c. subjoyning these words Blessed be God who hath hitherto preserved us in life and brought us unto this time When all was ended the People said with a loud voice these words of the Psalmist LXXXIX Psal 15. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound they shall walk O LORD in the light of thy countenance See Buxtorf Synag Jud. cap. 24. Such blowing with Trumpets was used by the Gentiles particularly in the Solemnities they observed in honour of the Mother of the Gods One whole day which was the second being spent in blowing of Trumpets as Julian tells us in his fifth Oration upon this Subject 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 168. Ver. 25. Verse 25 Ye shall do no servile work therein It was a very Solemn Day like the Day of Pentecost v. 21. and others before noted on which they might only make provision for their Meals XII Exod. 16. which were wont to be very liberal upon this day And among other Dishes they serve up to the Table a Ram's head in the memory of that Ram which was sacrificed in the room of Isaac which they fancy was upon this day But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD About which Directions are given afterwards XXIX Numb 2 c. For it was not to be a Day of Rest meerly but of Religion Ver. 26. Verse 26 And the LORD spake unto Moses saying The following Precept is of great moment which makes this Preface to be set before it Ver. 27. Verse 27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement This hath been explained XVI 29 30 31. It shall be an holy convocation to you On which they were to assemble to humble themselves before God as it here follows And ye shall afflict your souls See Chapter XVI I shall only add That the Jews fancy this Solemn day of Fasting was appointed partly to avert those Diseases which were wont to be rife in the Autumnal Season and this day chosen rather than any other that they might express their Grief at that time when the Sin of the Golden Calf was committed And offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD A Burnt-offering about which Directions are given in XXIX Numb 8. Ver. 28. Verse 28 And ye shall do no work on that same day See v. 3. and XVI 31. For it is a day of atonement Set apart wholly for this work which is at large described in the XVIth Chapter To make an atonement for you before the LORD your God First the Priest made an Atonement for himself and his Family XVI 6 c. and then for the People and for the holy place c. v. 15 16 33. Ver. 29. Verse 29 For whatsoever soul he be that shall not be afflicted on that day he shall be cut off from among his people The Affliction here spoken of consisted chiefly in abstaining from all manner of Food as the Jews make account from one Evening to the next In which time if any Man eat to satisfie his Appetite that is above the quantity of a Date he was in danger to be cut off by the hand of God I suppose So they say in Joma cap. 8. n. 2. Besides which there were four other Mortifications for no Man was to put on his Shoes nor anoint himself nor wash his Face nor enjoy his Wife See Buxtorf Synad Jud. cap. 26. Ver. 30. Verse 30 And whatsoever soul he be that doth any work in that same day the same soul will I destroy from among his people The two great things required on this day being to Afflict themselves and to rest from Labour they who transgressed either of these Commands are threatned to be cut off and that by God himself as this Verse teaches us to Expound the foregoing Ver. 31. Verse 31 Ye shall do no manner of work It shall be a statute for ever c. This is repeated again because it was a thing of such high importance that they should wholly attend to the business of this great Day which was a Day of Humiliation and Repentance and making their Peace with God And as the Jews themselves observe there was no Man so good but he had offended in some thing or other and besides they were to Afflict themselves for the Sins of the whole Body of the Nation Ver. 32. Verse 32 It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest As the weekly Sabbath was v. 3. when they did not meerly rest from Labour but imployed themselves in the Divine Service as v. 8. I observed they did on other Sabbaths of lesser strictness And this the Heathens themselves could discern that the design of their Festivals which were Days of Ease and remission of Labours was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to withdraw the Mind from Human Imployments 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that so a Man may have leisure to turn his Mind towards God Which is a most Divine saying of Strabo which I think I have noted before but cannot be too oft repeated Lib. X. Geograph p. 467. And ye shall afflict your souls in the ninth day of the month at even They kept the High-Priest on the Even of the Day of Expiation from eating much because it would make him sleepy as they tell us in Joma cap. 1. n. 4. Where our learned Sheringham observes that the Evening before is called the Even of the Day of Expiation because they began the Fast before the setting of the Sun so that the whole Evening belonged to the following Sabbath By which these two places XVI 29. where it is said they shall Afflict their Souls on the tenth day and this Verse which saith on the ninth day which seem to clash one with another may be easily reconciled For they began to afflict themselves in the conclusion of the ninth day and ended the Fast in the conclusion of the tenth See Menasseh ben Israel Quest 4. ad Lev. From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath This justifies what was just now said That this Day began in the Even of the ninth day and continued till the Even of the tenth Your Sabbath So this day was called because no manner of work might be done on this day no more then on the Seventh or weekly Sabbath v. 31. And so it is called by the Prophet LVIII Isaiah 13. Ver. 33. Verse 33 And the LORD spake unto Moses saying The same Preface is prefixed to this as to the rest because it was one of the three greatest Solemnities appointed by God in remembrance of his Benefits See v. 39. Ver. 34. Verse 34 The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD It was to begin on the fifteenth day and continue seven days as the Feast of Unleavened Bread did The design of this Feast is thus expressed by Maimonides who compares it with the Passover Which served saith he More Nevoch P. III. c. 43.
for Sin offered v. 14. before they could be worthy to have any Gift or Present which they made to God received by him But upon their Expiation an whole Burnt-offering was accepted v. 18. and after that followed this Sacrifice which was a Peace-offering as appears from v. 31. part of which was burnt upon the Altar part given to the Priest and the rest they themselves ate for whom it was offered that it might appear they were so far in the favour of God as to eat with him of his Meat from his Table Abarbanel hath the same observation Ver. 25. Verse 25 And he took the fat and the rump c. All this Verse likewise is there explained XXIX Exod. 22. Ver. 26 27 28. Verse 26 27 28. And out of the basket of unleavened bread c. These three Verses show that Moses exactly followed the Orders he had received XXIX Exod 23 24 25. where they have been explained Ver. 28. Verse 28 Burnt them upon the burnt-offering This shows that they were not a burnt-offering properly as I there observed but an Appendix to it They were consecrations for a sweet savour Because they were offered to consecrate and sanctifie them as this is explained XXIX Exod. 33. See there Ver. 29. Verse 29 And Moses took the breast and waved it c. According to the direction given XXIX Exod. 26. where it is also ordered that this should be Moses his part Ver. 30. Verse 30 And he took of the anointing oil and of the blood that was upon the Altar and sprinkled it on Aaron c. See XXIX Exod. 21. where it appears plainly this blood that was mixed with the Oil was the Blood of the Ram of Consecration Ver. 31. Verse 31 And Moses said unto Aaron and his sons Boil the flesh at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation and there eat it c. God having had his part v. 28. and Moses who performed the Office of a Priest at this time having had that which belonged to him on that account v. 29. the rest was given as the manner was in Peace-offerings to those for whom the Sacrifice was offered that is all but the right shoulder which was burnt upon the Altar and the Wave-breast which was given to Moses as Priest See XXIX Exod. 31 32. Ver. 32. Verse 32 That which remains of the flesh and the blood shall ye burn with fire See XXIX Exod. 34. This shows it was of the nature of a Peace-offering VII 15 17. Ver. 33. Verse 33 And ye shall not go out of the door of the Tabernacle in seven days c. For till then their Consecration was not perfected as the following words signifie no more than the Consecration of the Altar was till a Bullock had been offered to cleanse it and make an atonement for it seven days together See XXIX Exod. 35 36 37. This was to make them more sensible of the great weight as well as dignity of their Office Ver. 34. Verse 34 As he hath done this day so the LORD hath commanded to do to make an atonement for you Every day of these seven those Sacrifices were to be repeated the Sin-offering the Burnt-offering and the Peace-offering and their Garments were to be sprinkled with the Blood and the Anointing Oil as the LORD required when Moses was with him in the Mount XXIX Exod. 35. This shows the imperfection of all the Legal Sacrifices which would not have been so often repeated if they had been of greater efficacy Yet the continuance of them seven days doth signifie the compleat Consecration of these Priests according to the Rites of those times In conformity to which our great High-Priest the LORD Christ who was perfected by one Sacrifice of himself spent seven days in his Consecration to his Office For as Aaron is commanded to attend at the Tabernacle so many days together in like manner our LORD Christ as Dr. Jackson observes in the forenamed Book Chapt. XXV did attend the Temple five days one after another before his death See XII John 1 12 c. XXI Matth. 8 9 c. and having purged it on the first or second of those days from the prophaneness that was exercised in it by Merchandizing and afterward hallowed it by his Doctrine and by his Divine Presence which appeared in several miraculous Cures he went the sixth day into his heavenly Sanctuary into Paradise it self to puririsie and sanctifie it with his own Blood as Moses at Aaron's Consecration did the material Sanctuary and Altar with the Blood of Beasts And having rested the seventh day finished all by his Resurrection early the next day in the morning Ver. 35. Verse 35 Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation Where all things mentioned in this Chapter had been done and were still to be repeated v. 3 4. for they could not go into the Sanctuary till they were compleated Day and night This was to make their Consecration more solemn and taken notice of by all the People Seven days By which means a Sabbath as the Jews observe passed over their heads without which they conceive Aaron and his Sons could not have been compleated But the Sabbath of the LORD did never so exactly pass over any High-Priest in his Consecration as it did over the High-Priest of the New Testament For however it were of Aaron's it was to our blessed Saviour as the fore-named Dr. Jackson notes a Day of Rest indeed after six days of Labour Watching Praying and Fasting which concluded in his bloody Death and Passion And keep the charge of the LORD That which he had now enjoyned Or rather watch the Tabernacle and his Vessels c. as they were to do in time to come The Hebrew Doctors have here raised a difficulty about the necessary Easements of Nature for which they had no convenience if they might not stir for seven days from the door of the Tabernacle and therefore they fancy there was a hole digged in the Ground for such occasions But it is more likely they were not so confined as not to be allowed this liberty and one cannot well doubt of it who considers the word Mismoroth here used which we translate keep the charge of the LORD which is a military phrase signifying the Stations and Watches kept in their turns for certain hours after which they were at liberty to attend their own Affairs Such was the charge here one may reasonably think of not departing from the door of the Tabernacle while they were upon the guard as we speak which some or other of them kept night and day in such order that while some watched others might sleep or step out about the necessary occasions of Nature That ye die not It may seem hard that they should be in peril of their Life if they omitted any of these Rites But this was necessary to make those serious and intent upon their business who were to save the Lives of
day For which reason the greatest care was to be used to see it rightly observed because all their happiness depended upon it For the Land of Canaan was promised them upon condition that they kept the Law offering all the Sacrifices therein prescribed especially this great Sacrifice which was to cleanse them from the guilt of all their Neglects or Breaches of this Law Which should teach us Christians to conclude That as the Inheritance of that good Land was assigned the Jews in consideration of their Sacrifices as the condition of that Covenant by which they were prescribed so the Inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven is made over to us by the Covenant of Grace in consideration of the Obedience and Sufferings of Christ Jesus of which they were a Figure For it is his Blood that cleanseth us from all unrighteousness as St. John speaks and secures our Claim to the heavenly Inheritance That ye may be clean from all your sins If a Man was bound to offer Sacrifice for any sin that was certain he was not excused from it by this Sacrifice on the Day of Expiation but was bound to make that other Sacrifice also But the Day of Expiation freed those who were bound to offer Sacrifices for dubious Offences So Maimonides saith in his Treatise of Offences committed through Error cap. 3. sect 9. that those sins which were known to none but God were taken away by this solemn Day of Expiation without any other Sacrifice But the Misna in the last Section of Joma acknowledges very honestly that the Day of Expiation did not purge Men from the guilt of the Offences they had committed against their Neighbour unless they first gave him Satisfaction Before the LORD Who dwelt among them and would continue to do so if they observed his Laws and took care to be thus cleansed from all their sins But least any Man should mistake this matter it may be here fit to observe that there were no Sacrifices at all appointed by the Law of Moses for Capital Offences and therefore when he speaks here of making them clean from all their sins upon this day such as these for instance Murder Adultery Idolatry c. are not included for this great Sacrifice could not obtain a Pardon for them but only for Offences committed against the Ritual Laws contained in this Book and that also when they were committed through Error or Ignorance for if they were done presumptuously cutting off was threatned to them See XV Numb from v. 22. to v. 32. And this appears plainly from the Sacrifices themselves that are here appointed which had no vertue in them from their own worth and value but only from God's Institution to make Expiation for any Sin For the death of a Bullock or a Goat was not of such account with God that it could prevail for the taking away of guilt unless he had given it such a power And that power which he was pleased to allow unto them was neither infinite nor could it be so For the guilt that they were principally designed to abolish was not of such a nature as to require such an Expiation It arising from things which were neither good nor evil in themselves and therefore could not create such a guilt Such were all the uncleannesses from certain natural Fluxes from touching a dead Body and innumerable other such like Impurities which depending wholly upon the will of God who by a positive Law made such things to bring Men under a guilt by the same Will he appointed a proportionable Expiation of it by these Sacrifices whose power to cleanse depended also purely upon his pleasure And if they had any vertue to purge Men from the real guilt of sins committed against the Eternal Laws of God this they had not of themselves but from the most gracious Will of God who was pleased to apply to this purpose the future Satisfaction of the immaculate Lamb of God of which these Sacrifices were a Shadow and Type For a Body being prepared for the Son of God and he offering himself for us that was a Sacrifice of such infinite value in its own nature that it expiated all manner of sins of all Men. To this effect that excellent Person Joh. Wagenseil discourses in his Confutation of R. Lipman's Carmen Memoriale p. 488. Ver. 31. Verse 31 It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you In the Hebrew the words are a Sabbath of Sabbaths i. e. a great or perfect Sabbath like that of the Seventh day in every Week on which they might do no manner of Work And so the Seventh day is called just as this is a Sabbath of Rest or Sabbath of Sabbaths See XXXI Exod. 15. XXXV 2. which gave occasion to those jeers we meet withal in Martial and others at the Jews fasting on their Sabbath days For reading Moses his Books carelesly they fancied the Jews observed as strict a Fast upon every Sabbath day as they did on this which was but once a year And ye shall afflict your Souls by a statute for ever See v. 29. Ver. 32. Verse 32 And the Priest whom he shall anoint c. The High-Priest who should be anointed and consecrated in his Father's stead when he was dead is here ordered to make this Atonement yearly That is what was now done by Aaron was to be done by every High-Priest successively when he was legally put into his Office by vesting him with the Priestly Garments anointing him and offering the Sacrifices of Consecration VIII 7 10 22. This Statute confined the sacred work of this day to the High-Priest who alone could perform it But it shows withal as the Apostle observes the great imperfection of this Legal Priesthood which could not by reason of death continue always in one Person but there were many Priests succeeding one another in the Office which became often vacant Whereas our great High-Priest because he continueth for ever i. e. never dies hath an unchangeable Priesthood and therefore is able to save to the uttermost or evermore those that come to God by him VII Hebr. 23 24 25. And shall put on the linen clothes even the holy garments He was to take a special care not to officiate on this day in any other Garments but those mentioned v. 4. which were peculiarly appropriated to this Service and called the white Garments which were a Figure perhaps of the perfect Purity of our great High-Priest who as it there immediately follows VII Hebr. 26. is holy harmless undefiled separate from sinners Ver. 33. Verse 33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy Sanctuary c. In this Verse he only sums up the whole duty of the day in which a general Atonement was made for all Things and for all Persons The only thing to be observed is That the Expiation of the Sanctuary the Tabernacle and the Altar preceded the Expiation of the Priests and of the People who were to be expiated by the Sacrifices offered
by doing such things as were not perhaps directly against the Law yet made him lose all his Authority See Lib. II. de Jure Nat. Gent. juxta Disc Hebr. cap. 10. But I will be hallowed among the Children of Israel Either by the observation of his Laws or by punishing those who transgressed them For so this phrase is used X. 3. I am the LORD which hallow you Have separated you to my self as a special People from all others by Laws different from theirs and more excellent Ver. 33. Verse 33 That brought you out of the Land of Egypt to be your God And moreover distinguished you from all others by singular Benefits particularly by delivering you from the most grievous Slavery that I might make you a happy People I am the LORD When you remember my benefits remember I am your Soveraign who expect your Obedience CHAP. XXIII Ver. 1. Verse 1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses saying All the Laws in this Chapter were delivered at one time not long after the former Ver. 2. Verse 2 Speak unto the Children of Israel Who were highly concerned to observe all the Solemnities enjoyned in this Chapter in such a manner as God required And say unto them concerning the Feasts of the LORD It hath been anciently observed that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Syrians were great lovers of Feasts Which made it the more reasonable if they were so in Moses his days that the Israelites who were to be their Neighbours in the Land of Canaan should have so many Feasts appointed them weekly monthly and yearly all in honour of their God From whence they are called Feasts of the LORD But this word MOED which we translate a Feast properly signifies an Assembly And so Mr. Thorndike would have it here translated because the name of Feasts is proper to those Solemnities which are to be celebrated with joy and chearfulness whereas under this general word Moed is comprehended the Day of Atonement which is one of the Assemblies here named v. 27. but was no Feast being to be observed with the greatest Humiliation and Affliction that could be expressed He therefore exactly translates these words in this manner The Assemblies of the LORD for the word concerning is not in the Hebrew which ye shall proclaim for holy Convocations these are my Assemblies See Religious Assemblies Chap. II. All that can be said for our Translation is That the Day of Atonement being a Day of Rest from all Labour it may go under the Name of a Feast in opposition to working days Which ye shall proclaim Or call by the sound of the Trumpet which the Priests were to blow upon these days X Numb 10. To be holy Convocations The same Hebrew Mikra which here signifies a Convocation signifies also reading VIII Nehem. 8. For on these days they were called to Assemble together to hear the Law read to them as well as to offer Sacrifice and make their Prayers to God with Thanksgivings for his Benefits Even these are my Feasts Or my Assemblies as I said before the first of which was the Sabbath then the Passover Pentecost the beginning of the New Year the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles which are all contained under the general word Moed and none besides Ver. 3. Verse 3 Six days shall work be done They were allowed all these for any sort of business wherein they pleased to employ themselves But the seventh day is the sabbath of rest See XX Exod. 9 10. XXXI 15. This was the greatest of all Solemnities appointed for Assemblies returning once every week and therefore is set in the head of all the rest from which it seems to be distinguished v. 37 38. And accordingly in the next Verse having here mentioned this as a day by it self he begins to reckon the Feasts or Assemblies of the LORD And the reason why this day was made a Sabbath of Rest was because God himself then rested from his Works In memory of which they were to keep this Day free from all Labour that the belief of the Creation of the World might be fixed in their Minds or as Maimonides phrases it More Nevoch P. II. cap. 113. A belief that nothing is coevous with God Whence that saying of theirs mentioned by Aben-Ezra whosoever doth any work upon the Sabbath-day denies the work of the Creation Ye shall do no work therein They were commanded so to rest on this day from all bodily labour as not to kindle a fire to dress the meat they eat upon it which is not required upon any other day but only this and the great Day of Expiation v. 28 30. Concerning these two days alone it is said Thou shalt do no work upon it but of the days of other Assemblies no more is said but this Thou shalt do no servile work therein v. 7 8 c. that is only such work as they were wont to put their Slaves to do was prohibited For though they might not bake nor boil their Meat on the Sabbath-day XVI Exod. 23. nor on the day of Expiation v. 28. of this Chapter yet on other Solemn days they might make provision for their Tables XII Exod. 16. where Aben-Ezra notes of none of the solemn Assemblies besides the Sabbath and the day of Atonement it is said NO MANNER OF WORK only of the Passover he saith it and addeth an exception of the Meat of the Soul that is what was requisite for the Sustenance of Nature As our Mr. Thorndike observes in the place before quoted It is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwelings To be kept holy in honour of the LORD by every man wheresoever he dwelt For they had Synagogues for Worship in all their Towns though most of the other Assemblies could be held only in the place where the Sanctuary and afterwards the Temple was whither all their Males went up thrice a year at the great Festivals Aben-Ezra therefore thus glosses upon these words IN ALL YOUR DWELLINGS in your Land and out of your Land at home and upon the way To show that the Command XXXV Exod. 3. You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitation upon the Sabbath-day was to be observed not only whilst they lived upon Manna in the Wilderness when God gave them a double portion on the sixth day that they might prepare it against the Sabbath XVI Exod. 5.29 but in all places wheresoever they dwelt afterwards Ver. 4. Verse 4 These are Feasts of the LORD Now follow the Solemn Assemblies which are to be kept by this Ordinance of mine besides that of the Seventh day which was celebrated from the beginning This looks like a Title to all that insues Even for holy Convocations Solemn Mettings of the People who were called together to celebrate the Mercies of God with Sacrifices of Thanksgiving and Publick Rejoycings Such there were in all Nations who had their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Greeks called them general Assemblies of all
Mr. Selden L. III. de Synedr cap. 11. n. 6. where he likewise observes that Chiskuni is of opinion that such of the Family of the Priests as were both excluded from their Ministry in the Sanctuary and from wearing the holy Garments by reason of some defect in their Bodies were permitted to perform this Office of carrying away the Ashes And carry forth the Ashes without the Camp into a clean place See IV. 12. The fore-mentioned Rasi will have it that they needed not to take away all the Ashes every day but only a shovel full which they laid beside the Altar And when the hollow place of the Altar was so full that there was no room to lay on the Wood they were bound to empty it and carry all the Ashes away Ver. 12. Verse 12 And the fire upon the Altar shall be burning in it it shall not be put out This Precept is repeated again in the next Verse as it was mentioned once before v. 9. For which there is a just reason as Abarbanel makes account For in the ninth Verse he requires that the Wood for the Evening Sacrifice should be so ordered and attended that the fire might be kept in till the Morning And then here in this Verse he requires there should such care be used in taking away the Ashes that the fire might still remain and not be extinguished After which speaking of the Morning Sacrifice in the latter part of this Verse he requires in the next v. 13. that such a quantity of Wood should be laid on the Altar when they offered it that the fire might be kept in till the Evening Sacrifice or that if there were any extraordinary Sacrifices brought besides the daily Burnt-offering the Priests should still add more Wood that the fire might not be put out by that means but be able to devour them And the Priest shall burn wood on it every morning c. The Hebrew word for Wood being in the Plural Number R. Levi of Barcelona concludes there were more bundles than one brought in every day And from this place and I. 7. he gathers there were three The first of which he calls the great heap with which the daily Sacrifice and the rest for which there was occasion were offered of which he thinks Moses speaks in the ninth Verse of this Chapter The second was lesser which was laid at the side of the other that they might have Coals for the burning Incense and this he thinks intended here And the third was meerly to keep in the fire perpetually of which he thinks Moses speaks in the next Verse The Misna also tells us that there being seven Gates to the great Court of the Sanctuary three on the North and as many on the South and one at the East the first on the South-side was called the Gate of burning because at that Gate they brought in the Wood which was to preserve the fire perpetually on the Altar See Codex Middoth cap. 1. sect 4. And he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace-offerings This fat of the Peace-offerings was to be burnt together with the Burnt-offering and not separate from it by which means the Burnt-offering was the sooner consumed and more room was made for other occasional Sacrifices Ver. 13. Verse 13 And the fire shall be ever burning upon the Altar This fire was not kindled by the Priests but by God himself who sent it from Heaven to consume the first Sacrifice that was offered by Aaron IX ult From which time they were bound to take care that it never went out that so their Sacrifices might be constantly offered by Celestial fire because it was the continuation of that fire which came from Heaven by a continual addition of Fewel whereby it was preserved And so it continued as the Jews affirm till the Captivity of Babylon and after it as some of them would have us believe who fancy it was preserved in a Pit by the care of some religious Priests till their return though against the common Tradition among them which is That there was no sacred fire in the second Temple for they reckon this among the five things which were wanting there and had been in the first And as for the constant continuance of this fire there was care taken that wood should be laid up in the Temple for the maintenance of it so in order thereunto there was a certain set time when the People were obliged to carry wood thither which made a kind of Festival called by Josephus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 L. II. de Bello Judaico cap. 31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. it being the Feast of the Wood-carrying when it was the custom for all to bring up Wood for the Altar that there might be no want of Fewel for the fire which was never to go out It shall never go out This was a thing so famous that it was imitated among the Gentiles who thought it ominous to have their Sacred fire go out and therefore appointed Persons on purpose to watch it and keep it perpetually burning as appears by the Vestal Virgins at Rome whose great business it was to look after the Eternal fire as they called it imagining the extinction of it purported 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the destruction of the City as Dionysius Halicarn speaks This Institution is ascribed both by him and by Plutarch unto Romulus into whose History many things were translated by the ancient Pagans out of these Sacred Records of Moses as the Learned Huetius hath made probable in his Demonstratio Evangel Propos IV. cap. 9. n. 8. The Greeks also preserved such a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inextinguishable fire at Delph and the Persians in like manner and many other People as Bochartus hath shown in his Hierozoicon P. I. L. II. cap. 35. and Dilheirus before him in a special Dissertation as he calls it de Catozelia Gentilium cap. 11. where he hath heaped up a great deal to this purpose and among other things hath this conjecture that the Grecian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Roman Vesta had their Names from the Hebrew word Esch or the Chaldean Escha which signifie fire The conjecture of David Chytraeus also is no less ingenious who derives those Names from Eschgal the fire of the LORD Ver. 14. Verse 14 And this is the law of the meat-offering He doth not speak of the Offerings which accompanied the daily Burnt-offerings but of those which were offered alone mentioned in the second Chapter Where directions are given of what they should consist and also how much the Priest should have for his portion but here are some things added concerning the place where they should be eaten by the Priests and concerning those Meat-offerings which were peculiarly to be offered for themselves The sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD before the Altar Or rather upon the Altar for so the Hebrew phrase on the face of the Altar signifies Or else
his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it What he had said of Aaron and his Sons in general v. 20. he now particularly requires of every Son of his that should succeed him in his office For which there was the greater necessity because as R. Levi of Barcelona understands it Praecept CXXXIV the High-Priest was an Ambassador between the Israelites and their Heavenly Father by whom their Prayers were offered to God and who made Reconciliation for them and therefore should be bound in all reason to offer a perpetual Sacrifice twice every day for the constant needs of the Congregation and to apply his Mind to this as he speaks that he and they might be the better for it It is a Statute for ever unto the LORD As long as that Priesthood continued It shall be wholly burnt In which it differed from other Meat-offerings as will appear in the next Verse Ver. 23. Verse 23 For every meat-offering for the Priest Or of the Priest This may seem to relate to every common Priest who were not all bound to offer this Sacrifice every day but only he who did it in the name of all the rest viz. the Priest who offered the daily Burnt-Sacrifice He may be well thought to have been obliged to this by which means this Meat-offering was offered to God every day by one or other of them and never omitted But Abarbanel as I noted before v. 20. thinks that only the High-Priest was bound to offer this Meat-offering every day and every other Priest once in his Life viz. when he began his Ministry Shall be wholly burnt it shall not be eaten The Priests had all the Meat-offerings which were brought by the People except one handful which was offered to the LORD See Chapt. second v. 2 3. But of their own Meat-offerings they were not to taste but wholly burnt them on the Altar For it had not been seemly for him both to offer unto God and to eat of it as if it were his own as Maimonides speaks P. III. More Nevoch cap. 46. or as R. Levi Barcelonita gives the reason Praecept CXLI the scope of the Sacrifice being to raise the Mind of him that offered it unto God it was not fit he should think of eating any part of his own Offering which would have taken his Mind off from God Ver. 24. Verse 24 And the LORD spake unto Moses saying He added further several things concerning other Offerings which perhaps were delivered at the same time with the foregoing being still concerning the Priests See v. 8 9. And therefore the next Verse begins thus Speak unto Aaron and his sons saying Ver. 25. Verse 25 This is the Law of the sin-offering That is for particular Persons that for the Priests themselves being governed by another Law For it is plain that in the IVth Chapter he distinguishes the Sin-offerings into two kinds one whose Blood was carried into the Sanctuary and the Flesh of it burnt intirely without the Camp v. 7 8 c. and here v. 30. and another whose Blood was not carried into the Sanctuary the Flesh of which the Priests were to eat as is here directed In the place where the burnt-offering is killed shall the sin-offering be killed before the LORD See IV. 24 29 31. It is most holy This is the reason of what follows that none might eat of it but those who were holy to the LORD Ver. 26. Verse 26 The Priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it The Flesh of this Sin-offering fell to the share of him who offered the Sacrifice that day and to his Male-children though he might invite any other Priests and their Sons to partake with him if he pleased as appears from v. 29. I need not add that the Immurim as the Hebrews call them were excepted that is the Fat c. mentioned III. 9 10. IV. 26. which were to be wholly burnt upon the Altar In the holy place shall it be eaten c. See v. 16. For it being mostly holy as the words are in the conclusion of the foregoing Verse it was to be eaten in the holy place and that the same day and night when it it was offered and none of it to be kept till the morning Whereas some of their Peace-offerings which they called the lighter holy things might be eaten the next day VII 16. See Maimonides More Nevochim P. III. cap. 46. This seems to have been imitated by the Heathen who required that their most holy Sacrifices should not be carried out of the Temple as the Scholiast upon Aristophanes his Equites observes concerning the Sacrifices offered to Ceres and Proserpina 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ver. 27. Verse 27 Whosoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy See v. 18. And when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment This is commonly understood of the Priest's Garment who alone sprinkled the Blood But his Garments being holy the Blood that might chance to fall upon them was not thereby at all dishonoured and therefore if this be the meaning we are to understand that the Garments would appear less venerable when they were spotted with Blood and upon that account were to be washed If we take it for the Garment of him that brought the Sacrifice which when it was killed the Blood might chance to spurt upon his Clothes then the washing of them was out of reverence to the Blood which being holy was not to remain upon a common Garment Which way soever it be interpreted the intention it is manifest was to preserve in their Minds an awful regard to God and to whatsoever belonged unto his Service Thou shalt wash that wherein it was sprinkled in the holy place Where there was a Room after the Temple was built which was called Lischath hagullah the Chamber of the Spring or Well out of which Water was drawn for the use of the Court of the Sanctuary And there it is probable these Garments were washed See Codex Middoth cap. 5. sect 3. Ver. 28. Verse 28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken For it being very porous might so deeply imbibe a tincture from the Flesh that it could not be washed out but the smell of it might remain a long time And being of a small value it was no great loss to have it broken rather than any thing that was holy remaining in it be profaned What became of the broken shreds of these earthen Vessels is a doubt among the Hebrew Doctors because it was neither fit to throw them out into a prophane place nor yet seemly to heap them up in the Sanctuary and therefore they fancy the Earth opened and swallowed them up as a great Man in this kind of Learning J. Wagenseil hath observed upon the Mischna of Sota cap. 3. But they might have rather said that they were thrown abroad into a clean place after they were broken into small bits or crumbled to powder just as
ordered to be IV. 12 21. that is if their Blood was carried into the Holy Place then nothing of them might be eaten VI. 30. But otherwise their Flesh was to be eaten in the Court of the Tabernacle as is expresly commanded VI. 26. This distinction they either did not well observe when it was delivered or being oppressed with sorrow for the loss of Nadab and Abihu they did not think it fit to feast at this time upon the Flesh of this Offering For so Aaron excuses this Fact v. 19. And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar He saith nothing to Aaron either because he was loth to add to his Grief or because it was the business of his Sons to look after this Sacrifice and to see that the Flesh of it was disposed of according to God's orders The sons of Aaron which were left alive Who by the punishment upon their Brethren should have learnt greater caution in their Ministry Ver. 17. Verse 17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin-offering in the holy place That is obeyed the Commandment which I gave you VI. 26. Seeing it is most holy VI. 25. And God hath given it you VI. 29. To bear the iniquity of the Congregation to make atonement for them before the LORD God bestowed upon the Priests this Reward of their Service that they might be the more willing to take upon them the Peoples Sins and to make an Expiation carefully for them And indeed the very eating of the Peoples Sin-offering argued the Sins of the People were in some sort laid upon the Priests to be taken away by them Which being done they had reason to rejoyce also in a Feast upon this Sacrifice which God had been pleased to accept for the taking away of the Sins of the People From whence the Sacrifice of Christ may be explained who is said to bear our iniquity as the Priest is said here to do all our Sins being laid on him who took upon him to make an Expiation for them by the Sacrifice of himself For the Priest here by eating of the Sin-offering receiving the Guilt upon himself may well be thought to prefigure one who should be both Priest and Sacrifice for Sin which was accomplished in Christ Ver. 18. Verse 18 Behold Observe what I say to you The blood of it was not brought in within the holy place It was none of those Sacrifices which I commanded you to burn intirely but required you to eat of it VI. 26 30. Ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place as I commanded For as there was a peremptory Law forbidding the Priests to eat the Flesh of any Sacrifice whose Blood was brought into the Holy Place to make atonement with it so there was as peremptory a Law that they should eat the Flesh of those Sacrifices for Sin whose Blood was not brought in thither Ver. 19. Verse 19 And Aaron said unto Moses Though Moses questioned only Eleazar and Ithamar yet Aaron makes the answer they not being able perhaps to give an account of what they had done though sensible of their mistake Behold this day have they offered their sin-offering and their burnt-offering before the LORD His Apology for them seems to be this that they had not wholly violated God's Command but performed the Substance of it though they had failed in one Circumstance For they had not only offered the Sin-offering for the People for that is meant by their Sin-offering but also their Burnt-offering IX 15 16. and that before the LORD in the place where he ordered them to be offered In all this Aaron was the principal Minister but they assisted him For it is expresly said They presented unto him the Blood of the Peace-offerings which at the same time were also offered and they put the fat upon the breasts when he burnt the fat upon the Altar IX 18 20. And such things have befallen me After this was done followed the death of Nadab and Abihu who went in to burn Incense which struck him into such a Consternation and made him so exceeding sad that he was not fit to feast with Eleazar and Ithamar upon the Sacrifice and so suffered them to burn it And if I had eaten the sin-offering to day should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD Would God have been pleased with me if in such Sadness and Sorrow I had eaten of the Sacrifice This is the reason whereby he justifies the omission of which his Sons were accused in not eating the Sin-offering in the Holy Place The blame of which he takes upon himself for to have eaten it with a sad Countenance and a heavy Heart he thought would have been to pollute it And therefore he chose to forbear it and to give it wholly to God by burning the Flesh of it as he had done the Fat which he hoped would be more acceptable than to eat it in grief And to eat it without grief and sorrow was impossible for though they had not been so dutiful to him as they ought to have been yet he could not extinguish the Affection of a Father towards them nor suddenly cease to mourn inwardly for their untimely death From this place Maimonides gathers there was but one day of Mourning due to the dead viz. the first the rest were added by the Constitution of the Elders Ver. 20. Verse 20 And when Moses heard that he was content He was either satisfied with his reason and thought he had done well for Nature seems to have directed what was afterwards enjoyned that they should rejoyce in their Feasts XII Deut. 7 c. and not eat holy things in their mourning XXVI 14. or he would not further charge him with a Fault for which there was so fair an Excuse For where there is no wilful Contempt but rather a Respect intended in any Action all good Men are inclined to make a favourable Construction of it and grant it an Indulgence though there be some Error in it CHAP. XI MOSES having mentioned in his preceding Discourse about Sacrifices several sorts of Uncleanness V. 2 3. and in the foregoing Chapter X. 10. commanded the Priests to keep themselves sober that they might at all times be able to distinguish between clean and unclean takes an occasion from thence to give an account of that matter For otherwise that which we read Chapter XVI would here have most naturally followed as appears from the 11th Verse of it being about the principal Sacrifice whereby all manner of Uncleanness was to be expiated which he now inserts in the midst of those things that belong to that head For first he treats in this Chapter of unclean Meats and in the XII XIII XIV XVth of unclean Persons Garments and Habitations And then after he hath directed how to make the great Atonement for the whole Nation and some other things he returns in the latter end of the XVIIth Chapter to speak of some forbidden Food and Chapter XVIIIth of unclean
Hair of his head and his beard and his eye-brows And he shall wash his clothes This seems to be a second washing after the first at the end of seven days And the Hebrew Doctors note that the killing of the Bird the shaving and the sprinkling were all to be done in the day time the rest might be done either by day or by night Also he shall wash his flesh in water His whole Body For which end such a measure is prescribed by the Hebrew Tradition as would cover it intirely And he shall be clean So as to be not only restored to his Tent but admitted to go to the Tabernacle of the Congregation and offer the Sacrifices appointed in the following part of this Chapter for his compleat Purification Till which time he was called Mechussar Kapparah one that needed Expiation and was not permitted to eat of the holy things Ver. 10. Verse 10 And on the eighth day If we may believe the Hebrew Tradition he washed himself again on this day in the Court of the Women where there was a Room called the Chamber of the Lepers provided for that purpose So Maimonides Which great Caution was imitated by the primitive Christians who would not receive great Sinners into their Communion again till they had made a long trial of the Truth of their Repentance He shall take two he-lambs without blemish and one ewe-lamb without blemish There were three kinds of Sacrifices to be offered upon this occasion viz. a Trespass-offering a Sin-offering and a Burnt-offering for which these three Lambs were to be provided Of the first year Such were all the Lambs to be both Male and Female And three tenth deals of fine flour for a Meat-offering To each of these Sacrifices there was a Meat-offering appointed consisting of a tenth part of an Ephah of fine Flour i. e. an Omer See XVI Exod. 36. Which is a thing unusual for we read of no Meat-offerings ordered in the IV. and Vth Chapters of this Book which treat of them to accompany either Trespass-offerings or Sin-offerings But there were peculiar Rites belonging to the cleansing of a Leper different from the common Usages to make him sensible how great a Mercy he had received from God who alone could cure this Disease which his hand had inflicted Mingled with oil As the manner was in Meat-offerings See Chap. II. v. 1. And one log of oil Which served to another purpose mentioned v. 15 16. of this Chapter And Oil being of an healing vertue may be thought to denote the perfect Health and Soundness to which the Leper was now restored as the fragrancy of it put him in mind of the Happiness he now enjoyed A Log was the smallest Measure among the Jews containing about half a Pint of our Measure as a very learned Prelate of our own Dr. Cumberland hath computed in his Scripture Weights and Measures p. 86. Ver. 11. Verse 11 And the Priest that maketh him clean Who performeth this office of declaring the Leper perfectly clean Shall present the man that is to be made clean and those things before the LORD at the door c. He set the Man in the first place at the East-gate of the Court of the Israelites which in after times was called the Gate of Nicanor with his face towards the Sanctuary For here all those who needed Expiation stood it being unlawful for them to enter into the Court of the Israelites until the Expiation was made So Maimonides observes in his Treatise called Mechussare Kapparah sect 4. Ver. 12. Verse 12 And the Priest shall take one he-lamb and offer him Next he was to bring one of the Lambs to the same place and present him to the LORD as is directed in the end of the Verse For that 's meant here by offering him the slaying of him following in the next Verse For a Trespass-offering After the manner that the Trespass-offerings were offered of which see Chap. VII that he might beg pardon of God as Abarbanel understands it for such sins as he had ignorantly committed And the log of oil Which was presented at the same time with the Lamb. And wave them Both the Lamb and the Log of Oil. For a wave-offering before the LORD Which was done by waving them to and fro up and down and turning towards all the four quarters of the World as was noted before But Maimonides saith this was waved towards the East and if he waved them both together or separated one from the other the Lamb first and afterward the Log of Oil it made no difference Ver. 13. Verse 13 And he shall slay the Lamb. The Lamb was brought saith the same Author in the fore-named Treatise to the Door of the Court where the leprous Man stood who stretcht out his hands into the Court and laid them upon his Sacrifice after which it was killed as is here directed In the place where he shall kill the sin-offering and the burnt-offering See VI. 25. In the holy place In the Court of the Tabernacle at the North-side of the Altar of Burnt-offering Chap. I. 11. which was a place more holy than the Entrance or East-end of the Court where the Peace-offerings were to be killed III. 2. For as the sin-offering is the Priests so is the trespass-offering See VII 7. Both of them were to be eaten by the Priests in the Court of God's House and therefore were equally holy It is most holy See II. 3. Ver. 14. Verse 14 And the Priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass-offering There stood two Priests as Maimonides represents it in his Treatise before-mentioned sect 4. ready to receive the Blood of the Lamb one in an holy Vessel with which he sprinkled the Altar the other in his right hand which he poured into his left And then with the fore-finger of his right hand put it upon the right Ear c. of him that was to be cleansed And the Priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is cleansed and upon the thumb of his right hand and upon the great toe of his right foot The Priest standing within the Court at the Entrance of it and the Man standing still without the Man thrust his Head within the Gate and the Priest put some of the Blood which he held in his hand upon the tip of his right Ear. After which the Man stretcht out his right Arm and the Priest put some of the same Blood upon the Thumb of his right Hand and next his right Leg on the great Toe of which he likewise put some more Blood Thus Maimonides in the same place Where he saith If the Priest had put the Blood upon the left Ear Thumb or Toe all had been of no effect And he adds sect 5. that the Blood was put upon half of the flap of his Ear and upon the whole breadth of the top of his Thumb and great Toe for if he put it on the sides
Verse 5 And he shall take of the Congregation of the Children of Israel The former Sacrifices v. 3. were for himself these for all the People Two Kids of the Goats for a Sin-offering These two Goats made but one Sin-offering which is described more largely and particularly v. 8 9 10. The former perhaps which was sacrificed to the LORD was to procure those good things which they had forfeited by their sins and the other the Scape-goat as we translate it to avert those Evils which they had deserved For the name that is commonly given it by the Greeks signifies its power to turn away Punishments Or the simple reason of it might be that the Israelites by this double Sacrifice for both were presented before the LORD might be the more fully satisfied of the Expiation of their Sins There is the like example before of two Birds appointed for the cleansing of a Leper's House one of which only was killed the other let fly away but both of them are said to cleanse the House and to be for atonement XIV 49 52 53. In which some of the ancient Fathers thought they saw a notable Type of our LORD Christ Whose Sacrifice as it was prefigured by all the Legal Sacrifices for the Paschal Lamb it self was a Type of him sacrificed for us 1 Corinth V. 7. so by this more especially on the Day of Expiation Which was of greater and more universal efficacy than all the rest and therefore represented him more fully than the other did Insomuch that these two Goats joyned in one Sacrifice may be thought to represent one Christ consisting of two Natures For since it was not possible as Theodoret expresses it to adumbrate both the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which was mortal and that which was immortal in Christ he commanded two to be brought 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that the Goat which was offered in Sacrifice might prefigure the passible Nature of his Flesh and that which was let go might show the impassible Nature of his Divinity Quaest XXII in Levit. And St. Cyril Discourses to the same purpose in his ninth Book against Julian And one Ram for a Burnt-offering Which was no more than was appointed for Aaron himself v. 3. who herein is equalled with all the Princes of the People in whose name this Ram seems to have been offered Ver. 6. Verse 6 And Aaron shall offer his Bullock of the Sin-offering which is for himself Not by killing it which was done afterwards v. 11. but only by presenting it before God to be sacrificed which was done with a solemn Prayer wherein he beseeched God to be propitious unto him and his The form of it is set down in Massechet Joma cap. 3. sect 8. He laid his hand upon the head of the Bullock and said I have done amiss and been rebellious and sinned before thee I and my House I beseech thee now O LORD remit my Rebellion and my Sin which I have committed and my House c. And make an atonement for himself and for his house For his Family as I said v. 3. and for all the Priests who are called the House of Aaron CXV Psal 10 12. CXXXV 9. And I do not see why all the House of Levi should not also be understood For they are not comprehended under the name of the Congregation of the Children of Israel mentioned in the Verse before and therefore must be contained here under the name of the House of Aaron See I Numb 49. Ver. 7. Verse 7 And he shall take the two Goats Mentioned v. 5. which were to be of equal stature of the same colour and the same price as the Hebrew Doctors say in Joma cap. 6. both designed to the same end the Expiation of their Sins And present them before the LORD at the door of the Tabernacle c. All the Sin-offerings which were made for the Congregation were presented either by the High-Priest or by the Elders IV. 15. and by them devoted to God to be sacrificed on his Altar For this presenting of the Goat is the same with his offering of the Bullock in the Verse foregoing in which was nothing else but his solemn Consecration of them as I said to be sacrificed According to which pattern our blessed LORD and Saviour a little before he suffered upon the Cross and made himself a Sacrifice for us voluntarily offered himself to die for our sins Which is the meaning of those words of his XVII John 19. where praying for his Apostles he saith For their sakes I sanctifie my self that is offer my self to die as an Expiatory Sacrifice for them For that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes signifies as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dr. Owtram hath demonstrated Lib. II. de Sacrificiis cap. 3. And so St. Chrysostom here expounds these words I sanctifie my self by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I offer thee a Sacrifice or consecrate and devote my self to be sanctified And it is not an improbable Conjecture of another very learned Friend of mine now also with God Dr. Spencer that the appointing of two Goats to be both presented to God at the same time and with the same Rites was to preserve the Jews in a belief that there is but one principle of all things who both bestows good things and inflicts evil Contrary to the opinion of the Gentiles who made two Principles one good and the other bad which was the ancient belief of the Chaldaeans and other Eastern People and from them propagated to the Greeks and Romans Most of whose Sacrifices as another very learned Man of our own Country hath observed had respect to these two Principles to one of which they offered in the Morning and to the other at Night See Dr. Windet de Vita Functorum statu sect 3. where he observes that there are plain footsteps of this old Error at this day through all the East as far as China for there was an endeavour to infect Christianity with it by Manes the Persian in the Reign of the Emperor Aurelian nor was there any Heresie that spread so far as this Dotage did Ver. 8. Verse 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two Goats The manner of it is described in the same Treatise Massechet Joma cap. 3. sect 9. The High-Priest went to the East-part of the Court on the North-side of the Altar having the Sagan his Vicar on his right hand and the head of the House of the Fathers on his left There stood two Goats with an Vrn or Box which they call CALPI the very same name which Lucian and the Scholiast upon Aristophanes give to the same thing as our learned Sheringham upon that Book and Bochart in his Hierozoicon have observed Into this Urn the two Lots were cast which were made of Box-wood as the Misna here says and in after times came to be of Gold But Maimonides in his Treatise on this Subject saith they might be made either of Wood or Stone
his Temple Service Chap. XIV sect 2. Dr. Owtram de Sacrificiis Lib. I. cap. 8. n. 6. And J. Wagenseil upon Sota cap. 2. Annot. 11. Ver. 11. Verse 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD They did not offer the Corn green in the Ears as I observed in the foregoing Verse but parcht dried ground and searsed and then they waved a Tenth-deal of the Flour which came from the Sheaf as a present to the LORD of the whole Earth To be accepted for you To procure God's Blessing upon the rest of the Harvest and that they might have liberty to use the Corn it produced which it was not lawful for them to do till the First-fruits were given to God On the morrow after the Sabbath the Priest shall wave it We are not to understand by the Sabbath the Seventh days Rest which was the Opinion of the Sadducees as R. Levi ben Gersom tells upon the fifth of Joshua but the day here mentioned v. 7. which was a kind of Sabbath because no Servile work might be done therein And therefore this morrow after the Sabbath was the sixteenth day of Nisan or the next day to the first of Unleavened Bread So the LXX translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the morrow after the first and Josephus more plainly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. on the second day of Vnleavened Bread which is the sixteenth day of the Month c. Lib. III. Antiq. cap. 10. This was the first of the fifty days which they reckoned till Pentecost v. 15. and was the day on which Manna ceased when they came into Canaan because then they eat of the Fruits of that Country V Josh 10 11 12. And indeed it was not lawful for them as I said before to eat of the Fruits of the Earth till after the Passover because then the Sheaf of the First fruits was waved which consecrated the rest of the Corn. And so God continued Manna to them till they had other Food to eat Ver. 12. Verse 12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he-lamb without blemish c. Though this day was not so holy as the first day of Unleavened Bread yet it was a part of the Festival and was called Moed katon a lesser Solemnity as all the rest of the days were between the first and the seventh And therefore a special Offering is here ordered upon this day besides the daily Burnt-Sacrifice and besides the Sacrifice which was appointed v. 8. to be offered upon every one of the seven days Ver. 13. Verse 13 And the Meat-offering thereof shall be two Tenth-deals of fine flour c. I observed before upon the second Chapter v. 1. that all sorts of Bread might be offered to God as being a very ancient Sacrifice and commonly used at every Table for which reason Wine also is here ordered but it was to be simple Wine not mixed as was the Heathenish Custom Salt also was added II. 13. as common at all Tables but no Honey nor Leaven which Mens Superstition had introduced and therefore expresly forbidden in that place v. 11. as it did also Milk and Herbs and Leaves of Trees not a word of which is to be found in the Law of Moses But here it is observable that he commands two Tenth-deals of fine Flour to be offered whereas one Tenth was the common Meat-offering XXIX Exod. 40. Because as one of them was a necessary attendant on the Lamb mentioned before v. 12. so the other was in honour of the day which was a lesser kind of Festival And the Drink-offering thereof shall be of wine the fourth part of a hin Here is not a double proportion of Wine ordered but the usual quantity because perhaps this was a Thanksgiving only for their Corn not for their Vintage which came afterwards Ver. 14. Verse 14 And ye shall eat neither bread nor parched corn nor green ears until the self same day that ye have brought an offering to your God It was not lawful for them to reap and therefore not to eat any of the Fruits of the Earth till the forenamed First-fruits were offered as an acknowledgment to the Donor of them For nothing was more just and equal all Men thought than to give some part to him who gave to them all they had and in the first place to give him his due before they took any thing to themselves The Romans in this expressed the sense of all Mankind who as Pliny tells us Lib. XVIII cap. 2. Ne gustabant quidem novas fruges aut vina antequam Sacerdotes primitias tibassent did not so much as taste of their Corn or Wine till the Priests had offered the First-fruits It shall be a statute for ever c. As long as their Polity lasted In all your dwellings Throughout the whole Land of Canaan Ver. 15. Verse 15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath From the sixteenth day of Nisan or the second day of Unleavened Bread which was the morrow after the Sabbath v. 11. From the day that ye brought the sheaf of the Wave-offering This is added only as a fuller description of the time from which they were to count Seven Sabbaths shall be compleat Seven whole Weeks reckoning that day from which the account begun for the first day of the first of those Weeks which made XLIX days in all Maimonides thinks it was for the honour of this great Day of Pentecost that they were to count the days till it came just like a Man saith he who expects his best Friend is wont to tell the days and hours till he arrive More Nevoch P. III. c. 43. And therefore the present Jews begin this Supputation with a solemn Prayer saying Blessed art thou O LORD our God the LORD of the World who hast sanctified us with thy Precepts and commandest us to number the days of Harvest and this is the first day And thus they go on to pray till the seventh day when they add Now there is one Week and so they proceed in the same Prayers to the Evening of Pentecost Which Feast they not being able now to keep as the Law appoints they pray to God every day after they have done counting that he would restore Jerusalem and the Temple and then they promise to do all that is here prescribed And this counting in some places is performed publickly in their Synagogues yet so that every Master of a Family is bound every Night to do it at home See Buxtorf Synag Judaica cap. 20. Ver. 16. Verse 16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days The next day after the seventh Sabbath or Week made just fifty days from which this Feast was called Pentecost and in the Old Testament the Feast of Weeks because it began the next day after the seven Weeks before-mentioned XXXIV Exod. 22. And ye shall offer a new Meat-offering to the LORD Viz.
in the Court of the Sanctuary even as the Sin-offerings were For these Peace-offerings being as I before-noted the only Peace-offerings of the whole Congregation were reckoned among the most holy things whereas the Peace-offerings of private Men were less holy as Dr. Lightfoot observes in his Temple Service cap. 8. sect 4. And the true reason why the Priest had all the Flesh of these Sacrifices was because they being for the whole Congregation the Offerers were too many to have any portion of them distributed among them Ver. 21. Verse 21 And ye shall proclaim on the self same day Before the Solemnities began That it may be an holy Convocation to you See v. 4. The reason of this holy Assembly was partly to commemorate God's great Goodness in giving the Law from Mount Sinai on the fiftieth day after their coming out of Egypt which was the chief end of God's bringing them from thence as Maimonides speaks P. III. More Nevoch cap. 43. and partly to thank him for giving them such fair hopes of compleating their Harvest which had been begun at the Passover Ye shall do no servile work therein It was to be observed as the first and the last days of Unleavened Bread v. 7 8. with such a Rest as made it little different from a Sabbath And that great Vision as Maimonides calls it at the giving of the Law lasting but one day was the reason the memory of it was celebrated only for one day in the year whereas one Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted seven days for the day was not sufficient to make them sensible enough of the Affliction they endured in Egypt But perhaps one day only was appointed at Pentecost to be free from all Servile work because of the great Business of Wheat-harvest which was then coming on and could not permit them to be so much at leisure as they were when the Fruits of the Earth were all gathered Then they kept a Feast seven days v. 39. as they did at the beginning of Barley-harvest when the Feast of Unleavened Bread was held At which time Harvest did not come on so fast as it did at Pentecost for the First-fruits then were of green Corn parched and dried and offered to God for the hope they had he would bring the rest to maturity Ver. 22. Verse 22 And when ye reap the Harvest of your Land thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of the Field c. This Precept hath been sufficiently explained before XIX 9 10. Only the occasion of its repetition here ought to be observed which is the mention of Harvest and First-fruits which in gratitude they then offered unto God Of whose Goodness he would have them so sensible as not to be unmindful of the Poor but to be such Benefactors to them that they might still receive more Benefits from God Ver. 23. Verse 23 And the LORD spake unto Moses saying These words are frequently prefixed to a new matter though delivered at the same time with what went before Ver. 24. Verse 24 Speak unto the Children of Israel saying Who as I have often said were all concerned to take notice of such Precepts In the seventh month in the first day of the month ye shall have a Sabbath Such a Sabbath as those mentioned v. 7 8 21. on which no Servile work was to be done as it follows in the next Verse For the seventh Month was the first Month of the year accordding to the ancient computation and continued so still to several purposes particularly with respect to their Jubilee when they were to blow the Trumpet as they did on this day which was the chief New Moon in all the year and the more illustrious because it fell in the time when all the Fruits of the Earth were gathered A memorial of blowing with Trumpets It is not easie to tell of what this blowing of Trumpets was a memorial Maimonides in the place fore-named More Nevoch P. III. cap. 43. will have it to be instituted to awaken the People out of sleep and call them to repentance being to put them in mind of the great Day of Expiation which followed nine days after This he explains more largely in his Jad Chazakah in the Treatise of Repentance cap. 3. where he saith The sound of the Trumpet at this time did in effect say Shake off your drowsiness ye that sleep and being awaked watch to your duty Search and try your ways Remember your Creator and repent You whom the Vanity of the Times hath led into a forgetfulness of the Truth who spend your days wandring after empty things which profit nothing bethink your selves and take care of your Souls Let every one forsake his evil way and his thoughts which are not good And accordingly he saith in the same place the Israelites were wont to multiply Alms and Good Works and to apply themselves to the Precepts as his phrase is from the beginning of the year till the Day of Atonement more diligently than at any other time rising in the night to pray in their Synagogues till break of day c. But though this be very pious I see no ground for it no more then for what they say of Commemorating the Deliverance of Isaac For why should not blowing of Trumpets be ordered for a preparation to other Solemn days and in memory of other Deliverances as well as this of Isaac It seems more probable that all Nations making great shouting rejoycing and feasting in the beginning of the year at the first New Moon as many have observed hoping the rest of the year by this means would prove more prosperous God was pleased to ordain this great rejoycing among his People in honour of himself upon the Day of the first New Moon which was to be continued every first Day of the Month that he might preserve them from the Worship of the Moon and make them sensible that he alone gave them good years and renewed his Mercies daily from Month to Month upon them Bonfrerius imagines that God put an honour upon this Month because it was the seventh that as every seventh day was a Sabbath and every seventh year the Land rested c. so every seventh month of every year should be a kind of Sabbatical Month there being more Feasts in this Month then in any other Months in the Year But all this doth not explain what this blowing of Trumpets was a memorial of which I take to be the Creation of the World which was in Autumn Upon which account it was that they anciently began their year at this time as the Eastern People do at this day They acknowledged also God's Goodness in blessing all the year past and bringing them to the beginning of a new year which they prayed him to make happy to them They began to blow at Sun-rise and continued it till Sun-set He that sounded the Trumpet began with the usual Prayer Blessed be God who hath sanctified us with his Precepts
day had no relation to this is apparent for they did not dwell in Tabernacles on the eighth day of this Feast but only on the seven preceding Which being ended they returned to their Houses and kept this day there to another purpose here named for so it is expresly said v. 42. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days Which being over a great Solemnity continued to another purpose and was kept after another manner not in Booths but in their Houses So Maimonides in his More Nevoch P. III. cap. 43. That we go from the Feast of Tabernacles to another Solemnity on the eighth day it tends to make our joys perfect which could not be done in Tabernacles but in large and spacious Houses and Palaces Where they made still greater Feasts as well as sung the Praises of God at the Temple with Trumpets and Instruments of Musick In which Service some say those three Psalms were used which have the Title of Al-hagittith viz. VIII LXXXI and LXXXV For Gath signifies a Wine-press and therefore they think these Psalms were sung in the time of the Vintage Certain it is that the two last named were sung at some great Solemnity wherein they celebrated God's wonderful Providence over them And that they used to sing and shout at their Vintage is clear from IX Judg. 27. XVI Isa 9 10. XLVIII Jer. 33. II Hosea 15. Which the Gentiles imitated who when they pressed their Grapes sung a Song to Bacchus which was thence called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Song of the Wine-press See Scaliger Lib. I. Poet. cap. 55. Now this being a time of such great Rejoycing in both respects it led Plutarch into a fancy that the Jews celebrated two Feasts unto Bacchus at this time For he writes in his Symposiaes Lib. IV. Probl. 3. That in the midst of Vintage the Jews spread Tables furnished with all manner of Fruit and lived in Tabernacles made especially of Palms and Ivy wreathed together and call the day which goes before the Feast The Day of Tabernacles And then a few days after saith he they keep another Festivity which openly shows it was dedicated to Bacchus for they carried Boughs of Palms in their hands c. with which they went into the Temple the Levites who he fancies were called so from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which was the name of Bacchus going before with Instruments of Musick c. All which may very well incline us to think that the Gentiles corrupted this holy Festivity as they did other Sacred Institutions and turned it into the prophane Bacchanalia which is no improbable conjecture of Jo. Mich. Dilherrus in his Dissert de Cacozel Gentil cap. 3. Ver. 40. Verse 40 And ye shall take you on the first day Then they began to build their Booths that they might dwell in them the rest of the Feast Boughs of goodly Trees c. Some fancy that this is not a direction for the building of Booths with these Branches but for the carrying them in their hands as Josephus tells us Lib. III. Antiq. cap. 10. And they say these Branches were called Hosanna's because they sung those words of the Psalmist as they marcht along with these Boughs in their hands Save now in the Hebrew the word is Hosan-na O LORD O LORD send now prosperity CXVIII 25. And this is so riveted in the Minds of the Jews that Aben-Ezra makes it the Opinion of the Sadducees to hold that they were for any other use But it is evident from VIII Nehem 15. that they cut these Branches to make Booths and not to carry in their hands though it is likely that this might also be thought a fitting Expression of Joy in after times especially after they were expelled out of their own Land It is not unlikely also that they celebrated this Festival by singing of Hosanna's among other tokens of Rejoycing praying for a happy new year whose Feast went a little before on the first of this Month. Whence the Rabbins call this Feast of Tabernacles by the name of Hosanna and the last day of it they call Hosanna Rabba And they repeat this often in their Prayers at that time as they tell us in their Minhagim or Books of Rituals saying For thy sake O our Creator Hosanna For thy sake O our Redeemer Hosanna For thy sake O our seeker Hosanna As if they beseeched the blessed Trinity to save them and send help to them In short they call the Prayers they say at this Feast by the name of Hosanna's as Joh. Michael Dilherrus hath observed Lib. II. Electorum cap. 20. Boughs The Hebrew word Pri signifies Fruit as is noted in the Margin of our Bibles From whence some have gathered that they were to be the Boughs of Fruit-bearing-trees nay the Jews fancy they were to be Boughs with their Fruit as well as Leaves on them But Buxtorf made no doubt in his XVIth Chapter of Synag Judaica that the word is rightly translated a Bough whether without Fruit or with it though in later Editions of that Book this passage be lest out Goodly Trees The Hebrew word hadar doth not meerly signifie that which is beautiful and goodly but that which is large and well spread as is observed by Hottinger in his Smegma Orientale Lib. I. cap. 7. where he thinks these words may be thus exactly translated Take to you the Boughs of Trees with broad Leaves such as the Branches of Palm-trees So that hadar is a general word and Branches of Palm-trees a special instance of a Tree with spacious Leaves which were the fittest to be used because they were best able to defend them either from heat or cold or rain Maimonides takes this word to signifie the Boughs of a particular Tree which he will have to be a Citron And the Jews are so possessed with this opinion that at this day they fancy the Feast cannot be celebrated without such Branches And therefore the Jews now in Germany send into Spain and endeavour to get one every year with the Pome-citrons on it And after the Feast they offer the Citrons to their Friends as a great present Hottinger saith he had one presented to him at Heidelberg that very year he wrote his Book now mentioned See Dr. Lightfoot in his Temple Service chap. 6. sect 3. and Buxturf Synag Jud. cap. 21. Branches of Palm-trees With which Judea abounded and was so noted for them that in the ancient Coins a Palm-tree represented that Country And the boughs of thick Trees Which were shady and afforded a good shelter The Jews take these for Myrtles which have very thick Leaves and Boughs close one to another though the Leaves be small And Willows of the Brook If this Translation be right it 's likely they served only to twine about the rest and bind them together And therefore in Nehemiah VIII 15. no mention is made of them their Tabernacles not consisting of such Boughs which were used only for the compacting and tying