The solemn yearly expiation B. C. 1490. CHAP. XVI. B. C. 1490. for the high priest. ND the LORD spake unto | and shall be girded with a linen A. M. 2514. girdle, and with the linen mitre An. Exod. Isr. 2. shall he be attired: these are holy Abib or Nisan. garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. A. M. 2514. AN 2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times, into the holy place within the veil before the mercy-seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat. 3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sinoffering, and a ram for a burnt-offering.. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, a Chap. x. 1, 2. b Exod. xxx. 10; chap. xxiii. 27; Heb. ix. 7; x. 19. - Exod. xxv. 22; xl. 34; 1 Kings viii. 10, 11, 12. d Heb. ix. 7, 12, 24, 25.- Chap. iv. 3. Exod. xxviii. 39, 42, 43; chap. vi. 10; Ezek. xliv. 17, 18. NOTES ON CHAP. XVI. Verse 1. After the death of the two so sons of Aaron] It appears from this verse that the natural place of this chapter is immediately after the tenth, where probably it originally stood; but the transposition, if it did take place, must be very ancient, as all the versions acknowledge this chapter in the place in which it now stands. Verse 2: That he come not at all times into the holy place] By the holy place we are to understand here what is ordinarily called the Holy of Holies, or most holy place; that place within the veil, where the ark of the covenant, &c., were laid up; and where God manifested his presence between the cherubim. In ordinary cases the high priest could enter this place only once in the year, that is, on the day of annual atonement; but in extraordinary cases he might enter more frequently, viz., while in the wilderness, in de camping and encamping, he must enter to take down or adjust the things; and on solemn pressing public occasions, he was obliged to enter in order to consult the Lord but he never entered without the deepest reverence and due preparation. : That it may appear that the grand subject of this chapter, the ordinance of the scape-goat, typified the death and resurrection of Christ, and the atonement thereby made, I beg leave to refer to Heb. ix. 7-12, and 24-26, which I shall here transcribe, because it is a key to the whole of this, chapter. "Into the second [tabernacle] went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people. The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come, a high priest of 5 And he shall take of h the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burntoffering. 6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. 7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Exodus xxx. 20; chapter viii. 6, 7. See chapter iv. 14; Numbers xxix. 11; 2 Chronicles xxix. 21; Ezra vi. 17; Ezek. xlv. 22, 23. Chap. ix. 7; Hebrews v. 2; vii. 27, 28; ix. 7. good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with-hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the BLOOD of GOATS and CALVES, but by his owN BLOOD; he entered into the holy place, having obtained eternal-redemption for us. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with the blood of others; (for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world ;) but now once in the end of the world, hath he appeared To PUT AWAY SIN BY THE SAORIFICE OF HIMSELF." Verse 3. With a young bullock for a sin-offering] The bullock was presented as a sin-offering for himself, his family, the whole priesthood, and probably the Levites. The ram was for a burnt-offering, to signify that he and his associates were wholly consecrated, and to be wholly employed in this work of the ministry. The ceremonies with which these two sacrifices were accompanied are detailed in the following verses. Verse 4. He shall put on the holy linen coat] He was not to dress in his pontifical garments, but in the simple sacerdotal vestments, or those of the Levites, because it was a day of humiliation; and as he was to offer sacrifices for his own sins, it was necessary that he should appear in habits suited to the occasion. Hence he has neither the robe, the ephod, the breastplate, the mitre, &c.; these constituted his dress of dignity as the high priest of God, ministering for others and the representative of Christ: but now he appears, before. God as a sinner, offering an atonement for his transgressions, and his garments are those of humiliation. Verse 7. And he shall take the two goats] 'It is allowed on all hands that this ceremony, taken in all its parts, pointed out the Lord Jesus dying for our sins and rising again for our justification; being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. Two goats are brought, one to-be slain as a sacrifice 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon An. Exod. Isr. 2. the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the Abib or Nisan. 1 the scope-goat. which the LORD's lot fell, and A. M. 2514. B. C. 1490. An. Exod. Isr. 2. Abib or Nisan. 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scape-goat, shall be presented 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon alive before the LORD, to make an atonement scape-goat. * Heb. azazel. Heb. went up. 1 John ii. 2. that in his left hand he laid on the goat that was on his left; and, according to what was written on the lots, the scape-goat and the goat for sacrifice were ascertained. See the Mishna, in Tract. Yoma. for sin, the other to have the transgressions of the people confessed over his head, and then to be sent away into the wilderness. The animal by this act was represented as bearing away or carrying off the sins of the people. The two goats made only one The determining this solemn business by lot, the sacrifice, yet only one of them was slain. One animal disposal of which is with the Lord, Prov. xvi. 33, could not point out both the Divine and human nature shows that God alone was to select and point out the of Christ, nor show both his death and resurrection, person by whom this great atonement was to be made; for the goat that was killed could not be made alive. hence he says: Behold I lay in Zion a stone, elect (that The Divine and human matures in Christ were essen-is, chosen by himself) and precious—of infinite value. tial to the grand expiation: yet the human nature Verse 10. To be the scape-goat] is azazel, from alone suffered, for the Divine nature could not suffer; y az, a goal, and is azal, to dismiss; the dismissed but its presence in the human nature, while agonizing or sent away goat, to distinguish it from the goat that unto death, stamped those agonies, and the conse- was to be offered in sacrifice. Most ancient nations quent death, with infinite merit. The goat therefore had vicarious sacrifices, to which they transferred by that was slain prefigured his human nature and its certain rites and ceremonies the guilt of the commudeath; the goat that escaped pointed out his resurrec- nity at large, in the same manner in which the scapetion. The one shows the atonement for sin, as the goat was used by the Jews. The white bull that was ground of justification; the other Christ's victory, and sacrificed by the Egyptians to their god Apis was of the total removal of sin in the sanctification of the soul. this kind; they cut off the head of the victim which Concerning these ceremonies we shall see farther par- they had sacrificed, and after having loaded it with ticulars as we proceed. execrations, "that if there be any evil hanging over them or the land of Egypt, it may be poured out upon that head," they either sold it to the Greeks or threw it into the Nile.-See HEROD. Euterp., p. 104, edit. Gale. According to Maimonides fifteen beasts were offered on this day." The daily, or morning and evening sacrifice, was offered as usual: besides a bullock, a ram, and seven lambs, all burnt-offerings; and a goat for a sin-offering, which was eaten in the evening. Then a bullock for a sin-offering, and this they burnt; and a ram for a burnt-offering: these both for the high priest. Then the ram for the consecration, (see ver. 5,) which is called the people's ram, They brought also for the congregation two he-goats; the one for a sin-offering, the other for a scape-goat. Thus all the beasts offered on this great and solemn day were FIFTEEN: the two daily sacrifices, one bullock, two rams, and seven lambs: all of these burntofferings. Two goats for sin-offerings; one offered without and eaten on the evening, the other offered within and burnt; and one bullock for a sin-offering for the high priest. The service of all these fifteen beasts is performed on this day by the high priest only." See Maimonides and Ainsworth on the place. Verse 8. Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats] The Jews inform us that there were two lots made either of wood, stone, or any kind of metal. On one was written D LASHSHEM, for the NAME, i. e., nin JEHOVAH, which the Jews will neither write nor pronounce; on the other was written by LAAZAZEL, for the SCAPE-GOAT: then they put the two lots into a vessel which was called 'p kalpey, the goats standing with their faces towards the west. Then the priest came, and the goats stood before him, one on the right hand and the other on the left; the kalpey was then skaken, and the priest put in both his hands and brought out a lot in each: that which was in his right hand he laid on the goat that was on his right, and Petronius Arbiter says that it was a custom among the ancient inhabitants of Marseilles, whenever they were afflicted by any pestilence, to take one of the poorer citizens who offered himself for the purpose, and having fed him a whole year with the purest and best food, they adorned him with vervain, and clothed him with sacred vestments: they then led him round' their city, loading him with execrations; and having prayed that all the evils to which the city was exposed might fall upon him, they then precipitated him from the top of a rock.—Satiricon, in fine. Suidas, under the word punua, observes that it was a custom to devote a man annually to death for the safety of the people, with these words, Пepunua huwv yevov, Be thou our purifier; and, having said so, to throw him into the sea as a sacrifice to Neptune. It was probably to this custom that Virgil alludes when speaking of the pilot Palinurus, who fell into the sea and was drowned, he says:→→ Unum pro multis dabiter caput.—Æn., lib. v., ver. 815. "One life is given for the preservation of many." But the nearest resemblance to the scape-goat of the Hebrews is found in the Ashummeed Jugg of the Hindoos, where a horse is used instead of a goat, the description of which I shall here introduce from Mr. Halhed's Code of Gentoo Laws; Introduction, p. xix. "That the curious," says he, "may form some idea of this Gentoo sacrifice when reduced to a symbol, as well as from the subsequent plain account given of it in a chapter of the Code, sec. ix., p. 127, an expla sin offering, which is for himself, and shall mercy-seat: make an atonement for himself and for his 16 And he shall make an atonement for house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin- the holy place, because of the uncleanness of offering which is for himself: the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of uncleanness. their 17 And there shall be no man in the taber 13 » And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the in-nacle of the congregation when he goeth in to cense may cover the a merey-seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: n Chap. x. 1; Num. xvi. 18, 46; Rev. viii. 5.—o Exod. xxx. 34.- Exod. xxx. 1, 7, 8; Num. xvi. 7, 18, 46; Rev. viii. 3, 4. Exod. xxv. 21.- Chapter iv. 5; Hebrews ix. 13, 25; x. 4. Chap. iv. 6.- — Heb. ii. 17; v. 2; ix. 7, 28. nation of it is here inserted from Darul Shekúh's famous Persian translation of some commentaries upon the four Beids, or original Scriptures of Hindostan. The work itself is extremely scarce, and it was by mere accident that this little specimen was procured : “The Ashummeed Jugg does not merely consist in the performance of that ceremony which is open to the inspection of the world, namely, in bringing a horse and sacrificing him; but Ashummeed is to be taken in a mystic signification, as implying that the sacrificer must look upon himself to be typified in that horse, such as he shall be described; because the religious duty of the Ashummeed Jugg comprehends all those other religious duties to the performance of which the wise and holy direct all their actions, and by which all the sincere professors of every different faith aim at perfection. The mystic signification thereof is as follows: The head of that unblemished horse is the symbol of the morning; his eyes are the sun; his breath, the wind; his wide-opening mouth is the bish-waner, or that innate warmth which invigorates all the world; his body typifies one entire year; his back, paradise; his belly, the plains; his hoof, this earth; his sides, the four quarters of the heavens; the bones thereof, the intermediate spaces between the four quarters; the rest of his limbs represent all distinct matter; the places where those limbs meet, or his joints, imply the months, and halves of the months, which are called peche, (or fortnights;) his feet signify night and day; and night and day are of four kinds : 1. The night and day of Brihma; 2. The night and day of angels; 3. VOL. I. ( 37 ) make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. 18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and › make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. "Ver. 2; Heb. vi. 19; ix. 3, 7, 12. See Exod. xxix. 36; Ezek. xlv. 18; Heb. ix. 22, 23.- - Heb. dwelleth- See Exod. xxxiv. 3; Luke i. 10.- - Exod. xxx. 10; chapter iv. 7, 18; Heb. ix. 22, 23. The night and day of the world of the spirits of deceased ancestors; 4. The night and day of mortals. These four kinds are typified in his four feet. The rest of his bones are the constellations of the fixed stars, which are the twenty-eight stages of the moon's course, called the lunar year; his flesh is the clouds; his food, the sand; his tendons, the rivers; his spleen and liver, the mountains; the hair of his body, the vegetables; and his long hair, the trees; the forepart of his body typifies the first half of the day, and the hinder part, the latter half; his yawning is the flash of the lightning, and his turning himself is the thunder of the cloud; his urine represents the rain, and his mental reflection is his only speech. The golden vessels which are prepared before the horse is let loose are the light of the day, and the place where those vessels are kept is a type of the ocean of the east; the silver vessels which are prepared after the horse is let loose are the light of the night, and the place where those vessels are kept is a type of the ocean of the west. These two sorts of vessels are always before and after the horse. The Arabian horse, which on account of his swiftness is called Hy, is the performer of the journeys of angels; the Tajee, which is of the race of Persian horses, is the performer of the journeys of the Kundherps, (or good spirits ;) the Wazba, which is of the race of the deformed Tazee horses, is the performer of the journeys of the Jins, (or demons ;) and the Ashov, which is of the race of Turkish horses, is the performer of the journeys of mankind: this one horse which performs these several services 561 19 And he shall sprinkle of the An. Exod. Isr. 2. blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. 20 And when he hath made an end of a reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat : 6. to the wilderness. shall send him away by the hand с A..M. 2514. of a fit man into the wilder- An. Exod. Isr. 2. ness: Abib or Nisan. 22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities, unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. 23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, fand shall put off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there: 24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt-offering, and the burnt-offering of the people, and make i. 29; Hebrews ix. 28; 1 Pet. ii. 24. Heb. of separation Ezek. xlii. 14; xliv. 19.- - Ver. 3, 5. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and Ezek. xliii. 20. Ver. 16; Ezek. xlv. 20.- b Isa. liii. c Heb. a man of opportunity.- -d Isa. liii. 11, 12; John on account of his four different sorts of riders, obtains And confess over him all the iniquities—transgresthe four different appellations. The place where this sions-sins] The three terms used here, INIQUITIES, horse remains is the great ocean, which signifies they avonoth, from my avah, to pervert, distort, or turn great spirit of Perm-Atma, or the universal soul, which aside; TRANSGRESSIONS, Yɔ peshaim, from yʊɔ paproceeds also from that Perm-Atma, and is compre-sha, to transgress, to rebel; and SINS, NON chaltaoth, hended in the same Perm-Atma. The intent of this sacrifice is, that a man should consider himself to be in the place of that horse, and look upon all these articles as typified in himself; and conceiving the Atma (or Divine soul) to be an ocean, should let all thought of self be absorbed in that Atma." from on chata, to miss the mark, are supposed by the Jews to comprise every thing that implies a breach of the Divine law, or an offence against God. See the note on Gen. xii. 13. Maimonides gives us the confession in the following words :— "O Lord, thy people, the house of Israel, have sin This sacrifice is explained, in sec. ix., p. 127, of ned and done iniquity, and trespassed before thee. 0 the Code of Hindoo Laws, thus : "An Ashummeed Jugg is when a person, having commenced a Jugg, (i. e., religious ceremony,) writes various articles upon a scroll of paper on a horse's neck, and dismisses the horse, sending along with the horse a stout and valiant person, equipped with the best necessaries and accoutrements to accompany the horse day and night whithersoever he shall choose to go; and if any creature, either man, genius, or dragon, should seize the horse, that man opposes such attempt, and having gained the victory upon a battle, again gives the horse his freedom. If any one in this world, or in heaven, or beneath the earth, would seize this horse, and the horse of himself comes to the house of the celebrator of the Jugg, upon killing that horse he, must throw the flesh of him upon the fire of the Juk, and utter the prayers of his deity; such a Jugg is called a Jugg Ashummeed, and the merit of it as a religious work is infinite." Lord, make atonement now for the iniquities and transgressions and sins that thy people, the house of Israel, have sinned and transgressed against thee; as it is written in the law of Moses thy servant, saying: That in this day he shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord, and ye shall be clean."-See the Mishna, vol. ii., p. 239. When this confession was finished, the goat was sent by a proper hand to the wilderness, and there let loose; and nothing farther was ever heard of it. Did not all this signify that Christ has so carried and borne away our sins, that against them who receive him as the only true atoning sacrifice they should never more be brought to remembrance? mourning. On the head of the scape-goat a piece of scarlet cloth was tied, and the tradition of the Jews states that if God accepted the sacrifice, the scarlet cloth turned white while the goat was led to the desert; but if God had not accepted this expiation, the redThis is a most curious circumstance; and the coin-ness continued, and the rest of the year was spent in cidence between the religious rites of two people who probably never had any intercourse with each other, is very remarkable. I would not however say that the Hindoo ceremony could not have been borrowed from the Jews; (though it is very unlikely ;) no more than I should say, as some have done, that the Jewish rite was borrowed from the Egyptian sacrifice to Apis mentioned above, which is still more unlikely. See particularly the note on chap. i. 4. Verse 21. Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head, &c.] What this imposition of hands meant see in the notes on Exod. xxix. 10, and on chap. i. 4. 562 From the foundation of the Church of God it was ever believed by his followers, that there were certain infallible tokens by which he discovered to genuine believers his acceptance of them and their services. This was sometimes done by a fire from heaven consuming the sacrifice; sometimes by an oracular communication to the priest or prophet; and at other times, according to the Jewish account, by changing the fillet or cloth on the head of the scape-goat from scarlet to white: but most commonly, and especially under the Gospel dispensation, he gives this assurance ( 37 ) The yearly atonement to A. M. 2514. CHAP. XVI. an atonement for himself, and An. Exod. Isr. 2. for the people. be an everlasting statute. A. M. 2514. 30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for An. Exod. Isr. 2. 25 And the fat of the sin- you, to m cleanse you, that ye offering shall he burn upon the altar. Abib or Nisan. i 26 And he that let go the goat for the scape-goat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. 27 And the bullock for the sin-offering, and the goat for the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. 28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. Abib or Nisan. may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31 It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. 32. And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: 33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. 29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourn-dren of Israel, for all their sins "once a year. eth among you : h Chap. iv. 10. Heb. xiii. 11. 、 k Chap. xv. 5.- Chap. iv. 12, 21; vi. 30; Exod. xxx. 10; chap. xxiii. 27; Num. xxix. 7; Isa. lviii. 3-5; Daniel x. 3-12.- m Psa. li. 2; Jer. xxxiii. 8; Eph. v. 26; Hebrews ix. 13, 14; x. 1, 2; 1 John. i. 7-9. to true believers by the testimony of his Spirit in their consciences, that he has forgiven their iniquities, transgressions, and sins, for his sake who has carried their griefs, and borne their sorrows. " 34 And this shall be an everlasting statute. unto you, to make an atonement for the chil And he did as the LORD commanded Moses. D Chap. xxiii. 32. Chap. iv. 3, 5, 16.-P Heb. fill his hand.9 Exod. xxix. 29, 30; Num. xx. 26-28.— Ver. 4. Ver. 6, 16, 18, 19, 24.- Chap. xxiii. 31; Numbers xxix. 7. " Exod. xxx. 10; Heb. ix. 7-25. rites, and ceremonies prescribed for it, were commanded to be solemnized by the Jews through the whole of their dispensation, and as long as God should acknowledge them for his people yet in the present day scarcely a shadow of these things remains; there is no longer a scape-goat, nor a goat for sacrifice, provided by them in any place. They are sinners, and they are without an atonement. How strange it is that they do not see that the essence of their religion is gone, and that consequently God has thrown them entirely out of covenant with himself! The true expiation, the Christ crucified, they refuse to receive, and are consequently without temple, altar, scape-goat, atonement, or any means of salvation! The state of the Gentile world is bad, but that of the Jews is doubly deplorable. Their total excision excepted, wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. What a proof is this of the truth of the predictions in their own law, and of those in the Gospel of Christ! Who, with the Jews and the Bible before his eyes, can doubt the truth of that Bible as a Divine revelation? Had this people been extinct, we might have doubted whether there were ever a people on the earth that acknowledged such a law, or observed such ordinances; but the people, their law, and their prophets are still in being, and all proclaim what God has wrought, and that he has now ceased to work among them, because they have refused to receive and profit by the great atonement; and yet he preserves them alive, and in a state of complete separation from all the people of the THE great day of atonement, and the sacrifices, earth in all places of their dispersion! How power Verse 26. He that let go the goat-shall wash, &c.] Not only the person who led him away, but the priest who consecrated him, was reputed unclean, because the goat himself was unclean, being considered as bearing the sins of the whole congregation. On this account both the priest and the person who led him to the wilderness were obliged to wash their clothes and bathe themselves, before they could come into the camp. Verse 29. The seventh month, on the tenth day of the month] The commandment of fasting, and sanctifying this tenth day, is again repeated chapter xxiii. 27-32; but in the last verse it is called the ninth day at even, because the Jewish day began with the evening. The sacrifices which the day of atonement should have more than other days, are mentioned Num. xxix. 7-11; and the jubilee which was celebrated every fiftieth year was solemnly proclaimed by sound, of trumpet on this tenth day, chap. xxv. 8, 9. A shadow, says Mr. Ainsworth, of that acceptable year of the Lord, the year of freedom, which Christ has proclaimed by the trumpet of his Gospel, Luke iv. 1821; 2 Cor. vi. 2. This seventh month was. Tisri, and answers to a part of our September and October. It was the seventh of the sacred and the first month of the civil year. |