Leviticus · Chapter 19

V. 2. Be ye holy-Separated from all the forementioned defilements, and entirely consecrated to God and obedient to all his laws. I am holy-Both in my essence, and in all my laws, which are holy and just and good.

Verse 2. Ye shall be holy — Separated from all the forementioned defilements, and entirely consecrated to God, and obedient to all his laws. I am holy — Both in my essence, and in all my laws, which are holy, and just, and good.

2. Ye shall be holy — Inward and outward holiness is the aim of all the laws of God. He seeks to cleanse the heart, the fountain of action, and the very seat of character. See Introduction, (8.) For… I am holy — This implies that man is bound to realize his loftiest ideal of purity, and that the revelation of God’s holiness is that ideal. The grounds of obligation for Israel were: 1.) the nature of God, holiness; 2.) his act of creation, Isaiah 43:1; 3.) his act of deliverance from Egypt, Exodus 20:2. Changing the third to the redemption from sin, procured by Jesus Christ, we have the New Testament grounds of obligation for all men. See Leviticus 11:44, notes.

V. 3. His mother-The mother is put first, partly because the practice of this duty begins there, mothers, by perpetual converse, being sooner known to their children than their fathers; and partly because this duty is commonly neglected to the mother, upon whom children have not so much dependence as they have upon their father. And this fear includes the two great duties of reverence and obedience. And keep my sabbaths-This is added, to shew, that, whereas it is enjoined to parents that they should take care the sabbath be observed both by themselves and their children, it is the duty of children to fear and obey their parents in this matter. But that, if parents should neglect their duty herein, or by their command, counsel, or example, draw them to pollute the sabbath, the children in that case must keep the sabbath, and prefer the command of God before the commands of their parents.

Verse 3. Ye shall fear every man his mother, &c.] Ye shall have the profoundest reverence and respect for them. See Clarke’s notes on “Genesis 48:12”; “Exodus 20:8”; and “Exodus 20:12”.

Verse 3. His mother — The mother is put first, partly because the practice of this duty begins there, mothers, by perpetual converse, being sooner known to their children than their fathers; and partly because this duty is commonly neglected to the mother, upon whom children have not so much dependance as they have upon their father. And this fear includes the two great duties of reverence and obedience. And keep my sabbaths — This is added, to show that, whereas it is enjoined to parents that they should take care the sabbath be observed both by themselves and their children, it is the duty of children to fear and obey their parents in this matter. But that, if parents should neglect their duty therein, or by their command, counsel, or example, draw them to pollute the sabbath, the children in that case must keep the sabbath, and prefer the command of God, before the command of their parents.

3. Ye shall fear — Reverence or honour, and not slavish fear, is here enjoined. See Exodus 20:12, note. Keep my sabbaths — Exodus 20:8-11, notes.

V. 4. Idols-The word signifies such as are no Gods, or nothings, as they are called, 1 Corinthians 8:4, many idols having no being, but in the fancy of their worshippers, and all of them having no virtue or power to do good or evil, Isaiah 41:23.

Verse 4. Turn ye not unto idols] אלילם elilim, literally nothings; and to this St. Paul seems to allude 1 Corinthians 8:4, where he says, We know that an idol is NOTHING in the world.

Verse 4. Turn ye not unto idols — Hebrew, µlyla, Elilim, No gods, or nothings, as the word signifies, and as idols are called, (1 Corinthians 8:4,) many of them having no being but in the fancy of their worshippers, and all of them having no virtue or power to do good or evil, Isaiah 41:23.

4. Idols — The Hebrew term elilim, nothings, or “things of naught,” (Jeremiah 14:14,) is very expressive. There is a paronomasia, or similarity of sound with elohim, God, which heightens the contrast. “As the Living One, Jehovah, is placed in contrast to the gods of the heathen, which can reveal nothing, perform nothing, grant no requests, and send no help, Deuteronomy 32:37-39; which are nothings, and dead, Psalm 106:28.” — Oehler. But Furst derives the word from el with a diminutive syllable, “little gods,” indicating the greatest contempt. Molten gods — The massecha, or molten image, is spoken of in distinction from the graven or carved images. The precious metals were used. Exodus 20:23; 32:2, 8.

V. 5. At your own will-Or, according to your own pleasure, what you think fit: For though this in general was required, yet it was left to their choice to determine the particulars.

Verse 5. Peace-offerings] See at the conclusion of Clarke’s note “Leviticus 7:38”.

Verse 5. At your own will — Or, According to your own pleasure, what you think fit; for though this sacrifice, in general, was required, it was left to their choice to determine the particulars. But the original word may be rendered, For favour to you; that is, in order to procure you the divine favour; or in such a manner as God has prescribed and will accept. And thus it is understood by Le Clerc, after the LXX., the Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic versions.

5. Peace offerings — See chap. 3, notes, Leviticus 7:11-21, notes. Own will — This may also be translated, acceptable or pleasing, “that ye may be accepted,” (R.V.) See Leviticus 1:3, note.

V. 6. On the morrow-He speaks here of that sort of peace-offerings, which were offered either by vow or freely for the obtaining of some mercy, for the other sort, which was by way of gratitude for mercies received, were to be eaten the same day.

Verse 7. It is be eaten-on the third day] See Clarke’s note on “Leviticus 7:15”.

8. Shall bear his iniquity — See Leviticus 10:17; 17:16; Numbers 9:13, notes. That soul shall be cut off — Capital punishment is to be inflicted. See Leviticus 7:20.

Verse 9. When ye reap the harvest] Liberty for the poor to glean both the corn-fields and vineyards was a Divine institution among the Jews; for the whole of the Mosaic dispensation, like the Christian, breathed love to God and benevolence to man. The poor in Judea were to live by gleanings from the corn-fields and vine yards. To the honour of the public and charitable spirit of the English, this merciful law is in general as much attended to as if it had been incorporated with the Gospel.

Verses 9, 10. Thou shalt not gather the gleanings of thy harvest — They were not to be exact in carrying all off, but were to leave some part to be gleaned and reaped by their poor neighbours, whether Israelites or Gentiles. And thou shall not glean thy vineyard — When they had cut off the great bunches, they were not to examine the vine over again for the scattered grapes or small clusters, but leave them for the poor and stranger. Strangers are joined with the poor, because they could have no possessions of land among the Hebrews, and therefore were often poor. I am the Lord your God — Who gave you all these things, with a reservation of my right in them, and with a charge of giving part of them to the poor. This, and many other laws which provide for the indigent, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger, show the genius of the Jewish religion to have been much more humane than we are apt to conceive, from examining the lives of its narrow-minded professors.

Ver. 9. Not wholly reap. No nation is well governed that is unmindful of the poor. Allowing them some indulgencies, and the means of providing a little store for winter is a great industry; and is at the same time a pledge to the public of their honesty. For who would steal, when detection would deprive him of privileges which make life happy? It is the grossest of civil policy to keep the poor in a state of ignorance and hopeless depression.

9. Corners of thy field — Rather, borders. See Leviticus 23:22, note.

V. 10. I am the Lord your God-Who gave you all these things with a reservation of my right in them, and with a charge of giving part of them to the poor.

Verses 9, 10. Thou shalt not gather the gleanings of thy harvest — They were not to be exact in carrying all off, but were to leave some part to be gleaned and reaped by their poor neighbours, whether Israelites or Gentiles. And thou shall not glean thy vineyard — When they had cut off the great bunches, they were not to examine the vine over again for the scattered grapes or small clusters, but leave them for the poor and stranger. Strangers are joined with the poor, because they could have no possessions of land among the Hebrews, and therefore were often poor. I am the Lord your God — Who gave you all these things, with a reservation of my right in them, and with a charge of giving part of them to the poor. This, and many other laws which provide for the indigent, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger, show the genius of the Jewish religion to have been much more humane than we are apt to conceive, from examining the lives of its narrow-minded professors.

Ver. 10. Thou shalt not glean thy vineyard. In great farms we have some remains of this custom; but in general we take the commons and the gardens from the cottages; and with these the fuel is prohibited. In cities we build for them splendid prisons, which shorten their lives by a broken heart. We pity the slaves abroad more than the wretched at home. This precept so often repeated by Moses marks its importance, and the need there is to enforce it on the attention of the rich.

10. Every grape — “The fallen fruit,” (R.V.) For the poor — As soon as the grape harvest had been carried to the vats, the owner was forbidden to glean the vineyard again. The poor were to be relieved, not as beggars, by food from the granaries of the prosperous, but through their own industry. Thus their self-respect was preserved, and they were kept from the temptations of idleness. The… stranger — For the origin of the strangers and the causes of their poverty, see Leviticus 23:22, note.

Verse 11. Ye shall not steal, &c.] See Clarke’s notes on “Exodus 20:15”.

11. Not steal — Property, one of the great natural rights of man, is sacredly guarded by the eighth commandment. See Exodus 20:15. “Here is a marvellous distinction of classes. That distinction is carefully preserved throughout the whole record of Scripture. At first sight, it is not only a marvelous, but an incredible thing that one man should be rich and another poor. Poverty is more than a merely incidental condition of life. There is a moral mystery about poverty, relating alike to the poor man and to the rich man. It may seem heartless to speak in this way, and it would be heartless but for the consistent record of time and testimony of experience. Here is a distinct recognition of the right of prosperity. We read of ‘thy field,’ and ‘thy vineyard,’ and ‘thy harvest.’ Yet though property is distinctly recognised, beneficence is also made matter of law. The Bible is the book of the poor. From no other book in the world could so many injunctions be culled as bearing upon the rich in relation to the claims of poverty.” — Joseph Parker. Neither deal falsely — All fraud, which is not included in stealing, is forbidden. See Leviticus 6:2-4, notes.

V. 12. Ye shall not swear falsely-This is added, to shew how one sin draws on another, and that when men will lye for their own advantage, they will easily be induced to perjury. Profane the name-By any unholy use of it. So it is an additional precept, thou shalt not abuse my holy name by swearing either falsely or rashly.

Verse 12. Ye shall not swear falsely — This is added to show how one sin draws on another, and that when men will lie for their own advantage, they will easily be induced to perjury. Profane the name — By any unholy use of it. So it is an additional precept, thou shall not abuse my holy name by swearing either falsely or rashly.

12. Not swear by my name falsely — The principle of the oath is incidentally laid down in Hebrews 6:16, as an ultimate appeal to divine authority to ratify the assertion. The forms of appeal are various, as, “The God of Abraham judge;” “As the Lord liveth;” “God knoweth,” and the like. See Exodus 20:7; Matthew 5:33, 34, notes.

Verse 13. The wages-shall not abide with thee all night] For this plain reason, it is the support of the man’s life and family, and they need to expend it as fast as it is earned.

13. Not defraud thy neighbour — This prohibition of fraud is not practically neutralized, as some assent, by the spoiling of the Egyptians by borrowing their jewels, since the borrowing was simply asking for a parting gift. See Exodus 3:22, note. The wages… all night — This is a merciful protection of the labouring class, many of whom had so narrow a margin between themselves and starvation, that the detention of their wages for even a few hours might produce great suffering. According to the Mishna, the proper time for demanding wages is, for the day labourer, the whole of the night, for the night labourer, the whole of the following day. In a suit for wages the plaintiff must prove that his demand was made at the right time. There was in Mosaism no servant without wages, either paid beforehand, for a term of years, or paid daily, if hired by the day, or annually, as the case might be. Exodus 21:2; Leviticus 25:53; Malachi 3:5; James 5. 4. It is evident that God is not favourably disposed toward the modern credit system, with its periodical earthquakes engulfing labour in ruin.

V. 14. Before the blind-To make them fall. Under these two particulars are manifestly forbidden all injuries done to such as are unable to right or defend themselves; of whom God here takes the more care, because they are not able to secure themselves. Fear thy God-Who both can and will avenge them.

Verse 14. Thou shalt not curse the deaf] Or speak evil of him, because he cannot hear, and so cannot vindicate his own character. Nor put a stumbling-block before the blind] He who is capable of doing this, must have a heart cased with cruelty. The spirit and design of these precepts are, that no man shall in any case take advantage of the ignorance, simplicity, or inexperience of his neighbour, but in all things do to his neighbour as he would, on a change of circumstances, that his neighbour should do to him.

Verse 14. Before the blind — To make them fall. Under these two particulars are manifestly forbidden all injuries done to such as are unable to right or defend themselves; of whom God here takes the more care, because they are not able to secure themselves. Fear thy God — Who both can and will avenge them.

14. Not curse the deaf — This prohibits the cowardly practice of reviling and vilifying persons who cannot hear or reply or defend themselves against such abuse. Stumblingblock before the blind — The fact that acts so dastardly are expressly forbidden demonstrates the fiendish dispositions of depraved men, and the exceeding compassion of God for those who are deprived of any special sense. He will avenge them together with the stranger, the poor, the widow, and the fatherless.

V. 15. The poor-So as through pity to him to give an unrighteous sentence.

Verse 15. The poor — So as, through pity to him, to give an unrighteous sentence.

15. Not respect the person of the poor — From no unmanly and unjust pity shall the poor man go unwhipped of justice. To “respect the person” is to give sentence not in view of proved guilt, but in view of other considerations. The person of the mighty is honoured in the court of justice, when the verdict is so influenced by the rank, power, or the money of the accused, as to secure impunity. The scales of justice should be held evenly between all classes of men.

V. 16. Stand against the blood-In judgment as a false accuser or false witness, for accusers and witnesses use to stand, whilst the judges sit in courts of judicature.

Verse 16. Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer] lykr rachil signifies a trader, a pedlar, and is here applied to the person who travels about dealing in scandal and calumny, getting the secrets of every person and family, and retailing them wherever he goes. A more despicable character exists not: such a person is a pest to society, and should be exiled from the habitations of men.

Neither shalt thou stand against the blood, &c.] Thou shalt not be as a false witness, because by such testimony the blood-the life of an innocent man may be endangered.

Verse 16. Stand against the blood — In judgment, as a false accuser, or false witness, for accusers and witnesses use to stand, while the judges sit, in courts of judicature.

Ver. 16. A tale-bearer. One who travels as a pedlar, carrying news, telling lies, and thereby promoting family quarrels and bloodshed.

16. A talebearer — Literally, a peddler whose wares are slanders and detractions. Such a person, possessing himself of the secrets of individuals and of families and then whispering them abroad, falsely colouring motives and distorting facts, is a social pest worthy to be banished from the haunts of men. A significant lesson respecting the character of the calumniator is taught in the curious fact that the Greek slanderer, diabolov, has become the English devil. Neither… stand against the blood — That is, maliciously seek the life. This does not debar a person from giving testimony against a criminal. Such testimony is positively enjoined in Leviticus 5:1. See note.

V. 17. Thou shalt not hate-As thou dost, in effect, if thou dost not rebuke him. Thy brother-The same as thy neighbour, that is, every man. If thy brother hath done wrong, thou shalt neither divulge it to others, nor hate him, and smother that hatred by sullen silence; nor flatter him therein, but shalt freely and in love, tell him of his fault. And not suffer sin upon him-Not suffer him to lie under the guilt of any sin, which thou by rebuking him, and thereby bringing him to repentance, couldst free him from.

Verse 17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother] Thou shalt not only not do him any kind of evil, but thou shalt harbour no hatred in thy heart towards him. On the contrary, thou shalt love him as thyself, Leviticus 19:18. Many persons suppose, from misunderstanding our Lord’s words, John 13:34, A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another, &c., that loving our neighbour as ourselves was first instituted under the Gospel. This verse shows the opinion to be unfounded: but to love another as Christ has loved us, i.e., to lay down our lives for each other, is certainly a new commandment; we have it simply on the authority of Jesus Christ alone.

And not suffer sin upon him.] If thou see him sin, or know him to be addicted to any thing by which the safety of his soul is endangered, thou shalt mildly and affectionately reprove him, and by no means permit him to go on without counsel and advice in a way that is leading him to perdition. In a multitude of cases timely reproof has been the means of saving the soul. Speak to him privately if possible; if not, write to him in such a way that himself alone shall see it.

Verse 17. Thou shalt not hate — As thou dost, in effect, if thou dost not rebuke him. Thy brother — The same as thy neighbour; that is, every man. If thy brother hath done wrong, thou shalt neither divulge it to others, nor hate him, and smother that hatred by sullen silence; nor flatter him therein, but shalt freely, and in love, tell him of his fault. And not suffer sin upon him — Not suffer him to lie under the guilt of any sin, which thou, by rebuking him, and thereby bringing him to repentance, couldst free him from.

Ver. 17. We are next cautioned against hating our brother, when he has sinned against us. Instead of forming any plot or plan of revenge against him, we must go and admonish him privately. By so doing we have gained his approbation, he will generously reform his fault, and love us the better afterwards. Jesus Christ has improved this precept, and given it new lustre and force. Matthew 18:15.

17. Not hate thy brother — As in our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, the evil of human action is traced back to the heart, the state of the will and the affections, and the command is laid upon the very dispositions and thoughts. Hence it is not correct to say that the law of Moses demands only the opus operatum, an outward conformity to the law, not an inward principle; legality and not morality. It enjoins right dispositions of heart, Deuteronomy 6:5, and forbids wrong ones, Exodus 20:17. Rebuke — Admonish frankly, telling him what he had against him, according to the gospel rule. Matthew 18:15-17. Not suffer sin upon him — Knobel interprets this as atoning or suffering for a sin on his account. Keil says, “Not to load a sin upon himself.” Both may be combined in the idea that the injured party is not to incur sin, either by bearing secret ill-will or by encouraging the wrong-doer by his silence. See Numbers 9:13, note.

V. 18. Thy neighbour-Every man, as plainly appears,

1. By comparing this place with Leviticus 19:34, where this law is applied to strangers.

2. Because the word neighbour is explained by another man, Leviticus 20:10 Romans 13:8. As thyself-With the same sincerity, though not equality of affection.

Verse 18. Thy neighbour — Every man, as plainly appears, 1st, By comparing this place with verse 34, where this law is applied to strangers. 2d, Because the word neighbour is explained by another man, Leviticus 20:10; Romans 13:8. As thyself — With the same sincerity, though not equality of affection.

18. Love thy neighbour — See Matthew 5:43, note. “The traditional division of the law of Moses into moral, ceremonial, and juristic laws may serve to facilitate a general view of theocratic ordinances; but it is incorrect if it seeks to express a distinction within the law, and to claim various dignity for various parts. For the most inward commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” stands beside “Thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed.” — Oehler.

V. 19. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender-This was prohibited, partly to restrain the curiosity and boldness of men, who might attempt to amend or change the works of God, partly that by the restraint here laid even upon brute-creatures men might be taught to abhor all unnatural lusts, partly to teach the Israelites to avoid mixtures with other nations, either in marriage or in religion, which also may be signified by the following prohibitions.

Verse 19. Gender with a diverse kind] These precepts taken literally seem to imply that they should not permit the horse and the she-ass, nor the he-ass and the cow, (as they do in the East,) to couple together; nor sow different kinds of seeds in the same field or garden; nor have garments of silk and woollen, cotton and silk, linen and wool, &c. And if all these were forbidden, there must have been some moral reason for the prohibitions, because domestic economy required several of these mixtures, especially those which relate to seeds and clothing. With respect to heterogeneous mixtures among cattle, there is something very unnatural in it, and it was probably forbidden to prevent excitements to such unnatural lusts as those condemned in the preceding chapter, Leviticus 18:22, 23. As to seeds, in many cases it would be very improper to sow different kinds in the same plot of ground. It would be improvident to sow oats and wheat together: the latter would be injured, the former ruined. The turnip and carrot would not succeed conjointly, where either of them separately would prosper and yield a good crop; so we may say of many other kinds of seeds; and if this be all that is intended, the counsels are prudential agricultural maxims. As to different kinds of garments, such as the linsey woolsey, the prohibition here might be intended as much against pride and vanity as any thing else; for it is certain that both these articles may be so manufactured in conjunction as to minister to pride, though in general the linsey woolsey or drugget is the clothing of the poor. But we really do not know what the original word znc[v shaatnez, which we translate linen and woollen, means: it is true that in Deuteronomy 22:11, where it is again used, it seems to be explained by the words immediately following, Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of linen and woollen together; but this may as well refer to a garment made up of a sort of patchwork differently coloured and arranged for pride and for show. A folly of this kind prevailed anciently in this very land, and I shall give a proof of it, taken from a sermon against luxury in dress, composed in the fourteenth century.

“As to the first sinne in superfluitie of clothing, soche that maketh it so dere, to the harme of the peple, nat only the cost of enbrauderlng, the disguised endenting, or barring, ounding paling, winding or bending and semblable wast of clothe in vanite. But there is also the costlewe furring in their gounes, so moche pounsing of chesel, to make holes; so moche dagging with sheres foorth; with the superfluitie in length of the forsaied gounes,-to grete dammage of pore folke.-And more ouer-they shewe throughe disguising, in departing of ther hosen in white and red, semeth that halfe ther members were slain.-They departe ther hosen into other colours, as is white and blewe, or white and blacke, or blacke and red, and so forth; than semeth it as by variaunce of colour, that the halfe part of ther members ben corrupt by the fire of Saint Anthony, or by canker, or other suche mischaunce.” The Parson’s Tale, in Chaucer, p. 198. Urry’s edit. The reader will pardon the antiquated spelling.

“What could exhibit,” says Dr. Henry, “a more fantastical appearance than an English beau of the 14th century? He wore long pointed shoes, fastened to his knees by gold or silver chains; hose of one colour on the one leg, and of another colour on the other; short breeches which did reach to the middle of his thighs; a coat the one half white, the other half black or blue; a long beard; a silk hood buttoned under his chin, embroidered with grotesque figures of animals, dancing men, &c., and sometimes ornamented with gold and precious stones.” This dress was the height of the mode in the reign of King Edward III.

Something of the same kind seems to have existed in the patriarchal times; witness the coat of many colours made by Jacob for his son Joseph. See Clarke’s note on “Genesis 37:3”. Concerning these different mixtures much may be seen in the Mishna, Tract, Kilaim, and in Ainsworth, and Calmet on this place.

Verse 19. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender — This was prohibited, partly to restrain the curiosity and boldness of men, who might attempt to amend or change the works of God; partly that by the restraint here laid, even upon brute creatures, men might be taught to abhor all unnatural lusts; partly to teach the Israelites to avoid mixtures with other nations, either in marriage or in religion, which also may be signified by the following prohibitions.

Ver. 19. Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed, for they will not ripen at the same time, and the taller will shade the lower. But the moral is, thou shalt not mix with gentile nations, who sowed dry grapes with their wheat, from a Sabian superstition, that otherwise they should have bad crops. Garments of linen and woollen are prohibited for the same reasons.

19. Gender with a diverse kind — This would forbid the propagation of mules. Those mentioned in 2 Samuel 13:29; 18:9, and in many other passages, were probably imported, as they evidently were in the reign of Solomon. See 1 Kings 10:25. They are not mentioned in the New Testament. Such a mixture of species confounds the distinctions made by a wise Creator, and contradicts the fundamental notion of holiness, as that of unmingled purity and wholeness of moral character. It is a symbolical prohibition of improper alliances in religious, civil, and social life. A garment mingled — Hebrew, or rather Coptic, shaatnez, mixtures. The words of woollen and linen are not in the original, but are supplied from Deuteronomy 22:11, the only other place where shaatnez is found. It is supposed to signify “carded, spun, and twisted;” and to relate not to fabrics of different materials, which can be distinctly seen, as in the embroidered apparel of the high priest, but to spinning flax and wool with one thread, making linsey woolsey. Spencer conjectures that this mixed garment was forbidden because it was worn by the ancient Tabii, and was associated with their idolatrous ceremonies.

V. 20. She shall be scourged-Heb. There shall be a scourging, which probably may belong to both of them, for 1. Both were guilty. 2. It follows, they shall not be punished with death, which may seem to imply that they were to be punished by some other common and considerable punishment, which scourging indeed was, but the paying of a ram was a small penalty and very unsuitable to the greatness of the offence. And the offering of the ram as a trespass offering for the sin against God, is not inconsistent with making satisfaction other ways for the injury done to men, but only added here as farther punishment to the man, either because he only could do this, and not the woman, who being a bondwoman had nothing of her own to offer. Or because his sex and his freedom aggravated his sin. Not put to death-Which they should have been, had she been free, Deuteronomy 22:23,24. The reason of this difference is not from any respect which God gives to persons, for bond and free are alike to him, but because bond-women were scarce wives, and their marriages were scarce true-marriages, being neither made by their choice, but their masters authority, nor continued beyond the year of release, but at her master’s or husband’s pleasure.

Verse 20. A woman that is a bondmaid] Had she been free, the law required that she should be put to death; (see Deuteronomy 22:24;) but as she was a slave, she is supposed to have less self-command, and therefore less guilt: but as it is taken for granted she did not make resistance, or did consent, she is to be scourged, and the man is to bring a ram for a trespass-offering.

Verse 20. She shall be scourged — Hebrew, There shall be a scourging, which probably may belong to both of them; for, 1st, Both were guilty; 2d, It follows, they shall not be punished with death, which may seem to imply that they were to be punished by some other common and considerable punishment, which scourging indeed was; but the paying of a ram was a small penalty, and very unsuitable to the greatness of the offence. And the offering of the ram, as a trespass-offering for the sin against God, is not inconsistent with making satisfaction other ways for the injury done to men, but only added here as a further punishment to the man, either because he only could do this, and not the woman, who being a bond-woman had nothing of her own to offer; or because his sex and his freedom aggravated his sin. Not put to death — Which they should have been, had she been free, Deuteronomy 22:23, 24. The reason of this difference is not from any respect which God gives to persons, for bond and free are alike to him, but because bond-women were scarcely wives, and their marriages were scarcely true marriages, being neither made by their choice, but their masters’ authority, nor continued beyond the year of release, but at their masters’ or husbands’ pleasure.

20. A bondmaid — In ancient wars there were but two ways of dealing with the captives, namely, putting them to death or reducing them to slavery. The latter, as the milder of these alternatives, was recognised and greatly mitigated by the Mosaic law. But when Christianity came, whose first evangel was peace on earth, the death blow was given to war and slavery, its hideous progeny. Betrothed to a husband — Rather, to a man, probably a fellow-servant. Unfaithfulness in a free betrothed woman was a capital offence. Deuteronomy 22:23, 24. Not… redeemed — The rabbins specify four modes of redemption: 1.) by money, 2.) by a ticket of freedom, 3.) by testamentary disposition, or, 4.) by an act implying manumission, such as making the slave one’s heir. Freedom — This Hebrew word, chuphshah, occurs nowhere else in the Bible. It probably signifies “free papers,” or a certificate of freedom. She shall be scourged — Hebrew, there shall be a chastisement inflicted, evidently upon both parties. Thus read the Seventy, Vulgate, Syriac, and the Revised Version, and thus says the moral sense of universal humanity. The Authorized Version, which limits the scourging to the weaker criminal — to the tempted — and lets the tempter off with the fine of a ram, is an unpardonable blunder, and a foul blot needlessly cast upon the law of Moses. Not free — There was property invested in the woman, and probably in the man also, which would be destroyed by putting them to death.

21. Trespass offering — See 6-13, notes. Also, chap. v, Introductory. This offering was always special, as 1.) for sacrilege in ignorance, Leviticus 5:15, 16: 2.) for ignorant infraction of some definite prohibition, Leviticus 5:17-19: 3.) for fraud, concealing the truth, or perjury, Leviticus 6:1-6: 4.) at the purification of a leper, Leviticus 14:12, and the polluted Nazarite, Numbers 6:12: and 5.) for the seduction of a betrothed slave. The only exception to this use of ahsham is in Isaiah 53:10.

V. 23. As uncircumcised-That is, As unclean, not to be eaten but cast away. This precept was serviceable,

1. To the trees themselves, which grew the better and faster, being early stript of those fruits, which otherwise would have drawn away much more of the strength from the tree.

2. To men, both because the fruit then was less wholesome, and because hereby men were taught to bridle their appetites; a lesson of great use and absolute necessity in a holy life.

Verse 23. Three years shall it be as uncircumcised] I see no great reason to seek for mystical meanings in this prohibition. The fruit of a young tree cannot be good; for not having arrived at a state of maturity, the juices cannot be sufficiently elaborated to produce fruit excellent in its kind. The Israelites are commanded not to eat of the fruit of a tree till the fifth year after its planting: in the three first years the fruit is unwholesome; in the fourth year the fruit is holy, it belongs to God, and should be consecrated to him, Leviticus 19:24; and in the fifth year and afterward the fruit may be employed for common use, Leviticus 19:25.

Verse 23. As uncircumcised — That is, as unclean, not to be eaten, but cast away, because the fruit then was less wholesome, and because hereby men were taught to bridle their appetites; a lesson of great use and absolute necessity in a holy life.

23. Count the fruit… as uncircumcised — The fruit of the first three years was to be thrown away as unclean or uneatable. Some assign as the ground of this law that the fruit of these years was little in quantity and inferior in quality, and that by breaking off the fruit blossoms the growth of the trees and vines was stimulated and the future fruitfulness greatly increased. But it seems more reasonable to suppose that this requirement rests on the same grounds as the command to offer the firstborn of the flocks and the firstfruits of the harvest as a thank offering to Jehovah for his blessing upon the fruit-trees. The trees planted by the Canaanites, before the conquest by Joshua, were treated as exempt from this rule.

V. 24. Holy-Consecrated to the Lord, as the first-fruits and tithes were, and therefore given to the priests and Levites, Numbers 18:12,13 Deuteronomy 18:4 yet so that part of them were communicated to the poor widows and fatherless and strangers. See Deuteronomy 14:28. To bless the Lord, by whose power and goodness the trees bring forth fruit to perfection.

Verse 24. Holy — Consecrated to the Lord, as the first-fruits and tithes were, and therefore given to the priests and Levites, Numbers 18:12, 13; Deuteronomy 18:4; yet so that part of them were communicated to the poor widows, and fatherless, and strangers, see Deuteronomy 14:28; to bless the Lord, by whose power and goodness the trees bring forth fruit to perfection.

24. All the fruit… shall be holy — This offering, like the firstfruits in general, was given up entirely to Jehovah for his priests, who probably sold it to the Gentiles, since it was not lawful to eat it.

V. 25. That it may yield the increase-That God may be pleased to give his blessing, which alone can make them fruitful.

Verse 25. That it may yield the increase — That God may be pleased to give his blessing, which alone could make them fruitful.

25. That it may yield… the increase — By the divine blessing and by plucking off the blossoms during the first three years. Says Michaelis: “The wisdom of this law is very striking. Every gardener will teach us not to let fruit-trees bear in their earliest years, but to pluck off the blossoms; and for this reason, they will thus thrive the better and bear more abundantly afterwards.”

V. 26. Any thing with the blood-Any flesh out of which the blood is poured. Neither shall ye use enchantments-It was unpardonable in them, to whom were committed the oracles of God, to ask counsel of the devil. And yet worse in Christians, to whom the son of God is manifested, to destroy the works of the devil. For Christians to have their nativities cast, or their fortunes told, or to use charms for the cure of diseases, is an intolerable affront to the Lord Jesus, a support of idolatry, and a reproach both to themselves, and to that worthy name by which they are called. Nor observe times-Superstitiously, esteeming some days lucky, others unlucky.

Verse 26. Neither shall ye use enchantment] wvjnt al lo thenachashu. Conjecture itself can do little towards a proper explanation of the terms used in this verse. cjn nachash; See Clarke’s note at “Genesis 3:1”, we translate serpent, and with very little propriety; but though the word may not signify a serpent in that place, it has that signification in others. Possibly, therefore, the superstition here prohibited may be what the Greeks called Ophiomanteia, or divination by serpents.

Nor observe times.] תעוננו ולא velo teonenu, ye shall not divine by clouds, which was also a superstition much in practice among the heathens, as well as divination by the flight of birds. What these prohibitions may particularly refer to, we know not. See Clarke note on “Genesis 41:8”.

Verse 26. Any thing with the blood — Any flesh out of which the blood is not first poured. Neither shall ye use enchantments — It was unpardonable in them, to whom were committed the oracles of God, to ask counsel of the devil. And yet worse in Christians, to whom the Son of God is manifested, to destroy the works of the devil. For Christians to have their nativities cast, or their fortunes told, or to use charms for the cure of diseases, is an intolerable affront to the Lord Jesus, a support of idolatry, and a reproach both to themselves and to that worthy name by which they are called. Nor observe times — Superstitiously, esteeming some days lucky, others unlucky.

Ver. 26. Charms and enchantments, astrological calculations of fate, and superstitious observances of times, so much indulged among the heathen, are not to be named among the Lord’s people. A belief in God’s holy providence is defence sufficient for a good man.

26. Neither… use enchantment — Literally, Ye shall not whisper, hence, divine, or give oracles. The magical practices against which the Hebrews are here warned were borrowed from the nations around, for they had no magic of their own. Yet from the conquest of Canaan until the destruction of Jerusalem we have constant glimpses of magic practised in secret, not only by the ignoble, but by the great. Whether or not there is any reality in the art, it is clearly incompatible with a calm and firm trust in God alone to order future events for our good. “Israel is directed to the word of revelation (Deuteronomy 18:9-22) in contrast to all heathen mantic, which has searched through heaven and earth to find signs of the divine counsel, but finding no help, falls into dissolution. The exorcism of the dead, and other forms of mantic, are a horror, and astrology is a folly. Isaiah 47:13.” — Oehler. Nor observe times — Practise soothsaying by regarding the aspect of the clouds. Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:2) exhorts the people not to be “dismayed at the signs of heaven,” at which the heathen are “dismayed.” The practice of regarding some days as lucky and others as unlucky, and of foretelling the future by seeing the new moon over the right or left shoulder, are relics of this species of divination. Keil, with certain rabbins, derives the Hebrew term from ayin — an eye; hence, literally, “to ogle, to bewitch with an evil eye.”

V. 27. The corners of your heads-That is your temples, ye shall not cut off the hair of your heads round about your temples. This the Gentiles did, either for the worship of their idols, to whom young men used to consecrate their hair, being cut off from their heads, as Homer, Plutarch and many others write; or in funerals or immoderate mournings, as appears from Isaiah 15:2 Jeremiah 48:37. And the like is to be thought concerning the beard or the hair in the corner, that is, corners of the beard. The reason then of this prohibition is because God would not have his people agree with idolaters, neither in their idolatries, nor in their excessive sorrowing, no nor so much as in the appearances of it.

Verse 27. Ye shall not round the corners your heads] This and the following verse evidently refer to customs which must have existed among the Egyptians when the Israelites sojourned in Egypt; and what they were it is now difficult, even with any probability, to conjecture. Herodotus observes that the Arabs shave or cut their hair round, in honour of Bacchus, who, they say, had his hair cut in this way, lib. iii., cap. 8. He says also that the Macians, a people of Libya, cut their hair round, so as to leave a tuft on the top of the head, lib. iv., cap. 175. In this manner the Chinese cut their hair to the present day. This might have been in honour of some idol, and therefore forbidden to the Israelites. The hair was much used in divination among the ancients, and for purposes of religious superstition among the Greeks; and particularly about the time of the giving of this law, as this is supposed to have been the era of the Trojan war. We learn from Homer that it was customary for parents to dedicate the hair of their children to some god; which, when they came to manhood, they cut off and consecrated to the deity. Achilles, at the funeral of Patroclus, cut off his golden locks which his father had dedicated to the river god Sperchius, and threw them into the flood:— Stav apaneuqe purhv xonqhn apekeirato caithn.

Thn ra Sperceiw potamw trefe thleqowsan\

Ocqhsav dJ ara eipen, idwn epi oinopa ponton\

SperceiJ, allwv soi ge pathr hrhsato Phleuv. k t. l. Iliad, 1. xxiii., ver. 142, &c.

But great Achilles stands apart in prayer,

And from his head divides the yellow hair,

Those curling locks which from his youth he vowed, And sacred threw to Sperchius’ honoured flood.

Then sighing, to the deep his looks he cast,

And rolled his eyes around the watery waste.

Sperchius! whose waves, in mazy errors lost,

Delightful roll along my native coast!

To whom we vainly vowed, at our return,

These locks to fall, and hecatombs to burn

So vowed my father, but he vowed in vain,

No more Achilles sees his native plain;

In that vain hope these hairs no longer grow;

Patrocius bears them to the shades below.

POPE.

From Virgil we learn that the topmost lock of hair was dedicated to the infernal gods; see his account of the death of Dido:— “Nondum illi flavum Proserpina vertice crinem

Abstulerat, Stygioque caput damnaverat orco--

—————————Hunc ego Diti

Sacrum jussa fero; teque isto corpore solvo.

Sic ait, et dextra crinem secat.”

Æneid, lib. iv., ver. 698.

The sisters had not cut the topmost hair,

Which Proserpine and they can only know.

Nor made her sacred to the shades below—

This offering to the infernal gods I bear;

Thus while she spoke, she cut the fatal hair.

DRYDEN.

If the hair was rounded, and dedicated for purposes of this kind, it will at once account for the prohibition in this verse.

The corners of thy beard.] Probably meaning the hair of the cheek that connects the hair of the head with the beard. This was no doubt cut in some peculiar manner, for the superstitious purposes mentioned above. Several of our own countrymen wear this said hair in a curious form; for what purposes they know best: we cannot say precisely that it is the ancient Egyptian custom revived. From the images and paintings which remain of the ancient Egyptians, we find that they were accustomed to shave the whole hair off their face, except merely that upon the chin, which last they cut off only in times of mourning.

Verse 27. The corners of your heads — That is, your temples; ye shall not cut off the hair of your heads round about your temples. This the Gentiles did, either for the worship of their idols, to whom young men used to consecrate their hair, being cut off from their heads, as Homer, Plutarch, and many others write; or in funerals or immoderate mournings, as appears from Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 48:37. And the like is to be thought concerning the beard, or the hair in the corner, that is, corners of the beard. The reason then of this prohibition is, because God would not have his people agree with idolaters, neither in their idolatries, nor in their excessive sorrowing, nor so much as in the appearances of it.

27. Not round the corners of your heads — That is, cut the hair in a circle from temple to temple, as Herodotus relates that some Arabs did in honour of their god. Also, in opposition to heathen usage, the beard must be permitted to grow equally over all the lower part of the face.

V. 28. Cuttings in your flesh-Which the Gentiles commonly did both in the worship of their idols, and in their solemn mournings, Jeremiah 16:6.

Verse 28. Any cuttings in your flesh for the dead] That the ancients were very violent in their grief, tearing the hair and face, beating the breast, &c., is well known. Virgil represents the sister of Dido “tearing her face with her nails, and beating her breast with her fists.”

“Unguibus ora soror fœdans, et pectora pugnis.”

Æn., l. iv., ver. 672.

Nor print any marks upon you] It was a very ancient and a very general custom to carry marks on the body in honour of the object of their worship. All the castes of the Hindoos bear on their foreheads or elsewhere what are called the sectarian marks, which distinguish them, not only in a civil but also in a religious point of view, from each other. Most of the barbarous nations lately discovered have their faces, arms, breasts, &c., curiously carved or tattooed, probably for superstitious purposes. Ancient writers abound with accounts of marks made on the face, arms, &c., in honour of different idols; and to this the inspired penman alludes, Revelation 13:16, 17; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4, where false worshippers are represented as receiving in their hands and in their forehead the marks of the beast. These were called stigmata stigmata among the Greeks, and to these St. Paul refers when he says, I bear about in my body the MARKS (stigmata) of the Lord Jesus; Galatians 6:17. I have seen several cases where persons have got the figure of the cross, the Virgin Mary, &c., made on their arms, breasts, &c., the skin being first punctured, and then a blue colouring matter rubbed in, which is never afterward effaced. All these were done for superstitious purposes, and to such things probably the prohibition in this verse refers. Calmet, on this verse, gives several examples. See also Mariner’s Tonga Islands, vol. i. p. 311-313.

Verse 28. Cuttings in your flesh — Which the Gentiles commonly did, both in the worship of their idols and in their solemn mournings, Jeremiah 16:6.

Ver. 28. Ye shall not make any cuttings. See on 1 Kings 18:28.

28. Cuttings in your flesh — The excitable Oriental nations were accustomed to scratch the arms, hands, and face in their passionate outbursts of mourning for the dead. The practice was associated with idolatrous rites. See Jeremiah 16:6; 41:5, where it was practised notwithstanding this prohibition. See Leviticus 21:5, note. Nor print any marks — Tattooing, almost universal with savages, is still found in Arabia. It mars that which the Creator has made perfect, and thus degrades both the work and the Workman.

V. 29. Do not prostitute-As the Gentiles frequently did for the honour of some of their idols, to whom women were consecrated, and publickly prostituted.

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 Phœnicians, 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.”-Deuteronomy Civit. Del, lib. xviii., c. 5; and see Calmet.

Verse 29. Do not prostitute — As the Gentiles frequently did for the honour of some of their idols, to whom women were consecrated, and publicly prostituted.

Ver. 29. Do not prostitute thy daughter. The heathens are said, by several authors, to have prostituted their daughters in honour of their gods, and from vows made before a battle. In Israel, not a single crime of this nature could be allowed. All intercourse between the sexes, out of marriage covenant, must be punished. The father is here made responsible for the morals of his daughter; consequently the magistrate is accountable for his city, or district; and the government for the morals of the whole nation. The minister of religion especially, who holds his peace at vice, becomes a partaker of the public guilt; and as the watchman of his flock, he is liable to share in the punishment. The divine Being has here condescended to assign a reason for the prohibition; it was lest the land should become full of wickedness. Violations of the marriage compact, the first and best of bonds, once receiving the connivance of the public eye, are as the neglect of a bank when the water first begins to overflow; presently it opens a wide channel, which the efforts of man are unable to obstruct.

29. Do not prostitute — The cursed thirst for gold was the motive which incited fathers to an act so unnatural. This prohibition aims at the practice which prevailed in Phenicia, Babylonia, and Syria, nations soon to be neighbours to Israel. Full of wickedness — Licentiousness is a sin which so corrupts the moral nature that it arouses all the evil passions and breeds all crimes. Herodias was led by evil desire to plot the beheading of John.

30. Sanctuary — The tabernacle, the place of Jehovah’s abode among men, was reverenced when Israel approached in ceremonial and moral purity, bringing the required offerings in humility and penitence.

V. 31. Wizards-Them that have entered into covenant with the devil, by whose help they foretel many things to come, and acquaint men with secret things. See Leviticus 20:27 Deuteronomy 18:11 1 Samuel 28:3,7,9 2Kings 21:6.

Verse 31. Regard not them that have familiar spirits] The Hebrew word twba oboth probably signifies a kind of engastromuthoi or ventriloquists, or such as the Pythoness mentioned Acts 16:16,18; 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 talla fanti

Ante fores, subito non vultus, non color unus,

Non comptæ mansere comæ; sed pectus anhelum,

Et rabie fera corda tument; majorque videri,

Nec mortale sonans, afflata est numine quando

James 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] ידענים yiddeonim, the wise or knowing ones, from [dy 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 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 Clarke’s note on “Exodus 22:18”.

Verse 31. Wizards — Them that have entered into covenant with the devil, by whose help they foretel many things to come, and acquaint men with secret things; see Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:11; 1 Samuel 28:3, 7, 9; 2 Kings 21:6.

Ver. 31. Familiar spirits. The root bwa ob, and obah, the belly. This word is of frequent occurrence, as in Leviticus 20:27. Deuteronomy 18:11. 1 Samuel 28:7, 8. It is so called because those haruspices affected to swell their bellies, and somewhat like our modern ventriloquists, to give answers from the gods, proceeding as from the bottom of their bellies. Thus in Isaiah 29:4. “Thou shalt be brought down—thy voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.” So in Job 32:19. Elihu said, “Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent, it is ready to burst like new bottles.” Plutarch calls it eggastrimuqoi, because the words used to proceed from the belly. To this day the negroes, as well in the West Indies as in Africa, preserve the detestable practice of oby. See Exodus 22:18.

The remaining precepts are to honour the hoary head, where wisdom and virtue have distinguished a long life; to avoid pagan oracles, wizards, and all fortunetelling, as open acts by which men, leaving the throne of grace, apply immediately to the devil.—To strangers the Israelites were enjoined to be courteous, for the heathen were often cruel; and especially as strangers sought an asylum in their country for the sake of religion, that they might repose their trust under the wings of JEHOVAH, and claim the blessings of his covenant unto all generations.

31. Familiar spirits — The Hebrew oboth signifies skins used for bottles, Job 32:19. Its secondary meaning is the hollow belly of conjurers, supposed to be inflated by the spirit. Hence the obh properly denotes, not the conjurer himself but the spirit which is conjured by him, and is supposed to speak in him. See the Seventy, who render it by eggastrimuqoi, ventriloquists. The “familiar” is not in the Hebrew; it comes from the idea that the necromancers, soothsayers, and the like had spirits or demons whom they could summon from the unseen world to wait upon them as famuli, servants, and execute their commands. The ventriloquists “peeped and muttered,” (Isaiah 8:19; 29:4,) to imitate the voice of the revealing “familiar.” All the descriptions of the ancient necromancy are strikingly like the practices of modern spirit-circles. The sin in such consultations of the dead is the implied abandonment of God and his word as man’s only and sufficient light on all questions respecting the future state, and the resort to unauthorized sources of revelation, whose utterances are repugnant to the Holy Scriptures, and frequently grossly immoral. Wizards — Wizard is derived from wise and the old English termination ard — a wise man, hence a magician or sorcerer. The Hebrew and Greek terms have the same meaning, indicating those that could by any means reveal the future. The rabbins derive the Hebrew word from a certain man-shaped beast, the bones of which the diviner held in his teeth. The Greek wizard ate certain portions of beasts supposed to be endowed with the faculty of divination. “Admitting that the terms ‘witchcraft,’ ‘wizard,’ and the like were used in their modern signification, as implying the possession of supernatural or magical powers by compact with evil spirits, it would follow, upon theocratic principles, that he who so much as pretends to exercise this power, seducing the people from their allegiance to God, would be worthy of death.” The law, like that on the statute books of England against the pretence to witchcraft among the negroes of Jamaica, does not assume the real existence of any such Satanic power attainable by men, but it pronounces its penalty against him or her who assumes to exercise this nefarious art. But Sir Walter Scott observes: “The sorcery or witchcraft of the Old Testament resolves itself into a trafficking with idols and asking counsel of false deities; or, in other words, into idolatry.” R.S. Poole regards it as a distinctive characteristic of the Bible that from first to last it warrants no trust in or dread of charms and incantations as capable of producing evil consequences when used against a man. In the Psalms, the most personal of all the books of Scripture, there is no prayer to be protected against magical influences, though every other kind of evil to body or soul is mentioned. These facts prove that the modern notion of witchcraft was a superstition entirely unknown to the early Hebrews.

V. 32. Rise up-To do them reverence when they pass by, for which end they were obliged, as the Jews say, presently to sit down again when they were past, that it might be manifest they arose out of respect to them. Fear thy God-This respect is due to such, if not for themselves, yet for God’s sake, who requires this reverence, and whose singular blessing old age is.

Verse 32. Before the hoary head] See Clarke’s note on “Genesis 48:12”.

Verse 32. Rise up — To do them reverence when they pass by, for which end they were obliged, as the Jews say, presently to sit down again when they were past, that it might be manifest they arose out of respect to them. Fear thy God — This respect is due to such, if not for themselves, yet for God’s sake, who requires this reverence, and whose singular blessing old age is.

32. Honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God — Respect for age is here associated with the fear of God. The two virtues are beautifully blended in the Latin word pietas, signifying dutiful conduct towards one’s parents and the gods. In Exodus 22:28, the law connects respect towards civil rulers with piety towards God. In the East age is invested with authority more than in the Western nations. Hence honour rendered to the old implies, in an eminent degree, obedience to parents, the germ of all good citizenship and of all reverence towards God. The converse is true, that contempt for the old and disobedience to parents is the germ of all lawlessness and irreligion.

V. 33. Vex him-Either with opprobrious expressions, or grievous exactions.

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, Hebrews 13:2. 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 33. Vex him — Either with opprobrious expressions, or grievous exactions.

V. 34. As one born among you-Either

1, as to the matters of common right, so it reacheth to all strangers. Or

2, as to church-privileges, so it concerns only those who were proselytes.

Ye were strangers-And therefore are sensible of the fears, distresses, and miseries of such, which call for your pity, and you ought to do to them, as you desired others should do to you, when you were such.

Verse 34. As one born among you — Either, 1st, As to the matters of common right, so it reached to all strangers. Or, 2d, As to church privileges, so concerned only those who were proselytes. Ye were strangers — And therefore are sensible of the fears, distresses, and miseries of such; which call for your pity, and you ought to do to them, as you desired others should do to you, when you were such.

34. The stranger… thou shalt love — Judaism, as Christianity in the bud, was a religion of love. The Mosaic law here sets up a safeguard against that hostility which is so natural to differences of race and religion that in the Latin tongue the word hostis, stranger, soon came to signify an enemy. The contempt of the Gentile as a dog, which was manifested in the time of Christ, was no part of true Judaism, but a sad degeneracy from its own law. See Leviticus 23:22, note. The permission to exact interest on money loaned to a stranger, granted in Deuteronomy xxiii, 20, shows that this verse is not to be understood as making absolutely no distinction between an alien and a Hebrew.

V. 35. In mete-yard-In the measuring of lands, or dry things, as cloth, ribband. In measure-In the measuring liquid or such dry things as are only contigious, as corn or wine.

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, hdmb 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, lkvmb bammishkal, in any thing that is weighed, the weights being all according to the standards kept for the purpose of trying the rest in the sanctuary, as appears from Exodus 30:13; 1 Chronicles 23:29; these weights were the talent, shekel, barleycorn, &c.

4. MEASURE, hrwcmb 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, Clarke “Exodus 16:16”.

Verse 35. In mete-yard — In the measuring of lands, or dry things, as cloth, riband. In measure — In the measuring liquid or such dry things as are only contiguous, as corn or wine.

35. Meteyard — Measuring line or rod.

V. 36. A just ephah and a just hin-These two two measures are named as most common, the former for dry, the latter for moist things, but under them he manifestly comprehends all other measures.

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

Verse 36. A just ephah and a just hin — These two measures are named as most common, the former for dry, the latter for moist things, but under them he manifestly comprehends all other measures.

36. Balances are found on Egyptian monuments as early as the time of Joseph, and they are alluded to in the story of the purchase of the cave of Machpelah, Genesis 23:16. Before coinage they were necessary to all payments of money. The weights at first were “stones,” which gave to them their name in later times, when lead was used. A parallel is found in England. The weights were carried in a bag suspended from the girdle. The habit of carrying a set of large weights to buy with and of smaller to sell with, sprang up very early. Inasmuch as there was a “shekel of the sanctuary” it is probable that The standard weights and measures were sacredly kept in the tabernacle by the priests. Numbers 3:47, note. Ephah — This measure is the same as the bath, and according to Josephus it contains about eight and a half gallons; according to the rabbins less than four and a half. Hin — This is estimated, in like manner, at about one and a half, or at about three quarters of a gallon. Since the dealings of man with his fellow in the marts of trade constitute a school for the development and discipline of moral character, they are not matters of indifference to the holy and just One. True holiness shines out in the measuring of tape and in the weighing of sugar more convincingly than in prayer and praise and conspicuous acts of beneficence. See Matthew 5. 16; and Philippians 2:15. “A book which talks in this language is a book which ought to be carefully preserved by the people. The Bible is not a sentimental book, dealing with abstract emotion, or confining itself to metaphysical mysteries. A religion that examines the balances and weights is a religion that may be trusted to attach a true value to praise and prayer. This is the strength of biblical doctrine.” — Joseph Parker.

V. 37. Therefore-Because my blessings and deliverances are not indulgences to sin, but greater obligations to all duties to God and men.

Verse 37. Shall ye observe all my statutes] ytqj chukkothi, from qj chak, to describe, mark, or trace out; the righteousness which I have described, and the path of duty which I have traced out. Judgments, ycpvm mishpatai, from cpv 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 Clarke’s note on “Leviticus 26:15”.

1. MANY difficulties occur in this very important chapter, but they are such only to us; for there can be no 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.

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 safety and prosperity of the state. LEVITICUS

Verse 37. Therefore — Because my blessings and deliverances are not indulgences to sin, but greater obligations to all duties to God and men.