A COMMENTARY UPON THE Third Book of MOSES CALLED LEVITICUS BY The Right Reverend Father in GOD SYMON Lord Bishop of ELY LONDON Printed for Ri. Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCXCVIII A COMMENTARY UPON LEVITICUS THE Third Book of MOSES CALLED LEVITICUS CHAP. I. THE Greeks and Latins give it this Name of LEVITICUS not because it Treats of the Ministry of the Levites properly so called of which the Book of NUMBERS gives a fuller account than this Book doth but because it contains the Laws about the Religion of the Jews consisting principally in various Sacrifices the charge of which was committed to Aaron the LEVITE as he is called IV Exod. 14. and to his Sons who alone had the Office of Priesthood in the Tribe of Levi Which the Apostle therefore calls a Levitical Priesthood VII Hebr. 11. Verse 1. Verse 1 And the LORD called unto Moses That is bad him draw near and not be afraid because of the Glory of that Light which was in the Tabernacle XL Exod. 35. For this is a word of love as the Hebrew Doctors speak who observe that God is not said to call the Prophets of the Gentiles but we only read that God jikar met Balaam not jikra called to him as he did here to Moses Who as Procopius Gazaeus hath well observed upon this word appointed no Service of God in his House which he had lately erected without his order whereas the Worship performed in the honour of Daemons was without any Authority from him Nay there were Magical Operations in it and Invocation of Daemons and certain tacit Obligations which their Priests contracted with them For which he produces Porphyry as a Witness And spake unto him but of the Tabernacle Hitherto he had spoken to him out of Heaven or out of the Cloud but now out of his own House Into which it is not here said he bad him come as he did afterwards when the Glory of the LORD dwelt only in the inner part of the House over the Ark but he stood it is likely without the Door of the Tabernacle till the Sacrifices were appointed as it here follows and the High Priest entred into it with the Blood of Expiation I can find no time in which this can so probably be supposed to have been done as immediately after the Consecration of the Tabernacle as soon as the Glory of the LORD entred into it And so I find Hesychius understood it who observing this Book to begin with the word And which is a Conjunction used to joyn what follows with that which goes before thence concludes that the beginning of this Book is knit to the conclusion of the last and consequently what is here related was spoken to Moses on the same day he had set up the Tabernacle and the Glory of the LORD filled it When Moses might well think as the Hierusalem Targum explains it that if Mount Sinai was so exalted by the Divine Presence there for a short space that it was not safe for him to approach it much less come up into it till God commanded him he had much more reason not to go into the Tabernacle which was sanctified to be God's dwelling place for ever till God called to him by a Voice from his Presence nay he durst not so much as come near the Door where I suppose he now stood without a particular Direction from the Divine Majesty Ver. 2. Verse 2 Speak unto the Children of Israel and say unto them The Tabernacle being erected it was fit in the next place to appoint the Service that should be performed in it which consisted in such Sacrifices as are here mentioned in the beginning of this Book There could not be a more Natural order in setting down the Laws delivered by Moses than this which is here observed If any man of you bring It is the Observation of Kimchi that in the very beginning of the Laws about Sacrifices God doth not require them to offer any but only supposes they would having been long accustomed to it as all the World then was To this he applys the words of Jeremiah VII 21. and takes it for an Indication that otherwise God would not have given so many Laws concerning Sacrifices but only in compliance with the usage of the World which could not then have been quite broken without the hazard of a Revolt from him And therefore they are directed to the right Object the Eternal God and limited to such things as were most agreeable to Humane Nature An offering unto the LORD The Hebrew word Korban which we translate an Offering and the Greeks translate a Gift is larger than Zebach which we translate a Sacrifice For as Abarbinel observes in his Preface to this Book though every Sacrifice was an Offering yet every Offering was not a Sacrifice A Sacrifice being an Offering that was slain but there were several Offerings of inanimate things as those mentioned in the beginning of the second Chapter of this Book which therefore were not properly Sacrifices but were accepted of God as much as the Offering of Beasts when they had nothing better to give And therefore the same Abarbinel will have the Name of Korban to be given to these Offerings because thereby Men approached to God For it is derived from a word which signifies to draw near from whence he thinks those words in Deuteronomy IV. 7. What Nation is there that hath God so nigh unto them c. Ye shall bring He speaks in the Plural Number say some of the Hebrew Doctors who have accurately considered these things to show that two Men might joyn together to offer one thing Your offering of the Cattle I do not know what ground Maimonides had to assert in his More Nevochim Pars III. cap. 46. that the Heathen in those days had brute Beasts in great veneration and would not kill them for it is no Argument there was such a Superstition in Moses his time because there were People in the days of Maimonides as there are now who were possessed with such Opinions But he thinks God intended to destroy this false Perswasion by requiring the Jews to offer such Beasts as are here mentioned that what the Heathen thought it a great sin to kill might be offered to God and thereby Mens sins be expiated By this means saith he Mens evil Opinions which are the Diseases and Ulcers of the Mind were cured as Bodily Diseases are by their contraries Yet in the XXXII Chapter of that Book he saith God ordered Sacrifices to be offered that he might not wholly alter the Customs of Mankind who built Temples and offered Sacrifices every where taking care it may be added at the same time that they should be offered only to himself at one certain place and after such a manner as to preserve his People from all Idolatrous Rites Which if they had considered who contemned this Book of LEVITICUS as Procopius Gazaeus tells us some did
away from them So we read in the Treatise on this Subject called Joma cap. 6. sect 4 5. which Maimonides hath explained as I have now done Ver. 22. Verse 22 And the Goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities This shows more fully still the nature of this Sacrifice in which all their iniquities i. e. the punishment of them was laid that he might carry them away For this Goat was not capable to bear their sins but only their punishment as Christ also did who knew no sin and yet was made sin by having the punishment of our sins laid on him For that this Scape-goat which was loaded with their sins was a Sin-offering is plainly said before in this Chapter and consequently represented Christ who is our Sin-offering as well as the other part of this Sin-offering did whose Blood was carried into the holy place And in some regard this Scape-goat was a very notable representation of him if it be true that our Saviour entred upon his Office of being the Mediator of our reconciliation with God upon this great Day of Atonement which was the Day on which he was Baptized as our Dr. Jackson together with some good Chronologers think For though the Tradition of the Western Church be that his Baptism was on the Sixth of January yet as Jansenius and some others of the Roman Communion do not think fit to follow it so he judges it more probable to have been on the Tenth of September In the beginning of which Month when the Feast of Blowing of Trumpets was celebrated as we read XXIII of this Book 24. John Baptist began to lift up his Voice like a Trumpet and call the Jews to Repentance Who accordingly flockt to him and confessing their sins were baptized by him in Jordan where our Saviour also being baptized on the Tenth day which was the Day of Atonement and being declared the Son of God by a Voice from Heaven was immediately driven by the Spirit into the Wilderness as St. Mark tells us I. 12. Which was a manifest indication he thinks to John Baptist that this was the Redeemer of the World prefigured by the Scape-goat who going into the Wilderness on the Day of Atonement immediately after the People had made Confession of their sins gave him to understand who was well acquainted with the meaning of the Legal Rites that he was sent by God to take upon himself the Sins of the World and carry them away by being in due season offered to God and slain as a Sacrifice to God for them And this he did at that very time when the Paschal Lamb was killed as I have shown upon XII Exod. 6. to the end that they might take notice he was the Lamb of God whose Sacrifice that Lamb prefigured as by being led into the Wilderness on the same day the Scape-goat was carried thither he show'd that the Mystery represented by that Ceremony was exactly fulfilled in him This Notion of his I thought good to mention though as far as I know he is singular in it because it carries some probability in it if what the Apostle saith 2 Coloss 17. be well considered That the Law contained shadows of things to come the body of which was Christ. Who was a Body consisting of so many different parts and so compleat as he observes that no one nor a few Legal Ceremonies could perfectly fore-shadow it But as the Ceremonies were many and almost infinite so every one did fore-shadow some part or piece of this compleat Body That is no remarkable part of it no special Event or Action which concerned our Saviour Christ but was fore-shadowed by some or other Legal Ceremony See Christ's Answer to John's Question numb 62 63 64. And his Ninth Book upon the Creed concerning the Consecration of the Son of God which was printed several years after sect 4. chap. 24. n. 5 6 7 8. where he resumes this Argument and endeavours to answer this Question Why since Christ was to accomplish the Legal Priesthood and Sacrifice by his bloody Sacrifice upon the Cross he did not offer himself and die upon this very Day of Atonement To which he gives full satisfaction but it is too long here to be inserted Vnto a land not inhabited So the LXX translate the Hebrew word gezera 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Land into which no body came or a desolate Country The Hebrew word properly imports a Land cut off as Bochart observes Lib. II. Hierozoic cap. 54. P. I. that is from habitable Countries not which cuts off what is sent into it by its rugged and sharp stones as the Jews expound it This still sets out the design of this Sacrifice which was to free Men so perfectly from the punishment of their sins that they should not fear the return of them any more For this Goat was not meerly sent into the Wilderness but into the most inhabitable and inaccessible part of it as the Greek word properly signifies where none were likely ever to see it again And he shall let go the Goat in the wilderness When he came to the last stage no body accompanied him that led the Goat any further but he went the tenth Mile alone by himself and the Men in the Tabernacle only stood looking to see what he did with it And the Misna saith in the place before-named that he threw it headlong down the Rock Tzuk where they say it was broke in pieces before it came to the middle of it or as Jonathan saith God raised a storm which blew the Goat down with a mighty force But this is contrary to the very words of Moses who saith he was to let the Goat go or dismiss him in the Wilderness to run whither he would And it seems contrary also to the intention of this Law which was that only one of the Goats should be killed the other let go alive Whereby was represented that their sins which were expiated by the Blood of the Sacrifice should not return again to be charged upon them Or that they were as free from their Sins as the Leprous Person was from his Confinement when the Bird was let fly into the Fields Which perfect freedom from the punishment of their sins was further signified by the burning of the Flesh the Skin and the Dung of the Sin-offering without the Camp which denoted that all memory of the sins for which this Expiation was appointed was clean removed and abolished The Jews will have it that a piece of Scarlet Cloth being tied upon the Horns of this Scape-goat as another was about the Neck of the Goat which was sacrificed when the Man had brought it to the top of the Rock Tzuk he divided the Cloth into two pieces and let the Goat go away with one but tied the other to the Rock that he might see when it changed colour and became white as they say it did when the Goat was thrown down headlong Anciently indeed they say this Scarlet
to preserve the memory of all the Miracles which God did in Egypt out of which he brought them at that time as the Feast of Tabernacles did to preserve the memory of the Signs and Wonders he did in the Wilderness where he afforded them his Divine Protection under a glorious Cloud and preserved them without any Houses both in the cold of Winter and heat of Summer In short there are two ends mentioned in this Chapter of the Institution of this Festival one to give thanks for the Fruits of the Earth which were then gathered v. 39. another and the principal in a grateful remembrance that they dwelt in Booths forty years and were brought into better Habitations when they came to Canaan v. 42 43. Ver. 35. Verse 35 And on the first day shall be an holy Convocation c. It was to be observed as the day of Pentecost v. 21. And they every one carried in their hands the Bough of some goodly Tree as the Hebrews understand the first words of v. 40. Josephus describing this Festivity Lib. III. Antiq. cap. 10. mentions in the first place Boughs of Myrtle Ver. 36. Verse 36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD The peculiar Sacrifices with their Meat-offerings which were to be offered on these seven days are distinctly set down in XXIX Numb from the thirteenth Verse to the end Where it will be most proper to consider them On the eighth day shall be an holy Convocation unto you See v. 4. And ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD A Burnt-offering with a Meat-offering attending upon it according to the appointment in XXIX Numb 36 37. It is a solemn Assembly This is a new word which is not used hitherto concerning any of the Feasts here mentioned signifying as we translate it in the Margin a day of restraint or rather a closing or concluding day for then the Solemnity ended And so Theodoret 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Conclusion of the Feasts Whence the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is also called by this Name of Atzereth XVI Deut. 8. And so is the Feast of Pentecost which was kept in the end of seven Weeks called by Josephus by the same name of Asartha Lib. III. Antiq. cap. 10. This therefore as it was the last so it was the great day of the Feast as St. John calls it VII 37. On which day they read the last Section of the Law and so concluded the reading of the whole five Books of Moses And thence any great Solemnity is called by this name of Atzereth 2 Kings X. 20. I Joel 14. This seems to me to be a far better account of this word then that which the Jews commonly give who render it a day of detention because saith Abarbanel they were bound to detain the Feast to this day whereas no other Feast continued more then seven days staying at Jerusalem till it was over Whence this day seems to him to be to the Feast of Tabernacles as the Day of Pentecost was to the Passover For as they were bound to count seven Weeks from that time and then make this fiftieth day a Feast so they are here commanded after the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles to stay and feast one day more Others of them as R. Solomon Jarchi say this was as if a Man having been entertained by his Friend seven days should to express greater kindness to him be detained one day more And ye shall do no servile work therein But spend their time in Feasting Mirth and Rejoycing with thankful Acknowledgments of God's Benefits to them See v. 7 8. Ver. 37. Verse 37 These are the feasts or Assemblies of the LORD which ye shall proclaim to be holy Convocations This was the Preface to them v. 4. and now is the Conclusion to make them the more observed To offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD a Burnt-offering and a Meat-offering and a Sacrifice c. These Offerings are particularly set down as hath been noted all along in the XXVIII and XXIXth of Numbers And by a Sacrifice seems here to be meant a Sin-offering which is ordered throughout those two Chapters together with Burnt-offerings upon all these Festivals Ver. 38. Verse 38 Besides the Sabbaths of the LORD i. e. Beside the Sacrifices appointed upon all the Sabbaths in the year which were not to be omitted if any of the Feasts here mentioned fell upon the seventh day of the Week And beside your gifts Most understand by Gifts such Presents as Men made to God beyond their First-fruits and Tenths But it may be thought only a general word including the two particulars which follow Vows and Free-will-offerings Ver. 39. Verse 39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month when ye have gathered in the fruit of the Land c. Here is no new injunction in this Verse but only an inforcement of what was said before the very same days being appointed to be observed with those named v. 24. Therefore the Hebrew Particle Ak should not have been translated also but surely or certainly or truly as we translate it in other places particularly XXIX Gen. 14. Surely thou art my bone and my flesh LXXIII Psal 1. Truly God is good to Israel II Lament 16. Certainly this is the day that we looked for When ye have gathered in the fruit of the Land These words give a reason of the repetition of the Command because there was something more designed in this Festival than meerly the remembrance of their Condition in the Wilderness which was to express their Thankfulness to God for their desired Harvest which they had now gathered For which cause besides the seven days which were in Commemoration of their dwelling in Tents in the Wilderness there was an eighth added to acknowledge his Mercy of receiving the Fruits of the Earth Ye shall keep a Feast unto the LORD seven days These were the Feasts of Tabernacles which lasted all these seven days On the first day shall be a Sabbath See v. 35. And on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath In the institution of the Feast of Unleavened Bread it is said in the seventh day is an holy Convocation ye shall do no servile work therein i. e. it shall be a Sabbath v. 8. but here the eighth day hath that honour put upon it not the seventh being added to the Festival for a peculiar reason and therefore to be observed in a very solemn manner For the Feast of Tabernacles fell in the time of Vintage when the Fruits of the Earth were in a manner all gathered XVI Deut. 13. From whence it is called by the name of the Feast of Ingatherings XXIII Exod. 16. not because the whole Feast was celebrated on this account but because a principal part of it was kept on this score viz. the eighth day as the other seven days were in memory of their dwelling in Tents But that the eighth
northward The greater Sacrifices which the Jews call the most holy things had this peculiar place assigned them where they were to be killed viz. all the Burnt-offerings whether of Bullocks Sheep or Goats and all Offerings for sin VI. 25. and all Trespass-offerings VII 2. But all the other Sacrifices which they call the lesser holy things such as the Peace-offerings of particular Men the Paschal Lamb the First-born and that which was tithed might be killed in any part of the Court where the Altar stood there being no peculiar place appointed by the Law for that purpose but only at the Entrance of the Tabernacle Yet a Peace-offering for the whole Congregation was lookt upon as belonging to the things most holy and so was slain as Maimonides tells us at the North-side of the Altar where there were certain Rings fixed to which the Head or as some say the Feet of the Beast was tied in order to its being killed But they were not perfect Rings as L'Empereur observes being rather half-segments of Rings one part of which was fastned to the Pavement and by the other the Neck of the Beast was tied to it See Codex Middoth cap. 3. sect 5. The reason of this difference seems to be only to make a distinction between these and other Sacrifices And all this is to be understood of the four-footed Beasts before-mentioned not of Birds which were sacrificed after another manner as appears from v. 15. And the Priests shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the Altar See v. 5. and VII 2. Ver. 12. Verse 12 And he shall cut it into his pieces with his head and his fat c. This Verse hath been sufficiently explained v. 5 6 8. Ver. 13. Verse 13 And he shall wash the inwards and the legs c. See v. 9. where this also is explained It is a burnt-sacrifice an offering made by fire of a sweet savour unto the LORD As much as to say this is as acceptable to the LORD as the Sacrifice of a Bullock when offered with a pious Mind Ver. 14. Verse 14 And if the burnt-sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls It is well observed by Maimonides in his More Nevochim P. III. cap. 46. that when a Man was not able to go to the charge of a Sheep or a Goat much less of a Bullock God was so merciful as to accept of a Bird only he prescribes of what sort they should be Nay he that was not able to be at this expence was accepted if he offered Bread however prepared whether in an Oven or a Pan according to the custom of those Times And he to whom this was too great a Burden might worship God by bringing only fine Flour as will appear in the next Chapter Then he shall bring his offering of Turtle-doves or of young Pigeons The same Author observes that there was a vast plenty of these Birds in the Land of Canaan and consequently they were so cheap that it would put the poorer sort to no great charge to bring this Oblation They were also very anciently sacrificed XV Gen. 9. and of a gentle nature as Procopius and others observe And Pigeons being best when they are young and Turtles when full grown accordingly they are appointed to bring them when they were most esteemed These are but seldom mentioned in the Sacrifices among the Gentiles who offered Cocks to Aesculapius and Geese to Isis as we read in several of their Authors Ver. 15. Verse 15 And the Priest shall bring it unto the Altar and wring off his head Pinch it off with his Nail as the Jews say at one of the Corners or Horns of the Altar viz. the whole Burnt-offering at the Southeast Corner and the Sin-offering at the North-west as Maimonides saith in his Treatise called Korbanoth cap. 5. But their Heads were so to be wrung or pinched as not to be separated quite from the Body but to be left still hanging to it For so it is ordered in that Sacrifice mentioned V. 8. and therefore they suppose it was so in all And the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the sides of the Altar This is the reason that the Priest alone might kill the Bird though others might kill the Beasts See v. 5. because the sprinkling of the Blood which none might do but the Priest was immediately conjunct with the wringing off its Head Ver. 16. Verse 16 And he shall pluck away his Crop Or the Stomach that the Sacrifice might be clean and free from all filth With his feathers Which were no more to be offered than the Skin of the Beasts v. 6. And cast it besides the Altar on the east part As far as might be from the most Holy Place which was in the West By the place of the ashes See IV. 12. Ver. 17. Verse 17 And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof but shall not divide it asunder The Wings were to be so cloven as not to be quite separated from the Body but still to remain hanging to it and so Salt being sprinkled upon the whole Body it was thrown into the fire So Maimonides observes in the forenamed Treatise where he takes notice also that it was otherwise in Fowls offered for sin of which nothing but the Blood belonged to the Altar the Flesh of them being eaten by the Priests and their Sons Whence it was that no Sin-offering of Birds was accepted unless it were accompanied with an whole Burnt-offering that the Altar might not be without a Feast when they that ministred there were entertained Thus it is required in several Cases mentioned V. 7. XII 6 8. XIV 22. XV. 15 30. and VI Numb 11. The same Maimonides likewise observes that this Sacrifice of Birds was one of the most difficult Works in the Sanctuary whereby the Mind of the Priest was kept as intent upon the poorest Sacrifice as upon the most splendid And the Priest shall burn it upon the Altar upon the wood that is upon the fire This was in part said before but here repeated more distinctly to show there was no difference to be made between the Sacrifices of the meanest and of the greatest It is a burnt-sacrifice an offering made by fire of a sweet savour unto the LORD The same is said of this as of all other Holocausts v. 9 15. to show that whether the Oblation was of the greater Animals or the less or only of Birds it made no difference in its acceptance with God Who graciously ordered these various sorts of Offerings that the Poor as well as the Rich might be capable to express their Devotion to him and be confident to find favour with him CHAP. II. Ver. 1. Verse 1 AND when any will offer a Meat-offering unto the LORD Here is a merciful provision for those who were neither able to offer Beasts of any sort nor Birds whom God ordered to bring Meal as was observed before on the first Chapter v. 14. which was called
for Sin offered v. 14. before they could be worthy to have any Gift or Present which they made to God received by him But upon their Expiation an whole Burnt-offering was accepted v. 18. and after that followed this Sacrifice which was a Peace-offering as appears from v. 31. part of which was burnt upon the Altar part given to the Priest and the rest they themselves ate for whom it was offered that it might appear they were so far in the favour of God as to eat with him of his Meat from his Table Abarbanel hath the same observation Ver. 25. Verse 25 And he took the fat and the rump c. All this Verse likewise is there explained XXIX Exod. 22. Ver. 26 27 28. Verse 26 27 28. And out of the basket of unleavened bread c. These three Verses show that Moses exactly followed the Orders he had received XXIX Exod 23 24 25. where they have been explained Ver. 28. Verse 28 Burnt them upon the burnt-offering This shows that they were not a burnt-offering properly as I there observed but an Appendix to it They were consecrations for a sweet savour Because they were offered to consecrate and sanctifie them as this is explained XXIX Exod. 33. See there Ver. 29. Verse 29 And Moses took the breast and waved it c. According to the direction given XXIX Exod. 26. where it is also ordered that this should be Moses his part Ver. 30. Verse 30 And he took of the anointing oil and of the blood that was upon the Altar and sprinkled it on Aaron c. See XXIX Exod. 21. where it appears plainly this blood that was mixed with the Oil was the Blood of the Ram of Consecration Ver. 31. Verse 31 And Moses said unto Aaron and his sons Boil the flesh at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation and there eat it c. God having had his part v. 28. and Moses who performed the Office of a Priest at this time having had that which belonged to him on that account v. 29. the rest was given as the manner was in Peace-offerings to those for whom the Sacrifice was offered that is all but the right shoulder which was burnt upon the Altar and the Wave-breast which was given to Moses as Priest See XXIX Exod. 31 32. Ver. 32. Verse 32 That which remains of the flesh and the blood shall ye burn with fire See XXIX Exod. 34. This shows it was of the nature of a Peace-offering VII 15 17. Ver. 33. Verse 33 And ye shall not go out of the door of the Tabernacle in seven days c. For till then their Consecration was not perfected as the following words signifie no more than the Consecration of the Altar was till a Bullock had been offered to cleanse it and make an atonement for it seven days together See XXIX Exod. 35 36 37. This was to make them more sensible of the great weight as well as dignity of their Office Ver. 34. Verse 34 As he hath done this day so the LORD hath commanded to do to make an atonement for you Every day of these seven those Sacrifices were to be repeated the Sin-offering the Burnt-offering and the Peace-offering and their Garments were to be sprinkled with the Blood and the Anointing Oil as the LORD required when Moses was with him in the Mount XXIX Exod. 35. This shows the imperfection of all the Legal Sacrifices which would not have been so often repeated if they had been of greater efficacy Yet the continuance of them seven days doth signifie the compleat Consecration of these Priests according to the Rites of those times In conformity to which our great High-Priest the LORD Christ who was perfected by one Sacrifice of himself spent seven days in his Consecration to his Office For as Aaron is commanded to attend at the Tabernacle so many days together in like manner our LORD Christ as Dr. Jackson observes in the forenamed Book Chapt. XXV did attend the Temple five days one after another before his death See XII John 1 12 c. XXI Matth. 8 9 c. and having purged it on the first or second of those days from the prophaneness that was exercised in it by Merchandizing and afterward hallowed it by his Doctrine and by his Divine Presence which appeared in several miraculous Cures he went the sixth day into his heavenly Sanctuary into Paradise it self to puririsie and sanctifie it with his own Blood as Moses at Aaron's Consecration did the material Sanctuary and Altar with the Blood of Beasts And having rested the seventh day finished all by his Resurrection early the next day in the morning Ver. 35. Verse 35 Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation Where all things mentioned in this Chapter had been done and were still to be repeated v. 3 4. for they could not go into the Sanctuary till they were compleated Day and night This was to make their Consecration more solemn and taken notice of by all the People Seven days By which means a Sabbath as the Jews observe passed over their heads without which they conceive Aaron and his Sons could not have been compleated But the Sabbath of the LORD did never so exactly pass over any High-Priest in his Consecration as it did over the High-Priest of the New Testament For however it were of Aaron's it was to our blessed Saviour as the fore-named Dr. Jackson notes a Day of Rest indeed after six days of Labour Watching Praying and Fasting which concluded in his bloody Death and Passion And keep the charge of the LORD That which he had now enjoyned Or rather watch the Tabernacle and his Vessels c. as they were to do in time to come The Hebrew Doctors have here raised a difficulty about the necessary Easements of Nature for which they had no convenience if they might not stir for seven days from the door of the Tabernacle and therefore they fancy there was a hole digged in the Ground for such occasions But it is more likely they were not so confined as not to be allowed this liberty and one cannot well doubt of it who considers the word Mismoroth here used which we translate keep the charge of the LORD which is a military phrase signifying the Stations and Watches kept in their turns for certain hours after which they were at liberty to attend their own Affairs Such was the charge here one may reasonably think of not departing from the door of the Tabernacle while they were upon the guard as we speak which some or other of them kept night and day in such order that while some watched others might sleep or step out about the necessary occasions of Nature That ye die not It may seem hard that they should be in peril of their Life if they omitted any of these Rites But this was necessary to make those serious and intent upon their business who were to save the Lives of
others by making Expiation for them when they deserved to perish For so I am commanded These Orders as hath been already observed he received in the holy Mount So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses This was necessary to be added that all Generations might be assured whatsoever was performed by their Ministry would be effectual to the end for which it was appointed they being exactly Consecrated to God's Service without the least omission of any thing that he had required In like manner our great High-Priest was Consecrated to his Eternal Priesthood by fulfilling all the Will of God and that in a far more Solemn and Publick way than Aaron's was it being performed by Suffering such things as nothing but a perfect Filial Obedience to his heavenly Father could have moved him to admit because it was accomplished by shedding his own Blood in a lingring Death CHAP. IX Ver. 1. Verse 1 AND it came to pass on the eighth day He doth not mean on the eighth day of the Month but on the next day after their Consecration which was seven days in doing VIII 33 35. Then it was that the Fire fell down from Heaven and consumed the Sacrifice which Aaron offered and this seems also to have been the first day of unleavened Bread which fell upon the fifteenth day of this Month for on the fourteenth in the Even which was the last day of the Consecration of the Priests the Passover was kept IX Numb 2 5. That Moses called Aaron and his sons and the Elders of Israel Just as he had done before VIII 2 3. that the Rulers and as many of the People as could meet together to behold what was done might see the Glory of the LORD which appeared at this time v. 6. Ver. 2. Verse 2 And he said unto Aaron take thee a young Calf This is the first Sacrifice that was offered to God by the Priests of the Order of Aaron It differed from that which was offered by Moses for Aaron and his Sons as Egel a young Calf doth from Par a young Bullock by which his Sin was expiated at his Consecration And Maimonides saith that the former signifies a Calf of one year old the latter one of two Others say a Calf was called Egel till his Horns budded and then it was called Par. For a sin-offering For his sins in general not for any determinate Offence like that IV. 3. which therefore was something different from this The Jews fancy that a young Calf was appointed for the first Sin-offering to put Aaron and the People in mind of the Golden Calf which they worshipped So Maimonides reports the Opinion of their Wise men in his More Nevoch P. III. cap. 46. Where he also hath this conceit that it was to expiate that Sin And a Ram for a burnt-offering For none but Males were accepted for Burnt-offerings I. 10. There is no Peace-offering ordered for him as there is afterward for the People v. 4. because it was not fit he should have all the Sacrifice as he must have had according to the Law of such Sacrifices being both the Priest and the Offerer between whom and the Priest after the Fat was burnt all was to be shared Ver. 3. Verse 3 And unto the Children of Israel thou shalt speak saying Unto all the Elders v. 1. who were to bring the following Offerings in the Name of all the People of Israel and that by Aaron's direction who was now to act as God's High-Priest and gave out this Order Take ye a Kid of the Goats for a sin-offering The Hebrew word Seir signifies a He-goat Concerning which Maimonides in his Book concerning Sacrifices delivers this opinion That all Sacrifices for sin whether of private Persons or the whole Congregation at their three principal Feasts New Moons and the Day of Expiation were He-goats For this reason because the greatest Sin and Rebellion of those times was that they sacrificed to Daemons who were wont to appear in that form For which he quotes XVII 7. They shall no more offer their Sacrifices lasseirim which we translate unto Devils but the word Seirim is but the Plural Number of the word Seir which signifies a Goat And further he adds That their Wise men think the Sin of the whole Congregation was therefore expiated by this Kid of a Goat because all the Family of Israel sinned about a Goat when they fold Joseph into Egypt XXXVII Gen. 31. And such reasons saith he as these should not seem trifles for the end and scope of all these Actions was to imprint and ingrave on the Mind of Sinners the Offences they had committed that they might never forget them According to that of David LI Psal 5. My sin is ever before me This Sin-offering was different from that IV. 14. being not for any particular Sin as that was but in general for all the Offences that the High-Priest might have committed A Calf and a Lamb both of the first year c. When they were in their prime Ver. 4. Verse 4 Also a Bullock and a Ram. These also were no doubt to be without blemish as is prescribed in the two foregoing Offerings And the Hebrew word Sor which we translate a Bullock often signifies a well grown Ox as in XXI Exod. 28. XXV Deut. 8. As Ajil a Ram the Hebrews say signifies a Sheep of above a year old These made very large Peace-offerings and consequently a liberal Feast upon them For peace-offerings The very same order is here observed that was at Aaron's Consecration First Sin-offerings then a Burnt-offering and then a Peace-offering was offered to the LORD VIII 14 18 22. And a meat-offering mingled with oil Which was to compleat the Peace-offerings on which they were to feast that Meat might not be without Bread to it For to day the LORD will appear to you Give you an illustrious Token of his Presence by sending Fire from Heaven or from the Brightness of his GLORY to consume the Sacrifice v. 23 24. Whereby they were all assured that both the Institution of this Priesthood and the Sacrifices offered by it were acceptable to the Divine Majesty Ver. 5. Verse 5 And they brought that which Moses commanded Both Aaron v. 2. and all the Congregation v. 3. brought all the Offerings which Moses required Before the Tabernacle of the Congregation Where these Sacrifices were to be offered And all the Congregation drew near and stood before the LORD Approached to the door of the Tabernacle and stood there by their Sacrifices looking towards the Holy Place and worshipped the LORD Ver. 6. Verse 6 And Moses said Unto the Congregation This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do I require this of you by the commandment of God who will demonstrate by a visible Token his Presence among you And the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you That Glory which filled the Tabernacle when it was erected
XL Exod. 34 35. openly showed it self to them all v. 23. and declared his Grace and Favour towards them by consuming their Sacrifice as an acceptable Oblation to him v. 24. Whereby a particular Honour also was done unto Aaron who was hereby most illustriously owned to be God's High-Priest and all other Persons deterred from pretending to his Office Ver. 7. Verse 7 And Moses said unto Aaron Go unto the Altar and offer thy sin-offering and thy burnt-offering One of them after the other in the order wherein they were directed viz. his Sin-offering first to make his Burnt-offering accepted Make an atonement for thy self and for the people First for himself as the Apostle observes VII Hebr. 27. that then he might be capable to offer for the Sins of the People This was the great imperfection of the Aaronical Priests that they were Sinners like other Men by reason whereof they were bound as for the people so also for themselves to offer for sins V Hebr. 3. And offer the offering of the people and make an atonement for them After he had offered both the Sin-offering v. 8. and the Burnt-offering v. 13. for himself then he was to begin to offer for the People For his own Sins being expiated and his Burnt-offering being accepted he was fit to procure Remission and Acceptance for them Ver. 8. Verse 8 Aaron therefore went unto the Altar That he might be ready to perform his part of the Service which was to sprinkle the Blood after he had first of all offered the Morning Sacrifice See v. 17. And slew the Calf of the sin-offering which was for himself Ordered it to be slain for this was no part of the Priests work as I showed upon the first Chapter v. 5. Ver. 9. Verse 9 And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him They received it in Basons as it run from the Calf when it was killed See I. 5. and brought it unto him who stood at the Altar to receive it and do what follows And he dipt his finger in the blood The fore-finger of the right hand which had been sanctified to this Ministry by putting the Blood of the Sacrifice of Consecration upon the thumb of the right hand VIII 23 24. whereby we grasp all things and cannot hold them strongly nor perform any thing well if that be wanting And put it upon the horns of the Altar c. See IV. 25. Ver. 10. Verse 10 But the fat and the kidneys and the caul above the liver See IV. 8 9. He burnt upon the Altar as the LORD commanded Moses Laid or disposed them upon the Altar to be burnt by the heavenly fire v. 24. as most understand it And the LXX justifie this Opinion who though they here translate it He offered it on the Altar yet v. 13. where there is the same phrase they expresly translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he laid the Burnt-offering upon the Altar and again v. 17. in the same manner 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. he laid it upon the Altar besides the burnt-sacrifice of the morning For common fire it is supposed was no longer to be used when Aaron's Sacrifice began as it had been all along before But there is no certainty in this and we may as well take the words in their proper sense that Aaron burnt this and the following Sacrifice as Moses had done before VIII 14 21 28. until the Burnt-offering for the People came to be offered which God consumed by fire from himself and then followed those other Sacrifices mentioned v. 17 18. For all these Sacrifices for Aaron and for the People could not be laid upon the Altar at once but one after another in the order here directed and consequently this Sacrifice here mentioned was actually burnt upon the Altar to make way for those which followed it Ver. 11. Verse 11 And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp See VIII 17. Ver. 12. Verse 12 And he slew the burnt-offering and Aaron's sons presented to him the blood c. See I. 5. Ver. 13 14. Verse 13 14. And they presented the burnt-offering unto him with the pieces thereof c. All that is contained in these two Verses is explained in the first Chapter v. 8 9. where the Law about burnt-offerings is delivered Ver. 15. Verse 15 And he brought the peoples sin-offering c. Having offered all that was necessary for himself now he became fit to make Supplication for the People And offered it for sin as the first In the same manner as he offered the foregoing Sin-offering for himself v. 8 c. Ver. 16. Verse 16 And he brought the burnt-offering Here being no express mention of burning it some from thence conclude that this was the Offering which alone was consumed by fire from the LORD See v. 24. And offered it according to the manner Laid it upon the Altar as Moses had directed in the first Chapter of this Book Ver. 17. And he brought the meat-offering c. Which attended upon Burnt-offerings XV Numb 2 3 4 c. Beside the burnt-offering of the morning This shows that Aaron began his Priestly Function with the Morning Sacrifice which preceded all other and was never omitted for the sake of any other Sacrifice that was to follow it and it had always a Meat-offering waiting upon it XXIX Exod. 39 40. Ver. 18 19. Verse 18 19. He slew also the Bullock and the Ram for a sacrifice of peace-offerings These two Verses are explained in the third Chapter which treats of such kind of Offerings Ver. 20. Verse 20 And he put the fat upon the beasts c. That it might by elevation and waving be presented unto the LORD and then burnt upon the Altar See VII 30. Ver. 21. Verse 21 And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave-offering before the LORD The Fat being burnt upon the Altar as God's portion these were the portion of the Priests who feasted upon God's Meat for they were solemnly presented unto him before they had them See VII 34. Ver. 22. Verse 22 And Aaron lifted up his hands towards the people Imploring the Divine Blessing upon the People which he afterwards pronounced At this day they that are of the Family of Aaron going up the steps which lead to the place where the Book of the Law is kept lift up their hands as high as their heads and pronounce a Blessing in their Synagogues upon the Assembly And they say the ancient Custom was which is still observed not only to lift up and spread their hands but then to joyn them together by the thumbs and the two fore-fingers dividing the other from them in that Figure which is represented by an eminently learned Person J. Wagenseil in his Commentary upon Sota cap. 7. p. 672. and 1132. And blessed them We read of no order for this but natural Reason taught them from the beginning that the Priestly Office consisted in praying
over their heads when they were in a state of mourning Of which this was another sign XXIV Ezek. 17 22. as it was also of shame III Mich. 7. Some will have all these to be marks only for Men to avoid them but that is sufficiently taken care of in the last words of this Verse I shall only add That the Hebrews well observe that none were bound to any of these things who were shut up on suspicion of Leprosie but only such as were absolutely pronounced to be leprous And shall cry unclean unclean Give notice to Passengers not to come near him by crying out aloud so that they might hear him I am in the most unclean condition wherein any man can be Some fancy this was required that Men might avoid infection but the true reason was that they might avoid legal Pollutions by conversation with them as appears by the next Verse Jeremiah seems to allude to this IV Lament 15. And there seems also to have been the like care among the Heathen to give notice of any place which was unclean that none might be defiled by it So Servius tells us upon IV Aeneid that the Romans were wont to set a Cypress-tree which being cut down could not grow again before the door of a dead Man's House Ne quis sacram rem facturus imprudens domum praeteriret lest any Man who was going to perform Sacred Offices should unawares pass by his door Ver. 46. Verse 46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled Remain in that desolate state He is unclean Separate from Company He shall dwell alone 2 Kings XV. 5. Without the Camp shall his habitation be There were three Camps as the Hebrews commonly observe that of the Divinity or the Sanctuary that of the Levites and that of the Israelites out of all which a leprous Man was to be removed that no Man might have conversation with him but only such who were leprous like himself who in after times were shut out of the Cities as now out of the Camp 2 Kings VII 3. Ver. 47. Verse 47 The garment also that the plague of leprosie is in This is a matter which we do not now understand that a Leprosie should not only cleave to a Garment and infect it but appear and be seen in it As in the next Chapter Moses speaks also of Leprosie in an House XIV 34. which he doth not mention here because they had no Houses in the Wilderness but dwelt in Tents covered with Skins and such like things in which as well as in Garments he supposes the Leprosie will be See XIV 34. But what kind of Disease this was which appeared in insensible things the Syrians and Egyptians perhaps might then understand but we now are ignorant as P. Cunaeus speaks Cujusmodi id vitium in rebus inanimatis fuerit Syri fortasse Egyptij tunc intellexerunt nos hercle ignoramus L. II. de Republ. Hebraeor cap. ult And indeed it seems to have been a Divine stroke as Moses himself signifies XIV 34. and appears not only from the place above-mentioned 2 Kings V. 7 27. but from XV. 5. of the same Book And so the Jews have always understood it particular Maimonides who in his Treatise on this Subject cap. 16. sect 9. saith That this change in Garments and Houses did not proceed from natural causes but was a sign and a miracle in Israel That is an extraordinary punishment inflicted by God as a token of his high displeasure And it is not at all incredible that such a strange Plague should then infest them which is not now known in the World when we consider what unusual Diseases there have been in other Countries unknown in former times which afterwards have also vanished and are now to be found only in Books Pliny mentions several new Diseases omni priori aevo incognitos unknown to all Ages past some of which were peculiar to some Provinces and touched not others Concerning which he did not know what to say but only this Quid hoc esse dicamus aut quas Deorum iras What shall we call this or from what great anger of the Gods doth it proceed that the Diseases which already certainly infest mens bodies which in number are above three hundred should not be sufficient but new ones are still to be feared Lib. XXVI Nat. Hist cap. 1. He looked that is upon these strange Diseases as sent by God when Men had highly incurred his displeasure The last Century was famous for such an extraordinary Plague as Johannes Wierus who then lived often calls it when the Scurvy which was confined before to some Northern Regions near the Sea over-ran the Low-Countries being at that time unknown in Germany Italy France and Spain which were intirely free from it See his Observationum Medicarum Lib. I. sect 1. Whether it be a woollen garment or a linen There is a great dispute among the Talmudists whether Garments made of Camels hair which they called the Wooll of Camels were comprehended under these words or no. Ver. 48. Verse 48 Whether it be in the warp or woof of linen or of woollen In the inward or outward part of it Whether in a skin or in any thing made of skin They were more likely to be infected than woollen or linen Garments because they had been part of the body of living Creatures Ver. 49. Verse 49 And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment c. There seems to be great reason in what Maimonides saith in his Treatise of the Leprosie that the Hebrew word Jerakrak which is made by the doubling of the Radical Letters should be interpreted the most intense green such as is in the Wings of a Peacock as he speaks or in the Leaves of a Palm-tree As the word Adamdam in like manner signifies the highest degree of another colour viz. redness such as the brightest Scarlet See v. 19. And if a spot of these colours were found in a Garment or Skin as broad as a Bean it was a sufficient ground to think it might be the Leprosie if it were not so broad it was accounted clean It is a plague of leprosie c. It was justly to be suspected and therefore was to be brought to the Priest for his judgment to be passed upon it Who was to make a trial what it would prove by shutting up that Garment or Skin wherein the Spot was for the space of seven days as is directed in the next Verse Ver. 50. Verse 50 And the Priest shall look upon the plague c. If upon his inspection he found the fore-named tokens he was to do with it as he did with Persons who were under a suspicion of a Leprosie Ver. 51. Verse 51 If the plague be spread in the garment c. There were three certain marks as Maimonides notes of the Leprosie in a Garment the extream greeness or redness of the Spots in it and the
day For which reason the greatest care was to be used to see it rightly observed because all their happiness depended upon it For the Land of Canaan was promised them upon condition that they kept the Law offering all the Sacrifices therein prescribed especially this great Sacrifice which was to cleanse them from the guilt of all their Neglects or Breaches of this Law Which should teach us Christians to conclude That as the Inheritance of that good Land was assigned the Jews in consideration of their Sacrifices as the condition of that Covenant by which they were prescribed so the Inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven is made over to us by the Covenant of Grace in consideration of the Obedience and Sufferings of Christ Jesus of which they were a Figure For it is his Blood that cleanseth us from all unrighteousness as St. John speaks and secures our Claim to the heavenly Inheritance That ye may be clean from all your sins If a Man was bound to offer Sacrifice for any sin that was certain he was not excused from it by this Sacrifice on the Day of Expiation but was bound to make that other Sacrifice also But the Day of Expiation freed those who were bound to offer Sacrifices for dubious Offences So Maimonides saith in his Treatise of Offences committed through Error cap. 3. sect 9. that those sins which were known to none but God were taken away by this solemn Day of Expiation without any other Sacrifice But the Misna in the last Section of Joma acknowledges very honestly that the Day of Expiation did not purge Men from the guilt of the Offences they had committed against their Neighbour unless they first gave him Satisfaction Before the LORD Who dwelt among them and would continue to do so if they observed his Laws and took care to be thus cleansed from all their sins But least any Man should mistake this matter it may be here fit to observe that there were no Sacrifices at all appointed by the Law of Moses for Capital Offences and therefore when he speaks here of making them clean from all their sins upon this day such as these for instance Murder Adultery Idolatry c. are not included for this great Sacrifice could not obtain a Pardon for them but only for Offences committed against the Ritual Laws contained in this Book and that also when they were committed through Error or Ignorance for if they were done presumptuously cutting off was threatned to them See XV Numb from v. 22. to v. 32. And this appears plainly from the Sacrifices themselves that are here appointed which had no vertue in them from their own worth and value but only from God's Institution to make Expiation for any Sin For the death of a Bullock or a Goat was not of such account with God that it could prevail for the taking away of guilt unless he had given it such a power And that power which he was pleased to allow unto them was neither infinite nor could it be so For the guilt that they were principally designed to abolish was not of such a nature as to require such an Expiation It arising from things which were neither good nor evil in themselves and therefore could not create such a guilt Such were all the uncleannesses from certain natural Fluxes from touching a dead Body and innumerable other such like Impurities which depending wholly upon the will of God who by a positive Law made such things to bring Men under a guilt by the same Will he appointed a proportionable Expiation of it by these Sacrifices whose power to cleanse depended also purely upon his pleasure And if they had any vertue to purge Men from the real guilt of sins committed against the Eternal Laws of God this they had not of themselves but from the most gracious Will of God who was pleased to apply to this purpose the future Satisfaction of the immaculate Lamb of God of which these Sacrifices were a Shadow and Type For a Body being prepared for the Son of God and he offering himself for us that was a Sacrifice of such infinite value in its own nature that it expiated all manner of sins of all Men. To this effect that excellent Person Joh. Wagenseil discourses in his Confutation of R. Lipman's Carmen Memoriale p. 488. Ver. 31. Verse 31 It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you In the Hebrew the words are a Sabbath of Sabbaths i. e. a great or perfect Sabbath like that of the Seventh day in every Week on which they might do no manner of Work And so the Seventh day is called just as this is a Sabbath of Rest or Sabbath of Sabbaths See XXXI Exod. 15. XXXV 2. which gave occasion to those jeers we meet withal in Martial and others at the Jews fasting on their Sabbath days For reading Moses his Books carelesly they fancied the Jews observed as strict a Fast upon every Sabbath day as they did on this which was but once a year And ye shall afflict your Souls by a statute for ever See v. 29. Ver. 32. Verse 32 And the Priest whom he shall anoint c. The High-Priest who should be anointed and consecrated in his Father's stead when he was dead is here ordered to make this Atonement yearly That is what was now done by Aaron was to be done by every High-Priest successively when he was legally put into his Office by vesting him with the Priestly Garments anointing him and offering the Sacrifices of Consecration VIII 7 10 22. This Statute confined the sacred work of this day to the High-Priest who alone could perform it But it shows withal as the Apostle observes the great imperfection of this Legal Priesthood which could not by reason of death continue always in one Person but there were many Priests succeeding one another in the Office which became often vacant Whereas our great High-Priest because he continueth for ever i. e. never dies hath an unchangeable Priesthood and therefore is able to save to the uttermost or evermore those that come to God by him VII Hebr. 23 24 25. And shall put on the linen clothes even the holy garments He was to take a special care not to officiate on this day in any other Garments but those mentioned v. 4. which were peculiarly appropriated to this Service and called the white Garments which were a Figure perhaps of the perfect Purity of our great High-Priest who as it there immediately follows VII Hebr. 26. is holy harmless undefiled separate from sinners Ver. 33. Verse 33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy Sanctuary c. In this Verse he only sums up the whole duty of the day in which a general Atonement was made for all Things and for all Persons The only thing to be observed is That the Expiation of the Sanctuary the Tabernacle and the Altar preceded the Expiation of the Priests and of the People who were to be expiated by the Sacrifices offered
there But the Expiation of the High-Priest himself who was to make the Expiation of the Sanctuary preceded all the rest as is apparent from v. 11. Ver. 34. Verse 34 And this shall be an everlasting statute The repetition of this the third time See v. 29 31. shows of how great importance it was that this annual Solemnity should be observed Vnto you The High-Priests before-mentioned of whom he speaks in the Plural Number because none of them could continue always as I observed v. 32. but enjoyed the Office successively upon the death of their Predecessors To make an atonement for the Children of Israel for all their sins once a year This is only a repetition of what was said v. 30. that it should be incumbent on the High-Priest by a perpetual Obligation to make an Atonement for the Peoples sins on this day as it was incumbent on the People v. 29. to afflict their Souls upon this day And he did as the LORD commanded Moses The Service of this day was immediately performed by Aaron according to the fore-named order CHAP. XVII Ver. 1. Verse 1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying After he had ordered the great Anniversary Sacrifice in the foregoing Chapter he gives some Directions about other Sacrifices for which there would be occasion every day Ver. 2. Verse 2 Speak unto Aaron and his Sons and all the Children of Israel Who were all concerned in what follows and therefore this Command is directed to the whole house of Israel v. 3. to whom this was delivered it is likely by their Elders or else Moses himself went from Tribe to Tribe and spake to their several Families And say unto them This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded Enjoyned by a Special Law Ver. 3. Verse 3 Whatsoever man there be of the House of Israel that killeth an Ox or Lamb or Goat viz. For a Sacrifice or Offering as it follows v. 4. these being the only Creatures of the Herd and the Flock that were permitted to be brought to God's Altar There are those indeed who think Moses speaks of killing these Creatures for common use which it was lawful for them to do any where after they came to the Land of Canaan XII Deut. 15. but now they were not to kill them for their food unless they brought them to the door of the Tabernacle and there first sacrificed some part of them to the LORD before they tasted of them themselves By which their sacrificing to Daemons was prevented to which they were prone v. 7. and they also constantly feasted with God while they dwelt in the Wilderness But this is better founded upon XII Deut. 20 21. where it is supposed that they had thus done while they remained in the Wilderness and were so near to the House of God that they might easily bring thither every Beast they killed for ordinary use But they were dispensed withal as to this when they came into Canaan and could not possibly when they had a mind to eat Flesh go so far as to the Tabernacle or Temple which was many Miles from some of them Instead whereof they were bound to come at the three great Festivals and appear before God at his House wheresoever they dwelt In the Camp or that killeth it out of the Camp This seems to show that he doth not speak of killing these Beasts ad usum vescendi as St. Austin's words are for the use of eating for that they did not do out of the Camp but in their Tents but de Sacrificiis he speaks concerning Sacrifices For he prohibits as he goes on private Sacrifices lest every Man should take upon him to be a Priest c. Ver. 4. Verse 4 And bringeth it not unto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation to offer an offering unto the LORD In ancient time every Man had performed the Office of a Priest in his own Family But now that liberty is taken away because they had abused it to Idolatry and every Man was bound to bring his Sacrifice to the House of God where none but the Sons of Aaron could officiate and had the most sacred Obligations on them to offer only to the LORD The very Heathens themselves in future times found it necessary to enact the very same as appears by Plato in the latter end of his Tenth Book of Laws where he hath these memorable words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let this be a Law imposed absolutely upon all that no Man whatsoever have a sacred place in private Houses but when he hath a mind to offer Sacrifice let him go to the publick Temples and deliver his Sacrifice to the Priests whether Men or Women 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whose business it is to take care that these things be performed in an holy manner By which it appears that these were two established Principles of Religion in wise Mens minds to Sacrifice publickly and to bring their Sacrifices to the Priests who were to take care to offer them purely Unto which Moses adds one thing more that their publick Sacrifices should be offered only at one place which was a most efficacious preservative from all strange Worship nothing being done but under the Eye of the Ministers of Religion and the Governours of the People Insomuch that St. Chrysostom as our learned Dr. Spencer observes Lib. I. de Rit Leg. Hebr. L. I. cap. 4. sect 1. calls Jerusalem which was afterwards established to be this place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a kind of bond or knot whereby the whole Nation were tied fast to the Judaical Religion Before the Tabernacle of the LORD Before the Divine Majesty which dwelt in the Tabernacle round about which they all inhabited and were so near it while they travelled in the Wilderness that as there was no trouble in bringing all their Sacrifices thither so they knew certainly whether to go And thus the Hebrew Doctors observe it was when they came into Canaan where while the Tabernacle was fixed in Shilo none might Sacrifice any where else But when it wandred uncertainly after Shilo was destroyed being sometimes in Mispeh sometimes at Gilgal and at Nob and Gibeon and the House of Obed-Edom they fancy it was lawful to Sacrifice in other places For so we find Samuel did 1. Sam. VII 9. IX 13. where he sacrificed in an high place XI 15. XVI 2. and David 2 Sam. XXIV 18. and Elias 1 Kings XVIII 23. But these may be thought extraordinary acts done by an immediate warrant from God for none of these Persons were Priests but Prophets guided by Divine Inspirations See Dr. Owtram Lib. I. de Sacrific cap. 2. Blood shall be imputed unto that man he hath shed blood He was to be punished as a Murderer that is die for it For to have Blood imputed to a Man in the Hebrew phrase or to be guilty of Blood is to be liable to have his Blood shed or to lose his Life Which as of old it was
a manner such as are wont to live together in the same House for so Fathers Mothers Children Brothers and Sisters do who might easily be tempted to lewdness one with another if even marrying together were not severely forbidden And thus the LXX translate the words of the foregoing Verse none of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or as other Copies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to those that are so near of kin that they usually dwell in the same House as Parents and Children Brothers and Sisters and the Brothers and Sisters of our Parents Mahomet as lewd and impudent as he was had not the boldness to controul these Laws but in the fourth Chapter of his Alcoran expresly forbids his Followers to marry their Mothers their Mothers-in-law c. and a great many of the rest which here follow Ver. 8. Verse 8 The nakedness of thy fathers wife shalt thou not uncover That is of a Step-mother Such was the incest of Reuben with Bilhah XXXV Gen. 22. and of Absolom with the Wives of his Father David 2 Sam. XVI 21 22. And of Antiochus Soter with Stratonice who abhorring from such a Conjunction was taught that all things were honest that pleased the King But the thing it self is so hateful that the very naming it is a Condemnation and therefore it is all one with the prime Natural Law which prohibits the Conjunction of Parents and Children For she that is one flesh with my Father as a great Man speaks is as near to me as my Father and that 's as near as my own Mother As near I mean in the estimation of Law though not in the accounts of Nature and therefore though it be a Crime of a less turpitude yet it is equally forbidden and is against the Law of Nature not directly but by interpretation Book II. chap. 2. Ductor Dubitantium Rule 3. n. 29. It is thy fathers nakedness He having known her it was not permitted the Son to have her also Nay the Jews say if the Father had only espoused her it was not lawful for the Son to have her to Wife or if he had divorced her it was not lawful for the Son to have her even after he was dead See R. Levi Barcelonita Praecept CXCI. Buxtof de Sponsal p. 16 17. Ver. 9. Verse 9 The nakedness of thy sister As the nearness of flesh mentioned v. 6. above a Man is his Mother and below him is his daughter so on the side of him is his Sister The daughter of thy father Though she were begotten by his Father of another Wife not of his Mother yet he might not marry her Or the daughter of thy mother Born of her by another Husband not by his Father Whether she be born at home or born abroad Be legitimately born in wedlock or illegitimately out of wedlock as the Talmudists expound it See Selden Lib. V. de Jure N. G. cap. 10. p. 591. where he observes that though the Egyptians as Philo and others report with such like Nations thought the Marriage of Brothers and Sisters to be lawful and it was practised also in Greece yet the greatest Men in the Western Countries condemned such Marriages which some of the Greek Philosophers also disallowed and Euripides himself called barbarous even when it was practised Insomuch that in after Ages this wicked Custom was quite abolished and that before Christianity was well settled among them For Sextus Empiricus saith that in his time it was utterly unlawful See there cap. 11. p. 603 605 c. Where he shows the Romans always abhorred such Marriages nay it was late before the Persians took up this abominable Custom after the example of Cambyses who being in love with his own Sister as Herodotus relates in his Thalia cap. XXXI and having a Mind to marry her which was never practised before in that Country he commanded the Royal Judges as he calls them who were the Interpreters of the Laws to advise whether he might lawfully do it or no. Who to please him and yet not seem to give an illegal opinion answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. That they could find no law which permitted a Brother to marry his Sister but there was a Law that the Persian King might do even what he would See Grotius Lib. II. de Jure Belli Pacis cap. 5. sect 13. Even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover It shall be unlawful to thee to marry any of the forenamed Sisters For though the Marriage of Brother and Sister was necessary in the beginning when God created but one Man and one Woman by whose Children the World was peopled yet when it was so there was great reason that it should be made utterly unlawful as many have demonstrated Particularly Bishop Taylor in his Ductor Dubitantium Book II. chap. 2. Rule 3. n. 24 25 c. For now it is next to an unnatural mixture as he speaks it hath something of confusion in it and blending the very first parting 's of Nature which makes it intollerably scandalous and universally forbidden for if it were not the mischief would be horrible and infinite Ver. 10. Verse 10 The nakedness of thy sons daughter or of thy daughters daughter even their nakedness thou shalt not discover This Law concerns a Man's Grand-daughters by his Son or his Daughter whether legitimately or spuriously begotten as R. Levi Barcelonita expounds it Praecept CXCIII Who adds in the next Precept but one this is another Prohibition Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter which saith he is not expresly mentioned in this Law because it was not necessary For a Man's Grand-children either by Sons or Daughters which are more remote being forbidden there was no need to say it was unlawful for him to marry his own Daughter For theirs is thy own nakedness They have their original from thy Nakedness For which reason some of the Jews extended this to those Descendants which were still further off as an Hedge to this Law So R. Levi calls it in the place forenamed The ancient Romans also as our Mr. Selden shows were very strict in restraining the Marriage of Men with their Nieces either by their Brothers or Sisters and with others mentioned in the following Laws of Moses Lib. V. de Jure Nat. Gentium c cap. 11. p. 605. c. Ver. 11. Verse 11 The nakedness of thy fathers wives daughter begotten of thy father she is thy sister thou shalt not uncover her nakedness This Prohibition seeming to be the same with that v. 9. some of the Hebrews have expounded this concerning the Daughter of a Mother-in-law begotten by another Father For the words may be thus translated as Mr. Selden observes the order of them will bear Lib. I. de Vxore Hebr. cap. 4. The nakedness of the Daughter of thy Father's Wife for she that is born of thy Father is thy Sister thou shalt not discover And with
Altar See Dilheirus Disput Philolog Tom. 2. p. 253. Ver. 6. Verse 6 And he shall flay the Burnt-offering Next followed the taking off the Skin which God ordered to be given to the Priests VII 8. Though the Heathen burnt Skin and all in some places as Bochart observes out of Plutarch and Lucian in the fore-named place Hieroz P. I. L. II. p. 324. But whose work it was to flay the Beast is not here expressed The Jews say it belonged not to the Priests to do this but to the Man himself who brought the Beast to be offered For to show in brief what belonged to the owners of the Sacrifice and what to the Priests it may be fit to note out of Abarbanel that each of them had five things to do The Owner of the Sacrifice laid his hand upon it killed flayed cut it up and washt the inwards And then the Priest received the Blood in a Vessel sprinkled the Blood put fire on the Altar ordered the Wood on the fire and ordered the pieces of the Sacrifice upon the Wood. And that the Beast might more easily be flayed there were eight Stone Pillars as the Jews tells us in Middoth cap. 3. and Beams laid over them in each of which there were three Iron hooks fixed That the greater Beasts might hang upon the highest the lesser upon the middlemost and the least of all on the lowest and so be more commodiously stript of their Skins Concerning this Excoriation both Homer and Virgil speak as the afore-named Dilheirus hath observed in the same Book p. 255. And cut it into pieces This followed the Excoriation among the Gentiles also as the same Author shows And it was done with such accuracy that Homer saith they dissected the Sacrifice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence some great Men have thought St. Paul borrowed the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to express the Care the Ministers of the Gospel should have in dividing rightly the Word of Truth 2 Tim. II. 15. These pieces were not the very same in Bullocks and Goats that they were in Sheep as will appear afterwards and therefore the greater care was to be used in the cutting of them especially when besides those parts which were offered to God the Priests and the People were to have their share also Ver. 7. Verse 7 And the sons of Aaron the Priest shall put fire upon the Altar This as I said before was one of the works of the Priests who did not put fire daily upon the Altar for being once kindled they were to keep it always burning VI. 13. but stirred it up and blowed the Coals Which is meant by giving fire as the Phrase is in the Hebrew that is disposing it so that it might burn quick Yet if the fire was taken off from the Altar as when they removed the Camp IV Numb 14. none might lay it on again but the Priest Or if it were extinct as it was in the days of Ahaz who shut up the door of the House of God which was not opened till Hezekiah reigned 2 Chron. XXVIII 24. XXIX 34. none but they might kindle it again And lay the wood in order upon the fire This the Priests did every Morning and every Night that the fire might be preserved from going out And when the time of the Morning and Evening Sacrifice came they brought new Wood and laid it in such order upon the fire that it might the better consume the parts of the Sacrifice that were laid thereon Ver. 8. Verse 8 And the Priests Aarons sons shall lay the parts the head and the fat The Hebrew word Peder doth not simply signifie the Fat for which they have another word cheleb but that Fat which is separated from the rest of the Flesh So it is to be understood here and in III. 9. IV. 35. Which being gathered together and thrown into the fire fed the flame and made it burn more fiercely by which means the other parts into which the Sacrifice was divided were the more easily and the sooner consumed Particularly St. Hierom takes it for that Fat which adhered to the Liver and both Solomon Jarchi and David Kimchi observe that this Peder was thrown upon the Head of the Sacrifice when it was cast into the fire just in the place where the Head was cut off from the Body because otherwise the Gore which issued from it might have extinguished the flame See XXIX Exod. 17. In order upon the wood c. That they might lye upon the Wood so as to have the same situation in the Altar that they had in the Beast when it was alive So Maimonides in Maase Korban cap. 6. Verse 9. Verse 9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water These Parts were not to be burnt upon the Altar till they were well cleansed by washing them in Water For which end there was a private Room afterward in the Court of the Temple as now it is likely there was in the Tabernacle called the Washing Room as we find in Codex Middoth cap. 5. sect 2. There they having washed them privately and freed the Inwards from their filth they brought them into the Court where there were new Marble Tables between the Pillars before-mentioned v. 6. and there they were washed more exactly as we read in the same Book cap. 3. sect 5. Where Const. l'Empereur observes out of R. Hobadia the reason why they used to lay the Flesh upon such Tables was Because Marble made it cold and stiff and preserved it from stinking in very hot weather And the Priest shall burn all on the Altar From whence this Sacrifice is called ischeh an Offering made by fire from isch which signifies fire because it was altogether consumed in the fire and no part of it left so much as for the Priest to eat of it Of a sweet savour unto the LORD i. e. Most acceptable For it is a form of Speech taken from Men who are delighted with the good Scent and Taste of Meat and Drink But none can reasonably imagine it was the meer Sacrifice that was pleasing unto God but as Conrad Pellicanus well notes the Devotion Faith Obedience and Sincerity of their Minds who made the Oblation Ver. 10. Verse 10 And if his offering be of the flocks namely of the sheep or of the goats c. If a Man were not able to bring a Bullock for a Burnt-sacrifice which could not be so well spared being of great use in Agriculture he might bring one of these Creatures which were of less value only perfect in their kind as it here follows He shall bring it a male without blemish See XII Exod 5. What the Blemishes were that made any Animal unfit to be offered on the Altar Moses tells us in this Book XXII 22 23 24. where he mentions twelve which shall be there considered Ver. 11. Verse 11 And he shall kill it on the side of the Altar