Numbers · Chapter 15

Verses 1, 2. When the following laws were delivered, is uncertain. But it would seem, from verse 23, to have been toward the end of their peregrinations, and not long before their settlement in Canaan, consequently at a time when part of that mutinous generation, mentioned in the former chapter, were cut off by death. If this remark be just, these laws were enjoined only to the children of the murmurers, who had not forfeited a right to the inheritance in the promised land, as their fathers had done. Le Clerc, however, is of opinion that the laws here recorded were delivered before the rebellion recorded in the former chapter.

V. 2. I give you-Will certainly give you, not withstanding this great provocation. And for their better assurance hereof he repeats and amplifies the laws of sacrifices, whereby through Christ he would be reconciled to them and theirs upon their repentance.

Verse 2. When ye be come into the land] Some learned men are of opinion that several offerings prescribed by the law were not intended to be made in the wilderness, but in the promised land; the former not affording those conveniences which were necessary to the complete observance of the Divine worship in this and several other respects.

Verses 1, 2. When the following laws were delivered, is uncertain. But it would seem, from verse 23, to have been toward the end of their peregrinations, and not long before their settlement in Canaan, consequently at a time when part of that mutinous generation, mentioned in the former chapter, were cut off by death. If this remark be just, these laws were enjoined only to the children of the murmurers, who had not forfeited a right to the inheritance in the promised land, as their fathers had done. Le Clerc, however, is of opinion that the laws here recorded were delivered before the rebellion recorded in the former chapter.

V. 3. A sacrifice-A peace-offering.

Verse 3. And will make an offering] For the different kinds of offerings, sacrifices, &c., see Leviticus 1:2, 7.

Verse 3. An offering made by fire — This is a general expression for those offerings which were in whole or in part burned upon the altar. A sacrifice in performing a vow — Namely, peace-offerings, which are often called sacrifices, in general, as Exodus 18:12, and Leviticus 17:5, 8. See the nature of them explained, Leviticus 3:1, and 7:11.

3. And will make an offering — There are two theories respecting the origin of sacrifices: (1.) An express command of God, and (2.) The promptings of the soul under its sense of dependence and guilt. On this question Moses is entirely silent. A command to offer sacrifices may have been given, though it is not recorded. Moses was evidently studious of brevity, omitting the prophecy of Enoch, the preaching of Noah, and the vexation of Lot’s spirit in view of the iniquities of Sodom. But it must be confessed that in this verse and in Leviticus 1:2, the traditional sacrifices seem to be spoken of as optional and not required. If this be true, it argues that sacrifices are not essentially at variance with the laws of our moral nature, and that worship can be paid by sacrificing whatever each one holds most precious. Similar views are entertained by the rabbins. Chrysostom affirms that Abel was persuaded to offer true sacrifices, not as being taught by any one, not from obedience to any express statute, but by the dictates of reason and conscience. These remarks do not apply to the law-created sin offerings and trespass offerings. See Isaiah 1:12, and Introduction to Leviticus, (2.) Burnt offering — See Leviticus 1:3; 6:9, notes. A vow… free-will offering — See Leviticus 27:2; 22:18; 7:11, 16, notes. Sweet savour — See Leviticus 1:9, note. Herd… flock — See Leviticus 1:2, note.

V. 4. A tenth deal-The tenth part of an Ephah, that is, about five pints. An hin contained about five quarts.

Verses 4, 5. Bring a meat-offering — Sacrifices, being of the nature of spiritual feasts, were each of them to have hjnm, mincha, a meat or meal-offering, and drink-offering, as an appendage annexed to them, consisting of flour, oil, and wine, in the proportion following: for as wine and oil are the most excellent liquors which the earth, through Divine Providence, produces for the use of mankind, God would have them to be offered to him in all sacrifices, that men might be continually put in mind of him from whom they received these blessings, and might openly acknowledge their great benefactor.

4. Meat offering — Rather, bread offering. See Leviticus 2:1, note. A tenth deal — See Leviticus 23:13, note. Hin of oil — See Leviticus 19:36; 23:13, notes. Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Leviticus 2:1, note; Zechariah 4:2-12; Matthew 25:8, note; Acts 10:38; Hebrews 1:9.

Verse 5. The fourth part of a hin] The quantity of meal and flour was augmented in proportion to the size of the sacrifice with which it was offered. With a LAMB or a KID were offered one tenth deal of flour, (the tenth part of an ephah, see Clarke on “Exodus 29:40”,) the fourth part of a hin of oil, and the fourth part of a hin of wine. With a RAM, two tenth deals of flour, a third part of a hin of oil, and a third part of a hin of wine. With a BULLOCK, three tenth deals of flour, half a hin of oil, and half a hin of wine. See Numbers 15:4-11.

Verses 4, 5. Bring a meat-offering — Sacrifices, being of the nature of spiritual feasts, were each of them to have hjnm, mincha, a meat or meal-offering, and drink-offering, as an appendage annexed to them, consisting of flour, oil, and wine, in the proportion following: for as wine and oil are the most excellent liquors which the earth, through Divine Providence, produces for the use of mankind, God would have them to be offered to him in all sacrifices, that men might be continually put in mind of him from whom they received these blessings, and might openly acknowledge their great benefactor.

5. Wine for a drink offering — This was not to be drunken by the priest, but a part of it was to be poured out. See 2 Timothy 4:6, note on spendomai, “I am already poured,” as a drink offering. According to Deuteronomy 14:23-27, a part of the wine was to be drank by the offerer and his family after he had presented his peace offering and partaken of the meat, (bread,) when he appeared before the Lord with his household, accepted through the atonement then made, and therefore entitled to share in the blessings so procured. Hence the inference that bread and wine were, even under Mosaism, the joyous emblems of conscious salvation through the atonement. Wine is a symbol of joy.

V. 6. Two tenth-deals-Because this belonged to a better sacrifice than the former; and therefore in the next sacrifice of a bullock, there are three tenth deals. So the accessory sacrifice grows proportionably with the principal.

V. 8. Peace-offerings-Such as were offered either freely or by command, which may be called peace-offerings or thank-offerings, by way of eminency, because such are offered purely by way of gratitude to God, and with single respect to his honour, whereas the peace-offerings made in performance of a vow were made and offered, with design of getting some advantage by them.

8. Peace offerings — See Leviticus 3:1; 7:11-21, notes. 9-12. According to the number — The purpose of this statute is to define the proportion of the meat and drink offering to the nature and number of the animals offered as peace offerings.

V. 12. Their number-As many cattle as ye sacrifice, so many meal and drink-offerings ye shall offer.

13-16. These rules apply to the sacrifices of aliens living in the Holy Land as well as to the native-born Israelite. These things — The meat and drink offerings. A stranger — Septuagint, proselyte. The position of the Israelites as a distinct nation under special divine protection powerfully attracted the neighbouring peoples. Hence the law provides for their incorporation into Israel. Circumcision was the condition of any fellowship with the proselyte or stranger, as rendered in the Authorized Version. He is required to keep the sabbath, to be present at the passover, the feast of weeks, of tabernacles, and the day of atonement, to observe the laws of prohibited marriages, to abstain from blood, from Molech worship, and blasphemy. But he could not hold land (see Leviticus 25:23, note) nor intermarry with the descendants of Aaron. See Leviticus 21:14, note. The instances of wholesale proselytism are the Shechemites, Kenites, Gibeonites, Cherethites, Pelethites, and Nethenim. Instances of individuals are Doeg, the Edomite; Uriah, the Hittite; Araunah, the Jebusite; and two in the face of an express prohibition — Zelek, the Ammonite, and Ithmah, the Moabite. Deuteronomy 23, 3. Later rabbins regarded the following classes unfit for admission within the covenant: (1.) Love-proselytes, drawn by the hope of gaining the beloved one; (2.) Man-for-woman or woman-for-man proselytes, where either follows the religion of the other as a matter of convenience; (3.) Esther-proselytes, to escape danger; (4.) King’s-table-proselytes, mere office-seekers; (5.) Lion-proselytes, persons impelled by a superstitious dread of some divine judgment, as were the Samaritans. 2 Kings 17:26. See Leviticus 23:22, note. Before the Lord — Equal in religious privileges.

Verse 14. If a stranger sojourn] See the notes on Leviticus 19:33; 22:9. When the case of the Jewish people is fairly considered, and their situation with respect to the surrounding idolatrous nations, we shall see the absolute necessity of having but one form of worship in the land. That alone was genuine which was prescribed by the Almighty, and no others could be tolerated, because they were idolatrous. All strangers-all that came to sojourn in the land, were required to conform to it; and it was right that those who did conform to it should have equal rights and privileges with the Hebrews themselves, which we find was the case. But under the Christian dispensation, as no particular form of worship is prescribed, the types and ceremonies of the Mosaic institution being all fulfilled, unlimited toleration should be allowed; and while the sacred writings are made the basis of the worship offered to God, every man should be allowed to worship according to his own conscience, for in this respect every one is

“Lord of himself, accountable to none

But to his conscience and his God alone.”

Verse 14. If a stranger sojourn with you — It is plain this is to be understood of such strangers as had renounced idolatry and become proselytes to the worship of the true God. And if strangers, who were intermixed with the Jews, and resided in their country, had not been obliged to conform to the same ceremonies of public worship with the Jews, their example might, by degrees, have produced a change in, and corruption of, that form of worship which God himself had instituted.

13-16. These rules apply to the sacrifices of aliens living in the Holy Land as well as to the native-born Israelite. These things — The meat and drink offerings. A stranger — Septuagint, proselyte. The position of the Israelites as a distinct nation under special divine protection powerfully attracted the neighbouring peoples. Hence the law provides for their incorporation into Israel. Circumcision was the condition of any fellowship with the proselyte or stranger, as rendered in the Authorized Version. He is required to keep the sabbath, to be present at the passover, the feast of weeks, of tabernacles, and the day of atonement, to observe the laws of prohibited marriages, to abstain from blood, from Molech worship, and blasphemy. But he could not hold land (see Leviticus 25:23, note) nor intermarry with the descendants of Aaron. See Leviticus 21:14, note. The instances of wholesale proselytism are the Shechemites, Kenites, Gibeonites, Cherethites, Pelethites, and Nethenim. Instances of individuals are Doeg, the Edomite; Uriah, the Hittite; Araunah, the Jebusite; and two in the face of an express prohibition — Zelek, the Ammonite, and Ithmah, the Moabite. Deuteronomy 23, 3. Later rabbins regarded the following classes unfit for admission within the covenant: (1.) Love-proselytes, drawn by the hope of gaining the beloved one; (2.) Man-for-woman or woman-for-man proselytes, where either follows the religion of the other as a matter of convenience; (3.) Esther-proselytes, to escape danger; (4.) King’s-table-proselytes, mere office-seekers; (5.) Lion-proselytes, persons impelled by a superstitious dread of some divine judgment, as were the Samaritans. 2 Kings 17:26. See Leviticus 23:22, note. Before the Lord — Equal in religious privileges.

V. 15. Before the Lord-As to the worship of God: his sacrifices shall be offered in the same manner and accepted by God upon the same terms, as yours: which was a presage of the future calling of the Gentiles. And this is added by way of caution, to shew that strangers were not upon this pretence to partake of their civil privileges.

Verse 15. So shall the stranger be before the Lord — As to the worship of God; his sacrifices shall be offered in the same manner, and accepted by God upon the same terms, as yours; which was a presage of the future calling of the Gentiles. And this is added by way of caution, to show that strangers were not upon this pretence to partake of their civil privileges.

13-16. These rules apply to the sacrifices of aliens living in the Holy Land as well as to the native-born Israelite. These things — The meat and drink offerings. A stranger — Septuagint, proselyte. The position of the Israelites as a distinct nation under special divine protection powerfully attracted the neighbouring peoples. Hence the law provides for their incorporation into Israel. Circumcision was the condition of any fellowship with the proselyte or stranger, as rendered in the Authorized Version. He is required to keep the sabbath, to be present at the passover, the feast of weeks, of tabernacles, and the day of atonement, to observe the laws of prohibited marriages, to abstain from blood, from Molech worship, and blasphemy. But he could not hold land (see Leviticus 25:23, note) nor intermarry with the descendants of Aaron. See Leviticus 21:14, note. The instances of wholesale proselytism are the Shechemites, Kenites, Gibeonites, Cherethites, Pelethites, and Nethenim. Instances of individuals are Doeg, the Edomite; Uriah, the Hittite; Araunah, the Jebusite; and two in the face of an express prohibition — Zelek, the Ammonite, and Ithmah, the Moabite. Deuteronomy 23, 3. Later rabbins regarded the following classes unfit for admission within the covenant: (1.) Love-proselytes, drawn by the hope of gaining the beloved one; (2.) Man-for-woman or woman-for-man proselytes, where either follows the religion of the other as a matter of convenience; (3.) Esther-proselytes, to escape danger; (4.) King’s-table-proselytes, mere office-seekers; (5.) Lion-proselytes, persons impelled by a superstitious dread of some divine judgment, as were the Samaritans. 2 Kings 17:26. See Leviticus 23:22, note. Before the Lord — Equal in religious privileges.

13-16. These rules apply to the sacrifices of aliens living in the Holy Land as well as to the native-born Israelite. These things — The meat and drink offerings. A stranger — Septuagint, proselyte. The position of the Israelites as a distinct nation under special divine protection powerfully attracted the neighbouring peoples. Hence the law provides for their incorporation into Israel. Circumcision was the condition of any fellowship with the proselyte or stranger, as rendered in the Authorized Version. He is required to keep the sabbath, to be present at the passover, the feast of weeks, of tabernacles, and the day of atonement, to observe the laws of prohibited marriages, to abstain from blood, from Molech worship, and blasphemy. But he could not hold land (see Leviticus 25:23, note) nor intermarry with the descendants of Aaron. See Leviticus 21:14, note. The instances of wholesale proselytism are the Shechemites, Kenites, Gibeonites, Cherethites, Pelethites, and Nethenim. Instances of individuals are Doeg, the Edomite; Uriah, the Hittite; Araunah, the Jebusite; and two in the face of an express prohibition — Zelek, the Ammonite, and Ithmah, the Moabite. Deuteronomy 23, 3. Later rabbins regarded the following classes unfit for admission within the covenant: (1.) Love-proselytes, drawn by the hope of gaining the beloved one; (2.) Man-for-woman or woman-for-man proselytes, where either follows the religion of the other as a matter of convenience; (3.) Esther-proselytes, to escape danger; (4.) King’s-table-proselytes, mere office-seekers; (5.) Lion-proselytes, persons impelled by a superstitious dread of some divine judgment, as were the Samaritans. 2 Kings 17:26. See Leviticus 23:22, note. Before the Lord — Equal in religious privileges.

V. 19. When ye eat-When you are about to eat it: for before they eat it, they were to offer this offering to God. The bread-That is, the bread-corn.

Verses 19, 20. When ye eat — When you are about to eat it; for before they eat it, they were to offer this offering to God. The bread of the land — That is, the bread-corn. The threshing-floor — That is, of the corn in the threshing-floor, when you have gathered in your corn.

19. Heave offering — Heb, t’roomah, a gift taken from a whole, which one brings to God. It may consist of meat, sin, trespass, or thank offerings; of the firstborn; tithes; prisoners taken in war, (Numbers 31:28, 29;) gold and silver; or, as here, of firstfruits. It is rendered offering twenty-five times, heave offering twenty-four times, oblation eighteen times, heave shoulder thrice, and gift once. See Leviticus 7:14, note.

V. 20. The threshing floor-That is, of the corn in the threshing floor, when you have gathered in your corn.

Verse 20. Ye shall offer-the first of your dough] Concerning the offerings of first-fruits, see Clarke’s notes on “Exodus 22:29”.

Verses 19, 20. When ye eat — When you are about to eat it; for before they eat it, they were to offer this offering to God. The bread of the land — That is, the bread-corn. The threshing-floor — That is, of the corn in the threshing-floor, when you have gathered in your corn.

20. The first of your dough — This command is not addressed to the nation as in the case of “the sheaf of the firstfruits,” (see Leviticus 23:10, note,) but to every private family, and the Jews consider a woman as very culpable who neglects it. They interpret the command as requiring not merely a portion of the first dough made from the new harvest, but a portion of every bread-making through the year, whenever the lump of dough exceeds the bulk of forty eggs. This sacred portion was given to the priests or Levites in order to sanctify the rest. In the absence of any of these it was thrown into the fire. Paul refers to this usage in Romans 11:16. See note. Its symbolism is thus explained: “The cake signified in mystery the congregation of Israel, called the firstfruits of the world; which, when it is put into the oven that burneth with the fire of the blessed God, it is necessary to separate therefrom a cake, that it be not partaker of severe judgment; and therefore is a blessing reserved in the world.” — Rabbi Menahem. A still wider mystical import is found in the sons of God by adoption, who “are a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” James 1:18.

V. 22. All these commandments-Those now spoken of, which concern the outward service of God, or the rites or ceremonies belonging to it. And herein principally this law may seem to differ from that Leviticus 4:13, which speaks of some positive miscarriage, or doing that which ought not to have been done, about the holy things of God; whereas this speaks only of an omission of something which ought to have been done about holy ceremonies.

Verse 22. Have erred, and not observed all these commandments — If the whole body of the people be guilty of any neglect of the public ceremonies of religion, or of any deviation from any of the rites instituted concerning the outward service of God, (for of these only Moses seems here to speak,) which might happen involuntarily, and through ignorance, then the following method is prescribed to expiate the sin of such omissions or deviations upon their being known. It may be observed, however, that this plea of ignorance could not be admitted except in cases that were liable to obscurity. The law in Leviticus 4:13, which appears partly similar to this, probably speaks of some positive miscarriage, or the doing what ought not to have been done; whereas this speaks of an omission of something which ought to have been done.

22. If ye have erred — This refers not to individual sins of ignorance, (see Leviticus 4:2, note,) but to the whole congregation. Not observed — The particular delinquency is the inadvertent omission of a Mosaic precept. “This was a striking feature of the present enactment, that it tended to make the whole community feel itself charged with the responsibility of the conduct of each of its members.” — Bush.

Verse 24. If aught be committed by ignorance] See Clarke’s notes on “Leviticus 4:2”, and “Leviticus 5:17”. The case here probably refers to the whole congregation; the cases above, to the sin of an individual.

24. Without the knowledge — Hebrew, away from the eyes of the congregation. How the whole nation could be ignorantly delinquent it is difficult to discover. Outram supposes that it was done “by retaining to a certain extent the national rites, and following the worship of the true God, and yet at the same time acting unconsciously in opposition to the law through having been led astray by some common errors.” Others explain it as the neglect of religious duties through the example of godless rulers who adopted pagan customs apparently reconcilable with Mosaism but really repugnant to its spirit. For a burnt offering — This is mentioned first, since it is the principal sacrifice. But in the order of time the sin offering was first offered, since sin must be expiated before the sinner can consecrate himself wholly, and be entirely sanctified. In this comment Keil concurs, forgetful of his declaration elsewhere that there is no prescribed order when two or more sacrifices were offered together. See Introd. to Leviticus (5.) Sin offering — In Mosaism the killing of the animal is by the offerer and not by the priest, unless he be the offerer. Comp. Leviticus 1:5, and 4:3, 4. If the slaughter were really an act of atonement it would probably take place on the altar itself, and not by its side. “The priestly function begins not with the shedding but with the use of the blood.” — Oehler. “The blood (of Christ) itself, not the shedding of the blood, is the ransom, the price of eternal redemption.” — Bengel. See Leviticus iv, notes.

Verse 25. The priest shall make an atonement] Even sins committed through ignorance required an atonement; and God in his mercy has provided one for them.

Verse 25. It shall be forgiven, for it is ignorance — Proceeding from some mistake, and not from contempt of God and his laws; for then the guilty person was to be utterly cut off.

25. An atonement — “In all our inquiries into the various senses wherein this term is used, and into the significance of the different ceremonies connected with the act of atonement, the fundamental meaning, to cover or conceal, must be kept in mind.” — Suskind. The word occurs in its proper sense only in Genesis 6:14. In Piel usage has affixed to it the meaning “to atone.” Atonement, therefore, must be equivalent to the covering up or concealing of that which God cannot allow to appear in his presence. It is a constructive disappearance or annihilation. Thus in Jeremiah 18:23, forgiveness of sin and blotting it out are convertible expressions. With the rabbins, “to atone” means to deny existence to — to deem as not being. That which creates estrangement between God and the sinner is in effect annihilated. “We cannot reasonably say that in this case the divine punitive justice terminates in nothing; on the contrary, that justice is honoured when the offerer declares that he is destitute of a covering before the holy God, and thereby acknowledges him as one who, though sinning in weakness, is exposed to the divine judgment.” — Oehler. The common objection that the soul, or life, of the sacrificial animal, laden with the curse of the sinner, might not be laid upon the holy altar as his substitute is effectually answered by the consideration that through death, the wages of sin, the blood is to be viewed as pure and free from guilt. See Leviticus 1:4; 4:20; 12:7, notes. For it is ignorance — R.V., “error.” See Leviticus 4:2, and the concluding notes to the same chapter; also Hebrews 9:7, note.

27-29. If any soul sin — The law laid down in Leviticus 4:27; 5:6, is here repeated, and extended to proselytes or strangers. See verse 14, note.

27-29. If any soul sin — The law laid down in Leviticus 4:27; 5:6, is here repeated, and extended to proselytes or strangers. See verse 14, note.

27-29. If any soul sin — The law laid down in Leviticus 4:27; 5:6, is here repeated, and extended to proselytes or strangers. See verse 14, note.

V. 30. Reproacheth the Lord-He sets God at defiance, and exposeth him to contempt, as if he were unable to punish transgressors.

Verse 30. But the soul that doeth aught presumptuously] Bold daring acts of transgression against the fullest evidence, and in despite of the Divine authority, admitted of no atonement; the person was to be cut off-to be excluded from God’s people, and from all their privileges and blessings. Probably the presumption mentioned here implied an utter contempt of the word and authority of God, springing from an idolatrous or atheistical mind. ln such a case all repentance was precluded, because of the denial of the word and being of God. It is probably a case similar to that mentioned Hebrews 6:4-8; 10:26-31; on which passages see the notes.

Verse 30. The soul that doeth aught presumptuously — Hebrew, With a high hand, or, with violence. It is meant to express the action or conduct of a man who knowingly and wilfully broke the law, and when admonished, despised the admonition, and set the law at naught. Maimonides and other rabbis think this law is to be restrained to sins of idolatry, which certainly are most properly a reproaching of Jehovah, and a despising of his word, and therefore were commanded, in the law of Moses, to be punished with greater severity than other crimes, as being high treason against their state, subversive of the essential form of their government, and an implicit rejecting of Jehovah for their God and King, and yielding their allegiance to the idols of the nations. The same reproacheth the Lord — He sets God at defiance, and exposeth him to contempt, as if he were unable to punish transgressors. But every wilful sin is, in the nature of things, a reproach or dishonour to the Lord, Romans 2:23. It is saying, in effect, that his commandments are not wise, just, and good, and that we know better what is fit for ourselves than he can judge for us. But acts of idolatry, or whatever tended to favour it, whether in a Jew or proselyte, were especially reproachful to God, for the reasons just mentioned. That soul shall be cut off — Here this phrase signifies put to death, though in many other places it seems to denote only exclusion from the privileges of the Jewish community. Persons sinning thus presumptuously could have no benefit by the expiatory sacrifices of the law, for they blasphemed the Lawgiver, and disowned the authority of the law. Thus, (Hebrews 10:29,) He that despised Moses’s law died without mercy, under two or three witnesses.

Verse 30. The soul that doeth ought presumptuously, literally, with a high hand, reproacheth the Lord—shall be cut off; or die, as Deuteronomy 17:12. But in Leviticus 6., atonement was prescribed for such; and why therefore are they now required to die? The law here respects cases which required judicial process, and witnesses, as in the case of the upright Naboth, affirming that the culprits blasphemed the Lord, or his law. The rabbins quote this passage against the Sadducees, to prove that there is a future state of rewards and punishments. If Moses meant the death of the body only, myriads of men comparatively innocent suffer the same punishment: and if so, what becomes of the discriminative justice of the Supreme Judge?

PRESUMPTUOUS SIN IS IRREMISSIBLE, 30-36.

The tender regard of Mosaism for the inadvertent sinner ought to have a safeguard against abuse. There must be a clearly defined limit beyond which the plea of ignorance cannot be made, or all law becomes a nullity.

30. Presumptuously — Literally, with upraised hand, that is, knowingly, defiantly, wilfully and maliciously. Deliberate and audacious violation of the law of Jehovah cannot be forgiven as a sin of inadvertence, because he is the theocratic head of the nation, and such sin is of the nature of treason and rebellion. This reason is expressed in the following words — the same reproacheth the Lord. No government can long abide the contempt of its subjects. Those manifestly guilty of such contempt could not, through the sacrificial atonement, be restored to communion with Israel without putting the theocratic-civil interest in imminent peril. Hence their exclusion from the theocratic expiation was essential to the permanency of the Hebrew commonwealth, which, without this, would be exposed to the workings of malice, licentiousness, and to inevitable failure.

31. Utterly be cut off — See Leviticus 7:20, note. This excision from the living is a foreshadowing of the capital punishment of all who have rejected Jesus Christ, the Son of God and King of angels and men. See Matthew 25:46, note. His iniquity — The punishment of his iniquity shall be upon him.

V. 32. On the sabbath-day-This seems to be added as an example of a presumptuous sin: for as the law of the sabbath was plain and positive, so this transgression of it must needs be a known and wilful sin.

Verse 32. They found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath] This was in all likelihood a case of that kind supposed above: the man despised the word of the Lord, and therefore broke his commandment; see Numbers 15:31. On this ground he was punished with the utmost rigour of the law.

Verse 32. A man gathered sticks on the sabbath day — This seems to be mentioned here as an instance of sinning presumptuously; and accordingly it is so understood by the Jews. The law of the sabbath was plain and positive, and this transgression of it must therefore have been a known and wilful sin. And from the connection of this verse with the former it may be justly inferred that this man had sinned with a high hand, despising the word of the Lord, and the authority of his law.

32. While… in the wilderness — This is one of Colenso’s texts for disproving the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. But his argument is not conclusive, since Moses was with Israel several months after leaving the wilderness — in Edom and on the plains of Moab. Deuteronomy 32:48. See map. A man that gathered sticks — It is evident from the mention of this violation of the sabbath in immediate connexion with the foregoing high-handed sin that it is intended as an instance of this kind of offence. It was a man and not a child. In the sabbatic stillness of the camp he could not have been ignorant of the sacredness of the day. The act was not one of mercy or of necessity, such as the case of hunger, (Luke 6:1-4,) but of gross impiety against the supreme moral Governor and of rebellion against the theocratic King. The sabbath being a positive as well as a moral institution is well adapted to call out that opposition to God’s authority which regards his commands as unreasonable, and hostile to human happiness. No other one of the precepts or prohibitions of the decalogue affords so high a test of obedience to Jehovah’s authority, from the fact that the moral element in it which finds a response in the conscience and reason of men is not observable, being overshadowed by the positive element — the divine authority.

V. 33. To all the congregation-That is, to the rulers of the congregation.

Verses 33, 34. To all the congregation — That is, to the rulers of the congregation. They (Moses and Aaron, and the other rulers) put him in ward — Till the will of the Lord concerning him should be declared. What should be done — That is, in what manner, or by what kind of death he was to die, which, therefore, God here particularly determines: otherwise it was known in general that sabbath-breakers were to be put to death.

33. Brought him unto Moses — They were shocked at wickedness so defiant of public sentiment and of Jehovah. Like good citizens they secured his arrest, lest the example might spread as a contagion.

V. 34. They-That is, Moses and Aaron, and the seventy rulers. What should be done-That is, in what manner he was to be cut off, or by what kind of death he was to die, which therefore God here particularly determines: otherwise it was known in general that sabbath-breakers were to be put to death.

Verses 33, 34. To all the congregation — That is, to the rulers of the congregation. They (Moses and Aaron, and the other rulers) put him in ward — Till the will of the Lord concerning him should be declared. What should be done — That is, in what manner, or by what kind of death he was to die, which, therefore, God here particularly determines: otherwise it was known in general that sabbath-breakers were to be put to death.

34. In ward — In custody as a prisoner. It was not declared — The boundary line between remissible and irremissible sins is too narrow for the unaided eye of man to discover, hence God’s verdict is sought.

Verse 35. The man shall surely be put to death — One reason why the breach of the sabbath was punished with such severity by the Jewish law is, that it was an implicit denying of God to be the Creator of the world. For the sabbath being a sign, (Exodus 31:13,) whereby the worshippers of the one true God, who created the world, were distinguished from the idolatrous nations, who believed the world was eternal, and who worshipped the sun, moon, and stars, and a multitude of nominal gods, the violation of this institution implied or led to a defection from the true religion to polytheism and idolatry.

Ver. 35. The congregation shall stone him. The Indians of North America were formerly known to inflict this kind of punishment on offenders; a presumptive proof that they are the descendants of Shem, having many of their judicial customs.

35. All the congregation — Only where the executive is sustained by a high tone of public sentiment can all kinds of vice be punished. This is especially true of sabbath desecration and drunkenness.

Verse 36. Stoned him] See Clarke’s note on “Leviticus 24:23”.

36. Stoned him — See Leviticus 24:14, note.

MNEMONIC FRINGES, 37-41.

In condescension to the infirmity of the memory God appoints a token or memorial of all his statutes to be worn upon the person as a constant reminder.

V. 38. Fringes-These were certain threads or ends, standing out a little further than the rest of their garments, left there for this use. In the borders-That is, in the four borders or quarters, as it is, Deuteronomy 22:12. Of their garments-Of their upper garments. This was practiced by the Pharisees in Christ’s time, who are noted for making their borders larger than ordinary. A ribband-To make it more obvious to the sight, and consequently more serviceable to the use here mentioned. Of blue-Or, purple.

Verse 38. Bid them-make them fringes] We learn from Numbers 15:39 that these fringes were emblematical of the various commands of God. That there was any analogy between a fringe and a precept, it would be bold to assert; but when a thing is appointed to represent another, no matter how different, that first object be comes the regular representative or sign of the other. There is no analogy between the term bread and the farinaceous nutritive substance thereby signified; but because this term is used to express and represent that thing, every person thus understands it; and when the word bread is seen or heard, a perfect knowledge, not of the letters which compose that word, but of the thing signified by it, is conveyed to the mind. So the fringes, being appointed by God to represent and bring to mind the commandments of God, Numbers 15:39, the mention or sight of them conveyed the intelligence intended. All the Jews wore these, and so probably did our Lord; see Matthew 9:20, where the word kraspe on is rather to be understood of the fringe than of the hem of his garment.

NUMBERS

Verse 38. Fringes — These were certain threads, or ends, standing out a little farther than the rest of their garments, left there for this use. In the borders — That is, in the four borders or quarters, as it is, Deuteronomy 22:12. Of their garments — Of their upper garments. This was practised by the Pharisees in Christ’s time, who are noted for making their borders larger than ordinary. A riband — To make it more obvious to the sight, and consequently more serviceable to the use here mentioned. Of blue — Or, purple.

Ver. 38. Bid them make fringes in the borders of their garments. If the Israelites were here specially commanded to wear fringes, containing precepts of the law in their robe or toga, lest they should be drawn aside to idolatry; it is equally binding on christians always to have the bible at hand. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom.

38. Fringes — The Hebrew tzeetzeeth, fringe or tassel, is used only in this statute and in Ezekiel 8:3, where it is rendered “a lock of mine head.” The fringe was not originated by this law, but it existed before as the ordinary mode of finishing the robe, the ends of the woof being left to preserve the cloth from raveling, the riband of blue, (or cord, improperly lace, Exodus 28:28, 37 — thread, Judges 16:9 — bracelets, (cord, R.V.,) Genesis 38:18, 25 — and wire, (of gold,) Exodus 39:3 — or rather dark violet, being added to strengthen the border. The outer robe, a quadrangular piece of cloth, was so worn that two of the corners hung down in front ornamented with this dark violet thread. To this fringe the Jews subsequently attached great sanctity, and the Pharisees enlarged it and the thread to an undue width, (Matthew 23:5, note,) as an indication of their greater respect for the precepts of the law of Moses. The impress of consecration to the holy God was stamped on the life of the Israelite in ordinances extending to the most minute things, that he might always realize the voice of Jehovah, saying, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” These tassels were to remind him every moment to think on all his commands, and not to be guided by the imaginations of his heart and the lust of his eyes. Stier, in his comment on Christ’s summary of the law, as comprised in love, (Matthew 22:40,) interprets the riband of blue as a type of love, and the fringes as the separate precepts scattered through the law and the prophets.

V. 39. For a fringe-That is, the ribband, shall be unto you, shall serve you for a fringe, to render it more visible by its distinct colour, whereas the fringe without this was of the same piece and colour with the garment, and therefore less observeable. That ye seek not-Or, enquire not for other rules and ways of serving me than I have prescribed you. Your own heart, and eyes-Neither after the devices of your own hearts, as Nadab and Abihu did when they offered strange fire; nor after the examples of others which your eyes see, as you did when you were set upon worshipping a calf after the manner of Egypt. The phylacteries worn by the Pharisees in our Lord’s time, were a different thing from these. Those were of their own invention: these were a divine institution.

Verse 39. That ye may remember — As circumcision in their persons, so this ornament in their garb was designed as a badge to distinguish them from all other nations; so that as often as they looked upon this mark, they might be put in mind of their being the worshippers of the true God, a holy people, and bound to the service of their Maker by peculiar laws and obligations. That ye seek not — Or, inquire not, for other rules and ways of serving me than I have prescribed you. Your own heart and eyes — Neither after the devices of your own hearts, as Nadab and Abihu did when they offered strange fire; nor after the examples of others which your eyes see, as you did when you were set upon worshipping a calf after the manner of Egypt.

39. Look upon it, and remember — There is nothing in a fringe resembling a precept; but when the former has been appointed to represent the latter the sign always suggests the thing signified, according to the laws of association which control the succession of ideas. Thus would Israel be deterred from lapsing into idolatry, which is here styled going a whoring, or spiritual fornication. See Numbers 14:33, note. CONCLUDING NOTES.

(1.) In The Symbology of the Mosaic Cultus, by Dr. Baehr, a work of profound and varied merit, it is much to be lamented that some points which are vital to orthodoxy, and especially dear to the evangelical Church, have been so erroneously treated. He denies that the bloody offerings in the atonement are a substitute for penalty, notwithstanding the literal meaning of the word, (see verse 25, note,) the solemn rite of the imposition of hands upon the head of the victim, transferring the sin of the offerer, (Leviticus 1:4, note,) the explicit declaration in the locus classicus of the atonement “for your souls,” (Leviticus 17:11, see note,) and especially the concurrent interpretation of the vast majority of bothJewish and Christian scholars. According to Baehr the offerer formally relinquishes his ownership of the victim, and in the presentation of its blood or life indicates that his natural or selfish life is given away or dies. And this symbolical character merely he would in like manner attribute to the sacrifice of Christ. To sustain this theory Baehr elaborates a long argument to show that the Mosaic offerings had no regard to moral evil or sin, but only to ceremonial defilement. To this we answer in brief: (1.) That the very name of the SIN offering, chattath, properly sin, points very directly and distinctly to its design. (2.) The distinction between moral transgressions and ceremonial offences, or “violations of the positive-religious law,” was entirely unknown to the Hebrews. We are able, in the light of the Gospel, to eliminate the transient and national from the permanent and universal in Mosaism, but the Israelites could make no such distinction. To him not only were theft and idolatry immoralities, but also image worship, neglect of circumcision, and eating swine’s flesh. (3.) In this chapter, (verses 22-24,) the canon of the sin offering, it is stated with great distinctness that for the undesigned transgressions of “any one of the commands which Jehovah spake to Moses, even all that Jehovah hath commanded,” the atonement by means of the sin offering was both available and necessary. See Leviticus 4, notes. (4.) The asham, or trespass offering, expressly relates to offences of a purely moral nature, such as the embezzlement of another’s property, the denying of a thing found by lying and false swearing. Leviticus 6:1-7, notes. Fallacious, indeed, is the argument advanced by Baehr in support of his restrictive view. He urges the circumstance that both the selection of the animal and the divers applications of the blood depended not on the magnitude of the sin, but on the ceremonial standing of the offerer. See Leviticus 4:3, 14, 23, 28, 32, and concluding note, (4.) “From this results,” says Baehr, “the important conclusion: If the theocratic standing of an individual was the determining rule for the sin offering, then must the sin have a theocratic character; that is, it must be a violation not of the universal, moral laws, but of the positive-religious law which was given to the people of Israel.” From the same premises we may justly infer that if the sin makes no difference, but only the person sinning, it follows that this offering was of universal application and available to all except presumptuous sins. Baehr’s restriction of the sacrifices to outward observances, excluding immoralities, is a grave error.

(2.) That the expiatory sacrifices of the Old Testament were in their nature vicarious is shown by the following considerations: (1.) The idea of the substitution of a sacrificed animal for the guilty prevailed in all ancient nations. (2.) In some instances among the Jews the death of men was considered vicarious; (2 Samuel 12:14; 24:10-17; Isaiah 53:4; Dan. 11:35;) allied to this is a substitution by means of animals. (3.) The altar ritual favours this view; only in the expiatory sacrifices is the animal unclean. Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 4:11, 12, 21; 6:27, 28; 16:28. The remains were burned without the camp because “it is a sin-offering.” (4.) Substitution may be inferred from Leviticus 17:14, where the blood is called an atonement, “because the life is in the blood.” (5.) In Deuteronomy 21:1-9, the guilt is chargeable upon the whole people, if it be not known who slew the man; and by the washing of the hands the guilt is transferred to the sacrifice. (6.) The noun rpk, kopher, ransom, or price of expiation, would lead us to infer that the verb rpk, kipper, expiate, includes the idea of substitution. (7.) The solemn rites of the yearly day of atonement, in which one goat was killed as a sin offering and the other was sent away into the wilderness, teach substitution most impressively. Leviticus 16, notes.

V. 40. Be ye holy-Purged from sin and sincerely devoted to God.

Verse 40. That ye may remember — They were not to mistake the wearing of these fringes or borderings, as if they had real sanctity or religion in themselves, but to consider them as helps to their memories, and means of awakening them to a sense of their special relation to God, as the only object of their worship, their Governor and Judge. But although this, and many other memorial signs among the Jews, seem to have been admirably fitted to keep up in their minds the remembrance of their duty, and one would have imagined that, with such helps, they could scarce ever have omitted the practice of it; yet their example proves to us that all methods are insufficient to affect thoroughly the hearts of men, till God, according to his promise, to be fulfilled especially under the New Testament dispensation, write his laws on their hearts by his Holy Spirit, Jeremiah 31:31, and Ezekiel 36:26. This we should look for, and seek with all our hearts. When this is obtained, and not before, we shall be holy unto God, as Israel were here exhorted to be, that is, purged from sin, and sincerely devoted to God in soul and body.

V. 41. I am the Lord your God-Though I am justly displeased with you for your frequent rebellions, for which also I will keep you forty years in the wilderness, yet I will not utterly cast you off, but will continue to be your God.