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The aged to be respected.

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LEVITICUS.

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Just weights, balances, &c

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strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

29. Do not prostitute thy | shall be unto you as one born An. Exod. Isr. 2. daughter, to cause her to be a among you, and thou shalt love An Exod. Isr. 2 Abib or Nisan. whore; lest the land fall to whore- him as thyself; for ye were dom, and the land become full of wickedness. 30 Ye shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. 31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

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35 Ye, shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in mete-yard, in weight, or in measure.

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36 Just balances, just weights, a just y ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I

34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you am the LORD.

m Deut. xxiii. 17. Heb. profane.- Ver. 3; chap. xxvi. 2. P Ecclus. v. 1.- - Exod. xxii. 18; chap. xx. 6, 27; Deut. xviii. 10; 1 Sam. xxviii. 7; 1 Chron. x. 13; Isa. viii. 19; Acts xvi. 16. Prov. xx. 29; 1 Tim. v. 1.- Ver 14,

Verse 29. Do not prostitute thy daughter] This was a very frequent custom, and with examples of it writers of antiquity abound. The Cyprian women, according to Justin, gained that portion which their husbands received with them at marriage by previous public prostitution. And the Phænicians, according to Augustine, made a gift to Venus of the gain acquired by the public prostitution of their daughters, previously to their marriage. "Veneri donum dabant, et prostitutiones filiarum, antequam jungerent eas viris."-De Civit. Dei, lib. xviii., c. 5; and see Calmet.

Verse 31. Regard not them that have familiar spirits] The Hebrew word 2 oboth probably signifies a kind of engastromuthoi or ventriloquists, or such as the Pythoness mentioned Acts xvi. 16, 18; persons who, while under the influence of their demon, became greatly inflated, as the Hebrew word implies, and gave answers in a sort of phrensy. See a case of this kind in Virgil, Æneid, l. vi., ver. 46, &c. :—

-Deus ecce, Deus! cui talia fanti

Ante fores, subito non vultus, non color unus, Non compte mansere coma; sed pectus anhelum, Et rabie fera corda tument; majorque videri, Nec mortale sonans, aflata est numine quando Jam propiore Dei."

-Invoke the skies,

I feel the god, the rushing god, she cries. While yet she spoke, enlarged her features grew, Her colour changed, her locks dishevelled flew. The heavenly tumult reigns in every part, Pants in her breast, and swells her rising heart: Still swelling to the sight, the priestess glowed, And heaved impatient of the incumbent god. PITT. Neither seek after wizards] Dyyiddeonim, the wise or knowing ones, from yr yada, to know or understand; called wizard in Scotland, wise or cunning man in England; and hence also the wise woman, the white witch. Not only all real dealers with familiar spirits, or necromantic or magical superstitions, are here forbidden, but also all pretenders to the knowledge

Exod. xxii. 21; xxiii. 9. Or, oppress. 48, 49.- Deut. x. 19.- - Ver. 15. Deut. Prov. xi. 1; xvi. 11; xx. 10.—2 Heb. stones. 4, 5; Deut. iv. 5, 6; v. 1; vi. 25.

Exod. xii. xxv. 13, 15; Chap. xviii.

of futurity, fortune-tellers, astrologers, &c., &c. To attempt to know what God has not thought proper to reveal, is a sin against his wisdom, providence, and goodness. In mercy, great mercy, God has hidden the knowledge of futurity from man, and given him hope-the expectation of future good, in its place. See the note on Exod. xxii. 18.

Verse 32. Before the hoary head] See the note on Gen. xlviii. 12.

Verse 33. If a stranger sojourn] This law to protect and comfort the stranger was at once humane and politic: None is so desolate as the stranger, and none needs the offices of benevolence and charity more: and we may add that he who is not affected by the desolate state of the stranger has neither benevolence nor charity. It was politic to encourage strangers, as ́in consequence many came, not only to sojourn, but to settle among the Jews, and thus their political strength became increased; and many of these settlers became at least proselytes of the gate if not proselytes of the covenant, and thus got their souls saved. Hence humanity, sound policy, and religion said, Vex not the stranger; thou shalt love him as thyself. The apostle makes use of a strong argument to induce men to hospitality towards strangers: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares, Heb. xiii. 2. Moses also uses a powerful motive: Ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. The spirit of the precept here laid down, may be well expressed in our Lord's words: Do unto all men as ye would they should do unto you.

Verse 35. Ye shall do no unrighteousness] Ye shall not act contrary to the strictest justice in any case, and especially in the four following, which properly understood, comprise all that can occur between a man and his fellow. 1. JUDGMENT in all cases that come before the civil magistrate; he is to judge and decide according to the law. 2. METE-YARD, ♫ bammiddah, in measures of length and surface, such as the reed, cubit, foot, span, hand's breadth, among the Jews; or ell, yard, foot, and inch, among us. 3. WEIGHT,

Of giving seed to Molech,

CHAP. XX.

and the punishment of this crime.

doubt of their having been perfectly well known to the Israelites, to whom the precepts contained in this chapter were given. Considerable pains however have been taken to make them plain, and no serious mind can read them without profit.

Spun bammishkal, in any thing that is weighed, the | ter, but they are such only to us; for there can be no weights being all according to the standards kept for the purpose of trying the rest in the sanctuary, as appears from Exod. xxx. 13; 1 Chron. xxiii. 29; these weights were the talent, shekel, barleycorn, &c. 4. MEASURE, bammesurah, from which we derive our term. This refers to all measures of capacity, such as the homer, ephah, seah, hin, omer, kab, and log. See all these explained Exod. xvi. 16.

Verse 36. Just balances] Scales, steel-yard, &c. Weights, ' abanim, stones, as the weights appear to have been originally formed out of stones. Ephah, hin, &c., see before.

·Verse 37. Shall ye observe all my statutes] pn chukkothi, from pn chak, to describe, mark, or trace out; the righteousness which I have deseribed,, and the path of duty which I have traced out. Judgments, DVD mishpatai, from D shaphat, to discern, determine, direct, &c.; that which Divine Wisdom has discerned to be best for man, has determined shall promote his best interest, and has directed him conscientiously to use. See the note on chap. xxvi. 15.

2. The precepts against injustice, fraud, slander, enmity, &c., &c., are well worth the notice of every Christian; and those against superstitious usages are not less so; and by these last we learn, that having recourse to astrologers, fortune-tellers, &c., to get intelligence of lost or stolen goods, or to know the future events of our own lives, or those of others, is highly criminal in the sight of God. Those who have recourse to such persons renounce their baptism, and in effect renounce the providence as well as the word` of God.

3. The precepts of humanity and mercy relative to the poor, the hireling, and the stranger, are worthy of our most serious regard. Nor are those which concern weights and measures, traffic, and the whole system of commutative justice, less necessary to be observed for the benefit and comfort of the individual, and the

1. MANY difficulties occur in this very important chap-safety and prosperity of the state.

CHAPTER XX.

Of giving seed to Molech, and the punishment of this crime, 1-5. Of consulting wizards, &c., 6–8. Of disrespect to parents, 9. Of adultery, 10. Of incestuous mixtures, 11, 12. Bestiality, 13–16. Different cases of incest and uncleanness, 17–21. Exhortations and promises, 22-24. The difference between clean and unclean animals to be carefully observed, 25. The Israelites are separated from other nations, that they may be holy, 26. A repetition of the law against wizards and them that have familiar spirits, 27.

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Chap. xviii. 21.- b Chap. xviii. 21; Deut. xii. 31; xviii. 10; 2 Kings xvii. 17; xxiii. 10; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 6; Jer. vii. 31; NOTES ON CHAP. XX.

Verse 2. That giveth any of his seed unto Molech] To what has been said in the note on chap. xviii. 21, we may add, that the rabbins describe this idol, who was probably a representative or emblematical personification of the solar influence, as made of brass, in the form of a man, with the head of an ox; that a fire was kindled in the inside, and the child to be sacrificed to him was put in his arms, and roasted to death. Others say that the idol, which was hollow, was divided into seven compartments within; in one of which they put flour, in the second turtle-doves, in the third a ewe, in the fourth a ram, in the fifth a calf, in the sixth an or, and in the seventh a child, which, by heating the statue on the outside, were all burnt alive toge

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3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.

4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not; xxxii. 35; Ezek. xx. 26, 31. Chap. xvii. 10. Ezek. v.. 11; xxiii. 38, 39.- Chap. xviii. 21. f Deut. xvii. 2, 3, 5. ther. I question the whole truth of these statements, whether from Jewish or Christian rabbins. There is no evidence of all this in the sacred writings. And there is but presumptive proof, and that not very strong, that human sacrifices were at all offered to Molech by the Jews. The passing through the fire, so frequently spoken of, might mean no more than a simple rite of consecration to the service of this idol. Probably a kind of ordeal was meant, the persons passing suddenly through the flame of a large fire, by which, though they might be burnt or scorched, yet they were neither killed nor consumed. Or they might have passed between two large fires, as a sort of purification. See the notes on ver. 14; and chap. xviii. 21. Cæsar, in his history of the Gallic war, lib. vi., c. 16,

Different abominations and

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5 Then I will set my face the adulterer and the adulteress An. Exod. Isr. 2. against that man, and against shall surely be put to death. Abib or Nisan. his family, and will cut him off, 11 And the man that lieth with and all that go a whoring after him, to com- his father's wife, hath uncovered his father's mit whoredom with Molech, from among their nakedness: both of them shall surely be put people. to death; their blood shall be upon them. 1.2 And if a man lie with his daughter-inlaw, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.

6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

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13 "If a man also lie with mankind, as he

7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye lieth with a woman, both of them have comholy for I am the LORD your God.

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10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife,

Chap. xvii. 10.- Exod. xx. 5.- -Chap. xvii. 7. Chap. xix. 31. Chap. xi. 44; xix. 2; 1 Pet. i. 16.- "Chap. xix. 37.- - Exod. xxxi. 13; chap. xxi. 8; Ezek. xxxvii. 28. Exod. xxi. 17; Deut. xxvii. 16; Prov. xx. 20; Matt. xv. 4. P Ver. 11, 12, 13, 16, 27; 2 Sam. i. 16.,

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mentions a custom of the Druids similar to this. They made an image of wicker-work, inclosed those in it whom they had adjudged to death, and, setting the whole on fire, all were consumed together.

Verse 6. Familiar spirits] See the notes on chap. xix. 31; and Exod. xxii. 18.

Verse 9. Curseth his father or his mother] See the notes on Gen. xlvii. 12, and Exod. xx. 12. He who conscientiously keeps the fifth commandment can be in no danger of this judgment. The term p yekallel signifies, not only to curse, but to speak of a person contemptuously and disrespectfully, to make light of; so that all speeches which have a tendency to lessen our parents in the eyes of others, or to render their judgment, piety, &c., suspected and contemptible, may be here included; though the act of cursing, or of treating the parent with injurious and opprobrious language, is that which is particularly intended.

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mitted an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.

15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.

16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, Chap. xviii. 20; Deut. xxii. 22; John viii. 4, 5Chap. xviii. 8; Deut. xxvii. 23.- Chap. xviii. 15.- Chap. xviii. 23.- Lu Chap. xviii. 22; Deut. xxiii. 17; see Gen. xix. 5; Judg. xix. 22. Chap. xviii. 17; Deut. xxvii. 23. chap. xviii. 23; Deut. xxvii. 21.

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burning alive, but by some kind of branding, by which they were ever after rendered infamous. I need not add that the original, 1 baesh yishrephu, may, without violence to its grammatical meaning, be understood as above, though in other places it is certainly used to signify a consuming by fire. But the case in question requires some explanation; it is this: a man marries a wife, and afterward takes his mother-in-law or wife's mother to wife also; now for this offence the text says all three shall be burnt with fire, and this is understood as signifying that they shall be burnt alive. Now the first wife, we may safely presume, was completely innocent, and was legally married; for a man may take to wife the daughter if single, or the mother if a widow, and in neither of these cases can any blame attach to the man or the party he marries; the crime therefore lies in taking both. Either, therefore, they were all branded as infamous persons, and this certainly was severe enough in the case of the first wife; or the man and the woman taken last were burnt, but the text says, both he and they; therefore we should seek for another interpretation of they shall be burnt with fire, than that which is commonly given. Branding with a hot iron would cerSee tainly accomplish every desirable end both for punishment and prevention of the crime; and because the Mosaic laws are so generally distinguished by humanity, it seems to be necessary to limit the meaning of the words as, above.

Verse 10. Committeth adultery] To what has been said in the note on Exod. xx. 14, we may add, that the word adultery comes from the Latin adulterium, which is compounded of ad, to or with, and alter, another, or, according to Minshieu, of ad alterius torum, he that approaches to another man's bed.

Verse 12. They have wrought confusion] chap. xviii., and especially the note on ver. 6. Verse 14. They shall be burnt with fire] As there are worse crimes mentioned here, (see verses 11 and 17,) where the delinquent is ordered simply to be put to death, or to be cut off, it is very likely that the crime mentioned in this verse was not punished by

Verse 16. If a woman approach unto any beast] We have the authority of one of the most eminent

Against incest, uncleanness,

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CHAP. XX.

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wizards, and familiar spirits. and lie down thereto, thou shalt and all my judgments, and do An. Exod. Isr. 2. kill the woman and the beast: them: that the land, whither I An. Exod. Isr. 2. Abib or Nisan. they shall surely be put to death; bring you to dwell therein, spue their blood shall be upon them.

17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness, it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity. 18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood and both of them shall be cut off from among their people..

19 And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin; they shall bear their iniquity.

20 And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 d And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless. 22 Ye shall therefore keep all my fstatutes,

e Chap. xviii. 14.

* Chap. xviii. 9; Deut. xxvii. 22; see Gen. xx. 12.xviii. 19; see chap. xv. 24.- -2 Heb. made naked. xviii. 12, 13.- b Chap. xviii. 6.xviii. 16.-e Heb. a separation.Chap. xviii. 25, 28.xviii. 27; Deut. ix. 5.

-y Chap. Chap. d Chap. Chap. xviii. 26; xix. 37. Chap. xviii. 3, 21, 30. Chap.

historians in the world, Herodotus, to say that this was a crime not unknown in Egypt; yea, that a case of this nature actually took place while he was there. Εγένετο δ' εν τῷ νομῳ τούτῳ επ' εμευ τουτο το τέρας, Γυναικι Τραγος εμισγέτο αναφανδόν. Τουτο ες επιδειξιν аVÕрwπWV аTIKETо.-Herod. in Euterp., p. 108. Edit. Gale, Lond. 1679. “In this district, within my own recollection, this portentous business took place: a goat coupled so publicly with a woman that every person knew it, &c." After this, need we wonder that God should have made laws of this nature, when it appears these abominations were not only practised among the Egyptians, but were parts of a superstitious religious system? This one observation will account for many of those strange prohibitions which we find in the Mosaic law; others, the reasons of which are not so plain, we should see the propriety of equally, had we ampler historic records of the customs that existed in that country. Verse 22. The land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.] See this energetic prosopopoeia explained in the note on chap. xviii. 25. From this we learn that the cup of the iniquities of the Canaanitish nations was full; and that, consistently with Divine justice, they could be no longer spared. ( 38 )

VOL. I.

you not out.

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23 h And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.

24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.

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* Exod. iii. 17; vi. 8.- Ver. 26; Exod. xix. 5; xxxiii. 16; Deut. vii. 6'; xiv. 2; 1 Kings viii. 53. Chap. xi. 47; Deut. xiv. 4- Chap. xi. 43. Or, moveth. Ver. 7; chap. xix. 2; 1 Pet. i. 16.-9 Ver. 24; Tit. ii. 14. Chap. xix. 31; Exod. xxii. 18; Deut. xviii. 10, 1; 1 Sam. xxviii.. 7, 8. • Ver. 9.

Verse 24. A land that floweth with milk and honey] See this explained Exod. iii. 8.

Verse 25. Between clean beasts and unclean] See the notes on chap. xi.

Verse 27. A familiar spirit] A spirit or demon, which, by magical rites, is supposed to be bound to appear at the call of his employer. See the notes on Gen. xli. 8; Exod. vii. 11, 22, 25; and chap. xix, 31.

FROM the accounts we have of the abominations both of Egypt and Canaan, we may blush for human nature; for wherever it is without cultivation, and without the revelation of God, it is every thing that is vile in principle and detestable in practice. Nor would any part of the habitable globe materially differ from Egypt and Canaan, had they not that rule of righteousness, the revealed LAW of God, and had not life and immortality been brought to light by the GosPEL among them. From these accounts, for which we could easily find parallels in ancient Greece and Italy, we may see the absolute need of a Divine revelation, without which man, even in his best estate, differs little from the brute.

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The priests forbidden to mourn,

LEVITICUS.

CHAPTER XXI.

except for near relatives.

The priests shall not mourn for the dead, except for near relatives, such as mother, father, son, daughter, and sister if a virgin, 1-4. They shall not shave their heads nor beards, nor make any cuttings in the flesh, because they are holy unto God, 5, 6. A priest shall not marry a woman who is a whore, profane, or divorced from her husband, 7, 8. Of the priest's daughter who profanes herself, 9. The high priest shall not uncover his head, or rend his clothes, 10; nor go in unto a dead body, 11; nor go out of the sanctuary, 12. Of his marriage and offspring, 13-15. No person shall be made a priest that has any blemish, nor shall any person with any of the blemishes mentioned here be permitted to officiate in the worship of God, 16-24.

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5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

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9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.

10 * And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing 6 They shall be holy unto their God, and oil was poured, and that is consecrated to

a Chap. x. 6, 7; Ezek. xliv. 25; 1 Thess. iv. 13, 14, 15.1 bOr, being a husband among his people; he shall not defile himself for his wife, &c.; see Ezek. xxiv. 16, 17.- Chap. xix. 27, 28; Deut. xiv. 1; Ezek. xliv. 20. ̧

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NOTES ON CHAP. XXI. Verse 1. There shall none be defiled for the dead] No priest shall assist in laying out a dead body, or preparing it for interment. Any contact with the dead was supposed to be of a defiling nature, probably because putrefaction had then taken place; and animal putrefaction was ever held in detestation by all men.

Verse 4. A chief man among his people] The word by baal signifies a master, chief, husband, &c., and is as variously translated here.. 1. He being a chief among the people, it would be improper to see him in such a state of humiliation as mourning for the dead necessarily implies. 2. Though a husband he shall not defile himself even for the death of a wife, because the anointing of his God is upon him. But the first sense appears to be the best,

Verse 5. They shall not make baldness] See the note on chap. xix. 27. It is supposed that these things were particularly prohibited, because used superstitiously by the Egyptian priests, who, according to Herodotus, shaved the whole body every third day, that | there might be no uncleanness about them when they ministered in their temples. This appears to have

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d Chap. xviii. 21; xix. 12. See chap. iii, 11.- Ezek. xliv. 22.- - See Deut. xxiv. 1, 2.- h Chap. xx. 7,-8.iGen. xxxviii. 24. k Exod. xxix. 29, 30; chap. viii. 12; xvi. 32; Nuin. xxxv. 25.- Exod. xxviii. 2; chap. xvi. 32.

been a general custom among the heathen. In the book of Baruch, chap. vi. 31, the priests of Babylon are represented sitting in their temples, with their clothes rent, and their heads and beards shaven, and having nothing upon their heads. Every person knows the tonsure of the Catholic priests.. Should not this be avoided as an approach to a heathenish custom?

Verse 7. That is a whore] A prostitute, though even reclaimed.

Profane] A heathen, or one who is not a cordial believer in the true God.

Put away from her husband] Because this very circumstance might lead to suspicion that the priest and the divorced woman might have been improperly connected before.

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