is made between
the symbolic forms of the Old Testament and the
mythical forms of the heathen world (vid. Comm.
on Genesis, p. 23sqq.).

This is connected with the fact that, on the
other hand, still less distinction is made between
the Hebrew (theocratic) and the Hellenistic (clas
sic) mode of conception and description. Ac
cording to the latter, history is a presentation
of facts in their outward relation of cause and
effect for the gratification of a love of knowledge;
poetry is its own object, and ministers to the
enjoyment of the beautiful; and didactics minis
ters to scholastic knowledge ; whereas theocratic
history presents historic facts in the light of
eternal ideas, and hence in symbolic significance ;

theocratic poetry allows art to be merged in the
service of holiness; and didactics does not deal
with abstract formulas, but with concrete con
ceptions, because it aims not at developing a
school, but at building up a church.

Very imperfecr also is frequently the distinc
tion made between the prophecy of events or of
'ypesand the prophecy of ideas or of words. That
these two forms depend on one another; that
without, the actual reference of Israelitish his
tory to the future of the work of salvation, there
fore without the l;iie of prophetic formations or
'ypes unknown to man, but, well known to the
Spirit of God, there could also be no conscious
'deal or verbal prophecies; and that, conversely,
the forward movement of the actual mental life
of the people in typical persons, experiences,
institutions and emotions, is conditioned on ideal
guides, i. e. on verbal prophecies; — this fact is
founded on the indissoluble interaction between
an ideal and a life. According to a young man's
ideals, his life's aim is shaped; and his ideals,
rising up out of his life's aims and at ainments,
assume a form more and more distinct and pure.
Most of all do men misunderstand those forms
in which the verbal prophecy is still inclosed
like a bursting bud. in the integument of typical
significance. E.g. that mankind, in his hostility
to the serpent, shall bruise its head, is a verbal
prophecy; but, the expression respecting the
woman's seed is in a high degree typical. So
the passage about the son of the virgin in Isa.
vii. must be divided into elements of verbal pre
diction and those of typical meaning But in
general there is connected with every blossom
of verbal prophecy a leaf of typical foliage, as
also, on the other hand, over all typical repre
sentations there floats a meaning full of prophetic
presentiment — The theology of the present time,
bowever, would suffer a complete relapse, should
that confusion become stationary which often
appears with regard to the distinction be' ween
the different, periods of development in the Old
Testament, particularly between the patriarchal
and the Mosaic periods. Especially, when the
whole patriarchal period is consigned to a vague
radition, and the Israelitish religion is made to
begin with Mosaism, there is an end of a tho-
'ough understanding not only of the Old Testa-
nent, but of all the Bible, and in fact of the
whole kingdom of God. Without the foundation
aid in Abraham's faith in the promises, Mosa-
sm also, according to Rom. iv and Gal. iii., is
•ntirely unintelligible, as also the legality of the
Middle Ages is made into a gloomy caricature,
unless it is conceived as a process of training
or the people, based on the apostolic and an
cient Catholic Church. The consequence of this
ne-sidedness is seen in the fact that the normal
)rogress of Mosaism towards Messianic prophecy
cannot, be appreciated, but is misinterpreted,
ust as the Reformation of the Middle Ages is
lenounced as a revolution.

But if the periods of Old Testament, revelation
ire correctly appreciate 1, then one will be able
o determine more accurately the difference be-
ween the canonical and the apocryphal periods
if the Old Testament, according to their charac-
eristic features. The one characteristic feature
f the apocryphal literature is the national ele-

DOCTRINAL AND HOMILET1U APPENDIX.

163

ment which abandons the theocratic classicalness
or canonicity : a form such as in its way ap
peared in the GrEeco-Ronian literature, and in
modern literature tnreatens to appear every
where. In the period of the Hebrew popular
literature, Ju laisrn and Alexandrianism fall
apart; and inwardly faith is blended with fana
ticism, superstition, and skepticism, while ou'-
wardly the Messianic anticipations retreat be
hind the contrasted elements of Alexandrian
spiritualism and Jewish literalism.

A right estimate of the Old Testament periods
will also disclose the great significance of the
difference between the epoc'is and the periods
of the time of revelation, an I much that is in
comprehensible will become more nearly iutelli
gible, e. g. the great difference between the
epoohs abounding in miracles and the periods
in which there were none — a difference the reflex
of which is still perceptible in the contrast, be
tween that half of the age of the church which
was characterized by festivals and that which
was without them.

The theology of the present will therefore still
have considerable obstacles to overcome. But
it cannot possibly retur-i to the mediaeval and
early Protestant style of dealing with the Old
Testament, and must, none the less leave behind
the rationalistic relapses of negative criticism
and of pseudo-historical exegesis. It will set
forth the divine and miraculous revelations as
they gradually made their appearance, according
to the degrees of the human development on which
they rested, in the fulness and beauty of their
successive factors.

So then in the service of a new method of in
terpreting the Mosaic law, a method which may
be briefly termed the Christological as being the
due appreciation of divine truth in a human
coloring and form, the old shafts of this rich
mine, in varioug ways filled with obstructions,
will be re-opened; and instead of the merely
glistering half metals of exegetical disquisitions
there will be fouud for Christian instruction and
edification a yield of the richest metals.

A. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE DOCTRINES OF
THE LAW.

As to the law of Mo.ses as a whole, we cannot
go back to the old position, that it still serves as
a moral liw in its entirety, i. e., entirely in this
its outward form especially the law of the Sab-
bit h, and many also of the civil laws, e. g., the
law of tithes, and of capital punishment for the
blasphemer; but the New Testament truth, that
the law is done away by the law for the Chris
tian (Gal. ii.), must not be so interpreted as to
imply that the Mosaic law is wholly abrogated:
It will rather be seen that it, has been freed by
Christ, as to its spiritual elements, from the
limitations and forms of the Jewish economy,
that it in this very way has become a type de
signed to represent and illustrate the funda
mental principle of Christianity in its details
(vid Mitt. vi. ; Rom. iii. 31).

In like manner the Jewish people are no more
to be regarded as, abstractly considered, the
people of God overtopping all the other nations,
as even yet in the New Testament period they
are sometimes looked on as a nation of priests

which has lost, its privileges, but which i* destined
to become again the nobility of Christendom.
But little as the whole nation is to be estimated
according to its elect ones, so little should it be
estimated according to the appearance of its
degenerate masses, as is often uoue by rational
ists, and in general by modern writers. As the
first-fruits in the religious development of the
nations, Israel must become more an 1 more a type
for elect nations of the New Testament era, for the
idea of election in all nations, for the significance
of nationalities, of national life within the king
dom of God, and of the shape given by Chris
tianity to national institutions.

This process of two-edged or two-sided antag
onism against the extremes will have to be car
ried on in all the points in which biblical theolo
gy, in a Christological aspect, relates to the law.

The dogmatic peculiarity of the Mosaic law is
its crystalline distinctness of form and its trans
parency, or its unpoetic precision and its sug
gestive symbolicalness. The absence of figures
in the Mosaic law also marks its style, which,
everywhere and in the smallest details avoids the
obscurity of an imaginative diction. This pro
saic precision is all the more striking, inasmuch
as it is here and there interrupted by highly
poetical passages, and finally is supplemented by
the lofty style of the prophetic book of Deute
ronomy. But out of thi i very distinctness, seem
ingly related only to civ'.l affairs, there shine
forth everywhere the suggestive thoughtfulness
and symbo'icalness which gives to Mosaism the
character of a typical institution throughout.

The fundamental do?ma of Mo°aisra is this:
Elohim is Jehovah, or, Jehovah is Elohim, as the
fundamental dogma of the New Testament is this:
J^sus is the Christ, or, the Christ is Jesus. Tae
God of all the worlds, Elohim, is Jehovah, the
covenant God of Israel; the covenant God of
Israel is also none the less the God of all the
worlds. Religious catholicity and religious par
ticularism thus complement each other, although
a narrow view of things keeps trying to bring
them into antagonism.

On the basis of this dogma come first of all
into clear prominence the idea and the law of
personality. Jehovah is holy, i. e., He keeps His
personality, in which idea and essence are one,
pure and unmixed, and for this reason He trains
up Israel to be His holy people, a people of per
sonal worthiness. Again and again this covenant,
fellowship between the absolute and the limited
personality is emphasized, also, therefore, the
sonship for which Israel is called into existence.

The idea that Israel, or humanity, is akin
with God, is more conspicuous in the stern ma
jesty of the la^ than even in the dogmatics of
the church. The Canaanites are rejected for the
reason that they have ruined the worthiness of
personality in the double form of voluptuous rites
and of offerings to Moloch.

With the notion of personality and holiness to
which Israel is called in his fellowship with God
are inseparably connected the necessity of expia
tion and the consecration of sacrifice". The con
secration of sacrifices; for man always follows
the impulse to mike expiatory offerings. If he
does not do this in a manner pleasing to God, he
does it as a heathen in horrid caprice. To bodily

164

EXODUS.

suicide corresponds in this respect intellectual
suicide, tbe tuial denial of immortality, respect
ing wlncli it is lately asserted that Moses knew
uotning of 11. Moses, who had brought his peo
ple out of Egypt, out of the land where men wor
ship tbe dead and the other world, had first of
all to wean the people from Egyptian concep
tions, and to train them chiefly to sanctify, as
they ougut, the things of tins vvorUi, as being the
proper louudatiou for a true view of the sacred-
ness of the other world. The idea of immorta
lity, as something presupposed, is sufficiently
obvious in the Mosaic religion.

As to the law itself, we must not overlook its
divisions, nor the various combinations that re
sult Irom theji. Although the Kw is a unit, yet
the old distinction between the moral, ceremo
nial, and civil law is well founded. Hence thj
command of the day of rest is given in two con
nections : as an. ethical law of humanity in the
decalogue, and as a ceremonial law among the
regulations lor festivals in Leviticus. If this
connection is overlooked, the Levitical ceremo
nial Sabbath will be transferred to the ten com
mandments, and on the other hand the Sabbath
law of Leviticus will be treated as a mere Jewish
ceremon al law. A similar combination is found
in the ordinance of the day of atonement. Le-
vitically it was the culmination of all the feasts;
socially it was the fast-day of preparation for
the fea^t of tabernacles.

The Messianic seal cf the three books (Exo
dus, Leviticus, and Numbers), which is discerned
in the various institutions of the law, is found
unmistakably impressed on the three books :
Exodus is the book which sets forth the Messiah as
prophet; in Leviticus the Messianic high-priest -
)>ood is typically portrayed; while the book of
Numbers describes the organization, appearance,
and guidance of God's host, whose military and
victorious prince is Jehovah in His Messianic
future. See details in the Introduction.

Literature.

Here belong, besides general commentaries,
works on biblical theo'opy (vid. Comm. on Genesis,
p. 02 pqq.). Vid. a list in Von Colin' s Biblische Thco-
l^'jie, ] . p. 10. Likewise in Hagenbach'ft Encyclopd-
d><>, p. '214. [Darling's Cyclopedia, Smith's Bible
Diction>trif, Am. Ed.]. Hagenbach puts here Ilof-
rn-mn's Schriffbeweis des Glaubens. — On the King
dom of Gorl, and, in particular, Christology, vid.
Comm. on Genesis.

Most recent works: Von o!. Golz: Gott?s Of-
fenbftrung durch heilige Geschichfp, Basel, 1808.
Ewald, Die Lehre von Gott, oder Thpolngie des Al
ien und Neufn Testaments, Vol. I. Die Lehre v<~>m
Worte Gotten. Leipzig. 1871. Oohler, Theology
of the Old Testament [Clark's Foreign Theological
Library, 1875, 2 vols.].

Here belong works on special dogmatic and
ethical questions, on the Israelitish character
and beliefs, especially on the Jewish belief in im
mortality, on typology, and on Jewish laws.

In reference to the general character of the
Israelites, there are, in opposition to the pcoifc of
Feuerbach and the depreciatory judgment of Re-
n an, Richard Wagner, and others, to be consi
dered both Jewish and Judaistic over-estimates

(e. g., of Baumgarten and others), and likewise
correct estimates.

Monographs. On the name Jehovah vid. Tho-
luck, Vermischte Schriften 1., p. 377 sqq. The
article by Oehler, in He:-zog's Real-encyclopddie ;
Danz, p. 425. [Relaud, Decas exercitationum, etc ;
Reinke, Philogtacti-historische Abhandlung iiber den,
Gottesnamen Jehovah; the above-mentioned arti
cle by Tholuck, translated by Dr. Robinson in
the Biblical Repository, Vol. IV., 89-1 08; E. Bal-
lantine, Interpretation of Ex. vi. '2, 3; ibid.,-Vo\.
Ill , p. 730 sqq. See also Hengstenbergr, Authen
ticity of the Pmtateuch, I., p. 213 sqq ; Kurtz, Die
Einheit der Genesis, p. xliii. sqq. ; Macdonald,
Introduction to the Pentateuch, I., p. 165 sqq.
-TR.].

On the Mosaic law. Vid. the older writings in
Walch's Bibliotheca, I. p. 119. Also the article on
(his topic, and a list of works, in Herzog's Rea!-en-
cyclopadie. Langen, Mosaisches Licht und Recht,
Halle, 1732; Salvador, Geschichte d>r mosui&chen
Institution en; Bluhme, Collatio legutn Rotnanarum
ct Mosaicarum, 1843 Schnell, Das Israeli! ische
Recht in seinen Grundzugen dargestellt, Basel, 1853 ;
Bunsen, Inhaltund Epochendermosaischen Gesetzge-
lung (Bihelnrkiinden, I. p. 229): R ehm, Die Ge
setzgebunginLande J/oa6,Gotha, 1854. [Michaelis,
Laws of Moses; Saalschiiiz, Das mosaische Recht ;
Wines, Commentary on the Laws of the Ancient
Hebrews.— TR.].

R Kubel, Das alttestamentliche Gesetz und seine
Urkunde, Stuttgart, 1867; F. E. Kubel, Die
soziale und volkswirthschaflliche Gesetzgebung des
Alien Bundcs, Wiesbaden, 1870.

On the Mosaic doctrine of immortality, Oehler,

Veteris Testamenti sententia de rebus post mortem
futures, Stuttgart, 1846; Brecher. Die Umlerb-
l chke.itslehre. des israditischen Vulks, Leipzig. 1857;
Enpelbcrt, Das negative Verdie.nst des Alien Testa-
men's um die Untterblichkeitslehfe, Berlin, 1857;
Ilerm. Schultz, Die Voraussetzungen der clirist-
L'chcn Lchre von der Unsterblichkeit, Gottingen,
1861; Klostermann, lloffnung kunftiger Erlosung
aus dcm Todeszustande b<i den Frommen des A. T.
( Untersuchungen zur alttcstamentlichen Theoloyie,
Cotha, 1868). [Bottcher, De Inferis Rebusque
post Mortem futuris ex Ilbrseorum et G/secorum
Opinionibus, Dresden, 1846; Warburton, Divine
Legation of Moses; Alger, Critical History of the
Doctrine of a Future Life, and the bibliographical
Appendix of the same by Ezra Abbot, LL. D.
-Tu.]

On the typology of the Old Testament, espe
cially of the Pentateuch, vid. Comm on Genesis,
p. 62 sq. ; Uillcr, Ncucs System aller Vorbildcr
Jrsu Christ i durch das ganze Alte Testament;
Fairbairn, Typology of Scripture ; Biihr, Symbolik
d"s mosaischen Outfits ; monographs in Liebner
and Dorner's Zeitschrift ; and the article Vorbild
in Herzog's Real-encyclopadie by Tholuck ; Com-
mentnry on Genesis, p. 2osqq. — [Kurtz, Sacrificial
Offerings of the Old Testament; J.Tye Smith,
Sacrifice and Priesthood of Jesus Chrizt ; Magee,
Scriptural Doctrine of Atonement and Sacr.ficcs ;
Outram, Two Di*8ertatiom on Sacrifice* ; Tholuck,
Appendix to C rnmentary on the Hebrews — Tp..]

More special articles, e'.g. on the Docalo£ue,
vid. under the several books.

DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX.

105

B. SPECIAL DOCTRINAL REMARKS ON EXODUS.

1. The Redemption of Israel, or the Type oj

Redemption in General.

By the history of the redemption of Israel tin
Mosaic legislat on is connected with the pairi
archal religion of promise, and by means of this
alone does this legislation receive its proper
position and meaning. The Mosaic law, too, is
founded on the redemption, as is expressly de
clared in the introductory clause of the Deca
logue; and it is a Rabbinic extravagance to
make a distinct commandment out of the open
ing words: "I am Jehovah, thy God," etc. A
foreign code of laws imposed as a yoke upon a
nation without any intervention, in such a sense
as Hegel and others conceive the Mosaic law,
would be only despotic constraint, not a real
law in the spiritual sense. By means of re
demption Jehovah has secured for Himself the
office of lawgiver for the people of His possession.
By moans of the redemption He has established
in the minds of all the people the confident hope
that all His commandments, even those that for
the present are the most unintelligible, are the
products of the same Spirit that redeems and
continues the redemption. By means of the
redemption Jehovah his liberated the people
from a slavish yoke and service, in order to
train them f >r freedom by the educational influ
ence of legal compulsion and of a servile condi
tion. Hence all the main features in the guiding
of the Israelites to Sinai are each of them highly
significant types in illustration of the idea of
redemption. With seeming hopelessness be
gins the history of redemption. The wonder
ful deliverance of the one called to be a deliverer,
the unconscious .assistance rendered in the midst
of the hostile people themselves, the flight and
concealment, of Moses in Midian, the contest
with the obduracy of the tyrant, and even with
the reluctance and unbelief of his own people,
the long anxious waiting for the decision, the
final breaking away, the passage through the
Red Sea, the further miraculous aid, the pillar
of cloud and fire, the friendship of Jethro and
his counsels; — all these things are found re
peated a hundred times in more general forms
iu the history of the kingdom of God. The ori
ginal redemption of Israel, as continued throug-i
a long series of redemptive acts, is the type of the
real redemption of all mankind through Christ,
and is reflected in all analogous facts until the
last redemption of mankind in the future world.
Jehovah is the God [redeemer] of His people.
Vid. the article on Erloxung in Herzog.

On the dogmatic significance of Moses vid. the
Epistle to the Hebrews. On the Passover, vid.
toe dictionaries and Danz.

2. The Law.

The law of Mose^, in its inmost essence, is the
objectified conscience of man, or the subjectified,
humanized will of God. It is the conscience
primarily of the patriarchs, in general, however,
of humanity, since the conscience of humanity
is aroused and n waked to actual conscientious
ness in the elect fathers of the faith that rested
on the promises. It is the divine training-school
(Gal. iii.) by means of which the religion of the

chosen ones is made the religion of the multi
tude of the Israelitish people, and indirectly of
sill mankind. It is the educational will of God.
which came forth out of the inward illumination
of the lawgiver, and put itself into the form ot
an objective writing on stone, to be transformed
again in due time from the stone by means of the
divine guidance into the writing on the heart,
the law of the Spirit, vid. Jer. xxxi. 33.

The one root of the law is the covenant of cir
cumcision, which from the first pointed to the
circumcision, the regeneration, of the heart,
Deut. x. 16; xxx. 6. Vid. Comm. on Genesis,
p. 426. The law, accordingly, is not stationary,
but is everywhere a movement in and with the
legal man towards regeneration (vid. Rom. vii.);
and the method of this movement is sacrifice,
the fundamental type of which appears in the
least of the Passover-lamb. This festival looks,
in its character of sin-offering, peace offering
and burnt-offering, towards a process of spirit
ualizing the law, and forms a contrast to the
curse-offering.

After individual foreshadowings of the law
(Ex. xv. 26; xvi. 29; obedience, the Sabbath),
follows the ethical legislation from Mount Sinai,
described to us as a sympathetic excitement of
the whole people caused by their intercourse
with Moses. The manifestation amidst thunder
and lightning was to be interpreted by every
conscience according to its attitude towards
Jehovah ; it is a one sided conception to regard
it as wholly threat and terror (Ps. xxix.), though
it has primarily this effect for the consciousness
of guilt which is awakened by the law.

Jehovah's legislation is progressive; hence
we have to distinguish a legislation of Sinai —
in fact a two-fold one, owing to the interruption
occasioned by the worship of the golden calf; a
legislation of fvidesh ( Dt. xxxiii. 2) ; a legislation
of the fields of Moab (of Seir?j ; finally, the pro
phetic legislation of Deuteronomy — the latter as
a beginning of the spiritualization of the law.

But the law aims at no one-sided spirituality.
It demands first of all acts of commission and
omission founded on an inner motive as a train
ing to spirituality in the inner life, and at last
again spiritual acts. So it is in a three-fold
respect a type of the fundamental forms of the
egal aspects of the kingdom of God, viz., as
being a barrier, a mirror, and a rule.

First of all, the law's requirement of deeds
must not be toned down. Deeds are a check
ipon that which is evil, a definition, a pic-
ure, a practice of that which is good. But
he law as a mirror is the training-master to
bring to Christ; it leads to a deepening of the
nner life, till one comes to the hell of self know-
edge (Rom. vii.); and here only is brought to
perfection that entire receptivity for the Gospel
of grace, through which the law is transformed
nto a fountain of spiritual life.

The mistaken vie'w respecting acts, that the
mere act is all that is needed, is the root of Ju
daism, of Pharisaic self-righteousness, though
ven the mere doing or not doing has its value
and reward in the outward world, especially in
he regulations of social life.

The mistaken view respecting the mirroring
of one's self in the law, that the recognition of

166

EXODUS.

sin is an end in itself, leads to the deadening of
the inner life in self-depreciation, quietism and
pietistic self-torture.

Toe mistaken view respecting the law of the
Spirit is the spiritualism which tends to dissoci
ate itself from that which is the condition of it,
viz. consciousness of sin and faith in redemp ion,
and which more or less decidedly lapses into
antinomianism.

The uni»y of life in the law of the letter ^is a
continual movement, which leads to the right
eousness of faith, and, as the law of the spirit,
to the righteousness of the life.

On the abolition of the law in the New Testa
ment, comp. the Comm. on Matthew, p. 109, on
Romans, p. 137. Abolished as regards the seve
rity, narrowness, and outwardness of the letter,
the law is lifted up into the region where there
is no limit to what is required of the spirit a id
rend >red by it.

On the three spheres of the law according to
its primary outline, the ethical, the ceremonial,
and the civil, as they are distinctly contrasted
with one another in the brief outline, vid. the
exegesis in point.

In a more general form the three books are to
be divided throughout according to these three
spheres of the law.

The first form of the law was abolished, as to
its covenant validity, by the worship of the
golden calf. The fact that Moses broke til-}
tables of the law, is an eternal repudiation of
image-worship, because this worship leads to
idolatry, though it is not in its intention direct
idolatry. The relation of the new tables of the
law is perhaps this: The former prohibit the
rudeness and hereditary sinfulness of the natu
ral life ; the latter prohibit, with that, apos
tasy also, and constitute therefore for the apos
tate people the discipline of a state of penitence,
the penalty of a lay condition, the disciplinary
excommunication.

On the analysis of the law vid, p. 75.

Treatises. On the decalogue vid. Dnuz,Uncyclo-
p'ddie und Methodologie, p. 210, Supplement, p. 25;
Otto, Dekalogische Untersuchungen, Halle, 1857;
Geffken, Ueber die verse hiedf.nen Eintheilungen
des Dekalogs, Hamburg, 1838 ; Stier, Die zehn
Gebote in Katechismus, Barmen, 1858; the article
Dekalog in Herzog's Rt.al-encyclopddie. Here be
long the discussions of this topic in the works on
biblical theology, in the older works on dog
matics and ethics, and in the catechisms.

On the Sabbath (or Sunday) in particular,
Hengstenb., Ueber dm Tag des Herrn, Berlin, 1852;
Wilhelmi, Ueber Feiertagsheiligung, Halle, 1857;
Danz. under Sabbath and under Sonntag ; also his
article Sonntagsfeier'in the Supplement, p. 99. [Hes-
sey, Sunday, Hampton Lectures for 1800; Whately,
Thoughts on the Sabbath ; L. Coleman, in Bibliotheca
Sacra Vol.1.; John 8 Stone in Theol. Edrctic, Vol.
IV.; Paley, Moral and Political Philosophy ; Mau
rice, On the Sabbath, and the articles in Smith's
Bible Dictionary, and Kitto's Cyclopedia. — TR.]

3. The Tabernacle.

The tabernacle is not mainly the meeting
house of the popular congregation nj?13 ^HX),
but the dwelling-place, the palace, of its Lord;

not, therefore, mainly the centre of worship, but

the sanctuary of the law (Hn^n /Hk). In the
tabernacle the appearance of GJJ, and with it,
so to speak, Sinai, reinaiu permanently ; hence it
is the place where the people are to appear before
Jehovah, where they hear the testimony of His
law, and bring the offering of seif-surrender in
prayer and reconciliation. For this reason,
as already remarked, the picture of the taber
nacle stands in Exodus, not in Leviticus.

The holy place where God made His appear
ance is originally designated only by a stone
monument (Gen. xxviii. 18); then it is artisti
cally represented by the tabernacle, which was
afterwards transformed into the temnle. But
even in the tabernacle the one place of God's reve
lation is developed into a gradual succession of
revelations: the court; the holy place, the ob
long (as an incomplete square); and the Holy
of holies, as the highest form of the sanctuary,
and, in its square form, a symbol of perfection.
The divine law in the first stage, the court, is re
presented by the sacred limit, the screen of the
sanctuary, the laver, the mirrors, the sicrificial
death; in the second, by the seven branched
candlestick ; in the third by the ark of the law
protected by the cherubim. Therewith corre
sponds in the fim stage the altar of burnt -offer
ing, which consumes the sacrifice in the fire; in
the second, the a'tar of incense, over which the
soul of the offering rises upwards in prayer; in
the third, the lid of the ark of the covenant, the
lid of expiation, of re-union with Jehovah — The
benefits which God's people obtain are, in the
first stage, absolution and a simple blessing; in
the second the sacerdotal communion with Jeho
vah at the table of shew-bread ; in the third, the
high-priestly vision of the glory of the Lord — the
whole inuring to the benefit of the people in the
threefold blessing (Num. vi. 23-26), but presup
posing a threefold advance in degrees of piety :
obedience and confession ; prayer ; joyous self-
surrender even unto death.

As to the materials arid the building of the
tabernacle, we refer to the exegetical remarks,
p. 151, to the numerous monographs, and to the
archaeological and lexical descriptions.

As the tabernacle is, on the one hand, a type
of all true temples, churches, and sanctuaries on
earth, the mother of the greatest cathedrals and
of rhe smallest chapels, so is it, on the other
hand, as being instituted by Jehovah, the oppo
site of all s<'lf-chosen forms of divine service
(£$e"kodpr)GKeia, Col. ii. 23), idol groves, and hide
ous systems of worship. Among the several
typical features are especially to be considered
the picture of the tabernacle as seen in the mount,
or the ideal plan of the building; the vocation
of sacred art in the form of architecture and the
art of making symbolic figures; the grand volun
tary contributions of the people for the sanc
tuary; and the glorious festival of consecration.
But as the tabernacle was the provisional adum
bration of the temple of Solomon, so it was,
together with it, an adumbration of the great
dwelling-place of the Lord which embraces the
heaven of heavens, but is not embraced by it (1
Kings viii).

For works on the tabernacle vid. p. 113.

DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX.

167

SECOND DIVISION : HOMILETIC HINTS.

A. GENERAL HOMILETIC REMARKS.

First of all is to be noticed the fact that in the
ancient, church the three books of the law were
made, by the help of allegorical interpretation,
an important means of Christian edification. As
the most prominent example of this, Origen is to
be named.

It was a consequence of the allegorical style
of preaching, that, on the one hand, on account
of the unmistakable uncertainty and caprice of
its changing hues, it could not but weaken the
assurance of faith, while, on the other hand, it
could not but occasion a large deficiency in practi
cal ethics resting on faith, and in the ethical expo
sition of Scripture. This evil effe it has been espe
cially pointed out by a pious and sober teacher
of pastoral theology, Peter Roques, Le Pasteur
Evany clique, Basle. 1723. He even traces the
corruption of the Eastern Church largely to the
moral barrenness of the fantastical allegorical
style of preaching.

It cannot be denied that the allegorical mode
of explaining the Scriptures, derived from the
Alexandrian theology, was in existence among
the Christians even at the time of the origin of
the N. T. Yet we must make a radical distinc
tion between typical and allegorical interpreta
tion of the Bible. The typology of the N. T. may
here and there, especially in the Epistle to the
Hebrews, border on the allegorical method; but
this method itself does not appear distinctly ex
cept in the extra-biblical works, e. g., in the inter
pretation of Abraham's 318 servants in the Epis
tle of Barnabas.*

Yet even at a still later point there must be dis
tinguished among the apos'olical and church fa
thers the typical from the allegorical treatment
of the Bible

But after the allegorical method had ob'ained
theoretically the predominance, one fact is still
to be considered, to which the rigid advocates of
the gramrnatico-historical interpretation do not
do justice. For the Middle Ages the conception
of the infinitely rich and profound contents of
the Holy Scriptures as ideally considered could
be gained only by the allegorical way. The
simple light had to be broken in the prism of
the Middle Ages into the colors of the sevenfold
sense of Scripture.

Nevertheless the homiletic use of allegory in
reference to the books now under consideration
was very much limited by the prevalence of the
custom of observing the per Scopes as well as by
the saints' dayn; and this limitation has con
tinued, on account of the pericopes, to affect the

* [This was thus interpreted : 318 is made up of 10 represent
ed by the Greek letter i, 8 represented l>y TJ. and 3()0 represent
ed by T. The first two letters irj stand f.ir Irjtrous, and the last
represents the form of the cross. — Ta.J

1 Lutheran church. But it was otherwise with
i horniletics in the Re ormed church, and with
I the mystic edification derived from the reading
of the Bible; it was not held in check by the
pericopes, but, rather set itself in opposition to
that constraint; and that the Reformed churches
were fond of Old Testament texts is accounted
for by this fact in part, an-l not simply by their
conception of the Bible as a code of laws, and by
the fact "that the Reformed Pietism was more
fantastic than its Lutheran brother" (Diestel,
Geschiehte dps Alten Testaments in der christlichen
Kirche, p. 774.). It may indeed he assumed th-it
the allegorical style of prea-.shiug in the Re
formed church was in great part provoked by
the Lutheran mystics and commentators.

When the homiletic use of allegorical exposi
tion began to run into absurdities (vid. exam
ples in Lentz), it also gradually fell into con
demnation — a process which began with the time
of the Reformation. That it nevertheless was
able to maintain itself so long after the Reforma
tion, and so often seemingly to become rejuve
nated, was due to its connection with a mysti
cism which was full of life, and to its repugnance
to the dryness of dogmatic formulas. But
more especially its life was due to a dim feeling
(misconstrued, it is true) of the peculiarity of
the symbolical side of the Biblical style, as op
posed to the extreme orthodox and the radical
tendency to reduce it all to a purely abstract
literalism.

Works on the interpretation of the Scriptures.
Whitby, Dissertatw de sacra* urn scripfurarum
interpretations, etc. London, 1714; Schuler,
Geschichte der popular en Schnftfrklnrung unler
den Christen von d?m An fang dfs Christen thums Ins
auf d>e yegenwartiyen Zeiten. Tubingen, 1787 ; J.
G' Rosenrniiller, Historia Interpretations libroram
sacrorum in ecclesia chrixtiana; Meyer, (Jesrhichte
der Schrifterklarung seit der WiederhernteUung der
Wixsrmc'haften, Gottingen, 180: (in the Introduc
tion a condensed survey of the history of the
interpretation of Scripture from the beginning
of the Christian church till the 15th centu-y);
Mogelin, Die allegorische Bibelnuileyung, besonders
in der Predict, historisch und didaktisch be/rachtet,
Niirnberg. 1844; Elster, de medii sevi iheoiogia
exegetica, Gottingen, 1855; Lentz, Geschiehte der
chritt lichen Homiletik, Brunswick. 1839; Lurtwig,
Ueber di? prakti&che Au*l<jgung der hriliyen Schrift,
Frankfort, 1859 — Among the general commen
taries the Berleburg Bible, as mi allegorizing
one, especially belongs here. A very prominent
allegorist was Madame Guyon (vid. ttie article in
Herzog). Diestel, (reschichte de* Alien Testaments
in der christlichen Kirche.—\ list of writings on
hermeneutics is given in Hagenb^ich's Encyclo-
piidie, p. 174 sqq. See also the article llerme-
neutik in Herzog's Rtalencyclnpadie ; the Comm.
i on Genesis, p. 101; Winer, Reallejcicon, II., p. 115

168

EXODUS.

gqq, [Marsh, Lectures on the Criticism and Inter
pretation of the Bible; Davids an, Sacred Herme-
neutics : Fairbairn, Henneneutical Manual; 1m-
mer, Hermeneulik, a translation of which will
soon appear from the press of W. F. Draper,
Andover.— TR.]

B. SPECIAL HOMILET1C REMARKS ON EXODUS.

I. The Redemption and the Bringing of the
People to Sinai.

1. The. Significance of t fie People of Israel, particu
larly of the Tribes in reference to the Kinydom of
God.

The rise of the people of Israel in bondage,
and the redemption running parallel with it,
also a type. A miniature picture of humanity.
— Egypt in its twofold form: a refuge of the
founders of the kingdom of God, and the first
anti-theocratic power. Repeated in the general
history of the world. — Moses' leadership in its
theocratic significance. Even Moses, the medi
ator of the law and of the restricted Jewish eco
nomy, had to receive a prepara'ory training in
all the wisdom of the Egyptians — Moses and
the other children, exposed and apparently lost,
who have become great men in the world's his
tory, especial monuments of divine Providence
(Cyrus, Romulus, Christ). — The epochs of reve
lation and the periods of the history of revela
tion, or the intervals in the revelation, are care
fully to be noticed. For us the epochs of reve
lation blend into one on account of the unity of the
Bible and of Biblical history. In reality, however,
they are separated by great intervals. That is:
From Adam to N 'ah;

From Noah to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob;
From Jacob to Moses;

From Moses and Joshua to Samuel (only spo
radically interrupted) ;

From David to Elijah and Elisha:

From that time to i.he Messianic prophets ;

From Malachi to John the Baptist and Christ.

2. Moses.

Tn Moses' life the wisdom of the divine train
ing is disclosed, and particularly in the contrast
between his own impulsive effort to redeem his
people and his divine calling. — The high signi
ficance of the school of solitary life in the wil
derness (Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Christ; analo
gies: the monks even, Mohammed. Jacob Bohm,
Fox the Quaker). — The burning and yet not con
sumed thorn-hush, an allegorical phenomenon
of revelation, whose interpretation can be con
demned on the ground of its being allegorical
only from a misunderstanding. — The name of
Jehovah could not get its specific significance
for Israel as the name of the faithful covenant-
God continually reappearing, until the second
principal revelation of the covenant-God, even
though it was known before. So the term "justi
fication" was known in the Church from the
New Testament itself, but first received its spe
cific signification through the Reformation. —
If it was known that the God who revealed Him
self as Deliverer to Moses had also been the God
of Abraham, th^n it was also known that He
would show Himself in all future time as a GoJ

of deliverance (when the mathematicianghas tvro
points beyond him, he can also fix the third). —
The declaration: "I am the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob," contains in fact the most deci
sive argument for immortality, much as it has
been misunderstood (vid. Couim. on Matthew
xxii. 3"2). — The stern rebuke of the neglect of
circumcision a hard problem for the Baptists.
For it is not true that circumcision for the Jews
was merely a national custom; it was for them,
as a religious institution, the sign of the cove
nant, a sacrament. And, as such, a typical pro
mise of regeneration, imposing an obligation
(Deut. x 16; xxx. 6). — Connection between
God's wrath and man's death (vid. the article
Zorn in Herzog's Realcncyclopddie}. After the
miracles of the theocracy have been heralded by
the name El Shaddai [God Almighty] and the
birth of Israel, they now appear as the media
of the redemption of Israel. By two or three
features they are from the outset distinguished
from magical occurrences — by natural sub
strata, prophetic presentiment and a symbolic re-
pre-entation ; but they yer remain, as divine acts
serving the purpose of credentials, judgment,
and deliverance, forever above the sphere of the
extraordinary, the wonderful. They are the
new exploits of God, which corne in connection
with a new word, and herald a new time of sal
vation (vid more on the parallel miracles in my
Life of Christ}.

3. Moses and Aaron.

The fact is often repeated in the world, and so
too in the kingdom of God, that the great cha
racter is not a great orator, and the great orator
not a great character.

4. Pharaoh.

God's message to Pharaoh: "Let my people
go, that they may serve me," has been delivered
by the command of God's Spirit at many hie
rarchical sees and royal courts, e.g. at the court
of Louis XIV.; and He will everywhere conti
nue to deliver it where necessary. Pharaoh's
obduracy is primarily his own fault, secondarily
a judgment divinely inflicted (vid. Comm. on
Romans, chaps, ix.-xi.) — The preservation of •
Pharaoh, who, considered by himself, would
long before have been destroyed by the Egyptian
plague of the pestilence, is due to his connection
with the history of the people of God; the
real good of the pious does not demand that their
oppressors be at once destroyed, but, on the
contrary, that they be preserved a while till a
certain goal is reached. They are, so to speak,
set up for the very purpose of glorifying in them
the name of God, hy the final judgment inflicted
on their arrogance. If they will not glorify
God's name freely, consciously and directly, then
they must be instrumental in glorifying it against,
their will, unconsciously and indirectly (Romans
ch. ix.). Comp. the Wisdom of Solomon and Klop-
stock's Messiah on the condemnation of tyrants.

5. The Egyptian Plagues.

The Egyptian plages are typical, living repre
sentatives of all the judgments of God in history,
(1) in their complete number, ten, the number
of the entire course of the world; (2j in their

DOCTRINAL AND HOMTLETIC APPENDIX.

169

intermittent rhythm, ascending from the light
est infliction to the heaviest; (3) in the miracn-
lous augmentation of natural calamities pecu
liar to the earth and the country, and in tb-?
connection of these with the movements of the
world of mind, the joyful testimonies of tho
-)ious, the had conscience and horror of the

rodless; (4) in the correspondence between
the sudden precipitation of the crises of the
earth's physical history, and that of the crises

)f the kingdom of God; (5) in the exalted
symbolic form of God's deeds in sacred his
tory. The false miracles by which the -Egyp
tian sorcerers sought to neutralize the effect
of Moses' miracles nave their reflex in the most
various forms even in New Testament times
and in the history of the Church (2 Tim. iii. 8).
So Julian instituted an anti-Christian order of
preachers and similar things. So in modern
times the itinerant r>reaching of the Gospel, the
church-holidays, and religious associations have
been imitated in one direction and another. But
the unholy imitations can never keep pace with
the holy originals. — This, too, remains true in the
spiritual world, that God's plagues as such are
limited entirely to the enemies of His people. —
The institution of the Passover-meal o.n the night
of Egypt's terror is a type of the institution of
the Lord's Supper on the momentous night of
the betrayal of Chri>t. This lofty festival of
victory in the midst of the terrors or death and
of the abyss is one of the most unmistakable
of God s grand thoughts of love and of peace,
arid would never have been- conceived, still less
carried out, by the selfish heart of man.

6. The Passover.

Tn the Passover all the forms of offering are
Concentrated and explained. First, it takes rhe
place of the curse offering, the h/it-rem, which
was inflicted on the Egyptian tirsi-boru ; secondly,
it is a sin-offering made by the act of sprinkling
the blood, by which the door is maiked with the
divine direction, " Pass over," for the angel of
destruction; thirdly, however, it is most emphati
cally a peace-offering, as being the Old Test*-
ment eucharist, for winch reason also the passo-
ver was slain by ail the heads of houses, and
eaten by all the inmates of the house; fiuady, it
is made comp etc, as a burnt-offering, in the burn
ing of all the parts which are left over from the
sacred meal — On the significance of carrying
away the silver and gold articles, vid. Comm. on
Genesis, p. 83. In every great judicial crisis a
part of the goods of this world, or of a spiritual
Egypt, falls to the people of God, as, e.g., at the
time of Constantino, the time of the Reformation,
and other times; — not by cheating and robbery,
but through mental agitation; agitated souls cast
it into the hands of the representatives of the
victorious spirit.

7. The Fcayf of Unleavened Bread.

Together with tiie Passover is instituted the
feast of unleavened bread, charactei ized, on the
one hand, as a denunciation of the world, and
on the other, as a renunciation of wondliness, or
voluntary abstinence for the sake of the Lord.
This does not make leaven as such a symbol of

evil (vid. Coinm. on Matt. xiii. 33), but it makes
the leavca which is qualified by some reference
to the world (the Egyptians, the Pharisees, etc.],
a symbol of the contagious and overpowering in
fluence of participation in an injurious enjoy
ment. As the Passover feast obligates to a tem
porary fe-tival of unleaveued bread, so the Lord's
Supper obligates to a permanent avoidance of
ruinous associations. — Participation in the Pass
over is conditioned on circumcision ^xii. 48) ;
and a participation in the Lord's Supper, on the
rite of baptism. — The religious education of the
young has from the outset a connection with the
sacrunents (xiii. 14), and finds itself at once
enjoined, whenever a religious congregation is
formed. — To guide the weak young congregation
of God ihrough the wilderness is safer than to
guide them through the land of the Philistines.
Here is figuratively represented the import of
asceticism (xiii. 17, 18).

8. Joseph's Bones.

A boundary line between the theocracy and
the world is formed not only by the sacraments
and feasts, but a.lso by the consecrated burial.
So the church-yard has also ity ecclesiastical
s gnificance. But as the political community
has a part in the bells in the tower, so also in a
church-yard as God's field, and only Christian
wisdom, not fanaticism, can correctly apprehend
the distinction.

9. The Pillar of Cloud and Fire.

As the same pillar over the sanctuary is a pil
lar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night,
so it stands now before the host as a sacred van
guard, now behind them as a protecting rear
guard separating Israel from the pursuing ene
my. To this divine separation of Israel from the
world, following the sacramental separations, is
nrxt added the great actual separation by means of
the Red Sea. It is a double protection tor the con
gregation of God, that not only the congregation
is hidden from the pursuing worldly power, but
also the frightful equipments of this power are
in great part hidden from the congregation by
the miraculous phenomenon of the pillar of cloud
and fire. By day the pillar of cloud is more
visible than the fiery pillar; by night the fire is
more visible than the cloudy pillar. When one
walks in the light of knowledge, he needs to be
made secure by the symbolical obscurity of the
mysteries of the church; when one waks through
the night, of temptation, he is made secure by the
fiery tokens of the animating presence of the
Lord. — The policy of falsehood, of selfishness,
of arrogance, and of treachery, has plunged more
than one Pharaoh into destruction from the ear
liest times down to the history of Buonaparte.

10. The Red Sea.

In their extreme dit-tress the Israelites cast
themselves in view of the oppressors into the Red
Sea, but do so at the bidding of God and of the rod
of Moses. Here, too, the natural substratum is to
he taken together witu the divine deed. (Ex. xiv.
21; Ps. cvi. 9). The terrestrial crisis is united
with the crisis of the kingdom of God, Moses'
prophetic spirit with his symbolic miraculous

170

EXODUS.

agency. The Red Sea stands midway between
the deluge (1 Pet. iii. 20) and baptism (1 Cor. x.
2) In all three cases the redemption of the new
man is effected through judgment on the old;
there takes place a separation, by means of which
the destructible part falls a prey to real or appa
rent destruction, and the salvable part is trans
ferred to a condition of life and salvation. The
first separation constitutes a universal historical
type, and in its magnitude, as the destruction of
the first world (in a sense also as a sequel of the
catastrophes of creation), points to the second and
third separations, but also beyond them to the
last great separation at the end of the world. The
second separation is a theocratic typical institu
tion, which makes the Jews Israelites; the third
constitutes a symbolic and real dividing line be
tween the church and the world, and, in so far
as it is inwardly expressed and realized, be
tween the kingdom of God and the kingdom of
darkness. The seeming downfall of the church
of God is always succeeded by a higher rise, as
the seeming triumph of the power of darkness
indicates its actual overthrow.

11. The Song,- of Moses.

The song of Moses is the first form of reli
gious service in the church of God, proceeding
from the experience of the first miraculous typi
cal redemption, and hence is of perpetual signi
ficance for sill worship celebrating redemption
and for all songs up to the last redempt on at
the end of the world (Rev. xv. 3) The Old Tes
tament is acquainted with two great redemptive
facts: the redemption out of the bondage in
Egypt, and out of the Babylonish captivity; the
New Testament proclaims the two greatest: the
primal redemption accomplished by Christ, and
the final one in the other world which He will
accomplish at His appearing. It is noticeable
that in the song of Moses the attribute of God's
holiness is for the first time celebrated together
with others. This indicates the early origin of the
fong, and particularly the period of holiness,
which from this time on becomes Jehovah's most
characteristic attribute; the attribute of justic*1,
which predominates more at a later time, here
appears only incidentally, as it were, in a con
fession of sin on Pharaoh's part. The freedom
which even in the Oid Testament appears in its
first free form of worship, in spite of its re
straints, is especially evidenced by the fe
rn, ile choir, which Miriam leads, particularly
by the instrumental music of the tambou
rines, and even the festive dance. What a sorry
spectacle certain restrictions in the worship of
the old Reformed Church present by the side of
this, while yet that church professes to be of an
eminently New Testament type.

12. The First Stopping -places.

The first, encampment of the children of Israel
by the twelve fountains and under the seventy
palm-trees at Elun makes, with Moses' triumphal
song afrer the deliverance, one whole. But a
preliminary goal reached in the way of salvation
heralds a new contest. The great weakness of
the new congregation is displayed in the fact
that, in spite of those rich experiences of deli

verance, as soon as they begin to suffer want,
hey begin again to murmur. But just because
he congregation is so young and so weak,
Tehovah is indulgent towards them, and presents
hem in the wil Jerness of Sin with the miracu-
ous bread of manna (the gift of quails seems
lere to be anticipated, xvi. 13», and at Rephidim
with water from the rock. Both facts are closely
elated to one another and to the foregoing pas
sage through the Red Sea. At a later time
Jehovah cannot exercise the same indulgence
owards the old and more experienced company
when they murmur in like manner; even Moses'
sub'le error is now severely punished (Num. xi.
31 sqq. ; xx. 1 sqq.). Repetition in the divine
raining of children is no more a tautology than
n the human training of them.

13. Amalek and Jethro.

The first, war of the Israel tes is a war of de
fence against the Amalekites: but the victory
lepends on three forces: ihe people's recent
experience of deliverance, Moses' intercession,
and Joshua's generalship (vid. my pamphlet,
Vom Krieg und vnm Siey). Amalek tuus becomes
a type of the anti-theocratic worldly spirit, as
Egypt was before (xvii. 16). But that there are
two kinds of heathenism, and accordingly a two
fold relation of the people of God to it, is shown
by the deportment of .Jethro, Moses' lather-in-
law and a Midianite priest, as compared with
Amalek. He has kept Moses wife and sons in
his charge during Moses' mission in Egypt ; he
brings them to him now, and rejoices in Israel's
redemption and God's great detds with hearty
sympathy; n^iy, his confession that the glory of
Jehovah is abov all the gods is enough even to
warrant Aaron and the elders in holding reli
gious communion with him ; they eat bread with
him before God, as also Moses at the very first
had received him with reverence and cordiality
— a circumstance fitted to put to shame those
Christians who like to seek for the essence of
communion in the excommunication which is
appended to it. Nay. the great law-giver even
adopts at the suggestion of this Midianitish priest
a reform (xviii. 13 sqq.), which, as being a tes
timony of superior human reason against the
dangers of a one-sided centralization in govern
ment, even significantly precedes the giving of
the law i self.

14. IsraeV s Voluntary Assent to the Covenant with
Jehovah at Sinai.

Thus the congregation has come to Sinai, and
here the people are summoned to enter, by means
of a voluntary covenant with Jehovah, into a
peculiar relation to Him, to become Jehovah's
people under His the cra^y. Here now the
sacred history itself stands clearly opposed to a
series of distortions of it. In the first place, we
see that the giving of the law on Sinai is not the
beginning of the Old Testament; Israel, rather,
came to Sinai as a typical, consecrated people,
in whose rise and redemption Jehovah has pro
visionally fulfilled the promise given to Abra
ham (vtd. Gal. iii. 15 sqq.). Secondly, we see
that the people were by no means involuntarily

DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX.

171

made slaves under the law (as Hegel con-
« -elves). Thirdly, we see that even the rigorous
fencing off of the lofty mountain, the thunder
and lig 'tning, and the cloud on the mountain,
are not to be pronounced so one-sidedly a mani
festation of Jehovah's angry jealousy as was
often done by the older theologians, and as was
charged upon the Old Testament in gross carica
tures in the rationalistic period. Even Deutero
nomy has presented a more catholic, free, and,
one may say, New Testament view of the mani
festation of the divine majesty, power, and holi
ness which encompasses the origin of the law,
ami which is continually to attend it in its
hway (Dent, xxxiii. 1-3). As to the covenant
(which is not merely an institution, as Hofmann
holds), there should be specially noticed the
repeated questions put to the people and their
answers of assent (xix. 7, 8; xxiv. 3). The
revelation of Jehovah's holiness in order to the
sanctification of Israel to he His people makes
Mount Sinai a symbolic sanctuary. This is
expressed by the mountain's being made in
accessible to men and beasts (chap. xix. 12
hqq ). Even the priests must not be in haste
to pa^s the boundary (ver. 24). With the
holy place is connected a holy time of three
days, and for the consecration of this time there
are also special prescriptions. There is deve
loped further on a two fold distinction of degree :
the people remain in the valley; Aaron and his
sons, Nadah and Abihu, an 1 seventy elders cele
brate the feast of the covenant on the slope of
the mountain ; Moses *lone loses himself in the
darkness of the summit (xxiv. 9 sqq. }. So high
does the prophetic here stand above the priestly
office.

15. The Giving of the Law.

The legislation on the mountain is to be divided
into three groups. The first is the law as an
outline, as the summary of the words of the law;
the second is the law as legislation (xxiv. 12
xxxi. 18) ; the third is a modified restoration of
the law, and the fixing of it by means of the
building of the tabernacle (to the end of Exo
dus) The first group comprises the whole law
in its outlines ; and the division into three parts,
moral law (xx. 1-17), ritual and sacrificial law
(xx. 18-26), and civil law (xxi. 1 — xxiii. 33),
appears distinctly. This group is concluded by
the ratification of the covenant (xxiv. 1-11).
Before fhe covenant was concluded, the law was
enacted only in oral wordy ; not till after the cove
nant was concluded was it written on the tables
of stone; and not till then could the building of
the tabernacle be ordered, as the place where
the stone-tables were to remain, and where
Jehovah was to be enthroned ; for Jehovah can
dwell as a covenant-God only among a people
that have voluntarily surrendered themselves to
Him. But the tabernacle is not simply a temple
or place of sacrifice; it is likewise, and first of
all, the palace of the King Jehovah, the central
place for all the three groups of laws, the place
of the covenant and of the meetings between
Jehovah and the people. This legislation re
quires Moses to remain forty days on the moun
tain. But the people cannot endure this invisi
bility of their religion, and make themselves the

golden calf for their symbolic sanctuary. Thus
a restoration of the law becomes necessary,
through (1) a great expiation, (2) a severe
modification, (3) the actual erection of a visible
sanctuary, the tabernacle.

II. The Outline of the Law.
1. The Ethical Law in Outline. Ch. xx. 1-17.

Here is concentrated a heavenly fulness of
divine thoughts, hence also an immense treasure
of expositions, an account of which is given ia
the commentaries, theological systems, cate
chisms, sermons, and hymns. The law of the
t-n commandments is to be considered in its
relations to the natural law of the conscience
(Rom. ii.) and to the law of the Spirit (Rom.
viii.), especially as a transition from the one to
the other. Analytically and literally considered,
the law is incomplete (2 Cor. iii. ; Epistle to the
Hebrews), especially in the hands of human ad
ministrators; as a type of the law of the Spirit,
it is complete — the description of man as he
should be, of humanity, of the living image of
Christ. Analytically considered, it is predomi
nantly educational ; symbolically considered, it
is an outline of Christian ethics. That it is
a law for the inner life appears unmistaka
bly in the preface, as also in the first, se
cond, and tenth commandments, but especially
in the law: "Thou shalt not. covet" (vid.
Comm. on Rom. vii.). As the foundation of the
whole legislation, it is divided into laws that are
predominantly religious or ceremonial, and laws
that relate predominantly to social or moral
life — a proof that it itself, as being the theo
cratic doctrine of life, or outline of rules for,
the sanctification of personal life, comprises the
elements of dogmatics and ethics. In its practi
cal application, Christian dogmatics has rightly
ascribed to it three uses, of which the first
\_usus civilis] is permanent in the Christian
state, the third [usus normativus~\ is permanent
in the Christian Church, and the second [usus
elenchticus~\ declares the permanent connection
between the other two. The integrity of the
ten commandments must be maintained with all
earnestness. The prohibition of images is by
no means a mere prohibition of idols; the com
mand respecting the Sabbath is by no means
merely identical with the ceremonial law of
Leviticus; it is an imperishable law of humanity
as much as is the law: "Thou shalt not kill."
As to the division into two tables, the enumera
tion of the commandments, the distinction be
tween the prohibitions in the commandments,
and the commandments in the prohibitions, the
reduction of the ten commandments to two fun
damental ones (Matt. xxii. 38), and of the two
to one (Rom. xiii. 10; James ii. 10), we refer to
he appropriate theological discussions, only
remarking farther, that as early as in Deutero
nomy the spiriiualization of the ten command
ments, in the direction of the prophets, is begun.
We may also refer to the feature presented ia
in exegetical view of the narraiive, that Moses,
when the ten commandments were sounded ou',
stood as an interpreter amongst the people;
according to which, this moment ia to be re-

EXODUS.

garded as mysterious in the highest degree. —
The ten commandments as the ten words (of the
Spirit, angelic words). As the ten fundamental
doctrines of heavenly wisdom. The ten words
as the ten commandments of God : ten rocks of
the earth, ten lightnings of heaven. — As the ten
thunders which resound through all spaces and
times. As the testimonies of God in behr.lf of
the dignity and high destiny of man, but also as
the testimonies against his nin. As the testimo
nies both of his (formal) freedom and his (mate
rial) bondage.* As characteristic features of
personality.

2. Outline of the Sacrificial Rites. Chapter xx.

18-26.

The enslaved feelings of the people in their
terror at the manifestations of the majesty and
justice of God, are, primarily, the source of
the lay order, the desire for a mediator between
th m and God; secondly, the source of an out
ward sacrificial system ; thirdly, the source of the
hierarchy. Fleeing from God and standing afar
off, in other words, slavish fear, makes laymen.
" Speak thou with us, and we will hear." And
the reason is: '-lest we die." The true priest
runs the hazard of dying as he approaches God.
Thus Aaron stands with his censer of incense
between the dead and the living (Num. xvi. 48).
But the perfect high-priest comes near to God
through the fiery flame of the great judgment
(Jer. xxx. 21 ).— Also the lav feeling looks on the
protective terrors of th" law as deterrent terrors
(ver. 18). The fear of death is, to a certain de
gree, wholesome, but is also a dangerous source
of a slavish disposition (Heb. ii. 15). — In the
terrors of the law lies an element of temptation
on account of man's fear of death ; but in them
selves these terrors are designed only to test men
and to fill them with the pious fear of God which
avoids sin. Moses en ers, as a true mediator of
his people, into the darkness before God. That
ho is a true priest without priestly dignity, much
more than Aaron is, he has shown by his inter
cessions. The same holds of all true prophets,
even in the philosopher's mantle; they have
more sacerdotal worth than all merely nominal
priests. Nevertheless the enthralled state of the
people's heart necessitates the institution of sa
crifices and of priests. Yet it is strictly limited.
First, the people are never to forget that Jeho
vah has spoken with them immediately from
heaven, that He therefore may so speak again in
the future, and that therefore all mediation must
have for its object this immediate intercourse.
Hence most of all the false, pretended mediation
through idols must be rejected. Sacrifices, how
ever, are mediatory. But a simple altar of earth
is declared to be sufficient for the sacrificial ser
vice. Extravagance is excluded from the sacri
ficial rites. Here, moreover, there is nothing
said, by way of anticipation, about sin-cffer-
ings. But. all places at which Jehovah manifests
Himself as a covenant and redeeming God are
to be sanctuaries. As an enhancement of the

* [Ry formal f: eedom H meant the mttu'itl ability to choose
between right and w ontr; by material (otherwise Ciillc-d by
German writers real) freedom, is meant t.hi actual confor
mity of" th" will t» the requirements of duty. Material bon
dage ( Unfreiheit., " nnt'reedorn '') therefore means a state of
disinrlimtioa to obey the law. — Ta.J

dignity of the altar, it is allowed to be made of
stones, but this permission is limited in two par
ticulars (vers. 25, 26). The Spirit of revelation
has foreseen that men's disposition to make a
merit of works may transform the altar, the place
where God holds sway a«< a Judge and a Saviour,
into a theatrical stage for the exhibition of hu
man pomp. So unostentatiously does the Levitical
sacrificial system begin, and begins with the
assumption that the people have long before felt
the need of offering sacrifices, and that this feel
ing is to be checked rather than increased. We
must, however, everywhere distinguish between
the sacrifi -ial rites and the priesthood which
Jehovah takes under His charge, and the barba
rous outgrowths which have in fact sprung from
these religious impulses.

3. Outline of the Civil Law for (he Regulation of the
Social Life of the People. Chaps, xxi -xxiii.

It is a noticeable feature of this law that it
begins with a regulation concerning the emanci
pation of the Hebrew serf. While the idea of
emancipation is conditioned and limited by the
traditional customs and laws, yet it is evident
from the first breath of the law that it breathes
freedom, that freedom is its end and aim. To
this corresponds also the heading. Though the
first verse may be translated, " These are the
legal ordinances, or the punitive regulations" —
yet through the whole section the idea prevails,
"These are the rights." It is not acts of injus
tice that are chiefly treated of, but rights, the
protection of human worth, the sanctity and
inviolability of life, as opposed to the assaults of
sin and unrighteousness. Thus then this section
also, like the ethical law and the ritual law,
points to the New Testament, the New Testa
ment freedom.

a. Men-servants' and maid-servants' rights of
freedom, xxi. 1-11.

b. Inviolability of life, especially as relates to
regard for parents and pregnant women, vers.
12-23.

c. Inviolability of the body and its members,
vers. 24-27.

d. Protection against injury to life, to ser
vants, and even to cattle, caused by the careless
ness of others, vers. 28-36.

e. Protection of property against theft, injury
to fields, and infidelity to trusts; and the settle
ment of collisions and distinctions thus arising,
xxii. 1-15.

/. The rights of a seduced virgin, vers. 16, 17.

g Maintenance of theocratic morals, or pro
tection of the moral dignity of the Israelites,
vers. 18-20.

h. Inviolability of strangers, widows, and or
phans, vers. 21—24.

i. Protection of the poor against usurers, vers.
25-27.

j. The rights of magistrates and of the sanc
tuary, vers. 28-30.

k. Sanctity of the use of flesh for food, ver. 3_.

I. Sacredness of courts and testimony, even
to the exclusion of a false philanthropy towards
the poor, xxiii. 1-3.

DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX.

173

m. Self-respect as shown in noble-minded con
duct towards enemies and the poor, in the avoid
ance of fellowship with the persecutors of the in
nocent, and in abstaining from bribery, and from
contempt for strangers, vers. 4-9.

n. Sanctity of the theocratic land, of the Sab
bath, of religious speech (avoidance of the names
of the gods), of the three great annual feasts,
vers. 10-17.

o. Preservation of the purity of the sacrificial
rites, of the harvest, of the eating of flesh (par
ticularly by avoiding heathenish luxury, vid. the
exegesis), vers. 18, 19.

p. Sacredness of the angel of revelation, or of
the divine guidance of Israel, vers. 20-22.

q. Sacredness of the promised land. Strict
exclusion of all idolatry, accompanied by all
kinds of blessings from Jehovah (abundance of
food, health, blessing of children, long life, dread-
fulness and invincibility for enemies), and the
gradual expulsion, through superior moral force,
of all enemies, vers. 23-31.

r. Avoidance of ruinous religious fellowship
with the heathen, vers. 32, 33.

These laws are evidently all rich in religious
and moral lessons which can, when generalized,
be homiletically appropriated without taking
away from them the pointedness of the concrete
expressions. Thus, on the basis of this section,
one may speak of the leading features of the dig
nity and rights of man, of the right of freedom,
and the limitations of it (referring to Paul's state-
ment of domestic duties), and of the inviolability
of bodily life. Also of reverence for woman, thw
protection of virgins, of carefulness, of the law
of moral distinctions. It will not be necessary
to call special attention to all the individual ideas
of the section. In the exegetical remarks we
have already observed that the much misunder
stood law of retaliation ("eye for eye," etc.)
does not here appear to be dictated by a judi
cial demand for punishment, but by a desire
strongly to express the inviolability of the dig
nity of man.

4. Ratification of the Covenant. Chap. xxiv.

The legal covenant among the covenants be
tween Jehovah and His people (Rom. ix.4). — The
common feature of all covenants. All proceed
from God as institutions of free grace. All pre
suppose a voluntary compliance on the part of
men. In all of them God's faithfulness and
free gift tower up above man's 'Unfaithfulness
and needine^s. But all of them may, through
human unfaithfulness, be invalidated for genera
tions. All have a peculiar character in reference
to the divine promise and human obligation,
although the promise is always God's word, and
the obligation assumed by man is faith. In all
of them the general object is heavenly salvation,
but in every cov >nint this object has a special
form. The series of successive covenants indi
cates the successive developments of revelation,
or of the foundation of the kingdom of God.

a. The great sicredness of the covenant, indi
cated by the several degrees of nearness of ap
proach to Jehovah, vers. 1 and 2. It is one
of the lofty strokes of Old Testament descrip
tion, that Moses in his approach to God is made
to disappear from the world. The priests

do not attain the height of the prophet; they
must worship from afar, and do not ascend one
step higher than the seventy elders, the repre
sentatives of the people. The people who are
represented by this Old Testament mediation are
primarily represented by the prophetic media
tion of Moses.

b. The voluntary assent of the people. In the
church of God there should be no thought of a
traditional, or of an enforced, assent; none espe
cially of one violently compelled or secured by
craft. The unanimity of the covenant community
is a beautiful picture, but soon darkened.

c. The covenant agreement, ver. 4. Religious
Covenants have to do not with merely vague
feelings, but with definite (even written) words,
vows, and decisions.

d. The ratification of the covenant, vers. 4-8.
The altar, with the twelve pillars, denotes an
expression of faith embracing the whole of God's
people. Only young men, only spiritual youth,
are fitted to negotiate a new form of faith and
covenant. They begin their sacrifices not with
sin-offerings, for here is nothing factitious, but
with burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, — with
the feeling, "To God alone in the highest be
honor !" But on the basis of so sacred a covenant
the need of sin-offerings will soon appear. — The
covenant, offering is spiritualized by reading from
the book of the law. Where the intelligible word
of God is wanting, true sacrifices also are want
ing. The blood of the covenant, too, is effica
cious only when a half of it is sprinkled on the
congregation, i. e., on their conscience (Heb. x.
22). What else is meant by the sprinkling of
the altar with the blood, than that man promises
to Jehovah a surrender of himself with his pos
sessions and his blood?

e. Feast of the covenant, vers. 9-11. A glo
rious type of the New Testament. Here JMo^es,
the priests, and the elders are united. When
will the time come when the prophets and priests
and elders of the church of God are wholly
united? They ascend together to the heights of
the mountain; but how high? A mystery of
blessed experience for God's church! They see
the God of Israel, and do not die. Under His
feet is no cloud, no thunder and lightning, but
the crystal-clear, blue groundwork of God's abso
lute fidelity. They do not die from the sight of
God; they eat and drink, they celebrate a sacred
festive meal before God — a testival introductory
to the festivals of thousands of years. •

/. The forty days and forty nights which Moses
spent on the mountain, or the covenant writing,
vers. 12-18. The day-*, or hours, of the first in-
spirntion pass by; then begins the sacred work,
which is to transform inspiration into disposi
tion. This law of life holds for the church of
God in general, as well as in particular. Moses
sterns to have disappeared in the darkness of
the mountain. Jesus seems to have disappeared
in the wilderness, the Spirit of the church in the
monasteries, Luther on theWartburg. Thisisthe
time of trial. He labors on the height of the moun
tain, in the depths of prophetic souls. Meantime
Aaron and Hur attend to the duties of their subor
dinate office at thefoot of Sinai. But again the top
of the mountain is now concealed. Moses seems to
be lost in the cloud, as if in tha other world, and the

174

EXODUS.

glory of the Lord on the top of the mountain
seems again to the people like a consuming fire.
Meanwhile Moses, the genius of the congrega
tion, goes into the midst of the clou»i. But very
ofien does the dangerous waiting time of forty
da>s and nights recur.

III. The Idea (or Vision) and the Ordinance
of the Tabernacle. Chaps, xxv.-xxxi.

1. The. Spiritual and Elementary Prerequisites for

the Tabernacle or Dwelling-place of God.

Vers. 1-8.

The one fundamental requisite is the heave-
offering, the contributions furnished by Israel,
at Jehovah's suggestion indeed, but the free gift
of faith and love. Voluntariness is to be, and
continue to bo, the soul of the house of God.

The material requisites represent all nature,
as the fundamental requisite represents the una
nimity of the congregation.

The noblest materials from the mineral king
dom: gold, siver, copper, precious stones. The
noblest from the vegetable kingdom: acacia
wood, cotton, oil, spices, incense. The noblest
from the animal kingdom: costly skins and hair-
c'oths. Thus the finest materials, together with
the most beautiful and significant colors, are to
be used on the building.

Jehovah wishes His people to honor themselves
also by giving Him Ms honor in a decent dwell
ing. But lie also wishes to have a dwelling not
essentially better than those of His people,
namely, provisionally a tent (vid. 2 Sam. vii.
7). It is an extreme, therefore, when a church
dishonors itself in its style of worship, and gives
no indication that the Lord is its ^liug; but it is
also an extreme, when the pomp of the worship
or of the temple divests tho Lo.'d of His loving-
l<ir»dn ss. For, that lie desires to dwell amongst
Hid people is .another way of saying that He
wishes to exhibit the reconciliation of His abso
lute majesty with His kind condescension.

2. The Image or Pattern on the Mount. Ver. 9.
Here, whore theocratic art most closely bor
ders on the general idoa of art, appears distinctly
the thought of the ideal image as the real soul
of art. The tabernacle is to rest on an ideal:
this is the idea of art. But the ideal is one
given by God ; and this is the i Jea of sacred art.
In this, however, theocratic art is distinguished
from that of common men, that it makes beauty
subserve a sacred purpose. But the object of
the tabernacle, in so far as it is a symbol, is to
serve as the image of the kingdom of God; in
so far as it is a type, it is the seed-kernel out of
which the New Testament kingdom of God is to
grow. It is a fundamental law of all religious ar
tistic and architectural plans, that beautiful forms
must be blended with religious and moral ends.

3. The Organic Development of the Tabernacle.

Chaps, xxv. 10-xxx.

The essential thing, as well as that towards
which everyihing points, in the sanctuary, is
the ark of the covenant, the symbol of the cove
nant, of the re-union of the people with God, the
place where Jehovah makes His abode and His
revelations. It has two meanings: it is Jeho

vah's throne, but it is also Israel's highest altar.
From the throne the movement is downwards to
the table of shew-bread and the candlestick.
Corresponding to this direction of Jehovah's
descent is the dwelling, the tabernacle itself, as
divided into the holy place and the Holy of ho
lies. To this descent of Jehovah from above
towards the people corresponds the move
ment of the people from below upwards. Their
starting-point is the altar of burnt-offering,
whose place was in the court. From here the
priests in the name of the people approach
Jehovah in the symbolic sacerdotal garments, in
consequence of their consecration. From the
altar of burnt-offering they go out with the sac
rificial blood and with the incense into the holy
place as far as to the altar of incense. From
this point only the high-priest can go further,
and approach Jehovah in the Holy of holies
with the blood of aton >ment on the day of atone
ment. But the movement, of the priest depends
not only on this chief condition, the sacrificial
blood, but also, first, on his filled hand, the
heave-offering of the Lord; secondly, on the
priestly ablution, and the laver serving this end;
thirdly, on the anointing of the sanctuary and
of all its utensils, and on the incense. — Jeho
vah's temple, therefore, is a composite thing,
the place of meeting between Jehovah and His
people, ideally the residence of Jehovah as well
as of the people. So also every church. But
before everything else the manifestation of God
is there, — the founda'i-m before any human ser
vice is rendered. So, in the church, the sacra
ments and the word of G >d. Jehovah lets the
people feel His nearness by His dwelling in the
Holy of holies. Here is accomplished the sym
bolical union with the people through the high-
priest. At the table of shew-bread is accom
plished the symbolical fellowship or communion
of ths priests under the divine illumination of
the seven-fold candlestick. — The three altars in
the temple of the Lord, and their significance,
viz. the altar of burnt-offering, the altar of in
cense, the mercy-seat over the ark. — The three
rooms of the sanctuary and their significance:
the court, the holy place, and the Holy of ho
lies. — The three sacred things in the court, and
their significance: the laver, the mirrors, and
the altar of burnt-offering. — The three sacred
things in the holy place, and their significance:
the altar of incense, the table of shew-bread,
and the golden candlestick.— The three sacred'
things in the Holy of holies, and their signifi
cance: the cherubim, the ark of the law, and
the mercy-seat. — The three acts of the religious
festivals: the offering up of the most valuable
things in the court, the surrender of the heart
at the altar of incense, of prayer, and the pro
phetic representation of a surrender of the life,
of the expiatory biood for the effecting of re
union with God and of a vision of God. — The three
significations of sacrifices : sacrifices as something
rendered to the laws of the congregation, sacri
fices as a symbol of the movement of the heart,
sacrifices as a type of the future perfect sacrifice.
As the cherubim hover over the ark of the law.
so does God s dominion in the world protect His
law. His law and His Gospel, the latter repre
sented by the mercy-seat. The mercy-seat de-

DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX.

175

notes the expiation of the law by means of the
sacrificial blood. The altar of incense stands
midway between the altar of burnt-offering and
the mercy-seat; for prayer, symbolized by the
incense (the sacrifice of the lips), is the living
soul of all sacrifices. — The one general signifi
cance of the whole temple: the symbolico-typi-
cal arrangement and educational use of the ritual
for the whole congregation. — As such in all its
features exposed to misunderstanding: as if the
notion of a local dwelling-place of God excluded
His omnipresence, the feeling of which alone
can give significance to that notion (1 Kings viii.
27) ; as if the court were designed to exclude those
who are not Jews, when it is designed to attract
them (Isa. Ivi. 7); as if sacrifices were a meri
torious service, and not rather a confession of
poverty of spirit; as if the priests were to keep
the people far away from Jehovah, and not
rather train them up for Him. — The significance
of the forms of the tabernacle, of the utensils,
especially of the colors; vid. the Introduction to
Kevelation.

4. Bezaleel, the Religious Master- Workman.
Chap. xxxi.

The gift of art, of artistic genius, a gift of
God. A gift of God in the narrower, but also
in the wider sense. — The cultivation of the gift
till mastery is attained. The assistants of the
master-workman. The artist's vocation, akin to
that of the priest. — The law of artistic creation:
it must in everything proceed from the funda
mental thought of the work, from its end and
object, ver. 7. — The Sabbath as a condition of
the building of the holy sanctuary. — Even the
most common work is not to be profaned through
the want of the Sabbath. Through the Sabbath
all the works of believers are to acquire a festal
character, a Sunday brightness.

5. The Tables of the Law. Ver. 18.

These were not the beginning, but the conclu
sion, of the covenant-transaction. Their two-
sidedness: of stone, and yet full of myterious
writings of God; pieces of rock, breaths of hea
ven; inexorable demands, God's thoughts of
peace. One law, and yet two tables, compre
hending all duties to God and to man. — The
• law a work of God, a gift of God, a testi
mony of God.

IV. The Breafh of the Covenant, or the
Golden Calf. Chap, xxxii.

In the history of the kingdom of God is
always found this contrast of mountain and
valley (Moses lost, as it were, on the
mountain, the rush for the false worship
of the golden calf in the valley; the
prophets in their visions, the people wavering
between apostasy and legality; Christ on the
mount of transfiguration, the disciples at their
wits' end; and the scene of apparent defeat at
the foot of the mountain, Luther on the Wart-
burg, and the inhabitants of Zwickau, Carlstadt,
even Master Philip in the valley). Whenever
the people are making themselves a golden calf,
mysterious things are taking place on the moun

tain between God and His elect. Whenever Moses
seems on the mountain to be lost in God, the
people at the foot of the mountain prepare for
themselves a golden calf. — He delayed on the
mountain: things do not move fast enough for
the spiritually sluggish people. " Make us gods,"
images of God. Apostasy always begins with the
religious worship of images; it is the first step
on the downward road of apostasy. Therefore,
also, the second commandment must continue to
be distinct from the first. According to Rom. i.,
moreover, idolatry results from the downward ten
dency of the use of symbols. This does not im
ply the prohibition of everything symbolic in re
ligion, but it does show that it should be put
under the control of God's Spirit. But from the
earliest times pictorial representations of God,
as well as the religious veneration of sacred images
in general, have led to idolatry. — " For we know
not." They wish to know when they ought to
believe; hence they fall a prey to a superstitious
belief when they ought to know. Weak priests
have always been inclined to help a sensuous
people in their tendency to image-worship. — The
priest in vain seeks to suppress the demands of
the people by the crafty policy of requiring great
sacrifices. Bad priests increase these require
ments of offerings of gold and silver and pennies
till they become enormous, and the darkened
spirits of the people acquiesce in the extremest
demands made upon them. Weak priests ima
gine that in the requirements of offerings they
impose a restraint on the idolatrous propensity.
Faithful priests sacrifice themselves in heroic
resistance; but they are rare. Sensuous men
will make contributions to false systems of wor
ship a thousand times rather than to a true one.
The golden calf grows out of the memories of
Egyptian heathenism. The Israelites, it is true,
do not intend, like the Egyptians, to worship the
image of the ox, but only to have in it a symbol
of Jehovah. Immediately, however, they cry out,
" These are thy gods," not, " That is a symbol of
thy God." Aaron, on the other hand, calls out
and proclaims a feast of Jehovah. So in a degene
rate religion that craves images there are always
two opinions and two religions: the theologian
talks in one way; the people talk in another. In
this worship, as in heathenism, chief emphasis
is given to the worldly carousal which follows
the religious ceremonies : eating, drinking, dan
cing, etc. — Jehovah's utterance respecting this
unseemly conduct is, " Thy people have cor
rupted." Corrupted what? Nothing less than
everything. " Thy people," not "My people.''
Jehovah does not recognize Himself in the object
of the image-worship, ver. 8. God's judgment
on the people after this seemingly very religious

festival, ver. 9. "Let me alone, that I

may consume them." This is the normal conse
quence of the carnal transformation of religion
into outward forms : if the people are not soon
enough healed of it, they must infallibly go to
ruin religiously, morally, and physically. — " I
will make of thee a great nation." The value of
a people consists in their choice men, those that
are faithful to God ; and it is natural to think of
a holy race of elite men. But mercy rejoiceth
against (glorieth over) judgment. — In Moses'
ntercession the true priest appears. Moses (like

176

EXODUd.

Abraham and Judah) in his intercession, a type of
Christ. Analysis of Moses' intercession. " Jeho
vah repented," i. e., through Moses' intercession
the situation had been essentially altered. In
human repentance is mirrored a seeming change-
ableness in the unchangeable God. — Moses' de
scent from the mount compared with the subse
quent descent, chap, xxxiv. Here Moses is sad,
whilst the people below are jubilant; there he de
scends with radiant face to the mourning people. —
The tumult of the people, and the two interpreta-
tations of it, that of Joshua versed in war, and that
of his master versed in the workings of men's
hearts. — Moses' anger, and the expressions of it.
First, the breaking of the tables. For such a
people, so fallen away, God's revelation has no
more value. Next, the destruction of the golden
calf. Rather no religion, if possible, than such
a caricature! From this negation a new life
must proceed. — Aaron's miserable excuse. The
miserable excuses of weak priests. — Lastly, the
great punitive infliction, ver. 25 sqq. Its relative
necessity at that time, and the spiritual application
of this fact. But only the choice part of the
congregation can punish the congregation. And
the punishment continues to be sacred only
through repeated intercession before God. —
Moses' offer, ver. 32, and Jehovah's answer.
Suffering in behalf of others is conditioned on the
hope of their fellow-suffering. Forgiveness con
ditioned on a previous visitation.

V. The Modified Restoration of the Covenant.
Chaps, xxxiii., xxxiv.

The Israelites must break camp and wander,
in order in the future to find again their salva
tion, to reach the promised land. So Chris
tians must break loose from the world and wan
der, in order to gain the new Paradise (home —
native land). So Adam and Eve had to enter on
their long pilgrimage. So Abraham (and the
patriarchs generally). So the Christians from
Jerusalem. So the church from the East to the
West. So the Reformation. And so faith again
and again. God's summons to Israel was a so
lemn token of grace. (1) The promise of Ca
naan was thus renewed. But (2) indication was
given of God's future visitations destined to
attend their course. So the man of faith must
wander in order to be refined, but also in order
to be perfected. — The three great chastisements
inflicted on the fallen Israelites. — Moses' three
great intercessions, and the answer to them. —
Jehovah's three great tokens of grace.

I. The Chastisements. Vers. 1-11.
a. The greatest and severest. The Israelites
must go to Canaan without Jehovah's going in
the midst of them. b. They must for a season
lay off their ornaments, c. The preliminary
tabernacle, Moses' tent, is moved out of the camp,
so that the people seem to be put under a sort of
ban (of the first degree). — Because they wished
to see God with the eyes of sense in the golden
calf, they are now made dependent on the gui
dance of the angel of God's face, the visions of
His prophet. Because they wasted the splendor
of their golden ornaments on image-worship,

they must no longer appear before Jehovah even
with simple decorations. Because they wished
arbitrarily to institute their own form of divine
service, they must now look from afar, with awe
and longing, towards the tabernacle of God. —
The impression of the declaration of God, "I will
not go up in the midst of thee:" (1) The people
dimly felt that it was an evil announcement, a
punishment for their guilt. (2) Wherein lay the
punishment? In God's refusal to go with them
in the relation of immediate spiritual fellowship.
" Thy religion," He says, " cannot yet be a re
ligion of the Spirit, for tbou art a stiff-necked
people," i. e., intractable and refractory towards
the easy yoke of the word, of the spirit, of love.
(3) And yet there was clemency in the punish
ment. The spiritual condition of the people of
God was such that they could be led only by the
angel of God's face in the form of the law
and the divine tokens received through the
media of visions. An immediate and unlim
ited manifestation of God would have scattered
and annihilated the people. Even at the Chris
tian Pentecost the religion of the Spirit involved
the people in the danger of ruin. So also many
Christian nations have remained for a long time
shut up under the guidance of visions, and they,
too, not without po-itive fault on their own part.
So also to many Protestants a spiritual religion
has become dangerous. — The sentence requiring
ornaments to be laid aside seems to have been
suspended when Aaron was clothed with the sa
cerdotal ornaments. So also the ban of the
provisional tabernacle seems to have ceased with
the erection of the tabernacle proper. The pious
and humble deportment of the people under chas
tisement is an indication of their re-adoption«—
The reconciliation of the three utterances, " My
face shall go with thee;" "Jehovah talked with
Moses face to face;" "Thou canst not see my
ftce," ver. 20. — In the first case the face is the
angel of the face, the vision form (rroAvrpoirus).
In the second case, the distinctness comprehensible-
ness, and familiarity of God's words (7roAv//epof).
In the third case the real beholding of the divine
glory is meant (vid. the exegesis). — Joshua, the
faithful guardian of the sanctuary.

2. Moses1 three new great intercessory Petitions.
Vers. 13--J3.

The first petition: "Show me thy way," etc.
Also in behalf of Jehovah's people. Answer:
My face, as guide to the way, shall be the living
way (John xiv. 6). — Second petition: Make it
evident that Thou Thyself art going with us,
when Thy face guides us before all the world by
distinguishing signs. Answer: Divine assent on
the ground of Moses' intercession and accepta-
bleness. — Third petition : Let me see Thy glory.
The divine answer: Conditional assent (vid. the
exegesis). Observe the refusal in the assent,
and the assent in the refusal (Gethsemane ?).
The old saying: Man cannot see God without
dying, (1) true in the sense of divine revelation ;
(2) always false as conceived by the popular su
perstition. Only by this dying of the natural
man under the pight of God does man come to
the true life — Observe how God's answers make
the human petitioner bolder and bolder- how,

DOCTRINAL AND ilOVllLGl'lC APPENDIX.

177

nevertheless, even the boldness of the human
petition is continually controlled by divine wis
dom — and that, for the petitioner's own good. —
The believer stands on the rock — even in the
protecting cleft of tne rock close to God, and sees
all His goodness pass by. Not in one single
view, but piece by piece, does the believer behold
the glory of the Lord. Even the faint impres
sion of the manifestation of the glory of God in
the sphere of our life's vision might overpower
and kill us, if Jehovah did not place us in a cleft
of a rock and hold His hand over us (the rock-
clefts of joyous youth — of dark night — of civil
security — of childlike freedom from care, etc.). —
The great afterward. The sequel of experience,
of the hour of death, of the end of the world.
Not till the evening of the world do all the pe
riods of the world back to its morning come truly
to light. "At evening time it shall be light. '

3. The Three, great Transformations of Anger to
Grace. Chap, xxxiv. 1-35.

a. T-e gift of new tables of the law, in connec
tion with which Moses' co-operation is more
positively brought out. b. Sinai glorified by
Jehovah's proclamation of Jehovah's grace, c.
Moses' shining face upon his return from the
mo in tain, with the new tables of the law. — The
new tables of the law in their relation to the
first. (1) Th^yareasto contents entirely like
the first, as if nothing had happened in the mean
time. (2) They are not like the first in their
relation, for they presuppose the apostasy that
has taken place. H*nce they are supplemented
by the proclamation of grace. — Jehovah's grand
proclamation of Jehovah s grace. Jehovah pro
claimed not only His law from Sinai, but also
His grace. The history of this fact is an eter
nal testimony against all distortions of the Old
Testament. Jehovah, of the law, of Sinai. Like
wise the erroneous notion of many favorably in
clined to the church and to Christianity, that
Sinai and the law proclaimed only a curse, is
corrected in this history. True, this grand pro
clamation of grace does not annul the law, jus
tice, and judgment, but it puts this revelation of
God's severity in the right light. — The two parts
of the grand proclamation of Jehovah from Sinai.
The first part, concerning Jehovah's mildness:
merciful, gracious, long-suffering, etc. The se
cond part, concerning His severity: He lets no
one go unpunished (and so, nothing unpunished),
and visits the misdeed of fathers upon children
and children's children, etc. (vid. chap. xx.). —
The threefold expression for the forgiveness of
sin: He forgives iniquity (perverseness), trans
gression (apostasy, desertion), and sin (failure).
— The surprise of the lawgiver, to whom at this
moment Sinai has become a throne of grace; and
his humble prostration and adoration. Compare
Elijah's gesture, when Jehovah passed by him
with a still, small voice (1 Kings xix. >. After this
experience Moses comes back once more to his pe
tition, " Jehovah, go with us, in the midst of us "
Jehovah's reason for not doing so, viz., that He
cannot go in the midst of them because they are
a stiff-necked people, Moses reverses: just be
cause they are stiff-necked, he prays Jehovah to
go with them. He almost, forgets for awhile

Jehovah's character as lawgiver under the im
pression of the proclamation of grace, as was also
the case with many at the time of the Reforma
tion, and as is still often the case, when there is
a deficiency of spirituality. But Jehovah, while
denying the request, offers a rich compensation.
Instead of the quiet religion of the spirit, which
cannot yet come, they are to be distinguished by
a grand religion of miracles (which is a prere
quisite of the future religion of the spirit, in no
sense a contradiction of it). But the greatness
of this promise is limited by the demands on
which the theocratic covenant is founded, vers.
11—26 (vid. the exegesis). — In conclusion it is
said, " Write thou these words;" for every cove
nant with God, especially this one, is a very
definite thing. — Moses' marvellously exalted mood
on the mountain. The forty days and nights, which
are fast-days only because they are feast-days
(vid. Comm. on Matt. iv.). — Again ten words. The
law infiniiely simple, but in its very simplicity in
finitely profound. — The glorious picture of Moses
descending from the mount. Comparison of this
with the first descent. The situation is changed in
two respects : the people have repented, and Jeho
vah has proclaimed His grace (at the first descent
he may have had, to speak dogmatically, the
usus primus of the law in mind; at this descent
there was a presentiment of the usus tertius ; the
usus seen ndus he probably had in mind both firms).
He did not know that the skin of his face shone.
The effect of his shining fice, ver. 30 sqq. For
the people this reflection of Moses' intercourse
with Jehovah seemed almos' more punitive than
the gloomy expressions of the law. For the
common people and tor rude sensibilities in all
classes this is still the case: monastic rules
rather than evangelical joy (comp. 2 Cor. iii.).
With such a radiant face should preachers espe
cially descend from the pulpit. Bur, how many
afterwards appear as if they had spoken in a
state of somnambulism or a factitious ecstasy.
But with all the faithful the feeling always is,
"How lovely are the feet," even the feet, still
more the peaceful splendor on the countenance.

VI. The Erection of the Tabernacle.
Chaps, xxxv. -xl.

The erection of the tabernacle pre-supposes
the restoration of the covenant between Jehovah
and His people, and therefore the integrity of
the theocratic religion. This prerequisite is in

ubstance fulfilled at every erection of a house
of God. But there are splendid temples which
are in a true sense founded on the decay and
disfiguration of religion; and the tendency to
such establishments appears also in our own
time. — The three parts of the tabernacle have a
permanent significance: the c nirt is continued
in the room for catechetical instruction, in bap
tism and confirmation ; the holy place is repre
sented by the nave and the sermon; the Holy of
holies by the mystery of the choir. The mediae
val church sought to shut off the choir again, as
"f it were an Old Testament Holy of holies;
modern Protestantism tends to reduce the choir

o a mere part of the nave and to abolish church
discipline and the dist notion between auditors
and communicants. — The sacred forms symbo-

178

EXODUS.

lize the legal ordinances of the kingdom of God ;
the sacred colors symbolize the moods and cha
racters which animate that kingdom (blue=
fidelity, purple=royal splendor, scarlet=blood
ami devotion, white=purity and righteousness).
On the constituent parts of the temple, vid. the
exegesis. As the tabernacle became a temple,
so ought the temple in the New Testament times
to become again a simple tabernacle (Amos ix.
11, 12). — The tabernacle as the original form
and mother of all true temples, churches, cha
pels, and houses of prayer. All golden things
denote that which is pure, permanent, eternal ;
all silver things, that which is valuable and
glittering to human view; all brazen things,
that which is strong and durable.

1. The Sabbath as the prime requisite of all festi
vals, all religious fellowship, all houses of God.
W ithout the Sabbath, no church. Ch. xxxv. 1-3.

2. Voluntariness, especially the voluntary of
ferings and co-operation of all. is the basis on
which the house and service of God are founded.
Vers. 4-29.

3. Consecrated art in the service of religion, vers.
30-35. It is not itself religion. Nor does it
domineer over religion. But it is also not di
vorced from religion, least of all hostile to it.
Immoral painting, music, poetry: the most odi
ous mockery of true art. True art with its
works, a great gift of God.

The noble industry of the laborers on the
house of God, xxxvi. 1-7. "The people bring
too much," a censure, and yet a praise.

4. The preparation of the dwelling, vers. 8-38.
According to the divine idea, the ark was the
first thing, the dwelling the last. In the human
execution of it, the dwelling takes precedence.

5. The ark, xxxvii. 1-9. The staves of the
ark: the ark is transportable, it is not abso
lutely fixed to any place. The cherubim, which
protect the law, represent the fundamental forms
of God's sovereign rule (are certainly not repre
sentative forms of terrestrial creatures). The
cherubim hold sway over not only the law, but
especially also the mercy-seat (the Gospel).

6. The table, vers. 10-16. A table for hea
venly food (certainly not for human works).

7. The candlestick, vers. 17-24. The spiritual
flower of earth adorned with the spiritual stars
of heaven.

8. The altar of incense, vers. 25—28. In prayer
the heart is dissolved, as it were, through eighs,
renunciations, vows, home-sickness, and tears,
into a cloud of smoke ascending to God.

9. The anointing oil, ver. 29. Symbol of the
Spirit, mild, soft and healing; burning, con
suming, refining. Designed for the anointing
of all the objects in the sanctuary, since every
thing is to be consecrated to the Spirit.

10. The altar of burnt-offering, xxxviii. 1-7.
The place where the fire of the divine authority
consumes human offerings is a holy place. But
it is a wild notion that it signifies the fire of
hell, or perchance the fires of the Inquisition.
Rather might we invert the thing, and see even
in the fire of hell a work of divine compassion ;
yet we are not to obliterate the distinction: fire
of the loving, and fire of the judicial, visitation.

11. The laver, and the mirrors of the women on its
base, xxxviii. 8. The priests, like the women,

should present themselves in a worthy manner
before God; these purified from the dust of
worldliness, those adorned with a consecration
which can appear before the eyes of God.

12. The court, vers. 9-20. The court is larger
than the sanctuary ; it embraces the whole. But
fanaticism recognizes only fanum and profanum,
no intermediate transitional space; yet it deems
itself able violently to extend its fanum over all
space, and conceives that it transforms the court
itself into a fanum by its market for sacrifices.

13. The estimation of the expanses of the sanctuary,
vers. 21-31. Church property, church-taxes,
church-accounts, the work of church-architects,
should be kept away from the control of hierar
chical caprice and hypocritical misuse, and ex
amined and consecrated as if before the eyes of
God.

14. The priestly garments, xxxix. 1-31.

15. The completion of the work, and the presenta
tion of it} vers. 32-41. The joy over a well-
finished house of God. The inspiring event of a
church founded without defects, and at last
completely erected. Not always are churches
constructed without defects (falling arches,
towers out of line, disproportions). With all
changes of forms the idea of the sanctuary
should always continue to be the regulating
principle. Yet the abundance or splendor of the
symbolic element may imperil the spirituality of
worship itself.

16. The erection of the tabernacle, and its mira
culous dedication, ch. xl. Three particulars are
clearly distinguished: a. The erection itself, in
connection with which the date is signiucant:
on the first day of the first month (of the second
year). The ark again takes precedence in the
order, and the sacerdotal ornamentation comes
last. 6. The human dedication begins very
significantly with the Burning of incense;
then follows the burnt-offering with the sin-
offering, c. But the completion of the dedica
tion proceeds from Jehovah; in symbolic forms
He conies down over and into the dwelling.
And this same sign, the pillar of cloud and fire,
represents the life and movement of the taber
nacle, its theocratic dignity and sacredness,
vers. 36-38. On the other hand, temples aban
doned by God and the spirit of worship are the
most desolate of houses. Thus Christ designated
the temple, while it was being re-built, as a tem
ple going to ruin. Flourishing temples of the
heart make flourishing temples; and these really
flourish when in turn they make flourishing
temples of the heart.

ADDITIONAL HOMILETICAL HINTS FROM
STARKE.

From the Preface to Exodus.
The use of this book and of its contents is
described by Dr. Luther, in his Preface to the
Old Testament, as follows: There are three
kinds of pupils of the law: (1) Those who hear
the law and despise it, and lead a profligate life
without fear. To these the law does not come,
and they are denoted by the calf- worshippers in
the wilderness, on whose account Moses broke
the tables in two, and did not bring the law to
them (ch. xxxii. 6, 19). (2) Those who under-

DOCTRINAL AND HOMILETIC APPENDIX.

179

take to fulfil it with their own strength, without
grace. These are denoted by those who could
not look on Moses' face when he brought the
tables the second time (xxxiv. 30). To these
the law comes, but they cannot bear it; there
fore they put a veil over it, and lead a hypocri
tical life with outward works of the law, which
life, nevertheless, is all made sin by the law
when the veil is taken away; for the law shows
that our power is nothing without Christ's grace.
(3) Those who see Moses clearly without a veil.
These are those who understand the meaning of
the law, how it demands impossible things.
There sin walks in its strength; there death is
mighty; there Goliath's spear is like a weaver's
beam, and his spear's head weighs six hundred
shekels of iron, so that all the children of Israel
flee before him, except that David alone, Christ

our Lord, redeems us from all Here faith

and love must have the mastery over all laws,
and hold them all in their power.

The main goal of this book is, in general,
Christ, who is the man about whom it all has to
do He is in this book portrayed before our
eyes by many types, as e. g. by the redemption
out, of Egypt, by the Passover-lamb, by the
manna, by the rock which gave the water, by
the tabernacle and its many utensils. For all
these images were to serve more distinctly to
image forth the future character and office of
the promised Redeemer. It is Christ for whose
sake the Israelites enj >yed so many divine bene
fits, were preserve1! during oporession, led out of
Egyptian bondage, fed with manna in the wilder
ness, and furnished with water from the rock,
saved from ruin, notwithstanding their idolatry,
and received back into the covenant; the sanc
tuary of God was erected among them, and their
frequent murmuring and disobedience borne by
God with great patience and long-suffering.

(From H. E. R-imbach.) In particular, the ob
ject of tins book is: (1) to exhibit the truth of the
divine promise of the increase of Abraham's seed,
in its fulfilment; (2) to promote God's honor,
which revealed itself in the case of Pharaoh by
frightful angry judgments, in the case of the
Israelites, by manifold miracles in their exodus
from Egypt, in their preservation in the wilder
ness, and at the giving of the law: (3) to
strengthen the faith that God knows how to save
His church from complete suppression and to
deliver it from temptation; (4) to give an out
line of the future experiences of the church in
this world. For why should God have had the
bondage and oppression of the Israelites in
Egypt, their redemption from it, and their being
led in the wilderness, so particularly described,
and the tabernacle with its instruments and ves
sels even twice described, except in order the
more distinctly to portray Christ's work of re
demption, and the redemption and guidance of
His church in general, and of a soul in particu
lar, out of the spiritual Egypt? For the church
of the New Testament after Christ's death first
had rest, and was edified, and multiplied greatly
(Acts ix. 31), like the Israelites after the death
of Joseph. Thereby it came into a state of op

pression, and had to endure ten persecutions;
when it had been refined thereby, and cried for
deliverance, it was delivered in the time of Con-
stantine the Great, saw its enemies overthrown,
and itself exalted, was refreshed with marina,
the brea i and water of life. But in its prosper
ous days it did not long remain pure in its doc
trine, lapsed finally even in o idolatry and ordi
nances of men, till God by the Reformation
destroyed such idolatry, and the pure doctrine
and the true divine service was erected as the
proper sanctuary of God. ... So it is with a soul
which lives at first in outward rest and peace : but.
if God begins mightily to call it out of the domi
nion of sin and of Satan, then Satan begins to
rage and to oppress more violently.

On i. 11 (from the Ilallische JBiblische Ges-
chichte). Egypt had heretofore been a good
refuge; now it became to them a prison ; and
they at last perceived what their forefathers
had brought on them in selling Joseph into
Egypt as a slave: they themselves are there
made slaves. Those who before had been honored
as lords are now despised as slaves; those whom
one Pharaoh raised up the other sought to op
press. They were divided into certain gang.*:
over ten Israelites, as it seems, was put an Is-
raelitish officer, and over ten such officers an
Egyptian task-uiaster. The Israeli! ish officer
had to control his gang, keep them at work,
duly secure the required amount of work and
tale of bricks, and deliver it over with the reck
oning to the Egyptian task master, or be re
sponsible for it (chap. v. 14). At first they
must have had to pay heavy taxes in mo
ney, and after they were impoverished, they
had to do servile labor. — Pithom* was the name
of a monstrous serpent which came forth out of
the marshy morass of the Nile, and wrought
great destruction of men and beasts. This city
(Raemses) is said to be the same as was after
wards called, and known in ancient geography,
as Pelusium. According to some, the new Egyp
tian king was named Raemses, and gave his name
to the city. Whether this city was newly built,
or enlarged, or only fortified, cannot certainly
be said. The taxes and the servile labor were
employed in so preparing the two cities that in
case of need there might be kept in them the
treasures of the kingdom, the armory, and a
strong garrison. And because both cities lay
in the land of Goshen where the Israelites dwelt,
these two strongholds were built against the
Israelites themselves, in order that they might
be the better kept under and retained in the
land. It was praisewonhy indeed in the peo
ple, that, whereas they were under so great and
almost intolerable oppression, and at the same
time were almost superior to the Egyptians in
number, and hence might have risen up in arms
and freed themselves, or at. least have gone
away armed, they did no such thing, but under
the government of God, who had destined for
them an extraordinary redemption, calmly en
dured all their trouble.

* [Spelled Pithnn in Luther's Bible, and apparently con
founded with the classical Python. — TB.]

THE END.

LEVITICUS:

OB,

THE THIRD BOOK OF MOSES.

FREDERIC GARDINER, D.D.,

PROFESSOR OF THE LITERATURE AND INTERPRETATION OF THE OLD TESATMENT
IN THE BERKELEY DIVINITY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN, CONN.

IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED

A TRANSLATION OF THE GREATER PART OF THE GERMAN
COMMENTARY ON LEVITICUS,

JOHN PETER LANGE, D. D.,

PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BONN.

NEW YORK:
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS,

743-745 BROADWAY.

GRANT & PAIRES,
PHILADELPHIA.

LEVITICUS.

THE THIRD BOOK OF MOSES.

( K^p-4>l ; A- £otrtxov ; Leviticus. )

" THE Book of the Sacerdotal Theocracy, or of the Priesthood of Israel, to set forth its typical Holiness."
" THE religious observances by which God's people might be made, holy, and kept holy."— LANGE.

INTRODUCTION.

I 1. NAME, CONNECTION, OBJECT, AND AUTHORSHIP.

THE writings of Moses have reached us in a five- fold division, the several parts of which
have come to be commonly known by the names given to them in the Septuagint and Vul
gate. In the Hebrew the whole Pentateuch is divided, as one book, into sections (Parashi-
yoth] for reading in the synagogues on each Sabbath of the year, and the several books are
called by the first word of the first section contained in them. Thus the present book is
*np'l = and he called; it is also called by the Rabbins in the Talmud D'jron rn'lfi = Law
of the Priests, and ^qP-R ^O1^ *\?? = Book of the Law of offering*. In the Septuagint and
Vulgate this central book of the Pentateuch is called Aeyiradv (piffttov) and Leviticus (liber]
because it has to do with the duties of the priests, the sons of Levi. The Levites, as distin
guished from the priests, are mentioned but once, and that incidentally, in the whole book
(xxv. 32, 33).

As appears from the Hebrew name, the connection of this book with the one immedi
ately preceding is very close. The tabernacle had now been set up, and its sacred furniture
arranged ; the book of Exodus closes with the mention of the cloud that covered it, and the
Glory of the Lord with which it was filled. Hitherto the Lord had spoken from the cloud
on Sinai ; now His presence was manifested in the tabernacle from which henceforth He
made known His will. It is just at this point that Leviticus is divided from Exodus The
same Lord still speaks to the same people through the same mediator ; but He had before
spoken from the heights of Sinai, while now He speaks from the sacred tabernacle pitched
among His people. At the close Leviticus is also closely connected with, and yet distinctly
separated from, the book of Numbers. It embraces substantially the remaining legislation
given in the neighborhood of Sinai, while Numbers opens with the military census and other
matters preparatory to the march of the Israelites in the second year of the Exodus. Yet on
the eve of that march a number of additional commands are given in Numbers intimately
associating the two books together.

The whole period between the setting up of the tabernacle (Ex. xl. 17) and the final
departure from Mt. Sinai (Num. x. 11) was but one month and twenty days. Much of this
was occupied by the events recorded in the earlier chapters of Numbers, especially the offer
ings of the princes on twelve days (Num. vii.) which must have almost immediately followed
the consecration of the priests and the tabernacle (Num. vii. 1 with Lev. viii. 10, 11), and the
celebration of the second Passover (ix. 1-5) occupying seven days, and begun on the four
teenth day of the first month. All the events of Leviticus must therefore be included within
less than the space of one month.

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS.

The object of the Book is apparent from its contents and the circumstances under which
it was given, especially when considered in connection with the references to it in the New
Testament. Jehovah, having now established the manifestation of His presence among His
people, directs them how to approach Him. Primarily, this has reference, of course, to the
then existing people, under their then existing circumstances ; but as ages rolled away, and
the people were educated to higher spiritual capacity, the spiritual meaning of these direc
tions was more and more set forth by the prophets ; until at last, when the true Sacrifice for
sin had come, the typical and preparatory character of these arrangements was fully declared.
LANGE (Horn, in Lev. General) says " Leviticus appears to be the most peculiarly Old Tes
tament in its character of all the Old Testament books, since Christ has entirely removed all
outward sacrifices. It may certainly be rightly said that the law of sacrifice, or the ceremo
nial law has been abrogated by Christianity. But if the law in general, in its outward his
torical and literal form has been abrogated, on the other hand, in its spiritual sense, it has
been fulfilled (Gal. ii- ; Bom. iii. ; Matt, v.) ; and so it must also be said in regard to the law
of sacrifices. The sacrificial law in its idea has only been fully realized in Christianity ; — in
its principle fulfilled, realized, in Christ, to be realized from this as a basis, continually in the
life of Christians " In the Epistle to the Hebrews the character of the sacrificial system in
general, and particularly of that part of it contained in Leviticus, is clearly set forth as at
once imperfect and transitory in itself, and yet typical of, and preparatory for, "the good
things to come. ' A flood of light is indeed thrown back from the anti-type upon the type,
and for this reason the Old Testament is always to be studied in connection with the New ;
yet on the other hand, the converse is also true, and Leviticus has still a most important
purpose for the Christian Church in that it sets forth, albeit in type and shadow, the will of
an unchangeable God in regard to all who would draw nigh to Him. Much of the New
Testament, and especially of the Epistle to the Hebrews, can only be fully understood
through a knowledge of Leviticus. To this general object of the book may be added the
special purposes, already necessarily involved, of preserving the Israelites alike from idolatry
by the multiform peculiarity of their ritual, and of saving them from indolence in their wor
ship by the exacting character of the ceremonial. The Christian Fathers, as EUSEBIUS, SS.
AUGUSTINE, LEO, CYRIL, as well as ORIGEN and many others, speak of the book as setting
forth in types and shadows the sacrifice of Christ ; while many of them also, as TERTULLIAN.
SS. CLEMENT, JEROME, CHRYSOSTOM, and others, speak of the inferior purpose just men
tioned.

Of the authorship of this book there is little need to speak, because there is really no
room for doubt. This is not the place to combat the opinions of those critics who, like KA-
LISCH, hold the whole Pentateuch to have been a very late compilation from fragments of
various dates, and the Mosaic system to have been one of gradual human development. The
portions assigned by KNOBEL to another author than the " Elohist" are x. 16-20 ; xvii.-xx. ;
xxiii , part of ver. 2 and ver. 3, vers. 18, 19, 22, 29-44; xxiv. 10-23; xxv. 18-22 ; and xxvi. ;
but the reasons given " are too transparently unsatisfactory to need serious discussion."
Generally, it may be said that even those critics who question most earnestly the Mosaic
authorship of some other portions of the Pentateuch are agreed that Leviticus must have
proceeded substantially from Moses. There is really no scope in this book for the Jehovistic
and Elohistic controversy ; for although KNOBEL delights to point out the distinct portions
by each writer, yet the name D'»1 /K never occurs in Lev. absolutely, but only with a pos
sessive pronoun marking the Deity as peculiarly Israel's God. (It is however once used,
xix. 4, for false gods). The book contains every possible mark of contemporaneous author
ship, and there are constant indications of its having been written during the life in the
wilderness. The words used for the sanctuary are either J3^9 (4 times) or 1JIMB S?lN (35
times) and never any term implying a more permanent structure. For the dwellings of the
people, JV2 in the sense of a house, is never used except in reference to the future habitation
of the promised land, which is the more striking because it occurs thirty -seven times in this
sense, and in all of them with express reference to the future, except xxvii. 14, 15, where this
reference is implied; Sot, jtya, and nu do not occur at all; ^rlN tent, occurs once, while the

2. UNITY AND CONTENTS OF LEVITICUS.

indefinite word 3tf 10 is found eight times ; T\3D, which is neither house nor tent, but booth,
occurs four times in the commands connected with the observance of the feast of tabernacles,
and with especial reference to Israel's having dwelt in booths at their first coming out from
Egypt (xxiii. 43). The use of all these terms is thus exactly suited to the wilderness period,
but not to any other. The use of WH for the feminine, so frequently changed in the Sama
ritan to K'n, and so pointed by the Masorets; the use of rnj£ for the people, so common in
Ex., Lev., Num., and Josh., and so infrequent elsewhere ; the usual designation of them as
the children of Israel, a phrase so largely exchanged for the simple Israel in later writers ;
and many other marks point to the earliest period of Hebrew literature as the time of the
composition of this book. The book itself repeatedly claims to record the laws which were
given to Moses in Mount Sinai, or in the wilderness of Sinai (vii. 38 ; xxv. 1 ; xxvi 46 ; xxvii.
34), and in one instance (xvi. 1), the time is sharply defined as after the death of Aaron's
two sons, and sometimes (xxi. 24; xxiii. 44) the immediate publication of the laws is men
tioned. There are frequent references to the time " When ye be come into the land of Ca
naan" as yet in the future (xiv. 34; xix. 23; xxiii. 10) ; and laws are given for use in the
wilderness, as e. g., the slaughter of all animals intended for food at the door of the tabernacle
as sacrifices (xvii. 1-6), which would have been impossible to observe when the life in the
camp was exchanged for that in the scattered cities of Canaan, and which was actually abro
gated on the eve of the entrance into the promised land (Deut. xii. 15, 20-22). In this abro
gation no mention is made of the previous law, but its existence is implied, and the change
is based on the distance of their future homes. There is frequent reference in the laws to the
"camp" (iv. 12, 21 ; vi. 11 ; xiii. 46 ; xiv. 3, 8 ; xvi. 26, 27, 28), so that in after times it
became necessary to adopt as a rule of interpretation that this should always be understood
in the law of the city in which the sanctuary stood Throughout the book Aaron appears as
the only high-priest (although this term is never used) and provision is repeatedly made for
his son, who should be anointed, and should minister in his stead ; and Aaron's sons appear
as the only priests. The Levites have not yet been appointed, nor are they ever mentioned
except in one passage in reference to their cities in the future promised land (xxv. 32, 33).
Not to dwell further upon particulars, it may be said in a word that we have here, and here
only, the full sacrificial and priestly system which is recognized as existing in the two fol
lowing books of the Pentateuch, and all subsequent Hebrew literature. For an excellent
summary of the evidence, see WARRINGTON'S "When was the Pentateuch written?" (London:
Christian Evidence Com. of Soc. P. C. K}.

The only passage presenting any real difficulty in regard to the date of the book is xviii.
28, " That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that
were before you." For the true sense of these words, see the commentary ; but even taking
it as it stands in the A. V., and supposing the whole exhortation, vers. 24-30, to have been
added by divine direction when Moses made his final revision of the work on the plains of
Moab, we can easily understand the language. Already, the conquest of the trans- Jordanic
region was accomplished, and that of the rest of the land was to be immediately entered upon
with the clearest promise of success. God warns the people through Moses, when all shall
be done, not to follow in the ways of the Canaanites, lest they also themselves suffer as their
predecessors had suffered. It is simply a case of the Lord's speaking from the stand-point
of an accomplished work, while the work was in progress, and assuredly soon to be com
pleted. It is to be noted that in the book itself the claim to Mosaic authorship is distinctly
made in the last verse of chap, xxvi., and again of the appendix, chap, xxvii. (comp. Num.
xxxvi. 13).

I 2. UNITY AND CONTENTS OF LEVITICUS.

The Book of Leviticus is marked on the surface with these elements of unity : it is all
centred in the newly-erected tabernacle ; and only a few weeks passed away between its be
ginning and its close. There is necessarily much variety in so considerable a collection of
laws, and something of historical narrative in connection with the immediate application of
those laws ; but the main purpose is everywhere apparent and controlling — the arrangements

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS.

whereby a sinful people may approach, and remain in permanent communion with a holy
God. This will better appear in the following table of contents. The arrangement of the
book is as systematic as the nature of its contents allowed. In regard to one or two alleged
instances of repetition (xi. 39, 40 compared with xxii. 8, and xix. 9 with xxiii. 22) it is suffi
cient to say that they were intentional (see the commentary) ; and in regard to several
chapters supposed to be placed out of their natural connection, (as e. g., chaps, xii. and xv.,)
it simply does not appear that the thread of connection in the mind of Moses was the same
as in that .of the critic. In fact, in the instances alleged, the great Legislator seems to have
taken especial pains to break that connection which is now spoken of as the natural one, and
has thus, for important reasons, separated the purification after child-birth from all other
purifications which might otherwise have seemed to be of the same character. Such points
will be noticed in detail in the commentary. Nevertheless, it is to be remembered that Le
viticus was given at Sinai in view of an immediate and direct march to Canaan, which should
have culminated in the possession of the promised land. When this had been prevented in
con-sequence of the sin of the people, a long time — above thirty-eight years — passed away
before the encampment on the plains of Moab. During this period the law was largely in
abeyance, as is shown by the fact that its most imperative requirement, circumcision, was
entirely omitted to the close (Josh. v. 5-8). After this long interval, it is not unreasonable
to suppose that the writings of Moses would have been revised before his death, and such
clauses and exhortations added as the changed circumstances might require. These passages,
however, if really written at that time, so far from being in any degree incongruous with the
original work, do but fill out and emphasize its teachings.

The contents of Leviticus are arranged in the following table in such a way as to show
something of the connection of its parts.

BOOK I.— Of approach to God. (Chaps. I.— XVI.).

FIRST PART. (i. — vii.) Laws of Sacrifice.

$ 1. General rules for the Sacrifices, (i. — vi. 7).

A. Burnt offerings, i.

B. Oblations (Meat offerings), ii.

C. Peace offerings, iii.

D. Sin offerings, iv. — v. 13.

E Trespass offerings, v. 14 — vi. 7.

$ 2. Special instructions chiefly for the Priests, vi. 8 — vii. 38.

A. For Burnt offerings, vi. 8-13.

B. " Oblations (Meat offerings), vi. 14-23.

C. " Sin offerings, vi. 24-30.

D. " Trespass offerings, vii. 1-6..

E " the Priests' portion of the above, vii. 7-10.

F. Peace offerings in their varie'y. vii. 11-21.

G. " the Fat and the Blood, vii. 22-27.

H. the priests' portion of peace offerings, vii. 28-36.

Conclusion of this Section, vii. 37, 38.

SECOND PART. Historical, (viii.— x.).

$ 1. The Consecration of the Priests, viii.

$ 2. Entrance of Aaron and his sons on their office, ix.

§ 3. The sin and punishment of Nadab and Abihu. x.

I 3. THE RELATION OF THE LEVITICAL CODE TO HEATHEN USAGES. 5

THIED PART. The Laws of Purity, (xi.— xv.).
| 1. Laws of clean and unclean food. xi.
I 2. Laws of purification after child-birth, xii.
| 3. Laws concerning Leprosy, (xiii., xiv.).

A. Examination and its result, xiii. 1-46.

B. Leprosy in clothing and leather, xiii. 47-59.

C. Cleansing and restoration of a Leper, xiv. 1-32.

D. Leprosy in a house, xiv. 33-53.
B. Conclusion, xiv. 54-57.

g 4. Sexual impurities and cleansings. xv.

FOURTH PART. The Day of Atonement, xvi.

BOOK II.— Of continuance in communion with God. (Chaps. XVII.— XXVI.).

FIRST PART. Holiness on the part of the people, (xvii. — xx.).
§ 1. Holiness in regard to Food. xvii.
§ 2. Holiness of the Marriage relation, xviii.
§ 3. Holiness of Conduct towards God and man. xix.
" 4. Punishment for Unholiness. xx.

SECOND PART. Holiness on the part of the Priests, and holiness of the
Offerings, xxi., xxii.

THIRD PART. Sanctification of Feasts, (xxiii.— xxv.).
§ 1. Of the Sabbaths and Annual Feasts, xxiii.
\ 2. Of the Holy lamps and Shew-bread. xxiv. 1-9.
g 3. Historical. The punishment of a Blasphemer, xxiv. 10-23.
§ 4. Of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, xxv.

FOURTH PART. Conclusion. Promises and Threats, xxvi.
Appendix. Of vows, xxxvii.

$ 3. THE RELATION OF THE LEVITICAL CODE TO HEATHEN USAGES.

Widely divergent views have been held by different writers upon this subject. SPENCER
(De legibus Hebrceorum) was disposed to find an Egyptian origin for almost every Mosaic in
stitution. BAEHR (Symbolik des Mosaischen Cultus] has sought to disprove all connection
between them. The b priori probability seems well expressed by MARSHAM (in Can. chron.
(Eyypt; P- 154, ed. Leips.) as quoted by ROSENMUELLER (Pref. in Lev., p. 5, note). "We
know from Scripture that the Hebrews were for a long time inhabitants of Egypt ; and we
may suspect, not without reason, that they did not wholly cast off Egyptian usages, but
rather that some traces of Egyptian habit remained. Many laws of Moses are from ancient
customs. Whatever hindered the cultus of the true Deity, he strictly forbade. Moses abro
gated most of the Egyptian rites, some he changed, some he held as indifferent, some he per
mitted, and even commanded." Yet this legislation by its many additions and omissions,
and the general remoulding of all that remained became, as EOSENMUELLER also remarks,
peculiarly and distinctively Hebrew, adapted to their needs, and sharply separating them
from all other people.

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS.

It can scarcely be necessary to speak of what the Mosaic law taught in common with
the customs of all people at this period of the world's history. The aim of the law was to
elevate the Israelites to a higher and better standard, but gently, and as they were able 10
bear it. Certain essential laws were given, and these were insisted upon absolutely and with
every varied form of command which could add to the emphasis. The unity of God, and
His omnipotence, were taught with a distinctness which was fast fading out from the world's
recollection, and which we scarcely find elsewhere at this period, except in the book of Job,
which may itself have been modified in Mosaic hands. So, too, the necessity of outward sacra
mental observances for the whole people, whereby communion with God through His Church
should be maintained, were strongly insisted upon, as in circumcision and the Passover, and,
other sacrifices. But when we come to consider the conduct of the ordinary life, we find the
universally received customs of the times not abrogated, but only restrained and checked
according to the capacity of the people. All these checks and restraints were in the direction
of, and looking towards, the higher standard of the morality of the Gospel, as may be seen in
the law of revenge, where unlimited vengeance was restricted to a return simply equal to the
injury received; in the laws of marriage, which imposed many restrictions on the freedom
of divorce and of polygamy ; in the laws of slavery, which so greatly mitigated the hardships
of that condition. But in these, as in many other matters, their Heavenly Father dealt
tenderly with His people, and "for the hardness of their hearts" suffered many things which
were yet contrary to His will.

The same general principles apply to the retention among them of very much of Egyp
tian custom and law. It is more important to speak of these because the Israelites lived so
long and in such close contact with the Egyptians from the very time of their beginning to
multiply into a nation until the eve of the promulgation of the Sinaitic legislation. Par
ticular points in which this legislation was adapted to the already acquired habits and ideas
of the people, will be noticed in the commentary as occasion requires. It is only necessary
here to point out on the one hand how apparent lacunae in the Mosaic teaching may thus be
explained, and on the other, how largely the Egyptian culfus itself had already been modified,
in all probability, by the influence of the fathers of the Jewish people. By consideration of
the former it is seen, e. g., why so little should have been said in the Mosaic writings of
immortality and the future life. This doctrine was deeply engraven in the Egyptian mind
and interwoven as a fundamental principle with their whole theology and worship. It passed
on to the Israelites as one of those elementary truths so universally received that it needed
not to be dwelt upon. The latter is necessarily involved in more obscurity; but when we
consider the terms on which Abraham was received by the monarch of Egypt ; the position
occupied at a later date by Jacob ; the rank of Joseph, and his intermarriage with the high-
priestly family ; and remember at the same time that the priesthood of Egypt was still in
possession of a higher and purer secret theology than was communicated to the people— we
see how Israel could have accepted from the land of the Pharaohs an extent of customs, (to
be purified, modified, and toned by their own Sinaitic legislation) which it might have been
dangerous to receive from any other people. Yet plainly, whatever of detail may have been
adopted from Egyptian sources, it was so connected and correlated in the Mosaic legislation
that the whole spirit of the two systems became totally unlike.

2 4. LTTERATUKE.

The ancient versions are of great value in the interpretation of the technical language
of the law. The Samaritan text and version (which however sometimes betray a want of
familiarity in detail with the ritual as practised at Jerusalem) often give valuable readings;
so also the Septuagint, the Chaldee Targums, and of later date, the Syriac and the Vulgate.

The New Testament, especially the Epistle to the Hebrews supplies to a large extent an
inspired commentary upon Leviticus. The various treatises of Philo, and the antiquities of
Josephus, give also fully the ancient explanations of many single passages and views of
larger sections.

Since their time the literature of Leviticus is voluminous, consisting of commentaries,

4. LITERATURE.

of special treatises upon the subjects with which it is occupied, and of archaeological investi
gations illustrating it. Of special treatises sufficient mention will be made in connection
with the subjects to which they relate, and it is unnecessary here to particularize works of
archaeology. Of commentaries the following are those which have been chiefly used in the
preparation of the present work : ORIGEN : Selecta in Lev and Horn, in L>v. THEODORET,
Qucest. in Lev. AUGUSTINE, Qucest. in Lev. BIBLIA MAX. VERSIONUM, containing the annota
tions of NICOLAS DE LYRA, TIRINUS, MENOCHIUS, and ESTIUS, Paris, 1660. CALVIN,
in Pentateuchum. CRITICI SACRI, London, 1660. POLI, Synopsis, London, 1689. MICIIAELIS,
Bibl. Hebr., Halle, 1720. CALMET, Wircesburfcii, 1789. PATRICK, London, 1842, and freq.
KOSENMUELLER, Leipsic, 1824. Of more recent date, KNOT?EL (of especial value), Leipsic,
1858. BOOTHROYD, Bibl. Hebr., Pontefract (no date). BARRETT'S Synopsis of Criticisms,
London, 1847. KALISCH, Leviticus, London, 1872. OTTO vox GERLACH on the Pentateuch,
translated by DOWNING, London, 1860. WORDSWORTH, London, 1865. KEIL and DE-
LITZSCH on the Pentateuch; (KEIL), translated by MARTIN, Edinburgh, 1866. MURPHY
on Leviticus, Am. Ed , Andover, 1872. CLARK, in the Speaker's Commentary, New York,
1872. GIRDLESTONE, Synonyms of the Old Testament, London, 1871. To which must be
added, as containing much of commentary on large portions of this book, BAEHR, Symbolik
des Mosaischen Cultus, Heidelberg, 1837-'39, 2te Aufage, Erster Band, Heidelberg, 1874.
OUTRAM on Sacrifices, translated by ALLEN, London, 1817. HENGSTENBERG, Die Opfer
des heiL Schrift, Berlin, 1839. KURTZ on Sacrifice, Mitau, 1864. HERMANN SCHULTZ,
Alttestamentliche Theologie, Frankfurt a M.. 18C9, 2 vols. (EiiLER, Theologie des Alien Testa
ments, 2 vols., Tubingen, 1873-74 (a translation is in the press of T. & T. Clark). Of LANGE'S
own commentary (1874) as much as possible, and it is believed everything of importance, has
been introduced into this work, which was already well advanced before its publication. Such
portions are always distinctly marked. In several of the chapters his commentary is given
in full ; in others, nearly so.

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES.

Leviticus properly opens with the law of sacrifice, because this was the centre and basis
of the Divine service in the newly-erected tabernacle. But since sacrifices have to do with
the relations of man to God, they can only satisfactorily be considered in connection with
the established facts of those relations. Of these facts three are fundamental : the original
condition of man in a state of holiness and of communion with God ; the fall, by which he
became sinful, and thus alienated from God ; and the promise, given at the very moment of
man's passing from the one state to the other. The promise was that in the future the wo
man's Seed should bruise the serpent's head — that in the long struggle between man and the
power of evil, one born of woman should obtain the final victory. This promise was ever
cherished by the devout in all the following ages as the anchor of their hope, and its realiza
tion, as seen at the birth of Cain and of Noah, was continually looked for. The expectation
of a Deliverer, Eedeemer, Messiah, became the common heritage of humanity, although as
time rolled away, it tended to become faint and obscure. Therefore there came the call in
Abraham of a peculiar people, in whom this hope should not only be kept alive, but, as far
as possible, saved from distortion and misconception. It was distinctly the blessing of Abra
ham's call, the birthright renewed to his son and grandson, and the reason for the choice and
the care of a peculiar people.

From the circumstances under which this promise was given, and the way in which it is
constantly treated in Revelation, it is plain that the restoration of man to full communion
with God could only be brought about by the restoration of man's holiness ; it was only in
obedience to the Divine will that man could obtain at-one-ment with his Maker. This might
seem to be sufficiently plain as a truth of natural religion, but it was also abundantly taught
in history and in Scripture. Not only was it shown by the great judgments upon transgres
sion in the deluge, in Babel, in the overthrow of Sodom, etc., but constantly the relative and
partial attainment of holiness, as in the case of Enoch, Noah, and others, was made the
ground of a relatively larger bestowal of the Divine favor. Abraham's acceptance was ex
pressly grounded upon his faith — necessarily including those works without which faith is
dead — and so with the other heroes recounted in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. Later,
Moses in his parting exhortations in Deuteronomy, constantly and strongly urges the neces
sity of a loving obedience springing from the heart, aadthis is more and more fully unfolded
by the prophets from Samuel down, as the people were able to bear it.

Meantime from the first, in the case of Cain and Abel, and probably still earlier, and
then among all nations as they arose, sacrifices were resorted to as a means of approach to
God. From their universality, it is plain that they were looked upon as in some way helping
to bring about that restoration of communion with God which should have been reached by
a perfect holiness ; but since man was conscious he did not possess this holiness, sacrifices
were resorted to. As they never could have been offered by a sinless being, they necessarily
involve confession of sin. Whether sacrifice in its origin was a Divine institution, or whether
it sprang from a human consciousness of its propriety, is here immaterial. LANGE takes the
latter view. It speedily received the Divine sanction and command. Theoretically the sa
crifice could have had no intrinsic value for the forgiveness of sin. The author of the Epistle
to the Hebrews (ix. 13; x. 4) has abundantly shown that while sacrifices might have in
themselves a certain absolute value for purposes of ceremonial purification, there was yet no

10 LEVITICUS.

congruity or correlation between the blood cf bulls and goats and the removal of human sin.
Hence, theoretically also, sacrifices, while they received the Divine approbation, must have
been a t-mp .rary institution, in some way useful to man for the time being, but looking for
ward to the true atonement by the victory of the woman's Seed over evil. Thus sacrifices
are in their very nature typical ; having little force in themselves, and yet appointed for the
accomplishment of a result which can only be truly attained in the fulfilment of the primeval
promise. How far this true nature of sacrifices may have been more or less dimly perceived
by man from the outset, it is not necessary here to inquire. It is obvious that from this point
of view the intrinsic value of the sacrifices was entirely a secondary matter ; their whole
efficacy resulted from the Divine appointment or approbation of them.

The tendency of man apart from Revelation to corruption in his ideas of God and of the
means of approaching Him is nowhere more marked than in regard to sacrifice. The gods
of the heathen were, for the most part, deifications of nature or her powers ; they represented
natural forces, and instead of originating are themselves governed by natural laws. This is
true, whether their creed were polytheistic, as that of the Greeks and Romans, or pantheistic,
as that of Buddhism. In Hebrew law, on the other hand, God appears " as the Creator and
omnipotent Ruler of the universe, a personal Lord of an impersonal world, totally distinct
from it in essence, and absolutely swaying it according to His will; but also the merciful
Father of mankind." "Therefore the sacrifices of the Hebrews have a moral or ethical,
those of other nations a purely cosmical or physical character; the former tend to work upon
mind and soul, the latter upon fears and interests; the one strives to elevate the offerer to
the sanctity of God, the other to lower the gods to the narrowness and selfishness of man."
KALISCH. Moreover, among the heathen, God was regarded as alienated, and to be propi
tiated in such ways as man could devise ; sacrifices were considered as having a certain satis
fying power in themselves, as in some sort a quid pro quo, and as an opus operafum, inde
pendent of the moral life of the offerer. Hence as the occasion rose in importance, the value
of the sacrifice was increased even to the extent of sometimes using human victims. Among
the Israelites, sacrifices were known to be of God's own appointment as a means of approach
to Him. They had a shadow, indeed, of the heathen character, as offering actual compensa
tions for certain offences against the theocratic state, but this was very secondary. Their
main object was to bridge over the gulf between sinful man and a holy God. Although the
law of sacrifices necessarily stands by itself, yet the same Legislator everywhere insists upon
the necessity of a loving obedience to God. Hence, however costly sacrifices might be allowed,
and even encouraged as Free-will, and Peace, and Thank-offerings, and more numerous vic
tims were required at the festivals and on other occasions for burnt-offerings, the Sin-offering
must (except in certain specially defined cases) be of the commonest and cheapest of the
domestic animals, and even this always, as nearly as might be, of a uniform value There
was no gradation in the value of the offering in proportion to the heinousness of the offence ;
the atonement for all sins, whatever the degree of their gravity, was the same. Even the
morning and evening sacrifice for the whole people which, although not strictly a sin-offering,
yet had a somewhat propitiatory character, was still the single lamb. By this the typical
nature of sacrifice as a temporary and, in itself, ineffectual means, was strongly expressed.

That the ancients had the idea of sin as a moral offence against God, has indeed been
called in question ; but seems too certain, at least among the Egyptians, the Hindoos, and
the Israelites, to require proof. It is abundantly expressed in the book of Job. It may be
well, however, to point out some of the heads of the evidence that sacrifice was regarded as a
propitiation for such sin, i. e., as a means for obtaining the Divine pardon for its guilt. Pro
minent in this evidence is the fact just mentioned, that there was no proportion between the
offence and the value of the sacrifice; since the idea of compensation was thus excluded, it
remains that what was sought for was forgiveness. CALVIN (in Lev. i.) justly remarks that
the idea of reconciliation with God was connected under the old dispensation with sacrifice
after a sacramental fashion as with baptism now. Historically, this idea of sacrifice as a
means of obtaining forgiveness is clearly brought out in the sacrifices of Job, both for his
children in the time of his prosperity (Job i. 5), and for his friends after his afiliction (xlii.

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 11

8). THOLUCK, following SCHOLL, has shown (Diss. II., App. Ep. Hebr.) that the idea of
such propitiation was prevalent throughout all antiquity ; that clean animals were changed
in their status on the express ground of their being "a sin-offering," " an atonement/' so
that the parts of them not consumed upon the altar might be eaten only by the priests, and
their remains must be burned, or else the whole burned, without the camp (Ex. xxix. 14;
Lev. iv. 11, 12, 21 ; vi. 30 ; xvi. 27, 28, etc.] ; that the idea is distinctly brought out in Lev.
xvii. 11, and in parallel passages. " The life of the flesh is in the blood : and I have given it
to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls;" that in the case of a murder by
unknown hands (Deut. xxi. 9) the guilt of the crime must rest upon the whole neighborhood
until the people had symbolically transferred that guilt to a victim, and this had been
offered in sacrifice; and finally, that the ritual of the day of atonement necessarily involves
this idea. (See on chap, xvi.) "The notion of internal atonement .... formed a distinctive
feature of the theology of the Pentateuch." KALISCH, I. p. 161.

On passing from these more general considerations to the particular system of the Levi-
tical sacriSces, it needs to be constantly borne in mind that these, far from being a new
institution, were in fact a special arrangement and systematizing of one of the most ancient
institutions known to man. The change from the one to the other was strictly parallel to
the course of divine operations in nature. The earlier is ever the more general and compre
hensive; the later the more specialized both in structure and functions At the same time
the law was not merely an evolution, a normal development of Divine teaching previously
received, but it was distinctly "added because of transgressions until the promised seed
should come." We must therefore be prepared to find in it especial safeguards for the
chosen people against those misconceptions which became common among the heathen, and
also a constant relation to its final cause and its terminus when " the Seed should come."

It will help materially to a clear idea of the Mosaic sacrificial system if we examine the
various words used for sacrifice before and under the law, having regard also to the subse
quent usage of the same words and to their various translations in the ancient versions.

The earliest word that occurs is also the most general in its original sense, though under
the law it acquires a strictly technical signification : nnj*p, given by the lexicographers as
from a root not used, nJJ=rn ^=to distribute, to deliver, and hence to make a present of, to
give. In the LXX. it is translated before the law only by the words dapov (Gen. iv. 4;
xxxii. 13, 18, 20, 21, etc.) and Ovaia (Gen. iv. 3, 5 only) ; in the law, where it occurs very fre
quently, only by ftcc/a or by the combination fi&pov Ovaia, and this is the case also in Ezekiel
(although twice, Lev. ii. 13; Num. xv*ii. 9, the form is Ovaiaff/ta), except in the single in-
stance of ov7//(5«?L/r, Lev. ix. 4. After the books of the law both these translations are fre
quently employed, and also xpontinpa once (Ps. xxxix. 9), &viov three times, and frequently
the Hebrew word is simply expressed in Greek letters pavaa. The Vulg. translates by mu-
nus, munuscufum, oblatio, oblatio sacrijicii, and sacrifitium; but in the law oblatio and sacri-
ficium are the terms commonly employed. In the A. V. meat-offerin /, or simply offering, is
the only translation in EK., Lev., Num and Ezek.; but present, gift, sacrifice and oblation
are used elsewhere as well as these, usually according to the sense implied by the context.
The word is used outside of the law in the general sense of a propitiatory gift or tribute to
any one, and hence of such a gift to God, or sacrifice in its most general sen^e. It is used
of the offerings of both Cain and Abel, the one unbloody, the other bloody. In the prophets
it is used as a word for sacrifice in general. It is used frequently in the historical books of
gifts or tribute from man to man as from Jacob to Esau, to Joseph in Egypt, of the Moab-
ites and Syrians to David, and distinctly of tribute, 2 Kings xvii. 3, 4, etc. In the law (Ex.,
Lev., Num., to which must be added Ezek.) it has a strictly defined technical signification,
and is applied only to the oblation (A. V. meat-offering) except in Num. v., where it is used
(six times) of the unbloody jealousy -offering of barley. It is always therefore in the law a
bloodless offering, and hein-j nearly always an accompaniment of a bloody offering, may be
regarded in its original sense of a gift to God, offered along with a sacrifice more strictly so
called. In the few instances in which it stands alone it never appears as offered for the pur
pose of atonement. In the case of the sin-offering of flour allowed in extreme poverty (Lev.

12 LEVITICUS.

v. 11-13) this is expressly distinguished from the nnjjp in that the remainder should belong
to the priest, nnjS.3.

The word which comes next in the order of the record is rny, derived from rnj;, to
ascend, to glow, to burn. It means uniformly throughout the Old Testament: the whole
burnt-sacrifice, so specifically indeed that twice (Deut. xxxiii. 10; Ps. li. 19 [21]) '"/3=
whole is substituted for it. In a few cases it is variously translated by the LXX. (once each
adiKia avdfiaaic, avatyopa^ six times Ovoia, thirteen times nap^u/ua, three times napiruoi^}, but in
the vast majority of cases by some term signifying the holocaust, 6XoKdp7ru/u.a (three times),
ohoKdoTTCjaic (eleven times), o^oKavr^a (most frequently), OAOKCWTUC'.S (seventy-three times).
In the Vulg. the only renderings are holocaustum (seldom holocautoma] and hostia, except a
very few times oblatio ; in the A. V., always either burnt-offering or burnt-sacrifice, which
are used interchangeably, and seem to have been intended to convey the same meaning. It
is first used in Gen. viii. 20 for the sacrifices offered by Noah, and throughout Gen. xxii. It
is also used three times in Exodus (x. 25 ; xviii. 12 ; xxiv. 5) in relation to sacrifices previous
to those of the Levitical system. In the law itself it occurs very frequently, and also in the
subsequent books. It constitutes the daily morning and evening sacrifice for the congrega
tion. It was always an animal sacrifice and was wholly consumed, except the skin, upon
the altar. In signification it was the most general of all the sacrifices, and in fact was the
only unspecialized bloody sacrifice of the Jaw. It must be regarded therefore as including
within itself, more or less distinctly, the idea of all other sacrifices; it was a means of ap
proach to. God in every way in which that approach could be expressed. It was not dis
tinctly a sin-offering ; yet the fact that it should be accepted for the offerer "to make atone
ment for him" p3?7, Lev. i. 4) is prominent in its ritual, and the same idea is distinctly
brought out in the (probably earlier) sacrifices of Job (Job i. 5; xlii. 8). There is a rabbin
ical maxim : " the burnt offering expiates the transgressions of Israel," and this idea is fully
expressed in the Targums. "The burnt-offering, as it is the most ancient, so also is it ihe
most general and important in the Mosaic cultus, apiarr/ ffkanv 1} uMnavToc: (Philo de vict., p.
838)." THOLUCK (Diss. II. in Hebr.). Yet THOLTJCK afterwards separates this sacrifice
quite too absolutely from the sin-offering. The latter indeed, as specializing one feature of
the burnt-offering, had a different ritual, and was without the oblation ; as offered only for
the expiation of sin, it carried with it to those who bore its unconsumed flesh a defilement
which could not attach to the burnt-offering, since this included other ideas also within
itself. But all this by no means forbids that in its general, comprehensive character, the
burnt-offering should include the idea of expiation for sin which is distinctly attached to it
in the law. It was often offered also as a praise or thank-offering (2 Sam. vi, 17, etc.}. As
already said, it was the one comprehensive sacrifice daily offered upon the altar of the taber
nacle (Ex. xxix. 38-42) ; it was doubled on tbe Sabbath (Num. xxviii. 9, 10), and multi
plied, with added victims of higher value, on the first of each month (ib. 11) ; and so also at
the great yearly festivals (ib. 16 -xxix. 39). So far as the burnt-offering had a specific sig
nification of its own, its meaning is generally assumed by theologians to have been that of
entire consecration to God. Such a meaning is certainly sufficiently appropriate; but is
never distinctly attributed to it in the Scriptures either of the Old or New Testament. It is
however constantly described in the more general sense of a means of approach to God.

rui is used not so much for any particular kind of sacrifice as for the victim for any
sacrifice. It is frequency coupled with some other word determining the kind of sacrifice
intended, especially D'nSp rn?. When not so identified, it may mean any kind of sacrifice
(although most frequently used of the peace offerings), and does not therefore require parti
cular consideration. It occurs first in Gen. xxxi. 54 and xlvi. 1, and is generally rendered
in the LXX. and Vulg. d'voia and hostia. The verb is the technical word for slaughtering
animals in sacrifice, nor is it ever used in any other sense in the Pentateuch except in Deut.
xii. 15, 21, where permission is given to those at a distance from the sanctuary to slay sacri
ficial animals simply for food. In the later books there are very few other exceptions to
this usage : 1 Sam. xxviii. 24 ; 2 Chron. xviii. 2 ; Ezek. xxxiv. 3. " From this word is derived

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 13

the Hebrew name for the altar, HDID, not, as sometimes asserted, because sacrifices were
originally slain upon the altar ; but because this was the place of destination for ihem.

No other words for sacrifice occur until the time of the Exodus. There the various spe
cialized forms of the Mosaic sacrifices are described ; but before speaking of these the word
nt^jj must be mentioned, which is frequently rendered (chiefly in Lev. and Num.) offer or
sacrifice. It is not, however, properly a sacrificial term ; but merely a word of very broad
signification —like iroit-u or do — which is adapted in sense to its connection. It first occurs
in the meaning sacrifice in Ex. xxix. 36. Therefore passing by this, the earliest especial
sacrificial term of the law is HD2, Trda^-a, pascha, passover. It occurs first in Ex. xii. 11, and
frequently afterwards, although only once in Lev. (xxiii. 5). The noun always means the
lamb slain by the head of each house in Israel on the 14th Nisan, and eaten by him and his
family the following evening, or at least the seven days' feast of which this was the begin
ning, and the characteristic feature. The history of its institution is fully given in Ex. xii.
From the abundant references to it in the New Testament it was plainly designed as an
especial type of Christ. It was distinctly a sacrifice, being reckoned a J3"}[? in Num. ix. 7,
13, and slain in the place of sacrifice (Deut. xvi. 5, 6), and its blood, after the first institu
tion, was sprinkled by the priests (2 Chron. xxx. 16; xxxv. 11), as affirmed by all Jewish
authorities ; indeed, it is in connection with the Passover that the mention of the treatment
of the blood of sacrifice first occurs. It is classed by OUTRAM among the Eucharistic sacri
fices, and is assimilated to them by the fact that its flesh was eaten by the offerer and his
household ; but is distinguished from them in having nothing of it given to the priest. It
was really a sacrifice appointed before the institution of the priesthood in which each head
of the family offered, and thus it perpetuated the remembrance that, by their calling, the
whole nation were a holy people, chosen " to draw near to God." Its historic relations are
always most prominent, and it was in fact the great sacrament of the covenant by which
God had delivered Israel and constituted them His chosen people. Its celebration consti
tuted the chief of the three great annual festivals, and was the only one of them having a
fundamentally sacrificial character. It thus became a fit type of the new covenant and of the
deliverance through Christ from the bondage of sin.

The E^t? (from D^) or peace-offering, is first mentioned Ex. xx. 24, in reference to
the future offerings of the law, but in a way that seems to imply a previous familiarity with
this kind of sacrifice. It is rendered in the LXX. sometimes by elpijvindc, but more generally
by curripiov, and in the Vulg. by pacificus and salutare ; in the A. V. uniformly peace-offering.
Under the law it was separated into three varieties : the thank, the vow, and the free-will
offering. See under vii. 12. In Lev. vii. 12, 13,15; xxii. 29, the thank-offering has the
distinct name, JTTIP, which does not elsewhere occur in the law, though frequent afterwards.
This variety included all the prescribed thank-offerings. The idea of propitiation was less
prominent in this than in any other sacrifice, although the sprinkling of the blood — which
was always propitiatory — formed a part of its ritual ; but it was especially the sacrifice of
communion with God, in which the blood was sprinkled and the fat burned upon the altar,
certain portions given to the priests, and the rest consumed by the offerer with his family
and friends in a holy sacrificial meal. In the wilderness no sacrificial animal might be used
for food except it had first been offered as a sacrifice. It naturally became one of the most
common of all the sacrifices, and the victims for it were sometimes provided in enormous
numbers, as at Solomon's dedication of the temple (1 Kings viii. 63). Peace offerings were,
for the most part, voluntary, but were also prescribed on several occasions, as at the fulfill
ment of the Nazarite vow (Num. vi. 17), and are constantly expected at the great festivals.
"The peace-offering was always preceded by the piacular victim, whenever any person of
fered both these kinds of sacrifices on the same day. Ex. xxix. 14, 22; Num. vi. 14, 16, 17."
OUTRAM. Although the oSt^ is not mentioned under its distinctive name before Ex. xx.
24, yet it cannot be doubted that sacrifices of the same character are included in the more
general term, H2T, at a much earlier period (see Gen. xxxi. 54; Ex. x. 25; xviii. 12), as
they were certainly common at all times among the heathen. In the New Testament they
are alluded to in Phil iv. 18 and Heb. xiii. 15, 16.

14 LEVITICUS.

tan (from the Piliel of KEF}) in the sense of sin occurs in Gen. iv. 7 and frequently ;
but in the sense of sin-offering is not found before the establishment of the Levitical system.
The first instance of this sense is in Ex. xxix. 14, after which it is very frequent both in the
law and in the later books. Besides a variety of occasional translations, the usual rendering
in the LXX. is d//aprm, and in the Yulg. peccatum. In the A. Y. it is variously translated
punishment, punishment of sin, purification for sin, purifying, sinner, sin and sin-offering ; but
the last two are by far the most common. It is the distinctive, technical word in the law
for the piacular offering for sin. For its ritual see iv. — v. 13. The sin-offerings of which
the blood was carried within the sanctuary, and whose bodies were burned without the camp,
are particularly referred to in the New Testament as typical of Christ; but more general
references to Him as our Sin-offering are frequent. Sin-offerings were prescribed (a) at each
new moon, Num. xxviii. 15; (b) at each of the three great festivals, Num. xxviii. 22, 30;
xxix. 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 38 ; (c] at the feast of trumpets on the first day of the seventh
month, and on the tenth day of the same, ib. 5, 11 ; (d) the sin-offering, /car' tt-oxfiv on the
great day of atonement, ch. xvi. ; (e) private sin-offerings, for a woman after child-birth, xii.
6, 8 ; for the leper at his cleansing, xiv.. 19, 22, 31 ; for a person cleansed of an issue, xv. 15,
30; for the Nazarite accidentally defiled, Num. vi. 11, and at the time of the fulfillment of
his vow, ib. 14, 16 ; and on other special occasions, Num. vii. 16, 22, 28, 34, 40, etc.; besides
the ordinary sin-offerings of Lev. iv. The ordinary victim was a she-goat or a ewe, replaced
for the high-priest or for the whole congregation by a bullock, and for a prince by a he-goat
for reasons given in the commentary on Lev. iv. In case of poverty, for the ordinary offer
ing might be substituted turtle-doves or young pigeons, or even an offering of flour. But
besides regular victims, there were various others prescribed for those exceptional occasions
which from their nature required some such discrimination. Thus at Aaron's entrance upon
his sacred functions his sin-offering was a calf (Lev. ix. 1-8) ; at the end of the Nazarite's
vow (Num. vi. 14), and at the recovery of a leper able to bring this offering (Lev. xiv. 10,
19), a ewe-lamb was the prescribed victim. Though not strictly sin-offerings, yet to the
same general category belong the red heifer whose ashes were used for purifications (Num.
xix. 2-22), and the heifer to be slain in case of an unknown murder (Deut. xxi. 1-9). Yet
these were all peculiar and exceptional cases, and the rule remains that the ordinary sin-
offering was always the same.

J3? \l is first used Lev. i. 2, occurs very frequently in Leviticus and Numbers, and is
never used elsewhere except twice in Ezekiel. (With the pointing, )?"?[?> it is also found
twice in Neli.) There are but one or two variations from the translation, $upov} in the LXX.,
and donum in the Vulg. In the A. V. it is generally translated offering, but sometimes obla
tion, and once (Lev. xxvii. 11) sacrifice. Its meaning is perfectly clear — that which is of
fered (brought nigh) to God, whether as a sacrifice or as a dedicatory gift; if, however, the
thing offered be a sacrificial animal, then of course it necessarily means a sacrifice. In either
case, it is something given to God.

3£?X? like the nearly related ^NtSH, }iag the double sense of trespass or guilt and trespass-
offering. It occurs once in Genesis (xxvi. 10) in the former sense, but is not found in the
latter earlier than Lev. v. 6. It is frequent in Leviticus, and less so in subsequent books in
both senses. In the LXX. and Vulg. it has a considerable variety of renderings; but the
most frequent are LXX. ^7.7/fj.fteXeia, and Vulg. delictum. For the distinction between thia
and the sin-offering, see iv. 1 and v. 14.

There remains, as belonging to the list of the sacrifices, the incense, for which two words
are used, neither of which occur before the giving of the law. nj^j? first occurs Ex. xxx.
34, and is uniformly translated in the LXX. Kifiavoq (once, however, hipavuToc}, and in the
Vulg. thus ; it is always frankincense in the A. V. except in Isa. and Jer. where it is always
incense. It is " a costly, sweet-smelling, pale-yellow resin, the milky exudation of a shrub "
(FUERST). fntDp, which first occurs Ex. xxv. 6, on the other hand, is an incense com
pounded of frankincense and various sweet spices (Ex. xxx. 34). It is usually translated in
the LXX. and Vulg. Ov^ia/j.at thymiama, but sometimes ai'vOeaic, compositio. In the A. V. it
is rendered either incense, or sweet incense, or a few times perfume. This incense was to be

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 15

burnt only within the sanctuary, twice daily on the golden altar (Ex. xxx. 7, 8), and also by
the high-priest in the holy of holies on the day of atonement (Lev. xvi. 12, 13). The frank
incense was offered by the people as a part of their oblations, and was mostly burnt in the
court. The burning of all incense was a strictly priestly act, and is constantly spoken of in
the Scriptures as symbolical of prayer (e. g. Rev. v. 8; viii. 3, 4). Pre-eminently does it
typify the intercession of the true High Priest in heaven itself.

The word T\W*==offering8 made by fire, is not so much the name of a sacrifice as a de
scription of all sacrifices burned upon the altar. It is applied to various kinds of sacrifices,
Lev. i. 9; ii. 3; iii. 5, etc. ^\=drink-offering is first used Gen. xxxv. 14, and is not pro
perly a sacrifice itself, but an accompaniment of other sacrifices. nJDljr^wave-offering, and
nrjnn=heave-offering, refer to particular modes of presentation of certain offerings.

The animals used for victims were either " of the flock or of the herd," or in case of
poverty, doves or pigeons. These were all clean animals, and were consequently among
those commonly used for food ; the quadrupeds were from domestic animals, aud the birds
those most easy of capture. (Domestic fowls are said not to have been known before the
time of Solomon.) The ease and certainty of procuring these various victims seems a more
likely reason for their selection than either their tameness — which certainly does not apply
to the bull — or their value as property, since the cost of procuring wild animals would usually
have been far greater. The idea that these animals were especially appointed for sacrificial
victims because they were held sacred among heathen nations, and particularly among the
Egyptians, although often advanced, is unsatisfactory for two reasons: first, because on this
ground there is no reason why the number of sacrificial animals should not have been greatly
enlarged ; secondly, because these very animals, for the most part, were used in sacrifice by
the nations that also worshipped them. Whatever typical significance they may have had,
this can hardly be considered as the reason for their selection, since in the typical language
of the prophets various other animals (e. g. the lion and the eagle) are so largely used. In
fact the lamb seems to be the only one of the sacrificial animals typically employed in pro
phecy, the dove being only an alternative victim for the poor.

The public animal-sacrifices of the Israelites may be broadly separated into three great
classes, according to the prominent purpose of each. I. The Burnt-offerings, or offerings of
approach to God. The main idea of these, in so far as they had any especially distinctive
idea, is generally considered to have been consecration to God's service as the necessary con
dition of approaching Him, and yet also including in a subordinate way the, idea of expia
tion, without which sinful men might not draw near to God at all. This idea is represented
outwardly and once for all in the Christian Church by baptism, and in its continual repeti
tion by the various acts of worship and efforts to conform the life to Christ's example. With
the burnt-offering belonged the unbloody, eucharistic oblation, together with its incense
symbolizing prayer. II. The sin offering, in its various forms, expressly provided for the
purpose of atonement. Having no inherent efficacy, this yet clearly pointed forward to the
only effectual atonement made by Christ Himself upon the cross. This sacrifice, as is most
clearly shown in Hebrews, being efficacious for the forgiveness of all sin, can never be re
peated ; yet according to Christ's own command, we are to show forth His death until He
come again in the Lord's supper, and thus historically the great sacrament of the Christian
Church points back to that which the Levitical system prefigured. The central point of
both dispensations is the same, but i i the one case prophetic, in the other historic. III.
The Peace-offerings were the ordinary means of communion with God through an external
rite, and of expressing outwardly thanksgiving for His mercies, or supplication for His favors:
They are to be considered not so much as typical definitely of any one thing in the new dis
pensation, but rather as meeting under the old a need which is now otherwise supplied ; yet
still in common with all sacrifices, they serve to set forth in shadow Him " who is our peace,"
and on whom feeding by faith we now have peace with God.

Besides these great classes of sacrifices, there were a multitude of others, mostly for indi
viduals, some of which are distinctly included under one or the other of these classes, while
others share the character of more than one of them, and others, like the Passover, have a

16 LEVITICUS.

character peculiar to themselves. These will be treated in their appropriate places. There
is one of them which must be mentioned on account of its great importance — the red heifer
— but its treatment belongs in the following book, Num. xix. 1-10. In general it may be
said, that as God's works will not conform very precisely to any human classification, since
each creature is an individual entity to the Infinite, but always there will be characteristics
in one group allying the genera in which it is found to some other widely se parated group
so also in the works of the Divine word, we can only classify broadly and having regard to
the most salient features, while, in view of less important characteristics, we might often be
compelled to change the best classification that can be formed.

The vegetable sacrifices, or oblations, were correspondingly varied. These were usually
accompaniments of the animal-offerings, but sometimes were independent. This was the
case not only with the alternative sin-offering (Lev. v. 11), and the jealousy-offering (Num.
v. 15), but also with the shew-bread, the Passover sheaf of barley and the Pentecostal wheaten
loaves. Incense also was at times an independent offering. Drink-offerings appear exclu
sively as accompaniments of the animal sacrifices, and were of wine; but their ritual is no
where prescribed.

The mineral kingdom was represented in the sacrifices only by the salt with which all
other offerings were to be salted.

The ritual of the various sacrifices will be treated as they occur in the. text. Suffice it
here to say that three essential points are to be observed in all : First, that the victim should
be solemnly offered to God. This, as OUTRAM clearly shows (I. xv. 4), was accomplished
by presenting the living victim or the oblation before the altar, and was the act of the offerer.
Second, that the offerer should lay his hand upon the head of the victim thereby personally
identifying himself with what he* did. The exceptions to this are in the case of birds, for
obvious reasons, and in the case of the Paschal lamb, instituted before the Levitical system,
and when this act was unnecessary as the offerer acted himself in some sort as priest. Third,
the intervention of a priest, as the mediator between God and man, who must sprinkle the
blood and burn the parts required upon the altar ; and in the case of the ordinary sin-offering
as well as of many of the oblations, he must himself, as the representative of God, consume
the remainder.

It appears from constant Eabbiuical tradition, as well as from the probability of the
case, that prayer or confession on the part of the offerer always accompanied the sacrifice.
Indeed, this is often spoken of in particular cases in Scripture itself, and language is there
used in regard to the sacrifices which implies the universality of the custom. When the
patriarchs built altars, they "called upon the name of the LORD" (Gen. xii. 8, etc.). Con
fession is required in connection with the sin and trespass-offerings (Lev. v. 5 ; Num. v. 7),
and especially with the great propitiation on the day of atonement (Lev. xvi. 21). A form
of prayer is prescribed for the oblation of the first fruits (Deut. xxvi. 3-10), and of the tithes
(ib. 13-15). Sacrificing and calling upon God are often used as equivalent terms (1 Sam.
xiii. 12; Prov. xv. 8, etc.), and the temple is indifferently called "the house of sacrifice" (2
Chron. vii. 12, etc.), and "the house of prayer" (Isa. Ivi. 7, etc.), and frequently prayer and
confession are mentioned in connection with sacrifice on particular occasions, or in a general
way as showing that the one accompanied the other as a matter of course (1 Sam. vii. 9 ; Job
xlii. 8 ; Ezra vi. 10 ; 1 Chron. xxi. 26 ; xxix. 10-21 ; 2 Chron. xxx. 22 ; Ps. Ixvi. 13-20 ; cxvi. 13,
17, etc.). For further details of the ritual, and especially for the Rabbinical traditions on the
subject, the reader is referred to OUTRAM, KALISCH, and other special treatises on sacrifice.

Of the purpose and design of the whole sacrificial cultus, but little need be added to
what has already been said. That in a theocratic state the expiatory offerings had, as an
incidental object, the compensation for minor offences against that state, and the doing away
with ceremonial hindrances to worship is undeniable ; but that they had .also a farther and
higher object is plain both from the study of the Mosaic legislation itself and from their
treatment throughout the New Testament, especially in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Besides
their typical value, they had a powerful educational use. " As we survey the expiatory
offerings of the Hebrews, which for purity stand unrivalled in the ancient world, we are

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 17

bound to admit that they were pre-eminently calculated to keep alive among the nation
those feelings on which all religious life depends, and from which it flows as its natural
source, the feelings of human sinfulness and the conviction of the divine holiness, by the
standard of which that sinfulness is to be measured; they fostered, therefore, at once humi
lity and an ideal yearning ; and they effectually counteracted that sense of self-righteousness
natural indeed to the pride of man, but utterly destructive of all noble virtues. They were
well suited to secure in the directest and completest manner that singleness of life and heart
which is the true end of all sacrifices. * * * Though bearing the character of vicarious-
ness, the sin-offerings were far from encouraging an external worship by lifeless ceremonies ;
in themselves the spontaneous offspring of religious repentance, and thus naturally helping
to nourish the same beneficent feeling, they were the strongest guarantee for a life of honesty
and active virtue." KALISCH I., p. 187 sq.

It is, however, to be remembered that while sacrifices were abundantly provided for him
who sinned inadvertently, on the other hand no sacrifice was allowed for him who sinned
" presumptuously " (Num. xv. 30, 31 ; Deut. xvii. 12), that is, with deliberate and high-handed
purpose ; for the offender thus declared that he did not desire to be at one with God ; there
was in him no internal disposition to correspond with the outward act of .sacrifice. Certainly
nothing could show more clearly that the efficacy of sacrifice is connected with the disposi
tion of the heart. It was natural that many of the fathers, in the strong re-action of early
Christianity from Judaism, should have thought the Jewish sacrifices were " instituted be
cause the people, having been long accustomed to such modes of worship in Egypt, could
scarcely have been confined to the worship of the one true God without the indulgence and
introduction into their religion of those rites to which they had been long habituated and
were exceedingly attached" (Justin Martyr, Irenseus, Tertullian, Theodoret, Cyril of Alex
andria, as referred to by OUTRAM). Nevertheless, they saw in them distinctly a typical
reference to Christ, and ORIGEIST is elsewhere quoted as showing that this belonged to all the
sacrifices because they all ceased with His sacrifice.

LANGE (Dogmatik in Lev.}, after showing the connection between this and the prece
ding book, continues: " Leviticus then is right in treating first of the sacrifice. Nothing is
clearer than that the sacrifice is not herein a new, positive, Divine command, but is a ground-
form, true of natural religion, which as such depends originally on a spiritual impulse. It is
said of Cain and Abel, that they offered sacrifice, but not that sacrifice was commanded them.
Noah in the same way sacrificed from free inclination." [Is not something more implied in
the command to take into the ark of the clean animals by sevens?] "It seems significant
that only after the performance of the sacrifice is the divine satisfaction mentioned. Thus
the theocratic sacrifice is the consecration of the natural sacrifice existing before. * * *
This then is the meaning of the symbolic sacrifice ; it is the expression of the fact that the
offerer, in his sin and sinfulness, feels his need of an inward resignation and confesses it with
the offering of the symbolic sacrifice and requests that the grace of God may supply his need,
i. e. may lead him by the sacrificial teaching to the completion of the sacrificial offering in
faith. So there lies in the idea of sacrifice, as in the law, the spring of a positive movement;
and as Christ is certainly the final cause of the law as the objective requirement of sacrifice,
so is He of the sacrifice as the subjective law of life. The law and the sacrifice come toge
ther inseparably in the fulfillment which the life of Jesus Christ has brought. * * * *
On the various theories which concern sacrifice, compare the dictionaries, particularly WINER ;
also the archaeological works ; especially also the article by OEHLER in HERZOG'S Realency-
clopadie, entitled OpfercuUu* im Alien Testament. For more detailed treatment of the sub
ject, see also my Positive Dogmatik. * * * First of all, the legal sacrifices are indeed,
in the sacrificial system of worship, themselves real satisfactions, that is, the discharge of
duties and the reparation for transgressions against the social law. But the social law would
be entirely arbitrary if it had no higher sense ; this sense is the prayer for grace to complete
it, for perfection. It does not come finally to a satisfactory end if it does not attain to the
granting of the prayer, to the peace of God, to expiation. In the first particular, the sacri
fice is a real performance in the court, which can be misconceived to be self-righteousness;

18 LEVITICUS.

in the second, it is a symbolic treatment of prayer as incense in the temple; in the highest
particular, it is an act of the typi -al hope of faith, of the atonement in the holy of holies,
which the priest accomplished with hazard and inward resignation of his life under the fatal
effect of the sight of the majesty of God.

" These three particulars are displayed in the three different forms of sacrifice, eucharis-
tica, impetratoria, piacularia ; but so that whatever form predominates, the others are sup
posed with it. The trunk-root or fundamental form, however, is furnished by the burnt-
offering, for which reason all sacrifices are burnt-offerings in a narrower or wider sense; all
are God's fire, God's bread, on the altar; hence, in the first case the Fire, as the symbol of
the Divine power, may consume the whole sacrifice ( / /3) ; in the second case the Blood
may signify the prevailing thought in sacrifice, as the symbol of the resignation of the soul,
the life; the third case is the Holy food, the sacrificial meal, as a symbol of the consecration
of life's enjoyment in the midst of life itself. These three particulars are found fully con
nected in the Passover, which forms the general theocratic hallowing of the natural princi
ple of sacrifice, and pre-supposes the symbolical new birth, i. e. the circumcision or physical
cleansing. So too in reference to the curse-sacrifice: cherem " * * *

The sacrifices ' are themselves divided into pure and applied forms of worship. The
pure cultus-sacrifices are divided into universal, fixed and casual. The first are the Sabbath
and the Feast-day sacrifices, normal sacrifices of all Israel; the last are those occasioned by
and commanded in various circumstances. Both kinds, however, are often interchanged,
absolutely as antitheses of the sacrifice of destruction, the Cherem.

"1. The hallowed fundamental form of the sacrifice — the Passover.

" 2. The central point of all sacrifices, the imperishable symbolical idea, the burnt-offering.

" 3. On the left hand of the burnt-sacrifice we find the sin and trespass-offerings, in
which also the transition- forms come into consideration (see the Exegesis) ; on the right
hand is the prosperity or salvation- offering — in the forms of the praise-offering, the votive
(the prayer) offering, and that of the simple well-being — and besides generally, the hallowed
slaying and the consecration of the blood.

"4. The summit of all sacrifices, the great propitiatory sacrifice, in which the antithesis
of the salvtion-offering with the curse-offering is rendered especially prominent in the he-
goat of the Azazel." [But on this see the Exegetical, ch. xvi.]

" As forms of the applied sacrifice, appear the covenant-sacrifice, the sacrifices at the
consecration of the priests, the various sacrifices of purification, the central sacrifice of puri
fication, or the ashes of the red heifer, and in antithetical position the jealousy-sacrifice and
the sacri6ce at the festival of a completed vow." * * *

LAXGE then describes the sacrificial material and the sacrificial act, which are sufficiently
treated in the commentary. In conclusion, he adds : l< The line of the three altars, the altar
of burnt-offering, the altar of incense, and the mercy-seat, is completed by still a fourth hal
lowed place of sacrifice without the camp, that is, the ash-heap of the red heifer, for the
meaning of which Heb. xiii. 13 is a passage especially to be considered. Out beyond this
place lay the wilderness, also the place of death for the cherem, the curse-sacrifice.

" With the gradations of the altar, the gradations of the sprinking of the blood are
parallel even to the sprinkling" [before] " the mercy-seat in the holy of holies. They stand
in contrast to the gradations of the burning whose minimum appears in the meat-offering"
[which was, however, in some cases wholly consumed (Lev. vi. 22)], "and whose maximum
is in the burnt-offering. In the blood is expressed the entire resignation of man to death;
in the fire, the complete consuming power of God over man's strength of life.

" In the whole matter of sacrifice the idea of communion, of the feast of fellowship,
between God and man becomes prominent in many ways, and is especially represented by
the table of shew-bread, and by the portions of the priests. In reference to this communion,
however, Jehovah has exclusively reserved to Himself the blood and the fat, and has exclu
sively forbidden leaven in the offering (though not in what was presented before God for the
use of the priests) and honey. But the people are represented, too, in the whole priestly
communion, and receive the whole effect of their service : the blessing of Jehovah, which also

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES. 19

rises in distinct gradations, from the absolution in the court, the light in the temple, to the vi
sion of God in the holy of holies ; and thence comes back to the people under corresponding con
ditions : confession, prayer, consecration by means of death ( Todeswiehe}. Thus also the fur
ther relations of the sacrifice are explained. The sacrifice of the heart unfolds itself in the
sacrifice of the lips, in prayer, and in the sacrifices of the respective death-consecrations, or
of the renunciation and dedication in vows by which the Na^arite was connected with
the priests."

In his Homiletik in Lev., LANGE further says : " The Israelitish sacrifice is taken into
the care of Jehovah, is the sanctified offering, the symbol of the internal sacrifice, the
• type of the future completed sacrifice, the instruction which prepared for the sacrifice of
Christ and the sacrifices of Christianity. The difference between the outward and the in
ward sacrifice, between the symbol and the thought it expresses, is rendered definitely pro
minent even in the Old Testament.

"Literature. — See KEIL, Handbuch der biblischen Archaologie. Die gottesdienstlichen
Verhaltnisse der Israeliten, p. 47 ss. Das mosaische Opfer, p. 195 ss. BAEHR (see above).
BRAMESFELD, Der alttestamentliche ' Gottesdienst in seiner sinndbildlichen und vorbildlichen
Bedeutung. Gutersloh, 1864. HENGSTENBERG, Die Opfer der heil. Schrift. Berlin, 1859.
KEIL, Die Opfer des Alien Bundes (GUERICKE'S Zeitschrift, 1836, 37). KLIEFOTH, Die
ursprungliche Gottesdienstordnung der deutschen Kirche. 1. Bel. Schwerin, 1858. KURTZ,
Der alttestamentliche Opfercultus. Mittau, 1864. NEUMANN, Die Opfer des Alien Bundes.
OEHLER, Der Opfercultus, in HERZOG'S Realencyclnpddie. SARTORIUS, Ueber Hen alf-und
neutestamentlichen Kultus. Stuttgart, 1852. THOLTJCK, Das Alte Testament in Neuen
Testament. Hamburg, 1849. LISKO, Das Ceremonialgesetz des Alien Testaments, seine
Erfullung im Neuen Testament. Berlin, 1842. WANGEMANN, Die Opfer der heiligen
Schrift nach der Lehre des Alten Testaments. 2 Bde. Berlin, 1866. (Worthy of especial
note is the catalogue of literature, Gen. Introd. A. \ 5, B., and the statement in reference to
the development of the ecclesiastical idea of sacrifice, ib. §6)." Add: PHILO de Victimis.
OUTRAM, De sacrificiis. London, 1677 (translated by ALLEN, London, 1817). SPENCER,
De legibus Hebrceorum, Tubingen, 1732. MAIMONIDES, De sacrificiis, London, 1683. CUD-
WORTH, De Ccena Domini, Leyden, 1773 (Vol. II., translation of Intel. System, Andover,
1837). A. A. SYKES, Essay on the Nature, Design and Origin of Sacrifices 1748. J. D. Mi-
CHAELTS, Commentaries on the Laws of Moses (translated by A. SMITH, London, 1814).
EC-SEN MUELLER, Excursus II. in Lev., Leipsic, 1824. FABER, On the Origin of Sacrifice,
London, 1827. J. D AVISOS, Inquiry into the Origin and Intent of Primitive Sacrifice
(Remains}. THOLUCK, Diss. II. in App. to Ep. to the Heb. (Trans, by KYLAND, Edinb.,
1842). F. D. MAURICE, The Doctrine of Sacrifice deduced from Scripture, Cambridge, 1854.
KALISCH, Lev., Pt. L, London, 1867. CLARK, Introd. to Lev. (Speaker's Com.}, London and
New York, 1872. Also further authorities cited by CONANT in SMITH'S Bib. Diet. Art.
Lev., Am. Ed.

LEVITICUS.

THE THIRD BOOK OF MOSES,

OF APPROACH TO GOD.

CHAPS. I.— XVI.

•FIRST DIVISION.— The sanctifying acts (or consecrations for Q-od) to bring
about typical holiness by means of various sacrifices, universally ordained for
universal sin. The removal of the sinful condition incurred by inadvertence
(pardonable sins njJEG chaps. I. — XVL [a. positive enactments, I. — X.; b.
negative, XI.— XVI/j)."— LANGE.

PART I. THE LAWS OF SACRIFICE.

CHAPS. I.— VII.

FIRST SECTION.

CHAPS. I.— VI. 7.

makes the division "Personal Sacrifices" Chapters I. — V^\
A.— BURNT-OFFERINGS.
CHAP. I. 1-17.

1 AND the LORD called1 unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle2 of

2 the [omit the3] congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say
unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD/ ye shall bring your

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 1. JOP'1 in our text has the final X of smaller size than the other letters. The reason (leaving out of view

rl : •-

Cabalistic interpretations) seems to be that suggested by Hosenmiiller— that there was an ancient varia*ion of the MSS.,
some having our present reading ; while others, omitting the N, read Ip"1!, Fut. Apoc. Niphal of rpp=an(l the Lord

I T-- T| T

met (or appeared to) Moses. Comp. Num. xxiii. 4, 16.

2 Ver. 1. /nJ< means strictly the covering of haircloth over the T^i^D of boards with linen curtains. Both occur

' T : •

together, Ex. xl. 29. Both are translated in the A. V. alike by tent and by tobenutdk, and both in the LXX. most frequently
by trKTjrT;. In the original both are used to designate the structure in which the ark was placed. There is therefore) no
sufficient reason for changing the familiar name of Tabernacle.

3 Ver. 1. IJJIQ is without the article, as always. The word is used very frequently (Lev. xxiii. 2, 4, 37, 44, etc.) of the

religions festivals of the Law, of which the tabernacle was the centre, and perhaps both in the Heb. and the Chald. th«
" times of the festivals " is the most prominent idea of the word. Hence, as the place of assembly, the centre around wh'ch

the congregation was at such times to gather, the Tabernacle came to be cilled "H^'lD /HX, &* Jerusalem is called (Isa.
xxxiii. 20) I'D rr*^p. The proposal to translate Tent of meeting (Speaker's Com., Kalisch, Murphy, and many others) as

referring to God's meeting: with Moses, seems unsupported by the usaee of the word, and Is "U8*ained by none of the ancient
versions. (The LXX. and Vulgate take the word in the sense of covenant or law). The article, however, should be omitted.
Nevertheless, Lange savs " The Tabernacle is designated as the Tabernacle of the meeting. That the Israelites should
assemble themselves in that place, is only the secondary result of the primary meeting with Jehovah."

* Ver. 2. The M -soretic punctuation places the Athnach on JTItT ^» and this is sustained by the Sam., Chald., LXX.,

AT :- 21

22 LEVITICUS.

offering5 of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock [of the cattle unto the LORD,
ye shall bring your offering of the herd or of the flock].

3 If Irs offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blem
ish : he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the
[omit the3] congregation before the LORD6 [uffer it at the door of the tabernacle of

4 congregation for his acceptance before the LORD]. And he shall put his hand
upon the head of the burnt offering ; and it shall be accepted for him to make

5 atonement for him. And he {-hall kill the bullock before the LORD : and the
priests, Aaron's sous, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about
upon7 the ahar that is by [before ~] the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the3]i

6 congregation. And he8 shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in

8 order upon the fire : and the priests, Aaron's SODS, shall lay the parts, the head,
and the fit, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar :

9 but his inwards and his legs shall he9 wash in water : and the priest shall burn all
on the alter, to be a burnt sacrifice,10 an. offering made by fire, of a sweet savour
unto the LORD.

10 And if his offering be of the flocks,11 namely, of the shrep, or of the goats, for a

11 burnt sacrifice ; he shall bring it a male without blemish.12 13And he shall kill it
on the side of the altar northward before the LORD : and the priests, Aaron's sous,

12 shall sprinkle his blood round about upon7 the altar. And he14 shall cut it into his
pieces, with his head and his fat : and the priest shall Jay them in order on the

13 wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar : but he shall wash the inwards and
the legs with water : and the priest shall bring it *?11, and burn it upon the altar :
it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

14 And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall

15 bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons. And the priest shall bring
it unto the altar, and wring [pinch] off his head, and burn it on the altar ; and the

16 blood thereof shall be wrung out at [pressed out against] the side of the altar : and
he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers [the filth thereof15], and cast it beside

17 the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes : and he sha'l cleave it with the
wings thereof, but19 shall not divide it asunder : and the priest shall burn it upon the
altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire : it is a burnt sacrifice, and offering made
by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Vulg., and followed by the A. V. Houbigant suggests that it shoiild rather be placed on the next word, HDPOn as in

the Syr. The latter sense is followed in the commentary.

5 Ver. 2. "Offerings " in the plural is read ia the Sam., LXX , Vnlg., and Syr.

a Ver. 3. rPIT "J31? Iji'^S. The translation of the A. V. is def.-i ded by Grotius, but most interpreters fillow the

unanimous voice of the ancient vor=ions in giving the sense as corrected above. Comp. Ex xxvi'i. 38 ; Lev. xxii. 20, 21, e'c.
The A. V. varies in the translation even in the same pa -sage, as L -v. xxn. 19, 20, 21, 29.

7 Ver. 5. The senso is, upo « all the sides of the altar, not on its upper surface.

8 Ver. 6. The Sam. and LXX. by reading the verhs of th'8 vcrs-' in the plural, apparently make the flaying and cutting
up of the victim t >e act of th • priests.

6 Ver. 9. The Sam. and the LXX. here also, by the use of the pluial, make the washing the act of the priests.

10 Ver. 9. The Sam. followel by the LXX. and Syr, read N'H TlSj^ = this is the burnt-offering, i e., the law of the
burnt-offerings.

11 Ver. 10. The Sam. followed by the LXX. reads n'lJTv 'U2"1p H/l? fX2fTT~tD~DNl> the Sam. omitting the

i. T:~T:|TTI—|'":

subsequent H7J7, which makes the sense clearer.

12 Ver. 10. The S m. adds — at the door of the tabernacle of the congrezat'on sh 1! h- oflfcr it.

13 Ver. 11. The LXX. prefixes from ver. 4, KCU 67rt0rjcrei rr)v x6*V>a *n'L ^^ Ke<f>a\r]v avrov — which is of course to be
understood.

14 Ver. 12. Thi Sam. (row followed both by the LXX. and the Vulg.) here again as in vers. 6 and 9 reads the
pluni'.

is Vf r. 16. nrtf 32 ('Sam. 1J1— ) is variously translated. In the LXX. and Vulg., as in the A. V., it is rendered fea
thers; in th" Ram. Vers., however, th* Chald. of Onkelos, of Jonathan, and of Jerusalem, and in the Syr., the idea is fhf.
food in the crop, or the filth connected therewith, as is expressed in the margin of the A. V. By Geseiiius and Fucrst it
is trans'ated as filth or excrement in the crop ; they consider it a contracted form of Part. NipY of &\}T- This is probably

the true ser.se. Tange explains it " the excrement from the crop yet to be found in the body."

18 Ver. 17. The Sam., 15 MSS., and all the versions supply the conjunction, which must of cou se be undei stood.

CHAP. I. 1-17.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The Divine presence having now been mani
fested in the newly erected tabernacle (Ex. xl.
34), God according to His promise (Ex. xxv. 22),
there reveals Himself to Moses, and makes known
through him His will to the people. As this was
the place where they were to draw nigh to Him,
the first commands uttered from the tabernacle
relate to the means of this approach, and occupy
the first sixteen chapters of Leviticus. Of these,
seven are concerned with the general laws of
sacrifice, of which it, would appear some know
ledge must have been previously communicated
to Moses to make the directions of Ex. xxix. in
telligible to him, and also to guide him in the
sacrifices offered by himself, Ex. xl. 28, 29 ; but
now for the first time he is directed to proclaim
these laws to the people. The law is first de
clared in regard to the people's part in thn offer
ings (i. — vi. 7), although this involves incident
ally something also of the duties of the priests ;
this is followed by special instructions chiefly
for the priests (vi. 8 — vii. 38), although the line
cannot be so sharply drawn that this part shall
not also contain something for the people. .Each
kind of off Ting is treated by itself, the first, chap
ter being occupied with the whole burnt-offering,
which must always be an animal, but might be
either a quadruped (2-13), or a fowl (14-17).
The former again, might be either " of the herd,"
i.e., a, bullock (3-9), or "of the flock." i.e. a
sheep or a goat (10-13). The directions for burnt-
sacrifices are arranged under these three heads.

Ver. 1. The Lord. — Jehovah is the distinc
tive Divine title throughout Leviticus ; the names
^N (occurring so frequently elsewhere), HKJ,

and the very common ;N do not occur, nor even
the ordinary D'TlvX, except the last joined with
a possessive pronoun or some other construc
tion, to mark Him as in a peculiar sense the G d
of Israel.

Out of the tabernacle of congregation.
— There can be no reasonable doubt that this
is the newly-erected tabernacle ; the attempt to
prove that these laws were given from some
other tent upon the slopes of Mt. Sinai by refe
rence to Lev. vii. 38, has no foundation, as the
parallelism of that ver. shows that mount is there
only another expression for the place called the
wilderness of Sinai.

" Ver. 2 ss. The common regulations concerning
all the sacrifices. The whole motive of animal
sacrifice is appropriately exhibited in the verb
3^p to draw near ; in the Hiphil to cause to draw
near. The sense of the word is fully shown in
Jer. xxx. 21. Sinful man, as such, dares not
draw near to Jehovah. But Jehovah forms one
chosen out of His people (the Messiah) for the
purpose of approach, until he draws nearest of
all to Him, touches Him, yields up himself to
Him, and becomes ONE with Him. With reve
rent dread man, conscious of sin, pushes forward
the guiltless animal as an offering of drawing
near (Korban), as a symbol of his desire to draw
near himself to Jehovah. As yet the sacrifice
was not commanded in its particulars ; but the
general idea of sacrifice as now necessary was

commanded, an 1 in every case it must be of the
cattle, either large or small, and thus of the
clean domestic animals. The subsequent addi
tion of pigeons and turile-doves are as substi
tutes." Lange.

If any man of you bring. — The sacrifices
of the first three chapters we-e those of indivi
duals, and were purely voluntary in so far as
respects their being offered at all; when, how
ever, the individual had determined to offer any
of them, the instructions as to the selection of
the victim, and the manner of offering, were mi
nute and peremptory. The duty of the priests
in regard to these offerings was simply minis
terial.

Offering. — P^P? always translated by the
LXX. dupov, and most frequently by the Vulg.
oblatio. Except, in two instances in Ezek. (xx.
28 ; xl. 43), and in two of the same con-sonants
differently pointed in Neh. (x. 34 (35) ; xiii. 31),
its use is confined to Lev. and Num. It, is the
technical word for an offering to the Lord, in
cluding sacrifices both bloody, as here, and un
bloody as in ch. ii., and also dedicatory offerings
for the sanctuary, as in Num. vii.

Ye shall bring. — The Rabbins infer from
this use of the plural that two or more persons
might uniie in the same offering. This was un
doubtedly the fact ; but does not, seem to be the
reason for the use of the plural here, which, is
rather required simply by the generality of the
law. Comp. ii. 11, 12, etc.

Of the cattle unto the Lord. — The Maso-
retic punctuation must here be modified in order
to represent the systematic arrangement in

tended. See Textual Note 4. The PDrtiJ =

T •• :

quadruped, is in contradistinction to the fowls
of ver. It; and the direction is that if an offer
ing of this kind be brought, it shall be taken
from the herd or the flock, not from wild ani
mals. The word sometimes includes all quad
rupeds, wild and tame (Gen. vi. 7 ; Ex. ix. 25,
etc. ), but is more commonly used, according to
the restriction here, of the domestic animals. It
includes both the herd and the flock. The range
of animals allowed for sacrifice was much nar
rower than that of those clean for food, nnd far
narrower than among the heathen. See Knobel,
p. 352. The Egyptians, among other victims,
offered swine, and the Hindoos and Germans,
horses.

Vers. 3-9. The law of the burnt-offering of a
bullock, H'J7 = whole burnt offering Lange:

" The names : Tny the going up (in a specific
sense, for all sacrifices were brought up on
the altar), T7.3 the whole, the entirely finished,
consumed, burned, holocaustum. Thus the burnt-
offering, or the fire-offering in the most especial
sense, which was entirely consumed in the fire,
forms the central point of the whole sacrificial
system." " The New Testament antitype of the
burnt-offering is expressed by Paul in Rom. xii.
1." See the preliminary note on sacrifices, p. 12.
Ver. 3. A male. — The burnt-offering, unlike
the sin and peace-offering, must always be a
male. The case of the cows offered in 1 Sam.

LEVITICUS.

TI. 14, wag altogether exceptional, and the red
heifer (Num xix 1-10) was not burned upon t lie
altar at all.— Without blemish, LXX., d//w-
fio$. The bullock, like all other victims, (xxii.
19-24) except in the case of free will offerings,
must be free from bodily faults either of defect
or redundancy ; and it was provided that no
victim obtained by the price of a dog, or of
whoredom, might be offered to God (Deut. xxiii.
18). It was the Jewish custom to appoint a
priest as a special inspector of victims, to whose
scrutiny every animal must be subjected before
being offered. — At the door. — At the wide en
trance of the court in which the great altar stood.
Lange, however, considers that the door "not
of the court, but of the Holy Place, is the bound
ary between the holy things and the region of
that to be hallowed, and therefore the appropri
ate point for the meeting which in the name of
Jehovah was obtained by the priests for the
people through the sacrifice." This presentation
of the victim before the Lord was the technical
offering, so essential a part of the sacrifice that
it is often put for the sacrifice itself. The de
tails of the sacrifice were so ordered that when
occasion required, great multitudes of victims
might be offered quickly and without confusion.
After the erection of the temple, rings were fixed
in the pavement, to which the victims were se
cured ; with a sharp knife the throat was then
cut at one stroke quite through the arteries and
the jugular veins, so that the blood might flow
rapidly into a vessel held underneath ; this ves
sel was then (when there were many sacrifices)
passed from hand to hand by a r iw of priests
and Levites extending to the altar; meantime
the flaying and cutting up of the victim was go
ing on ; on the north side of the altar there were
eight stone pillars connected by three rows of
beams, each bearing a row of hooks ; upon these
the victims were hung, the largest upon the high
est hooks, the smaller upon the others. Outram
I., xvi., and the authorities there cited. By
such means an almost incredible number of vic
tims are said to have been sacrificed with perfect
order in a short time. — For his acceptance
before the Lord.— It was the object of the
burnt-offering, as of all sacrifices, to secure to
the offerer the good pleasure of God. How far
the burnt-offering partook of a strictly expiatory
character has already been discussed in the pre
liminary essay ; but that this, with all other vo
luntary offerings, sprang from a sense of need
on the part of the worshipper, and a desire by
some means to draw nearer to God, there can be
no doubt. This expression, however, as Knobel
notes, is never used in connection with the sin-
offering, whose peculiar office was to obtain the
pardon, rather than the gracious favor of God.
Lange : " The sacrifices follow one another in a
natural sequence. The burnt-offering denotes
the giving up of life to God; the meat-offering,
the giving up of life's enjoyment. Both were
offered for a covering for the universal sinful-
ness of man. Only the expiatory sacrifices re
late to particular sins."

Ver. 4. And he shall put his hand upon
the head. — This solemn and essential part of
the ceremonial is always specified when the law
ia given in detail, not only in connection with |

the burnt-offerings, but also with the peace-
offerings (iii. 2, 8, 13), and the sin-offerings (ir.
4, 15, 24, 29, 33) ; where in the brevity of the
description it is omitted (ver. 11, eh. v. 6, 15, 18,)
it is yet to be understood. As to the signi
ficance of the act, a great variety of opinions has
been held; by many, bo'h of the ancients and
moderns, it has been understood to symbolize
the transfer of his sins from the offerer to the
victim, or the substitution of the victim to die in
his stead (Theodoret, Quxst. 61 in Ex., and
many others). This view has countenance from the
laying on of both the hands of the high-priest on
the head of the scape-goat on the day of atonement
(xvi. 21) for the express purpose of " putting all
their sins upon the head of the goat," that he
might " bear upon him all their iniquities unto
aland not inhabited;" but the ritual is here
very different, and this goat was not burned upon
the altar. On the other hand in the case of the
blasphemer who was to be stoned (xxiv, 14), all
the witnesses were to lay their hands upon his
head, clearly not for the purpose of transferring
their sins to him. By others the act has been
regarded as a surrender and dedication of the
offerer's property to God; by still others as a
dedication of himself through the victim repre
senting him ; Lange: "The laying (pressing)
on of the hand has the effect of substituting in a
typical sense the animal to be offered for the

offerer (for him V7). It, denotes the transferring
of the individual lif« to the offering in a symbo
lical sense, not merely the giving up of this pos
session (as a gift) to Jehovah." Various other
views also have been advocated. None of them,
however, can claim exclusively the sanction of
Scripture, which prescribes the act, but does not
define its significance. Neither do any of them
rest upon evidence independent of preconceived
views, and ot the doctrinal interpretation of
other Scriptures. This much will be generally
admitted: That the act connected the offerer
personally with the victim, and denoted that his
sacrifice was offered solemnly and for the pur
pose of securing to himself that "covering" or
atonement of which mention is immediately after
wards made. The connection of the two clauses
shows that the laying on of the hand was directly
connected with this atonement. It was certainly
an expression of faith in the use of the means
God had appointed for drawing near to Him, and
the act may be beyond the reach of a closer
analysis.

Accepted — the word is of the same root and
sense as in ver. 3.

To make atonement for him. — TTp "1337.
This verb is not used in the Kal. In the Piel
the primary sense is to cover, and hence to atone
for. It, is used sometimes simply with the accus.
of the thing (Ps. Ixv. 4; Ixxviii. 38; Dan. ix.

24), but usually with Sj£ of the thing (Ps. Ixxix.
9 ; Jer. xviii. 23, etc.), or of the person (ch.
xix. 22), or with both (ch. v. 18) ; less frequently
with S, and more rarely with 7j7 of the person
and |D of the thing (iv. 26, etc.) ; seldom with
3 of the thing (ch. xvii. 11). The phrase is used
chiefly in reference to the sin and trespass*

CHAP. I. 1-17.

offerings (chs. iv., v., vi.) and but rarely in con
nection with the burnt-offerings. It is here used
in connection with the laying on of the hand of
the offerer, not as in the case of the sin-offering
(iv. 20, 26, 35) and the trespass-offering (v. 6, 10,
13, 18; vi. 7, etc.], with the act of the priest,
although in all cases the mediatorial function of
the priest was, as here, necessarily involved.

Ver. 5. He shall kill.— The killing, skin
ning, washing arid preparation of the victim,
were the duty of the offerer, or, according to
Outram, of some clean person appointed by him.
Lange : " This is also an expression of the free
will of the sacrificer. He must indeed slay his
own offering himself, just as the devout can offer
' his will to God only in free self-determination.
Only false priests took the sacrifice by craft or
force into the court, and slew it themselves, or
had it slain at their command/' The functions
of the priest were concerned with the presenta
tion and sprinkling of the blood, and the burning
of the victim upon the altar. In the case, how
ever, of national offerings, the offerer's part also
was undertaken by the priests assisted by th )
Levites (2 Chr. xxix. 24, 34), apparently not in
consequence of their office, but as representa
tives of the whole people. So also in the case
of the Passovers of Hezekiah (2 Chr. xxx. 17)
and of Josiah (ib. xxxv. 10, 11) the Levites
performed these duties on behalf of the people,
because many of them were disqualified by un-
cleanness. Hence, as appears in the ancient
versions, there has arisen a difference of opinion
as to the part performed by the offerer.

Kill. — COnty is a general word exactly ren
dered, and is frequently used for killing in sa
crifice. It does not therefore need to be changed.
The teshnical word used only for sacrifice is
H3T, while /Vpn — to put to death is never used
in this connection.

The bullock.— "ij33 }?. = lit., son of an ox,
applied to a calf (ix. 2) and to a mature young
bull (13 iv. 3, 14).

Before the Lord — i. e., in immediate view
of the place where His presence was especially
manifested. Knobel (m loco") notes how the
slaughtering of the victim where it might be con
sidered ev (xpOa^fj.ol^ TOV Oeov was provided for
among the heathen.

And the priests. — With the blood began the
exclusively priestly functions. In the case of
very numerous sacrifices the Levites might catch
the blood and pass it to the priests (2 Chr. xxx.
16). but the "sprinkling" was always done by
the priests alone.

Sprinkle. — The word p^T is a different one
from the J"U3 (more common in the Hiphil form
Tip) generally used of sprinkling with the finger
or with hyssop, and refers to the throwing of the
blood by a jerk against the sides of the altar from
the plJO or bowl in which the blood of the vic
tim was caught. Rosenmiiller shows that the
word cannot be translated, as some would have
it, by pour. The LXX. usually, but not always,
renders the former by Trpoa^eZv, the latter by
palvettf. There seems, however, no sufficient rea
son for changing the translation of the A. V.

The priest was to sprinkle the blood against all
the sides of the altar ; and this was done, ac-
cording to Jewish tradition, by throwing it from
the bowl successively against the opposite cor
ners of the altar, so that it sprinkled against
each of the adjoining sides. The same law held
for the peace-offerings (iii. 2, 8, 13 ; ix. 18), and
trespass-offerings (vii. 2) ; but not for the sin-
offering (iv. 5-7). Lange: "The blood is the sym
bol of the spiritual life which is given up to
Jehovah (at the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation) but which may not be consumed
with the body of mortality by the fire of God's
appointment. As it is said that it is ' to be
brought up,' it follows that the slaying belongs
between the altar and the door of the court,
where the station of the sacrificer is. That it
must be poured out on the altar before the burnt-
offering can be kindled, tells us plainly that no
offering up of life or body is profitable unless the
soul has first been given to Jehovah. But this
has been given up to the God of the altar, not
surrendered to ihe altar- fire to destroy or
change."

Before the door of the tabernacle. — The
altar was in full view of the gate-way or door,

as it is expressed Ex. xl. 6 nr)3 ""P.p/-

Ver. 6. He shall flay. — The offerer skinned
the animal, and the skin was the perquisite of
the officiating priest (vii. 8). Kalisch, however,
says that "the flaying was probably performed
by a Levite under the direction of the officiating
priest." Lange says, " With the slaying the
life departs, with the skin goes the old appear
ance of life, under the conventionally commanded
division disappears also the old figure of life, in
the burning disappears the substance of the body
itself. Only the blood, the soul, does not disap
pear, but passes through the purifying process
of sacrifice, and goes hence into the invisible,
to God. The pouring out of the blood at the
foot of the altar round about, can in no case
mean 'the convenient disposal of the blood.'
The blood goes through the sanctified earth to
God."

Cut it into his pieces — f. e., properly divide
it according to custom.

Vers. 7-9. The priests. — We here again
come upon those essential parts of the sacrifice
which could be performed by the priests alone.
The direction to put fire upon the altar is under
stood by Knobel and others to refer only to the
first sacrifice upon the newly-erected altar, as it
was required afterwards (vi. 13) that the fire
should be kept always burning upon the altar ;
or it may be understood of so arranging the fire
— when not in use, raked together — as to con
sume the sacrifice. The head is especially men
tioned in order that the whole animal may be
expressly included, since it would not be con
sidered one of the "pieces" into which the ani
mal was divided. The fat "113 used only in con-
nectjon with burnt-offerings (vers. 8, 12; viii.
20) probably means the fat separated from the
entrails and taken out to wash. Bochart, adeps
a came sejunctus. All was to be laid in ord*r upon
the wood ; everything about the sacrifice must
have that method and regard to propriety be
coming in an act of worship. According to Jew-

LEVITICUS.

ish writers, the parts were so laid upon one an
other as to have the same relative positions as in
the living animal. Outram I. 16, $ 13.

His inwards and his legs, which were to
be washed, are generally understood of the lower
viscera and the legs, especially the hind legs,
below the knee ; it is doubtful whether the wash
ing was required for the heart, the lungs and the
liver — LXX. e-ynoiXia KCLI ol nodes; Vulg., intes-
tina et pedes. Lange: "Head and Fat. The
knowledge of earth and its prosperity must first
pass into the fiery death ; then also the purified
organs of growth, nourishment, arid motion."

Shall burn. — "^fppn — to cause to ascend in
smoke, as incense. The word is used only of the
burning of incense, of the sacred lamps, and of
sacrifices, and is a very different one from ^"IjSf
the word for common burning, which is applied
to the victims, or parts of victims burned with
out the camp (iv. 12, 21, etc.}. It connects the
bloody sacrifice with the incense, and shows that
the object of the burning was not to destroy the
victim, but rather, as declared just below, to
cause its essence to ascend as a sweet savor unto
God.

An offering made by fire. — H^X a word
applied exclusively to sacrifices (although some
times to the parts of them eaten by the priests,
Deut. xviii. 1 ; Josh. xiii. 14), in xxiv. 7 applied
to the incense laid upon the shew bread. The
appearance of tautology, hardly to be avoided in
the translation, does not exist in the original.
The word is usually associated, as here, with the
phrase " a sweet savour unto the Lord"
(LXX. boftTj zvufiias}. This phrase is applied to
all sacrifices, but belongs peculiarly to the burnt-
offering; as the phrase to make atonement belongs
peculiarly, but not exclusively, to the sin-offer
ing. Its intent is plainly to describe the divine
pleasure in the sacrifice offered. Theodoret
( Qusext. 62 in Ex.) : " By human things he teaches
Divine. As we delight in sweet odors, so he
calls the sacrifice made according to the law a
sweet savor. But that thi-? is not to be taken in
the naked letter is shown both by 'he Divine na
ture which is incorporeal, and by the ill smell
of the burnt bones. For what can smell worse
than these?" Lange: "The conception is not
exhausted in the conception of a sweet, pleasant
smell. As in a pictorial sense, anger is repre
sented by the snorting of the nostrils, so the re
signation of self to God and His rule is called a
savor well-pleasing to the nose."

Vers. 10-13. The burnt-offering from the flock.
The law here being essentially the same as for
the bullock is more briefly given, except in re
gard to the place of slaying. The offering might
be either from the sheep or goats, but the former
were probably more esteemed.

Ver. 11. On the side of the altar north
ward. — So also the table of shew-bread with
the continual meat-offering stood on the north
side of the holy place (Ex. xxvi. 35). The east
si'le of th« altar was the place for the heap of
ashes on the sid* towards the door by which they
must be carriod out ; the west side would have
been inconvenient, being towards the holy place
with the laver between; the south side had pro
bably (as Josephus says was the case in the se

cond temple, Bell. Jud. V. 5, 6, arrb
err' avrbv avodos) the ascent, to the altar which
must be kept clear ; so that the north side alone
remained. Lange: "Death is something be
longing to the mysterious night, and belongs as
a night side of life, to the night-side of the earth ;
just as also the priestly eating of the shew-bread
must be considered as a night meal." In the
same place were also to be slain the sin-offerings
(iv. 24, 29, 33) and the trespass-offerings (vii. 2).
There being ample room in the court for the sa
crifice of the smaller victims, which also required
less time in their preparation, they were killed
near the altar instead of at the door. Nothing
is said of the peace-offerings which, according to
Mishna, might be killed in any part of the court.
When not too numerous, however, they would
have been more conveniently slain in the same
place.

Ver 12. His head, etc. — is to be connected
per zeugma with he shall cut, i. £., he shall cut
it into his pieces and (sever) his head and
his fat.

Vers. 14-17. The burnt-offering of fow's.
From chap. v. 7-11 ; xii. 8, it is probable that
this offering WHS for those who were unable to
bring the more costly offerings. It might be
either of turtledoves, or of young pigeons; but
only one bird was required. The turtledoves
(turtur auritus) appear in vast numbers in Pales
tine early in April, and are easily captured ;
later in the season they entirely disappear. The
common pigeon has been bred in the country
from time immemorial, and also is found wild,
at all seasons, in great abundance ; but when full-
grown is difficult of capture. It has, however,
in the course of the year, several broods of two
each, which may be easily taken on the nest.
Hence, in the case of the pigeon, the mention of
the age. Knobel Observes that the allowing of
doves or pigeons in sacrifice was quite excep
tional among the ancient Orientals, and distin
guished the Hebrew law from others. We have
then in this a fresh instance of the especial care
for the poor in the Divine law.

Ver. 15. And the priest shall. — Tn this case
the offerer's part must be performed by the priest
to prevent the loss of the small quantity of blood
contained in the bird. No mention is made of
the laying on of hands which was perhaps omit
ted on account of the diminutive size of the
victim.

Pinch off his head. — p/D occurs only here
and in v, 8, and its precise meaning has been
muoh questioned. In v. 8 it is expressly limited
by the provision that, the head was not to be en
tirely separa'ed from the body in the case of the
bird to be eaten by the priest; in regard to the
other bird (v. 7, 10), it was to be treated as the
bird for a burnt-offering. As there is no such
limitation here, as it is implied that the treat
ment was different from that of the bird in v.
8, and as the head was to be immediately burned
on the altar, while something further was to be
done to the body, the precept must be understood
to require an entire separation of the head. So
Outram, following the Mishna and other Jewish
authorities. Lange, however, considers from
the analogy of v. 8, that the head was not to

CHAP. I. 1-17.

be disjoined from the body. He translates pTP^
" cleave in two, so that death is produced and the
blood can flow out as from a vessel. The closely
related I"P^ means apparently to tear off ; the
closely related n^3 means to cleave, cut into."
The LXX. has cnroKvi^eiv in both places. The
exact, sense seems best expressed by the margin
of the A. V. — pinch off the head with the nail.

Pressed out against. — The small quantity
of blool made it practically impossible to deal
with it as in the case of the larger sacrifices.
The sense of OJ1 H^DJ is that the blood of the
bird should be thoroughly squeezed out against
the side of the altar.

Ver. 16. His crop with its filth. The ob
scure word nnVJ3 has occasioned much differ-

T T :

ence of opinion ; see Textual Notes. The ren
dering here given is ably supported at length
by Rosenmiiller. This was to be flung on the
heap of ashes and refuse east of the altar.

Ver. 17. He shall cleave. — The priest was
to split th« bird open, (by its wings, or by means
of its outspread wings, Lange), but so as not to
separate the parts ; in the same way a fowl is
now prepared for broiling. Lange : " The di
rection was given to take the place, as far as
possible, of the cutting in pieces of the burnt-
offering, i. e., the destruction of the figure of the
body."

A sweet savour. — The repetition of the same
words as in ver. 9 and ver. 13, shows that this
humbler sacrifice of the poor was acceptable
equally with the more costly sacrifice of the
rich.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

T. The offerings mentioned in this chapter
were purely voluntary; yet when offered, the
law in regard to them was strict and sharply
defined. In this the Israelites were taught
a general principle of the Divine will. Who
ever seeks to draw near to God must do so
in the way of God's own appointment. That
worship only is acceptable to Him which is in
accordance with His will. Not that which may
seem most effective, not that which may be
thought best adapted to man's needs; but sim
ply that which God approves may be offered to
Him.

II. These offerings must be "perfect," i. e.,
without blemish, and the most scrupulous clean
liness was required in offering them. These re
quirements were of course necessary in view of
the typical relation of the sacrifices to Christ;
but they also taught the general principle that
in his offerings to God man nviy not try to put
off upon Him what, is of inferior value — the light
coin, or the scraps of unoccupied time. God is
to be served with the best that man can com
mand. And in this service regnrd must be had
to the infinite purity and holiness of Him with
whom we have to do.

1H. The sacrifice might, not be completed by
the offerer. Man. being sinful, was unworthy
to offer propitiation to God for himself. The
priest must intervene for the sprinkling of the

blood and the burning of the victim. In view
of the peculiar virtue everywhere attributed
to blood as "the life" (Gen. ix. 4, etc.], and
the espec:al office of that "life" in connec
tion with the disturbed relations between God
and man (ch. xvii. 10-12, etc.], and of the ap
pointment of the priest to this duty, it is plain
that he here acts in a mediatorial capacity. As
Calvin (in loco] notes, "ministers of reconcilia
tion must be sought, made competent to their
high function by Divine anointing. This points
to Christ not only as the Victim offered for sin,
but also (as is shown at length in the Ep. to the
Heb.) as Himself the Priest." In general it es
tablishes the principle that they only may exer
cise authority on God's behalf whom He has
commissioned for the purpose.

IV. In the provision for a less costly burnt-
offering, we see that while in His providence
God distributes unequally the means of offering
to Himself, He yet provides that an equally ac
ceptable offering sh til be within the reach of all.
The poor widow's two mites were greater in His
eyes than the costly gifts of the rich. The same
thing is true wlvm the propitiatory character of
the offering is considered. Before God all souls
are alike precious, and all equally have the op
portunity of drawing near to Him.

V. In the New Testament certain words and
phrases are applied to Christ which are the Sep-
tuagint translations of the technic il words here
and elsewhere used of the sacrifices. Thus He
is called (Eph. v. 2) Trpoafaopav K.CU ftvoiav rcL Oeu
elq bau,i]v svufiiac;, and in Heb. ii. 17 He is said to
be 7r/crrof ap^iepsv^ TO, rrpof TOV tieov, elg TO IMoKea-
flai raq djuapTia^ TOV Aaov, and in 1 Jno. ii. 2. and
iv. 10, He is described as our ihaaubc; Trepi T&V
dfj.apTiQv. It seems impossible to suppose that
the Apostles could have used these expressions
and others like them without intending to point
to Chrisr as the Antitype of the sacrifices, and as
actually accomplishing that which they had pre
figured. From the work of Christ, therefore, in
effecting reconciliation between God and man,
light is thrown back upon the function of the
sacrifices; ariJ that function once established,
we may learn again from the sacrifices something
of the nature of the propitiatory work of Christ.

VI. Wordsworth notes that a new Parashah,
or section of the law, as read in Synagogues,
begins at i. 1, nnd extends to vi. 7. "The pa
rallel Haphtarah" or Section of the Prophets,
"is Isa. xliii. 21 — xliv. 23, where God reproves
Israel for their neglect of His worship, and pro
mises them forgiveness of sins, and comforts the
church with the pledges of divine mercy. Thus
the ancient Jewish church, when listening to
the law concerning offerings for sin, declared its
faith in a better Covenant, and in larger out
pourings of divine favor and spiritual grace in.
Christ,"

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

The course of God's dealings with man always,
since man's fall, is to bring about a closer com
munion with Himself, as man is able to bear it.
The legislation from Ml. Sinai was a great ad
vance ; but here there is a fresh advance. The
Divine voice calls no longer from the Mount, but

LEVITICUS.

from the tabernacle in the midst of the congre
gation. Thus another step is taken towards
God's speaking " unto us by His Son."

Provision is made in these three chapters for
voluntary sacrifices. The definitely prescribed
duties of man are always a minimum; God re
quires of man the absolute devotion of himself
and all that he is and has ; this is recognized in
the law by the provision for voluntary sacrifices
and free-will-offerings of every kind.

All sacrifices were types of Christ inasmuch as
after His sacrifice all others ceased. Origen.
No one sacrifice could express the manifoldness
of that which He wrought ; therefore the several
aspects of His work are adumbrated by various
types. In this chapter we have the whole burnt-
offering, the most general and comprehensive, as
the most ancient, of the sacrifices ; it is there
fore the one which in the most general way sets
forth the sacrifice of Christ. In so far as it be
came specialized by the introduction of other
kinds of sacrifice, it is thought to be a symbol
of entire consecration. It therefore typifies the
entire consecration of Christ to God, and through

Him, that of His followers, according to the allu
sion in Rom. xii. 1, which probably has this sa
crifice more particularly in view.

Whatever is offered to God must be perfect in
its kind. The offering may be varied in value
according to the ability of the offerer, for all
souls are alike precious to God, and He provides
that all may be able to draw near to Him. Still,
from the largest to the smallest offering, none
may be allowed with blemish or defect.

On each sacrifice the offerer must lay his
hands : so must man identify himself with what
he offers to God. Such offering is a serious and
a personal matter, and one may not delegate such
duty to another; but must give to it personal
thought and care. Sinful man cannot directly
approach the Majesty on high, before whom he
stands as a sinner; he must come through a Me
diator, typified of old by the priest, and He
"makes atonement for him."

As the law had but "a shadow of good things
to come," (Heb. x. 1), so do they who now con
secrate themselves to God offer that real sacri
fice which the Israelites, offering various animals
under the law, did but prefigure. Theodoret.

B.— OBLATIONS (MEAT-OFFERINGS).
CHAPTER II. 1-16.

1 AND when any [a soul1] will offer a meat-offering [an offering of an oblation1]
unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour ; and he shall pour oil upon it, and

2 put frankincense thereon :3 and he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests : and
he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with4
all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the

3 altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD : and the
remnant of the meat-offering [oblation2] shall be Aaron's and his sons' : it is a thing
most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.

4 And if thou bring an oblation of a meat-offering [an offering of an oblation2]
baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or

5 unleavened wafers anointed with oil. And if thy oblation be a meat-offering [offer
ing be an oblation'2] baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled

6 with oil. Thou shalt5 part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon : it6 is a meat-offering

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 1. $21— As this word is generally rendered a soul in the A. V., especially in the similar places, iv. 2; v. L, 2,
4, 15, 17; vi. 2, etc., it seems better to preserve as far as may be uniformity of translation.

2 Ver. 1. Th^ words h' re translated in the A. V* meat-offering are the Fame as those rendered in ver. 4 an oblation of
a meatoffering. In this technical language of the law it is certainly desirable to preserve a strict connistency of transla
tion, even if it must sometimes cause an appearance of tautology. The word ?21p will therefore be rendered throughout

offering; gift mitrht he in itself considered a better translation; but as it is already rendered offering twenty-nine times in
Lev., and almost universally (with only two exceptions) in Num , less change is require 1 to make that translation uniform.
On the other hand Hnjlp is already always in Lev. meat-offering in the A. V., and generally so in Num.; but the sense of

meat has so generally changed since that version was made, that the term had better be replaced. In this book therefore
it will be always rendered oblation, as it is in the Vulg. very frequently oblatio.

8 Ver. 1. The Fam. and LXX. add oblatin est, i. e., this is the law of the oblation.

* Ver. 2. With : for a similar construction of S>T, see Ex. xii. 8.

* Ver. 6. /YIPS ; on this use of the Infin. abs. comp. Ex. xiii. 3; xx. 8.

* Ver. 6. The ancient form K1H is here changed in ten MSS. and in the Sam. to the later

CHAP. II. 1-16.

7 [an oblation2]. And if thy oblation be a meat-offering [offering be an oblation2]
baken in the frying-pan [boiled in the pot7], it shall be made of fine flour with oil.

8 And thou shalt bring the meat-offering [oblation2] that is made of these things
unto the LORD : and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring8 it unto

9 the altar. And the priest shall take from the meat-offering [oblation2] a memorial
thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar : it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet

10 savour unto the LORD.' And that which is left of th.e meat-offering [oblation2] shall
be Aaron's and his sons' : it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made

11 by fire. No meat-offering [oblation2], which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall
be made with leaven : for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering

12 of the LORD made by fire. As for the oblation [As an9 offering2] of the first-fruits,
ye shall offer them unto the LORD : but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a

13 sweLt savour. And every oblation of thy meat-offering [offering of thy oblation2]
shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of
thy God to be lacking from thy meat-offering [oblation2] : with all thine offerings

14 thou shalt offer salt. And if thou offer a meat-offering [an oblation2] of thy [the]
first-fruits unto the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat-offering [an oblation2] of
thy first-fruits, green ears of cora [grain10] dried [roasted11] by the fire, even corn

15 [grain10] beaten out of full ears. And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankin-

16 cense thereon : it12 is a meat-offering [an oblation2]. And the priest shall burn
the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn [grain10] thereof, and part of the oil
thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the
LORD.

7 Ver. 7. r»$T"P?3, derived (Gesenius, Fuerst) from $T"P, to boil up, and interpreted by Maimonides, Knobel, Keil

and others of a pot or kettle for boiling; — "a deep vessel suitable for boiling flour and other substances thoroughly."
Kalisch.

8 Ver. 8. "U/JJ in Hiph. is here usfd as the enhanced, second power of 3"^p in Hiph. as in Jer. xxx. 21." Lange.

9 Ver. 12. The A. V. is singularly unfortunate; this clause plainly refers to the leaven and honey of ver. 11.

10 Ver. 14. Corn is in this country so generally understood of maize that it seems better to substitute the more general
word. ,

11 Ver. 14. Dried does not sufficiently give the sense of ^7p=roasted.

12 Ver. 15. Eighteen MSS. and the Sam here again, as in vtr. 6, read KTJ-

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The oblation, or meat-offering, naturally fol
lows next after the burnt-offering, because it
was usually an accompanimeut of that offering.
That it was invariably so has been often main
tained (Outram, B'ahr, Kurtz, etc.), and in
deed it was always offered, and also a drink-
offering, with most of the other sacrifices (Num.
xv. 2-13); but from this chapter with vi. 14,
and with Num. v. 15, it appears that the obla
tion might be offered separately, although the
reasons given for this by Kalisch need not be
admitted. It is also associated with the burnt-
offering in the generality of its signification as
opposed to the more special offerings which fol
low. Lange: "It signifies not so much resig
nation as giving, or a return, in the sense of
childlike thankfulness, resignation of the sup
port of life, of the enjoyment of life. Its motive
is not through a divine demand as the perform
ance of a duty or a debt, but through an in
stinctive desire of communion with Jehovah.
Hence it is here indeed the soul, ^33, that
brings the sacrifice, not the DIN as in the burnt-
offering ; and in spite of the grammatical equi
valence of both expressions, we must not oblite
rate this distinction." The word HnJD itself
originally means a present with which one seeks
to obtain the favor of a superior (Gen. xxxii. 21,

22; xliii. 11, 15, etc.); then «ar' el-oxJiv, what
is presented to God, a sacrifice. At first it was
used alike of the bloody and the unbloody sacri
fice (Gen. iv. 3, 4) ; but under the law it is
restricted absolutely to bloodless offerings. The
full expression, as in vers. 1 and 4, is J2")P
nnpp, LXX. 8upnv dvata, although often either
S&pov or dvala alone. Besides the kinds of obla
tion mentioned here, there were others, as the
shew-bread and the jealousy-offering. With
those enumerated in this chapter salt was always
to be used (ver. 13) and oil (vers. 1, 4-7, 15);
and with those of flour and grain, incense also
(vers. 1, 15).

Only a handful of these oblations was to be
burnt upon the altar, the rest being eaten by
the priests in " a holy place." The oblation of
unprepared flour or of flour simply mingled
with oil (vii. 10) was the common property of
the priests (ver. 3) ; while that which was cooked
belonged to the officiating priest (vii. 9, 10).

" While the bloody sacrifice is to be purified
of its unclean portions, the unbloody sacrifice is
to be enriched by the addition of oil, incense
and salt ; i. e. the enjoyment of life becomes en
riched and preserved clean through spirit and
through prayer, and especially through the salt
of the covenant — through the hard spiritual dis
cipline which keeps pure the divine fellowship.
In its nature the "meat-offering" [oblation] is
closely related to the salvation (or peace) offer-

LEVITICUS.

ing; yet the latter has reference to the enjoy
ment or desire of uncommon prosperity, while
the former rela'es to the enjoyment of usual and
quiet existence. The meat-offering culminates
in the shew-bread (Ex. xxv. 30; Lev. xxiv. 5)."
Lange. (< In all these cases the sacred charac
ter of the offering was co .veyed not only by the
admixture of oil, the type of holiness and sanc-
tification, the addition of frankincense, the em
blem of devotion, and the use of salt, the agent
of preservation, and therefore called ' the salt
of the covenant;' but more decidedly still by
the rigid prohibition of honey and leaven, rep
resenting fermentation and corruption, by the
portion devoted to God and burnt in His honor
as a 'memorial' to bring the worshipper to His
gracious remembrance, and lastly by the injunc
tion to leave to the priests the remainder as
most holy." Kalisch.

Three kinds of oblation are here mentioned,
the second of which had three varieties : I. Fine
flour with frankincense (vers. 1-3); II. Cakes
or pastry : (a) of unleavened cakes mixed with
oil and baked in an oven (ver. 4), or (/>) of thin
cakes, also unleavened, baked and then broken
up and oil poured over them (vers. 5, 6), or (c)
of fine flour boiled in oil (ver. 7) ; the directions
common to all these varieties occupy vers. 8-10,
while those concerning all oblations are in vers
11-13; HI. Parched kernels of the first-fruits
of grain with frankincense.

I. The first kind of oblation. Vers. 1-3.

Ver. 1. A soul=a person, any one of either
sex.

Fine flour — H/D, a word of uncertain deri
vation, but clearly meaning fine flour, whe
ther as separated from the bran, or as sifted
from the coarser particles. The Syr. here
renders purttm, and in Gen. xviii. 6 it is
put in apposition with HOP Q'Kp. It is proba
ble that this flour was generally of wheat (see
Ex. xxix. 2), and the LXX. always translate it
aeu/da?,i(;. The Vulg has similia. r\/6 does not
occur in connection with the jealousy-oblation
of barley, Num. v. 15.

Put frankincense thereto. — The incense
was not mixed with the flour and oil, but so
added that it might be wholly removed with the
"handful" which was taken to be burned with
the incense upon the altar. Frankincense was
"a costly, sweet-smelling, pale yellow resin,
the milky exudation of a shrub, used for sa -red
fumigations" (Fuerst), and also for purposes
of royal luxury (Cant. iii. 6). It is considered
to have been a pioduct of Southwestern Arabia.
Its use in the oblations presented with the ani-
ni •• I sacrifices must have beon important. Mai-
monides (More Neboch., lib. III., c. 46) : Ele-
gitque ad earn thua, propltr bonitatem odoris fumi
ips'.us in illis locis, uhi factor tst ex carnibus com-
bustis.

Ver. 2. And he shall take.— The A. V.
like the Heb. leaves the antecedent of the pro
noun somewhat uncertain ; but the Targ. Orike-
los and the Vulg. are undoubtedly right in re
ferring it to the priest, see vi. 15, and com p.
also v. 12. The transfer of the handful from

the offerer to the priest who was to burn it
would have been inconvenient.

Handful. — Plainly what the hand could hold,
and not, as the Rabbins have it, with the thumb
aud little finger closed, leaving three fingers
open.

Memorial — n~OTX, applied only to that

T T : - *

part of the oblation which was burnt upon the
altar (vers. 9, 16; vi. 15), to the corresponding
part of the bin-offering of flour (v. 12), of the
jealousy-offering (Num. v 26), and also to the
frankincense placed upon the shew-bread (xxiv.
7), which last was also burnt upon the altar.
The LXX. render by /uv^juoavvov, and the figura
tive application of that word to the prayers and
alms of Cornelius (Acts x. 4) throws light upon
the significance of the oblation.

An offering made by fire, of a sweet
savour unto the Lord. — The same expression
as is applied to the burnt-offering, i. 9, 13, 17.

Ver. 3. And the remnant, etc. — So far as
the offerer was concerned, the oblation was as
wholly given to the Lord as the burnt-offering;
nothing of it was restored to him. There was a
difference in the method by which it was given:
the burnt-offering was wholly burned except
the skin, which was given to the priest; the
oblation had only an handful burned, together
with all the incense, and the bulk of it was con
sumed by the priests.

A thing most holy.— D'B^fJ. ^7p, lit. holy
of holies. This term is applied to all sacrificial
gifts which were wholly devoted to God, yet of
which a part was given to Him by being given
to His priests. It is not applied to the burnt-
offerings, nor to the priestly oblations (vi. 19-
23), nor to any other sacrifices which were
wholly consumed upon the altar. All sacrifices
were holy, aud the phrase most holy is not to
mark those to which it is applied as holier than
the others: but is used only in regard to those
which, having been whollj7 devoted, might pos
sibly be perverted to other uses. Thus it is
u«ed of the oblations (vers. 3, 10; vi. 17; x.
12) of such of the sin and trespass-offerings as
were not burned without the camp (vi. 25, 29;
vii. 1,6; x. 17; xiv. 13; Num. xviii. 9), and
of the shew-bread (xxiv. 9). Its use is similar
when applied to other things than sacrifices;
thus, Ex. xl. 10, it is used of the altar in con
tradistinction to the tabernacle which is called
holy (ver. 9), because the altar was thus to be
guarded from the touch of the people, while
there was no danger in regard to the tabernacle
proper, since they were forbidden to enter it at
all (comp. Ex. xxix. 37) ; so the term is applied
to the sacred incense (Ex. xxx. 36), arid to all
objects devoted by vow, whether man or beast
or field (xxvii. 28). The parts of all "most
holy" sacrifices which were not placed upon
the altar must be eaten by the priests themselves
in " a holy place " (vi. 26 ; vii. 6 ; x. 17, etc.) :
and this "holy place" — not the sanctuary itself
— is more particularly described (vi. 26) as "in
the court of the tabernacle of the congregation,''
and " beside the altar ' (x. 12). Whereas the
priests' portion of other sacrifices might be
eaten with their families in any "clean place"
(x. 14).

CHAP. II. 1-16.

II. The second kind of oblation. Vers. 4-13.

This included several varieties of cakes or
pastry all prepared from fine flour and with oil,
but without frankincense.

(a) The first variety, ver. 4.

Ver. 4. Baken in the oven. — *NHjl is an

oven of any kind, but must here mean a porta
ble oven, or rather a large earthen pot or jar,
such as is still in use in the East for baking
cakes, such as is mentioned in xi. 35 as capable
of being broken; this was heated by a fire
inside.

Cakes. — flv?n from lin— to be perforated.

— T

A thick kind of cake pierced with holes after
the fashion of our bakers' biscuit. These were
mixed up with oil before baking.

"Wafers— from pp_"^=to beat or spread out thin,
This denotes a kind of cake well described by
wafer. It is often cooked by the Arabs on the

outside of the same vessel in which the

are baked at the same time. The oil was ap

plied to these after they were baked.

(b] The second variety, vers. 5, 6.

Ver. 5. In a pan. — Mnsn-1?^. Authori
ties differ as to whether this is to be understood
as in the text of the A. V. of a frying-pan, or as
in the marg'n of a flat plate. The LXX. render
rfyyavov which seems to be equally perpetuated
in the iron frying-pans of the Cabyles of Africa,
and the earthen plates of the Bedouins of the
East, both being called tafen. The distinction
of this variety of oblation from the former will
be more marked if we may understand it of
fried cakes, according to the translation of the
A. V. in 1 Chrou. xxiii. 29. This was both to
be made up with oil, and to have oil poured on
it after it was cooked and broken into pieces.

Ver. 7. Boiled in a pot. — This is another
variety made up with oil and boiled, perhaps
also boiled in oil. Lange notes that with each
successive advance in the form of the oblation
"the addition of the oil seems to rise, as if the
varying grade of spiritual life was distinguished
by the consecration of life's enjoyment. (See
Keil, Kuobel, 363.) But throughout the oil of
the Spirit is the peculiar or appropriate vital
essence of the offering, especially in the burnt-
offering and the thank-offering, and above all in
the sacrifice of the priests."

Directions comnun to both these varieties of
oblation. Vers. 8-10. These scarcely differ from
the directions in vers. 2, 3, except in the omis
sion of incense which was not used with the
cooked oblation. The JD D'^H in ver. 9 has
the same sense with the |O VrDp of ver. 2
(comp. iii. 3 with iv. 8, 31, 35; antTiv. 10 with
iv. 31, 35), and means simply to lift, off the part
to be burned. It does not denote, as the Rab
bins and others assert, any special waving cere
mony.

Vers. 11-13. General directions concerning all
oblations.

Ye shall burn no leaven, nor any
honey.— -These were strictly prohibited as of
ferings to be laid upon the altar, but not for
those offered to God by being given to His

priests; thus they are allowed in ver. 12. Lea
vened bread is also required in the peace-offer
ing to be used as a heave-offering (vii. 13, 14),
and in the Pentecostal loaves to be waved before
the Lord (xxiii. 17, 20), and honey is expressly
enumerated among the first-fruits offered under
Hezekiah (2 Chron. xxxi. 5) The reason for
the exclusion of these from the altar was un
doubtedly their fermenting property (for honey
was anciently used in the preparation of vinegar,
Plin. Nat. Hist. xi. 15; xxi. 48); fermentation
has ever been recognized " as an apt symbol of
the working of corruption in the human heart"
(Clark) boih in Scripture (Luke xii. 1; 1 Cor.
v. 8; Gal. v. 9), and among the ancients gene
rally (Aul. Gell. Noct. Alt. x. 15), and hence
was unsuitable for the altar of Jehovah, although
as abundantly shown by Bochart (Hteroz, Ed.
Rosen. HE., p. 394 sq. ) continually offered to
the heathen deities. Honey was also by the
ancient interpreters generally connected with
the delicise carnis so destructive of the spiritual
life. " The leaven signifies an incongruous fel
lowship with the world, easily becoming conta
gious, which must be excluded from the priestly
fellowship with Jehovah. The honey, on the
other hand, signified in contrast with the leaven,
the dainty enjoyment of children, or especially
infants (Isa. vii. 15), and was no food for the
communion of priestly men with Jehovah."
Lange.

Ver. 12. As an offering. — The sense is
plainly that while leaven, i. e. anything made
with leaven, and honey might not be burned
upou the altar, they were yet allowable as offer
ings of first-fruits to be consumed by the priests.
Ver. 13. This verse gives directions applica
ble to all oblations, and in fact to all sacrifices.
The salt of the covenant of thy God —
A covenant of salt is a perpetual covenant,
Num. xviii. 19; 2 Chron. xiii. 5; and this ex
pression is said to be still in use among the
Arabs at this day. Salt in its unalterable and
preserving property is the opposite of leaven
and of honey. Its symbolical meaning is there
fore plain ; the purifying and preserving prin
ciple must never be wanting from any offering
made in covenant-relation with God.

With all thine offerings. — From the con
nection of this clause it might, with Knobel, be
taken as applicable only to oblations; but as
salt was used with all offerings (Ezek. xliii. 24:
Mark ix. 49), not only among the Hebrews, but
other nations also (Plin. Nat. Hist. xxxi. 41 in
sacris . . . nulla conficiuntur sine moia sitlsa). and
as on account of this universally recognized
usage no other direction is anywhere given
about it in the law, it seems better to take the
words as a parenthetical clause meant to apply
to all offerings of every kind.

III. The third kind of oblation. Vers. 14-16.
This kind of oblation is separated from the others
probably because it was not like them offered in
connection with the bloody sacrifices, but by
itself, like the same kind of offering mentioned
in Num. xviii. 12, 13. That, offering, however,
was obligatory, while this was voluntary.
Lange, however, considers that "this direction
looks back to ver. 12, completing it. It is true
that the leavened loaves of the first-fruits might

LEVITICUS.

not be brought to the sacrificial fire; but it is
not on that account to be said that in general
the first-fruits were not to be offered. Accord
ingly the form is now prescribed." These pre
cepts are of course to be understood of private
and voluntary oblations of first-fruits ; both the
time (on the morrow after the Passover-Sabbath,
xxiii. 11) and the material (barley — for this only
was ripe at that time) of the public and required
oblation grain were prescribed.

Ver. 14. Green ears of grain. — Ears freshly
gathered of the maturing grain scarcely yet
quite ripe. Stalks of wheat with the ears,
gathered before they% are entirely ripe, roasted
by the fire, and the kernels of grain then beaten
out. is still a favorite food in the East.

Vers. 15, 16. Oil and frankincense were
to be added, and the oblation treated as that in
vers. 2, 3.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. As the burnt-offerings were of such domes
tic animals as were used for food, and yet not
from every kind of them ; so the oblations were
of certain kinds of farinaceous food in common
use — not indeed of all kinds, but of a sufficient
variety to place the material of the offering
always within easy reach. Both kinds of offer
ing*, which were entirely voluntary, were thus
made easily accessible to the pe'ople, and they
were taught that the things of the daily life
were to be sanctified by offerings to God. As
the perfect animal was required for the burnt-
offering, so the fine flour was demanded for the
oblation ; that which is given to God is to be of
the best man has.

II. That which is once absolutely given to
God may not afterwards be turned aside to any
other use. However voluntary the gift, when it
has once been stamped "most holy," it belongs
to Him alone. The principle is recognized in
the N. T. in the case of Ananias and Sapphira.
Yet what is given to God must often, as in the
oblation, be largely consumed by those who
minister on His behalf, and by secondary instru
mentalities generally. This is recognized by
St. Paul in 1 Cor. ix. 13, 14, and must necessa
rily be true of the great mass of the gifts in the
Christian Church given to God for the uphold
ing and advancement of His kingdom on earth.

III. In the exclusion from the oblation of all
ferment and the requirement of the salt of purity
and preservation is plainly taught that approach
to God must be free from contamination of " the
leaven of hypocrisy," and must have in it both
purity and steadfastness.*

IV. In the oblation, recognizing as a whole
that man gives back to God of that which God
has given to him, the use of the oil seems to
have a more special significance. As an article
of food it meant also what was meant by the
fine flour; but inasmuch as oil is constantly in
Scripture the emblem of Divine grace given
through, the Spirit, it was perhaps intended by

its use in the oblation to signify also the ac
knowledgment that spiritual gifts are from God
and belong to Him.

V. Much of the ritual of the oblation is ap
plied in the N. T. to Christian duties and affec
tions, sometimes in what is common to this with
other offerings, sometimes in what belonged to
this alone. Several such passages have already
been pointed out ; others may be added: Matt.
xvi. 6, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and Sadducees : Mark ix. 49, 50, Every sacrifice

shall be salted with salt Have salt in

yourselves, and have peace one with another;
1 Cor. v. 7, 8 ; Col. iv. 6, Let your speech be
alway with grace, seasoned with salt; Heb. xiii.
15, through Christ, Let us offer the sacrifice of
praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our
lips giving thanks to His name.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

The oblation to God, though unbloody and
among the least of the sacrifices, must still be
the best of its kind, of fine flour. It must have
upon it the oil of an act of the Spirit, and the
sweet frankincense of prayer. That it may be
truly a gift to God, and acceptable, it is only
necessary that a mere handful of it be actually
burned upon His altar ; the rest is still a gift to
Him, although consumed by those who minister
in His service. "It is joined with the burnt-
offering like blessing with faithful discharge of
duty." Lange.

Every variety of food, fit for the altar, must
be sanctified by an oblation. We ever ask:
" Give us this day our daily bread," and re
ceiving it, we are called upon to acknowledge
the Giver by giving to Him an offering of that
which is His own. Even the leaven and the
honey, which, from their fermenting properties,
may not go upon the altar, may yet be offered
as first-fruits. There is none of God's gifts
which we may use ourselves, with which we
may not show our gratitude to the Giver.

In the worship of God " we may not adopt
our own inventions, though they may be sweet
and delicious as honey to our own palates. . . .
Honey is good in its proper place, and heaven
itself is typified by 'a land flowing with milk
and honey ' (Ex. iii. 8 ; xiii. 5) ; but if God for
bids it, we must abstain from it, or we shall not
come to that heavenly Canaan." Wordsworth.

That seasoning of salt which the apostle re
quires for our conversation (Col. iv. 6), may not
be wanting from our gifts to God. They are not
to be insipid, but having " that freshness and
vital briskness which characterizes the Spirit's
presence and work." Alford.

Of first-fruits especially is an oblation to be
brought. Not only should we give to God as
He blesses us all along; but especially with
each new harvest received from His bounty
should a first portion be laid aside for His ser
vice.

CHAP. III. 1-17. 33

C.— PEACE-OFFERINGS.
CHAP. III. 1-17.

1 AND if his oblation [offering1] be a sacrifice of peace-offering, if he offer it of the
herd ; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the

2 LORD. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the
door of the tabernacle of the [pm. the2] congregation : and Aaron's sons the priests

3 shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And he shall offer of the
sacrifice of the peace-offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD ; the fat that

4 covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys,
and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver,

5 with [on3] the kidneys, it shall he take away. And Aaron's sons4 shall burn it on
the altar upon the burnt-sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire : it is
an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

6 And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace-offering unto the LORD be of the flock ;

7 male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offer a lamb [sheep5] for

8 his offering, then shall he offer it before the LORD. And he shall lay his band
upon the head of his offering, and kill it before6 the tabernacle of the [om. the2]
congregation : and Aaron's sous shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon

9 the altar. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace-offering an offering made
by fire unto the LORD ; the fat thereof, and the whole rump [fat tail7], it shall he
take off hard by the back-bone : and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the

10 fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them,
which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with [on3] the kidneys, it shall

11 he take away. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the
offering made by fire8 unto the LORD.

12, 13 And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord. And he
shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the [om.
the2] congregation : and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon

14 the altar round about. And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering
made by fire unto the LORD ; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that

15 is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is
by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with [on3] the kidneys, it shall he take

16 away. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offer
ing made by fire for a sweet savour : all the fat is the LORD'S [as food of an offer-

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 1. p"1p=offering, as in ch. ii.

2 Ver. 2. See on i. 3, Text. Note 3.

8 Ver. 4. 7j? must here be translated on, not with, since the kidneys have just been mentioned.

4 Ver. 5. The Sam., LXX. and one MS. add the priests. So also the LXX. and one MS. in ver. 8, and the Sam. and
LXX. in ver. 13.

6 Ver. 7. DBG=4?33, according to Bochart (Hieroa. I. 33), a sheep of intermediate a?e between the

SV '.' V '.' V T

'{< of three years old. It is, however, often applied to the sheep of one year in which case the age is mentioned,

as xiv. 10; Num. vii. 15, 17, 21, etc. In Prov. xxvii. 26 it is described as yielding wool. In the A. V. the form W33 is

uniformly rendered lamb, except in Ex. xii. 5, while the other form is translated sheep nine times, and lamb four times.
There is no ground for this distinction.

6 Ver. 8. The locality for killing the victim is made more definite by the insertion in one MS. and in the Syr.: "be
fore the Lord at the door of." The LXX. makes the same insertion in v'pr. 13.

1 Ver. 9. irSx, according to all interpreters the fat tail of the ovis laticaudata, a variety common in Arabia and

Syria, but in modern Palestine paid to be the only variety. The tail is described as of rich marrowy fat, of the width of
the hind quarter-", and often trailing on the groun-1. Th« wor 1 occurs only in this connection (Ex. xxix. 22; LBV. vii. 3;
viii. 25; ix. 19), and is rendered by all the ancient versions, except the LXX. (6oxf>u's), tail. So also Jos. Ant. iii. 9, 2.

« Ver. 11. The sense is expressed by the addition in 2 MSS. and in the T.XXT of the words from i. 9, 13, 17, n*
(«=» sweet-smelling savor.)

LEVITICUS.

17 ing made by fire for a sweet savour, shall all the fat be the LoRD's9]. It shall be a
perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat
neither fat nor blood.

9 Ver. 16. The A. V. seems unnecessarily complicated, as there are but two clauses ia this verse. After "savour
Sam., LXX , ami some MSB. add " to the Lord. '

the

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The peace- offering, like the offerings of the
preceding chapters, is spoken of as already in
common use, and the law is given for its proper
regulation. The offerings of this, as of the pre
vious chapters, were voluntary. The peace-
offering differed from the oblation in being ani
mal, and from the burnt-offering in not being
wholly consumed, but after a small portion had
been burned, and a portion given to the priest,
the remainder reverted to the offerer for a sac
rificial meal (vii. 11-21) ; a further difference is
in that the burnt- offerings were only male, the
peace-offerings either male or female; and still
further, doves were nor allowed in the peace-
offerings, because they were too small for the
necessary division, and for the t-acrificial feast.

The full form WSrCJ rOf used here, is nearly
always employed in Leviticus; but the peace-
offering is probably intended by the simple H3T
of xxiii. 37 (vii. 16, 17 does not, and xvii. 8
may not mean peace-offering), and it certainly

is by D"pStf in ix. 22. The latter, as the de
termining word, is frequently used elsewhere
alone, as Ex. xx. 24; xxxii. 6; Deut. xxvii. 7;
Josh. viii. 31, etc. The word is variously de
rived and has various shades of signification
attached to it: (1) Thank-offering, Gesenius,
Fiirst, Luther, Rosenmiiller, Winer, Biihr,
etc., Owia xaPiaTrJP/ta^ Jos. Ant. iii. 9, 2; (2)
Meat-offering, Zunz ; (3) Salvation- offering, aurf/-
piov, LXX. most frequently (i. e. in the Pent.,
Josh., Judges, Chron., Ezra, Amos), PHILO;
(4) Peace-offering, elprjviKoc,, LXX. (in Samuel,
Kings, Prov.), Aq., Sym., Theod., Vulg., A. V.
The last two senses are very similar; the first
seems less appropriate, partly because the
strictly thank-offering appears as a special variety
of this more general class (vii. 11, 12); partly

because the D'rpSi^ were offered not only in
thanks for benefits received, but also in times
of distress and in supplication for the divine
help (Judg. xx. 20; xxi. 4; 1 Sum. xiii. 9; 2
Sam. xxiv. 25). Outram says: Sacrificia salu-
taria in sacris literis shelamim dicta, ui quse, semper
de retnix prosperis fieri solerent, impetratis utique
aut inipctrandis. Lange brings together the
several meanings in the name Heilsopfer, salva
tion or saving offering "in the common sense
of blessing or prosperity-offering." In English
the already accepted peace-offering seems to ex
press sufficiently the same sense, and is there
fore retained. The law (vii. 12-10) distinguishes
three kinds of peace-offerings — thanksgiving,
vow and free-will offerings; the only difference
in their ritual being in the length of time during
which their flesh might be eaten.

The peace-offerings are not called "most

holy" like the oblation, but only "holy," and
the priests' portion might be eaten by their
families in any "clean place" (vii. 31 with x.
14; xxiii. 20). The portion which reverted to
the offerer to be eaten as a sacrificial feast
might be partaken of only by those who were
legally "clean" (vii. 20, 21). The peace-offer
ings were prescribed on a variety of occasions,
and as they were the necessary offerings of sac
rificial feasts, and hence of all solemn, national
rejoicings, they were the most common of all
sacrifices. From Num. xv. it appears that, like
the burnt-offering, they were always accompa
nied by the meat and the drink-offering. —
Lange : " The peace-offering refers to prosperity
as Jehovah's free gift in past, present, and future.
As regards the past, it is a simple praise and
thank-offering (an Eben Ezer, Amos v. 22). In
reference to a happy present, it is a content
ment, joy, or feast-offering. As it relates to a
future to be realized, to an experience of salva
tion yet to come, to a deliverance or an exhibi
tion of mercy that is prayed for with a vow, it
is a votive offering. The prescriptions in regard
to the various kinds are different. Here it is
said, that the animal to be slain may be either
male or female, only it must be without blemish.
In ch. vii. 15 sq. nothing of the praise-offering
might be left over until the next day, whereas
the vow, or free-will offering might be eaten also
on the next clay, but not on the third day."
Lange then points out that in the cas ; of those
vow, or free-will offerings which were to be
burnt-offerings, a male was required, xxii 19,
without blemish. " Even an abnormal forma
tion of the victim, too long or too short legs of
the animal [vii. 22, 2:J] was enough to make it
unsuitable for the vow-offering, but still not for
the free-will offering. So every kind of pros
perity was to be hallowed to the Lord."*

Sacrificial feasts were at lea^t as old as the
time of Jacob (Geri. xxxi. 54), and became com
mon among all nations; but the distinctive
name of peace-offering first appears when Moses
came down with the law from Mt. Sinai (Ex.
xxiv. 5). The thing signified, however, must
have been already familiar to the people, for
the word recurs in connection with the idola
trous sacrifice of Aaron when Moses had again
gone up into the Mount (Ex. xxxii. 0).

Two kinds of victims were allowable: of the
" herd," or of the " flock."

Vers. 1-5. The peace-offering of the herd, i. e.
a bullock or a cow.

* In regard to the question whether the peace-offering
embraces also the supplicatory offering, Lange says: "It is
understood that the vows themselves were supplicatioi s,
irom which th<^ accompanying offering might also be < ailed
a supplicatory offering : hut a peculiar supplicatory off ring
to strengthen the supplication would have been prejudicial
to the free torn of the divine hearing. It shows a tine dis
tinction that the free praise and thank-offerings ( Thoda),
which were pecede i by no vows, were exalted abo*e the
vow-offerings and free-will offering-*, ina-much as tuese lal-
ttr in ght be accompanied by a selfl a feeling. '

CHAP. III. 1-17.

Ver. 1. The victim both in this and in the
other kind (ver. 6) might be of either sex. Ac
cording to Herodotus, this was directly contrary
to the Egyptian law, which forbade offering the
female in sacrifice: dr/heiac; ov aOi st-san 6veiv (ii.
41). As in the case of other offerings, the vic
tim must be "without blemish." There was
ordinarily no restriction of age, although in
some special cases yearling lambs are mentioned
(xxiii. 19; Num. vii. 17).

Ver. 2. The laying on of the offerer's hand
and the sprinkling of the blood by the priest are
the same as in the case of the burnt-offering;
hence no signification can be attached to these
acts in the one case which will not apply in the
other also, except of course in so far as an act
of essentially the same meaning might be some
what modified by its connections.

Vers. 3, 4. There were four parts to be burned
upon the altar: (1) the fat that covereth
the inwards, i. e. the large net, omentum, Jos.
iii. 9, 2, sTr'nr^ovg, caul, or adipose membrane
found in mammals attached to the stomach and
spreading over the bowels, and which in the
ruminants abounds with fat; (2) all the fat
which is upon the inwards, i. e. the fat
attached to the intestines, and which could be
peeled off; (3) the two kidneys, and the
fat that is on them, which is by the flanks,
or loins, i. e. the kidneys and all the fat con
nected with them ; the kidneys are the only
thing to be burned except the fat ; (4) the smaller
net, omentum minus, or caul above the liver,
which stretches on one side to the region of the

kidneys, hence on the kidneys, 7j£=by them,
not with them, they having been just before

mentioned. The word rnry occurs only in Ex.
(twice) and Lev. (nine times) always in connec
tion with "1UIL— the liver; it is described as

- T

above or upon the liver, and hence is not to be
understood, as has often been done, of the liver
itself, or of a part of it. These four include all
the separable fat in the inside of the animal
(and in addition to these was the fat tail in the
case of the sheep), so that, vor. 16, they are
called "all the fat," so also iv. 8, 19, '26, 31, 35;
vii. 3.

Ver. 5. Aaron's sons shall burn. — The
burning on the altar, and the sprinkling of the
blood (ver. 2), being the acts by which the sac
rifice was especially offered to God, were always
and in all sacrifices the priestly function.

Upon the burnt sacrifice. — This rendering
is quite correct, and is in accordance with the
ancient versions. The sense given by Knobel
'• according to " or " in the manner of the burnt-

offering" is inadmissible, vj? may sometimes
bear this sense (Ex. xii. 61; Ps. ex. 4); but it
is rare, and not likely to be the meaning here.
As a matter of fact, peace-offerings ordinarily
followed especial burnt-offerings, and always
the daily burnt-offering, which would so seldom
have been entirely consumed when the peace-
offering was offered, that the fat might naturally
be described as placed upon it.

Vers. 6 10. The peace-offerings of sheep or
goats.

The ritual for the second kind of peace-offer
ing is the same as for the first; it is repeated in
case the victim should be a sheep (vers. 6-11),
and in case it should be a goat (vers. 12-16).
Only in the case of the sheep, on the principle
of burning all the separable fat, the tail (see
Textual, ver. 9) must also be laid upon the
altar.

Ver. 11. (romp, ver 16.) The food of the
offering made by fire unto the Lord. —
This is a common expression applied to sacrifices
generally ( " my bread," Num. xxviii. 2 ; " Bread
of God," ch. xxi. 6, 8, 17, 21, 22; xxii. 25);
yet especially mentioned only in connection
with the peace-offerings. It is used only of the
portions of the victim burned upon the altar,
and is expressly distinguished from the portion
eaten by the priests (xxi. 22). By a natural
figure, the whole victim being food, the part of
it given to Jehovah by burning upon the altar is
called the food of Jehovah, and shows the com
munion between Him and the worshipper brought
about by the sacrifice It is not necessary,
however, to realize this figure by attributing to
the Hebrews the thought — belonging to the later
heathen — that God actually required food ; such
a notion was foreign to their whole theology.

Ver. 16. All the fat — i. e., all that has been
enumerated — all the separable fat of the victim.

Ver. 17. Throughout all your dwellings.
— This applies to the life in the wilderness when,
all sacrificial animals slain for food were re
quired to be offered as p°ace-offorings before the
LORD (xvii. 3-7) ; whether it applies also to the
subsequent life in the land of promise, when this
restriction was to be removed (Deut. xii. 15; xiv.
22, 23 ; xv. 22, 23), has been much debated. In
the passages removing that restriction, mention
is made only of the blood which must be poured
out, and in the Song of Moses (Deut. xxxii. 14),
the "fat of lambs" is especially mentioned among
the blessings to be enjoyed.

Ye shall eat neither fat nor blood. — The

prohibition of the separable fat p/H in contra
distinction to the jftt^D or JD$ the fat mixed
with the flesh which might be eaten, Neh. viii.
10) for food springs immediately from the fact
that it was especially consecrated to God, and
therefore not to be used by man. If we seek the
reason of this consecration it is not to be sought
on hygienic grounds (Rosenmuller), but ra
ther in its connection with the animal economy.
As blood is described as "the life" of the ani
mal, so is the fat a stored-up source of life,
drawn upon for sustaining life whenever, in de
ficiency of food or other exigency, it is required.
It thus stands more nearly related in function to
the blood, and became naturally the appropriate
portion for the altar. Its proper development
was also a mark of perfection in the animal. It
is further to be borne in mind that the fat was
considered the choice portion, and hence the
word was figuratively used of excellence (Gen.
xxvii. 28; xlv. 18, etc ) and thus the fat, as the
best, was reserved foi- God's portion. The pro
hibition is repeated with still stronger emphasis,
vii. 23-25, but with the exception that the fat of
animals dying of themselves may be applied to
other uses (ver. 24). It has always been under-

LEVITICUS.

stood by the Jews that the prohibition respects
only the fat of animals that might be offered in
sacrifice. Comp. vii. 23.

Nothing is here said of the disposal of the flesh
of the victim, the law of this being given in de
tail, vii. 11-36.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. As all vegetable food was sanctified by the
oblation, so all animal food was by the peace
offering. In the wilderness this was literally
carried out by the presenting of all animals fit
for sacrifice as offerings, sprinkling their blood
and burning their fat upon the altar ; later, when
in Palestine this became impossible on account
of the distances, the idea was kept up in the
probinition of the blood for food. The ge
neral principle thus expressed for all time is that
God's gifts to man are to be acknowledged as
from Him, and due return made to Him, or other
wise they are profaned.

H. In the expression " Food of the LORD,"
although figurative, we recognize the idea of
communion between God and man, expressed by
a part of the sacrifice burned on the altar, and
called by this name, while another part was
eaten by the offerer at the sacrificial feast. Simi
larly the Eucharist is spoken of in 1 Cor. x. 21
as the " Lord's table." In this respect the peace-
offering under the old dispensation signified the
same tiling as the Eucharist under the new — the
communion of the devout worshipper with God.
It was eminently a feast of love towards God and
man; the worshipper communicated with God
by feasting on the sacrifice offered to Him, and
by the portion eaten by the priests as His repre
sentatives, and with man by feasting with his
friends on the remainder. It is happily de
scribed by Wordsworth as " an Eucharist cou
pled with an offertory."

III. All sacrifices were necessarily typical of
Christ, and each of them had in this respect its
peculiar significance ; with the peace-offering He
is especially connected by the prophecy of Isaiah
(liii. 5) " the chastisement of our pence was upon
Him," and by the frequent application of this
word to Him and to His sacrifice in the New Tes
tament, (Rom. v. 1; Eph. ii. 14-16; Col. i. 20,
etc.).

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

" The Peace-offering is the expression of the

feeling that man might receive or ask only a
pure prosperity from God, and might offer it to
Him again." Lange. In this offering " God,
the Master and Judge, was merged in God, the
Benefactor and Rescuer" Kalisch. In the
feasting of the offerer with his friends upon the
flesh of the sacrifice was expressed clearly the
idea of communion with God; yet even in this
offering, the blood must be sprinkled upon' the
altar ; — in the nearest approach of sinful man to
! God, there must still be propitiation.

In the peace-offering any sacrificial animal, of
either sex, and of any age was allowable ; God
I gives man the largest latitude of choice in the
I ways of expressing his gratitude. He also sanc
tifies as a means of communion with Him what
ever He has appointed as the means of ap
proaching Him in any way. The Christian may
commune with God in work, in prayer, in sacra
ments, in study of His word.

In this sacrifice the fat was burnt upon the
altar, and certain choice parts given to the
priests to be eaten with their families ; so in our
thanksgivings, first let the Giver of all good be
recognized, and the best of all be given back to
Him ; and then let a portion be given also to
those who maintain His service, that the main
part which remains may be enjoyed by us with
a holy joy.

The sacrifice for sin (see ch. iv.) was limited
to that which was prescribed, nothing more was
allowed ; the peace-offerings might be unlimited
in number and in value : so man now may seek
forgiveness only in the way God has provided, —
he can add nothing to its efficacy ; but to the ex
pression of his thankfulness, arid to his desire
for communion with God, no bounds are set. He
may go as far as he can, and his offerings will
be looked upon with approbation as " a sweet
savor unto the LORD."

The feast upon the sacrifice of peace-offerings
might include all the members of tho offerer's
family. Thus was the joyous family feast, like
every other human relation and condition,
brought by the Levitical law into relation with
duties to God, and sanctified by His blessing and
by symbolical communion with Him.

A true sacrifice of praise is offered by those
who glorify God in their lives. This constitutes
the Christian peace-offering of communion with
God in its highest form — that of thanksgiving
for His inestimable benefits showed forth in a
sincere obedience to His commands. Origen.

D.— SIN OFFERINGS.
CHAPTERS IV. 1-35— V. 1-13.

1, 2 AND the LORD, spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance [inadvertence1] against any of the

Vcr. 2.

from Jty = ? =

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

= to totter to and fro, to wander, to go wrong. It includes not only sin

ning unawares, through ignorance (vers. 13, 22, 27 ; v. 17), or carelessness, .and want r>f consideration (v. 1, 4) ; but also un
intentional sins (like that of manslaughter without malice. Num. xxxv. J1, 15, 22), and therefore sins arising from human
infirmity in contradistinction to intentional and defiant sins — siua " with a high hand " — for which no sacrifice was allow-

CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-23. 37

commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall
do [omit against'2] any of them :

3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people [to the
guilt of the people3] ; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young

4 bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering. And he shall bring the
bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation before the
LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before

5 the LORD. And the priest that is anointed* shall take of the bullock's blood, and

6 bring it to the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation : and the priest shall dip
his finger in the biood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, be-

7 fore the vail of the sanctuary. And the priest shall put some of the blood5 upon
the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle
of the [omit the] congregation ; and shall pour all the [other] blood of the bullock
at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the taber-

8 nacle of the [omit the] congregation. And he shall take off from it all the fat of
the bullock for the sin offering ; the fat that covereth the6 inwards, and all the fat

9 that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which
is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with [on8a] the kidneys, it shall he

10 take away, as it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings;

11 and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering. And the skin
of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards,

12 and his dung, even the whole bullock shall he7 carry forth without the camp unto
a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire :
where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.

13 And if the whole congregation8 of Israel sin [err9] through ignorance [inadver
tence1!, and the thing be hid10 from the eyes of the assembly,8 and they have done
somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which

14 should not be done, and are guilty ; when the sin, which they have sinned against
it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock11 for the sin [a sia
offering12] and bring him before the13 tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation.

able (Num. xv. 27-31). The LXX. has axouo-iw?, the Targ. Oak. (also Ben Uz. and Jerus.) ^7C?3 = through error, so also

T t

the Syr. The oil Italic has rmprud enter. Aquila reads ev ayvota, and it was perhaps by a literal translation of this that
the Vulg. came to re*d per ignorantiam, which has been perpetuated in the A. V. ; but in Hellenistic Greek ayvoia and a-y-
voTj/aa ( Heb. ix. 7) bear rather the sunse given above. See Schleus. Lex. in LXX. Through going astray might better ex
press the meaning, except that it does not sufficiently bring out the distinction as in the animus of the sinner.

2 Ver. 2. n^m nnXO- The A. V. has supplied against, as in the former clause, where the construction 13 the same ;

but there it ''s recurred, and here worse than useless to the sense. It should be omitted as in nearly all the ancient ver
sion . Tue 7*3 in both clauses is to be taken partitively.

Ver. 3. jl*D^JO Prop. inf. const. Kal., and there used as a noun = to bring guilt upon. So most of the ancient ver-
and the modern expositors generally.

Ver. 5. To anointed the LXX. and Sam. Vers. add whose hand is consecrated. The Sam. text has a similar addition.
Ver. 7. The Sam. and 8 MS3. prefix the article to D"l> while the Sam., 3 MSS., and Vulg., omit the bullock.
8 Ver. 8. 3"^pi"|~ Sj?- This is translated in the A. V. and in the ancient versions as if it were TI^X as in iii. 14.
So it must be translated, and such is actually the reading in the Sam. and many MSS.

7 Ver. 12. The Sam. and LXX. here have the plural. Of course Ih ' high-priest did not do this with his own hands, but
is said to do that which he caused to be done, according to common usage of ail languages.

8* Ver. 9. On. See iii. 4, Textual Note 3.

8 Ver. 13. rVTJ?" /3 (congregation) /Hp (assembly) the two words used here, and "TJHO Num. xvi. 2 and freq. have
no difference in signification which can be recognized in translation. They are used in apposition.

6 Ver. 13. HJli/- IQ tue A. V. sin always in Lev. is the translation of NDH' This being the only exception, should be

changed. , ,

10 Ver. 13. DvJ^3 has dagesh in the 7 here and in v. 2, 4 According to Delitzsch it is an old rule of pointing "that

every consonant which followed a syllable terminating with a guttural should be pointed with dagesh, if the guttural was
to be read with a quiescent sheva and not with chateph." Comp. "^OK^I Gen. xlvi. 29; Ex. xiv. 6, D^v^j^ (according to
some copies) Ps. x. 1.

11 Ver. 14. The Sam. and LXX. here add the " without blemish " so frequently expressed, and always to be un
derstood.

12 Ver. 14. nXDrw- The word is used in both senses — a sin, and a sin-offering. The context requires the latter h<re.
It has no article.

» Ver. 14. The LXX. and Vulg. add the door of, which is implied.

88 LEVITICUS.

15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bul
lock before the LORD : and the bullock shall be killed [one shall kill the bullock1*]

16 before the LORD. And the pr.est that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood

17 to the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation: and the priest shall dip his finger
in some of the blood, a-jd sprinkle itlb seven times before the LORD even before the

18 vail. And he shail put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar16 which is
before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation, and shall
pour out all the [other'} blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which

19 is at the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation. And he s^hall take

20 all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar. And he shall do with the bul
lock as he did with the bullock for a [the17] sin offering, so shall he do with this:
and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.

21 And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned
the first bullock: it18 is a sin offering for the congregation.

22 When a ruler [prince19] hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance [in
advertence1] against any of the commandments of the Lord his God concerning

23 things which should not be done, and is guilty ; or if [if perhaps20] his sin, wherein
he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid [a buck21]

24 of the goats, a male without blemish : and he shall lay his hand upon the head of
the goat, and kiL22 it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the

25 LORD : it is a sin-offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering
with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall

26 pour out23 his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. And he shall
burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings : and
the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be
forgiven him.

27 And if any one of the common people [any soul of the people of the land24] sin
through ignorance [inadvertence1] \vhi\e\ie dovthsomeivhatayamzt'diiy otthecommand-

28 meuts of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty ; or if [if
perhaps20] his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge : then he shall
bring his offering, a kid of the goats {a she-goat25] a female without blemish, for his

29 sin which he hath sinned. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin

30 offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering. And the
priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of
the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the [other'] blood thereof at the

l* Ver. 15. The subject of DHC? is one of the elders.

16 Ver. 17. The ellipsis supplied by it In the A. Y. is filled out in the Sam, in one MS., and in the Syr., bv "of the
b^ood," c»mp. ver. 6. Several other words are filled out m the same version in the following verses from the preceding
paragraph.

16 Ver. 18. The Sam. and LXX. unnecessarily specify " altar of incense."

17 Vtr. 20. The article of the original should be retained as the reference is to the sin-offering of the high-priest.
is Ver. 21. The Sam. and many MSS. have here again the later feminine form X'PI-

19 Ver. 22. X^]- This word variously rend- red in the A. V. captain, chief, governor, prince, and ruler, occurs in Lev.

• T

only her", but very frequently in Num., where it is translated captain in ch. ii. (12 times), chief in chs. iii.. iv. (5 times),
once rule-, xiii. 2, and prince throughout the rest of the book (42 tmes) as well as throughout G<-n. and Josh. In Ex. it
occurs four times uniformly transited ruler. In nearly all these places it refers tj persons of substantially the fame r.ink,
and it would be better therefore that its translation should be uniform. It means liter.dly, an exath-d person, ai>d is applied
to the head ot a tribe, or other lar-re division of the people, whether of Israel or of other nations. Lange interprets it of
" the tribe chieftain/' referring to Num. iii. 24. As prince is on the whole the most common rendering of the A. V., and
expresses* very well the sense, it is retained here.

20 Ver. 23. The conjunction IX should be rendered if perhaps, Fuerst, G^senius. The Syr. renders by if, the LXX.
KO.I, Vulg. el pottea,.

21 Ver. 23. V^t^ = a he-goat, generally understood of one older than the ~]^y ' r y<>»ng he-goat used in the burnt

and peace-offerings (FuTst, Knobel). It is often rendered kid in the A. V. It is also rendered dn-il xvii. 7; 2 Hir. xi. 15,
where the ref rence is to th» idolatrous worship of the goat, (or goat-like deity) and twic< satyr in Isa. (xiii. 21 ; xxxiv. 14).
It is the kind of goat used in the sin-offering generally . tfochart supposes it to mean a goat of a peculiar breed ; so Keil.

22 Ver. 24. The Snm. puts the verb in the plural ; go als) in ver. 33.

23 Ver. 25. The LXX. and 4 MSS. have all ft is blond, as in the other places.

24 Ver. 27. There seems no occasion h< re to deviate from the literal translation which is retained *o far as "people of
the land " is concerned, in xx. 2, 4; 2 Ki. xi. 18, 19; xvi 15. It was the common name of the wuole people as distinguished
from the priests (in this case prol a<'ly from the high-priest) and the rulers.

25 Ver. 28. r\"V]?W is simply the feminine of the word discussed under ver. 23.

« Ver. 30. Two MSS., th»> Sam., and the Syr., unne ^sarily add "of burnt-offeiing." The Sam. and the LXX. make
the nme addition at the end of v r. 34.

CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-13. 39

31 bottom of the altar.26 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken
away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings ; and the priest shall b irn it upon the
altar for a sweet savour unto the LORD ; and the priest shall make an atonement for
him, and it shall be forgiven him.

32 And if he bring a lamb [a sheep27] for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female

33 without blemish. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin-offei ing,

34 and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. And
the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon
the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the [other] blood

35 thereof at the bottom of the altar : and he shall take away all the fat thereof, as
the fat of the lamb [sheep27] is taken away from the sacrifice of the pe ice offerings ;
and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to [upon28] the offerings
made by fire unto the LORD : and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin
that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

CHAP. V. 1. AND if a soul sin, and hear [in that he hear29] the voice of swearing
[adjuration30], and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it ; if he do not

2 utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. Or it'31 a soul touch any unclean thing,
whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast,3la or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the
carcass of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him ; he also shall be

3 unclean, and guilty. Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever unclean-
ness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him ; when he know-

4 eth of it, then he shall be guilty. Or if a soul swear, pronouncing [speaking idly32]
with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce
[speak idly32] with an oath, and it be hid from him ; when he knoweth of it, then

5 he shall be guilty in one of these. And it shall be, when he shall be guilt)33 in one

6 of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing: and he shall
bring his trespass offering [bring for his trespass34] unto the LORD, for his sin which
he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats [a sheep27 or
a she-goat25], for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him
concerning his sin.

7 And if he be not able35 to bring a lamb [sheep27], then he shall bring for his tres
pass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the

8 LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other f»r a burnt offering. And he shall
bring them unto the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin i ffering first,

9 and wring [pinch] off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder : and
he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the
rest of the blood shall be wrung [pressed36] out at the bottom of the altar : it is a

27 Ver. 32. &33 = a sheep, see Text, note 5 under iii. 7.

28 Ver. 35. sty'x ^y. The sense is here as in iii. 5 npw. These being sped il offerings, the daily bnrnt-cfferiug would

always have been upon the altar before them, and even if that were already wholly consumed, the expression " upon " ib
could still be natural y used.

29 CHAP. V. Ver. 1. "Particula 1 ante ni^t!' hie usurpatur ainoAo-ytKo)?, estque vertenda quia, e~> quod, nt Gen. xxvi.

T '• IT
12 ; Deut. xvii. 16." Rosenmueller.

30 Ver. 1. 71 /X- Commentators a~e generally agreed that this should be translated adjuration. The verb iu the Hiph.

T T

is translator! abjure in 1 Sam. xiv. 21. See Exeg. Com. The Hob. has no word for adjuration as distinct from sivearing. It
is expressed in the LXX. by opKitr/jLov.

31 Ver. 2. The full form would be 1K/X '3; accordingly the Sam. and some MSS. prefix "<3 here and add

in ver. 4. 3Ia Ver. 2. See note 1 on xi. 2.

32 Ver. 4. W33 1, NDT, *^ •«& idly, or ill-advisedly . Comp. /SaTToXoye'w Matt. vi. 7.

33 Ver. 5. For Q£7K' the Sam. and 20 MSS. here substitute

34 Ver. C. Dl^N, like nXDH, is used in the sense both of trespass and trespass-offering. The ancient versions leave

T T T ~

the question between them open. The Vu'g. has simply agaf p<"nitentiam, LXX. oicrei irepi £>v eTrArj/u/aeArjere (cvpio>, while
the S"mitic versions leave the same doubt as the Hebrew. Modern commentators are div ded, but. the weight of opinion
accords with the Exeg. Com. At the end of the verse the Sam. and t e LXX. have the fuller form, " and the prie t shall
make an atonement for him, for his sin which he hath sinn d, and it shnll be forgiven him."

85 Ver. 7. IT yin xVDKl lit. // his hand cannot acquire. The sense is well expressed by the A. V.

36 Ver. 9. ri¥Q' the translation of the A. V. wrung might answer here, but as the same word must be translate depressed

" T *

In 1. 15, it seems better to preserve uniformity.

LEVITICUS.

10 sin offering.37 And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the
manner [ordinance] : and the priest shall make an atonement lor him for his sin
\vhich he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.

11 But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that
sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin
offering : he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon :

12 for it is a sin offering.37 Then shall he bring it to the priest, and the priest shall
take his handful of it, even a memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, according

13 to [upon38] the offerings made by fire unto the Lord : it is a sin offering.37 And the
priest shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned in
one of these, and it shall be forgiven him : and the remnant shall be the priest's,
as a meat offering [an oblation39].

37 Vers. 9, 11, 12. The Sam. and many MSS. have the later feminine form of the pronoun KTI-

38 Vcr. 12. Sy = upon, as Hi. 5 ; iv. 35.

89 Yer. 13. Oblat'on. Comp. ii. 1, Textual Note 2, and Exeg. at beginning of ch. ii.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The formula by which this chapter is intro
duced—And the LORD spake unto Moses

— answering to i. 1, '2- \. 14; vi. 1; vi. 8, etc.,
marks this passage as a distinct portion of the
law. The offerings of chaps, i. — iii., when
brought by individuals, were all voluntary, and
are recognized as already familiar; but in chaps,
iv., v. sacrifices are appointed (no longer volun
tary) for certain offences, and these sacrifices
now for the first time receive names from the
purposes for which they were commanded — Sin
and Trespass offerings. These specialized sacri
fices were a creation of the Mosaic law, and are
therefore naturally placed after the more gene
ral sacrifices of chaps, i. — iii. Lange says also:
"The former class of sacrifices refer to innate
sinfulness, and in so far forth to the general par
ticipation in guilt of the offerer (on which ac
count throughout a "123, a covering of the offerer,
takes place) ; but does not have reference to pe
culiar personal transgressions to be atoned for by
the sin and trespass offerings." In the present
section we have to do only with the sin offering
(iv. 1 — v. 13) ; yet this and the trespass offering
are closely related, and are distinguished only
as the sin or the trespass comes into the fore
ground, so that the line of separation is not al
ways strongly marked, and in particular cases
might even be difficult to trace. "Sin is the
transgression of the law," and may involve no
further harm, and requires expiation only for its
own guilt; while trespass is wrong done to ano
ther (whether God or man), and involves not
only sacrifice for its sin, but also amends for its
harm. With neither were oblations or drink-
offerings allowed; and when, in case of extreme
poverty, flour was permitted as a sin-offering, it
must be without oil or frankincense (v. 11).

Lange takes a somewhat different view of the
relation of these two offerings, and consequently
of the proper analysis of this whole passage, iv.
1 — vi. 7. The substance of his views may be ga
thered from the headings of his several sub
divisions as follows: The Sin offering and the
Trespass offering (iv.— vi. 7). (a) The Sin-of
fering and the little Sin and Trespass offering
^iv.— v. 13). 1. The Sin offering (iv. 1-21). 2.

The little Sin offering (iv. 22-35). (b] The
Trespass offering. 1. The little Sin and Tres
pass offering, or the uncleanness of the common
people (v. 1-13). 2. The great Trespass offer
ing, or guilt offering (v. 1-1 — vi. 7). Accordingly
he says: "The following considerations may
serve somewhat to disentangle the question how
the sections of the sin offering and the trespass
offering are to be separated from one another,
and whether v. 1-13 treats of the sin offering or
of the trespass offering. There is, certainly, no
question that all sin is at the same time guilt, a
deed which has made itself into an actual state
of things which must be atoned for, or has be
come liable to punishment. And there is also no
question that guilt in general is also sin, although
as participation in guilt, it may be widely sepa
rated from the centre of sinfulness, as far as the
disappearing minimum, even until it is said of
the guiltless Messiah in Isa. liii. that He would
give his life as a trespass offering — Asham; and
from this arises also the possibility that two
classes may be formed in which the one empha
sizes sin as such, while the other emphasizes
more the state of guilt. The state of guilt may
be very trifling, as being accessory to a guilty
principal, or very evil as an original offence ; in
all cases it requires a proportionate penance
(not expiation) or satisfaction. From the inde
terminate character of the antithesis, it also
comes that there may be a transitional form be
tween the sin and the trespass offerings — a form
of sin offerings which, at the same time, becomes
elevated as a trespass offering. There are forms
of the predominating participation in guilt, and
one such we find in the section chap. v. 1-13.
On the other hand, in the strict trespass offer
ings which follow further on, we shall take up
all cases in which the offence against the holy
places and rights of Jehovah, or in regard to the
property of a neighbor, amount to an offence
that is a violation of right, which must be atoned
for by restitution, punishment and sacrifice.

"In chap. iv. 3 the sin of the High Priest
brings guilt on the people — that is, the guilt of
participation in guilt. Luther translates
DJ7H rrD12?J<7 that he scandalizes the people — a con
ception not very different from our own — viz.:
that he brings upon them liability of penalty and
punishment. So it is also with the congregation

CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-13.

of Israel: it becomes guilty through its sin
(ver. 13). So also with the noble (ver. 22). So
too, at last, wirh the common Israelite (ver.
27). Ought now the section chap. v. 1-13 to bd
(as Knobel) only an example to illustrate the
foregoing transaction in the case of the sin offer
ing of the common Israelite? Ver. 6 says:
And he shall bring his trespass offering
unto the LORD for his sin." [This is pro
bably the key to the whole view of Lange. If,
however, Dk-fX be here considered aa standing
not for trespass offering, but for trespass (see
Text, note 34 on verse 6), the view before given
seems preferable.] "It is true that botii vers.
11 and 12 repeat the statement that his offering
is a sin offering. But according to the context,
the meaning of this is that this sacrifice must be
treated entirely after the analogy of the sin of
fering. No incense nor oil are to be added to
this sacrifice. The same rule is applied to the
great trespass offerings that follow, chap. v.
14sq. The first instance, chap. v. 1, has pecu
liarly the character of participation in guilt.
The properly guilty person in this case is the
blasphemer; the participation in guilt comes
from a soul hearing the curse and not cleansing
itself from defilement by giving information.
The view of the Heidelberg Catechism, that "by
silence and looking on one may become a parti
cipant in such fearful sins," appears here. So
the touching a corpse is set with the unclean
states of men by its natural connection, and the
rash swearing, by traditional and common cus
tom. That which is spoken of in the special
greater crimes, as they are raised into a class by
themselves by the introduction in ver. 14, is the
gross violation of the law. Here, then, rightly
appear the actions in which a man is guilty
against Jehovah, i. e., against His holy things or
His law. The fraud of which the sinner has at
last become conscious must be atoned for in
most cases by a restitution which was increased
by one-fitth of the whole amount. But legal
restitution alone was not enough; it must be
preceded (without mentioning the trespass offer
ing elsewhere prescribed) by a costly sacrifice
of a ram worth two shekels. As religious atone-
m-nt was of little value alone, when social resti
tution was directed, so also restitution, as a sup
plementary payment, was of little worth without
religious atonement.

"Now, on the one hand, we must not mistake
the fact that the section chap. v. 14 sq. draws a
distinction between those faults which at the
same time have become debts or relate to custom*
(mostly legal transgressions of right, as viola
tions of the rights of property), and the purely
religious faults in which throughout (with the
exception of the case in chap. v. 17-19) the sin
ner has only to deal with God, and so far the
newer division must be consid« red right, as in
Knobel and Keil (and so also in Kurtz and
others). But, on the other hand, it must not be
overlooked that the subject has already been
about the offering of the Asham in the section v.
1 sq. [?], and this is in favor of the older opinion
which may be found in the headings of Stier's
translation. There is also no question tb?t to
reduce the whole guilt-idea to legal traasgres-
18

sions will obscure very much the guilt-idea in
the present case, as when Knobel wishes to
leave out of consideration the passage Isa. liii.
10, when he says "DiyX can be no actual tres-

T T

pass offering." According to Knobel, the
Asham arises from the rights of neighbors. But
here evidently it arises from the rights of Jeho
vah, which Keil also emphasizes, and Knobel
states indirectly. But we should rather say that
it arises from the absolute right which is consi
dered to be under Jehovah's protection, in hea
ven and earth, and which has been completely
confused with the guilt-idea itself in the theology
of the day, in which justice in its many forms is
travestied by " Good disposition " (the substan
tive and the adjective are allowed to evaporate
into the adverb). It would have been better to
have found the key to the conception of guilt in
Isa. liii. For just as the guilt of a sinner can
extend over a community, so also the exculpat on.
wrought by the Redeemer. The Di^X expresses
that man has become guilty, liable to punish
ment, towards Jehovah or towards his fellow-
man ; arid the emphasis lies so strongly on the
liability to punishment that the same word de
notes at the same time satisfaction; and con
versely, the Hiphil means not merely to give sa
tisfaction, but also to bring over others the ban
of guilt as a penalty. As concerns the varying
distinction between the respective sections, we
must especially notice that one must proceed
from the distinction between the universal guilt
idea and the conception of a legal fault, falling
into the theocratic judicial sphere. If this dif
ference be held to, we can certainly establish
the newer division; for in the ritual of sa
crifice the distinction between the sin and
trespass offerings is not to be mistaken. Kno
bel has stated this difference accurately, p. 394
pq. It is properly made prominent that the
trespass-offering — as a religious offence makes
the forgiveness of God necessary — may also be
a sin-offering, so that it is frequently cited as a
sin-offering " The trespass-offering, it may
then be said, was always available only for the
single Israelite, and was the same for all; wMle
the sin-offering served also for the whole people,
and varied according to the standing of the sin
ner in the Theocracy ; the trespass-offering con
sisted always of sheep, while in the sin-offering
all sacrificial animals were allowed ; the tres
pass-offering must be worth a definite price, and
was not modified, in the case of those who were
unable to offer it, to a pair of doves or a meat
offering, as was the sin-offering; in the trespass-
offering, as in the burnt-offering and thank-
offering, the blood was sprinkled on the side of
the altar of burnt offering (vii. 2) ; in the sin-
offering, on the other hand, departing from the
custom in all other sacrifices, it was brought
before God (iv. 5); the flesh in the trespass-
offering always belonged to the priest (vii. 6),
while in the more especial sin-offerings it was
burned." Then the distinction of the occasions
may be expressed as follows: 1) DISHONESTY
against the revenues of the priests, as against,
the holy things of Jehovah. 2) DISHONESTY in
the due fidelity towards a neighbor (in a trust,
in a deposit, in property found). 3) DISHONEST

LEVITICUS.

use of auth rity over a maid betrothed to ano
ther man (xix. '20). 4) DEFRAUDING in regard
to the preference of the daughters of Israel over
heathen women (Ezra x. 19). Besides tbese,
the VIOLATION of the Ark of the Covenant by the
Philistines (1 Sam. vi. 3) ; IMPERILLING the con
gregation by the contagious leprosy (xiv. 12) ;
DEFILEMENT of the Nazarite, as weakening the
inviolability of his vow (Num. vi. 12). "Ac
cording to these examples the ti-pspass-offering
is distinguished from the sin-offering in the fol
lowing manner: it arises from the right of a
neighbor, and rests upon a violation of this
right." But Jehovah too claims satisfaction,
" since He has fixed the rights of those pertain
ing to Him." Or also the right simply claims
satisfaction: a particular instance is the case
of a guilty person who lias gone astray, through
oversight or heedlessness, in a way that is
known to no one but himself; who afterwards
has an uneasy conscience, and then feels him
self burdened by his misdeed, and becomes con
scious of his guilt (v. 17, 18). Otherwise in
deed, he would be unable to atone, for instance,
for his false oath. With the former division
one could with propriety reverse the designa
tions, and t.rm the sin-offering the trespass-
oifering, and the trespass-offering for the most
part the sin-offering, the offering for real and
ideal transgressions of right. In this confusion
of ideas the manifold differences are not too
prominent as they are cited in Knobel, p. 396,
Keil, p. (53) 310, Winer (Schuld und Sundop-
fer) and others. If we go back briefly to the
ideal distinctions: sin, as sin, is indeed guilt,
/car' i^ox'tv, the particular evil deed ; guilt, as
such, on the contrary, is the entire effect, of sin
in its cosmic sphere from the bad conscience
even to death, to Sheol, to Hell. Guilt, as such,
falls within the circle of evil, although the axiom
" guilt is the greatest of evils" refers to sin.
The sinfulness in guilt is the temptation to fur
ther sinfulness; it has, however, also a natural
influence, according to which it reacts upon sin.
See the article " Schuld" in Herzog's Rcal-
encyclopadie. Guilt rests in the legal effect, there
must be satisfaction for it ; in the ethical effect,
evil consciencj, false position towards God,
temptation to new sin; in the social effect, it lies
as a burden upon the sphere of life that Bur-
rounds the sinner, whether he be high or low ;
in the generic effect, it is visited upon the chil
dren of the fathers, and becomes a universal
might, a cosmic evil. Sin is solitary, guilt is
common ("forgive us our trespasses"). It is
obvious that sin in all cases is originally guilt;
but guilt in distinction from sin is, in many
cases, only participation in sin — accessnriness.
Even in the section of the great trespass-offer
ing, the force of participation in guilt may not
be entirely wanting, for the severity of the Le-
vitical relations, the temptations which adhered
to the church goods and lands, to property,
come into consideration. Under the law the
ignorant man is touched en all sides, and is thus
constituted in some measure a sinner, an acces
sory through greater sinners who made the law
necessary. Sin is like a stone cast into a lake ;
guilt like the wave-circles which go out from it,
the circumference of that evil centre. Sin, in

its consequences, is ideally an infinitum, enmity
against God ; guilt, in itself considered, is a
self-consuming finilum, so far as it is not changed
into a curse by its constant reciprocity with sin.
Sin can only be done away through toe reconci
liation of person to person; it requires repent
ance. Guilt is to be done away by means of
atonement (voluntary penance, not expiati. n),
personal or vicarious restitution; for, on the
one hand, this of course is preliminary to the
completed reconciliation, and, on the other
hand, that breaks the way for expiation. See
the history of Jacob: the vision of the heavenly
ladder preceded the wrestling at the Jabbok.
Keil says somewhat differently: "As in the
sin-offering the id* a of expiation or atonement
for sin, indicated in the sprinkling of blood,
comes forward, so in the trespass-offering we
find the idea of satisfaction for the purpose of
restoring the violated righ'ful order."

In what follows, the views previously pre
sented will be followed, since the rendering of
Q2?X by trespass rather than by trespass-offering
in v. 6 renders it unnecessary to enter upon
much of the nice distinctions here drawn by
Lange, and enables us clearly to separate the
sections of the sin and the trespass-offering.

Lange continues: " Ch. iv 1. Sin, r\X£5n,
as missing, is in Leviticus more particularly
missing in regard to the holy fellowship with
the holy God through transgression of His com
mand or violation of the reverence due Him.
It must, as debt, be paid for by punishment.
It makes the sinner unclean, so that he cannot
appear in God's fellowship, and hence unclean-
ness is a symbolic representation of sin, and the
unclean needs, when cleansed, a sin-offering for
a token and sign of his cleanness. It is under
stood that, the sin offering that was introduced
into the law by Moses preceded the given law;
and so it is easily to be supposed that voluntary
sin-offerings from compulsion of conscience
most probably must be as old as the sacrifice
in general, as certainly in the Passover the
force of the sin offering may be plainly recog
nized." — [Lange must mean that the more gene
ral sacrifices of old often included within them
the idea of the sin offering, as they did of every
other sacrifice; but the specialized sin offering
itself, as already pointed out, is not mentioned
before Ex. xxix. 14, nor is there any evidence
that it was used or known at an earlier date.] —
" On the extra-theocratic sin offering see Kno
bel, p. 386. But it is not correct to see with
Knobel in the death of the sacrificial animal an
actual satisfactio vicaria of the sinner, or to find
in the death of the animal the expression that
the offerer had already deserved death. In
regard to the first point, the sac'ificial animal
furnishes only in the symbolical sense what the
offerer ought to furnish personally, but cannot.
And as to the second point, the death-punish
ment, in the peace-offering, it is self-evident,
that the reference could not be to the punish
ment of death, and also in the sin-offering the
difference between the Chercm" [D^n^ a curse,

a thing devoted to destruction] "and the propi-
t'ation through the sacrifice must be considered.
That the divine Justice should have punished

CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-12.

fin inadvertence, njJ^S, with death is an ov^r-
straining of the confession (with which the sac-
rificer appeared before God), that by this over
sight or going astray he had entered the paths
of death,* as this idea indeed belongs to par
donable sin. Otherwise an arbitrary distinction
would have to be drawn between sin with up
lifted hand, and sin from inadvertence, under
which head must be understood not only sins of
ignorance and precipitation, but also natural
weakness and heedlessness. The turning point
of these sins lay in contrition. But the sacri-
ticer could in reality hardly satisfy the theocratic
order by his sacrifice; on the religious side his
sacrifice was thus a CQnfession of his inability
»o satisfy, an appeal for mercy; and hence the
sacrifice became a typical prophetic movement
towards the future satisfaction "

The sins for which sin offerings were to be
presented were offences against, the Divine law
much more in its moral than in its ceremonial
aspect. Great offences against civil society, such
as involuntary manslaughter (Num. xxxv. 10-15;
Deut. xix. 1-10), did not, come within the scope
of these sacrifices ; ami minor breaches of the
ceremonial law, such as uncleanness from contact
with the dead bodies of animals (Lev. xi. 24, 28)
or men (Num. xix. 11,19,20), were otherwise pro
vided for. The sin offering had relation much
more to the individual conscience than to the
theocratic state or the peculiar Hebrew polity.
In Num. xv. 29 its privileges are expressly ex
tended to the " stranger." But it was not allowe 1
to be offered in cases where no true penitence
could be supposed to exist, and it was therefore
not permitted in the case of presumptuous or
defiant sins (Num. xv. 30, 31).

The idea of vicarious satisfaction necessarily
appears more clearly in this specialized offering
for sin than in other sacrifices which were either
more general in their character, or specialized
for other purposes. (The word DXDn occurs
several times in Genesis in the sense of sin, but
never in the sense of sin offering ', before Ex. xxix.
14). Hence, in view of the intrinsic insufficiency
of animal victims to atone for moral offences, this
sacrifice was emphatically typical of the true
Sacrifice for sin to come. The object of all the
divine dealings with man has been his restora
tion to communion with God by the restoration
of his holiness; and the first step to this end
was necessarily the putting away of his sin.
Under the old dispensation, therefore, the typi
cal sin offering was the culmination of its whole
system, presemed in the most emphatic form on
the great day of atonement (chap, xvi.); just as
under the new dispensation the culmination of
Christ's work for the redemption of His people
was His atoning sacrifice of Himself upon the
Cross of Calvary.

Unlike the preceding sacrifices, the victim in
the sirr offering varied according to the offender's
rank in the theocracy. The ground of this is to
be sought in the conspicuousness of the offence,
not at, all in its grossness. ilere, as elsewhere,

: "It is also a straining of the t-xt to render the words:
"in the day that thon eatost thereof, thou shalt surely die,"
as meaning "thou "halt actually die the death." Religio-
moral de-ith realizes itself gradually. Indeed, the principle
of death is the germ of deith its-lf."

there was no correlation between the value of
the victim and the magnitude of the sin. Every
sin, great or small, of the same class of persons
was expiated by the same means; a victim of
higher value was only required in consequence
of official responsibility and position, and the
consequently greater strain which offences
brought upon the theocracy. There was no
such gradation in the Trespass offering, which
was related more to the harm done than to the
sin committed. Four grades are prescribed:
for the sin — (1) of the high-priest (3-12); (2)
of the whole congregation (13-21); (3) of a
prince (22-26) ; (4) of any of the people of the
land (27-35). After this follows an enumeration
of special sins for which confession should be
made and sin offerings offered (v. 1-6), with the
allowance of inferior offerings in case of poverty
(7-13).

Vers. 1, 2. The general condition of the sin
offering.

Ver. 2. Speak unto the children of Israel.
— It is always to be remembered that these laws
are given to a people already in covenant rela
tion to God, and the essential point of that cove
nant was the promise of the final victory over
sin in the person of "the seed of the woman.1'
The laws given until He should come are therefore
necessarily based upon His coining, and look
forward to Him.

Any of the commandments. — bb.p in a
partitive sense. At the close of this verse mu«t
be understood some such clause as he shaU bring
an offering for //is sin. The actual apodbsis of t lie
verse is the whole following chapter, and not
ver. 3, which relates only to the high-priest.

Vers. 3-12. The sin offering of the high-priest.
Lange here says : "It must be noticed that tin
high-priest could become the most guilty of all,
which the haughtiness of the hierarchy never
thought of enough ; that the whole congregation
was rated as one personality equal in rank to
him ; that the prince was only considered slightly
greater than the common man (the difference is
he goats, she goats, or an ewe) ; and that for the
poor, in the section v. 1-13, there were two more
peculiar modifications."

Ver. 3. The priest that is anointed.—
LXX.: apxiepsvc, N31 XJH3 = high-priest, Tar-
gums. The high-priest is so called by reason
of the peculiar authority by which he alone wag
consecrated to his office (Ex. xxix. 7; chap. viii.
12). The anointing of all the priests was indeed
expressly commanded (Ex. xxviii 41; xl. 15),
and is recognized as having taken place vii. 36;
x. 7 ; Num. iii. 3 ; yet in the account of the con
secration, chap, viii., no other anointing of th«
common priests is mentioned than that Moses
sprinkled both them and Aaron with "the an
ointing oil" and the blood from the altar. Ac
cording to the best Jewish authorities, however,
the priests were anointed with the finger upon
the forehead. Outrani places the distinction in
the fact that each successive high-priest was per
sonally anointed, while the others were only an
ointed once for all in the persons of Aaron's im-
mediat^ sons. Whatever may be the truth in re
gard to these things, the high-priest is evidently
regarded in a peculiar sense as anointed, and is

LEVITICUS.

generally designated in Lev. (iv. 5, 16; vi. 22;
xvi. 32) as the anointed priest. He is also

called the VlUH \T\3T\=2great priest (xxi. 10;
Num. xxxv. 25,T286zs; Josh. xx. 6), and in later
times the head or chief priest (2 Kings xxv. 18;
he riest /car' kv

2 Chr. xix. 11), or simply the priest, /car
(1 Kings ii. 35, etc.}.

Do sin.— Origen (Horn. II. in Lev. §1) ob
serves that inadvertence is not specified in the
case of the high-priest. It must, of course, be
supposed in view of the general principles on
which sacrifices were allowed at, all ; but it pro
bably was not written in the law that, the in
firmity of the high-priest might not be made too
prominent. .

To the guilt of the people, UVJ n»fifon—
i. e., to bring upon the people the guilt of his own
transgression. It is an undue restriction of the
sense of these words to limit them to the sins
committed by the high-priest in his official capa
city. Such sins, of course, did brin^ guilt upon
the people (Lev. x. 17; Mai. ii. 7, 8); but over
and above this, nothing can be clearer in his
tory, both under the old covenant and in the
world at large, than that God had so constituted
men with a federal as well as individual relation,
that the sins of the head, whether of the nation,
the community, or the family, entail suffering
upon its members. The high-priest as the head
of the theocracy could not sin, but that the whole
body of Israel should feel its effects. The dis
tinction may indeed be made between natural
and mora*l consequences, between earthly and
future punishments ; still the two things are so
intimately connected, a debasing of the moral
sense of the community is so much the effect of
the unfaithfulness of its head that the spiritual
condition of the Israelites, following the general
law, was largely affected by that of their higli-
priest, so that his sins did indeed "bring guilt
upon the people."

A young bullock without blemish. —
The high- priest's sin offering was the same as
that of the whole congregation (ver. 14), not
merely because of the conspicuousness of his po
sition and of the gravity of sin in one who should
be the leader to all holiness; but especially (see
ver. 3) because of his representative character
and his federal headship mentioned above. Ac
cording to Jewish tradition, if the bullock of the
high-priest and the bullock of the congregation
stood together ready for sin offerings, the former
had the preference in every way. There was a
careful gradation of the victims for the sin offer
ing : the high priest and the whole congregation
offered a male — a young bullock; the prince of
fered also a male, but of the goats (ver. 23) ;
the people offered a female of either the goats
(ver. 28) or the sheep (ver. 32). There was also
a corresponding gradation, but with fewer
steps, in the ritual in regard to the blood, and
also in the disposition of the flesh. See below.

Ver. 4. The presentation, laying on of hands,
and slaughtering, were the same (vers. 4. 14,
15, 23, 24), as in the case of other sacrifices
(i. 3-5).

Vers. 5-7. And the priest that is anointed
shall take. — At the point of the treatment of the
blood the difference between the ritual of the sin

offerings and the other sacrifices begins, and this
treatment differs somewhat in the several sin of
ferings themselves. In this case, the high-
priest, who was himself the offerer, brought
some of the blood to the tabernacle of the con
gregation ; afterwards the person officiating is
designated simply the priest. From this it has
been argued that, as the high-priest was the one
whose sin was to be atoned for, the service was
here taken up on his behalf by another priest;
but there is precisely the same change at the
ame point in the following offering for the
vhole congregation (vers. 10, 17), and the high-
priest certainly officiated throughout on the great
lay of atonement (chap, xvi.); moreover, the
fact of his offering the sin offering for himself as
veil as for the people is established by Heb.
v. 3.

Ver. 6. Sprinkle of the blood. — The word
in is different from p]H used for sprinkle in
chaps, i. and iii. in view of the much smaller
quantity of blood used here. It is difficult to
express this in English translation, though the
lifference is observed in the LXX. and Vulg.

Seven times. — The seven fold sprinkling of
blood is frequently commanded (ver. 17: xvi. 17,
19; Num. xix. 4) always in connection with sin
offering, or (xiv. 7, 27) with the purification of
eprosy. In consecrations, too, there was a
seven-fold sprinkling of oil (viii. 11 ; xiv. 16), and
frequently the number seven is designated for
tho victims in sacrifice (xxiii. 18; Num. xxiii.
1,4,14,29; xxviii. II, 19, 27; xxix. 2, 8, 13,
36). The same number also appears in many
ther particulars connected with the divine ser
vice, and has always been considered as symbo
lical of completeness and perfection. The num
ber is so frequent in the divine word, as well as
in the ordering of nature, that it must be thought
to have its foundation in some unfathomable
heavenly relations. Its use in connection with
the sin offering is plainly to give emphasis to the
typical completeness of the propitiation.

Before the veil of the sanctuary. — There
is a variety of opinion as to precisely where the
blood was sprinkled. The LXX : nard TO mara-
TTETaa/Lia, and the Vulg.: contra velum, seem to
have supposed it was upon the veil itself. It
is more probable that the high-priest, dipping
his finger in the blood at the entrance of the
sanctuary, sprinkled it before him towards the
veil as he advanced to the altar of incense. The
object was plainly the presenting of the blood
before Jehovah, the manifestation of whose pre
sence was on the ark just within the veil. " The
objective point was not the veil, but the ark of
the covenant." Lange.

Ver. 7. Upon the horns of the altar of
sweet incense— the golden altar which stood
immediately before the veil. It was only in the
case of the sin-offerings for the high-pri- st and
for the whole people (ver. 18) that the blood was
brought to this altar — doubtless on account of
the especial gravity of the sins to be atoned for;
in case of the other sin offerings the blood was
put on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering,
(vers. 25, 30, 34) which stood in the court with
out. It was to be put in either case upon the
horns of the altar because in these the signifi
cance of the altar culminated, and in the sin

CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-13.

offering, as has already appeared, and will still
more fully appear, the utmost emphasis was to
be given to every part of the ritual of propitia
tion.

Shall pour all the blood.— But very little
of the blood had thus far been used ; the re
mainder — all the blood — was to he poured out at
the foot of the altar of burnt-offering, the place
to which all blood of the sacrifices not otherwise
required was to be brought; it had no sacrificial
significance. During the life in the wilderness
the blood of the comparatively small number of
sacrifices was here absorbed by the earth ; later,
in the temple conduits were arranged by which
it was carried off into the valley of the Kedron.

Vers. 8-10. The fat of the sin offering was
to be treated in the same way as that of the
peace offering, only that it is not said that it
shall be burned " upon the burnt offering " since
when both were offered the sin offering came
first (xvi. 11, 15, 24) ; neither is the burning
of the fat described as " an offering made by
fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD."

Vers. 11, 12. The disposition of the rest of
the victim, i. e., of the whole animal except
the blood and the fat, was the same in the
sin offering of the high-priest and of the whole
congregation (vers. 20, 21). The difference in
the treatment of the flesh of these from that of
other sin offerings is determined by the treat
ment of the blooi (vi. 30). When the blood had
been brought within the sanctuary, the flesh
must be wholly burned ; yet not burned as a sa
crifice, the word 12? being never used in that

Without the camp.— No flesh of a sin-offer
ing might be burned upon the altar, because the
nature of the offering was purely propitiatory,
and it did not admit of being so used as to be
called "the food of the offering made by fire
unto the Lord " (see on iii. 11). It is described
as " most holy" (vi. 25), and unlike the flesh of
any other sacrifice atl'ected everything with
which it came in contact (vi. 26-28) ; whatever
it touched must either be destroyed or specially
purified. This was the law for all siu-offering->,
and a further law comes into play in regard to
those sacrifices (that of the high-priest and that
of the whole congregation) whose blood was
brought within the sanctuary (vi. 30). Their
fl :sh was strictly forbidden to be eaten; and it
remained that it must be destroyed in some other
way. Hence the command 'hat it should be
"burned witkout the camp." Yet this was not
a mere convenience, resorted to because there
was nothing else to be done with it. The burn
ing without the camp had a deep symbolical
teaching of sufficient prominence to be referred
to in Heb. xiii. 11, 12, and applied to Christ.
The ground of the law seems to he that the flesh
of all sin offerings was in a peculiar sense " holy"
— devoted, under the ban — because they were
for the propitiation for sin; yet, a gradation was
to be observed between them in this as in other
respects. Their bbod had been offered before
the Lord, but when the blood had been offered
in a more peculiar and emphatic way by bring
ing it within the sanctuary itself; a correspond
ing emphasis must mark the treatment of the

flesh by carrying it forth to burn without the
camp. The red heifer, whose ashes were to be
used for purification, (Num. xix.) was to be
burned in the same way. The sinfulness of sin
and the importance and sacredness of everything
connected with its propitiation were thus set be
fore 'he people in the strongest light.

Unto a clean place — not carelessly any
where, lest it might happen to be to an "un
clean place" (xiv. 40) ; but where the ashes
are poured out, which was not merely "clean,"
but being used only in connection with sacred
things, had itself acquired a certain sacred as
sociation. The word ^t?, as already noted, in
dicates that the burning itself was not sacrificial.
The same word is used for the burning of the
red heifer, Num. xix. 5. No especial sin offer
ing is provided for the ordinary priest, It was
the spirit of the law to have as little as possible
of the ca^te relation about the priests, and in all
matters in which they were not necessarily se
parated by their official functions, to treat them
as ordinary citizens. Their sin-offering was
doubtless the same with that of " any one of the
people of the land."

Vers. 13-21. The sin-offering of the whole
congregation.

If the whole congregation of Israel sin.
— Prominent among the ways in which a whole
congregation might sin are these : The civil
luler might do that which involved the nation in
sin, and brought down punishment upon it, as
in Saul's slaughter of the Gibeonites, or David's
numbering of the people ; a single individual by
an act which caused a breach of the divine com
mands given to the whole people, might bring
sin upon them all, as in the case of Achan, Josh,
vii. 1 ; or the people generally might commit
some special sin, as in 1 Sam. xiv. 32, or fall
into some habitual neglect of the divine com
mands, as in regard to the Sabbatical year (2
Chr. xxxvi. 21), and the neglect of tithes and
offerings for which they are so frequently re
proved by the lator prophets.

Through inadvertence. — There were two
kinds of such sin : first, inadvertence of conduct,
where the sinfulness of the act would be ac
knowledged when attention was called to it ; and
secondly, inadvertence of the law, when the act
would not be known to be sinful until the law
had been explained. In either case there would
be no consciousness or intention of sin, and the
thing would be hid from the eyes of the
assembly.

And are guilty. — Every transgression of the
divine law brought guilt, whether through a
faulty heedlessness of conduct, or a criminal
ignorance of the law which had been given.
This principle is abundantly recognized in the
New Testament.

Vers. 14-21. The ritual of the sin offering for
the whole congregation is the same as that for
the high-priest. The victim prescribed here is
a bullock ; in Num. xv. 24 a kid in addition is
required for sins of inadvertence of the congre
gation. Either the law was modified, which
seems unlikely, or else the two requirements
have reference to some distinction in the occa
sion or character of the sin, such as in one case

LEVITICUS.

sins of omission, in the other of commission.
There was also another and very peculiar sin-
offering; for the congregation prescribed on the
especial occasion of the great day of atonement
(xvi. 5). The high- priest's sin offering is there
unchanged; but that for the people is highly
altered in view of the especial purpose of the
day.

Ver. 15. The elders— since the congregation
could only perform the acts required of the of
ferer by means of their representatives.

Ver. 20. And the priest shall make an
atonement for them, and it shall be for
given them. — This naturally was not said in
resrard to the high-Driest' s own s<n offering, but
is repeated in connection with those that, follow
(vers. 26, 31, 35; v. 6, 10, 13), and elsewhere in
the same connection (Num. xv. 25, 28); also in
connection with the trespass offering (v. 16, 18;
vi. 7; xix. 22). It is also used in connection
with the purificatory offerings, the change being
m ule from forgiveness to cleansing as the result of
th^ atonemont (xii. 7, 8; xiv. 20, 53; Num. viii.
21). The use of the simpler form "make atone
ment for him" in connection with the burnt-
offering has already been noticed. The priest
in these cases unquestionably acted, and was un
derstood by the people to act, in a mediatorial
capacity. "^33. as noticed under i. 4, means
literally, to cover, to put out of sight, to hide. What
is promised here is of course not that God will
cause to be undone the wrong that has been
done ; but that He will so put it out of His sight
that the sinner may stand without fault in His
presence. See the various expressions to this
effect in the prophets, e.g., Ps. Ixxxv. 2; ciii.
12; xxxviii. 17; xliii. 25; xliv. 22; Jer. xxxi.
34; Ezck. xviii. 22; xxxiii. 16; Mic. vii. 18,19,
etc. This atonement was thus effectual in re
moving the guilt of all transgression (other than
wilful) against the divine law. Hence the effi
cacy of the sin-offering could only have been de
rived from its typical relation to Him who was
the Propitiation for the sins of the whole Avorld.
(1 Jno. ii. 2).

Vers. 22-26. The sin offering for a Prince.

The ritual in this case differs from that in the
previous cases, first in the selection of the vic
tim, which must now be a he-goat instead of a
bullock: and secondly, in that the blood was not
presented within the sanctuary, which involved
consequently a difference in the disposition of
the flesh.

Ver. 24. In the place where they kill the
burnt offering — i. e., the burnt-offering <;of
the flock." on the north side of the altar, i. 11.

Ver. 25. The horns of the altar of burnt
offering — In this and the following cases, as
the sin was less extensive in its effects, so the
ritual was far more simple. There was no
sprinkling of blood before the veil, and the great
altar in the court was substituted for the altar
of incense within the sanctuary. The fat was
burned as before; on the disposition of the flesh,
see vi. 26-29.

Vers. 27-35. The sin offering for one of the
people.

In this case the victim is changed to a female,
but the ritual remains the same iu all respects

as in the sin offering of the prince. An option
was allowed as to the victim whether it should
be of the goats, which seems to have been pre
ferred' (vers. 28-31). or of the sheep (vs. 32-35).

Chap. v. 1-13- Certain specified sins and the
sin-offering for them.

There is a difference of opinion among com
mentators as to whether this section should be
connected with the sin-offerings which precede,
or with the trespass offerings which follow. See
LangVs discussion under iv. 1. The chief ar
gument for the latter is from the use of the
word IDC/X, ver. 6 (see below), which, however,
rightly understood, does not bear out the infer
ence. On the othjr hand, these verses are dis-
tinc'ly a part of the same divine communication
begun iv. 1, while another begins at v. 14 ; the
word sin-offering is expressly used throughout
(vers. 6, 7, 9, 11); and the idea of compensation
for the harm done, prominent in the trespass
offering (especially ver. 16), only slightly ap
pears (ver. 6) in these offerings. They are
reckoned with the sin offerings by Knobel and
Keil. They may perhaps be c«. nsidered as some
what intermediate between the ordinary sin
offering and the trespass offering, yet belonging
in the category of the former. The sins for
which they were to be offered were of a less
flagrant character than those of ch. iv.

Four particular cases of inadvertent sins are
first mentioned, vers. 1-4 (for vers. 2 and 3 are
clearly to be distinguished) ; and then confession
(ver. 5) and an offering (vers. 6-13) is required
for each. The normal offering is prescribed in
ver. 6, a substitute allowed in case of poverty,
vers. 7-10, and a further substitute in case of
extreme poverty, vers. 11-13. Only in regard to
these substitutes is the ritual given, that for the
normal sin offering having been already de
scribed in ch. iv.

Ver. 1. The case here specified is that of a
witness put upon oath, who withholds testimony
as to that which is within his own certain know
ledge — "ij; Will. It is the omission, according

to our phraseology, " to tell the whole truth."
It may cover n\*o the case of neglect to testify
when a public demand for information has been
made with an adjuration; St. Augustine (Quest.
in Lev. I.) and 1'heodoret extend it also to the
case of hearing testimony, known to be false,
given under oa;h. The case of giving positive
false witness is quite a different one, and is
treated in Deut. xix. 10-19.

Adjuration. — In the forms of Jewish trial,
the witness did not himself utter the oath, or
express his assent to it, but was adjured by the
magistrate. Comp. Matt. xxvi. 63 ; 2 Chron.
xviii. 15.

Whether he hath seen or known.— This
covers both the cases of eye-witness and of
knowledge derived from any other source.

Bear his iniquity. — Until purged in the
way herein provided. The expression is a very
common one in the law (vii. 18; xvii. 16; xix.
8; xx. 17; xxiv. 15; Num. v. 31; ix. 13;
xiv. 33, 34, etc.), ami means that he shall endure
the punishment, of the sin, whether in its natural
consequences or in positive inflictions. It is
used both with reference to capital sins and also

CHAP. IV. 1-35— V. 1-13.

to those which might be expiated by sacrifice.
If the sacrifice were not offered, the sinner mast
bear the consequences of his sin. In this case
confession (ver. 5) was a necessary condition of
the sin-offering; therefore if he do not utter
it, for without this there could be no desire to
be again at one with God, and hence no place
for the offering of sacrifice.

Ver. 2. The second case is that of uncleanness
from touching the carcase of any unclean ani
mal, and was a sin of a ceremonial character.

It be hidden from him. — For the unclean-
ness of this and the following verse simple and
speedy forms of purification were provided in
ease immediate action were taken (xi. 24, 25, 28,
39, 40; xv. 5, 8, 21 ; Num. xix. 22) ; but if it
were neglected or unobserved, the defilement
still actually existed, and as the offender was in
danger of communicating his own uncleanness
to others, and also of constant violation of the
precepts of the law, it must be expiated by sac
rifice. On the connection between uncleanness
and sin, see preliminary note to ch. xi.

Ver. 3. Orif he touch the uncleanness of
man. — A special case is made of this in order,
as everywhere in the law, to emphasize the dis
tinction between man and the lower animals.
Thus while observed impurity from contact with
the carcase of an unclean animal was removed
at even after washing the clothes (xi. 24, etc.],
and neglected might be expiated by the sin-
offering, the impurity from contact with the
human dead body continued seven days, and
required repeated purifications (Num. xix. 11-
16) ; and neglected, the offender defiled the j
tabernacle, and must " be cut off from Israel."
The various kinds of uncleanness in man are
detailed in chs. xi.-xv.

When he knoweth of it. — This expression
is to be taken in connection with the " it be hid
den from him" of ver. 2. Of course while the
defilement, was "hidden" there could be no
consciousness of guilt, nor of moral sin ; yet the
transgression of the law was an existing fact,
and entailed its consequence?. When it was
brought to the offender's knowledge, then he
was guilty in the further sense that he was
bound to remove the already existing guilt by
confession and sacrifice.

Ver. 4. The fourth aud last case specified is
that of careless or forgotten oaths, not embra
cing the breach of the third commandment; but
the neglect or forgetfulness to perform an oath
(such as might be uttered in recklessness or
passion).— To do evil, or to do good. — That
is to do anything whatever. Comp. Num. xxiv.
13 ; Isa. xli. 23.

Ver. 5. And it shall be, when. — A form
to introduce the apodosis to each of the previous
verses.

He shall confess. — This applies to the par
ticular sins mentioned in the foregoing verses,
not to the sin-offering in general. It is also
required in the case of the trespass offering,
Num. v. 6, 7. According to Jewish tradition a
prayer and confession accompanied the laying
on of the hand in all offerings. This is a dis
tinct acknowledgment of the particular fault,
apparently before presenting the victim.

Ver. 6. Bring for his trespass.— The He

brew being exactly the same as in the following
verse, it seems better to give the same transla
tion. The A. V. has also the same translation in
vers. 15 and 25 (vi. 6). The phrase is thus parallel
to, and in apposition with, for his sin which
he hath sinned. The sacrifice for this is
expressly called a sin offering in this verse and
vers. 7, 11, 12. By this rendering the sin an I
the trespass offerings are kept distinct as they
were certainly intended to be.

A female from the flock. — The victim and
the ritual are precisely .the same as in the sin
offering for "one of the people of the land,"
and probably vers. 1-4 are intended to apply
only to sins committed by them.

Vers. 7-10. The alternative offering of the
poor.

As in the case of the voluntary burnt offering
(i. 14-17), so in this of the required sin offering,
the poor are allowed to bring pigeons or turtle
doves.

One for a sin offering, and the other for
a burnt offering. — The two together evidently
constitute the full sin-offering; but they are
called by these names because the treatment of
the two birds was different, and each after the
analogy of the offering from which it is named.
The bird being too small to admit of its parts
being disposed of as a sin offering, two were
required, oneof which was undoubtedly (although
tins is not expressed) to be eaten by the priest,
as is stated in the Mishna, after the fashion of
the flesh of the sin offering (vi. 26, 29; vii. 7);
the other was to be burned on the altar like the
fat of that sacrifice.

Ver. 8. Pinch off the head. — See under i.
1-5, In this case the head was not to be entirely
separated, but pinched off enough to allow the
blood to flow and to kill the bird.

Ver. 9. Sprinkle of the blood. — This was
not done in the case of the bird for the burnt-
cffering. It could easily be accomplished by
swinging the bleeding bird against the side of
the altar.

Pressed out at the bottom. — Where the
blood of the other sin offerings was poured. In
the burnt offering this blood (i. 15) was pressed
out against the side of the altar.

Ver. 10. The rituil of the second bird was to
be the same as when birds were offered for a
burnt offering (i. 15-17). The two birds toge
ther constituted a complete sin offering. From,
the fact, however, that two were required, it is
plain that the part of the offering not required
to be consumed upon the altar was still essential
to the sacrifice.

Vers. 11-13. The second alternative for the
extremely poor.

This was allowed, on account of the absolute
necessity of the sin offering, in order to put it
within the reach of all. Lange notes that the
sins specified in tbia section are, for the most
part, sins arising from the lown'ess and rudeness
of the inferior people : the law seeks to refine
them. Still it is to be remembered that this
alternative offering was not. only for the sins
mentioned v. 1-13, but for all sins reached by
the sin offering. The fact that it was unbloody
is not opposed to the general significance of the
sheddirg of blood in connection with the remia-

LEVITICUS.

sion of sin (Hob. ix. 22), since this alternative
was altogether of an exceptional character and
allowed only in case of necessity. It was also
supplemented by the general sin offering on the
great day of atonement.

The tenth part of an Ephah.— The Ephah
according to Josephus was about 1 1-9 bushels ;
according to the Rabbins, rather less than half
that amount. The tenth of an Ephah (called an
Omer, Ex. xvi. 36) was therefore, according to
the lower and more probable estimate, very
nearly three pints and a half.

He shall put no oil upon it. — The sin-
offering of flour was sharply distinguished from
the oblation of the same (ii, 5) by the absence
of the oil and frankincense, just as the other
sin offerings were marked by the absence of the
oblations. In both cases, the difference indi
cates that the offerer stood in a different rela
tion towar 1 God, not that of one in communion
with Him, but of one seeking atonement for the
sin which separated from Him.

Ver. 12. On the "handful" and "memorial"
see on ii. 2.

Ver. 13. In one of these. — As in ver. 5,
one of the sins specified, vers. 1-4.

As an oblation, *. ?. as most holy. Comp.
under ii. 3. The character of the sin offering
in its two parts is still preserved in this its
humblest form.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. One of the plainest teachings of the sin
offering is that everything opposed to the re
vealed will of God is sin, whether done with the
purpose of transgressing it or not. Butler has
shown that this is in perfect accordance with
the divine law in nature. St Paul considered
himself the chief of sinners, because he "perse
cuted the Church of God;" yet as he obtained
mercy because he did it ignorantly in unbelief
(1 Tim. i. 13-15), so the sin-offering was pro
vided for those who put themselves in opposition
to the divine will without intending to do so.
It was on this principle that Jesus could pray
for those who nailed Him to the cro^s : " Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do"
(Luke xxiii. 34) The great mass of human sin
is incurred not for the sake of sinning, but in
heedlessness, or through wrong judgment, or
under the impulse of passion. It comes under
the head of sins of inadvertence; but, as of old,
need^ the intervention of the blood of the atone
ment before the sinner can be restored to com
munion with God.

II. In the law of the sin offering it appears
clearly that under the old dispensation as well
as the new the character of the sin was deter
mined by the animus of the sinner. For high
handed and defiant sin no sacrifice was allow
able ; he who committed this put himself out of
the pale of reconciliation. But he who commit
ted sins — which might in themselves be far worse
— " through inadvertence " might bring his of
fering and have «« an atonement, made for him."
An excellent historical illustration may be found
in comparing the stories of the lives of Saul and
of David; and the distinction between the two
kinds of sin is expressed in the psalm of David
(xix. 12).

III. In the sin offering the offerer must have
already been in a state of mind which led him to
desire the forgiveness of his sin, as is shown by
bis very act of bringing his victim to the priest ;
he was also ready to confess his sin ; yet still
the offering was required. By this was taught
in outward symbol to the people of the old dis
pensation what is so clearly proclaimed in the
Gospel, that for the forgiveness of sin there must
be some propitiation outside and beyond the sin
ner himself; mere penitence, though an essen
tial prerequisite, cannot alone avail to restore
the disturbed relations to God of one who has
transgressed His law.

IV. The inherent inefficacy of these sacrifices
to atone for sin has been already repeatedly no
ticed ; moreover, this inemcacy was constantly
brought to the mind of the worshipper by the
repetition of the sin offerings, as is especially
noted in regard to the sacrifices of the day of
atonement in the Ep. to the Heb. (ix. 6-8);
still the sin offering is insisted upon in the law
with an emphasis greater than belongs to any
other sacrifice. Most clearly, therefore, does it
point to the " Lamb of God that taketh away the
sin of the world."

V. In the extension of the privileges of the
sin-offering in Num. xv. 29 to "the stranger"
one of those many intimations is given, scattered
everywhere throughout the Old Test., which the
Israelites were so slow to understand, that the
blessings of forgiveness and of approach to God
were intended for all people, and that the nar
rowness of restriction to the children of Abra
ham after the flesh was only a temporary provi
sion "because of transgressions" until the
promised Seed should come. But even while the
restriction continued the stranger in Israel might
present bis sin offering, and Israel's priests must
make atonement for him.

VI. The sacramental vaTue of the sin offering
is happily expressed by Calvin in Lev. iv. 22.
"In truth they hold not the first rudiments of
the faith who do not recognize that the legal ce
remonies were sacraments. But in all sacra
ments, at least those which are regular in the
church, there is a spiritual promise annexed. It
follows therefore that forgiveness was truly pro
mised to the Fathers who reconciled themselves
to God by the victims offered ; not that the
slaughter of sheep could expiate sins, but be
cause this was a symbol, certain and impossible
to deceive, in which pious souls might rest so
that they could dare to appear before God in
calm confidence. In fine, as sins are now sacra-
mentally washed away by baptism, so under the
law also sacrifices were expiations, although in
a different fashion ; since baptism sets before us
Christ immediately, who was only obscurely sha
dowed forth under the law. Improperly indeed
is that transferred to the signs which belongs to

hrist alone, in whom is set forth to us the truth
of all spiritual good, and who finally did away
sin by His single and perpetual sacrifice. But
since the question is not what the sacrifices
availed in themselves, let it suffice that they testi
fied of the grace of God of which they were
figures."

VII. The ritual of the sin offering was the
most solemn of all the sacrifices, and the blood

CHAP. V. 14— VI. 7.

of this (except in case of the alternative doves)
was always to be placed at least on the horns of
the altar, while that of the grea'est burnt or
peace-offering was only sprinkled on its sides;
thus the forgiveness of sin is shown to be the
most fundamental and necessary part of the
whole approach to God.

VIII. No sin offerings, although some of them
were "burned without the camp," were ever
wholly burned upon the altar, and the common
expression in regard to other sacrifices, " the
food of the Lonl " is never applied to these.
Frankincense and oil were not allowed with the
vegetable, nor an oblation with the animal sin
ottering The whole ritual was stern and severe,
until by the sacrifice itself propitiation had been
made. By this symbolism is set forth the atti
tude of the Infinite in holiness towards sin ; and
thus is seen what must have been the conse
quences to the sinner, except for the Propitiation
that is in Christ Jesus.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

The " exceeding sinfulness of sin " is shown
in every possible symbolical way by this offering
It has in it nothing of the oil of gladness, or the
fragrance of frankincense ; it has nothing of
festive joy, or of communion between the wor
shipper and God. Yet dark as the shadow of
sin is hereby shown to be, it appears on all oc
casions when man comes into the presence of
God. The sin offering was presented for "the peo
ple, on all the great festivals and days of solemn
convocation, on Passover, the Feast of Weeks,
and the Feast of Tabernacles, on the Day of I»Ie-
morial, on the first day of the seventh month,

and on the Day of Atonement " (Kalisch) and on
many other public occasions. Besides all these,
it was offered continually by individuals as the
sins of their own lives were brought tc their con
sciousness. So must man's approach to God ever
be with the plea, "Have mercy upon me, a sin
ner." Coming in this temper, propitiation is
provided for all. There was none so poor but
that a sin offering was within his reach. And
so the word of the great Propitiation is, "Him
that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."
" Ho is able to save unto the uttermost them that
come unto God by Him."

Yet. for high-handed and defiant sin, for sin that
sets itself in opposition to the Divine way of salva
tion, there is no other way of forgiveness, " there
remains no more sacrifice." Comp. Heb. x. 26.

For the sin of the high-priest a higher victim
was commanded, and with a higher ritual, be
cause he " sinned to the guilt of the people."
Only for the sin of the whole people collectively
the same offering was required. So it must ever
be with those in positions of influence and au
thority ; when they sin, they drag others with
them into guiltiness. There is ever a federal,
as well as an individual relation between man
and God, and though the latter may determine
his .final condition, yet his individual illation
itself is largely affected by his federal.

Sins of omission are regarded as sins equally
with those of commission.

No one is so humble that the means of propi
tiation is not provided for him. Under the law
this could only be symbolized by alternative of
ferings of different degrees, showing forth the
freeness under the Gospel of the offer of the
waters of life to all that are athirst.

E.— TRESPASS OFFERINGS.

CHAPS. V. 14— VI. 7.
NOTE.— In the division of chapters in the Hebrew Bible this section is rightly all included in Chap. V.

14, 15 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul commit a trespass [do a
wrong1], and sin through ignorance [inadvertence2] in [taking from3] the holy things
of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a ram without
blemish out of the flocks, with [according to4] thy estimation by shekels of silver,

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 15. 7j?*D /JJOfV The wor I being different from the Dl^X so frequently recurring in this chapter in a tech
nical sense, it is better to change the translation. Otherwise commit a trespass is a sufficiently good translation, as no Eng
lish word embodies the idea of secrecy or stealth conveyed by the original.

2 Ver. 15. njJBG = through inadvertence. See Note 1 on iv. 2.

TT : •
8 Ver. 15. fr" ^"IpD a conslructto pnrgnans — taking, or diminishing from the holy things.

4 Ver. 15. ?j.in^2. The preposition often haa the sense given in the A. V. with but according to (as in the next word
but one) seems here the better rendering. Tho evident sense is that the ram was to be of a certain value, an 1 this was to
be determined by an estimation. The restitution for the harm done, with its added fifth, is prescribed in the following ver.,
and does not come into view here. The Sain, text preserves the exact form of the Hebrew, but all the ancient versions,
while changing the form of expression, give the sense according to ; they also neglect to translate the H = thy.

50 LEVITICUS.

16 after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering ; and he shall make amends
for the harm that he hath done [sin that he hath committed5] in the holy thing,
and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest : and the priest shall
make an atonement fur him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be
forgivea him.

17 And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done
by the commandments of the LORD ; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and

18 shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the
flock, with [according to4] thy estimation, f.r a trespass offering, unto the priest :
and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance [inadver-

19 tence2] wherein he erred and wist it not, aud it shall be forgiven iiim. It is a, tres
pass offering : he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.

CHAP. VI. 1, 2. AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul sin, and commit
a trespass [do a wrong1] against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour, in that [and
deny to his neighbor that6J which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship [or a
pledge7] or in [omit in] a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived [op-

3 pressed8] his neighbour ; or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning
it [deukth it6] and sweareth falsely : in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning

4 thereiu : then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall re
store that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully
[oppressively8] gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing

5 which he found, or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even re
store it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto

6 him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.9 And he shall
bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram wir.hout blemish out of the flock,

7 wich [according to4] thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest : and the
priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD : and it shall be forgiven
him for anything of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.

5 Yer. 16. This ia the only place in Lev. in which JSLDH is rendered by any other word than sin in the A. V. This
should be conformed to the usage.

6 Chap. VI. Ver. 2. E/P3 construed with a double 3 of the person and of the thing, = to deny a thing to a person.
The word mpf\n« to lie (xix. 11, etc.}, but the other rendering expresses more exactly the sense here, and is the more usual.

7 Ver. 2. "V fiD-ltyrC"^ = a thing given in pledge, a pawn, different from the trust just before. The construction ia

with the same verb, and is sufficiently expres-ed without the special translation" of 3, so that the in of the A. V. may be
emitted throughout.

8 Yer. 2. pt^J? lit. to press, to squeeze, hence to oppress. A new verb being here introduced the construction with the
series of 3 ends. The derived noun ptJ/1?, ver. 4, bears the same sense = that which has been oppressively obtained.

9 Vor. 5. The ITeb. word meaning either trespass or trespass offering, the marg. of the A. V. is hardly accurate in writing
'• Heb. m the day of his trespass."

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The general distinction of the trespass from
the sin offering has already been pointed out: in
the trespass offering the idea of the harm done
was more prominent, in the sin offering that of
the sin committed. Accordingly the trespass of
fering was usually accompanied by "amends for
the harm" — a fifth (a double tithe) being added
as penalty. In case the person against whom
the wrong was done was already dead without a
kinsman to receive the compensation, the amends
and penalty were to be paid to the priett (Num.
v. 8). The ritual differed in several respects
from that of the sin offering: the blood was
treated as in the burnt and peace offerings; the
only victim here allowed was a ram; there was
no gradation either in the victim or the ritual
according to the rank of the offender ; nor were

any alternative offerings allowed in case of po
verty. The reason for the last provision results
necessarily from the nature of the offering.
Elsewhere we find the same trespass offering
prescribed for unchastity with a slave (xix. 20-
22), and in Inter times offered by those who, on
the return from the captivity, had taken strange
wives (Ezra x. 19); the same also (not a "he-
lamb," as in the A. V. ) is commanded with a
somewhatdifferent ritual on occasion of declaring
the cleansing of a leper (xiv. 12, 21), and also
with a ram of a year old for the victim in case
of unintentional defilement by a dead body during
a Nazarite vow (Num. vi. 9-12).

Three cases are specified which demand a
trespass offering — the first two having reference
more directly to wrong done towards God (v.
15-19), and the third, including several varieties
of offence, having reference to wrong done to men
(vi. 2-7).

CHAP. V. 14— VI. 7.

Ver. 14. And the LORD spake.— This for
mula marks a fresh communication and distinctly
separates the trespass offering from the sin offer
ing which has occupied the whole of ihe previous
communication from iv. 1. The whole law of the
trespass offering is not, however, contained in
this communication, but only that part of it re
lating to wrongs done toward God. Wrongs
done toward man are the subject of a separate
communication (vi. 1-7).

Vers. 16-17. The first case of the trespass
offering.

Ver. 15. Through inadvertence, as in iv.
2, 13, 2-2.

In taking from the holy things. — See
Textual note 3. The holy things were the first-
fruits, tithes, or gifts of any kind connected with
the service of the sanctuary or the support of its
priests, by the withholding of which the Lord is
said to suffer loss. The restitution and penalty
are mentioned xxii. 14 without mention of this
offering, which is presupposed.

A ram. — The invariable trespass offering
(except in the special cases xiv. 12 ; Num. vi. 12)
which does not at all appear in the list of victims
for the sin offering in iv. 1 — v. 13.

According to thy estimation. — See Text
ual note 4. — The pronoun thy must be considered
as used impersonally; or if it be taken person
ally, then it is addressed to Moses, and of course
to any one to whom this duty should afterwards
belong in his place.

Shekels, — The Vulg. and many commentators
understand the plural to stand for two, as the
A. V. has explained the plural in Ezek. xlvii. 13 ;
others, as Aben-Ezra, Abarbanel, etc., understand
it. less definitely as meaning nt least two shekels.
The notion of Oehler (p. 478) and Keil (in loc.}
that the value of the ram was purposely left in
definite, that there might be room to vary it ac
cording to the gravity of the trespass, although
advocated by Michaelis (Art. 244), is cleaily
wrong It is opposed to the fundamental idea
of all sacrifice, which excludes f-uch (orrelation;
and is entirely unnecessary, since the comperisa
tion and forfeit (ver. 16) were separately re
quired. Moreover, the variation in the value of
the ram would be very small in comparison with
the variation in trespasses. The text was in
tended to fix the lowest limit of the value of a
mm that could be allowed, and the estim tion
was for the pu>pose of determining whether he
came up to the standard. " The plural is plainly
to be understood as meaning two shekels, or at
least two shekels." Knobel.

Shekel of the Sanctuary.— See Ex. xxx.
1 3 ; xxxviii. 24, etc.

Ver. 16. And he shall make amends.— He
shall give the first-fruits or tithes, or whatever
LU had withheld or taken from sacred dues, or its
value. And shall add the fifth part thereto
as a penalty or forfeit. — Theodoret here refers to
the example of Zncchons. Thejustice of such ad
ditional payment is everywhere recognized in the
Hebrew and all other laws. It is in this, and not
in the ram, that the penalty is proportioned to the
offence. This having been done, and reparation
mado, then, with the ram, the priest shall
make an atonement.

On the litual of this sacrifice see vii. 1-6.

Vers. 17-19. The second case of the trespass
offering.

This second case probably differed from the
first as sins of commission differ from those of
omission. The formula by which the trespass is
expressed is substantially the same as in iv. 22
and 27 in regard to the sin to be expiated by the
sin offering. From its connection, and from its
being expiated by the trespass offering, it is sup
posed to include all those transgressions against
the theocratic law which could be compensated
by money or other payment; yet in this case
alone no mention is made of compensation, partly
because it was evident from the foregoing that
it was required when it could be given, and
partly because it included also cases in which
pecuniary compensation could not be given, but
punishment must be inflicted in some other way.
(See xix. 20.) Lange, however, urges that this
omission is a serious difficulty against the view
of the trespass offering which has here been
given. He considers that the trespass offering
relates to participation in guilt in contradistinc
tion to an original offence, and thinks this is in
dicated by the description of these sins as "sins
of ignorance." He says "these sins of ignorance
belong specifically to the category of participation
in guilt." It must be remembered, however, that
all sins for -which any offering was allowed weie
"sins of ignorance," or rather of inadvertence.

VI. 1-7. The third case of the trespass
off-Ting.

From the formula of ver. 1 this appears as a
separate divine communication, on account of
the different character of the sins enumerated.
All sin is indeed against God, yet those which
fv.llow belong to that class of offences against Him
which also work harm to men.

The first three verses contain an enumeration
of specific wrongs ; vers. 4 and 5 provide for
amends for the harm done with the added pe
nalty; and vers. 6 and 7 for atonement by means
of the trespass offering. This communication
bears the same relation to the foregoing which
v. 1-13 bears to chap. iv.

Ver. 2. If a man deny to his neighbor
that •which was delivered him. — "]"np^
is a deposit, a thing entrusted to be kept. The
sin in this case would consist either in denying
the receiving it at all, or denying that it was re
ceived in trust, or refusing to restore it.

A pledge. — This differs from the former in
not bt ing simply a trust, but a security, a pawn.
It is not separately mentioned in ver. 4.

Ver. 3. Sweareth falsely. — When he denies
that he has found a lost thing, and is put upon

his oath, he swears to his lie, 1P$-"Sj£. This
false swearing refers also to all the wrongs men
tioned before, and the guilt of the talse oath,
added to the wrong done, brings the offence into
the category of sins against the Lord.

Ver. 5. In the day of his trespass offering.
— The amends for the wrong done was to be
made to the person wronged at the same time
that the offender sought the divine forgiveness.
The penalty for the wrong and the ritual of the
offering are the same as in chap. v.

In Ex. xxii. 1-9 a series of wrongs is enume
rated much like those here mtntioned with the

LEVITICUS.

general law that the restitution should be dou
ble (vers. 4, 9), while in particular cases it rose
to four and five-fold. The distinction between
the penalty as given there and here appears to
l:e in the fact that there the offender was only
brought to any restitution by a conviction "be
fore the judges" (ver. 9); while here, although
it is not distinctly so declared yet, every thing
implies that the acknowledgment of the wrong
is voluntary. There is no memion of conviction,
and the whole connection is with sins of inad
vertence or impulse which wei-e afterwards ac
knowledged, and for which forgiveness was
sought by the offender.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

I From the law of the trespass offering it is
clear that guilt was not, removed hy the mere act
of compensation (with penalty added) for the
harm done; nor, on the other hand, could an
atonement be off red for that, auilt until such
compensation had been made. Here are brought
out the two principles which everywhere, under
the old and the new dispensation alike, are con-
corned in the forgiveness of transgression.
There must be both the desire, as for as possible,
to make amends for the harm done; and the'-e
must be also the sacrifice divinely appointed for
" the covering'' of the sin. Neither of these can
avail alone, because both are essential to that
state of holiness, that conquest over the evil, by
which alone man can be at one with God. The
sacrifice of Christ is all-sufficient for the forgive
ness of sin; but the sinner can only avail Irm-
polf of its benefits when, Christ-like, he himself
se ks to conquer the evil.

If. Wrong done to man is itself sin against
God. It is impossible to separate the command
to love God from that of loving our neighbor also.
1 Jno. iii. 20, 21.

III. In tho-e sins against others for which
atonement was provided in the trespass offering,
there was the additional sin of a false oath. This
was certainly a moral offence — a sin in the full
sense of the word. In view of this, it is impos
sible to look upon the offences for which sacri
fices were appointed as mere ceremonial or theo
cratic offences. They everywhere appear as
true sins, moral transgressions, and this is mosf,
clearly shown by including the false oath among
Ihein.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

There is no true repentance for wrong done to
man which is not accompanied by restitution —
and none for having taken from the things of the
Lord, or for having failed to give all that should
have been given to Him, except in restoring it in
overflowing measure; yet while this may make
amends f -r the harm dojie, forgiveness of the sin
must still be sought through propitiation.

In the trespass offering the ritual of the blood
was like that of the burnt or the peace offering —
inferior to that of the sin offering. This shows
that while wrong must of necessity involve sin,
yet it does not, in itself considered, stand on the
same footing as sin; the moral element in trans
gression is always the more important. One
cannot indeed really offend against man without
also offending against God ; yet the offence which
has God directly for its objective point must ne
cessarily be more serious, since it involves a
deeper tort than that which is directed only
against man.

The t-in offering was lessened by successive
stages for the poor, and the very poor, that it
might be brought within the reach of all; for all
must have propitiation for sin; but the trespass
offering is unvaried, the same for all ; because
it' one cannot make amends for the wrong he has
done, it must be let alone, — an inferior gift can
not set things right.

Wrong, like sin, may be committed through
inadvertence. Still it must be atoned for. Good
intentions will not repair the wrong.

For sin done "with a high hand," presump
tuously, nu sacrifice was provided, because the
offender deliberately set himself in opposition to
G >d ; but for offences against man, such as those
here enumerated, some of which must have been
done deliberately, a sacrifice is allowed, because
even such intentional wrongs do not constitute
the same attitude of opposition to God. They
may be done through passion or covetousness,
without reflection upon their moral bearings.
Therefore, on repentance, restitution, and propi
tiation, they may be forgiven.

Origen applies the law of trespass in abstract
ing from sacred things to the faithfulness re
quired of the Christian minister in regard to
gifts for holy uses committed to his trust; and
then further to the hearing of God's word as a
sacred gift, for tho use of which men are re
sponsible, and for the misuse of which they be
come guilty.

CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 38. 53

SECOND SECTION.

Special Instructions chiefly for the Priests.

CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 33.

"Standing Sacrificial Rites and Duties — especially of the Priests?' — LANGE.

'A.— FOR BURNT OFFERINGS.

CHAP. VI. 8-13.

8, 9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command1 Aaron and his sons, say
ing, This is the law of the burnt offering: It2 is the burnt offering, because of the
burning upon the altar [This, the burnt offering, shall be upon the hearth upon the
altar3] all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.

10 And the priest shall put on his4 linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put5
upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt
offering [ashes to which the fire hath consumed the burnt offering6] on the altar,

11 and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and
put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean

12 place.7 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in [on] it; it shall not be
put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt
offering in order upon it : and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.

13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

B.— FOR OBLATIONS (MEAT OFFERINGS). VI. 14-23.

14 And this w the 1 iw of the meat offering [oblation8] ; the sons of Aaron shall

15 offer9 it before the LORD, before the altar. And he shall take of it his handful, of
the flour of the meat off ring [oblation8], and of the oil thereof, and all the frank-
inceose which is upon the meat offering [oblation8], and shall burn it upon the

16 altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the LORD. And the remain
der thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat : with [ora. with] unleavened bread [om.
bread] shall it be eaten in the [a] holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the

17 [ow. the] congregation they shall eat it. It2 shall not be baken with leaven. I
have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire ; it is most

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 9. Vi- Th • Sam. has ^]f, a form which occurs in MSB. with the rointing 'J|Y.

2 Ver'. 9, 17, 18, 22. N1H. The Run. and many MRS. have the later f>rm XTt indicated by the Mnsoretic punctua
tion. Thin frequent variation will not h r-after bo noticed. The c >njectural emendation of Houbigant, ^H iu tho impe
rative, although expressing the sense, is unnecessary.

3 Ver. 9. Th • suggested, translation is that given 1 y most crit'cs; of its general correctness there can he no doubt ; but
the sense of nip ID (which occurs only her ) may be either that of hearth, or of burning. The masculine form, IplD

(which is fouiH only Ps. cM. 4 (3), and Isa. xxxiii. 14), is translate in both ways in the A. V., but should have only the
lat er *ense. The weight of authority as well as the context m:ik<3 hearth the preferable translation her«. Knobel would
make Kin the verb to be in the imperative; but this i.s not sufficiently supported.

4 V.r. 10. nip. For the suffix on a noun in the constr. Knobel refers to xxvi. 42; Ex. xxvi. 25; Jer. ix. 2 (viii. 23);
2 Sam. xxii. 33, however, reads "ID.

& Ver. 10. The Sain, for #3*V has ViT as in xv . 4, which scarcely affects the sense.

6 Ver. 10. The propriety of this correction is obvious. Bp. Horsley's emendation : take up the ashes of the fire which hath
consumed — does violence to the Heb.

T Ver. 11. The Vulg. has this curious addition: usque adfavillom consumi faciet.

9 Ver. 14, etc. nnjD=oblation. See ch. f. 1, Text, and Gram. Note (2). The Sam. has here " the law of the oblation
of the drink offerings," whence the Vulg. : lex sacrfficii et libamenlorum.

• Ver. 14. 31pn, Infin. Abs. as in ii. 6; Ex. xiii. 3.

64 LEVITICUS.

18 holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. All the males among the
children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations
concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire : every one that [whatsoever10]
toucheth them shall be holy.

19, 20 And the LORD spikv3 un*o Moses, saying, This is the offering of Aaron and
of his sons, which they shall offer unto the LORD in the day when he11 is anointed ;
the tenth part of an ephah of tine flour for12 a meat offering [an oblation8] perpetual,

21 half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.13 In a pan it shall be made
with oil ; and when it is baken [fried14], thou shalt bring it in : and the baken15
pieces15 of the meat offering [oblation8] shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the

22 LORD. And the priest of his sous that is anointed in his stead shall offer it : it is

23 a statute forever unto the LORD ; it shall be wholly burnt. For every meat-offer
ing [oblation8] for the priest shall be wholly burnt : it shall not be eaten.

C.— FOR SIN OFFERINGS. VI. 24-30.

24, 25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his SODS,
saying, This is the law of the sin offering : In the place where the burnt offering is

26 killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD : it is most holy. The priest
that offereth it for sin shall eat it : in the [a] holy place shall it be eaten, in the

27 court of the tabernacle of the [om. the] congregation. Whatsoever shall touch the flesh
thereof shall be holy: and wheu there is sprinkled of ihe blood thereof upon any
garment, thou16 shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the [a] holy place.

28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken : and if it be sodden in

29 a brazen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water. All the males among

30 the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy. And [But] no sin offering, wheveof
any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the [pm. the] congregation to
reconcile [make atonement17] withal in the holy place, shall be eaten : it shall be
burnt in the fire.

D.— FOR TRESPASS OFFERINGS. CHAP. VII. 1-6.

CHAP. VII. 1 Likewise [And] this is the l<iw of18 the trespass-offering: it is most

2 holy. In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass
offering: and the blood thereof shall he19 sprinkle round about upon the altar.

3 And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump [the fat tail20], and the fat that

4 cover, th the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is
by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with [on21] the kidneys, it irhall

5 he take away : and the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made

6 by fire unto the LORD ; it is a trespass offering. Every male among the priests
shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the [a] holy place: it is most holy.

10 Ver. 18. "li^/K 73 might be understood either as every one that, as in the A. V., or as every thing that; but as the

latter is the necessary translation of the exactly parallel clause in ver. 27 (as in the A. V.), it is better to keep it here also.

11 Ver. 20. The fyr. here has the [ lural.

12 Ver. 20. The prep. S, not in the Heb;, is supplied by the Sam. and many MSS.

13 Ver. 20. The paraphrase of the Sam. 0*5*^71 r^=belween the, evenings, expresses the connection of this oblat:on

with the evening sacrifice.

14 Ver. 21. rO3~1p5 a word of very doubtful meaning, but should certainly have the same translation as in vii. 12,

where s»e note.

15 Ver. 21. "'J'S.Hi a word air. Aey. to which different significations are attached according to its supposed derivation.

Fiirst, deriving it from H^p, gives the sen«e of the A. V. Gesenius also, deriving from HDX, gives the sense of cooked.
Others derive it from an Arabic root, and give the meaning broken. So Targ. Onk. (which points ''J'D^n) and the Sam.

is Ver. 27. D33P iT/l*- The sudden change of person, and the feminine suffix in reference to a masculine noun,

• ~ : T v T i

are both avoided by the Sam. reading D3JS V 1$.

" Ver. 30. ^3Z)S. There may be but little difference in the sense of tlie two renderings ; but it is better to retain'
the same foTD always'. Other instances of variation in the A. V. in Lev. are viii. 15 and xvi. 20 only.

18 VII. Ver. 1. The LXX. here has 6 vo/mos roi) /cpiov, the ram being the only victim admissible for the trespass offering.

19 Ver. 2. The Sam. here uses the plural. It cannot mean that the offerer sprinkled the blood, but rather assimilates
this verb to those going before on the supposition (a* in i. 6, 12, etc.) that the priests also killed the victim.

20 Vir. 3. rrSkXn. See Textual Note 4 On iii. 9.

21 Ver. 4. t7j;=ow. See Textual Note ? on ili. 4.

CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 38. 55

E.— FOR THE PRIESTS' PORTION OF THE ABOVE OFFERINGS. VII. 7-10.

7 As the sin-offering is, so is the trespass offering : there is one law f >r them : the

8 priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it. And the priest that offer-
eth any man's b"rnt off ring, even the priest shall have to himself the skia of the

9 burnt-offering which he hath offered. And all the meat-offering [oblation8] that is
baken in the oven, and all that is dress d ia the frying-pan [pot22], and in the pan,

10 shall be the priest's thflt offereth it. And [But] every meat offering [oblation8]
mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sous of Aaron have, one as much as another.

F.— FOR PEACE OFFERINGS IN THEIR VARIETY. VII. 11-21.

11 And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which h^23 shall offer unto

12 the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice
of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed

13 with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.24 Besides the cake?, he
shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his

14 peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation [out of ea''h
offering25] for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that

15 sprinkleth the blood of the p°ace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his
peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered ; he

16 shall not leave any of it until the morning. But if the sacrifice of his offering be
a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offere h his

17 sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten: but the re
mainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.

18 And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace off rings be eaten at all on the
third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him th-it offer
eth it: it shall be an abomination,26 and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his

19 iniquity. And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it
shall be burnt with fire : and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.

20 But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings that pertain
unto the LORD, having his imcleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off

21 from his people. Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the
imcleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean iliing?1 and
eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of p ace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even
that soul shall be cut off from his people.

G.— FOR THE FAT AND THE BLOOD. VII. 22-27.

22, 23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,

24 saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. And the fat
of the beast [carcase28] that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with

25 beasts, may be used in any other use : but ye shall in no wise eat of it. For who
soever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto

22 Ver. 9. See Textual Note 7 on fi. 7.

23 Ver. 11. The Sam., LXX. and Vulir. with two MSS. have the plural.

24 yer. 12. jlDinip. There ia so much difference of opinion as to the meaning that it scorns unsafe to attempt any

change in the A. V. Fi'irst says: "something dipped in, mingled (by moisteninsr) ;" Lange denies that it convoys the sense
Of cooked; Keil translat s -'tend masted fine flour (see vi. 14) mix d at c.ttke.8 with oil, i. <>., cakes made of fine 11. mr roasted
with oil, and thoroughly kneaded with oil." Others give varying interpretations.

26 Ver. 14. f^lD is to be uniformly translated offering. See ii. 1. The word whole in the A. V. does not express the

I T : IT
r<lea that one must be taken out of each of the offerings mentioned in the two preceding verses.

26 Ver. 18. S^JS occurs on'y here and in xix. 7; Isa. Lxv. 4; Ezek. iv. 14, and is always applied to the sacrificial flesh.
It is from the root /J3, and signifies something unclean and fetid, LXX. /uu'ao>t.a..

27 Ver. 21. For Vp$=<m abominable animal (xi. 10, 12, 13, 20, 23, 41), the Sam., six MSS. of Kennicott and of de Rossi,
Targ. of Onkelos (UTpj and the Syr. read V^=reptilest worms (v. xi. 20, 29, 41). This would make a more systematic
enumeration of the sources of un cleanness, and is adopted by many.

28 Ver. 24. nSsj. The margin of the A. V. is better than the text. The H21D of the next clause=torn »c. of

T •• : T •• :

Beasts, is of course a wholly different word.

56 LEVITICUS.

26 the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. Moreover
ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your

27 dwellings. Wh atsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul
shall be cut off from his people.

H.-FOR THE PRIESTS' PORTION OF THE PEACE OFFERINGS. VII. 28-36.

28, 29 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall
bring his oblation [offering29] unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.

30 His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the
breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before

31 the LORD. And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall

32 be Aaron's and his sons'. And the right shoulder [leg30] shall ye give unto the priest

33 for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. He among the sons of
Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right

34 shoulder [leg30] for his part. For the wave-breast and the heave shoulder [leg30] have
I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and
have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from

35 among the children of Israel. This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and
of the anointing of his sons [This is the portion31 of Aaron and the portion31 of his
sons], out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he32 presented

36 them to minister unto the LORD in the priest's office; which the LORD commanded
to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a
statute forever throughout their generations.

CONCLUSTON OF THIS SECTION. VII. 37-38.

37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering [oblation], and of the
sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacri-

38 fice of the peace offerings ; which tSe LORD commanded Moses in Mount Sinai, in
the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations [offering^29]
unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.

29 Ver. 29. The uniform translation of ?3"^p must be retained here also, although giving an appearance of tautology

I T : I T I

vrhich is not in the original, his peace offerings bi ing expressed simply by VD /$. The translation of the A. V. miy have

TT :

been influenced by the rendering in the Yu'g. : off'erat simnl ct sacrificium, id est, libamenta ejus ; but for this there is no
warrant, nor is it sustained by auy other of the ancient versions.

30 Ver. 32. pljy is unif-rmly rendered shoulder in the A. V. wherever it is applied to sacrificial animals; in all other

places it is used of men (Deut. xxviii. 35 ; Prov. xxvi. 7 ; Cant. v. 15; Isa. xlvii. 2 ; also Dan. ii. 33, Chald.; Ps. cxlvii. 10),
and is translated leg. or hip, or tldyh. Tbe A. V. has here followed the equally uniform practice of the LXX. and the Vulsr.
It would seem that the word should have the same sense in both cases; tUere is no place in which leg is inapplicable, but
there are several in which shoulder is inadmiss ble. Tlie testimony of Josephus (III. 9, $ 2, Ki/rj^T)) is explicit in favor of
leq ; so also Jewish tradition and the lexicons. Whether the fore or the hind leg is meant is a mattf-r of difference of opi
nion ; but the Heb. has a distinct word j;i"U=ari» for the shoulder or fore-leg (Num. vi. 19 ; Dent. xvii . 3), and that, to >,
o. the sacrificial animal".

31 Ver. 35. nHI^D- The word undoubtedly means anointing ; but there is also good authority for the meaning portion

which Rosenmiiller considers undoubtedly the right translation here, and which is so necessary to the pense that it is sup
plied in t'ie A. V., which has followed the translation of the LXX. and Vulg.
88 Ver. 35. The Vulg. haa die qua obtulit eot Hoyses ut sacerdolio fungerentur.

vine communications addressed through Moses
to Aaron and his sons, as the former commu
nication had been to the children of Israel.

It has already been noticed that in the Hebrew
Bibles the chapter rightly begins with the begin
ning of this section. Here also begins a new
Parashah, or Proper Lesson of the law, which
extends to viii. 36. The corresponding Lesson
from the prophets begins with Jer. vii. 21, in
which " God declares the vanity of sacrifice
without obedience."

A. Vers. 8-13. Instructions for the priests in

EXEGETICAL AND

The remainder of ch. vi., with th* whole of
ch. vii., form a distinct section occupied mainly
with the duties and privileges of the priests in
connection with their sacrificial service. Al
though there is unavoidably a little repetition in
thus speaking again of the same sacrifices from
a different point of view and for a different ob
ject ; yet the gain in clearness and distinctness
in thus separating the priestly duties from those
of the laymen is obvious, both for the priests and
for the people. The section consists of five di-

regard to the burnt-offerings. This has refe
rence to the daily burnt-offerings of a lamb at

CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 38.

evening and at morning. There was no occa
sion for directions in regard to the voluntary
burnt offerings as they involved no other priestly
duties than those already expressed in chap. i. ;
in that chapter nothing has been said of the re
quired burnt sacrifice, provided at the public
cost, which is here treated of.

Ver. 9. All night unto the morning. — The
slow fire of the evening sacrifice was to be so
arranged as to last until the morning; that of
the morning sacrifice was ordinarily added to
by other offerings, or if not, could easily be made
to last through the much shorter interval until
the evening. The evening sacrifice is natu
rally mentioned first because, in the Hebrew di
vision of time, this was the beginning of the
day. It was offered "between the evenings,"
i. e., between three o'clock and the going down
of the sun. The general direction for the daily
burnt offerings has already been given in Ex.
xxix. 38, and is again repeated in Num. xxviii.
3. As this offering was theoretically the com
prehensive type from which all other offerings
were specializ3d, so practically it was always
burning upon the altar, and all other sacrifices
were offered " upon it."

Ver. 10. His linen garment. — This was
" the long tight-robe of fine white linen, or bys-
sus, wi hout folds, covering the whole body, and
reaching down to the feet, with sleeves, woven
as one entire piece, and with forms of squares
intermixed, and hence called tesalated " (Ka-
lisch). It is scarcely necessary to point out that
linen, from its cleanliness, and from the readi
ness with which it could be washed, was selected
as the priestly dress not only among the Israel
ites, but among many other nations also, espe
cially the Egyptians, whose priests are therefore
often described by Roman poets as linigeri. There
were four parts of the priestly linen dress, of
which two only are mentioned here, because all
had been prescribed in Ex. xxviii. 40-43, and the
girdle and the turban were of course to be un
derstood. The priests might not minister at the
altar in any other garments, nor might they wear
these outside the sacred precincts.

And take up the ashes. — As the priest must
be in his official dress at the altar, it was of ne
cessity that he should temporarily deposit the
ashes near by, until he had finished the ordering
of the altar.

Ver. 11. And he shall put off his gar
ments. — The sacred dress was now to be laid
aside as the priest must pass out of the taber
nacle and out of the camp. It has been ques
tioned whether the carrying forth of the ashes
must necessarily be performed by the officiating
priest himself. According to Jewish tradition it
might be done by any of the priestly family who
were excluded from officiating at the altar by
reason of some bodily defect. The same tradi-
t ion also tells us that it was only required each day
to carry forth a small quantity of the ashes — a
shovel-full — allowing the rest to remain until the
hollow of the altar below the grating was filled
up, when all must be emptied and carried away.

Unto a clean place. — There was a fitness

too evident to require further reason, that the

remains of what had been used for the holiest

purposes should be deposited in a clean place.

— Without the camp, is a phrase belonging
to the life of the wilderness, but easily modified
to the requirements of the settled life in Pales
tine.

Ver. 12. Shall burn wood on it.— The fire
was to be maintained always whether the pre
vious sacrifice remained burning sufficiently or
not, so that fresh supplies of wood were to be
added. Great care was taken in the selection
and preparation of this wood, and any sticks
worm-eaten were rejected. And lay the burnt-
offering. — All was to be arranged and the fire
brightly burning before the time of offering the
morning sacrifice. When this was laid upon the
wood, the sacrificial day was begun, and the fat
of the peace-offerings and any other sacrifices
that might he presented were placed upon it.

Ver. 13. The fire shall be ever burning
upon the altar. — The fire upon the altar was
not as is sometimes supposed, originally kindled
by the "fire from before the LORD" (ix. 24),
since it had been burning several days before
that fire came forth ; yet that fire so marked the
Divine approbation of the priestly order as they
entered upon their office, that a continual fire in
which that was always in a sense perpetuated,
was a constant symbol and pledge of the Divine
acceptance of the sacrifices offered upon it. So
also, in later times, with the fire from heaven at
the dedication of the temple (2 Chr. vii. 1). But
besides this, " It is evident that the fire burning
continually, which was kept up by the daily
burnt offering (Ex. xxix. 38), had a symbolical
meaning. As the daily burnt sacrifice betokened
the daily renewed gift of God, in like manner
did th'S continually burning fire denote the un
ceasing, uninterrupted character of the pame.
Similar customs with the heathen had a different
signification. Among the Persians (and among
the Parsees in India at this day), fire was and is
the visible representative of the Godhead ; the
continual burning of it, the emblem of eternity.
The perpetual fire of Vesta (the " oldest god
dess") among the Greeks and Romans, was the
emblem of the inmost, purest warmth of life,
which unites family and people — the hearth, as
it were, the heart of a house or of a State. In
both is shown the essential difference 'which ex
isted between these and the Divine covenant re
ligion." Von Gerlach. Perpetual sacrificial fires
were common among many ancient nations.

It is obvious that during the marches of the
life in the wilderness some special means must
have been used for the preservation of this fire.
On such occasions the altar was to be carefully
cleaned and covered with a purple cloth and then
with "badgers' skins." (Num. iv. 13, 14). Pro
bably the fire was carried on the march in a ves
sel prepared for the purpose.

B. Instructions for the priests concerning ob
lations. This division consists of two portions,
the former of which (vers. 14-18) is a part of the
same divine communication as the preceding di
vision, and relates to the priestly duties con
nected with the oblations of the people, whether
voluntar7 or required; while the latter, (vers.
19-23), forms a separate divine communication,
and relates to the special oblation of the high-
priests themselves ia connection with their con
secration.

LEVITICUS.

The law of the oblation is a repetition in part
of that in ch. ii., because it was there applied
only to voluntary oblations, while here it in
cludes all ; but there are also (in vers. 16-18)
additional particulars not given before.

Ver. 14. The sons of Aaron shall offer it.
— This presentation of the whole oblation by the
priests, which seems to have been an essential
part of the sacrifice, has been already mentioned
in ch. ii. 8, while ver. 15 merely repeats and ap
plies to all oblations the directions in ii. 2 for
the private and voluntary oblation.

Ver. 16. The following directions, which con
cern the duties of the priests, have not before
been given. By their consuming the remainder
of the oblation it became, like the sin-offering, a
sacrifice wholly devoted to the Lord. See note
on ii. 3. Only those of Aaron's sons might eat
of it who were ceremonially clean. This is ex-
pre^sed emphatically in regard to the peace
offerings in vii. 21. The addition of the words
with and bread in the A. V. singularly obscures
the sense ; it should be read unleavened shall
it be eaten in a holy place.

Ver. 17. I have given it.— Not merely by
appointment, as God is the giver of all that man
enjoys ; but of my offerings, as of that which
peculiarly belonged to God. — Most holy. See
on ii. 3.

Ver. 18. All the males. — Because they, and
they only, were in the priestly succession. It
includes both those who were actual priests, and
their sons yet too young to officiate, but who at
the proper age would become priests; and still
further, those who were of priestly family, but
were hindered by bodily defect or infirmity from
ministering at the altar. Whatsoever touch-
eth them shall be holy. — Two senses are pos
sible : (a) nothing shall be allowed to touch
them which is not holy ; (b) whatever does
touch them shall thereby become holy. The
latter must be considered the true sense in ac
cordance with the analogy of vers. 27, 28, and
Ex. xxix. 37, (comp. Hag. ii. 12, 13), and with
this sense the command, understood of inanimate
objects, as Calruet suggests, presents no diffi
culty. The LXX. and Vulg., however, (not the
Semitic versions which of course present the
same ambiguity as the Heb.), like the A. V., un
derstood it of persons, and so understood, it has
occasioned much difficulty to commentators.
Lange, following TheoJoret, says " Whoever
should touch this most holy flesh offering (and
more especially the meat offering) should be
holy, should henceforward be considered to be
long to the Sanctuary." He then gives various
differing interpretations. It is better to avoid
the difficulty altogether as above.

Ver. 20. In the day when he is anointed.
— The new communication in relation to the high-
priest's oblation begins with ver. 19. Most com
mentators understand the time when this obla
tion was to be offered as at the end of the seven
days of consecration, as the high-pripst was only
then qualified to officiate. The word da>/ would
then be understood as in Gen. ii. 4. Lange, how
ever, says " on each of the seven days, not only
on the eighth day, when the consecration wa's
frnished (ch. viiu 34) this was to be offered."
An oblation perpetual. — A few interpreters

'as Kalish and Knobel) understand this of an
observance to be always repeated at the conse
cration of each successive high-priest, and then
only. More generally it is interpreted as refer
ring to a daily oblation always to be offered
morning and evening by the high-priest. Such
is the uniform Jewish interpretation. It is pro
bably this offering that is referred to in Ecclu .
xlv. 14; see also Philo, de Vint. Jos. Ant. iii ch.
10 $ 7. Several eminent Jewish authorities, as
Mairaonides and Abarbanel, have supposed that
the same offering was also required of every
priest at his entrance upon his office; but this
opinion, as it has not been widely adopted, so it
seems to have no foundation in the law. The
high-priest alone is distinctly designated in
ver. 22.

The tenth part of an Ephah. — The same
amount which was required for the sin offering
of the poorest of the people in v. 11. This
amount was to be presented by the high-priest
as a single offering which was to be afterwards
divided and offered half in the morning and half
at night.

Ver. 23. It shall not be eaten.— In other ob
lations all was given to God, but in part through
the priest; in the priestly oblation, he could not
offer it to God through himself, and therefore it
must of necessity be wholly burnt.

C. Instructions for the priests concerning sin
offerings.

Lange adheres to the view he has given in ch.
iv., and makes this division include both the sin
and the trespass offerings. For his reasons see
ch. iv. He, however, calls the next division
" The ritual of the trespass offering."

We have here the third of the five divine com
munications contained in this section. The first
includes the burnt offerings and oblations, while
the second, as an appendix to this, is occupied
with the special oblations of the high-priest ; the
present communication extends to vii. 21, and
embrac.es the directions to the priests concerning
the various other kinds of sacrifice. In the or
der in which they are mentioned in chs. iii. — v.
the p-eace offerings came before the sin and tres
pass offerings, while here they are placed after
them; the reason for this change is well ex
plained by Murphy, as resulting from the differ
ent principle of arrangement appropriate in the
two cases. In the instructions for the people
the order of the sacrifices is that of their com
parative frequency, the burnt offering and obla
tion being constant (although not so as voluntary
offerings), the peace offerings habitual, the sin
and trespass offerings, from their nature, occa
sional ; here the principle of arrangement is in,
the treatment of the flesh, — the burnt offering,
(with which the oblation is associated) w,-is
wholly consumed on the altar, the sin arid tres
pass offerings were partly eaten by the priests,
the peace-offerings both by the priests and the
people.

Ver. 25. In the place where the burnt
offering. — It is evident from ver. 30 that this
whole direction refers to the sin offerings of the
people, not of the high-priest or of the whole
congregation. These were to be killed in the
usual place of killing the smaller sacrificial ani
mals, on the north side of the altar. See note

CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 38.

on i. 11. The sin rfferirig for the high-priest
and for the congregation, consisting of a bullock,
was to be killed (i. 3) where the bullock for
burnt offering was killed " before the door of
the tabernacle." See note on i. 3.

It is most holy. — See on ii. 3.

Ver. 25. The priest that ofifereth it. — For
the exceptions see ver. 30. The flesh of the or
dinary sin-offering belonged, not to the priests
as a body, but to the particular priest that of-
f:red it. It was, however, much more than he
could consume alone, and therefore in ver. 29
all miles of the priestly family were allowed to
eat of it, doubtless on the invitation of the offi
ciating priest, or by some established arrange
ment.

Ver. 27. Shall be holy.— As in ver. 18. In
regard to the peculiarly sacred character of the
sin offering Lange says, "the complete surren
der to Jehovah is expressed in three ways: 1)
Forbidding the flesh to the unclean ;" [But this,
although to be supposed, is not mentioned here,
whereas it is very emphatically commanded in
connection with the peace offerings, vii. 20, 21]
" 2) Washing the garments sprinkled with blood
in a holy place, or in the court. Here the re
gard is not for the cleansing of the garment, but
for the blood, — it must not be carried on the
garment out of the sanctuary; 3) If the vessel in
which the fiesh was cooked was earthen, it had
to be broken, if of copper, it had to be scoured
and rinsed, so that nothing of the substance of
the flesh should remain sticking to it." On the
reason for the peculiar sacredriess with which
the flesh of the sin offering was regarded vari
ous opinions have been held. It seems unneces
sary, however, to look for this reason in the sup-,
position that the victim was regarded as bearing
either the sins of the offerer, or the punishment
due to those sins. The simple fact that God had
appointed the sin-offering as a means whereby
sinfulness might "be covered," and sinful man
might, approach Him in His perfect holiness, is
enough to invest that means, like the altar upon
which it was offered, with a sacredr.ess which
needs no analysis for its explanation. The very
important passage, ch. x. 17, usually referred to
in this connection, will be treated of in its place.

Thou shalt wash. — The second person is
used because the command is addressed to the
priest. The garment referred to is probably
that of the offerer; it might easily happen that
this would sometimes be stained by the spurting
of the blood of the victim, but he was not to wash
it himself; no particle of the blood might be* car
ried out of the sanctuary, and none might med
dle with it but the divinely appointed priest.

Ver. 28. But the earthen vessel.— Un-
glazed earthenware would absorb the juices of
the flesh so that they could not be removed ;
hence such vessels must be broken that the flesh
of the sin offering might not be profaned. The
brazen pot probably stands for any metallic
vessel, and these being less porous, might be
perfectly freed from the flesh by scouring ami
rinsing. For the same reason the earthen vessel
into which any of the small unclean animals
wh^n dead had fallen (xi. 33, 35), must be
broken ; from its absorptive qualities it took the
character of that which had been within it, and

was unfit for other use. No direction is given
for the disposition of the broken fragments. It
is more likely that they were disposed of with
the ashes from the altar, than that, as Jewish
tradition affirms, the earth opened to swallow
them up. No mention is made of any other me
thod of cooking the flesh of the sacrifice than by
boiling. From 1 Sam. ii. 13-15, and from the
allusion in Zech. xiv. 21, it would appear that
the same method was observed also in later ages.

Ver. 29. All the males. — Comp. Note on
ver. 18.

Ver. 30. But no sin offering whereof any
of the blood is brought in the tabernacle.
—Comp. iv. 5-7, 11, 12, 16-18, 21; xvi. 27. This
shows that from the foregoing directions the
sin offerings for the high-priest and for the whole
congregation are to be excepted ; for these no
directions are here given, since the priest had
nothing more to do with them than has already
been provided for in ch. iv.

D. Instructions for the priests concerning
trespass offerings, vii. 1-6.

In the LXX. this and the next division (vii. 7-
10) form a part of ch. vi. This is certainly the
better division ; but the A. V. has here followed
the Hebrew, as in the division between chaps,
v, and vi., it followed the LXX. — in both cases
for the worse.

In the former directions for the trespass offer
ing (v. 14 — vi. 7) designed for the people, no
thing is said of what parts are to be burned on
the altar, nor of the disposal of the remainder.
The directions on these points are now given to
the priests. The ritual is precisely the same a.s
for the ordinary sin-offering except in the treat
ment of the blood. This was to be treated as
that of the burnt and of the peace offerings, viz.
to be sprinkled on the sides of the altar, instead
of being placed on its horns as in the sin
offering. See iii. 2, 8, 13; iv. 6, 30, 34.
The Codex Middoth (iii. 1) is quoted for the
tradition of the Jews that there was a scarlet
thread or line around the altar just at the middle
of its height ; an I that the blood of the burnt
offering was sprinkled above, and that of the
trespass offering below this line. No mention
is made of laying on of hands in the trespass
offering, either here or in v. 14 — vi. 7 (where it
would more naturally occur). Knobelargues from
this omission that it was omitted in this offering ;
it is more likely that there is no mention of it
because it was a universal law in the case of all
victims and therefore did not require to be spe
cified.

Ver. 3. The fat tail is specified because the
victim in the trespass offering must always be a
ram. For other points see ch. iii.

E. Instructions concerning the priests' por
tion of fhe above, vii. 7-10.

Before proceeding to those sacrifices, of which
a part was returned to be consumed by the of
ferer, summary directions are now given in re
gard to all the preceding offerings, which were
wholly devoted to the Lord, whether by being
wholly consumed upon the altar, or partly eaten
by the priests.

Ver. 7. One law for them — i. e., in respect
to the matter here treated of, the disposal of their
flesh. The priest that maketh atonement.

LEVITICUS.

— The flesh of these victims did not become the
common property of the priestly body, but was
the peculiar perquisite of the officiating priest.
He might, of course, ask others, and especially
those who were hindered by bodily infirmity
from officiating, to share it with him.

Ver. 8. Shall have to himself the skin.—
Since this was unsuitable for burning upon the
altar, and yet the victim was wholly devoted.
No directions are any where given in regard to
the skins of the other offerings, except those
which were to be burned with the flesh without
the camp. The Minima (Sebach 12, 3) says that
the skins of all victims designated as "moatholy "
were given to the priests, while those of other
victims (i, e., the peace offerings in their variety)
belonged to the offerer. This distinction, being
in accordance with the character of the sacrifice,
is probably true. Among the heathen, the skin
of the sacrificial animals usually belonged to the
priest, and was by them often perverted to super
stitious uses. See Patrick, Kalisch, and others.
Some commentators trace the origin of the cus
tom in regard to the burnt offering back to
Adam; it rather lies still further back in the
nature of the sacrifice.

Ver. 9. And all the oblation. — Except, of
course, the "memorial," which was burned
upon the altar, and which having been carefully
provided for in chap, ii., did not require to be
specified in this brief summary. In this verse
all cooked oblations are assigned to the officiating
priest; while in the next all that are uncooked
are given to the priestly body equally. The
former included all the oblations of ii. 4-10, and
it is generally supposed that even these required
to be consumed without delay ; the latter include
the oblations of ii. 1, an I probably that of ii. 15 ;
also the alternative sin offering of v. 11, and the
jealousy offering of Num. v. 15. Only the two
litter come under the class of dry, the others
being mingled with oil. Thus all oblations,
except that of the thank offering (vii. 14) and
the "memorial" in all cases, was in oneway or
the other consumed by the priests. A secondary
object in the assignment of these sacrifices was
the support of the priests. See Ezek. xliv. 29.

F. Instructions for the priests in regard to
the peace offerings in their variety, vii. 11-21.

For the reason why the peace offerings are
here placed last, see note on vi. 24.

We here enter upon an entirely different kind
of sacrifice from those which have gone before,
and therefore there is a different ritual. The
former had reference to the means of approach
to God througli the forgiveness of sin ; these are
more closely connected with the idea of con
tinued communion with God, and hence, so far
as their object is concerned, seem to belong more
properly to the second part of the book. Never
theless, for the purpose of law, the stronger con
nection is, as sacrifices, with the general laws
of sacrifice, and hence they must necessarily be
placed here. Moreover, they are not to be con
sidered altogether by themselves, but, as Outram
has noted, as generally following piacular sacri
fices, and therefore as together with them form
ing the complete act of worship.

The peace offerings might be of any animal
allowed for sacrifice (except birds which were

too small for the accompanying feast) as is pro
vided in chap. iii. They might be of either the
herd or the flock, and either male or female. No
limitation of age is given in the law, although
Jewish tradition limits the age of those offered
from the herd to from one to three years, and
of those from the flock to from one to two years
complete. On the place for the killing of the
victims, see note on i. 11. Historical examples
of these offerings are very frequent in the later
books, e. y , 1 Sara. i. 4; ix. 13, 24; xi. 15; xvi.
3, 5; 1 Kings viii. 65; 1 Chron. xvi. 3, etc. Si
milar sacrificial feasts among the heathen are fa
miliar to all readers of Homer.

Three varieties of the peace offering are dis
tinguished, or rather two principal kinds, the
second of which is again subdivided — (a) The
thank offering, vers. 12-15, which included all
the public and prescribed peace offerings; (b)
the (1) vow, or (2) voluntary offering, vers. 16-
18, both of which were sacrifices of individuals.
The two kinds were broadly separated from one
another by the length of time during which it
was lawful to eat the flesh, while the sub-varie
ties of the second kind are only distinguished in
the purpose of the offerer. " There are three
possible forms in which man can offer with re
ference to his prosperity or safety : praise and
thanksgiving for experiences in the past; promi
sing in regard to a desire in the future; expression
of thankful prosperity in the present." Lange.

Vers. 12-15. The thank offering.

Ver. 12. The thank offering was accompanied
by an oblation of three kinds, to which a fourth
was added (ver. 13) of leavened bread, which
last is perhaps to be considered as an accompani
ment rather than a part of the offering, as it is
doubtful whether it is included in the "heave
offering" of ver. 14. Still, as none of this ob
lation was placed upon the altar, the leavened
bread would not come under the prohibition of
ii. 11 and of Ex. xxiii. 18; xxxiv. 25. The
drink offerings prescribed with this and other
sacrifices in Num. xv. (and alluded to in
Lev. xxiii. 18, 37) ns to be offered "when ye
be come into the land of your habitation," are
not mentioned here, probably because they were
not easily obtained during the life in the wilder
ness. The abundance of bread of various kinds
here required was in view of the sucrificial meal
to follow. Jewish tradition affirms that with
certain peace offerings of festivals (Ilagigah and
Sheincah] no bread was offered.

Ver. 14. One out of each offering — i. e.,
one cake out of the number of each kind pre
sented, and perhaps one from the loaves of
leavened bread. An heave offering. — Herein
this oblation is strongly distinguished from the
oblations accompanying the burnt offering. No
part of them was placed upon the altar. Comp.
the heave offerings of the Levites, Num. xviii.
26-30. It must be inadvertently that Lange says
"one of the unleavened cakes was offered to Je
hovah on His altar as a heave offering; all the
rest of the meat, offering fell to the share of the
priest who sacrificed ;" for it is plain from the
text that the one offered as a heave offering was
not consumed, but belonged to the officiating
priest, while the rest were returned to the of
ferer. The heave offering was waved in the

CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 38.

hands up and down before the altar, but not '
placed upon it.

Ver. 15. Shall be eaten the same day.—

Comp. the similar provision in regard to the
Paschal lamb, Ex. xii. 10, and also in regard to
the manna, Ex. xvi. 19. The same command is
repeated in regard to the thank offering in xxii.
29, 30; while the greater liberty allowed in the
vow and voluntary offerings (ver. 16) is also re
peated xix. 5-8. In both cases Jewish tradition
affirms that the rule applied also to the accom
panying oblations. The difference of time al
lowed in which the flesh of these two kinds of
peace offerings might be eaten evidently marks
the one as of a superior sacredness to the other.
Yet it is not easy to say wherein precisely the
difference consisted. The general observation is
that the thank offering* were purely unselfish,
offered in gratitude for blessings already re
ceived; while the vow and voluntary offerings
had respect to something yet hoped for, and
therefore involved a selfish element. But it is
not altogether clear that this was the case with
the voluntary offering. Outram (p. 131, Eng
tr. ), on the authority of Maitnonides and Abar
banel, makes the distinction to consist in tbe vow
offering being general — a promise to present a
certain kind of victim or its value, and this re
mained in all cases bin ling ; while the voluntary
offering was particular — a promise to present a
particular animal, which became void in case of
the animal's death. Uri.ler this interpretation
both have respect to the future. If there were
any accidental remainder of the thank offer, n<r
after the first day, it was doubtless consumed
(but not on the altar), as in the case of the Pas
chal lamb (Ex. xii. 10) and of the other peace
offerings (ver. 17), and the consecration offerings
(Ex. xxix. 34). Several reasons have been as
signed for the limitation of the time for eating.
Outram says, '-The short space of time within
which the victims mi^ht be eaten, seems to have
been designed to prevent any corruption of the
sacrifices, and to guard against covetousness, '
arid he quotes Philo at length in support of this
double reason. The incentive hereby added to
the command to shire these feasts with the
poor, and especially the poor Levites, though en
tirely rejected by Keil, is made more or less pro
minent by Theodoret (who gives this reason
only). Corn, a Lapide, Kalisch, Roseumiiller, an.l
otiiers. "The recollection that in warm lands
moat soon spoils, may give us the idea that the
feaster was compelled in consequence to invite
in the poor." Lange. It must be remembered also
that the feast would rapidly lose its sacrificial as
sociations as the interval was prolonged between
it and the offering of the sacrifice.

Vers. 16-18. The vow and voluntary offerings.
The distinction between these has already been
pointed out. Both were clearly inferior to the
thank offering. It is to be remembered that
these did riot belong to the class of expiatory of
ferings, and hence the vow offering of St. Paul
(Acts xviii. 18 ; xxi. 23-26) had in it nothing in
consistent with his faith in the one Sacrifice for
sins offered on Calvary. These offerings might
be eaten on the two days following the sacrifice,
bul the remainder on the third day shall be
burnt with fire.

Ver. 18. The penalty for the transgression of
this command was not only that the offering
went for nothing — it shall not be accepted;
but further, it shall be an abomination, and
the soul that eateth of it shall bear his ini
quity. The sense is not, as many suppose, that
me offering being made void, the offerer re
mained with his former iniquity uncleansed ; for
these offerings were not at all appointed for the
purpose of atonement, or the forgiveness of sin;
but that the offerer, having transgressed a plain
and very positive command, must bear the conse
quences of such transgression.

The distinctions in regard to these offerings
(as in the case of those which have gone before)
embrace only the common sacrifices of their
kind. There were other special peace offerings
(xxiii. 19, 20) which were otherwise dealt with.

In later times, the place where the peace-
offerings might be eaten was restricted to the
holy city (Deut. xii. 6, 7, 11, 12); at present,
there was no occasion for such a command,
while all were together in the camp in the wil
derness. But all sacrificial animals slain for food
must be offered as sacrifice to the Lord (xvii. 3, 4 ).

Kalisch (p. 144 ss.) says: "The character of
these feasts cannot be mistaken. It was that of
joyfulness tempered by solemnity, of solemnity
tempered by joyfulness: the worshipper had
submitted to GoJ an offering from his property;
he now received back from Him a part of the
dedicated gift, an i thus experienced anew the
samn gracious beneficence which had enabled
him to appear with his wealth before the altar;
he therefore consumed that portion with feelings
of humility and thankfulness ; but he was bid
den at once to manifest those blissful sentiments
by sharing- the meat not only with his house
hold, which thereby was reminded of the divine
protection and mercy, but also with his needy
fellow-beings, whether laymen or servants of
the temple. Thus these beautiful repasts were
stamped both with religious emotion and human
virtue. The relation of friendship between God
and the offerer which the sacrifice exhibited
was expressed and sealed by the feast which
intensified that relation into one of an actual
covenant ; the momentary harmony was extended
to a permanent union ; and these notions could
not be expressed more intelligibly, at least to
an Eastern people, than by a common meal,
which to them is the familiar image of friend
ship and communion, of cheerfulness and joy.
.... Some critics have expressed an opposite
view, contending that, the offerer was not consi
dered as the guest of God, but, on the contrary,
God as the guest of the offerer; but this is
against the clear expressions of the law; the
sacrificer surrendered the whole v'ctirn to the
Deity (iii. 1, 6, 7. 12), and confirmed his inten
tion by burning on the altar the fat parts, which
represented the entire animal. . . . The Apos
tle Paul says distinctly: 'Are not they who eat
of the sacrifices partakers of the altar' or 'of
the Lord's table?' "

Vers. 19-21. The sanctity of even this inferior
sacrifice is strongly guarded. Peace-offerings
being representative especially of communion
with the Most Holy, all uncleanness or contact
with uncleanness is rigorously forbidden.

LEVITICUS.

Ver. 19. And as for the flesh, all that be
clean shall eat thereof, — meaning, of course,
the flesh in general — that which bus not touched
any unclean thing. The sense might easily be
made more clear; but there is no ground for
altering the translation.

Ver. 20. Shall be cut off from his people,
i. e. be excommunicated, cast out from the com
monwealth of Israel. This might sometimes, as
in Ex. xxxi. 14, involve also the punishment of
death, but only when the offence was also a
civil one. Capital punishment is not intended
by the expression itself. — That pertain unto
the Lord. — This shows plainly enough that the
victim, once offered, was considered as belong
ing to God, and hence that they who feasted
upon it were the guests of the Lord.

Ver. 21. Unclean beast, etc. This is fo be
understood of the dead bodies of these animals.
TJncleanness was not communicated by their
touch while living ; but, on the other hand, it
was communicated by the touch of the body,
even of clean animals which had died a natural
death, or as we should say, of carrion.

Nothing is here said of the portion of the
priests, that being the subject of a distinct di
vine communication (vers. 28-30).

G. Instructions in regard to the Fat and the
Blood. Vers. 22-27. From its importance, this
group of commands forms the exclusive subject
of another communication, and is addressed to
the people, because, while these portions were in
the especial charge of the priests, it was neces
sary to warn the people very carefully against
making use of them themselves. It comes ap
propriately in connection with the peace offer
ings, because.it was only of these that the peo
ple eat at all, and hence here there was especial
liability to transgress this command.

Ver. 22. No manner of fat, of ox, or of
sheep, or of goat. — The prohibition of the
eating of fat extends only to the sacrificial ani
mals, and is to be so understood in ch. iii. 17.
The reason of this prohibition appears in ver.
25 : this fat was appropriated to burning upon
the altar, and hence any other use of it was a
profanation. While the Israelites were in the
wilderness, all animals slain for food, which
were allowed in sacrifice, were presented as
victims, and their fat was burned on the altar.
Afterwards, in view of the settlement in the
promised land, this restriction was removed,
Deut. xii. 15, 21. With that permission the
prohibition of blood is emphatically repeated;
but nothing is said of the fat. Hence Keil ar
gues that in such case the eating of the fat was
allowable, and this opinion is strongly confirmed
by Deut. xxxii. 14, enumerating among the good
things to be enjoyed the "fat of lambs, and
rams of the breed of Bashan." Nevertheless,
the language of universal prohibition is distinct,
in ch. iii. 1", unless that is to be understood
only of animals offered in sacrifice. The gene
rality of commentators understand, in accord
ance with Jewish tradition, that the fat of the
sacrificial animals was perpetually forbidden.
In any case the prohibited fat was of course
that which was burned on the altar, the separa
ble fat, not that which was intermingled with
the flesh.

Ver. 24. That which died of itself, its Moo I
not having been poured out, and that which was
torn of beasts, was prohibited as food (xxii. 8),
and if any partook of it, he must undergo puri
fication, and "be unclean until the even" (xvii.
15). The fat of such animals therefore could
no more be eaten than their flesh; but since it
was also unfit for the altar, it might be used
in any other use. Nothing is said of the fat
of fowls as no special use was made of this oa
i he altar.

Vers. 26, 27. The prohibition of blood is ab
solute and perpetual, and this for the reasons
given in xvii. 11. It has been urged that as
nothing is anywhere said of the blood of fish,
that is not included in the prohibition. More
probably this was of too little importance to ob
tain particular mention, and the general princi
ple on which blood is absolutely forbidden must
be considered as applying here also, notwith
standing any tradition to the contrary.

H. Instructions for the priests' portion of the
peace offerings. Vers. 28-36.

This, the final communication of this part of
the book, is also addressed to the people, be
cause the priests' poriion was taken from that
which would otherwise have been returned to
them, and it therefore concerned them to under
stand the law. It stands here quite in its right
place: "When the priest's rights in all the
other sacrifices were enumerated, this was omit
ted, because the people here took the place of
the priest in respect of the flesh. When the
special nature of this offering in this respect
has been made prominent, a new communication
is made, addressed to the sons of Israel, and
directing them, among other things, to assign
certain portions of the victim to the priest."
Murphy.

Ver. 29. Shall bring his offering unto
the Lord. — The object of this provision seems
to be to secure an actual, instead of a merely
constructive offering. As most of the flesh was
to be consumed by the offerer, it might possibly
have been supposed sufficient merely to send
in the consecrated parts ; but the law regards
the whole as offered to the Lord, and therefore
requires that it shall be distinctly presented
before Him.

Ver. 30. His own hands shall bring. —
Still further to guard the sacrificial character
of this offering, which was more in danger of
being secularized than any other, it is required
that the parts especially destined for the Lord's
use might not be sent in by any servant or other
messenger, but must be presented by the offer
er's own hands. Comp. viii. 27; Ex. xxix.
24-26; Num. vi. 19, 20.— The fat with the
breast. — The construction of Sj?_ is as in Ex.
xii. 8, 9. Breast is that part "between the shoul
ders in front which we call the brisket, and which
included the cartilaginous breast-bone.

A wave-offering. — The breast is to be a
wave-offering, the right leg (ver. 31) a heave-
offering. These two kinds of offering are
clearly distinguished in the law. Both are
men'ioned tog-ther in ver. 34, and frequently
(x. 14,15; Ex. xxix 24-27 ; Num. vi. 20; xviii.
11, 18, 19, etc.) as distinct offerings ; -the heave-

CHAP. VI. 8— VII. 38.

offering is mentioned alone (xxii. 12; Ex. xxv.
2, 3; xxx. 13-15; xxxv. 5; xxxvi. 3, 6; Num.
xv. 19-21 ; xviii. 24 ; xxxi. 29, 41, 52, etc.], and so
is the wave offering (xiv. 12, 21, 24; xxiii. 15,
17, 20; Ex. xxxviii. 24, 29; Num. viii. 11, 13,
etc.); although both apparently are sometimes
used simply in the sense of offering and coupled
together without distinction of meaning (Ex.
xxxv. 21-24); both are here applied to the offer
ings of metal for the tabernacle, though the
other offerings are only spoken of as heave
offerings. The distinction is much obscured in
the A. V. by the frequent translation of both by
the simple word offering, and sometimes without
any note of this in the margin. In regard to
the parts of the sacrifices designated by the two
terms, the distinction is clearly marked; the
heave-leg belonged exclusively to the officiating
priest, while the wave-breast was the common
property of the priestly order. The distinction
in the ceremonial between them it is less easy to
make. That of the wave offering appears to
have been the more solemn and emphatic, con
sisting in the priest placing his hands under
those of the offerer (which held the offering to
be waved), and moving them to and fro — some
of the Rabbins say, towards each of the four
quarters, and also up and down. The heaving,
on the other hand, appears to have been a sim
ple lifting up of the offering. (See authorities
in Outram I. 15, g V.) In all cases of the wave
offering of parts of animals, only the fat was
burned, except in the peculiar case of the con
secration of the priests comman.ded in Ex. xxix.
22-26, and fulfilled in viii. 25-29, when the leg
was also burned. In the case of the " waving "
of the Levites (Num. viii. 11-19), they were
wholly given up to God as the rninistrants of the
priests. Langesays: " The breast may repre
sent the bold readiness, the leg the energetic
progress, which in the priest are always desi
rable."

During the sojourn in the wilderness, where
all sacrificial animals that were to be eaten were
offered in sacrifice, the priests' portion was only
the breast and the right leg ; afterwards, when
permission was given to kill these animals for
food in the scattered habitations of the people,
and thereby the perquisites of the priests were
greatly reduced, there was added (Deut. xviii.
3) "the shoulder (JHI) and the two cheeks and
the maw."

Ver. 34. A statute forever. — As long as the
sacrificial system and the Aaronic priesthood
should endure.

Ver. 35. In the day when he presented
them. — At the time when God, by the hand of
Moses, brought them near to minister. The verb
is without an expressed nominative in the He
brew as in the English.

Toe conclusion of this part of the book. Vers.
37, 38.

Ver. 37. The enumeration in this verse is to
be understood not merely of the immediately pre
ceding section ; but of the whole law of sacrifice
as given in all the preceding chapters.

Of the consecrations. — Lit., "of the fill
ings" se. of the hands. Comp. Ex. xxix. 19-28.
The ordinance for the consecration of the priests

has been given in full there; but still something
of it has been directed here (vi. 19-23) so that it
must necessarily appear in this recapitulation.

Ver. 38. In Mount Sinai.— That this ex
pression is used broadly for the region of Mt.
Sinai, not distinctively for the mountain itself,
is apparent from the concluding clause of the

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. In the stress laid upon the necessity of
maintaining perpetually the fire divinely kindled
on the altar, is taught, the necessity of the divine
approval of the means by which man seeks to
approach God. The only Mediator under the
old Covenant as under the new, is Christ ; but
as the divine appointment was of old necessary
to constitute the types which prefigured Him,
and by means of which the worshipper availed
himself of His sacrifice, — so now, man may claim
the benefits of Christ's work for his redemption
only in those ways which God has approved.

II. The priests, and the high-priest, like the
people, must offer oblations and sacrifices. They
were separated from the people only in so far as
the functions of their office required; in the in
dividual relation of their souls to God, they
formed no caste, and stood before Him on no dif
ferent footing from others. This is a funda
mental principle in all the divine dealings with
man ; " there is no respect of persons with God,"
(Rom. ii. 1 1, etc.).

III. In the assimilation of the trespass to the
sin offering is shown how wrong done to man is
also sin against God ; while in the peculiar or
dinances belonging to the sin offering alone, we
see the peculiar sinfulness of that sin which is
committed directly against God.

IV. The provision for a portion for the priests
from the various offerings, and from the oblation
accompanying the whole burnt offering sets forth
in adt the general principle declared in words in
the New Testament, " that they which minister
about holy things live of the things of the tem
ple." (1 Cor. ix. 13).

V. The peace offerings are called in the LXX.
frequently "sacrifices of praise " (Ovaiat rijg al-
veacus) ; by the use of the same phraseology in
the Ep. to the Heb; (xiii. 15) applied to Christ,
He is pointed out as the Antitype of this sacri
fice: " By Him, therefore, let, us offer the sacri
fice of praise (ftva'iav aiveoec,^) to God continu
ally;" and again (ver. 10) " We have an altar
whereof they have no right to eat which serve
the tabernacle."

VI. In the oblation accompanying the peace
offering leavened bread was required. This
could not be admitted for burning upon the altar
for reasons already given ; nevertheless it must
be presented to the Lord for a heave offering.
Many things in man's daily life cannot, from
their nature, be directly appropriated to the ser
vice of God ; yet all must be sanctified by being
presented before Him.

VH. In the strict prohibition to the people of
the fat which was appropriated as the Lord's
portion was taught, in a way suited to the ap
prehension of the Israelites, the general princi
ple that whatever has been appropriated to God
may not rightly be diverted to any other use.

LEVITICUS.

VIII. The various kinds of sacrifice here re
cognized as means of approach to God, and the
provisions for their constant repetition, alike
indicate their intrinsic insufficiency and tempo
rary character. Otherwise " would they not
have ceased to be offered, because that the wor
shippers once purged should have had no more
conscience of sins ?" (Heb. x. 2).

IX. The same temporary and insufficient cha
racter attached to the peace offerings, which ex
pressed communion with God. As Keil has
pointed out, they still left the people in the outer
court, while God was enthroned behind the vail
in the holy of holies, and this vail could only be
removed by the sacrifice on Calvary. And in
general, as the office of the old Covenant was to
give the knowledge of sin rather than, by any
thing within itself, completely to do it away ; so
was it designed to awaken rather than to satisfy
the desire for reconciliation and communion
with God. In so far as it actually accomplished
either purpose, it was by its helping the faith
of the worshippers to lean, through itd types,
upon the one true Sacrifice in the future.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

VI. Vers. 9-13. The ever-burning fire ; kin
dled by God, but kept alive by man; the accept
ance of our efforts to approach God is frum Him,
but He gives or withholds it according to our
desire and exertion. '' Quench not the Spirit."
(1 Thess. v. 19). The Spirit Suorrotei, but it is
for us avaZc>)~vp£iv (2 Tim. i. 6) Wordsworth. Put
on his linen garment ; the inward purity re
quired in those who are serving immediately at
the altar is fitly symbolized by outward signs.
Even that which is becoming in service of other
kinds, as the carrying forth of the ashes, may
well be replaced in duties which are more nearly
related to the divine Presence.

Vers. 14-18. The oblation. That is truly of
fered to God which is consumed in His service,
though but the '• memorial " of it and the frank
incense, typifying prayer and praise, can be ac
tually rjivcn directly to Him. Whatsoever
toucheth them shall be holy. — As there is
a contaminating effect in contact with evil, so
is thcro a sanctifying effect from close contact
with that which is holy. The woman in the
Gospel by faith touched the holy One, a,nd virtue
went forth to heal her from her uncleanness.
Origen (Horn. 4 in Lev.).

Vers. 19-23. The high-priest must offer an ob
lation for himself as well as for the people. Man
never reaches on earth a stage of holiness so
high that he needs not means of approach to
God; He alone who " was without sin" offered
Himself for us.

Vers. 24-30. Everything connected with the
sin-offering is to be scrupulously guarded from
defilement, and everything which it touches re
ceives from it somewhat of its own character ; a
fit emblem and type of the true Sacrifice for sins,

Himself without sin. Whoever seeks the benefit
of this Sacrifice, must '• die unto sin," and who
ever is sprinkled by His all-availing blood be
comes thereby " purged from sin." Yet even
so, the virtue of that blood may not be carried
out of the sanctuary of God's presence ; they
whd, having been touched by the blood shed on
Calvary, would depart from communion with God,
must leave behind them all the efficacy of that
atonement.

VII. Vers. 1-6. Though the sin whose promi
nent feature is harm done, be less than that in
which the offence is more directly against God,
yet for the forgiveness of one there is essentially
the same law as for the other. Both are viola
tions of the law of love, and love toward God and
man are so bound together that neither can truly
exist without the other (1 Jno. iv. 20), and there
can be no breach of the one without the other.

Vers. 11-21. The peace offering was at once
communion of the offerer with God and also the
opportunity for extending his bounty to his fel
low-men. So always there is the same connec
tion. It was said to Cornelius, "Thy prayers
and thine alms are come up for a memorial."
" To do good and to communicate forget not ;
for with such sacrifices God is well pleased"
(Heb. xiii. 16). The thank offering has a higher
place than the vow or the voluntary offering:
that is a nearer communion .with God in which
the grateful heart simply pours out its thanks
givings, than that in which, with some touch of
selfishness, it still seeks some further blessing.
Yet both are holy. But uncleanness allowed to
continue, debarred from such communion ; and
sin. unrepented, in its very nature now forbids it.

Vers. 37, 38. A summary of the law of sacri
fice in its variety. All these sacrifices were (as
elsewhere shown) types of Christ; for it was
impossible that the fulness of His gracious offices
could be set forth by any single type. He is at
once the whole burnt offering of complete conse
cration of Himself, through whom also we "pre
sent our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, accept
able unto God ; ' and He is, too, the oblation, as
that which man must present to God with his
other sacrifices, as it is in and through Christ
alone that our sacrifices can be acceptable ; He
is the sin offering, as it is through Him alone
that our sins can be "covered" and effectual
atonement be made for us; as trespass offering
also, it is through His love shed abroad from
Calvary, that we learn that love towards our fel
low-men in the exercise of which ouly can our
transgressions against Him be forgiven ; and so
too is He the peace offering, for His very name
is "Peace." His coming was "peace on earth,"
and by Him have we peace and communion with
God. No one of these alone can fully typify
Christ; beforehand each of His great offices in
our behalf must be set forth by a separate sym
bolical teaching ; but when He has come, all
these separate threads are gathered into one,
and He is become our "all in all"

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD.

PART SECOND. HISTORICAL.

CHAPTERS VIII.— X.

"The Sacrificing Priesthood: Its Consecration and its Typical Discipline shown by the Death of

Nadab and Abihu" — LANGE.

The law of sacrifices having now been given, and the duties of the priests in regard to them appointed, all necessary
preparation has been made for carrying out the consecration of the priests as commanded in Ex. xxix. This historical sec
tion follows, therefore, in its natural order, and takes up the thread of events at the clo.se of th<> book of Exodus, where it
vas broken off that the necessary laws might be announced. There is, first, the consecration of the priests (chap, viii.), oc
cupying seven days; then the record of the actual entrance of Aaron and his sons upon the discharge of their functions
(chap, ix.); closing with the account of the transgression of two of those sons in their first official act, and their consequent
punishment, together with certain instructions for the priests occasioned by this event (chap. x.X To enter understandingly
upon the consideration of these chapters, it is necessary to have in mind the origin, nature, and functions of the priest
hood. These will be briefly discussed in the following

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD.

In the early days of the human race such
priestly functions as were exercised at all were
naturally undertaken by the head of the family,
and hence arose what is called the patriarchal
priesthood, of which the Scripture patriarchs are
standing illustrations. When, however, families
were multiplied and formed into communities or
nations, the former provision was manifestly in
sufficient, and we meet with instances of priests
for a larger number, as Jethro, "the priest of
Midian" (for priest seems here to be the proper

rendering of jn3). The chief priestly office was
sometimes, and perhaps generally, associated
with the chief civil authority, as in the case of

4<Melchisedec, king of Salem the priest

of the Most. High God" (Gen. xiv. 18), and
among the heathen, Balak, who offered his sacri
fices himself (Num. xxiii.); a trace of this custom
may perhaps be preserved in the occasional use

of \r\3 for prince (Job xii. 19; 2 Sam. viii. 18;
xx. 26?). But in large nations the actual func
tions of the priestly office must necessarily have
devolved chiefly upon inferior priests. In Egypt
the Israelites had been accustomed to a numerous,
wealthy, and powerful body of priests, at the
head of which stood the monarch. It is unneces
sary to speak of these further than to note a few
points in which they were strongly contrasted
with the priests of Israel. In the first place, al
though the monarch was at the head of the whole
priestly caste, yet as the popular religion of
Egypt was polytheistic, each principal Divinity
had his especial body of priests with a high-
priest at their head. In contrast with this, mo
notheism was distinctly set forth in the Levitical
legislation, by the one body of priests, with its
single high-priest at its head. The Egyptian
priests maintained an esoteric theology, not com
municated to the people, in which it would ap

pear that the unity of the Self-existent God and
many other important truths were taught; in
Israel the priests were indeed the keepers and
guardians of the law (Deut. xxxi. 9, etc.), but
they were diligently to teach it all to the people
(Lev. x. 11), to read the whole of it every seventh
year to all the assembled people (Deut. xxxi.
10-13), to supply the king with a copy for him
self to write out in full (Deut. xvii. 18, 19), and
in general to teach God's judgments to Jacob and
His law to Israel (Deut. xxxiii. 10). While,
therefore, from the nature of their occupation,
they might be expected to have a more perfect
knowledge of the law than the generality of the
people, this knowledge was only more perfect as
the result of more continued study, and might be
equalled by any one who chose, and was actually
shared by every one as far as he chose. The
Egyptian priests were, moreover, great landed
proprietors (besides being fed from the royal
revenues, Gen. xlvii. 22), and actually possessed
one-third of the whole territory of Egypt; the
priests of Israel, on the contrary, were expressly
excluded from the common inheritance of the
tribes, and had assigned to them only the cities
with their immediate suburbs actually required
for their residence. The priesthood of Egypt
culminated in the absolute monarch who was at
their head, and in whose authority they in some
degree shared ; in Israel, on the other hand, the
line between the civil and the priestly authority
and functions was most sharply drawn, primarily
in the case of Moses and Aaron, Joshua and
Eleazar, generally in the time of the judges (al
though in that troubled period this, like all other
parts of the Mosaic system, was sometimes con
fused), and finally under the monarchy. It is
indeed sometimes asserted that the kings, by
virtue of their prerogative, were entitled to exer
cise priestly functions; but for this there is no
real ground. The instances relied on are either

LEVITICUS.

manifest cases of sacrifice offered at the command
of the monarch (1 Kings iii. 15; viii. 62-64) ; or
of the simple wearing of an ephod (2 Sam. vi.
14), which by no means carried with it the
priestly office; or else are misinterpretations of
a particular word (1 Kings iv. 2, 5 — see the
Textual notes there; 2 Sam. viii. 18 — the only
case of real difficulty — comp. 1 Chr. xviii. 17).
There are bat two definite instances of the as
sumption of priestly functions by kings, and
both of them were most sternly punished (1
Sam. xiii. 10-14; 2 Chron. xxvi. 16-21). There
was also the intrusion of Korah and his compa
nions on the priestly office and their exemplary
punishment (Num. xvi.). In the later abnormal
state under the Maccabees, it was not the kings
who assumed priestly functions, but the priests
who absorbed the royal prerogative. With these
contrasts, it is plain that there was little in com
mon between the Egyptian and Levitical priest
hood, except what is necessarily implied in the
idea of a priesthood at all, and is found in that
of the nations of antiquity generally. They
were, however, both hereditary (as was also the
Brahminical priesthood) ; both were under a law
of the strictest personal cleanliness, and there
was a resemblance between them in several mat
ters of detail, as linen dress, and other non-es
sential matters.

When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they
were a people chosen — on condition of faithful
ness and obedience — to be "a kingdom of priests
and an holy nation" (Ex. xix. 6), and in accord
ance with this the paschal lamb was sacrificed
by each head of a household, and eaten by him
self and his family (Ex. xii. 6), and the same
idea was retained in this sacrifice always. Never
theless, the people were unprepared for so high a
vocation, and soon after we find the existence of
certain persons among the people recognized as
priests "which some near to the Lord" (Ex.
xix. 22, 24), although they did not receive the
Divine sanction necessary to the continuance of
their office. We have no knowledge of the na
ture of their functions, nor of their appointment.
However this may have been, the people cer
tainly shrank from that nearness of approach to
God implied in the office of priest (Ex. xx. 19,
21; Deut. v. 23-27), and sacrifices were offered
by "young men" appointed by Moses, he re
serving to himself the strictly priestly function
of sprinkling the blood (Ex. xxiv. 5-8). Such
was the state of things at the time of the ap
pointment of the Aaronic order; there was no
divinely authorized priesthood, and the need of
one was felt.

Meantime, in the solitude of Sinai, God di
rected Moses to take Aaron and his sons for an
hereditary priesthood (Ex. xxviii. 1), and gave
minute directions for their official dress, for
their consecration and their duties (Ex. xxviii.,
xxix.). Emphasis is everywhere placed upon
the fact that they were appointed of God (comp.
Heb. v. 4). They were in no sense appointed by
the people: had they been so, they could not
have been mediators. It has been seen that the
Levitioal system makes prominent the fact that
the sacrifices had no efficacy in themselves, but
derived their whole value from the Divine ap
pointment; so also in regard to the priesthood.

The priests appear as themselves needing atone
ment, and obliged to offer for their own sins;
yet by the commanded unction and dress they
are constituted acceptable intercessors and me
diators for the people. All was from God; an 1
while this gave assurance to the people in their
daily worship, at the same time the priests' own
imperfection showed that the true reconciliation
with God by the restoration of holiness to man
had not yet been manifested. The Leviticul
priest coulci be but a type of that Seed of the
woman who should bruise the serpent's head.

Before the directions concerning the priest
hood, given to Moses alone in the Mount, coull
be announced, occurred the terrible apostasy of
the golden calf, when, at the summons of Moses,
" who is on the Lord's side?" the whole tribe
of Levi consecrated themselves by their zeal on
God's behalf (Ex. xxxii. 25-29). Subsequently
(Num. iii. 5-10, 40-51), the Levites were taken
as a substitute for all the first-born Israelites
(who, under the patriarchal system, would have
been their priests, and who had been spared in
the slaughter of the Egyptian first-born) to mi
nister to the chosen priestly family. Of these
nothing is said in this book, except the modifica
tion in their favor of the law concerning the sale
of houses in xxv. 32-34) (see Com.). They may
therefore be here wholly passed by with the
simple mention that they never had sacerdotal
functions, and were not therefore a part of the
sacerdotal class. It is, perhaps, for the purpose
of making this distinction emphatically that no
mention is made of them in this book where it
might otherwise have been expected. As. how
ever, they constituted the tribe from which the
priests were taken, the latter are often called by
their name, and thus we frequently meet with
the expression in the later books, "the priests,
the Levites," or even with "Levites" alone,
meaning Levites, /car' kt;oxf]v, or priests.

But while there was an evident necessity that
a much smaller body than the whole tribe of Levi
should be taken for priests; and while Aaron,
the elder brother, and appointed as the "pro
phet" of Moses (Ex. iv. 14-17), and associated
with him in the whole deliverance of the people
from Egypt, was evidently a most suitable per
son for the office, the law that the office should
be hereditary must rest on other grounds. If
we seek for these in any thing beyond the sim
ple Divine good-pleasure, we should readily find
them in the general fact of the whole Mosaic
system being founded upon the principle o£heir-
ship leading on to the fulfilment of the Messianic
promise ; and in the more special one that it was
by this means the priesthood was in the main
kept true to God during long periods of Israel's
apostasy and sin.

It is to be carefully observed that this heredi
tary office did not make of the priests a caste; in
all things not immediately connected with the
discharge of their functions, they were fellow-
citizens with the other Israelites, subject to the
same laws, bound by the same duties, and ame
nable to the same penalties. When not engaged
in official duty, they wore the same dress, and
might follow the same vocations as their fellow-
citizens. They were only exempt from the pay
ment of tithes because themselves supported bjf

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD.

them. In all this is manifest a striking con
trast, not only with heathen priesthoods of an
tiquity, but also with the hierarchy of the Me
diaeval Christian Church.

The especial function of the priesthood was
to come near to God (vii. 35; x. 3; xxi. 17;
Num. xvi. 5, etc.). They were to stand in the
vast gap between a sinful people and a holy
God, themselves of the former, yet especially
sanctified to approach the latter. " Hence their
chief characteristic must be holiness, since they
were elected to be perpetually near the Holy
•One and to serve Him (Num. xvi. 5) ; they were
singled out from the rest of their brethren ' to
be sanctified as most holy.' To hallow and to
install as priests are used as correlative terms
(Ex. xxix. 33; conap. vers. 1, 44; xxviii. 41;
xl. 13). By neglecting what contributes to their
sanctity they profane the holiness of God (Lev.
xxi. 6-8) ; and the high-priest, is himself the
• Holy One of the Lord' (Ps. cvi. 16)." Kalisch.
They sustained a distinct mediatorial character
between God and His people. This appears in
every part of the law concerning them. The
gollen plate inscribed "holiness to the Lord,"
which the high-priest wore upon his brow, ex
pressly meant that he should " bear the iniquity
of the holy things which the children of Israel
shall hailow" (Ex. xxviii. 38); and the flesh of
the sin offerings was given to the priests " to
bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make
atonement for them before the Lord" (Lev. x.
17). Of course this could be done by human
priests only symbolically, as they were types of
the great High Priest to come; and His all-
sufficient sacrifice having once been offered,
there could be thereafter no other priesthood in
this relation to the people, or discharging this
mediatorial function. The Christian ministry
finds its analogy, not in the priests, but in the
prophets of the old dispensation, although even
here the likeness is very imperfect. Still, while
the priests were required to preserve and teach
the written law. it was left to the prophets to
unfold its spiritual meaning, and to urge regard
to it by argument and exhortation. It is a
striking fact that the Greek word for priest,
tepefy, and its derivatives in the New Testament,
while frequently applied to the priests of the
old covenant and to Christ Himself, their Anti
type, are never used for any office in the Chris
tian Church, except for the general priesthood
of the whole body of believers ; 7rpo^T^=pro-
pkpf, however, and its cognates are thus used
with great frequency. It is to be borne in mind
that priest, in the Levitical sense of the word,
and sacrifice are correlative terms; sacrifice
pre-supposes a priest to offer it, and a priest
must needs have "somewhat also to offer"
(Heb. viii. 3). From these points flow all the
duties of the priests, and in view of these their
qualifications, and the other laws concerning
them are fixed.

The first and chiefe-t of all their duties was
Ihe offering of sacrifice, as this was the especial
instrumentality by which men sought to draw
near to God. No sacrifice could be offered with
out the intervention of the appointed priest;
for the sacrifices having no virtue in themselves,
and deriving their value from the Divine ap

pointment, must necessarily be presented in the
way and by the persons whom God had author
ized. Hence it is that in the ritual of the sacri
fices an emphasis is always placed upon the
declaration that the priests "shall make atone
ment." The apparent exceptions to this, in the
case of Samuel and Elijah, are really but illus
trations of the principle, they being prophets
directly charged from on high to do this very
thing. In this, including the burning of in
cense, the priests were undoubtedly typical of
the one true High Priest and Mediator. They
stood, as far as was possible for man, between
God and the people, and by their acts were the
people made — at least symbolically — holy, and
brought near to God. The acts of sacrifice
which were essential and which therefore could
only be performed by the priests, were the
sprinkling or other treatment of the blood, and
the burning of such parts as were to be con
sumed upon the altar. In the sin and trespass
offerings, as well as in the oblations, which must
be wholly consecrated to God they were to con
sume the parts which were not burned.

From this essential duty naturally were de
rived a variety of others. To the priests be
longed the care of the sanctuary and its sacred
utensils, the preservation of the fire on the
brazen altar, the burning of incense on the
golden altar, the dressing and lighting of the
lamps of the golden candlestick, the charge of
the shew-bread, and other like duties. They
were necessarily concerned in all those multitu
dinous acts of the Israelites which were con
nected with sacrifices, such as the accomplish
ment of the Nazarite vow, the ordeal of jealousy,
the expiation of an unknown murder, the deter
mination of the unclean and of the cleansed lep
rous persons, garments and houses ; the regula
tion of the calendar; the valuation of devoted
property which was to be redeemed ; these and
a multitude of other duties followed naturally
from thjsir priestly office. They were also to
blow the silver trumpets on the various occa
sions of their use, and in connection with this
to exhort the soldiers about to engage in battle
to boklness, because they went to fight under
the Lord They were also, from their own
familiarity with the law, appropriately appointed
as the religious teachers of the people. From
their priestly office -they were charged to bless
the people in the name of God; and from their
privilege of consulting God especially through
the Urim and Thummim, they were made arbi
ters in disputes of importance: "by their word
shall every controversy and every violence be
tried" (Deut. xxi. 5). All these secondary du
ties flowed fr- m their primary one in connection
with the sacrifices. Hence the influence and
importance of the priests in the Hebrew* com
monwealth varied greatly with the religious
earnestness and activity of the nation. Nega
tively, it is important, to note that the priests
did not, in any considerable degree, discharge
towards the people the office of the Christian
pastor, the spiritual guide, comforter and assist
ant of his flock. It is possible that if the people
and the priests themselves had been prepared
for it, something more of this relation might
have resulted from the provisions of the law.

LEVITICUS.

Still, they were not individually the priests of
particular communities; but rather, as a body,
the priests of the whole nation. From this it
resulted that their connection with the people
was little more than simply official and rmuiste-
r-al. Insofar as the need of the pastor was
met at all under the old dispensation, as already
said, it was by the prophet rather than by the
priests.

The same thing is also true of their revenue.
This was chiefly derived from the "second
tithe," or the tenth paid to them by the Levites
from the tithes received by them from the peo
ple. Tithes were stringently commanded ; but
no power was lodged with any one for their
compulsory collection. Tlieir payment was left
absolutely to the conscientious obedience of the
people. The priests' support was supplemented
by their share of the sacrifices, first-fruits, and
other offerings of the people. Very ample pro
vision appears to be made for them in the law ;
the Levites, who were much less than a tenth of
the people, were to receive the tenth of all their
increase; and the priests, who appear to have
numbered still much less than the tenth of the
Levites, were to receive the tenth of the income
paid to them. Practically, during the far greater
part of the Hebrew history, their support ap
pears to have been precarious and insufficient,
and we know tint large numbers of them de
clined to return from the captivity of Babylon,
and many of the descendants of those who did
return did not exercise their priestly office or
claim their priestly privileges.

The qualifications for the priesthood were
first, Aaronic descent; to secure this genealogi
cal registers were kept with great care (2 Chron.
xxxi. 16. 17, etc..), and any one who could nor
find his descent upon them was not, allowed to
minister in the priest's office or to receive its
emoluments (Ezra ii. 62 ; Neh. vii. 64). Secondly,
they must be perfect physically, free from any
bodily defect or injury; otherwise, they might
eat of the priests' portion, and receive his tithe,
but tbey were forbidden to approach the altar,
or enter the sanctuary (Lev. xxi. 17-23). Fur
ther, during the time of their ministrations,
they must, be entirely fre^ from any form of
legal uncleanness (xxii. 1-7), and must practice
fivquent ablutions, especially on entering the
sacred precincts (viii. 6; Ex. xl. 30-82), and
they must carefully abstain from wine and strong
drink (ch. x. 8-10); at all times they must,
maintain an especial symbolic purity, and particu
larly must never be defiled by the contact of a
dead body, except, in the case of the very near
est relatives (xxi. 2-4). even this exception
being denied to the high-priest (ib. 10-12). No
limit of age either for the beginning or the end
of their service is fixed in the law; but in the
absence of such limitation, the age appointed
for the Levites would probably have been gene
rally regarded as fitting. In later times there
was great laxity in this respect, and Aristobulus
was appointed high-priest by Herod the Great
when only seventeen. In addition to these out
ward qualifications, exemplary holiness of life
is everywhere required of the priests, and even
in their families, violations of virtue were visited
with more severity than among others (xxi. 9).

In marriage the priests generally were only
restricted in their choice to virgins or widows
of any of the tribes of their nation (xxi. 7);
later, marriage within the Aaronic family seems
to have been preferred, and by the prophet
Ezekiel (xliv. 22) the marriage with widows
(except of priests) was forbidden them.

They were originally inducted into their office
by a solemn consecration, and were sprinkled
with the sacrificial blood and the holy anointing
oil (ch. ix.); but, except for the high-priest,
this one consecration sufficed for all their de
scendants, and was not repeated.

While on duty in the sanctuary they were
arrayed in robes of linen which might never
pass beyond the sacred precincts ; and they
must minister at the altar unshod.

In the small number of priests at first, it was
probably necessary that all of them should be
constantly on duty; but when in later times
they had greatly multiplied, they were divided
by David into twenty-four courses, each with a
chief at its head, who should minister in turn
(1 Chron. xxiv. 3, 4). This arrangement was
maintained ever alter, although on the return
from the captivity, some of the courses were
wanting from the returning exiles (Neh. xii. 1-
7; 12-21).

The whole order of the priests was concen
trated, so to speak, in the high-priest. His office
was also hereditary, but not with the tame
strictness. We find in the time of Eli that the
high priesthood had passed to the house of
Ithamar (Aaron's younger son), and from his
descendants it was again by divine direction
transferred back to the elder branch. The du
ties and responsibilities of the high-priest were
far more solemn than that of the ordinary priests.
"Pity and sympathy fil^o, according to the Ep.
to the Hebr., enter into the idea of the high-
priest." Lange. There could be only one high-
priest at a time, although a second, in some de
gree at lear-t, seems to have been permitted
during that abnormal period during the reign
of David when the ark and the tabernacle were
separated. The high-priest was restricted in
marriage to a Hebrew virgin; his official robes
were of the utmost splendor, and on his breast
he wore the precious stonts on which were en
graved the names of the twelve tribes of Is-rael,
while on the golden plate on his forehead was
inscribed "holiness unto the LORD;" he was
originally consecrated by a more ample anoint
ing rhan his brethren, and this was repeated for
each of his successors, so that he is described
as having ' the crown of the anointing oil of his
God upon him " (xxi. 12). and, as we have seen,
is often designated simply as " the anointed
priest;" he must have succeeded to his office at
whatever age his predecessor died or became
incapacitated, and continued in it to the end of
his own life, which formed a civil epoch (Num.
xxxv. 28, 32) ; no especial provision is made in
the law for his support, and history shows that
it was unnecessary to do so, as he was always
amply provided for ; the high priest was forbid
den the contact with the dead and the customary
marks of sorrow even in those few cases which
were permitted to other priests (xxi. 10-12), and
that on the express ground of the peculiar com-

CHAP. VIII. 1-36.

pleteness of bis consecration. But his chief
distinction lay in his being the embodiment, as
it were, of the whole theocracy, and the media
tor between God and tde whole people. This
was signified by manifold Sj mbols on his robes ;
it was shown by his duty of offering the sin
offering for himself and for the whole people
(the same victim being required for each); and
especially by his most solemn duties on the
great day of Atonement (eh. xvi.). From his
position and religious duties necessarily flowed
many others, as )n the case of the ordinary
priests, only that in the one case as in the other

those of the high-prirst were far higher and
more important. In the Epistle to the Hebrews
he is singled out not only as the representative
of the whole priestly system, but as peculiarly
the type of Christ, the one great High-Priest,
Who alone could make effectual atonement, once
tor all, for the sins of all people. A " second
priest," or vice high-priest, is mentioned Jer.
liu 24, and such an office is recognized by the
later Jews. Literature: KALISCII, Preliminary
Essay on Lev. VIII,, and many of the works
already mentioned under Sacrifices. KUEPER,
Das Priesterthum des Alien Bundes, Berlin, 1865.

FIRST SECTION.
The Consecration of the Priests.

CHAP. VIII. 1-36.

1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him,
and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a [the1] bullock for the sin-cfferirg,

3 and [the1] two rams, and a [the1] basket of unleavened bread : and gather thou til
the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congre-

4 gation. And Mo es did as the LORD commanded him ; and the assembly [con
gregation2] was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the]

5 congregation. And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the
LORD commanded to be done.

6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed [bathed8] them with water.

7 And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him
with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious

8 [cw"ioiw*] girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the
breastplate upon him : also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.

9 And he put the mitre upon his head ; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront,
did he put [and upon the mitre upon his forehead did he put5] the golden plate,

10 the holy crown ; as the LORD commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing
oil, and anointed the tabernacle [dwelling-place6] and all that was therein, and

11 sanctified them.7 And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and an
ointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.

12 And he poured of8 the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, tosanc-

13 tify him. And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Vor. 2. The Hob. baa tb < article in all these cases, and it should be retained as referring to the commands given in
Ex. xxix.

2 Yer. 4.

The word being precisely the same as in ver. 3, should certainly have the ea-ne translation. The
Vulg. and Syr. prefix all, as in ver. 3.

3 Ver. G. VTTV1. See Textual Note » on xiv. 8.

4 Ver. 7. 3iyn means simply girdle, and there is nothing in the Heb. answering to curious, yet as this word is used

only of the girdle of the Ephod, while there are several other words for the ordinary girdle, and as the A. V. has uniformly
i-'iidcred it curi>ms (jircVe, it may be well to retain the adjective as the readiest way of marking in English the peculiarity
of the girdle. It should, however, be in italics.

6 Ver. 9. The A. V. is unnecessarily complicated. For the second QfeH the !?am. reads |m.

8 Ver. 10. j3l^D. See Textual Note 8 on xv. il.

1 Ver. 10. Three MSS., followed by the LXX., read it in the singular.

• Ver. 12. One MS., followed by the Vuljr., omits the partitive ft.

LEVITICUS.

them with girdles [a girdle9], and put [bound] bonnets upon them ; as the LORD
commanded Moses.

14 And he brought the bullock for the sin offering : and Aaron and his sons laid10

15 their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. And he slew it;
and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with
his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar,

16 and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it [to atone for it11]. And he took
all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two

17 kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burnt it12 upon the altar. But the bullock, and
his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp ; as the LORD

18 commanded Moses. And he brought13 the ram for the burnt offering : and Aaron^

19 and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he killed it; and

20 Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he cut the ram into

21 pieces ; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat. And he washed
the inwards and the legs in water ; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar :
it14 was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and [omit and] an offering made by fire

22 unto the LORD ; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he brought the other ram,
the ram of consecration : and Aaron and his sous laid their hands upon the head

23 of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon
the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his rght hand, and upon the

2^ great toe of his right foot. And he15 brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the
blood upon the tip of their rght ear, and upon the thumbs [thumb16] of their right
hands, and upon the great toes [toe16] of their right feet : and Moses sprinkled the

25 blood upon the altar round about. And he took the fat, and the rump [the fat
tail17] anel all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and

26 the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder [leg18] : and out of the basket
of unleavened bread,19 that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and
a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right

27 shoulder [leg19] : and he put all upon Aaron's hands, and upon his sons' hands,

28 and waved them for a wave off ring before the LORD. And Moses took them from
off their hands, and burnt them20 on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were
consecrations for a sweet savour : it'21 is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

29 And Moses took the breast, ai d waved it for a wave offering before the LORD: for
of the ram of consecration it was Moses' part ; as the LORD commanded Moses.

30 And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar,
and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon
his sons' garments with him ; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons,
and his sons' garments with him.

31 And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the
tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation22 : anel there eat with the bread that is in
the basket of consecrations, as I [am'23] commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons

32 shall eat it. And that which remaineth of the flesh anel of the bread shall ye burn

9 Ver. 13. £DJ35tf in tho sing. (The ancient versions, however, have the plural). An entirely different word from
3UT1 of ver. 7.

10 Ver. 14. The Heb. verb Ij^DI is in the sing. In the corresponding clause in ver. IS it is plural, and so it is made
here als > by the Sam. and Syr.

11 Ver. 15. V/J? "133 7 It is better here, as in vi. 30 (23), and xvi. 20, to retain the almost universal rendering of
"133 in the A. V. These three places are the only exceptions in Ex., Lev., or Num. "Hie sense is clearly for it, rather

than iipon if, and it is so rendered in th" corresponding passage. Ex. xxix. HO, comp. 37.

12 Ver 16. The missing pronoun is supplied in one MS. and the Arab.

13 ver

A* Ver

15 y,

16 Ver

17 Ver
is Vr
™ Ver

20 Ver

21 Ver

22 Ver
X Ver

18. For rnp'1 the Sam. reads

21. Five MSS., the Svr. and Vulg., omit the pronoun.
24. The LXX. says. Moses brought.

24. The singular, which is the lleb. form, is quite as accurate and expressive.

25. See Text. Note 7 on iii. 0.

25. See Text. Note * On vii. 32.

26. The LXX. here reads exTrb TOV KO.VOV TTJ? TeXeioJo-ews.

28. The pronoun is supplied by one MS., the LXX., and the Syr.

28. This pronoun is wanting in two MSS., the Vulg. and Arab.

31. Tho Sam. and LXX. add ev TOTTU ayiu.

31. The A. V. follows the Masoretic punctuation THV; but the LXX., Vulg. and Syr., that of ver. 35

CHAP. VIII. 1-36.

33 with fire. And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the]
congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end : for

34 seven days shall he consecrate you. As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath

35 commanded to do, to make an atonement for you. Therefore shall ye abide at the
door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation day and night seven days,

36 and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not : for so I am commanded. !So
Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of
Moses.

day of atonement (ch. xvi. 4). This washing
was obviously symbolical of the purity required
in those who draw near to God, and is applied
spiritually to the whole body of Christians,
" made priests unto God " in Heb. x. 22. With
this comp. Christ's receiving of baptism (Matt,
iii. 13-loj before entering upon His public min
istry.

Vers. 7-9. The robing of Aaron comes first,
then the sanctification of the tabernacle and all
it contained, especially of the altar, then the
anointing of Aaron, and finally the robing of his
sons. Neither here nor in Ex. xxix. 5 is there
any mention of the "linen breeches" of Ex.
xxviii. 42 ; xxxix. 28 probably because these were
simply "toe ver their nakedness," and were
not considered a part of the official costume.
As Kalisch suggests, Aaron and his sons proba
bly put them on themselves immediately after
their ablution. On the remaining articles of
apparel see Ex. xxviii. Briefly, the coat was
the long tunic of fine linen worn next the skin.
According to Josephus (Ant. III. 7, $ 2), it
reached to the fVet, and was fastened closely to
the arms. It was to be "embroidered" (Ex.
xxviii. 39), i. e., woven, all of the same material
and color, in diaper work. From Ex. xxviii. 40,
41 ; xxxix. 27, this garment appears to have
been the same for the high-priest and the com
mon priests. The. girdle next mentioned is not
the "curious girdle" of the Ephod (3t!/n), but
the £OJ3X described- by Josephus (foe. cit.) as a
long sash of very loosely woven linen, embroi
dered with flowers of scarlet, and purple, and
blue, which was wound several times around the
body and tied, the ends hanging down to the
ankles ordinarily, but thrown over the shoulder
when the priest was engaged in active duty. —
The robe (Ex. xxviii. 31-35), wholly of blue,
was woven without seam, apparently without
sleeves, with a hole whereby it was put over the
head. It is supposed to have reached a little
below the knees, and to have been visible below,
and also a little above, the Ephod. The hem at
the bottom was ornamented with " pomegranates,
blue, and purple, and scarlet," with golden bells
between them, which should sound as the high-
priest went in and out of the ho'y place. Over
this was the Ephod (Ex. xxviii. 6, 7: xxxix.
2-4), a vestment whose construction is imper
fectly understood. The word etymologically,
means simply a "vestment." and a simple "lin
en Ephod" was worn by the common priests (1
Sam. xxii. 18), as well as by others engaged in
religious services (1 Sam. ii. 18; 2 Sam. vi. 14;
1 Chr. xv. 27). The "vestment" or Ephod of
the high-priest here spoken of, however, was a
very different and much more gorgeous affair.
Its material was W& = fine linen (of which also

EXEQETICAL AND CRITICAL.

In the chapters of this section we have the
only prolonged narrative in Leviticus, in fact
the only historical matter at all except the pun
ishment of the blasphemer in xxiv. 10-23. *

Ver. 1. The LORD spake. — A special com
mand to carry out now the command alrea ly
given minutely in Ex. xxviii., xxix., and xl.

Vers. 2-5 contain the preliminary arrange
ments. Moses takes Aaron and his sons, ami
the various things previously provided for their
consecration, and brings them into the court of
the tabernacle. The four sons of Aaron were
brought, and the language would also include
his grandsons, if there were any at this time of
suitable age. The fact, however, that Eleazar
entered the promised land, would make him less
than twenty-one at this time, and therefore too
young to have sons of sufficient age, and no sons
of Nadab and Abihu are ever anywhere men
tioned. The people were also gathered about
the wide opening of the court, probably repre
sented by their elders in the nearest places, and
the mass of the men generally standing upon the
surrounding heights whictt overlooked the taber
nacle. Lange: "This is the ordinance: first,
the persons; then the garments as symbols of
the office; the anointing oil, the symbol of the
Spirit ; the bullock for the sin offering, the sym
bol of the priest favored with the entrusted
atonement, and yet needing favor ; the ram for
the burnt offering, the symbol of the sacrificial
employment ; the ram for the sacrifice of conse
cration, the symbol of the priestly emoluments
in true sacrifices of consecration ; and the basket
of unleavened bread, the symbol of life's enjoy
ments of the priests, sanctified in every form by
the oil of the Spirit."

Ver. 2. The basket, according to Ex. xxix. 2,
3, 23, contained three kinds of bread all un
leavened, the loa'f, the oil bread, and the wafer
anointed with oil.

Vers. 3, 4. The consecration was thus public,
not only that Aaron might not seem "to take
this honor unto himself;" but also that by their
presence, the people might be assenting to the
consecration of him who was to minister among
them and for them.

Vers. 6-13. The washing, anointing, and in
vestiture.

Ver. 6. And bathed them with water. —
Not merely their hands and their feet, which
Moses must have already done for himself, and
which was always done by every priest who en
tered the tabernacle, or who approached the
altar (Ex. xl. 31, 32); but doubtless an ablu
tion of the whole body as seems to be intended
in Ex. xxix. 4, and as was practised on the great

LEVITICUS.

the tunic mentioned above was made), while that
of the other Ephods was "O or common linen of
which the "linen breeches" were made. (The
latter word, however, as the more general, is
sometimes used for both, Lev. vi. 10 (3) ; xvi.
4, 23, 32). The Ephod of the high-priest ap
pears to have been made in two parts, one for
the back and one for the breast, joined at the
shoulders by two onyx stones set in gold, upon
which were engraved the names of the tribes of
Israel. To these stones were attached chains of
pure wreathen gold for the support of the breast
plate. According to Jo-ephus (Loc. cit., § 5), it
had sleeves and a place left open upon the breast
to be covered by the breast-plate. It was woven
with gold tlmad and colors "with cunning
work," and with its attachments was one of the
chief parts of the higii-priest's attire. Upon it,
wrought of the same costly and gorgeous mate
rials, was the curious girdle of the Ephod,
woven on to one of the parts, and passing round
the body, holding them both together. On this
was put the breast-plate (Ex. xxviii. 15-30), a
separate piece of cloth woven of the same mate
rials, SD that when folded it was "a span"
square. By gold rings it was attached to the
chains from the onyx stones on the shoulder,
and by other gold rings it was tied with bands
of blue lace to corresponding rings on the Ephod.
To this breast-plate were attached by settings of
gold, twelve precious stones, on each of which
was engraved the name of one of the tribes of
Israel. — Also he put in the breast-plate
the Urim and the Thummim. — On these
words many volumes have been written, and we
can only here refer to the note on Ex. xxviii. 30.
From the way in which they are spoken of both
there (comp. vers. 15-21) and here, they appear
to have been something different from the pre
cious stones before spoken of, and to have been
placed, not on, but in the breast plate, i. e , in
the receptacle formed by its fold, although a
great variety of authorities might be cited for
the opposite view. There is nowhere any direc
tion given for their preparation, and from the use
of the definite article with each of them, it is
likely that they were things already known.
They were used as a means of ascertaining the
will of God (Num. xxvii. 21; 1 Sam. xxviii. 6,
etc)] but by precisely what process is not
known, and there are now no means of ascer
taining. The many conjectures concerning them
are conveniently arranged by Clark (Speaker's
Com.} under three heads: (1) that the Divine
will was manifested by s ime physical effect ad
dressed to the eye or ear ; (2) that they were a
means of calling into action a prophetic gift in
the high-priest; (3) that they were some contri
vance for casting lots. The Urim and Thum
mim were here formally delivered to Aaron, and
parsed on to his successors ; but the last re
corded instance of their use is in the time of Da
vid, and they seem to have passed into disuse as
revelations and teachings by prophets became
more frequent. It is certain that they had dis
appeared, or their use had been lost, after the
return from the captivity (Ezra ii. 63; Neh.
vii. 65).

And he put the mitre upon his head. —
(Ex. xxviii. 37-39). The word mitre is here used

in its etymological sense, of a twisted band of
fine linen around the head, which might now be
described as a turban. The golden plate, the
holy crown, — a plate of pure gold having en-
graved on it HOLINESS TO THE LORD. This was
attached to a " blue lace," whereby it was fast
ened to the mitre. It was the crowning glory
of the high-priest's official dress, and its sym
bolism is fully expressed in the command for its
preparation (Ex. xxviii. 38), "that Aaron may
bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the
children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy
gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead,
that they may be accepted before the LORD."
This completed the investiture of Aaron, and it
is added as the LORD commanded Moses,
both to show that the command had been ful
filled, and also that only that which was com
manded had been done. In this matter nothing
was left to human device; every particular was
expressly arranged by minute Divine directions ;
for everything was symbolic and intended gra
dually to teach Israel spiritual truths, which as
yet they were only prepared to learn by these
sensible images.

Vers. 10-12. The anointing of the sacred
things and of Aaron.

The composition of the anointing oil, and the
careful restriction of its use had been minutely
commanded (Ex. xxx. 22-33). The Rabbis say
that the art of compounding it was lost afier the
captivity, and hence from that time its use was
necessarily discontinued. The things to be an
ointed had all been made " after the pattern
shown in the Mount' (Ex. xxv. 40; Heb. ix. 23)
and expressly for their sacred uses; yet there
was a fitness, such as has always been recog
nized by the sense of mankind, that they should
first be especially set apart by a solemn cereiro-
nial for their holy purpose. The tabernacle
and all that was therein. — In Ex. xxx. 26-
28, many of the things are specially mentioned,
showing that Moses with the anointing oil must
have passed not only into the holy place but into
the* holy of holies itself.

Ver. 11. He sprinkled thereof upon the
altar seven times. — This refers to the brazen
altar in the court, as is shown by the things enu
merated with it. On the seven-fold sprinkling
see on iv. 6. And anointed the altar. — As
this is a different act from the sprinkling, so
does th's special sanctifying of the altar seem
appropriate to its use in the sacrifices.

Ver. 12. He poured of the anointing oil
upon Aaron's head. — Comp. Ps cxxxiii. 2.
"The anointing with oil was a symbol of en
dowment with the Spirit of God (I Sam. x. 1,6;
xvi. 13, 14; Isa. Ixi. 1) for the duties of the
office to which a person was consecrated," Keil.
The A. V. is quite accurate in marking the more
abundant anointing of Aaron by the word
poured. The symbolism of anointing is abun
dantly recognized in the New Test, as applied to
Christ (Luke iv. 18; Acts x. 38, etc.). There
has been much question whether the sons of
Aaron were also here anointed. On the one
hand, it had been commanded that they should
be anointed (Ex. xxviii. 41; xl. 15) "thoushalt
anoint them as thou didst anoint their father."
and they are always recognized as having been

CHAP. VIII. 1-36.

anointed (vii. 36 ; x. 7) ; and on the other hand,
there is no mention here of this having been
clone (which could hardly have been omitted had
it taken place) ; and as Aaron was first robed,
and then anointed, while his sons were not yet
robed, it seems necessary to consider their unc
tion as having been confined to the sprinkling
with mingled oil and blood of ver.' 30. This
would be quite in accordance with the recogni
tion of the high-priest alone as the anointed
priest and with all those passages in which his
ano'nting is spoken of as something peculiar.
(The word as in Ex. xl. 15 cannot, of course, be
pressed— as Kalisch insists — to mean an exactly
similar form of anointing).

Ver. 13. Next, comes the robing of Aaron's
sons, all in accordance with the commands so
often referred to. The bonnets were also a
sort of turban, but it may be inferred from the
difference in the Heb. word that they were pro
bably differently fashioned from that of the high-
priest.

Vers. 14-30. The sacrifices and accompanying
ceremonies.

In the order of the sacrifices the sin offering
comes first, then the burnt offering, lastly the
peace offering; this, the normal order, is al
ways observed (unless in certain exceptional
cases) where the several kinds of sacrifice come
together, as was evidently fitting in view of the
special object of each.

The victim and the ritual of the sin offering
are the same as that appointed for the sin offer
ing of the high-priest in ch. iv. 3-12, except that
the blood was not brought into the sanctuary
nor sprinkled "before the vail." The reason
commonly assigned for this is that the offering
was not for any particular sin, but only for a
general state of sinfulness. So Lange. But it
is to be borne in mind that this sacrifice was not
for Aaron alone, but for him and his sons toge
ther; also it was not for an already consecrated
high-priest, but for one who was in the very act
of being consecrated and not yet entitled to dis
charge the functions of the high-priest. In view
of what he was to be, the victim might well be
the same as that appointed for the ordinary sin
offering of the high-priest; in view of what he
actually was, it was fitting that there should be
a difference in the ritual as regards the blood.
Moses took the blood and put it upon the
horns of the altar round about with his
finger, as was done in all sin offerings, only
here the object of the act seems to have been, in
part at least, the altar itself. This had been
already sprinkled and anointed ; now by the
blood it is still further purified, and also sanc
tified, and atonement made for it. On the ne
cessity of the blood in addition to the oil, see
Heb. ix. 21, 22. The application of this to the
altar was for the same general reasons as in case
of the tabernacle and its contents, only that there
was especial emphasis in regard to the altar on
account of its peculiar use. As all things in
heaven and earth ^are reconciled unto God by
the blood of the cross (Col. i. 20), so must these
typical things be reconciled by the blood of the
typical sacrifice.

In all this service Moses, by a special Divine
commission, acts as the priest. Hence he is
20

spoken of in Ps. xcix. 6 as " among His priests,"
and Philo calls him a high-priest. He did not,
however, wear the priestly garments, and strictly
he was not a priest at all. He had hitherto acted
as priest (Ex. xl. 23), although he had not be
fore offered a sin offering; but now he was both
less and more than a priest. Less, in that with
this consecration his priestly functions abso
lutely ceased ; more, in that he now acts on God's
behalf as the Mediator of the Old Covenant (Gal.
iii. 19). The Aaronic priesthood was continued
with its powers by hereditary succession ; but
all chains must have a beginning, and all au
thority must have a giver. Here the first link
of the chain, the beginning of all priestly autho
rity, is given by Moses acting under an express
commission for this purpose, from the Almighty.
It is to be remembered that all these sacrifices
were consumed by fire kindled in the ordinary
way, the fire "from before the LORD ' (ix. 24)
not having yet come forth.

Vers. 18-21. The burnt offering differed in
nothing from the ordinary burnt offering, al
though the victim was of a kind less commonly
selected.

Vers. 22-30. The peace offering, or ram of
consecration. Any sacrificial animal might be
offered in the ordinary peace offerings ; but a
ram, as here, was required along with a bullock
for the priestly peace offering immediately after
their consecration (ix. 4-8), and a ram alone at
the fulfilment of the Nazarite vow (Num. vi. 14,
17), and this also formed a part of the varied
peace offerings of the princes after the dedica
tion of the altar and tabernacle (Num. vii. 17,
23, etc.}.

Ver. 22. The ram of consecration, lit.
" the ram of the fillings," i. e. with which the
hands of Aaron and his sons were to be filled
for the wave-offering, ver. 27, and by this phra
seology is the idea of consecration usually ex
pressed according to the Hebrew idiom (comp.
the verb in Judg. xvii. 5, 12; 1 Kings xiii. 33;
Ezek. xliii. 26, etc.). The LXX. renders it
Kpibv TS^,£iG)a£(jg=:t\iQ ram of perfecting, inasmuch
as this was the completion of the consecration,
and signified that the priest was now enabled
henceforth to offer sacrifice to God. Words
worth aptly compares it to the delivery of the
Bible to one being ordained to the ministry in
the early Christian Church to signify that he
was now entitled to exercise his office of dispen
sing God's word to the people. Lange gives
another view of the sense: "The fact that
Aaron too, and his sons, belonged to the congre
gation, and with it must bring offerings of their
fulness towards the support that they received
from it, is expressed in the command that, they
shall offer a second ram as a sacrifice of FuL-
ntsses." And further: " Knobel gives Ordina
tion offering ; Keil, Peace offering. The peace or
thank offering, however, was not brought until
the eighth day, and all the particulars in this
chapter belong to ordination* offerings. It is
then the offering of the fulness of his emolu
ments, which indeed belongs to the true priestly
character."

Ver. 24. Upon the tip of their right ear.
— Whether the upper or the lower extremity of
the ear is meant is disputed, and is immaterial.

LEVITICUS.

"He touched the extreme points, which repre
sented the whole, of the ear, hand, and foot on
the right, or more important, and principal side:
the ear because the priest was always to hearken
to the word and commandment of God; the
hand, because he was to discharge the priestly
functions properly ; and the foot, because he
was to walk correctly in the sanctuary. Through
this manipulation the three organs employed in
the priestly service were placed, by means of
their tips, en rapport with the sacrificial blood."
Keil (quoted in part by Lange). By the subse-
qu^nt sprinkling of the same blood upon the
altar all was associated especially with sacrifice,
the pre-eminent priestly function. It is noti^e-
able that the same parts of the cleansed leper
were in the same way to be touched with the
blood of his trespass offering (xiv. 14). In re
gard to the choice of the members on the right
side, Theodoret (Qu. 8 in Lev.) significantly
notes that "there are also left-handed actions
and obedience of condemnation."

Vers. 25-28. The ritual of the wave offering
is the same as in case of the ordinary peace
offerings; only Aaron and his sons are here the
offerers, and hence the portions waved were
burned upon the altar, instead of being eaten
by the priests. Lange says: "The command is
to be particularly noticed, that the prophet
should take this off-'-ring of the priests from
their hands, and burn it upon the altar. The
prophetical spirit must support the priesthood
in the swinging and upheaving from the earth,
without which it is lost."

Ver. 29. Moses took the breast.— This
also he waved for a wave offering, but not
on Aaron's hands. This was done by special
command, and was not the part belonging ordi
narily to the officiating priest himself, but to
the priestly order generally. The parts belong
ing to the officiating priest were burned upon
the altar: as if to show that Moses, by thus offi
ciating for the moment under a peculiar author
ization, did not become actually a priest, although
he might be in some sense connected with the
priestly order.

Ver. 30. The sprinkling of Aaron and his sons
and their garments once more, and now with
the oil mingled with the blood of the sacrifice,
completes the consecration service of this and
each succeeding day. Lange : " The combina
tion of the anointing oil and the blood of the
sacrifice, of the life of the Spirit and the joyful-
ness of death, poured out over everything that
was priestly, is here the typical ground-idea."
This is the only unction of the sons of Aaron
that is recorded ; but it seems quite enough to
constitute them anointed priests.

Ver. 31. Of the flesh of this sacrifice Aaron
and his sons must eat; but no one else might
share with them (Ex. xxix. 33), not even Moses.
In this it was sharply distinguished from the
ordinary peace offering ; and this distinction
was further mar*ked by the command that it
should be eaten within the court of the taberna
cle, and that only on the same day, and in its
accompanying oblation there was no leavened
bread. It was a priestly peace offering, and
was to be eaten by Aaron and his sons as incho
ate priests.

Ver. 34. Rosenmuller notes that "the verb
$ is here to be taken passively, as often
•u5xT and *Op. See 1 Sam. xxiii. 22; Gen.

- T T!T

xvi. 14."

Vers. 32-35. Lange: "Seven days they were
to pass in holy seclusion in the court, seven
days they were to bring the appointed sacrifices
and to live on their sacrifice of consecration ;
what remained of it might not be devoted to
common uses, but must be burned. So for seven
days they were to keep holy watch, the watch
of Jehovah in the court of the tabernacle, under
the pe salty of death. Moses makes particularly
prominent the symbolic force of this divine
watch; it is Jehovah's express commandment.
Keil makes plain, however, that they might still
go out in certain emergencies."

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. The whole matter of atonement, both in
the sacrifices and in the priesthood, depended
upon the Divine appointment ; neither of them
had any virtue or power to do away with human
sin in themselves. Hence they could have been
but types (since the Divine government is ever
a reality), find looked forward to a Sacrifice
which should have value, and a Priest who
should have power, to accomplish in reality that
which is here foreshadowed, and restore man to
communion with God by giving him that holi
ness which is an essential prerequisite, and yet
which of himself he can never attain.

II. By the fact that none could be a priest
except by Divine appointment was taught under
the old dispensation the truth so much empha
sized in the new, that salvation is wholly of
God's free grace. No sacrifice for sin cou'd
bleed, no priest could sprinkle the blood, except
as God Himself allowed and commanded.

III. Moses, who was not a priest, wJio had
never been anointed, consecrated Aaron, and by
Divine command communicated to another that
which he did not himself have. This illustrates
the fact that God is not Himself limited by the
limitations He has placed upon man. He can
use for a priest one to whom the priesthood, ex
cept for this u-^e, has not been communicated.

IV. Although God appointed, and Moses mi
nistered, yet must all the people be summoned
to witness the consecration of the priests, and
by their presence give their assent. This as all
other parts of the Lpvitical system was of the
nature of a covenant. God alone could pro
claim the laws ; but it is of the people to pro
mise obedience: God alone could constitute men
priests ; but it is for the people to accept and
avail themselves of their mediation.

V. Lange on ver. 13: "And now first are the
assistants spoken of. The whole priesthood is
concentrated in the anointed priest, the head
priest, the high-priest: a symbol which has
been fulfilled in Christ, but not a second time in
an inferior symbol."

VI. In this chapter of Levificus and the cor
responding one of Exodus the consecration of
Aaron is frequently expressed in the LXX. by
the verb refa/ou and its derivative rsfeiuatz ; and
correspondingly, with express reference to this

CHAP. VIII. 1-36.

law, the same word is applied to the consecra
tion of Christ in Heb. ii. 10; vii. 28. He was
consecrate 1 in the sufferings of the cross, and
thenceforward continues our high-priest and
intercessor for evermore.

VII. The washing of Aaron and his sons, the
linen drawers, and" the linen tunic express as
clearly and emphatically as is possible to sym
bolism the absolute necessity of inward purity
in those who would draw near to God.

VIII. The culmination of the high-priest's
vestments was in the golden plate on his tore-
head, and on this was inscribed "holiness to
the LORD." This then was the culmination of
the Levitical, as of every other dispensation ; the
one point towards which all lines of precept and
of ceremony, of plain Divine command and of
symbolical teaching converge is " Holiness to
the LORD."

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

As Moses by Divine appointment was able to
consecrate Aaron, so may any one, in the power
of God, become to another the channel of grace
which he himself may not possess ; one's own
deficiencies are then no sufficient bar to work
for others. Moses summoned all the people :
there are none without interest in the means
provided for the atonement for sin. The Sept.
here (vers. 3, 4) used the word eKK^jjcnd^ (var.
lect. eKK?i??aia), and this is the first place where
that word or ttnikr^ia occurs; Cyril of Jerusa
lem hence notes that the Church is thus presented
to us first when Aaron, the type of Christ, is
invested with the high-priesthood. Aaron was
first washed, then vested ; Origen thereupon
remarks (Horn. 6 in L-v. $2) that except the
Christian be washed from his sins, he cannot
put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Comp. Rev. i. 5,
6. "So our great High Priest was publicly
inaugurated in the presence of a large multitude

by His baptism So all Christians, who

"are made priests to God" in Christ, are initi
ated into their priesthood in baptism." Wordsw.
With the symbolical setting apart for holy uses
of the sacred vessels compare the expressions in
the N. Test, "chosen vessel" (Acts ix. 15), ves
sels to honor and to dishonor, and vessels of
wrath (Rom. ix. 21-23). etc. " The ephod bear
ing the onyx stones on the shoulder straps, with
the breast-plate containing the Urim and the
Thummim, is symbolic of the priestly function.

.... The holy crown, with its legible and in
telligible motto, indicates the holiness and au
thority which appertain to the royal Priest.
And in their correlation, the stones on the
shoulder especially denote the priestly, those on
the breast-plate the prophetic, and the golden
plate on the forehead the kiugly, function of the
Mediator." Murphy. As Aaron and his sons
must be anointed to become priests, so, says St.
John, has Christ communicated an unction to
the Christian which "abideth" in him (1 John
ii. 20, 27). The three sacrifices of the consecra
tion, the sin, the burnt, and the peace offering,
as they together represent the three-fold fulness
of the one sacrifice of Christ, so do they point
out the three-fold duty by which Christians may
obtain the benefits of that sacrifice, and thereby
become "priests unto God," viz. death unto sin,
fulness of obedience, and communion with God.
Aaron was consecrated by these sacrifices to be
a priest " offering oftentimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins;" but "Christ,
"after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for
ever," "hath perfected (rere/le/'w/cev, hath con
secrated as priests) forever them that are sanc
tified " (Heb. x. 14). Wordsworth. When Moses
had gathered the people, he explained to them
what he was about to do (ver. 5), that they
might be intelligent witnesses; so is the service
of God ever a reasonable service. Aaron's ear,
hand and foot were touched with the anointing
oil as well as himself sprinkled ; so must each
single faculty of those who have "the unction
from the Holy One" be especially sanctified and
consecrated to God's service, as well as the
whole body soul and spirit be generally devoted
to Him, for the general only becomes con
cretely real in the particulars. In the mingling
of the blood and oil (ver. 30) for the anointing
seems to be taught that not sacrifice for sin alone
suffices; but that wi h this must be joined the
unction of the Holy Spirit. If only sin is put
: out without anything being taken in, the house
is but swept and garnished for its old occupant.
With the watch of the now partially consecrated
priests seven days in the court of the tabernacle,
compare the waiting of the Apostles in Jerusa
lem after our Lord's ascension until endued at
I Pentecost with power from on high. And with
J this, too, compare the life-long watch of every
Christian; he has already received an unction
from on high, but waits in this earthly taber
nacle until he shall be called at last to enter into
the Holjr of holies.

76 LEVITICUS.

SECOND SECTION.

Entrance of Aaron and his Sons on their Office.
CHAP. IX. 1-24.

1 AND it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons,

2 and the elders1 of Israel ; and he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young [bull'''] calf
for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them

3 before the LORD. And unto the children1 of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take
ye a kid [buck3] of the goats for a sin offering ; and a calf and a lamb [sheep4]

4 both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering: also a bullock and a
ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD ; and a meat offering [an
oblation5] mingled with oil : for to-day the LORD will appear unto you.

5 And they brought that which Moses commanded before6 the tabernacle of the
congregation : and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.

6 And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do :T

7 and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you. And Moses said unto Aaron,
Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an
atonement for thyself, and for the people :8 and offer the offering of the people, and
make an atonement for them : as the LORD commanded.

8 Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which

9 was for himself. And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him : and he
dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured

10 out the blood at the bottom of the altar : but the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul
above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar : as the LORD com-

11 manded Moses. And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.

12 And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood,

13 which he sprinkled round about upon the altar. And they presented the burnt
offering unto him, with [according to9] the pieces thereof and the head: and he

14 burnt them upon10 the altar. And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt
them upon the burnt offering on the altar.

15 And he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offer
ing for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin [a sin offering11], as the first.

16 And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner [ordi-

17 nance12]. And he brought the meat offering [oblation5], and took an handful
thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 1. For 'JpT the Sam. and LXX. read ^2, but change the reading in the opposite way in ver. 3. Rosenmiil-

"I :* •• : .

ler considers these elders as the same with the Hl^ and the 7Hp of ch. viii.

2 Ver. 2. 1p3-[3 Sjy, lit. calf snn of a 6u&La bull calf, or yearling bull.

3 Ver. 3. Q\lj; T^i?. See note 21 on iv. 23.

< Vor. 3. See note 6 Oti ii. 7.

5 Ver. 4. Oblation. See note 2 on ii.l. The Vulg. adds in singulo sacrificiorum, for each of the sacrifices.

6 Ver. 5. The A. V. more exactly expresses the Sam. "*}•& (comp. vers..2, 4) than the Heb. "•JQ-SX-

7 Vf>r. (5. Rorsley would here change the punctuation and read — which the LORD commanded: Do it, and the glory,
etc.; but this would require also the insertion of a pronoun.

8 Ver. 7. For thepeopJe the LXX. reads TOV O'LKOV <rov.

9 Ver. 13. rrnruS=according to its pieces (into which the burnt offering was divided, i. 6). So the Ancient Versions
generally. So Knobol and Keil.

10 Ver. 13. The preposition 7jf is wanting in the Sam.

» Ver. 15. The word of course bears either sense; but the context here clearly requires that of sin-offering.

!2 Ver. 16. tt3Z^]p2. The margin is clearly better than the text of the A. V. The ordinance has been ghren in ch. L

CHAP. IX. 1-2 I.

18 He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was
for the people : and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled

19 upon the altar round about, and the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump
[tat tail18], and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul

20 above the liver : and they14 put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon

21 the altar: and the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering
before the LORD ; as Moses15 commanded.

22 And Aaron lifted up his hand [hands16] toward the people, and blessed them,
and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace

23 offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the [pm. the] congre
gation, and came out and blessed the people : and the glory of the LORD appeared
unto all the people.

24 And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar
the burnt offering and the fat : which when all the people saw,17 they shouted, and
fell on their faces.

M Ver. 19. Fat tail. See note T on iii 9.

14 Ver. 20. The Sam. has the sing., he put.

15 Ver. 21. The Sam., LXX., Targ. Ont. and 30 MS3.

fiX HIIT rpy=-as the LORD commanded Moses.

is Ver. 22. The k'ri has VT in the plural, according with the Vowel points; so 20 MSS. and all the ancient versions

except the Sam. The plural is probably correct.

17 Ver. 24. Tbe Heb. verb is singular; but the Sam. has the plural.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

It is noticed by Nicholas de Lyra, that this
chapter has three essential parts: (1) the com
mands (vers. 1-7); (2) the execution of them
(vers. 8 22) ; (3) the Divine approbation of what
was done (vers, 23, 24). The second part may
be subdivided into Aaroa'd offerings for himself,
vers. 8-14 ; and his offerings for the people, vers.
15-21. Here begins a new Proper Lesion of the
law for reading in the Synagogue extending
through ch. xi. ; the parallel Proper Lesson from
the Prophets being 2 Sam. vi. 1 — vii. 17, which
gives the account of David's bringing up the ark
to Mt. Zion and his purpose to build a temple
for it there.

Ver. 1. On the eighth day, viz., from the
beginning of Aaron's consecration. That had
occupied seven days, and his entrance upon hia
office now immediately followed on the next day,
there being no cause for delay, and every reason
why the priesthoood should be in the active ex
ercise of its duties at once. His priesthood was
still somewhat inchoate, for he had yet dis
charged none of its functions, and had not en
tered into the sanctuary. This affects the cha
racter of the sacrifices prescribed. On the first
day of the first month the tabernacle had been
set up (Ex. xl. 17), and the Passer was kept
on the fourteenth day (Num. ix. 2, 5) ; the seven
days' consecration came between, and there re-
mainei therefore but a few days before the pre
paration for the Passover. We have no data for
determining the day of the week. The elders
of Israel are now summoned because they have
to act officially in presenting the offerings for
the people ; but doubtless the mass of the people
were also, as far as might be, witnesses of the
entrance of Aaron upon his office (ver. 5, cornp
ver. 24).

Ver. 2. Take thee. — Aaron is to furnish his
own victims at his own proper cost. The victim
for the sin offering was to be a bull calf, or

quite young bullock, an inferior offering to that
prescribed for the high-priest in iv. 3. For this
various reasons have been assigned: as that this
was not for any particular sin, but for general
sinfulness (Poole and others); that it had refe
rence to Aaron and the people's sin in the golden
calf (Ex. xxxii.), and was designed to remind
him and them of it (Maimonides, Patrick, Nich.
de Lyra, and others); that the greater sin offer
ing was unnecessary, as Aaron and his sons had
spent the whole previous week in services of
atonement and of holiness : but the more im
portant reason is that given by Kalisch, "Not
even on the eighth day had Aaron's dignity
reached its full independence and glory; it still
remained, to a certain degree, under the control
of Moses, who gave commands to his brother, as
he had received them from God. Therefore
Aaron was not permitted to pass beyond the
court; he was not yet qualified to appear in the
immediate presence of God." In a word, the
inchoateness of his priesthood was marked in
the victim and its ritual. A. ram for a burnt
offering. — Any male sacrificial animal was al
lowed for a burnt offering, but here the most
impressive kind is not chosen for the reason just
given. No peace offering is prescribed lor the
priests, because their share in the offerings of
the people wns quite enough for so small a com
pany, and sufficed for the common feast of com
munion with God. The order of the offerings,
the sin offering first, the peace offering last, has
been noticed in the previous chapter.

Ver. 3. Thou shalt speak. — Moses now
passes over to Aaron the duty of directing the
people in their sacrifices as their appointed and
consecrated high-priest. The offerings for the
people are : first, the sin offering, which is not
that prescribed for the sin of the whole people
(iv. 14), but for the sin of a prince (iv. 23), the
reason for which generally given is that this was
not for a particular sin, but only for general sin-
fulness ; but it seems fit that this sin offering
should have been reduced in proportion to

LEVITICUS.

Aaron's, and for the same reason. Second, the
burnt offering, which was to consist of two vic
tims, and yet was much less than on occasions
of special solemnity (Num. xxviii. 11, 27, etc.).
Third, the peace offering, which was just enough
for the purpose of the symbolical sacrificial feast,
but yet too small for any considerable festivity
in view of the solemn manifestation to follow
(vers. 4, 6, 24).

Ver. 6. Moses, as before, explains what is to
be done that thus the people may be intelligent
witnesses. He announces beforehand the ap
pearance of the glory of the LORD (see ver.
1:3 ), showing that he did all this by appointment,
and when it appeared it thus established his au
thority ; and also that the people, by these sa
crifices, might be prepared for this manifestation.
" The crown of this typical worship was to consist
in this : To-day the LORD will appear to
you ; and again, this is the thing which the
LORD hath commanded that ye should do,
and the glory of the Lord shall appear to
you." Lange.

V- r. 7. Go unto the altar. — Aaron is now
to enter upon his office, and for the first time
ascend the slope of the altar. Make an atone
ment for thyself and for the people. — This
is distinct from the atonement for th-i people in
the sacrifice of their sin offering, mentioned in
the next clause, and finds its explanation in that
guilt brought upon the people by the sin of the
high-priest (iv. 3). So Keil rightly. For this
Aaron was to atone in making his own atone
ment, and then afterwards to offer for their own
sins. Lange says, " The subsequent command
in regard to these offering's has this import : with
his especial sacrifice Aaron should atone for
himself and for the people as a whole (D^H),
but with the sacrifice of the congregation, he
should atone for each single member of the con
gregation "

Vers. 8-11. Aaron first offers his own sin of
fering, his sons assisting him in those duties
which were afterwards assigned to the Levites.
The ritual is the same as that provided in ch.
iv., except that the blood is not brought into the
Sanctuary (into which Aaron had not yet en
tered, couip. ver. 23), for the reasons given un
der ver. 2; but the flesh and hide is neverthe
less burnt without the camp as required in iv.
11, 12, the victim is slain by Aaron, — either by
himself, or by his assistants. — (ver. 8) as in the
other high -priestly sin offerings (iv. 1,2,4) and the
blood is put with his finger upon the horns of
the altar as in case of the other regular sin offer
ing* (iv. 25, 30, 34).

Vers. 12-14. The burnt offering for Aaron and
his sons was offered in the regular way accord
ing to the ordinance of ch. i. After being divided
the pieces were presented to Aaron, one by one,
by his sons to be laid upon the altar. No men
tion is made of an oblation with this sacrifice,
either because it is supposed as of course, or
else because it actually was not brought, the law
of Num. xv. 4 not having yet been given.

Vers. 15-21. The sacrifices for the people fol
low in the same order. In regard to all the pre
vious offerings it is expressly said that Aaron
burnt them ; the same thing is also said (ver. 20)

of the parts of the peace offering that were des
tined for the altar, and it is clearly implied in
regard to the others by the expression as the
first (ver. 15) in regard to the sin offering ; and
in regard to the burnt offering, both by the
statement of ver. 16, and by the mention of the
burning of the accompanying oblation in ver.
17. These were all therefore burned at first by
fire kindled by ordinary means. It would, how
ever, thus have taken many hours to consume
them in the ordinary way, and the miracle of
ver. 24 refers to their being immediately con
sumed by the " fire from before the LORD." The
LXX., however, in vers. 13 and 17, instead of
burnt renders laid, and this seems to have been
in the mind of Lange when he says "Aaron has
laid all the pieces rightly upon the altar of burnt
offering, and blessed the people from the elevated
position of the steps (stiege) of the altar. The
sacrifice is ready, this is the part of the priestly
body ; but the fire must come from the LORD."
In regard to the burning instead of eating the
flesh of the sin offering, nee x. 16-20.

Ver. 17. The burnt sacrifice of the morn
ing. — Was this the regular morning sacrifice of
the lamb offered by Aaron after (he sacrifices for
himself and before those for the people, but not
otherwise mentioned because it was of course?
Or is it identical with the lamb of the burnt of
fering for the people, so that the morning sacri
fice to be offered ever after is here inaugurated,
as is argued by Murphy ? The former view
seems the more probable both because the offer
ing of the morning sacrifice had already been
begun by Moses (Ex. xl. 29) upon the first erec
tion of the tabernacle and before Aaron's conse
cration ; and because the lamb of this offering
is evidently spoken of (ver. 3) as a part of the
special burnt offering for the people on this oc
casion.

Ver. 22. Lifted up his hands. — In pro
nouncing a blessing upon an individual it was
customary to lay the hands upon his head (Gen.
xlviii. 14, etc.) ; but this being impossible in the
case of a multitude, the custom was to lilt the
hands, as was also often done in other prayers,
and this custom has been most scrupulously pre
served in the Jewish usages to the present day.
Hands rather thanAantfis the more probable read
ing, and is also accordant with the Jewish tradi
tion. No command had been given for this act,
but it was a natural sequence of the entrance of
Aaron upon his office, a part of which was to
bless the people in the name of the LORD. The
blessing was pronounced while Aaron stood upon
the elevated slope (not steps, Ex. xx. 26) of the
altar. In the following words, came down
from offering, we have a further evidence that
the victims had been actually laid upon the fire.

Ver. 23. Went into the tabernacle.—
Moses enters, not as priest, but to complete the
initiation of Aaron into his duties; for the latter
had not yet entered the sanctuary. Much of
the priestly duty, the burning of incense, the
trimming of the sacred lamps, the ordering of the
shew-bread, etc , was hereafter to be within the
tabernaole, and it was necessary that Aaron
should be exactly instructed in all these matters.
According to the Targum of Jonathan, they went
in to pray for the promised manifestation of the

CHAP. IX. 1-24.

glory of the LORD ; and it is not unlikely that
the two brothers, the one the leader and lawgiver
of Israel, now entering the sanctuary for the last
time, and the other the appointed high-priest
now entering for the first time, should then have
united in solemn prayer for God's blessing upon
the people. On their return, Moses laying down
his temporary priestly functions, and Aaron
taking up his permanent office, jointly blessed
the people. (Comp. 2 Chron. vi. 3). In Numb.
vi. 24-26 is prescribed the exact form of priestly
benediction used ever afterwards; but there is
no evidence that this form was now employed.
One tradition makes the form like that of Ps. xc.
17; the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem
give the following: " The Word of the LORD re
ceive your offering with good pleasure, and may
He overlook and pardon your sins."

And the glory of the Lord appeared. —
This is sometimes considered as included in the
fire of the following verse, but more generally
and more probably is looked upon as some glo
rious manifestation in the cloud whioh covered
the tabernacle (comp. Ex. xl. 34, 35), out of
which came forth the fire. So Lange.

Ver. 24. There came a fire. — Similarly was
the Divine approbation of sacrifices several times
expressed in after a»es, in the fire from the rock
consuming Gideon's sacrifice; in the fire which
fell upon the sacrifice of Elijah (I Kings xviii.
38) ; in the answer to David's prayer at the
threshing floor of Oman by fire from heaven upon
his altar (1 Chr. xxi. 26); and in the like fire
consuming the sacrifices at Solomon's dedica'ion
of the temple (2 Chr. vii. 1). According to Jew
ish tradition the fire thus kindled was kept ever
burning (whether by natural or supernatural
me ins, the Rabbis differ) until the temple was
built; then again k'ndled in the same way, it
continued to burn until the reign of Manasseh.
But it is to be remembered that the fire was not
now first kindled upon the altar, but had already
been burning there more than a week. How
ever fully therefore it expressed the Divine ap-
p obation, and however reasonably the Israel
ites might wish to perpetuate such a fire, there
is yet, as Keil justly remarks, no analogy be
tween this and the legends of the heathen about
altar fires kindled by the gods themselves See
the references in Knobel : Serv. ad (En. 12, 200;
Solin. 5, 23; Pausan. 5, 27, 3; Suetori. Lib. 14;
Amm. Marc. 23, 6, 34. It is possible that this
coming forth of the fire may have had a further
object. In the Pantheistic philosophies of the
East, fire was regarded as the universal principle
of the Cosmos, and as inherent in all things. It
is not likely that the Israelites, at this stage of
their history, were brought into contact with
this philosophy ; but by this act they were taught
that fire itself was sent from the LORD, and were
thus guarded beforehand against these Panthe-
theistic notions, which at a later period they
mu<t encounter.

Consumed upon the altar the burnt of
fering and the fat. — Patrick argues that this
must have been at the time of the evening sacri
fice, at which time also he shows that all the
other instances of fire from heaven upon the sa
crifice probably occurred, and that the burnt
offering consumed was the lamb of the evening

sacrifice. But the phraseology, the burnt of
fering and the fat, seems unmistakably to
point to the burnt offering for the people and the
fat of the peace offering already burning upon
the altar. With the evening sacrifice there was
no offering of fat apart from the lamb itself.

They shouted in wonder, thanksgiving and
praise, and fell on their faces to worship with
joyful awe as in 2 Chron. vii. 3.

The views of Lange upon this verse are ex
pressed in the following extract: "And now
comes Fire from the Lord, that is, still out of the
tabernacle of the Covenant, and blazes upon the
altar and consumes the offering. So speaks the
primitive energetic faith, in which the medium
of the Divine operation merges itself in the ope
ration of God. It is the essential thing in the
hierarchical, literal faith that every medium
should be supposed to be away. Hence is the
stone of the first tables of the law and the imme
diate writing of God; and we come on the path
of priestly tradition down to the Easter fire in
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.
On the other hand, the medium is everything to
the critical, negative, literal faith ; for it, the
matter is legend. But the primitive, religiously-
inclined people, saw in the shining figures of
Moses and Aaron, who came back out of the
Sanctuary, and in the flaming up of the sacrifi
cial fire, the glory of the Lord whose appearance
from the Holy of Holies Moses and Aaron had
besought. It was the first lifting up of the highly
significant fire flame in their worship, whose
typical prefiguration should be fulfilled in the
atoning fiery operation over the cross of Christ,
and — not frightened — but joyously, all the peo
ple fell on their faces."

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. In Aaron's sin offering for himself arid his
sons, immediately after his consecration, and as
his first priestly act, is shown most strikingly
the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood.
" This offering was probably regarded not so
much a sacrifice for his own actual sins, as a ty
pical acknowledgment of his sinful nature and
of his future duty to offer for his own sins and
those of the people " (Clark). " The law maketh
men high-priests which have infirmity ; but the
word of the oath, which was since the law,
maketh the Son, who is consecrated forever-
more." Heb. vii. 28.

II. If this was true of the high-priest, d, fortiori,
it was true of all other provisions of the Leviti
cal law. " If, according to this, even after the
manifold expiation and consecration which Aaron
had received through Moses during the seven
days, he had still to enter upon his service with
a sin offering and a burnt offering, this fact
clearly showed that the offerings of the law could
not ensure perfection (Heb. x. 1 sqq.)." Keil.

III. The commentary upon this chapter bring
ing out its doctrinal significance, is to be found
especially in the Ep. to the Heb. As other
points are there brought out strikingly, so is this:
"And no man taketh this honor unto himself,
but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So
also Christ glorified not Himself to be mado an
high-priest." Heb. v. 4, 5.

LEVITICUS.

IV. In the appointment, in the consecration,
and in the entrance of Aaron upon his official
duties, his mediatorial functions are every where
distinctly recognized. Thus is the necessity set
forth of a Mediator between God and man, and
as distinctly as was possible under a typical sys
tem is foreshadowed the office of Him who came
to be man's true mediator with God.

V. In every possible way, by dress, by ablu
tions, by inscriptions on Aaron's frontlet, by
varied sacrifice, the necessity of holiness in
man's approach to God is declared. Yet this
could only be typically attained by sinful man.
Very plainly therefore did Aaron and his office
point forward to that Seed of the woman who
should bruise the serpent's head, and obtain the
final victory in man's long struggle with the
power of evil.

VI. In the order of the offerings of Aaron both
for himself and the people is clearly expressed
the order of the steps of approach to God ; first,
the forgiveness of sin, then the consecration
completely to God, and after this communion
with Him, and blessing from Him.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Moses, the great leader and law-giver of Is
rael, retires from his temporary priestly func
tions, and delivers them over to Aaron without
a murmur, content to fulfil the Divine will. So
John the Baptist found his joy fulfilled in that

he must decrease while his Master increased
(Jno. iii. 30). Moses did not seek to retain an
office to which God had not called him, comp.
Num. xvi.; Acts xix. 13-15; Heb. v. 4 ; Judell.

The " glory of the LORD " appeared, and was
also manifested in Solomon's temple ; the second
temple was without it, and yet it was promised
(Hag. ii. 9) that the glory of the latter temple
should be greater than of the former. This was
fulfilled when He whose glory was " as of the
Only Begotten of the Father " appeared in His
temple. And again, after the consecration of
the Great High-Priest on Calvary, and His en
trance by His ascension into the true sanctuary,
the glory of the Lord was manifested at Pente
cost. Wordsworth.

As Aaron after the sacrifice blessed the people
before entering the sanctuary ; so Christ, after
His sacrifice upon the cross, blessed His disci
ples (Luke xxiv. 50) before passing into the
heavens to continue there our Priest and Inter
cessor forevermore.

The glory appeared and the fire came forth
after the consecration of the high-priest, and
after his sacrifice, and after he bad entered the
sanctuary ; even as the fire of Pentecost came
after Christ's consecration in His sacrifice of
Himself, and after He had passed into the hea
vens. And as the fire in the tabernacle showed
the Divine approbation of the Levitical system,
so that of Pentecost expressed His good pleasure
in the Christian.

THIRD SECTION.

The Sin and the Punishment of Nadab and Abihu, with Instructions founded upon

that Event.

CHAPTER X. 1-20.

1 AND Nadab and Abihu, the1 sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and
put fire therein,2 and put incense thereon,2 and offered strange fire before the LORD,

2 which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and

3 devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron,
This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh

4 me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. And
Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and
said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of

5 the camp. So they went near, and carried3 them in their coats out of the camp ;
as Moses had said.

6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazer and unto Ithamar, his4 sons, Un-

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 1. Three MSS., followed by the Vat. LXX., read "the two sons."

2 Ver. 1. In the Heb. the first pronoun, tri3, is plural, while the second, H'Stf, is singular. 16 MSS., the Sam. LXX.

' " T T V T

and Syr. have the latter in the plural.
8 Ver. 5. DXtiH. The fuller form

'IXEH is given in the Sam.
* Ver. 6. One MS., followed by the LXX. and Syr. specifies " his remaining sons."

CHAP. X. 1-20.

cover5 not your heads, neither rend your clothes ; lest ye die, and lest wrath come

upon all the people : but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the
7 burning which the LORD hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of

the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die : for the anointing oil of the LORD

is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.
8, 9 And the LORD spake unto Aaron,6 saying, Do not drink wine nor strong drink,

thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation,

10 lest ye die : it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations : and7 that ye
may put difference between holy and unholy [common8], and between unclean and

11 clean : and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD
hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

12 And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that
were left, Take the meat offering [oblation9] that remaineth of the offerings of the
LORD made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar : for it is most holy :

13 and ye shall eat it in the [a] holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons' due,

14 of the sacrifices of the LORD made by fire : for so I am commanded. And the wave
breast and heave shoulder [leg10] shall ye eat in a clean place ; thou, and thy sons,
and thy daughters with thee : for they be thy due, and thy sous' due, which are given

15 out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel. The heave shoul
der [leg10] and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of
the fat, to wave it for a wave offering betbro the LORD; and it shall be thine, and
thy sons'11 with thee, by a statute for ever ; as the LORD hath commanded.

16 And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was
burnt : and he was angry with Eleazar aud Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, which were

17 left alive, saying, Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place,
seeing it is most holy, and God hath given12 it you to bear the iniquity of the con-

18 gregation, to make atonement for them13 before the LORD? Behold, the blood of
it was not brought in within the holy place : ye should indeed have eaten it in the

19 [a14] holy place, as I15 commanded. And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day
have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD ; and
such things have befallen me : and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should

20 it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD ? And when Moses heard that,
he was content.1*

5 Ver. 6. y^SJV/W' The A. V , ye shall not uncover is quite correct, and is the sense given in most of the ancient

Tensions ; but the Targ of Onkelos, foil iwed by several Jewish an-1 other c >mmentators, gives the ve-y different sense ye
shall not let your hair <jrou, -It- livtd fr^m the use of j,'"1£3- Kuiii. vi. 5 = hair.

6 Ver. 8. Eight M*!S. substitute the name of Most-a for that of Aaron. The variation is unimport.mt ; for, as Boothroyd
suggests, the communication to Aaron may have been m.">de through Mose«.

7 Ver. 10. The and at the beginning of ver. 10 is omitted in the Sain, and all other ancient version* except the Vulgate.

8 Ver. 10.

in contiast 10

and meai^s simply that which is not especially consecrated. The word com-

man conveys the sense better than unholy.

» Ver. 12. Oblation. gee Textual Note 2 on ii. 1.

JO Vers. H, 15. Leg. See Text. Note 30 On vii. 32.

11 Ver. 15. The Sam. and LXX. add and thy daughters', as in ver. 14.

*2 Ver. 17. The Syr reads in the 1st person, I have given.

*3 Vor. 17. Thirteen MSS. read /or you in the 2d person.

14 Ver. 18. The Masoretic punctuation of CH3 here indicates the article ; it would seem proper, however, to omit it

"Wording to invariable usage. All the versions make a distinction between the sanctuary, into which the blood had not
been Carried, and the court wh'-re the flesh should have been eaten. We can only express this by a change of the article.

15 Ver. 18. Most of the versions have tn<-> passive, as I was commanded, and the LXX, ov -rpoitov juoi <ruveTa£e
"2£J'"'n scribitur hie drojuaAcos pro ^JO'TV'

Ver. 20. Ilosenmuller notes that

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

"We should expect here immediately the
description of a great thank offering feast of
the people. But instead of this we are told of
a great misfortune which closes a sacrificial
feast disturbed in the very beginning. The
story is not of the thank offering feast of the
people, the festal meal of the installation of the
priests. The joy of the people was very soon
destroyed by anxiety and fear; for the inade

quacy of the typical sacrifice has soon come to
light." Lange. ,

The events of this chapter occurred on the
same day as those of the preceding (see ver. 19),
thnt is on the day after their consecration when
Aaron and his sons first entered upon the dis
charge of their priestly functions. Moses there-
lore still appears here, as in ch. ix., in a pecu
liar relation as introducing the new-made priests
to their duties, taking care that all things should
be rightly done, and communicating to them
further instructions (vers. 3, 5, 12, 16).

LEVITICUS.

Vers. 1-5. The sin, death and burial of Nadab
and Abihu.

Ver. 1. Nadab and Abihu, being mentioned
first in the genealogies (Ex. vi. 23; Num. xxvi.
60), are supposed to have been Aaron's eldest
sons. They had been selected to accompany
Moses and Aaron and the sevt nty elders in the
beatific vision of Ex. xxiv. 1, 9. Wordsworth
suggests that "perhaps they were 'exalted
above measure through the abundance of their
revelations' (2 Cor. xii. 7), and were tempted
to imagine that they were not bound by ordinary
rules in the discharge of the duties of the
priest's office."

His censer. — ir\nnO. This is the first time
the word is translated censer in the A. V., be
cause it has occurred before only in connection
with the golden candlestick (Ex. xxv. 88 ;
xxxvii. 23), or as a pan for receiving the ashes
from the brazen altar (Ex. xxvii. 8; xxxviii. 3).
There can be no doubt, however, that it is
rightly translated here in a sense in which it
frequently occurs aft rwards; but the fact that
there is no previous mention of censers adds to
the probability of some unrecorded command
having already been given in regard to the
offering of incense. The word fPDpD for cen
ser is much later, occurring only 2 Chron. xxvi.
19: Ezek. viii. 11.

Put incense thereon. — Incense was to be
burned upon the gold-,n altar twice daily; in
the morning, when the lamps of the golden can
dlestick were trimmed, and in the evening when
they were lighted (Ex. xxx. 7, 8). It does not
certainly appear from the narrative at what
time the act of Nadab and Abihu occurred; but
from the abundance of events that hud already
occurred on this day, it is not unlikely that the
latter time was at hand. The unseasom.bleness
of the time assigned by many commentators
(Keil and others) as a part of their sin cannot
therefore be maintained. — And offered strange
fire. — The sin of Nadab and Abihu is always
described in the same terms (Num. iii. 4; xxvi.
61); but in precisely what, it consisted has been
the occasion of much difference of opinion. By
many (Kurtz and others) it is supposed to have
consisted in the offering of incense not prepared
according to the directions given in Ex. xxx. 34 ;
but this would rather have been called "strange
incense" ae in Ex. xxx. 9, and it does not seem
likely that the new priests, who had now been
eight days in the court of the tabernacle, would
have had ready access to any other incense,
whereas other fire than that of the altar must
have been in the court for cooking the flesh of
(he sacrifices. By others (as Keil) the sin is
supposed to have been in offering the incense at
a time not appointed; but it does not appear
why such a fault should have been described as
"strange fire,'' and moreover, as shown above,
it seems not unlikely that it was actually the
proper time for the burning of. the evening in
cense. Knobel thinks that Nadab and Abihu
proposed, of their own motion, to prepare an
incense offering to accompany the shouts of the
multitude as they saw the Divine fire fall upon
ihe sacrifice — which may or may not have been
the fact, as there is no evidence upon the point.

Another supposition of Knobel must be abso
lutely rejected as at variance with the tenor of
the narrative: "or, frightened by the consu
ming fire, ix. 24, they considered an appeasing
of God necessary." It is better to follow the
general opinion, and take the expression just as
it is given, making their sin to have consisted
in offering strange fire, that is fire other than
that commanded. " The chief thing is that the
strange or common fire forms a contrast to the
fire of the Sanctuary." Lange. So Rosenmuller,
Outram (1. xvi. 13), and others. In vi. 12 it is
required that the fire should be always burning
upon the altar, and as this fire was for the con
sumption of the sacrifices, it would naturally be
understood for the burning of the incense; in
xvi. 12 it is expressly prescribed for the incense
on the great day of atonement, and it became a
part of the symbolism of the sanctuary service
(Uev. viii. 5). The fact that no command on
i his point of detail is anywhere recorded does
not preclude the supposition that such a com
mand had been given. At all events, the gene
ral principle of exact conformity to the Divine
commands should have prevented Nadab and
Abihu from offering " strange " or uncommanded
fire before the LORD.

As to the causes which led them to commit
this sin, the narrative is equally silent; but the
connection of the precept in ver. 9 with this
event seems to imply that there had been some
violation of it. (SeeTarg. Hieros., Nic. de Lyra,
Patrick, etc.] This might have concurred with
already existing spiritual pride and self-will,
or have temporarily produced them. " From
vers. 8, 9, it is likely that they had lost their
soberness in the least which had begun."
Lange. But however this may have been, Von
Gerlach's remark is in place: ''By this connec
tion is taught, that as no external event was to
depress with grief the priest, so ought he to ap
ply no artificial means to his senses to produce
exhilaration : his whole thoughts and attention
are to be directed to the sacred offices which
are commanded him. We are reminded of the
antithesis, Eph. v. 18." In the expression
which he commanded them not, Rosen-
muiler notes a //e/wa/c of frequent occurrence,
meaning " which He forbade."

Ver. 2. Fire from the LORD.— Plainly a
miraculous fire as that which consumed the sac
rifice (ix. 24). It did not consume their bodies,
or even their clothes (ver. 5), and it must have
been by an inadvertence that Lange says: "If
they came thus strongly excited with their
glowing fire into the half darkness of the sanc
tuary, they may have set themselves a-fire, by
which they were destroyed."

The severity of this judgment may be com
pared with that upon Uzza (2 Sam. vi. 7 ; 1
Chron. xiii. 10), upon the Sabbath-breaker
(Num. xv. 32-36), or in the New Testament with
that upon Ananias and Sapphira. In all these
cases the puni-hment was not determined so
much by the aggravation of the offence itself as
by the necessity of vindicating God's majesty
and by a signal judgment on the first occasion,
preventing a repetition of the offence. In such
cases it is very necessary to separate the tem
poral from the thought of eternal punishment.

CHAP. X. 1-20.

Philo (as quoted by Calrnet) undoubtedly pushes
this too far when he says: "The priests Nadab
and Abihu died that thoy might live, receiving
an incorruptible for their mortal life, and pass
ing from creatures to their Creator;" but yet
we may not argue from temporal punishment to
eternal doom, and the recollection of this may
often serve to remove much of the iriscrutable-
ness of the Divine judgments.

Ver. 3. This it'is that the LORD spake
— not in precisely these words, but again and
again in their substance. See Ex. xxix. 44;
xix. 22; Lev. viii. 33. Yet the very words may
have been spoken, although not recorded, as in
Ex. xxxiii. 12. Priests are continually desig
nated as those that ''come nigh" to God (e. g.
Ezek. xlii. 13).— I will be sanctified.— Cornp.
Ex. xix. 4, 5. " The law of the sanctuary is
proclaimed to mean: that all approach to Jeho
vah of those who draw near to Hirn, of the
priests in the holy acts of sacrifice, has the pur
pose of showing forth Jehovah in His holiness,
i. e. in His pure and strict and all-folly-abhor
ring personality ; and this hallowing of His
name in highest solitude should have the result
of revealing Him before all the people in His
majesty, in the glory of His manifestation. The
pure and brilliant exterior of the Cultus depends
in its purity and chasteness upon the most per
fect interior purity and truth. But when Moses
applies this law to the present mishap, it ex
presses the truth that it is fulfilled not only in
the pure service of God of good priests, but also
in the unclean service of evil priests. Should
these, for example, bring before the LORD, in
passion or excitement, strange fire, fire of the
intoxication of extravagance, fire of fanaticism,
they should be seized and consumed by that fire
changed, as it were, into the fire of the judgment
of Jehovah ; and also by su ;h judgments on such
priests Jehovah should be glorified before all
HU pe >p'e — as it has always clearly been, espe
cially to-day. How many a Protestant zealot
has screamed himself dead in the sanctuary !
But the mediaeval priests began to burn them
selves when they kindled the flames of the pyres."
Lange.

Aaron held his peace meam not only that
he abstained from the customary wails and cries
of the mourner; but that he uttered no murmur
against the judgment of God, or remonstrance
against the law as set forth by Moses. This
may perhaps have been made easier to him by
the stunning effect of so great and sudden a
bereavement.

Ver. 4. The sons of Uzziel. — From Ex. vi.
18 it would appear that, Uzziel was the youngest
of Aaron's three uncles. Brethren is used, as
so frequently in Scripture, in the sense of kins
men. Elzaphan was the ''chief" of his father's
house, Num. iii. 30. — From before the sanc
tuary. — Notwithstanding the Jewish tradition
that they perished within the sanctuary, it ap
pears from this expression that the Divine judg
ment fell upon them while they were still in the
court. " They buried the dead in their linen
coats: these priestly garments had been defiled
with the dead bodies, and were buried with
them. There is nothing else degrading in the
form of burial. The burial without the camp

was common for all corpses. The buriers were
also reminded that the dead were their breth
ren." Lange. This was now the eighth day of
the month; the Passover lamb was to be slain
on the 14th. Mishael and Elzaphan were there
fore unable to keep the Pas-over on account of
their defilement by a dead body, for this lasted
seven days (Num. xix. 11-13). In view of these
facts Blunt suggests ( Undesigned Coincidences, I.
14) that it was the case of these Levites which
was considered and provided for by the law of
the Passover of the second mouth, Num. ix. 6-12.

Vers. 6, 7. All sigus of mourning are forbid
den to the priests. By a subsequent enactment
these were in all cases perpetually forbidden to
the high-priest (xxi. 10-12), but iii moderation
allowed to the ordinary priests for those nearest
of kin (ib. 1-6). Here, however, they are abso
lutely forbidden to both, doubtless because "any
manifestation of grief on account of the death
that had occurred would have indicated dissatis
faction with the judgment of God" (Keil) ; "be
cause, from their office, they were especially
concerned as consecrated priests in outwardly

maintaining the honor of Jehovah The

people, on the other hand, as not formally stand
ing so near to Jehovah, were permitted to
bewail the burning which the Lord had
kindled" (Cook).

Uncover not your heads. — This is the
sense of the LXX. and Vulg., and means that
they were not to remove their priestly turbans,
as they were still to go directly on with their
priestly functions. The word means literally to
set free, and it may therefore have here the added
sense, "do not go about with your iiair dishe
velled, or flowing free and in disorder (xiii. 45)."
K-iil. Both this and the rending of the clothes
were among the most common signs of mourning
among the Jews.

Lest wrath come upon all the people. —
They were to observe this precept not only for
their own sake — lest ye die — but also for the
people's. It has already been shown (iv. 3) that
the sin of the high-priest, as their theocratic
head, brought guilt upon the people, and in
volved them in the consequent punishment ; in
this case emphatically it must do so, because
Aaron and his remaining sons were now the sole
appointed mediators with God, and any mark
of dissatisfaction with His judgments would
have placed them in an attitude of opposition to
God.

Though the priests might not turn aside from
their sacred functions, yet Nadab and Abihu
were not to go unmourned. The whole house
of Israel were to bewail the burning — not
indeed as murmuring against the Divine judg
ment, but yet as recognizing that a sad calamity
had befallen them.

Ver. 7. Ye shall not go out — viz : for the
purpose of accompanying the remains of the
slain priests to their grave, and in any way
ceasing from their sacred functions on their ac
count. A like command is made of perpetual
obligation upon the high-priest in xxi. 12. The
reason is given — for the anointing oil of the
LORD is upon you; consecrated wholly to
His service, they might not turn aside from it
for any purpose. Comp. Matt. viii. 22.

LEVITICUS.

Ver. 8. Spake unto Aaron. — Either through
Moses (see Textual note 6); or else Aaron, being
now fully constituted high-priest, and having
shown his submission in what had just occurred,
was made directly the recipient of a Divine com-
municaiion concerning the duties of the priests.

Vers. 9-11. Strong drink.— Heb. "O^ used
apparently in Num. xxviii. 7 as a synonym for
wine, but generally taken for an intoxicating
drink prepared from grain or honey, or espe
cially from palms. The prohibition of wine and
strong drink to the priests is only in connection
with their service in the tabernacle. For the
present this must have amounted to an almost
absolute prohibition, as the service of Aaron and
his two sons could have been little less than con
tinuous; but as the priesthood multiplied, of
course the time of service for each of them was
reduced. The connection of this precept with
what goes before and what follows seems almost,
necessarily to imply that it was called forth by
some violation of it on the part of Nadab and
Abihu. This supposition, Lange says, "is made
probable by the otherwise unexplained command
here given, and thus indeed the outward strange
fire was only the symbol of the inner strange fire
of wine-produced enthusiasm, which so often can
mingle itself in pious and animated speeches and
poems, by which indeed holy and unholy things
are confused." The object of the command is
expressed in vers. 10, 11: that the mind of the
priests might be clear in the exercise of their
own duties, and in the instruction of the people
in regard to theirs.

Vers. 12-15. The oblation that remaineth
from the sacrifices of the day mentioned in ix.
17. Eat it in a holy place — as has been so
often before commanded in regard to those things
which might be eaten only by the priests — not in
the f-anc'uary, but in a place provided for the
purpose in the court — LXX.: h rdn-u dy/cj. Af
ter this followed the holy meal upon the priests'
•portion of the peace offerings (vers. 14, 15), eat
en with their families without the court, in any
clean place.

Vers. 16-18. The goat of the sin offering
had indeed been offered for the whole congrega
tion (ix. 8), bat its blood had not been brought
within the sanctuary. Under these circumstances
Moses emphatically declares, and Aaron tacitly
acknowledges, that its flesh should, under ordi
nary circumstances have been eaten by the
priests, instead of being burned. Origen cha
racterizes it as being in consequence an imper
fect pacrifice. This shows distinctly that the law
for the burning of the sin offering for the whole
congregation (iv. 19, 12) turned upon the treat
ment of the blood, as Moses shows in ver. 18, and
not upon the fact that it was offered for all the
people. It is said that Moses was angry with
Eleazar and Ithamar, while Aaron is not
mentioned ; doubtless because the fault was with
them as the ordinary priests, to whom this duty
belonged, and not to the high-priest. Lange :
"Eleazar and Ithamar also, the two remaining
sons of Aaron, have apparently made an error in
form ; that is, they ought to have eaten this flesh
of the goat of the sin offering (not their own. but.
that of the people) in a holy place as being a

most holy thing. This they had neglected; still
more, they had burnt the goat. But if they
would thus treat the sin goat of the people, as if
the ritual for the sin offering of bullocks was to
b3 applied, they ought also to have brought its
blood into the sanctuary; but they had not done
this, and thus had violated the ritual in two
ways" \_i. e., in one or other of the two ways;
but as they had treated the blood exactly as they
were commanded, their fault consisted only in
the wrong treatment of the flesh]. "In other
words: since the blood had been poured out at
the altar in the court, they must also in conse
quence eat the flesh of the sin offering, since it
was given them as a right from Jehovah, as a
recompense because they had as priests to bear
the misdeeds of the congregation, and to make
atonement before Jehovah. But at this reproach
of Moses, Aaron knew how to excuse himself and
his sons. In the first place, his sons had done
their duty in regard to their own sin and burnt,
offering. In the second place, this fearful acci
dent had happened to him and them, and made
them incapable of eating He appeals to feel
ing: would it please Jehovah if he should eat in
such a frame of mind? This time Aaron has
conquered Moses. The first violation of the law
proceeded from gross disrespect of the law in
carnal conduct ; this second violation proceeded
from a righteous spiritual elevation above the
letter which even Moses must allow."

Ver. 17. To bear the iniquity of the con
gregation. -This expression, however difficult
it may be to define the exact limits of its mean
ing, certainly makes two points clear: first, that
the eating of the flesh of the ord nary sin offering
by the priests was an essential part of its ritual;
and second, that the priests, in receiving the
sacrifice and undertaking to make expiation tor
sins, did act in a mediatorial capacity. "The
very eating of the people's sin offering argued
the sins of the people were in some sort laid upon
the priests, to be taken away by them." Patrick.
This eating, however, does not constitute with
the sprinkling of the blood "a double atone-
menent," to which Lange rightly objects; but is
simply a lesser part of the one atonement of
which the blood was the more essential portion.
The office of the priests, leceiving the victim at
the people's hands, was with it to make an atone
ment or "covering" for the people's sins.
Having, undertaken this, the responsibility for
those sins in a certain sense rested upon them;
they must bear the iniquity of the congre
gation. — This was only possible to do by a strict
observance of the Divine appointment, since the
sacrifice could have no inherent efficacy. They
must both sprinkle the blood and eat the flesh.
Without the latter, " the sacrifice was imperfect
and the sin remained." Origen.

Ver. 19. In Aaron's excuse that "spiritual
elevation above the letter" which Lange has
noted becomes very plain. It is striking to find
this not only in the law, hut in regard to the
very centre of the law, the sin sacrifice, and
that, too, in the very first moment of its insti
tution. On Aaron's unfitness now to eat this
offering C'>mp. Hos. ix. 4.

Ver. 20. He was content. — " Moses admit
ted Aaron's pita, but it is not stated whether he

CHAP. X. 1-20.

was conscious that he had himself spoken hastily
and now conceded the point at issue (as we find
him doing on another occasion in reference to
the settlement of the two tribes and a half, Num.
xxxii. 6), allowing that the priests had done
what was in itself right, as S. Augustin, the later
Targums, Kurtz, and others, interpret the pas
sage; or whether he yielded out. of sympathy
with Aaron's natural feelings. The latter alter
native is perhaps the more probable one."
Clark. But neither alternative is necessary.
Both here and in the case cited from Numbers
(parallel to which also is Josh. xxii. 10-31)
Moses remonstrated against an apparent disre
gard of the command of God ; he was appeased
when assured that no disregard was intended,
and that in this case the act was exceptional un
der entirely exceptional circumstances.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

T. Self-chosen service (efle'AodpqaKe.ia, Col. ii. 23)
is displeasing to God, as a substitution of what
He has not commanded for what He has com
manded. It is of the nature of rebellion and is
so regarded by Him. " The symbolical meaning
of this history is very deep and comprehensive.
Every gift to God, every sacrifice for Him, every
act of zeal in His service, however it might
otherwise outwardly be right, is displeasing to
the Lord so soon as the fire of self-denial ceases
to originate from the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor. xiii. 3."
0. von Gerlach.

II. Nadab and Abihu were honored with being
" brought near" to God, and were the appointed
persons to burn incense in the proper way.
They perverted their office and abused their pri
vilege, and they perished. So generally God's
gifts perverted work harm to him who perverts
them, and this harm is intensified in proportion
to the greatness of the gift. 2 (lor. ii. 16.

III. Hence comes the general principle thit
religious responsibility is proportioned to reli
gious privilege (ver. 3) — a principle often in
sisted upon in our Lord's teaching.

IV. Under the old covenant, death, as the fruit
of sin, brought defilement by its touch. Even
father and brothers might not. touch the dead
bodies of the fallen, lest they should be defiled.
Under the new covenant, sin has been conquered
by Him who knew no sin, and death by Him who
rose from the grave. "No longer, therefore,
under the Gospel, is death an unclean thing.
"Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord,"
Rev. xiv. 13. The Levitical law, by its treatment
of death and burial, shows us our condition by
nature in contrast with the blessings given by
Him who is "the Resurrection and the Life."
Wordsworth.

V. It was required of the Levitical priests that
in their service in the sanctuary tb.py should
drink neither wine nor strong drink. Similarly
St. Paul provides (1 Tim. iii. 2, 8) that the
Christian ministry must be " not given to wine,"
and when requiring it for his infirmities, should
use it moderately (ib. v. 23). Theodoret. The
service of God must be "a reasonable service,"
with faculties unimpaired, and not disturbed by
artificial stimulants.

VI. When the priests are said (ver. 17) to

bear the iniquity of the congregation, the

temporary and typical character of the Levitical
system is at once manifest. It was plainly im
possible for men, who yet had to offer sacrifices
for their own sins, to bear the sins of others, and
so present them as holy before God, except as
they represented something else, viz.: the great
High Priest who should atone for the sin of the
world.

VII. The burning, instead of eating, the flesh
of the sin offering, finally acquiesced in by
Moses, is instructive doctrinally as showing eveu
in the most rigid part of the Levitical law, "a
certain freedom in the arrangement of the minor
details, while the substance of the rules is kept
inviolate. It is one of the examples we occa
sionally meet of a distinction being judiciously
and honestly made between the letter and the
spirit of a law." Murphy. Under the Old Tes
tament as under the New, God desires "mercy
and not sacrifice" (Hos. vi. 6; Matt, ix. 13;
xii. 7).

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

In this chapter, instead of the expected festi
vities consequent upon the inauguration of the
new priesthood, we find a fearful judgment ; so
the sin of man ever comes in to mar the good
work of God and turn to wormwood His cup of
blessing. By this fearful example all will-wor
ship is shown to be displeasing — all attempt to
serve God in opposition to the ways of His ap
pointment, " They also offer a strnnge fire, who
offer any thing of their own to God without truly
and humbly acknowledging that they have re
ceived all from God." Estius. " When we bring
zeal without knowledge, misconceits of faith,
carnal affections, the devices of our will-wor
ship, superstitious devotions into God's service,
we bring common fire to His altar. These flames
were never of His kindling; He hates both al
tar, fire, priest, and sacrifice." Bp. Hall.

The greatness of the punishment was in pro
portion to the appointed nearness to God of
those who had offended. Privilege always
brings responsibility. The judgment on Chora-
zin and Bethsaida must be heavier than upon
Sodom and Gomorrha. Compare Heb. ii. 3;
xii. 25.

God may use the same means for showing His
love and His anger. He consumed the sacrifice
by fire ; He slew Nadab and Abihu by fire. The
result to us of His action depends on our attitude
towards Him. The same Gospel is a "savor of
life unto life" and of "death unto death."
Again : He often uses for man's punishment the
very instrument of man's sin; these men sinned
by fire and perished by fire; so also the compa
nions of Korah, Num. xvi. 35. So under the
laws of His Providence are men's passions made
the means of punishing them, and often the ob
jects of unlawful ambition or desire, when at
tained, become the very scourges of those who
sought them.

Aaron held his peace, as the righteous must
needs do before the judgments of God, however
distressing. See Job i. 22: Ps. xxxix. 9. There
can be no hope and no comfort in the world if we
may rightfully murmur at the doings of "the
Judge of all the earth."

LEVITICUS.

The touch of the dead communica'ed defile
ment, biu the touch of the Giver of life caused
him who was borne out upon the bier to arise
(Luke vii. 14), and the damsel who slept in
death to arise and walk (Mark v. 42). Words
worth. Thus does the Antitype excel the type.

Aaron and his surviving sons might not leave
the sanctuary to mourn those who had fallen, but
all Israel might bewail them; so is the immedi
ate service of God more pressing than all else ;
what may be right at another time, or to other
persons, must be foregone by those who have a
duty to God with which it interferes. His ser
vice is the prime object to which all other things
must conform themselves.

The priests' fervor is not to come of wine or
strong drink. In the service of God they who

draw near to Him have need of all the calmness

and clearness of their minds, lest they do Him

dishonor while they profess to serve Him. The

i excitement of worship, which comes of the abuse

' of His gifts, though showing itself in eloquence

or in more than natural zea.1, is not pleasing to

Him.

From the fault of the priests in not eating the
flesh of the sin offering, Theodoret thus reasons
of the duty of the Christian minister : " Hence we
learn that we who eat of those things which are
offered by the people, and do not live according
to the law, nor diligently pray to God for them.'
will bring down punishment from God ;" and
Origen says that it behooves the priest first to
m»ke himself accept able to God before he presumes
to seek from Him acceptance for the people.

PART THIRD. THE LAWS OF PURITY.

CHAPTERS XI.— XV.

" The Preliminary Conditions of Sacrifice : the Typical Cleanness
and Ptirifying. ' ' — L.ANGE.

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS— AND ON
DEFILEMENT BY CONTACT.

There has been no little debate as to the origin
and ground of the distinction between clean and
unclean animals. Such a question can only be
settled historically. In Gen. vii. 2 Noah is di
rected to take into the ark "of every clean beast
by sevens, the male and his female," while "of
beasts that are not clean by two, the male and
his female." There was then already a recog
nized distinction, and this distinction had no
thing to do with the use of animal food, since
this had not yet been allowed to man. After the
flood, when animal food was given to man (Gen.
ix. 3), it was given without limitation. '-Every
moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you;
even as the green herb have I given you all
things." It, may therefore be confidently af
firmed that this distinction did not have its ori
gin and ground in the suitableness or unsuitable-
ness of different kinds of animal food, as has
been contended by mnny. Neither could it pos
sibly have been founded in any considerations
peculiar to the chosen people, since it is here
found existing so many ages before the call of
Abraham. Immediate!}' after the flood, how
ever, we have a practical application of the dis
tinction which seems to mark its object with suf
ficient plainness? "Noah builded an altar unto

the LORD ; and took of every clean beast, and
of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings
on the altar" (Gen. viii. 20). The original dis
tinction must therefore be held to have been be
tween animals fit and unfit for sacrifice (comp.
Calvin in Lev. xi. 1). On what ground the se
lection was originally made for sacrifice is wholly
unknown ; but it is altogether probable that the
same kind of animals which were "clean" in
the time of Noah were included in the list of the
clean under the Leviticnl law. Many of the lat
ter, however, were not allowable for sacrifice un
der the same law, nor is it likely that they ever
were ; on the other hand, all were admissible for
food in Noah's time, while under the Levitical
law many are forbidden. While, therefore, the
original distinction must be sought in sacrificial
use, it is plain that the details of this distinction
are largely modified under the Leviticnl law pre
scribing the animals that may be allowed for
food.

When inquiry is now made as to the grounds
of this modification, the only reason given in the
law itself is comprehensive (Lev. xi. 43-47; xx.
24-26; Deut. xiv. 21) : "For I am the LORD your
God; ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and
ye shall be holy ; for I am holy." " I am the

PRELIMINARY NOTE OX CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS.

LORD your God, which have separated you from
other people." This points plainly to the sepa
ration of the Israelites by their prescribed laws
of food from other nations ; and it is indisputa
ble that the effect of these laws was to place al
most insurmountable impediments in the way of
familiar social intercourse between the Israelites
and the surrounding heathen. When this sepa
ration was to be broken down in the Christian
Church, an intimation to that effect could not be
more effectively conveyed than by the vision of
St. Peter of a sheet let down "wherein were all
manner of four-footed beasts, and creeping
things, and fowls of the air," with the com
mand, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat" (Acts x.
13). The effectiveness of the separation, how
ever, is to be sought in the details, not in
the general character of the distinction, as it
is now well known that the ordinary diet of the
Egyptians and other nations of antiquity was
substantially the same with that of the Israel
ites. Various reasons given by the fathers and
others, with replies showing their fallacy, may
be found in Spencer, de leg. Ilebr. I. c. vii., $ 1,
what he considers the true reasons (seven in
number) being given in the following section.
Comp. also Calvin in Lev. xi. 1.

It is to be observed that the distinction of
clean and unclean animals has place only at
their death. All living animals were alike clean,
and the Hebrew had no scruple in handling the
living ass or even the dog. The lion and the
eagle, too, as has been well observed by Clark,
were used in the most exalted symbolism of pro
phetic imagery. But as soon as the animals
were dead, a question as to their cleanness
arose; this depended on two points: a] the
manner of the animal's death; and I] the na
ture of the animal itself. All animals whatever
which died of themselves were unclean to the
Israelites, although they might be given or sold
to "strangers" (Deut. xiv. 21), and the touch
of their carcasses communicated defilement
(Lev. xi. 39, 40). This then was one broad dis
tinction of the law, and was evidently based
upon the fact that from such animals the blood
had not been withdrawn.

But a difference is further made between ani
mals, even when properly slaughtered. In a
very general way, the animals allowed are such
as have been generally recognized among all
nations and in all ages as most suitably forming
the staple of animal food; yet the law cannot
be considered as founded upon hygienic or any
other principles of universal application, since
no such distinction was recognized in the grant
to Noah. Moreover, the obligation of its obser
vance was expressly declared to have been abro
gated by the council at Jerusalem, Acts xv.
The distinction was therefore temporary, and
peculiar to the chosen people. Its main object,
as already shown, was to keep them a separate
people, and it is invested with the solemnity of
a religious observance. In providing regula
tions for this purpose, other objects were doubt
less incidentally regarded, such as laws of health,
etc., some of which are apparent upon the sur
face, while others lie hidden in our ignorance
of local customs and circumstances.

Before closing this note it is worthy of remark
that the duali«tic notions which formed the basis
of the distinction between clean and unclean
animals among the Persians were absolutely
contradicted by the theology of the Israelites.
Those animals were clean among the Parsees
which were believed to have been created by
Ormuzd, while those which proceeded from the
evil principle, Ahriman, were unclean. The
Hebrews, on the contrary, were most emphati
cally taught to refer the origin of all things to
Jehovah, and however absolute might be the
distinction among animals, it was yet a distinc
tion between the various works of the one Cre
ator.

The general principles of determination of
clean animals wore the same among the Israel
ites as among other ancient nations ; in quadru
peds, the formation of the foot and the method
of mastication and digestion; among birds, the
rejection as unclean of birds of prey ; aud among
fish, the obvious possession of fius and scales.
All these marks of distinction in the Leviiical
law are wisely and even necessarily made on
the basis of popular observation and belief, not
on that of anatomical exactness. Otherwise the
people would have been continually liable to
error. Scientifically, the camel would be said
to divide the hoof, and the hare does not chtw
the cud. But laws fur popular use must neces
sarily employ terms as they are popularly un
derstood. These matters are often referred to
as scientific errors ; whereas they were simply
descriptions, necessarily popular, for the under
standing and enforcement of the law.

Defilement by contact comes forward very
prominently in this chapter, as it is also fre
quently mentioned elsewhere. It is not strange
that in a law whose educational purpose is
everywhere so plain, this most effective symbol
ism should hold a place, and tire contaminating
effect of converse with evil be thus impressed
upon this people in their spiritual infancy. It
thus has its part with all other precepts of cere
monial cleanness in working out the great spi
ritual purposes of the law. But beyond this,
there is here involved the great truth, but im
perfectly revealed under the old dispensation,
that the body, as well as the soul, has its part
in the relations between God and man. The
body, as well as the soul, was a sutferer by the
primeval sentence upon sin, and the body, as
well as the soul, has part in the redemption of
Christ, and awaits the resurrection of the just.
The ascetic notions of the mediaeval ages re
garded the body as evil in a sense entirely
incompatible with the representations of Scrip
ture. For not merely is the body the handmaid
of the soul, and the necessary instrument of the
soul's action, but the service of the body as well
as the ?oul is recognized in the New Testament
(p. g., Rom. xii. 1) as a Christian dutv. On its
nega'ive side, at least, this truth was taught
under the old dispensation by the many laws of
bodily purity, the series of which begins in this
chapter. The laws of impurity from physical
contact stand as an appendix to the laws of food
and as an introduction to the other laws of
purity, and form the connecting link between
them.

88 LEVITICUS.

FIRST SECTION.

Laws of Clean and Unclean Food.

"The Cleanness of the Sacrifice — or the Contrast of the Clean and Unclean Animals" — LANGE.

CHAP. XL 1-47.

1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, Speak unto
ihe children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts [animals1] which ye shall eat

3 among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is
cloven footed [and completely separates the hoof2], and cheweth the cud, among

4 the beasts, that shall ye eat. Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that
chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth

5 the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. And the coney,3 be
cause he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean

7 unto you. And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven footed [and
completely separates the hoof4], yet he cheweth not the cud ; he is unclean to you.

8 Of their flesh shall ye uot eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch ; they are un
clean to you.

9 5These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters : whatsoever hath fins and scales

10 in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have
not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters,
and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto

11 you : they shall be even an abomination unto you ; ye shall not eat of their flesh,

12 but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. 6Whatsoever hath no fins nor
scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they
shall not be eaten, they are an abomination : the eagle,7 and the ossifrage,8 and the

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 2. rPnn is a different word from n*3ri3 in the following clause, and the difference should be recognized in

T — T •• :

the translation, as it is in the Semitic versions. The former is the more general term, the latter (comp. Gen. i. 24) refers to
the quadrupeds included in this section (vers. 1-8) it) contradistinction from birds and reptiles.

2 Ver. 3. f>CP3 j,'Dtf f\pDi£M. The idea is that of not merely partially (like the camel), but completely dividing
the hoof. The Sam., LXX!, Syr. and nine MSS. make this still more indefinite by inserting 'iWy=two before the last

word.

3 Ver. 5. f3$ri- The animal is indicated hero as one that chews the cud ("or appears to do so), in Ps. civ. 18; Prov.

I T T -

xxx. 26, as living in the rocks, and in the latter as being very weak. It occurs elsewhere only in the parallel place, Deut.
xiv. 7. Here tbe LXX. renders it Saa-virow;, Aq. Aayuos; in ]'eut. xiv. 7. the LXX. has xoipoypuAAi09=/>n^tfy animal,
•which is adopted by the Vulg. in both places. The Sam. translates it Vabr, the Hyrax Bi/riacus, which is sa d to be stll
called fco/tui in Southern Arabia. Flirst^ays: " The Targ. points to the same animal when it translat.-s 8<T1JD,

(leaper) since the Vabr goes by leaps." The Duke of Argyle (Reign of Law, p. 264) speaks of a specimen of it in the

Zoological Gardens, and states that in the structure of the teeth and the foot it is assimilated to the rhinoceros. Cuvier
classed it with the pachyderms. The Rabbins understood it to be a rabbit, and were followed by Luther and the A. V. in
the old word Cone)/. Boehart (Hieroz. Lib. III., c. 33) understands it of the Jerbna or bear-mouse, and so Gesenius, Geddes
and others. Although the word in the A. V. is certainly wrong, yet as it is obsolete, it seems unnecessary to make a change
which could only be either to the Heb. word, or to the scientific name.

4 Ver. 7. The construction is the samo as in ver. 3. See note 2.

6 Ver. 9. The Sam , one MS., the LXX. and Syr. prefix the conjunction V
« Ver. 12. The same, with fourteen MSS., here prefix the conjunction.

7 Ver. 13. -^3 is uniformly translate 1 eagle in the A. V., aero? in the LXX., and aquila in the Vulg. Kalisch says

this "is beyond a doubt." The same meaning is given by Fiirst and Gesenius, although both would include also the sense
of vulture. Clark's proposed emendation, the great vulture, seems therefore unnecessary.

8 Ver. 13. D^3 rTjTj,*. Both, by preponderance of authority, species of eagles, and the former sufficiently well

described by ossifn:ge ; the latter species is not certainly identified, the word occurring only here and in the parallel, Deut.
xiv. 12. The LXX. renders oAicu'eTos=8ea eagle. Fiirst prefers Valeria, the black eagle. Kalisch prefers the sense vulture.
Geseu. (Thosaur.), black eagle.

CHAP. XI. 1-47. 89

14, 15 ospray,8 and the vulture,9 and the kite10 after his kind ; nevery raven after his

16 kind ; and the owl [ostrich12], and the night hawk [owl13], and the cuckow [gull1*],

17 and the hawk after his kind, and the little owl,15 and the cormorant, and the great
18, 19 owl,16 a> d the swan,17 and the pelican, and the gier eagle [vulture18], and the

stork,19 the20 heron21 after her kind, and the lapwing [hoopoe22], and the bat.

20 All11 fowls that creep [all winged creeping things23], going upon all four, shall be

21 an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing
that goeth upon all four, which have24 legs above their feet, to leap withal25 upon

22 the earth ; even these of them ye may eat ; the locust after his kind, and the bald
locust26 after his kind, and the beetle26 after his kind, and the grasshopper after his

23 kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abo-

9 Ver. 14. HJOj a word, an. Ae'y. In the parallel passage, Dent. xiv. 13, it is HfcO- Its etymology indicates a rave

nous birl of swift flight. LXX. yv^i=mdture, Vnlg. milvus*=l-it\ Bochart considers it a species of hawk or falcon. So
Kalisch. Iii Deut. xiv. 13 there is mentioned also PP"!, making twenty-one varieties of birds; but that word in Deut. is

omitted by the Sam. ami four MSS.

10 Ver. 14. n"*N is oiilj to be identified by the fact that it here stands for the name of a class — after his kind, and that

T -

in Job xxviii. 7 it is spoken of for its great keenness of sight. The LXX. renders here kite, in Deut. and Job vulture. Clark
uirikt'S it milvus regalis.

11 Ver. 15 and ver. 20. The 8am., many MSS. and versions prefix t>-e conjunction.

12 Ver. 16. njyn r>3. LXX. o-rpoi/06s. The word is uniformly rendered owl in the text of the A. V.; but in the

marg. of Job xxx. 29; Isa. xiii. 21 ; xxxiv. 13; xliii. 20, it is rendered ostrich in accordance with the Targ., LXX., Vulg.
and Syr., and there can be no doubt that this is the true sense. Tne frm. stands fur the b rd colle tivel , of both sexes.
Rosen. : " Vox, p3- »pposita est ex more quodam Orientalium, qui nomma pater, mater, filius, Jilia, animalium quorundam

nominihns praefieren> ,«olont sine respectu setatis et sexus." Bochart, however, thinks it means distinctively the fema'e.

13 Ver. 16. DOjin (.from DDH> to do violence), interpreted by Uochar , and others oil his authority, of the male

ostrich; but th s is now generally rejected. The Targ. Onk. has XVi*, and Targ. Jerus. KjT£Dn=swaZ7oM;. Others

(Knobel) consider it the cuckio ; but the rendering of the LXX, and Vulg., ontf, is now adopted more generally than any other.
n Ver. 16. nniy occurs only here and in Deut. xiv. 16. Knobel understands it of a species of hawk trained in Syria

for hunting gazelles, etc. ; but most other interpreters understand it of a sea bird, whether the stormy petrel (Bochart) or
more generally the sea gull alter the Vulg. and LXX. Aapo?.

15 Ver. 17. D13- There seems no sufficient r. ason to question the accuracy of the A. V., which is substantially that
of the ancient versions. Tristram identifies it with the Athene meridional-is ctinmon in Syria. Bochart, however, would
render Pelican, and Riggs Mght-haick.

16 Ver. 17. The A. V. is proi.a' ly light. The LXX., Vulg. and Targ. Onk. have Ibis, which seems to have arisen from
a misplacement of the wunis of the text, rather than from a d flerent translation of H^J^. They are followed by R'gga

and others.

17 Ver. 18. r\DEOrv The same word is used, > er. 30, for mole (probably chameleon) : here it refers to a biid, and it is

likely that this is the word for which Ibis sianus in the LXX. and Vulg. But it is not probable that the Israelites would
have come much in cont ict with the Ibis. The preponderance of author ty (see Fiirst) is for some variety of owl, accord
ing to the Chald., Syr. and Sam. ; but there does not appear to be buffic.ent certainty to warrant a change in the text of
the A. V.

!8 Ver. 18. DTT^ LXX. rendering doubtful. The best authorities agree that some species of vulture is meant. Ge-

senius (thpsiur.) would make it a very small species, of the size of a crow. Others consider it most probably the large
Egyptian vulture, Neophron percnopierus. Perhaps sonieth ing of this kiud was meant by gier eagle,. Kalisch, governed
only by the onl r of the birds, would translate pelican.

19 Ver. 19. riTpn, LXX., Aq., Symni., Theod., heron, but LXX. in Job xxxix. 13 stork. Either bird answers well

enonsrh to the etymology and to the pa«siges when it occurs, and stork, is as likely to be right as heron.

20 Ver. 10. The Sam. and sixreen MSS. prefix the conjunction which is found in the parallel place in Deut. For the
want of it Knobel would connect the word with the preceding as an mljectiv. ; but it seems better to consider it as an acci
dental omi^ioii.

21 Vur. 19. nSJX- The meaning of the rendering in Targ. Onk. is unknown, Syr. retains the Ileb. word, LXX. xaPa-

T T — :

Spies, a bird chiefly remarkable for its greediness. The Heb. etymology is uncertain. Clark identifies it with the great
plover ( Charudrius ocdicnt mus). i'iirst defines it Parrot, and so Gesen. Bochart, following the etymology of the Rabuins,
defines it the angry bir/>, and considers it some species of < agle. It seems probable that tue A. V. is wrong, but difficult to
determine unon a substitute.

22 Ver. 19. jliJ'jn' The bird intended has not been certainly identified; but the authority of the LXX., en-oTj-a, and

Vulg., Hpn/)<7, is here fol'owed. The Arab, adopts it, and it is followed by Riggs. Bochart would render mountain cock
alter the (Jhald.

23 Ver. 20. ^tyi! T"^t# S.3. The idea of fowls that creep is not less strange an 1 grotesque in Heb. than in English.
The word VI 19 ty its etymology means those creatures that multiply abundantly, swarm, whence it came to be applied

to very much the same creatures as we mean by vermin. It can hardly be better exprecsed than by creeping things.
Going upon all four does not necessarily mean having just lour feet, but going with the body in a horizontal posi
tion. ,

2* Ver. 21. For the X~7 of the text the Vri has 1 ?, and so the Sam. and many MSS. So it must necessarily be under
stood, as it is in the versions.

25 Ver. 21. For jn3 the Sam. and thirty-seven MSS. have DH3.

I " T " T

26 Ver. 22. Beetle is certainly wrong; for this, like the rest, must have been one of the leaping insects. There are no

means of identifying these four varieties. Each of them stands for a class " af er his kind." Two of them, the D V /D an<*

/ f '• T

the /JPH, do not occur elsewhere. Th» others are of frequent occurrence, and are uniformly translated in the A. V. the

first locust, the last grasfhopp"r. It would pr bably be better in the other cases to follow the example of the older English
and most modern versions in g.viag simply the Hebrew names without attempting transla.ion.

90 LEVITICUS.

24 urination unto you. And for these ye shall be unclean : whosoever toucheth the

25 carcase of them shall be unclean until the even. And whosoever beareth ought of
the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

26 The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not cloven footed,
nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you : everyone that toucheth them27 shall be

27 unclean. And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts 27tt that
go on all four, those are unclean unto you : whoso toucheth their carcase shall be

28 unclean until the even. And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his
clothes, and be unclean until the even : they are unclean unto you.

29 These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon
the earth ; the weasel,28 and the mouse, and the tortoise [the great lizard29] after

30 his kind, and the ferret [gecko30], and the chameleon [strong lizard31], and the
lizard [climbing lizard32], and the snail [lizard33], and the mole [chameleon84].

31 These are unclean to you among all that creep : whosoever doth touch them, when

32 they be dead, shall be unclean until the even. And upon whatsoever any of them,
when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel [thing35]
of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel [thing35] it be, wherein
[wherewith33] any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean

33 until the even ; so it shall be cleansed. And every earthen vessel, whereinto any

34 of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean ; and ye shall break it. Of
all meat [food36] which may be eaten, that on which such [om. such*'1'] water cometh
shall be unclean : and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be

35 unclean. And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be
unclean ; whether it be oven, or ranges38 for pots, they shall be broken down : for

36 they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you. Nevertheless a fountain39 or pit,
wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that \\liich40 toucheth their

27 Vcr. 20. Six MSS. and the LXX. specify, what is sufficiently plain, their carcases. ** Yer. 27. See note * on ver. 2.

28 Ver. 29. iS'l"! occurs nowhere else. The A. V. seems justified in following the LXX. and Targ., although Bochart

•would render mole, which is still called Chitld bv the Arabs.

29 Ver. 29. 3]f, a woid in this sense, an. Ae'y. There seems no doubt that this and all the names following in ver. 30

indicate vari ;us species of lizard. So Biggs. This particular one is called by the 1 XX. 6 Kpo/cdSvAo? 6 xeprratos=7awrf
croc^dilf. und FO St. Jerome. Bochart considers it a kind ot large lizard abounding in Syria, often two feet long. Tiistam
identifies it with the uromastix spiidpes. The translation proposed by Clark, the great lizard, is probably as good as can
be ha I.

30 Ver. 30. HDJX in this sense only here. LXX. nvyd\r)=shrcw mouse; Onk. *7*=hedge hog ; the other onenfal ver-

ITT-: -T

sions by various names of lizard. Almost all the authorities concur in making it some variety of lizard. Knobel is cer-
tai ly wrong in idcmifvins? it with the Lacerta Nilotica, an animal lour feet long. Fiiist only so far defines it as "a reptile
with a long Lai row n< ck." The translation of Rosenmiiller, lacerta gt-ck >, seems as probable as any.

31 Ver. 30. n3, a wo d of frequent occurrence for strength, power, but as a name of an animul occurring only here.

The etvmology seems to indicate a characteristic of strength (although Furs-t makes it the slimy'), and the connection,
s >me variety of lizard. The translation chameleon is derived from the LXX., and is probably wrong. Keil shows that Ki.o-
I>P! (followed by Clark) is in error in translating by frcg. TI'C uncertain y is too great t" substitute another v ord lor that
cf the A. V., winch yet must be changed, because the last name bi-loiij-s to tho cli uueleoii. The etymology simply is there
fore indicated.

32 Ver. 30. i~IX£D 7i another word, <XTT. Ae'y. LXX. KaAa/3u>T>js, Vulg. stellio. Knobel makes it a crawling, and Fuerst a

T T :
climbing lizard. The latter is adopted as a probable sense in order to avoid confusion in the text.

33 A'er. 30. tD^n> al-o an. Ae'y. LXX. cravpa, Vulg. lactrla, and so also the Syr. The A. V. conies from the Targ.

Je us. and Rabbinical authorities. Otherwise there is a general agreement with Bo"hart that it should be rendered
lizard.

34 Ver. 30. JV3$3P has already occurred, ver. 18, as the name of a bird. Here it is some variety of lizard, and from
its etymology — Dt^J, to breathe, to draw in air — there is a good degree of unanimity in understanding it of the chameleon,
either as inflating itself, or as popularly supposed to live on aif.

35 Ver. 32. ^3 >s evidently here used, as in Ex. xxii. 6 (7), in its most comprehensive sense. It is only limited by
the clause wherewith any work is clone. This change of course makes it necessary to translate DH3, where
with, instead of wherein.

33 Ver. 34. 73J< means any kind of food, especially cereal. The English meat is now so altered in sense that it is bet

ter to change it.

37 Ver. 34. The word such is unfortunately inserted in the A. V. The idea is (romp. ver. 38) that all meat prepare 1
with water should be rendered unclean by the falling of any of these animals upon it.

38 Ver. 35. D"1^"1!) occurs only here, and there is much question as to its uieaiiing. According to Keil it "can only

signify, when used in the dual, a vessel consisting of two parts, i. e. a pan or pot with a lid.'" So Knobel and the Targu">s ;
others a support for the pot like a pair of bricks, LXX. xvp-roTrov?; otuer-, as Fur»t, ua cooking furnace, prubai-ly consisting
of two ranges of stones which met together in a sharp angle."

39 Ver. 36. The Sim. and LXX. add of waters.

40 Ver. 30. Eosenmiiller, Ke !, and others umlers and this in the masculine, he ivho. viz. in removing Ihe carcase. The
meaning, however, s ems to bo more geneial : the person or the thing touching tho carcase, in removing it or otherwise.

CHAP. XI. 1-47.

37 carcase bhall be unclean. And if any part of their carcase fall upon any41 sowing

38 seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. But if any water be put upon the seed,
and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.

39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die ; he that toucheth the carcase there-

40 of42 shall be unclean until the even. And he that eateth of the carcase of it42 shall
wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even : he also that beareth the carcase
of it42 shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination ;

42 it shall not be eaten. Whatsoever goeth upon the belly,43 aud whatsoever goeth
upon all foil", or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep

43 upon the earth, them ye shall not eat ; for they are an abomination. Ye shall not
make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall

44 ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. For I
am the LORD your God : ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall bs
holy ; for I am holy : neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creep-

45 ing thin^ that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD44 that bringeth you
up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God ; ye shall therefore be holy, for I am
holy.

46 This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature
that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth :

47 to make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast45
that may be eaten and the beast45 that may not be eaten.

41 Ver. 37. The Sam., two MSS., and Vulg. omit any ; but two MSS. and the LXX. insert it before s"ed in tho follow
ing ver e.

42 Vers. 39 and 40. Several MSS. and the LXX. have the plural in these places.

« Ver. 42. The loiter } m prU=^/ty is printed in larger type in the Heb. Bibles to indicate that it is the middle let
ter of the Pentateuch.

44 Ver. 45. The Sain., two MSS. arid the Syr. add, as in ver. 44, your God.
16 Ver. 47. See note on ver. 2.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The whole of La M go's "Exegetical" is here
given in full, the remarks of the translator being
added in square brackets.

"Cleanness as a condition of the sacrifices —
the cleanness of the sacrificial animals, and the
cleanness to be regained through the purification
of men and of human conditions. Chap, xi.-xv.
'These are regarded in the law as defiling: the
use of certain animals and the touching a car
case (chap, xi.); the confiri rnent of a woman
(chap, xii.) ; the leprosy (chap, xiii., xiv.); the
issue of seed of a man (ch. xv. 1—15) ; the invo
luntary emission of semen (ib. 15, 1H) ; the car
nal conjunction of the sexes (ib. 18) ; the menses
of a woman (ib. 19-24) ; and the lasting issue
of blood of the same (ib. 25-30); to which Num.
xix. 11-22 adds the touching the dead; but the
things mentioned do not all give the same un-
cleanness,' etc. Knobel, p. 432. The priests
were to administer the laws of cleanness and of
purification, so to speak, as the religious district
physicians of the theocracy. On the laws of the
Gentiles about cleanness, see Knobel, pp 430—
40; on the animals, pp. 443 ss. (the detailed pre
sentation)."

"Chap. xi. The cleanness of the sacrifice, or
the contrast of the clean and unclean animals.
The clean sacrificial animal is marked out from
the four-footed beasts by two characteristics:
cleaving the hoof and chewing the cud. The
cloven hoof distinguishes the slow-moving, tame
animal, naturally adapted to domestication, from

the single-hoofed animal, naturally wild, although
sometimes capable of being tamed. The rumi
nation characterizes quiet, dispassionate, grami
nivorous animals, as opposed to the carnivorous
beasts of prey, and the unclean omnivorous
beasts."

" Thus especially are the one-hoofed excluded,
although they chew the cud; the camel, and (as
stated) the rock badger, the hare. And so with
those that cleave the hoof and do not chew the
cud — the swine. And, of course, the four-footed
creatures which lack b;>tli characteristics."

"In regard to all unclean animals, the use of
their meat and the touching of their carcase is
forbidden. That they certainly might not
be offered in sacrifice is therewith presupposed.
Vers. 1-8."

[From this general view of the chapter, and
from several of the particulars, a dissent must be
expressed. Although, as has been shown in the
preliminary note, the original distinction between,
clean and unclean animals was in regard to their
fitness or unfitn'ess for sacrifice; yet here there
is no immediate reference to sacrifice at all, and
the animals are classified solely in relit ion to
their being allowed or forbidden for food. Again,
in the detail, while among the animals reared by
man it may be true that "the cloven hoof dis
tinguishes the slow-moving tame animal;" yet
this certainly could not apply to the gazelle and
other kinds of deer, which are equally included
among the clean animals. Probably Lange's re
mark was made because his mind was already
fixed upon the classification of animals for sacri
fice, although even then it would but imperfectly

LEVITICrS.

apply to tbe goat. Also, on the other side, "the
single-hoofed animal, naturally wild, but some
times capable of being tamed," is quite insuffi
cient in its description, for the single-hoofed
horse is quite as much a domestic animal as the
bull or the goat, and it fails altogether to include
the many-toed domestic cat and dog, which were
eminently unclean.

[The first and larger half of this book is con
cerned with the means of approach to God.
First of all came the laws of sacrifice, chaps, i. —
viL; then followed the consecration of the priests
by whom the sacrifices were to be offered, with
an account of their entrance upon their office,
and the connected events, chaps viii.— x.; now
follow the laws of purity, chaps, xi.— xv., and
of these first, the laws of clean and unclean food,
contained in the present chapter. In this con
nection also the uncl anness produced by contact
with the dead bodies of animals unclean for food
is emphatically set forth, and thus this chapter
is intimately connected with the laws of purifi
cation in the following chapters. "In all the
nations and all the religions of antiquity we find
the contrast, between clean and unclean, which
was developed in a dualistic form, it, is true, in
many of the religious systems, but had its pri
mary root in the corruption that, had entered the
world through sin. This contrast was limited in
the Mosaic law to the animal food of the Israel
ites, to contact with de id animals and human
corpses, and to certain bodily conditions and
ili eases that are associated with decomposition."
Keil.

[Vers. 1-8 are concerned with the larger
quadrupeds. The distinction is so made among
these that the Israelites might be in no mistake
about them. To an anatomist it might have been
enough to say either parteth the hoof, or
cheweth the cud; but since several animals
apparently had one of these characteristics with
out the other, or were popularly supposed to
have them, for the sake of clearness both are
given, and also some animals are excluded, as
the camel, which apparently lar-ked one of them,
although anatomically it might be considered as
possessing both.

[Ver. 1. Both Moses, as tho lawgiver, and
Aaron, as the now fully consecrated high-priest,
to whom would especially pertain the enforce
ment of the laws of purity, are now addressed
together.

[Ver. 3. No enumeration is here made of <he
animals possessing these qualifications ; but there
is such an enumeration in the parallel passage
Deut. xiv. 4, 5.

[Ver. 4. The camel has a ball behind the cleft
of the foot on which it treads. It, comes, there
fore, under the class of those with hoofs not
completely cloven. So also the swine in ver. 7
is spoken of as dividing the hoof, because he
does so in all common acceptation, and is so
spoken of at this day, although anatomically he
has four toes. Correspondingly in vers. 5, 6
animals are spoken of which appear to the eye
to chew the cud, although they do not really;
because otherwise the people, guided by the ap-
peirance, would be If-d into transgression. All
these animals, it is needless to say, were eaten

among surrounding people, somo by one nation,
some by Another. — F. G.]

Vers. 9-12. "The clean aquatic animals are
distinguished likewise by two characteristics —
they must have fins and scales. All aquatic ani
mals, on the other hand, which have not these
characteristics, should be not only unclean to
them, but an abomination. The fish nature must
thus appear distinctly marked. Of fitness for
sacrifice, nevertheless, nothing is said here"
[obviously because fi^h were not included among
sacrificial animals at all] ; " as food for fast days,
fish could not possibly have been used by the Jews."
[In this, as in the preceding law, the marks of
distinction are to be understood of obvious ones:
fins and scales that were apparent to the eye.
As the law covers all that are in the waters,
the Crustacea, lobsters, crabs, etc., and the mol-
lusks, oysters, etc., are wholly forbidden. — F. G.]

Vers. 13-19. "With reference to birds, the
unclean varieties are named at length: eagles,
hawks, fish-hawks, vultures, kites, and every
thing of that kind, all kinds of ravens, the
ostrich, the night-owl, the cuckoo, the kinds of
sparrow-hawk, the eared owl, the swan, the
horned owl, the bat, the bittern, stork, heron,
jay, hoopoe, swallow. The clean kinds are not
named; they are limited to a few examples.
Pigeons and turtle-doves, however, were more
especially made use of for sacrifice." ["Pigeons
and turtle-doves" were the only birds used for
sacrifice, but they are not mentioned here, be
cause this chapter is not concerned with sacri
fice. For the birds intended by this list of
twenty Hebrew names, see the Textual notes.
All the birds mentioned, so far as they can be
identified, feed more or less exclusively upon
animal food ; but no general characteristic is
given. The list is probably only meant to in
clude those prohibited birds with which the
Israelites were likely to come in contact. All
not included in it, however, would have been
lawful under a strict construction of the law.
The bat is included in the prohibited list on the
general principle of this whole nomenclature ; it
wts popularly regarded as a bird. — F. G.]

Vers. 20-25. "A remarkable exception is made
by the varieties of locusts appended to the birds
(locusts, crickets, grasshoppers, green grasshop
pers). It is as if these animals were to be an
important object of game for the theocracy."
[It is evident that they did, as in the case of John
the Baptist, become an important item of food
for the poorer classes, and as they are still in the
desert regions adjoining Palestine. — F. G.]
" But besides these, all winged (four-footed) in
sects are described as things to be avoided (not
abominable)." [This is a general prohibition
of all small flying creatures, having more than
two feet. Creeping things in the original
means also "things that swarm" or multiply in
great numbers. Going upon all four seems in
tended, in contrast to birds which have only two
feet, to include all that have more than two feet,
and consequently creep in a horizontal position.
It is so understood by Jewish writers. From
this general prohibition the saltatoria are ex-
cepted, which are still, as they have always
been, used as an article of food by the poorer
classes in the East. Taese have, like the common

CHAP. XI. 1-47.

grasshopper, very long hind legs for leaping.
With this exception, this whole class of creatures
is described in vers. 23-25 as abominable. Yet
the living animal communicated no uncleanness
by contact — only its dead body. This is a dec'a-
ration immediately afterwards (vers. 27, 28) ex
tended also to the bodies of unclean quadrupeds,
and also (vers. 39, 40) to the bodies of even clean
animals that have died of themselves. Washing
of the clothes (vers. 25, 28} required of those
who bore their carcases was evidently because
contact with the clothes could hardly be avoided
in doing this. — F. G.]

Vers. 26-28. "Once more the characteristics
are enjoined — to which, however, the definition
is added that also all beasts which go on paws
(the stealthy-going beasts of prey) are to be con
sidered unclean."

Vers. 20-38. " Moreover there is still a crowd
of little animals named in which there is no at
tempt at n natural history classification, as a re
semblance has already appeared in the four-
footed flying creatures. Mammalia: mole and
mouse; a-nphibia: the lizard, the Egyptian li-
zar.l, the frog, the tortoise, the snail, the chame
leon. This division of various animals is more
especially prominent because the individuals that
compose it could easily make clean objects un
clean. First, the dead body of all these crea
tures is, and makes, unclean; secondly, the wa
ter with which on*3! has purified either himself or
any object from them ; thirdly, utensils, meats
and drinks which these creatures" \i. e., their
dead bodies] "have touched, vers. 29-35. On
the other hand, these animals cannot, defile the
spring, the cistern, or the seeds intended for
sowing. The case is different with seed intended
for food when wet with water, vers. 36-38."
[The names of these creatures have already been
treated in the Textual notes. It appears that,
except the first mentioned weasel (or mole) and
the mouse, they are all of the lizard family. But
in vers. 32-38 the uncleanness produced by con
tact with their dead bodies is carried much fur
ther than in regard to the animals previously
named, doubtless for the reason suggested by
Lruige that there was more likelihood of contact
from them. Any thing of which use was made
in doing work (ver. 32) must be soaked in water.
Skin included in the list refers to the skins used
for churning, for holding wine and other liquids,
and for a variety of purposes. The earthen ves
sel (ver. 33) into which any of their bodies fell
must be broken on the same principle, but witb
an opposite application, as in vi. 28. The ground
in both cases is the absorbent character of
unglazed earthenware; there it must be broken
lest what it had absorbed of the "most holy offer
ing" should be defiled ; here lest the defilement
it had itself absorbed should be communicated.
In vers. 34 and 38 it is provided that if their
carcase fell upon any food or seed in a dry
state, it should not communicate defilement ; but
if these were wet, they should be defiled. The
reason of the distinction is evident — the moisture
would act as a conveyor of the defilement. In
ver. 35 the strong contamination of these dead
bodies is still further expressed : but in ver. 36
an exception is made in favor of any large col
lection of water in fountains or cisterns, on the

general principle that God " will have mercy ra
ther than sacrifice." — F. G.]

Vers. 39, 40. "Finally comes into considera
tion the carcase of the clean animal that has died
a natural death. This also makes unclean (a)
by contact, (b) by unconscious using thereof, (c)
through carrying and throwing it away. The
one defiled must wash his clothes and hold him
self unclean until evening." [Yet from vii. 24 it
is evident that this precept applied to the dead
body as a whole, not to the fat, or probably to
the skin, when it had been separated. The rea
son for the uncleanness of the carcase was evi
dently that its blood had not been poured out,
but was still in the veins and arteries, and spread
about in the flesh. This would not apply to the
separate fat, nor to the skin, when properly
cleaned. The provision for purification of one
who had eaten of the flesh may apply not only to
unconscious eating (Larige), but also to eating in
cases of necessity. It did not constitute a sin,
but only a ceremonial defilement, for which
purification was provided. — F. G.]

Vers. 41, 42. "At last the true vermin are
spoken of. Every thing that crawls, that goes
on the belly (in .addition to the division already
given), four-footed vermin, and those having
more than four feet (beetles)." [It was a curi
ous conceit, adopted from Minister by some of
the older writers, that flies and worms living
upon f' uit and vegetables are not here prohibited
because they do not "creep upon the ea»th."
The text evidently intends to forbid all creep
ing things, and is especially comprehensive in
ver. 43. The Talmudists also exclude from the
operation of the law all the minute creatures
supposed by them to be spontaneously generated
in vegetables, fruits, cheese, etc.. , and all the mi
nute parasitic animals. It is plain enough, how
ever, that the law, making its distinctions by ob
vious and popularly recognized marks, does not
enter at all into minutiae of this sort.]

Vers. 43-45. [Ye shall not make your
selves abominable. — Lit.] "Ye shr.'l not
make your souls an abomination — a strong ex
pression, but the key to this legislation. From
tiie educational standpoint of the law for this
morally infant people, purification must be made
from all beastly conditions by a strong exclusion
of all the lower animal forms, and the people
thus be elevated to a conscio-usnes-s of personal
dignity. Therefore it is also further said that
this is in conformity with the character of Jeho
vah your God. Ye shall therefore sanctify
yourselves, and ye shall be holy — i. e., be
come sanctified personalities; for I am holy —
i.e., the absolute sanctified Personality. They
could thus, by the defilement of their body, de
file also their souls. This also is made promi
nent: that Jehovah bringeth you up out of
the land of Egypt, the country defiled by aui-
mal worship."

Vers. 46, 47. "This is the law.— Although
it is not specifically extended over the whole ani
mal kingdom, it is still a general regulating prin-
c:ple according to which the distinctions are to be
made. In principle, with this, the distinction is
aleo introduced in regard to the vegetable king
dom, the contrast of edible and inedible plants.

LEVITICUS.

Yet the application of tins to the manner of
living, to the usages, is left untold."

"In regard to the law of clean animals, w<
have to distinguish different classes: the speci
fically clean, or cleanest animals, are those uset
in sacrifice — old and young cattle, sheep anu
goats, tunle-doves, and (young) pigeons. Thest
animals form the common food of Jehovah anJ
His people ; the symbolical food of Jehovah, an>l
the actual food of the Israelites — a mark of tht
divine dignity of man, and of his designation as
the image of God Of the vegetables : with thi.«
animal centre correspond the cereals, especially
barley and wheat, incense, wine, and oil; of the
mineral kingdom, salt. The second class is
made up of the clean animals which men were
allowed to eat, but which were not fittet
for sacrifice. The third class is made up of

the unclean animals, the touch of which.

so long as they are living. — does not make
im-n unclean, but of which they are not al
lowed to eat, and whose carcase defiles them,
(not the fat of the slain animals). In the fourth
c'ass, finally, are the repulsive animals, which
even while living are repulsive at least to men,
the creeping and crawl ng animals. That this
classification was to be symbolic of spiritual
conditions is shown to us very clearly in the vi
sion of Peter in Acts x. ; hut that the ordinary
symbolism is limited by exiraordinary symboli
cal requirements is shown to us by the appear
ance of the eagle in the forms of the Cherubim.
With the New Testament this symbolism gene
rally has reached its end, that is, face to face
with Christian knowledge. But yet. condition
ally, it remains in the New Testament era pro
portionately through the Christian national cus
toms, as this can be deduced from the prohibition
of the eating of blood, and of things strang'ed
(Acts xv.). The condition of natural abhor
rence towards all repulsive objects certainly re
mains more or less ineradicable, although even
in this respect, necessity can break iron."

" We should distinguish here most carefully
between the theocratic teleological rules, which
have a divine and ideal force, and their exem
plification, which belongs to the Jewish sensus
communis, and its product, popular usage ; as is
shown here, particularly bv the exaiup e of the
unruminating auimals, the badger and hare
(which seemed to the people to ruminate to some
extent). Obstinacy in valuing the literal inspi
ration wo"ld certainly make here an irrecon
cilable conflict between theology, or even nomi
nal belief, and natural science, and the hare
would become the favorite wild game of negation
as Balaam's ass is its favorite charger."

*' In regard to the nnimals mentioned here, we
must refer 10 the detailed treatment of Knobel
and Keil, the quoted literature of the latter, and
the natural history of Calwer and others."

[It is to be observed that there is no defile
ment whatexer produced by the contact with any
living animal. The distinction between animals
which are attractive and those which are repul
sive to man is not at all recognized ; nor indeed,
judging from the habits of different nations',
would it be easy to draw any line of distinction'
on this ground. The law simply prescribes what

animals shall be, and what shall not be used for
food— between the beast that may be
eaten and the beast that may not be eaten,

ver. 47. The distinction is nevertheless symbo
lical, as the line of separation is plainly so taken
as to exclude from the list of the clean all carni-
attra, except in the case of fish whose habits are
to a great, extent hidden under the waves from
common observation. But while no living ani
mal defiled, the bodies of all dead animals, not
properly slaughtered, did defile. The peculiar
care with which defilement is guarded against
in the case of the carcasses of certain of the
smaller animals (vers. 29-38). seems to be due
to the greater liability to contact with them. The
degree of uiioleauness occasioned by contact with
tue dead body of any animal which died of itself,
was the same in all cases, vers. 25, 28, 31, 40, even
iu that of animals otherwise fit for food. The only
exception is in case of sacrificial or food ani
mals when properly slaughtered, an exception
obviously necessary unless sacrifices and animal
food were to be prohibited. The Apostle has
expressly taught " that there is nothing unclean
of itself" (Rom. xiv. 14); and we must look
therefore for the ground of the distinctions made
in this chapter, not directly to anything in the
nature of the various animals themselves, but to
the educational object of the law. That educa
tional object, however, was of course best sub
served by having regard to such characteristics
of the animals as should make the lessons to be
taught most impressive and most easily appre
hended.— F. G.].

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. The doctrinal significance of the distinction
between animals clean and unclean for food, must
be considered in view of two facts: first, that as
far as food is concerned, this is distinctly a part
of that law which was "added because of trans
gressions." It limited an earlier freedom, and
it passed away when the law was superseded by
a higher revelation. Secondly, that for the time
while the law was in force — the whole period of
tsrael's national existence — these precepts were
elevated into distinctly religious duties, resting
upon the holiness which should characterize the
people of a holy God (vers 44, 45). These two
facts can only be brought into harmony in view
of the educational purpose of the law. Thepeo-
>lc, in their spiritual infancy, could only be
aught purity by sens-ible symbols, and among
hese there was nothing which entered more tho-
'oughly into all the arrangements of daily life
han the selection of food. By this, therefore,
hey were taught to keep themselves pure from
11 defilement which God had forbidden.

If. The evil consequences attending a neglect
)f the precepts in this chapter are represented
n a twofold a pect : First, there was sin in dis-
bedience to these as to any other divine com-
lands, and this is described as making your-
elves abominable, (ver. 43). This phrase
recisely is applied only to the eating of creep-
ng things, but is implied in regard to the
thers (vers. 11, 13, 23). It carries with it the
dea that he who offended in these matters put
imself in that relation towards God in which

CHAP. XL 1-47.

these things intended to stand towards man: —
he had sinned by transgression, and thus made
himself an abomination. The other aspect is
that of the violation of the theocratic order, and
here the penalty is very light. The kind of un
cleanness contracted in any of these instances
found a sufficient purification in any case by the
washing of the clothes and remaining unclean until
the evening. In cases of a secondary defilement
of other things, they also must be similarly pu
rified, or be destroyed. Even the eating of a
clean animal which had died a natural death re
quired no deeper purification. Here, then, the
line is very distinctly drawn between ceremonial
defilement and moral sin, even when both were
incurred by the same act.

III. All commands to holiness, whether ex
pressed by symbolical act, or to be wrought out
in the efforts of the spirit, rest upon the same
ground, For I am the Lord your God, ....
I am holy. — This is the teaching alike of the
Old and the New Testaments, and again brings
out in a striking way the impossibility of any
true communion between God and man except on
the basis of man's restoration to holiness. This
teaching has been already seen to be the object
of the Levitical law in regard to sacrifices, and
it is here none the less so when the law enters
into the details of man's d^iily life.

IV. While the uncleannesses here enumerated
were purged simply and speedily if attended to
at once, if neglected, they required (v. 2) the
more serious expiation of the sin offering. Such
is the nature of sin; like leaven, it is ever prone
to spread and intensify its effects.

V. " The cleanness of the animals for sacrifice
and the purification of the sacrificer. Chaps,
zi. — xvi."

"Through sacrifice Isra -1 is made holy, i. e.,
they become in the fellowship of a personal God,
a people of personal dignity belonging to God.
The preliminary condition of sanctification by
fire is the purification especially produced by
water and blood. Only clean, or rather, purified
men can serve as sacrificers in the presentation
of clean animals."

"Clean men must be circumcised, sanctified
by the symbol of circumcision to the new birth
under the power of Jehovah, and thus especially
taken out from the confusion of the unclean
world ; and so, too, the clean animals, as animals
of civilization, form a contrast to the unclean
creation, as the elite of domestic animals, some
of which are too human, too sympathetic (horse,
ass, and dog), while swine are too brutally un
clean to become domestic animals for the Is
raelites."

" Cleanness is the negative side of holiness, and
so purification is the negative side of sanctifica
tion." Lange, Doymatik zurn Lev.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

The homiletical teaching of this chapter may
be briefly summed up in the weighty words of
the Apostolic proverb (1 Cor. xv. 33) " Evil com
munications corrupt good manners." It is easy
to deceive ourselves here. It is easy to work
out plausible reasons why particular divin^com-
mands may not be founded in the nature of

things, and hence may not b.i of binding force
upon us. But all God's commands are binding,
and he who chooses to violate them, however
unimportant they may seem to him to be, incurs
the risk of making himself an abomination.

Sins in matters of little importance, intrinsi
cally and inadvertently committed, may, through
the means which God has provided, be readily
put away on repentance, and a true seeking of
restored communion ; but if neglected, or passed
over because they seem of little moment, they
lead to a heavier guiltiness.

The defiling effect of personal contact with
that which is unclean is set forth in this chapter.
Origen, in treating of it, calls attention to the
corresponding effect of contact with that which
is holy as illustrated by the restoration to life
of the body of the man which touched the bones
of Elisha"(2 Kings xiii. 21), and of the woman
whose issue of blood was staunched when she
had touched the hem of the Saviour's garment
(Matt. ix. 20). Both serve to show the influence
exerted upon us by our associations; the spirit
as surely as the body is defiled by contact with
the unclean, and elevated by association with the
pure.

Certain moral qualities of men are commonly
described by reference to the animal creation.
As this is frequently done in the New Testament
(Matt. vii. 15; x. 16; xxiii. 33; Luke xiii. 32;
Phil. iii. 2 ; 2 Pet. ii. 22, etc.], so it appears al
ways to have been common among mankind.
Therefore, in the classification as clean, of those
animals associated with excellent qualities, and
as unclean of those associated with evil qualities,
a praise of virtue and a condemnation of evil was
introduced into the domestic associations of the
daily life. The necessity of such teaching has
passed away with the coming of the clearer light
of the Gospel.

Parting the hoof and chewing the cud are two
marks of the clean animal which go together,
and must both be found ; though one may be
apparently possessed, yet if the other is wanting,
the animal, is unclean. This Origen applies to
one who meditates upon and understands the
Scriptures, but does not order his life in accord
ance with their teaching. So it may be applied
to faith and works ; neither can truly exist with
out the other, and the semblance of either alone
is unavailing.

Positive Divine laws, simply as laws, and even
without, regard to their immediate object, have
a high moral value from their educationary
power. From the garden of Eden down, man
has been always subjected to such laws. As
disobedience to them has resulted in harm, and
placed the transgressor in an attitude of opposi
tion to God ; so has the fai hful effort to ob-ey
them resulted in blessing, and brought those
who have undertaken it into nearer relations
to God. Whether the ground of the com
mand could be understood, or whether the
act enjoined or forbidden might seem to man
morally colorless, yet the simple habit of obe
dience has always had a most salutary effect.
"A law, the fitness and utility of which we
cannot discover by our natural reason, is more
a test of the spirit of obedience than a moral re
quirement that commends itself to our judgment

LEVITICUS.

as good and proper ; because our compliance
with the latter may be but a compliment to our
own intelligence, and not at all an act of defer
ence to the divine authority." Hallam. The
multitude of daily demands made upon the
obedience of the Israelites offered to them a
great opportunity of blessing, and is repeatedly
declared to have been a test whether they had a
heart to do God's will or no. Under the higher

dispensation of the Gospel we are allowed to see
more clearly the grounds of the Divine com
mands; nevertheless, the opportunities of ren
dering obedience, simply as obedience, without
seeing the grounds upon which the command
rests, is by no means entirely withdrawn from
the Christian. Such opportunities improved arc
means of blessing, and become to us one of the
many ways in which we " walk by faith and not
by sight."

SECOND SECTION.

"The purification and cleanness of the human conditions of the offerers. The lying-in women. The

leprosy in men, in garments, in houses. Sexual impurities and purifica

tions. Chaps. XII. — XV" — LANGE.

Laws of Purification after Childbirth.

CHAPTER XII.

1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, If a woman have conceived1 seed, and born a man child, then she shall be
unclean seven days ; according to [as2] the days of the separation for her infirmity

3 shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be cir-

4 cumcised. And she shall then continue in3 the blood of her purifying three and
thirty days ; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until

5 the days of her purifying be fulfilled. But if she bear a maid child, then she shall
be unclean two weeks, as in her separation : and she shall continue in the blood of

6 her purifying threescore and six days. And when the days of her purifying are
fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb [sheep4] of the first
year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering,

7 unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest : who shall offer
it before the LORD, and 6make an atonement for her ; and she shall be cleansed
from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a

8 female. And if she be not able to bring a lamb [one of the flock6], then she shall
bring two turtles, or two young pigeons ; the one for the burnt offering, and the
other for a sin offering : and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she
shall be clean.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 2. JTTTA The Sam. here has the Ni;>hal. Comp. Gen. i. 11 for similar use of Hiphil.

8 Ver. 2. nD^3- The text institutes a comparison, saying that the one is the bame as the other, rather than makes one
the law for the othpr.

8 Ver. 4. 7j?. There is no distinction in the A. V. between this and the preposition of the preceding verse. Two MSS.
read here also 'DIS as in rer. 4.

* Ver. 6. ^33. See Textual Note 5 on iii. 7.

6 Ver. 7. One MS., the Sam., LXX., and Syr., here piipi ly the word priest, which Is necessarily understood from the
connection.

6 Ver. 8. ni£f a different word from that in ver. 6, aud used either of sheep or goats, but according to Fur^t, only of the

young of either.

The previous chapter was addressed to Moses
and Aaron conjointly, and eo is the following,

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Here begins a new parashah of the law extend
ing to xiii. 59; the parallel section of the pro
phets is 2 Kings iv. 42 — v. 19, a prominent sub
ject of which is the cleansing of Naaman from
his leprosy.

the latter part of ch. xiv. (beginning at ver. 33)
and ch. xv. ; the present chapter and the earlier
part of ch. xiv. are addressed to Moses alone.
The reason of this difference seems to lie in the
fact that the parts addressed to Moses alone are
simple commands given to him as the legislator,

CHAP. XII. 1-8.

requiring no exercise of judgment in their appli
cation ; while those addressed to both called for
more or less of a discrimination which was
entrusted by the law to the priests.

The previous chapter treated of uncleanness
of men arising from the lower animals which,
if attended to promptly, in no case required
more for its purification than ablutions, and
continued only until evening. This and the
three following chapters treat of uncleanness
arising from the human body, in most cases
requiring expiatory sacrifices with various, and
often prolonged, periods before the purification
became complete. The various sources of this
defilement are: child-bearing (xii.); leprosy
(xiii., xiv.); and certain secretions (xv.) ; to
these is added in Num. xix. 11-16 the most in
tense of all defilements, that arising from con
tact with a human corpse. The omission of a
vast mass of other sources of impurity, and
restriction of rites of purification to these few,
certainly indicates (as Keil has shown) that
these are not simply regulations for the promo
tion of cleanliness, or of good morals and de
cency, but had a higher symbolical and educa
tional meaning. The defilement of child-bearing,
which occupies the present chapter, is placed
first not only because birth is the natural start
ing point for the treatment of all that concerns
the human body, but also plainly to prevent any
possible confusion between this defilement and
those mentioned in ch. xv. 19-30. There is in
deed a certain degree of connection between the
two, and this made it all the more necessary
that this should be treated by itself, as being a
different thing and resting upon different
grounds.

In regard to purifications in general, Kalisch
says: "Next to sacrifices, purifications were
the most important part of Hebrew rituals.
Whenever both were prescribed together, the
latter appeared indeed as merely preparatory to
the former, since sacrifices were deemed the
main agency of restored peace or holiness; but
purifications, like offerings, were frequently
ordained as separate and independent acts of
worship: closely entwined with the thoughts
and habits of the Hebrews, they formed an

essential part of their religious system

The Hebrews 'purified,' or, as they understood
the term, sanctified themselves, whenever they
desired to rise to the Deity, that is, before
solemn ceremonies and seasons, as sacrifices and
festivals (Gen. xxxv. 2-4; 1 Sam. xvi. 5; comp.
2 Chron. xxx. 17); or whenever they expected
the Deity to descend to them by some superna
tural manifestation, as a disclosure of heavenly
wisdom, or a deed of miraculous power and help
(Ex. xix. 10, 14, 15; Josh. iii. 5; vii. 13).
Therefore, when in a state of impurity, they
were forbidden to enter the sanctuary, to keep
the Passover, and to partake of holy food, whe
ther of sacrificial meat, of sacred offerings and
gifts, or of shew bread, because the clean only
were fit to approach the holy God and all that
appertains to Him (Lev. vii. 19-21; xxii. 3 ss. ;
Num. ix. 6 ss. ; xviii. 11, 13; 1 Sam. xxi. 5)."
Later he adds: " If compared with the purifica
tory laws of other nations, those of the Penta
teuch appear in a favorable light They

exhibit no vestige of a dualism ; in every detail
they are stamped by the monotheistic creed ;
God alone, the merciful, wise and omnipotent
Ruler, sends trials and diseases ; and no evil
genius has the power of causing uncleanness.
They are singular in the noble principles on
which they are framed — the perfection and holi
ness of God ; and they are thereby raised above
frivolity and unmeaning formalism. Moreover,
it would be unjust to deny that they were un
derstood as symbols, or as means of sanctifica-
tion ; to defile oneself and to sin, and also to
cleanse and to hallow, are frequently used as
equivalents. They must be pronounced simple
if considered side by side with those of the Par-
sees, the Hindoos, the Egyptians, or the Tal
mud."

The connection here hinted at between un
cleanness and sin, betwe%n purity and holiness,
is a very important one. It rests partly on a
symbolism which finds place in all languages,
and is abundantly recognized in the diction of
the New Testament ; and partly upon that actual
connection existing between the soul and the
body (spoken of in the last chapter), whereby
the one is deeply affected by the state and con
dition of the other. In both respects the edu
cational value of the Levitical laws of purity to
a people in their spiritual infancy were of the
utmost value. The importance of the symbolism
was further enhanced by the broad distinction
made between defilements arising from human
and those from other sources, and connecting
the sin offering only with the former.

This chapter consists of two parts: vers. 1—5
relate to the time of seclusion, vers. 6-8 to the
means of purification. The following are Lunge's
Exegetical Notes on the chapter in full :

" The origin of life makes man unclean in
regard to his theocratic right of communion ;
just as death, or the touch of the dead, and no
less that which impairs life — sickness, especially
as it is represented by the leprosy, and so also
every disturbance of the springs of life. But
this surely does not mean that finite life itself
was thought of as unclean, and that it must
therefore be reconciled to the universal life
(Baehr II., p. 461, opposed to which Somraer
and Keil) ; and it also does not mean that ori
ginal sin alone has produced all this darkening
of life, although the natural condition appears
here throughout laden with sinfulness; since
we find directions for the purification of lying-
in women among the most, different nations (see
Knobel, p. 466)." [The following brief sum
mary of some of these is given by Clark: " The
Hindoo law pronounced the mother of a new
born child to be impure for forty days, required
the father to bathe as soon as the birth had
taken place, and debarred the whole family for
a period from religious rites, while they were
to 'confine themselves to an inward remem
brance of the Deity:' in a Brahmin family this
rule extended to all relations within the fourth
degree, for ten days, at the end of which they
had to bathe. According to the Parsee law, the
mother and child were bathed, and the mother
had to live in seclusion for forty days, after
which she had to undergo other purifying rites.
The Arabs are said by Burckhardt to regard

LEVITICUS.

the mother as unclean for forty days. The
ancient Greeks suffered neither child-birth nor
deH'h to take place within consecrated places:
both mother and child were bathed, and the
mother was not allowed to approach an altar
for forty days. The term of forty days, it is
evident, was generally regarded as a critical
one for both the mother and the child. — The day
on which the Romans gave the name to the
child, the eighth day for a girl, and the ninth
for a boy, was called lustricus dies, ' the day of
purification,' because certain lustral rites in
behalf of the child were performed on the occa
sion, and some sort of offering was made. The
Amphidromia of the Greeks was a similar lustra
tion for the child, when the name was given,
probably between the seventh and tenth days
(Menu v. 62; Ayeen Akbery, Vol. II., p. 556;
Zend Avesta, np. Bahr * Thucid. III. 104 ; Eurip.
Iph. Taur. 382; Callim. Hijm. ad Jov. 16, Hym.
ad Del. 123 ; Censorin. De Die Nat. c. xi., p. 51 ;
CeKus, II. 1 ; Festus, s. Lustrici Dies with the
note in Lindemann, II. 480; Smith, Diet, of
Antiq. s. Amptiidromio,}," — F. G.] — "But, in
general, by this establishment of the unclean-
ness of the natural processes of birth and death,
the truth was pxpressed, that the ideal life of
man was already a kind of immortal life, which
bad to raise itself above the natural conditions
of human life — the natural side of his being —
and set itself in opposition thereto."

"If now any one says that all these regula
tions are not to be considered under the aspect
of sanitary or dietetic, but only of typical or
religious precepts, we must hold this antithesis
to be thoroughly false; there are plain indica
tions that always, from the tree of knowledge
down, especially from the circumcision, the one
particular was joined with the other."

" Ver. 2 ss. In regard to the uncleanness of
lying-in women, in the first, place there are two
conditions to be distinguished: first, the time
of their especial sickness; secondly, the time
of their recovery through the blool (the issue
of blood) of their purification. These times dif
fer according: as she has borne a son or a daugh
ter. If the child be a boy, the time of her espe
cial sickness is fixed at seven days, exactly like
the regulation in reg;ird to the monthly courses.
Then on the eighth day the circumcision of the
boy was to follow, and from that time for thirty-
three days — ihe eighth day reckoned in — she
was to remain at home with the boy, engaged
in a constant proce-s of recovery and purifica
tion. But why are the seven days of her espe
cial uncleanness doubled to two weeks by the
birth of a girl? It is said that this has its
foundation in the belief of antiquity that "the
bloody and watery issues last longer after the
birth of a female than of a male " (see the cita-
tio^s from Hippocrates [op. ed. Kiihn. i. p.
393], Aristotle [Hist. anim. vi. 22; vii. 3], and
Burdacli [Phys-ologie III., p. 34] in Keil).
Whether this view formed a natural reason for
the above regulation or not, there was certainly
al«oatheocratic reason of in portunce: the boy was
circumcised— the girl was not ; for this the twice
seven davs might form an equivalent. The girl was
so far a Jewess, but not yet an Israelitess " \i. e.
a descendant of Abraham after the flesh, but not

yet incorporated with the chosen people. — F. G.].
" It was now moreover the proper consequence
that the thirty-three days of recovery were
doubled to sixty-six days, wherein, indeed, the
law of circumcision is still more strongly re
flected. The totality of the forty days of purifi
cation at the birth of a boy corresponds to the
former explanation of the forty days in the life
of Moses and Elijah: it is the symbolical tim«
of purification, of exclusion from the world, as
it was extended for the whole people to forty
years. And the doubling of the foi ty days in
the case of the new-born girl explains itself, if
forty days are reckoned for the girl and forty
for the mother ; a doubling which could not be
applied to the circumcised boy. Moreover, the
cooperation of the physical view, already noticed,
may be also taken into consideration." [It is
particularly to be noticed that the uncleanness
continued only seven or fourteen days. During
this time it appears from the analogy of xv. 19-
24, the woman was unclean in the sense that
every person and thing touched by her became
itself unclean and capable of communicating de
filement. After this period, the woman was no
longer unclean, but might perform at home all
the ordinary duties of domestic life; only she
was forbidden to approach the sanctuary (i. e.,
the court of the tabernacle) until the time of her
purification. The suggestion of Lange (which
was also the opinion of Calvin) that the differ
ence in the length of time for the uncleanness
and the purification at the birth of a boy or a
girl was due to the fact of the boy's being for
mally received into the visible Church of God
by circumcision, is a complete and satisfactory
solution of a long-vexed question ; but this so
lution necessarily carries with it the determina
tion that the law had respect to the child as well
as to the mother. To this two objections are pro
posed : first, the case of still-born children ; but
this was so exceptional that there was no occa
sion to provide for it in the law. When it did
occur — if the principle above given is correct —
there being no child for whom purification was
required, the time would probably have been re
duced to that which was considered necessary
for the mother alone. The other objection ariseS
from the necessity of including the infant Jesus
in the purification of the Virgin Mary, Luke ii.
22 (where it is very observable that the Evange
list docs not hesitate to say TOV nadapiofiov av-
rtiv*), but this is easily disposed of on the prin
ciple announced by Himself in regard to His
baptism that "thus it becometh us to fulfil all
righteousness" (Matt. iii. 15). This is the view
t;iken by S. Augustine (Quaest. in Kept. L. III.
40).— F. G.].

•' Ver. 6. The equalization of girls with boys
appears again in the appointed completing sacri
fice." [That is, in the time at which it was of
fered ; there was no distinction in the sacrifice
itself. — F. G.]. "And in this there is not first
a sin offering brought, and then a burnt offering,
as in the trespass offerings ; but first a costly
burnt offering, as the expression of the conse
cration of the new life; — namely, a year old
lamb, and then a sin offering small in propor-

* In note on Lnko ii. 22 the view taken by Oosterzee is
that the plural iuf.T3 to Mary au i Joseph.

CHAP. XII. 1-8.

tion, a young pigeon, or a turtle-dove." [This
order of the offerings is a remarkable deviation
from the general principle that when the two of
ferings came together, the sin offering always
preceded. The reason of this exception appears
to lie in the fact that at the birth of a child feel
ings of joy and gratitude are naturally upper
most ; the thought of the child's heritage of ^in-
fulness comes afterward. — F. G.]. "Only in
case of necessity was the burnt offering reduced
and made the same as in the sin offering." [This
necessity seems to have bei'n liberally interpre
ted by custom, and the smaller offering to have
been allowed generally to the humbler classes
of society. Comp. Luke ii. 22-24. The time of
the offering also could not be before the fortieth
or the eightieth day, but, only a very strict, con
struction of the law could forbid its being defer
red to a later period for those living at a distance
from the sanctuary, as appears to have been
done at the birth of Samuel. 1 Sam. i. 22-25.—
F. G.]. "That bearing and being born, as well
as being unclean through sickness and touching
the dead, could not be thought, of without human
complicity in sin, or at least, in guilt, was set
forth by this law ; but how gently was this judg
ment expressed ! If it is now said of this sacri
fice from one point of view: for a son, for a
daughter [ver. 6], and then again so she shall
be clean [ver. 8], so again is the time, just as
much as the sacrifice of purification, designated
as common for mother and child. Keil is thus
incorrect when he supposes that the woman did
not require purification for the child, but only
for herself. According to the fundamental prin
ciples of the Levitical law, it, could not be con
ceived that a clean child lay on the breast of an
unclean mother. In this very community of the
Levitical uncleanness, this inner fellowship be
tween mother and child is raised above the sup
posed separation in their condition. It is evi
dent that the thing here treated of is indefinite
sinf'ulness, but not " sins becomirtg known indi
rectly in the corporeal manifestation of them."

'• Upon the laws of purity among other nations
in regard to women in childbed, see Knobel, p.
466, and so too on the circumcision, p. 467."

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. " The theocratic law is joined throughout
with the sanitary law, without giving up its pre
dominating and symbolical Levitical signification.
In the law of lying-in women there comes espe
cially into notice the connection or unity between
mother and child, and the difference between
the man-child and the woman-child. See the
Exegetical." Lang<>.

II. " The doctrine, echoed in a hundred
creeds, that ; Purity is, next to life, the highest
boon of man,' was among them also [the Isra
elites] a truth and a reality." Kalisch.

III. " The fall casts a shade of impenetrable
darkness over the birth of a child of man. All
that reason can say is, that this is another child

of sin and heir of death. . . . The mother in Is
rael is here taught that while there is impurity
and guilt connected with the bearer and the born
of the fallen race, yet there is a propitiation on
which she may rely for herself and for her off
spring, and a purification which she has for her
self, and may confidently expect for her child,
while she trains him up in the way he should
go." Murphy.

IV. This chapter shows clearly in the differ
ence between the times of uncleanness and of
purification at the birth of a boy and of a girl,
the difference in relation to the ancient church
brought about by circumcision. The Christian
church has taken the place of the Jewish, and
baptism has taken the place of circumcision ; the
sume relation therefore may be expected to hold
between these.

V. Inasmuch as a sin offering was to be pre
sented conjointly for the mother and the new
born child, the doctrine of original bin is plainly
taught in this law. Origen (Horn. viii. in Lev.,
$ 3) draws the same conclusion from the fact
that baptism is appointed " for the remission of
sins," and yet is administered to infants.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

As the primeval curse on sin fell, for the wo
man, on child-bearing, go in child-bearing she
becomes by the law unclean, and mast present
for her purification a tin offering. That cursa
remains and still clings to every child of f-in
coming into the world; for purifica'ion resort
must be had to that true Propitiation for sin
of which the sin offering was a type.

"As the mother and her child emerge out of
the impurity, she learns to hope for the day when
both will emerge out of the bondage and corrup
tion of sin; as the child is circumcised on the
eighth day. the confiding parents pray and wait
and watch and work for the circumcision of the
heart, which is hopefully foreshadowed by the
outward rite ; as the mother offers her burnt
sacrifice and sin sacrifice she rejoices in the
knowledge that there is a propitiation that is
sufficient for her, and for her children, and f r
her children's children to all generations."
Murphy.

" The priestly people of God have always a war
to wage with the defilements of the natural life.
Even the uncleanness which belongs to the na
tural vigor of a lying in woman, and to a new
born child, must be taken away and atoned for."
Lange.

In accordance with this law, " on the fortieth
day after His birth from the Blessed Virgin's
womb, Christ, the second Adam, our Emmanuel,
was presented in the substance of our flesh ; and
on the fortieth day after His resurrection, or
birth from the grave (Col. i. 18; Rev. i. 5), He
was presented in our flesh in the heavenly panc-
tuary, and we were presented in Him in the
dress of a cleansed and glorified humanity."
Wordsworth.

100

LEVITICUS.

THIRD SECTION.

Laws Concerning Leprosy
CHAPS. XIII., XIV.

PRELIMINARY NOTE.

The disease of leprosy has happily become so
rare in modern times in the better known parts
of the world that much obscurity rests upon its
pa'hology. The attempt will only bo made here
to point out those matters which may be con«i-
dered as fixed by common consent, but which
will be found sufficient for the illustration of the
more important points in the following chapters.

In the first place, then, it appears indisputable
that I'prosfi is a broad name covering several va
rieties of disease more or less related to one
another. These are separable into two main.
classes, one covering the different, forms of Ele
phantiasis (tuberculateJ and anaesthetic) ; the
other, the Lcpra vulgaris, Psoriasis, Syphilis, etc.
It is the former class alone with which Leviticus
has to do as a disease. At the present time the
tuberculated variety is said to be the more com
mon in those countries in which leprosy still ex
ists to any considerable extent, while the anaes
thetic was probably more prevalent in the time
of Moses. The latter is described by Celsus un
der the name of /lewc^, and Keil maintains that
the laws of Moses in regard to leprosy in man
relate exc'usively to this. Clark, however, has
shown " that the two in a great number of cases
work together, and as it did in the days of
Moses, the disease appears occasionally in an
ambiguous form." Wilson has recorded a num
ber of cases in detail, showing the interchange
of the two forms in the same patient. The symp
toms of the dise ise intended by Moses sufficiently
appear in the text its? If, and if these symptoms
cover what would now appear in medical no
menclature as different diseases, then all those
diseases^classified under the general name of
leprosy were intended to be included in the Le-
\itical legislation.

Nothing whatever is paid in the law either of
the origin, the contagiousness, or the cure of
the disease. In modern experience it seems to
have been sufficiently proved that it is heredi
tary, hut only to the extent of three or four gen
erations, when it gradually disappears; neither
is it in all cases hereditary, the children of le
pers being sometimes entirely unaffected by
leprosy, and on the other hand the disease often
appearing without any hereditary taint. In its
first appearance it is now often marked only by
some slight "spot" upon the skin, giving no
pain or other inconvenience, but obs inately re
sisting all efforts at removal, and slowly but ir
resistibly spreading. Sometimes months, some
times years, even to the extent of twenty or
thirty years, intervene between the first appear
ance of the " spots " and their development. It

is not improbable that in the course of many
centuries a considerable modification in the ra
pidity of its progress may have taken place in a
disease which is found gradually to die out by
hereditary transmission. The question of its
contagiousness is still much mooted among the
medical faculty. The better opinion seems to be
that it is not immediately contagious, but is pro
pagated by prolonged and intimate intercourse
in the case of susceptible persons. At least it
is certain that in all known instances of the pre
valence of the disease one of the most important
of the means of control has been the segregation
of the lepers, and where this precaution has
been neglected, the disease has continued to pre
vail. After the leprosy has once acquired a cer
tain degree of development, there is no known
means of cure. Everything hitherto attempted
has been found to rather aggravate than miti
gate the disorder. It is asserted that it yields
to medical treatment in its earliest stages when
the "spots " first appear, and a number of dis
tinct cases of cure are recorded; but the doubt
will always remain whether the disease which
yields is really leprosy, or whether something
else has not been confounded with an undevel
oped stage of the true disease. However this
may be, it is certain that after it has once be
come developed to any considerable extent it is
incurable by any remedies at present known,
although spontaneous cures do sometimes occur.
The reliance for its control is more upon diet,
cleanliness, and general regimen, than upon spe
cific antidotes.

Medical observations upon the disease in mo
dern times have been made in the island of Gua-
daloupe, where it broke out about the middle of
the last century, and was very carefully investi
gated by M. Peyssonel, a physician sent out by
the French government for the purpose. An ac
count of the result of his examination, as well as
of other investigations of English. French, and
German physicians in other islands of the West
Indies whither it had been imported from Africa,
and in other parts of the world is given by Mi-
chaelis (Laics of Moses, Art 208, 210). Also of
especial importance is a ' Report on the leprosy
in Norway by Dr. Danielssen, chief physician of
the leper hospital at Bergen, and Prof. Boeck "
(Paris, 1848). The subject of late years has
considerably interested physicians, and the Lon
don " College of physicians " have published a
report upon it, based upon a series of questions
addressed to nearly all parts of the world where
the disease now prevails. Many other authori
ties are cited by Clark in his preliminary noti

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON LAWS CONCERNING LEPROSY.

101

to these chapters. A particularly valuable dis
cussion of the disease may be found in Wilson,
Diseases of the skin, ch. xiii. (5th Am. Ed., pp.
300-314 and 333-381). The disease appears to
have been more or less common in Western Eu
rope from the eighth century down, but received
a great extension at the time of the crusades.
At one time a partial enumeration by Dugdale
mentions eighty-five leper bouses iti England
alone, six of which were in London, and it con
tinued to linger in Scotland until the middle of
the last century. It still exists to a considerable
extent in Iceland and Norway, and in all the
countries bordering the Eastern shores of the
Mediterranean, especially Syria and Egypt,
where it has found a home in all ages, in some
parts of Africa, Arabia, and India.

The characteristics of the disease are the ex
ceedingly slight symptoms at its first appear
ance : its insidious, and usually very slow pro
gress, the horribly repulsive features of its later
stages when the face becomes shockingly disfi
gured, and often the separate joints of the body
become mortified and drop off one by one ; and
its usually sudden and unexpected termination
at the last, when the leprosy reaches some vital
organ, and gives rise to secondary disease, often
dysentery, by which life is ended. Meanwhile,
during the earlier stages, generally very pro
longed, there is no suffering, and the ordinary
enjoyments of life are uninterrupted.

Leprosy, with these characteristics, especially
its hidden origin, and its insidious and resistless
progress, has always seemed a mysterious dis
ease, and among the hrathen as well as among
the Jews, has been looked upon as an infliction
especially coming from God. In fact in Hebrew
history it was so often employed in Divine judg
ments, as in the case of Miriam, of Gt hazi, and
of [Jzziah, and was also so often healed by mi
raculous interposition, as in the case of Miriam
also, and of Naamau, as to give some reason for
this belief; while the peculiar treatment it re
ceived in the law tended still further to place
leprosy in a position of alienation from the theo
cratic state, and actually included the leper in
that " uncleanness " which was utterly excluded
from approach to the sanctuary. The disease
thus became a vivid symbolism of sin, and of the
opposition in which this stands to the holiness
of God ; while at the same time its revolting as
pect in its later stages made it such an invtge,
and indeed a beginning, of death itself that it is
often most appropriately described by Jewish as
well as other writers as " a living death." Much
of the association with death and the body in
the corruption of death, thus attached to leprosy
and the corruption at work in leprosy. It is not
necessary here to speak of the prevailing He
brew notion that all suffering was the conse
quence of individual sin, and wa-s proportioned
in severity to the degree of that sin ; for how
ever deeply seated such ideas may have been in
the minds of many of the Israelites, and however
much they may have increased the popular dread
and abhorrence of leprosy, they find no shadow
of encouragement whatever in the law.

In regard to what is called "leprosy" in
houses, in textile fabrics, and in leather, it is
not necessary to suppose that the name is in

tended to convey the Uea of an organic disease
in these inaniiuate things. Tue law will still be
sufficiently clear if we look upon the name as
merely applied in these cases to express a kind
of disintegration or corruption, such as could be
most readily and popularly described, from cer
tain Mrnilaritiei in appearance, by the figurative
use of the word. In the same way the t.rnisow^
of joint, sick, and others have come among our
selves to be popularly used of inanimate things,
and such words as blistered, bald, and rotten, have
a technical figurative S' n.se almost more common
than their original literal one. These modes of
disintegration have been often investigated with
great learning arid labor ; but it is not surprising
that at this distance of time, and after such pro
found changes in the arts and the habits of men,
the result, of all such investigations should re
main somewhat unsatisfactory. Just enough
has been ascertained to show that inanimate
things, of the classes here described, are sub
ject, to processes of decay which might be aptly
described by the word leprosy; but precisely
what the processes were to which the Levitical
law had reference it is probably impossible now
to ascertain definitely. The most satisfactory
treatment of the subject from this point of view
is to be found in Michaelis (ubi supra, Art.
211). He instances in regard to houses, the
formation of saltpetre or other nitrous galls
upon the walls to such an extent in some parts
of Germany as to become an article of com
mercial importance, and to be periodically
scraped off for the market. By others the exist
ence of iron pyrites in the dolomitic limestone
used for building in Palestine has been suggested
as leading in its decomposition to precisely the
appearances described in the law — hollow streaks
of the green ferrous sulphate and the red of fer
ric sulphate — upon the walls of the houses af.
fected ; but proof is wantinsr of the existence in
that stone of pyrites in sufficient abundance to
produce the effects contemplated in the law.
Both these explanations, however, are suggestive
of methods of disintegration which might have
occurred, but, for the determination of which we
have not sufficient data. It is the same with the
explanation of Michaelis in regard to woolen
fabrics, — that, the wool itself is affected by dis
eases of the sheep upon which it has grown.
The fact itself does not seem sufficiently well au
thenticated; nor if it were, would it be applica
ble to garments of linen. Nevertheless, this is
suggestive of defects in the materials, — which
were in all cases of organic production — arising
either from diseased growth, or from unskilful-
ness in the art of their preparation, which would
after a time manifest themselves in the product,
much in the same way as old books now some-
limes become spotted over with a "leprosy"
arising from an insufficient removal of the chemi
cals employed in the preparation of the paper
pulp.

But, whatever the nature and origin of this sort
of "leprosy," it is plainly regarded in the Levi
tical law as is no sense contagious, or in any way
calculated to produce directly injurious effects
upon man. It is provided for in the law, it
would appear, partly on the general ground of
the inculcation of cleanliness, and partly from

102

LEVITICUS.

association with the human disease to which it
bore an external resemblance, and to which the
utmost repugnance was to be encouraged. Even
the likeness and suggestion of leprosy was to be
held unclean in the homes of Israel.

No mention has thus far been made of a theory
of this disease adopted by many physicians, and
which, if established, might really assimilate the
leprosy in houses and garments and skins to that
in the human body, and explain the origin of all
alike by the same cause. According to this
theory, the disease is occasioned by vegetable
spores, which find a suitable nidus for their de
velopment either in the human skin or in the
other substances mentioned. If this theory
should be accepted, the origin and effects of the
disintegrating agencies would be the same in all
cases. The late eminent physician, Dr. J. K.
Mitchell, in his work upon the origin of mala
rious and epidemic fevers (Five Essays, pi 94),
after quoting the law in relation to leprosy,
says : " There is here described a disease whose
cause must have been of organic growth, capable
of living in the human being, and of creating
there a foul and painful disease of contagious
character, while it could also live and reproduce
itself in garments of wool, linen, or skin; nay
more, it could attach itself to the walls of a
house, and there also effect its own reproduction.
Animalcules, always capable of choice, would
scarcely be found so transferable ; and we are
therefore justified in supposing that, green &r red
fungi so of [en seen in epidemic periods, were the
protean disease of man, and his garment, and
his house." He further quotes from Hooker
statements corroboratory of his views in regard
to the plagues of 786 and 959. This theory, how
ever, has not here been urged, partly because it
yet needs further proof, partly because no theory
at nJl is necessary to account for the Levitical
legislation Jti view of the facts presented in the
law.

For the literature of the subject, besides the
reference above gi'-ven, see the art. by Hayman,
Leper, Leprosy, in Smith's Bibl. Diet., and the
Preliminary note on the>se chapters in Clark's
Com. on Lev., together witfr the appended notes
to the same.

At the opening of his " Exeg-etical" Lan^e
has the following, which may be appropriately
placed here : " First of all, it must be oiade pro
minent that the leprosy, under the point ^f view
taken, and the sentence of uncleanness, is placed
as a companion to the uncleanness of birth, ,IS
the representative of all ways of death, of ai'l
sicknesses. It is unclean first in itself, as a death
element in the stream of life — in the blood — even
as the source of life appears disturbed in the re
lations of birth ; but still more it is unclean as
a sickness spreading by transmission and con
tagion.

" Hence it appears also as a polluting element
of physical corruption, not only in men, but also
through the analogy of an evil diffusing itself, in
human garments and dwellings. The analogous
evils of these were, on this account, called lep
rosy.

" In this extension over man and his whole
sphere it is, in its characteristics, a speaking
picture of sin and of evil the punishment of sin ;

it is, so to speak, the plastic manifestation, the
medical phantom or representation of all the
misery of sin.

" Accordingly the leprosy, and the contact
with it, is the specific uncleanness which ex
cluded the bearer of it from the theocratic com
munity, so that he, as the typically excommuni
cated person, must dwell without the camp.

" Nothing is here said of the application of
human means of healing in reference to this evil.
The leper was left with his sickness to the mercy
of God and to th^ wonderfully deep antithesis of
recovery and death ; the more so, since leprosy
in a peculiar sense is a chronic crisis, a progres
sive disease, continually secreting matter, whe
ther for life or for death. Mention is made of
external coun eraction only in regard to leprosy
in garments and houses. Hence, from its na
ture, it is altogether placed under the supervi
sion of the priest. The pripst knew the charac
teristics of the leprosy, and the course of its
crises; he had accordingly to decide upon ihe
exclusion and upon the restoration of the sick,
and to express the litter by the performance of
the sacrifice of purification brought for this pur
pose by the convalescent.

"Thus in conformity to the spirit of Oriental
antiquity, the priest here appears as the physi
cian also for bodily sicknesses, as a watchman
over the public health. But for the cosmic evils
he was still less a match than for those of the
body; against such the prophet must reveal mi
raculous helps, e. ff.. against the bitterness of
the water, and against the bite of the fiery ser
pents.

" The great contrast between the Old and the
New Testaments is made prominent in the fact,
that in the Old Testament the touch of the leper
in i do uncleari, — apparently even leprous; — while
Christ by His to ich of the lepers cleansed them
from th^ir leprosy. But it continued to be left
to the priest, as the representative of the old co
venant, to pronounce the fact. See Comtn. S.
Matt., p. 150."

'• The name Leprosy, f\J^¥ is derived from
jHtf to strike down, to strike to the ground ; the
leprosy is the stroke of God. Gesenius distin
guishes the leprosy in men, the leprosy in houses
(probably the injury done by saltpetre), and the
leprosy in garments ^inould, mildew). On this
chronic form of sickness, fully equal to the acute
form of the plague, comp. the article Leprosy
(Aussatz) in the dictionaries, especially in Her-
zog's Real encyclopadie, and in Winer. Four
principal forms are distinguished, of which three
are particularly described by Winer: 1) The
v^hite leprosy, Barras, %£VK.f/. " This prevailed
an.iong the Hfbr-ws ('2 Kings v. 27, etc.) and has
her.jce been called by physicians Itpra Mosaica.
See the description in Winer, \. p. 114. 2) The
Elppiliantiasis, lepra nodnsa. or tuberculosa, tuber
cular leprosy, Egyptian boil, thus endemic in
^£VP* • " The sickness of Job was commonly
considered in antiquity to have been this kind
of leprosy." 3) The black leprosy or the dark
Barras . Later medical researches (to which ihe
article^ jn Bertheau's 0'tnwnafion.i-lexicon, and
Schenkel's Bibel-lfzinon refer) show the differ
ences between the various kinds as less defiuod;

CHAP. XIII. 1— XIV. 57. 103

the contagious character is called in question by
Furrer (in Schenkel). In this matter indeed, it
is a question whether the rigid isolation of the

leprous has not hindered, in a great degree, the
examples of contagion." For a catalogue of
the literature, see Knobel, p. 469 and beyond.

A.— EXAMINATION AND ITS RESULT.
CHAPTER XIII. 1-46.

1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, When a man shall have
in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of the
flesh like the plague [a spot1] of leprosy ; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the

3 priest, or unto one of his sons the priests : and the priest shall look on the plague
[spot1] in the skin of the flesh : and when the hair in the plague [spot1] is turned3
white, and the plague [spot1] in sight be deeper than the skin2 of his flesh, it is a
plague [spot1] of leprosy : and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him

4 unclean. If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not
deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned3 white ; then the priest

5 shall shut up him that hath the plague [shall bind up the spot4] seven days : and
the priest shall look on him the seventh day : and, behold, if the plague [spot1] in
his sight be at a stay, and the plague [spot1] spread not in the skin ; then the

6 priest shall shut him up [shall bind it up4] seven days more : and the priest shall
look on him again the seventh day : and, behold, if tli3 plague be somewhat dark
[spot1 be somewhat faint5], and6 the plague [spot1] spread not in the skin, the priest
shall pronounce him clean : it is but a scab : and he shall wash his clothes, and be

7 clean. But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he hath been

8 seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again : and if the
priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pro
nounce him unclean : it is a leprosy.

9 When7 the plague [spot1] of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto
10 the priest; and the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

NOTE. — A free translation of this chapter in terms of modern mcdicil science may be foiled in Wilson, p. 377.

1 Ver. 2. y JJ, a word of very frequent occurreiice in these two chapters where it is uniformly translated in the A. V.

(except xiii. 42, 43, sore) plague, as it is al«o in Gen. xii. 17 ; Ex. xi. 1 ; Deut. xxiv. 8 (in reference also to leprosy1) : 1 Kings
viii. 37, 38; Ps. xci. 10. Elsewhere the renderings of the A. V. are very various: sore, stroke., stripe, wound. By lar tli >
most common rendering in the LXX. H a<$>ri^=tactus, ictus. The idea of the word is a stroke or blow, and then the effect of
this in a wound or spit. Cl irk therefore would translate here stroke, which meets well enough the meaning of the word
itself, but does not in all cases convey the sense in English. Iris perhaps impossible to rind one won! in English win h
ran be used in all cas^-s; but that which seems best adapted to Leviticus is the one ^iven by Horsiey and Lee, a>.d adopted
here: spot. So Ke 1, Wilson and others. There is no a'-ticle in the Ileb.

2 Ver. 3. The sense is here, undoubtedly the scarf skin (Clark), the cuHcJe, in contradistinction to the cut's, the true skin
below. So Wilson% who snys: "This distinction in reality con.stit.ut s one of the most important points of diagnosis between
real leprosy and affections of the skin otherwise resembling leprosy." B>it as we have in Heb. only tbe one word "VlJ? for
both (except the an. Ae'y. "HJ, Job xvi. 15), there does not seem to be warrant for changing the translation, especially as

in English skin answers to either with the s;ime indefiniteness.

3 Ver. 4. The co struction in vers. 3, 4 and 10 is without a preposition ; in vers. 16 and 17 it is with the preposition

7, as is expressed in the A. V.

4 Vers. 4, 5, etc. According to Rosenmiiller and Gesenius, JJJJ is used by metonymy for the person upon whom it is.

This view is adopted by Langp. It apne:»r* in the Tars;, of Onk. and in the Vulg., and has been followed by the A. V. Far
better is the rendering of th« Sam., LXX. and Syr. : the priest shall bind up th". spot, or sore,. This is the exact translation of
the Heb., and is advocated bv Horsiey, Boothroyd, and many others. Fnerst does not recognize the sense by metonymy.
Tin same change shou'd perhaps als> be made in v-r. 12. See Exegesis. In the case of shutting up the leprous house
(xiv. 38) the word house is distinctly expressed in the Heb.

6 Ver. 6. r\T]3=dim, pale, faint, weak, dying. The idea is that of something in the process of fading away, disappear
ing. LXX. afjiavpa, Vulg. obscurior.

8 Ver. 6. It does not appear why the conjunction in the A. V. should be printed in italics; it is, however wanting in
18 MSS., the Sam., and LXX.

i Ver. 9. The conjunciion is wanting in the Heb., but is supplied in the Sam. and versions.

8 Vers. 10 and 24. HTl'D, according to Rosenmueller and Fuerst an indication, and this is the sense given in Targ.,
Onk. and the Syr., and apparently also in the Vulg. The LXX. renders airo TOW uyious TTJS a-ap/cbs rijs £wcrrjs ei/ TIJ ovAjJ,

134 LEVITICUS.

skin, and it have turned3 the hair white, and there be quick [a mark of8] raw flesh

11 in the rising ; it is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pro
nounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up [bind it up4] : for he is unclean.

12 And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the
skin of him that hath the plague [spot1] from his head even to his foot, wheresoever

13 the priest looketh ; then the priest shall consider : and, behold, if the leprosy have
covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague [pronounce

14 the spot1 clean4] : it [he9] is all turned white : he is clean. But when raw flesh

15 appeareth in him, he shall be unclean. And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and

16 pronounce him to be unclean : for the raw flesh is unclean : it is a leprosy. Or if
the raw flesh turn [change10] again, and be changed [be turned10] unto white, he

17 shall come unto the priest ; and the priest shall see him : and, behold, if the plague
[spot1] be turned into [unto11] white ; then the priest shall pronounce him clean
that hath the plague [prononnce the spot1 clean4] : he is clean.

18 The flesh also, in which,12 even in the skin thereof, was a boil,14 and is healed,

19 and in the place of the boil14 there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and

20 somewhat reddish [and glistening13], and it be shewed to the priest ; and if, when
the priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and the hair thereof
be turned white ; the priest shall pronounce him unclean : it is a plague [spot1] of

21 leprosy broken out of the boil.14 But if the priest lock on it, and, behold, there be
no white hairs therein, and if it be not lower than the skin, but be somewhat dark

22 [faint5] ; then the priest shall shut him up [shall bind it up4] seven days: and if
it spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean :

23 it is a plague [spot1]. But if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not, it
is a burning boil [a scar of the boil15] ; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

24 Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning [a burn by
fire16], and the quick flesh that burneth [the mark of the burn8] have a white bright

25 spot, somewhat reddish [glistening13], or white : then the priest shall look upon it :
and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white, and it be in sight deeper
than the skin ; it is a leprosy broken out of the burning : wherefore the priest shall

26 pronounce him unclean : it is the plague [spot1] of leprosy. But if the priest look
on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright spot, and it be no lower than
the other [omit other] skin, but be somewhat dark [faint5] ; then the priest shall

27 shut him up [shall bind it up4] seven days : and the priest shall look upon him
the seventh day ; and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall

28 pronounce him unclean: it is the plague [spot1] of leprosy. And if the bright spot
stay in his place, and spread not in the skin, but it be somewhat dark [faint6] : it
is a rising of the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him clean : for it is an
inflammation [a scar15] of the burning.

taking the Q as a preposition, and understanding it, as the Rabbins, of a spot of proud flesh in the midst of the cicatrice.
The margin of the A. V. is the quickening of living flesh; scar would express the sense, but this is appropriated

vers. 23, 28, and mark gives the exact rendering of the Hebrew, and meets the requirements of the context.

9 Ver. 13. The pronoun should obviously refer to the man rather than the spot.

10 Ver. 16. "-TSrU- This being the same verb as is used in vers. 3, 4, 17, in the same sense, the rendering should cer
tainly be the same. The alteration in the A. V. was evidently on account of the previous translation of 31 ty1 by turn.
It 1=) better to put the new word there.

11 Tor. 17. The preposition is the same as in the previous verse, and the change in the A. V. may have been simply
accidental.

15 Ver. 18. The word 13 seems redundant, and is wanting in 4 MSS. and the Sam.

13 Ver. 19. nnip-lX. The reduplication of the letters in Heb. always intensifies the meaning (see Bochart, Hieroz. Pt.

II., lib. V., c. vi. Ed. 'Rosen. Ill , p. 612 SB); if therefore this be translated red at all, it must be very red, which would be
inconsistent with tKe previous white. This obvious inconsistency has led the ancient v. rsious into translations represented
by the somewhat reddish of the A. V., and frequently to rendering the previous conjunction or. But as there is no conjunc
tion at all in the Heb., it poems better to follow the suggestion of Pool, Patrick and others, and understand the word as
meaning very bright, shining, glistening. Comp. the description of leprosy, Ex. iv. 6; Num. xii. 10; 2 Kings v. 27.

n Vers. 18 (bis), 20, 23. JTW, burning ulcer, would perhaps be a better, because a more general word; but boil was
probably understood with sufficient latitude.

15 Vers. 23 and 28. rnt^H flD^V, HIDGH '¥, Rosenmueller, cicatrix ulceris. So all the ancient versions, and so

I • : - v v T T : • -
Ge-enius. So a'so Caverdale and Cranmer, and so R g<?s. Fuerst, however, inflammation.

16 Ver. 24. The margin of the A. V. is better than the text. This paragraph (vers. 24-28) is plainly in relation to lep
rosy developing from a burn on the skin. So Gesen, Fuerst, Pool, Patrick, etc. So the LXX. and Vulg.

CHAP. XIII. 1— XIV. 57. 105

29, 30 If a man or woman have a plague [spot1] upon the head or the beard ; then
the priest shall see the plague [spot1] : and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the
skin ; and there be in it a [omit a] yellow thin hair ; then the priest shall pronounce

31 him unclean : it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard. And if the
priest look on the plague [spot1] of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper
than the skin, and that there is no black17 hair in it ; then the priest shall shut up
him that hath the plague of the scall [shall bind up4 the spot1 of the scall] seven

32 days : and in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague18 [spot] : and, be
hold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in

33 sight deeper than the skin ; he shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave ;
and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall [shall bind up the scall4] seven

34 days more : and in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall : and, behold,
if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in s;ght deeper than the skin ; then
the priest shall pronounce him clean : and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

35, 36 But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing; then the priest
shall look on him : and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall

37 not seek for yellow hair ; he is unclean. But if the scall be in his sight at a stay
and that there is black hair grown up therein ; the scall is healed, he is clean : and
the priest shall pronounce him clean.

38 If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white

39 bright spots; then the priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the
skin of their flesh be darkish [faint5] white ; it is a freckled spot19 that groweth in
the skin ; he is clean.

40 And the man who?e hair is fallen off his head, he is bald ;20 yet is he clean.

41 And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he

42 is forehead bald : yet is he clean. And if there be iu the bald head, or bald fore
head, a white reddish sore [glistening33 spot1] ; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald

43 head, or his bald forehead. Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if
the rising of the sore [spot1] be white reddish [glistening13] in his bald head, or in

44 his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh ; he is a leprous
man, he is unclean : the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean ; his plague
[spot1] is in his head.

45 And the leper in whom the plague [spot1] is, his clothes shall be rent, and his
head bare,21 and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip [his mouth22], and shall

46 cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague [spot1] shall be in him he
shall be defiled: he is unclean : he shall dwell alone [apart23] ; without the camp
shall his habitation be.

B.— LEPROSY IN CLOTHING AND LEATHER.
CHAPTER XIII. 47-59.

47 The garment also that the plague [spot1] of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen

48 garment, or a linen garment; whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of

" Ver. 31. The meaning of "ilSJN— Woci is established. The LXX., yellow, can therefore only be considered as an
emendation of the text, substituting 3HV, and this is followed by Luther, Knobel, Keil, Murphy and others; it is, how

ever, sustained by no other ancient version nor by any MS., and t^e change in the LXX. must be considered as simply an
effort to avoid a difficulty. Keil and Clark propose, as a less desirable alternative, the omission of the negative particle.
There is, however, no real difficulty in the text as it stands. See Exegesis

18 Ver. 32. The Sam. here substitutes ppj, scall, for ^JJ, spot.

19 Ver. 39. D712, a word an- Aey. according to Gesen. a harmless eruption of a whitish color which appears on the

dark skin of the Arabs, and is still called by the same name.

20 Ver. 40. rOp» used here apparently for the back of the head in contradistinction to H2J» ^e fron', which occurs

only here (but its derivative, r\n3J, is found vers. 42 bis, 43 and 55). fl^p, however, is elsewhere baldness in general.

Comp. Bent. xiv. 1.

21 Ver. 45. Comp. Textual Note 6 on x. 6.

22 Ver. 45. DDt^- There is some doubt as to the true meaning. It is translated beard in the A. V., 2 Sam. xix. 24

(25), and PO Fuerst and Gesenius would render it here, guidf d by the etymology. All the ancient versions, however, trans
late it either mouth or lips, and a word etymologically signifying heard (or rather the sprouting place of hair) would easily
come to have this sense in use. It is a different word from ihe f p?=6eard of ver. 29.

23 Ver. 46. "H3. The alone of the A. V. would ordinarily be a good enough translation, but is liable to be misunder-

T T

stood. The leper was simply to dwell apart from the clean Israelites, but might and did live with other lepers.

106 LEVITICUS.

49 woollen ; whether in a skin, or in anything made of skin ; and if the plague [spot1]
be greenish or reddish [very green or very red24] in the garment, or in the skin,
either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin ; it is a plague [spot1] of

50 leprosy, and shall be shewed unto the priest : and the priest shall look upon the
plague, and shut up it that hath the plague [spot,1 and bind up4 the spot1] seven

51 days : and he shall look on the plague [spot1] on the seventh day : if the plague
[spot1] be spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a !-kin,
or in any work that is made of skin; the plague [spot1] is a fretting leprosy; it is

52 unclean. He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen
or in linen, or anything of skin, wherein the plague [spot1] is: for it is a fretting

53 leprosy ; it shall be burnt in the fire. And if the priest shall look, and, behold,
the plague [spot1] be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof,

54 or in any thing of skin ; then the priest shall command that they wash the thing

55 wherein the plague [spot1] is, and he shall shut [bind4] it up seven days more: and
the priest shall look on the plague [spot1], after that it is washed : and, behold, if
the plague [spot1] have not changed his color, and the plague [spot1] be not spread ;
it is unclean ; thou shalt burn it in the fire j it is fret inward, whether it be bare

56 within or without.25 And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat
dark [the spot1 be somewhat faint5] after the washing of it ; then he shall rend it

57 out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof: and
if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything
of skin ; it is a spreading plague [omit a and plague] ; thou shalt burn that wherein

58 the plague [spot l]is, with fire. And the garment, either warp, or woof, or what
soever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the plague [spot1] be departed
from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean.

59 This is the law of the plague [spot1] of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen,
either in the warp, or woof, or anything of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pro
nounce it unclean.

C.— CLEANSING AND RESTORATION OF A LEPER.

CHAPTER XIV. 1-32.
1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, This shall be the law of the

3 leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: and
the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if

4 the plasrue [spot1] of leprosy be healed in the leper; then shall the priest command
to take26 for him that is to be cleansed two birds27 alive and clean, and cedar wood

5 and scarlet, and hyssop: and the priest shall command that onj of the birds be

6 killed in an earthen vessel over running [living28] water : as for29 the living bird,
he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip
them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running'

7 [living28] water: and he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the
leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird

8 loose into the open fields. And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes,
and shave off all his hair, and wash [bathe30] himself in water, that he may be

24 Ver. 49. p^pT- The reduplication of the letters intensifies the meaning. Comp. note 13 on ver. 19.

too, as noted above, may here mean either very red, or, as before, glistening. There is so little knowledge about the fact
that neither of them can be certainly decided upon ; but as in this case we have the d'Si'unctivo (as also iu xiv. 37), it seems
more probable that two distinct colors were intended.

25 Ver. 55. The margin of the A. V. gives the literal rendering of the Heb. bald in the head thereof, or in the forehead
Uiere f, and'Hhere can be no doubt that these are terms figuratively applied to the cloth or skin for the right and wrong
KH'C, as in the text.

28 CHAP. XIV. Ver. 4. The Sam., LXX. and Syr. here read the verb in the plural, expressing the fulfillment of the
command.

27 Ver. 4. The margin of the A. V. reads sparrows, for which there seems to be no other authority than the Vulg. The
Heb. do°s not define the kind of bird at all.

28 Ver. 5. Better, Jiving water, which is the exact rendering of the H^b. Ordinarily living water is a figure for running
water; but here the water is contained in a vessel, and had therefore simply been filled from 'a spring or running stream.

29 Ver. 6. J1K- The conjunction which seems to be needed at the beginning of this verse is supplied in the Sam. and

6 MSS. There is nothing in Heb. answering to the as for of the A. V.

30 Ver. 8. j»rn is applied only to the washing of' the surface of objects which water will not penetrate. Comp. i. 9,

13 ; ix. 14, etc. It is a diiferent word from Q^J of the previous clause, which is used of a more thorough washing or full-

CHAP. XIIL 1— XIV. 57. 107

clean : and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of
his tent Steven days.

9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head
and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall
wash his clothes, also he shall wash [bathe30] his flesh in water, and he shall be
clean.

10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs [two young rams31] without
blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals
of fine flour for a meat offering [an oblation32], mingled with oil. and one log of oil.

11 And the priest that makcth him clean shall present the man that is to be made
clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the con-

12 gregation: and the priest shall take one he lamb [ram31], and offer him for a tres
pass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD :

13 and he33 shall slay the lamb [ram31] in the place where he33 shall kill the sin offer
ing and the burnt offering, in the holy place : for as the sin offering is the priest's,

14 so is*4 the trespass offering: it is most holy: and the priest shall take some of the
blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right
ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon

15 the great toe of his right foot: and the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and
10 pour it into the palm of his own left hand : and the priest shall dip his right finger

in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven

17 times before the LORD : and of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest
put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb
of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood35 of the

18 trespass offering: and the remnant of36 the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall
pour [put37] upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make

19 an atonement for him before the LORD. And the priest shall offer the sin offering,
and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleauuess ; and

20 afterward he shall kill the burnt offering: and the priest shall offer the burnt
offering and the meat offering [oblation3'2] upon the a'tar:38 and the priest shall
make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

21 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much : then he shall take one lamb [ram31]
for SL trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth

22 deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil ; and two
turtle doves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get ; and the one shall be

23 a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. And he shall bring them on the
eighth day for [of39] his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle

24 of the congregation, bef re the LORD. And the priest shall take the lamb [ram31]
of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a

25 wave offering before the LORD: and he shall kill the lamb [ram31] of the trespass
offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and
put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the

ing. The English is unaHe in all cases to preserve the distinction; but it should be done as far as possible, and Vfll is

I - T
frequently translated bath', in the following ch pter (xv. 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 18, 21, 22, 27) and elsewhere.

si Tor. 10. U*&3D~^VJ> See Textual Note 6 on iii. 7. The age is not exactly i-pecifled in the Heb.; but the Sam.

and LXX. add rf the first year, as in the following clause.
y2 \\-r. 10. See Textual Note 2 on ii. 1.

33 Vor. 12. The Sam. and LXX. h ive tho plural. Probably the sing, of the Heb. is not intended to have the priest for
its nominative, but to be impersonal.

3* Ver. 13. One MS., thd Sam , LXX. and Vulg. supply the particle of comparison, 3.

85 V^r. 17. Two MSS., the LXX. and Vnlg. here read, as the Heb. in ver. 2<*. upon th? place of the. ll~od.

36 Ver 18. For ?Op;3 three MSs and the Syr. read pt^n~p, as in ver. 16. On this use of 3, however, see Fueret,
Lex. ~3, 3, b. y. Ge'sen. Lex. A. 2.

37 Ver. 18. TJ-V is better translated put, both as more agreeable to the meaning of the word itself, and because the oil
remaining in the left hand could hardly suffice for pouring.

38 VCT. 20. The Sam. and LXX. add before the Lord.

39 Yer. 23. The preposition is he-e so liable to be misunderstood that it is better to change it. It has r ference to the
eighth day appointed for his cleansing (as tho Vulg.), not to the sacrifices for his cleansing (as the LXX). So Geddes and
Boothroyd. In ver. 10 the difficulty does not occur.

108 LEVITICUS.

26 thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: and the priest

27 shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own40 left hand : and the priest shall
sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times

28 before the LORD: and the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the
tip of the right ear of him that is to b j cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right
hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the

29 trespass offering : and the rest of41 the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put
upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before

30 the LORD. And he shall offer the one of the turtle doves, or of the young pigeons,

31 such as he can get ; even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and
the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering : and the priest shall make
an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the LORD

32 This is the law of him in whom is the plague [spot1] of leprosy, whose hand is
not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

D.— LEPROSY IN A HOUSE.
CHAPTER XIV. 33-53.

33, 34 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When ye be come
into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague

35 [spot1] of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession ; and he that owneth
the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were

36 a plague [spot1] in the house : then the priest shall command that they empty the
house, before the priest go into it to see the plague [spot1], that all that is in the
house be n«-t made unclean : and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house :

37 and he shall look on the plague [spot1], and, behold, tjthe plague [spot1] be in the
walls of the house with hollow st rakes,42 greenish or reddish [very green or very

38 red43], which in sight are lower than the wall ; then the priest shall go out of the

39 house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days : and the priest
shall come again the seventh day, and shall look : and, behold, if the plague [spot1]

40 be spread in the walls of the house ; then the priest shall command that they take
away the stones in which the plague [spot1] is, and they shall cast them into an

41 unclean place without the city : and he44 shall cause the house to ba scraped within
round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city

42 into an unclean place : and they shall take other stones, and put them in the place
of those stones ; and he44 shall take other mortar, and shall plaister the house.

43 And if the plague [spot1] come again, and break out in the house, after that he44
hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is

44 plaistered ; then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague [spot1]

45 be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean. And
he44 shall break down .the house, the stones or it, and the timber thereof, and all
the mortar of the house ; and he44 shall carry them forth out of the city into an

46 unclean place. Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut

47 up shall be unclean until the even. And he that lieth in the house shall wash his
clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.45

48 And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague [spot1]
hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered : then the priest shall

49 pronounce the house clean, because the plague [spot1] is healed. And he shall take

50 to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop : and he

*° Ver. 26. tnUn ^13" 7J?! an expression understood by Houbigant to mean that one priest should pour into the
hand of another; the sense given in the A. V. following the Vulg. is, however, doubtless correct.

41 Ver. 29. The Sam. here reverses it* change of reading in ver. 18, and has 3 for p.

«2 Ver. 36. fl^lgptf , a word an. Ae'y., '-«t its meaning sufficiently well ascertained. The A. V. follows the LXX.,
Chald. and Vulg., and the same sf-nsn is giv. n by Rosenm., Fuerst and Gesen, though by each with a different etymology.

<3 Ver. 37. See Notes 13 on xiii. 19, and 24 on Ver. 49.

44 Ver. 41. All the ancient versions except the Vulg. change the causative form of the verb to the plural, as the follow
ing vc-rb is plural. Also in vors. 42, 43, 45, 49, thoy have the plural.

« Ver. 47. The LXX. here adds, what is of course impl'ed, and be unclean until the even.

CHAP. XIII. 1— XIV. 57.

109

51 shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water : and he shall
take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip
them in the blood of the slain bird, and46 in the running [living28] water, and sprin-

52 kle the house seven times : and he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird,
and with the running [living28] water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar

53 wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet : but he shall let go the living bird
out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it
shall be clean.

E. —CONCLUSION.
CHAP. XIV. 54-57.

54, 55 This is the law for all manner of plague [spot1] of leprosy, and scall, and for

56 the leprosy of a garment, and of a house, and for a rising, and for a scab, and for a

57 bright spot ; to teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean : this is the law of
leprosy.

46 Ver. 51. The LXX. has dip th'm in the blood of the bird that has been Jelled over the living water, and this is doubtless
the seuse of the text.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

A. The Examination and its result.

The indications of the disease. Vers. 1-8.

Ver. 1. This communication is addressed to
Moses and Aaron conjointly because it requires
examination?) and determinations entrusted to the
priests.

Vers. 2-8. The first case, of symptoms like lep
rosy. Ver. 2. Man is of course used generioally
for a person of either sex. No stress is to be
laid upon the fact, that the expression skin of
his flesh is found only in this chapter ; for the
word skill occurs here nearly as often as in all
the rest of the Scripture put together, and very
similar expressions do occur elsewhere, e. g. Ex.
xxxiv. 29, 30, 35, " the skin of his face," and
the skin is often spoken of as covering the flesh,
e. y. Ezek xxxvii. 6, 8, etc.. — A rising, a scab,
or a bright spot, are different indications of
incipient leprosy; the disease itself was more
deeply seated, but it betrayed itself, as it does
still, by these marks. The last two terms are
only used in connection with this disease, and
the first is only elsewhere used figuratively of
dignity or excellency. " The name leprosy
AJHi* is derived from )H¥ = to strike down, to
strike to the ground: the leper is he who has been
binitten by God." Lange. For the examination
of the leper one of the ord.nary priests was suf
ficient as well as the high-priest ; the Talmudists
assert that priests debarred by physic.il imper
fection from ministering at the altar were com
petent to the examination of lepers. The priests
were expected, if occasion required, to consult
with experts, but the formal sentence rested with
them alone.

Ver. 3. These marks, however, might exist
without having been caused by leprosy. Two
distinguishing characteristics are now men
tioned, and if both these concurred, there could
be no doubt about the case — the priest was at
once to pronounce him unclean ; (a) if the
hair growing upon the spot had turned white.
The hair of the Israelites was normally black ;
if it had turned white upon the spot it be
trayed a cause at work beneath the surface of

the skin, (b) If the spot was in appearance
deeper than the skin. " These signs are re
cognized by modern observers (e, g. Hcnsler) ;
and among the Arabs leprosy is regarded as cu
rable if the hair remains black upon the white
spots, but incurable if it becomes whitish in co
lor." Keil. Judgment was of course required in
the application of the second test ; but if the in
dications were clear, the case was decided, and
the duty of the priest was to declare the exist
ing fact.

Vers. 4-8. The determination of cases in which
the indications are not decisive. First, vers. 4-
6, the case in which the suspicion of leprosy
should prove unfounded. If there were suspi
cious looking spots, but yet they appeared on
examination to be merely superficial, and there
was no change in the color of the hair growing
in them, either of two things might be possible:
the spots might be the effect of true leprosy not
yet sufficiently developed to give decisive indi
cations : or they might be a mere eruption upon
the skin, of no importance. To ascertain which
of these was the faot, the priest was to bind up
the spot seven days. — At the end of that time
a second examination was to be made; if then
the indications were favorable, the same proces-J
was to be repeated. If at the end of this time
the indications were still favorable, and espe
cially if the suspicious spot had become faint,
tending to disappear, the priest was to pro
nounce the man clean. Yet still the very suspi
cion, unfounded as it, proved to be, had brought
some semblance of a taint upon the man, and he
must wash his clothes. These two periods
of sevHti days each are usually looked upon as
periods of a sort of quarantine, during which the
man himself was to be secluded, and this view
has been incorporated into the A. V. here and
throughout these chapters. It is not, however,
required by the Hebrew, and in view of the great
hardship it would impose upon those who were
in reality entirely free from the disease, it seems
more likely that the simple rendering of the He
brew gives the true sense. The extreme slow
ness with which leprosy is ofientimes developed
has been considered a difficulty in the way of a
determination in reality, in ao short a time ;

110

LEVITICUS.

however, the two things are not at all incompa
tible. A fortnight was quite long enough to de
termine the character of any ordinary eruption;
if it was none of these, and yet possessed the
characteristics of leprosy, then it must be de
cided to be leprosy, although months or years
might pass before the disease showed muck fur
ther progress. Vers. 7, 8, however, show that
even the leprous spots themselves did not re
main quite unchanged during this time. On the
second examination the priest could ascertain if
the spots had begun to spread. If not, the dis
ease, although it might, possibly already exist,
was not pronounced ; but if they had spread, all
doubt, was at an end ; the priest shall pro
nounce him unclean. Ano her view is taken
of ver. 7. Kusenmiiller says that in the word

irnriD/ the 7 is to be taken for postquam as in

TT:T:

Ex. xix. 1 ; Num. i. 1 ; 1 Kings iii. 18 ; this
sense is followed in the Vulg. and Luther, and
adopted by Vatablus, Patrick, and other com
mentators. According to this the law would re
late to the breaking out of the leprosy afresh at
some time after he had been pronounced clean
by the priest. The translation of the A. V.,
however, which is here followed, seems more ex
actly the sense of the Hebrew.

Vers. 9-11. The second case is one in which
ulceration has already begun. Either it is a
long-standing case in which the command for
inspection has been neglected, or else one in
which sentence of cleanness has been pronounced
on insufficient grounds. With the appearance
of a mark of raw flesh in the rising, in com
bination with the other indications, all doubt
was removed ; it must be an old leprosy, and
the priest shall at once pronounce him un
clean.

Vers. 12-17. The third case is looked upon ac
cording to differing medical views, either as a
different disease, the Irpra vulgar is, which
"scarcely affects the general health, and for the
most part disappears of itself, though it often
lasts for years " (Clark) ; or as a case of the true-
leprosy in which u the breaking out of the lep
rous matter in this complete and rapid way upon
the surfice of the whole body was the crisis of
the disease ; the diseased matter turned into a
scurf, which died away and then fell off" (Keil).
Patrick compares it to the eruptions in measles
and small pox, when there is safety in their full
development. The suspected person thus either
had a harmless disease, or he had had the leprosy
and was cured. In either case sentence of clean
ness was to be pronounced. But (vers. 14, 15)
if ulceration appeared (it would seem either at
the moment or afterwards) he was at once to be
declared unclean. This ulceration, however,
might proceed from some other cause ; therefore,
al hough the man must be declared unclean in
view of so suspicious an indication, yet if it af
terwards parsed away, the sentence might be
reversed, and the man pronounced clean without,
further investigation.

Vers. 18-23. The fourth case is that of a sus
pected leprosy arising from an abscess or boil
which had been healed. Such disturbed condi
tions of the surface were peculiarly apt to be
come the seat of disease. The indications are

much the same as in the other cases, the terms
first mentioned here being equally applicable to
the others. Reliance is again placed (ver. 20)
upon the depth of the spot and the change in thy
color of the hair. If these indications were clear,
as in ver. 3, the priest should at once pronounce
the man unclean ; if they were doubtful, he was
to proceed as in ver. 4, and be guided by the re
sult of a second examination at the end of seven
days. In such a case a single interval of a week
appears to have been sufficient, and no further
examination is provided for. After one week it
could be certainly determined whether it was
merely the scar of the ulcer, or whether leprosy
had really broken out in it.

Vers. 2 1-28. The fifth case is that of suspected
leprc.sy developing from a burn, another of those
injuries favorable for the d<welopment of the
disease. The indications and the procedure are
precisely the same as before. In ver. 26 the A.
V. has inserted the word other unfortunately.

Vers. 29—37. The case of leprosy suspected in
an eruption upon the hairy part of the head, or
upon the beard. Although this is spoken ex
pressly in regard to both men and women, yet,
the indications are so dependent upon hair that
it is not proper to substitute hore chin for beard,
as is done by Keil. The word used fpT is a dif
ferent one fro'n the Q3'& of ver. 45, which is
often translated beard; the Ancient Versions,
however, give beard here, and either mouth or lips
there. Pliny (Nat. Hist. lib. xxvi. 1) speaks of
such a disease imported into Italy from Asia in
the reign of Tiberius, neither painful nor fatal,
"yet any death preferable to it." In ver. 30
the A. V. has unnecessarily modified the symp
toms by inserting the indefinite article before
yellow thin hair. The word *)jj# is collec
tive, as in ver. 3, and freq. In this form of the
disease the natural hair seems to have been sup
planted by thin, yellow (3hy=^o/rfm, shining)
hair. This is declared to be pPJ, translated in
the A. V. dry scall, and immediately explained
as a leprosy upon the head or beard. The
word occurs only in these chapters. The indi
cations given in vers. 29, 30, were not absolutely
Jecisive. It would seem from ver. 31, that in
the coming on of true leprosy the effect upon the
hair was only gradually produced, part of the
lair remaining for a time of its natural color;
while in the case of other harmless cutaneous
eruptions, of more rapid progress, all the hair
on the affected spot was speedily changed. Hence
the entire abs -nee of black hair at the first was
i favorable symptom. In this view the text is
consistent enough with itself as it stands, and
Keil is wrong in saying " there is certainly an
error in the text." In case of this favorable
symptom the priest should bind up the spot for
wo periods of a week, making a further exami-
lation at the end of each of them. The favo-
•able indications were that the spot did not
spread, did not appear to be deep-seated, and the
yellow hair disappeared. If this was the case
[it the end of the first period, the person was to
be shaven with the exception of the spot, and at
the end of the second pronounced clean, and to
•wash his clothes. — If. however, (vers. 35, 36)

CHAP. XIII. 1— XIV. 57.

Ill

the trouble afterwards spread, the person was to
be again examined by the priest, and being sa
tisfied of this single fact, the priest must pro
nounce him unclean. Yet if this spreading was
only temporary, he might finally be pronounced
clean (ver. 37) provided the natural hair grew
again in the spot.

Vers. 38, 39. This is the case of a harmless

eruption in the skin termed pn3, LXX
It is still known among the Arabs and called by
the same name, bohak. " It is an eruption upon
the skin, appearing in somewhat elevated spofs
or rings of unequal sizes and a pale white color,
which do not change the hair; it causes no in
convenience, and lasts from two months to two
years." Keil. It is placed here, because it
might be, without proper examination, mistaken
for leprosy, and its appearance was probably
most nearly assimilated to the symptoms last
mentioned. The sufferer by it was at once dis
charged as clean, without further ceremony.

Vers. 40-44. The baldness of the head, whether
on the front or back, constitutes no uncleanness ;
yet leprosy might be developed in the bald parts,
and then was to be dealt with as in other cases.
The reason for speaking of baldness at all in this
connection is probably that the color of the hair
has been made of so much importance in deter
mining the symptoms of leprosy, that the legis
lator would cut off all opportunity for cavil in
suspected cases.

Vers. 45, 46. The law for the pronounced
leper. The leper was in the first place to put on
rthe signs of mourning (comp. Ezek. xxiv. 17, 22),
some say "for himself as one over whom death
had already gained the victory " (Clark) ; but it
may have been merely as a mark of great afflic
tion, and some of the signs were also signs of
shame (comp. Mic. iii. 7). And shall cry,
Unclean, unclean, as a warning to any passers
by. This command is not, as sometimes asserted,
to guard against the danger of communicating
the disease; but rather to avoid making others
ceremonially unclean by contact with a leper.
The Rabbins carried this sort of defilement so
far as to assert that "by merely entering a
house, a leper polluted everything without it."
(Miskna, Kelim i. 4; Negaim xiii. 11, as cited by
Keil). All the days.— The law constantly
keeps in view the possibility of the recovery of
the leper; but it is uncertain whether this indi
cates that the true leprosy was then less incura
ble than now, or whether it has regard to the
possibility of error in the determination of the
disease. la either case, while the symptoms
continued for which he had been pronounced
unclean, and until by the same authority he was
again formally declared clean (xiv. 1-32), he
was to dwell apart ; without the camp.
Comp. Num. y. 2-4; xii. 14, 15; 2 Ki. xv. 5;
Lk. xvii. 12. The Jews say that there were three
camps from all of which the leper was excluded:
that of God (the tabernacle), that of the Levites,
and tli at of Israel. After the settlement in the
Holy Land the camp was considered in this, as
in other commands, to be represented by the
walled city. Yet after the ereciion of syna
gogues lepers were allowed to enter a particular
part of them set apart for their use, (Mishna
ubi supra).

B. Leprosy in clothing and Leather, xiii.
47-59.

Only three materials for clothing are here
mentioned: wool, linen, and skins. The two
former were the usual materials among the an
cient Egyptians and Greeks, and only these are
mentioned Deut. xxii. 11; Prov. xxxi. 13; Hos.
ii. 9. It is a dispute among the Talmudists
whether garments of camel's hair are included
or not. Woolen and linen were forbidden by the
law (xix. 19) to be mixed in the same garment.
On the nature of the leprosy here described,
pee the preliminary note to this chapter.
Ver. 48. Whether it be in the warp or
woof has occasioned much unnecessary per
plexity on account of the supposed difficulty in
one of these remaining unaffected in the cloth
by any disintegration occurring in the other;
and Keil would translate " the flax and the wool, ;"
Clark, De Wette, Knobel and others, (with whom
Keil also seems to concur) explain it of yarn
prepared for warp and yarn prepared for woof.
There is really however, no difficulty in the mat
ter, if the trouble is supposed to arise from some
original fault in the material or in the processe»
of its preparation. Whichever was made of such
material would first show the defect, and it could
be seen in the cloth that the trouble arose from
oither the warp or the woof, as the case might
be. The same sort of thing is sometimes ob
served in cloth now when the proper proportion
has not been observed between the strength of
the two kinds of thread, so that the cloth will
tear with undue ease in one direction but not in
the other; or when, in cloth woven of different
colors, one set of threads has been injured in the
dyeing. A distinction is made between a skin
and any thing made of skin. The former
were whole skins, as sheep skins dressed with
the wool on for a sort of cloak for the poor, or
for mats, etc., and also made into leather for
bottles and other uses; the latter the endless
variety of smaller articles made of leather. Ver.
49. A strong green or red spot was prima facie
evidence of leprosy, and subjected that in which
it appeared to priestly examination. According
to Maimonides (cited by Patrick) the spot must
be '«as broad as a bean," and if smaller than
this was of no consequence. Ver. 50 Bind up
the spot. — Here as in ver. 4, etc., the usual in
terpretation is that of the A. V., shut up it that
hath the spot; but the Hebrew in all these places
only mems necessarily the binding up of the
spot itself, not a sort of quarantine upon the
person or thing; on which it is. See Textual note
4. In this case there is not the same hardship
involved in the other rendering as in the case
of the human subject: but still the rendering is
objectionable as implying much more strongly
than the law itself the idea of contagiousness.
Vers. 51-58 describe the appearances by which
the priest must determine whether the suspicious
spots were really h prosy or not. These turn
upon whether the spot increased. If it did, then
he was at once to burn that garment. The
expresssion in vers. 52, and 58, •whether warp
or woof, and in ver. 56 out of the warp or
out of the woof is to be understood of the
cloth in which the disease has appeared in either
the warp or the woof. Fretting, vers. f>], 5J

112

LEVITICUS.

(Bochart, lepra exasperata), is equivalent to cor
roding. If however, the spot had not increased
at the examination made at the end of a week,
the suspected article was to be washed and the
process repeated. If at the end of another week
after the washing there was no change in the
color of the spot, the thing was to be condemned
and burned, although there was no apparent
spreading. In such case it is fret inward,
i. e., the material itself was faulty and unfit for
use. Whether it be bare within or with
out; lit. bald in the head thereof, or in the
forehead thereof, (Margin A. V. See Texual
note 20). As the disease itself is figuratively
named from its resemblance to the human lep
rosy, so these terms are used in the same way,
and are generally considered to mean the right
or the wrong side of the cloth or skin. On the
other hand, if at the end of the week after the
washing the spot had become less distinct (ver.
56), it was to be torn out of the garment or skin.
If it reappeared (ver. 57) the thing was to be
burned ; but otherwise (ver. 58) to be washed a
second time and then pronounced clean. Ver.
59 is simply the usual conclusion, stating that
the foregoing is the law for the cases specified.

C. Cleansing and restoration of the leper,
xiv. 1-32.

This communication was addressed to Moses
alone, because there were no questions to be
determined by priestly examination ; it simply
directs what is to be done in the case of a per
son already pronounced clean by the priest.
Vers. 1-20 prescribe the normal course, vers.
21-31 allow certain modifications for the poor,
and ver. 32 is the conclusion.

A new Proper Lesson of the law begins here,
and extends to the close of the following chap
ter; the parallel lesson from the prophets is
2 Ki. vii, 3-20, containing the account brought
into Samaria by the four lepers of the flight of
the besieging army of the Syrians.

Lange : " a. The theocratico-political atone
ment, or the taking again of the person pro
nounced clean into the camp, i. e., into the con
gregation of the people. Hence this first act
of atonement took place without the camp (later,
before the gate of the city). The leper was to
be represented by two birds, living and clean.
They must be wild birds, since the tame turtle
doves or the young pigeons would not have flown
away when released. Since these birds repre
sent the maximum of free motion, we may cer
tainly find this thought indicated: want of free
motion was a chief cause of the leprosy." [This
inference, however, it is to be remembered, is
only an inference, not, a part of the law which
carefully abstains from any mention of the
causes]. "One of these birds was slain over a
vessel in which there was already some fresh
spring or river water. It is not to be understood
that in this the purification by water was indi
cated together, with the atoning blood, since the
washing follows farther on ; on the contrary, in
the fresh water the thought of living motion is
again brought out. The blood of the slain bird
dropped into this water ; the few drops of blood,
in and of themselves, would not suffice for the
sprinkling. Nevertheless also, the blood of the
slain bird considered as typically sick, through

death became fresh again in its signification.
The living bird, which was to remain alive, was
dipped in the augmented blood of the dead bird.
But very note-worthy are the allegorical accom
paniments which jointly serve to illustrate the
living bird, and were therefore dipped with it in
the blood ; a piece of cedar wood, as a symbol
of the endurance of life ; a piece of scarlet, as a
symbol of the fr>shness of life ; some hyssop, as a
symbol of the purity of life through constant puri
fications of life." (See Keil, p. 106, [trans., p.
385 5.]). After the living bird with these accom
paniments had been dipped in the blood, the
person to be cleansed was sprinkled seven times
with this blood. No further mention is made of
the dead bird, since its flesh was not a sacrifice;
but the living bird, hallowed by the blood of the
dead, is set free. We may rightly see in the
two birds the double position of the leper in his
leprosy: in the slain bird he appears as he had
fallen into death ; in the one that is set free,
on the contrary, he appears as by God's mercy
he is recovered to unrestrained motion. But we
might also in this contrast find the thought, that
the leprosy, as it falls upon one part of the com
munity, keeps the other part all the more free ;
or, that health and disease are separated as
opposite poles in regard to the common national
life. In any case, it is a fact that, in regions
where Cretinism prevails, which is analogous to
leprosy, the freshest and strongest forms occur
near the sick. Meanwhile, the person sprinkled
with the bloo>l must complete this purification in
several ways: first, by washing his clothes;
secondly, by cutting off all his hair from his
whole body, (whether also his eyebrows and
eyelashes?); thirdly, by bathing himself. Then
he might go into the camp, but must yet add
seven days more on the outside of his tent.
Why? Keil answers with the Chaldee et non
acccdat ad latus uxoris suse. But the law would
not have been too modest to say so. With this
is to be noticed that this same direction is
applied to several analogous cases. He who is
healed of a running issue, must wait seven days
utter the recognition of his healing before he can
bring his sacrifice (xv. 13). The same applies
to the woman with an issue of blood (ib. 28). So
too, for the Nazarite in whose presence a man
had died (Num. vi. 10). Particularly weighty
is the direction of the seven days' waiting
which, according to viii. 35, must introduce the
final consecration of the priests. We cannot say
that during these seven days the priest was yet
unclean ; but he had not indeed become fully
clean for the service of the priesthood. When
we look back at the ordinance of the second
seven days in reference to one who has been
recognized as clean — the leprous man, or gar
ment, or house, — there appears a distinction of
cleanness of a first and second grade, a negative
and a positive cleanness, which latter was a kind
of priestly consecration. Every Israelite, in his
degree should have this priestly consecration ;
but especially near to it stood the Nazarite, and
next to him we place the cleansed leper. In the
new covenant, the highly favored sinner stands
higher than the Christian of less experience of
salvation ; the son, who was lost and found,
higher than the elder brother ; Mary Magdalene

CHAP. XIII. 1— XIV. 57.

113

nigher than a common maHen." [It must be
always borne in mind, however, that this supe
riority does not rest upon any advantage in
having sinned, but upon the earnestness of love
on the part of him who has been forgiven. See
Lk. vii. 47. F. G.]. "This fact appears to have
been typically represented in the Old Testament
by the restoration of the cleansed leper to the
worship of the congregation." [It was repre
sented, th.it is to say, in the very full ceremonies
an I sacrifices accompanying the restoration, but
not in any higher position of the cleansed leper
after his restoration was accomplished. — F. G.].

" b. The theocratico-religious atonement. The
offering obligatory upon the leper was very ex
tensive ; two he-lambs, one ewe-lamb, three tenth
parts of wheaten flour mingled with oil, and a
log of oil. The trespass offering formed the be
ginning of the offering, for the leper has by the
connection with his people come into its guilt."
[Nevertheless, it is hard to see how this could
have been the reason, when the leper had been
absolutely separated from his people, and was
now to be restored to his connection with them.
But see under ver. 12. — F. G.]. " The blood of
this trespass offering was first treated like the
blood of the trespass offering of the priest; it
was put on the tip of the right ear, on the thumb
of the right hand, and on the thumb or great toe
of the right foot, all with the same meaning as
in the consecration of the priests. In addition
to this, the oil comes into use, which indeed, as
being commonvoil, is different from the anointing
oil of the priests, but is still a symbol of the
spiritual life. With this oil in minute measure,
the priest, with a finger of his right hand dipped
in the oil which had been poured into the hollow
of the left, executed a seven-fold sprinkling be
fore the Lord,z. e., towards the sanctuary. Then,
with the rest of the oil, the three parts of the
body were anointed which had been smeared
with the blood of the trespass offering. The
blood baptism preceded, as the negative conse
cration ; the oil baptism must follow, as the po
sitive atonement. The head of the leper was
also .anointed with the oil. He was thus to be
made a man of the Spirit in each way, by his
tribulation, and his deliverance. Then followed
the sin offering, for which, in accordance with
iv. 28, 32, the ewe-lamb was to be used. In this
place the addition is made: he shall make an
atonement for him that is to be cleansed
[xiv. 31]. Plainly his s n is assumed in this to
be individual guilt, in contradistinction from his
share in the common guilt. It is rightly pre
supposed that the leprosy in each one stands in
connection with his individual sinfulness; how
ever light, it has for its result, sins of ill-will,
of bitterness, of impatience, of self-forgetfulness,
of prejudice toward the community. Nowfirstcan
the presentation of the burnt offering follow, witli
the other he-lamb, and with the meat offering."

"The ordinance may be modified in case the
person to be purified is poor. The direction for
the sacrifice itself is indeed almost analogous to
the direction in the case of the poor woman in
child-birth; only here the lamb for the trespass
offering, the tenth deal of wheaten flour sprin
kled with oil for a meat offering, and the log of
oil for anointing, could not be dispensed with by

the bringing of two doves or young pigeons.
Moreover, the trespass offering, as well as the
oil, is directed to be made a wave-offering before
Jehovah. It is the same ritual as the wave or
the consecration offering at the consecration of
the priests (viii. 22, 27). Thus this wav tig here
also can only signify a peculiar consecration of
the leper, which is more strongly expressed in
the case of the poor leper who must be shaken
free with his gift, must be brought to a swinging
up, or heave offering (Aufschwung)."

Some points in the above will be found differ
ently treated below.

Vers. 1-3. The starting point for the following
directions is the priestly inspection of the leper
supposed to be healed This must take place
without the camp, and if it resulted favorably,
then the following directions were to be observed.
(The expression JD Ni3^J, as Keil notes, is a
"const, prsegnans, healed away from, i. e., healed
and gone away frun ").

Vers. 4-8 The restoration to the camp. This
was formally accomplished by a very full and
significant ritual, proportioned to the abhorrence
in which leprosy was to be held, and the rigid-
ness of the exclusion of the leper from the so
ciety of his people. There was no sacrifice, since
the person to be cleansed was not yet in a con
dition to offer sacrifice, nor was anything offered,
or even brought by him, nor was anything placed
upon the altar. The ceremony was, however, a
purification which is always related to sacrifice
as a symbolic step towards a restoration to fel
lowship with God.

For the significance of the things used in this
ceremony, Abarbanel is quoted by Patrick to the
following effect : the living birds signify that the
leper's dead flesh was restored to life and vigor ;
the cedar wood restoration from putrefaction ; the
scarlet (wool, or thread, or a bit of cloth) resto
ration of the color of heal h to the complexion ;
the hyssop (which was fragrant) restoration from
the exceedingly ill odor of the disease.

An earthen vessel was taken — probably
that after this use it might be brokea up and de
stroyed — and partly filled with water from a
spring or brook, and one of the birds killed over
it in such a way that its blood should fall into
and be mingled with the water. In this the
living bird was to be dipped with the other
things, and then the person to be cleansed was
sprinkled with it with that sevenfold sprinkling
prescribed on occasions of peculiar solemnity
(see iv. 6) ; and the person was then to be pro
nounced clean. After this the living bird was
lor loose into the open field. In attempting
to estimate the significance of this rite, it is to
be remembered that precisely the same ritual is
prescribed for the cleansing of the leprous house
(vers. 49-53), and the cedar, scarlet and hyssop,
were also burned with the red heifer, whose
ashes, placed in water, were to be used for pu
rifications (Num. xix. 6). The water, the blood,
the cedar and the scarlet are mentioned in the
Ep. to the Ileb. (ix. 19, 20) as having been used
by Moses in sprinkling the Book of the Covenant
and the people (see Ex. xxiv. 6-8), and generally
hyssop was used in various forms of sprinkling.
Except therefore in regard to the birds, no sig
nificance can be attributed to these things which

114

LEVITICUS.

is not common to other purifications besides
those of the leper, and even in regard lo the
birds, none which is not common to the cleansing
of the leprous man and the leprous house (ver.
53). In view of this, and of the analogy of the
scapegoat (xvi. 21, '22}. the living bird let loose
must he considered as bearing away the unclean-
ness of the leper (Von Gerlach), and not as sig
nifying the social resurrection of the leper in his
restoration to the congregation. Of this last,
the bird flying away to return no more could
hardly have been a symbol. On the natural his
tory of the cedar (Juniperus ozycedrus), and the
hyssop, see Clarke. The scarlet is said in the
Mishna to have been used for tying the other
things to the living bird when they were dipped
together in the water mingled with blood. No
thing is said of the disposal of all these things
after they had fulfilled their purpose. Afte** this
ceremonial, the symbolical cleansing was still
further set forth (ver. 8) by the leper's was ung
his clothes, and striving off all his hair, and
bathing himself. He might then enter the camp,
but not yet his own tent. This remaining re
striction seems designed to utill further impress
upon the mind the fearful character of the dis-
ea-e from which the leper had recovered : ;ind still
more, to postpone the full restoration of the leper
to his family until he had first, by the prescribed
sacrifices, been restored to fellowship with God.

Ver. 9. After an interval of a week, the re
stored person was to be again shaved com
pletely, to again wash his clothes, and again
bathe himself. He was now prepared to offer
the prescribed sacrifices on the following day ;
for he was now clean.

Vers. 10-20. The restoration to fellowship
with God, and admission to the sanciuary. Now
for the first time the cleansed leper brings him
self the things necessary for the completion of
his cleansing. Three victims are to be offered ;
for a trespass, for a sin, and for a burnt offering.
With these also he brought, the prescribed obla
tion and the oil for his anointing; the oil was to
be waved with the trespass offering (ver. 12) as
its consecration to God, and the whole oblation
(although three tenth dv'als seem to be required
with reference to the three sacrifices) was to be
offered upon the altar with the burnt offering
(ver. 20). The flour amounted to nearly six
quarts, the separate oil to about half a pint.
Ver. 12. Offer him for a trespass offering. —
The offering thus designated was not required
to be of a definite value, as in the ordinary tres
pass offerings, and it was altogether peculiar in
its ritual, being waved with the oil for a wave
offering before the Lord. — This was never
done with any part of the ordinary trespass of
fering (v. 1-1-vi. 7) ; only in the sacrifice of xxiii.20
was the whole victim ever waved ; as still another
peculiarity, the wave offering was placed in this
case, riot in the hands of the offerer, but in those
of the priest. What then was here the signifi
cance of the waving ? Keil, Clark, and others,
consider it as a consecration of the cleansed le
per represented by the victim. It is true that
there was, in the ritual as a whole, a kind of
consecration of the person to his restored posi
tion as one of the people of the LORD ; but this
can scarcely have been the meaning of this par

ticular ceremony. When the Leviies were con
secrated to the service of the Lord by a wave
offering, they were themselves waved (Num. viii.
11 ; Heb A. V. marg.) ; when the priests were
consecrated, the wa?e offering was placed in
their hands, and consisted of certain parts, not,
of a trespass offering, but of their "ram of con
secration " (viii. 25-28); when portions of the
ordinary peace offerings were consecrated by
waving, they were always placed in the hands
of the offerer. From all these the waving of the
whole ram of the leper's trespass offering essen
tially differs ; nor does it seem possible that it
could signify his consecration, unless it were in
some way placed in his own hands. More pro
bably, this part of the ritual was simply de
signed to distinguish the leper's from the ordi
nary trespass offering ; that while it was still to
be classed generically with that offering, it was
yet specifically distinct from it. A consideration
of this fact will remove, partially at least, the
d'flficulty of understanding why a trespass offer
ing should have been required of the cleansed
leper. The reason given by Oehler and others,
that it was a kind of fine, or satisfaction ren
dered for the fact, that during the whole period
of his sickness, in consequence of his exclusion
from the camp, the leper had failed to per
form his theocratic duties, is shown by Keil
to be entirely untenable, since no such offer
ing was required in parallel cases of persons
excluded from the sanctuary when affected with
disea-cd secretions; to this it may be added,
that no penalty was required, as in the case of
trespass offerings for such offences. Nor is the
reason above given by Lange quite satisfactory.
The true idea in this offering seems to be that
the leper, by his very sickness, had been in the
condition of an offender against the theocratic
law of purity ; yet that this was, in his case, not
an actual, but only a quasi trespass, is shown by
the omission to require it to be of definite value
and by the ritual directing it to be made also
into a wave offering. The leper had not merely
failed to present his required offerings in conse
quence of his exclusion from the camp, but he
had actually lived in a condition of extremes^,
theocratic uncleanness (far more so than in
the case of the secretions), and consequently in
symbolic opposition to the Head of the theocracy.
He must therefore present a trespass offering ;
but as all this had been done not only involun
tarily, but most unwillingly, the offering was
distinguished by being waved. Ver. 13. For as
the sin offering is the priest's, so is the
trespass offering. — This, already known as
the general law (vii. 7), is here repeated, be
cause otherwise the peculiarity of this trespass
offering might seem to make it an exception.
It is most holy. See on ii. 3.

In regard to the order of the various offerings :
here the sin offering (ver. 19) precedes the burnt
offering according to the general rule; but the
trespass offering comes before them both. The
reason above given why the trespass offering
should have been offered at all, explains also
why it should have been offered first. In the
case of the reconsecration of tho defiled Nazarite
(Num. vi. 11, 12), the condition of the offerer
was different; he was alneady in full standing

CHAP. XIII. 1— XIV. 57.

115

as a member of the theocracy, and offered the
pin-offering first, and then the trespass offering
Here the healed leper must present the trespass
offering first, as the mark of his restoration to the
privileges of the theocratic community, before
he offers any other sacrifice.

The restored leper was touched with the bloed
of the victim (ver. 14) in the same way as the
priests with the blood of the ram of consecration
(viii. 23), and doubtless with the same general
symbolical meaning. Next comes the use of the
oil. It was first employed in a sevenfold sprink
ling towards the sanctuary (ver. 16), and then
touched with the finger of the priest upon all the
points which had already been touched with the
blood of the victim, " which seems to have been
a token of forgiveness by the b'ood, and of heal
ing by the oil." Patrick. With the remnant of
the oil in his hand, the priest was to anoint the
head of him that is to be cleansed. In all
this then there appears with sufficient plainness,
a kind of consecration ; but it was a consecra
tion, not to any peculiar position or privilege,
but simply to his becoming again one of the
chosen people — the nation who were by their
calling " a kingdom of priests,"— from whom he
had been temporarily excluded. This is suffi
ciently shown by the following clause, to make
an atonement for him before the LORD.
The unMion was not as a propitiation for his
sin in the ordinary sense of 'he word — that is
provided for by the same expression in connec
tion with the sin offering in the following vrse
(ver. 19); but it was to cover. over the gulf by
which he had been separated, to make an at-cne-
ment for him who had been alienated and sepa
rated by his leprosy. Then follows the sin
offering with its proper atonement. There need
be no question here of the propriety of the sin
offering; it was always in place for sinful man,
but especially for one who had been so long
debarred from bringing it to the altar. Lastly,
came also (ver. 20) the burnt offering with its
atonement. With the last was offered a three
fold oblation; for although the obl-uion might
not be offered with the trespass and sin offering,
yet in this case these were so peculiar in their
use that they were able each to pass on an addi
tional oblation, as it were, to the burnt offering.
Vers 21-31. The alternative offering of the
poor leper. In this case all things proceed as
before with the same offerings and the same
rifual, except that for the sin and burnt offerings
turtle doves or young pigeons are allowed, and
the oblation is reduced to the normal oblation
for the burnt offering (Num. xv. 4) of one tenth
deal of fine flour mingled with oil.

It will be seen that the restoration of the
healed leper thus consisted of several stages.
First, he was examined by the priest, and satis
factory evidence being found that the disease
was cured, he was then purified without the cnmv
by a solemn and significant ceremonial, which
yet was not a sacrifice. After this he was ad
mitted to the camp, but must still remain a week
without entering either his own tent or the sanc
tuary. At the end of this time he offered a sin
gularly full and solemn sicrifice, consisting of a
modified trespass offering, together with a sin
and burnt offering. He was touched with the

blood of his offering and anointed with oil.
Each stage of his restoration was marked by
lustrations. Thus at last was he once more re
stored to full communion with God and full fel
lowship with the covenant people.

D. Leprosy in a house. Vers. 33-53.

The communication on this subject is agaia
addressed to Moses and Aaron conjointly, since
here again the exercise of the priestly functions
of examination and determination is called into
play (ver. 33),- and it all looks forward distinctly
to the future, when ye be come into the
land of Canaan (ver. 34), for in the wilder
ness, of course, they had no houses The wholly
prospective character of this part of the law
explains why it is placed lust of all.

''This regulation is plainly concerning keep
ing the houses clean, — the sanitary police as re
gards the houses; — just as the Jewish poor-law
(see Winer, Art. Anne etc.) is a striking proof
of the hum mity of the Mosaic legislation. Qno
may well say: — the tender care for the superin
tendence of health and of the poor, which here
appears in Israel in typical and legal form, still
in the Christian commonwealth comes far short
of the true spiritual realization. Trouble of
dwellings and poor troubles, bad dwellings and
faulty superintendence of the poor, are a chapter •
which our time has first taken into the circle of
its activity." Lange. That the "leprous" houses
were unhealthy, does not yet seem established
on sufficient, proof; so far as this law is con
cerned, it may be that the legislation rests en
tirely on other grounds. At the same time, the
view of Lange may be true.

Ver. 34. I put the spot of leprosy in a
house. — "Thus also these evil conditions in
houses are decrees of Jehovah. As the house is
the enlarged human family, so the decree upon
the house is an enlargement of the decree upon
man." Lange. "Jehovah here speaks as the
Lord of all created things, determining their
decay and destruction, as well as their produc
tion; comp. Isa. xlv. 7." Clark. Abundant quo
tations from Jewish authorities are cited by
Patrick, showing that they looked upon this
infliction (from which, however, they considered
Jerusalem to be exempted) as a special and
direct divine judgment. Certainly, as Keil notes
in opposition to Knobel, the expression here
excludes the idea that the leprosy was commu
nicated to houses by infection from man; and
this Becomes still more certain from the fact
that thf> people who had been in the house are
regarded as clean.

When notice had been sent to the priest (ver.
35) of a suspicious appearance in the house, he
was first to order it to be "cleared (ver. 36),
lest everything in it should become unclean.
Consequently, as what was in the house became
unclean only when the priest had declared the
house affected with leprosy, the reason for the
defilement is not to be sought for in physical
infection, but must have been of an ideal or
symbolical kind." Keil. The rules guiding the
priestly examination, and the course to be pur
sued in conseqnence of his decision (vers. 37-47),
are as nearly as possible like those given in the
case of clot 1) and of skin. First: If on the pre
liminary examination there seemed to be good

116

LEVITICUS.

ground for suspicion, the house was to be shut
up for a week (ver. 38) ; it was then re-examined,
and if the grounds of suspicion were confirmed
by the spread of the trouble, the affected stones
Were to be taken out, the inside of the house
scraped, and the stories and dirt to be carried
without the city unto an unclean place.
Then other stones were to bo put in their place,
and the house plastered with other nun-tar,
(ver. 42). This ended the matter, if no fresh
ground of suspicion arose. But if the trouble
reappeared, the priest must examine the house
once more, and if he found that the leprosy had
broken out afresh, he must command the entire
demolition of the house, and the carrying forth
of its material to an unclean place (ver. 45).
Any one entering the house while shut up became
unclean till evening; and if he ate or slept in
the house, he must also wash his clothes (vers.
40, 47). From what has been said before, it is
clear that the ground of this provision was not
any supposed danger of infection, but to pre
vent the contraction of symbolical uncleauness.

Vcrs. 48-53. The ceremony of purification.
In case the leprosy did not spread in the house
aft-er^the means used for its cure, the priest was to
pronounce it clean, and then to perform purifi
catory rites exactly like those used for the leper
without the camp. In reference to the views
expressed there, Lange says, here "One may
indeed ask whether the allegorizing there spoken
of would also be proper here. The contrast
between the living bird, which flies free, and the
dead bird, seems here to illustrate the contrast
between the healthy sojourn under God's free
heaven, and the harmful sojourn in musty, dis
eased houses. But the fact is also here well
worthy of note, that there is not tue least men
tion made of any atoning worship." In ver 53
it is said that the priest shall make an atone
ment for the house,, This is often spoken of
as figurative; but in fact it is better to take it
quite literally. According to the primary mean
ing of the Hebrew word "he shall cover," i. e.,
he shall, by this ceremony, put out of sight the
uncleanness of the house; or in its derived and
customary sense, he shall make an at-one-ment,
i. e., he shall restor3 the house from its tainted
character, shut up and forbidden to be used, to
its proper relations and purposes. On leprosy in
garments and houses, see preliminary note.

E. Conclusion. Vers. 54-57.

These verses simply form the conclusion of
the whole law of leprosy contained in chapters
xiii. and xiv. Although the^e chapters are
made up of no less than three separate divine
communications (xiii. 1; xiv. 1; 33), yet they
constitute altogether but one closely connected
series of laws. The summary is in the usual
form ; but in ver. 56 the names of the symptoms
of various forms of leprosy are repeated from
xiii. 2.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I On leprosy in clothes: "The alternative,
according to which the Levitical regulations are
to have either a religious typical meaning alone,
or a dietetic sanitary purpose alone, is here
shown with especial clearness to be incorrect.

The typical point, indeed, is not to be mistaken:
even the attire of men was not to be infected
with plague spots of sinful corruption. But not
less prominently, the point, of the moral duty of
cleanliness is brought forward upon a religious
basis." Lange. Exeg.

II. On leprosy in man : " We must distinguish
between the horror of death of the Grecian spi
rit, and the theocratic antipathy against the signs
of death in life, and the remains of the living in
the corpse. The act of dying was ethical for the
Hebrews in a bad, or in a good sense. Even the
Old Testament knows an ethical Euthanasia op
posed to the death of despair. But in a sphere
where all is founded upon immortal life, a being
for life and not for death, all signs of decay must
be put aside." L-mge, Exeg.

III. The peculiar defilement of leprosy, lead
ing to exclusion from the camp, or in other
words, to excommunication from the ancient
church, evidently has its foundation in the pe
culiar character of the disease. It was espe
cially associated with death, usually ultimately
resulting in death, and being in its later stages,
a sort of living death — a death already begun in
the members — and presenting a fearful image of
death. But death was the sentence upon sin,
and hence leprosy and its treatment have always
been understood as symbolizing sin and its treat
ment, both by Jewish and Christian commenta
tors.

IV. The examination and determination of
leprosy was intrusted to the priests, not on ac
count of their being supposed to possess superior
medical knowledge, but only in view of its theo
cratic relations. Any other treatment of the
leper might properly be undertaken by physi
cians when any were to be had ; but the exclu
sion of the leper from, or his restoration to the
commonwealth of Israel, the communion of the
church of God, was properly a priestly act. It
is to this alone that the law applies. This was
indeed, in strictness the province of Go»l Him
self; but as He committed the administration of
His church in general to human hands, so also
particularly in this matter. The sentence of the
priests was final, and admitted of no appeal ; the
authority had been Divinely committed to them,
a''d although they might perhaps sometimes de
cide wrongly, thf-re was no other redress than
a further examination when there seemed to be
occasion for it, by the same authority. Thus
was the priestly au'hority to bind and loose in
the ancient church confirmed in heaven. Of
course their decrees of exclusion from the earthly
church did not determine anything concerning
the leper's salvation.

V. By the extension of the term leprosy to gar
ments and houses, and the similar treatment of
them when thus affected, it seems to be taught
that there is not merely an analogy, but a cer
tain sympathy between man and the inanimate
things by which he is surrounded. (Comp. Rom.
viii. 22). They are to he associated in his mind
with his own state and condition, and are to be
so treated as to bring home to him in a lively
way the things that concern himself. The Rab
bins consider the trouble in houses as confined to
the land of Canaan, and Divinely sent as a warn
ing to the people against their sinfulness. If

CHAP. XIII. 1— XIV. 57.

117

this warning were unheeded, then the leprosy
passed to their clothes, and finally to their per
sons. However this may be, it is noticeable that
the leprosy here treated is only, as suggested by
Lange, in the various habitations of the human
spirit ; in the body, which is indeed an actual
partof the man himself, but which is often looked
upon and spoken of as the tabernacle of the soul ;
in the clothing, which was a still more outer co
vering ; and finally in the house, the outermost
dwelling Not a word is ever spoken of leprosy
in animals.

VI. In the ceremonial for the purification of
leprosy, so much more full than for any other
defilement, it is seen how the purificatory rites
risa in importance as the uncleanness becomes a
more striking symbol of the impurity of sin.
This symbolism reached its climax in the leper,
and in his purification ; but yet it was only sym
bolism ; for as the defilement of sin lies deeper,
so must the sacrifice for its removal be higher.

VII. Calvin observes that the final cleansing
of the leper was appointed for the eighth day af
ter his entrance into the camp. As his circum
cision, or first admission into the church of God
was on the eighth day after his birth into the
world ; so now he was, on the corresponding day,
to be born again into the church after his ex
clusion. Another parallel, too, may be here
carried out between first entering into commu
nion with' God, and being restored to it by re
pentance after having been alienated by sin.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

" The priestly people of Gort have always a
war to wage with the defilements of the natural
life. , . . Especially is the uncleanness of leprosy,
and in it of all diseases, to be combated ; so also
all the unhealthy conditions of houses and
clothes are an object of the priestly battle, of the
wrestling after an ideal moulding of all the condi
tions of life. How much these costly types still
lack of their complete fulfillment in the Christian
community has already been pointed out." Lange.

Leprosy defiled all who came in contact wMi
it; a lively image of the contaminating effect
of sin. See 1 Cor. xv. 33. Yet it did not defile
the priests, who were to make a close arid care
ful inspection of it, because this was their com
manded duty; so neither does sin contaminate
those who, in the fear of God and as duty to Him,
strive to the utmost to recover and save ihe f-inncr.

As the priest for the purification of the leptr
went without the camp, and there stayed and
held converse with the leper for his cleansing, so
Christ left His dwelling-place in heaven and
came among sinners that He might purify them
from their sin. Hesychius. " It. is remarkable
how well even the Jewish teachers themselves
understood the symbolical meaning of this regu
lation " [concerning the exclusion of the leper
from the camp] ; "for thus speaks one of them
on this place: » If a man considers this, he will
be humbled and ashamed on account of h's sin ;
since every sin is a leprosy, a spot upon his soul.
And, as it is written of the leper, his clothes
shall be rent, etc. ; in like manner, the defilement
on his soul, which is far removed from the holi
ness on high, shall equally separate him from ,

the camp of Israel. And if a man turns to re
pentance in order to be cleansed from his spots,
behold he is clean from his leprosy, but other
wise the leprosy remains clinging to his soul ;
and in this world, and in the world to come, he
is far removed from the whole camp there above
until he has become cleansed.' The law instructs
how to know leprosy, pronounces the leper un
clean, shuts him out from the congregation, but
it has not power to heal him ; this was reserved
for the Son of God, to cleanse bodily in figure,
and spiritually also, as the true Redeemer from
sin and its consequences." Von Gerlach.

" Ceremonial uncleanness involves ceremonial
guilt, and demands an atonement. So moral im
purity involves moral guilt, which requires a
propitiation. The uncleanness and the guilt
mutually imply each other; yet they are totally
distinct, and must be removed by totally differ
ent means. The Spirit of God by the truth of
Revelation removes moral impurity ; the Media
tor, by His undertaking for the guilty, relieves

him from the consequences of his guilt

The symbols of purification and propitiation
come together in the ceremonial connected with
the leper's re-entrance into communion with
God. The water and the blood meet in the ini
tial sacrifice ; the oil and the blood are associated
in the final one." Murphy.

As the cicatrices left by ulcers and burns wcro
points where leprosy was peculiarly likely to be
developed, so Origen, following the allegorical
interpretation, notes that the wounds upon the
soul, though healed, are peculiarly liable to be
come the occasion for the development of sin.
The integrity of purity once lost, there is a dan
gerous spot in the heart which needs the care
of the great Physician of souls.

The Christian Fathers generally give a spiri
tual interpretation of the two birds used in the
purification of the leper or the leprous house.
Thus Theodoret (Qu. 19) : •« They contain a type
of the Passion of salvation. For as the one bird
was slain and the other, dipped in its blood, was
set free; so our Lord was crucified for leprous
humanity, the flesh indeed receiving death, but
the Divinity appropriating to itself the suffering
of the humanity. ;> This thought is quite com
mon in the Fathers. The two birds typify the
two natures of Christ, and the purification of the
sinner is accomplished only by their union in Him.

The Fathers also consider the, leprous house
symbolical of Israel. (See e. g. Theodoret, Qu.
18): Israel was examined and purified, and the
evil stones of its building removed by the many
judgments upon the nation, and especially by
the carrying away "without the cnmp " to Ba
bylon. But at last when its incurable sin broke
out afresh in the crucifixion of the Lord of life,
the whole house was pulled down and its stones
cast out into an unclean place.

Blood and water are constantly joined toge
ther in the purifications of the law, as in this of
leprosy, so in all other cases. Whatever may be
the underlying truth on which this symbolism
rests, the symbolism itself culminates in the
reality of the purification for sin accomplished
by Christ upon the cross, out of whose side
flowed the blood and the water for the cleansing
of the world. See Jno. xix. 34 ; 1 Jno. v. 6, 8.

113 LEVITICUS.

FOURTH SECTION.

Sexual Impurities and Cleansing s.
CHAPTER XV. 1-33.

1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying, Speak unto the children
of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh,

3 because of his issue he is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue :
whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue,1 it is his

4 uncleanness. Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean : and

5 every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth his
bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the

6 even. And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall

7 wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, a d ba unclean until the even. And
he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and

8 bathe himself m water, and be unclean until the even. And if he that hath the
issue spit upon him that is clean ; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself

9 in water, and be unclean until the even. And what saddle soever he rideth upon

10 that hath the issue shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth any thing that was
under him shall be unclean until the even : and he that beareth any of those things
shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

11 And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in
water,2 he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until

12 the even. And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be

13 broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. And v\7hen he that
hath an issue is cleansed of his issue ; then he shall number to himself seven days
for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and

14 shall be clean. And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtle doves, or two
y ung pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the

15 congregation, and give them unto the priest: and the priest shall offtr them, the
one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make
an atonement for him before the LORD for his issue.

16 And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his

17 flesh in water, and be unclean until the even. And every garment, and every skin,
whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until
the even.

18 The woman also with whom man3 shall lie wi'h reed of copulation, they shall
both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.

19 Anel if a woman have an issue, and* her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be
put apart seven days : and5 whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.

20 And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean : every

21 thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. AT d whosoever toucheth her
bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

22 And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and

23 bathe himself 'in water, and be unclean until the even. A' d if it be on her bed, or
on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the

24 even. And if any man3 lie with her at all, and her flowers bi upon him, he shall
be unclean seven days ; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 3. The Sam. and LXX. here add the clause " he is unclean du ing all the time his issue runneth or is stopped."

2 Ver. 11. According to the Syriac, this washing of the hands was to be the act, uot of the unclean person himself, hut
of him whom he touched.

3 Vers. 18 and 24. The Sa-r. adds the possessive pronoun making this " her husband."
* Ver. 19. The S;im and 10 MSS. supply the missing conjunction.

6 Ver. 19. The conjunction here is omitted by ninny MSS., the LXX. and Vulj.

CHAP. XV. 1-33.

25 And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her
separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation ; all the days of the issue
of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.

26 Every bed whereon shelieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed
of her separation : and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the unclean-

27 ness of her separation. And whosoever toucheth those things6 shall be unclean, and
shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

28 But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and

29 after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two
turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the

30 tabernacle of the \_orn. the] congregation. And the priest shall offer the one for a sin
offering, and the other for a burnt offering ; and the priest shall make an atone
ment for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness.

31 Thus shall ye separate7 the children of Israel from their uucleanness ; that they
die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle [dwelling place8] that
is among them.

32 This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him,

33 and is defiled therewith ; and of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that
hath an issue, of the man and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is
unclean.

« Ver. 27. Q3 5 MSS. read H3 toucheth her.

i Ver. 31. For Drn-TTII = ye <ilta.ll separate, the Sam., 4 MSS., LXX., and YnTg. read DrpnTH = ye shall warn; hut
there seems no sufficient reason for thp change.

8 Ver. 31. |3ty?3 properly signifies dwelling-place, and although always rendered Libernade in Ex. and Lev. in the A.
V., needs to be distinguished from the ^HX- Comp. note on viii. 10.

side: touching the bed of the unclean person,
his seat, his body, his saddle ; being smeared
with his spittle, touching anything that passes
from him ; — all makes unclean in the fir.^t degree
for one day, and requires a washing of the
clothes, and a bath. The purifying quarantine
lasts for eight days. Timidly he must approach
the sanctuary with two turtle-doves, or young
pigeons, one of which was appointed for a sin
offering, and the other for a burnt offering. This
disease not only contaminated, but extended its
contaminating power to whatever it touched.
In Num. v. 2. it is provided that the person so
affected should be excluded from the camp." [It
does not seem altogether certain that the affec
tion here described was gonorrhoea, although it
is so translated in the LXX., vers. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9,
etc. That the word flesh is not an euphemism
(Knobel) for the organ of generation i.s evident
from vers. 7 and 13; still, that the latter is in
view as the stat of the issue, is more than pro-,
bable from the analogy of the woman in ver. 19,
But in regard to the character of the issue itself
nothing is said. It could hardly have been
hemorrhoidal, since there is no mention of blood ;
it is not likely to have been syphilitic (gonorrhoea
virulenta), notwithstanding the opinion of .Mi-
chaelis, (Uwa, art. 212), both because it. is more
than doubtful if this disease was known in an
tiquity, and because, if it existed, its presence
would betray cause for more severe measures
than are here prescribed; it may have been a
gonorrhoea arising from weakness, according to
the view of Lange, and as supposed by Jerome
and the Rabbins; but it is noticeable that
there is no mention whatever made of semen in
connection with it, and in xxii. 4, this is distin
guished from "a running issue." Or it may have
been " more probably, simply blennorrhcea urethrse^

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The whole of Lange's Exegefical explanations
under this chapter are here given. " 1. In his
sacrificial law, Moses has throughout translated
moral conditions into ritual forms; and he has
done this, under the spirit of revelation, truly
with wonderful safety, striking precision, and
delicacy. Accordingly he here shows the subtle,
contagious effects in evil in legal pedagogic
images of the sexual impurities, as they incur
guilt, or are more or less innocent, in connection
with original sin. In so far as our chapter
refers back, it forms the climax of the preceding
conditions of guilt; but in its reference to the
following chapter, it forms the foundation for
the idea of a general atonement for the people,
still necessary after all the definite single atone
ments."

"2. The law carries with it the conse-
qu nee that all men are placed, by virtue of
their manifold connections and contacts, under
the sentence: Ye are unclean — unclean even
after all more definite atonements. Haggai has
drawn out this thought fully; John the Baptist
brought it into application (Hag. ii. 13#s., see
Com. Matt. p. 68). Hence the great day of atone
ment must follow all the more special sin offer
ings, and even this can only suffice for pardona
ble sins; while the unpardonable sins were sent
into the desert upon the he-goat designated for
Azazel. The idea of the Trdpsat^: Rom. iii."

"3. The cases of sexual impurity which are
detailed here are the following:"

" Vers. 1-15. Latent flowing of semen, gonor
rhoea. In this sense it is called a running
issue out of his flesh. This uncleanness of
the highest degree, as such, is defiling on every

120

LEVITICUS.

a discharge of mucus arising from a catarrhal
affection of the mucous membrane of the urethra
(urethritis)." Keil; so too, Kalisch. In ver. 3,
a distinction is noticed in the character of the
disease which, however, was of no consequence
for the purpose iu hand; the issue might be
continuous, or it might be temporarily retained.
In either case the disease was there, and its
subject WHS unclean. Rosenmuller would un
derstand flesh in ver. 7 to be an euphemism as
in ver. 2, and the law to cover especially the case
of the physician. In ver. 11 a provision is
made that the person affected might prevent the
communication of uncleanness by his touch, by
first rinsing his hands in water ; thus showing
that the uncleanness communicated was of a
symbolical character. Vers. 14, 15 provide for
a sin offering and burnt offering, of the humblest
kind indeed, but yet here, as everywhere in the
law, sufficient to keep alive the association be
tween uncleanness and sin. It is declared that
the priest shall make an atonement for
him before the LORD for his issue, thus dis
tinctly declaring his uncleanness to have been
the ground of an alienation from God, to be re
moved by a propitiatory sacrifice. — F. G.].

"Vers. 16, 17. A single emission of 83ed was
treated as a single uncleanness." [It is proba
ble that the law had in view an involuntary act;
but it would, nevertheless, apply in all cases,
and thus its importance in checking the fearful
evil of self-pollution needs no comment. — F. G.].

"Ver. 18. So too was the result of a man and
woman sleeping together." [This euphemism
may possibly be misunderstood. The unclean-
ness resulted only in case of sexual intercourse,
and hence abstinence from such intercourse was
a necessary part of preparation for occasions
especially requiring cleanness. Ex. xix. 15;
1 Sam. xxi. 5, 6, etc. The law must have ope
rated as an important check upon sensual pas
sions. For proof that the same custom, was
common among other nations, see Knobel. It is
always to be remembered, however, that this
defilement is connected with the general sinful
condition of man, and did not pertain to his
original state. See Gen. i. 28. — F. G.].

"Vers. 19-24. The menstruation was defined
as an uncleanness for seven days." [The actual
duration is not normally more than four or five
days ; but the period of a week seems to be fixed,
partly to fully cover all ordinary cases, partly
" on account of the significance of the number
seven." Keil. During all this time the woman
communicated uncleanness to every person she
touched: but especially (ver. 24) whoever had
sexual intercourse with her (for Keil shows that
this must be the meaning) became unclean for
the full term of her uncleanness, seveu days.
In xx. 18 it is provided that in case of such in
tercourse both parties should be "cut off from
among their people," as having committed an
abominable act. The case here provided for
must therefore be that of the sudden and un
expected coming on of menstruation, so that the
man became unintentionally defiled. But while
uncleanness was thus strongly communicated to
persons, it only nff.-cted among things those on
which the woman sat or lay down, bhe was thus

not debarred from the fulfillment of her ordinary
domestic duties.

[It has already been noticed under chap. xii.
that the provisions of the law in regard to child
birth are intentionally separated from the pre
sent law in order to mark birth distinctly and
emphatically as a subject by itself. The two
things may be closely connected naturally ; but
when there has occurred another beginning of
human life the entrance upon the world of
another immortal and accountable being, the
event has a gravity and importance which re
quires its distinct treatment apart from the
ordinary, frequently recurring conditions of
life.— F. G.].

" Vers. 25-30. The woman diseased with a
bloody is-me was placed under the same regula
tion as the man with a flow of semen." [Blood
seems to be used here (as throughout this chap
ter) for that which has the general appearance of
blood, and is popularly called by that. name.
Hence what is here referred to is an issue of a
menstrual character, either out of its proper tim",
or prolonged beyond its time. This being ab
normal required the same treatment, the samo
exclusion from the camp (Num. v. 2), and the
same offering for its "atonement" as in the case
of the man. Ordinary menstruation required
no sacrifice. — F. G.].

" Ver. 31. The supplement, Thus shall ye
separate the children of Israel, etc., shows
that these regulations are not merely typical,
but also sanitary; that they aim at the duty of
sexual purity, both in moral, and in bodily rela
tion. The lying of a man with an unclean
woman, vers. 33 and 24, is to be distinguished
from the sexual intercourse (ch. xviii. 19; xx.
18"). [But see under vers. 19-24.— -F. G.].

" That of all the impurities the sexual are ren
dered so prominent, shows the earnest consecra
tion wherewith ihe law places the s xual foun
tain of the natural life of man under the law of
chastity and holiness. So also it abhors exceed
ingly profanations or defilements of this fountain.
Ou this side the rudeness of heathenism spreads
through all the centuries of the Christian era
like a dark shadow, while the consecration of the
sex life was already announced in the centre of
Israel in presage of ideal nuptials." [On the
existence of similar ordinances and customs
among other nations, see Knobel, Bahr, and
the various articles in the Bible Dictiona
ries.— F. G.].

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. All the defilements in this and the preceding
chapters are here presented on their theocratic,
not on their natural side. Nothing is anywhere
said in them of means of cure. The attitude
of the priest toward them is not that of the
physician, aiming at their removal ; but rather
of the guardian of the sanctuary, first determin
ing their existence, and then when they have
been removed, undertaking the purifications by
which the polluted person may be restored to
his forfeited privilege of approaching God in
Ilia sanctuary, and again mingling with the
holy people.

II. The object of the laws of purity is mani-

CHAP. XVI. 1-34.

121

festly mainly moral. They may also have inci
dentally a hygienic purpose, but this is entirely
subordinate. The main object is the mainte
nance of the majesty of God. Nothing impure
may appear in His presence, and hence all those
bodily conditions which are associated with, and
suggestive of impurity, are marked as unclean,
and not only the persons affected by them are
excluded from the sanctuary, or even from the
camp, but all contact with them is to be avoided
by the holy people.

III. Very much is often said of the extreme
frequency of these defilements, as if the Israelites
must, under the operation of these laws, have
lived in an almost perpetual state of ceremonial
uncleanness. But it is to be remembered that
we have in these chapters a collection of the
cases of uncleanness provided for, which has
upon the mind of the reader something of the
effect of the perusal of a medical book; finding
so many diseases enumerated, he is apt to sup
pose a state of disease far more common than it
really is. Uncleanness, notwithstanding its ap
parent frequency when the account of all its
varieties is collected together, was still an ab
normal state, and in the great majority of cases
continued only a short time, being limited by
the approaching " evening " at whatever time
in the day it may have occurred.

IV. In the Levitical legislation the difference
between actual sin and uncleanness which was
merely symbolical of sin, is made to appear very
clearly. In this chapter particularly, four cases
of uncleanness are mentioned, two of which
(2-15, and 23-30) were simply diseases, and the
other two (16-24) entirely natural and sinless;
yet not only did the disease make unclean, but
also that natural act or condition, which accord
ing to the Divine constitution is necessary for
the perpetuation of the race in accordance with
His own command. In all this there can be
nothing sinful in itself; but as man's whole con
dition is sinful, so are these things constituted
unclean, thereby to symbolize, and impress upon
the mind of man the character of his whole re
lation to God who is perfect in holiness.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

The laws of this chapter impose many re
straints upon the intercourse of the sexes; that
was the will of God shown of old by definite
educational precepts. It remains His will still,
no longer embodied in such precepts, but an
nounced in general principles. See 1 Thess. iv. 4.

That the defilements here spoken of were cere-
moaial and symbolical only, is shown by the fact
(ver. 12) that the earthen vessel was to be broken,
while the wooden one (which is also absorptive)
was only to be rinsed with water. Had the de
filement been actual, the law must have been
the same for both. Theodoret.

The especial object of the laws of uncleanness
is declared (ver. 31) to be lest " they defile
my tabernacle." Many things which are
natural and right in this our earthly life, are
yet unsuitable for the immediate presence of
God. Man may, nay, under the Divine consti
tution of his nature, must do many things which
yet are so far apart from the spirituality of the
Divine Nature that they evidently need to be
widely separated from acts of worship. Yet
they are not thereby condemned as sinful, but
only there is brought into prominence the infinite
distance by which man is separated from God.

" Not only cleanness, but cleanliness also, had
its meaning, embodied in religious customs, as
the 15th chapter shows, in the most striking fea
tures under the law. Uncleanness may exist,
even with a considerable measure of religious
feeling and good-will in the forms of negligence,
of false artlessness, and even of a wild geniality.
In the delineation of the endlessly fine and
subtle contagious power of uncleanness, there
comes into view the whole mysterious connec
tion of mankind in sinfulness, as it has been
shown by the prophet Haggai (ch. ii.), and as it
lies as the foundation for the baptism of John,
the Baptist. Thus also this idea of the immea
surable and inscrutable contagion, and of the
totality and universality of its guilt, leads to the
need and the establishment of the universal and
common atonement. It presages an express,
great, and single Divine institution." Lange.

PART FOURTH. THE DAY OF ATONEMENT.

" The Annual, Universal, National Feast of Purification. The Great Day of Atonement, and the

Great Propitiation.'1'' — LANGE.

CHAP. XVI. 1-34.

1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when

2 they offered1 before the LORD, and died ; and the LORD said unto Moses, Speak

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 1. The LXX., the Targs. of Onk., Jon. and Jerus , the Vulg. aad Syr. here insert the words strange Jlre, as ifl
obriously implied.

^122 LEVITICUS.

unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within
the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will

3 appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus [With this2] shall Aaron come
into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt

4 offering. He shall put on the [a3] holy linen coat, and he shall have the [omit
the3] linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and
with the [a3] linen mitre shall he be attired : these are holy garments ; therefore

5 shall he wash [bathe4] his flesh in water, and so put them on. And he shall lake
of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids [bucks5] of the goats for a
sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and

7 make an atonement for himself, and for his house. And he shall take the two goats,
and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the [om. the] con-

8 gregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD,

9 and the other lot for the scapegoat [for Azazel6]. And Aaron shall bring the goat
10 upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on

which the lot fell to be the scapegoat [for Azazel6], shall be presented alive before
the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat [for
Azazel6] into the wilderness.

1 L And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and
shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock

12 of the sin offering, which is for himself: and he shall take a [the7] censer full of
burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of

13 sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: and he shall put the in
cense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the

14 mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not : and he shall take of the
blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon8 the mercy seat eastward
[on the east side9] ; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with
his finger seven times.

15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring
his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the

16 bullock, and sprinkle it upon8 the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat : and ho
shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the chil
dren of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he
do for the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation, that remaineth among them

17 in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle
of the [omit the] congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy
place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his

18 household, and for all the congregation of Israel. And he shall go out unto the
altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it ; and shall take of the
blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the

19 altar round about. And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his fingers seven
times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling [making atonement for10] the
holy place, and the tabernacle of^the [omit the] congregation, and the altar, he

2 Ver. 3. .PKT3- There seems no reason why the Heb. should not bj rendered lite rally.

3 Ver. 4. The articles ar« not in the H>b., and should bo omittpd ns ^f i-adi-i-/.

* Ver. 4. VrP, ste Textual Note 3° ou x v. 8. Tiie Sam. and LXX. mser., Uiu \vor 1 all before his flesh.

6 Ver. 5. ^"V_J?ty, eee Textual Note 21 on iv. 23. The same worJ is used also vors. 7, 8, etc. ; but it seems unnecessary
to alter the translation throughout, as this is the only place in which the sense is aff cfed.

6 Vers. 8, 10 (bis), 26. ^TKTJJ- The word occurs only he^e.aud in the wide difference of opinion existing as to its

meaning, it seems far better to retain the Ileb. word unchanged, a«" is done in many modern critical translations. It
occurs in a 1 cases without th« ar icK For the meaning, sei exej-> si-.

7 Ver. 12. It is better to retain the defiuite article, ;is expressed in the Ileb.

8 Vers. 14, 15. For 7j;=«j>ow, the Sam. reads 7X=before, towards.

» Ver. 14. nmp=<oimrrf the east is to be connected with the mercy seat, and not with sprinkle. The high priest

T :l ••

looking west, faced the mercy seat, and sprinkled it on the side next to him, i. e. the Bide toward the east. This canmol
be clearly expressed in English without a slight modification of the phrase.

10 Ver. 20. "133Q. See Textual Note " on vi. 30 (23).

CHAP. XVI. 1-34.

21 shall bring [offer11] the live goat : and Aaron shall lay both his hands12 upon the
head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel, and all their trangressions in [according to13] all their ^ins, putting them
upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit14 man into

22 the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land
not inhabited :15 and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation, and
shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the ho'y place,

24 «nd shall leave them thera : and he shall wash [bathe4] his flesh with water in the
holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth and offer his burnt offering,

* and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, a ad for

25 the people. And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.

26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat [for Azazel6] shall wash his clothes

27 and bathe his flash in water, and afterward come into the camp. And the bullock
for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in
to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp ; and

28 they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. And he
that burneth them shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and after
ward he shall come into the camp.

29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you : that in the seventh month, on the
tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether

30 it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: for on
that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may

31 be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto

32 you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. And the pries*-., whom
he [one16] shall anoint, and whom he [one16] shall consecrate to minister in the
priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the

33 linen clothes, even the holy garments : and he shall make an atonement for the
ho-y sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the [omit
the] congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests,

34 and for all the people of the congregation. And this shall be an everlasting sta
tute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins
once a year.

And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

11 Ver. 20. 3"1pn> the same word as is used of the other goat in vcr. 9, and Ihe common word for sacrificial
offering.

12 Ver. 21. For the IT of tho text, 35 MSS. read VT, as in the k'ri.

TT TT I

13 Ver. 21. According to is both a better translation of the prep. / and giv< s a hotter sense.

M V. r. 21. T\y, air. Ae'y., according to Fnerst existing or appointed at a convenient time. LXX. eToiju.os, Vulg. paratus.
The nense of appointed would probably bettter express the Heb. than fit so Targ. Jjn., and so Kosennmeller) ; but there 13
neither sufficient certainty nor sufficient difference to make the change.

15 Ver. 22. PPTJ. LXX. a/3o.Toi>, Vulg. solitariam, Onk. uninttabita^le, Jon. denials, Syr. uncultivated. Lit. a land cut
off. The A. V. sufficiently expresses the pense.

w Ver. 32. Th 'Si verbs must either be rendered impersonally, or else taken in t^e pas ive, as the ITeb. idiom very
well allows.

EXEGET.ICAL AND CRITICAL.

Here a new Parashah of the law begins, ex
tending through ch. xviii. Amosix. 7-15 forms
the parallel Proper Lesson from the prophets.
That prophecy is cited by St. James at the
Council of Jerusalem (Acts xv. 10, 17), and ap
plied to the building up of the Gontilrs into the
Church of Christ. Wordsworth suggests that
he may have selected that p.-irticular prophecy
because it was associated in his mind, through
the public readings in tho synagogues, with the
passage before us "which displays, in a figure,
the work of Christ, our great High Priest, en

tering into the heavenly Holy of Holies, and
reconciling the world to God by His own blood
(Ilcb. ix. 7-12, 24-28)."

This chapter forms the culmination of all that
has gone before, of the laws both of sacrifices
and of purity, and therefore forms the fitting
conclusion of the whole portion of Leviticus
concerned with the means of approach to God.
The significance of its symbolical ritual is dwelt
upon in the 9th ch. of the Ep. to the Heb. The
Holy of Holies was entered only on the day and
with the sacrifices here prescribed, and this day
was the only day of fasting appointed in the
Mosaic law. The ritual of its sacrifices was
peculiar and impressive, and the goat for Azazel

124

LEVITICUS.

is something so unlike any thing else in the Levi-
tical system as to have occasioned the utmost per
plexity to expositors. In xxiii. 27 (Keb. ) the day
is called "the day of atonements (in the plural),
as if this included in itself all other atonements,
or at least was the most exnlted and important
of them all. In ver. 81 (Heb.) it is spoken of as a
"Sabbath of Sabbaths," and by the later Jews
it was commonly called simply l> Joma,"^day,
as the day of all days. It is probably intended
by St. Luke in the expression " the fast," Acts
xxvii. 9. See Com. there. The high-priest
alone could officiate, and this he must do in a
peculiar dress worn only on this day. By the
ritual of this day, the imperfection and insuffi
ciency of all other sacrifices was brought pro
minently into view, while yet its own imperfec
tion was necessarily involved in its yearly repe
tition.

The chapter consists of two portions, of which
the first (vers. 2-28) contains directions for this
great annual expiation; and the second (vers.
29-34), -the command for its yearly celebration.
The whole of Lange's Exegetical Notes are here
given.

"1. It is first of all to be noticed that the
yearly feast of atonement is mentioned twice in
the Levitical law of worship, viz. ouce here as
the culminating point of the laws and expiations
of purifications; and again in ch. xxiii. in the
midst of the feasts of the Lord for the positive
sanctification of the land and the people, as a
solemn prelude to the most festal and joyous of
all the feasts, the feast of tabernacles. The
point of unity of both lines is the thought: tha*
Israel can then only attain to the full joys of the
feast of tabernacles, when, on the great Sabbath
of the seventh month — the single exclusive day
of 'expiation and regular fast, d;iy of the year —
it has humbled and purified itself before Jehovah
with the confession, that all its legal atonements
had not brought full purification ; that, the in
struments of atonement, priests and altar, must
themselves be atoned for ; that not even by these
comprehensive general supplications and general
atonements could complete atonement be made;
that a guilt remaining in secret must be sent
home to Azazel as inexpiable under the ndpeat.^
of Jehovah (Rom. iii. 25) — an act with which
the Levitical atonement sweeps out beyond itself
to a future and real atonement.

"2. Corresponding to the thoughts that have
been mentioned, we have :

" a. The prevailing unapproachableness of
the holy God, only momentarily suspended
through a hypothetical, typically accomplished
power of approach, as the idea of a future
perfect atonement. This law was enforced
by the fact that the two eldest sons of
Aaron had died through approaching pro
fanely, and by the threat that he too should
die if he went behind the curtain of the Holy of
holies, where Jehovah was manifested in a cloud
over the mercy-seat (Jer. xxx. 21), otherwise
than according to the stated conditions, once a
year. (Heb. ix. 7). Vers. 1, 2." [The historical
connection of this chapter with the death of Na-
dab and Abihu does not exclude the logical con
nection with the legislation of the rest of the
book. The provision for the day of atonement

was necessary in any case to the completeness
of the Levitical system, but the command for its
observance was immediately occasioned by their
unauthorized act. There are no data to show the
length of the interval between their death and
the Divine communication contained in this
chapter; but it was probably short. Ver. 2.
Within the vail — which separated the holy
place, the outer part of the sanctuary where the
priests daily ministered at the altar of incense,
from the holy of holies which was never to be
entered by man except as provided for in this
chapter. On the significance of this arrange
ment see Doctrinal remarks below. The custom
of having peculiarly sacred parts in the heathen
temples is well known. The mercy-seat. —
rn.D.3 LXX. IJMarfjpiov, Vulg., propitiatorium, and
so the other ancient versions. The LXX. word
is twice used in. the N. T., being translated mercy-
s»at in Heb. ix. 5, but propitiation in Rom. iii. 25.
The word occurs only in Ex., in this chapter,
and in Num. vii. 89, and 1 Chr. xxviii. 11. It
is evident from Ex. xxv. 22; xxx. 6; and Num.
vii. 89, that it was the place appointed for the
peculiar manifestation of the presence of Go 1 ;
and from this chapter, that it was the objective
point of the highest, propitiatory rites known to
the law. The English word only partially con
veys the sense. I will appear in the cloud.
— There has been much question whether this
means the light-giving cloud which overshadowed
and at certain times filled the tabernacle, and
which according to the Jewish authorities, was
afterwards represented by the Skechinah above
the ark ; or whether it refers simply to the cloud
of incense arising from the censer of the high-
priest as he passed within the vail. The subject
is ably and fully discussed by Biihr (Symb. I. c.
V. \ 2 IV. 21 aufl., pp. 471-431) who concludes
in favor of the latter. See the authorities there
ci'ed. The determination in reality involves
two separate questions: first, whether the pro
mise of the text is personal to Aaron, or whether
it is given in perpetuity to him and his success
ors in the high-priesthood; and second, whe
ther, after the cessation of the wanderings in the
wilderness, there ever was such a Shechinah.
In regard to the latter question, later Jewish
tradition, from the time of the Targums down,
is certainly sufficiently emphatic in the affirma
tive ; but for so remarkable and perpetual a mi
racle, higher authority is required. B'ahr has
shown that Philo and Josephus, as well as the
Christian Fathers to the time of S. Jerome, knew
nothing of it, and it is never mentioned in the
Scriptures, or in the Jewish Apocryphal books.
Nevertheless, the incense is not spoken of until
ver. 12, and it seems unlikely that the cloud
from it should be intended here. God had
hitherto manifested His presence to Moses and
to the people in the cloud which covered the
tabernacle, and that in various localities; it
would not be strange that He should now
promise a similar manifestation to Aaron by the
same instrumentality. That this should take
place upon the mercy-seat was a consequence
of Aaron's coming before it in this highest act
of propitiation. Of course this would give no
ground to suppose that such a manifestation

CHAP. XVI. 1-34.

125

continued there perpetually, or at any other
time than that on which it is here especially
promised. Rosenmiiller, Keil, and most other
commentators, however, accept the Jewish tra
dition of the Shechinah. — F. G.J.

" 6. He must next protect himself with a great
sacrifice; for he is directed to take a young
bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a
burnt offering. By these the great faults of
the priesthood on the one side, and the great
duties on the other side are signified," ver. 3.
[Come into the holy is sometimes understood
in relation to Aaron's entrance into the taberna
cle merely, because these offerings were offered
before he passed beyond the court at all; but as
the point of the whole ritual is the entrance into
the holy of holies, the words are more fitly in
terpreted in relation to this. Full account is
given of the ritual of the sin offering in vers.
11-14 and 27, 28; the sacrifice of the priestly
burnt offering was at the same time with that
of the people at the conclusion of the other
sacrifices (ver. 24].— F. G.].

" c. After this, he is to make himself the
atoner for the collective priesthood. All the
high-priestly ornaments were laid aside, and he
was clothed with a linen coat, over linen drawers,
and girt with a linen girdle. The linen cap
completed the attire. Even this enrobing must,
be preceded by a religious lustration" (ver. 4)."
[This clothing is called the holy garments,
vers. 4 and 32 ; and it is separated from that of
the common priests by a white linen girdle in
place of the ordinary priestly girdle wrought in
needle-work with '• blue and purple and scarlet"
(Ex. xxxix. 29). The high-priest is thus to lay
aside his "golden garments" of authority, and
to be clad in pure white as symbolical of holi
ness. This symbolism was increased by his
bathing himself before putting on these gar
ments, and again when he exchanged them
(ver. 24) for his official robes. These bathings
were not the mere ordinary bathings of the
hands and feet, but of the whole body.— F. G.].

" d. Only in such guise can he receive the
means of atonement for the congregation in
volved with him in guilt, the two he-goats,
which in the more general sense, are appointed
for a sin offering. In the presentation of the
burnt offering, however, the congregation was
equa'ized with the high-priest himself. But how
inconsiderable is the he-goat in comparison with
the young bul'ock, ver. 5." [He shall take
Of the congregation. — Inasmuch as these
sacrifices were for the people, the victims were
supplied by them, as the former ones had been
by Aaron. The fact that the two goats together
constitute the sin offering is to be particularly
noled. The high-priest's sin offering was a
bullock, as provided in iv. 3, and the ordinary
sin offering for the whole congregation was the
same (ib. 14) ; here it is changed to two goats to
meet the particular ritual provided, but they
together constitute a single sin offering. In the
sa<ne way two birds were required for the puri
fication of the leper (xiv. 4), or to " make atone
ment for the leprous house (ib. .53) one of which
was set free; and so also in the sin offering of
the poor (v. 7), two doves were required which
were differently treated, but together made up a

single sacrifice. The burnt offering, both f)r
the high-priest and for the congregation, was
not a bullock, but an inferior victim was pre
scribed, probably to avoid withdrawing the at
tention from the other sacrifices, and thus to
bring out with greater force the significance of
the whole work of the day as an atonement for
sin.— F. G.].

" e. Now follows the ordinance for the atone
ment in a shorter statement. The sin offerings
were placed together before the sanctuary, pre
sented before the Lord ; the bullock and the
two he-goats , sinoe the guilt is indeed different,
but yet also common.'' [The text, however, dis
tinctly separates the presentation of Aaron's
bullock (ver. 6) from that of the he-goats for the
people (ver. 7); and this is in accordance with
the order of the actual sacrifice which follows. It
seems al^o necessary to the idea that Aaron must
first make an atonement for himself and for
his house before proceeding to offer for the
people. — F. G.]. "But now the mysterious act
was performed : the lot was cast over thj two
he-goats, while the lot of the one was called for
Jehovah, that of the olher for AzazeL On
the various significations of this, see below.
Meantime, only the directions which belong to
both are spoken of. Vers. 9 and 10." [0-10.

The nSj; used in vers. 9, 10 of the lots refers to
(he comity up of the lot out of the urn. Keil.
Aaron's bullock is now offered, not sacrificed, for
this comes afterwards, ver. 11 ; the same is true
also of the other sin offerings. According to
Jewish tradition, this offering was accompanied
by the high-priest's making a solemn confession,
of sin, the form of which is given in Massechet
Joma c. 3, g 8 (Patrick). His house is not his
immediate, personal family, but the whole order
of priests, and perhaps it also included the Le-
vites after they were separated from the congre
gation. — The two goats of ver. 7 were to be,
according to Jewish tradition, of the same size,
color, and value, and as nearly alike in every
way as possible. Both of them alike Aaron was
directed to present before the Lord, but the
word used for this acf (Trpyn) is a different one
from that used of Aaron's offering of the bullock
(3'lpH), and does not appear to be used in a sa
crificial sense. The lots were then cast, and only
the one upon which the LORD'S lot fell
was Aaron at present to offer (T^pH) for a sin.
offering (ver. 8) as he had already done with
his own bullock ; the other, on "which the lot
fell for Azazel was to be presented alive
Pn-Tp;r) before the Lord (ver. 10). This dif
ference in the treatment of the two goats from
the outset is too important to be overlooked ; but
subsequently the other was also offered (ver. 20),
and it is expressly said that Aaron should make
an atonement with him. — Thus it is clear
that the goat for Azazel, while forming part of
the one sin offering and used for the purpose of
atonement, was yet offered to the LORD, in the
sacrificial sense, separately from tae other. —
F. G.J.

"/• The sacrificial acts follow these prepara
tions. Aaron must slay the sin offering of the
priesthood in the court. Then he first brings a

126

LEVITICUS.

large offering of incense (both hands full of
sweet incense) into the holy of holies, a cloud
of the fulness of prayer, which covers the whole
mercy-seat, as this covers the law, the evidence i
of the guilt of sin. With this preparatory en- 1
trance only is made possible the principal en- 1
trance for fulfilling the priestly atonement, with- l,
out Aaron's dying in that entrance. Then he ,
comes back, brings the vessel of blood, and first
sprinkles with his finger blood upon the mercy-
seat on its front side, as if to express the thought '
that there is an atonement in the blood ; then he
sprinkles before the Kiporeth" [mercy-seat] (
«' with his fingers (plural) seven times, as it' to
express the whole historical work of the blood
of martyrdom which the blood-sprinkling of the j
Kaporeth" [mercy-seat] " crowned." [Vers.
11-14. It ia important to the understanding of
this day to keep the order of its rites distinctly
in view. They have been clearly stated above:
(1) the high priest slew the bullock for the
pnestly sin offering; (2) then he entered the
holy of holies with the goldeu censer (comp. Heb.
ix. 4) full of burning incense; (3) taking the
blood of his own sin offering, he again entered
the holy of holies and sprinkled the blood, first
upon the front side of the mercy-seat, and then
seven times before it ; (4) he again came out to
slay the goat for the sin offering of the people
(ver. 15). F. G.]. "Now first follows the atone
ment for the people. Aaron takes the vessel of
blood of the people's atonement, and performs
the two sprinklings in the holy of holies as be
fore. Here also the distinction is made upon the
mercy-seat and before the mercy-seat. But
as Aaron does not make atonement for his private
guilt, of which mention was made in chap, iv.,
but for the faults in his sacrificial service itself,
HO is it also with the atonement for the people.
For their private sins they have brought their
sacrifices during the coarse of the year; now
they have, in connection with the priesthood, to
atone generally for the subtle sins in all their
atonements and offerings." [Yet it would give
an imperfect view of the purpose of the great day
of atonement to suppose it restricted simply to
atoning for defects in the various sacrifices of the
past year, nor probably does Lange mean to be
so understood. It was rather an expression of
the inherent insufficiency of those sacrifices; an
acknowledgment that, notwithstanding all those
propitiations, there still remained an alienation
between a sinful people and a perfectly holy God.
It was the design of this day to acknowledge
this, and by the most solemn and expressive
types, symbolically to re-nove it; yet in ihe pro
vision for its annual repetition, its own insuffi
ciency to this end stands confessed, and with
especial clearness it points forward to the only
true remedy in Him who should really obtain
the victory over the power of evil. — F. G.] "So
first atonement was made for the sanctuary of
the Temple" [or Tabernacle] "in the holy of
holies (which indeed had itself remained unap
proachable for sin as well as the sinner), and
then from the holy of holies outward, for the
tabernacle of congregation, which had
been particularly exposed to defilement in the
midst of the impurities of the people. That by
the tabernacle of congregation is meant the

court, is shown by the command that no one
should enter it while he accomplishes the atone
ment." [On the other hand, Keil understands
"the holy place of the tabernacle" in contra
distinction to the "holy of holies," which is
called throughout this chapter simply " thv-
holy." So also Rosenmiiller and others. And
there shall be no man in the tabernacle
of congregation — The object of this was not
to guard the privacy of the ceremony, but sim
ply because all were regarded as defiled and to
be atoned for, and every thing defiled must b >
excluded during the process of atonement. — F. G.]
" The whole religion of the people appears as in
abeyance while the high-priest was consum
mating the atonement. And fitly were these
atoning acts so named. After the high-pries:
had completed the atonement in the holy of ho
lies, he went back into the sanctuary, and there
sprinkled the altar of incense. In a manner
entirely analogous to the sprinkling upon the
mercy-seat, he first sprinkled the horns of the
altar of incense, and then the altar itself seven
times." [The analogy is si ill more completely
carried out by the change of words in the Heb.
pat it (fnj) upon the horns of the altar ....
he shall sprinkle (H-TH) of the blood upon
it. — F. G.] "Only in this sprinkling, the blood
of the bullo ;k is joined witu the blood of the he-
goat, as indeed the prayers of both priest and
people rise together 10 God, and in like manner
also their faults in prayer. It is remarkable
that the act of sprinkling in the court (at the
altar of burnt, offering) seems to follow the act
of sprinkling in the holy of holies, and not till
then the sprinkling of the altar of incense in the
temple" [tabernacle], "which is here called
pur excellence the altar. In this connection the
passage Ex. xxx. 10 is worthy of note. Accord
ingly the atonement for this altar was the last
act of sacrifice, and thereby the atonement for
the theocratic prayer became the last point in the
atonement, as indeed it had certainly been the
basis for the first." [The ceremonies of propi
tiation began by carrying the burning incense,
symbolizing prayer, within the vail; then the
blood was sprinkled upon the instruments of pro
pitiation, the mercy-seat and the brazen altar,
and finally upon the altar of incense itself which
was connected with the symbolism of prayer. — ,
F. G.] "This ordinance se« ms to be connected
with the thought that the altar of incense in its
relation to Jehovah (the altar that is before
the LORD) was reckoned as belonging to the
holy of holies, as also the Epistle to the Hebrews
seems to understand. After all this comes the
treatment of the living he-goat, designated
for Azazel. This goat was brought into the
court. Here the high-priest must lay both his
hands (his hand in the singular was said of the
offerer i. 4: iii. 2; iv. 4 ; iv. 24) upon the head
of the goat and confess upon it all the mis
deeds (nbi£) of the children of Israel, and all
their breaches of allegiance (deadly sins, crimes)
(DiTjTtfn), which belong to all their sins, which
are not included either in the sins to be atoned
for, or which have already been atoned for

nXDn'1?^), and shall lay these upon the head

CHAP. XVI. 1-34.

127

of the goat, and shall send it away (hunt it
away) into the wilderness by means of a man
who stood ready for that purpose (therefore in
stantly). The object, however, is that the he-
goat shall bear away all the sins, as if they had
been laid upon him, into a desolate place. So
shall he send him away into the wilderness, pro
perly speaking, into a complete solitude, into a
bare place in the midst of the wilderness, to the
most desolate spot. So fearful indeed is the
burden of guilt of this beast, that the man who
has driven away the goat must first, outside the
camp, wash his clothes and bathe himself before
he may come back a\?ain into the camp. This is
the contagious power of the deadly sins. It is
to be considered that sins done with uplifted hand
could not be removed by Levitical sacrifice."

" But further, they could not all be. discovered
and blotted out by the penalty of death, the Che-
rem. Thus there remained, after all the atone
ments and penalties, an unatoned and unpar
donable residue, the hidden guilt of Israel, which
crept on in darkness through its history until
the crucifixion of Christ (Rom. iii. 25). From
this the congregation of Israel could only be
freed by a symbolical act, in which they hunted
away this burden of guilt with the sin-goat of
double power, to him to whom this guilt be
longed, to the Azazel in the wilderness. That,
the solitude inside the pasturage of the wilder
ness was considered as a region of evil spirits is
plain from passages of the Old and New Testa
ments '(Isa. xiii. 21 ; xxxiv. 14 ; Matt. xii. 43 ss.) ;
that further, the dismissing of the unpardonable
sins could be considered as a giving over of the
sinner, with his sin, to its author, is shown by
the act of excommunication of Paul (1 Cor. v. 5),
and that the idea or conception of a diabolical
opposing spirit was handed down from patriar
chal times, is plain, backwards, from Gen. iii.,
and forwards, from the position of Satan in Job,
and other places. The name Azazel corresponds
throughout to this conception. Whether the

e Derived from TljJ, it means (from the
verb in Pihel) the one that is always hiding, se
parating himself; or from h]X, the one that
is always removing himself, the escaping
one, the old one every where and nowhere ;
and one can only say simply that the va
rious explanations which are most divergent
from this conception are only to be accounted for
from the want of understanding the undoubtedly
very obscure and solemn idea of the text. Thus
Knobel finds himself authorized by the text and
the grammar to explain "our author considered
Azazel as an evil being in the wilderness." To
be sure, it is his purpose to assert in this con
nection that the devil does not appear in the old
Hebrew books, and was not a dweller in the
wilderness. [Similarly Kalisch argues, upon
the same grounds, that this book must be later
than the time'of Zechariah !" — F. G.] That the
teaching concerning the devil has only been
gradually developed from the obscurest forms ;
that the devil appears in Scripture in connection
with subordinate demons; that further, he is
described in the New Testament as a dweller in

the wilderness ;* that finally, the conception of
natural or spectral "Desert fiends" would be a
dualistic one, contravening the spirit of the Old
Testament — all this is overlooked in his skilfully
prepared antithesis. But when Merx, in oppo
sition to the interpretation of the passage of Sa
tan, declares that the Old Testament conscious
ness is never dualistic, he has not learned to
distinguish dualism from the biblical teaching in
regard to Satan ; and, as regards the further ex
position, that the idea of Satan was foreign to
the Old Testament, it is a pure assumption, with
which he sets himself in opposition to the best
recognized passages. The lately advanced pro
position, " this thought does not appear any
where else in Scripture," denies the conception
of an-at- faydueva, and can only be described as
had Hermeueutics, without mentioning that we
have here nothing to do with a arras heydusvov.
Into what adventurousness Exegesis was brought
when it passed to the thought, that the abso
lutely or relatively (for the Old Testament eco
nomy) inexpiable sins were given over to the
kingdom of darkness for earlier or later judg
ment, is shown by the interpretations that are
given: — Azazel signifies a locality in the wilder
ness; a desolate place ; a mountain (while it is
forgotten that the people journeyed from station
to station) ; or the buck goat itself (from fj£ and

/y?, coper emissarius, "the scapegoat" (der ledige
Bock-f) according to Luther) ; or Azazel is a de
mon, to whom this goat is brought as a sacrifice ;
or the word is an abstraction, and signifies the
whole sending away, like the characteristic hesi
tation of the LXX. between a-orrofiTrq and curo-
TrouTrotof, in which two different expositions are
brought out." [In regard to the meaning of
Azazel : in the great variety of etymologies given
for the word by scholars of the highest standing,
it may be assumed as certain that nothing can
be positively determined by the etymology. See
the Lexicons and Bochart, Ilieroz. I., lib. II. c.
54 (Tom. I., p. 745 soq. ed. Rosen.) ; Spencer, de
leg. L. III. Diss. 8, Sect, 2 (p. 1041 s. ed. Tu
bing.). Not only the roots themselves are va
ried, but their signification also, and still furflier
the signification of the compound. Little light
can be had from the Ancient Versions. The
Sam., and the Targs. of Onk., Jon., and Jerus.,
retain the word unchanged ; so also does the
Syriac, but in Walton's Polyglott this is paren
thetically translated Deus fortissimus, for which, .
however, there seems to be no more authority
than in the Hebrew; the Vulg. has caprus emis
sarius; the LXX. renders in ver. 8, TCJ aTroTro//-
7T(«6j (which Josephus also uses), in ver. 10 fif
T?/V aTT07ro/j,Tryv, in ver. 26 rbv ^luapov TOV 6iea-
ra^/ncvov eJf a<j>eaiv; Symm. cnrep^o^svo^ ; Aq.

* [This statement is probably founded upon two fa<-ts—
fi st, that of our Lord's liaviug boon Ipd into the wilderness
"to be tempte I of the Devil;" but this doe-i not imply that
the Devil is in any especial sense a dweller in the wilder
ness, but only that this was a favorable situation for him to
ply his temptations; and second, that certain men possessed
of evil spirits sought solitary pjaces. Other p;lss;»ges of the
N. T. certainly present the Devil as eminently cosmopolitan.

f "Hiller indeed thinks, that the scape-goat (iler ledige
Bock) signifies that the people are set free by the expiation ;
only since they could not have let it run free in Jerus ilein,
they aeut it into the wild rnesa I"

128

LEVITICUS

(or, according to Theodoret, a
; Theod. aQteuevoc.. All these versions,
it will be observed, either retain the word un
changed, or else refer it to the goat itself in the
general sense of Luther, and the A. V. scape-goat.
The old Italic, too, has ad dimissionem. The Jewish
authorities differ, R. Saadias Gaon being quoted
by Spencer, and Kinichi by Miinster and others
for the interpretation rough mountain of God,
but many of them explaining the word of the
Devil. Of the Christian Fathers, Origeu (contra
Gels. 6), and a Christian poet cited by Epiphanius
(Hxres. xxxiv.) from Irenseus, identify Azazel
with the Devil; on the other hand, Theodoret
(Qu. xxii. in Lev.} and Cyril (Glaph.) concur
with the interpretation of Jerome. Suidas and
Hesychius make theLXX. cnrono/uTTr/ — airoTpoKtj —
averruncus, the averter of evil. (See Suicer Thes.
S. V. airoTTUTraioz.) The great majority of modern
commentators agree with Spencer and Rosen-
miiller in interpreting the word itself of the
Devil, although Biihr, Winer, and Tnoluck con
tend for the sense complete removal. The Book
of Enoch, so called, uses the name, or one so like
it as to be evidently meant for the same, several
times (viii. 1; x. 12; xiii. 1), in a way that
shows the author understood by it the Devil;
but this book, being an apocryphal composition,
probably of the second century, (see Excursus
1C. in my com. on S. Jude), can add nothing to
the authorities already cited. The writers who
adopt this sense differ very widely in regard to
the object of the goat for Azazel, some consider
ing him as a sacrifice to appease the evil spirit,
others as sent " to deride and triumph over him
in his own dominion," and others as simply
" sent away to him as to one banished from the
realm of grace." (Clark.) See the dissertations,
among others, by Spencer and one by Hengsten-
berg in his Egypt and the Books of Moses.

In this great variety of interpretation of the
word and of the meaning of the ritual, we are
fairly remanded to the text itself with ihe con
viction that nothing is certain except what is
positively stated there. These points at least,
are clear: (1) the two goats together constitute
one sin offering, ver 5; and also in ver. 10, the
goat for Azazel is expressly said to be presented
before the LORD to make an atonement

•with him. V/J7 ^23/ according to invariable

usage, denotes the object of the expiation ; " to
expiate it, {. e., to make it the object of expiation,
or make expiation with it." Keil.) Neverthe
less a distinction is observpd in the text in the
purpose of the expiation effected by each of the
goats. The blood of the one that was slain is
used only for making atonement for the holy
places, vers. 15-19 ; after this it is expressly
said, and when he hath made an end of
making atonement for the holy place,
etc. The expiation for these was then finished,
and as yet no expiation had been made for the
sins of the people. Then follows, he shall
bring the live goat, and on his head the high-
priest lays the sins of the people to be borne
away. The two goats then constitute one sin
offering, but one is used to expiate the holy
places, the other tc bear away the sins of the
people. (2) The two goats were not offered to

gether in the sacrificial sense, but only caused
io stand before the Lord for the purpose of cast
ing lots, ver. 7; afterwards the goat for sacri
fice was offered (ver. 9) by himself, and the goat
for Azazel (ver. 20) was offered by himself. (8)
The lot was cast by Aaron as the officiating high-
priest, and was plainly intended to place the
choice of the goats entirely in the hands of
the Lord Himself. (4) The preposition used is
precisely the same in regard to both the goats :

for (*7) the LORD, for Azazel; in view of this it

is impossible to understand Azazel as in any way
designating the goat itself, so that the interpre
tation of the LXX. Vulg. and A. V. is untenable
as a literal translation, although as a paraphrase,
it very well expresses the sense. On the other
hand, this by no means implies, as so often
assumed, that Azazel must be a personal being.
It would be perfectly consonant to the usage of
language that one goat should be for the LORD,
and the other for anything, or place, or " ab
straction;" for the knife, for the wilderness, for
the bearing away of sin. (5) The word Azazel
is elsewhere unknown to the Scriptures, and
there is no satisfactory evidence that, except as
taken from this passage, it ever was a word
known to any language. (6) Finally it is to be
borne in mind that this is not the only case in
which two victims, treated with different ritual,
constituted together a single sin offering. The
same thing occurred in the two birds of the sin
offering of the poor (v. 7-10), of which one
was treated according to the ritual of the sin
offering, and the other according to that of the
burnt offering, yet both together constituted the
sin offering. Another analogy is in the two birds
for the purification of the leprous man or house,
one killed, the other set free. These last, how
ever, were not a sacrifice.

In view of these facts why may it not be sup
posed that the word Azazel was somewhat vague
and indeterminate in its signification to the
ancient Israelites themselves, just as Redemption
is to the Christian? So far as our sinful condi
tion is concerned, nothing can be plainer or more
vitally important; but when the question is
asked, " To whom is this redemption paid?" no
certain and satisfactory answer has been, or can
be given. May it not have been in the same
way with this word to the Israelites ? That
their sins were borne away was most clearly
taught; but looking upon these sins as concrete
realities, the question might arise, " Whither
were they carried?" The answer is in the first
place to the wilderness, "to the place of banish
ment from God ;" and then further to Azazel.
It was not necessary that the word should be
clearly understood ; in fact the more vague its
meaning, the more perfect the symbolism. The
typical system could not explain further. The
main point is well brought out in the translations
of the LXX., the Vulg. and the A. V.. After every
other part of the atonement for the holy places
had been completed (ver. 20) this goat was ap
pointed for the symbolic bearing away of the
sins of the people, first into the wilderness, a
wide, indefinite place, and then further to Azazel,
a wide, indefinite word. All this very emphati
cally symbolized to the people the utter removal

CHAP. XVI. 1-34.

120

of the burden of their fins, without attempt
ing to define precisely what became of them.
The only danger that could be supposed of
similar vagueness entered into the New Testa
ment account of the great Sacrifice for sins, to set
at rest the endless theories which aim in vain
at explaining the modus operandi of the Divine
atonement — except that whatever that term had
been, learning and ability would have been
hopelesslv devoted to ascertain its meaning,
as has already been the case with Azazel.
— F. G.]

"After the atoning sacrifice was completed in
the way described, Aaron must prepare to pre
sent the burnt offering. It is very significant
that he had to lay aside in the court the linen
garments, the garments of expiation, and bathe
his flesh with water, and then only, in his own
high-priestly robes, present his burnt offering
and that of the people, a ram for himself, and a
ram for the people. Moreover, when it is said,
he shall both make an atonement for him
self, and for the people (ver. 24), it is cer
tainly implied in the expression that the typi
cal burnt offering signified only a typical Interim
for the real Burnt offering (Rom. xii. 1), pro
vided the expression is not to be considered as a
final recapitulation. The contrast between the
he-goat whi ^h had been slain as a sin offering to
Jehovah, and the goat of the Azazel is also ex
pressed in this: that the fat of the first came
upon the altar with the burnt offering, while
even the man who drove away the Azazel goat
had to undergo a lustration." [Aaron's bathing
himself (ver. 24) seems also to be connected
with his having symbolically laid the sins of
the people upon the head of the goat. The
same lustration was also required of him who
burnt the flesh of the other goat and of
the bullock without the camp (ver. 28), as is
noticed by Lange below. The object of these
requirements is evidently to express by every
possible symbolism the defiling nature of sin.
In ver. 27 the word for burning is £Pt^, which
as noted under iv. 12, is never used of sacrificial
burning. — F. G.] "The sin offerings indeed,
tlie bullock and the goat, in their remainder of
skin, flesh and bones, were carried without the
camp, and there burned; as was to be done with
the sin offerings of the high-priest and of the
congregation according to ch. iv. 1-21, as if
these pieces were considered a Cherem." [The
law required that the flesh of all sin offerings
whose blood was brought within the sanctuary,
should be burned without the camp. See on x.
18. — F. G.] "But it has certainly this mean
ing: that these pieces were here neutralized
and removed with a becoming reverence for
their signification. On account of this impor
tant idea, the fulfiller of this work was also sub
jected to a lustration, ver. 28."

"As a supplement, partly a repetition, it is now
said, that the children of Israel shall on this
day afflict their souls ; that this law shall be an
everlasting law; the day a great Sabbath on
which all work shall be stopped ; that it shall
be Israel's atonement from all their sins which
the high-priest should execute, and that once a

year. It also remains not unnoticed that the
ordinance in regard to this was observed at that
time.

"For the literature, see Keil, p. 113, 14," etc.
[Trans, page 398. See also the authorities in
Smith's Bib. Diet. art. Atonement, Day o/, and
in Winer, art. Versohnungstag. — F. G.]

[Ver. 29. In the seventh month of the

ecclesiastical year, which according to Josephus
(I. 3, $ 3), was the first of the civil year. The
old Hebrew name for this month was Ethanim,
the post-captivity name Tisri. On the first day
of this month was appointed the Feast of Trum
pets (xxiii. 24), celebrated as a Sabbath and by
"an holy convocation;" on the tenth was the
great Day of Atonement, provided for in this
chapter, and again mentioned xxiii. 26-32; and
on the fifteenth day began the feast of taberna
cles, lasting for a week (xxiii. 33-43). The
deportment required of the people on the Day
of Atonement is more fully expressed in ch.
xxiii. Here it is simply described as a day in
which ye shall afflict your souls, i. e. devote
yourselves to penitence and humiliation. This
would of course include fasting; but the dis
tinctive word for fasting, D'lV or Dl¥, so com
mon afterwards, does not occur in the Penta
teuch or Joshua. It wa« further provided that
the people should do no work at all, not
merely no servile work, as was p'ovided for on
various other occasions, but absolutely no work.
And this ordinance was ( xtended to the stran
ger that sojourneth among you. Various
laws were made obligatory upon the stranger,
as the observance of the fourth commandment,
Ex. xx. 10; the abstinence from blood, Lev.
xvii. 10 ; certain laws of sexual purity, xviii. 26 ;
the law against giving of one s seed to Molech,
xx. 2; and against blasphemy, xxiv. 16. These
were all laws so esseniial to the Hebrew theoc
racy that every one who came within the sphere
of their exercise was bound to respect them.
They apply to every one staying for howevar
long or short a time within the bounds of Israel,
and it is a mistake to restrict them (Clark) to
those of other races permanently domiciled
among the Israelites, as will at once appear
from a consideration of the character of several
of these laws. Ver. 3 1. He did as the LORD
commanded Moses, i. e. in announcing the
law. Perhaps also the expression may include
the observance of the day when the time came
round which could only have been several
months later, the Israelites having departed
from Mount Sinai on the twentieth day of the
second month (Nam. x. 11), while all the legis
lation in Leviticus was given during their so
journ there (ch. xxvi. 46; xxvii. 34). — F. G.]

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. The vail shutting out the Holy of Holies
set forth, in speaking symbol, the unapproacha-
bleness and unknowableness of God. Even the
high priest, entering once in the year, must
obscure his view in the veiy cloud of incense
with which he approached. The same truth

130

LEVITICUS.

was more feebly taught in the arrangements of
the heathen temples, and was set forth in the
speculations of heathen philosophy. In the
Jewish Scriptures it is declared with the utmost
emphasis and clearness. In the Now Tes ameut
too, we are taught that He can be revealed to
man only by Him who is both God aid mm.
Thus the latest, conclusion of modern philosophy,
that, behind all that can be discovered of nature
there is an " Unknowable," a "power inscruta
ble to the human intellect '' is taught in Scrip
ture from beginning to end. Even when the
vail was rent asunder at the crucifixion of Christ,
find a new and living way was con ecrated for
us into the holy of holies, it became a way to
the knowledge and apprehension of Go I rather
practically and spiritually than intellectually.
The finite and the Infinite can meet only in Him
who is both.

II. The high-priest was warned to enter within
the vail onlv in the way and at the time pre
scribed, lest he die. His official and symbolic
holiness did not make him personally holy, so
that he could bear to ent^r as he pleased the
presence of the holy God, but only covered his
offici-il service. This was not prevented or ren
dered unavailing by his own personal unworthi-
ness. So here is taught the great principle that
" the unworthiness of ministers hinders not the
effect of the sacraments;" that the grace of
God accompani -s the acts of those whom He has
appointed in that which He has given them to
do, although this treasiwe be placed "in earthen
vessels."

III. The dress of Aaron when he passed within
the vail was evidently significant. Ordinarily,
when he ministered as high-priest and in the
presence of the people, his robes were of the
utmost splendor, symbolizing his high office as
the typical mediator between God and the con
gregation; but now in the highest act of that
mediation, when alone before God, these are to
be laid aside, and the whole purpose of the dress
is to symbolize that perfect purity with which
only he may enter the presence of the imme
diate dwelling-place of God.

IV. In Aaron's first offering of a sin offering
for himself is very strongly set forth the imper
fection of the Levitical law. The one on whose
mediation the people must depend for forgive
ness must yet first make propitiation for him
self. And in the provision for the annual rep^-
tion of this day, its insufficiency is apparent,
see Heb. x. 1-3. Here then again, as so con
stantly in every part of its provisions, the law
of sacrifice proclaims itself as but a temporary
institution until that which is perfect should
come.

V. By the goat for Azazel again, the same
thing is taught. "It is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away
sins " (Heb. x. 4) ; therefore after all symbolism
had been exhausted in the sacrifice of bulls and
of goats, the sins were yet laid upon the head
of the goat for Azazel, and sent away into the
wilderness. The sins thus sent away are not to
be looked upon as different sins from those for
which propitiation was offered, nor as a residue
of these unatoned for; but as the same sins, as
all the sins of the children of Israel (ver. 21).

Atonements had b^en made for these through
out the y-ar ; a further and higher atonement
had at this moment been made; but that, all
these were inherently ineffectual wis now shown
by the goat for Azazel.

VI. Tae Christian Fathers, with that instinct
which often seizes upon a truth without recog
nizing accurately the process by which it is
reached, generally considered the goat for Aza
zel as a type of Christ, some of them in one
way, some in another. Cyril thought him a
type of the ris^n Christ, and the wilderness to
which he was sant, a typo of heaven. Theo-ioret
makes him a type of the Divine nature of Christ,
which was ueses^ary to the perfection of His
atonement, and yet incapable of suffering:. The
type seems really to consist in this: that the
sins for which all the Levitical sacrifices were
unable really to atone, were symbolically borne
away by the goat; even as our iniquities are
truly laid upon Christ, and He has borne them
away. Isa. liii. 4-6.

VII. The incense formed a prominent and
essential part of the ritual of the day of atone
ment. This is not to be forgotten in its relation
to the antitype. It is not on Christ's sacrifice
alone that we depend for the forgiveness of our
sins, but upon His intercession also.

VIII. On the day of atonement no work what
ever was to be done: the propitiation for sin
was not only the paramount duty, taking the
place of everything that interfered with it; but
it was to be all-absorbing. The people had no
duties to perform directly in connection with
the service of atonement ; but still they must do
no work. The propitiation for sin must be the
one thing on that day done in all the camp of
Israel; and meanwhile the whole congregation
were to "afflict their soul«." Though ihe pro
pitiation of sins be wrought for us, and not by
us, yet must it bring to us the lowliness and
humiliation of repentance.

IX. Aaron was to make an atonement (ver. 20)
for the holy of holies, for the tabernacle, and for
the altar: but these had already been sanctified
at their first consecration, and the atonement
now made must be perpetually repeated year
by year. It is plain from this that there was no
effective remedy for the inherent weakness «nd
sinfulness of man, which contaminated even his
most holy things, until the coming of that Son
of man who should be without sin. The high-
priest entered the holy of holies, and thus ap
proached the symbolic dwelling-place of God;
but he did not thereby open the way to others,
or even to himself except for this same typical
entrance, "the Holy Ghost this signifying, that
the way into the Holiest of all was not yet made
manifest" (Heb. ix. 8); the only atonement
which could really open the way for man to
heaven itself must be offered before the throne
of Jehovah by Him who alone could offer an a 11-
sufficent sacrifice for th.e sin of the world.

X. " The rites were not in any proper sense
supplemental, but were a solemn gathering up,
as it were, of all other rites of atonement, so as
to make them point more expressively to the reve
lation to come of God's gracious purpose to man,
in sending His Son to be delivered for our
offences, and to rise again for our justification

CHAP. XVI. 1-34.

131

to be our great High Priest for ever after the
order of Melchisedec, and to enter for us within
the vail (Rom. iv. 25; Heb. vi. 20). The day
of atonement expanded the meaning of every sin
offering, in the same way as the services for Good
Friday and Ash Wednesday expand the meaning
of our Litany days throughout the year, and
Easter Day, that of our Sundays." Clark.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

The day of atonement "forms a contrast to
- the defilement of the sanctuary by the sons of
Aaron, their rash intrusion, their strange fire,
their moral death and fearful destruction. (Ch.
xvi. 1). It depends — as far as concerns the un
derstanding — upon a great dread, a great world-
historic preparation, and earnest religious pray
ers and actions. It is performed for the whole
people, and this means for all humanity. But it
points also, by its several particulars out from
the Old Testament and into the New. The high-
priest is not yet clean, not yet the righteous; he
must first, offer for himself (see the Ep. to the
Heb.). He is not one with his sacrifice and sa
crificial blood, although he must represent the
approximation to this unity in the disrobing
himself of his high-p- iestly majesty. But even
the sin offering availed only for sins of weakness
(xxiv. 16 ; Num. xv. 30), and not for sins of ma
lice, of rebellion, of outrage with a high hand.
These were everywhere, when they were disco
vered, punished with death. But since all were
not discovered, a deadly sin steals through the
life of Israel, and accumulates — as a token of
which the goat of the sin offering is sent, through
the goat of the Azazel, into the wilderness as a
curse offering to the author of the demon-like
sin." [The same application may be made of
the different views given of the sins borne away
by the goat, and of Azazel in the Exegetical. —
F. G.]. "Thus the law lightens the darkest
night-side of Israel and of the human race. But
Christ has shown the chain and tradition of
these secret faults in His denunciation, Matt,
xxiii. 30 ss., and Paul has shown (Rom. iii.) how
Christ, before the tribunal of God. has also
atoned for these hitherto inexpiable sins (on the
distinction between Trdpeai^ and a&saic see Coc-
ceius). and has moreover no scruple in declaring
that Christ also has become a curne offering for
us (Gal. iii. 13)." [The xar&pa of Gal. iii. 13
may well be compared with the dfiapriav kxoirjaev
of 2 Cor. v. 21. It cannot possibly denote that
Christ became a " curse offering" in the sense
which Lange attributes to the Azazel-goat (al
though something approaching even this view of
the atonement was held in Christian antiquity.
SeeOxenham's Cath. doc.t. of the Afonement, 2d ed.,
pp. 114-124) ; but rather means that he took
upon Himself the curse which belonged to us. —
F. G.]. " The New Testament atonement is in
deed conditioned on faith in its objective appli
cation to individual men, although in ?7.s- universal
objective, force it i-i absolutely unconditioned. Of
itself also, the shadowy representative of this
great future atonement produced in Israel a calm,

thankful, and festive disposition, the foundation
for the joyous feast of Tabernacles. The Old
Testament sanctuary itself, in all its parts (ver.
33), was again expiated and cleansed, in a typi
cal way, by this atonement. As the ground for
this lies the thought : that without such purifi
cations from time to time, a priestly institution
is in danger of sinking into the deepest and most
corrupting corruption. The acts for sanctifying
the holy people extend to the end of ch. xvi. ; in
ch. xvii. follow the sacred observances." Lange.
The congregation of Israel wera wholly ex
cluded from even the typical holy of holies, yet
were they required to be ho'y ; wh- n on one day
of the year their high-priest passed within the
vail, they must "afflict their souls" an I do no
manner of work; but for us, our Great High-
Priest has passed within the vail, and opened a
new and living way for us to follow ; " let us
then draw near with a true hi'art " (Ileb. x. 22).
The hope of thus entering the tru •• holy of holies
at the end of his pilgrimage bring? with it to the
Christian a closer communion with God on his
journey thither; for that is not reserved for the
end, but in spirit even now he has " bo dness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus " (ib.
19). Only all depends upo-i ihe Propitiation
which the day of a ouement typiii :d.

The fearful contagion of sin is shown by the
purification of those who had to do with the pro
pitiation for sin ; even Aaron mast b ithe him
self and change his robe-; and tlu meu who took
charge of the two goats of the sin offering, who
led into the wilderness the one for Azazel, or
burnt the flesh of the one slain n sacrifice, must
wash their clothes and bathe their n.^sh before
they could return to the cimp. Hereby is sha
dowed forth the exceeding pollution of sin.

The sacrifices of this day were performed by
the high-priest alouo, and especially when he
made atonement for the holy places no man might
be within the court. " Thus the high-priest pre
figured Christ, who accomplished the work of
atonement 'alone, and of the people there was
none with Him ; His own arm brought salvation '
(Isa. Ixiii. 5)." Wordsworth.

The holy of holies was never entered by any
one except at this time; yet (ver. 16) atonement
must be made for it because of the unclean-
ness of the children of Israel. — Upon this
Calvin (in ver. 16) remarks, "Moses distinctly
says that the sanctuary must be purified not from
its own uncleannesses, but from tho^e of the
children of Israel. Now the reality of this figure
is to be regarded for our advantage. God ap
pears to us in His only Begotten Son through
baptism and the holy supper : these are the
pledges of our sanctification : but such is our
corruption that we do not cease, as far as in us
lies, to profane these instruments of the Spirit,
by which God sanctifieth us. But since no flocks
may be slain, it becomes us to mourn, and ear
nestly to pray that our uncleanness, by which
baptism and the holy supper are vitiated, Christ
may wash away and cleanse by the sprinkling
of His own blood."

132 LEVITICUS.

OF CONTINUANCE IN COMMUNION WITH GOD.

CHAPTERS XVII.— XXVI.

The keeping holy of the consecrated relations of the life of Israel, of the whole
round of sacrifice, and of the round of typical holiness, by the putting aside
of the sins of obduracy (Cherem), CHAPS. XVII. — XXVII." — LANGE.

PART I. HOLINESS ON THE PART OF THE PEOPLE.

CHAPS. XVII.— XX.

FIRST SECTION.

77z? keeping holy of all animal slaughter as the basis of all sacrifice, of the blood as the soul of all sacri
fice, and of animal food as the foundation of all food, of all feasting,"" — LANGE.

Holiness in Regard to Food.

CHAPTER XVII. 1-16.

1,2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his
sons, and unto all the children cf Israel, and say unto them : This is the thing

3 which the LORD hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house
of Israel1 that killeth an ox, or lamb [sheep2], or goat, in the camp, or that killeth

4 it out of the camp, and bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the [om.
the] congregation, to off r an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle [the
dwelling place3] of the LORD ;4 blood shall be imputed unto that man ; he hath

5 shed blood ; and that man shall be cut off from among his people : to the end that
the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer [sacrifice5] in the
open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the
tabernacle of the [om. the] congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace

6 offerings unto the LORD. And the prirst shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar
of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the \_orn. the] congregation, and burn

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Yer. 3. The LXX. hero, as in the text in ve-s. 8, 10, inserts the clause or of the strangers loh'ch sojourn among you.

2 Yer. 3. 3^3- S-e Textual Note 5 on iii. 7.

3 Ver. -i. T3CO. See Textual Note 8 on xv. 31. There is especial reason for a change in the rendering here as the

n^ has'just occurred in the p evious clause.

4 Ver'. 4. Thh ver. is largely interpolated in the Sam. and LXX. " to offer a burnt offprint or a peace offering: ff r your
atonement Sim.] acceptable u-ito the Lord for an odor of a sweet savor. And who oevcr s 'all kill without, and *-hall not
brin; it to the r"oor of the tabernacle of testimony, th->t he may off-r an off ring t > the Lord before the tabernacle of the
Lord; Mood shall lv>," etc. The purpose of this interpolati »n is supposed to lie to brinz tins pa-sage ii.to harmony with
Deut. xii. 2.") ; but the difficulty, if «ny can be considered to exist, is not avoided by this repetition.

6 Ver. 5. D'H3iT DH ~\VK DiTn3T. The same word occurring twice in the same clause should surely have the
earn e translation. 'fl3T is the technical word for killing in sacrifice, and although in the later books it is rarely used for

slaughtering in the more general sense, it is never applied in the Pen^ateu^h to anvthing else than sacrifice. See prelimi
nary note on sacrifice. It cannot, th.refore (with Clark) be here taken of simply slaughtering for food.

CHAP. XVII. 1-16. 133

7 the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD. And they shall no more offer [sacrifice5]
their sacrifices unto devils [demons6], after whom they have gone a whoring. This
shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.

8 And thou yhalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel,
or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacri-

9 fice, and bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the [pm. the] congregation
to offer it unto the LORD ; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.

10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers t at so
journ among you, that eateth any manner of blood ; I will even set my face against

11 that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the
life [soul7] of +he flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar
to make an atonement for your souls : for it is the blood th'd maketh au atonement

12 for [by means of8] the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ko soul
of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat
blood.

13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that
sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast*1 or fowl that may be

14 eaten ; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is
the life [of it /a the soul8] of all flesh : the blood of it is for the life [soul7] thereof:
therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner
of flesh: for the life [soul9] of all flesh is the blood thereof: wh soever eateth it
shall be cut off.

15 And every soul that eateth that which died of itself , or that which was torn with
beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his
clothes, and bathe himself 'in water, and be unclean until the even : then shall he

16 be clean. But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh ; then he shall bear hid
iniquity.

6 Ver. 7. D'VjJtaf 7 lit. to buck-yoats- See Exeg. The A. V. has, however, undonbtedly expressed the sense, except

that here, as frequently in the New Testament and sometimes in the Old (as in the translation of the same word in 2Chron.
xi. 15) it uses the plural devils; but. one <Siaj8oAo? is recognized in Scripture, and evil spiriis in the plural are expressed by
fiaijixove? or Satjuocia. It is better therefore to substitute demons. Vulg. dstmones, LXX. JU.O.TCUOI.. In the A. V. in Isa. xiii.
21 and xxxiv. 14 it is rendere 1 Satyr.*.

7 Vers. 11 and 14. $23 is here equivalent to ^xt and is so rendered in the LXX. In English the I'fe of the A. V.

may b° understood in the same way, but so also may .to?(7, and it is better in thi« very important passage to keep a uniform
rendering of th<^ Heb. word. All the ancient vers.ona retain the same rendering throughout, so do several niodtrn versions
and almost all recent expositors.

8 Vtr. 11. "^D"1 $2:13 = maketh an atonement by means of the soul. ''3 with "^23 has only a local or instru
mental signification (ch. vi. 23; xvi. 17, 27; also vii. 7: Ex. xxix. 33; Num. v. 8). Accordingly, it was not th<> blood as
such, but the blood as the vehicle of the t-oul, which possessed expiatory virtue." Keil, following Knobel. Similarly Ba.hr,
Kurtz, and others. So also Von Gerlach and Clark. The A. V. is singularly infelicitous in that it refers the final $23 to

the soul of man, instead of to the soul of the victim ; nevertheless, it follows the LXX., the Targums, and the Vulg.; and
so also Luther. 8a Ver. 13. See note1 on xi. 2.

9 Ver. 14. Comp. ver. 11. $23 occurs three times in this verse, each time rendered in the A. V. life, but the uniform

translation sort? is better. In the expression the blood of it is the soul thereof, "1$233 is to be taken as a

predicate in its meaning, introduced with beth essentialc. It is only as PO understood that th« clause supplies a reason at
all in harmony with the context." Keil. With this most modern commentators concur, as well us the aucunt and several
recent versions.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The whole of Lange's "Exegetical" is here

the other hand, must place the backsliding
Israelite under the law of purification, which
has found its culmination in the holiness of
Israel through the great sacrifice of atonement.

given. "1. With our chapter begins the second " How much this organic completeness of the

half of the Book of Leviticus. The book as a whole book can be mistaken, Knobel shows most

whole treats of the priestly presentation of the- remarkably when he says: 'The secti'on has, in

typical holiness of Israel, of the people of the- its expression, much in common with the Elohist,

holy Jehovah. In the first part, ch. i.-xvi., the
various forms of the purification or sanctifica-
tion of the impure and unholy people are set
forth; in the second part, from ch. xvii. to the
end, the various ways of keeping holy the people
and their common life are now prescribed, and
that too by the punishment of Cherem, as far as
the profanations are wittingly committed (with
uplifted hand). Profanations from impulse on

but yet it cannot have come from him, since (a)
he would have attached it to cb. i.-vii., where it
fits best(!); or, on account of ver. 15, at least
to ch. xi.-xv. ; but would not have placed it
here, beyond the law of the Day of Atone
ment, etc.' "

[This chapter, like all the Divine communica
tions in the remainder of Leviticus, is addressed
to Moses; indeed this ia the case througiiout

134

LEVITICUS.

the whole book, except when Moses and Aaron
are addressed together in rega- d to acts which
depended upon an exercise of priestly judgment,
and also except the single instance (x. 8-11) in
which the prohibition of the priestly use of
strong drink is addressed to Aaron alone. Still,
several of these communications to Moses are to
be immediate y communicated by him, as in the
present chapter, unto Aaron, and unto
his sons, and unto all the children of
Israel, as alike binding upon them all. A slight
difference in the arrangement of this portion
of Leviticus is occasioned by treating the con
cluding chapter (xxvii.) as an appendix, which
seems to be required by the formula of conclu
sion at the end of ch. xxvi. The other ten chap
ters are arranged as follows: xvii.-xx., holiness
in matters which concern the people generally,
the last chapter (xx.) being occupied chiefly
with the punishments for the violation of this
holiness; xxi., xxd., holiness in matters con
cerning the priests and offerings; xxiii. — xxv.,
sanctification of the various feasts, including
also that of the ho)y lamps and shew-bread
(xxiv. 1-9), and a short historical section giving
the account of the punishment of a blasphemer
(xxiv. 10—28) | xxvi. forms the conclusion of the
whole book, consisting of promises and threats;
and to this is added an appendix (xxvii.) on
vows. This portion of the law of Leviticus is
arranged, therefore, in the same systematic way
as the former por.ion, and the two parts stand
also in systematic relation to one another. " As
the former part relates to the birth of the na
tion as a spiritual commonwealth, so the present
part relates to the progress of their social life as
the people of God." Murphy. Necessarily there
are details common to both portions, and this
sometimes occasions certain slight repetitions;
but such repetitions were unavoidable if the
systematic character of the legislation above
pointed out was to be preserved. Thus the pre
sent chapter, on a superficial view, might seem
as Knobei has suggested, to be connected with
the law of sacrifice; but on examination it will
be at once seen that the subject here is the sanc-
tification of animal food, and to this sacrifice,
although generally necessary, is only incidental.
Or, as Ktiobel also suggests, it might seem to be
connected with the laws of clean and unclean
food of ch. xi.; but the purpose is wholly differ
ent, — there the question is what may be eaten ;
here, how it shall be eaten. In both cases, the
former chapters have for their main point, the
laying down of the conditions under which
Israel may enter into communion with God;
these that follow deal with the conduct of the
daily life, by means of which they may continue
in that communion. The eating of animal food
naturally comes first into consideration, as the
act which must be continually repeated and
continually thrust upon the attention. — F. G.J.

" 2. Our section begins with the most inti
mately connected ways of preserving holiness:
(a) of the slaying, (6) of the blood, (c) of the
use of the flesh.

" 3. Every slay ing of a clean animal designed for
food must take place before the door of the ta
bernacle of congregation, quite without excep-
ti'ju, whether the slayer was within or without the

camp. That is every slaying of aw animal was
put in relation with the peace offering, and thus
also was a sort of sacrifice." [It does not ap
pear from the text that the slaying itself took
place at the door of the tabernacle, but only the
offering, as in the case of all other sacrifices.
The animal was probably slain where the other
victims were slain, this being passed over in the
text as already provided for in the law of sac
rifice. Theise slayings for food were in every
particular, not merely like, but actual peace
offerings, unless a distinction should he sought
in the fact that, there is here no especial pro
vision forgiving a portion to the priests; bu;
that, like the place of slaying, has already been,
provided for in the law of sacrifice. That the
meaning of this passage is, that all sacrificial
animals killed for food must first be offered as
victims in sacrifice, is plain from the removal
of the restriction in Deut. xii. 15, 20, 21. It is
also shown by the use of COni^ instead of H2T in

- T - T

ver. 3, a distinction carefully observed in the
killeth of the A. V. From S. Augustine and
Theodoret down, however, there has always been
a difference of opinion upon this point among
interpreters; most modern commentators, how
ever (as Rosenmuller, Knobei, Keil, Kalisch,
Clark, etc.] agree that the law must relate to all
killing of animals for food. Not much animal
food was used in the wilderness, as is evidenced
by the various murmurings of the people, the
manna forming their chief support. It is to be
remembered that this part of the law, as far as
ver. 7, is made obligatory only upon the Israel
ites, and even for them was in force only du
ring the life in the wilderness ; while the rest
of the chapter includes nlso "the stranger"
in its requirements. — F. G.]. "The offering,
indeed, consisted in this, that the animal was
brought to the Tabernacle of congregation, and
placed before the priest, and that the priest
sprinkled the blood of the same on the altar,
and burned the fat for a sweet savour.
The same rule was obligatory for the strangers
not of Israel, if they wished not only to slay,
but with their slaying to bring al^o a burnt or
peace offering — they might offer only before the
door of the tabernacle of congregation; for the
public worship of false gods was forbidden in
Israel (Ex. xxiii. 32, 83)." [This law, in regard
to sacrificing, is made obligatory upon the
strangers, as well as upoa the house of
Israel in vers. 8, 9; but the previous part of
the law (vers. 1-7) applies only to the Israelites.
Both were restrained from offering sacrifices
elsewhere; but only the laiter were obliged to
make offerings of ail animals slain for food. —
F. G.] "The opposite, which was at the same
time to be avoided by the Israelites, reads thus:
they shall no more sacrifice their sacri
fices to the he-goats (Luther: the field-
devils), us to those which they who are in the
snare whore after. Thus we understand the
expression in reference to this, not as a reproach :
which they whore after hitherto, or are inclined

to whore after." [The Heb. is D'JI DH
Dry^nX, which seems stiffi -iontly well expressed
in the A. V., and ihid is sustained (either in tue

CHAP. XVIT. 1-16.

135

present or the past tense) by all the ancient
versions. — F. G.] "Rightly the Egyptian wor
ship of the he goat was remembered, which was
a deification of the generative desire, and con
sequently of sensuality, and the biblical expres
sion to whore after applies in this connection
with doub'e force. It can thus be perceived
that the offering of the slain flesh, besides the
religious idea, had also the moral purpose of
hindering unrestrained luxury. But with the
sacrifice of the slain animal, the fact was at the
same time declared, that in truth every animal
enjoyed in the fear of God was offered to the
Lord; that the man who must offer himself to
Jehovah must also place his slaying of an ani
mal under the aspect of giving it up to Jehovah,
it1 he wished to keep it holy. Therefore also the
transgression is treated as a blood-guiltiness,
and would be visited upon them by Jehovah as
a murder. Since man has the right to shed the
blood of an animal only from Jehovah, and in
relation to Jehovah (to whom everything, with
this, must revert as a sacrifice), a reckless slay
ing of an animal appears in the text as the be
ginning of a criminal blood-shedding, which on
a descending path, may end in the murder of
man." [Vers. 1-7. Ver. 4. Blood shall be
imputed unto that man ; he hath shed
blood. This does not mean that murder is to
be imputed to the offender, but. that the blood
of the animil which he has actually shed is to
be reckoned to his charge. The reason of both
this precept and that against, the eating of blood
is given in ver. 11 : Blood had- been divinely
appointed as a means of atonement. If now the
animal slain was one allowable for sacrifice, and
its blood was not used for atonement, the offen
der was guilty of a misuse of that which God
had appointed for this purpose, and he must be
held responsible for the wasted blood. By ana
logy, the blood of animals that were not sacrifi
cial (vers. 13, 14) must also be treated with
respect. It is important to note this meaning
of the passage, for nowhere in Scripture is any
thing ever said to be imputed to a man by God
which does not really belong to him. — That
man shall be cut off from among his peo
ple. — The slighting of the Divinely appointed
means of atonement was a sin which struck so
deeply at the root of the theocratic and typical
law that it was inconsistent with membership
among the holy people. The offender must be
excommunicated. Ver. 5. A further reason is
here given for the law of ver. 4. It is only
applied to peace offerings, for this was the only
kind of sacrifice that could be used by the peo
ple for food, the subject of this paragraph.
This reason is further developed in ver. 7. It
would seem thai the Israelite*, very lately come
out of Egypt, were more or less in the habit, so
common among all nations of antiquity (comp.
1 Cor. viii. ; x. 25 28), of consecrating all ani
mal food by first offering the animal to the
Deity; and this custom, if allowed to be carried
out by the people at the-r own pleasure, would
become, and indeed had already become (ver.
7) a fruitful source of Idolatry. Entirely to cut
off this, it is provided that all such offerings must
be brought first unto the door of the taber
nacle, the place of the sole worship of Jehovah;

and second, unto the priest, as His represent
ative, and the mediator between Him an 1 thj
people. The custom of sacrificing in the open
field also prevailed among the nations of classic
antiquity, and was so inveterate among the
Israelites as to be spoken of by both Hosoa
(xii. 11) and Jeremiah (xi:i. 27). Ver. 7.
Unto demons. — The Hebrew word, as noted
under Textual, is the same as that for he-goats,
D'TJ?$. Onkelos has t"}"^, the same word as
is used in Deut. xxxii. 17, meaning demons,
It is doubtful whether the word is used of an
actual worship of a false god under the form of
a goat, or only figuratively. Certainly at a
later date there was in Thmuis, the capital of
the Mendesian nome in lower Egypt, and there
fore near the residence of the Israelites, a hor
rible and licentious worship of the fertilizing
principle in nature, represented by a he-goat
(Joseph, c. Ap. ii. 7; Herod, ii. 42, 46; Diod.
Sic. i. 18; Strabo, lih. xvii. c. 1ft, 802; c. 40,
813) ; it may be doubted whether this, in its full
development, existed as early as the time of
Moses; but very likely it may 'have already
been known in its germ, and have been commu
nicated to the Israelites (comp. Hengstenberg
Eg. and the Books of Moses, Am. Ed., p. 210).
The strong tendency of the Israelites to adopt
idolatrous forma of worship borrowed from
Egypt had already been shown in the instance
of the golden calf; and we find again (2 Chron.
xi. 15) this very worship of the he-goat (A. V.
devils] mentioned along with the calves of Jero
boam, who had sojourned so long in Egypt be
fore ascending his throne. — This shall be a
statute forever does not refer to the sacri
ficing of animals designed for food, which was
revoked with the termination of the life in the
wilderness; but to the worship of demous,
which is the immediate subject. — F. G.]

" Knobel thinks this statute forever was
abolished later, when the animals were no longer
brought to the Tabernacle or to the Temple;
but the principal thought is the consecration to
Jehovah, the religious slaying, and in this the
statute (the husk of an idea) remains among the
Jews continually, even to this day. But the
idea itself remains continually in the Christian
community. From this type it follows also that
that use of animal food was sacrilegious in which
the distinction between the nature of man and
of animals was obliterated."

"4. Most solemnly is the use of blood forbid
den. There follows immediately the menace of
punishment in the strongest terms for the
stranger as well as for the Israelite: I will
even set my face against that soul that
eateth blood, and will cut him off from
among his people [ver. 10]. The reason is
this: the soul or life of the flesh, its soul-like
life-principle, is in the blood. But the blood
belongs, as does all life, to Jehovah, and He has
given it to the Israelites only for a definite pur
pose, that they may with it atone for, or cover,
their souls. The blood is the atonement for the
life, since in the blood the life is given over to
the judgment of Jehovah for deliverance and for
pardon. Therefore the prohibition is here re
peated, as it has also been already expressed.

136

' LEVITICUS.

Even to the blood of beasts that man slays in
the chase, to the very birds, this prohibition
applies, although this blood was not off red ; it
was to be poured out and covered with earth —
it was to be buried. The burial is generally
analogous to the sprinkling of the blood upon
the altar, as the earth is an altar in the widest
sense — it is a symbol of the atonement of the
life, which lies in the resignation of the life.
As physiology confirms the proposition that the
blood is the especial source of life in living
creatures, so do justice and the philosophy of
religion confirm the proposition that death atones
for the guilt of life — so far as it is on this side
of death (Rom. vi. 7). And the use of blood
must appear wicked as long as blood was the
means of atonement. But the analogue for this
guilt, for all times, is the making common of*
Sfe, of death, of blood, the self-willed invasion
of the destiny of man." [Vers. 10-14. Lange
has not here called attention especially to vers.
8, 9, which show that the stranger was allowed
to offer both the burnt offering and the sac
rifice («'. e. the peace offering) ; only in so doing
he must conform to the law in offering it at the
door of the tabernacle. This command is given
here because the previous statute being only
applicable to the Israelite, and the stranger not
being required to offer as sacrifices the animals
he might kill for food, he might have claimed
the liberty also of offering sacrifices at his own
pleasure. The penalty of ver. 9, since it applies
equally to the stranger, cannot be restricted to
excommunication, but must be understood either
of banishment from the land or else of the pun
ishment of death. The object, as already no
ticed, and as is evident from the amplification
of the law in Deut. xii., was at once to prevent
idolatrous sacrifices, and also to keep up the
idea of the sacrifice as having only a typical
and not an intiinsic efficacy, since it could only
be allowed at all when its blood was sprinkled
on the altar by the appointed priest. The other
injunctions that follow in this chapter, equally
with the present one, are applicable to strangers
as well as Israelites. In ver. 10 the expression
set my face against means that God will take
the punishment of the offonce into His own
hands ; He will oppose and reject the offender.
In ver. 11 the vicarious character of the atone
ment effected by means of the sacrifices is very
clearly brought out ; the soul, the ipvxv> the prin
ciple of animal life, is in the blood, and for that
reason the " soul " of animals was given to man to
make an atonement for his own "soul;" by the
giving up of the life of the animal the life of man
was spared. Nothing is said here of the higher
spiritual principle in man, because — even if the
people could have understood such a distinction —
there was nothing answering to this in the brute.
Nothing in the victim could be a vicarious sub
stitute for this; that want could be met only by
the sacrifice of Calvary. Meantime, however,
this was symbolized and set forth, as far as the
nature of the case allowed, by the substitution
of the animal life of the victim for the animal
life of man. The blood, therefore, maketh an
atonement by means of the soul which is
in it. See Textual note 8. The statement is not
here, that the blood makes atonement for the

soul, as in the A. V.; this idea has already been
expressed in the previous clause, and row is
added the statement of how this is effected, lest
there should seem to be a virtue in the mere
blood itself as such. With this exposition of the
meaning of the passage itself must be connected
the whole typical significance of sacrifice; find
in view of this there is truth in the explanation
of Theodoret, of the Jewish expositors, and of
the great mass of commentators, that the animal
life of the victims was accepted in place of the
rational soul of man; the former died that the
latter might live. But that this sense can only
be held in view of the connection of the type
with the Antitype was long ago seen by St. Au
gustine (Qusest. 57 in Hept.). In ver. 13 the
pnrticular is put for the general ; as during the
life of'the wilderness most animals used for food
which were not sacrificial were taken in the
chase, this stands for all such animals. But af
terward (Deut. xii. 15, 16, 22-24) the same di
rection of pouring out the blood upon the earth
is applied to all animals slain lor food. The ob
ject of the command to cover the blood was pro
bably double; first, simply to prevent the dese
cration of the blood as the vehicle of the animal
soul ; second, to avoid any abuse of it to super
stitious and idolatrous uses. Ver. 14 once more
repeats with emphasis the prohibition of the
eating of the blood, and for the same reason —
because the blood is the soul, i. e., the vehicle of
the animal life. — F. G.]

5. " The use of unclean flesh (ver. 15) could not
be placed on an equality with the foregoing sins,
since it nrght take place thiough many forms
of thoughtlessness; but nevertheless it was pre
vented through the natural loathing. Hence the
offender, in the first instance, fell only into the
first grade of the law of purification ; but if he
neglected this, he had to make expiation for his
misdeed.

" Keil (following Baumgarten) entitles the
section chap. xvii. — xx. the holiness of the daily
life of the Israelites, and chap. xvii. particularly
the holiness of food. Certainly the sanctificatiou
of the eating of flesh leads to the sanctification
of food generally. On ' the oneness of soul and
blood,' see Keil, p. 126.'' [Trans, pp. 409-10.
See also Clark's note II. at the end of this chap
ter. The prohibition of flesh that had not been
properly slaughtered evidently rests on the fact
that its blood had not been poured out. Still, as
even in this case most of the blood would be col
lected in the larger vessels of the body, and
would not appear as blood in the flesh that was
eaten, there is less stringency in the prohibition.
The defilement, however, was still considerable,
and involved alike for the Israelite and the
stranger, the washing of the clothes and the
bathing of the person, and remaining unclean
until the evening (ver. 15). That which died
of itself, or that which was torn, are here
classed together, as also in chap. xxii. 8. In
Ex. xxii. 31 the latter is commanded to be given
to the dogs, and in Deut. xiv. 21 the former is
allowed to be given to the stranger, or sold to an
alien. There appears to have vbeen a certain
degree of distinction between the two, although
both are forbidden to the Israelite. That whick
died of itself was also forbidden to the stranger

CHAP. XVII. 1-16.

137

during the intimate association of Israelite and
stranger in the camp life of the wilderness, but
this law was relaxed in Deuteronomy in view of
the better separated life in the land of Canaan.
Such food, however, was always considered
polluting to the Israelite (Ez. iv. 14; xliv. 31),
and its touch, as has already been seen (xi. 39)
communicated defilement. At the council of Je
rusalem (Acts xv. 29) the prohibition of "things
strangled" is still continued in connection with
the prohibition of blood. — F. G.]

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. The command that, all sacrifices should be
offered in one place was plainly a part of that
educational law which had been added because
of transgressions. There had been no such re
striction laid upon the patriarchs; and under
the law itself, it was often dispensed with by
Divine command, or with the Divine approval, as
in the case of Samuel, of David, of Solomon, an 1
of Elijah. Its purpose was to teach symbolically
the Divine unity, and to prevent the worship of
false go Is. When this lesson had been suffi
ciently taught came the hour " when neither in
this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem/' men should
"worship the Father" (Jno. iv. 21).

II. When the Israelites sacrificed otherwise
than at the tabernacle, though the idols to which
they professed to offer might be nothing, yet
really they sacrificed to demons. So St. Paul
teaches it was with the sacrifices of the heathen
in his time (1 Cor. x. 19, 20), and he warns
Christians that by partaking of tliose sacrifices
they came into fellowship with demons, and this
was incompatible with partaking of "the cup
of the Lord." The same consequences must in
all ages attend the offering of the homage of the
heart elsewhere than to God.

III. This unfaithfulness to Go 1 is represented
here, as so constantly in the later Scriptures,
by conjugal infidelity. As husband and wife
are no longer twain, but one flesh, so are the
faithful united to their Head in one body, and
any giving of superior allegiance to another is as
the sin of marriage unfaithfulness.

IV. The blood and the soul, or animal life
(i^3J), are here connected together, and the same
word is used of the sacrifice of Christ, Isa. liii.
10, and the corresponding Greek word (ipvxrj)
repeatedly by our Lord Himself (Matt. xx. 28;
Jno. x. 11, etc.). He gave H;s life (ipvxy) for us.
In view of the connection established in this
chapter between this and the blood, a fresh sig
nificance attaches to His words of institution of
the Lord's Supper (Matt. xxvi. 27, 28). The
drinking of the cup which He gave, is the com
munion in His sacrifice for the remission of sins.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Lange : ''That animal food as used by man,
was to be kept holy by a religious consecration
and slaying, excludes the use of flesh that is un
hallowed or has been offered to demons. Man
was to have a feeling for the suffering of the ani
mal, for the sacrificial particular of the act of
elaying, for the religio-moral duty of thankful
and moderate use of flesh. Hence there is an
24

element of truth also in the dogma of the vege
tarians. But all blood must be reserved as an
offering to Jehovah ; for Jehovah alone is the
Author of life, the God of all souls, and it is a
crime to encroach greedily upon His domain.
But how does the eating of blood in Christendom
agree with this, as the council of the Apostles
(Acts xv.) have forbidden it, and as it is still
forbidden in the Oriental Church? The New
Testament thought is the holiness and inviola
bility of everything living in itself, since a cre
ative breath of life dwells in it. If man, without
an object, sheds blood or destroys life, he de
stroys the sanctuary of Divine goodness. The
outline of the legal prescription disappears be
hind these thoughts. Men may be very careful,
as in Byzantium and in Russia, to avoid the eat
ing of blood, and still be rn many ways crimi
nally careless with life, even with the life of
man. Connected with the eating of flesh, the
eating of the flesh of an animal that has died of
itself, or been torn by wild beasts, is also forbid
den, even if in a slighter degree. In the fact
that such a use of flesh has in itself something
savage, and is a source of many sicknesses, lies
the permanent thought of this legal command."

Calvin notes that the command to sacrifice in
one place was to avoid corruption of the sacri
fices, and the direction to bring the offering to
the priest was to direct the people to the One
Mediator to come. Thus everywhere the law is
our school-master to point us to Christ. No of
fering acceptable to God can be offered except
through Him, and all enjoyment of daily life must
be made holy through His mediation.

God does not impute to man the fault which is
not his; but the fault which is really his may
be far more perious than he supposes. The kill
ing of an animal otherwise than God allowed,
was the shedding of blood — of blood which had
been given for man's atonement; and so now,
many sins which seem upon the surface mere
sins of frivolity and thoughtlessness, will prove
on closer examination to be deep offences against
the love of Him who shed His blood for us on
the cross.

Any offering of sacrifice otherwise than in the
way of God's appointment, became to the Isra
elites a sacrificing to demons; so any giving to
other objects of the supreme affection He re
quires for Himself, becomes to us idolatry. Comp.
Eph. v. 5; Col. iii. 5.

Strangers must in many respects come under
the laws given to the people of God. Men do
not escape the responsibility of obedience by re
fusing to acknowledge allegiance, and to be num
bered with His people.

In the treatment of the blood of the wild ani
mal is taught the general principle of congruity
in matters which are not the subject of "direct
precepts. Man should order all his ways in har
mony with the conduct which in certain things
s directly commanded. Especially under the
Christian dispensation is this principle of wide
application. Here principles are given rather
than detailed precepts, to guide our conduct, and
we must largely be governed by the congruity
and fitness of things, and their harmony with

t which is commanded.

138

LEVITICUS.

SECOND SECTION

Holiness of the Marriage Relation.
CHAPTER XVIII.

" The keeping holy of marriage, if all sexual relations, and of all the relations of life in general"

CHAPTERS XVIII.— XX.

A— "THE KEEPING HOLY OF MARRIAGE AND OF ALL SEXUAL RELATIONS UNDER
THE PENALTY OF THE CHEREM."— LANGE.

CHAPTER XVIII.

PRELIMINARY NOTE.
On the "Prohibited Degrees" and on the Marriage Laws of the Heathen.

The law declaring under what conditions sex
ual intercourse is forbidden is given in the pre
sent chapter ; the punishment of disobedience in
the several cases is declared in xx. 10-21. The
latter is naturally less full, leaving the punish
ment in some instances to be inferred from ana
logy ; and in one case it is considered by some
commentators that there is a slight extension of
the law here given. See on xx. 20. The law
covers all sexual intercourse whether by formal
marriage or by simple concubinage; and when
the wives of various persons are mentioned, the
term includes their wiv.-s when living, and theii
widows when they were themselves dead. It is
remarkable that it makes no exception in favor
of such marriages as had occurred among the
ancestors of the Israelites, as in the case of Ja
cob, from which they were themselves descended.
(The marriage of Abraham with Sarah was pro
bably with his niece, the word sister allowing of
this latitude).

The whole law is expressed in reference to the
man, since the inception of such relations rests
with him ; but it would be a mistake to suppose
that a precisely parallel list might be drawn up
also for the woman. Differences are introduced
by the law of the Levirate marriage (an institu
tion much more ancient than the time of Moses,
see Gen. xxxviii.), and by the general relation
of protector and protected ; the law therefore
applies to the woman only in the case of those
relationships in which the man is forbidden to
have intercourse with her. Some of the degrees
which are prohibited implicitly are not expressly
mentioned : thus connection with a daughter i-s
not mentioned by itself, although necessarily in
volved in the prohibition of intercourse with a
woman and her daughter in ver. 17 ; that with
a step-mother is included in ver. 8, and is espe
cially mentioned as the subject of one of the

curses in Deut. xxvii. 23; that with a grand
mother is not mentioned at all, either because it
was considered unnecessary tgo do so, or else be
cause it was sufficiently implied by the other pro
hibitions. The whole law is expressly grounded
(vers. 2, 3, 24-27) upon the duty of avoiding the
abominable customs of the Egyptians and the
Canaanites, so that there was the less necessity
for express mention of anything which was not
practised by them.

The principle on which the prohibitions rest
(ver. 6) is expressly declared to be nearness of
relationship ; and although the Hebrew expres
sion employed for this (lit. flesh of bis flesh)
might in itself apply only to blood relations, yet
it is distinctly extended in the law to relations
by affinity also, though not always to the same
degree. In the remoter degrees the relationship
is affected by other considerations, so that in
parallel cases, sometimes one connection is for
bidden while the other is not. mentioned. Gene
rally, the whole list might be included in the
sing'e prohibition that no man might be connec
ted with a woman who stood, or who might come
to stand to him in the position of a ward ; no one
who could be included in the family of which he
was head. In this connection the LXX. trans
lation in ver. 6 is to be noted: avOpurroc rrpo^
Ttdvra o'iKeia capabq nvrnv ov irpoaefavoerai. Such
a description, however, would not be quite ac
curate, since the niece is not included in the list
of prohibited degrees ; and there are two pro
hibited cases which would not come under the
description. These are the maternal aunt, who
would form a part of the wife's father's or bro
ther's family; and the wife's sister, forbidden
only during the life-time of the wife.

The prohibited degrees may be conveniently
arranged under the three following heads :

PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE PROHIBITED DEGREES OF THE HEATHEN. 139

1. Mother, ver. 7.
4. Daughter, ver. 17.

a. Relations by Blood.

2. Aunt on either side, v»rs. 12, 13.
5. Grand-daughter, veru. 10.

3. Sister an 1 half sister, vers. 9, 1L

b. Direct Relations by Affinity.

6. Mother-in-law, ver. 17* 7. Step-mother, ver. 8. 8. Step-daughter, ver. 17.

9. Step-graud-daughter, Y.-r. 17.

c. Indirect Relations by Affinity.

10. Father's brother's wife, ver. 14. 11. Brother's wife, ver. 16. 12. Duighter-in-law, yer. 15.

In addition to these there is a temporary pro
hibition of the wife's sister during the wife's
own life.

Among the heathen these relationships were
very d fferently regarded. Marriage with a sis
ter was permitted among the Egyptians by ex
press law in consequence of the legend in their
mythology of the marriage of Osiris with his.
si-ter- Isis (Diod. Sic. i. 2.7', Philo de Sp. Legg.
near beginning), and this custom continued, at
least in the royal family, quite down to the time
of ih°ir conquest by the Romans (Dio. Cass. xlii.
p. 205, E. ed., Hanover, lOOtf). With regard to
marriage with a mother, direct evidence is want
ing in regard to the Canaanite^, but among the
Modes and the Persians it was practised from
the earliest times, as also among the Indians and
the Ethiopian*. (See the authorities in Knobel),
an 1 all these nations appear to have permitted
also marriage with a daughter. Marriage with
a sister, however, was unknown among the Per
sians until the time of Caiibyses, (Herod, iii.
31). Mirriage with a step-mother seems to have
b -en universal among Oriental monarchs, and
the inheritance of the father's seraglio one of
the marks of succession to his throne. Hence
So'omon's treatment of Adonijah is to be ex
plained when he sought to have Abishag given
to him, (1 Kings ii. 13-25). Marriage with a
wife's step-mother, however, is not forbidden,
and a notable instance of it is in David's inhe
riting the wives of his father-in-law Saul, spoken
of as a mark of the Divine favor, 2 Sam. xii. 8.

The marriages here forbidden are spoken of
as crimes in the Cana. mites for which they were
about to be punished. While it is not necessary
to extend this to each particular, still it must be
recognized that the prohibited degree* generally
were such as could be understood by the light
of nature or such dim tradition of the Divine
will as might have been accessible to the Ca-
naanites. According^, it is well known that the
prohibited degrees among the Greeks and Ro
mans were for the most part the same as in the
laws of Moses. Solon indeed permitted mar
riage with a half-sister by the father only, and
Lycurgns with a half-sister by the mother only
(Philo de Sp. Legg., pp. 601, F. E 1., Geneva,
1G13) ; but the early Roman law went even far
ther than the Levitical in forbidding marriages
between uncles and nieces, ami between cousins
german, which was only relaxed in the 2d cent,
before our era (Liv. xlii. 34 ; Cic. pro Clumt. V.
quoted by Clark). Similar laws, too, might be
quoted from other nations, showing that those
of the Egyptians and Canaanitea were simply a

license to passion, contrary to what they might
have known to be right.

Marriage with a deceased wife's sister is
clearly allowed under the Levtical law, not
merely by not being prohibited; but being pro-
' hibited during the lifetime of the sister first taken
) to wife, it becomes doubly certain that it was
i permitted afterwards. It is even made still mor^
! clear by the reason assigned ; the relations of
two wives of the same man are not apt to be
friendly, and Moses would not allow either that
the natural affection of sisters should be sub
jected to this strain, or that the inevitable ani
mosities of the harem should be increased b^
the previous familiar relation of sisters. On the
j other hand, the marriage with a brother's widow
was forbidden, evidently because she became
the ward of the surviving brother ; and because
also if the brother ha I died childless while she
remained his wife, the survivor was bound to
take her by a Levirate marr age. In either ca«e
her children were to be reckoned to the deceased
! brother, and hence the penalty for violating this
precept in xx. 21 is that they shall be childless,
i. e., that any children born to such a union
should be reckoned in the genealogies, not to
them, but to the deceased brother. The law
therefore in this cas°: must be considered as based
upon ques ions of civil polity and not upon affi
nity. Hence it does not apply to the parallel
case of the dec- ased wife's sister; for she could
never have formed a part of her brother-in-law's
household under the family system of the He
brews. In the punishments denounced in ch.
xx. against the sins here prohibited, it will be
found that a distinction is made in the degree
of guilt. One, and the larger class, is to be ca
pitally punished (in one case even the bodies of
both parties are to be burnt), while in the other
class the penal y is simply that "they shall be
childless.." It cannot be supposed that a per
petual miracle was to be maintained through all
the ages of Israel's his'ory ; but the meaning
evidently is that the children of such marriages
should be reckoned not to their actual father,
but to the former husb -nd of the woman. In the
strong feeling of the Israelites in regard to pos
terity, this penalty seems to have been sufficient.
(An instance of this use of the word childless is
to be found in Jer. xxii. 30 compared with 1
Chr. iii. 17, 18). It is not to be supposed that
the more remote of the prohibited degrees were
among the abominations for which the Canaan-
ites were to be cut off; but on the other hand
adultery and the other horrible sins mentioned
in vers. 20-23 were undoubtedly among their
customs.

140 LEVITICUS.

Literature. — Michaelis, Laws of Moses; Ab-
\andlunci Uuer die Eheyesetze Mosis ; Saalscbu^z,
Mos. Recht; Selden, uxor ebr. See also the

numerous references in Calmet on this chapter.
Also, John Fry, The cases of marriage between
near kindred, etc. London, 1756.

CHAPTER XVIIT. 1-30.

1, 2. AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,

3 and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. After the doings of the land of
Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do : and after the doings of the land of
Canaan, whither I bring1 you, shall ye not do : neither shall ye walk in their ordi-

4 nances [statutes2]. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances [statutes2],

5 to walk therein : I am the LORD your God. Ye shall therefore keep 3my statutes,
and 3my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.

6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin4 to him, to uncover \their

7 nakedness: I am the LORD. The nakedness of thy father, or [even5] tli3 naked
ness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not

8 uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover:

9 it is thy father's nakedness. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy
father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born6 at home, or born abroad,

10 even their7 nakedness thou shalt not uncover. The nakedness of thy son's daugh
ter, or of "thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover :

11 for their's is thine own nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter,
begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

12 Thou shall not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister:8 she is thy father's

13 near kinswoman.4 Thou shalt riot uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister:

14 for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.4 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness
of thy father's brother,9 thou shalt not approach to his wife: sh'^ is thine aunt.

15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's

16 wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the naked-

17 ness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover
the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's
daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness ; for they are her

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 3. "X'DTD- Introductions sum. Present for the future." Rosonmiiller.

2 Yor. 3. DJTnDnS2!- HPT! is variously and apparently arbitrarily rendered in the A. V. ordinance and statute,

beside the occasional renderings, custom, manner and rife. There is no reason why the translation should not be uniform,
and as statute is the more common, and hitht- rto in Lev. the uniform, rendering, this is adopted.

3 Ver. 5. One MS. and the LXX. insert twice the word all. At the end of the verse the LXX. adds your God.

» Yer. 6. '"nfc'3 "WBH^^Ki lit- to any flesh of Ms flesh. The distinction between *1J£'3 and -|K$ is not under-

T : *' : T T T " :

Btood. The derivative of the latter, rPXt!^, is used in ver. 17 (where only it occurs) of blood relationship. The margin

of the A. V. gives " Heb. remainder of his fLs'i" according to the pointing, "IXlJf. la vers. 12, 13, IXty is used alone of
near blood relationship.

5 Yer. 7. That the copulative 1 ought not to be rendered disjunctively as in the A. V. is evident from the latter part
of the verse. LXX. has /cat, Vulg. ' et.

6 Yer. 9. JYt/'lDj according to the Masoretic punctuation, is Iliphil, and must therefore be taken as active, agreeing
with mother , and mean " who hath borne children whether at home or abroad." The A. V., however, in common with all
the ancient versions, has taken it as passive, fTTUD, agreeing with daughter. For the rightfulness of this, Michaelis
earnestly contends (taws of Moses, Art. 114, 115)'. ' See Comment.

i Ver. 9. The Sam., 18 MSS. and the Syr. have the pronoun in the sing. The Vulg. omits it.

8 Yer. 12. In the same construction in the following verse >3=/or is supplied; it is found hero also in 4 MSS. and in
the versions generally.

• Ver. 14. The expletive conjunction 1 is here supplied in the Sam., in 25 MSS., and some ancient versions.

' CHAP. XVIII. 1-30.

141

18 near kinswomen : it is wickedness. Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister,10
to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.

19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long

20 as she is put apart for her uncleanness. Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with

21 thy neighbour's wife, to defile 'thyself wkh her. And thou shalt not let any of thy
seed pass through the fire to Molech [thou shalt not dedicate any of thy seed to

22 Molech11], neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God : I am the LORD. Thou

23 shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt
thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith : neither shall any woman stand
before a beast to lie down thereto : it is confusion.

24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things : for in all these the nations are

25 defiled which I cast out13 before you : and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit

26 the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth13 out her inhabitants. Ye
shall therefore keep12 my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of
these abominations ; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourn-

27 eth among you : (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, which

28 were before you, and the land is defiled ;) that the land spue not you out also, when

29 ye defile it, as it spued13 out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall
commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off

30 from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit
not any one of these abominable customs [statutes2], which were committed before
you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein : I am the LORD your God.

10 Ver. 18. There can he he "ft no question of the exai t literalness of the rendering of the text of the A. V. ; that of the

is not a translation, but a more than doubtful inter /rr elation. It wouM ha an nbsolute prohibition of polygamy,
which is here out of the question, unless stress were laid, as Poolo has done, upon the purpose of such marriag , to vex ;

but the wo.d 1"ii'17=<o press, to bind together, will not justify this.

11 Yer. 21. For "V^TlS, Sam- and LXX. read T3£rV?=to reduce to servitude. A similar idea, to dedicate, may be

given to the [If-b. word as it stands., Vulg. ut cons'cretur, an I similarly a'l the ancient versions. So the word is u?ed, Ex.
xiii. 12. As this is the fiist nn-ntion of Molech, and there is no word for tire, it is better to keep strictly to the oiiginal
and translate dedicate. Kosenmuller, trad^cas. The corresponding expressions in xx. 2, 3, 4, have simply |pj=to giv*,,

without the following verb. According to the Masoretic punctuation Mole h is alwajs (except 1 Kings xi. 7) written with
the article "nS'on, and is rendered here and xx. 2, 3, 4, 5, by the LXX. apxwv, b *t Jer. xxxii. (Gr. xxxix.) 35. 6 MoAb*
pao-iAru?, 1 Kings xi. 7 (Gr. 5), simply 6 0aa-tAevs, and 2 Kings xxiii. 10. 6 MoAc*.

12 Yer. 26. The Ileb. has here the pronoun DPN in addition to the verbal buffix. It is omitted in the Sam. and in 3

MSS.

Yers. 24, 2J, 28. In ver. 24 Twl^D is the Hiphil Part =1 am casting out, and in accordance with this the preterites

(which has the 1 conversive) of ver. 25 and pIXp "^iO of ver. 28 aro to be understood.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

This chapter consists of an inti-oductory ex
hortation, vers. 2—5; the laws against incest,
vers. 6-18; the prohibition of other kind of
utichastity and unnatural crimes, vers 19-23;
and a concluding exhortation, vers. 24-30.
" The whole marriage law, as a holy limitation,
marks two mutually opposite extremes or forms
of excess : first, sins against the bloo 1 relation
ship, or against the fe;>r of desecrating the com
mon source of life, the community of blood,
vers. 1-18 ; secondly, sins of the dissolve dispo
sition, the horrible passing over the life-line of
pure marriage, or the new relationship, into the
various forms contrary to nature, vers. 19-30."
Lange.

Vers. 2-5. This exhortation opens with re
minding the people I am the LORD your
God. and closes with the abbreviation of the
same formula: I am the LORD. The same
expression occurs again in the midst of it (ver.
4), and also at the opening of the law itself
(ver. 6), in the midst of the third division of the

chapter (ver. 21), and again at the close of the
whole. Jt is designed to impress most strongly
upon the minds of the Israelites that the obser
vance of this law is a matter of covenant obliga
tion. And this is enforced by the contrast (ver.
3) with the doings of the land of Egypt
from which they had been delivered, and the
doings of the land of Canaan who?e nations
were about to be cast out to make room for them.
It closes with the promise that if a man do the
Divine statutes and judgments, he shall live
in them. Not merely, he shall not be cut off
by the punishments denounced against the trans
gression of these laws in ch. xx. ; but he shall
gain that true life of communion with God which
accompanies the obedience to His commands.
Comp. Ezek. xx. 11, 13, 21 ; Luke x. 28. "This
whole legislation bears on its front the name of
Jehovah, the God of Israel, ver. 2, in the more
definite signification that the Israelites should
keep themselves holy in their personality, i. e.
true to themselves, suitably to their personality,
as Jehovah is holy (xix 2). But the legislation
took its occasion in this : that Israel, as the
people hallowed by God, should form an instruc-

142

LEVITICUS.

live and rebuking contrast to the shameful sexual
life of the land of Egypt, whence they had just
come out, and that still more shameful of the
laud of Canaan, whither they were going under
the leadership of Jehovah. . . . That this legis
lation was not able in later days to prevent
transgressions, e. g. in the family of David itself,
is explained even from the essential nature of
law. From this a careful critic would decide
for the high Mosaic age of the law rather than
for the contrary.

" That a most, highly living intelligence per
vades the section results from the various signi
ficant expressions : the judgments and sta
tutes of Jehovah (ver. 4) become for the people
the statutes and judgments (first law, and
only afterwards the idea (ver. 5)." [Patrick
says: "The Gemara Babylonica, mentioning
these words, saith, it is a tradition of their doc
tors that by D'tOiDU/p are to be understood such
natural laws as all mankind are bound to ob
serve, though there were no written commands
for them, such as those against idolatry, and
those about uncovering the nakedness of such
near relations as are here mentioned, and mur
der, etc. And by fl'lptl such laws are meant
as depended only on the pleasure of God, and
obliged none but those to whom they were given,
such as those about meats and garments and
leprosy, etc" F. G.] "That which is contrary
to nature in the marriage of relations consists
in this: that the man by his family life, which
should be the foundation of new bonds of love
and new families, mingles again egotisticallly

with his own flesh (^3 "W^'s N) ; and
that by profane conduct lie exposed the obscure
and hallowed origin of his own life (uncovered
the shame), and thus repeated the sin of Ham (for
the shame of the wife of near kin is also the shame
of the father, xx. 11). Therefore also it is neces
sary to explain the saying 'which if a man do,
he shall live in them in its particular connec
tion : all these directions tend to the furtherance
of life, especially of the higher life while the con
trasted sexual relations produce death.

"The case of adultery is not considered,
since the reference is to widows when connec
tions with those who have been married before are
considered ..... The determining principle is
that of community of blood pK$). But this is
itself determined by the fundamental idea that
man and wife are one. Hence it follows that
the shame of the father's wife is also the shame
of the father himself (vers. 7, 8). The shame
of a grand-daughter was looked upon, since she
was a descendant, as the shame of the grand
father himself (ver. 10). The shame of the sis
ter in-law was thus also looked upon as the
shame of the brother.

"As to the guilt and punishment, the death-
penalty stands according to xx. 11 sqq. for the
carnal intercourse (not merely the marrying)
with a father's wife, with a daughter-in-law, with
a half sister" [and hence of course with a full
sister] ; "the punishment was, indeed, death by
fire when one took a woman and her daughter
together (that is HSI)." [This necessarily in
eludes the case of a daughter, and of a wife'0

mother. Michaelis (Laws, Art. 102) considers
DQT as a forensic term used to express those
forms of incest in which the woman is under the
guardianship of the man, and derives the word
from the Arabic in which " Zimm means mar
riage, and Zimma the state of guardianship ( CLi-
enteln], from the word Zamm, to connect/' This
sense is indeed appropriate for the very few
places in which it occurs in the law (Lev. xviii.
17; xix. 29 ; xx. 14 L>is), but elsewhere it is used
for any abominable wickedness (as Job xxxi. 11)
especially lewdness (Judg. xx. 6). See Geseii.
Thes. — F. G.]. "It is said indefinitely of the
intercourse with a sister of the father or of the
mother, they shall bear their iniquity (|U')."
[xx. 19. Michaelis (Art. 112, 2) observes in re
gard to these and the following kinds of pro
hibited marriages, that Moses tolerated " their
continuance, if once consummated. At least he
nowhere enjoins a separation of the parties." It
might be argued, indeed, that a forbidden mar
riage was utterly void, and therefore that its siu
was constantly renewed as long as the parties
continued to sustain towards each other the mar
riage relation; but certainly the penalty in the
two following classes presupposes that they con
tinued to live together. — F. G.]. "In contrast
with this, it is said of him who slept with his
father's brother's wile, they shall bear their
sin (DXtpn); they shall die childless" [xx.
20]. " So also of the case when any one takes
his brother's wife, that is mj (Levitical unclean-
ness), they shall be childless" [xx. 21].
" Thus ttie social punishment is not wholly ab
sent here also, but the principal thing was the
threat of 'he Divine punishment of these con
nections with childlessness." [On the meaning
of this punishment, see the preliminary note —
F. G.]. " Since in all these cases the willingness
on the woman's side is assumed, the threat of the
penalty is for both sides alike. It is worth while
to notice also the circumstance that the penal
statutes which refer to the marriage of relations
are mingled with other penal statutes (xx. 13,
15, 10), a proof that here in chap. xx. another
point of'view is brought forward. But if in re
gard to the prohibition of the marriage with a
brother's widow childlessness was threatened,
while later the prohibition could be changed re
latively into a command in the ordinance of the
Levirate marringe " [the Levirate marriage took
place only in case the brother died childless —
F. G.] ; " still there is made definitely prominent
a principal end of the legislation in the manifold
threat of childlessness, which evidently extended
also over the greater transgressions or reached
the Cherem : marriage was to be protected, ob
served, and kept holy as the nursery for the
raising of children, for new families, and truly
for pure and hallowed families (comp. Com. on
Jno. p. 47 " [Am. Ed., p. 111]).

" It is well known that in the treatment of
these prohibited degrees of marriage various
motives have been given, among others the fol
lowing: the diminution and prevention of fami
lies in the marriage of relations. This motive
comes out strongly here. Also in the expires-doa
in ver. 5, he shall live by them." [A broader
meaning may be given, as above, to ver. 5, and

CHAP. XVIII. 1-30.

143

the threat of childlessness has already been ex
plained (prel. note) as referring to the legal reck
oning of the children. If childlessness could be
proved to be a natural penalty of the inter-mar
riage of near blood relations, it would yet wholly
fail to apply to cases of simple affinity, to which
alone the penalty is attached in the law. Very
striking is its inapplicability to the marriage with
a brother's wife, for if such a natural law existed,
the Levirate marriage would have been wholly
useless. — F. G.]. "But no less is there another
motive here implied : the respect of kinship,
(rfspectus parentelse), and even the forcible ex
pression uncover the nakedness only brings
out strongly the impie'y which, in such cases,
uncovers the fountains of its own life, which have
been hitherto concealed by natural respect."
[See this point discussed at length in Michaelis
(Art. 107) who decides that it had no influence
in the Mosaic legislation. — F. G.]. "And it is
plain, that with this unnatural going back of
men to the roots of their own existence ia this
perversion of marriage, which is the specific
school of the future, into a retrogressive move
ment, it must immediately follow that family ego
ism will be at the same time ever more and more
cherished ; whereas the Theocracy, as the reli
gion of the future, seeks to establish marriage
on the basis of ever new conditions of love, for
the purpose of building up a most intimate fel
lowship in the human family."* [See this mo
tive also discussed and rejected by Michaelis,
Art. 106.— F. G.].

" It is well known that the hierarchy and its
theology, has not only not explained ideally the
law of the marriages of relations, has not only
brought it over unchanged into the new covenant;
but has also stiffened it still more by another cal
culation of the degrees of relationship, by the
addition of spiritual relationships, and by the
prohibition to marry the sister of a deceased
sisterf [wife]. In regard to heathen marriage
customs, see Knobel, p. 502 sqq.

" That these marriage laws of Leviticus form
a great and sharp contrast to the immoral cus
toms of the Egyptians and the Canaanites ex
presses the very cause of this legislation. More
in regard to the immorality of the heathen may
be found in Knobel, p. 502 sqq., in Keil, p. 127
gqq." [Trans, p. 413 note, p. 418], "and espe
cially in the Historisch-politischen Briefen of I. v.
Raumer, p. 29 sqq. It is particularly worthy
of notice that the Arabian morals have the great
est resemblance to these morals of the law, which
may perhaps be explained from their Semitic
character." [But the legislation of the Japhetic
Greeks and Romans, and of the Hindoos for the
higher castes was even more strict, as noted by
Lange below ; and the doom pronounced upon
the Canaanites certainly implies that their sins
were such as might be recognized in any nation
by the light of nature. — F. <i. J. " The lascivious
service of lust of the Egyptians, illustrated by

* Comp. Winer, Art. Eh". 11^ rzog's Itenl-Encyclnpadic, Efie
t>ei den Hebriiern u. a. Lexica. H. Spoudlin, Ueher das Elie-
verbut tcegett, verwandtschaft und dag verbrechen des Incestes, Zu
rich, 1844. The same, p. 13: "•die ricktige Brgrundung von Au-
'

t "Here comes into notice the illiberal article in the Eng
lish law, which has already produced many tragic occur
rences."

Ptolemy's marriage with his sister, and by the
history of Cleopatra, would appear the more re
markable since the Egyptian customs and reli
gion on all sides admonished of death ; but per
haps, indeed, this fact depends upon a connection
between sexual pleasure and the thought of death,
as e. g., in war and camp life, such a connection
is to be observed. Besides the Arabian customs,
the harsher character of the Hindoo and of the
Roman legislation is to be particularly noticed."
Lange.

Vers. 6-18. The phrase uncover the naked
ness continued to be used to express sexual in
tercourse through many ages. Comp. Ezek. xvi.
36 ; xxiii. 18. The list of prohibited degrees
begins appropriately with the mother. Her na
kedness is described as the nakedness of thy
father, since husband and wife constitute "one

flesh," Gen. ii. 24. " Strictly speaking nnj£71-H
is used only with reference to the wife ; but in
the dishonoring of his wife the honor of the hus
band is violated also, and his bed defiled, Gen.
xlix. 4." Keil. Comp. ver. 8. Rosenmiiller ex-
pi lins the phrase as meaning the nakedness which
is (or was) under the control of the father. The
Targ. of Jonathan assumes an ellipsis, and ren
ders " a woman shall not cohabit with her father,
nor a man with his mother," which is neither
agreeable to the Hebrew, nor consistent with the
fact that the whole law is addressed to the man.
Aben Ezra, as quoted by Rosenmiiller, well ex
presses the arrangement: " He begins with the
father, who precedes the son, and declares for-
bidJen all nakedness of the father and mother ;
the mother is placed first, then the nakedness of
the wife of the father who is not the mother,
then the sister who is the daughter of the father
or of the mother." In ver. 8 thy father's wife
refers to another wife than the mother of the
person addressed, and the term wife is of course
broad enough to include the concubine. The
sinfulness of this act, as in the case of Reuben
(Gen. xxxv. 22; xlix. 3, 4) was understood long
before the giving of the Mosaic law, and conti
nued to be held in abomination among the Gen
tiles in Apostolic days (1 Cor. v. 1) ; neverthe
less it was one of the crimes of which Absalom
was deliberately guilty (2 Sam. xvi. 22), and as
already noticed, it was regularly practised by
themonarchs of Persia. — Thy father's naked
ness is used in the same sense as in ver. 7.
Connection with a half-sister on either side being
forbidden in ver. 9, that with a full sister, since
she might be described as a half-sister on both
sides, is doubly forbidden. The expression born
at home or born abroad has been variously
interpreted. The true sense is undoubtedly
that given by Rosenmiiller, "a sister in what
ever way she may be a sister, whether of the
same or of different parents, whether legiti
mately or illegitimately born." Thus are in
cluded the daughter of either father or mother
by either a previous or a subsequent marriage
(and these cases would have been much more
frequent under laws allowing of divorce and re
marriage), or the daughter of the father by an
other wife; also illegitimate children of either.
The marriage of Abraham and Sarah is often
referred to as an instance in opposition to this

144

LEVITICUS.

law ; but it is more probable that the word sister
is there used in the broader sense, and that Sa
rah was really the niece of Abraham. Ver. 10.
Theirs' is thine own nakedness — Because
of their direct descent, intercourse with them
would involve a sort of incest with one's self.
Of course this would apply & fortiori to the case
of a daughter which is not specifically men
tioned, but is included in the prohibition of ver. 17.
The prohibition of ver. 11 of the half-sister on the
fat her' s side seems already included in the broader
one of ver. 9. Various explanations have been
given to mark a difference between them, among
which perhaps the best is that of Keil : that ver.
9 treats of the connection of a son by a second
marriage with a daughter by a first marriage,
while ver. 11 applies to the connection of a son
by a first marriage with a daughter by a subse
quent marriage ; but this seems an undue limi
tation of ver. 9. Probably there was at the time
some technical use of the terms which constituted
a distinction which is now lost. According to
Selden (Uxor Hebr. L. I. c. 4) ver. 11 admits of
the translation "The nakedness of thy father's
wife's daughter (but she who is begotten of thy
father is thy sister) thou shalt not uncover ;"
thereby meaning to forbid connection with the
daughter of a step-mother, and marking this as
a distinct prohibition from that of the half sister.
Intercourse with an aunt on either the father's
or the mother's side is forbidden in vers. 12, 13,
on the principle of near blood relationship; but
there is no prohibition of marriage with the cor
responding relation of niece. The reason of this
distinction is not apparent. According to Ex.
vi. 20, Moses was himself the offspring of the
marriage of Amram with Jochebed, his paternal
aunt. This would indicate that this prohibited
degree is a matter of the Divine statute rather
than of natural law, and was not therefore ne
cessarily extended to the niece. In ver. 14 the
prohibition is extended to the wife of the pater
nal uncle, as having become an aunt by her union
with the uncle. It would not however follow
from this that the law forbade the marriage of a
woman with the husband of her aunt, since in
consequence of the dependence of the family upon
the male in the Hebrew polity, the correspond
ing relations upon the mother's side stood in a
less intimate relation than those upon the fa
ther's. In the reverse order, however, the pro
hibition is more stringent upon the woman than
upon the man, since a woman is hereby forbidden
to marry her husband's nephew, while the man
is not forbidden to marry his wife's niece. The
application of this principle to ver. 15 would
seem at first sight to lead to the permission of
the abominable marriage of a woman with her
son-in-law ; but f.his is guarded against by ver.
17. The prohibition of intercourse with a bro
ther's wife in connection with the more ancient
custom of the levirate marriage has already been
explained in the preliminary note. It is parti
cularly to be observed that the levirate marriage
only took place in case the brother had died
childless, and she was still his wife at his death,
and that even then it was not so much a fresh
marriage, as a sort of continuance of the mar
riage of the deceased by his nearest surviving
representative. The prohibitions of ver. 17 have

already been seen to complement several of the
other prohibitions, and the principle which for
bids the connection with both a mother and a
daughter is extended al«o to the grand-daughter.
On ver. 18 see preliminary note.

" Keeping the seed sacred to its purpose, is as
has been said the fundamental thought of our
section. Hence over against the physico-spiritua!
sins against nature of marriage of blood relations
is placed, as the other extreme, the violation of
nature in desecrating the blood with beasts or
demons. The first sin is, indeed, a violation of
nature which can take place in marriage itself,
the transgressing the unapproachableness of a
woman in her sickness. But a sickness in sexual
relation is certainly the condition of menstru
ation, ver. 19." [After the list of prohibited
degrees, whether of consanguinity or of affinity,
naturally follows the prohibition of other unlaw
ful conditions of sexual intercourse. First is
mentioned that of which there was the greatest
dnnger of violation. The feminine unclean-
ness here named is the rnj, including both the
monthly uncleanness (xv 33) and the unclean-
ness after childbirth (xii. 2). The violation of
this is enumerated by Ezek. (xviii. 6; xxii. 10)
among sins of a most serious character. Next
comes adultery (ver. 20), then the giving of the
seed to Molech (ver. 21), and finally sodomy
(ver. 22), and bestial sins (ver. 23) — F. G.].
*' The second sin is adultery : it defiles a man in
three and four ways, since he commits treason
against the teleology of his seed, against his per
sonal dignity, against the sacrifice of his plea
sure, and against his betrayed neighbor. On
the punishment of adultery see Knobel, p. 506."
[Both parties were to be put to death, xx. 10;
Deut. xxii. 22; Comp. Jno. viii. 5. Knobel fur
ther notes that other nations of antiquity were
less rigorous ; they generally punished the adul
terer with a fine (Diod. 12, 21), but also more
severely. Among the Egyptians the adulterer
must submit to a thousand blows and have
his nose cut. off (Diod. 1, 78) ; among the Indians
both pecuniary and bodily punishment, as well
as exile and death were commanded (Mann 8,
352 ss.) ; among the Greeks, the woman suffered
repudiation and infamy, while the adulterer could
be put to death or receive from the court a se
vere bodily punishment (Wachsmuth II. 1, p.
272). Knobel further mentions the punishments
among the Moslems and the modern Orientals. —
F. G.]. " The third sin is the sacrifice to Mo-
lech, here manifestly infanticide and falling away
from the name of Jehovah at once. Knobel :
" By this is meant not a mere lustration by
means of fire, but an actual burning. See Mo
vers, Phonizier I., p. 328 sqq. On the Molech
sacrifice, see the same, p. 506 Opposed to this,
the deductions of Keil, that the expression here
indicates only a lustration or a februation (P.
130, 131 [Trans, p. 416, 417]) can hardly be
maintained." [The precise purport of this pro
hibition is very uncertain. In Deut. xii. 31, it
is mentioned as a sin of the Canaauites that
" even their sons and their daughters they have
burnt in the fire to their gods," and the Israel
ites are warned against imitating them. It is
generally assumed by commentators that the
deity there intended is Molech, and that by seed

CHAP. XVTIT 1-30.

145

in our passage is meant children, and that thus
both refer to the same thing. But here we have
no mention of fire (see Textual Note 9), and it is
at least doubtful it' seed here means offspring.
Although explanations are offered by the com
mentators of such an abrupt change of subject,
yet it is far more in accordance with the contest
and the general purpose of the chapter to un
derstand seed here simply of th.i semen. Too
little is now known of the worship of Moloch at
this very ancient date to determine precisely the
meaning of the expression. It is noticeable,
however, that there is no other prohibition of
the foul habit of masturbation, for which there
seems to be need ; may it not be conjectured that
this act was known as "giving one's seed to Mo-
lech," and was associated with the practices of
idolatry? The sin, whatever it was, connected
itself with the worship of a fals-e god as is shown
by the clause neither shalt thou profane the
name of thy God. It was not only itself to
be punished with death by stoning; but punish
ment was also denounce lagainstany one who saw
the sin committed and did not expose it (xx. 2-
6). If the above conjecture is right, it was very
natural that in after times this custom should
have advanced, as it did, to the actual burning
of children as a sacrifice to Molech (2 Ki. xxiii.
10; Ezek. xvi. 20, 2!, etc.], though even this is
explained by many of merely parsing the chil
dren between two fires. — F. G.]. " The fourth
sin is the especially abominable sin of Sodoin,
Poederasfia, for which the Canaani'es at last re
ceived thi sentence, that their land should "spue
them out;" nature herself could no more endure
them. See 1 Kings, Commentary p. 56" [Trans,
p. 75 ?] " The fifth sin is the acme of abomina-
bleness, conjunction with a beast, and yet this
was something, that occurred, or else the law
would not have spoken of it. According to He
rodotus and Pindar, women at Mendes let them
selves be mounted by a he-goat (Herod. 2, 4(5,
etc.)." Knobel. See similar examples given by the
same." [The fearful prevalence of Sodomy,
(which takes its name from a Canaanitish city),
in the Rome of Apostolic d >ys is evident from
Rom. i. 24, 27, as well as from the classic au
thors. The practice of it seems to have been
inveterate among the Hebrews, 1 Kings xiv. 24.
'• Ver. 22 The ancient Persian law sternly con
demned this offence ( Vendid. viii. 10 ap. Kaobel).
Also the Hindoo law (M nu xi. 174, 175), and
the Koran, vii. 78-80. Ver. 23. The story of
Pasiphae may furnish proof that the early Greeks
abhorred this oifence. The Hindoo law punishes
it severely Menu xi. 17, Gentoo laws, p. 280. The
Moslem law condemns it, Ilp.d&ya II., p. 2V."
Clark.— F. G.]. " The following inculcation of
these prohibitions, vers. 24-30, contains the most
expressive apology for the conquest of Canaan
on the part of the Israelites; and that this was
no partiality of Jehovah, is plain from the fact
that He threatens the Israelites with entirely the
same punishment in case they should sin in the
same way, and moreover, that He enacts the
death penalty for the single offender." Lange.

The poetic representation of the land as vomit
ing out its inhabitants is founded upon a truth
which required that the laws of this chapter
should be made binding upon the stranger that

sojourneth among you as well PS upon the
Israelites themselves (ver. 20). The land which
the ancestors of Israel were not allowed to pos
sess, " because the iniquity of the Arnorites was
not yet full " (Gen. xv. 16), had now become
filled with a mass of fes ering moral corruution.
Its inhabitants were to be cast out and t'ac holy
p >ople planted in their stead. It could not bo
allowed that "the stranger" should again intro
duce the pollutions which were now being so se
verely purii-thed.

The only punishment here threatened for the
violation of these precepts is first the national
one, in case the sins became national, of being
treated as their pr decessors had been ; and se
condly, the individual punishment for individual
offenders (ver. 29), they shall be cut off from
among their people. They were to be ex
communicated as vio'ators of the holiness re
quired of I he covenant people. Israel, however,
constituted a state as well as a church, and later,
in ch. xx., the civil punishment of these crimes
is fully prescribed. Here the legislator speaks
of the sin rather than of the crime, and conse
quently of the spiritual rather than the civil
penalty.

The preterites of ver. 25 Kpjjl (A. V. vomit-
eth out) and ver. 28 HNT (A/V. spued out)
must necessarily be determined in their sense by
the whole context, and especially by the Hvi^'p
= / am casting out. of ver. 24. The whole trans
action is represented as one in progress, as in
xx. 23 (where the same pirticiple is used), and
from any fair consideration of these chapters in
themselves it would be impossible to infer that
the casting out of the Canaanites was already an
accomplished fact. It is therefore quite unne
cessary to speak of these preterites (Keil), as
prophetic.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. We have here set, forth (ver. 5) the prin-
c'ple which St. Paul declares (Rorn. x. 5; Gal.
iii. 12) to be the fundamental principle of the
whole law, — that salvation depends upon obedi
ence. On this ground he shows that man cau
never attain justification, since it is impossible
for him to offer a perfect obedience. The law
by a practical demonstration of this fact becomes
"our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ." Ne
vertheless, " the law is holy, and the command
ment holy, and just, and good" (Rom. vii. 12),
and the faith which i^aas to salvation is dead
without the earnest, effort at obedience. Hence
God sets forth His laws as that -which if a man
do he shall liva in them, and it has ever
proved that the path of obedience is the path of
life in every sense.

II. " The family relationship is itself ordained
by God. It is the birthplace of the children of
God — the first school, and generally the source
of all chastity and goo I manners. Any injury
inflicted on it would undermine the temporal and
eternal welfare both of individuals and of the
people*. In this lies the abomination of incest.
This U the reason of that natural horror of it
which God has implanted in us. This is the rea
son that, among all nations, marriage within cer-

146

LEVITICUS.

tain degrees was forbidden, although the laws
of the most moral nations wavered in respect to
the dxact boundaries. . . . Because this was the
reason of the prohibited degrees, we see also why,
in the family of the first men, when there was
no difference between family and people, bro
thers and sisters might marry without sin." 0.
von Gerlach.

III. The Canaanites were to be punished for
their offences against the marriage law. But
they would not have been guilty it' they had had
no knowledge that what th y did was wrong,
(Rom. iv. 15 ; v. 13). It is therefore evident
that there must be a natural law or a tradition
of primeval revelation which should have en
abled them to recognize the sinfulness of their
customs.

IV. Although the Mosaic legislation recognizes
polygamy and divorce on trivial grounds, y< t
still it cannot be arrayed as in opposition to the
higher law of Christian purity. On the con
trary, like the laws of revenge and m my others,
these laws were restrictions leading the people
as they were able to bear it towards the higher
law of the Gospel. That they fell short of this
was simply because God suffered it to be so tem
porarily " because of the hardness of men's
hearts."

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

"The chapter about the forbidden degrees of
marriage has in its immediate form a much
greater meaning for dogmatics, morals, and the
legal and ecclesiastical ordinance of marriage,
than it has for homiletics. The New Testament
explanation and application of this law is so
great a subject and work, that here we must re
fer to tlie literature relating thereto. But indi
rectly, these laws are a treasury also for homi
letics. By the prohibition of the marriage of
relations, God ever forms new sets of relation
ships. By (his He brings to view the universal
relationship which lies upon the foundation of
human manifoldness and diversity. He mani
fests harmony in the contrasts of genealogies.
He freshens anew the duty of love in a thousand
ways ; and freshens, too, marriage in a thousand
ways through love. Sexual love, in its dignity,

is here hallowed through the law. Strangers
and aliens become, by this divine ordinance, re
latives, brothers and friends ; a holy web of
love, in spite of single desecrations, spreads from
town to town, from laud to land, from people to
people. The egoism of family, rank, and class,
is a kind of heathenism which this law combats
with a prefigurative force, and Christianity meets
by its consecration of the state of betrothal on
the foundation of Christian brotherly love and
universal philanthropy. The expression of these
prohibitions of marriage designates ihe trans
gressions without any anxious fear except to op
pose with strong words the lack of fear in life,
and to create a holy fear before the sources of
life, the mysterious darkness of the continuous
creation of man. When the ideality of the legal
life fails, there is made prominent the marked
unhallowed nakedness and rudeness of the sexual
rela'ions. The various forms and degrees of
guilt are to be noticed. Over against the offences
against the family life in too near relationship,
come the horrors of the sexual crimes against
nature (ver. 21 sqq. Comp. Rom. i.). The fla
grant violation of nature is emphasized by the
throat that the violated nature, the horrified
land, would itself undertake the punishment,
and spue out such sinners. But the positive
punishments also were not to be omitted (chap,
xx.). And it must, not be overlooked that Jeho
vah introduces and closes these commands with
the explanation of His name Jehovah, His holy
personality. The establishment of personal dig
nity in a kingdom of true personal continuance
in love, is the purpose of the law." Lange.

Besides its moral and social bearings, the Lo-
vitical law has another and most important as
pect. It has been found historically that all
great deviations from the faith bear fruit, sooner
or later, in sensual sins; and conversply, all re
laxation of the 1 iw of sexual purity has sustained
itself by the denial or perversion of fundamental
doctrine. The Levitical law was therefore a
safeguard of the truth, and herein men received
an essential part of their training, not merely
for the high morality, but also for the high reli-
giousLtruth of the Gospel. We see at Corinth
how uanger to the one went hand in hand with
danger to the other.

THIRD SECTION.
Holiness of Conduct towards God and Man.

CHAP. XIX. 1-16.

1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation1 ot
the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy : for I the LORD your
God am holy.

3 Ye shall fear every man his mother,2 and his father, and keep my sabbaths : I
am the LORD your God.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 2. J"nj7 = congregation is omitted by 3 MSS. and the LXX.

2 Ver. 3. In the LXX., Vulg., and Syr., the order is reversed to his father and his mother. The Sam and Onk. follow the
Hebrew.

CHAP. XIX. 1-S7. 147

4 Turn ye not unto idols,3 nor make to yourselves molten gods : I am the LORD
your God.

5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it 'at

6 your own will [offerings, unto the LORD ye shall offer it for your acceptance4]. It
shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow : and if ought remain

7 until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. And if it be eaten at all on the

8 third day, it is abominable ; it shall not be accepted. Therefore every one that
eateth5 it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of
the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the cor-
10 ners of thy field, ntither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou

shalt not glean thy vineyard [fruit garden6], neither shalt thou gather every grape
[the scattered fruit7] of thy vineyard [fruit garden6] ; thou shalt leave them for
the poor and stranger : I am the LORD your God.

11, 12 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. And ye
shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy

13 God : I am the LORD. Thou shalt not defraud [oppress8] thy neighbour, neither9
rob him : the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until
the morning.

14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but
shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.

15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment :10 thou shalt not respect the person
of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty : but in righteousness shalt thou
judge thy neighbour.

16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people:11 neither1*

17 shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour : I am the LORD. Thou shalt
not hate thy brother in thine heart : thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour,

18 and not suffer sin upon him [and not bear sin on his account13]. Thou shalt not
avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORI,.

19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse
kind :u thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled [diverse15] seed : neither shall a
garment mingled [a diverse garment15] of linen and woollen16 come upon thee.

3 Ver. 4. D^VyX = inania numitia, Rosen. It is formed from 7^ with a termination expressive of contempt.
* Ver. 5. D3jinS = for your acceptance. See Textual Note 6 on i. 3.

6 Ver. 8. The Heb. has the plural form V 7 jj\, Lint the Sam. and other versions have the sing, as in the following verb

T ;
and noun.

6 Ver. 10. Q^.3 is generally a vineyard, but also (Judg. xv. 7) an olive yard. It is " a field or yard of the nobler plants

and tre s, cultivate 1 in the manner of a jra-den or orchard," Gesen. It is doubtless here used in its broadest sense, and the
vineya-d of the A. V. is therefore too restri. ted.

7 Yer. 10. &~}2 = that ivhich is scattered, and hem-e meaning herd both the fallen fruit (Chald., Vulg., Syr.), and also

the single berries . f the olive and the vine not gathered with the harvest.

8 Ver. 13. p5£'^*n. Ver. 11 forbids sins of craft and falsehood ugainst one's neighbor; thi->, sins of violence and open
oppression. The tra 'slation giv n is that of the A. V. in Deut. xxiv. 14.

9 Ver. 13. The HeK X'S is without the conjunction which is suppl'ed in 40 MSS. in the Sam. and the LXX.

10 Ver. 15. The conjunction 1 is prefixed in 7 MSS., the Saui., LXX., and 8yr.
« Ver. 16. *]'!;)jp3. The Sam. and 66 MSS. omit the \

M Ver. 16. Here again the Hsb. omits the conjunction whi^h is supplied in 40 MSS., and in the Syr.
13 Ver. 17. NDn '"Sj? N&JVXbl is a clause the meaning of which ha^ been much questioned. It seems certain,
however, that Xfrj cannot mean m/Fer, (permit) as in the A. V., but must mem bear as in the margin. The marginal /rr

him is ambiguous, and it is better therefore to use the mopi expli it rn his arc'iwt. For instances of precisely the same
8eu>e of these words, see xxii. 9; Num. xviii. 32, and com p. also the very similar expression irrl's Ixix. 8.
i* Ver. 19. 3 MSS., the Sam., LXX., and Syr., prefix the conjunction.

16 Ver. 19. D'X /3 (dual from N Sj) = separation) occurs only in this verse (three times) and in the parallel Deut. xxii.

9, hut is frequent in the Talmud. It sigrifies oftwn Icinrls, h»temge.n^oi<s. Th- transition of the A. V. at its first occurrence
in tli ' ver. d'verw. is good, and should by all means be retained in the other cUuses, both lor consistency's sake, and for tho
force of the command. All the Semitic versions pr serv • the unifonn'ty.

16 Ver. 19. TJDJ71!/ occurs • nly here and in Deut. xxii. 11, where it is explained •' of woolen and linen together." Its

etymology is obscure. See the Lexicons and Bochart, IJiernz. I., lib IT., c. 35, p. 545, ed. Rosen. It is probably an Egyp
tian word, although not yet satisfactorily explained. The Chald. retains the word, a-id th<* LXX translate ici'£SjjAoi/ =.
spurious, adulterated, probably by a mere conjecture. Rosenmtiller qnot-s Forster as expla'Qing it of a co*tly Egypt an
drtss woven in various figures of plants and animals in colors, ha\ing a t-ymbolical idolatrous signification. See Com.

143 LEVITICUS.

20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman that is a bondmaid, betrothed17 to
an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her ; she shall be scourged
[there shall be punishment18], they shall not be put to death, because she was not

21 free And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the

22 tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering. And the priest
shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before tl.e
LORD for his sin which he hath done : and the sin which he hath done shall be
forgiven him.

23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of.
trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised :19 three years

24 shall it be as uncircumcised to you : it shall not be eaten of. But in the fourth

25 year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise20 the LORD withal. And in the fifth
year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield21 unto you the increase
thereof: I am the LORD your God.

26 Ye shall not eat any tiling with the blood :22 neither23 shall ye use enchantment,

27 nor observe times. 23Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt

28 thou 24 mar the corners of thy2* beard Ye shall not make any cuttings in your
flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you : I am the LORD.

29 Do not prostituto thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore ; lest the land fall to
whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.

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

31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards to be de
nied by them : I am the LORD your God.

32 Thou shale rise up before ir-e hoary head, and honour the face of the old man,
and fear thy God : I am the LORD.

33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee25 in your land, ye shall not vex [oppress26] him.

34 But [omit bu(SI\ the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one boru
among you. and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land
of Egy;jt : I am the LORD your God.

35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in mea-

17 Yer. 20. ]^3"in3 Niph. from Pl^Tl = to tear off, to set apart. There seems no doubt of the correctness of the text of
the A. Y., and the margin is therefore unnecessary.

18 Yer. 20. HTMl rPp3- This word is an. Ae-y., but there seems little doubt of its meaning, investigation, and then
•punishme t. Authorities are much divided on the question whether both pa ties, or only the woman, was to be scourire'1.
The LXX., Yulg., and Syr., are clear for the former, while the Sam. applies it only to the man. In the uncertainty it is
better to retain the indefiniteness of the Heb. asin the marg. of the A. Y. Tho Sam. reading is remarkable H HTin J"Pp3

= lie fJioU be punished, and t^en, in the sing. H*3V Kl = he shiill not di». This gives a sonse asrreeing excellently with
the n a on assigned because she was not free, and heucj the act di i not legally cous itute a'lultery which v, as
punishable \sith death.

19 Ver. 23. " The singular suffix in 'li"Y7"\J? " [an(i &^so *n VH2] " refers to 73, and the verb 7"^ is a de/,om. from
H?"1J7i to make into a foreskin, to treit as uncircumcised, i. e., to throw away as unclean or uneatable." Keil. The LXX.

rendering Trepi/caflapietre TTJI> dKa0a.ptriav avrov = ye shall purge away its uncl"anness expresses very well the general
sense. , ,

20 Yer. 24. Q'7^n occurs only here a~id in Judg.ix. 27. In the latter place it b. emu to mean merr^ -making leasts to

Idols, and Josephus (Ant. jv. 8, 19") undf>rst"Jids the law to be that the fruit of tho fourth year should be carried to the pla e
of the, San tiiiirv, and there, u^d in i. holy tea^t with friends and the poor. But the following ver.se seeum so clearly to
fori.id the owner's partaking of it before the fifth year that it would bo unsafe to change th < translation. The marg. of
the A. V. holiness of praises to the Lord does not convey any distinct idea. The ilea of Murphy a praise offering is hardly
sustained by thn text. The true t-ense is proba' ly th 't incorpor .ted in o the Targ. Onk. it shall I e consecrated to those offer
ing praises before the Lord, i. e., it was to be given to the Loru through His priests, and need by them in leasts.

21 Yer. 25. For H'pinS that it may yield, the ?am., followed by the Yulg., reads eyDtf'nS for coll cting (in
storehouses) the i reduce.

22 Yer. _6. D~in~Vl?- The LXX. must have read *\ instead of 1 to sustain 1h> vrs'< n CTT! T<OC ope'wv, and some

T "• i

critics would adept this to avoid the peculiarity of the construction of 7J7, oonsid- ring it justified by the frequency of the
practice in conne tiou with idolatrous feasts (comp. Hos. iv. 13). But a mis-reading of the LXX. is not a sufficient ground
for a change of the text; for th« construction of 7^» see Ex. xii. 8, and romp. Textual Note < On ii. 2.

23 Yers. 26, 27. In both places the Sam., one or two MSS., and the LXX , supply the conjunction.

24 Yer. 27. The Sam. and mo^t of the Anck-nt Versions put the verb and the pronoun in the plural in accordance with
the previous clause.

25 Ver. 33. The Sam. and versions have the plural.

26 Ver. 33. The marg. of the A V. expresses the sense of O1H better tl an the text.
f Ver. 34. There is no occasion for the insertion of the but of the A. V.

CHAP. XIX. 1-37.

149

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

With this chapter begins a new Parashah of
the law extending to xx. 27. The parallel
Haphtarah from the prophets is Ezek. xx. 2-20,
recounting the disobe Hence of Israel in the wil
derness to the commands of this chapter and
their consequent punishment; and the close of
Amos ix. 7-15, denouncing the punishment and
foretelling; the final restoration of God's people
— a prophecy applied by S. James (Acts xv. 1(>,
17) to the gathering in of the Gentiles to the
Church of Christ.

"This remarkable chapter is perhaps the
most comprehensive, the most varied, and in
seme respects the most important section of
Leviticus, if not of the Pentateuch; it was by
the ancient Jews regarded as an epitome of the
whole Law; it was ndopted and paraphrased by
the best, gnomic writers, such as Pseudo-Phocy-
lides; and it has at all times been looked upon
as a counterpart of the Decalogue itself." Ka-
lisch.

It treats of the holiness in the daily life and
conversation which must, characterize the cove
nant people of a holy God. This basis of the
commands given is prominently brought forward
at the opening and continually kept in mind by
the phrase I am the Lord throughout. This
expresses at once the basis of the command, and
the goal towards which the Israelite must strive.
It is as difficult to arrange these laws systemati
cally as to do so with the duties of the daily
life, and an arrangement which would be sys
tematic from one point of view would not be so
from another. The following analysis of the
chapter, from Murphy, presents a somewhat
different view from that given by Lange below:
"They are in communion with God (1-8), in
the communion of saints (9 22), and are about
to be in a land of holiness (23-32), and visited
by strangers (33-37). And each of these rela
tions brings out a series of duties peculiar to
itself."

Lange says: "We hold that this section, as
being the summing up of the laws of the theo
cratic humanity, is quite in place, as a contrast
to the characteristics of the heathen inhumanity
which the foregoing chapter has displayed; and
in so far forth comprises in no part anything
repeated, varying, or in the more restricted
sense religious. It gives the characteristics of
the consecrated human personality in the theoc
racy, and of its conduct as it should correspond
with the holy personality of Jehovah, and honce
it is said again and again: I am Jehovah.
From this constant refrain a liturgy of religious
humanity could be unfolded. First, in three
fold distinctness: Ye shall be holy, i. e. hal
lowed personalities, for I Jehovah your God
am holy, and ever again I am Jehovah your
God (vers. 3, 4, 10, 25, 31, 3*, 36), or I am

36 sure. Just balances, just weights,28 a just ephah, and a just bin, sball ye have : I

37 am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore
shall ye observe all my statutes, aud all my judgments, and do them: I am the
LORD.

28 Ver. 36. The mar/, of the A. V. ttnnes U unn c?ssary, that being merely the p:imary sense of T3N, while weight is
the fully establish* d d«riva.ive sense.

Jehovah (vers. 12, 14, 16, 18. 28, 30, 32, 37).
Lvideutly these statements together, as the cha
racteristics of the private human conduct, stand
in connection with the legislatiox for the social
humanity in the section, Ex x*i .-xxiii.

"Disposition: vers. 1, 2. Tho principle of
humanity: Jehovah the Holy One. Vei-.s. 3-8.
True and false piety. Vers. 9-18. Inwardly
grounded humanity. Vers. 19-32. Observance
of the moral laws of nature. Vers. 33-37. Ob
servance of hospitali y and the duties of trade.

"The first theocratic law of humanity is the
root of all that follow, the law of piety. And
here it is not said : 'Father and mother,' but
mother and father; for the mother precede
the father in the duty of mankind." Words
worth says in reference to this order: -'In the
former chapter God had displayed the evils con
sequent on the abuse of woman, and here He
inculcates reverence towards her, as the founda
tion of social happiness." This is the fifth com
mandment of the Decalogue (Ex. xx. 12), and is
clearly necessary to be called to mind here ; for
as the family is the basis of all social organiza
tion, so is reverence to parents the first necessity
of family order. Next follows the reiteration
of the fourth commandment (Ez. xx. 12) as the
firet duty of man beyond the immediate respect
due from him to those from whom he derives
his being. The great prominence everywhere
given in Scripturo to the observance of the Sab
bath (comp. e. g. Ez. xx. 12, 13, 16, 20, 21, 24,
being the portion from the prophets read in the
synagogue in connection with this chapter), and
the universality of its obligation as grounded
upon the Divine rest, show how deeply this must
enter into all excellent social organization.
These two precepts are here coupled together as
they are in the Decalogue, and they are the only
commands given there in positive form. They
"express two great central points, the first be
longing to natural law, and the second to posi
tive law, in the maintenance of the well-being
of the social body of which Jehovah was the
acknowledged king." Clark. It is noticeable
that the same generality which is given to the
command in Ex. by the use of the sing, is here
attained also by the use of the plural; for the
plural is not to be understood as used (Kalisch)
lor the purpose of including other festivals than
the weekly day of rest.

Ver. 4. This precept includes the two first
commands of the Decalogue. The order of com
mands in this chapter, in so far as the commands
themselves are the same, is different, from that
in the Decalogue, because there the starting
point is from God Himself; here from man in
his family and social relations. In regard to
this precept, Lange says: "If the heart of man
becomes benumbed to the use of images of false
gods of any kind, he sinks down to the idols
which are his ideals, and becomes as dumb and

150

LEVITICUS.

unspiritual as they are, ver. 4. All gods of the
heathen, are Elilim, nothingnesses, Ps. xcvi. 5;
cxv. 8; cxxxv. 18; Isa. xl. 18; xliv. 10, etc."
Comp. also Deut. xxvii. 15. It was a notion of
the Rabbins that this word was compounded of

h#,=not, and ^it—God. Comp. 1 Cor. viii. 4;
x. 19.

Vers. 5-8. The Legislator now turns to the
especial outward act of communion with God in
the peace offering. His object is not to speak
of sacrifices in general, nor even of any special
kind of peace offering; therefore the distinc
tions of vii. 11-21 are not referred to. The
reference is rather to xvii. 8-7, according to
which, during the wilderness life, all food of
sacrificial animals was to be sanctified by the
peace offering. So here all holy feasting of
communion with God must be based upon a sac
rifice for their acceptance, and must be treated
according to the commands already given. The
order of the precepts is therefore perfectly
natural: first, filial duty; then the observance
of the fundamental divine institution for society;
next, negatively, the entire turning aw ly from
everything that oould come into rivalry with
God ; and now the keeping holy of the appointed
means of communion with Him. After this
come (9-18) various precepts to guard the holi
ness of conduct toward one's neighbor, especially
the poor and distressed, illustrated by one com
mand of detail after another until the nil inclu
ding principle is announced, thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself.

Vers. 9, 10. The gatherer of his harvest, out
of the abundance which God had given him,
must have a generous care for the poor and the
stranger; the poor, as those unable to cultivate
their own land, or who had been obliged to sell
it, until the next year of Jubilee ; and the stran
ger, as those who by the organization of the
Hebrew commonwealth could have no possession
of land in their country. The LXX. and the
Syr. interpret stranger of proselytes, and are
followed by some Jewish commentators; but
such restriction is plainly at variance with the
whole spirit of the command. The same precept
is repeated, in regard to the grain harvest, in
connection with the feast of weeks (xxiii. 22),
and more generally in Deut. xxiv. 19-22 with a
reminder of the privations and bondage they
had themselves endured in Egypt. The story
of Ruth is a beautiful exemplification of the ope
ration of this statute.

Ver. 11. This and the following precepts take
the usual negative form of statutory la\v. The
eighth commandment is here joined with the
offences recounted in vi. 2-5 of falsehood and
fraud towards others. St. Augustine here (Qu.
68) enters at length into the casuistical question
of the jusiifiableness of lying under certain pe
culiar circumstances, citing the example of Ra-
hab among others. He conclud s that it was
not her lying, as such, which received the
divine approbation, but her desire to serve God,
which indeed prompted her lie. However this
may be, it is plain that the law here has in view
not extraordinary and exceptional cases, but the
ordinary dealings of man with man. Such law
is of universal obligation. Comp. Col. iii. 9.

Ver. 12 is of course covered by the third com
mandment, but is not coextens ve with it, since
the point of view here is that of conduct towards
one's neighbor. Comp. ch. vi. 5.

Vers. 13-17 relate to social offences of different
kinds, common enough in all ages and lands,
but all inconsistent with the character of a holy
people. Ver. 13 deals with faults of power,
" the conversion of might into right." The par
ticulars mentioned are oppression (comp. xxv.
17-43), robbing, and undue retention of wages.
The last is spoken of more at length Deut. xxiv.
14, 15. Comp. Jas. v. 4. Ver. 14 mentions
crimes of mean advantage. Comp. Deut. xxvii.
18. The s nse is, thou shalt not curse the
deaf, for though he hears not, God will hear
and avenge; and so of the blind, God sees and
cares for him. Job remembered with satisfac
tion that in his prosperity be had been " eyes to
the blind" and "feet to the lame" (Job xxix.
15). The precept in its literal sense belongs to
all times, and so also does its obvious spiritual
application, Rom. xiv. 13; 1 Cor. viii. 9-13.
Lange characterizes this verse as the "sanctifi-
cation of the human dignity of the infirm. ' la
ver. 15 the Legislator turns to official wrong,
guarding against personal influence in judgment
from whatever source. — Respect the person
of the poor has reference not only to pity for
him, but to that inst nctive tendency to pympa-
thy with the weaker side which still has such
powerful influence with the modern jury in the
perversion of justice. On the other hand,
honoring the person of the mighty repre
sents the opposite perversion, pernaps almost
equally common, but less creditable to humanity.
Vers. 1G and 17 forbid offences of a meaner
kind. On ver. 16 Lange says: "Sanctity
of a neighbor's goo I mime, and especially of his
life and blood. Casting aside of all inhumane
conduct, all ill-will, as manifested in malicious
belittling, blackening, and slandering, and espe
cially in attempts against the life of a neighbor,
whether in court or in private life." Tho Rab
bins, equally with the Hindoo laws, are particu
larly severe upon the crime of tale-bearing.
The Targ. Jonathan paraphrases the clause, "Do
not go after the tale-bearing tongue, vvhic'i is
harsh as a sword, slaying with both its edges."
The latter clause of ver. 10 is sometimes other
wise interpreted; "most of the recent Jewi-di
versions follow the T.ilmud in giving another
sense to the words, which it nppears the Hebrew
will bear: Thou shall not stand by idly when tlvi
neighbor's life is in danyer. So Zunz, Lnzzato,
Herxlieimer, Leeser, Wogue." Clark. Ver. 17.
Lange: "Observance of good-will towards one's
neighbor. Blarncworthine.-s of hate, and also
of the bitter keeping back of the reproof which
one owes to his neighbor. It is a fine reminder
that one mny become a sharer in a neighbor's
fault by a 1 ick of openness, and by a holding
back of required reproof." On the last clause,
see Textual, and on the whole verse comp. Prov.
xxvii. 5; Matt, xviii. 15-17.

In the close of ver. 18 all is summed up in the
royal law — thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself. This is twice quoted by our Lord
Himself (Matt. xix. 19; xxH. 39), and, next to
love to God, is made the great commandment of

CHAP. XIX. 1-S7.

the law. It is repeatedly referred to by the
Apostles as the fulfilling of the whole law to
wards one's neighbor ^Rom. xiii. 9; Gal. v. 14;
Jas. ii. 8). It may be (hat at the time it was
given it was too far above the spiritual condition
of the people, who must first be trained by the
detailed precepts going before. Nevertheless, it
is imbedded in the law as the expression of the
divine will, and that it might be reached by such
as were able to receive it. Such passages as
Prov. xxiv. 17, 18; xxv. 21, 22, show that it did
not fail of exerting an influence upon the na
tion, and in later times the Rabbins abundantly
recognized it as the very summary of all duty
toward's one's neighbor. That the precept has
no narrow limitations to their own people is
shown by ver. 34, in which it is expressly ex
tended to "the stranger."

The second series of commands, vers. 19-32, is
introduced with the formula, Ye shall keep
my statutes, in which, says Kalisch, the word
"Statutes must be taken in its original and
most pregnant sense as that which is 'engraven'
and unalterably ordained: you shall not deviate
from the appointed order of things, nor abandon
the eternal laws of nature as fixed by Divine
wisdom." Ver. 19. Lange : " Observance of the
natural system, or of the simple laws of nature,
symbolically expressed in reference to the ten
dency to allow the interbreeding of different
species of animals, to mix various seeds in the
field, and to wear garments made of mixed stuffs.
When it is said in regard to these things, Ye
shall keep my statutes, the laws of nature
are plainly meant as the laws of Jehovah, and
we must distinguish between the symbolical ex
emplification of the law and such mixings as
nature herself or the necessities of life compel, —
to say noth ng of the purpose of investigation."
This law is repeated in Deut, xxii. 9-1 f. It is
clearly to be looked upon as one of those many
educational laws given to train the Isracli.es to
the observance of the natural order and repara
tion of things, to a sense of fitness and con-
gruity ; and hence, when the underlying princ:-
ple has come to be comprehended, the panicular
details by which it was enforced cease to be ob
ligatory. As to the allegation that this command
was violated in the high-priest's dress, which is
said to have been woven of linen and wo »1, it is
unnecessary to say more than that the difficulty
arises entirely from a misapprehension in taking
the word scarlet to mean scarlet wool, instead of
as a simple designation of color.

Vers. 20-22. The punishment for adultery was
death for both parties (xx. 10), and the same in
case of the seduction of a free virgin who was
betrothed (Deut, xxii. 23, 24); and it was still
death to the man in case the act might be pre
sumed to have been by violence (ib. 25-27).
These laws were inapplicable in their full force
in the case of a slave, since she could not legally
contract marriage. Still, the moral offence ex
isted, and therefore there mu-t be punishment.
Versions and authorities vary as to whether the
punishment was to be inflicted on both parties
(LXX., Vulg., Syr.), on the man alone (Sam.),
or on the woman alone (A. V.). The last is sup
ported on the ground tha* the man's pun
ishment consisted in his trespass offering; but

this is so entirely inadequate that this view
may be dismissed. Probably both parties were
punished when the acquiescence of the woman
might be presumed, and the man alone in the
opposite case. This would be in accordance
wilh the analogy of Deut. xxii. 23-27, and would
account for the indefiniteness of the Hebrew ex
pression. See Textual note 18. The supposi
tion that both were ordinarily to be punished
also agrees best with the following plural — they
shall not be put to death. In the form of
sacrifice to be presented by the man, the trespass
offering (comp. v. 14 — vi 7), the violation of the
rights of property of which he had also been
guilty is recognized.

Vers. 23-25. " Treatment of nature, in the case
of the culture of plants, after their analogy with
the life of man. Symbolic practice: the fruits
of trees for the first three years were to be con
sidered as the foreskin of the tree, and were not
to be harvested nor eaten. The trees were to
be allowed to grow strong by having their fruit
hang on them. The fruit of the fourth jear was
to be hallowed to Jehovah, and thus by a theo
cratic consecration, the f<uit of the following
years should be a consecrated food, analogous to
the food of the flesh that was slain before the
door of the Tabernacle. First, the fruits of the
trees were, so to speak, heathen ; then they were
hallowed in a priestly way; and then finally be
came fruits to be enjoyed by the theocracy."
Lange. It is noticeable that this command, like
so many others, is wholly prospective, — when
ye shall come into the land, — one of the
constantly recurring evidences that this legisla
tion was actually given during the life in the
wilderness.

Vers. 26-28 forbid several heathen customs,
some of them associated with idolatrous or su
perstitious rites, and all of them unbecoming the
holy people of God. "To the consecration of
the use of fruit is added for completeness once
more the consecration of the use of flesh, and in
deed with a more strict prohibition of the use
of the blood : ye shall not eat any thing
with the blood." Lange. "These words were
not a mere repetition of the law against eating
blood (xvii. 10), but. a strengthening of the law.
Not only were they to eat no blood, but no flesh.
to which any blood adhered." Keil. Patrick,
quoting from Maimonides and others, makes it
very probable that this has reference to a heathen
custom of eating flesh over the blood of the ani
mal from which it had been taken as a means
of communion with demons who were supposed
to feast upon the blood itself. See Spencer, lib.
II., c. 15. Neither shall ye use enchant-
ment. — This is a different sin from that forbid
den in ver. HI ; for in the parallel prohibitions,
Deut. xviii. 9 12, the two are distinguished,
U?nJ, primarily to whisper, to mutter, covers all
kinds of magical formulas, all attempts to secure
a desired result otherwise than by natural means
or the invocation of divine aid. The LXX. OVK.
olovielade and Syr. interpret it of augury by
means of birds; but while the form of the He
brew seems to connect the act primarily with the
serpent, its sense in use is certainly more gene
ral. Comp. Gen. xliv. 5, 15. Nor observe

152

LEVITICUS.

times. — pty, according to some authorities, a
denom. verb from pj?=a cloud, and this sense has
been followed by the A. V.; according to Rab
binical authorities, however, it is from ]*y=fhe
ey , and means to bewitch with an evil oyo. In
either case the general sense is in accordance
with the preceding clause: to rely upon occult
arts for the accomplishment of one's purposes.
Lange : "To the prohibition of the unhallowed
sensual use of nature is added the prohibition
of the demoniacal misinterpretation of nature,
of an impious desire to enter the spirit-world by
breaking through the opposing limits of nature;
the prohibition of soothsaying and sorcery,
whereby, in all their forms, natural things were
misused, ver. 26. In the same connection be
longs the disfiguring of the natural appearance
of one's own personal form, especially of the
h°ad and the beard, ver. 27. And in this law
the Christian world might have cause to see it
self reflected, with their unnatural forms of every
kind: crinolines, trains, high-heeled shoes, chig
nons, and hats that are only lids to the forehead.
Only the law of customs must be remembered :
the taste of the women is the taste of the men."
Theodoret (Qu. 28), followed by many moderns,
understands the things here forbidden of heathen
customs connected either with idolatrous usages
or with mourning for the dead. Ver. 28. For
the dead.— "193JHTD tf£)J, xxi. 11; Num. vi.
6; or f\,0, Deut. xiv. 1 ; so again [the same form
as here is used] in xxii. 4; Num. v. 2; ix. 6, 7,
10." Keil. Lange: "This opposition to nature
was increased by cutting marks in their flesh in
remembrance of the dead, as the Jews must havo
>-een done in the cultus of the dead among the
Egyptians. With this belongs the cutting in of
written characters, every kind of tattooing, of
profaning (lie human dignity in the human
form. Ver. 28. On similar heathen customs see
Keil, p. 130 [Trans, p. 424] ; Kriobel, p. 513."
Comp. xxi. 5; Deut. xiv. But notwithstanding
the law, the custom appears to have continued a
familiar one, see Jer. xvi. 6; xlviii. 37. "Any
voluntary disfigurement of the person was in it
self an outrage upon God's workmanship, aud
might well form the subject of a law." Clark.

Ver. 29. "The common natural disposition
becomes especially unnatural when the father
of a family gives away his daughter, or allows
her to go away, to become a whore. One result
of this is that the land or people itself begins to
fall to whoredom aNo in the religious sense.
"The religious immorality is here meant, as it
was joined with many worships, Num. xxv. 1,"
etc. Knobel. The heathen religious service of
lu-t existed among the most, different nations, the
Babylonians, for example, and the Indians of the
present day." Lange. Keil argues that the re
ference here can be only "to fleshly whoredom,
the word H/3T being used only in this connec
tion." But see Ezek. xvi. 27, 43, 58, etc. Ne
vertheless, the context here requires that the
carnal sin should be understood, and certainly
that is the primary sin in Num. xxv. 1.

Ver. 30. Lange: "The spirit of reverence for
the institutions of the church is also a character
istic of true humanity, and the corresponding ir

reverence, a characteristic of barbarism, even
if the barbarism be occasionally in the garments
of the higher culture/ History has abundantly
shown that the keeping holy of the Lord's day
and reverence for His sanctuary runs hand in
hand with the highest national development.
Throughout this •' social and domestic life is per
vaded by the fear of God and characterized by
chasteness and propriety." Keil. In His re
peated cleansing of the temple (Jno. ii. 14-16:
Matt. xxi. 12, 13) our Lord has shown that the lat
ter duty at least is one of permanent obligation.

Ver. 31. Lange: "Also the pa«sive supersti
tion which, instead of asking of Jehovah, espe
cially on His d iys of rest, and in His holy place,
asks of the conjurors of the dead and of wizards,
or of a\/y ungodly oracle of any kind, and thus
breaks through the limits of the consecrated hu
manity, which leaves it to God to rule and trusts
in God." Them that have familiar spirits.
—The Heb. 31K is us^d both for the divining
spirit, the foreboding demon itself, as here ami
in xx. 27; 1 Sam. xxviii. 7, 8, etc.; and also for
the person in whom such a spirit was supposed
to dwell. Isa. xxix. 4. The LXX. usually render
it by eyyaarpijuvfloi— venlri/oquis's, since amon^
the ancients ventriloquism and magical arts were
wont to be associated together. "Wizard. —
"JJ^T — lit. the knowing one; Symm. yvucTqc,; Aq.
yvupia-fa, is always associated with 31X, and
means plainly one who pretends to more than
mortal knowledge. The chief means used by
both these classes of persons was the consulting
with the spirits of the departed. While this fur
nishes an incidental testimony all along to the
belief of the Israelites in the life beyond the
grave, it is self-evident that all such attempts
to secure knowledge which God has not put it in
the power of living man to acquire are a resist
ance to His will, and a chafing against the bar
riers He has imposed. It is remarkable that
such attempts should have been persisted in
through all ages and in all lands. In ver. 32
the outward marks of respect to old age are con
nected with the fear of God. The commendation
of this virtue is frequent in Scripture, and its
practice appears to have been universal among all
ancient nations, as it, is still among the Orientals.

Vers. 33, 34. Lange: " Humanity towards the
stranger, who is not a Jew, who thus certainly
might dwell as a private man in the future in
heritance of Israel. He was to be treated ex
actly as an inhabitant in human intercourse.
Thou shalt love him as thyself. — With this
the remembrance is still preserved that the
Israelites had been strangers in the land of
Egypt." The royal law of ver. 18 is here ex
pressly extended to the stranger, and notwith
standing the national narrowness necessary to
preserve the true religion in the world, the ge
neral brotherhood of mankind is hereby taught
as far as was possible under the circumstances.

Vers. 35, 36. Lange: "Integrity, correspond
ing to the humanity, is now made especially pro
minent and sharp, as if in prophetic foresight in
regard to the occupation of the Israelites in
trade, and with reference to all forms of bu
siness.

"In this mirror of humanity not only Judaism

CHAP. XX. 1-27.

153

may see itself reflected, not only mediaeval fana
ticism, but also modern culture."

The Ephah is mentioned as the standard of
dry, and the Hin of liquid measure. Pre
cisely how much each contained is in dispute.
The Hin was the sixth part of the Ephah; and
the latter, according to Josephus (Ant. III. 9,
§4; VIII. 2, $9), contained rather more than
eight and a half gallons. But the Rabbins make
the capacity only about half this, which is more
probable. However this may be, it is clear that
equity in the affairs of the daily life is here
made to rest upon the foundation of duty to
wards God.

In ver. 37 all duties enumerated in this chap
ter are placed upon the same ground — the only
ground, as experience has abundantly shown,
sufficiently strong to withstand the temptations
and vicissitudes of the world.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. The foundation of the law here, as every
where, is the holiness of God. Because He is
holy, therefore the people who would live in
communion with Him must be holy too. This
principle is of universal application to all times,
and to all occupations of human life.

II. In the human development of holiness filial
reverence must always occupy the first place, and
next to that comes reverence for the outward in
stitutions of divine appointment.

III. The fulfilling of our whole duty towards
our neighbor, under the old dispensation as un
der the new, culminates and is comprehended in
the law — Thou shait love thy neighbor as
thyself. With a clearness that seems to belong
to the teaching of the Gospel, "neighbor" is
made to comprehend the stranger as well as
one's own compatriots.

IV. In the general exhortation to holiness are
included all details of the daily life. There is
nothing so insignificant that one may allow him
self in unholy conduct in relation to it; because
he would thereby violate the fundamental prin

ciple of communion with God. This is particu
larly applied in the law to matters of butiness
and trade.

V. All attempts to arrive at more than mortal
knowledge by consultation with the spirits of the
dead are especially and emphatically forbidden.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Lange : "The foundation of these laws is an
nounced in the most emphatic declaration of the
name of Jehovah and His holiness, again and
again, as the sanction of the commands. Ye
shall be holy, for I am holy — I e., ye shall
keep your personality pure, for your Jehovah,
your covenant God, the absolute Personality, re
pels all uncleanness, all confusion with the
world, either in the heads of Pantheists or in the
hearts and morals of the servants of sin, or in
the rites of the priests. The personality is dis
honored with every act of idolatry and every
idolatrous worship (see Isa. xliv. 9sqq.; Acts
xvii.). There follow the outlines of holy thanks
giving festivals, holy harvest festivals and vint
ages, holy ways of thought and action, holy
oaths, etc. Continually new features of the con
secration of life by a humane conduct are made
prominent; and truly they are fine and thought
ful features."

Each precept of this chapter has a homiletical
value so clear that no amplification of the text
itself is necessary. Holiness is made to consist
not merely in the avoiding of sin and in the
fulfilment of certain prescribed duties, but in a
general course of life prompted by genuine love
The wants of the poor are to be regarded, the
weak and defenceless are to be respected, justice
is to be unwarped by either personal sympathies
or influence, tale-bearing avoided, all magical
arts and efforts to attain forbidden knowledge
are to be shunned, and, in a word, man is to con
duct himself in all things as one who is in com
munion with God, and therefore seeks to have
His will carried out in all the length and breadth
of his own daily life.

FOURTH SECTION.

Punishment for TTnholiness.

"Keeping Holy the Holy Congregation by Cuffing off Irreparable Transgression" — LANGE.

CHAPTER XX. 1-27.

1, 2 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Again, thou shalt say to the children
of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn
in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech ; he shall surely be put to death:

3 the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against
that man, and will cut him off from among his people ; because he hath given of

4 his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And
if the people of the land do any ways hide1 their eyes from the man, when he giveth

Ver. 4. On the daghesh in

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

and lOJT, see Text. Note ™ on iv. 13.

154 LEVITICUS.

5 of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not : then I will set my face against that man,
and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him,

6 to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people. And the soul that
turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after
them, I will even set my face against that soul,2 and will cut him off from among

7 his people. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD

8 your God.3 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them : I am the LORD which
sanctify you.

9 For4 every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death :
he hath cursed his father or his mother ; his blood5 shall be upon him.

10 And the man that committtth adultery with another man's wife, even he that
commiteth adultery with his neighbor's wife,6 the adulterer and the adulteress shall

11 surely be put to death. And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath unco
vered his father's nakedness : both of them shall surely be put to death; their

12 blood5 shall be upon them. And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of
them shall surely be put to death ; they have wrought confusion ; their blood5 shall

13 be upon them. If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both
of them have committed an abomination : they shall surely be put to death ; their

14 blood shall be upon them. And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wick
edness : they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they ; that there be no wicked-

15 ness among you. And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death :

16 and ye shall slay the beast. And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie
down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put

17 to death ; their blood5 shall be upon them. And if a man shall take his sister, his
father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his
nakedness ; it is a wicked thing ; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their
people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; heT shall bear his ini-

18 quity. And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover
her nakedness ; he hath discovered [uncovered8] her fountain, and she hath unco
vered the fountain of her blood : and both of them shall be cut off from among

19 their people. And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister,
nor of thy father's sister : for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their

20 iniquity. And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his un-

21 cle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin ; they shall die childless. And if a man
shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing : he hath uncovered his bro
ther's nakedness : they shall be childless.

22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them :

23 that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out. And ye
shall not walk in the manners [statutes9] of the nation,10 which I cast out before

24 you : for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. But I
have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to pos
sess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey : I am the LORD your God, which

25 have separated you from other people. Ye shall therefore pat difference between
clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean : and ye shall not
make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living [omit
living11] thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as

* Ver. 6. $233. Four MSS. and Onk. read $'N3, which De Rossi prefers cm account of the following ^fljt Fcr

the last, however, the Sara, reads -

8 Ver. 7. The Sam., 4 MSS. and" LXX. read: for I, the LORD your God, am holy.

* Vtr. 9. >'2)=/or is omitted in two MSS., the LXX. and Vulg.

5 Vers. 9, 11, 12, 16. On the plural form for blood, comp. Gen. iv. 10; Ex. xxii. 1.

« Ver. 10. Three of Kennicott'H MSS. omit the first clause of tnis verse. Ros^nmuller considers that the repetition
•nvolves a distinction for the sake of emphasis, making y~) in the second clause=relation, BO that there is a prohibi ion,

first of adultery in general, then specifically of adultery with the wife of a relative. For this sense of the word he refers
to Deut. xiii. 7: 2 Sam. xiii. 3. S. Augustine (Qu. 73 in Hept.) takes the sann view.

* Ver. 17. The LXX., Syr. nnd Vulg. have the plural.

8 Ver. 18. The same word shoii'd receive the same translation in both clauses.

» Ver. 23. Statutes. See Text Note 2 on xviii. 3.

1° Ver. 23. The Sam. reals Q'ljn, <»><! s • one MS. followed by all the ancient versions, as seems to be required by tb
following tlif.y committed. It is not unlik <ly that D ni «y have drooped out of the text.

" Ver. 25. There is nothing to express the word living in the Ileb., and it is better omitted, as the reference
to the dead bodies of these auimalB.

CHAP. XX. 1-27.

26 unclean. And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have

27 severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. A man also or woman
that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death : they
shall stone them with stones : their blood shall be upon them.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Ihe whole of Lange's Commentary on this
chapter is here given.

"Our section forms a completion of the pro
hibitions which have preceded in ch. xviii.,
while it still further joins the punishment of
death to several of the very sins there mentioned.
Yet this is certainly no mere appendix, but pro
ceeds from an entirely new point of view.
There the fundamental idea was: the sexual
relations, particularly, the theocratic seed, must
be kept holy ; here the fundamental idea is: the
holy land must be kept holy, it must not be out
raged or stirred up to reaction and revolt
through an abomination which might determine
it to spue out the Israelites also (as a person
spues out something nauseous from his mouth),
ver. 22. Ch. xviii. 28 had already expressed
this thought, but from the point of view that
the land would be thereby desecrated. It is
also here clearly brought out that the land
would be taken away from the Canaanites on
account of their constant abominations, and
given to the people of Israel; but that the like
punishment should befall them also, if they did
not keep the land cleaa by executing the penalty
of death upon the offenders. In the conception
of the sickened land and the revolted nature
lies evidently the idea of the people consumed
by unnatural sins." [\ simpler view of the
relation of this to chs. xviii. and xix. is given
by Clark : "The crimes which are condemned
in those chapters on purely spiritual ground,
the absolute prohibition of Jehovah, have here
special punishments allotted to them as offences
against the well being of the nation." In ch.
xix. there is no mention at all of punishment
except in the single case of the betrothed slave
(vers. 20-22) ; in ch. xviii. there is no specific
punishment attached to each offence, but only
the general statement (vers. 28-30) of the penalty
to fall upon the trangressor of any of tlie sta
tutes and upon the land as a whole. For the
purpose of civil government, therefore, the pre
sent chapter is a necessary supplement. — F. G.J

"Already (schon fru/i'r) has the decree of the
death- penalty been brought forward for sins

that were committed, HD^ T3 (Num. xv. 30).
T T T :

By this we can only understand stubborn or
arrogant sins ; therefore not every conscious
sin, as opposed to the unconscious, but every
sin which was maintained in opposition to the
theocratic jurisdiction. Single sins might always
prove to be such; but the abominations here
mentioned were, for the most part, deadly sins,
those most befitting the Clierem, as blaspheming
the name of Jehovah, ch. xxiv. 11, and dese
crating the Sabbath, Num. xv. 32

"But also we have here different grades of
punishment with the different grades of offence.
The first class of sins is devilish, vers. 1-7 ; the
second class brutal, even beastly, vers. 10-1G ;

the third, of the carnal nature, unruly, vers.
17-21.

First Class.

"1. The sacrifice to Molech. It is to be
understood that the stranger was included with
the Israelite under this prohibition; for if, in
general, no sacrifice to false gods were allowed
in the land, so certainly not the sacrifice to Mo-
lech. The Jew, however, would become more
wicked by such an offering than a heathen. It
is also here plain that what is spoken of is the
giving up of children to death." [The expres
sions used here, vers. 2, 3, 4, are an abbreviated
form of that in xviii. 21. It mny be doubted
whether they refer to children at. all, or if so, to
putting them to death. See Textual Note and
Comrn. on xviii. 21. — F. G.]

" In regard to this, it sounds like a charge to
execute immediate judgment on the spot: the
people of the land shall stone him with
stones, properly, bury him under thrown
stones." [Doubtless in a primitive state of
society all punishment was somewhat summary,
and this particular punishment is often provided
for in the law, ver. 27; xxiv. 11; Num. xv. 35,
36; Deut. xiii. 10; xvii. 5; xxi. 21; xxii. 21,
24, etc. But, nevertheless, it was only to be
administered on sufficient evidence, and with
due forms of law, Deut.. xvii, 6; xix. 15, etc. —

G.] — «In this case the avenging is God's
personal affair: Jehovah sets His face against
him to1 consume him out of Jehovah's people;
for his sin is a three-fold one: he has given his
seed to Molech, and therein has judged himself;
he has defiled the sanctuary of Jehovah, that is,
the land hallowed by His sanctuary; and he
has profaned Jehovah's holy name, and dese
crated the religion of His name. And even
if the people should let him go unpunished
in the last case. Jehovah Himself will ^ pur
sue him and even his race with His judg
ment, until He has exterminated all who are
associated in his guilt, So strongly, rules the
absolute Personality against all behaviour
that opposed personality. The judgment is in
this case as immanent in the guilty as a consu
ming fire. One might also suppose that " the
face of Jehovah," in a constructio prxynans, here
signified the Angel of His presence, and thus
expressed the thought that the spirit of the
revealed religion would exterminate the abomi
nations mentioned together with their authors.
There were two grades, however, in complicity
in this guilt: in the first grade, it is an apos
tasy to these men (as e.g. in the case of heathen
wives) ; in the second grade, through tins
to Molech. Ver. 5."— [It is noticeable that
while the prohibition of the sin in vers. l-o
extends to the stranger on the ground that such
abomination was not to be tolerated at all m
the consecrated land; yet the extension of the
penalty to complicity in the sin by concealment*
is applied only to the people of the land
^Yer. 4) that is, to native Hebrews (comp. iv.

150

LEVITICUS.

27), and also to them alone (ver. 2) is committee
the execution of the penalty. — F. G.]

" 2. Also the soul that turneth after such
as have familiar spirits (necromancers) anc
after wizards (LXX. eyyaaTpiuvOoi=veutri\o
quisrs, e-aoidoi = singing magic charms, boih
not exegetically exhaustive) to go a whoring
after them — i. e., to engage in apostasy
from Jehovah to dark forms of supersti
tion, — therefore against these also Jehovah
will set His face. It helps them nothing if they
remain unpunished of men; they fall before the
more searching sentence upon presumptuous
wickedness. Jehovah pursues them even to
their extermination, for they are not to corrupt
Bis people for Him.

" In regard to these sins it is said, on th
other hand : Sanctify yourselves therefore,
and be ye holy: raise yourselves to the dig
nity of theocratic personalities, for your God is
in Jehovah, the absolute, pure Personality.
While they observe the ordinances of this Holy
Being, they must understand that it is He who
is training them to be a holy people.

Second Class.

" FIRST CASE. — Next the text speaks of the
unnatural and profligate child that curseth his
father or his mother. He shall be surely
put to death. And herewith commences the
new class. But since the expression begins with
for ("3), it gives to the clause at the same time
a symbolic character in reference to the former
class : profaning the name of Jehovah is like this
sin of cursing father or mother, since He, as the
Holy One, creates for Himself His holy people.
But for the second class the expression is cha
racteristic, his blood shall be upon him, or
upon them, vers. i), 11, 12, 13, 16. It is to be
observed that ver. 14 brings out an increase iu
regard to this form of punishment; but ver. 15
certainly falls under one category with ver. 16.
The ordinance of punishment, equalizing the
guilt of the unnatural curser with that of the
shedding of blood, brings upon him the penal
retribution of the latter. Ver. 9.

"SECOND AND THIRD CASES. — The crime
of adultery with a neighbor's wife, and the crime
of incest with a father's wife (a step-mother) are
equalized under the sentence of blood-guiltiness
which incurred death, and this for both man and
woman alike. Vers. 10, 11.

"FOURTH CASE. — The same applies to incest,

with a daughter-in-law, 73H (mixing, confusion,
defilement). [Ver. 12.]

" FIFTH CASE. — Paederasty, moreover, is desig
nated as an abomination, as contrary to nature,
a revolting crime; and the punishment of death
is here expressly made prominent. This sin is
called nDj/W (abomination, horror). [Ver. 13.]
" SIXTH CASE. — The double incest is made
most particularly prominent when a man lies
both with a mother and her daughter. They
were to be burnt with each other (without doubt,
•their bodies after they had been stoned). This
sin is called HDT (a refined or unheard of deed

T ' V

of shame. The law brings out prominently that

such moral enormities should not exist in
The same penalty was, moreover, imposed upon
the daughter of a priest who became a whore,
because she had put her father to shame, xxi. 9.
So Achan was first stoned in the valley of Achor,
then burned, since he had brought a curse, a'
corrupting complicity in guilt upon Tsrael, Josh,
vii. But Josiah set burning against burning, the
theocratic burning against the burning to Mo-
lech, when he burned the bones of the priests
upon their altars, and thereby purified Judah
and Jerusalem (2 Chr. xxxiv. 5; comp. 2 Kings
xxiii. 10). With this appears the embryo of the
Gehenna, as it comes out in symbolic form in the
Old Testament, Isa. Ixvi. 24. The Gehenna is
thus a representation of the fire of Molech, and
over it also the fire of judgment has at last come.
Ver. 14. The Old Testament fire penalty was
only symbolical, and involved no unnatural tor
ture, like the mediaeval mimicry of the flames of
hell. In this case, the offender was first put to
death ; and the same is true of the Old Testament
hanging.

"SEVENTH AND EIGHTH CASES. — Copu
lation with a beast, either by a man or a woman.
With the beastly human being, the beast itself
was also to be destroyed. For examples, see
Knobel, p. 507. [Vers. 15, 16.]

Third Class.

" FIRST CASE. — Copulation with a half-sister."
[This also, as in xviii. 9, necestarily covers the
case of a full sister, for she was both the daugh
ter of the father and the daughter of the mother.
— F. G.] "They shall be cut off in the
sight of their people.— Thus (hey should form
a warning spectacle." Here the crime is de
scribed as Ipn and j'l^ disgrace and misdeed,
[Ver. 17.]

"SECOND CASE. — He that lay with a menstru-
ous woman, who in such wise uncovered the
fountain of her blood — so to speak — exposed
her life-spring. The penalty of death is for
both. The sentence sounds with a more gentle
expression : destruction out of the midst of the
people." [Ver. 18. The punishment here refers
to the act knowingly committed; in xv. 24 the
light penalty is given for the same act uninten
tionally committed. — F. G.]

'•' THIRD CASE. — Intercourse with an aunt on
either the father's or the mother's side. They
shall bear their iniquity. — Thus sounds the
sentence indefinitely, in transition to the follow
ing. [Ver. 19.]

"FOURTH CASE. — If one takes the wife of his
brother, it is H1J (it induces the curate of the
first degree); The penalty is childlessness, and
s thus entirely a divine dispensation (ver. 21).
Here, as has been said, the prohibition can, in
the case of -the Levirate marriage (Deut. xxv. 5-
10), become a command — an evidence of the
nicety of the law." [On the meaning of the pe
nalty of childlessness see the preliminary note
to ch. xviii. It would be entirely out of analogy
with the Divine dealings with man to suppose a
perpetual special interposition through all the
ages of Israel's history in every case of violation

CHAP. XX 1-27.

157

of this law, and there is nothing in the character
of the forbidden relation to induce childlessness
under those ordinary Divine appointments whicl
we call natural laws. It is also much more in
accordance with the general character of this
chapter that the penalty should be understooJ
of something inflicted by statute law, — the reck
oning of the issue of such marriages to another
than the actual father. So rightly S. Augustin
Qu. 76 in Hept. It is a striking fact that this
penalty was still carried out in the one case of
the prohibited degrees, when the prohibition was
changed to a command. In the Levirate mar
riage no heirs were begotten to the actual fa
ther, but they were reckoned to the deceased
brother. — F. G.]

" In conclusion, another exhortation follows
which, in the first place, marks out the ordi
nances as judgments (ideas) ; secondly, ex
presses the incongruity between the unnatural
behaviour and the nature of the land of God, foi
which even Israel could be spued out from it ;
and this brings out, in the third place, that for
such very things the heathen were thrust out of
the land. To this threat a promise is appended
in conclusion. [Ver. 2i.] And with this is
connected a noble idea : in t he separation of clean
boasts from the unclean, the separation of Israel
from the heathen is to be symbolically mirrored
forth. The closing sentence [ver. 27] woul.l be
unintelligible as a repetition (from chap. xix.
31); evidently it is the germ, of the prohibition
of false enthusiasm nnd prophecy in Israel itseli
(see Deut. xix. llsqq.)." , [In xix. 31, in ac
cordance with the general character of chaps,
xviii. and xix., we have simply the prohibition
on the spiritual ground of the opposition to God's
will, without mention of specific punishments ;
here we have throughout civil penalties attached
to the various offVnces as against the theocratic
state. Accordingly those that have familiar spi
rits or are wizards require to be mentioned again
in order that the deat h penalty may be denounced
against them. — F. G ]

"Ver. 25 is particularly important, since it
contains the key to the Understanding of the Le-
vitical distinction between clean and unclean
animals. Men have sought for physiological
reasons for this distinction, and quite lately an
Israelitish author has referred to the discovery of
the Trichina as the foundation of the prohibition
of swine's flesh. In regard to many of the un
clean animals, there is indeed the re.ison of the
physiological unhealthiness of the flesh, or of the
physical aversion to their hateful appearance ; to
which may be added, as connected, something of
the physical effect of the blood of wild beasts.
Also the limitation of Israel to the use and sacri
fice of domestic animals must have an economic
significance, and be, so to speak, for the benefit of
the State, since it worked against the dissipa
tions of the ancient hunting and the luxury of the
heathen, and with the cultivation of the land,
furthered at the same time domestic simplicity
and contentment." [This must be understood to
apply only in a limited degree to the Israelites;
for they were allowed freely to hunt and eat all
clean wild animals, as the "roebuck and the
hart" (Deut. xii. 15, etc.}. In regard to all
physiological and other reasons, it is always to

be remembered that no animals are intrinsically
unclean; none were except ed from the grant to
Noah, and none from the Christian abrogatiou
of the distinction. The law was wholly tempo
rary, added "because of transgressions," to
constitute Israel a peculiar people. — F. G.]
" But the symbolic meaning of the animal world,
as a representation of Is'-ael among the Gentil s,
is here expressly brought out as the religious
main reason. Israel was to have a constant re
presentation of its separation from the heathen
world in the separation of the clean animals, and
thus also the hea'hen world, by which it was
surrounded, and from which it was to understand
that it differed in religion and in morals, was
to be represented in the sphere of the unclean
animals. The sacred observance of the laws of
food was thus a constant reminder for Israel of
its theocratic eanctity and dignity. Thus it is
plain that the old distinction between clean and
unclean animals must fall away after the bound
ary between Israel and the heathen has fallen.
But it is also to be recollected that Judaism
clung very strongly to the old distinct'on, as it
did no less to the prohibition of the use of blood ;
and the Apostolic ordinance in regard to the last
particular and cognate subjects is explained to
mean that these laws, which had been ended as
religious dogmas, must yet continue for a time as
Christian customs for the sake of a united Chris
tian fellowship. The shadowing forth of the
heathen world in the world of unclean beasts,
which is here expressly brought out, is denied by
Keil, in opposition to Kurtz, without reason (p.
95)." [Much as wo may admire the beauty and
force of tbe symbolism here presented by Lange,
it is difficult to see how it "is here expressly
brought out," or even in any way alluded to in
the text. Certainly the observance of the dis
tinction among animals is placed upon a religious
ground, and this observance would contribuie to
make of Israel that separate people which God
had called them to be. Naturally then might
the Israelites themselves have compared the
heathen to unclean animals ; but so far is such
an idea from finding countenance in the word of
God that it is only recognised to be removed,
and the heathen are first represented as un
clean animals in the vision of St. Peter (Acts x.
10-16) at the moment when such distinctions
Wi re forever to be done away. The object of
the law was to make the distinction of animals
fixed and unalterable;- but in regard to the
heathen, to encourage them to offer sacrifices
and partake in the worship of God, and thus to
be drawn into ever increasing nearness of rela
tion to Him. — F. G.]

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.
T. In chap, xviii. the law is given simply as
the will of God. Here punishments are attached
to disobedience as to civil offences against the
theocratic state. There seems no reason why
these two chapters should have been separated
except to mark this distinction emphatically.
Obedience to God's law is required simply be
cause it is His will, and this is set forth by it
self; afterwards and separately, punishments
are provided for th se among His people who re
fuse to be guided by Him.

158

LEVITICUS.

IT. In the frequent expression his or their
blood shall be upon him or them is a plain
intimation that the offender alone is responsible
for the evil that comes upon him. The divine
law, whether natural or revealed, is inexorable,
and he who thrusts himself across its path neces
sarily incurs its penalties. There is no occasion
for a Divine interposition to punish, and there is
no room for the charge of severity ; the offender
braves an irresistible will, and in doing this
must himself alone be held responsible for the
result.

III. The beast involved in the guilt of man or
woman must be put to death with them. There
could be no moral guilt on the part of the beast,
because there was no moral responsibility; but
yet he must perish because he had been associated
in human sin. Whether this was in order to re
move the tool of sin from sight simply, or whe
ther it was because of the association of human
sin with the beast ; in either case it is plain that
it was commanded not for the sake of the beast,
but of man. Here we have one of the many in
stances in the law in which human associations
and feelings are cared for and protected, and
used also as means for the advancement of ho
liness.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Lange: "The chapter of the great theocratic
rigor (chap, xx.) forms a contrast to the chapter

of the great theocratic mildness and purity of
life. Here the various measures of punishment
come into consideration. Burning with fire, as
a symbolical addition to the punishment of death,
is only connected with the dead body which has
been put to death by stoning. Then follows the
particular capital punishment; and next to this in
definite forms of punishment, he shall bear his
iniquity ; and finally the punishment of child
lessness, in which also we are certainly to sup
pose a physical basis. The conception of the
abominations is the conception of that which is
against nature (Rcm. i.), of that which, even
according to natural instinct, is perverse, hor
rible, and a revolt against the moral law in man's
nature; but, in regard to this, indeed, nature it
self comes to the judgment like a spirit of retri
bution."

The law of this, as of many other chapter?, is
enforced on the ground that the Israelites were
called to be a holy people. With how great ad
ditional force must this apply to Christians. Not
only the Israelite, but the stranger also, defiled
God's sanctuary and profaned His holy name by
sin. The same thing must be true always; there
is no escape from responsibility because one
chooses not to acknowledge allegiance to God.
The Divine commands still rest upon him. Only
he has less help and support in keeping them
while he remains aloof from the commonwealth
of Israel.

PART SECOND.

Holiness on the Part of the Priests and Holiness of the Offerings.

"The sacred observance of the priestly position, of the sacrifice, and of the priestly calling" — LANGK.

CHAPTERS XXI., XXII.

A.— "THE DESECRATION OF THE PRIESTLY POSITION AND
THE PRIESTLY CALLING."— LANGE.

CHAPTER XXI.

1 AND the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and

2 say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people : but for
his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his

3 son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, and for his sister a virgin, that is

4 nigh unto him, which hath had no husband ; for her may he be defiled. But [omit
but] he shall not defile himself, being a chief man1 among his people, to profane

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 4. VI3V3 Sl'3 K?3£3^ fc$S- The interpretation of this obscure clause is very various. The LXX., mistaking
Sj?3, read ou f7iav0»yo-6Tai efan-tj/a ev rw Aaw avrou, meaning that the priest shall not defile himself rashly or lightly.
The Syr. and Vulg. have transferred the preposit:on 3 from VTD^ to ^3 and read but he shall not le defiled for a prince,
etc., a sense adopted by several expositors. The A. V. has followed the Targ. of Onk- and th- Arab., which is interpreted to
mean that the priest, 'as occupying a high official position, head of a family, etc., should not delile himself; if this sense can

be sustained, it throws some light upon the occasional use of JH") for prince. It is adopted by numy expositors, as Ton
Gerlach and Keil. The Targ. Jonathan, and several Jewish expositors (Kali.-ch also, and Knobel) understand ^3 to
mean husband, a sufficiently well-established meaning of the word, and one which is followed in the margin of the A. V.;

CHAP. XXL 1-24.

159

5 himself. They2 shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave

6 off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be
holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God : for the offerings of
the LORD made by fire, and [omit and?] the bread of their God they do offer : there
fore they shall be holy.4

7 They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane : neither shall they take a

8 woman put away from her husband : for he5 is holy unto his God. Thou shalt
sanctify him therefore ; for he offereth the bread of thy God : he shall be holy unto

9 thee : for I the LORD, which sanctify you,6 am holy. And the daughter of any
priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father : she
shall be burnt with fire.

10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing
oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover

11 his head, nor rend his clothes ; neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile

12 himself for his* father, or for his mother ; neither shall he go out of the sanctuary,
nor profane the sanctuary of his God ; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God

13, 14 is upon him : I am the LORD. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A
widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or7 an harlot, these shall he not take: but

15 he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. Neither shall he profane his seed
among his people : for I the LORD do sanctify him.

16, 17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whoso
ever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not ap-

18 proach to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blem
ish, he shall not approach : a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or

19, 20 any thing superfluous, or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, or crook-
backt, or a dwarf,8 or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or

21 hath his stones broken ; no man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest
shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire : he hath a blemish ;

22 he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. He shall eat the bread of

23 his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. Only he shall not go in unto the
vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not

24 my sanctuaries :9 for I the LORD do sanctify them. And Moses told it unto Aaron,
and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.

but thin requires for his wife to be supplied, for which there is no warrant, and it al-o peenr-g highly improbable that mourn
ing should be permitted for the relations mentioned in vers. 2, 3, and forbidden lor the wifu. Micha lis understands the

high-priest to be intended by 7^3 ; but his conduct is the special subject of vers. 10-12. On the whole, no other interpre

tation soems sufficiently well-PsfaMished to take the place of that in the A. V., although even that can hardly be considered
as satisf ictory. In any case it is better to omit the interpolated but at the beginning of the vcr-e.

2 Vers. 5. The K'ri imp"1 indicated by the Masorotic punctuation of the text TUllp' is sustained by the Sim. and

all the versions.

3 Vtr. G. The sense is rather obscured than helped by the interpolated and, which is better omitted.

* Ver. 6. The Heb. has

in the sing., doubtless to be understood as an abstract term. The Sam. and all the ver.

sions have the plural.

6 Vers. 7, 8. The tinallage of numbers creates « slight obscurity, but the A. V. faithfully follows the Heb.

6 Ver. 8. The ctom., LXX., and Vuler., have the pronoun in the third person

7 Vor. 14. The mi.ssim? tonjunetion is supplied in the Sam. and the versions.

8 Ver. 20. pi signifies something smail or thin. The text of the A. V., seeuis preferable to the margin, as it is scarcely

to be supposed that the case of the dwarf would be omitted. Fuerst, however, renders it consumptive ; Vulg., Wear-eyed,
and so Onk., and apparently the LXX. ec/>TjAo?. Syr. = HWe.

9 Ver. 23. The LXX. has the sing. TO ayiov. The plural is generally understood to Mgnify the holy place and the holy
of holies ; some interpreters, however, (Boothroyd, Rosenmueller) would translate my hallowed things.

EXEGETICAL, AND CRITICAL.

Lange : " The symbolic side of the Levitical
law, which was brought out so powerfully at the
close of the last chapter, is likewise not to be
mistaken in the commands for keeping holy the
pries'ly calling. Owing to the symbolic mean
ing of these commands they are connected by
manifold analogies with heathen laws and cus
toms enacted to secure the priestly dignity.
Compare the references on this subject in Kno-

bel, p. 517 sqq. ; Keil, p. 141." [Trans, p. 430,
432. " The testimonies which Knobel and seve
ral of the older commentators have collected to
show that the priests of the Egyptians, Greeks,
Romans and other nations avoided funerals and
contact with the dead, afford but an imperfect
parallel to these Levitical laws concerning

the priests Wherever this feeling

was recognized in a ceremonial usage, the priest,
from his office, would naturally be expected to
observe the highest standard of purity. But the
laws which regulated the priesthood of the chosen

160

LEVITICUS.

people bad a deeper basis than this. They had
to administer a law of life. ... St. Cyril truly
observes that the Hebrew priests were the in
struments of the divine will for averting death,
that all their sacrifices were a type of the death
of Christ, which swallowed up death in victory,
and that it would have been unsuitable that they
should have the same freedom as other people to
become mourners. Glaphyra in Lev., p. 430."
Clark.— F G.].

" In the first p^ce it is to be noticed t jat there
is here brought out a gradation of the symbolism
that the laws in regard to dignity are stronger
in the case of the high-priest than in the case
of the sons of Aaron, the common priests. While
these, who were at first Aaron's sons, were ele
vated above the common people (as this also out
ranked the heathen in its sanctity), so the high-
priest again was raised above his sons; he
formed the symbolical centre and summit of the
personal sanctity towards God, and of exclusion
as respects the unclean or that which was Levi-
tically 'common.' " Lange.

With this chapter begins a new Parashah, or
Proper Lesson of the law extending through
ch. xxiv. " The parallel Haphtarah, or Proper
Lesson of the Prophe s, is Ezek. xliv. 15-31.
which contains ordinances for the priests, and
is the best commentary on the present chapter."
Wordsworth.

The purity and holiness required of the priest
hood in this chap, is evidently a necessary con
sequence of the peculiar relation in which they
stood to God and the people. It is substantially
the same as that required of all the holy people,
but is emphasized and extended somewhat be
yond that which the people generally were able
to bear, because it especially devolved upon them
to " draw nigh unto the Lord." For the same
reason still more strict obligations are laid upon
the high-priests. In vers. 1-6 they are forbidden
to defile themselves by touching the dead, or by
signs of mourning ; in 7-9 they are required to
contract a spotless marriage and maintain purity
in their families; in 10-15 the same duties, some
what extended, are still more emphatically re
quired of the high-priest; and in conclusion,
vers. 36-24, the physical impediments to the ex
ercise of the priestly office are detailed.

Vers. 1-4. The priest may not defile himself
on account of a dead person (^2J lit. a soul),
with an exception however in the case of the
very nearest of kin. The virgin sister, as yet
unbetrothed, is included in the list ; but after
her betrothal or marriage, she passed into the
family of another, and the exemption ceases.
The principle of the exception seems to be sim
ply a regard for human feelings. The fact that
the tent or house was defiled, ipso facto, by the
presence of a dead body, and therefore the priest
could not avoid defilement in such cases (Keil)
forms no sufficient explanation of the exception ;
for this would be true when a slave died in the
house, which is not included, and would often
not be true in the case of a father, which is in
cluded. It is remarkable that there is no men
tion of the wife — the Rabbins say because she
and her husband were " one flesh." Lange (see
below) makes a distinction between a passive

defilement which was inevitable in the case of a
death in the house, and which is too self-evident
to require especial mention ; and the active de
filement of proclaiming one's grief, using the
customary marks of mourning and burying the
dead, which he considers were forbidden to the
priest, as belonging to the class of the chief men,
on occasion of the death of his wife. It seems
more probable that the instances mentioned in
ver. 2 are of the nature of limitations, and that
the marriage relationship is not mentioned be
cause it is nearer than any of them, and there
fore included within them all. Notwithstanding
the permission in the cases mentioned above, the
priest, by contact with the dead, still became
defiled for seven days, and was then required to
offer a sin offering (see Ezek. xliv. 25-27). No
penalty is provided for a*violation of this law.
On ver. 4 see Textual Notes.

Vers. 5, 6. The prohibition to the priests of
the marks of mourning for the dead, customary
among the surrounding nations, is extended in
Dtut. xiv. 1 to the whole body of the people.
The command to the priests is expressly made to
rest upon their official duties. On the expres
sion bread of their God see on iii. 11. DnS
is indifferently rendered in the A. V. food, bread,
and meat. Only the last is objectionable on ac
count of the change in the use of the English
word.

Vers. 7-9. The marriage of the priests and the
life of their families likewise must, not be allowed
to present a contrast to their holy calling. They
might marry any reputable woman, whether Is
raelite or foreigner, excepting of course women
from those idolatrous tribes of the Canaanites
which were forbidden to all the people Exod.
xxxiv. 16 ; Deut. vii. 3. In after times this law
was made more stringent, Ezek. xliv. 22. They
might not take to wife a common prostitute, nor
one profane, i. e., a woman who had fallen, or
as some Jewish authorities hold, one of illegiti
mate birth. Briefly, their wives must be of un
blemished and spotless character, and hence they
were forbidden to take one already repudiated.
In ver. 8 the change of person is generally held
to indicate a change of address to the people of
Israel; but this is unnecessary. It is simply
the ordinary form of direct command. Because
it was the priest's office to offer the bread of
thy God, therefore his life and surroundings
must be in harmony with his holy calling. The
priest's family, also, by a propriety felt in all
ages, must be ordered in accordance with his
sacred duties, and the outrageous violation of
this in his daughter's becoming a prostitute must
not only be punished with death, but the dead
body be visited with the symbolical punishment
of burning.

Vers. 10-15. The same commands are applied
with greater emphasis, and with some extension,
to the high-priest. He is described by the pecu
liar fulness of the anointing he had received
(vers. 10, 12), and by his being consecrated
to put on the garments, viz., those appointed
for the official costume of the high-priest, in
which Aaron had been arrayed at his consecra
tion, and which descended to his successors. To
him the accustomed marks of mourning, and all

CHAP. XXI. 1-24.

161

contact with a dead body, even that of the near
est relative, are forbidden. He must not go out
of the sanctuary for this purpose (not that
the sanctuary was to be his constant abode, Bahr
and Baumgarten), nor profane the sanctuary
by this defilement of his person He was also
restricted in marriage to a virgin of Israel, ver.
14; by any other marriage he would profane
his seed,

Lange : "Whatever may belong to the defile
ment by the dead, it is certainly to be noticed
that nothing is here said in any way of dying
persons, or of death itself, but of dead bodies.
The recollection of Egypt, especially of the Egyp
tian cultus of dead bodies comes here into the
foreground. The defilement by fhe dead in
cluded not merely the touching in itself, which
is so natural to excited grief, but also the parti
cipation in the burial, and the customs of mourn
ing. But that which among the heathen was an
expression of horror, so that it was said even of
Apollo himself. Let him shun the scenes of death,
appears here rather as a prelude of the subli
mity of the Christian view of death. The hor
ror would indeed appear strongest at the sight
of the dead body of a blood relative, yet here
humanity places itself on the opposite side as a
limit of the symbolism, and allows the defilement
in the case of the nearest family relations with
the exception of the married sister who now be
longs to another family circle. Ver. 4 certainly
appears to say that a man as a husband shall
not defile himself for the dead body of his wife,
as the foregoing specification and determination
concerning the married sister might already in
timate. Concerning this, see below/' [above
under ver. 4]. " The reason is well expressed
in ver. 6 : for the offerings of the LORD
made by fire, the bread of their God they
do offer. — Since they know, or at least have
sime idea of what the sacrifice signifies — a,n en
tire resignation to the living God, — they cannot
mourn and despair as those who have little or
no hope, without strengthening the delusion of
despair, by which the Israelites would dishonor
the name of their God, Jehovah. There is an
extravagance of lamentation which takes the ap
pearance of a resentment and contention with
God in regard to the chad ; among the people of
Goi this shou'd be excluded by the feeling of
reverence : — the Lord has done it.

" Three kinds of women are excluded from
the priestly marriage : the whore, the profane,
the divorced. To the high-priest the taking
of a widow is also forbidden. We call to mind
Thamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, who be
came ancestors in Israel (Matt, i.), and it is thus
plain thatihe subject is here a purely Old Tes
tament regulation of symbolical signification.
By the marriage of the priest with a virgin is
signified that the theocratic marriage could and
should be consecrated to the rearing up of the
hereditary blessing (see Jno. i. 13, 14). Thus
also he was to appear to the people as a conse
crated personality. But the dark contrast is the
ruined priestly family,* and the saddest instance
is the ruined priest's daughter; if she has only

* " Or also <he family of a pastor. In a poem by Heine it
is depicted with dark t juch.s."

begun to be a whore, she has fallen under the
judgment of fire.

" The third division treats of the sons of the
priests having bodily defects, or afflicted with
corporeal blemishes (wherein spiritual reasons
are evidently included). Here also the prevail
ing symbolical purpose is not to be mistaken.
The sacrificers must appear as the type of per
fection, as also the sacrifice in the following sec
tion. Hence the blind and lame, the sons of
Aaron with misshapen noses and limbs, having
some bodily defect in hand or foot, etc. (vers. 18-
20) correspond to the faulty sacrificial animals,
ch. xxii. 23-25. The strong exclusion demanded
by the cultus for the sake of its symbolism was
compensated by the compassionate provision
that they should have their portion of all sacri
ficial food of the active priests, whereby they are
in some sort to be compared with Emeritus offi
cials who draw their full salary. They do not
offer the bread of their God, as the offerings
are collectively called, inasmuch as these culmi
nated in the shew-bread ; but yet they eat the
bread of their God, as well of the most holy
as of the holy, i. e., not only of the wave offer
ings, firstlings, etc. (Num. xviii. 11, 19, and 26—
29) but also of the peculiar priestly portion of
the sacrifices, the obUtions, etc. See Keil, p. 84
[Trans, p. 433]. But if the priestly access unto
the vail an:l unto the altar is denied them,
it appears that this is here spoken of their offi
cial functions. Moreover it is emphasized that
Moses communicated these commands not only
unto Aaron and to his sons ; but unto all
the children of Israel who ought to kuow how
theirpriests should conduct themselves." Lange.

A death in a dwelling defiled every thing in
the dwelling, and every one who entered it.
Deaths, however, must necessarily occur in
priestly families beyond the limits of the allow
able cases of defilement, and also in the house
of the high-priest to whom no defilement what
ever was allowed. Lange therefore well says,
" V distinction must be made between passive"
sorrow and defilement, which might happen even
to the high-pr est in his own house, nnd active
uncleanness which carne about by the rending
of the clothes and going to the dead body."
Accordingly the prohibition to the high-priest is
couched in terms (vers. 10—12] indicating the ac
tive defilement.

Vers. 16-24. These directions concerning the
descendants of Aaron who should have any bodily
defect are founded upon the general principle,
appearing in every part of the law, that what
ever is devoted to the service of God should be
as perfect as possible in its kind. "As the spi
ritual nature of a man is reflected in his bodily
form, only a faultless condition of body could
correspond to the holiness of the priest; ju.st as
the Greeks and Romans required, for the very
same reason, that the priests should be 6h6K%ijpott
integri corporis (Plato de l?gg. 6, 759 ; Seneca ex
cerpt, controv. 4, 2 ; Plutarch qu&st. rom. 73).
Consequently none of the descendants of Aaron
in their generations, i. r., in all future gene
rations (see Ex. xii. 14), were to approach the
vail, i. e., enter the holy place, or draw near to
the altar (in the court) to offer the food of Jeho
vah, viz., the sacrifices." Keil. Persons thus in-

162

LEVITICUS.

capacitated for the exercise of the active duties
of the priesthood are yet especially allowed to
partake of the priests' portion of the sacrifices
(ver. 22), and doubtless received their share of
the tithes for the support of the priests. By
custom they were employed in many duties per
taining to the priesthood which did not require
the prohibited approach to the altar or entrance
into the holy place ; such as the examination of
leprous persons, houses, and things, the carrying
of the ashes without the cainp, and many duties
of a similar character.

At the beginning of the chapter Moses is di
rected to make this communication to the
priests the sons of Aaron; at the end (ver.
24) we read that he told it not only to them, but
unto all the children of Israel. This is in
accordance with the whole character of the law.
Each particular communication is immediately
addressed to those whose duties it concerns; but
at the same time, no part of the law was to be
the exclusive possession, or under the exclusive
guardianship of any class. Every part of it was
to be diligently taught to every Israelite. The
Divine law was the common heritage of all, and
all were interested in seeing that it was observed.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. All the precepts of this chapter tend to a
single point — the peculiar purity and symbolical
holiness required of those who ministered before
God. From the centre of the absolute Divine
holiness spread out ever-widening circles, and to
each is attached a minimum of symbolical holi
ness without which it cannot be entered. The
heathen in the outermost circle, as human beings,
still had the light of nature and conscience;
these laid upon them duties for the violation of
which they were cast out of their homes and de
stroyed ; the people of Israel formed an inner
circle of higher obligations ; but those chosen
from them to draw nigh to God on their behalf,
must come under a still stricter rule. All this
points unmistakably to the holiness of Him who
is the centre of all, and shows that the partaking
of His holiness is the necessary condition of ap
proach to Him.

II. The families of the priests were so inti
mately associated with their own proper person
ality, that something of the requirements for the
priests themselves must also be demanded of
them. This rests upon a fundamental principle
of fi'tness, and is again repeatedly insisted upon
in the New Testament in regard to the Christian
minister. See 1 Tim. iii. 11, 12; Tit. i. 6.

III. The absolute holiness required of those
who presented offerings to God could be only
symbolical ; but the fact that it was symbolical
points to One who fulfilled the symbolism, even
to Christ., who was alone perfect in holiness ;
therefore through Him alone can any acceptable
gifts be offered to God.

V. Physical blemishes, because they symbo
lized spiritual defects, hindered the priests from
ministering before God on man's behalf; yet
these did not prevent their eating of the sacri
fices, thus at once receiving their own support,
and representing God in the rpceiving of that
which the sacrificer offered. Thus is brought
out the two-fold relation in those who minister

for the people toward God : on the one hand they
may only draw nigh to Him on the basis of per
fect holiness, and for sinful man this can be ac
complished only through the mediation of Christ;
on the other, the grace proceeding from Him is
not hindered by the unworthiuess 6f those
through whom it comes. Always we must "have
this treasure in earthen vessels." The feeble
stre un from man to God would be turned back
by the obstacles in its channel but for the all-
availing efficacy of the intercession of Christ ;
but the full flow of God's mercies in Christ is
powerful enough to sweep by all such barriers.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

"The person, life and house of the priest must
especially be kept holy. For this, the law of
God knows a more human way than the law of
the Pope (xxi. 13). The features of the symbo
lical consecrated state of the priest are spiritu
ally explained. The fearful picture of a dese
crated, profane, or very vicious priestly house.
How far also can the sacrifice be designated as
the bread of God? In reference to the Being of
God Himself, the true sacrifice is an object of
His good pleasure. In reference to the power
of God, it is the noblest and most fitting means
of drawing near to His fire. In reference to the
idea of God in the world, it is a perpetual means
of freshening, deepening, and strengthening it."
Lange.

The priestly requirement of holiness, symbo
lical of old for those whose office it was to draw
near to God, must rest now in its literal force
upon all Christians, " a royal priesthood," who
must ever draw near by the new and living way
consecrated for them. As the headship of the
priest over his household required that they also
should present no striking contrast to his purity ;
so, on the same principle, it must be incumbent
upon all men that those over whom they have
influence and control should be so ordered in
their lives as not to present to the world a con
trast to the principles they themselves profess.

Excessive mourning is forbidden to the priests;
all mourning is restricted to the circle of the
nearest relations, and to the high-priest is for
bidden altogether. Thus is clearly shown that
however on earth something may be conceded to
the weakness of sorrowing humanity, yet sorrow
for the departed is not the proper garb in which
to draw near to God. This is more fully de
clared through Him who is the Resurrection and
the Life, and the Christian cannot sorrow for
those who sleep in Him as men without hope.
Thus the reproof of excessive indulgence in sor
row, so plainly brought out under the new dis
pensation, is here foreshadowed by the laws
of the Mosaic covenant.

In ver. 24 we see that, although the priests
were separated from the people by their special
divine appointment, the laws for their govern
ment were yet communicated to all the people
that they might be under the observation of the
whole community in their conduct. So it must
ever be if the ministry is to be preserved in its
purity ; and the germs of decay are already sown
in that body which refuses to recognize its re
sponsibility to the public opinion of the Chris
tian community.

CHAP. XXII. 1-33. 163

B.— "KEEPING HOLY OF THE SACRIFICE, OR OF WHAT HAS BEEN HALLOWED."—

LANGE.

CHAPTER XXII. 1-33.

1, 2 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons,
that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and
that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me : I

3 am the LORD. Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your
generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow
unto the LORD, having his uncleauness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from

4 my presence : I am the LORD. What man soever of the seed of Aaran is a leper,
or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean.
And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed

5 goeth from him; or whosoever toucheth any1 creeping thing, whereby he may be
made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness,2 whatsoever uncleauness

6 he hath ; the soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and

7 shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash [bathe3] his flesh with water. And
when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things;

8 because it is his food. That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall

9 not eat to defile himself therewith : I aim the LORD. They shall therefore keep
mine ordinance,* lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it : I
the LORD do sanctify them.

10 There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an

11 hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. But if the priest buy any soul with
his money, he shall eat of it, and he5 that is born in his house: they shall eat of

12 his meat [food6]. If the priest's daughter also be married unto a stranger, she

13 may not'eat of an offering of the holy things. But if the priest's daughter be a
widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father's house, as7
in hor youth, she shall eat of her father's meat [food6] : but there shall no stranger

14 eat thereof. And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly [inadvertently8], th 11
he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the

15 holy thing. And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel,

16 which they ofRr9 unto the LORD; or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass,
when they eat [or, lade themselves with the iniquity of trespass in their eating10]
their holy things : for I the LORD do sanctify them.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. fi. Th^ Sam. and LXX. supply the word unclean. According to the law, the "creeping thing " could only com
municate un leanness when dead.

2 Ver. 5. .Roscnmiilj'-T translates: or a man who may be unclean on account of it, «c. the creeping thing. lie refers th©

\~) to V

pronoun in

3 Ver. 6. yj-p. " See Textual Note so on xiv. 8.

•* Ver. 9. 'j^"lD^D~nX !HQK'- The want of an appropriate verb and noun from the same root in English makes it

impossible to give the full force of this phrase so of'en impressively repented. See Gen. Xxvi. 5; Lev. viii. 35; Num. iii.
7; ix. 19. Lange uses a paraphrase : Fnd sie gotten beobachten, was gegen inich zu beobachten ist.

5 Ver. 11. The Sam., LXX. and Chald. have the plural.

6 Ver. 11. 'l«3nS3- See Com- on xxl- G- On the <laglie*h in the Q see Textual Note w On iv. 13.

7 Ver. 13. Sixteen' MSS. for the p irticle of comparison 3 have 3.

8 Ver. 14. rUJBte. See Textual Note 1 on iv. 2.

9 Ver. 15. }Q"V, lit. which they heave or lift up ; but evidently the reference is more general than to the heave-offer

ings, and the off r of the A. V. is by all means to be retained.

10 Ver. 16. The sense of this verse is doubtful. The A. V., Patrick, Pool, Keil and others refer the pronouns them and
they t > the people, and understand the precept that the priests should prevent the people from eating of the holy things
wlrch it b-longed to the priests to ea^ ; on the other band, the mar/fin of the A. V.. Calvin, Knobel, Z-inz, Kiggs mid Lnnge
understand it as meanin r Inde th'mselvfK with th* iniquity of trespass in their eating. The latter is more in accordance with
the general subject of the chapter, and is preferable. So the LXX. understood by the use of eavrovy. So Houbigant.

164 LEVITICUS.

17, 18 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons,
and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the
house of Israel, or of the strangers11 in Israel, that will offer his oblation [offering12]
for all [any of] his vows, and for all [any of] his free-will offerings, which they

19 will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering ; ye shall offer at your own will [for
your acceptance13] a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the

20 goats. But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer : for it shall not be

21 acceptable for you And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the
LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep [of the flock14],

22 it shall be perfect to be accepted : there shall be no blemish therein. Blind, or
broken, or maimed,15 or having a wen [or ulcerous16], or scurvy, or scabbed, ye
shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the

23 altar unto the LORD. Either a bullock or a lamb [one of the flock17] that hath
anything superfluous18 or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill

24 'offering ; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. Ye shall not offer unto the LORD
that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any

25 offering thereof [make such19] in your land. Neither from a stranger's20 hand shall
ye offer the bread of your God of any of these ; because their corruption is in them,
and blemishes be in them : they shall not be accepted for you

26, 27 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, When a bullock, or a sheep, or a
goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam ; and from the
eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto

23 the LORD. And whether it be cow or ewe [female of the flock21], ye shall not kill
it and her young both in one day.

29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at

30 your own will [for your acceptance13]. On the same day it shall be eaten up ; ye
shall leave none of it until the morrow : I am the LORD.

31 Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them : I am the LORD.

32 Neither shall ye profane my holy name ; but I wi 1 be hallowed among the chil-

33 dren of Israel : I am the LORD which hallow you, that brought you out of the land
of Egypt, to be your God : I am the LORD.

11 Ver. 18. The Sam., 14 M?S , and nil the ancient versions fupply thai snjnurn.

12 Ver. 18. jIPp. See Textual Note 2 on ii. 1.

13 Yer. 19. DDJjTlS. See Textual Note 5 on i. 3. Comp. also ver. 21.

14 Ver. 21. ?J<C£3 includes both sheep (A. V.) and goats (marg.). It is better therefore to use the ordinary comprehen

sive term.

15 Ver. 22. On the precise sense of V}"^n> the authorities differ. LXX. y\<a<r<r6T/j.r)Tov=haviKg the tongue cut; Targ.

I T

Jc,n.=having the eydids torn; Jerome, cicatricnn hab ns. The A. V. has followed the Targ. Onk. in a sense which may be
considei'< d as sufficiently general to include all the others.

16 Ver. 22. JT73% adj. fern, from Sj-p=to flow. It is an. Xey , but Ihere seems no doubt of its meaning.

" Ver. 23. HtJ/ 'is neither specific .lly a lamb (A. V.) nor a kid (marg.), but may be either. See Textual Note H on
ver. 21. Gesen.: "'a noun of unity corresponding to the collect. jtf']f, a flock, sc. of sheep or goats."

18 Ver. 23. p^W is an animal which has an inequality brtween the corresponding parts, as the two legs, or two
eyes, so that one of them is longer or larger than it should be; while 19} 7 p, °n the oiher hand, signifies one having such

part smalle- than its normally developed fellow.

19 Ver. 24 According; to all authorities the preceding clause refers to the four ways of castration practised among the
and >nts (see Aristot. hist. an. ix. 37, 3, and the other a thoiiti s cited by Knoliel and Keil); the latter clause contains, inci
dentally, an absolute probibiiion or" such customs in the lind, ami has nothing to do \vith sacrifice, there being no word
for oaring in the Ileb. Such is the interpretation of Josephus (Ant. iv. 8, 40) and of the Jewish authorities generaljy.
So also the LXX., the Targs., and the Vu g. 'the sense of the A. V., however, is found in the Syr., and is sustained by
K"obel «i)d Lm e, who s-ys expressly: "It is particularly to be noticed that castration of animals was not universally
forbidden in I-rael. only no cn^trated animals might be offered in sacrifice."

20 Ver. 25. ~OJ-n, a different word from the IT of ver. 10 and the "U of ver. 18, and probably referring to a for-

T" I'.- T

eifnipr, not even sojotr nine: in the land.

21 \ er. 28. See Note " on ver. 23. 'UjI'.nHl IJIJ* in niasc. form ; but Rosenmuiler notes that in regard to brute ani

mals, the verbs, as well as the nouns and adjectives, take no note of sex.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The analysis of this chapter given by Keil is
a very clear one. "Vers. 1-1(5. Reverence
for things sanctified. — The law on this mat

ter was (1) that no priest who had become un
clean was to touch or eat them (vers. 2-9), and
(2) that no one was to eat of them who was not
a member of the priestly family (vers. 10-16).
Vers. 17-33. Acceptable Sacrifices." Lange
introduces the chapter thus: "The keeping

CHAP. XXII. 1-33.

165

holy of the sacr fice was to correspond to the
keeping holy of the priesthood, since this is
indeed at the bottom an expression of keeping
the priesthood holy. It was mo-t strongly in
sisted upon." The centre, however, of the
whole Leritical system is rather the sacrifice
than the priest, and the priest is for the sake of
the sacrifice, as is distinctly brought out in this
chapter, rather than the reverse. Certainly the
sacrifice was earlier, and the necessity for it
more fundamental. The symbolical ho'iness of
the priesthood must therefore be considered as
an essential requirement in order to their .offer
ing of acceptable sacrifices. Lange thus ana
lyzes the chapter: "a. In relation to the con
duct of the priest, vers. 3-9. b. In relation to
the conduct of the laity, vers. 10 16. c. In
relation to the condition of the sacrificial ani
mals, and especially to the fact that everything
defective was excluded, vers. 17-25; but also
that every proper offering was to be offered to
the Lord in the right way, or to bo eaten as a
thank-offering, vers. 20-33 "

The chapter consists of three Divine commu
nications, all given to Moses, the first (vers.
1-16) to be communicated to Aaron and his sons,
prescribing under what conditions the priests
are not to touch the offerings (I--)), and who
beside the priests might partake of them ( 10-10) ;
the second (17-25) is to be communicated not
only to Aaron, but unto all the children of
Israel, determining the quality of the victims;
while the third (20-33) is to Moses alone, pre
scribing certain conditions to be observed with
all victims, and concluding the chapter.

Vers. 1-9. For his vie\v of the difficult passage
in ver. 2, Lange refers to his translation, which
runs thus : that they profane not my holy
name — even they, who have it in charge
to keep holy for Me," thus referring the
relative *}'&&* to the name. Other commenta
tors refer it to the holy things of the chil
dren of Israel, as in the A. V., LXX. and
Vulg. ( Rosenmiiller, Knobel, Kalisch, Murphy,
Keil, Clark, etc.). The sense of the whole verse
is certainly that the priests should not profane
the holy gifts of the peopb by approaching them
when themselves in a condition unlawful for
priestly ministrations. The expression sepa
rate themselves from the holy things is
clearly to be understood as meaning under the
circumstances mentioned below. " "H with

|D, to keep away, separate one's self from any
thing, i. e. not to regard or treat them as on a
par with unconsecrated things." Keil. The
Divine acceptance of the sacrifices was expressed
by the priests' eating certain parts of them as
the representatives of God. These were allowed
to be eaten by those who were permanently dis
qualified by physical defects from offering the
sacrifices (xxi. 22) ; but if consumed by those
in a state of uncleanness, would be a profanation
of the name of the Lord. The prohibition ex
tends not only to the eating, but to the touching
them at all. Ver. 3. Shall be cut off from
my presence is considered by RosenmiiHer
nnd others as equivalent to the expression " shall
be cut off from the midst of his people." A bet
ter interpretation (Knobel, Clark) is that it

means : " shall be excluded from the sanctuary "
— -deprived of his priestly office. Lange, how
ever, interprets it that " the penalty of death is
pronounced upon every one of the priestly family
who approaches the holy things in a state of
uncleanness, whether it be to offer or to eat the
priestly sacrificial food." But he afterwards
adds : " With the positive death penalty is con
nected at the same time a mysterious destiny
of death, which Jehovah reserves to Himself.
The legislation has as yet no idea of the ruder
forms of desecration of the sacrifice in the future
as e. g. 1 Sarn. ii. 12 sqq." This was the pe
nalty attached to the violation of any of the pre
cepts in this paragraph. The uncleannesses
mentioned in vers. 4 6 have already been treated
in their appropriate places. They are only
mentioned here as showing that they excluded
the priest from contact with holy things. Vers.
0, 7, prescribe for the priest, as for the people
in similar cases, the simplest forms of purifica
tion, and when these are observed, limit the
time of the uncleanness to the going down of the
sun. In accordance with the considerate cha
racter of the Divine legislation, it then allows
him to eat of the sacrifice, because it is his
food. In ver. 8 the eating of that which had
not been properly slain, and was therefore still
contaminated with the blood, is forbidden with
especial emphasis to the priests whose office WAS
to make atonement wMi the blood. This had
already been forMdden to all the people (xi. 39,
40) with but a slight penalty for transgression.
Here the transgression for the priest comes
under the heavier sentence of ver. 3. Calvin
notes that such a special prohibition was needed
lest the priests might think themselves, in virtue
of their office, exempt from the laws binding
upon the rest of the people. Ver. 9. Lest
they bear sin for it, and die therefore,
gives the penalty in general of a priestly ne
glect to keep God's ordinance, but is not
necessarily to be understood of the penalty for
the breach of each particular precept mentioned.
The command here, as everywhere, is made to
rest upon the consideration, I the LORD do
sanctify them.

Vers. 10-16. This forms the second part of
the first Divine communication, and prescribes
who beside the priests themselves might or might
not eat of the holy things. It has nothing to do
with the most holy things which could be eaten
only by the priests themselves. "The IT is
the stranger relatively ; accordingly those who
are not Israelites, not Levites, not relatives;
here, those who are not priests. He might not
eat of the holy fool of the offerings, however
near he might stand to the priest as a neighbor,
or a day laborer; but on the other hand, the
purchased slave, since he had become by cir
cumcision an Israelite and one of the household
of the priest, might certainly eat of it, together
with those born in the priest's house. And here
again the house appears in its full theocratic signifi
cance. (Comp. Com. on Matt., p. 14fi.) It re
sults from this, that the married daughter of
a priest is excluded ; she belonged to another
house (if it were a priestly house, she might of
course eat there with them). Her right revives

166

LEVITICUS.

again, however, if she comes back to her father's
house as a childless widow or divorced ; but if
she had children, she formed with the children
.another house. If one who had no right ate of
the holy things by mistake, he must make resti
tution to the priest for what he had eaten, and
add a fifth part thereto. " The verse refers only
to something unimportant, for in the case of
greater things he was commanded, moreover, to
offer a trespass offering (ch. v. 15)." Knobel.
The difference is in this, that here the subject is
the transgression of eating the priestly portion
of the heave offering; there, of heedless injury
done to the sanctuary in regard to the portion
hallowed to Jehovah." [It seems more proba
ble that the case here referred to is exactly
included under that in v. 15, 16, and that the
trespass offering is not expressly mentioned here
because it is only necessary to show that this
case comes under the category of those for which
the trespass offering was required. Calvin well
observes that this prohibition was necessary to
prevent the "holy things being regarded as
common food." — F. G."j " Here too the law is
led back to I the LORD do sanctify them.
The history of David (I Sam. xxi.) and the New
Testament explanation of it (Matt, xii 3) show
that necessity provided exceptions to this rule.
But the rule rests upon the truth that religion
must be kept holy, in the strongest sense, even
in its sacrifices, otherwise guilt will accumulate
upon the people who profess the religion (ver.
16). When deceit is practised against Jehovah
in any way, e.g. by feigned fasts, by asceticism,
joined with secret sins, by fananc faith joined
with a life of plunder, the manliness itself of
the natural man is buried more and more, and
the intercourse of the people loses more and more
of its saving salt of moral truth — not to speak
of the refining fire of the spirit of the new birth.
— When they eat their holy things.— That
which a-? holy things belonged to them no long
er." Lange. On the meaning of the last clause
see Textual Note 10. The provision in regard
to the purchased servant in ver. 11 is of impor
tance as showing how completely such servants
became identified with the house of their mas
ters. The command was given only about a
year after the Exodus when the tribes of Israel
doubtless included a large number of the cir
cumcised descendants of the servants of the
patriarchs; but there can be no stronger iden
tification than is here given in allowing the pur
chased servants of the priests from whatever
nation, in contradistinction to a servant hired
from any other family in Israel, to eat of the
priestly portion of the holy things.

Vers. 17-25. Moses is directed to convey this
communication unto all the children of
Israel, because it was important to have them
all entirely familiar with the conditions neces
sary to an acceptable victim. They were to
know all the laws; but their attention would
naturally be more fixed upon those which were
immediately addressed to them. The law in
regard to the victims necessarily applies to all
cases, whether they were offered by persons of
the house of Israel, or of the strangers
(ver. 18), because it prescribes what was re
quired in the victim itsalf in order to its accept

ance. The burnt offering is first treated of
(vers. 18-20), and then the peace offering. Vow
and free-will offerings might be made of either
kind of sacrifice ; but the regulations concern
ing the victim differed. If it was a burnt offer
ing, it must be a male, as well as without
blemish, according to the law of the burnt
offering in i. 3, 10; if it was a peace offering,
there was no law concerning the sex of the vic
tim; but it was still required (ver. 21) there
shall be no blemish therein. The rigidness
of the law was, however, somewhat relaxed in
case of the free-will offering (ver. 23), so that
for this purpose a victim was allowed to have
some thing superfluous or lacking in his
parts. For the distinction between the vow
and the free-will offering, see Com. on vii. 15.
The other kind of peace offering, the thank
offering, is not mentioned here; being the high
est of all, it of course required the perfect vic
tim. Among the Gentiles also a sense of natural
fitness generally required that the victim should
be integrus and refe'tog. See abundant references
in llosenmiiller and Knobel here, in Outram L.
I. c. 9, and Bochart Hieroz. I. L. II. c. 46. Ver.
24 absolutely prohibits the offering in sacrifice
of any castrated animals. See Textual Note.
Lange : "The minute, precise definition of this
defect requires the perfect fitness for breeding
in the male animals, without which it lost in a
great degree its signification of a worthy resig
nation." In ver. 25 the priests are forbidden
to accept even from a stranger's hand victims
marked with any of the defects that have been
enumerated, because their corruption is in
them, i. e. because these deftcts render them
unfit for sacrifice. The bread of your God
"must be derived from a perfect victim to rep
resent that which is acceptable to God, which
in moral things is perfect righteousness." Mur
phy.

Vers. 26 33. The final communication made
to Moses alone. Lange: "Even in the case of
sacrificial animals without blemish, there yet
appear particular conditions of acceptableness
for the offerers. First, the victim must be ei<rht
days old; it must be kept seven days under
the dam to enjoy the full pleasure of existence."
See the same law in Ex. xxii. 30 in regard to
firstlings. " The reason for this was, that the
young animal had not attained to a mature and
self-sustained life during the first week of its
existence." Keil. It is noticeable that the age
at which the animal became admissible for sac
rifice is the same as that at which man was
received into covenant relation by circumcision.
At this age, too, the animal first began to be
eatable, and this fact doubtless had its signifi
cance in the laws for the symbolical food of
Jehovah. Similar restrictions of age were in
use among the Romans, Pliny Nat. Hist. viii. 77.
The prohibition in ver 28 of killing both dam
and offspring on the same day is analogous to
the thrice repeated precept: "Thou shalt not
seethe a kid in its mother's milk" (Ex. xxiii.
19; xxxiv. 26; Dent. xiv. 21), and rests upon
the same principle as the prohibition to take
from a bird's nest the mother together with the
young (Deut. xxii. 6, 7). All these precepts
were of an educational character and imposed

CHAP. XXII. 1-33.

167

upon the Israelites the duty of keeping sacred,
even among the lower animals, the relation
which God has established between parent and
offspring. The law could not have been for the
sake of the brute, but was altogether for man's
pake ; he must not. allow himself to violate the
finer susceptibilities implanted in his nature,
even when mere utilitarian reasoning could see
no use in the command. The Targ. Jon. pre
faces the command with the words: "As our
Father is merciful in heaven, so be ye merciful
on earth." The connection here applies the
precept especially to killing for sacrifice ; but it
is noticeable that the word used is the more

general Dnt#, as if the command was meant to
apply to all killing whatever. In ver. 30 the
law for eat'ng the thank offering on the same
day on which it is presented is repeated from
vii. 15. Such repetitions, if not of necessity,
are yet at least highly desirable in a lengthened
code of laws. The conclusion, vers. 31-33, is
like that of chapters xviii. and x<x., and rests
upon the fact (hat He who gives the commands
is Jehovah — Jehovah who sanctifies them, and
who has brought them up out of the land of
Egypt. Lange: "I am Jehovah is said
again to seal this command, and the following
explanation shows plainly the educational view:
that Jehovah seeks to bring thevn up to be a
holy people of God by means of these fixed
directions. The educational idea is negative :
only certainly no kind of dishonor, or deceit, or
faithlessness is allowable in matters of reli
gion."

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. "The symbolical and definite thought of
the whole chapter has the highest meaning for
every form of religion, but particularly for the
Christian Church. It seeks a faultless, normal
priesthood, a priesthood which does not darken,
but glorifies religion, the service of God. When
we think of the sad fact that priests have often
altogether, or in a great degree, corrupted their
religious community, or are now corrupting it,
that so many spiritual and hierarchical cripples
of every kind darken and disfigure so many
congregations, the contents of our section will
give us a strong witness against a laxity and
untruth which is guilty especially of the corrup
tion of the religious life. The church training
was to be before all things self-training, the
ladder of the churchly life. How many reflec
tions in regard to the choice of the theological
profession, the tests, the ordinations, and the
ecclesiastical visitations belong to this chapter.
Also the family circumstances of spiritual per
sons are here estimated according to their sig
nificance." Lange.

II. The relation of the priests to the people is
here again distinctly brought out. They were
under precisely the same laws as others, became
unclean from the same causes, and were to be
purified in the same way ; in short, they were
fully citizens of the commonwealth of Israel.

But inasmuch as they had also special duties
toward God, they were incapacitated for their
performance by this uncleanness.

III. The identification of the household with
its head, always strongly marked in the Hebrew
polity, appears in the case of the priest with
especial clearness. The family is the unit of
the Hebrew commonwealth and the ba«is of the
Mosaic legislation. On this see Maine's Ancient
Law.

IV. The law of the conditions of the accepta
ble victim was precisely the same for the Israel
ite and the stranger. The law thus intimates
not obscurely that in their approach to God all
men stand on precisely the same footing.
"There is no distinction of persons."

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Lange: "Chap. xxii. is concerned with the
pure conduct of the priests face to face with the
sacrifice of the congregation ; observances of
cleanness of the most varied kind, and pspecially
of sacrifices according to their spiritual mean
ing."

As symbolical cleanness was required of tho<*e
who partook of the sacrifices which typified the
death of Christ, so is spiritual cleanness neces
sary in those who feed upon the memorial of
the same. See 1 Cor. xi. 28, etc. Wordsworth.
The whole house of the priest, was sanctified
through him to partake of the holy things; so
is the whole house of the Great High Priest
sanctified through Him, even His body, the
blessed company of all faithful people.

But to be partakers of the tab'e of this Great
High Priest men must not be merely sojourners
in His house, or serving Him as hired servants
for gain, but truly identified with Him, and
forming an actual part of His household. Words
worth.

Again and again the law insists that the vic
tim for the acceptable sacrifice must be without
blemish. Whatever is offered to God must be
of the best; especially must the offering of the
heart be perfect and complete. Christ Himself
is described as having offered Himself " without
spot," and the Church which He presents unto
Himself must "be holy and without blemish."
Eph. v. 27.

By forbidding the Israelites to kill on the
same day the dam and its offspring God taught
them, and through them the church in all ages,
to be merciful ; not only merciful to those who
can understand and appreciate it, but to exer
cise this virtue for its own sake — to be merciful
always and everywhere, even as our Father in
heaven is merciful.

Calvin draws from the often repeated and
here extended precept that the sacrifice must be
perfect and without blemish, this lesson: that
whatever we offer to God must be whole-hearted
and true. We cannot serve God and mammon.
He applies this to prayers in which the heart is
not engaged, and a multitude of other things in
which man may undertake to offer an imperfect
and divided, and therefore unacceptable service.

163

LEVITICUS.

PART THIRD.

Sanctification of the Feasts.

€t ''Keeping holy the theocratic times and places, the feasts and their citltus, the most holy name
of the covenant God and His holy land" — LANGB.

CHAPS. XXIII.— XXV.

FIRST SECTION.
Of the Sabbaths and Annual Feasts.

The Holy Seasons, Laws of the Feasts. Sabbath, Easter, Pentecost, the Seventh New- Moon or Sabbath
of the Year, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.'1'1 — LANGE.

PRELIMINARY NOTE.

The following, under Lange's Exegetical, may
properly be placed here. " The foundation of
these developed ordinances for the feasts has
already presented itself in Ex. xx. 8-11 and xxxi.
14 " [add Ex. xxiii. 14-19 ; xxxiv. 21-26, and in
regard to the Passover, the full account of its
institution, Ex. xii. 3-27, 43-50,— F. G.] ; "the
section, Num. xxviii. xxix., contains more spe
cific directions about the sacrifices which were
to be offered on the feast days." [The three
great festivals are also described in Deut. xvi. 1-
17, and the reading of the law required at the
feast of tabernacles in the Sabbatical year, Deut.
xxxi. 10-13. — F. G.]. "Here the treatment is
of the organic appearance of the whole festivity
of Israel in the unity of its collective holy feasts,
with the ordinance of the festal cultus (" Feast-
calendar," Knobel says, which is set aside by
Keil) ; in the Book of Numbers the sacrifices are
plainly specified as the requirements of the the
ocratic state, an indication that they were not
the principal things in the ideas of the cultus.

" Upon this important section the article Festc,
in Winer and others, is to be compared, as well
as the rich literature in Knobel, p. 541, to which
add Kranold, commentatio de anno Ilebrseorum Ju-
bilseo. Gottingae, Dietrich, 1838." [See also
PHILO Trspl rfj^ 'Efto'6u?jc ; BAEHR, Symbolic bk.
iv.; EWALD Altcrthumer; KALISCH on Ex. xx.,
etc. ; MICHAELIS Laws of Moses, Art. 74-76, 194-
201 ; BOCHART, Hip.roz ; and the appropriate
articles in SMITH'S Biblf Diet., KITTO'S Cyclop,
of Bib. lit., HERZOG'S Real-Encykl., and the vari
ous literature cited in these. — F. G.].

" The Hebrew festivals are to be regarded es
pecially in a two- fold aspect: 1. The holy sea
sons (Hirr nj£)D). 2. The ideas of the differ
ent feasts, the holy convocations

"The holy seasons are, according to their
prevalent fundamental number, the number
seven, collectively, memorial feasts of the cre
ation; the Sabbath, as the seventh da}' ; Pente
cost, as the feast of the seventh woek ; the se
venth new moon, with its following Day of
atonement and feast of tabernacles, as the feast
of the seventh month ; the Sabbatical year, as
the festival of the seven Sabbath years ; and the
Praise year or year of Jubilee ; the 50th year,
as the festival of the completed seven, the seven
times seven, the prophetic festival of the new
eternal festal season, (ch. xxv.).

" Even through the single feasts the number
seven runs again : seven days of unleavened
bread, seven days in tabernacles, and no less in
deed is it reflected in the sevenfold number of
the festal sacrifices.

"The datum, however, from which the whole
construction of the festal season proceeds, on
which the whole building rests, is the datum of
the typical deliverance of Israel (ver. 15). The
line of feasts culminates indeed in a festival
[Tabernacles, the last feast of the year] which
plainly, as a symbol of the completed deliverance
stands over against the [Passover as a symbol
of the] beginning of deliverance/' [From an
other point of view the Passover (which, as such,
is not mentioned in this chapter) is generally
regarded as a memorial of the deliverance from
Egypt in its totality, and in its typical signifi
cance it points forward to the deliverance from
sin through the death of Christ; and this again
has its memorial in the Lord's Supper, pointing
forward to the feast of the Lamb in heaven. The
feast of tabernacles, on the other hand, was ex
pressly commemorative of the very temporary
dwelling in booths (TOt? = huts made of
branches; the H3D is to be distinguished from

CHAP. XXIII. 1-44.

169

the nfc = tent, the comparatively permanent
dwelling of the wilderness) see vers. 42, 43, and
comp. Ex. xii. 37; xiii. 20.— F. G.]. * * *

"With regard to the natural aspect of the Is-
raeliiish feasts, they are divided into pre-Mosaic,
Mosaic (for that the feasts hero appointed belong
to the original Mosaic legislation is adm tted
by Knobel), and later feasts.

" In the first class, however, can only be placed
with certainty a tradition of the Sabbath, the
feast of the new moon, and the harvett feast.
Upon the heathen festal seasons see the full
notes of Knobe.1, p. 537 sqq.

" It is however in the highest degree note
worthy, that the Israelitish ordering of the feasts
forms an unmistakable contrast to the heathen
customs. At the time of the Spring feast the
Jewish Easter was kept, which, in connection
with its unleavened bread, expresses a very so
lemn meaning, and is not at all to be judged by
the Christian Easter. At the time of the autum
nal equinox, however, when the Syrians (and
the Egyptians) mourned over the death of Ado
nis the summer sun (like the Germanic Baldur],
the Jews kept their most joyful feast, and freely
used the green branches of summer before they
faded." [The contrast would bear to be even
more strongly expressed, for the feast of Taber
nacles occurred more than a month later than
the autumnal equinox. — F. G.]. "It was as if
they had wished to celebrate the triumph of the
theocratic spirit over the natural sadness for the
death of beautiful nature; as, they certainly ac
cent the blessing of God and His judgment in
this present, life in contrast to the dark Egyp
tian necromancy with its prophecy inspired this
side the grave, and in conirast to the melancholy
cultus of the world of death beyond the grave.

"As to the explanation of the apparently su
perfluous days in the seven day feasts, the eighth
day of unleavened bread, and the eigh'h day of
the feast of Tabernacles (a question which also
concerns the 50th week of t he 50th year as a year
of Jubilee), it is certainly sufficient to say, that
the festal close of such great days or weeks and
years was to be particularly emphasized. (Comp.
Knobel, p. 549).

" The second Easter day as the feast of the
first beginning of the harvest, the beginning of
the barley harvest, the feast of the ears (Abib,
ear month), corresponds to the completed wheat
harvest which was celebrated at the feast of Ta
bernacles (later, Pentecost because fifty days
were reckoned from Easter to its celebration),
and both these harvest feasts, of the necessities
of life and of the abundance of life, form a con
trast to the harvest feast of joy [feast of Taber
nacles] for ihe refreshing and comforting gifts
of God, the fruit, the oil and the wine.

"A strikingly isolated position is given to the
feast of Pentecost between the other feasts. Since
as the chief harvest feast it seems to be only a
natural feast, there was sought, and later, there
was also found, in addition to its natural aspect,
a holy and theocratic aspect also, in that this
feast has been described as the feast of the law
(since Maimonides. See on the other hand Keil,
p. 151") [Translation p. 444, note]. * * *

" The increased sacrifices of the yearly feasts
26

must form a symbolical expression of the self-
surrender of the nation to Jehovah, renewed by
the feasts, as it was elevated by the thanksgiving
for His gifts, — the ever new gifts of creation, the
ever new gifts of atonement and of deliverance.

"That which makes feasts to be feasts is as
follows : 1) They are high seasons appointed by
God, seasons of the fulfilment of Divine promise
and of human hope. 2) Seasons in which the
union of God and man, as well as of men with
one another, and thus fellowship with God and
brotherhood with man was celebrated. 3) Sea
sons in which nature, together with man, ap
pears in the dress of theocratic sanctification.
4) In which the highest happiness of human
fellowship arises from the highest joyfulness of
sacrifice to Jehovah. 5) Seasons which have a
great sequence, and form a chain from the feast
of deliverance in the night of judgment and of
fear (Passover) to the feast of holy freedom and
joy (Tabernacles)." Lange.

In regard to the times of th^ festivals, it is to
be remembered that God in His dealings with
man always shows a tender regard for the na
ture with which He has constituted man. The
Hebrew festivals were therefore so arranged as
to combine the most important religious memo
rials and types with the occasions of national
and social need. The Passover was the greatest
of all the annual festivals of the Hebrews, and
was the on\y one resting upon a distinct histo
rical and miraculous event, and the only one,
too, the neglect of which was accompanied with
the penalty of excision (Num. ix. 13). The ob
ligation to observe it was so urgent upon every
adult circumcised Israelite, that alone of all the
feasts it had attached to it a second observance
at the same time in the following month for those
who were prevented from keeping it by absence
on a journey, or by defilement from contact with
a dead body — the only causes which interfered
with the eating of the paschal lamb. Histori
cally, it was far more generally observed than
either of the other festivals. Attached to this,
and often included in the general name of Pass
over, was the week of unleavened bread ; but
the strictness of the command for the observance
of the Passover itself did not apply to this. See
Deut. xvi. 7. The Passover was celebrated in
the month Abib or Nisan ; and this month, as the
month of the great national deliverance from
Egypt, became the first of the ecclesiastical year.
Just at this time occurred the beginning of the
barley harvest, and the festival for this was ac
cordingly so associated with the Passover, that a
sheaf of the first-fruits was to be waved before
the Lord on the morrow after the Sabbath. The
time of the feast of weeks, or Pentecost, was de
termined by the Passover, from which it was
distant just fifty-two days, as we still reckon from
Good-Friday to Whitsunday; for seven weeks
complete, or forty- nine days were reckoned from,
"the morrow after the Sabbath," or the second
day after the eating of the Paschal lamb itself,
making fifty-one days, and then the feast was to
be held on the following day. The symbolism
of the sevens is therefore to be sought rather in
the means of computing the time than in the re
lation of the festivals vo one another. Pentecost
occurred at the close of the grain harvest, and

170

LEVITICUS.

was celebrated as a thanksgiving, with especial
liberality to the poor and needy in remembrance
that the Israelites themselves had been bondmen
in Egypt. (Deut. xvi. 9-12). This feast con
tinued but a single day, and its distinguishing
rite was the waving before the Lord of two lea
vened loaves prepared from the first fruits of the
wheat.

With the coming in of the seventh month the
civil year began. Of the existence of this year
as distinguished from the ecclesiastical year,
there can be no reasonable doubt. It has indeed
been called in question ; ''but the form of ex
pression in Ex. xii. 2, the commencement of the
S ibbatical and Jubilee years in the month
Ethanim, or Tisri, the tradition of both the rab
binical and Alexandrian Jews, and the fact that
the new moon festival of Tisri is the only one —
not excepting that of Nisan — which is distin
guished by peculiar observance, seem to bear
sufficient testimony to a more ancient computa
tion of time than that instituted by Moses in
connection with the Passover. Another argu
ment is furnished by Ex. xxiii. 16." Clark.
Accordingly, as generally in all times and among
all nations, the New Year was ushered in by a
special observance. Among the Hebrews this
took the form of " the Feast of Trumpets." This
was marked by u an holy convocation ;" but at
tendance upon it was not obligatory. On the
tenth day of the same month occurred the solemn
fast of the Day of Atonement already treated in
ch. xvi. Both these continued but a single da}\
On the fifteenth day of the same month (which
was thus far more marked by religious so'emni-
lies than any other), began the Feast of Taber
nacles, continuing for seven days with "an holy
convocation" following on the eighth day. The
attendance obligatory at this would naturally
have led to a large presence of the people on
the Day of Atonement, only five days before.
It was the great harvest festival at the close of
the agricultural season, corresponding to our
Thanksgiving day, and was very joyfully cele
brated. It was also connected with the theo
cratic system by the injunction to dwell in
booths in memory of the Exodus from Egypt.

With all these, and pervading them, was the
weekly Sabbath, a remembrancer in its recur
rence of God's rest from the work of creation
(Ex. xx. 11), and in its determination to the
seventh day of the week of the deliverance from
Egypt (Deut. v. 15).

TH regard to the detail of these several festi
vals, see the Exegetical.

The Jews were prohibited by the law from all
work only on the fifty-two weekly Sabbaths and
on the Day of Atonement ; they were also pro
hibited from all servile work on the days of holy
convocation, viz. two each in connection with
the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles, one
at the Feast of Pentecost, and one at the New
Moon of Tisri, the seventh month. There is no
prescription in the law in regard to cessation
of work on the other New Moons; but from
Amos viii. 5 they appear to have been, at least
in later times, observed as Sabbaths. These
would make in all seventy days, which would be
reduced somewhat by the occurrence of some of

the other days, and especially of the festival
Sabbaths, one year with another, upon the
weekly Sabbath ; but on several of these days
the prohibition extended only to servile work,
and the feasts were probably largely used like
European fairs, for purposes of trade. See a
slightly different computation in Michaelis,
Laws, Art. 201.

The three greater festivals, Passover, Pente
cost and Tabernacles, were required to be ob
served by the assembling of the whole adult
male population at the place of the sanctuary.
This was doubtless fully carried out during the
life in the wilderness, but does -not appear to
have been ever completely observed in subse
quent hi-tory. All these festivals were, how
ever, attended by large numbers, and the de-
vouter part of the people went up to the sanctu
ary at Itast once in the year (1 Sam. i. 3, 21 ;
Luke ii. 41, efc. ), which appears to have been
most commonly at the Passover. The women
were not obliged, but were allowed to attend,
and frequently did so, as well as partake of the
Paschal lamb.

Besides these annual feasts, there were the
Sabbatical years, when the land was required to
lie fallow, and all fruits were common properly.
This command could hardly have been complied
with at all until after the return from the cap
tivity (see 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21), and the exist
ence of such un unobserved law is a strong
proof of the genuineness of the Mosaic legisla
tion. There was also the Year of Jubilee, the
fiftieth year, which as it affected the tenure of
land that had been sold, is likely to have been
more continuously observed. It certainly was
recognized in the days of Jeremiah (Jer. xxxii.
6-15). On the question whether it had conti
nued to be observed in the intervening time, see
Maimonides and Ewald in the affirmative, Mi
chaelis (Laws, Art. 76) and Winer (sub voce),
who are in doubt, and Kranold (p. 80) and Hup-
f.-ld (pt. iii., p. 20), who confidently deny that
the provisions for this year ever came into actual
operation.

Precisely what was meant by an holy con
vocation we have no means of ascertaining,
except from the word itself. Doubtless in the
wilderness life it would have meant a general
assembling of the people for the purposes of the
day, and the same sense may be held to apply
to the three great festivals when all mal^s were
required to appear at the place of the sanctuary,
but this cannot be true, after the settlement in
Canaan, of the weekly Sabbath and of the Day
of Atonement. Probably there were on these
days gatherings for religious edification accom
panied with rest from work in the various towns
and villages throughout the land, just as there
were in the Synagogues after the return from
the Captivity. There were also probably such
gatherings at the time of the Convocations of the
greater festivals of those who did not go up to
t ue Sanctuary.

Besides the weekly Sabbaths, there were in
all seven Convocations in the year : the first and
last days of the feasts of unleavened bread, and
of Tabernacles, the days of Pentecost and of
Atonement, and the Feast of Trumpets.

CHAP. XXIII. 1-44. 171

CHAPTER XXIII. 1-44.

1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying:, Speak unto the children of Israel,
and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to
be holy convocations, even these are my feasts [unto then, The appointed times of
the LORD which ye shall proclaim as holy convocations, these are my appointed
times1].

3 Six days shall work be done : but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest,2 an holy
convocation ; ye shall do no work therein : it is the sabbath of the LORD in all
your dwellings.

4 These3 are the feasts of the LORD, even [These appointed times1 of the LORD are]
holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons [appointed times1].

5, 6 In the fourteenth day41 of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover. And
on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the

7 LORD : seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have

8 an holy convocation : ye shall do no servile5 work therein. But ye shall offer an
offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days : in the seventh day is an holy con
vocation : ye shall do no servile work therein.

9, 10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and
shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf6 of the firstfruits of your

11 harvest unto the priest: and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be ac-

12 cepted for you : on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it- And ye
shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb [a ram7] without blemish

13 of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the meat offering [ob
lation8] thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering
made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour : and the9 drink offering thereof

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Vor. 2. The woril "T^liO according to all authorities means primarily a fixed, appointed time (Gen. xxi. 2 ; Jer. viii. 7,

«.'o.) and it is so translated in ver. 4 in their seasons. Thence it c;ime to be used for the festivals occurring at Ret times (Zech.
viii. 19). Besides those meanings the word has the divided signification of the assembly which came together at these
times, and then the assembly or congregation generally (whence the expre s on Tabernacle of congregation V, ami then nlso
the plice of the assembly. The derivative significations are here out of the question. It occurs in this chapter five times,
and is not elsewh re used in Lev. except in the phrase Tabernacle of congrryation. \\iih the same exception, ir is uni
formly translated time or sensrm (set or Hppointed) in Gen. ami Ex., a^d g« nerally in Num. The translation four times by
feasts in this chap, is then fore < xceptional and supported ouly by a few instances in Num. It is better therefore to con
form tlie translation here to t:>e usage. There is a difficulty with either translation in the fact that a holy convoca
tion was not proclaimed on the Day of Atonement; — that is broadly applied to all, which was strictly true of nearly all
the particulars mentioned. But/eos^s labors under the further disadvantage that the Day of atonement was a fast.

2 Ver. 3. The translation necessarily fails to convey the full force of the Heb. fir\3$ A3K^ a very strong expression
used only of the days and yeara of rest appointed in the Mosaic legislation.

3 Ver. 4. The Heb. has T\ vN> the Sam. prefixes ). According to Iloubigant the former refers to what has preceded,
the latter to what follows. In this case the Sam. reading is preferable.

* Ver. 5. The missing QV is supplied in 15 MSS. and the Sam.

6 Ver. 7. " mijj? rOJwD, occupation of a work, signifies labor at some definite occnpation, e. g., the building of the
tabernacle, Ex. xxxv. 24 ; xxxvi 1,3; h^nce occupation in connection with trade or one's social calling, such as agricul
ture, handicraft, etc. ; whilst J"UX 7p is the performance of any kind of work, e.g., kindling fire for cooking food (Ex.
xxxv. 2, 3)." Keil.

6 Ver. 10. "IpJ,'- The A. V. is probably right in translating here sheaf, which according to the lexicographers is the

primary meaning of the word. See Deut. xxiv. 1!) ; Ruth ii. 7, 15, etc. It H so translated by the LXX.. Vuig., and L"ther,
as well as by Gesen., Fiirst, Lee, and others. On the other hand Josephus (Ant. i i. 10, 5), and the Mishna, tak • it in its de
rive! and more usual sense < fan Om°r, viz., < f the flour fr >m the grain, offered with oil nnd frankincense as an oblation.
Perhaps in later times the omer of the flour was substituted for th > original sheaf of the grain.
i Ver. 12. fcO3. See Tex nal Note & on iii. 7. Here the sex is indicated:

8 Ver. 13. "IfinjD. See Textual Note 2 on ii. 1. The pronoun is masc. with refererce to the sex of the sacrifice.

T : •

9 Ver. 13. Th« A. V. here and in th". previous clause substitutes the def. art, for the masc. pronoun. The Heb. texl
!"13DJ i8 pointed in accordance with the k'ri 130J which is also tho Sam. reading.

172 LEVITICUS.

14 shall be of wine, the fourth part of an bin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor
parched corn [grain], nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought
an offering unto your God : it shall be a statute for ever throughout your genera
tions in all your dwellings.

15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day
that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering ; seven sabbaths10 shall be complete :

16 even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath10 shall ye number fifty days; and

17 ye shall offer a new meat offering [oblation8] unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out
of your habitations two wave loaves11 of two tenth deals : they shall be of fine flour ;

18 they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. And ye
shall offer with the bread seven lambs [rams7] without blemish of the first year,
and one young bullock, and two [full-grown12] rams : they shall be for a burnt of
fering unto the LORD, with their meat offering [oblation8], and their drink offer-

19 ings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD. Then ye shall
sacrifice one kid [buck13] of the goats for a sin offering, aud two lambs [rams7] of

20 the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them
with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two

21 lambs [rams7] : they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And ye shall pro
claim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall
do no servile work therein : it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings
throughout your generations.

22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance
of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any glean
ing of thy harvest : thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger : I am
the LORD your God.

23, 24 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sab
bath [a sabbath rest14], a memorial of blowing of trumpets,15 an holy convocation.

25 Ye shall do no ssrvile work therein : but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto
the LORD.

26, 27 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh
month there shall be [only the tenth of this seventh mouth is16] a day of atonement :
it shall be an holy convocation unto you ; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer

28 an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same
day : for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD

29 your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day,

30 he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth
any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.

31 Ye shall do no manner of work : it shall be a statute for ever throughout your ge-

10 Ver. 15. Some critics (Keil, Clark, and others) would render here and in xxv. 8 seven weeks, in accordance with the
use of A3l^ iQ the Talmud, and of adpfiaTov in the N. T. The word seems to be used here, however, rather by a figure of

T ~

speech as in xxv. 2, 4, etc., and the definite meaning of week to be of later origin. The r\Q^D^ on which Keil relies,

agrees with the main idea. .

11 Ver. 17. Tne Sain. here supplies the word j~\1 vH which is uniformly translated cakes in the A. V , and may indicate

the kind of bread used.

12 Ver. 18 D / X indicates strong and full-grown rams of maturer age than the D'Z£O3 of the first clause. The Sam.
3 MSS. and LXX. add " without blemish."

is Ver. 19. DvT-V;£ . See Textual Note ^ on iv. 23.

i* Ver. 24. rtfOKJ here stands by itself without the pi3U used in ver. 3. When thus used by itself Eosenmiillersaya

T- T-

" de iis tantum feriis dicitur, quse uon in septimum hebdomadis diem, qui J"GKf, cessatio ab opere K<ZT' e^oxrtv dicitur, in-

cidit." It should therefor« be rendered hy another term, and the one sugeres'ed by Clark is adopted.

15 Ver. 24. Ihere is nothing in th«> Heb. corresponding to the words of trumpets, which should therefore be in italics.
The Heb. reads simply njf'Hj7* P"UT = a memorial of a joyful noise. n^nn is frequently used in connection with va

rious kinds of trumpets and other instruments (Num. xxxi. 6 ; Lev. xxv. 9 ; Ps. cl. 5), denoting the clangor of those instru
ments, but it is also quite as frequently used without reference to an instrument of any kind (Num. xxiii. 21 ; Job » iii. 2lfc
xxxiii. 26; Ezra iii. 11, 13, etc.). The silver trumpets of the temple were however blown on all the festivals, including the
new moons /Num. x. 10), and there is no reason to question the tradition that on " the feast of trumpets" horns or cornets
of some knul were blown generally throughout the land. The LXX. has ^v-q^otrvvov craAirtyywp, the Vulg. memorial*
clangrntibns tubis.

16 Vi-r. 27. 1] X is a particle of limitation, and thus in this case of emphasis. It is better to omit the italicised words

there shall be, and translate according to the usual construction of a Heb. clause ending with

CHAP. X^III. 1-44.

173

32 Derations m all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest,2 and ye shall
afflict your souls ; in the ninth day of the month at even,17 from even unto even,
shall ye celebrate your sabbath [your rest18].

33, 34 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for

35 seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation : ye shall

36 do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto
the LORD : on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you ; and ye shall
offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD : it is a sol emu assembly,19 and ye
shall do no servile work therein.

37 These are the feasts [appointed times1] of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to
be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt of
fering, and a meat offering [an oblation8], a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every

38 thing upon his day : beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and
beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the
LORD.

39 Also [Only16] in the fifteenth day of the ceventh month, when ye have gathered
[at your gathering in20] in the fruit of the laud, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD
seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a

40 sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs [fruit21] of goodly
trees,22 branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees,23 and willows of the

41 brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall
keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever

42 in your generations : ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in

43 booths seven days ; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths : that your
generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when
I brought them out of the land of Egypt : I am the LORD your God.

And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts [appointed times1] of
the LORD.

•" Ver. 32. The word 3"V[»3 = at even is omitted in one MS., LXX., and Vulg.
is Ver. 32. The margin of 'the A. V. is more correct than the text. The Heb. is
19 Ver. 36. jl^V? is a word the signifi arion of which has been much questioned. The translation of the LXX. e'£65idv

eon, meaning the close of the festival, is defended by Furst, and adopted by Pat ick ; so also Theodoret, referring not only
to this feast, hut to tho whole cycle or feasts, TO reAo? TWV eoproiv, and so also Keil. MichaeMs, using an Arabic • tymology,
interprets in of pressing O'l.t the grapes. The sense of the margin of the A. V. day rf restraint is said to b.> advocated by Iken
in a sp cial dis erta'ion (Con. Ikenii Disserlatt. Ludg. Batav. 1749) anl is adopted by Abarbauel and other Jewish writers.
Th« text of the A. V. assembly is defended by RosenmUller (3d Ed.), advocated by Gesenim, and is that given by Onkelos,
the Vulg., and Syr. The LXX. als > elsewhere transl tes the word n-cu/j/yupts (Amos. v. 2) and ervVofio? (Jer. ix. 2). The
word 01 curs but ten times, in five of which it refers to the last day of one of the givat feasts, and in one other (Jer. ix. 2 [1])
it clearly means assembly. Josephs (Ant. iii. 10, 6) applies it as a customary phrase to the feast of Pentecost. It is the
day referred to in Juo. vii. 37 as " the last day, that great day of the feast."

20 Ver. 39. DD£3pX3. It is better to preserve the indefiniteness of the original which does not determine whether the
harvest was already fully gathered. Clark thinks that thin could rarely have been the case.

21 Ver. 40. The Heb., as noted in the margin of the A. V., H fru't, and it is better to retain the word even if it be ex
plained (Keil) of" the shoots and branches ot th » trees." According to the most ancient traditions, however, it was cus
tomary at this feast to carry in o»e hand some fr .it, and the word is retained in all thy anc cut versions.

22 Ver. 40. "HH VJ7, lit. ornamental trees, a generic word including the various kinds specified just below. So the

Sam., LXX., Syr., and Vulg., the lexicons, and m^st interpreters. Jewish tradition, however, incorporated into the Tar-
gums <ind Josephus (Ant. xiii. 13, 5) unueistands it specifically of 1 10 Gitron.

23 Ver. 40. fQj?" j'j?- The rendering of tho A. V. is sustained by almost all authorities, meaning trees of various

kinds having thick foliage. The Targums nil inte pret it specifically of myrtles, which cannot be right, as in the account
of the celebration of thin feast in Neh. viii. 15 tho iityrt e and tho thick tr. es are distinguished.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Thia chapter consists of five Divine communi
cations to Moses, beginning respectively with
vers. 1, 9, 23, 26 and 33, all of which, except
<hat concerning the day of Atonement, ver. 26,
he is directed to speak unto the children
of Israel. The first of these (1-8) relates to
the weekly Sabbath, the Passover, and the fol
lowing feast of unleavened bread ; the second
(9-22) to the wave sheaf in connection with the

last feast, and the feast of weeks, or Pentecost;
the third (23-25) to the civil New Year, or the
New Moon of the seventh month of the ecclesi
astical year; the fourth (26-32) to the great
Day of Atonement; the last (33-44) to the feast
of tabernacles.

Ver. 2 forms the heading or introduction to
the whole chapter. This is a full list of all
those days and years, all the appointed times
which the Lord had marked out as to be sepa
rated and distinguished from the ordinary course
of the daily life ; yet it does not include the

174

LEVITICUS.

ordinary new moons on which special sacrifices
were also to be offered. Num. xxviii. 11-15.

Ver. 3. First of all comes the weekly Sabbath,
a day to be observed by a total cessation from
all work and by an holy invocation. On
the last expression see the close of the prelimi
nary note. The weekly Sabbath is placed in
the same way before the annual appointed
times in Ex. xxiii. 12-17; Num. xxviii. 9 —
xxix. No reason is here given for this obser
vance. It was certainly pre-Mosaic, and in the
fourth commandment is made to rest upon the
example of the Divine cessation from the works
of creation. But this refers only to the obser
vance of rest in a proportionate part of the
time — one day in every seven, and therefore has
no bearing upon the actual length of the crea
tive work. In the repetition of the command
ments in Deut. v., the observance o£ this rest on
the particular day of the week, Saturday, is
grounded on the deliverance from Egypt, that
groat mark of the Divine favor and national
birth- day which enters more or less into nearly
all the leasts.

A great part of Lange's Exegetical under this
chapter has been already given in the prelimi
nary note. All that follows what is given there
will be found below.

"1. The Sabbath. — The six days of work
are the foundation and the condition of the rest
of the seventh day. The prohibition not only

of servile labor (mDJ£j, but also of the higher
and freer business (HDX /?), forces the nobler
sort of men directly to look in upon themselves,
to devotion, and so to celebrate the feast. The
Sabbath Sabbathon (the Sabbath feast) has, how
ever, been here already appointed for the as
sembling in the Sanctuary, a thing which was
possible in the desert journeys, and laler in
Canaan, was fulfilled by the substitution of the
synagogues (see Winer, Synagogen), and thus
was the germ of all festivals." Lange. On the
interval of nearly a thousand years between the
desert journeys and the institution of Syna
gogues, see preliminary note.

The weekly Sabbaths are in a sense included
among the appointed times of ver. 2, but
yet are distinguished from them by the fresh
heading of ver. 4 and by vers. 37, 38. They
were indeed appointed times, but appointed
from the creation of man, not first prescribed
by the Mosaic law. The expression at the close
of the verse in all your dwellings is inter
preted by the Jewish writers to mean everywhere,
in or out of the Holy Land. Certainly it is thus
comprehensive ; but the expression is more im
portant as distinguishing the convocation of
these days from those of the annual festivals.
These were to be celebrated at home, in each
town and village and hamlet, and thus "kept
alive the knowledge and piety of the simple yeo
man in all the land This single verse

affords an interesting prospect of the unwritten
history of Israel's rural piety." Murphy.

Vers. 4-8. Ver. 4 is simply the heading in
substance of ver. 2 repeated to distinguish the
annual from the weekly festival. Vers. 5-8
relate to the Passover and the feast of unleavened

bread, which are here, as in Ex. xii. and Num.
xxviii. 16, 17, clearly distinguished from each
other. The same distinction is observed by
Josephus (Ant. llf. 10, 5), but both names came
to be used interchangeably as in the New Test.,
especially in St. John. Of all the annual festi
vals the Passover came first in the cycle of the
ecclesiastical year, first in the great historic
event it commemorated, first in its obligation,
and first in its spiritual and typical significance.
The Paschal lamb was to be slain on the 14th
Nisan "between the evenings," and eaten in the
following evening, i. e. according to the Hebrew
division of the days, on the beginning of the
loth. But with the 15th began the first day of
holy convocation, so that the two feasts were
thus actually blended 'into one. Lange: ''2.
The feast of unleavened bread. — With this
begin the feasts in the more peculiar sense,
which were proclaimed, and in Canaan are also
feasts of convocation of Israel at the sanctu-

a y i for the male youth and men) The

loth day is particularly the feast of Mazzoth,
which lasts seven days, but in such wise that
on'y the first and last day are in the more strict
sense festival days which exclude all business.
To these two feasts was appended in a certain
sense as a third the preliminary feast of the
harvest. It speaks for the antiquity of the text
that this feast was postponed to the future.
Not until they came into Palestine could Israel
gather in harvests and offer sheaves of the first
fruits. The first sheaf cut from the first, field
produce is meant, viz. barley (on the barley
harvest in Palestine, see Keil, p. 148)." [Trans.,
p. 439. Keil refers to Philo and Josephus for
the statement that the sheaf was of barley, and
says this is not expressly mentioned because it
was a matter of course. "In the warmer parts
of Palestine the barley ripens about the middle
of April, and is reaped in April or the beginning
of May, whereas the wheat ripens two or three
weeks later (Seetzen; Robinson's Pal. ii. 263,
278)." F. G.] "The sheaf was to be waved
before Jehovah. Does this mean : hallowed in
deed to Jehovah, but given to the priest? So
it seems from ver. 20. But according to Ex.
xxix. 24, 27, that which was waved was in part
brought to the altar and in part des:gnated as
for Moses [i. e. for Aaron and his sons]. So
the sanctification to Jehovah was to be the prin
cipal idea of the waving, but certainly with the
secondary idea that it was only ideally offered
to Jehovah for the use of the priest. The fir.-t
day of the Mazzotli W'»s reckoned as a Sabbath,
and the sheaf of the first fruits was presented
on the second of the seven days. That dny was
distinguished by a festal sacrifice. But the sa -
rifice is small, for the year is yet poor — of less
value than the later sacrifices: one larnb for the
burnt offering, two tenths (of an Ephah) of
wheat flour moistened with oil for the oblation,
to which was added the fourth part of an
hin for a drink offering. Under this condition
only was Israel acceptable in its preliminary
feast of the harvest, and the prohibition is a
very prominent thing: before Jehovah has re
ceived His sheaf of the first fruits nothing of the
new bread can be eaten. A law for pos eri y !
says the legislation in the wilderness." [The

CHAP. XXIII. 1-44.

175

first Divine communication of this chapter closes
with ver. 8. It contains the command for the
observance of the Sabbath, of the Passover, and
the general direction for the observance of the
feast of unleavened bread. Here it ends, and a
new communication begins with ver. 9, and ex
tends to ver. 22 containing the commands for
the wave sheaf, which was a part of the feast
of unleavened bread, and for the feast of Pente
cost. The reason for this apparent dislocation
of the logical arrangement is obvious: what
was directed in the first communication was to
be immediately observed during the wilderness
life, while the wave sheaf and Pentecost, could
not be, and were not intended to be observed
until the entrance upon the land of Canaan.
There is here therefore an incidental, but very
strong evidence of the date of this legislation.
At any other time than during the wilderness-
life, all the precepts lor the feast of unleavened
bread would certainly have been arranged in
the same paragraph. Ver. 11. On the mor
row after the Sabbath. — Various opinions
have been held in regard to this Sabbath. Ac
cording to the Boethoseans (.see Lightfoot on
Luke vi. 1) the beginning of the ecclesiastical
year was so arranged that the Passover always
fell on the Sabbath, and consequently " the
morrow after the Sabbath" and the feast of
Pentecost were always ob-erved on the first day
of the week. This opinion has been adopted by
several modern authorities, as Ilitzig, Hupfeld,
Knobel, Kurtz The two former of these think
that the sheaf was waved after the conclusion
of the feast on the 22d of the month ; the two
latter, on the 15th, the first day of holy convo
cation. It has been confuted by Ba.hr and
Weiseler, and is rejected by Keil and Clark on
the ground that such an arrangement would in
volve a broken or partial week almost invariably
at the close of the year, which is of course inad
missible. It may be added further that the first
day and the seventh day of the feast could not
possibly have both fallen upon the weekly Sab
bath, and that the provision for both is the
same (vers. 7, 8) forbidding only servile work.
Another opinion is that the Sabbath was that
weekly Sabbath which must occur on one of the
days of the feast. This was the view of the
Sadducees and of the Karaite Jews, but while it
rests upon no positive support, seems sufficiently
refuted by the argument of Keil (note, p. 440)
that 4< if the Sabbath was not fixed, but might
fall upon any day of the seven days' feast of
Mazzo'h, and therefore as much as five or six
days after the Passover, the feast of Passover
itself would be forced out of the fundamental
position which it occupied in the series of an
nual festivals (comp. Ranke, Pentateuch II. 108)."
The better view is that found in the LXX.,
Philo, Josephus, the Targuras, and the Rabbini
cal writers generally, and which seems most
in accordance with the text itself, that the Sab
bath was simply the festival Sabbath, the 15th
Abib, on whatever day of the week it might
happen to fall. So Lange below. The sheaf
of first fruits was then waved on the IGth. and
from that day the time was reckoned to the
feast of Pentecost. «' By offering the sheaf of
first fruits of the harvest, the Israelites were to

consecrate their daily bread to the Lord theii
God, and practically to acknowledge that they
owed the blessing of the harvest to the grace of
God." Keil. The offerings of vers. 12, 13, were
especially connected with the wave sheaf, and
were additional to the regular feast day sacri
fices prescribed in Num. xxviii. 19-24. The ob
lation was doubled (see Ex. xxix. 40 ; Num. xv.
4 ; xxviii. 21) as was appropriate to a harvest
festival ; but the drink offering (which in Le
viticus is mentioned only here and in vers. 18,
37) retnained as usual. Ver. 14. Bread ....
parched grain .... green ears are the three
forms in which grain was commonly eaten, and
the expression is equivalent to forbidding its use
in any form whatever before the waving of the
sheaf of first-fruits. — F. G.].

" 3. The Feast of Weeks. [Vers. 15-22]. De
termination of the time : From the second day
of the Mazzoth seven Sabbaths were counted, z. ?.t
forty-nine days. The following day, the fif
tieth, is the feast of weeks (fWjtf JH). The
leading thought is the new oblation which was
brought to Jehovah from the completed grain
harvest. It was to be brought out of all dwell
ings, and thus not out of the regular temple re
venues: two wave loaves of two-tenths (of
au Ephah) of fine wheateu flour. The baked
bread must be leavened, which shows that leaven
does not, in and of iiself, signify the evil (comp.
Comm. on Matt. p. 197) [xi. 33, Am. Ed., p. 245].
This was the first-fruits of the whole grain har
vest which must be hallowed to Jehovah before
the bread from the new harvest might be eaten."
[This is not stated in the Text, and while it was
undoubtedly true in regard to the wheat, must
not be understood to include also the barley
which it became lawful to use immediately after
the offering of the wave sheaf during the feast
of unleavened bread. — F. G.]. "The year has
now become richer, and hence seven lambs must
be offered for a burnt offering besides a young
ox (bullock) and two rams, and with all these
the proportionate drink offerings. Besides the^e
there was a he-goat for the siq offering — hardly
with reference to the unleavened bread (accord
ing to Keil, p. 151), but certainly with reference
to the sins which were wont to accompany the
harvesting." [The precise remark of Keil,
(trans, p. 443) is as follows : "The sin offering
was to excite the feeling and consciousness of
sin on the part of the congregation of Israel, that
whilst eating their daily leavened bread they
might not serve the leaven of their old nature,
but seek and implore from the Lord their God
the forgiveness and cleansing away of their sin."
It is to be observed that this sin offering was
neither that required for a definite sin of the
whole congregation, a bullock (iv. 14), nor yet
that for an individual, a she-goat (ib. 28), but
was the same as that required for a prince (ib.
23). The reason for it is to be sought, not in
any especial and definite sin. but in that general
and continual sinfulness which the chosen people
were commanded to recognize on all occasions
of especial solemnity. — F. G.]. " Finally two
lambs as a peace offering, or thank offering,
closed the feast. These peace offerings were
waved with the loaves of first-fruits, i. e., were

176

LEVITICUS.

sanctified to Jehovah, and then fell to the priest.
A principal direction for even this day is that it
was proclaimed as a convocation of the sanc
tuary, and that on it even domestic work itself
was forbidden as well as servile labor." [The
text however (ver. 21) contains only the prohi
bition of servile work. It is noticeable that
thig Pentecostal offering of two young rams was
the only peace offering required of the whole
congregation in the Mosaic ritual. — F. G.].
" With this memorable religious command is
connected the humane one, that the reaper of
the harvest must, let some remain in the borders
of the field, and that gleaning was forbidden in
favor of the poor (comp. Ruth). It is plainly
said again with this command : I am the Lord
your God." [This feast was not to be observed
until ye be coine into the land which I give
unto you, and Theodoret (Qu.32 in L*v.}, says
that it then " renewed the memory of the en
trance into the land of promise." Since Maimo-
nides (see Lange above) it has been customary
to connect it with the giving of the law. Nei
ther of these associations, however, rest on any
sure foundation. In Ex. xxxiv. 22 this festival
is more particularly described, as indeed is im
plied here, as the first-fruits of the wheat har
vest. The loaves differed from all ordinary ob
lations in being leavened, as an offering from the
people's daily bread to the Lord who had blessed
the harvest (comp. ii. 11, 12), but in accor 'ance
with the general law, they were not to be placed
upon the altar. " The injunction out of your
habitations is not to be understood, as Calvin
and others suppose [so also Corn, a Lapide,
and Lange above], as signifying that every house
holder was to present two such loaves ; it sim
ply expresses the idea, that they were to be
loaves made for the daily food of a household,
and not prepared expressly for holy purposes."
Keil. A moment's reflection upon the immense
mass of bread that would be required from the
600,000 men of Israel, to toe eaten only by the
priests and their families, is sufficient to show
that Keil's explanation must be right. The vic
tims to be offered, according to vers. 18, 19, differ
from those prescribed in Num. xxviii. 28-31 for
the same occasion in two particulars: there is
no mention there of the peace offerings required
here (ver. 19), but this is merely a difference in
the- particularity of the command which fre
quently occurs ; and there two young bullocks
and one ram are required, while here it is one of
the farmer and two of the latter, the offerings in
all other respects being the same. On this ac
count many commentators have supposed that
the offerings in Num. were simply a festival en
largement of the daily burnt offering-, while those
here commanded were additional sacrifices ac
companying the special rites of the festival. It
can hardly, however, be considered a rash con
jecture that in one place or the other the nu
merals may have changed places in the hands of
the scribes. Josephus (Ant. iii. 10, 5) follows
the statement in Num. Vers. 19, 20. The sin
and peace offerings were to be waved. Accord
ing to Jewish tradition this was accomplished
by leading the animals backwards and forwards
according to an established custom. With the
waving of the sin offering comp. the waving of

the leper's trespass offering, xiv. 12. The flesh
of both these offerings, unlike the ordinary peace
offerings, was to belong to the priest. Ver. 21.
On the selfsame day. The feast of weeks is
distinguished from the two other great festivals
in lasting but a single day; but it is said to have
been the custom in later times to give a festal
character to the six days following, and to con
tinue to offer abundant sacrifices upon them.
The feast is only described here as an holy
convocation, and is called the feast of harvest
in Ex. xxiii. 16, the feast of weeks, of the first-
fruits of wh at harvest, Ex. xxxiv. 22 ; Deut. xvi.
10, day of the first-fruits Num. xxviii. 26. The
name Pentecost belongs to a later time, and ap
pears in the Apocrypha (Tobit ii. 1 ; 2 Mace,
xii. 32), and in the S. Test, (Acts ii. 1; xx. 16 ;
1 Cor. xvi. 8). By Jewish writers it is fre
quently called rmj? (see Text. Note 19 on ver.
36), Gr. 'Aaapdd. As in nature the ripening of
the later grain was connected with that of the
earlier, so in the law the time of the festival for
the one was made dependent upon that of the
other; just as when the type was absorbed in
the Antitype the descent of the Holy Ghost was
dependent upon the Resurrection of Christ, the
First-fruits from the dead on the morrow after
he Sabbath of the Passover ; and the commemo
ration festival of Whitsunday has ever been ob-
erved by the Christian Church in dependence
ipon Easter. In ver. 22 the command already
riven in xix. 9, 10, is appropriately repeated in
connection with the harvest feast, and this is
gain reiterated in Deut. xxiv. 19 in connection
with precepts of kindness to the needy.

Vers. 23-25. Here begins a fresh Divine com
munication (the third of this chapter) because
he present feast was, like those of the first, to
:ome into immediate use. Lange: "4. The
east of Trombones, or the new-moon feast of
he seventh day of the first month." [This is
ipparently a slip of the pen for the first day of
he seventh month. — F. G.]. "The lesser new
noon feasts are not mentioned here: they be-
ong more to the ordinary life of the people and
o the State (hence Num. xxviii. 11). Also the
ieventh new moon is here only very briefly men-
ioned, and significantly described as Sabbathon
Zikron, as a feast Sabbath which was to be a
iabbath of memorial. The festal remembrance,
lowever, had respect to the new holy season
vhich dawned with the seventh month. Thus
is the first feasts — Easter, Mazzoth, and First-
'ruits — form a trilogy, so the great new moon
'east makes also a trilogy with the following Day
»f Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles. It is a

east of joyous sounds (HJ^npl) to awaken a na-
ional festal disposition by means of a festival
>lowing, not however with 'trumpets' which
vere not ordered till Num. x., and with their
clear piercing tone were fitted for the march of
he army of God; but with the deep droning of
lorns, trombones, which like bells, rather affect
deeply than arouse." There is nothing said in
he text of any instrument, see Textual Note 15
•n ver. 24; but as the silver trumpets were to
be blown on all the new moons, and on all other
estal occasions (Num. x. 10), they must have
been blown also on this new moon, whatever

CHAP. XXIII. 1-44.

177

other instruments may have been used besides.
«« In the modern service of the Synagogue, Ps.
Ixxxi. is used at the feast of Trumpets." Clark.
The general view of the Rabbinists is said to
have been that it was a commemoration of the
creation when " all the sons of God shouted for
joy," Job xxxviii. 7. Other commemorations,
equally fanciful, have been proposed, but it is
unnecessary to look beyond the fact that it was
New Year's day. This being a feast when it was
not required that all the people should appear
at the Sanctuary, the " holy convocation" was
probably observed, like the weekly Sabbath, in
each town anJ village throughout the land. Ne
vertheless a special burnt offering (ver. 25) was
to be offered at the Sanctuary, and this is spe
cified in Num. xxix. 1-6, as consisting of a bul
lock, a ram, and seven lambs, with their obla
tions and drnk offerings.

Vers. 26-32. A new communication is made
in regard to the Day of Aionement, not for the
reasons given before, but to mark the import
ance of the day. This subject has been so fully
treated in ch. xvi. that little need be said here.
It was on this day and not on the first of the
month that the year of Jubilee was to be pro
claimed (xxv. 0). On this day also the peo
ple were not required to assumhle at the Sanc
tuary, and the holy convocation must have
been kept at their, homes. Lange: "5. The
Day of Atonement. It is a noticeable anomaly
that it falls upon the tenth d;iy. Ten is the
number of the closed history, the reckoning up
of the double five, the well-used or badly-used
freedom, the number of judgment. The Day of
Atonement forms the climax as a day of purifi
cation, ch. xvi. ; here it is an introduction, a
preliminary condition for the great feast of Ta
bernacles (this relation is shown by the IjX ver.
27." [" By the restrictive 1]X, the observance
of the day of atonement is represented a priori
as a peculiar one. The 1]X refers less to the
tenth day, than to the leading directions re
specting this feast." Keil]. Num. xxix. 7 sup
plies still a third meaning, as a social or political
f ist day. It was named the day of expiation
(D^p2n). Ye shall afflict your souls ; Lu
ther translates arbitrarily : ' Ye shall afflict your
body, mortify your body, mortify your bodies.'
Certainly from the expression of the original
text, the fast is meant in Isa. Iviii. 3, etc. In or
der that the neglect might be visible and could
be punished, and that the limits might be fixed,
it is said : from even unto even. For this
feast also, as well as the former one, every busi
ness (not only labor) was forbidden." [This
cannot be meant of the new moon of the seventh
month, on which only servile work (ver. 25) was
forbidden. — F. G.]. " The great rigor is to be
noticed with which the penalty of death was
threatened for every transgression against the
rest of the Sabbath and against the fast."

Vers. 33-36. The ordinance for the feast of
Tabernacles is given in a separate communica
tion since this was not to be observed until the
entrance into the land of Canaan. Lange: " 6.
The feast of Tabernacles (rVGpn JH). The feast
is made prominent by being celebrated upon the
15th and not on the 14th day." [Just as the

feast of unleavened bread began on the 15th of
the first month. — F. G.]. "And moreover, by
being completed by an eighth day (rnjfj£)t the
closing festal assembly, see Jno. vii. 37." [There
is here also an analogy to the feast of unleavened
bread, the seven days of which were preceded
by the day of the Passover. In strictness the
eighth day was not a part of the feast which, in
vers. 34 and 40, is declared to be of seven days,
and in Deut. xvi. 13-15, an I Ez. xlv. 25, there
is no mention at all of the eightu day ; and it is
also distinguished from the days of the feast pro
per by the much smaller number of the victims
to be offered in sacrifice, Num. xxix. 36. More
over on this d,\y among the Hebrews the booths
were dismantled and the people returned to their
houses. — F. G.]. "Toe first and eighth days
are holy Sabbaths which exclude every kind of
work." [The text, however, vers. 35, 36, only
forbids servile work. — F. G.J. *- But every
thing else which distinguishes the feasts of the
Lord, burnt offerings, oblations, etc., (vers. 37,
38) distinguish this feast abundantly." [These
offerings are specified in Num. xxix. 12-38. They
consisted of a he-goat for a sin offering and a
burnt offering on each day. The latter included
two rams and fourteen lambs on each of the
days, with a varying number of bullocks. Be
ginning with thirteen on the first day, they were
diminished by one on each successive day, until
on the seventh only seven were offered. The
burnt offering of the eighth day was only one
bullock, one ram, and seven lambs. In all se
venty-one bullocks were wholly consumed upon
the altar, together with fifteen rams and one
hundred and five lambs. — F. G.]. •' It is also
again a double feast : in the first place the feast
of the garnered harvest, the third harvest, which
includes both the former ones, and especially
hallows to the Lord the noblest produce of the
land: the inspiriting fruits, for the children
(fruit), for the old (wine), and for the priests
(oil)." [The fruit, the oil, and the wine, were
however all alike used by all classes in the com
munity. — F. G.]. "And then, in the second
place, it was the feast of the memorial of the
booths in which Israel had dwelt in the wilder
ness. The sojourn in the wilderness must, have
been a hardship during a great part of the year,
and they usually dwelt in tents; but then came
the Spring and Summer time, when they could
build booths, and such a time would be particu
larly festive, a picture of a paradisaical lite of
nature. And it is plain that here the subject
must be neither the lasting sufferings of the wil
derness nor the settlement in Canaan. Hence
also the tents must be made from goodly trees."
[The feast of Tabernacles did not itt,elf occur in.
the Spring or Summer, but late in the fall, a
month or more after the autumnal equinox. No
evidence is adduced to show that the Israelites
in the wilderness at any time lived otherwise
than in tents, and indeed during a large part
of their wanderings the construction of booths
would have been impossible from the scarcity of
trees. The reference to the booths (succuth)
seems to be rather to the first encampments of
the Exodus (comp. Ex. xii. 37; xiii. 20), when
they must have been as yet very imperfectly sup
plied with tents.— F. G.J. " So the feast of la-

178

LEVITICUS.

bernacles was the highest feast in Israel (a
bright contrast to the feast of Purim introduced
at'. erwards, which was darkened by fanaticism),
and was a type of the highest and most b- autiful
Christian popular feasts. Upon the single feast
comp. the Lexicons, also K^il (p. 153 [Trans, p
440]), and Knohel (p. 549). That this feast
could readily bring in peculiar temptations is
shown by the story of the adulteress, Jno. viii."
[This inference must depend upon the decision
that the p issage referred to is a genuine part of
the Gospel, and is found in its proper place. It
is also further to be noticed that the women of
Israel were not required to dwell in the booths.
— F. G ]. "But we may see also partially from
Jno. vii., how it had been in the course of time
endowed with the richest symbolism, as a preach-
er-fv ast, as a fountain-feast, as a feast of
lights, the culmination of the Old Testament fes
tival seasons." [It is noticeable that this feast
was the time chosen by Solomon for the dedica
tion of the temple, 1 Kings viii. 2. — F. G.].

" Upon the observance of the line of feasts in
the sabbatical year and year of Jubilee, see ch.
xxv. On the later Jewish feasts, see Bibl. Wor-
terbuch fur das Cliristl. Volk under the article
Fcste. So too the feasts of the later Jews in
Herzog's Real- Encyclopadie." For additional
matter concerning this feast, see under verses
39-42.

In vers. 37, 38, is a summary distinctly speci
fying that these appointed times, with their of
ferings, are additional to the weekly Sabbaths
mentioned in ver. 3, and their offerings. Be
side the Sabbathsis comprehensive, including
both the day and the sacrifice offered upon it. It,
means beside them in regard to the other ap
pointed days, and beside their offerings as re
gards the offerings belonging to these.

Vers. 39-43 contain additional directions for
the feast of Tabernacles. Nothing has been said
in the previous verses of the dwelling in booths,
as the object there was only to treat of it as an
appointed time with its days of holy convoca
tion. Here, however, this is introduced by it
self, as a necessary direction, yet so as not to
disturb the singleness of view in which the whole
cycle of feasts has been presented There is no
occasion, therefore, to suppose that this is a dis
tinct document subsequently added. As this
precept has reference simply to the dwelling in
booths, there is no repetition of the command
for the holy convocations, or for the sacrifices,
and no mention of the eighth day, on which they
returned to their houses. It was pre-eminently
a joyous festival (ver. 40), as cowported with its
character as a harvest feast. On the Sabbatical
year at this time the law was to be publicly read
in the hearing of all the people of all classes, in
cluding the " strangers," Deut. xxxi. 9-13 ; Neh.
viii. 18.

In later times two significant customs were
added to the daily observances of the feast. A.t
the time of the morning sacrifice on each day a
priest drew water from the pool of Siloam in a
golden pitcher and bringing it in to the altar
poured it out with the libation of wine. This
probably suggested the words of our Lord in
Jno. vii. 37, 38. Also in the evening the men
and women assembled together in the court of

the women to rejoice over the ceremony of the
morning, the occasion being marked by great
hilarity. At this time two tall stands were set
up in the court, each bearing four lamps of large
fr-ize, the wicks being made of the cast off gar
ments of the priests, aud the oil supplied by the
sons of the priests. Many of the people also
carried flambeaux, and the light is said to have
been cast over nearly the whole city. This ce
remony seems to have called forth our Lord's
words in Jno. viii. 12, "I am the Light of the
world." During both these ceremonies the
choiis of Levites chanted appropriate psalms,
and the people participated by carrying in their
hands green branches and fruit. There is a cu
rious contrast between the cycle of annual festi
vals in the Jewish aud in the Christian Church ;
in both of them the festivals extend through
about six months, but in the former, in which
earthly blessings are everywhere prominent, it
began with the 14th Nisan, and extended through
the summer; in the latter, in which the thought
is more directed to spiritual blessings, it begins
with the early winter and extends round to the
summer.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. The weekly Sabbath is the beginning and
foundat on of all the festivals, for herein God is
acknowledged as the Creator of all things and
of man. By that the people were joined to God,
and so made ready for keeping the other festi
vals of His appointment. This was fixed for the
older church upon the seventh day, in memorial
of their deliverance from Egypt, the era of their
national existence; just as for the Christian
Church it is fixed upon the first day in memorial
of Christ' s resurrection, on which rests the whole
existence and constitution of that Church.

II. By the offering of the first-fruits to God
the whole harvest was sanctified, comp. Rom. xi.
16. Until this h.»d been done, no Israelite might
partake of the harvest at all. God's gifts are
freely bestowed upon men; but they may not
lawfully appropriate them to their own use until
they have acknowledged the Giver.

III. In the three harvest festivals the domi
nion of God over nature is emphatically asserted.
It is asserted in opposition alike to that Pan
theism which underlay so much of the ancient
heathen mythology, and which would worship
the earth itself as the giver of its fruits, while
here the homage is rendered to the Lord of the
earth as distinct from and infinitely exalted
above the earth; and it is asserted in opposition
to Deism, which would so separate the Deity from
His works as to make them in a sense indepen
dent of Him, while here He is recognized as
their immediate Ruler and the Author of every
earthly blessing.

IV. Leaven, which is for the most part for
bidden in oblations, and altogether prohibited
from coming upon the altar, is here commanded
for the- wave offering of the first-fruits of the
wheat harvest, very plainly for the Express ob
ject of teaching that the ordinary food of the
people is to be sanctified by an offering to God,
and thus in all things He is first of all to be re
cognized.

CHAP. XXIV. 1-9.

179

V. The peculiarity of a peace offering from
the whole congregation marks the Pentecostal
feast alone. At the beginning of the wheat har
vest, the principal harvest of human food, it was
peculiarly appropriate that it should be marked
by the sacrifice of communion with God.

VI. In connection with the feast of the har
vest comes again into prominence the care for
the poor in the prohibition of gleaning. God
leaves the poor always with us that man may
learn through them to imitate Himself in giving
freely to those who need out of the abundance
He has given to us.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Lange : " The feasts of the Lord and the festal
ordinances (ch. xxiii.). Their double basis: 1)
the work, 2) the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the
end of the trouble of labor, as Sunday is the be
ginning of festal work. The Old Testament
feasts in the light of the New Testament. The
Jewish Passover is a double feast; a type of
Christmas and of Easter. The Jewish and the
Chri-tian Pentecostal feast. The Jewish feast
of Atonement and the Christian Ascension-Day
(comp. Heb. ix. 24). The Jewish feast of Ta
bernacles and the Christian harvest feast. The
threefold Jewish harvest feast, Easter, Pentecost
and Tabernacles, a threefold type of the Divine
blessing in the kingdom of nature, and in the
kingdom of grace (the first-fruits, the daily bread,
the festival wine). The great Day of Atonement,
as a day of repentance, and as a day of the Gos
pel. Comparison between the Day oT Atonement
and Good- Friday, between Christmas and the
feast of Tabernacles. How all feasts by their
historical significance are linked with one an

other, and by their spiritual significance play
into one another. The feast is made gay with
green boughs."

As the Sabbath is made the foundation of all
festivals, so must the sanctiticatiori of the weekly
day of rest ever be the condition of all accepta
ble consecration of "appointed times" to the
Lord. The days on which no work at all might
be done are only the weekly Sabbaths and the
Day of Atonement ; but the additional days on
which no servile work might be done were nearly
half as many more. TUese last therefore were
days of rest to the slave and the hired laborer.
The law would have days when the hard labor
of life must cease without suspending its activity
altogether, and gives its most numerous days of
rest to those who must be employed in life's
drudgery.

The rejoicing before the Lord which is here,
ver 40, and in Deut. xvi. 11 commanded with
t special reference to the feasts of Tabernacles
and of Pentecost, is elsewhere made into a more
general duty, Deut. xii. 12, 18; xxvii. 7. If joy
was a commanded duty under the Old Dispensa
tion, how much more under the Christian. See
Phil. iv. 4, etc.

The three great festivals were occasions of
gathering all the males of Israel together, and
promoting the sense of their common brother
hood. The effect in this regard of united wor-
j ship is very plain. But especially at the feast
of Tabernacles, all were required to dwell in
j booths, and for the time distinctions of rank and
social position were levelled. Thus, as evevy-
i where under the Old Dispensation, principles of
I the Gospel were taught by symbolical acts, and
I the brotherhood of all the people of God pre-
| sented in sensible type and act.

SECOND SECTION.

Of the Holy Lamps, and the Shew Bread.
CHAPTER XXIV. 1-9.

1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that
they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to bum

3 continually. Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the [omit the]
congregation, shall Aaron1 order it from the evening unto the morning before the

4 LORD continually : it shall le a statute for ever in your generations. He shall
order the lamps upon the pure candle-tick before the LORD continually.

5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two 'tenth deals

6 shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows [piles'2], six on a row

7 [pile2], upon the pure table before the LORD. And thou ^halt put pure frankin
cense8 upon each row [pile2], that it may be on4 the bread for a memorial, even an

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 3. The Sam. and T,XX. here insert and his sons from Ex. xxvii. 21.

2 Vers. 6, 7. The Heb. rO"\J?O, referring etymologicallv to an orderly arrangement, means either a rvw or a pile, and

ia used in both senses. The 8 ze of rhe loaves, however, rontaiuing each about six pounds and a quarter of flour, as com
pared with the size of the table, two cul>it-< long by one b.oad, makes it more probable that pile was intended here. Jos«-
phus (Ant. III. 6, 6; 10, 7) expressly says, that this was the arrangement.

180

LEVITICUS.

8 offering made by fire unto the LORD. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the
LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

9 And it shall be Aaron's and his sous' ; and they shall eat it5 iu the holy place:
for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpe
tual statute.

3 Ver. 7. The LXX. adds and salt, which is probably to be understood in accordance with ii. 13, or the salt may have
been used in making up the loaves.

4 Ver. 7. Qn^- The force of the preposition is questioned. Both the senses on and for are true in themselves. The

incense was placed up >n the piles, according to Josephus (ubi sup.) in golden cups, and it was also burned for the bread as
a memorial. The latter sense, however, is sufficiently expressed b> the wor Is for a memorial.
6 Ver. 9. The pronoun, wanting in tne Heb., is supplied m the Sam. and in 8 MSS.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The commands for the holy lights and the
shewbread here follow in a special communica
tion, to complete the provisions for the typical
holiness of the Hebrew cultus. The former has
already been given, almost verbatim in Ex. xxvii.
20, 21, prospectively in connection with the pro
visions for the whole service of the sanctuary.
Now the command is actually given, and in Num.
viii. 3 its fulfilment is recorded. The phrase
ology of ver. 2, Command the children of
Israel that they bring, with that in ver. 8,
taken from the children of Israel, shows
that both the oil and the flour for the shewbread
were of the nature of oblations, gifts to the Lord
from the people continually. Vers. 2-4 relate to
the oil and the lamps; vers. 5-9 to the shew
bread.

Ver. 2. Pure oil olive beaten — pure in
being freed before the berries were crushed from
all leaves, twigs, dust, etc.; arid beaten in con
tradistinction to pressed in the oil-presses. By
this beating the oil of the best quality flowed out
nearly colorless. Continually, ver. 3, refers
to the perpetuity of the ordinance, not to the un
interrupted burning of the lamps ; for according
to the previous part of the verse, Aaron was to
order it from the evening unto the morn
ing, and according to Ex. xxx. 7, 8, he was to
dress the lamps in the morning and to light them
at even. The pure candlestick of ver. 4, like
the pure table of ver. 6, refers to the pure gold
with which they were made, and which was of
course kept free from all stain.

Vers. 5-9. Fine flour always means of wheat.
The frankincense, as a gift from the people,
must necessarily be the natural gum, and is to
be distinguished from the compound incense
which was burnt daily upon the altar of incense.
Lange (see below) is inclined to admit the opi
nion of Knobel that the loaves of shewbread
were leavened; Josephus, however (Ant. III. 6.
6; 10, 7), distinctly asserts the contrary and
nearly all Jewish and other authorities agree
with him. " Since the bread was brought into
the Holy pi-ice (which was not the case with the
Pentecostal bread) it almost certainly came un-
dor the general law of the meat offerings, which
excluded the use of leaven (ii. 11)." Clark. It
may be added that the shewbread was changed
only once a week, and leavened bread, exposed
to the air, could hardly have been kept in condi
tion for eating so long. The loaves were twelve
in accordance with the number of the tribes of
Israel. They were most holy, so that when

removed from the table they might be eaten only
by the priests in a holy place. The action of
Abimelech therefore in giving them to David (1
Sam. xxi. 4-6) was a clear violation of the law,
and is justified by our Lord (Matt. xii. 4) on the
principle that there are cases of urgency which
override the technical provisions of the statute.

Lange : " The holy candlestick, with the shew
bread, here makes the tabernacle the inner cen
tre of all consecrations, the holy place /car' f.^o^v,
which moves forth and spreads far into the holy
land ; and the innermost principle of this centre
is the name of Jehovah which comes to be
spoken farther on.

" On the holy candlestick see the particular
directions, Ex. xxv. 30; xxxvii. 17, and Num.
viii. 2; co*mp. Zech. iv. 2. But it is mentioned
here the second time, not because according to
the first command only Aaron was fitted for the
function ; but because it here forms the soul of
the cultus, tts farther on, in Num., it becomes
the very climax of the theocratic political life,
the light of the nation. Even less here than be
fore can one speak of the lamp of good works.
There is a strange propensity to place human
attributes in place of Divine in the very house
of God, even as far as to the Cherubim in the
holy of holies.* The candlestick is the seven
fold figure of the revelation of Jehovah, the type
of the Seven Spirits, Rev. i. But it must be no-
tic^'d that the congregation had to furnish the
anointing oil" [Salbo'l, i. e., the oil for this sa
cred use, not the oil for anointing the priests,
— F. G.], " for the congregation was to be the
substratum of all illuminations, not the priest
hood alone. In like manner is the command
significant that the lamps were to be lit forever
and ever.

" The shewbread is called ' bread of the pre
sence,' ' of my presence' (Ex. xxv. 30) in that
they lay before the presence of Jehovah, who,
in a symbolical sense, here holds a meal with
His priests (see Rev. iii. 20) as they in the first
place represent the twelve tribes of the holy
people. On this account, then, the loaves were
twelve, and since they were arranged in two or
dered rows of six opposire six loaves (differing
from the twelve precious stones of the breast
plate) they were called also the loaves of the
ranging together, the table of the succession and
similarly. Kcil, p. 158." [Trans, p. 452. Keil

* Keil : "This service consisted in the fact, that in the oil
of the lamps of the seven branched candlestick, which bnrnc d
before Jehovah, the nation of Israel manifested itself as a
congregation which caused its light to shine in the darkness
of this world ; a-'d that in the shewbread i<- offered thefrn'ts
of its labor >ri thf> field o<' the kingdom of God, as a spiritual
sacrifice to Jehuvah." [Trans, p. 451J.

CHAP. XXIV. 1-9.

181

thinks that the loaves were placed in rows, but
does not mention these names. Oa the arrange
ment, see Textual Note 2 on ver. 6. — F. G.].
" And since it is known that leaven in itself con
tains nothing evil, although like honey it might
not be placed upon the altar, the supposition of
Knobel (Keil to the contrary) has nothing hazar
dous, that the shewbread was leavened. Un
doubtedly it is to be considered that among the
later Jews they were unleavened ; but against this
must be weighed the fact that they formed an im
portant constituent of the food of the officiating
priests who ate them as a most holy thing, after
they were carried out, and that these loaves
were never actually offered, but only hallowed
to Jehovah, while their offering was signified by
the incense which went with them as a memo
rial (ver. 7, Azkara). The view that the in
cense was not strewed upon the bread, but placed
beside it in golden shells, is certainly strength
ened by the purpose of incense, which was
burned as an offering made by fire unto Jeho
vah. It is the sacrifice of prayer which is espe
cially associated with the priestly communion, a
"Grace" said before the Lord in the highest
sense.

" The supposition of Knobel and others that
the table, with shewbread and kindred things,
represented the house of God as an imitation of
a human house, is a flat travesty of the holy
house into that which is common ; it rests upon
a misunderstanding of the religious symbolism
of the house of God, and in it the sleeping cham
ber, e. g., the bed, and similar things must be
misled." [To define the ex'ict boundaries be
tween anthropomorphic language and representa-
t.ous on the one hand, and pure statements of
truth and pure symbolism on the other, is ex
tromely difficult, and will probably always re
main impossible, while man is still compelled to
use so much of anthropomorphic terms even in
the most abstract and philosophical discussion
of Divine things. Undoubtedly the Hebrew mind
was gradually led up to the conception of Di
vine realities by the exaltation of human expres
sions, and hence occur such forms as " the food,"
•' the table," " the house of the Lord ;" in grosser
minds the^e would have been associated with
grosser ideas, while for those of higher spiritual
elevation, there was just enough of symbolism in
these terms to enable them, by their means, to
rise above them to more spiritual and exalted
conceptions. To this it was essential that the
human imagery should be imperfect and wanting
in many particulars. — F. G.].

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. The symbolism of the seven-branched can
dlestick is applied in the Apocalyose to the Holy

Spirit. Meantime in its perpetual burning du
ring the night there is also the subordinate
teaching that from the worship of God all dark
ness and obscurity are to be banished by the in
fluence of that Spirit. To this the people are
themselves to contribute by bringing the purest
oil for the feeding of the lamps. The Holy Spirit
ever works upon man through that which is in
man, and man may receive the Divine Guest in
his heart, or may grieve Him and quench His
holy influence.

IE. In the shewbread, as the culmination of
all oblations, is expressed on the one hand the
consecration to God of all that belongs to man
by placing bread, the staff of human life, con
tinually before His presence; and on the other,
the condescension of God to communion with
man in making these loaves the food of His
priests. The incense, burned as a memorial,
represented the Divine acceptance of the gift,
and, as Lange has suggested, symbolized the
prayer with which the priests must, draw near to
this communion. It is further to be noted that
this was not the sacred incense of the sanctuary,
but the frankincense of the people's offering. As
the loaves represented the twelve tribes, so this
frankincense represented the people's prayers ;
and in this symbolic act of communion, the
priests on God's behalf pratook of the food, as in
the case of the sin offering.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Lange : " The proper maintenance for the can
dlestick in the house of God. The table of the
Lord in the Old Testament and in the New Tes
tament forms. The Lord at His table: 1) as the
Bread of heaven ; 2) as the Host ; 3) as the
Guest."

In the worship of God light and clearness are
ever to take the place of darkness and obscurity.
The clear shining of the Holy Spirit's direction
is always to be sought in all approach to God,
and to this end the pure oil is to be furnished by
the people for the lamps; an honest and good
heart is to be prepared for the Spirit's dwelling.

Through the grace of God man becomes a par
taker of the table of the Lord. This must be ac
companied with the incense of prayer. It was
to be a statute for ever, a perpetually recurring
act of communion with God.

Origen : The light of the Jews grew dim as the
oil of their piety failed ; the foolish virgins were
excluded from the marriage when their Limps
were gone out for the want of oil ; so Christians
must furnish the oil of earnest effort after holi
ness, that the flame of the Spirit may burn in
their hear s, 80 that men may see their good
works, aud that their lamps may be burning
when the Master comes.

182 LEVITICUS.

THIRD SECTION.

Historical. — The Punishment of a Blasphemer.

"The keeping holy of the Theocratic Religion, and of the Name of Jehovah, by means of an explicit

example." — Vers. 10-16.

" The keeping holy of punishnent, and of the distinction of punishment, whose
culmination is stoning." Vers. 17—23. — LANGE.

CHAPTER XXIV. 10-23.

10 AND the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out
among the children of Israel : and this sou of the Israelitish woman and a man of

11 Israel strove together in the camp ; and the Ibraeliiish woman's son blasphemed1
the name of the LORD {omit of the LORD*], and cursed. And they brought him
unto Moses : (and his mother's uame was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the

12 tribe of Dan:) and they put him in ward, tiiat the mind of the LORD might be
shewed them.

13, 14 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Bring forth him that hath cursed
without the camp ; and let all that ht ard him lay their hands upon his head, and

15 let all the congregation stone him. And thou shalt speak unto the children of

16 Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. And he that blas-
phemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the con
gregation shall certainly stone him : as well the stranger as he that is born in the
land, when he blasphemeth1 the name of the LORD [omit of the LORD2] shall be
put to death.

17, 18 And he that killeth3 any man shall surely be put to death. And he that kill-

19 eth3 a beast shall make it good; beast3 for beast.3 And if a man cause a blemish

^0 in his neighbour ; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him ; breach for breach,

eye for eye, tooth for tooth : as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be

21 done to him again. And he that killeth8 a beast, he shall restore it : and he that

22 killeth3 a man, he shall be put to death. Ye4 shall have one manner of law, as
well for the stranger as for one of your own country : ibr I am the LORD your God.

23 And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that
had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. -And the children of Israel
did as the LORD commanded Moses.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Vers. 11, 16. 3pJ accord ng to all the btst ciitical authorities, means to revile, to blaspheme; the LXX. and Targums,

I-T

however, interpret it as meaning to utter distinctly, thus embodying the Jewish tradition of the unlawful ness of uttering the
inline of Jehovah. S>'« the Exeg.

2 Vers. 11, 10. The words m italics are better omitted, allowing the sense to stand exactly as in the ITeb. and all the
Ancient Versions, where ttic Name eviden ly mean* the Name KO.T efoxjjp, the name of Jehovah. In ver. 16 th article
is omitted in the H>-1>., hut supplied in fie Sam.

3 Vers. 17, 18, 21. The Heb. here u es the word J^£3 J very freely, as is in part indicated in the marginal readings of the

A. V. Translating K?3J soul, vers. 17, 18 wi'l read lite al:y, And he that smiteth the soul of any man shall die the death,
nnd he that smiteth the soul of a beast shall make it good ; soul for soul. Similaily in ver. 21. A few MSS. emit the l^SJ

before beast in vers. 18 and 21.

* Ver. 22. The Sam. has the sing. Seven MSS. of that version, however, follow the plural form of the Hi b.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The whole of Lange's Excgetical is here given.
"According to Knobel the foregoing section

tainly in this place ought to stand the principle
of all consecrations, the name of Jehovah, and it
fits in with the high importance of keeping this
Name holy that the law, in its genesis, should be
introduced with a fearful example. Similarly

stands disconnectedly in this place. But cer- I the history of the Sabbath-breaker is introduced.

CHAP. XXIV. 10-23.

183

Num. xv. 32." [Of course the immediate reason
for the introduction of the narrative is that the
event actually occurred just at this point in
the communication of this legislation to the
people, and it thus constitutes one of the
Btrong incidental marks of the time when
that legislasion was given. Lange shows
that its mention was the very reverse of inop
portune. It is noticeable that the patronymic
Israelite is found elsewhere only in 2 Sam. xvii.
25 ; and the adjective Israelitish occurs only here.
It is used in opposition to Egyptian as the two
terms are likely to have been used at the time
ia the camp. So in 2 Sam. xvii. 25 it is used of
a man of the ten tribes in opposition to the two.
— F. G.].

" The son of an Israelitish woman and an
Egyptian man went out into the midst of the
Israelites, i. e., he betook himself to the camp
of the latter. He belonged to the strangers who
journeyed with Israel (Ex. xii. 38). As an
Egyptian, he dwelt certainly somewhat removed,
since he was not a member of the congregation
of Jehovah ; for only in the third generation was
an Egyptian to be taken in (Deut. xxiii. 8)."
[Although this law had not yet been announced,
Lange's supposition is altogether probable, and
the man doubtless formed one of the "mixed
multitude" who lived on the outskirts of the
camp, comp. Num. xi. 1, 4. — F. G .]. " The Is
raelites encamped according to the houses of
their tribes" (Num. ii. 2). In the camp a strife
arose ; "a quarrel sprang up between him and
the Israelitish man, that is, between him and the
men of Israel" (Knobel). Against the very ap
propriate view that KTX stands collectively, see
the grammatical note of Keil, p. 158.

" The history certainly tells us how the Egyp
tian offended in an ascending scale, even up to
the blaspheming Jehovah. The text, ver. 10,
shows that the Egyptian man had come in with
a.certain degree of impudence inio the midst of
the camp of Israel, where he did not belong.
From this it is also to be concluded that he ex
cited here a religious quarrel, and it could only
have been with one, as the issue proves." [In
the entire absence of reliable knowledge of the
cause of this quarrel the tradition embodied in
the Targs. of Jerus. and Jon. may be noted. Ac
cording to these the Egyptian was the son of an
Egyptian who had slain an Israelite in the land
of Egypt and then had gone in to his wife. She
had borne the child among the Israelites, being
herself of the tribe of Dan. In the desert this
man claimed the right to pitch his tent with the
tribe of Dan, and the right being resisted by a
man of that tribe, they vook the case before the
judge, where it was decided against the Egyp
tian. On coming out under this adverse judg
ment, he lommitted his offense. — F. G.]. " Thus
his insolence rose to blaspheming "THE NAME."
This expression: the Name, absolutely, raises
the name of Jehovah above all names, and blas
phemy against it w is not only blasphemy against
the God of Israel, but also against the religion
of His revelation, against the covenant with Je
hovah, and thus against the holy Source of all
consecrations. So he was led before Moses.
That he was put in ward shows that the mea
sure of punishment for this unheard of trans

gression had not yet been made clear. And it
had not been settled for the reason that he did
not belong to the commonwealth of Israel in the
stricter sense. Hence the punishment was made
known to Moses by an especial revelation from
Jehovah. The greatness of the crime is shown,
by the following particulars:

" 1. The punishment of stoning was to be so
lemnly performed by the whole congregation,
because the blasphemy rested, like a curse, upon
the whole congregation.

"2. All who 'had heard the blasphemy must
lay their hands on the head of the criminal be
fore the execution Until this expiation they
are contaminated with a complicity in guilt (see
ch. v. 1), which they must discharge from them
selves upon the guilty head." [Keil refers to
the washing of bands in Deut. xxi. 6 as analo
gous. Knobel, however, considers that the com
mand is connected with Deut. xvii. 7, requiring
the witnesses to throw the first stones. They
were in either case thus to make themselves re
sponsible for the truth of the accusation. — F. G.].

" 3. The greatness of the guilt is in the first
place to be compared with the lesser guilt, of a
man's cursing his God, i. e., his Elohim in His
peculiar relation to him, wherein he might mean,
e. ff. that this Elohim had done him wrong. This

77 p may have very different degrees, even to
speaking evil ; therefore he shall bear his sin :
in the first place, his evil conscience; then his
sentence according to the judgment of the theo
cratic tribunal." [As this particular offender
was an Egyptian, and as the law (ver. 10) in
cludes the stranger generally, many commen
tators have understood the expression his God
to mean the Deity whom he is accnsiorned to
worship. In confirmation of this it is urged that
penalty for him that curseth his God in ver.
15 is only that he shall bear his sin ; while in
ver. 16 he that blasphemeth (or revileth, a
feebler expression than curseth) the name of
the LORD, he shall surely be put to death.
For the last reason, others have maintained that

Q'ri/K does not here signify God at all, but hu
man magistrates. The reason, however, is of
little weight. In ver. 15 is given the general law
with the indefinite penalty; in ver. 16 it is re
peated for the sake of emphasis, with definite-
ness in regard to every particular, the sin, the
punishment, the executioners, and the applica
tion of the law to the stranger as well as the na
tive. The reference of ver. 15 to the gods of
the strangers is peculiarly unfortunate. It can
not be imagined that the law of Jehovah should
thus provide for the honor of those f;ilse gods
whom it aims to bring into contempt. — F. G.].

"4. This punishment of stoning should apply
to the strang -r as well as to the Israelite, be
cause in the first place, he entered the congre
gation of Israel as a blasphemer of its name;
and in the second place, proved thereby that he
did not do it unconsciously, but had an idea of
the signification of this name.

"5. If then the object of the ordinances for
punishment next following was that the penal
law of the Israelites should also apply to the
stranger who sojourned in their community -s

184

LEVITICUS.

yet the immediately following d 'grees of punish
ment form a scale which gives one a clear idea
of the greatness of the blasphemer's crime against
Majesty. The death penalty for the murderer
loruis a basis. Behind this follow the various
degrees, severe according to the law of compen
sation (Ex. xxi. 23), but yet the blasphemer
stands pre-eminent, far above the murderer.
The principal reason for this arrangement lies
indeed in this : that the capital pun shment of
the Egyptian migut easily excite a fanatical con
tempt and misusage of the stranger; therefore
it is here most fittingly made prominent that the
Jews [Israelites] and strangers, stand under the
same law, and that the murdering of the stranger
must also be punished with death. VViih the
elevatiou and hallowing of the punishment here
appointed above all partisan fanaticism, it be
came self-evident that the same punishment must
fall upon the Jews [Israelites]. How proper is
it that the name of Jehovah should be again in
serted for the pin-pose that the stranger might
have equal administration of justice with the
Jew [Israelite]. Manifold niisunderstauding
has attached itself to this legislation. The Jew-'
ish misinterpretation of 3PJ (in the sense of
to name, instead of to revile, to blaspheme} has had
for its consequence the Jewish superstition that
man may not pronounce the name of Jehovah,
arid the after effect no less that in the LXX. the
name Kvpiog is in the place of Jehovah, and also
the placing of the name Lord in tue German Bi
ble " [and in the English, but here distinguished
by small capital letters — F. G.], "also indirectly
that the name Jehovah is now translated with
the Jews : the Eternal.

" The Mediaeval misinterpretation drew over
into the New Testament time the penal justice
touching it, and the reflection thereof still shows
itself in the history of the Church of Geneva.
The mention of the mother of the blasphemer,
Shelotuith (the peaceable), daughter of Dibri
(my word), of the tribe of Dan appears to be
only a mark of definite remembrance. A com
munity which suffers the reviling of the prin
ciple of their community without reaction, is mo
rally fallen to pieces. This holds good also of
the religious community. The reaction of the
theocracy could not and should not transplant
itself into the Church ; but since it was outstrip
ped by the middle ages, there has come in more
recent time, over against this extreme, a fearful
relaxation, which misses the dynamic reaction
against the impudent, and the blasphemers of
the principle of the community."

This chapter is founded upon the fact that
among the Hebrews the child followed the con
dition of the father and not of the mother. It is
probably only one of a multitude of instances of
children born in Egypt of parentage of different
nations, and many of the "mixed multitude"
who followed the Israelites may have had Isra-
elitish mothers. The doubt arising as to the
punishment of a blasphemer who was not one
of the covenant people, led to Moses' asking for
Divine direction. In answer, not only this par
ticular case is settled, but the Hebrew law gene
rally is made applicable to the sojourner. In
connection with the penalty for killing cattle is

announced in express terms (vers. 18, 21), that
which had only been implied before (Ex. xxi.
33-3b'). The law for the punishment of blas
phemy in ver. 16 is perfectly clear ; it was from
a wrong conception of the fact, not of the law,
that the Jews stoned St. Stephen, and would
gladly have stoned our Lord Himself. The ca
pital punishment of the murderer in vers. 17, 21,
is not to be considered as a part simply of the
lex talionis, but rather as a positive Divine com
mand given in accordance with Gen. ix. 6. The
lex talionis on the other hand, of vers. 19, 20, is
permissive and restrictive, like so much else in
the Mosaic legislation. The fundamental prin
ciple which should govern man's conduct tow
ards his neighbor is given in xix. 18; but as the
people were so little able to bear this, the an
cient indulgence of unlimited revenge is re
stricted at least to the equivalent of the injury
suffered. After the announcement of these gen
eral laws, the people carried into execution the
sentence pronounced upon the Egyptian blas
phemer.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. The fundamental moral laws apply equally
to all mankind. No one can be exempted from
them on the ground that he is not in covenant
relation with their author, or does not acknow
ledge himself to be bound by them.

II. Blasphemy against God is a crime of the
deepest character, and demands the severest
punishment.

III. Exact justice demands the restoration to
one's neighbor of the precise equivalent of any
harm done to him, and in case this is a personal
injury, of a corresponding iijury to the offender.
The law of love comes in to forbid the exaction
of this penalty on the part of him who is injured;
but the same law should lead the offender to re
store in more ample measure.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Lange : " Blasphemy against the name of Je
hovah as the great mortal offence in Israel. Cul
mination of the revelation of salvation in Chris
tianity ; wherefore here especially the death
penalty must fall away. The accusation of
Christ, that He blasphemed God. The blas
phemy in the New Testament era, above all
others, a blasphemy against the grace of God in
Christ. The name of Jehovah is the witness of
His covenant truth. — The fearful decree of death
which lies in this blasphemy itself."

The evil of marriages with the ungodly is here
apparent ; also the influence of an ungodly fa
ther upon the life and character of his child.
The law requires every accusation to be sub
stantiated by the most solemn act of the accu
ser ; no one has the right to bring a charge
against another to the truth of which he cannot
positively testify, and which he is not prepared
to support in such wise that, if untrue, guilt
must recoil on his own head. The equality of
all men before the law of God is here, as every,
where in the law, made very prominent. In the
sufferance of the law of revenge, we see that
God's will is not always to be known by what

CHAP. XXV. 1-55. 185

He may permit to sinful man ; He suffers many
things "for the hardness of their hearts." All
these commands, and all commands given toman
rest upon the ultimate ground I am the LORD
your God.

But little is said in the New Testament of
blasphemy, God's displeasure at this sin having
been expressed so plainly in the Old, and His
will remaining always unalterably the same.

FOURTH SECTION.

Of the Sabbatical and Jubilee Years.

"The keeping holy of the hallowed territory, the holy land, by the Sabbatical year ; of the consecrated
inheritance by the Jubilee Year, and thus also of those who had become impoverished, the Israel
ites who had fallen into servitude ; the keeping holy of the outward appearance of the holy land
(streets and ways'] ; of the public Sabbath feast and of the Sanctuary of the religion of the land.
Ch. xxv. i — xxvi. 2." — LANGE.

CHAPTER XXV. 1-55.

1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the chil
dren of Israel, aad say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you,

3 then shall the laud keep a sabbath unto the LORD. Six years thou shalt sow thy
field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard [fruit garden1], and gather in

4 the fruit thereof; but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land,
a sabbath for the LORD : thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard

5 [fruit garden1]. 2 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt
not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed :3 for it is a year of rest

6 unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you ; for thee, and
for thy servant,4 and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger

7 that sojourneth with thee, and for thy cattle, and for the beasts [animals5] that are
in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.

8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths6 of years unto thee, seven times seven
years ; and the space of the seven sabbaths6 of years shall be unto thee forty and

9 nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound [cause the
sound of the cornet to go through the land1] on the tenth day of the seventh
month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout

10 all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty
throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile8
unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Vers. 3, 4. Q13. See Textual Note « on xix. 10.

2 Ver. 5. The Sam., LXX. and Syr. prefix tbe conjunction.

3 Vers. 5, 11. TTJ means primarily the separated (see Gen. xlix. 26; Deut. xxxiii. 16), then the consecrated. Except in

• T

the passages referred to, and in this chap , it is always used of the Nazarite. It is applied to the vine either as for this year
consecrated, so LXX. ayiaa-juaTos o-ou; or b, a figure of speech, thy Nazarite vine, as having ita branches unprnned like the
unshorn lorlf of the Naznrite. The latter is generally preferred by the commentators. Se« Keil who refers to the Latin
viridis coma, Tibull. i. 7, 34; Propert. ii. 15, 12. Ten MSS , the Syr. and Vulg. read the word in the plural.

* Ver. 6. The Sam. and Syr. read this and the three following words in the plural.

6 Ver. 7. rrnSl- See Textual Note i on xi. 2.

« Ver. 8. Sabbath is used here as in xxiii. 15 fs^e note there) rather in a figurative way than with the definite sense of

•
Ver. 9. The word ^^=Jubile of ver. 10 does not occur in this verse, and there is no occasion for its insertion. The

is the l°ud sound, clangor, of an instrument usually translated trumpet in the A. V., but occasionally (1

Chron. xv. 28; 2 Chron. xv. 14; Pa. xcviii. 6, etc.) more correctly cornet. It was either the horn of an animal (according
to the Mishna, of chamois or wild goat), or made of metal in the fashion of a horn. The LXX. renders o-dA.7i-fy£, the Vulg.
buccina. ,

8 Vers. 10, 11, 12, 13, etc. 7^V is translated throughout this chapter and ch. xxvii , jubile. So also Num. xxxvi. 4.

In Ex. xix. 13 it is rendered trumpet (marg. cornet), and in the oi'ly other places where it occurs, Josh. vi. 4, 5, 6, 8, 13, ram's
horns. Outside of the Bible tho word is always spelt jubilee, but being here spelt jubile, Chirk considers that it was intended
to be pronounced as a dissyllable, making a close imitation of tho Heb. word. Authorities differ as to its sense etymologi-
cally. See the subject discussed in Hochart, Hieroz. I. c. 43 (vol. I., pp. 463-466 ed. Rosen.), and Gesen. Thes. s. v. The
LXX. renders <ty«o-is with relation to what was to be done in this year rather than as a translation of the Heb. word.

186 LEVITICUS.

11 return every man unto his family. A jubile8 shall that fiftieth year be unto you :
ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the

12 grapes in it of thy vine undressed.3 For it is the jubile;8 it shall be holy unto
you : ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.

13 In the ytar of this jubile8 ye shall return every man unto his possession.

14 And if thou sell9 ought unto thy neighbor, or buyest ought of thy neighbor's hand,

15 ye shall not oppress [overreach10] one another : according to the number of years
after the jubile8 thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according unto the number

16 of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee : according to the multitude of years
thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou
shalt diminish the price of it : for according to the number of the years of the fruits

17 doth he sell unto thee. Ye shall not therefore oppress [overreach10] one another;
but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.

18 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes and keep my judgments, and do them ; and

19 ye shall dwell in the land in safety. And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye

20 shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety. And if ye shall say. What shall
we eat the seventh year ? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase :

21 then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring

22 forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old
fruit until the ninth year ; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.

23 The land shall not be sold for ever :n for the land is mine ; for ye are strangers

24 and sojourn ers with me. And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a

25 redemption for the land. If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some
of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that

26 which his brother sold. And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be

27 [has become12] able to redeem it ; then let him count the years of the sale thereof,
and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it: that he may return

28 unto his possession. But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is
sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile:8
and in the jubile8 it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.

29 And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it
within a whole year after it is sold ; within a full year [a term of days13] may he

30 redeem it. And if it be not redeemed with the space of a full year, then the house
that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him1* that bought it

31 throughout his generations : it shall not go out in the jubile.8 But the houses of
the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted15 as the fields
of the country : they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile.8

32 Notwithstanding [But concerning16] the cities of the Levites, and [omit and] the

33 houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levit; s redeem at any time. And
if a man purchase of the Levites,17 then the house that was sold, and [in18] the city

Josephus (Ant. III. 12, 3) uses the Heb. word iwjSijXos, which he explains as moaning liherty, ekevOepiav 8e crrjjuaivei rovvofj-a.
The Vulg. liasjubileus. In Ezek. xlvi. 17 it is called "YlTnn j"U&y=^e year of liberty, from which Josephus probably

derived his interpretation. This accoids well with the context in ver. 11, and also with the derivation from ^^==to flow

— T
freely.

9 Ver. 14. The Heb. hps the verb in the plural ; but the Sam. has the s>ng. in accordance with the s'ng. pronouns fol
lowing. The word buy, J~|jp> i8 inf. allS-» a& in Gen. xli. 43.

L 'T

10 Ver. 14. }J1j~\-lN. The verb nr in the Hiph. applies especially to that sort of civil oppression brought about

by fraud, which is best.expre?8ed in English by the word overreach.

11 Ver. 23. j"\.pDY7, lit. for cutting off' (as in marg. A. V.), via. irom all hope of redemption. In modern phrase, in per

petuity.

12 Ver. 26. The marg. his hand ha'h attained and found sufficiency exactly renders the Ileb.; but the text of the A. V. is
a sufficiently good translation except in failing to bring out the idea that the ability to redeem has com- about sin. e ihe
sal > took place. The Jewish interpretation was accordingly correct, that the right of redemption shonl I only a crue in
case the ability to re-purchase was gained after the sale had taken place; a merely voluntary sale must hold until the jubi
lee year. ,

is Ver. 29. IfwXj ITi"!^ D"D", lit. days shall its redemption be, i. e. the rip lit cf redemption shall continue for a

definite time and no longer, which time has been explained in th« previous clause t < be a year; it is bptter, however, to
let the translation follow the Heb. th>>n to paraphrase so much as has been dc.iiu in tlie A. V.

" Ver. 30. The k'ri iS for the text X'S is "Iso the reading of the Sam. and of thirteen MSS.

16 Ver. 31. 3^rV is sing. The Sam , LXX. and Syr. have the plural.

is Vor. 32. On this nse of the j.article 1 see. Nordheimer's Heb. Gr. g 1093, 6, c, h. It is evident that there is nothing
said • bout th ' redemption of the cities, which the form of the A. V. would soeni to imply, but only <f the houses in tnem.

17 Ver. 33. Tuere is much diversity of opinion as to the meaning of this clause. The text of the A. V. is supported by

CHAP. XXV. 1-55. 187

of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile:8 for the houses of the cities of

34 the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the
suburbs of their cities may not be sold ; for it is- their perpetual possession.

35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee ; then thou
shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger [poor, and his hand trembles by
thee, thou shalt hold him up as a stranger19], or a sojourner ; that he may Jive20

36 with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase : but fear thy God ; that thy

37 brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor

38 lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the LORD your God, which brought you
forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee ;

40 thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant : but as an hired servant, and
as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile :8

41 and then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall
return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.

42 For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt : they

43 shall not be sold as bondmen. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor; but shalt

44 fear thy God. Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have,
shall be of the heathen that are round about you ; of them shall ye buy bondmen

45 and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among
you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat

46 in your land : and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an
inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession ; they shall
be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall
not rule one over another with rigor.

47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by
him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or21 sojourner by thee, or to the stock

48 of the stranger's family : after that he is sold he may be redeemed again ; one of his

49 brethren may redeem him ; either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him,
or any that is nigh of kin22 unto him of his family may redeem him ; or if he ba

50 able, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him that bought him
from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile :8 and the price of
his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an

51 hired servant shall it be with him. If there be yet many years behind, according
unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that

52 he was bought for. And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile,8
then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again

53 the price of his redemption. And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him :

54 and the other shall not rule with rigor over him iu thy sight. And if he be not
redeemed in these years [by these means23], then he shall go out in the year of jubi-

the LXX. and by the Targums, and is defended by Keil. A d.fficulty arises from the use of the word ^^==redeem; but
Keil maintains, on the authority of the Rabbins, that this is used in the sense of njp='o buy. He grounds the usage on

the fa^t that th« Levit'c'il cities were originally ass:gn<-d to the tribes as a part of their inheritance; they relinquished the
houses, or a part or the houses in them (together witti pasture grounds) to the Levites tor d\v lling-pla^s. When therefore
on" of another rilx- purchased of a Levite, he was in tact redeeming the inheritance of his tribe. So Murphy. On the other
hand, the reading: If <me, of the Levitt's redeems a house in the city (according to the marg. of the A. V.), is preferred by Cl.irk
following Rosenmiilier, De' Wette, Kranold, llerxheimer and others. The meaning will tin n be, that if a Levite has sold
a house to one of another tribe, and anotlu r Levite redeem it, then in the Jubilen year it must revert to its original pos
sessor. But it is more than questionable whether the Levites had any such general r>ght of redemption on behalf of tiitir
foil w Levites as this would suppose. 'Jhe Vulg. inserts a negative, Si redtrnptm (sc. aides) t,onfuerint, and ibis is sustained
b\- Hoiibigant, and preferred l>y \\oide, Kwaln, Bunsen und Knobel. It is adopted by Lunge in the translation and exege
sis; hut it is a serious obje tion that it would r< quire a change in tbe Ileb. On the v hole, the text of the A. V. seems Lest
sustained, and gives the clearest sense.

18 Ver. 33. On the use of 1 in the figure Hendiadys see Gesen. s. v. 1, b.

19 Ver. 35. The particle as is in erted h»re by the LXX., Vulg , Targnms, Luther, ffc., and is recognized »s to be sup
plied by many commentators, as Kei , Clark and others. • So also Riugs. On the oti'cr hand the Syr. gives just the opposite
s 'iise : thou shalt not hold him for a tojuiirner or foreigner; but he shall live with thee. Others, as Lange, adopt the sense
expressed in the A. V.

20 Ver. 35. TH accor ing to Keil, an abbreviation for ^Hl occurring only here.

... _ T

81 Ver. 47. The missing conjunction is supplied in ten MSS., the LXX. and Syr.

22 Ver. 49. Sen Textual Note * on xviii. 6.

23 Ver. 54. Th« Tie -. does not f xpres-s the noun at all. That supplied by the marg. of the A. V. is clearly more agree
able to the cont xt than that in the text. So Lange, following the Sjr. The oiher ancient versions do not supply the
ellipsis.

188

LEVITICUS.

55 le,8 both he, and his children with him. For unto me the children of Israel are
servants ; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt : I
am the LOKD your God.

the Sabbath-month, and the Sabbath-year, and
lastly to a great Sabbath-period of years. And
all these institutions were associated with ideas
admirably calculated to foster both a sense of
dignity and humility, both zeal in practical pur
suits and spiritual elevation, both prudence and
charity." Kalisch.

" The fundamental thought is: Jehovah is the
Lord of the land of Jehovah, with all its bless
ings, with its soil and its harvests, with its inhe
ritances and its dwellings, with its rich and its
poor, with its free and its slaves, its roads and
its bye ways, its holy seasons, the Sabbath days
and its central holy place, the Tabernacle."
Lange.

Vers. 1-7. In mount Sinai clearly means
in the region about the mountain, as in vii. 38;
xxvi. 46; xxvii. 34, etc. " Mount Sinai is em
phasized to allow the immediately following or
dinance to come into prominence as a prophecy
of the distant future." Lange. Neither the Sab-
batioal nor the Jubilee year were to be observed
until the settlement of the people in the promised
land. On ver. 4 Lange quotes Keil as follows :
" The omission of sowing and reaping presup
posed that the Sabbatical year commenced with
the civil year, in the autumn of the sixth year
of labor, and not with the ecclesiastical year, on
the first of Abib (Nisan), and that it lasted till
the Autumn of the seventh year, when the culti
vation of the land would commence again with
the preparation of the ground and the sowing of
the seed for the eighth year; and with this the
command to proclaim the jubilee year 'on the
tenth day of the seventh month ' throughout all
the land (ver. 9), and the calculation in vers. 21,
22, fully agree." On the expression Sabbath
Sabbathon of ver. 4, see Textual Note 2 on xxiii.
3. In vers. 4-7 all agricultural labor is forbid
den for the Sabbatical year. Two questions
arise: how were the wants of the people to be
provided for during the year? and how was the
time thus freed from its usual employments to
be spent? In r* gard to the first, reference is
usually made to the great productiveness of the
land, and to the fact ihat there would be a con
siderable spontaneous growth of grain, while the
fruit trees and the vine would of course bear
nearly as usual. Greater use would also have
been made of animal food by those who pos
sessed cattle, or were able to purchase it, and
the uncropped fields would have allowed of the
support of herds and flocks in unusual numbers.
These facts lessen the difficulty, and indeed re
move it altogether for the wealthy and for the
poor also during several months of the year; all
this spontaneous produce was common property,
and might be gathered by any one for immediate
use but not stored. Undoubtedly during the
time of the ripening of the various cereals there
would thus be abundant provision for the wants
of the whole population. But after all, the main
reliance must have been upon the stores laid up
previously in view of the coming on of the Sab
batical year, and this is pointed out in vers. 20,
21. It is also to be noticed that only agricul-

EXEGETICAL, AND CRITICAL.

This chapter, with the first two verses of the
following one, forms another Parashah or proper
lesson of the law ; the parallel lesson from the
prophets is Jer. xxxii. 6-27, concerning Jere-
miah's redemption of Hanameel's field in Ana-
thoth. This and the following chapter, which is
the conclusion of the book proper, form a single
Divine communication. " The institution of the
jubilee years corresponds to the institution of
the day of atonement (ch. xvi.). Just as all the
sins and uncleannesses of the whole congrega
tion, which had remained uuatoued for and un-
cleansed in the course of the year, were to be
wiped away by the all-embracing expiation of
the yearly recurring day of atonement, and an
undisturbed relation to be restored between Je
hovah and His people ; so, by the appointment
of the year of jubilee, the disturbance and con
fusion of the divinely appointed relations, which
had been introduced in the course of time through
the inconstancy of all human or earthly things,
were to be removed hy the appointment of the
year of Jubilee, and the kingdom of Israel to be
brought hack to its original condition." Keil.
The systematic character and correspondence of
the two great divisions of Leviticus are thus
brought into view.

The institution of the Sabbatical year occu
pies the first seven verses, and that of the year
of Jubilee, with its eff cts upon rights and pro
perty, the remainder of the chapter. The latter
may be subdivided into the institution itself
(vers. 8-12); the legal return of every man to
his own lind, and the tffect of this on contracts
(vers. 13-34) ; and finally the emancipation of
the Hebrew slave with its consequences (vers.
35-55). "The Sabbatical year and the year of
Jubilee belong to that great Sabbatical system
which runs through the religious observances of
the law. They were solemnly connected with
the sacred Covenant." Clark. They are there
fore appropriately placed immediately after the
"appointed seasons" of the previous chapter;
yet they are also somewhat separated from these,
as "they were distinguished by no religious ce
remonies, they were accompanied by no act of
religious worship. There were no sacrifices,
nor Holy Convocations belonging to them." Al
though forming a part of the Hebrew ecclesias
tical system, they were yet chiefly marked in
their effects by their civil and social relations.
As the whole civil polity of Israel was funda
mentally theocratic, so were these remarkable
provisions in their national life placed upon a
religious basis.

" There are perhaps in the whole ancient world
no institutions bearing comparison with the He
brew year of release and of Jubilee, either in
comprehensiveness or in loftiness of principle.
It is impossible to appreciate too highly the
wonderful consistency with which the Sabbath
was made the foundation of a grand series of
celebrations extending from the Sabbath-day to

CHAP. XXV. 1-55.

189

tural labor was suspended, and that the com
merce of the cities went on as usual. In regard
to the employment of the time: the command is
given in Deut. xxxi. 10-12, that at the feast of
Tabernacles in this ye<r the law should be read
in the hearing of all the people, including not
merely the men who were alone required in other
years to assemble at the fea-^t, but also the wo
men and children. This provision, joined with
the analogy of the seventh day, shows that the
leisure of the Sabbatical year was to be improved
in acquiring a knowledge of the Divine law, and
doubtless in renewing family ties and associa
tions. It is distinguisheJ not as an idle year,
but as a year of intellectual and moral, rather
thanofminual occupation. Other passages in
the law on this subject are Ex. xxiii. 10, 11, and
Deut. xv. 1-18. The latter is the most detiile<l
of a'l, and provides for the release in that year
of all debts due from Israelites, an I of all Isra
elites in bond service. The Sabbatical year
was doubtless provided for the sake of man
and its bearing upon his spiritual welfare ;
yet, when the law pronounces (ver. 2) the land
shall keep a Sabbath unto the LORD,
we are forced to see a symbolical significance in
the very rest of the land itself. "The earth
was to be saved from the hand of man exhaust
ing its power for earthly purposes as his own
property, and to enjoy the holy rest with which
God had blessed the earth and all its productions
after the creation. From this, Israel, as the na
tion of God, was to learn, on the one hand, that
although the earth was created for man, it was
not merely created for him to draw out its pow
ers for his own use, but also to be holy to the
Lord, and participate in His blessed rest; and
on the other hand, that the great purpose for
which the congregation of the Lord existed, did
not consist in the uninterrupted tilling of the
earth, connected with bitter labor in the sweat
of his brow (Gen. iii. 17, 19), but in the peaceful
enjoyment of the fruits of the earth, which the
Lord their God had given them, and would give
them still without the labor of their hands, if
they strove to keep His covenant and satisfy
themselves with His grace." Keil. The law of
the Sabbatical year was not to coaie into opera
tion until after the completion of the conquest.
It is hardly probable that it was actually ob
served until (he Captivity, see 2 Chron. xxxvi.
21, unless possibly a few times in the very be
ginning of the settlement in Canaan. Later,
" there are found several historical notices which
imply its observance. The Jews were exempted
from tribute in the Sabbatical year by Alexander
the Great (Jos. Ant,, xi. 8,6), and by Julius
Cae^a-- (ib. xiv. 10, 6). The inhabitants of Beth-
sura could not stand out when besieged by An-
tiochus Epiphanes, because they had no store of
provisions owing to the Sabbatical year (I Mace,
vi. 49), and the inhabitants of Jerusalem suf
fered from a like cause when they were besieged
by Herod (Jos. Ant. xiv. 16, 2 ; xv. 1, 2) "
Clark. Tacitus also mentions the Jewish " sev
enth year given to indolence" (Hist. v. 2, 4),
and St. Paul (Gal. iv. 10) charges the Judaizers
with observing years as well as days and months.
Vers. 8-12. The institution of the year of Ju
bilee. The present chapter contains the whole

literature of the Jubilee year to be found in the
Pentateuch, except, the discussion of its effect
upon fields dedicated to the Lord in xxvii. 16-
25, and except also the allusion in the case of
the daughters of Zelophehad, Num. xxxvi. 4.
Lange : "Ttie relation of the last Sabbatical
year to the Jubilee year itself creates a special
difficulty. If the people did not sow or reap
during two y^ars, there would result a stoppage
of four years." [This seems to overlook the
fact that the Jubilee was proclaimed on the 10th
Tisri, when the whole work of the agricultural
year had been rounded o it and completed, so
that the break of two years, serious as this was,
did not extend either forward or backward in
its effects beyond those years themselves. — F.
G.]. " On this account it has indeed been sup
posed that the 49:h year itself was the Jubilee
year (see Keil, p. 162 [Trans, p. 458]. Art.
Sabbath and Jobeljahr in Herzog's Real encyclo-
padie)." [This view was first advocated by R.
Jehuda, and has been adopted by Scaliger, Usher,
Petavms, Rosenmiiller, and others, and hesita
tingly by Clark in his commentary. It is en
tirely rejf-c'ed by Keil as contradictory to the
plain larigmfcge of the text, and by Clark in his
Art. Jubilee in Smith's Bibl. Diet. The text
(vers. 8-11) is perfectly plain, using the same
forms of language as in regard to the feast of
Pentecost after the completion of the seven weeks,
between which and this Pentecostal year there
is a clear analogy. Notwithstanding the autho
rity of the critics above referred to, it must, be
considered as certain that the Jubilee followed
the seventh Sabbatical year, and that thus once
in every half century two fallow years were to
occur together. The provisions for food were
the same in the one ca^e as in the other: no
agricultural labor was to be performed, but the
spontaneous productions of the earth were the
common property of the whole population. Large
reliance must therefore have been placed upon
food previously stored and, perhaps, on foreign
commerce. — F. G.] " We see from the book of
Jeremiah that this feast was poorly kept in Is
rael, not on account of apprehended need, but in
consequence of the hardening effect of proprie
tary relations, and the hard-heartedness of the
powerful and great, (Knobel, p. 563. Jer. xxxiv.).
But the year of Jubilee formed the culmination
of the ideal relations of Israel which the law
aimed at .without actually reaching. . . . Itia
most full of significance that on the 10th of the
7th month (at, the end of the seven Sabbatical
years on the great day of Atonement, without
doubt immediately after the full accomplishment
of the propitiation) the trombone was to sound
through all the land to announce the year of Ju
bilee as a year ot' freedom ("11VI), the highest
feast of the laborer, and of nature, the redemp
tion of lost inheritances, the ransom of the en
slaved, the year of the restoration of all things
( Isa. Ixi.). The instrument of the announcement
is the trombone, the horn (131$), the sound of

which /3V had proclaimed also the feast of the
covenant of the law." After the solemn quiet
of the day when all the people must " afflict their
souls," and when the gveat rites of the annual
propitiation had been completed, probably at the

190

LEVITICUS.

time of the evening sacrifice, the sudden burst
ot'sound proclaiming they ear of Jubilee must have
been peculiarly impressive. The proclamation of
freedom was most appropriate just after the great
reconciliation of the people with God had been
symbolically completed. The chief allusions to
this year in the prophets are Isa. Ixi. 1, 2 ; Jer.
xxxii. 6-15; Ezek. vii. 12, 13; xlvi. 16-18.

Vers. 13-34. In the year of Jubilee every man
was to return to his inherited possession. The
principle on which this law is based is given in
ver. 23 : The land was the absolute possession
of Jehovah alone; He had allotted it to the fa
milies of Israel as strangers and sojourners
with Him, and however these allotments might
be temporarily disturbed in the exigencies of
life, in the Jubilee they must all be restored
again. Ver. 14. Sell aught refers only to land
and houses in the country. Personal property
(except slaves) was not affected by the Jubilee
as debts were by the Sabbatical year (Deut. xv.
1-11). The price of the land was determine!
(vers. 15, 16) by the value of the harvests re
maining until the Jubilee. "In the valuation
of the harvest there was always opportunity for
fraud ; therefore the earnest warning not to op
press [overreach] one's neighbor." Lange.
Vers. 20-22 relate in terms to the sabbatical year,
but only in regard to the supply of food. This
is of course, equally applicable to the Jubilee
year, and thus both cases are covered. The
question arises in connection with the latter, but
needs also to be answered for the former, and is
therefore arranged with reference to that as the
more frequently recurring. The verses stand
therefore quite in their proper place; if placed,
as various critics would have them, just after
ver. 7, the Jubilee year could only be provided
for by a repetition. Vers. 23-28. Lange: " The
land shall not be sold even to defeasance, i. e.,
comole ely. It shall also not be sold absolutely ;
the form is not an hereditary lease, once for all,
but a temporary lease for a course of years. —
For the land is Mine. Jehovah says, and ye
are strangers and sojourners with Me. —
There'ore tue soil throughout the whole land was
placed under tae law of redemption. Also re
demption could take place before the 50rh year
if the nearest Goel or redeemer of the impover
ished man stepped in and bought back for his
benefit that which had been alienated. If the
redeemers (relatives, according to their degrees
of relationship, having the ability and the will)
failed, then the case was conceivable that the
impoverished man himself might come into the
possession of means before the 50th year, an
then the redemption was reserved to him accord
ing to the u-ufruct of the yet remaining years.'
If neither of these meins of redemption were
availed o^, then the law of reversion absolutely
and without consideration came into play in th
Jubilee year. There could never be injustice ir
this, as all purchases had been made with a ful
knowledge of the law. The law, if thy bro
ther be waxen poor, throughout presuppose
that no Israelite would sell his inheritance ex
cept under the pressure of poverty. Comp. '.
Kings xxi. 3.

Vers. 29-34. The alienation and redemption
of houses (a] of the people generally, vers. 29

\l ; (b) of the Levites, vers. 32-34. (a) Lange :
'A dwelling-house within a walled city could
>e redeemed within the space of the first year,
but not afterwards. The law could not be
irought to bear upon the more fixed relations
f citicc without prejudice to justice and order.
Tho reason certainly is not that the houses in
he cities belonged " to the full proprietorship
of their possessors." The possessors themselves
were really tenants of Jehovah." [The law of
•edemption relates to land, and is based upon
he original division of the land among the fami-
ies of Israel. In cities the original value of
lie land constituted but a small part of the value
)f a house; the rest was the creation of human
ndustry. The property represented by the ori
ginal value of the land is recognized in the right
f redemption for a year, which also concurred
with the general purpose of the law in checking
;he sale of real estate; but beyond this the
:iouse in the city was justly treated as of the
nature of personal property. Calvin also ob
serves justly that there was not the same objec-
ion to the falling of city houses into the hands
f the wealthy as of those in the coun'ry. On
he one hand, the expense of maintaining them
was greater, and could be better borne by the
wealthy; and on the other, the possession of a
iiouse was not at all as necessary to a poor man
in the city as in the couniry where he could
scarcely otherwise find shelter. — F. G.] " But
the houses in open places were put, as an appur
tenance to the farm, under the law of redemp
tion within the fiftieth year, or of reversion at
the end of that period." (6) See the Textual
Notes on vers. 32, 33. Lange. in his translation
and exegesis of ver. 33, follows the Vulgate, and
objects to the view of Keil as too subtle, and as
inapplicable to the clause: and the city of
his possession. The latter objection is re
moved by consid ring this as a hendiadt/tt, and
translating in the city. Lange considers that the
clause "has something like these the senses: even
houses of the Levites fall back again, even if
they were the whole city. Or again: only by
this means the Levi ical cities remain guaranteed
as such." The pasturage of the Levites was
absolutely inalienable, even temporarily (ver.
34), and the reason for extending the law of
redemption to their houses in the cities is evi
dently that they had no other inheritance, and
it was therefore necessary in this to assimilate
them to the rest of the people that they might
enjoy the same safeguards against hopeless
poverty with their brethren. This provisio i
applied to the priests also, who constituted one
family of the Levites, and were in the same situ
ation as their brethren in regard to landed pro
perty. It is noticeable on the one hand that
this is the only mention of the Levites in this
book; and on the other, that the provision of
cities for them had not yet been announced.
Both facts admit of the easy explanation that
the whole legislation had been communicated to
Moses in the Mount, so that any part of it may
presuppose another; but that he was to an
nounce it to the people in the order best adapted
to their needs. The Levites are not therefore
spoken of in this book, except thus incidentally
in order to keep them distinct from the priests;

CHAP. XXV. 1-55.

191

and the law in regard to the redemption of their
houses in their cities is given to complete the
law of Jubilee ; but the assignment of the cities
themselves is reserved to the directions for the
division of the land.

Vers. 35-55. The emancipation of the Hebrew
slave with its consequences. The main subject
is still the law of Jubilee; but in connection
with the effect of this upon the Hebrew slave,
the treatment of the poor generally is spoken
of. — And if thy brother? f. e. an Israelite,
be waxen poor, he was not to be treated as
an outcast, but with the consideration shown to
a resident foreigner, who also had no landed
possession. Vers. 36, 37, forbid the taking of
usury of him, or increase. In the latter
verse this is applied also to the furnishing of
food. It is entirely clear that the prohibition is
not simply of what is now commonly called usu
rious interest, but of any interest whatever.
There was no law regulating the amount of in
terest ; no interest was allowed to be taken of a
Hebrew brother, and no limitation was put upon
that which might be demanded of a foreigner.
Lange, however, considers the words : a stran
ger or a sojourner (ver. 35) as in apposition
with the pronoun him, and taking the view ex
pressed in the A. V., says: " It is very noticea
ble that this holds good also of the foreigner."
See Textual Note 19. Lange adds: "Jehovah
says this, the great Benefactor, who has deli
vered His Israel out of Egypt, and purposes to
give him the whole land of Canaan, in order to
make him, through thankfulness, like-minded
with his God." (Ver. 38.) Vers. 39-43. He
brew servants to Hebrews. The law provides
that such servants shall not be, treated as ordi
nary slaves entirely dependent upon the will of
their master, but rather as simply under a con
tract, like a hired servant. In Ex. xxi. 1-4 it
has already been provided that the term of ser
vitude for the Israelites should not extend be
yond six years, and in the seventh they should
go out free; it is now further provided, as an
almost necessary supplement to that law, that,
whatever the number of years he might chance
to have served, he should go free in the Jubilee
when the land of his inheritance reverted to
him, and would need his care. "Through this
principle slavery was completely abolished, so
far as the people of the theocracy were con
cerned." Oehler. In Ex. the freedom of his
wife and children is also assured, unless the
wife be one given him by his master, and there
fore his slave. In that case the wife and chil
dren remained the master's, and the same quali
fication is doubtless to be understood of ver. 41
here. In Ex. xxi. 5, 6, provision is made for
the case of a slave who preferred to continue
with his master ; it would have been unneces
sary at any rate to mention thig unusual excep
tion here; but probably it applied only to the
ordinary release in the seventh year of service,
and was not intended to take place also at the
Jubilee. If the slave freed at the Jubilee chose
to go back to his master, he could of course do
so, but could only devote himself 'to perpetual
servitude after another six years' service. Vers.
42, 43. Lange : " The Israelites were not allowed
to become men's slaves, because they were God's

slaves. The Jews could misinterpret these noble
words in arrogance in opposition to the heathen
(Jno. viii.) ; but Christian industry has read
them too little." Vers. 44-46. Heathen slaves
of Hebrew masters. The Israelites, in common
with all nations of their time, were permitted to
hold heathen slaves. It was a patriarchal cus
tom of long standing, and the supply was kept
up by natural descent, by purchase from for
eigners, and by captives taken in war. The
people were not yet prepared for the abrogation
of this, *nd in consequence the Mosaic law per
mits its continuance, but in many ways mitigates
its rigor (see Ex. xxi. 16, 21, 26, 27), especially
by providing that the slave might adopt the reli
gion of his master, and be circumcised, and thus
entitled to all the privileges of a Hebrew servant
(comp. Ex. xii. 44). This had certainly been
done with all the slaves of Abraham, and proba
bly with those of Isaac and Jacob. It is likely
that no inconsiderable portion of the Israelites
of the time of Moses were the descendants of
slaves thus manumitted. Vers. 47-55. Hebrew
servants to foreign masters. By this addition,
all possible cases of servitude are covered.
Lange: "The prohibition of oppressive power
against an Israelite brother occurs again ver.
43, and again ver. 46. So strongly were the
Israelites now bound to charitableness and to
the fostering of freedom; so strongly also was
the power of the stranger and foreigner coming
into Israel limited in relation to heathen en
croachments upon the Jewish right of freedom.
If an impoverished Jew sold himself or his house
to a foreigner, any one of his kindred might be
come his redeemer, the brother, the uncle, the
uncle's son, or any blood relation ; also he might
redeem himself, if he had laid by enough for the
purpose. Everything breathed the tendency to
freedom; but it was conditioned by law. The
price of the redemption was fixed according to
the years which he had yet to serve to the ve*r
of Jubilee, and according to the usual wages.
In case there was no redemption, he was set
free in the year of Jubilee. At the close occurs
yet once more the solemn 'sanction of the law,
ver. 55." This law evidently contemplates the
acquisition of wealth by foreigners residing in
Israel, and their living in undisturbed prosper
ity. The Hebrew slave of a Hebrew was released
without redemption after six years of service,
and also in the year of Jubilee whenever that
might occur ; but apparently the law of Ex. xxi.
does not apply to foreign masters, and here
nothing is said of release, except by redemption,
until the Jubilee. This would be a strong in
ducement to an impoverished Hebrew to sell
himself to an Israelite rather than a foreigner,
and concurs with the general tendency of the
law to discourage any subjection to foreigners.

Lange connects the first two verses of the fol
lowing chapter with this section as is done in
the Jewish Parashah. They seem, however, to
belong to the general conclusion of the book
contained in the following chapter.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. Lange (under Exegetical) : " The chosen
land, seen from a distance, appears as a paradi-

192

LEVITICUS.

saical world, inexhaustible in fruitfulness. . . .
But it is to be particularly noticed that the pre
scribed Sabbath rest of the laud forced the peo
ple back again to the inexhaustible source of
food in the breeding of cattle, and so far to sim
ple Idyllic relations ; the breaking the hardness
of purchase and property relations would fur
ther the return of Idyllic simplicity, soften the
differences of rank, and above all, avert the so-
called proletarian relations, and glorify Jehovah
as the gentle sovereign Lord and manor Lord
of the families of Israel joined together in bro
therhood. By this also comfort was brought to
the cattle, and even to the wild animal. In later
times the turbulent, restless pressing on of in
dustry is not appeased by voluntary or legal
times of rest and years of remission, but indeed
by commercial crises, civil catastrophes and
extraordinary helps in necessity ; but the proper
ideas or ideal of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years
have not yet come to be clearly seen in the
Christian consciousness of the time." What is
noted by H. Spencer as the rythmic flow of all
things in the universe is provided for in regard
to human activity in this wonderful legislation;
the disastrous consequences attending its absence
are noted above by Lange.

II. Lange (also under Exeg.): "The limita
tion of human proprietary right to the soil has
also its permanent ideal significance. God chal
lenges to Himself the royal right over terrestrial
nature, as a clear idea of this is given indeed in
the winter storm over the sea, the Alpine glacier
and the deserts. Man is inclined, in his ego
tistical industry, to harass nature as his beast."

III. "Looking at the law of Jubilee from a
simply practical point of view, its operation
must have tended to remedy those evils which
are always growing up in the ordinary condi
tions of human society. It prevented the per
manent accumulation of land in the hands of a
few, and periodically raised those whom fault,
or misfortune had sunk into poverty to a posi
tion of competency. It must also have tended
to keep alive family feeling, and helped to pre
serve the family genealogies But in its

more special character, as a law given by Jeho
vah to His peculiar people, it was a standing
lesson to those who would rightly regard it, on
the terms upon which the enjoyment of the land
of Promise had been conferred upon them. All
the land belonged to Jehovah as its supreme
Lord, every Israelite as His vassal belonged to
Him." Clark.

IV. The law of slavery as understood among
ancient nations generally is here essentially
modified and softened, the Lpvitical precepts
tending in the same direction with those of the
Gospel which, after so long a time, have now
nearly effected its abolition throughout the civi
lized world. But in regard to the Hebrews
themselves, the law went much further, and
substantially abolished slavery at once, reducing
it to a six years' service, and even this inter
rupted by the year of Jubilee, and subject to
many restrictions. It is still further to be re
membered that any foreign slave might be ad

mitted to the privileges ®f the Hebrew, by
becoming an Israelite through the reception of
circumcision. Thus strongly did the law set its
face against the institution of slavery.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Lange (under Exeg.) : " The Sabbath year is
the germ of the Jubilee ye ir, as this is a type
of the New Testament time of deliverance, resto
ration and freedom (Isa. Ixi. ; Luke iv. 18), and
further, a prelude and a prophecy of the hea
venly and eternal Sabbath itself (Heb. iv.)."

Lange (Homilciik): "The year of Jubilee of
the theocratic land. The great year of rejoicing
in the theocratic community. Ideals which
have been scantily and scarcely fulfilled in the
letter in Israel, but which in Christianity are
continually being realized in the spirit. And
this indeed in the commendable care of the fields
and forests ; in the drea,d of a gross profit out
of nature; in the limitation of the proprietary
right of individuals over nature ; in customs of
gentleness ; in the consecration of the social
right of fellowship; the right of the poor, the
right of the laboring man, the right of rent and
purchase. The later dismal caricatures of these
ideals. Seven years a period after which the
administration of nature required a new revi
sion ; forty [fifty] years a period after which
the arrangements of business required a revi
sion. The neglect of reform a source of revolu
tion. The Jubilee year a type of the Gospel
time of deliverance (Isa. Ixi. ; Luke iv. 16).
The true preaching of the Gospel always a pro
clamation of the true Jubilee year. The Jewish
and the Christian emancipation from slavery : 1)
its common foundation, 2) its greater differ
ence, 3) its unceasing development in the world."

As the law provided for a redeemer for the
poor, so, says Wordsworth, Christ became the
Redeemer for the spiritually poor, reinstating
us in our lost estate, and delivering us from the
bondage of sin ; and this He was entitled to do
because by His incarnation He took our nature
arid became our Kinsman.

By the prohibition of sowing and harvesting
in the Sabbatical and Jubilee years was again
taught that principle which the Israelites learned
from the manna in the wilderness, and which
the words of Christ make of perpetual validity,
that "man doth not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
the Lord."

Very full and striking are the provisions of
this chapter for the loving care of the poor, not
for the sake of the poor only, but for the sake
of him who should show them kindness. That
the blessing of this lesson might not cease with
the Mosaic dispensation, God has provided that
we shall have the poor always with us, and our
Lord has elevated our ministrations to them into
ministrations to Himself. Similarly kindness
and consideration towards those who labor for
us is taught by Moses, and is ever made one of
the prominent practical duties of Christianity.
See Eph. vi. 9, etc.

CHAP. XXVI. 1-46.

PART FOURTH.

Conclusion. — Promises and Threats.
CHAPTER XXVI. 1-46.

1 YE shall make you no idols1 nor graven image,2 neither rear you up a standing
image,3 neither shall ye set up any image of stone* in your land, to bow down unto5

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

3,4 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; then
will I give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the

5 trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the
vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time : and ye shall eat your

6 bread to the full, and dwell in your laud safely. And I will give peace in the land,
and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid : and I will rid evil beasts

7 [animals6] out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And yo

8 shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five
of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to

9 flight : and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have re
spect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my cove-

10 nant with you. Aud ye shall eat old store, and bring forth [clear away7] the old

11 because of the new. And I will set my tabernacle [dwelling-place8] among you:

12 and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your

13 God, and ye shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, which brought you
forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their b.ndmeu: and I have
broken the bands9 of*your yoke, and made you go upright.

14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;

15 and10 if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

l Ver. 1. oS'Stf. See Textual Note 3 on xix. 4.

8 Ver. 1. 7p3, from ;D£J to carve, is ust d of an image of any material, but is here taken, as in Isa. xliv. 15, 17 ; xlv.

20, of an image of wood.

3 Ver. 1. n3¥^ lit anything set up. Hence used of a memorial stone, Gen. xxviii. 18-22; xxxv. 14; Isa. xix. 19 ; an-

Bwerins: to 'he Ai'flapoi AiTrapot of thf ancients. As these came to be used for idolatrous purposes the word obtained i's
secondary sense as in the tex - (Ex. xxiii. 24; 2 Ki. iii. t, etc.). The marg. of the A. V. follows tho LXX. 0-TuArji/. The Vulg.
has titaium.

* Ver. 1. rV3t5?D does not • Isewhere occur in connection with J3N, but its meaning by its*- If figure, imagery, is suffi

ciently well settled. The only question here is whether the phrase denotes an imafjf of stone (A. V. so K»il), or a stone with
images sculptured upon it (A. V. ruarg. K sen.). The latter is probably the tin re correct, view, but not suffici ntly certain to
warrant a change in the text. LXX. MOov O-KOTTOV apparently in the sense of a prophylactery, and of this the Vulg. lapi-
dem insignem may b < a translation. Targ. Onk., and J..n. and Syr. stone of adoration ; Targ. Jerus. stone of error.

6 Ver. 1. The construction of 7j» here has somewhat perplexed the critics. Geddes contends that as it never elsewhere
precedes the object of adoration, it must here signify at, by, or upon. Keil explains it " on the ground that the worshipper
of a stone image rises above it (for *7_J» in this sense, see G*-n. xviii. 2)." But this fact is, at the least, very doubtful ; an<J
the ordinary meaning of 7_J7 as signifying motion towards, ewt', seems to be all that the connection requires.

• Ver. 6. nTT See Textual We * on xi. 2.

T ~

7 Ver. 10. JX^jnn is exactly rendered by the A. V., but the sense intended ia better corveyed by the suggested ernen*

dation of Cl-rk.

8 Ver. 11. *J3$D. See Textu il Note 8 on xv. 31.

• Ver. 13. " iy r\bb, 7tY. the pole=i of the yoke (comp. Ezek. xxxiv. 27), i. e., the poles which are laid upon the necka
of beasts of burden (Jer. xxvii. 2) as a yoke." Keil. For *7J7 the Sam. and many MSS. have the fuller form 7!^.
w Ver..l5. The conjunction is wanting in 6 MSS., the Sam., Vulg., and Syr.

LEVITICUS.

16 will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant : I also will do
this unto you ; I will even appoint over you terror,11 consumption, and the burning
ague [wasting away, and the burning fever12] that shall consume the eyes, and cause
sorrow of heart [the soul to pine away13] : and ye shall sow your seed iu vain, for your

17 enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain
before your enemies : they that hate you shall reign over you ; and ye shall flee

18 when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet lor all this hearkeu unto me, then

19 I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of

20 your power ; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass : and
your strength shall be speut in vain : for your laud shall not yield her increase,

21 neither shall the trees of' the land14 yield their fruits. And if ye walk contrary
unto me, and will not hearken unto me ; I will bring seven times more plagues

22 upon you according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts [animals6] among
you, which shall rob you of your children [make you childless15], and destroy your

23 cattle, and make you few in number ; and your high ways shall be desolate. And
if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me ;

24 then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for

25 your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of
[omit the quarrel of16] my covenant : and when ye are gathered together within
your cities, I will send a pestilence among you ; and ye shall be delivered into the

26 hand of the enemy. [;] And [omit And] when I have broken the staff of your bread,
ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread

27 again by weight : and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. And if ye will not for all

28 this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me ; then I will walk contrary unto

29 you also in fury ; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And
ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.

30. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images,17 and cast your

31 carcases upon the carcases of your idols,18 and my soul shall abhor you. And I
will make your cities wastQ»and bring your sanctuaries19 unto desolation, and I will

32 not smell the savour of your sweet odours. And I will bring the land into desola-

33 tion: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And I will
scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you ; and your laud
shall be desolate, and your cit es waste.

34 Then shall the laud enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in

35 your enemies' land ; even th«^n shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As
long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because [all the days of its desolation it shall

11 Ver..l6. For TlSriS = terror the Sain, reads nSn3 == sickness as a general term including the specifications that

T T V T T V

follow. The word is rendered in the A. V. of Jer xv. 8 as here, and in Ps. Ixxviii. 33 ; Isa. Ixv. 23, trouble. It does not
occur els* where. The idea, is that of" niens' heart* filling them for fear," Luke xxi. 26.

12 Ver. 16. r\Dni? = wasting away is well expressed by the consumption of the A. V. in its etymological sense, but is in

danger of being mi understood of the specific dis ase of that name which is rare in Palestine and Syria. The LXX., how
ever, has i//uipa»>. J"\mp) LXX. jruperos, according to all authorities should be burning fever. Fevers are the moot com

mon of all diseases in Syria and the neighboring countries. These words occur only in the parallel, Deut. xxviii. 22.
13 Yer. 16. t93 J fG'TD. The literal tnm-lation is more expressive than the paraphrase of the A. V.
1« Ver.. 20. For '-p^H 21 MSS. and the LXX. read m^H-
IB Ver. 22. D^HX ilSSE?. The literal rendering is sufficient.

16 Ver. 25. n*"13~DpJ JlOpJ lit* " avenging the covenant vengeance." As this cannot be expressed in English the
Dp] is better left untranslated 'than rendered by quarrd, which it does not mean.

17 Ver. 30. DD'J*DH. IQ mosf other places where the word occurs (2 Chr. xiv. 5 (4); xxxiv. 4; Isa. xvii. 8; Ezek.

vi. 4) the marg. of the A. V. has sun-inwfjes. Such was undoubtedly the original meaning of the word; but Gpsonius (Th's.)
shows- that the word was applied to imuges of Bial and Astarte as the deities of tne sun and moon. The word indicates
"idols of tue Canaan! tish uature-woivhip." Ke.l.

is Ver. 30. D"1^ J = something to be rolled about, a contemptuous expression for idols. The Heb. had three different

words which are rendered idol in the A. V., and seven which are rendered image.

19 Ver. 31. More tlun 50 MSS., the Sam. ar.d the Syr., have the sing. The plural refers to :c the holy things of the wor-
phip of Jehovah, the tabernacle and temple, with their altars, and the rest of their huly furniture, as in Ps. Ixviii. 36; Ixxiv.
6," Keil ; and not to the sanctuaries of lalse gods (Rosen, and others).

20 Ver. 36. Here also it is better to keep to the literal rendering of the Ileb. 0 Jll
The land should rest not merely because, but it should actually rest the time which it had not rested.

CHAP. XXVI. 1-46.

195

36 rest that which20] it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. And
upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness21 into their hearts in the
lands of their enemies ; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them ; and they

37 shall flee, as fleeing from a sword ; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And
they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth :

38 and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. And ye shall perish

39 among the heather, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And they that
are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity22 in your23 enemies' lands ; and also
iu the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their
trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary

41 unto me ; and that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them
into the land of their enemies ; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and

42 they then accept2* of the punishment of their iniquity : then will I remember my
covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with
Abraham will I remember ; and I will remember the land.

43 The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth
desolate without them: and they shall accept24 of the punishment of their iniquity:
because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred
my statutes.

44 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast
them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my

45 covenant with them ; for I am the LORD their God. But I will for their sakes re
member the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of
Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God : I am the LORD.

46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between
him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

21 Ver 36. ^pD an. Xey LXX. SeiAta, Vulg. pavor. It "signifies that inward anguish, fear, and despair, which rend

the heart and destroy the lite." Keil. Comp. Dent, xxviii. 65.

22 Ver. 39. ?K7 is either iniquity (as here twice and in the next verse twice), or the punishment rf iniquity (as in ver. 41).

The phrase " perish in one's iniquity " is however sufficiently common, and there is no occasion to change the translation
here. The QpX = with them at the close of the verse refers to the iniquities.

23 Ver. 39. For your QD~ more than 80 MSS. read iheii DH~, so also the Sam., LXX., Sym., Theod., Vulg. and Syr. aa
the text in ver. 41.

24 Vers. 41, 43. JlV'V. The same word as is used in vers. 34, 43, the land shall enjoy her sabbaths. The

literal rendering is perhaps too hold for <nir version ; hut the meaning is really this. " The land heing desolate shall have
the blessing of itst, and they having repented shall have the blessing of chastisement. So the LXX. and Syriac." Clark.
Comp. Isa. xl. 2. fl]1J? .H2O3-

sequent history of the nation is had in view. The
chapter contains: first, promises upon their obe
dience (3-13) ; it then describes the consequences
of disobedience (14-39), which are put hypothe-
tically, but evidently contemplated as likely to
occur; and finally, looks forward to the resto
ration of the covenant on the repentance of the
people (40-44), which is also put hypothetically,
but is evidently prophetic. Ver. 40 forms the
conclusion of this whole series of legislation.

Objec ion has been made to the Mosaic origin
of this chap, by rationalistic critics on account
of its prophetic character. Certainly it is pro
phetic, and if this be objected to any portion of
Scripture, the objector must be met on other
than merely exegetical grounds, but here the ra
tionalistic argument may be fully met in a dif
ferent way. It is impossible to conceive that
the author of the remarkable legislation con
tained in this book, possessed of as intimate
knowledge as he must have been of the people
under his charge, should not have foreseen that
they would fail to maintain the standard of holi
ness here required, and that consequently God,

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

Lange here again insists that vers, 1 and 2 are
properly the close of the foregoing section. It
was already too late to adopt his division when
his work appeared ; but independently of this
the connection with the present chap, is prefer
red. The verses reiterate the most fundamental
requirements of the law, and thus form an ap
propriate introduction to these concluding pro
mises and threats.

The whole precepts and prohibitions of the
Book of Levitious have now been given, and here
the people are incited to their faithful observance
by promises of blessings on their obedience and
curses upon their disobedience. This arrange
ment is both natural in itself, and is in accord
ance with the analogy of the warnings and pro
mises (Ex. xxiii. 20-83) at the close of the " Book
of the Covenant," (Ex. xx. 22— xxiii. 19) and in
the parting exhortations of Moses (Deut. xxix.,
xxx.). The passage in Exodus, however, relates
to the conquest of the laud, while here the sub-

196

LEVITICUS.

whose holiness and majesty it has been his ob
ject to set forth, would visit them for their
transgressions. It is but a stop beyond this to
look forward to the effect of chastisement and
humiliation in producing repentance, and when
this had been effected, his knowledge of the
toercy and loving-kindness of God assured him of
theres'oration of the people to His favor. See this
pointadrnirably treated by Keilia a note on p. 468.

Lange : "The germ of this whole setting forth
of blessing and curse already lies in the deca
logue itself (Ex. xx. 5, 12), but especially as a
conditional promise of blessing in the section
Ex. xxiii. 23-33. It is appropriate to the pur
pose of Leviticus that this germ now comes here
to its development, that by the side of the pro
mise of blessing on the keeping of the covenant
comes out very explicitly the threatening of curse
on the breach of the covenant; for fhe contrast
of blessing and curse goes forth from the reli
gious behaviour or misbehaviour towards the law
of God as a whole, as all particular commands

are summed up therein It must not be

overlooked that the subject is here always Israel
in its to'ality, the nation as a whole. The date
of this section is thereby shown to be very an
cient ; for it would have been otherwise from the
days of Messianic prophecy. Then the contrast
comes forward very strongly: the apostate Is
rael, and the Israel reforming itself; also the
contrast. : the Israel of the mass, and the Israel
of the poor, of the hutnble, of the purified rem
nant. For this reason it would be a false infer
ence to consider the conditional prediction of our
section as apodictical, or indeed to suppose that
the curse would tall upon every indiv dual of the
nation of Israel. The apostasy of Israel has
often been treated as if the flower of its elect had
fallen under the curse, although, history declares
that the Gentile church was grafted upon the
stock of the Jewish, and Paul can designate the
unbelieving portion of the Jews as ' some," not
withstanding its numerical majority, in contrast
to the dynamical majority whose central point is
Christ Himself. The national curse has then
been fulfilled only in a conditional degree in
contrast to the dynamical blessing overmastering
all curse ; but nevertheless in a degree which
has shown in fearful majesty the reality of the
threatening of the curse. It is a vain attempt
when one sueks to intimate, like Knobel, that
our prophecy looks back upon that which has
already occurred in isolated particular -*; at all
events, this creates no prejudice against its Mo
saic origin, for its fulfilment has been progress
ing even to the present day, and is not yet fully
accomplished Yet even at the present day the
omphasis falls upon the fearful realization of the
curse upon the nation ; upon individuals, how
ever, as such, only in proportion as they trans
mit the fanatical or unbelieving ppirit of the
community.

" Our section, moreover, is characterized as a
prophetic word in thai it brings into view in
g™and outlines a future which it cannot and will
not describe with verbal definiteness. Yet a
progress consonant to nature is to be observed
in the gradations of the curse, which one might
enjoy as a physiological picture of development.

" If we suppose that one may speak of the Di

vine government or word blamelessly if the sec
tion before us is invested with a less mysterious
aspect, we overlook the fact that the course of
things immanent in life remains the same al
though the prophetic character of the word be
set aside; that the chapters of calamity remain
the same although one seek to era°e the super
scription from the punishment and from the judg
ment. Strange that one should think the world
will thereupon cheer up when he traces back the
dark destiny of a people to a gloomy fate, instead
of to the justice of the living God. It is the very
nobility of apostate Israel that its Jehovah is,
and has been, jealous with such burning jealousy
over its fall; and it would even seem worthy of
contempt if it were considered as the football of
a gloomy destiny — its sorrows without reason,
without proportion, and without purpose. Cer
tainly also the continuing motive for the rejec
tion of Israel itself is its ill-will-against Jehovah,
or indeed against the Gentiles, in return for
which it must acknowledge in its history its well
deserved visitation

" That the bearing of God towards Israel was
an impartial bearing, which could only be ob
scured through the idea of a national God, is
proved even by our section with its threatenings
in presence of the development of the history of Is
rael itself: they have been brought out of Egypt,
and Cana-m must become their land ; but when
they apostitize, they must lose Canaan and must be
scattered among the heathen (Keil, p. 169 [Trans.
p. 468]). Not only the impartiality indeed, but
the jealousy of Jehovah must be made manifest
in this. The idea or key of the whole history
and destiny of Israel is: vengeance of the cove
nant. The people could fall so low because they
stood so high, because they were the first-fruits,
the first-born son, the favorite of God ( Jeshu-
run). But for this reason especially the pro
mise of their restoration is bound up with the
prophecy of their curse (Isa., Jer., Ezek., Hos.,
etc., Rom. xi ). Knobel gives prominence to the
peculiarly elevated language of this section ; it
cannot be explained by the ordinary mechanicism
of 'Elohistic and Jehovistic documents.' "

This chapter forms a part of the same Divine
communicati-in with the preceding one.

Vers. 1, 2. These verses include substantially
the first table of the decalogue, and by this short
summary the whole du'y of the Israelites tow
ard God is called to mind and made the basis of
the fo'lowing promises and warnings. On ver.
1 see the Textual Notes. Ver. 2 is a repetition
verbatim of xix. 30. Here, at, least, it must be
understood to include the whole of the " ap
pointed seasons " as well as the weekly Sabbaths.

A. The Blessing. Vers. 3-13.

With ver. 3 a new Parashah of the law begins,
extending to the c'ose of Leviticus. The paral
lel proper lesson from the prophets is Jer. xvi.
19 — xvii. 14. " The subject here is not the iso
lated good conduct of individuals, but the keep
ing of the Covenant of the people as a whole and
its general tendency to blessing ; the contrast to
which, the breach of the Covenant, is moulded
into the tendency to curse." Lange.

Ver. 4. Lange : " Rain in its season appears
here as the first gift of Jehovah. When He gives

CHAP. XXVI. 1-46.

197

the rain from heaven, the earth gives its produce
and the fruit-trees give their fruit; there if*
formed a chain of gifts whose beginning lies in
the mysterious hand of God. "The allusion here
is to the showers which fall at the two rainy
seasons, and upon which the fruitfulness of Pa
lestine depends, viz., the early and latter rain
(Dent. xi. 14). The former of these occurs after
the autumnal equinox, at the time of the winter-
sowing of wheat and barley, in the latter half of
October or beginning of November. It generally
falls in heavy showers in Nov. -and Doc., and
then after that only at long intervals, and not so
heavily. The latter, or yo-called latter rain,
falls in March before the beginning of the har
vest of the winter crops, at the time of the sow
ing of the summer seed, and lasts only a few
days, in some years only a few hours (see Ro
binson, Pal. ii., pp. 97 sqq. )." Keil. [Also
Robinson, Phys. Geog. of the H. L., p. 263.]
"In consequ- nee of these rains the land should
yield so rich an increase that, your threshing
shall reach unto the vintage, and the vin
tage shall reach unto the sowing time
(for the next year). [Ver. 5. Comp. Amos
ix. 13.]

" Vers. 6-8. The second yet higher gift of
blessing is peace in the 1 md, and that in relation
to wild beasts" [HjJ~1 iTTI, an evil animal, for a
beast of prey, as in Gen. xxxvii. 20. Keil] "as
well as to war; therefore they shall lie down
as a herd which no beast of prey aud no robber
shall affright. Yet more: neither shall the
sword go through your land, because they
should drive hack triumphantly from their bor
ders the enemies who should make any attack.
The aggressor should fall by the sword upon
the border." On the language in ver. 6 comp.
Job xi. 19; Ps. cxlvii. 14; Ezek. xxxiv. 25-28.
Ver. 8 is "a proverbial mode of expression for
superiority in warlike prowess." Comp. Deut.
xxxii. 30; Josh, xxiii. 10; Isa. xxx. 17.

Vers. 9, 10. Lange: "The third blessing is
fruitfulness : increase upon increase of the peo
ple, and the strengthening of the Covenant under
the special support of Jehovah." The multipli
cation of the people was a part of the covenant
promise (Gen. xvii. 4-6), and its fulfillment
established the covenant (ib. 7) ; not merely
preserved it, but became the means by which it
should be extended ever farther and farther.
In view of this increase the promise of ver. 10
becomes more emphatic: so far from a dearth
being caused by the multitude, the new store
should be reached before the old could be con
sumed. This constitutes the fourth particular
of the blessing.

Vers. 11-13. Lange: "The fifth blessing is
the highest: the flower of their religion and
religiousness. Jehovah will establish His dwell
ing (His living habitation) among them. — And
I will walk among you, etc. — This promise
touches typically even upon the height, of the
Christological incarnation. Jno. i. 14." [As this
whole chapter has in view their residence in
Canaan, so this promise in particular does not
refer to God's leading His people in their wan
derings, but to His continual manifestation of
Himself in their midst in their settled home. —
F. G.] "For these promises, spiritually and

dynamically understood, Jehovah, the personal
God of Israel, makes Himself security ; and He
has given them their deliverance from Egypt as
a proof and pledge. They shall not become the
slaves of men through distress, but shall stand
upright as the servants of God." That is, the
yoki of bondage which bowed down their heads
as beasts of burden had been broken, and God
had made them in consequence walk upright.

B. The Curse. Vers. 14-33.

Vers 14, 15. Lange: "The breach of the
Covenant. He begins with the external con
tempt of the ordinances of the covenant, and
goes on to the internal sc 'rn and rejection of
the covenant law, a transgression therefore of
the commands in their totality/' This is care
fully to be borne in mind in regard to these
warnings. These "judgments «are threatened,
not for single br- aches of the law, but for con
tempt of all the laws, amounting to inward con
tempt of the Divine commandments and a breach
of the covenant (vers. 14, 15) — for presumptuous
and obstinate rebellion, therefore, against God
and His commandments." Keil. Single sins, or
sins of individuals, are not the subject, but the
general apostasy of the nation.

Vers. 16, 17, contain what Lange describes as
" the punishment in the first grade;" it is the
warning of visitation upon apostasy alone be
fore it has become complicated with the added
guilt of obdurate persistency. Three punish
ments are mentioned which are to be sent toge
ther, and not singly as they were offered to the
choice of David after his sin in numbering the
people (2 Sam. xxiv. 12-14) — disease, famine
and defeat. It is easy to see how all these might
(and historically did) come upon Israel as a
natural consequence of their neglect of the
Divine law; but they were none the less judg
ments of Him who had commat ded that law and
ordained that nature itself should protect it.
Lange justly says: "One must not overlook the
spirit of the Divine action; it is called visita
tion (ver. 16), and henceforth this is the prin
cipal thought and purpose which pervades all
the punishments. It is also of a deeper meaning
here that Jehovah will set His face against
them : for their enemies are His instruments,
and they will be gmitten." Comp. Ezek. xxxiii.
27-29.

Vers. 18-20. According to Lnnge, "the pun
ishment in the second grade," or the first of the
more severe measures to be visited upon obdu
rate disobedience. Here, and in each of the
three remaining stages (vers. 18, 21, 24, 28),
the expression seven times is used. It is at
once the number of perfection, indicating the
full strength of the visitation, and also the sab
batical number, reminding the people of the
broken covenant. Comp. Gen. iv. 15, 24; Ps.
Ixxix. 12; Prov. xxiv. 16; Luke xvii. 4.
"There are five degrees in the ever seven times
more severe punishment. God punishes so, that
He always in wrath remembers mercy, and gives
time for repentance. But no punishment is so
great that a greater cannot follow it." Von Ger-
lach.

Vers. 21, 22. Lange: "The punishment in
the third grade. The godlessaess becomes ag-

198

LEVITICUS.

gressive ; they walk inimically towards Jehovah,
the apostasy advances to bolder idolatry and
contempt of God. But meanwhile, Jehovah yet
stands still, and only sends against them the
forerunners of His vengeance: ravaging beasts
— a symptom of falling into decay: robbers of
children, calamities among live stock, depopu
lation, desolated highways. The beasts may
here be understood not merely literally." Comp.
Judg. v. 6; Isa. xxxiii. 8; Ezek. v. 17; xiv.
15. " DJ7 s>}p ^\2T\ (to go to a meeting with a
person, i. e., to meet a person in a hostile man
ner, to fight against him) only occurs here in
vers. 21 and 23, and is strengthened in vers. 24,

27, 28, 40, 41, into D# np3 }Sn, to engage
in a hostile encounter with a person/' Keil.

Vers. 23-26. Lange : "The punishment in the
fourth grade. -Now Jehovah also becomes ag
gressive and acts inimically towards them, as if
He would destroy them. Now the breach of the
covenant is decided, and the sword comes over
them as the avenger of the covenant. Pictu
resque delineation of the three dark riders, Rev.
vi., only that, here the plague goes before the
famine." The idea of the text is clearly that
by the inroads of the enemy Israel would be
shut up in their citie*, and while besieged Ihere,
would be visited with pestilence and famine.
Such calamities were repeatedly experienced, 2
Kings vi. 24-29, etc. Comp. Isa. iii. 1 ; Jer.
xiv. 18; Ezek. iv. 16; v. 12, and especially the
story of the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans.
To break (he staff of bread is a frequent prover
bial expression for the infliction of extreme
scarcity. One oven should suffice for the bread
of families ordinarily baked in ten, and in its
scarcity it should be dealt, out by weight.

Vers. 27-33. Lange: " The punishment in the
fifth grade. Now Jehovah moves against them
verily in fury, and the last catastrophes follow :
despair even to madness; the eating of their
own children (Knobel, Keil, and the Jewish
history) [comp. Deut. xxviii. 53; 2 Kings vi.
28, 29; Jer. xiv. 12; Lam. ii. 20: iv. 10; 'Ezek.
v. 10. Also Jos. Bd. Jud. v. 10, 3.— F. G.];
overthrow of their idolatrous callus, in the sar
castic conception tint the dead bodies of men
fall down on the mock dead bodies of their idols,
carcases upon carcases" [comp. 2 Kings xxiii.
16; Ezek. vi. 4. The high places refer to
places of idolatrous worship as in. use among
the Canaanites and most other nations, and
which must have been already sufficiently fami
liar to Moses and his people. — F. G.]; "over
throw of even the real historical sanctuary ;
repudiation of the sacrificial cultus, ver. 31 "
[fiorap. 2 Kings xxv. 9; Ps. Ixxiv. 6, 7]; "de
solation of the land, so that even the enemies
settling therein recognize the dismal footprints
of punitive justice, deportations of the people
(one after another, comp. the Jewish history
from Alexander to Hadrian)." Comp. Jer. ix.
16-22; xviii. 16; xix. 8; Ezek. v. Also Deut.
iv. 27, 28; xxviii. 37, 64-68.

Effects of these Visitations. Vers. 34-39.

Vers. 34, 35, express the restorative effect

accomplished by the punishment itself. The

land must needs enjoy its Sabbaths while it lay

desolate. In regnrd to the kingdom of Judah,
2 Chron. xxxvi. 21 expressly fixes the length of
the Babylonish captivity with reference to the
number of unobserved Sabbatical years. These
constituted (he Sabbaths of the land, the weekly
Sabbath of one day being too brief for effect
upon the soil. Vers. 36-39 describe in fearful
terms the effect of the Divine visitation upon
the remnant who should escape immediate de
struction. On the language of ver. 38 comp.
Num. xiii. 32; Ezek. xxxvi. 13.

C. The Restoration of the Covenant.
Vers. 40-45.

Lange: " The first thing is the acknowledg
ment a,nd confession of guilt. But the repent-
tance would be thorough only in case the
misdeeds of the fathers were acknowledged
along with their own misdeeds, see Ps. li.
The view that, Jehovah has interposed, con
tending against them because they contended
against Him, is the second thing, ver. 41. —
(Repeated declaration in regard to the cause
of the punishments.) The humiliation under
the judgment of their having an uncircumcised
heart, i. e., of their being heathen in a spiritual
sense, is the third. Yes. they come now to bless
the punishments of their misdeeds, to rejoice
over them, since God has visited them in this
manner (^T). Keil accepts the translation of
the LXX. evdoKT/aavaiv rac; d/j.apria^ avrav, "they
will take pleasure, rejoice in their misdeeds,
i. e., in the consequences and results of them."
We hold with Luther to the idea of |\j; (see
Gesen.) as sufficient punishment; the paradox
itself 0 feUz culpa could not be translated: they
have pleasure in their misdeeds. But to salute
the cross is a proof in action of a deeper reli
giousness, which here already germinates."
[See, however, Textual Note 24. — F. G.]

"Ver. 41. In a religious sense the divine par
don is the cause, in a moral sense the conse
quence of the repentance of the people; the
remembrance of the Covenant with Jacob and
Isaac and Abraham, i. e. an ever-deepening,
inward remembrance of the old love, appears to
awake in Jehovah, for it, does awake in the con
sciousness of the people. The holy land itself,
which cannot b^ forgotten and is kindly, receives
now a peculiarly affecting form. The land
whose mourning is changed to feasts, and the
people whose penitence is changed to feasts,
accord so affectingly with Jehovah, that, so to
speak, He reveals Himself again as justifying:
because, even because they despised my
judgments, and because their soul ab
horred my statutes. And yet for all that —
their pardon is approaching : viz. the restoration,
find that truly entirely according to the analogy of
the restoration from the land of Egypt. That this
promise is effective for the nation of Israel, but is
not to be understood of the spiritual Israel as
uch, needs no argument. At the close again,

ir ""JX." [The promise of mercy upon Israel
when (hey should repent and turn to the Lord,
was certainly a promise to the covenant people,
and was repeatedly fulfilled in their history,
especially in the restoration from the captivity

CHAP. XXVI. 1-46.

199

of Babylon. But the promise (Jer. xxxi. 31-34)
was that in the days to come God would make a
new covenant with His people of a more spirit
ual character, and in the Ep. to the Heb (viii.
10-12; x. 15-18) we are told that this has been
accomplished in the Christian Church springing
from the bosom of the Jewish. The continued
faithfulness of God to His people according to
the promises of this section, must therefore be
now looked for after a Christian and spiritual,
rather than a Jewish and temporal fashion. —
F. G.]

"And thus it is conformable to the truth of a
personal God that He should attach the utmost
importance to afflicting the personal life of His
people, and then reanimating it again. If it is
said; What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain
the whole world, and lose his own soul? so is it
likewise said: What shall it harm a man, if he
shall lose the whole world, and his soul thereby
be delivered ? Would a philosophy in opposi
tion to this, which has sunk the personal life in
impersonal things, be a higher wisdom?

"It is to be understood that the principles of
this Divine government over Israel apply, ac
cording to their modifications, to His govern*
ment over every nation."

At the beginning of this chapter Lange says :
" It cannot be concluded from ver. 46 that Levi
ticus should properly end with this section ;
ver. 46 much rather looks back to ver. 3, and
makes it clear thit the subject here is the Cove
nant bond between Jehovah and the people of
Israel." Ver. 46 undoubtedly looks back imme
diately to xxv. 1, the beginning of the Divine
communication of which this is the -end; but as
it also forms the close of ch. xxvi., so we cannot
but regard this chapter itself as closing the
Book of Leviticus proper. The analogy of this
with other portions of the law has already been
pointed out, and the reasons for regarding ch.
xxvii. as an appendix will be mentioned in the
treatment of that chapter.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. The warnings and promises of this chapter
show it was foreseen that much of the Mosaic
legislation was likely to be neglected by the
people. Nevertheless God gave it. The same
is true of much of Christian duty, both in regard
to definite observances as baptism and the Lord's
Supper, and still more in regard to the standard
of Christian life and character. But because
man does not come up to its requirements, the
law is not thereby foiled of its purpose; its re
quirements were nor lowered to the lovel of
human weakness and sinf'ulness, but, rather de
signed to set forth so much of the Divine holi
ness and purity as would be instrumental in
rnising man to a higher level. " It was not like
the legislation of ordinary states, intended pri
marily to meet the exigencies of existing facts
and to keep offenders in order. Its purpose was
to help and instruct the best of the people, not
merely to chastise the wors-t. Other legislators
have taken their starting points from human
facts: Moses took his from the character and
purpose of God." Clark. And in this, to the
thoughtful man, is* a really powerful evidence
Of the Divine authorship of the legislation.

II. In vers. 39, 40, the iniquity of their
fathers is made a part of the sin for which the
people were to suffer, and on the confession of
which they were to be forgiven. As this is
God's revealed word, so does all history show
that it is in accordance with His government of
nature that in nations, as in individuals, the
sins of the fathers are visited upon the children ;
but all this is nevertheless under the law that
the sincere repentance of the children shall
avert from them the punishment of their fore
fathers' sins as well as of their own.

III. Illustrative of ver. 41 is 2 Cor. vii. 10
and Heb. xii. 11. The punishments of God
bading to repentance, however grievous they
may seem, are yet truly occasions of rejoicing
in view of their higher object.

IV. In ver. 46 the covenant legislation of Mt.
Sinai is expressly said to have been given by
the hand of Moses. This fact is sufficiently
patent throughout Hie whole story of the legis
lation; but its emphatic mention here has a
double use: first, in showing that this book
claims a contemporary origin; and second, in
bringing out the fact of the necessity of a medi
ator between man and God. If Moses was only
a human mediator, especially strengthened and
authorized for this purpose; yet he points for
ward typically to the one true Mediator from
whom alono man may know the will of God, and
through whom alone he may draw near to His
inapproachable majesty.

V. Although it is abundantly evident from
the warnings of this chapter that man is unable
so to keep God's commandments as to claim any
reward as of merit; yet it is also clear from its
promises, and especially from these as contrasted
with the warnings, that He does look with favor
upon and will bless and reward the honest effort
to do His will. These things are spoken of
Israel as a nation, and are true of all nations in
all time ; but nations are made up of individuals,
and the principles of the Divine beating towards
man are as true of the component elements as
of the mass in its totality.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Lange: " The great contrast of blessing and
of curse which lies in the law — which the law
strengthens. The law speaks not only of curse,
as many imagine ; it speaks also of blessing.
For it is one thing to be occupied with the
works of the law and to seek righteousness
through the law and by means of w orks (ac
cording to Gal. iii. 10 fqq.), and another thing
to stand under the law in the true fear of God,
and to strive after its righteousness until one
comes to the righteousness which is of faith
(according to Rom. vii.). The law of Jehovah
ever stands under the protection of the Law
giver. It is the rule of His power; it is the
spirit of the world's history ; it is the voice of
conscience (Rom. ii.), and the disposition cf the
heart. The blessings of fidelity to the law: the
piety of a people, the fruitfulness of the land,
peace, victory, etc., etc. (xxvi. 1 sqq.). The
fearful gradations of the curse. Particular
blessings. Particular curses. The final pro
mise of the restoration of Israel out of the state

200

LEVITICUS.

of the curse. Jehovah will remember His cove
nant for all those who reform themselves."

" There is a marvellous and grand display of
the greatness of God in the fact, that He holds
out before the people, whom He has just deli
vered from the hands of the heathen and gathered
round Himself, the prospect of being scattered
again among the heathen, and that, even before
the land is taken by the Israelites, He predicts
its return to desolation. These words could
only be spoken by One who has the future really
before His mind, who sees through the whole
depth of sin, and who can destroy His own
work, and yet attain His end. But so much the
more adorable and marvellous is the grace,
which nevertheless begins its work among such
sinners, and is certain of victory notwithstand
ing all retarding and opposing influences."
Auberlen.

God promises in vers. 11, 12, that He will set
His tabernacle and will walk among His people
— a typical promise, fulfilled in Christ who

tabernacled in us (John i. H), and through
whom we become Temples of God the Holy
Ghost (1 Cor. iii. 16, 17; vi. 19), and God will
"tabernacle for ever" with us (Rev. vii. 15;
xxL. 3). Wordsworth.

Origen deduces from this chapter a commen
tary on 2 Timothy ii. 5: "If a man strive for
masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strive
lawfully." Our efforts to obtain God's blessing,
our hope of avoiding His wrath, must be in the
way of His commandment. We can only please
Him by seeking to do His will, and He has made
it known to us.

There is ever a due relation between the tem
poral and the spiritual, and these promises show
that the rewards held out before the Israelites
were of a spiritual as well as a temporal charac
ter; so it is to be remembered that along with
the more spiritual rewards of the Christian reli
gion, it has the "promise of the life that now
is," as well as of that which is to come. Calvin.

Of Vows.

CHAP. XXVII. 1-34.

1, 2 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and
say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for
the LORD by thy estimation [special1 vow, the souls shall be to the LORD according

3 to an2 estimation]. And thy2 estimation shall be of the male from twenty years
old even unto sixty years old, even thy2 estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver,

4 after the shekel of the sanctuary. And if it be a female, then thy2 estimation shall

5 be thirty shekels. And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then
thy2 estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

6 And if it be for a month old even unto five years old, then thy2 estimation shall be
of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy2 estimation shall be three

7 shekels of silver. And if it be from sixty years old and above ; if it be a male,

8 then thy2 estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. But
if he be poorer than thy2 [be too poor to pay the2] estimation, then he shall present
himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him : according to his ability
that vowed shall the priest value him.

9 And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any

10 man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy. He shall not alter it, nor change
it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good : and if he shall at all change beast for

11 beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy. And if it be any unclean
beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice [an offering3] unto the LORD, then he

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL.

1 Ver. 2. " ~nj N/3n does not moan to dedicate or set apart a vow, but to make a special vow." Keil.

2 Vem. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, etc. "The second 3 in ^3^3 is formative of the noun, by reduplication of the third radical :
it is not the pronominal suffix." Ilorsley. " The Heb. subst. "pj?, estimation or value, is never found in Scripture, but with

the pronoun • f the second po son joined to it; and which is an expletive, having no use but to distinguish it from the mean,
ing of an ordinance, or Uying in order." Delgudo. According to Fiirst "the tuff, refers to the person Talued." The LXXn
Onk., Vulg. and Syr. umi the pronoun altogether.

» Ver. 11. |31 p. Ses Textual Note « on ii. 1.
IT :|T

CHAP. XXVII. 1-34. 201

12 shall present the beast before the priest: and the priest shall value [estimate4] it,
whether it be good or bad : as thou valuest it, who art the priest [according to the*

13 estimation4 of the priest], so shall it be. But if he will at all redeem it, then he
shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy2 estimation.

14 And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the
priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad : as the priest shall estimate it,

15 so shall it stand. And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall
add the fifth part of the money of thy2 estimation unto it, and it shall be his.

16 And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of hi? possession
[inheritance5], then thy2 estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer

17 of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 6If he sanctify his field from

18 the year of jubile, according to thy2 estimation it shall stand. But if he sanctify
his field after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according
to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubile, and it shall be abated

19 from thy2 estimation. And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem
it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy2 estimation unto it, and it

20 shall be assured to him. And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the

21 field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more. But the field, when it
goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the pos-

22 session [inheritance5] thereof shall be the priest's. And if a man sanctify unto the
LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession

23 [inheritance5] ; then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy2 estimation,
even unto the year of the jubile: and be shall give thine2 estimation in that day,

24 as a holy thing unto the LORD. In the year of the jubile the field shall return
unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession [inheritance,5]
of the land did belong.

25 And all thy2 estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary :
twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.

26 Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD'S firstling, no man
shall sanctify it ; whether it be ox, or sheep [one of the flock7], it is the LORD'S.

27 And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem [free8] it according to thine2
estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto : or if it be not redeemed, then it
shall be sold according to th>2 estimation.

28 Notwithstanding no devoted thing, ihat a man shall devote unto the LORD of
all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be

29 sold or redeemed : every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD. None devoted,
which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed [freed8], but shall surely be put
to death.

30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of

31 the tree, is the LORD'S : it is holy unto the LORD. And if a man will at all redeem
ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.

32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth

33 under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. He shall not search whe
ther it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then
both it and the change thereof shall be holy ; it shall not be redeemed.

34 These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses foi? the chil
dren of Israel in mount Sinai.

< Ver. 12. Valuation ia quite as good a translation of 31^ ; but as the A. V. has estimation in all other places in this
chapter, it should be retained here.

5 Ver. 16. '<ir\TnX=Jpo-ws8Jon here means possession by inheritance, and it is better to mark this ia the- translation as

T \ -:
purchased fields (ver. 22) come und«r another law.

« Ver. 17. A conjunction is here supplied by the Sam., 16 MSS., Ihe LXX., ChaW. and Syr.
1 Ver. 26. Ht^- See Textual Note 6 on xii. 8.

* Vers. 27, 29. mS^—Aee or deliver. It is a different word from the ^Xi of the second clause of ver. 27 and of both

TT -T

clauses of ver. 20, and should be differently translated.

202

LEVITICUS.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

The question of the relation of this chapter to
the rest of the book is partly a matter of form
and partly to be determined by the contents
As to the former, the preceding chapter of pro
mises and warnings is an appropriate close of
the legislation, and its last verse certainly has
the air of the subscription to a finished work
The present chapter also closes with an abbre
viated form of the same subscription. It may
be compared to the close of John xx., after
which ch. xxi. follows plainly as an addition.
As to the subject matter: our chapter is very
clearly distinguished from the rest of the book
in that it treats of special voluntary consecra
tions to the Lord; and yet it is connected with
the foregoing, in that these also are to be brought
under the same general law of sacred fidelity.
The chapter therefore constitutes precisely what
is understood by an appendix, appropriate to the
book. Lange's objection to this seems based
upon a different idea of the word, and his argu
ments go to show only that it is appropriate.
He says, "1. With our section corresponds Num.
vi.; xxx.; Deut. xxiii. 21 ; Judges xi. 35 [34-40] ;
Eccl. v. 5. According to Keil this section
should be an appendix — contrary to the declara
tion at the close of ver. 34. He gives as his
reason : " The directions concerning vows follow
the express termination of the Sinaitic law-giving
(xxvi. 46), as an appendix to it, because vows
formed no integral part of the covenant laws,
but were a freewill expression of p'ety common
to almost all nations, and belonged to the modes
of worship current in all religions, which were
not demanded, and might be omitted altogether,
and which really lay outride the law, though it
was necessary to bring them into harmony with
the demands of the law upon Israel." Accord
ing to this apprehension, however, much of the
Mosaic legislation must stand in an appendix;
indeed, it may be said of the sacrifices, that they
are the theocratic regulation of a primeval sac
rificial custom, and not originally theocratically
commanded. We accept then the view that the
prescriptions of this section are attached to the
foregoing chapter as a law of keeping the cove
nant in particulars, viz. in relation to the pledged
word, or as a law of particular and individual
duties under the law of keeping the covenant
as a whole." [We cannot see that this could be
better defined than by the word Appendix. —
F. G.] "The superscription of this section 'Of
vows' is not truly congruous with the whole.
The unity is : of special consecrations, or of the
keeping holy of special covenant duties in rela
tion to their remissibleness or their irremissi-
bility, and indeed 1) of voluntary and remissible
vows or consecrations, vers. 1-27; 2) of the
extraordinary, but commanded and irremissible
consecration, or of the ban, vers. 28, 29; 3) of
the consecrated holy first-fruits, or of the tithes,
partly redeemable and partly unredeemable.
Vers. 30-33 (34).

2. " The religious fundamental thought of the
section. Cursorily considered, it appears a kind
of regulation for the remissible and irremissible
special duties of the covenant, and in particular

it assumes the external character of a tax; the
ideal germ of the whole, however, is again the
keeping holy of the personal life in relation to
the personal Jehovah, the manliness of indivi
dual piety; one might say : the keeping pure of
the religious vow, of the word given to God; the
Divine ordinance of the ban ; the holy fruit-tax
which is appointed for the maintenance of the
priests and Lev'ites in the same way as the tem
ple-tax for the support of the temple and the

sacrifice

" 3. The vows. On the meaning and the na
ture itself, comp. the lexicons, especially both
the articles in Herzog's Real-encyklopddie. Wri
tings on this subject of Weise and others." [See
also the archaeologies, Art. vows in Smith's Bib,
Diet., and important observations scattered in
Michaelis' laws, Art, 73, 83, 124, 145.— F. G.].
" We distinguish promissory vows and vows of
renunciation, .... so that it may be not with
out meaning that the vows are spoken of here,
as efficient Levitical consecrations; the renun
ciations, or Nazarite vows, on the other hand, in
the book of Numbers, the book of the social re
lations of the commonwealth. Samson was qua
lified as a Nazarite for a theocratico-political ac
tion ; Paul's Nazarite vow also was devoted to
ecclesiastical politics (Acts xxi.) ; and James the
Just had consecrated himself as a Nazarite to the
deliverance of his nation. The religious vows,
as such, form a parallel to the peace offerings and
partly indeed were connected with them. The
ethics of the Old Testament vows consists in this:
first, that they are not commanded but volun
tary, Deut. xxiii. 22-24 (consequently not the
object of the mediaeval so-called consilia evange-
lica) ; and secondly, that as a pledged word they
must be held inviolable (Prov. xx. 25; Eccl. v.
3, 5), yet not literally, since equivalents for their
discharge were legally prescribed; thirdly, that
he neglect of their fulfilment is to be expiated
with a sin offering (v. 4-6). The vows were for
mal promises given to God for the benefit of the
Sanctuary ; they had for their object not only
cattle, houses, and lands, but also persons, of
course, dependent children and slaves. The ex
amples of Jacob (Gen. xxxv. 14) and others,
show how significantly the vows of the Old Tes-
ament operated. The superstitious misinter
pretation of the vow of Jephthah, according to
he corrections of Hengstenberg, P. Cassel, and
ithers previously, appears yet capable of being
icld tolerably righteous. It, is indeed one of the
exegetical prejudices in which, from different
motives, literal orthodoxy and negative criticism.
ome together." [The question of the actual
acrifice of Jephthah's daughter has always di-
ided opinion in ancient as well as modern times,
ewish tradition is decided for the actual sacri
fice as an unrighteous act. There are several
easons why it is not likely to have taken place:
10 priest could have been found to offer it ; nor
ould. it possibly have received the Divine ac-
eptance ; and it is contrary to the most pro-
'able interpretation of the closing verses of the
to'ry (Judg. xi. 37-40). Moreover it is unlikely
bat Jephthah would have committed such an act
yhen he was not bound to it by his vow; the
ow was an alternative one, — that he would de-
icate what met him to the Lord, OR offer it as a

CHAP. XXVII. 1-34.

203

sacrifice. That this is the true sense of 1 and
not AND, as in the A. V., is plain, for even the
most rash of men must have remembered the
great improbability that the first thing he met
on his return would be either one "of the flock
of the herd," or a pigeon, the only animals admis
sible in sacrifice. There is therefore in the exe
cution of the vow of Jephthah no just ground for
the absurd charge of the allowance of human
sacrifices among the Israelites. — F. G.]. "There
is no question that the vows, on account of their
legal character, belong more to the Old than to
•the New Testament; although they still have
their place in the New Testament time also, but
certainly not in the sense of the mediaeval, ava
ricious priesthood."

The general principle on the subject of vows
is clearly laid down in Deut. xxiii. 21-24: they
were not obligatory, and no sin was incurred by
not making them; but once made they were to
be conscientiously kept, and their neglect (ch.
v. 4-6) required the expiation of the sin oifering.
It appears from this chapter that nothing could
be made the subject of a vow which was already
marked out by the law as belonging to God; but
anything else might be, and having been vowed,
might be redeemed, with the exception of the
sacrificial animals, and except also things or per
sons devoted, vers. 28, 29. The subject of this
chapter is the ordinary vow, and has no refe
rence to the vow of the Nazarite, Num. vi. 1-21.
The exceptional conditions under which the vow
was not binding are detailed in Num. xxx.

Vers. 1-25. regulate the commutation of vows ;
vers. 28, 29 declare the incommutability of things
devoted ; vers. 30-33 declare what tithes and
under what conditions may be commuted: while
ver. 34 closes the whole. Under the first head,
vers. 2-8 relate to the commutation of persons ;
9-13, of cattle ; 14, 15, of houses ; 16-25, of land.

Vers. 2-8. Lange: " According to Knobel the
consecration of persons means that one allots
himself, or another of whom he has the disposal,
to the service of the Sanctuary. He cites as ex
amples the consecration of Samuel, the Gibeon-
ites, the augmentation of the temple slaves by
David and Solomon, Ezra ii. 58; viii. 20; Neh.
vii. 60 ; xi. 3 (p. 583). Keil, on the other hand,
asserts that in every vow of a person redemption
must take place according to the value, with re
ference to the Mishna (see p. 179). [Trans, p.
480 and note. Keil also cites Saalschutz, and
thinks Oehler wrong in referring to 1 Sam. ii.
11, 22, 28, in proof of the opposite view. — F. G.].
" But the appointed valuation little accords with
this. It is inconceivable why in this case old
men and old women should have been redeemed
at a smaller cost than men and women in their
vigor. Keil himself makes prominent that the
valuation was conformed to the vitality and skill.
Besides the diversity of the valuation, it was en
trusted to the priest, to value a poor man less,
from which it does not follow that he mustloe re
deemed, but only that he might be. The fact that
children under five years of age could not be
consecrated, points also to the ability to serve."
In regard to the difference of valuation, Lange's
argument does not seem to be a determining one ;
on either theory the valuation would naturally
be based upon what might be called the actual

worth of the person ; but there would be no ob
ject in a valuation at all except for the purpose
of redemption, and it is expressly provided that
all persons who had been vowed must be valued.
The diminished valuation of a poor man was a
merciful provision analogous to the alternate sin
oifering in case of poverty. Notwithstanding
Lange's view, it seems to point very strongly to
the universality of redemption ; otherwise there
would be no reason why the poor man should
not have worked out his vow, or why he should
have been redeemed at a lower rate than others
whose services were of the same intrinsic value.
In saying " that children under five years could
not be consecrated," Lange must have overlooked
ver. G, which expressly provides a valuation for
those vowed from one month to five years. The
form of expression in ver. 2, moreover, seems to
contemplate redemption in all cases of personal
vows. The objection to this view is that a per
sonal vow thereby becomes only a roundabout
and awkward way of consecrating the amount
of the redemption money to the Lord; but the
moral effect appears to have been different, and
with the personal vow there is to be supposed a
sense of spiritual consecration to God which was
not removed by the payment of the redemption.
Kalisch speaks very strongly : " To our author
vowing a person to God meant neither offering
him up as a sacrifice, nor dedicating him to the
service of the temple, and much less selling him
as a slave, but simply redeeming him by money
in favor of the sacred treasury; so foreign were
the two former alternatives to his mind, that he
utterly ignored them, and stated the third as a
matter of course, and the only one to be con
sidered."

Vers. 9-13. Vows of animals. The right of
redemption in this case depended upon the na
ture of the animal ; if it was one suitable for sa
crifice (vers. 9, 10), after being once vowed, it
could not be redeemed or exchanged, and the
result, of an attempt at exchange was that both
animals should belong to the Lord. It does not
follow that the animals were to be immediately
sacrificed, but they may have been put into the
herd from which the public sacrifices were taken.
The case of animals of the sacrificial kinds, with
blemishes which unfitted them for the altar, is
not especially mentioned; but after the analogy
of ver. 33, these probably went to the support
of the priests. :-f, on the other hand, the ani
mal was unclean (vers. 11-13), it must be valued
by the priest; then it might be redeemed by
adding one-fifth to its value, or else it belonged
to the sanctuary. Keil thinks it was then sold
for the benefit of the sanctuary; but in this case
the original owner would have had no occasion
to redeem it at a higher price since he could
have bought it at its estimated value. It is more
likely therefore that such animals were retained,
at least for a time, for the use of the priests and
Levites. Keil considers that the Heb. p3 ....
j\D^ means " 'between good and bad,' i. <?., neither
very high as if it were very good, nor very low
as if it were bad, but at a medium price." The
A. V., however, is in accordance with the an
cient versions, and is sustained by Gesenius.

Vers. 14, 15. The law for houses is the sam«

204

LEVITICUS.

as for unclean animals. It relates probably only
to houses in the cities, as those in the country
would come under the following law for land.

Vers. 16-24. Lange: " Lands, a. Inheritances.
If they were not redeemed they lapsed in the
year of Jubilee to the Sanctuary. If they were
redeemed, the price was determined partly ac
cording to the money value of the seed for the
land, partly according to the number of sowings
or seed years to the Jubilee year, and a fifth
part of the amount must be added besides. These
ordinances applied also to the purchaser (the
under tenant). A field was taken for the mea
sure of valuation which yielded until the year of
Jubilee one Homer (225 pounds, or two bushels
of seed)." [The expression (ver. 16) accord
ing to the seed thereof is generally under
stood to mean, according to the seed required to
sow it ; but the difference is immaterial; it is
merely an expression of the measure of valuation,
and the proportion will remain the same what
ever it be. The value of the homer of barley,
however (estimated by Thenius at 225 pounds),
is so great, amounting probably to about twenty-
seven dollars, that it is necessary to understand
it, as Lange has done, not of the single homer,
but of a homer annually during the forty-two
years (omitting the seven Sabbatical years) in
tervening between two Jubilee years. This
would make the money value of the single homer
of barley about 64 cts.; but it is to be remem
bered that on the average it was to be paid many
years in advance, so that we cannot estimate
from this the actual price of the barley. Others
however (as Clarke and Keil) think it was an
annual payment as it accru-d. The meaning of
the expression, ver. 20, if he have sold the
field to another man is uncertain. Accord
ing to Enobel it means "if he has fraudulently
sold the field to another, and taken the price to
himself, after having vowed it to the sanctuary."
In this case the confiscation of the field to the
Lord would be the penalty upon his trickery and
deceit. Keil rejects this view, and snpposes that
the owner continued to cultivate the land him
self, paying a yearly rent to the sanctuary; in
such a case the ba-.is of sale would be the pos
sible surplus of the produce above the yearly
rental, and the fault of the seller " consisted simply
in the fact that he had looked upon the land
which he vowed to the Lord as though it were
his own property, still and entirely at his own
disposal, and therefore had allowed himself to
violate the rights of the Lord by the sale of his
land." Wordsworth, following Jarchi, suggests
another interpretation; that the pronoun he is
used impersonally, and the expression means, if
the field had been sold by the treasurer for the
benefit of the sanctuary. The object would then
be to make the title given by the sanctuary in
all cases perfect. A simpler explanation is to
understand have sold in a pluperfect sense=
had sold — viz.: before making his vow. In this
case he would have no claim upon it until after
the Jubilee (except by redemption), and there
fore his vow could only be accomplished by the
land falling to the sanctuary at the Jubilee.
The reason for the same result in case of refusal
to redeem is apparently based upon the persist
ent wish of the owner. He might redeem at any

time up to the Jubilee; and if he did not, he
showed that he wished absolutely to give the
field to the Lord. It does not appear that the
landed possessions of the sanctuary ever grew
large in this way. — F. G.]. "6. Purchased pos
sessions. Since these must fall back in the Ju
bilee year to the heir, they could only become
the subject of vows in a very limited sense."
The vow of a purchased field required (ver. 23)
the immediate payment of its f ull valua (without
addition) to the year of Jubilee. In this case
the actual occupation and usufruct of the land
undoubtedly remained with the one who had
made the vow, subject to the ordinary law of re
demption (xxv. 23-28). The requirement here
of immediate payment does not imply that in the
former case (ver. 19) the payment was annual
(so Keil, Clark, and others), but only that here
the money must be immediately paid down as
the only security for its payment at all.

Ver. 25 simply provides that the standard of
all valuations must be the shekel of the
sanctuary — a silver coin estimated at 54 cents.
It was divided into 20 gerahs of 2.7 cts. each. The
LXX. uses the word diSpax/ua, which is employed
in Matt. xvii. 24 for the half-shekel, the Alexan
drian 6paxur) being double the Attic.

Vers. 26, 27. The positive law concerning
vows is now completed. It remains to treat ne
gatively of certain things which were not al
lowed to become the subject of vows. First, all
the first-born of animals are excluded as already
belonging to the Lord, and^ therefore incapable
of being given to Him either by vow or in any
other way : no man shall sanctify it. A
firstling of an unclean beast, however, might
be redeemed by adding a fifth to its valuation —
otherwise it was to be sold for the benefit of the
sanctuary. The reason for its peremptory sale
in this case, instead of its retention for use, was
doubtless the tender age of the firstlings, so that
if they were retained they must, have occupied
much time and care. Lange : " Keil remarks
'By this regulation the earlier law, which com
manded that an ass should either be redeemed
with a sheep or else be put to death (Ex. xiii.
13; xxxiv. 20) was modified in favor of the re
venues of the sanctuary and its servants.'
Comp. WINER, etc. We cannot consider this cor
rect. Concerning the first born of an unclean
beast, the law was peremptory. And how should
the law-giver here come back once more to the
unclean beast? Nevertheless, a special ordi
nance concerning the first-born might certainly
be met with which had dropped out through a
defect under the law of unclean animals."
Keil, Clark and others must have overlooked the
fact that the law of Exodus is only a special law
concerning the ass, but making no mention of
other unclean animals ; while here the law is a
general one which, as often in general laws, does
not mention the already known and established
exception. It had been but a year since the law
for the ass was first given in Exodus, and less
than this since its repetition in Ex. xxxiv. 20.
The time is too short, therefore, for the reasou
given by Keil and Clark for its modification.

Vers. 28, 29. From redeemable vows is also
to be excepted every devoted thing, whether
of man, or beast, or land. This is the first in-

CHAP. XXVII. 1-34.

205

stance of the use of the word D^n, and it occurs
afterwards in the law but seldom (Num. xviii.
14 ; Deut. vii. 26, bis ; xiii. 17). It is introduced
as a term already familiar. It is translated by
various words in the A. V. (as curse, accursed,
dedicated, devoted, appointed to utter destruction,
etc.), but etymologically and by usage always
means irrevocably cut off from all common use —
in the case of persons, devoted to destruction — in
the case of things entirely surrendered to the
Lord to be disposed of at His will. "What
was devoted could never be offered in sacri
fice; but in all places where mention is else
where made of the ban laid on any thing (Num.
xviii. 14; xxxi. ; Deut. ii. 34; xiii. 12-18; xxv.
19; Josh. vi. 17-19; Mai. iv. 6) this appears as
a dedication to destruction, as a fulfilling of the
Divine vengeance, as an honoring of God on
those in whom He cannot show Himself holy and
glorious." Von Gerlach. In regard to inani
mate objects the meaning is therefore clear
enough ; but the expression which shall be
devoted of men (ver. 29) has been the occa
sion of some difficulty. This much is certainly
plain: that the sentence of chcrem once pro
nounced was absolutely irrevocable, and in 1
Sam. xv. 21, 33, we have an instance of the pro
phet's indignant rebuke of the attempt to set it
aside. Beyond this, the only instances of the
cherem in Scripture are those which rested upon
an express Divine command. Jephthah's vow
does not come under this category at all, for that
was a vow either to offer a burnt offering, or to
devote to the Lord; but the cherem is not treated
as a vow at all, and is separated from ordinary
vows by being irredeemable. The general sense
of the passage, historically interpreted, is there
fore that man may not interfere to thwart the
purpose of the Almighty : Jehovah's sentence of
destruction must aiways be unflinchingly carried
out. Ver. 28, however, clearly asserts that an
individual man might devote persons belonging
to him in the same way that he could his ani
mals or fields, while ver. 29 requires that any
one so devoted must, be put to death. The mean
ing of this very mysterious provision must be
gathered from the historical instances of the che
rem. It could have applied only to the devoting
of those who were already manifestly under the
ban of Jehovah — those guilty of such outrageous
and flagrant violation of the fundamental law of
the covenant that they manifestly came under
the penalty of death. Such persons, instead of
being tried and condemned, might be at once
devoted and put to death. Lange's exegesis
is as follows: " That which had been placed un
der the ban was absolutely irredeemable. No ob
ject was banned, however, or consecrated to Je
hovah by an irrevocable reversion (for the use
of the Sanctuary in the case of impersonal things,
or for death instead of capital punishment in the
case of persons) through any private will ; only
Jchov.ih, or the community in His service, exe
cuted the ban. The various particulars of the
ban are explained by Knobel, p. 588." See also
Sclden de Jure Gent. IV., vi.-xi.: Waterland
Scripture vindicated, Works IV., p. 226-229.

Vers. 30-33. Tithes also are to be excluded
from the possible subjects of vows, since they
already belonged to the Lord ; in certain cases,

however, they might be redeemed like vows.
The tithe, like the thing devoted, is referred to
as something already familiar. From Abra
ham's tithe to Melchizedec (Gen. xiv. 20) and
Jacob's vow (Gen. xxviii. 22), and probably from
still far earlier times, it had been imraemorially
an essential part of the worship of God. The
tithe is here spoken of, therefore, not for the
purpose of enjoining it, but to exclude it from
vows, and to prescribe how far and under what
conditions, like vows, it miiht be redeemed. In
Num. xviii. 20-32; Deut. xii. 6, 11 ; xiv. 22, di
rections are given as to the use and the collec
tion of the tithes. "According to Rabbinical
tradition, the animals to be tithed were enclosed
in a pen, and as they went out, one by one at
the opening, every tenth animal was touched
with a rod dipped in vermilion. Comp. Jerem.
xxxiii. 13; Ezek. xx. 37." Clark. The tithe was
applied, of course, only to the increase of the
flock and the herd, t. «., to animals which had
never been tithed before. Lange : " It must not
be overlooked that the tithes were a ground-rent
in favor of the hierarchy, primarily of the Le-
vites, who again must themselves pay tithes to
the priest; and were also a perpetual theocratic
civil tax which could not properly be maintained
in Christian times by the side of other taxes,
notwithstanding the strong Old Testament dispo
sition of the middle ages in this matter. It is
easy to see that at the present day, by the side
of the modern forms of voluntary and involun
tary taxes, ecclesiastical and secular, tithes can
only be claimed by an overstrained literal zeal."
The law (32, 33) absolutely forbade the redemp
tion or exchange of the tithe of sacrificial ani
mals, as in case of a vow ; other tithes were also
under the same law as the vow, and might be
redeemed by the payment of their value with one-
fifth in addition.

Ver. 31 closes this appendix, and forms, as it
were, a second close to the whole book of Levi
ticus, the aim and object of which has been holi
ness — holiness to be typically acquired by the
sacrificial system prescribed to point to " the
Lord our righteousness ;" and to be preserved by
those many legal enactments supcradded to the
great law of faith, " because of transgressions,
unt.l the promised seed should come."

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

I. In the law for the redemption of personal
vows is again brought out very strongly the
equality of all men before God. Differences were
made according to sex and age, but none accord
ing to social position and rank. The redemption
for the high-priest himself was precisely the
same as for the day-laborer.

II. In the prohibition of vows of the first-born,
of tithes, etc., which already belonged to the
Lord, the general principle is taught that man
may not make that a matter of extraordinary
piety which already forms a part of his ordinary
duty. In a sense this would absolutely exclude
all vows, since the Christian requirement is that
we should devote ourselves with all that we have
to Him who gave Himself for us, and indeed the
highest standard of the Christian life, making

206

LEVITICUS.

of that life itself one perpetual vow, necessarily
supercedes all minor vows ; but nevertheless
practically, special dedications of ourselves and
ours may be made, and when made are to be sa
credly kept. See Eccl. v. 4, 5.

III. Here as elsewhere Moses is made only
the channel and instrument by whom the laws
are given ; their authorship is expressly referred
to the Lord Himself. Accepting this as a truth,
the wonderful character of this legislation occa
sions no difficulty ; but if with the negative cri
tics, it be denied and the legislation be referred
to human authorship, we have in this book the
impossible phenomenon of a legislation wholly
occupied with the promotion of holiness, and
yet stamped with fraud and deliberate forgery
upon its very front. We have also a legislation
far superior to that of any nation of antiquity,
and indeed morally superior to any that has
ever existed except under the influence of Chris
tianity, proceeding from a people whose history
shows them to have been unfitted for the concep
tion, much more the enactment of even a very
inferior code.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL.

Lange : "The religious observance of vows.
Before all things man must not be willing to
cheat Jehovah; also he must be thoroughly ho
nest and true in his vows, his professions, his
fasts, his devotion, and his religious duties gen
erally."

Also under exegetical : " The importance of

these prescriptions is that they oppose all un-
manliness in relation to a pledged word, confir
mation vows, marriage vows, ordination vows,
false discharge of fasting that has been vowed
by fish-eating and the like ; the removal of all
evasions of criminal justice and of churchly dis
cipline, and finally, of all frauds in regard to
the duties which one owes to the cultus and to
the religious rights of the community. The or
dinance concerning the irremissibility of various
actions shows clearly that there can be a true
freedom within this obligation. The sanctifica-
tion of manliness — thus might the whole section
be entitled."

Also under the same : " It is an old story that
worldliness, cunning, and impiety, very willingly
put obstructions in the way of religious, theo
cratic, and ecclesiastical discharge of duty, and
the complaints of the Old Testament of the want
of manliness in this matter, which was connected
with dimness of faith in the Omniscient, have
been continually repeated even to the present.
But here Jehovah, who deals faithfully and re
liably with His holy people, approaches with the
demand in regard to them, that they should hold
themselves holy, and faithful, and trustworthy
in all their business in regard to Him. If moral
laxity begins first in concealments in relation to
God and His institutions, it will diffuse itself
more widely until it completes its process of dis
solution in religious and moral deceptions, espe
cially in the province of all religious and moral
vows."

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