is the reason perhaps why these are ordered here in the next words to bring up the Rear They shall go hindmost with their Standards Here the Standard comprehends Ensigns for there was but one Standard for this Camp as there were no more for the other three Therefore the meaning is they shall march hindermost under their several Colours as we now speak Which was ordered for the greater Security of the Sanctuary by the two strongest Bodies marching before and behind where there was the greatest danger Ver. 32. These are those which were numbred of the Verse 32 Children of Israel by the House of their Fathers c. That is Thus were all these Persons disposed under their several Standards whose Number was taken by Moses and Aaron with their Associates I. 44 45. Ver. 33. But the Levites were not numbred among Verse 33 the Children of Israel as the LORD commanded Moses And consequently did not belong to any of these Standards being to make another Camp by themselves I. 47 c. Ver. 34. And the Children of Israel did according to Verse 34 all that the LORD commanded Moses As they gave in their Names when they were to be numbred I. 54. so they now joyned together under such Standards as God appointed So they pitched by their Standards and so they set forward c. Each Tribe encamped under the Standard that was assigned to them and they also marched when they set forward in such order as is here directed Some order no doubt had been observed before both when they rested and when they marched See XIII Exod. 18. but it was not so exact and regular as this form into which they were now cast by God himself nor can we think it was so strictly observed The Jews say that this Camp made a Square of Twelve Miles in compass about the Tabernacle as Dr. Lightfoot hath observed in his Centur. Chorogr CXLVIII and J. Wagenseil more lately in his Annotations upon the Gemara of Sota Cap. 1. Sect. 51. where several of them say that the Camp was three Parasots in compass and a Parasot was four Miles CHAP. III. Chapter III Verse 1 Ver. 1. THese are the Generations of Aaron and Moses Being now to give an account of the Levites who had not been numbred with the rest of the Children of Israel he sets down the descendants of the principal Persons among them viz. Aaron whom he puts in the first place because he was the elder Brother and his Posterity were advanced to the Dignity of Priests and Moses whose Posterity were only Ministers to the Priests as all the common Levites were It may seem indeed at first fight as if he gave an account only of Aaron's Posterity v. 2. But if we look further to v. 27 28. we shall find the Posterity of both here numbred in the Family of the Amramites of which both Aaron and Moses were Amram being their Father from whom the Genealogy of the Children of Moses is derived 1 Chron. XXIII 13 14 c. through their Generations as here those of Aaron Concerning the word Generations See Dr. Hammond on the first of St. Matthew Not. a. In the day that the LORD spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai This Circumstance seems to be particularly specified because at that time Nadab and Abihu who are mentioned in the next Verse were both alive and very eminent Persons XXIV Exod. 1 9 10. though they were now dead at this numbring of the Levites Ver. 2. These are the Names of the Sons of Aaron Verse 2 Nadab the first-born c. There seems no necessity of setting down the Names of Aaron's Sons they not being here to be numbred But it was of great Concernment to have the Distinction preserved between the Priests and the Levites their Offices being very different and therefore Moses here sets down who belonged to the one and who to the other Ver. 3. These are the Names of the Sons of Aaron Verse 3 the Priests which were anointed See VIII Levit. 30. Which he consecrated In the Hebrew whose Hand he filled See XXVIII Exod. 41. XXIX 9. To minister in the Priests Office He would have it noted that Aaron's Posterity were solemnly consecrated to an higher Office than the rest of the Tribe of Levi who were to be their Servants The very name of Cohen carries Dignity in it signifying sometime a Prince as well as a Priest Accordingly the Priests had very little servile Work imposed upon them but their chief business was to draw near to God to present him with the Blood and the Fat and some part of the Sacrifices which might be killed by other Persons This shows that they were God's Familiars insomuch that some Sacrifices were divided between him and them and it was the same thing whether they were consumed on the Alter or eaten by the Priests And those things are said to be given to God which were put into their hands though they never came to the Altar Which is an Evidence of the near relation they had to the Divine Majesty which the Levites had not for they could not come nigh to offer any thing to him no more than the rest of the Israelites but were employed in inferior Services about the Tabernacle that the Priests might wholly attend to the Service of God at the Altar Verse 4 Ver. 4. And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD c. A little after their Consecration X Lev. 1 c. And they had no Children Which is here recorded that all Posterity might know there were none to be admitted to the Office of Priesthood but such as could derive their Genealogy from Eleazar or Ithamar If the other had left any Sons they would have inherited their Father's Office before Eleazar as Maimonides observes out of Siphre See Schickard his Jus Regium Cap. VI. Theorem XX. And Eleazar and Ithamar ministred in the Priests Office in the sight of their Father The LXX rightly translate it together with their Father Who was the High Priest and they Lower Priests under him And so were all their Sons which it is likely they had in good number For they are appointed v. 38. for the guard of the Tabernacle towards the East And thus the Gemara Hieorosol in the Title concerning Fasting saith That Moses appointed VIII Classes of Priests four of the Family of Eleazar and as many of Ithamar which continued till the time of Samuel the Prophet and David who admitted many more See Selden de Success in Pontif. Cap. I. Ver. 5. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying Now he gives order about the rest of the Tribe of Levi who had been omitted in the late Muster Verse 5 Ver. 6. Bring the Tribe of Levi near and present Verse 6 them They had consecrated themselves to God by a noble Act mentioned XXXII Exod. 29. Which procured them this Blessing to be presented to God and consecrated to him in a solemn manner for such Services as he should assign
the whole number of Males descended from Kohath compare this with III. 28. there was a fourth part and better that were fit for Service Ver. 37. These were they that were numbred of the Families of the Kohathites all that might do Service in the Tabernacle Such Service as is particularly mentioned from v. 4. to v. 16. Verse 37 Ver. 38. And these are they that were numbred of the Verse 38 Sons of Gershon c. He proceeds in the same order to number them which he observed in giving them their Charge beginning with the Children of the second Son of Levi and then going back to the eldest Ver. 39. From thirty years old and upward c. Verse 39 This Verse is the very same with 35. Ver. 40. Two thousand and six hundred and thirty Verse 40 A third part and little more of their Males were fit for Service Compare this with III. 22. Ver. 41. These are they that were numbred of the Families Verse 41 of the Sons of Gershon of all that might do Service in the Tabernacle c. Such Service as is described from v. 24. to v. 29. Ver. 42 43. These two Verses are the same with Verse 42. 43. v. 38 39. Ver. 44. Even those that were numbred of them after Verse 44 their Families were three thousand and two hundred It is very remarkable the Descendants from the youngest Son of Levi III. 17. which had the fewest Males in it of a Month old and upward had the most robust Men fit for Service For here are above half compare this with III. 34. of the whole number of Males grown up to Thirty Years of Age. Which was a singular Providence the heaviest Burden lying upon them who were to carry the Boards c. of the Tabernacle Not indeed upon their shoulders but in Waggons which they were to load after they had taken them down and unload when they were to set them up again and for that reason had more Waggons allowed them than their Brethren the Gershonites VII 7 8. Verse 45 Ver. 45. These are those c. whom Moses and Aaron numbred Who were principally employed in this business According to the Word of the LORD by the hand of Moses To whom the Command is expresly directed v. 21. Verse 46 Ver. 46. All those that were numbred of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron and the Chief of Israel numbred For they took in others to their assistance v. 34. which is here repeated to show that there was no fraud in the business there being Witnesses of every Tribe that they proceeded impartially and did not favour the Levites who were their Brethren Verse 47 Ver. 47. Every one that came to do the Service of the Ministry and the Service of the Burden in the Tabernacle c. The first of these the Service of the Ministry one would think related to their serving the Priest when the Tabernacle was standing and the later the Service of the Burden to their carrying the Tabernacle when it was taken down and removed and so I expounded those words v. 24. But he mentioning here only those that were numbred from Thirty Years old I think upon further consideration that there is no regard in these Expressions to the Service they did to the Priests in the Tabernacle unto which they were admitted at Twenty five Years old See v. 3. but only to the Service mentioned here in this Chapter which relates altogether to the taking down and carrying the Tabernacle And therefore these must be lookt upon as two Phrases for the same thing the former of which is not exactly translated for there is nothing of Ministry in the Hebrew but the words are Every one that cometh to serve the Service of the Service and the Service of the Burden or Carriage For it is the same word which being joyned with work we translate servile XXIII Lev. 7. and other places Ver. 48. Eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore Verse 48 If the three Sums mentioned v. 36 40 44. be put together they amount exactly to this Sum in the whole Ver. 49. According to the Commandment of the Verse 49 LORD they were numbred by the hand of Moses By the assistance of Aaron and others v. I 34 46. Every one according to his Service and according to his Burden I observed before v. 47. that Service and Burden are two Expressions of the same thing For though the Sons of Kohath had the noblest part of the Work yet their Employment is called both a Service and a Burden v. 19. as that of the Gershonites is v. 24. For which Service all the Tithes of the Country of Canaan were given to them and continued to be theirs when this kind of Service ceased as it did when the Temple was built For then there were no Burdens to be carried on their shoulders as Josiah speaks 2 Chron. XXXV 3. but their Duty was changed even by David before the Building of the Temple who made them Singers and Keepers of the Treasury as well as Porters at the Gates of God's House and likewise Judges and other Officers in the Country as we read in 1 Chron. XXVI But the alteration in their Service made no alteration in the Wages allotted to them for they still enjoyed all the Tithes Thus were they numbred of him as the LORD commanded Moses This is so often repeated v. 37 41 45. that all Posterity might reverence these Ordinances as Divine Institutions and not merely Humane Appointments And so we are to look upon all these Laws as wise Orders made by the Soveraign of the World for the better Government of that People whom he had taken for his own peculiar And it argues a very profane Spirit in those as Conr. Pellicanus here observes who can admire and praise Ovid de Fastis and such like Books and have no regard at all if they do not ridicule them to these Sacred Writings which are of such venerable Antiquity CHAP. V. Chapter V Verse 1 Ver. 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying It is not said when this was spoken which here follows but it 's likely immediately after the foregoing Commandments upon which it hath some dependance Verse 2 Ver. 2. Command the Children of Israel that they put out of the Camp every Leper and every one that hath an Issue and whosoever is defiled by the dead There were three Camps as Maimonides and a great many other mentioned by Mr. Selden observes L. II. de Synedr cap. I. n. 5. the Camp of the SCHECHINAH or of the LORD viz. the Sanctuary with its Courts which are called the Tents of the LORD 1 Chron. XXXI 2. And next the Camp of the Levites who with Aaron and his Sons made a Camp about the Tabernacle Chapter III. of this Book and then the Camp of Israel Chapter II. which incompassed them all Answerable to these when the Temple was built they reckoned the Temple it self from the East-Gate to be the Camp of
And the Hangings of the Court See Verse 26 XXVII Exod. 9. And the Curtain for the Door of the Court XXVI Exod 16. Which is by the Tabernacle and by the Altar round about Or as the Hebrew particle al may be translated is over or upon the Tabernacle c. That is this Curtain at the Door and the Hangings of the Court compassed the Tabernacle and the Altar of Burnt-offerings which stood at the Door of it XL Exod. 19. round about so that they were not exposed to common fight For these Gershonites had nothing to do with the Altar it self which was the Charge of the Kohathites v. 31. And the Cords of it This seems to refer not merely to the Curtain for the Door of the Court but to all that went before viz. the Cords whereby those Hangings were stretched out and fastned by Pins to the Wood-work of the Tabernacle For the Cords of that belonged to the Custody of the Sons of Merari v. 37. and we find Pins and Cords as well for the Tabernacle that is the Hangings as for the Court i. e. the Boards c. XXXV Exod. 18. For all the Service thereof Of this part of the House of God as appears from v. 31 and 36. where this is repeated with respect to the other parts of it Verse 27 Ver. 27. And of Kohath was the Family of the Amramites c. He was the second Son of Levi and had as many more Families sprung from him as from the Eldest among which was the Family of the Amramites of which were Moses and Aaron Verse 28 Ver. 28. In the number of all the Males c. Though there were four Families of the Kohathites and but two of the Gershonites yet the latter were as numerous as they within Eleven hundred Keeping the Charge of the Sanctuary Of what belonged to the holy Place which was committed to their Charge as it follows afterward and they were instructed in it betimes Verse 29 Ver. 29. The Families of the Sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the Tabernacle southward Between the Tabernacle ond the Standard of Reuben II. 10. Verse 30 Ver. 30. And the Chief of the House of the Father of the Families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the Son of Vzziel There was a Commander in Chief appointed over this Body of the Levites who was chosen out of the youngest Family of the Kohathites But it is observable there were no Standards belonging to any of these Bodies they being designed for other Service and not for War Ver. 31. And their Charge shall be the Ark and the Verse 31 Table and the Candlestick The Sanctuary as was said before v. 28. being committed to their Custody the Particulars are here mentioned which were the most precious of all the holy Things With which the Kohathites had the honour to be intrusted though a younger Family than those descended from Gershon because Moses and Aaron were of it being of the Family of the Amramites Which is the reason why the Kohathites are reckoned first in the next Chapter v. 2. and that of the XLVIII Cities given to the Levites by Joshua almost half of them fell to their Families XXI Josh 4 5. The Altars Both the Altar of Burnt-offerings and the Altar of Incense And the Vessels of the Sanctuary wherewith they i. e. the Priests minister See XXV Exod. 29. XXXVII 16. And the hanging That is the Vail before the most Holy Place for all other Hangings were under the care of the Gershonites v. 25 26. wherein the Ark was wrapt when they carried it IV. 5. And all the Service thereof Whatsoever belonged to this part of God's House See v. 26. and the Particulars are mentioned in the next Chapter v. 7 9 14. Ver. 32. And Eleazar the Son of Aaron shall be chief Verse 32 over the Chief of the Levites There was one Officer in chief set over each of these great Families of the Gershonites v. 24. of the Kohathites v. 30. and the Merarites v. 35. And over all these Chiefs there is now appointed a supreme Chief who was to govern them as they governed those under them and that was Eleazar who was more than a Levite being the eldest Son of Aaron the High Priest And have the over-sight of them that keep the charge of the Sanctuary But more particularly Eleazar was to super-vise those that had the Sanctuary under their care That is all the Rohathites and Elizaphan their chief v. 20. Verse 33 34. Ver. 33 34. Of Merari was the Family of the Mahlites and the Family of the Mushites c. Nothing is observable of these but that they were the fewest in number being thirteen hundred less than the Children of Gershon v. 22. Verse 35 Ver. 35. These shall pitch on the side of the Tabernacle Northward Opposite to the Kohathites between the Standard of Dan and the Sanctuary II. 25. Verse 36 Ver. 36. And under the Custody and Charge of the Sons of Merari shall be the Boards of the Tabernacle c. Concerning all the things mentioned in this and in the next Verse See XXVI Exod. 15 16 c. XXVII 10 11 12 c. and the next Chapter of this Book v. 31 32. Verse 37 Ver. 37. And their Cords These are different from those before mentioned v. 27. as I noted there Verse 38 Ver. 38. But those that encamp before the Tabernacle towards the East Where the Entrance into it was Even before the Tabernacle of the Congregation Eastward He would have this Station observed as much excelling the rest Shall be Moses and Aaron and his Sons There were but three Bodies of the Levites descended from the three Sons of Levi v. 1. and therefore none left to guard this side of the Tabernacle but Moses and Aaron and their Families who lay between the Standard of Judah and the Tabernacle see Chap. II. v. 3. which was the most honourable Post as I there noted Where the Priests were with great reason placed together with the chief Governor of all Moses because they were to guard the Holy Place that none might go into it but themselves Keeping the charge of the Sanctuary Of the Entrance into it For the charge of the Children of Israel Which it concerned every one of the Children of Israel should be kept sacred See v. 7. And the Stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to Death No Man that was not of the House of Aaron though a Levite was upon the peril of his life to enter into the Sanctuary Of which they had the charge See v. 10. Ver. 39. All that were numbred of the Levites which Verse 39 Moses and Aaron numbred at the Commandment of the LORD This looks like a Contradiction to the Observation I made v. 14.16 But Aaron's numbring here in all Probability is only his agreeing that this was a true Account which Moses took of the Tribe of Levi. For Moses still continues to be alone concerned in numbring the
one of the First-born to come and put in his Hand and draw out a Schedule And to him that drew out one of the former sort he said a Levite hath redeemed thee but to him that drew out one of the latter he said pay thy Price And thus they tell the Story also in the Gemara Babylon Tit. Sanhedrin Which is probable enough unless we suppose the Congregation to have redeemed the Two hundred seventy three First-born out of a common Stock which was a shorter way but not so Divine as the other Verse 48 Ver. 48. And thou shalt give the Money wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed unto Aaron and to his Sons Which was but reasonable because the Levites being given to them by God v. 6 7. the Money that was paid to make up what was wanting in their proportion to the First-born belonged to them likewise Verse 49 Ver. 49. And Moses took the Redemption-Money of them that were over and above To whom the Lot fell having five Shekels written upon it Them that were redeemed by the Levites The First-born were redeemed by the Levites as far as their number would reach the rest who were more than the Levites were redeemed by Money Verse 50 Ver. 50. Of the First-born of the Children of Israel took he the Money a thousand three hundred and threescore and five Shekels Five times two hundred seventy and three make just this number Ver. 51. And Moses gave the Money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his Sons Which was a Rule observed in future Generations XVIII 15 c. According to the Word of the LORD as the LORD commanded Moses This is so oft repeated to show how faithful a Servant Moses was who did nothing but by the Divine order and omitted nothing that was commanded him CHAP. IV. Chapter IV Ver. 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses and Verse 1 unto Aaron saying They being both of them concerned to see this carefully executed he speaks to both and they took others to their Assistance v. 34 46. Ver. 2. Take the sum of the Sons of Kohath c. Verse 2 They are first mentioned being employed in the most honourable Work as I observed before III. 31. Ver. 3. From thirty years old and upward In this Verse 3 Work to which they are appointed they were not employed till they came to Thirty years of Age But they were admitted to attend at the Tabernacle and do other Service at the Age of Five and twenty as we read VIII 25. Which place the Jews in the Gemara Babylonica upon the Title Cholin reconcile with this after this manner They were admitted to learn their Duty at Five and twenty and to minister at Thirty And so Aben Ezra upon VIII Numb They were probationers and might do some service at Five and twenty years old but not do all For they might wait upon the Tabernacle but not bear the Ark. And that 's the exact truth they were admitted to minister to the Priests at Five and twenty but were not put upon this laborious work here mentioned till they had sufficient strength for it which was at Thirty years of Age when they were able to carry Burdens for by that word their work is described v. 15 19 24 31 47. For though some things which they were charged withal might be put into Waggons yet the Ark and the most holy Things were to be carried upon their Shoulders though they march'd never so far v. 15. and VII 9. When the Ark indeed was settled in the Temple which was a fixed place and therefore was no longer to be carried up and down then as D. Kimchi observes upon 1 Chron. XXIII King David appointed them to enter upon their Office at Twenty years old there being also other great Work to be performed in his time for which they were fit at that Age. And so it continued even after their return from the Captivity of Babylon III Ezra 8. See Selden de Success in Pontificat L. II. cap. 4. and Lightfoot in his Temple Service Chap. VI. Sect. 1. Even until fifty years old Beyond which Age they were not bound to do any Service but only to minister with their Brethren at the Tabernacle VIII 25 26. All that enter into the Host. Or into the Warfare For their watching continually as a Guard about the Tabernacle III. 7 c. made them a sort of Militia who were encamped as appears by the foregoing Chapter about the Tabernacle for its Security Besides which there was other Work which might make their Service as laborious as a Soldier 's Life is and give it the name of entring into the Host which manner of speaking St. Paul uses unto Timothy I. 1 18. where he exhorts him to war a good warfare To do the work of the Tabernacle of the Congregation They did not perform any Work in it but about it such as here follows unless we understand by the Tabernacle the outward Court into which they went to minister unto the Priests Ver. 4. This shall be the Service of the Sons of Kohath Verse 4 in the Tabernacle of the Congregation about the most holy things The next Verses explain what this Service was Or if the word about in the latter end of the Verse were quite left out the sence would be more clear This shall be the Service of the Sons of Kohath c. the most holy Things that is the Ark as Aben Ezra expounds it And his Interpretation may be justified from v. 19 and 20. in the latter of which it is called the holy and in the former the holy of holies as it is here in the Hebrew For it was the most holy of all other holy things in the Tabernacle and gave the Name to the place where it stood of holy of holies or the most holy place And this made the Service of the Kohathites the most honourable of all other and is the reason they are mentioned first Ver. 5. When the Camp setteth forward Which it Verse 5 did not do till the Cloud was taken up and removed from off the Tabernacle XL Exod. 36 37. X Numb 11. Aaron shall come and his Sons While the Cloud rested upon the Tabernacle and the Glory of the LORD filled the House none but Aaron might come into the most Holy Place where the Ark was and that but on one day in the year and then after he had filled it with Incense which made a Cloud before the Mercy Seat which was the Covering of the Ark over which the SCHECHINAH was But that being removed in the Cloud when it was taken up from the Tabernacle not only Aaron but his Sons also might come into the most Holy Place without any Irreverence that which made it so holy viz. the Glory of the LORD being gone out of it for the present so that there was no danger in approaching to the Ark where it was wont to rest And they shall take down
had devoted them to him by laying their Hands on them v. 10. and Aaron had waved them as a Wave-offering to the LORD v. 11. Instead of such as open every Womb c. See III. 12 13. Verse 17 Ver. 17. For all the First-born of the Children of Israel are mine both Man and Beast c. XIII Exod. 2. Verse 18 Ver. 18. And I have taken the Levites for all the First-born of the Children of Israel By the exchange mentioned III. 2 13 45. Verse 19 Ver. 19. And I have given the Levites as a Gift to Aaron and to his Sons c. In the Hebrew the words are more emphatical I have given the Levites given c. That is the Levites which are given unto me v. 16. I have given unto Aaron and his Sons III. 9. To do the Service of the Children of Israel See III. 7. The Vulgar Latin translates it to serve me for the Children of Israel i. e. to do them Service by assisting the Priests in offering Sacrifice for the People In the Tabernacle of the Congregation See v. 15. And to make an Atonement for the Children of Israel Not by offering Sacrifice for that was the work of the Priests alone but by being offered themselves in the nature of an expiatory Sacrifice unto God as I observed before v. 10 and 12. For though they were not slain at the Altar as Sacrifices were yet they might expiate as the Scape-Goat did Which was sent away alive into the Wilderness after it had been presented unto the LORD as these Levites were XVI Levit. 7 10. That there be no Plague among the Children of Israel As there would have been if any Man had presumed to officiate in the House of God but such as were in this manner taken by himself to minister there When the Children of Israel come nigh unto the Sanctuary To worship God and to bring their Sacrifices to be offered at his Altar Ver. 20. And Moses and all the Congregation of Israel Verse 20 i. e. The Elders of the People v. 9 10. Did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites c. Separated them to God from the rest of the Israelites as he had directed v. 14. Ver. 21. And the Levites were purified and they Verse 21 washed their Clothes According to the order given v. 7. And Aaron offered them an Offering before the LORD Or rather Waved them a Wave-offering c. As I observed v. 11. To which may be added That it is likely some of the Levites were thus waved in the name of all the rest for there being Two and twenty thousand of them III. 39. one cannot well conceive how they should be every one thus offered And Aaron made an Atonement for them to cleanse them See v. 12. Ver. 22. And after that the Levites went in to do Verse 22 their Service in the Tabernacle of the Congregation According to the Directions given v. 15. Before Aaron and before his Sons In their presence and by their direction Ver. 23. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying Verse 23 After the foregoing Commands he gave him some further Instructions Ver. 24. This it is that belongeth unto the Levites Add this to what hath been said about them From twenty and five years old and upward they shall Verse 24 go in Then they might begin to take the Custody of the Tabernacle upon them and to be Door-keepers to keep out Strangers and such as were unclean but not to load the Wagons and do such like work of burden till they were thirty years of Age. See IV. 3. To wait upon the Service of the Tabernacle c. In the Hebrew the words are To war the warfare of the Tabernacle Which is a Phrase often used before IV. 3 23 c. and there applied to those that carried the Tabernacle Which they might not do till thirty years of Age but might go in to learn at five and twenty as some reconcile these two But Abarbinel notes That there is nothing said of their learning but of their Service or Ministry and therefore at twenty five years old they began that part of the Service which consisted in the Custody of the Tabernacle Verse 25 Ver. 25. And from the Age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the Service thereof In the Hebrew Shall return from the warfare of their Service i. e. be discharged from their Function and no longer burdened with any laborious work as that of carrying the Tabernacle was And shall serve no more In such manner of work Verse 26 Ver. 26. But shall minister with their Brethren This Ministry is explained in the following words To keep the charge that is to take care of the Tabernacle unto which they were to be a Guard In the Tabernacle of the Congregation See IV. 3. And shall do no Service In the Hebrew Serve no Service that is do no laborious work as was said before their Age beginning to require ease and rest and therefore no Ministry was required of them but what they might well perform without pains and labour Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge Appoint them their Ministries according to these Rules which were observed after the Ark of God was settled and there was no occasion to remove it any more When David therefore instead of carrying the Ark and the Tabernacle for which there was then no further occasion appointed them to be Singers in the Temple and Porters c. For which they were fit at twenty years of Age but continued their Employment no longer than till fifty as the Jews tell us when their Voice began to decay Whence that Observation of Abarbinel upon this very Chapter Age makes Levites unfit for Service not Blemishes in their Bodies but Priests are unfit by Blemishes in their Bodies not by Age. For Priests continued their Service as long as they lived and though they did not begin it till twenty years of Age yet no Law of God forbad them to begin sooner CHAP. IX Chapter IX Verse 1 Ver. 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai Or the LORD had spoken for he relates now what was done a Month ago but not recorded till now for a special reason Which was that God having commanded them in the Month before this to keep the Passover some Persons were unprepared for it and thereupon a question arose What Course they should take for they were much troubled they could not do as their Brethren did Which produced a new Command from God that they should keep the Passover in this second Month of the first Year after they came out of Egypt This Moses being to give an account of as a matter of great importance he doth it in the proper place for it when he was relating what things were done in this Month I. 1. and deferred the mention of keeping the Passover in the first Month till he could speak
Provocations for their number was within Eighteen hundred and twenty as many as they were at their last muster and partly that the Land they were now going to possess might be the more easily divided among the Tribes in just and equal proportions From twenty years old and upwards throughout their Father's house all that are able to go to war in Israel All this is explained in the first Chapter v. 2 3. Verse 3 Ver. 3. And Moses and Eleazar the Priest spake with them With the Heads of the several Tribes who it is likely were to assist in this numbring as they did in the former I Numb 4 16 17. In the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho saying See XXII 1. Verse 4 Ver. 4. Take the Sum of the People These words are not in the Hebrew but some words of this kind are to be understood that they spake with them about numbring the People from twenty years old and upwards as it here follows As the LORD commanded Moses and the Children of Israel which went forth out of the Land of Egypt He bad them proceed according to the directions God had formerly given in the second month of the second year after they came out of Egypt I Numb 1. Verse 5 6. Ver. 5 6. Reuben the eldest Son of Jacob. This numbring being performed as the former was Moses uses more concise Language in the account he gives of it as he doth in the foregoing verse and in this and those that follow Where he sets down the number of every Tribe and the Families from whence they sprung without saying Those that were numbred of the Tribe of Reuben were c. as he doth I Numb 21 c. The Children of Hanock of whom came the Family of the Hanochites c. The four Sons of Reuben whose Families here follow are mentioned both in Genesis XLVI 9. and in Exodus VI. 14. and are here mentioned again because he intends to set down the Names both of the Children and Grand-children of one of his Sons which he did not before Ver. 7. These are the Families of the Reubenites Verse 7 The word we translate Families rather signifies Nations Gentes or Kindreds as we translate it XXII Psal 27. For all that sprung from those LXX Persons who came with Jacob into Egypt are called by this name of Mispecoth which the LXX here translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 People Which were divided into Houses as the Hebrews call them and those Houses into particular Persons This is plain from VII Josh 14. where for the discovery of him that had sinned in the accursed Thing God commanded the Israelites to be brought by their Tribes and then that Tribe by the Families belonging to it and that Family which the LORD took by Housholds and that Houshold Man by Man And they that were numbred of them were forty and three thousand and seven hundred and thirty This being compared with I Numb 21. it appears this Tribe was less than it was eight and thirty years ago by near three thousand Men For some whole Housholds had been destroyed as it follows v. 9. Ver. 8. And the Sons of Pallu Eliab He speaks Verse 8 in the Plural Number when there was but one Son of Pallu which is very usual in the Scripture Language See XIX Gen. 29. XXI 7. XLVI 7. and in this very Chapter v. 42. Eliab He doth not say from him came the Family of the Eliabites for he made only an Houshold in the Family as we call it of the Palluites Verse 9 Ver. 9. And the Sons of Eliab Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram The same must be observed of these that Families did not spring from them but they were Housholds belonging to the Family of the Palluites This is that Dathan and Abiram They are here again mentioned partly to set a new Brand upon them for their insolent Rebellion against Moses and partly to show how the Reubenites came to be so diminished Famous in the Congregation See XVI 2. Who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah They joyned with Korah who seems to have been the chief Incendiary For he is mentioned first in the XVI 1. When they strove against the LORD Who had appointed Aaron alone to be the High-Priest and his Sons to Minister in the Priest's Office which these Men would have usurped XVI 11. where it is said expresly They were gathered together against the LORD Verse 10 Ver. 10. And the Earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah These words seem to import that Korah was swallowed up with Dathan and Abiram as I have observed upon XVI 32. See there But it must be acknowledged that these words may receive another Interpretation and that very natural in this manner The Earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up viz. Dathan and Abiram and the rest mentioned XVI 32. and then the next words veeth Korah may be thus translated and as for Korah who was the great Incendiary when that Company died i. e. he died when the Company which offered Incense died for there is in many places a defect of a word to be supplyed from the word that follows This is a very easie construction and agrees with the Psalmist CVI. 17. where he mentions only Dathan and Abiram's Company as swallowed up and then adds v. 18. A fire was kindled in their Company i. e. in the other Company of Rebels and the flame burnt up the wicked viz. Korah and those that were with him What time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men XVI 35. If the Interpretation now mentioned of the foregoing words be admitted then Korah must be added to the number of the Two hundred and fifty Men which Moses takes occasion to explain in this place And they became a sign A Monument of God's displeasure against those that affront his Ministers to give warning unto all Posterity not to follow their pernitious Courses Ver. 11. Notwithstanding the Children of Korah died Verse 11 not As those of Dathan and Abiram did but their Family continued famous in David's time For perhaps they left their Father and departed from the Tents of those wicked Men as Moses by God's command exhorted the Congreation XVI 24 26. and they obeyed v. 27. Ver. 12 13. The Sons of Simeon after their Families Verse 12 13. c. His Sons reckoned up here just as they are XLVI Gen. 10. and VI Exod. 15. only one of them viz. Ohad is here omitted because either he had no Children or his Family was extinct before this time The first of them also viz. Nemuel is there called Jemuel and Jachin in 1 Chron. IV. 24. is called Jarib there being some reason in process of time for such alterations Verse 14 Ver. 14. These are the Families of the Simeonites twenty and two thousand and two hundred There was a wonderful decrease of this Tribe in the space of thirty and eight years For they were fewer
in Egypt See this there explained And she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their Sister Who seems to have been born before Moses if not before Aaron II Exod. 4. Ver. 60. And unto Aaron was born Nadab and Abihu Eleazar and Ithamar VI Exod. 23. where he tells the name of their Mother Ver. 61. And Nadab and Abihu died when they offered Verse 60 strange Fire before the LORD See X Lev. 2. Verse 61 and the third Chapter of this Book v. 4. But Eleazar who was the eldest next to them was now alive and made High-Priest and it is likely Ithamar also being under Twenty years old when the People murmured upon the Report of the Spies and so not cut off with that wicked Generation XVI 29. All this is here recounted to show that the Tribe of Levi was preserved by the blessing of God as well as the rest of the Israelites though they were to have no Inheritance in the Land of Canaan Ver. 62. And those that were numbred of them were Verse 62 twenty and three thousand c. So they were a thousand more than at the last numbring III. 39. For they were not numbred among the Children of Israel But by themselves for the reason following Because there was no Inheritance given them among the Children of Israel For God was their Inheritance as he told them XVIII 20 c. And therefore they were ordered not to be numbred Thirty eight years ago no more than now I Numb 49 c. The Jews are something curious in their Observations upon these words among or in the midst of the Children of Israel from whence they conclude that the Levites might have Lands out of the Bounds of the Land of Canaan though not within it among their Brethren Ver. 63. These are they that were numbred by Moseâ— Verse 63 and Eleazar the Priest who numbred the Children of Israel in the plains of Moab c. By a special command of God v. 1 2 c. Ver. 64. But among these there was not a Man of them whom Moses and Aaron the Priest numbred when they numbred the Children of Israel in the Wilderness of Verse 64 Sinai See the first Chapter of this Book v. 1 2 c. so exactly were God's Threatnings fulfilled as well as his Promises Chapter XXVII Verse 65 Ver. 65. For the LORD had said of them they shall surely die in the Wilderness He had pronounced this irreversible Sentence upon the whole Congregation XIV 23 28 29. where he swears they should not enter into the Land of Canaan because they had brought or entertained an evil report of it See also II Deut. 14 15. And there was not left a Man of them save Caleb the Son of Jephunneh and Joshua the Son of Nun. Whom God promised to spare because they were of another Spirit XV. 24 30 38. And their survival was as remarkable an instance of the truth of God's word as the Death of all the rest CHAP. XXVII Verse 1 Ver. 1. THEN came the Daughters of Zelophehad the Son of Hepher c. Who are mentioned before XXVI 33. just as they are here only their Genealogy is here more fully set out that their Father was the Grandson of Manasseh the Son of Joseph from whom he was lineally descended but left no Sons behind him Now these young Women hearing Moses say as he doth in the foregoing Chapter that the LORD commanded the Land of Canaan should be divided among those that were now numbred and observing that only Males from Twenty years old were numbred v. 2. presently apprehended that they being Females were excluded from having any Inheritance among the Israelites and so the Family of the Hepherites XXVI 32. would be extinguished This was the ground of what follows Whereby it appears that every body was immediately acquainted with the Laws which Moses received from God and that there was a faithful Register kept of every one that was born in every Family and Tribe to prevent all Disputes about the true Heirs to Mens Estates Ver. 2. And they stood before Moses c. To represent Verse 2 before him and the rest of the Judges who were now assembled the Case which I have mentioned Before Moses and Eleazar the Priest and before the Princes and all the Congregation These made up the greatest Court of Judicature that at any time sate For by Princes are meant either the Heads of the Tribes or the highest of the Judges appointed XVIII Exod. called the Heads of the People v. 25. And by all the Congregation is meant the LXX Elders mentioned in this Book XI 24. For they are called col ha edah the whole Congregation and sometimes only Edah the Congregation as R. Solomon observes See Bertram de Republ. Jud. p. 72. Now at the Head of all these sat Moses and next to him Eleazar the Priest By the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation Near to which this august Assembly it is likely was wont to sit when they met together that Moses might presently if there were occasion go and consult with God himself in any difficult matter that came before them And thus Mr. Selden observes out of Maimonides that in future times the great Sanhedrim followed the Tabernacle sitting sometimes in one place sometimes in another according as that was settled As after they came to Canaan it was first at Shiloh then at Mizpeh and afterwards at Gilgal Nob Gibeon the House of Obed-Edom till at last it was fixed in Jerusalem Lib. II. de Synedr cap. 15. n. 4. As concerning that which the Talmudists say concerning the proceedings in this case of Zelophehad's Daughters nothing certain can be determined But they give this account of it That they first brought this Cause into the Courts appointed by the advice of Jethro XVIII Exod. 21. and began with the Rulers of ten who knowing not what to say to them they went to those of fifty and from thence to the Centurions and at last to the Chiliarchs None of which durst adventure to give Judgment but referred the Cause by reason of its difficulty to Moses who brought it to the SCHECHINAH as they speak i. e. to the Divine Majesty Seld. ib. cap. 16. n. 1. Verse 3 Ver. 3. Saying Our Father died in the Wilderness Among the rest mentioned v. 64 65. of the foregoing Chapter They seem to have drawn up their Cause in the form of a Petition or as Mr. Selden speaks in the Legal Phrase presented a Libel to the Court containing the intire matter of their Petition and that artificially enough And he was not one of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the Company of Korah They use the very words of Moses concerning that rebellious Company XVI 11. And instance in this Sin rather than any other either to show that their Father had a due regard to the Authority of Moses who they hoped therefore would be the more favourable to his Posterity or
Children of the two Hand-maids in the four following Verses Where v. 12. Dan is set first he being the First-born of Bilhah whom Rachel gave Jacob for his Wife XXX Gen. 5. But then the next that follow are not reckoned according to the order of their Birth for Naphtali who was born next is placed the last and the youngest Son of Zilpah placed before the eldest For which we cannot now discern the reason though it is likely it was upon the account of some Pre-eminence or other which they had gained as Ephraim the youngest Son of Joseph is mentioned before Manasseh the eldest v. 10. because Jacob had given him the precedence when he blessed them before his Death XLVIII 19. Verse 6 Ver. 6. Of Simeon Shelumiel the Son of Zurishaddai There is less to be observed concerning the Names of these great Men of each Tribe for whatsoever the import of them may be in the Hebrew Language which Chytraeus and others have endeavoured to make out it signifies nothing to us Only most of them show how much God was in the Thoughts of those who imposed these Names on their Children for Elizur signifies my God the Rock and Shelumiel is as much as God my Peace or God my Rewarder and Zurishaddai my Rock Omnipotent or All-sufficient c. Verse 14 Ver. 14. The Son of Deuel So he is called also VII 42. and yet in the second Chapter v. 14. he is called the Son of Reuel For these two Letters Daleth and Resch are very often changed the one for the other As Ripath X Gen. 3. is called Dipath 1 Chron. I. 6. As on the other hand Dodanim X Gen. 4. is called Rodanim 1 Chron. I. 7. And it is to no purpose to heap up more Examples there are of this Verse 16 Ver. 16. These were the renowned of the Congregation The Hebrew word Keruim signifies properly Men called or named that is who had the Honour to be named by God to this Employment which made them more noble than they were before But without this respect to their Nomination by God this word signifies in general famous Men as we translate it XVI 2. XXVI 9. or renowned XXIII Ezek. 23. accordingly the vulgar translates it most noble Princes of the Tribes of their Fathers As appears more plainly from the noble Offerings which each of them made for the Dedication of the Altar Chap. VII Heads of thousands in Israel Men not only of great Authority such as Jethro advised Moses to take to his Aid in governing the People XVIII Exod. 21. but the highest of that Rank being chief Commanders over all the Thousands that were in their several Tribes under whom no doubt were many inferiour Officers of great account For so all People have found it necessary to submit themselves to the Government of some Supreme Power with several subordinate Rulers under it In which Israel excelled all other Nations being under the Government of God himself who appointed Moses immediately under him with several others as we here find to assist him For it is truly observed by Xenophon that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nothing is either so profitable for Men or so becoming as good Order And on the contrary nothing so mischievous or unseemly as Confusion Now Order is nothing else but the apt Disposition of every thing in its proper place for certain Ends and Uses Accordingly among Men nothing is more necessary than that every one should know and keep his place in that Degree and Rank that belongs to him As was here ordered by God for the Preservation and good Government of his People Ver. 17. And Moses and Aaron took these Men. To Verse 17 be their Associates in the numbering of the People Which are expressed by their Names Whom God himself marked out by name to be joined with them For as People cannot be preserved without Order so that cannot be preserved without Rulers and Governors and they will signifie nothing if their Authority be not reverenced and nothing can gain them such Reverence as a particular Designation by God to their Office Verse 18 Ver. 18. And they assembled all the Congregation together on the first Day of the second Month. They immediately executed their Commission on the same day they received it v. 1. summoning all the People to appear before them And they declared their Pedigrees The People instantly obeyed and every one showed from whom he was descended or it may refer to Moses and Aaron and the rest who set down every Man 's Original in the publick Tables After their Families by the house of their Fathers c. First they showed of what Family they were and then of what House in that Family and then the Name of every Person in that House was given in See v. 2. Such a kind of Distinction Cecrops made in Attica when he numbered the People whom he divided into four Tribes which in the days of Alcmaeon their last King were increased into ten every one of which had several People in it which were like the Families in Israel there being no less than ten or eleven People in that Tribe which was called after his own Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 See Meursius L. I. de Reg. Athen. cap. 7. Lib. II. cap. X. And every one knows how Rome at the first had three Tribes instituted by Romulus which were divided into ten Courts if I may so call them and those into certain Families which in after-times were increased into Five and thirty Tribes according to the Regions of the City Ver. 19. As the LORD commanded Moses so he Verse 19 numbered them With the assistance of the forenamed Persons In the Wilderness of Sinai Before they removed from Sinai which being upon the Twentieth Day of this Month X. 11. they finished this Work in so many Days or less Ver. 20. And the Children of Reuben Israels eldest Verse 20 Son by their Generations c. The word Generations seems to be larger than Families as that is than Houses comprehending every Family in that Tribe as Families comprehend every Houshold and Houshold comprehends every Person therein So the meaning is all that were descended from Reuben according to their several Families and Houses in those Families and Persons in those Houses Ver. 21. Those that were numbred of them c. were Verse 21 forty and six thousand and five hundred Some have observed that this Tribe was one of those who had the smallest number of Men in it in which they think was fulfilled the Prophecy of Jacob who foretold that Reuben should not excel XLIX Gen. 4. But I do not look upon this as solid for there were several Tribes who all this time had fewer Persons in it than this Particularly the Children of Joseph whom Jacob compared to a fruitful Bough XLIX Gen. 22. were very much fewer See below v. 33 35. Gad also Benjamin and Asher were fewer in number than Reuben who in this regard excelled Five Tribes
Ver. 23. Of the Tribe of Simeon were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred He had six Children when they went down into Egypt and Reuben but Verse 23 four which is a plain reason of the greater increase of this Tribe than the former Verse 24 Ver. 24. Of the Children of Gad c. It is probable that this Tribe is therefore mentioned next though descended from an Hand-maid because they were to encamp and march together with Simeon under the Standard of Reuben as is ordered in the next Chapter v. 14. Verse 25 Ver. 25. Of the Tribe of Gad were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty He had more Sons than Simeon XLVI Gen. 10 16. when they came out of Egypt and yet fewer descended from him by many Thousands than there did from Simeon of which the Reason doth not appear Verse 27 Ver. 27. Of the Tribe of Judah were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred It may be justly thought that Jacob's Prophecy concerning the power and strength of this Tribe XLIX Gen. 8 c. began already to be fulfilled they being far more numerous than any other Verse 28 Ver. 28. Of the Tribe of Issachar c. There is a plain account why this Tribe and Zebulun are mentioned next to Judah because they two marched under his Standard II. 4 5 7. It may be observed also that these two Tribes were more numerous than many other who had more Children when they came out of Egypt Verse 32 Ver. 32. Of the Children of Ephraim He had the preheminence given him to Manasseh long ago XLVIII Gen. 19. and therefore is here placed before him Ver. 33. Of the Tribe of Ephraim were forty thousand and five hundred Though they were hitherto but few in comparison with some other Tribes yet in this the Prophecy of Jacob was fulfilled XLVIII Verse 33 Gen. 19 20. that they were more fruitful than Manasseh there being above Eight thousand Persons more in this Tribe than in the other v. 35. Ver. 35. Of Manasseh were thirty and two thousand Verse 35 and two hundred This was now the smallest Tribe but before they got to Canaan they grew very numerous being increased above Twenty thousand XXVI 34. Ver. 37. Of the Tribe of Benjamin were thirty five Verse 37 thousand and four hundred Though Benjamin had more Children than any of the rest of his Brethren when they went down into Egypt XLVI Gen. 21. where it appears he had ten Sons yet his Tribe had the fewest Men in it of all other except Manasseh Ver. 39. Of Dan were threescore and two thousand Verse 39 and seven hundred On the contrary Dan who had but one Son when they went down into Egypt XLVI Gen. 23. grew to a greater Number than any other Tribe except Judah So variously did the Divine Providence work in fulfilling the Promise to Abraham of multiplying his Seed Ver. 41. Of Asher were forty and one thousand and Verse 41 five hundred The growth of this Tribe was not proportionable to that of some other considering how many Children Asher had at their going down into Egypt But they increased near Twelve thousand more before they got out of the Wilderness XXVI 47. Ver. 43. Of Naphtali were fifty and three thousand and four hundred The great increase of this Tribe is alledged by Bochartus to justifie his Interpretation Verse 43 of XLIX Gen. 21. by altering the punctation of the words But I have there observed that Five other Tribes were more numerous than Naphtali when this account was taken of them Verse 44 Ver. 44. These are those that were numbred This is the account that was taken of the Number of Men in each Tribe Which Moses and Aaron numbred and the Princes of Israel being twelve Men. V. 3 4 c. Each one was for the House of his Fathers Who could the better judge to what Tribe every one belonged Verse 45 46. Ver. 45 46. So were all those that were numbred c. Six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty By which it appears there was not one Man dead since their last Numeration Seven Months ago when they were taxed for the Tabernacle For they were at that time just so many as are here mentioned XXXVIII Exod. 26. As for Nadab and Abihu they were of the Tribe of Levi who are not here reckon'd and the Man that was stoned for Blasphemy XXIV Lev. was not of Israel by the side of his Father Verse 47 Ver. 47. But the Levites after the Tribe of their Fathers were not numbred among them There was no account taken of them among the other Tribes as it is likely they were not comprehended in the former Number XXXVIII Exod. 26. being the Persons who took the account v. 21. and had before this consecrated themselves to the LORD XXXII 29. After the Tribe of their Fathers Is an Hebraism for the Fathers of their Tribe Expressing in short what is at large said of all the rest by their Generations after their Families by the House of their Fathers v. 20 22 24 c. Ver. 48. For the LORD had spoken unto Moses Verse 48 saying He had received an Order from God when he commanded him to number the People not to number them Which he sets down that it might not be thought he favoured them because he was of their Tribe and therefore exempted them from the Wars unto which all others were engaged Ver. 49. Only thou shalt not number the Tribe of Levi Verse 49 c. Because they were intended for another Service and therefore were to be numbred by themselves There were as stout and valiant Men in this Tribe as any other which appeared sufficiently when God's Honour was to be vindicated XXXII Exod. but God did not design them for the Wars of Canaan they having imployment enough in carrying and guarding the Tabernacle And from this Example the Heathen learnt to exempt all those who ministred to their Gods from all other Services particularly from the War Strabo notes Lib. IX Geograph this Custom to have been as old as Homer's time For in all his Catalogue there is no mention of any Ship that went against Troy from Alalcomenon because that City was Sacred to Minerva who is thence called by Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The same is observed by Caesar Lib. VI. of the ancient Druids that they were freed from the Wars and from Tribute also Which Priviledge St. Basil challenges as belonging to the Clergy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the ancient Law Epist. CCLXIX and S. Greg. Nazianzen doth the same in many places particularly by his Letter to Julianus Epist CLXVI Verse 50 Ver. 50. But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle This was their work to attend continually upon the House of God Of Testimony So it is called because the Ark of the Testimony was there for which it was principally made See XXXVIII Exod. 21. and what I have noted upon
them So this word bring near signifies to offer them unto God As they were VIII 10 11. Before Aaron the Priest In his presence That they may minister unto him Unto Aaron and the rest of the Priests who were the immediate Ministers of God and the Levites were given to minister unto them Which they did many ways especially while they remain'd in the Wilderness where they had a peculiar Charge which otherwise would have been incumbent on the Priests not only to guard the Tabernacle and keep a Watch night and day about it but also to take it down and to carry it when they removed and to set it up again when they rested as we read in the following part of this Chapter and in the next When they came into the Land of Canaan and were settled there they had less to do of this kind But as the Charge of the Tabernacle still lay upon them as it had done before so did other Works in the Courts of the LORD'S House and in the Chambers where they waited on the Priests which are particularly mentioned in 1 Chron. XXIII 28 29 c. And in David's time their Work was still more increased for he appointed them to be Singers in the House of the LORD and to play upon several sorts of Instruments 1 Chron. XXV which they did Morning and Evening 1 Chron. XXIII 30. Porters perhaps there were before who stood at the several Gates of the Tabernacle as afterward of the Temple and are said therein to minister in the House of the LORD 1 Chron. XXVI 12. as also Guards of the Treasury of God's House and of things dedicated to him v. 20. But as he increased the number of them so he settled them in their Courses that there might be a constant Attendance with greater ease As for those of them that were made Judges and Officers not only in Matters concerning the LORD but in the Service of the King as we read there 1 Chron. XXVI 29 30. it no more belongs to what is said of them here than what follows there v. 31. that there were found among them mighty Men of Valour See upon v. 10. Verse 7 Ver. 7. And they shall keep his Charge and the charge of the whole Congregation It highly concerned Aaron in particular and the whole Congregation in general that the Tabernacle should be well guarded And this was the Levites great business at present who took this Charge from off their hands by attending that Service which all of them were bound to perform Before the Tabernacle of the Congregation This exactly expresses in what their Ministry consisted which was not performed in the Tabernacle where the Priests only officiated in the Holy Place as the High Priest in the most Holy but before it in the External Part of it where they assisted the Priests in their Service To do the Service of the Tabernacle Such Service as I have mentioned before v. 6. Ver. 8. And they shall keep By guarding them and keeping a continual Watch about them Verse 8 All the Instruments of the Tabernacle of the Congregation Every thing belonging to it And the charge of the Children of Israel to do the Service of the Tabernacle By which Service at the Tabernacle they took upon them the Charge which otherwise was incumbent on the whole Congregation who were to take care that the holy Things were kept both safe and secure and also separate to the Sacred Uses to which they were appointed These words which are often repeated to do the Service of the Tabernacle are to be carefully noted because the Levites did not serve in the Tabernacle which belonged only to the Priests but served the Tabernacle by guarding it and taking it down and carrying it c. as was said before Ver. 9. And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron Verse 9 and to his Sons They were first presented unto God v. 6. and God bestowed them as a Gift upon the Priests See VIII 19. They are wholly given unto him out of the Children of Israel To attend upon the Priests and to obey their Orders for which they paid them nothing but they were to do it freely being given to them to be their Servants by God who paid them their Wages Ver. 10. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his Sons Verse 10 and they shall wait on their Priests Office Or thou shalt appoint them to wait on their Priesthood Which he had shown before was very different from the Levitical Office but to make them more mindful of their Dignity he repeats it again that Aaron and his Sons alone should officiate as Priests viz. in offering Sacrifice in setting the Bread upon the Holy Table looking after the Lights and burning Incense Which they were to perform in their own Persons and not appoint any others as their Deputies to do them for none of these things could be performed by the Levites Whose business it was to look after the fine Flour of which the Bread was made to prepare it and the Frankincense which was to be burnt and abundance of such like things which are particularly mentioned 1 Chron. IX 27 28 29 31 32. But they could not make the Anointing Oyl or the sweet Perfume mentioned XXX Exod. 23 34. for they were most holy and therefore the Priests only could compound them And the Stranger that cometh nigh By Stranger is meant any one though a Levite that was not of the Sons of Aaron who alone had the priviledge to approach unto God Shall be put to death God himself sent out a Fire to consume Korah and his Company who presumed to offer Incense being but bare Levites and not Priests Chap. XVI Verse 11 Ver. 11. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying To make the Matter more clear he further tells Moses the reason why he took the Levites from among the the Children of Israel to be his after a peculiar manner Verse 12 Ver. 12. And I behold I have taken the Levites from among the Children of Israel Take notice of the Reason why I have taken the Levites from among the rest of the Israelites v. 9. for it is by my Order and Appointment Instead of all the First-born that openeth the Matrix c. To make an exchange with them for all their First-born which I have heretofore challenged as my own and now take the Levites in their stead Therefore the Levites shall be mine As all the First-born were which now shall be theirs and the Levites be mine Ver. 13. Because all the First-born are mine By Verse 13 a special Right which is mentioned in the next words For on the day that I smote all the First-born in the Land of Egypt The Title whereby he laid a Claim to all the First-born was that great Miracle as R. Levi of Barcelona calls it which he wrought when he destroyed all the First-born of their Neighbours in Egypt and touched not one of theirs By which sparing Mercy he acquired
a just Right to them and by that solemn Dedication which he then commanded to be made of them unto his uses XIII Exod. 2 12 13. I hallowed unto me all the First-born in Israel c. He separated them unto himself by sparing them when he killed all other First-born but only theirs Mine they shall be Both by that Act of his own and by the Act of the Children of Israel whom he commanded to Sanctifie them to him XIII Exod. 2. XXII 29. they became God's By which it appears that he had not a peculiar Right in the First-born more than in any other of their Children till their coming out of Egypt And therefore the taking of the Levites to be his instead of the First-born is no Argument that the First-born had hitherto been the Priests who ministred unto God till this Exchange of them for the Levites So our learned Dr. Lightfoot seems to infer in his Notes upon this passage The First-born saith he had been Priests till the Consecration of the Levites but now that Function must be confined to that Tribe In which words with due respect be it spoken to that excellent Man's Labours there are several Mistakes For as the Priesthood was not now confined to this Tribe but to one Family in this Tribe that of Aaron so it was not confined to it upon this occasion but he and his Sons were Consecrated before this Exchange of the Levites for the First-born Who were now given to minister unto them but had nothing to do with the Priesthood no more than the First-born had for whom they were exchanged that peculiar Right which God had in the First-born being since their coming out of Egypt Upon all which Considerations we may look upon this Exchange as an Argument rather that the First-born were not Priests in former times than that they were as the Jews fancy and as many have suggested from this very taking of the Levites to be God's portion in their stead For so Menochius himself L. II. de Repub. Jud. cap. 1. asserts from this very place Jus Sacerdotum in Levitas translatum eos loco primogenitorum acceptos quibus hoc jus debebatur that the Right of Priests was transferred to the Levites and they were accepted in stead of the First-born to whom that Right belonged In which there is not a word of truth but only that the Levites were accepted instead of the First-born who had the same Right to the Priesthood that the Levites had that is none at all I am the LORD Who may take whom I please to be imployed in my Service and think it reasonable that those whom I spared when I slew the Egyptian First-born should be mine Ver. 14. And the LORD spake unto Moses There was some reason no doubt why Moses alone is commanded to take the number of the Levites upon this occasion as he alone did v. 16. when Aaron Verse 14 is joined with him in numbring the Israelites I. 3. and in numbring the Levites themselves who were fit for service IV. 2 41 45. nay the chief of the Israelites assisted therein v. 46. And it is most probable he alone was employed to take this account because Aaron was a party in it the Money that was to be paid for so many of the first-born as exceeded the number of the Levites being given to him and to his Sons v. 48. In the Wilderness of Sinai This Command immediately followed the other in the two preceding Chapters before they departed from the Wilderness of Sinai where they had been ever since God delivered the Law to them from that Mountain Ver. 15. Number the Children of Levi after the House Verse 15 of their Fathers by their Families Just as they had numbred the rest of the Children of Israel See I. v. 2. Only those they numbred from Twenty years old and upward but the Levites from a Month old and upward Every Male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them The reason of this difference was that this was the Age at which they were to redeem their First-born XVIII 16. in whose stead the Levites were to be given unto God See v. 40. of this Chapter Ver. 16. And Moses numbred them according to the Verse 16 word of the LORD c. This Charge was committed to him alone v. 10. and he alone as I there observed performed it Ver. 17. And these were the Sons of Levi by their names Gershon and Kohath and Merari The same account we had before XLVI Gen. 11. VI Exod. 16. Verse 18 Ver. 18. And these are the Names of the Sons of Gershon by their Families Libni and Shimei The same is said VI Exod. 17. Verse 19 Ver. 19. And the Names of the Sons of Kohath c. They are mentioned in the same order in that VI Exod. 18 19. Verse 20 Ver. 20. These are the Families of the Levites according to the House of their Fathers These were the principal Families in this Tribe from whence the several Housholds and the Persons in them were derived Verse 21 22. Ver. 21 22. Of Gershon was the Family c. From his two Sons sprung two Families who had in them Seven thousand and five hundred Male Children from a Month old and upward Verse 23 Ver. 23. And the Families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the Tabernacle westward Where the most holy place was and where they under the Standard of Ephraim lay in the great Camp of Israel II. 18. between whom and the Tabernacle this part of the Camp of Levi pitched Verse 24 Ver. 24. And the Chief of the House of the Father of the Gershonites c. The Commander in Chief as we may stile him or the principal Officer in this part of the Camp of the Levites was Eliasaph the Son of Lael but of what Family he was whether of the Libnites or Shimites is not related Verse 25 Ver. 25. And the Charge of the Sons of Gershon That which was committed peculiarly to their care In the Tabernacle of the Congregation In the things belonging to the Tabernacle for none went into it but the Priests alone Shall be the Tabernacle Not the Boards and Pillars and Bases of it for they belonged to the care of the Sons of Merari v. 36. but the Ten Curtains which were the inward Hangings of it and are called the Mischcan or Tabernacle XXVI Exod. 1. and see the next Chapter of this Book v. 25. And the Tent. The outward Curtains of Goats Hair which are called Ohel the Tent XXVI Exod. 7.12 The Covering thereof The Michse as the Hebrews call it or the Covering of the Tent were the Rams Skins and Badgers Skins which lay outmost of all upon the Curtains of Goats Hair XXVI Exod. 14. And the hanging for the Door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation The outward Vail mentioned XXVI Exod. 36. for the inward Vail which hung before the most holy Place was the Charge of the Kohathites Ver. 26.
First-born of the Children of Israel for whom they were to be exchanged v. 40.42 Were twenty and two thousand If the particular Sums before-mentioned v. 22 28 34. be put together they amount to three hundred more than twenty two thousand Therefore it is a reasonable Conjecture that the three hundred are omitted in this account because they were the first-born of the Levites themselves and upon that score belonging to God already by the Law in XIII Exod. 2. XXXIV 20. could not be exchanged for the first-born of other Tribes and substituted in their stead as other Levites were It is very observable here also that the Levites were the fewest in number of any Tribe being but Two and twenty thousand three hundred from a Month old and upward when some Tribes were twice nay thrice as many See I. 27. not reckoning Children but only Men from twenty years old and upward In which the Divine Providence was very conspicuous Which so ordered it that this whole Tribe might be dedicated to him Whereas if it had grown proportionably to the rest there would have been more Levites by far than the first-born of all the Tribes Verse 40 Ver. 40. And the LORD said unto Moses To whom alone this Command is directed as I observed above Number all the first-born of the Males of the Children of Israel from a month old and upward The first-born Males were to be a Month old before their Parents were bound to redeem them If they died before they were not to pay any thing for them Which depends upon another Law XII Lev. 4.6 Where if a Woman brought forth a Male besides the seven days of her Separation she was to stay three and thirty days more before she went unto the Sanctuary At which time the Child being to be presented to God it appears that he acknowledged them for his when they were a Month old Yet they distinguish between the time when the Redemption-Money was due and when it was offered This latter was deferred till the Mother was abroad again but it was due and the Father obliged to pay it as soon as the Child was a Month old So Const L'Empereur observes out of Maimonides upon Bava kama cap. VII Sect. 6. And take the number of their Names That their number and that of the Levites might be compared one with the other for the reason which here follows Ver. 41. And thou shalt take the Levites for me I Verse 41 am the LORD instead of all the First-born among the Children of Israel God had taken them before as we read v. 12. by declaring his Will to Moses about it And now he commands Moses to declare his Will to the People and actually to make this exchange after he had taken the Number both of the First-born and of the Levites For he had Authority to take which he pleased being their LORD And the Cattel of the Levites instead of all the Firstlings among the Cattel of the Children of Israel Not that they should be sacrificed or taken from the Levites but that they should be accounted God's Cattel they being the Cattel of the Levites who were his entirely And therefore were presented unto him as the Levites were but still continued in their possession by his Allowance for their Encouragement in his Service See v. 45. Ver. 42. And Moses numbred as the LORD commanded Verse 42 him all the First-born of the Children of Israel But we do not find that he numbred the Firstlings of their Cattel or the Cattel of the Levites because the exchange of them was not made in particular by substituting one for one but generally by substituting all the Cattel of the Levites instead of all the Firstlings of the Israelites Cattel Ver. 43. And all the first-born Males by the number Verse 43 of Names c. and were Twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen It may appear something strange that from above Six hundred thousand Men reckoning from twenty years old and upward I. 46. there should not be more than this number of first-born Sons till it be considered that thus many were born since the Slaughter of the Egyptian First-born which was not much above a year ago after which time all the First-born of Israel became God's but not those that were born before For so the Law is XIII Exod. 2. Whatsoever openeth the Womb i. e. hereafter both of Man and Beast shall be mine Verse 44 Ver. 44. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying Still he is the Person solely employed in this business Verse 45 Ver. 45. Take the Levites instead of all the First-born among the Children of Israel and the Cattel of the Levites instead of their Cattel Having numbred both the Levites and the First-born now he bids him take those Two and twenty thousand Levites instead of so many First-born As for the Cattel they were not numbred as I observed before but exchanged in the lump as we speak And the Levites shall be mine I think it is remarkable that he doth not add and their Cattel shall be mine also For he did not take their Cattel from them when they became his but left them the use of them who still enjoyed them in his Right I am the LORD This exchange is made by my Authority who am the LORD both of them and all they have Ver. 46. And for those that are to be redeemed of the Verse 46 two hundred and threescore and thirteen c. There being Two hundred threescore and thirteen First-born more than there were Levites they are directed in the next Verse what to do about them For there could be no exchange of Levites for them because there was not a sufficient number to be taken in their stead Ver. 47. Thou shalt even take five Shekels apiece by Verse 47 the pole This was the Price of Redemption ever after as appears from XVIII 16. For it had been lately constituted the value of a Man-child from a Month to five years old in XXVII Levit. 6. After the Shekel of the Sanctuary c. See XXX Exod. 13 c. The only difficulty in this matter was to determine which of the First-born should be redeemed by paying this Money and which should be exchanged for the Levites For every one of the Israelites no doubt was desirous rather to have his First-born redeemed by a Levite than by paying five Shekels and yet some of them must be put to this expence there not being Levites enough to answer for them all The Jews think particularly R. Solomon that there was no way to satisfie this doubt like that by drawing of lots Which was done in this manner Moses saith the fore-named Doctor took Two and twenty thousand Scrolls of Parchment and wrote in them these words a Son of Levi and Two hundred and seventy and three more wherein he wrote five Shekels and then putting them all together in an Urn and shaking it to mingle them he commanded every
Bullock For a Verse 8 Burnt-offering as is manifest from v. 12. With his Meat-offering Which always attended upon Burnt-offerings XV. 9. And another young Bullock shalt thou take for a Sin-offering This being offered for the whole body of the Levites is the same Sacrifice that is ordered when the whole Congregation of Israel sinned through Ignorance IV Levit. 13 14. Ver. 9. And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Tabernacle of the Congregation To the Door of it where the Altar of Burnt-offerings stood XL Verse 9 Exod. 6. And thou shalt gather the whole Assembly of the Children of Israel together The Hebrew words COL ADATH which we translate the whole Assembly frequently signifies all the Elders of Israel As in XV. 4. XXV 7. XXXV 12. And it cannot well have any other sense in this place as appears from the next Verse Verse 10 Ver. 10. And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD Present them to him at the Altar And the Children of Israel The Elders of the People mentioned in the foregoing Verse For all the Children of Israel could not possibly do what is here enjoyned but some of them in the name of the rest and none so proper as their Rulers and Governors who were their Representatives Shall put their hands upon the Levites As Men used to do upon their Sacrifices Which signified the devoting of that Beast to God by him who laid his Hand on it at the Altar for such Purposes as he brought it And this was done by private Men in their Burnt-offerings and Peace-offerings as well as in their Sin-offerings see I Levit. 4. III. 2. VIII 13. but the Jews observe that the whole Congregation laid their Hands only upon the Sin-offering that was offered for them IV Lev. 15. Therefore the Levites are here to be considered under that notion as is manifest from v. 19. where God is said to have given them to Aaron c. to make an Atonement for the Children of Israel For the Levites being given to God instead of the First-born by the Sanctification of which First-born to God as it is called XIII Exod. 1. the whole Family was sanctified and their Sin after a sort expiated the Offering of the Levites after this manner to God was to have the same effect that the Offering of the First-born had viz. the Sanctification and Atonement of the Children of Israel Ver. 11. And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Verse 11 LORD for an Offering of the Children of Israel The Hebrew words are more significant Aaron shall wave the Levites before the LORD for a Wave-offering c. I have often observed before that this Waving or Agitation too and fro before the Altar of which see XXIX Exod. 24. was a solemn Consecration of a thing to God as a Sacrifice And therefore the Levites were presented unto him under the same Consideration as the First-born were But it was impossible for Aaron to wave them as he did some parts of a Sacrifice and therefore it is probable that he lifting up his Hands and turning about to all sides as he did when he offered a Wave-offering they at his Command imitated the same motion and so were offered up to God and became wholly his See ver 21. That they may execute the Service of the LORD Or as it is more significantly in the Margin that they may be to execute c. Which expresses the Intention of this waving them before the LORD that being wholly given up to him they might become meet to execute that Service to which he appointed them at his House Ver. 12. And the Levites shall lay their Hands upon the Heads of the Bullocks It being evident from v. 19. that the Levites were considered as an expiatory Sacrifice Verse 12 and yet not being to be devoted to Death no more than the First-born were these two Sacrifices one for Sin the other a Burnt-offering were substituted in their stead Upon which therefore they were to lay their Hands that the Sin which the Children of Israel laid upon them v. 10. might be transferred to these Beasts by laying their Hands upon them to be actually sacrificed unto God by shedding their Blood The one for a Sin-offering and the other for a Burnt-offering unto the LORD The Burnt-offering was mentioned first v. 8. being the most ancient of all Offerings from the beginning of the World But the Sin-offering is offered first to make the other acceptable And so it was when Aaron was consecrated VIII Levit. 14.18 and when he offered for himself IX Levit. 8 12. and for the People v. 15 16. and to name no more in the Cleansing of a Leper XIV 19. To make an Atonement for the Levites The Sin-offering properly made the Atonement and the Burnt-offering declared its acceptance Verse 13 Ver. 13. And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron and his Sons As they were brought before the LORD because they were to be given unto him v. 9. So now they were set before Aaron and his Sons because they were given by God to them v. 19. And offer them for an Offering unto the LORD Or as it is in the Hebrew and wave them for a Wave-offering unto the LORD Some imagine that as Aaron waved them before v. 11. so now they were in like manner waved by Moses But it seems to me more probable that the meaning is they being waved c. should be set before Aaron and his Sons and presented to them as God's Gift according to his order III. 9. And so these words ought to be translated after thou hast waved them for a Wave-offering That is after Aaron by his Order had waved them And thus the like words must be understood v. 15. See there Ver. 14. Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among Verse 14 the Children of Israel By the fore-mentioned Purification v. 7. and Oblation v. 10 11. And the Levites shall be mine They became his by this solemn Oblation of them to him v. 11. Ver. 15. And after that shall the Levites go in To Verse 15 the Court of the Tabernacle where they were to attend upon the Priests and assist them in their Ministry and in taking down the Tabernacle when it was to remove To do the Service of the Tabernacle of the Congregation In the Court of the Priests where the Altar of Burnt-offering stood For into the Sanctuary it self none but the Priests entred and there was no Ministry there in which the Levites were to assist And thou shalt cleanse them and offer them for an Offering Or rather after thou hast cleansed them and offered c. according as was directed v. 7 11. Ver. 16. For they are wholly given unto me c. Verse 16 God commanded them before to be taken from among the Children of Israel III. 45. and now they are given to him The word is repeated twice in the Hebrew given given which we translate wholly given because the Children of Israel
to the Holy Scriptures will look upon this rather as the Holy Ghost's Testimony concerning Moses than Moses his Testimony concerning himself But we have to do now with a Generation of Men that write upon these Books not as of a Divine Original but as they do upon common Authors Verse 4 Ver. 4. And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses The LORD thought fit immediately to stifle their Insurrection which might have proved dangerous if it had spread among the People And perhaps the word suddenly may relate to the manner of his calling to them with a quick and hasty Speech as one provoked and highly displeased And unto Aaron and unto Miriam It is uncertain whether God spake to these two by himself or by Moses It is likely he spake to them all together while Aaron and Miriam were expostulating with Moses with such a Voice as he was wont to use when he communicated his Mind to the Prophets Come out ye three It is likely they were all in Moses his Tent whether his Brother and Sister were come to utter their Complaint Vnto the Tabernacle of the Congregation Which was God's Tent wherein he dwelt among them and from whence he declared his Will to them And they came out To attend the Pleasure of the Divine Majesty Ver. 5. And the LORD came down in the Pillar Verse 5 of the Cloud The Pillar of the Cloud which was wont to be over the most Holy Place where the LORD dwelt came down from thence and the SCHECHINAH in it and stood as it here follows at the Door of the Tabernacle And stood in the Door of the Tabernacle As if it would leave them as it did v. 9. And called Aaron and Miriam Who were at some distance I suppose and are commanded to come nearer And they came forth From the place where they were when he called them Or from Moses with whom they came from his Tent and now are required to stand by themselves Ver. 6. And he said hear now my Words Mark Verse 6 what I say to you If there be a Prophet among you This doth not make a doubt of it but supposes that they and others among the People were Prophets as they alledged v. 2. But God would have them to understand that he did not communicate his Mind to all alike nor in the same way and manner but so differently as to make a remarkable Distinction between Moses and others Whether there were in those days Men brought up and trained to be made fit to receive this Gift bestow'd upon them we do not know But in after-times it is evident there were certain Colledges of Prophets wherein Disciples of Prophets were bred Such was that 1 Sam. X. 5. and XIX 18 c. Where the Sons of the Prophets i. e. their Scholars or Disciples as Jonathan always translates that Phrase were brought up And for the most part such only were endued with this Gift who were so educated in those Schools in the Study of the Law and in Piety Though God did not tye himself to dispense it to such Persons alone but bestowed it upon whom he pleased though they had spent no time in those Schools of the Prophets This is apparent from that Proverbial Speech Is Saul also among the Prophets 1 Sam. X. 11. XIX 24. This had been no wonder as this Saying imports if it had been usual for Persons to be endowed with this Gift on a sudden who was never bred up in such a course as led to it But to show how this came to pass one of that place answered and said as it there follows v. 12. but who is their Father That is this is no such wonder if it be considered who makes Men Prophets viz. God who is the Father of all the Children of the Prophets and therefore may inspire whom he pleases As he now might have imparted this Gift to meaner Persons than the LXX Elders presented to him by Moses and made them equal if he had thought fit with Aaron and Miriam For this was the case of Amos in after-ages who was no Prophet nor a Prophet's Son as he himself relates VII 14. but an Herds-man and yet the LORD took him as he followed the Flock and bad him go and prophesie unto his People Israel I the LORD Here is the Original of Prophecy will make my self known unto him communicate to him my Mind and Will In a Vision This was one way of discovering his Mind to the Prophets by representing things to them when they were awake as if they had perceived them by their Senses which at that time were lockt up and all transacted by a Divine Operation upon their Mind and Imagination See XV Gen. 1. and VIII Dan. 1 15. Abarbinel mentions one who observes that the word Marah the Plural of which Maroth signifies Looking-Glasses in XXXVIII Exod. 8. is a different word from Mareh which is commonly used for Vision And teaches us that all the Representations made in this way to the Prophets were only as the Images of things represented in a Glass in which we behold the outward Shape or Shadow as we may call it but not the thing it self And so St. Paul seems to have understood this word if he alludes to this place as Grotius thinks he doth when he saith now we see 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 through a Glass darkly 1 Corinth XIII 12. And I will speak unto him in a Dream This was another way of God's revealing his Mind unto the Prophets in their sleep when they not only saw things represented them but also heard a voice And both these seem some times to have been mixed together or to have followed one another as in XVI Gen. 12. VII Dan. 1. VIII 16 17 18. And it is a Maxim among the Jews that there is no degree of Prophecy but it is comprehended under one of these Visions or Dreams So Maimonides in his More Nevochim P. II. cap. 32. and 41. and again cap. 43. where he saith There is no third degree of Prophecy besides these two For as for that Divine Spirit which moved Men to speak of things appertaining to the Knowledge of God and his Praises beyond their natural or acquired Abilities without seeing any Figures asleep or awake though with Assurance that it was from God they will not have it called Prophecy though they acknowledge those Parts of Scripture which they call Cetuvim and the LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. written by the Holy Ghost were indited by that Divine Spirit and therefore we cannot reasonably deny those that were inspired by it the Name of Prophets Verse 7 Ver. 7. My Servant Moses is not so Doth not receive my Mind in either of those ways and therefore is more than a Prophet having it communicated to him in a far more noble and clearer manner which placed him in a higher rank than any other inspired Person Who is faithful in all my House Because he was intrusted so
it was to inspect it and judge whether it was a Leprosie or no XIII Lev. 2 c. And behold she was leprous He could not but judge her to have a Leprosie and consequently pronounce her unclean Ver. 11. And Aaron said unto Moses He was Verse 11 made sensible that Moses had greater interest in God than himself and therefore desires his intercession for them Alas my Lord Have pity upon us miserable Wretches I beseech thee lay not the Sin upon us He supplicates him as his Superior and humbly begs his pardon and that he would obtain remission of the Punishment which they had justly deserved by their Sin For he was afraid he himself might suffer as he saw she did Wherein we have done foolishly and wherein we have sinned He prays him to look upon their Offence as proceeding from Folly and Weakness though in it self a great Sin Ver. 12. Let her not be as one dead c. For so Verse 12 she was not only legally being to be separated from the Living but naturally also this being as I said the worst kind of Leprosie which eat into the very Flesh and made her look like an Abortive as it here follows or Still-born Child which had lain long dead and was half wasted away in its Mothers Womb. Ver. 13. And Moses cried unto the LORD Most Verse 13 earnestly petitioned the LORD for her such was his Meekness and Piety And his crying perhaps supposes the Divine Majesty to be gone afar off if not out of sight Heal her now O God I beseech thee For it was beyond any other power but his to recover her Ver. 14. And the LORD said unto Moses if her Verse 14 Father had but spit in her face An expression of extream Anger abhorrence and contempt XXX Job 10. LII Isa 6. Should she not be ashamed seven days She could not have had the confidence to come presently into his Presence but be ashamed for a great while to look him in the Face Let her be shut out of the Camp Much more is it fit that Miriam should avoid my Presence and not presume to come before me who have set a greater Mark of my Indignation and Detestation upon her For Spittle might soon be wiped off but the Leprosie stuck to her and made her unfit for all Conversation with God or Man Seven days Which was the time for legal Cleansing from such great Impurities XIV Lev. 8. VI Numb 9. XXXI 19. And after that let her be received in again I suppose she was presently freed from her Leprosie but kept out from the Camp so long to declare God's Displeasure against her and to humble her by exposing her to shame Verse 15 Ver. 15. And Miriam was shut out of the Camp seven days That her Offence might be known to all by her open Punishment And the People journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again For the Cloud was gone which should have directed them in their Motions And besides this respect perhaps was shown unto her because she was a Prophetess and hereby she had time given her to humble her self before God and to beg his Pardon for her Sin Brought in again When one would have expected that such Sacrifices should have been offered for her Cleansing as are required in XIV Lev. But this was an extraordinary Case she being on a sudden miraculously struck with the highest Degree of the Plague of Leprosie and as suddenly cured by the same Hand that struck her Ver. 16. And afterward the People removed Which Verse 16 shows that the Cloud which departed from the Tabernacle v. 10. returned again to it together with Miriam that it might guide them in their removal to another Station For till it was taken up from the Tabernacle they stirred not from the place where they were IX 17 18. From Hazeroth After they had abode there seven days at the least And pitched in the Wilderness of Paran Where they were before See X. 12. but now were brought into another part of it called Rithmah XXXIII 18. which was call'd also by another name Kadesh-barnea XIII 26 I Deut. 19. Or else we must suppose these two Places to have been so very near together that they might be said to have pitched either in the one or the other This Station was at the foot of the Mountain on the South part of Canaan I Deut. 20. so that their next removal was to have been into the Land promised to them if they themselves had not hindred by their renewed Rebellion This removal was in the fourth Month of the second Year after they came out of the Land of Egypt See XI 20 35. CHAP. XIII Chapter XIII Verse 1 Ver. 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying They being now come to the Borders of Canaan the LORD ordered Moses to exhort them to go up and take possession of it and not to fear nor be discouraged as we read in I Deut. 21. But the People out of a distrust of God's Power as Moses seems to intimate IX Deut. 23. desired they might first send some to search out the Land before they attempted its Conquest I Deut. 22. About which it is likely Moses consulted the Divine Majesty who gave them leave so to do Verse 2 Ver. 2. Send thou Men. For their greater satisfaction God ordered them to have their desire For there seems to have been a general Fear upon them every one of them coming to Moses with this request I Deut. 22. which could not be removed but by sending some to bring them intelligence what kind of Country it was and what People they had to deal withal v. 18 19 20. That they may search the Land of Canaan To make a discovery both of the Country and of the Inhabitants and the best way to invade it I Deut. 22. Which I give unto the Children of Israel To the possession of which God now intended to introduce them For he had already brought them to the Confines of it and bidden them go up and possess it I Deut. 20 21. but they would needs make this delay for a discovery of the condition of the Country which was their own contrivance at the first and not a Divine Counsel Of every Tribe of their Fathers shall ye send a Man That there might be no suspicion of Partiality in their Report Every one a Ruler among them Men of Authority and Prudence who might be the more believed Yet not of the highest Rank for such are called by the name of Princes I. 16. but Rulers perhaps of Thousands who were very considerable in their Tribes For they are called by the same name in the Hebrew every one being said to be a NASI and a ROSCH a Leader and a Head in their Tribes which may incline one to think that there were higher and lower Persons of this sort who had the same Title in every Tribe Ver. 3. And Moses by the Commandment of the Verse 3 LORD Which was given
cause him to come near unto him Make it appear that they are the Persons who ought to burn Incense and to offer Sacrifice For to come near is to perform these Offices as may be learnt from XIX Levit 22. but especially from X Levit. 3. And the very word Cohen denotes it for it signifies a Minister next to the King And him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him They shall discharge the Office of Priesthood whom God himself hath chosen to it and no Body else Ver. 6. This do I put you to this Trial. Verse 6 Take your Censers Perform the Office of Priests unto which you pretend a right Korah and all his Company All the Two hundred and fifty Men and whosoever else were in the Faction of Korah Whom he orders no doubt by God's direction to execute the Office to which they aspired Ver. 7. Put Fire therein and put Incense in them Verse 7 As the Priests were wont to do Before the LORD to morrow At the Altar of Incense as some conceive before the most Holy Place So Menochius But this is contrary to v. 18. where we read they stood in the door of the Tabernacle with their Censers Fire and Incense Nor would the Sanctuary contain such a Company or if it had been large enough the People could not have seen either their Offering or their Punishment from the LORD for their Sin Therefore these words before the LORD signifie with their Faces towards the Sanctuary at the Gate of which they stood for what was done there is said to be before the LORD XXIX Exod. 42. And it shall be that the Man whom the LORD doth choose he shall be holy This comprehends both the Man and all his Family so the meaning is the LORD would declare whether Aaron and his Sons should execute the Priesthood alone or Korah and his Company be admitted to it Ye take too much upon you ye Sons of Levi. It is the same Phrase which we had before v. 3. Rab-lachem you are high enough already let the station wherein you are suffice you and aspire not after greater Dignity The following words justifie this Interpretation Verse 8 Ver. 8. And Moses said unto Korah hear I pray you ye Sons of Levi. By this and by the foregoing verse it appears not only that there were some of the Levites in this Sedition together with Korah at the Head of them but that they were the chief Incendiaries though others as I said before were drawn in to joyn with them because Moses addresses himself only to them Verse 9 Ver. 9. Seemeth it a small thing unto you Do you take it to be no honour to you That the God of Israel hath separated you from the Congregation of Israel Made choice of you above all other Israelites to wait upon him in his Family as his Domestick Servants III Numb 12. VIII 6 14. To bring you near to himself Though not so near as the Priests yet nearer than all other Men being the sole Attendants upon the Priests III. 6. VIII 10 11. To do the Service of the Tabernacle of the LORD III. 7 8. particularly the Kohathites were chosen to do the Service of the Tabernacle about the most holy things IV. 4 19. And to stand before the Congregation to minister unto them VIII 11 19. Ver. 10. And he hath brought thee near to him and Verse 10 all thy Brethren the Sons of Levi with thee Or Though he hath brought thee speaking unto Korah thus near to him and all the rest of the Levites thy Brethren See VIII 10 11 15 19. And seek ye the Priesthood also Will it not content you that you alone are chosen to minister unto the Priests III. 6. but you must be advanced to minister unto God in their Office Ver. 11. For which cause both thou and all thy Company Verse 11 are gathered together against the LORD By whose order Aaron and his Sons were appointed to serve him in the Office of Priests as was declared when the Levites were taken to minister unto them III. 3. IV. 15 19 20. And therefore to rise up against them was to rise up against the LORD and oppose his Authority who made them his Priests And what is Aaron Or And Aaron what hath he done Wherein is he faulty That ye murmur against him For taking upon him the Office of Priesthood into which he did not intrude himself but was chosen and appointed by God to do him that Service who would have been angry with him if he had refused it Ver. 12. And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram Verse 12 the Sons of Eliah To Summon them to the place where Moses now was which the Jews say was the Court of Judgment This shows that either these Men as I said v. 2. did not openly appear with Korah and his Company against Moses v. 3. Or if they did they retired to their Tents before he rose up from his Prayer to give them an Answer What became of On we are not informed for he is neither mentioned here nor in the following part of this Narrative concerning their Sedition nor any where else in the Holy Scripture Which said We will not come up They bad the Messenger who summoned them to appear before Moses to tell him plainly that they denied his Authority For that 's the meaning of this Language He hath no Authority to command us who are none of his Subjects and therefore will not obey him Verse 13 Ver. 13. Is it a small thing with thee that thou hast brought us up out of a Land flowing with Milk and Honey to kill us in the Wilderness Though they would not come to him yet they returned him this Message Have we not suffered enough by being brought out of a rich and plentiful Country abounding with all good things into a barren Wilderness where we are ready to starve Nothing could be more insolentand ungrateful than to describe Egypt in the very same Language wherein God himself had often spoken of the Land of Promise particularly when he sent Moses to tell them he would bring them up out of the Affliction of Egypt under which they groaned III Exod. 16 17. Except thou make thy self altogether a Prince over us Unless we allow thee to make what Laws thou thinkest good and impose what thou pleasest upon us A most rude and insolent Speech signifying that they had not shaken off the Yoke of Bondage but only exchanged it and instead of the Rich and Wealthy Oppression of Pharaoh were come under the Poor and Hungry Tyranny of Moses For so the next verse imports Ver. 14. Moreover thou hast not brought us into a Verse 14 Land that floweth with Milk and Honey c. Or Certainly this is not the good Land into which thou didst promise to conduct us It seems to be a Sarcastical Speech Upbraiding him as if he had put a Cheat upon them and fed them only with
good Words to which they would no longer trust Or given us Inheritence of Fields and Vineyards But told us it shall be bestowed forty years hence when we are all dead This still shows they took him for a Deluder of them with deceitful Promises Wilt thou put out the Eyes of these Men Some of them spake this in the name of the rest who were now with Dathan and Abiram and the meaning is Dost thou think to blind us so that none of us shall discern this Imposture Or shall we suffer thee to lead us about like blind Men whither thou pleasest sometimes towards Canaan and now back again towards the Red Sea and Egypt We will not come up A peremptory Resolution not to own his Authority which they denied at the first v. 12. Ver. 15. And Moses was very wroth For such behaviour Verse 15 and Language was so provoking that it was no wonder it incensed the meekest Man upon Earth XII 3. Yet the LXX translate the words as if he only took it very heavily 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it made him exceeding sad And said unto the LORD respect not their Offering He calls the Incense which they were about to offer by the Name of Mincha which commonly signifies a Meat-offering but sometimes any inanimate thing that was consumed in honour of God as Incense was and must so signifie in this place for they offered nothing else And when Moses desires it may not be accepted he means a great deal more that God would give some Sign of his dislike to it Hence it seems plain to me That Dathan and Abiram as well as Korah quarrelled at the confining the Priestood unto Aaron's Family for Moses calls this their Offering by the Acceptance or Rejection of which this Controversie was to be decided I have not taken one Ass from them This seems to be an Appeal to God against their unjust Charge that he acted Arbitrarily and did with them what he list v. 13. From which he was so far that he declares before God he had not taken i. e. received by way of Gift or Reward So the LXX and the Vulgar understand it the smallest thing for such a single Ass was much less extorted any thing from them Nor have I hurt any one of them None can say that I have done any kind of Evil to them but contrarily all good Offices For that he did not seek himself appeared in this That he had not advanced his own Family to the Priestood but left them in the number of the other Levites upon the same level with Korah and his Company Ver. 16. And Moses said unto Korah be thou and all thy Company before the LORD c. He repeats what he had said to him before v. 6 7. only adding that he would have Aaron also there together with Verse 16 them So it follows Thou and they and Aaron to morrow Before the LORD i. e. In the Court of the Tabernacle See v. 7. where by an extraordinary Commission from the Divine Majesty this Trial was to be made And therefore Aaron himself did not now go into the Sanctuary to offer Incense which was the proper and only place allowed by the Law but stood with them without As in another great necessity he offered Incense in the midst of the Congregation v. 46 47. Both which was done by a Dispensation from him that made the Law Ver. 17. Take every Man his Censer and put Incense Verse 17 in them and bring ye before the LORD every Man his Censer Let every Man of them stand before the LORD at the Door of the Tabernacle to do the Office of Priests to which they pretended as good a right as Aaron and his Sons Two hundred and fifty Censers This shows that the Incense being offered by so great a number as it appears it was v. 35. they did not offer it in the Sanctuary which would not contain so many Persons Thou also and Aaron each of you his Censer This seems to signifie as if Korah was commanded to stand by Aaron since he pretended to be his equal which made the Hand of God the more remarkable upon him when he was struck with Lightning and no harm came to Aaron who stood by him But it may be doubted what way Korah perished Ver. 18. And they took every Man his Censer That is the Two hundred and fifty Men did as they were commanded but Korah went first to muster up as Verse 18 many as he could get together against Moses v. 19. and then seems to have gone to his Tent v. 24. Herein these Men submitted to the way of decision which Moses propounded though they had so boldly denied his Authority For they could not but think that God whom they owned to be among them v. 3. would approve of them if they were in the right and make good their Allegation That all the Congregation were holy by accepting their Incense as much as Aaron's To whom they did not deny an equality with themselves but only a Superiority And put fire in them From the Altar of Burnt-offering which stood in the Court at the Door of which they were placed I Lev. 5. for Aaron durst not take it from any other place his Sons having lost their Lives for offering with strange Fire The remembrance of which it is likely deterred these Men from doing other wise who did not as yet put in the Fire but only took their Censers and put Incense in them which is all that is ordered in the preceding Verse and put Fire in afterwards And stood in the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation with Moses and Aaron As if they were nothing inferiour to them Verse 19 Ver. 19. And Korah gathered all the Congregation against them The LXX translates it Korah gathered all his Congregation i. e. all the Men of his Faction But the Hebrew words import that he gathered all the Congregation of Israel at least all the great Men who are sometimes called by the Name of all the Congregation XIV 1. whom he got together that they might be Witnesses at least of the issue of this Trial though their coming together with Korah and his Company rather than with Moses and Aaron is too plain an Indication that they were inclined if not to throw off yet to doubt of their Authority Vnto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation Where they themselves stood v. 18. And so did Moses and Aaron but the Israelites that Korah had gathered together stood on his side as appears from the foregoing words and from v. 24. And the Glory of the LORD The SCHECHINAH or Divine Majesty came forth out of the most Holy Place where it usually resided Appeared unto all the Congregation Openly shewed it self in the sight of all the People and it is likely in such an amazing manner as it had done before XIV 10. But where it appeared we are not told I suppose in the Cloud which was just
over the Ark of the Testimony IX 15. not in the Door of the Tabernacle for there Korah and his Company stood See XVI Exod. 10. And the end of the LORD 's appearing was to to give Sentence in this case and to declare by a visible Token whom he accepted as his Priests Thus the Glory of the LORD appeared the first time that Aaron and his Sons offered Sacrifice IX Lev. 6 23. Ver. 20. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Verse 20 Aaron saying A little before they put Fire in their Censers Ver. 21. Separate your selves from this Congregation Verse 21 Viz. From Korah and his Company and the People they brought along with them who seemed to favour them v. 19. That I may consume them in a moment As he did Korah and his Companions Ver. 22. And they fell on their faces To pray to Verse 22 God as they had done before v. 4. O God The most mighty The God of the Spirits of all Flesh Who hast created the Souls of all Mankind so Flesh often signifies all Men VI Gen. 13. and therefore searchest into their most secret Thoughts and Inclinations So these words signifie XXVII 16. Shall one Man sin Korah who was the chief Incendiary and Contriver of this Sedition And wilt thou be wroth with all the Congregation Many of which he thought might through weakness be seduced into this Faction having no Malice at all in their hearts Which God knew perfectly and therefore he begs of him that he would make a distinction between such as these and the Men that misled them Verse 23 Ver. 23. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying He bad him rise up having granted his Petition Verse 24 Ver. 24. Speak unto the Congregation Whom Korah had gathered together and brought along with him to the Door of the Tabernacle v. 19. Get ye up from about the Tabernacle of Korah Dathan and Abiram Which it seems was not far off or wheresoever it was there a great number of People was gathered together to see what would be the Conclusion of this Contest The word Tabernacle is in the Singular Number but includes all the Tents belonging to these Men as appears from v. 26. Or perhaps they had set up one great Tabernacle for the word here is Mischean which may be thought to signifie more than Ohel a Tent v. 26. unto which abundance of People resorted as the place that Korah and the rest had appointed for the general Rendevouz as we now speak of all their Party For here Dathan and Abiram it is evident v. 27. were with him but there is no mention at all of On which makes it probable he had forsaken them as Moses wisht all the People to do on which Condition God promised to pardon them Ver. 25. And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Verse 25 Abiram To try I suppose if he could reduce them to their Obedience and prevent their ruine He seems to have had no hopes of Korah but lookt upon him as incorrigible And the Elders of Israel followed him Either the LXX Elders who were lately chosen out of the rest XI 16. or the whole Body of those who were called by that Name and were Men of Authority attended upon him to make this Action more solemn and to let Dathan and Abiram see how much Moses was reverenced by better Men than themselves who refused to come to him v. 12 14. Ver. 20. And spake unto the Congregation saying Verse 26 It seems Dathan and Abiram refused to hear him as they did to come to him for here is no mention of any thing he spake to them but only to the Congregation who were gathered about their Tents Depart I pray you from the Tents of these wicked Men. I suppose now they were gone to their own Tents where their Families were from which he beseeches the People to remove with all speed And he doth not mean merely that they should remove their Persons from them but their Tents and their Goods and Cattle And touch nothing of theirs Because all belonging unto them was under an Anathema which God had passed upon them That is was devoted to destruction and therefore not to be touched XIII Deut. 17. Lest ye be consumed in all their sins Destroyed with them who had sinned so grievously as to fall under the Curse before-mentioned Verse 27 Ver. 27. So they gat up from the Tabernacle of Korah Dathan and Abiram Where the greatest number of People were gathered together as I observed v. 24. For here is the same word Mischean again in the Singular Number denoting some spacious Habitation where perhaps they held their Consultations and unto which there was the greatest resort On every side From which we may conclude that the People had come from all quarters of the Camp to these Rebels either to joyn with them or out of Curiosity to see how things would go And Dathan and Abiram With Korah also it may be thought because he is mentioned in the beginning of the Verse Yet this Conclusion cannot be drawn from thence for it is not said he was now there but that it was the Tabernacle of Korah Dathan and Abiram where they used I suppose to meet Came out From the Tabernacle before-mentioned And stood in the door of their Tents Of their own Tents where they commonly dwelt And their Wives and their Sons and their Children With their whole Families This was the highest degree of audacious and hardned Infidelity whereby they declared that they feared not what Moses who had given the greatest proof he was a Man of God could do unto them Ver. 28. And Moses said Unto all the People of Israel or to the Elders and as many as could Verse 28 hear him Hereby you shall know I will now give you an evident Demonstration That the LORD hath sent me to do all these works That I have been commissioned by God to do all the things with which those Men find fault particularly to take upon me the Government of them and to put Aaron and his Family into the Priesthood and make the Levites only their Ministers c. See v. 2 3 13 14. For I have not done them of my own mind In the Hebrew the words are And that not out of my heart It was none of my own device or contrivance I did it not out of an ambitious desire to be great myself or out of private affection to my Brother Ver. 29. If these Men die the common death of all Verse 29 Men. In the Hebrew it is As die all Mankind that is a Natural Death as we now speak Or they be visited after the visitation of all Men. i. e. Such Judgments of God come upon them as are usual and common in the World viz. a Pestilence the Sword or Famine The LORD hath not sent me Then look upon me as an Impostor Ver. 30. But if the LORD make a new thing Verse 30 In the Hebrew the words are If
Lightning and perhaps scorched as they likewise sometimes are The latter seems most probable from what follows v. 37. and from the like punishment by Fire from the LORD which is said to devour Nadab and Abihu and yet their Bodies remained intire X Lev. 2 4. This was the more astonishing because Moses and Aaron who stood with them at the Door of the Tabernacle v. 18. had no hurt Verse 36 Ver. 36. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying Immediately after the Death of those Men. Ver. 37. Speak unto Eleazar the Son of Aaron the Priest Who it is likely stood by them as next Successor to Aaron in the Office which was disputed And therefore perhaps imployed in what follows rather than Aaron that his Succession might be confirmed Though others will have it that it was below the Dignity of Aaron to perform such a mean Office and besides he might have been in danger to be polluted by the dead Bodies of the Men that were burnt That he take the Censers out of the Burning Out of the place where the Men were burnt as some understand it Or which differs not much from among the dead Bodies which were burnt Burning being put for Bodies burnt as Captivity XXI 1. for those that were carried Captive or made Prisoners as we there translate it But there is no need of either of these Additions burning signifying the Fire which burnt in them which he orders Eleazar to throw out that the Censers might be brought away And scatter thou the Fire yonder The Men were burnt as soon as ever they put fire to the Incense in their Censers v. 18. which flaming at the Door of the Tabernacle where they stood near the Altar from whence they took the Fire God commanded to be thrown away without the Camp into that place I suppose where they were wont to throw the Ashes VI Lev. 11. or rather into some unclean place where they threw the Dust scraped from the Walls of Leprous Houses XIV Lev. 41. For it was to show that God abhorred their Offering For they are hollowed Or had Fire from the Altar put into them which some think sanctified them But the plain reason is given in the next verse because they offered them before the LORD i. e. they had been employed to an holy use and that by God's command v. 6 17. and therefore God would not have them hereafter serve for any other Ver. 39. The Censers of these Sinners against their Verse 39 own Souls Who have brought destruction upon themselves by their Presumption Let them make of them Either Aaron or Eleazar were to cause them to be beaten into such Plates as here follow Broad Plates for a covering of the Altar Of Burnt-offering which was covered with Brass XXVII Exod 12. but these Plates were to be laid upon that Covering which it had already for the end mentioned in the Conclusion of this verse And hereby also the proper Covering of the Altar lasted the longer For they offered them before the LORD Presented them before the LORD when they offered Incense in them v. 35. Therefore they are hallowed Or holy That is I will have them separated for this reason to my use alone and no other It is a thing worthy to be taken special notice of that the Impiety of the Men that offered Incense did not discharge their Censers of the discriminative Respect as our famous Mr. Mede speaks due unto things sacred As these in some sort were by being presented to the LORD which made it unlawful to imploy them to common uses For as the LORD himself is that singular incommunicable and absolutely Holy One and his Service and Worship therefore incommunicable to any other so should that also which is consecrated to his Service be in some proportion incommunicably used and not promiscuously and commonly as other things are See Book I. Discourse 2. p. 18. And they shall be a Sign unto the Children of Israel That God accepts no Sacrifice which is not presented by the Hands of the Sons of Aaron This the Levites were to remember who attended upon the Priest when they saw these Plates laid upon the Altar of Burnt-offering every day Verse 39 Ver. 39. And Eleazar the Priest took the brazen Censers c. By this it appears these Censers were made of the same Metal though it was not said before that Aaron's Censer was of and wherewith the Altar was overlaid He took them up out of the burning no doubt immediately upon the foregoing Commands and as soon as the Mutiny was quite quelled they were employed as Moses had directed Ver. 40. To be a Memorial unto the Children of Israel This explains what is meant by a Sign v. 38. viz. to put them in mind or rather to keep in their memory That no Stranger Though he were an Israelite nay a Levite if he were not as it here follows of the Seed of Aaron he was reputed a Stranger to this Office Come near to offer Incense before the LORD Presume to execute the Office of a Priest in the Sanctuary That he be not as Korah and his Company Destroyed in a dreadful manner By this it appears that Korah perished as well as the Two hundred and fifty Men and it is likely as they did by Fire from the LORD As the LORD said unto him i. e. To Eleazar By the hand of Moses Ver. 36 37. Ver. 41. But on the morrow An astonishing Instance Verse 41 of the incurable hardness and insensibility of some Mens hearts which were not in the least altered by God's terrible Judgments and singular Mercies but instantly forgat both All the Congregation of the Children of Israel Not merely the Rulers of the People as this Phrase sometimes signifies but all the People in general v. 47. who were incited it is probable by that lewd Rout which Korah had gathered together against Moses and Aaron v. 19. Some of which were swallowed up but most of them remained still alive to do more Mischief Murmured against Moses and against Aaron In such a mutinous and threatning manner as demonstrated the contagious Nature of a Seditious Humour beyond all example For from a discontented Party who grumbled that they were not preferred suitably to the opinion they had of themselves it spread it self into the whole Body of the People And so infected them as to kindle a new Flame as soon as the former had been extinguished by such a terrible Vengeance as one would have expected should not have left the smallest Spark of this mutinous Humour in them Saying Ye have killed the People of the LORD So they impudently call those Men whom God himself had declared by a visible Token to be presumptuous Sinners against their own Souls Some imagine they quarrelled with Moses and Aaron because they had not prevailed with God to pardon them which they could as well have done as procured this Judgment upon them But the displeasure which God here expresses against this
new Murmuring shows this not to be a true Excuse for them Verse 42 Ver. 42. And it came to pass when the Congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron Their Murmuring presently proceeded to an Insurrection That they looked toward the Tabernacle of the Congregation i. e. Moses and Aaron implored help from God which is implyed in their looking toward his Dwelling-place And behold the Cloud covered it One would think by this that it had for some time withdrawn it self from the Tabernacle when the dead Bodies of Korah's Company lay dead at the Door of it And the Glory of the LORD appeared To comfort them in this Distress and to show he was ready to support and vindicate them Verse 43 Ver. 43. And Moses and Aaron came before the Tabernacle of the Congregation Perhaps for Safety and Security or to hear what Directions God would give them Ver. 44. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying Out of the Tabernacle before which he stood waiting for the LORD's Orders Ver. 45. Get ye up from among this Congregation Verse 44 He speaks to Aaron and Eleazar I suppose as well as Verse 45 unto Moses That I may consume them as in a moment As he was inclined to do before v. 21. and now had a greater reason And they fell on their faces To beseech God not to punish the People as they deserved v. 22. Ver. 46. And Moses said unto Aaron By God's Verse 46 Direction Take a Censer and put Fire therein from off the Altar Near to which they now were v. 43. And put on Incense Upon the Fire but not till he came into the midst of the Congregation v. 47. And go quickly unto the Congregation With the Incense which regularly was to be offered only at the golden Altar within the Sanctuary but now in this extraordinary Case by God's special Order Aaron is sent with it into the Camp that they might all be Witnesses of his Power with God and that by his Authority he was settled in the Priesthood And make an Atonement for them Which was usually performed by the Blood of a Sacrifice but there was not time for that and therefore now it was made by the Incense wherewith their daily Sacrifices Morning and Evening were concluded and was accompanied by the Prayers of the People while the Priest as he offered it made Intercession for them CXLI Psalm 2. Thus as St. Hierom glosses Currens ira Dei Sacerdotij voce prohibebatur the Divine Anger coming with full speed upon them was stopped by the Voice of the Priest Which was a notable Type of the Power of our great High Priest and Intercessor with God the LORD Jesus For there is Wrath gone out from the LORD Who would not wholly grant their Prayer for a Pardon v. 45. but inflicted some Punishment upon them The Plague is begun A Pestilence in all probability of which several immediately died Verse 47 Ver. 47. And Aaron took as Moses commanded A Censer and Fire from the Altar with Incense ready to be put upon it v. 46. And ran According to the Command of Moses v. 46. who bad him go quickly Into the midst of the Congregation Perhaps into the midst of each of the four Camps of Judah Reuben Ephraim and Dan mentioned in the second Chapter being broke out every where And behold the Plague was begun among the People He saw People die on all sides of him And he put on Incense Whereupon he put Incense upon the Fire which he brought along with him from the Altar v. 46. And made an Atonement for the People Interceded with God for them and obtained what he desired Verse 48 Ver. 48. And he stood between the dead and the living This seems to intimate that the Plague began in the Skirts of their Camps and was proceeding into the heart of them where Aaron stood as a Mediator for those who were not yet smitten And the Plague was stayed A stop was put to its progress Which was a further Evidence of Aaron's right to the Priesthood by God's appointment who not only preserved him when he offered Incense together with Korah's Company v. 17. but now makes him an Instrument of preserving others from destrustion Ver. 49. Now they that died in the Plague were Fourteen Verse 49 thousand and seven hundred Who it is likely were of the forwardest Men to associate themselves with Korah v. 19. Besides them that died about the matter of Korah Whose just number is not known for besides the Two hundred and fifty Men mentioned v. 25. the whole Families of Korah Dathan and Abiram were swallowed up Ver. 50. And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the Verse 50 door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation To carry back his Censer And the Plague was stayed Or rather For the Plague was stayed and so having done his business he returned to the Tabernacle CHAP. XVII Chapter XVII Ver. 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying Verse 1 Not long after the Plague was stayed For though there had been enough done to satisfie the People that Aaron was advanced to the Priesthood by God's appointment and not by Moses his Affection to his Kindred yet their Minds had been so poisoned by Korah and his Complices with the contrary Opinion that it was necessary to do still more to root it out Which was the occasion of what follows Verse 2 Ver. 2. Speak unto the Children of Israel Order them to bring what I require thee to take of them And take of every one of them i. e. Of every Tribe A Rod. Or a Staff as the Hebrew word Matteh is often translated Which some take for an ordinary Walking-staff or for the Staff which was the Badge of their Authority as Princes of the several Tribes neither of which seems to me to be true For what reason have we to think that every Man's Staff which he commonly used was made of the Wood of an Almond Tree as these were one may probably conclude from the 8th verse And therefore I take it they were all now cut off from some Tree of that kind and it is likely from one and the same Tree that none might fancy there was any difference between them For the Miracle was great enough which here follows without supposing as some do that these Rods were all of some other common Wood and yet Aaron's Rod produced Almonds which were not the proper Fruit of it Though it must be confessed that if they were not of the wood of an Almond Tree the wonder was greater that his Rod should bring forth Almonds and struck their Minds more strongly According to the House of their Fathers In the Hebrew it is Father in the Singular Number denoting the principal Person or Patriarch as we call them of whose House or Family he was to take one Rod. Of all their Princes according to the House of their Fathers This explains the meaning more fully that the Prince of every Tribe who was
the Head of the House of their Fathers should bring these Rods. Their Names we have in the first Chapter of this Book v. 5 6. and VII 2 12 c. Twelve Rods. Besides Aaron's for so many Tribes there were besides that of Levi. And too great a number of every Tribe in all likelyhood had joyned with Korah in their discontended Murmurings at the confinement of the Priesthood unto Aaron's Family alone to which they all fansied they had as much right as he Which is the reason of taking a Rod from every Tribe that they might all be convinced that none of them but he and his Family alone were owned by God for his Priests See XVI 3. Write thou every Man's name upon his Rod. Either by an Incision into the very Wood or with such Ink as they wrote withal in those days V. 22. This he did in the Presence of the Princes that they might not afterward suspect any Fraud when they came to take their Rods again but be satisfied they were the very same which they saw noted with their Names Ver. 3. And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the Verse 3 Rod of Levi. Because God had made him the Prince of that Tribe by giving him the High-Priesthood And he would have them see that as no other Person in any of the Twelve Tribes so no other Levite ought to pretend unto that high Office which he had invested him withal and him alone For one Rod shall be for the Head of the House of their Fathers One Rod was sufficient because the Head of the Tribe comprehended the whole Tribe Who were all excluded from the Priesthood by the Exclusion of him who represented them Verse 4 Ver. 4. And thou shalt lay them up in the Tabernacle In the most Holy Place Before the Testimony i. e. Before the Ark called in many Places the Ark of the Testimony XL Exod. 3. because therein Moses put the Testimony or two Tables of Stone and the Mercy Seat above it v. 20 21. where the Divine Glory resided Therefore to lay the Rods before the Testimony was to lay them before the Divine Majesty who intended by them finally to determine the present Controversie Where I will meet with you There he promised to meet with Moses XXV Exod. 22. by whom he communicated his Mind unto the People For he neither met with them nor with Aaron there any other way but by Moses And therefore the Vulgar Latin here translates it minding the sence rather than the words Where I will speak to them And so the LXX By which I will be made known to thee there And indeed meeting with them here is nothing but declaring or making known his Mind to them all by what was done there upon Aaron's Rod. So it follows in the next verse And for this reason the Tabernacle of the LORD is called OHEL MOED the Tabernacle of Meeting not of Mens meeting there as is commonly supposed by our translating it The Tabernacle of the Congregation but of God's meeting there with Men. For so the LORD himself gives the reason of the Name both here and in XXIX Exod. 42. XXX 36. where I have noted the same out of Mr. Mede Ver. 5. And it shall come to pass that the Man's Rod whom I shall choose shall blossom The Rods being laid before me I will tell you whom I have chosen to minister to me in the Priesthood by making the Verse 5 Rod upon which his Name is written to blossom when all the rest remain as they were before without any Alteration This was a kind of new choice as the words import whereby God confirmed the choice he had formerly made of Aaron to be High-Priest And I will make to cease from me the Murmurings of the Children of Israel whereby they murmur against you And hereby stop all their Mouths from murmuring any more about this matter unless they will oppose me directly who declare before-hand how I intend to give Judgment in this Case and put an end to this Dispute Ver. 6. And Moses spake unto the Children of Israel Verse 6 Told them what God had said that they might be all consenting to this way of Decision And every one of their Princes gave him a Rod apiece For they could not refuse such a fair Proposal For each Prince one according to their Fathers Houses even twelve Rods. Observing herein the Commands of Moses who wrote no doubt every Man's Name upon his Rod as he was also commanded v. 2. And the Rod of Aaron was among their Rods. Not one of the twelve as the Jews fancy but besides the twelve Rods for the twelve Tribes as was directed v. 2. and obeyed by them as the foregoing words tell us his Rod was put among them with his Name upon it as their Names were upon their Rods. And therefore the Vulgar translates it having regard to the sence only There were twelve Rods besides the Rod of Aaron Which the LXX intended in their Translation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Rod of Aaron in the midst of their Rods. And if it were cut from the very same Tree with theirs the Miracle became the more remarkable Verse 7 Ver. 7. And Moses laid up the Rods before the LORD Who was by them to declare his choice v. 5. In the Tabernacle of Witness In that part of the Tabernacle where the Ark was which had in it the Witness or Testimony which God gave Moses XXV Exod. 21. who alone could go into that place Verse 8 Ver. 8. And it came to pass that on the morrow It is likely God told him he would â—orthwith show whom he had chosen Moses went into the Tabernacle of Witness The most Holy Place where the Rods were laid up by God's order And behold the Rod of Aaron Which had his Name written on it For the House of Levi. Or To the House of Levi i. e. whom God had made Head of the Levites Was budded and brought forth Buds and blossomed Blossoms and yielded Almonds In some places of the Rod I suppose there was an appearance of Buds coming forth in others the Buds were fully thrust out and in others they were opened and shot forth into Blossoms and those Blossoms in other parts knotted and grown into Almonds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. as Gregory Nyssen speaks in the Life of Moses p. 185. The greatest Miracle even in the judgment of Unbelievers who now acknowledged that which before they opposed v. 12 13. For that in one Night a dry Stick as some suppose them all to have been should produce Buds and Flowers and Fruit when all the rest which perhaps were cut from the same Tree were as dry as they were before could not but be very amazing and unless they would shut their eyes make them see the distinction which the LORD made between Aaron whose Name that Rod bare and all the rest of the Children of Israel whom the other Rods represented The Heathen did
not think such things incredible as Huetius hath shown in his Quaestiones Alnetanae L. I. cap. 12. n. 24. Ver. 9. And Moses brought out all the Rods from before Verse 9 the LORD unto all the Children of Israel Before whom they were exposed to open view that they might see the difference God had made And they looked and took every Man his Rod. Viewed them and taking them into their Hands examined them and found they were the very same Rods which they had delivered unto Moses with their Names on them without any alteration Ver. 10. And the LORD said unto Moses bring Verse 10 Aaron's Rod again Which either Moses held in his Hand or delivered it to Aaron as he did the rest to the several Princes of the Tribes who showed it to the Children of Israel with the Buds Blossoms and Almonds upon it After which God commanded it to be returned unto him Before the Testimony To be laid up in the place where it was before it was thus changed v. 4 7. To be kept for a Token against the Rebels That it might be produced as a sufficient Conviction of their Impiety if any presumed hereafter to rebel against Aaron's Authority Or rather that it might prevent all Insurrections against it for the future For it remained we find in the most Holy Place for some time as appears both from the Apostle IX Hebr. 4. and from the reason of its being put here that it might be preserved as a Sign or Proof of Aaron's Authority and Suppress all opposition to it But how long it continued we cannot tell for it is not mentioned when the Ark was brought into the Temple of Solomon 1 Kings VIII 9. nor is it certain whether it continued in that verdure wherein it now appeared with the Buds Blossoms and Fruit though it is highly probable it did because it was to be a Testimony that the Honour of the Priesthood should continue to Aaron's Family alone through all Generations There are those who take this Rod which blossomed and was laid up in the most Holy Place to have been the Rod of Moses wherewith he wrought so many Miracles in Egypt and at the Red Sea Concerning which the Jews tell very many incredible things as that it came from a Branch of the Tree of Life which an Angel gave to Seth who planted it in the Wilderness where Moses found it grown to a Tree and cut this Rod from it For when they came to Marah and could not drink the Waters because they were bitter God showed them this Tree that with it he might make them sweet Upon which Tree he afterward placed the brazen Serpent by looking on which the People were healed c. Thus the Cabbalists generally tell this Tale but some of them much otherwise who say it was given to Adam and by him to Enoch and so on till it came to Joseph in whose House the Egyptians found it when he died and brought it to Pharaoh from whom Jethro stole it c. with a great deal of such like stuff Which Abarbinel saith is to be understood mystically But all the ground they have for this Fancy of the Rod here laid up being Moses's Rod is from XX. 8 9. where it is said That Moses took the Rod from before the LORD wherewith he brought Water out of the Rock and this Rod is said v. 11. to be Moses his Rod. Dr. Owen upon the Epistle to the Hebrews follows this Conceit and endeavours to find many Mysteries in it But it is evidently false for as there is not the least intimation here that it was the Rod of Moses but quite contrary it is called the Rod of Aaron v. 6. so it had not been a sufficient Argument to convince the Infidelity of the Israelites if Aaron's Rod had not been of the same kind with all the rest For they might have ascribed what came to pass to the singular quality or vertue of that Rod especially if it were Moses his Rod wherewith Wonders used to be wrought and not to a special Hand of God appearing to establish the Authority of Aaron And besides a Rod full of Blossoms and Fruit had been very unfit to be used to smite the Rock withal for which purpose that Rod which seems to have been his Pastoral Staff wherewith he smote the Rock in Horeb was most proper XVII Exod. 5 6. And thou shalt quite take away their Murmurings from me i. e. Silence all their Cavils against Aaron and his Family which the LORD here declares he would no longer bear if they continued in them after this demonstration of his Will and Pleasure For here were a great many miraculous things concurred together to convince them that to oppose Aaron was to oppose God himself The Jews reckon up eight First That Aaron's Rod should bring forth Buds Blossoms and Fruit all in one Night when the other Rods which were of the same nature brought forth nothing And then secondly That the Buds brought forth Leaves for so they interpret those words v. 8. the Rod of Aaron was budded i. e. brought forth Leaves for the next words speaks of its budding which followed after And thirdly That it thrust out Leaves before the Blossoms which is contrary to the Nature of the Almond Tree And next that it put forth Blossoms all the Rod over as they interpret those words bloomed Blossoms And then that a dry Stick as they understand it should produce Fruit and this Fruit Almonds which such Trees they think as that Rod was taken from did not bear And further That it produced ripe Almonds as the Hebrew word Schekedim imports And lastly That Moses showed the People all these at one view the Leaves Buds Blossoms and Fruit in perfection By which multiplicity of Miracles the Dignity of Aaron was so demonstrated that we do not find they at any time hereafter adventured to rise up against him For besides all those Wonders now mentioned it may be that it was not the Season of the Year for Almonds nor so much as for the budding of that Tree which made it the more astonishing But the greatest thing of all was the continuing of this Miracle to future Ages which might well make them afraid to open their Mouths again in Murmurings against Aaron That they die not Be not consumed in a moment as God had more than once formerly threatned XVI 21 45. and now declared if they did not mend their Manners and cease their Murmurings about this matter he would instantly execute Ver. 11. And Moses did so as the LORD commanded so did he Both brought the Rod again to him and laid it up before him and told the Children of Israel the reason of it which occasioned what Verse 11 follows Ver. 12. And the Children of Israel spake unto Moses Verse 12 saying Behold we die we perish c. Moses having told them that he laid up the Rod for this end to be a Witness against them that if
Tribes as it here follows therefore have I said unto them among the Children of Israel shall they have no Inheritance For he had given them the Tythes to inherit But R. Solomon Jarchi observes also that the Levites themselves had no right to them till they had taken out the tenth part from their Tenth and given it to the Priests as is here immediately directed Verse 25 Ver. 25. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying In all the foregoing part of the Chapter v. 1 8 20. the LORD spake unto Aaron though by Moses but here his Order is particularly directed to Moses because that which follows would better come from him than from Aaron Who was employed in acquainting the Levites with the Donation God had made of the Tythes to them v. 21. but it would not have been so proper for him to tell them what was to be given out of the Tythes to himself and to the Priests Verse 26 Ver. 26. Thus speak unto the Levites and say unto them When ye take of the Children of Israel the Tythes which I have given you from them for your Inheritance In these words Moses confirms the report which Aaron had made to them that the Tythes of the Land should be theirs and their Brethren the Children of Israel have no right to them Then shall ye offer up an Heave-offering for the LORD As the Israelites made their grateful Acknowledgments to God by offering their Tythes to him for the use of his Servants the Levites v. 24. so it was but fit that the Levites should be so grateful as to offer to him the Tythe of their Tythes as it here follows for such uses as he should appoint Even a tenth part of the Tythe For the tenth part which God reserved to himself out of the Land which he gave the Children of Israel was a kind of Rent paid to him their Supreme LORD And he assigning this Rent over to the Levites for their Maintenance thought good notwithstanding to reserve a Tythe of this tenth part to himself that thereby he might as it were hold his Possession and keep Seisin as the Lawyers speak of his own Inheritance Ver. 27. And this your Heave-offering shall be reckoned Verse 27 unto you Be accepted by God as the Offerings heaved up to him in the Sanctuary are v. 24. though it be but the hundredth part of the whole Fruit of the Land As though it were the Corn of the Threshing-floor and as the fulness of the Wine-press As if you paid such a Tythe as the Israelites do to you out of all their own Fields and Vineyards That is they were to believe their Offering of this small part to be as acceptable to God as that of all the Tribes of Israel and that they should have the same right to what remained when they had done this as the People had to all the rest of the Fruits of the Earth when they had paid the tenth part to the Levites Ver. 28. Thus you also shall offer an Heave-offering Verse 28 unto the LORD of all your Tythes which ye receive of the Children of Israel He would have them know that he ordered this because he would not have the Levites alone offer nothing to him from whom they received so much but they also should make him a grateful Acknowledgment as well as others And ye shall give thereof the LORD 's Heave-offering It is called so often the LORD 's Heave-offering that they might the more willingly pay it out of a thankful sense of what they owed to him the Donor of all To Aaron the Priest This Tythe is thought by some to have been designed for the High-Priest alone Two great Men in their time were of this Opinion viz. Nicolaus Lyra and the famous Alphonsus Tostatus And another very learned Person of our own Bishop R. Montagu thinks it not altogether improbable that such a Provision as this might be made for the High-Priest and his Family State and Dignity he being a Man of great Power and Might only less than the Kings of Israel and the inferiour Priests having a noble Maintenance without this from the First-fruits and Offerings of the People But there is nothing to support this but the mere Letter of the Text for Josephus expresly says the contrary Lib. VI. Archaeolog cap. 4. and so do the generality of the Jewish Writers and St. Hierom also that all the Priests had their share in this Tenth paid by the Levites Which till it was paid the Levites might not spend to their own use any part of their Tythe And to secure this the Priest was to be with the Levites when they took Tythes as we read X Nehem 37 38 to take care that they set out a tenth part of them for the Priests Whereby the Priest the Son of Aaron I cannot think is meant the High-Priest himself for that had been below his Dignity but some Priest I suppose appointed by him who took care of the Concerns of the whole Order of Priesthood and particularly of the High-Priest's interest who it is probable had a principal share among the rest in this Revenue perhaps a tenth part out of their Tenth But for this I have no Authority though I take it for certain that when he saith this Tenth should be given to Aaron the Priest the meaning is that as it was not for himself alone but all his Sons had a share in it so he himself was not excluded from an honourable portion of it It may seem strange perhaps that there is no particular portion set out for the High-Priest by himself if this be not it But it is to be considered that all the forenamed Provision From v. 8. to v. 20. was made for him in the first place and for the Priests together with him For so the words runs Vnto thee have I given them and to thy Sons v. 8 9 c. And he had this priviledge also that he did not Minister by Lot as the other Priests did in their several Courses but when he pleased and might take to himself what Sacrifices he thought good to offer V. 9 10. as Maimonides tells us in Cele Mikdasch cap. 5. where he speaks concerning the High-Priest's Prerogatives Ver. 29. Out of all your Gifts Not only out of Verse 29 their Tythes but out of all their other Possessions which God gave them their Fields for instance which were in the Suburbs of their Cities Ye shall offer Make a Present to the Priests Every Heave-offering Some portion of every thing God gives you to possess Of the LORD As a thankful acknowledgment of the Divine Bounty to you upon whom he hath bestowed so many good things See v. 28. Of all the best thereof And that not of the refuse but of the best of the Tythe and other things that were given them By which is not to be understood that they were bound to pick out the very best Wheat suppose and separate it from the worse which
would have been to have given them more than a tenth part but they were to give the Priests as good as they left for themselves For that was the Rule XXVII Lev. 32 33. And it was but reason the Priests should have this honourable provision made for them above the Levites their Vocations being more honourable and their Service more noble in the very Sanctuary it self For which cause this tenth of the Tythe of the Land was assigned them which they being but few in comparison with the Levites made the allowance to every one of them much greater than to any of the Levites And yet as an augmentation to it they had the First-fruits and their Fees as I said before out of the Sacrifices and other things wholly to their own use Even the hallowed part thereof out of it The sacred part was the tenth part which they might not use it being taken by God for his part XXVII Lev. 30. By which all the rest was sanctified to the use of the owner when this part was taken out of it which may possibly be here also intended Ver. 30. Therefore thou shalt say unto them Tell them the reason why this tenth part must be separated from the rest When ye have heaved the best thereof from it Taken Verse 30 out the tenth part as an Offering to the LORD Then it shall be counted to the Levites as the increase of the Threshing-floor and as the increase of the Wine-press Then the remainder may be as freely used by them as the Corn or the Wine of any Man's Land in Israel when he had paid his Tythe But till then it was unlawful for him to enjoy it because God was first to be served This is made more plain in the next verse Ver. 31. And ye shall eat it After the hallowed Verse 31 part was taken out v. 29. all the rest was theirs to be enjoyed as Men do that which is their own In every place This seems to be said to distinguish these from the holy things given by God to the Priests Which being offered at the Altar were to be eaten only in the Holy Place but the Tythes though they were a kind of Offering to the LORD yet not being presented at the Altar might be eaten any where after the tenth part was given to the Priests And your housholds All their Family Servants as well as others might eat of them whether they were clean or no. And more than this they might sell them to Strangers to buy other Necessaries with the Money they yielded or exchange them for other Commodities For it is your reward for your Service in the Tabernacle of the Congregation See v. 21. Ver. 32. And ye shall bear no sin Suffer no punishment By reason of it For eating it with your Housholds When ye have heaved from it the best of it When they had taken out the tenth part as sacred to God's uses v. 28. they might safely use the rest themselves as they pleased For God had given it to them for their support and therefore would not punish them for eating it as he did those that did eat holy Things which did not belong to them Neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the Children of Israel Nor would there be any danger of polluting the holy Things which God had reserved to himself by turning them to a common use as there would have been if they had eaten the Tythes or other Gifts before the tenth part which was God's was taken out of them Lest ye die In the Hebrew it is Nor shall ye die as those did who meddled with the holy Things which God reserved for his Ministers alone CHAP. XIX Chapter XIX Verse 1 Ver. 1. AND the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying They were both concerned in what follows Moses to deliver the Command and Aaron to see it executed Verse 2 Ver. 2. This is the Ordinance Or the Constitution Of the Law which the LORD hath commanded Which is now passed into a Law by God's command who had ordered this Water of Purification to be made some time before as appears from VIII 7. But now sets down a Rule for all Posterity to observe in the making of it It is the rather mentioned now after the foregoing History to free the People from that great fear they were in of perishing in their Uncleanness XVII 12 13. by showing them a way how to be purified from the greatest Pollution before they approached to the Tabernacle Speak unto the Children of Israel that they bring thee At the common Charge of the People because it was for their common benefit A red Heifer The Hebrew word Parah which we translate Heifer signifies a young Cow as Par signifies a young Bullock not above two or three years old at most as Kimchi and others observe Without spot This the Jews refer to the word red which goes before and take it to signifie perfectly red without the mixture of any other colour for as to any other Imperfections they are provided against in the next words without blemish Insomuch that Maimonides in his Treatise on this Subject saith That if this Cow had two Hairs black or white it was unfit for this use From whence other Nations particularly the Egyptians derived the custom of sacrificing red Oxen as Plutarch tells us in his Book de Iside Osiride 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. And he saith they searcht them so very narrowly that if they found one hair black or white they counted it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unfit to be sacrificed See Bochartus P. I. Hierozoic Lib. II. cap. 39. where he shows this was the most common colour among that sort of Creatures in some Countries Wherein is no blemish See XXII Lev. 20 21 22. And upon which never came yoke Had never been imployed in ploughing the Ground or any other Work for according to the common sense of all Mankind those Creatures which had been made to serve other uses became unfit to be offered to God Whence Diomedes promises Pallas a Cow of a year old 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which no Man hitherto had brought under the yoke Iliad K. And so doth Nestor Odyss T. and the like Bochartus observes out of Virgil Ovid and others in his Hierozoicon P. I. Lib. II. cap. 33. All this is very plain but why a young Cow rather then a Bullock which is commonly appointed in Sacrifices and why one perfectly red is not so easie to understand If we had any reason to believe that those Superstitions were among the Egyptians in the days of Moses which were when Plutarch or Herodotus lived we might very probably say as some Men of Learning have that this Precept was given to preserve the Israelites from their Religion For they abhorred to offer a Cow whom they honoured as sacred to Isis So Herodotus they sacrificed Males both old and young 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but it is not lawful for them to
Brook Zered as it is in II Deut. 13 14. And then to the River Arnon v. 13. and thence to Beer where they digged a famous Well XXI 16 17 18. which perhaps they might have done before in other places if they had made Experiment for Kadesh where they now were was in the Border of a Country inhabited And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron Just as their Fathers had many times done particularly upon such an occasion as this XVII Exod. 2 3. Ver. 3. And the People chode with Moses Instead Verse 3 of condoling with him and comforting him for the Death of his Sister and their Prophetess as Abarbinel observes they came in a rude manner to scold at him And spake saying Would God that we had died when our Brethren died before the LORD By a sudden Death rather than linger away by Thirst They allude to the strokes of God upon their Brethren XI 1 33. XIV 37. XVI 32 35 46. Which one would have thought should have affrighted them from uttering such very discontented Language XIX 2. But nothing will alter those who will not lay to heart and preserve in mind God's Mercies and Judgments Verse 4 Ver. 4. And why have ye brought the Congregation of the LORD into this Wildernoss that we and our Cattle should die there The very words of their Fathers presently after they came out of Egypt XVII Exod 3. Verse 5 Ver. 5. And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt They speak as if it had not been their own desire but that they were perswaded to it by Moses to leave Egypt who was sent to tell them God heard their sighing groans and crys and would deliver them II Exod. 23 24. III. 17. But in a discontented fit nothing of this was remembred To bring us unto this evil place They do not speak of returning to Egypt as their Fathers did XIV 3 4. but they repented that they were come out of it So shamefully forgetful they were of all God's benefits who had in a wonderful manner redeemed them from the heaviest Slavery and hitherto provided for them miraculously in the Wilderness which was a better place than such an ungrateful People deserved It is no place of Seed i. e. of Corn. Or of Figs or of Vines or Pomegranates c. Now they complain for want of other things as well as Water wherein they still imitate their unbelieving Fathers XVI 14. Ver. 6. And Moses and Aaron went from the presence Verse 6 of the Assembly unto the Door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation To pray to God to pardon their Sin and to supply their Wants And they fell upon their Faces As they had often done before on other such like occasions particularly XIV 5. And the Glory of the LORD appeared unto them Unto all the People it is likely as it had done several times to silence their Murmurings See XIV 10. XVI 19 42. Ver. 7. And the LORD spake unto Moses From Verse 7 that Glory which appeared upon the Tabernacle Ver. 8. Take the Rod. That famous Rod wherewith Moses had wrought so many Miracles in Egypt and at the Red Sea c. And gather thou the Assembly together This word Edah signifying sometimes only the Assembly of the Elders not of the whole People it would be uncertain which of them he is bid to gather together for it is a different word from that which we translate Assembly v. 6. if the tenth verse had not determined that it was the Kahal or Congregation of the People as the word Edah also signifies just before v. 8. Thou and Aaron thy Brother For the People were gathered together against Aaron in a mutinous manner as well as against Moses v. 2. And speak ye unto the Rock before their eyes To the first Rock you meet withal saith Nachmanides and that is within their sight For this is not the same Verse 9 Rock out of which the former Water flowed as the Jews fancy but quite different Their very Names are different that being called Tzur this Selah That was in Rephidim this is Kadesh two very distant places Thus Chaskuni some think this the same with that in Exodus but it is not the same History For the former was in Horeb this in Kadesh which is in the Extremity of the Land of Edom. But whether God pointed him to a Rock which was then in their sight as he did at Horeb XVII Exod. 5 6. or left him to chuse any stony place is not certain But it is a mere fancy of some of the Jews that because God here bad them speak to the Rock Moses offended God in smiting it For to what purpose should he take the Rod if he was not to smite the Rock with it as he had done formerly Just such another conceit there is in Schalschelet Hakkabala where R. Gedaliah saith That he had given an account of this Sin in another Book which he gathered out of various Writers and found there were XXVIII different Opinions about it But he preferred this before any of them that whereas God bad Moses gather the Edah together that is the Assembly of the People v. 8. he gathered the Kahal i. e. the Congregation of the Princes and Elders as he will have it whose Faith needed no Confirmation See Hottinger in his Smegma Orientale cap. 8. p. 451. And it shall give forth his Water The Jews puzzle themselves about this Expression which sounds they think as if the Water was contained in the Rock and Moses only made a Gap for it to gush out But it seems to be spoken in opposition to the Waters issuing out of the former Rock which had supplyed them hitherto but now ceased to flow It being as much as if he had said This shall give forth Water as that did before now it shall be called the Water of this Rock not that of Horeb. And thou shalt bring forth to them Water out of the Rock Renew the former Miracle So thou shalt give the Congregation and their Beasts drink So that they and their Cattle which they fear will perish v. 4. shall be as plentifully provided for as ever Ver. 9. And Moses took the Rod from before the Verse 9 LORD as he commanded him From hence some conclude that this was the Rod of Aaron which blossomed because he is said to take it from before the LORD where Aaron's Rod was laid up XVII 10. But this Rod is so expresly called Moses his Rod V. 11. which was the Instrument of bringing the former Water out of the Rock in Horeb that I cannot but think this was the very same Rod. Which being there called the Rod of God XVII Exod. 9. as it is at the first mention of it IV Exod. 20. it is very probable that by God's order it was laid up somewhere before him in the Sanctuary though not before the Ark of the Testimony For having been imployed in doing
Deut. 12. or had its name from him cannot be determined But Hori we are sure was the first Possessor of whom there is any memory of this Mountain Hor which was afterward called Seir from one descended from him and afterward Edom. Verse 23 Ver. 23. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor. At the foot of the Mount as appears from v. 25. By the Coast of the Land of Edom. XXXIII 37. Verse 24 Ver. 24. Aaron shall be gathered unto his People Shall die v. 26. For he shall not enter into the Land which I have given unto the Children of Israel v. 12. A manifest Token that the earthly Canaan was not the utmost Felicity at which God's Promises aimed because the best Men among them were shut out of it Because ye rebelled against my Word at the Water of Meribah By this word rebelled it appears there was something of Obstinacy in their Unbelief mentioned v. 12. Verse 25 Ver. 25. Take Aaron and Eleazar his Son Speak to them in my Name For it is expresly said XXXIII 38. that they went up at the Commandment of the LORD And bring them up unto Mount Hor. This shows that they pitched their Tents at the bottom of it in a place called Mosera See X Deut. 6. where this seems also to have been the Name of the whole Hill as well as Hor. Ver. 26. And strip Aaron of his Garments i. e. Of Verse 26 his Priestly Robes as Josephus rightly expounds it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mentioned XXVIII Exod. 2 3 c. wherewith he was clothed when he was anointed to the Office of High-Priest VIII Lev. 7 8 9. which he put on I suppose in the Camp and went up in them to Mount Hor that he might die gloriously not in his Robes but immediately after he put them off to be put upon his Son For this stripping him of his Robes was in effect the divesting Aaron of his Office that it might be conferred upon his Son which was done as follows And put them upon Eleazar his Son Which was the investing him with the Office of High-Priest into which he now succeeded in his Fathers stead and was by this Ceremony admitted to it The Talmudists say the manner was first to put on the Breeches then the Coat which being bound about with the Girdle then the Robe upon which was the Ephod and then the Miter and golden Crown See Selden de Succession in Pontif. Lib. II. cap. 8. And Aaron shall be gathered unto his People and die there This was said before in short v. 24. but now the time of his Death is expresly declared immediately after he laid down his Office and had the satisfaction to see his Son inaugurated in his Room and the place of it upon Mount Hor. Of this Phrase Gathered to his People see XXV Gen. 8 17. Ver. 27. And Moses did as the LORD commanded and they went up into Mount Hor in the sight of all the Congregation That they might all be Witnesses Verse 27 of the Succession of Eleazar to the Office of his Father Verse 28 Ver. 28. And Moses stripped Aaron of his Garments and put them upon Eleazar his Son This Moses did as the Minister of God who now translated the Priesthood to another And Aaron died there in the top of the Mount And was buried also there X Deut. 6. For great and heroick Persons were in ancient days usually buried in high Places So Joshua was XXIV 30 33. and Eleazar II Judges 9. and Cadmus and Harmonia who lived near the time of Joshua as Bochartus observes in his Canaan Lib. I. cap 23. And Moses and Eleazar came down from the Mount After they had seen him laid in his Grave by those that attended them This fell out in the fortieth Year after they came out of Egypt on the first day of the fifth Month when Aaron was an Hundred and three and twenty Years old as we read XXXIII 38 39. In the new Moon of the Month which the Athenians called Hecatombaeon the Macedonians I ous and the Hebrews called Sabba as Josephus glosses But that last word should be Ab not Sabba as Jacobus Capellus observes in his Histor Sacra Exotica ad An. 2542. which answers he thinks to the nineteenth of our July And so the Hebrews say in Seder Olam Aaron died on the first day of the Month Ab upon which there is a Fast in their Rituals in memory of it Ver. 29. And when all the Congregation saw that Aaron was dead i. e. Understood as the word See is used XLII Gen. 1. that God had taken him out of the World as Moses and Eleazar told them who Verse 29 also came down from the Mount with him They mourned for Aaron thirty days Till the end of the Month. For so long their Mourning seems in those days to have been continued for great Persons as it was for Moses XXXIV Deut. 8. though a Week sufficed for private Persons Even all the House of Israel Both Men and Women CHAP. XXI Chapter XXI Ver. 1. AND when King Arad the Canaanite In Verse 1 the Hebrew the words are thus placed When the Canaanite King Arad And so they are in the LXX and the Vulgar And Arad may as well signifie a Place as a Person nay there seems more reason to translate the words thus The Canaanitish King of Arad because there was such a City in Canaan mentioned XII Josh 14. and I Judges 16. One of the Sons of Canaan being called Arad as both the LXX and the Vulgar translate the Hebrew word Arvad X Gen. 18. who it is likely gave his Name to this part of the Country the chief City of which was also called after him Which dwelt in the South In the South part of the Land of Canaan towards the Eastern Angle of it near the Dead Sea See XXXIII 40. Heard that Israel came by the way of the Spies Which were sent by the King Arad as many suppose to bring him Intelligence which way the Israelites marched For it being Eight and thirty Years since the Spies sent by Moses went that way or rather they going so secretly that it was not known which way they went it is thought not probable that Moses speaks of them in this place But there is no necessity of taking the Hebrew word Atharim to signifie Spies but it may as well be the Name of a Place as the LXX understood it by whom it is translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And if the situation would agree to it one might probably conjecture the place was so called from the Spies that went from thence by Moses his order to survey the Country For that was a thing so memorable that as it could not well slip out of the Minds of the People of Canaan so they found I make no question after they were gone which way they came into their Country though for the present they passed unobserved and everafter called it the way of
former numbring I. 33. which makes Moses's Prophecy a little after this the more remarkable XXXIII Deut. 17. where he makes the Ephramites Ten to One in comparison with the Manassites Verse 38 Ver. 38. The Sons of Benjamin after their Families This Tribe also was under the Standard of Ephraim and therefore mentioned here together with him and Manasseh When they went into Egypt the Sons of Benjamin were no less than Ten XLVI Gen. 21. Half of which either had no Children or they were all Extinct before this time for here are only Five named Of Belah the Family of the Belaites c. The two first Bela and Ashbel are there named as they are here but the next Ahiram is there called Ehi and in 1 Chron. VIII 1. Ahara such an Alteration doth Time make in Names Ver. 39. Of Shupham c. He is called Muppim in XLVI Gen. 21. and Hupham is there called Huppim Ver. 40. The Sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman Verse 39 Though five of his Sons were dead without Issue Verse 40 yet two of his Grand-sons descended from his eldest Son made distinct Families in Israel And the Son of one of them was called after the name of his Uncle the youngest Son of Benjamin XLVI Gen. 21. whose name was Ard and in I Chron. VIII 3. by a small transposition of Letters is called Adar Ver. 41. There were numbred of them forty five thousand Verse 41 and six hundred This Tribe was grown to be Ten thousand more than they were at the last numbring I. 37. Ver. 42. These are the Sons of Dan. Thus he speaks Verse 42 though he had but one See v. 8. Of Shuham Called Hushim by a transposition of Letters XLVI Gen. 23. Just as the same Tree is called Almugim 1 Kings X. 8. and Algumim 2 Chron. II. 8. And the same City in which Joshua was buried called Timnath-Serach XXIV Josh 30. and Timnath-Cheres II Judg. 9. And to come still nearer the same Man is called Rechum XII Nehem. 3. and Cherim v. 15. of the same Chapter These are the Families of Dan after their Families That is from these Shuhamites came all the rest of the Families of this Tribe which are not here mentioned but into which this Family was sub-divided when it grew very great as it appears from the next words Ver. 43. All the Families of the Shuhamites This Verse 43 shows there were more than one of them who had names from some of the Children of Shuham Were threescore and four thousand and four hundred A vast number to spring from one Man when Benjamin who had ten Sons wanted almost twenty thousand of this number which is Seventeen hundred more than were in this Tribe at the last numbring I. 39. Verse 44 Ver. 44. Of the Children of Asher after their Families c. They all retain the same names which they had when they went into Egypt XLVI Gen. 17. Only he that is here called Jeshui is there called Ishui and another Son there mentioned is here omitted his Family I suppose being quite extinct Verse 45 Ver. 45. Of the Sons of Beriah c. Instead of him whose Family was quite lost the youngest Son of Asher Beriah had two Families sprung from him Verse 46 Ver. 46. And the name of the Daughter of Asher was Sarah Or Serah as she is called XLVI Gen. 17. He doth not say that a Family sprang from her which Corn. Bertramus cap. 6. de Republ. Jud. seems to think probable instead of some that were lost but she was a Woman it is likely as eminent in this Tribe as any of her Brethren for some Vertue or other Insomuch that the Cabbalists in the ancient Book Zohar parting the heavenly Region where the Souls of holy Women are into four Palaces make four great Women to be a kind of Presidents of them viz. Pharaoh's Daughter who educated Moses and this Serah the Daughter of Asher with Jochabed the Mother of Moses and Deborah the famous Prophetess See Selden Lib. II. de Jure Nat. Gent. cap. 4. Ver. 47. Were fifty and three thousand and four hundred This Tribe also fructified exceedingly wanting but an Hundred of Twelve thousand more than they were at the last numbring I. 41. Verse 47 Ver. 48 49. Of the Sons of Naphtali after their Families Verse 48 49. c. There are four of them whose Names were not all changed since they went into Egypt See XLVI Gen. 24. Ver. 50. Were forty five thousand and four hundred Verse 50 They wanted Eight thousand of their number I Numb 43. These two Tribes Asher and Naphtali are mentioned together with Dan because they were encamped under his Standard II Numb 25 26 c. Ver. 51. These were the numbred of the Children of Verse 51 Israel six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and fifty That is the whole Number amounted to this Sum which was but Eighteen hundred and twenty less than they were when they were last numbred Thirty eight year ago I. 46. So great was the Goodness of God and such his Faithfulness to his Word that when he destroyed all the former Generation who were above Twenty years old he multiplyed their Posterity so fast in that space of time as to make them equal in a manner to those that went before them Ver. 52. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying Verse 52 After the People were thus numbred and every Family and the Persons it contained exactly known then the LORD ordered as follows Ver. 53. Vnto these i. e. These Families before-named Verse 53 The Land shall be divided i. e. The Land of Canaan into which they were going For an Inheritance Not to be alienated from those Families According to the number of Names Of the Persons in the several Families from Twenty years old and upward v. 2. So that Minors who had not attained the Age of Twenty years when this account was taken the Jews say were not to have any share in the Land though they were come to that Age at the time of the distribution of it among them But those Minors had Possessions as Heirs of their Fathers according to the Families Verse 54 Ver. 54. To many thou shalt give the more Inheritance and to few thou shalt give the less Inheritance That is order Joshua to assign them a share in the Land proportionable to the number of Persons in every Tribe Some of which were far greater than others and therefore to have more Land proportionble to the largeness of their Families But this was not measured merely by the number of Acres as we speak but by the goodness of the Soil for a little Ground in a rich Country would maintain more Persons than twice as much in a barren So Josephus Lib. V. Antiq. cap. 1. where after he had said that Joshua made a Distribution of the Land 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the bigness of each Tribe he adds that in doing this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
it was necessary to consider rather the value than the measure of every Portion And gives this reason why the Tribe of Benjamin had so narrow a Portion allotted them because the Ground was so very fertil about Jerusalem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Lot was very strait because of the goodness of the Soil To every Man shall his Inheritance be given That is to every Family According to those that were numbred of him According to the Account that had been now taken not considering who might be born after this and thereby increase a Family or die and thereby diminish it before the Division of the Land was made For several died we may well think in the Wars with the Canaanites and others were born before the Country was conquered Ver. 55. Notwithstanding the Land shall be divided Verse 55 by Lot When it was divided into so many equal shares as there were Tribes a due respect being had to their Number they were not to choose which share they would have but that was to be determined by Lot The manner of which they say was this Two Urns being placed before him that drew the Lots in one of which were Scrols of Parchment containing the Names of the XII Tribes of Israel and in the other the Portions of Land he first put in his hand into the Urn wherein were their Names and drew out one suppose that of Judah and then he put his hand into the other Urn and drew out the Portion that fell to his share Or perhaps there was only one Urn wherein were the several Portions of Land and they began suppose with the eldest Son of Israel viz. Reuben and pulling out a Scroll said This is the Portion of Reuben and so with the rest But which soever way they proceeded there were two Distributions made One of the whole Country into XII Parts and another of each of those Parts among the several Families that were in each Tribe See Selden de Successionibus ad Leges Hebr. cap. 21 22. According to the Names of the Tribes of their Families they shall inherit This seems to justifie what I now said that they first named the Tribe whose Lot they would draw out and that contained his Inheritance But after all this it might happen that some of their Lots were too scanty for their Number and others too large In which case Eleazar and Joshua and the rest appointed for this Office XXXIV 17 c. ordered some Portion to be taken from those who had too much and given to those who had too little for their Families This appears from XIX Josh 9. where a Portion out of the Lot of Judah is ordered for Simeon because the one was too large and the other too small and the same may be said of Dan v. 47. Verse 56 Ver. 56. According to the Lot shall the Possession be divided The first words which we translate according to the Lot being in the Hebrew Al pi hagoral which literally signifies according to the mouth of the Lot which is no more than as the Lot shall declare the Jews have a conceit that the Land was divided not merely by Lot but by Vrim and Thummim which Eleazar the Priest then put on as the Talmud describes it in Bava Bathra and two Urns standing before him in one of which were the Names of the XII Tribes and in the other the Names of the Portions of Land he looked by the Holy Ghost upon the Vrim and Thummim and said Let such a Tribe come up which being done he said again Let such a Portion of Land come up for this Tribe by which means all the People before whom this was done were satisfied that their Portion was allotted to them by God and all cause of murmuring and contention taken away Thus R. Solomon and others mentioned by Buxtorf in his Histor Vrim Thummim cap. 3. And Martinius Mauritius in his late Treatise de Sortitione veter Hebr. cap. 29. sect 4 5. where he observes how ancient the way of dividing Goods and Lands by Lot was in other Countries But there was no need of this Solemnity the Division of the Land by God's Order after the manner of Lots sufficienly showing it was not by Man's Directions but by God's that such a share fell to them Between many and few Every Tribe having its Land assigned them by the Lot it was then divided among the several Families in the same manner as these words seem to signifie and then every Houshold had their share allotted them according to the number of Persons that were in them Which if they were many had a greater share if few a less By which means every Man had reason to rest satisfied because such was his Lot That is such was the good pleasure of God who directed the Lots as we learn from XVIII Joshua 6 8 10. where we read expresly that in the Division of the Land he cast Lots for them before the LORD in Shiloh that he might order every one his Portion Ver. 57. And these are they that were numbred of the Verse 57 Levites after their Families It was fit an account should be taken of this Tribe also that it might be seen how God had blessed them as well as the rest of the Tribes of Israel with a numerous Issue though he had cut off in the space of Thirty eight years all the former Generation from Twenty years old and upward Of Gershon the Family of the Gershonites c. The principal Families in this Tribe were three descended from the three Sons of Levi Gershon Kohath and Merari Whose Names were not at all altered since their coming out of Egypt until this time XLVI Gen. 11. VI Exod. 16. Verse 58 Ver. 58. These are the Families of the Levites The three fore-named were the principal Families divided into those lesser Families which here follow The Family of the Libnites Descended from Libni the eldest Son of Gershon Who had another Son whose Family is here omitted viz. Shimi though mentioned VI Exod. 17. But in this place Moses doth not give a full account of all the Families of the Levites nor is it given in exact order because they were to have no Inheritance in the Division of the Land which was the reason that all the Families of the other Tribes are set down so punctually The Family of the Hebronites From Hebron one of the Sons of Kohath VI Exod. 18. III Numb 19. The Family of the Mahlites the Family of the Mushites From the two Sons of Merari who were called Mahli and Mushi VI Exod. 19. III Numb 20. The Family of the Korathites From the great Grand-child of Levi VI Exod. 21. XVI Numb 1. And Kohath begat Amram Who was Grand-child of Levi and Brother to the Father of Korah VI Exod. 18. Verse 59 Ver. 59. And the name of Amram's wife was Jochabed the daughter of Levi. See VI Exod. 20. Whom her Mother viz. Levi his Wife bare to Levi
time as they did to the Sun at his rising and when he entred into the several Signs Besides the continual Burnt-offering and his Drink-offering This is so often particularly mentioned lest any should imagine it might be spared when there were such liberal Offerings of several kinds Ver. 16. And on the fourteenth day of the first Month Verse 16 is the Passover of the LORD See XII Exod. 6 18. XXIII Lev. 5. where it is called the LORD's Passover See XII Exod. 27. Ver. 17. In the fifteenth day of this Month is the Feast The fourteenth day at Even the Feast of the Passover was kept as appears from XII Exod. 14. Verse 17 But on the fifteenth day began another Feast called the Feast of unleavened Bread See XXIII Lev. 6. Seven days shall unleavened Bread be eaten See XII Exod. 15. XIII 6 7. XXIII Lev. 6. Verse 18 Ver. 18. On the first day shall be an holy Convocation ye shall do no manner of servile work therein See XII Exod. 16. XXIII Lev. 7. Verse 19 Ver. 19. But ye shall offer a Sacrifice made by fire for a Burnt-offering unto the LORD The Solemnity was ordained before and Offerings also in general prescribed to be made seven days See XXIII Lev. 8. but the particular Sacrifices not set down tell now Two young Bullocks one Ram and seven Lambs of the first year they shall be unto you without spot The same Sacrifices which were appointed to be offered upon every first day of the Month v. 11. Verse 20 Ver. 20. And their Meat-offering shall be of flour mingled with Oyl three tenth deals shall ye offer for a Bullock and two tenth deals for a Ram. The very same which were appointed on the first day of every Month v. 12. Verse 21 Ver. 21. A several tenth deal shalt thou offer for every Lamb throughout the seven Lambs Just as it was in the forementioned Sacrifice v. 13. And though the Drink-offerings be not mentioned they must be understood to be the same because they always accompanied the Meat-offerings of Burnt-Sacrifices which were not compleat without them Verse 22 Ver. 22. And one Goat for a Sin-offering to make atonement for you As it was in the New Moon v. 15. But Meat and Drink-offerings did not accompany Offerings for Sin save only in the case of a Leper who was to bring three Offerings a Sin-offering a Trespass-offering and a Burnt-offering for his cleansing with three tenth parts of an Ephah of Flour XIV Lev. 10 c. Ver. 23. Ye shall offer these beside the Burnt-offering Verse 23 of the Morning which is the continual Burnt-offering There are two things that are here to be remarked that these Offerings as I noted before should not put by the continual Burnt-Sacrifice but be added to it and that all these were offered in the Morning after the daily Morning Sacrifice and were not part of the Evening Sacrifice which concluded all Ver. 24. After this manner ye shall offer daily throughout Verse 24 the seven days Upon every one of the days of unleavened Bread v. 17. which though it was a great Expence yet was but a fitting Acknowledgment of God's wonderful goodness to them in bringing them out of the Land of Egypt with all their Flocks and their Herds which was the foundation of all their happiness afterwards by making them a free People The Meat of my Sacrifice made by fire Here is the very same word with that v. 2. where he calls this Sacrifice his lechem which we there translate his bread but here very properly his meat or food Which was set upon his Table the Altar every day and by his fire from Heaven consumed which according to the language of Men was called his eating of it as the Heathen Gods also are said to eat the Fat of their Sacrifices XXXII Deut. 38. Of a sweet savour unto the LORD Very acceptable to him as hath been often observed It shall be offered beside the continual Burnt-offering and his Drink-offering There is the greatest care taken by the frequent repetition of this that they should not think to save their daily Sacrifice by these others which were to be added to it and not to supply the place of it See v. 15. Verse 25 Ver. 25. And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy Convocation ye shall do no servile work therein This last day of the Feast was equal to the first XXIII Lev. 7 8. and is called a Feast unto the LORD XIII Exod. 6. Verse 26 Ver. 26. Also the day of the First-fruits Called the Feast of Harvest the First-fruits of their Labours XXIII Exod. 16. and the Feast of Weeks when they brought the First-fruits of Wheat-harvest XXXIV Exod. 22. XVI Deut. 10. The Jews in their Writings commonly call this Feast by the name of Atzereth and so do the Chaldee Paraphrase upon this place though Abarbinel observes that this alone of all the three great Feasts is never called so in the holy Scripture It is hard therefore to tell why the Jews call it so in a singular manner but our learned Dr. Lightfoot hath made several probable Conjectures about it one of which and most pertinent to this place is because there was a restraint as the word signifies upon the People from bringing their First-fruits till this Feast If any did they received them not from them but laid them by till this day came See Temple Service chap. 14. sect 4. When ye bring a new Meat-offering unto the LORD Mentioned XXIII Lev. 16. Which were two Loaves made of their first Corn v. 17. where they are called the First-fruits unto the LORD After your Weeks be out That is the seven Weeks which they were to number from the morrow after the Sabbath XXIII Lev. 15. i. e. after the first day of unleavened Bread When they offered another sort of First-fruits which must be carefully distinguished from those here mentioned viz. of the Barley Harvest which began at the Passover when they were to bring a Sheaf of their First-fruits unto the Priest XXIII Lev. 10. the presenting of which Sheaf was an Introduction to Harvest and procured them liberty to begin to put the Sickle into the Corn which now after seven Weeks they reaped and carried in at this Feast when they brought these new First-fruits unto the LORD All which is a Description of that which in the New Testament is called the Feast of Pentecost being fifty days as we read there in Leviticus after the other great Feast Ye shall have an holy Convocation ye shall do no servile work See XXIII Lev. 21. Ver. 27 But ye shall offer the Burnt-offering for a Verse 27 sweet savour unto the LORD Over and above the Burnt-offering which was prescribed to be offered with the two loaves before-mentioned XXIII Lev. 18. unto which this was an additional Sacrifice plainly distinct from it Two young Bullocks one Ram seven Lambs of the first year The very same that were ordered to be
slaughter of the People that wantonly despised Manna and lusted after Flesh Yet here God was pleased to vouchsafe to send his Spirit upon the LXX Elders for the Assistance of Moses Ver. 17. And they departed from Kibroth-hattaavah Verse 17 and encamped at Hazeroth See XI 35. Where Miriam was punished for her Envy at Moses XII 1 10. Ver. 18. And they departed from Hazeroth and Verse 18 pitched at Rithmah A place also in the Wilderness of Paran as appears from this Book XII 16. and was not far from Kadesh-barnea from whence the Spies were sent to search out the Land of Canaan See XIII 26. In which place they lay a long time I Deut. 46. Ver. 19. And they departed from Rithmah and Verse 19 pitched in Rimmon-Parez This and the following Stages are no where else mentioned and seem to have all been in the Wilderness of Paran before spoken of Which was a very long Tract of Ground from Elana a Port in the Arabian Gulph to Kadesh-barnea which as David Chytraeus computes it was thirty German Miles Verse 20 Ver. 20. And they departed from Rimmon-Parez and pitched in Libnah This and the rest to v. 31. are places of which as I said we no where else read and so can give no account of them They were all uninhabited and out of the road of all Travellers and perhaps had no names till they were given them by the Israelites who encamped in so many various places sometimes in Mountains as appears from v. 23. and sometimes in the Plain that they might be taught that God was alike present every where to protect defend and provide for them even there where no Man dwelt The Jews make this use of their Travels here recorded by Moses through so many unknown places by which he brought them at last to Canaan to keep up their Spirits under this long Captivity as they call it wherein they now are and have wandred uncertainly from Mountain to Mountain from Kingdom to Kingdom from Banishment to Banishment as they themselves speak till their Messiah come to redeem them Which he will do when their Eyes are opened to see what one of their ancient Rabbins Moses Hadarschan hath told them as he is quoted by Paulus Fagius That the Redeemer was born before him who reduced Israel into this last Captivity Verse 31 Ver. 31. And they departed from Moserah and pitched in Bene-Jaakan In X Deut. 6. Moses seems to say the quite contrary that they took their journey from Beeroth of the Children of Jaakan to Mosera But there he may be thought to speak of a different place as Drusius notes upon those words Or if he doth not it is no wonder if while they wandred in this tedious Wilderness they went backward and forward from Bene-Jaakan to Moserath which he mentions in Deuteronomy and from Moserath back again to Bene-Jaakan which he mentions here Ver. 32. And they journeyed from Bene-Jaakan and Verse 32 encamped at Horhagidgad This place was also called Gudgodah X Deut. 7. if Moses speaks there of the same places he doth here Ver. 33. And they went from Horhagidgad and Verse 33 pitched in Jotbathah Called X Deut. 7. Jotbath Ver. 34. And they removed from Jotbathah and encamped Verse 34 at Ebronah All their removals mentioned from v. 16. to this and the next place are an account of their wanderings in the Wilderness from the second year after their coming out of Egypt till the fortieth in which time all the Congregation above twenty years of Age were consumed and buried in some part or other of this great Desert Ver. 35. And they departed from Ebronah and encamped Verse 35 at Ezion-gaber A place on the Red-Sea unto which they were brought before they ended their Travels 1 Kings IX 26. XXII 18. It had its name from the snagged Rocks like to the Back-bone which stretched out a great way on that shore as Bochart observes Which Rocks made this part so dangerous that it was forsaken in after times and Elah frequented as a safer Harbor See Lib. I. Canaan cap. 44. It is not recorded how long they remained in any of these places but it is likely a considerable time in some of them for they spent Thirty eight years in these Removals Ver. 36. And they removed from Ezion-Gaber and pitched in the Wilderness of Zin which is Kadesh See XX. 1. He doth not mean Kadesh-barnea which Verse 36 was on the Borders of Canaan but another Kadesh in the Skirts of this Wilderness towards the South not far from the Port I now mentioned which the Greeks call Elana on the Border of Edom. Where Miriam died and where Water was brought out of a Rock See XX. 8 14 16. Verse 37 Ver. 37. And they removed from Kadesh and pitched in Mount Hor in the edge of the Land of Edom. See XX. 28. Verse 38 Ver. 38. And Aaron went up into Mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD XX. 23 24 27. XXXII Deut. 50. The Hebrew Doctors are too conceited in their observation that because it is said of him and of Moses that they died al pi at the mouth of the LORD the LORD took their Souls out of their Bodies with a kiss But Maimonides indeavours to make a sober sence of this by making their meaning to be that they expired with the transcendent Pleasure of Divine Love More Nevoch P. III. cap. 51. And died there in the fortieth year after the Children of Israel came out of the Land of Egypt in the first day of the fifth Month. A few Months before his Brother Moses Verse 39 Ver. 39. And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in Mount Hor. He was just Eighty and three years old when he and Moses first went with a Message to Pharaoh VII Exod. 7. By which it appears that they were not long in working all the Miracles in Egypt before they brought the People forth for now Forty years after he was but an Hundred twenty three years old Ver. 40. And King Arad the Canaanite which dwelt in the South in the Land of Canaan See XXI 1. Heard of the coming of the Children of Israel Had News brought him that the Israelites were Verse 40 coming towards his Country whereupon he went out to oppose them and God gave them as we read there a glorious Victory over him This shows that Moses intended in the recital of all these places where they had been to bring to remembrance the most remarkable Passages of God's Providence over them some of which he expresly sets down Ver. 41. And they departed from Mount Hor and Verse 41 pitched in Zalmonah We read in the XXIth Chapter of this Book v. 4. that they journeyed from Hor to compass the Land of Edom but are not told there where they pitched which is here supplyed the name of the place being Zalmonah Which carries in it the signification of an Image and therefore here perhaps the brazen Serpent was
the LORD and the Camp of the Levites to be from the entrance of the Mount of the House of the LORD to that East-Gate of the Temple And the Camp of Israel they thought extended from the Entrance of Jerusalem to the Mount of the House of the LORD Now Lepers were so unclean that they were not admitted into any of these three Camps but shut out of them all See XIII Lev. 46. But he that had an Issue XV Lev. 2. was only shut out of the two first Camps the Camp of the LORD and the Camp of the Levites but he might be in the Camp of Israel And he that was defiled by the dead XXI Lev. 1. was only excluded from the first the Sanctuary but not from the other two See Drusius also upon IV. 25. Ver. 3. Both Male and Female shall ye put out For Verse 3 Women had Issues for instance as well as Men XV Lev. 2 and 19 c. That they defile not their Camps The Camp of Israel consisted of four Camps and therefore he speaks in the Plural Number that of Judah that of Reuben that of Ephraim and that of Dan II Numb 3 10 18 25. Which would have been so defiled if they had suffered these unclean Persons to stay among them that none would have been fit to go to the Sanctuary In the midst of which I dwell By his special Presence in the Sanctuary which was incompassed by these Camps out of reverence to which such unclean Persons were to be kept at a greater distance than other Men and Women Ver. 4. And the Children of Israel did so and put them without the Camp c. There was an order for this before particularly for putting out the Lepers Verse 4 XIII Lev. 46. which could not be put in Execution till the Camp was formed as now it was Verse 5 Ver. 5. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying It is uncertain when this was spoken but I see no reason why we should not think it was at the same time with the other things here mentioned Verse 6 Ver. 6. When a Man or Woman shall commit any sin that Men commit In the Hebrew the words are plainly these shall commit any sin of Man that is against his Neighbour As in III Joel 19. Violence of the Children of Judah is truly translated Violence against the Children of Judah For it is apparent from the next Verses 7 8. that Moses here speaks of Offences against their Neighbours To do a Trespass against the LORD Such Offences against their Neighbours as were also great Offences against God For the Chaldee understands these words of Frauds and Cheats put upon Men by a false Oath And there is a good warrant for this Interpretation from VI Lev. 2 3. where Moses gives the same command which seems here to be repeated only because he had something to add unto it v. 8. And that person be guilty Or rather be sensible of his guilt See VI Lev. 4. Verse 7 Ver. 7. Then they shall confess the sin that they have done Or rather If they shall confess c. For so the Particle Vau sometimes signifies particularly XII 14. where we as well as the LXX translate it If her Father had spit in her face See what I have noted upon VI Lev. 4. And he shall recompense c. Rather Then he shall recompense the Injury he did to his Neighbour in the manner here directed which hath been explained VI Lev. 5. See there Ver. 8. But if a Man have no Kinsman to recompense Verse 8 the Trespass unto By this it is apparent that if a Man to whom an Injury had been done was dead he that committed it was bound to make Satisfaction to his Heir whosoever he was by restoring the Principal and adding a fifth part to it Now the Israelites never wanting some of their Kindred to succeed to their Inheritances the Hebrew Doctors expound this of the Proselytes of Righteousness who might possibly dye without any heir because they had no Kindred but such as were born after their Regeneration In which Case the Goods that had been illegally taken from such a Proselyte by a Jew did not become his own unless he paid the Price of them with such an addition as is here required c. See Selden L. VI. de Jure Nat. Gent. cap. 4. p. 684 685. Edit Lond. Let the Trespass be recompensed unto the LORD By bringing to him the Principal and the fifth part Even unto the Priest Whom God deputed to receive it as his Minister And it was as the Jews rightly expound it equally distributed among all the Priests who were then waiting in their Course Which is a new addition to the Law in VI Lev. and the reason it is likely why that Law is here repeated Besides the Ram of the Atonement c. Mentioned VI Lev. 6 7. where see what I have noted Ver. 9. And every offering of all the holy things of the Children of Israel Upon the occasion of the foregoing Laws concerning a Recompense to be made Verse 9 to the Priest where a Man that had been wrong'd was dead and no Heir to him could be found he explains some other Laws wherein the Priests were concerned who were to have all the Heave-offerings as the word Trumoth here used signifies XVIII 8. Which they bring unto the Priest To be offered unto God Shall be his Who offers it For there being many Priests who waited in their Courses at the Tabernacle all of which could not officiate at the same time but some at one time some at another this Law determines that the particular Priest who performed the Office of Sacrificing should have to himself that part of the holy Things which fell to the Priests share and it should not be divided among them all Thus L'Empereur upon Bava kama c. 9. sect 12. expounds these words better than any I have met withal Verse 10 Ver. 10. And every mans hallowed thing shall be his As the former Verse speaks of the holy Things of the Children of Israel in general so this of what any particular Person offered which still with greater reason was to belong to the Priest that offered it For the Labourer is worthy of his hire and therefore he that did the work of Sacrificing had the Reward of it R. Solomon applying this to Tithes hath a gloss upon these words which though not pertinent is very remarkable He that doth not duly pay his Tithe in the end his Land shall yield him but a tithe of what it was wont to yield And so R. Bechai upon XIV Deut. expounds these words when a Man divideth not as he ought he shall have nothing but the holy things that is the Tithe of what he used to have according to V Isa 10. Whatsoever any Man giveth the Priest it shall be his These words are only a fuller Explication of this Law as the same L'Empereur observes that the rest of the Priests might